Editing BlazBlue:Phase Shift 3 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 3===
A cold chill ran through Celica, and she stopped in her tracks — as if something was holding her back. She immediately held herself in her arms; it was like all her blood was being sucked out of her body. She felt herself tremble, losing strength from her knees, but just as she was about to collapse, Nirvana took her in her arms.


As she leaned against Nirvana's cold, metallic chest, Celica remembered — this was how she felt when she was trapped in a magic circle.

Maybe it was the lack of a magic circle, or the magical ward cast on her by Trinity, but Celica was not as disoriented as that other time. But she still dreaded this feeling of powerlessness. It was the same summoning as that horrible day. The cacophony of screams was different from last time; looking around, she saw people fallen all over the town. Not because of Ars Magus or the Black Beast; and nothing had collapsed on them, either.


— “What happened?!”

She hurried over to a young woman nearby, kneeling down to help her up. Celica then held her hand and applied healing magic — but nothing healed, and not for a lack of mana. This unknown woman, like all others around her, was dead — as if the life had been sucked out of them.


Nirvana pulled Celica into her arms and picked her up, away from the corpse.

The entire village, which was filled with hellish screams and cried for help...

fell silent.


For better or worse, there were only a few faint voices from survivors left.


— “Oh… oh my God…”

The passing of the shock made Celica forget that she’d been trembling.


A terrifying wind blowed…


With Hakumen back from facing the Black Beast, he turned his face to the distance.


— “…it’s Take-Mikazuchi.”


And then…
	A voice…
		'''Echoed.'''


Everything was pierced by that voice — the skies, the lands, the air, the sands, gravity itself, and all seithr. The roar sent shudders all over the scene, and dazed the minds of everyone still alive with an inconceivable shock. In Nirvana’s arms, Celica turned her head to behold the source of the sound.


Outside the town, there was a massive humanoid shadow, as tall as a small mountain. It was made of shades of black all over, with dark red streaks running through its skin like exposed blood vessels. The mere sight was so overwhelming, everyone who saw it was trapped where they stood, broken with fear.


— “It really is Take-Mikazuchi…” Celica whispered, dumbfounded.

She had only heard about it from Trinity. This was the man-made weapon that repelled the Black Beast, in the battle that made Celica faint. She wondered if this could even be called a weapon…


The giant, which looked just like a living creature, slammed its hands on the ground faster than its size would give away. On all fours, it opened its mouth wide to reveal a white magic circle, which rotated to lock on to its target, as it gathered enough light to scorch the Black Beast’s torso in a single blow. It wasn’t long before the light was ready to fire…


But the eight-headed Black Beast disappeared into a haze.

— “What?!” Celica yelled, while Hakumen looked around in bewilderment.

Only a minute ago, the entire village had been overcome with terror and blistering with death — but it was like the Beast had never even been there. Take-Mikazuchi was just as confused as Celica and Hakumen, having lost sight of its target and stopped moving. The light that had been stored in its mouth disappeared, reabsorbed into the darkness of its own body.


Everyone held their breaths. There was no telling what would happen next.


Then the Black Beast lunged behind Take-Mikazuchi, and with all its eight heads, it bit down hard on the man-made weapon. Four heads attacked its shoulders; one, the arms; two, the waist; and the last was coiled around Take-Mikazuchi’s neck. One of the heads eventually bit into the weapon’s side, tearing away at its armor like flesh from prey. Its head was bent in the wrong direction by the Beast’s strangling. Two of the Beast’s heads pulled back forcefully, trying to rip Take-Mikazuchi’s left arm off its shoulder with a heavy creaking sound.


If only the witnesses to this brutal beatdown knew how unreal it was. The black giants were practically merged into a massive shadow against the orange sky; a scene beyond anything in this world, like a nightmare no one would ever wake up from.


— “Eight! Eight!”

A dry sound rang, and Eight realized she was being sent for. Taking a breath, she turned around to look, only to see Seven’s white-gloved hand hit her with a merciless slap.

— “Ugh, that hurt! What are you doing?!” Eight shouted; she knew this wasn’t that kind of situation.

While Seven was good at appearing cold and calm, now he sported an angry frown. He tossed his hair back, and with cloak wildly billowing, he grunted aloud with loud, forceful steps.

— “I can’t afford to lose this. We have to send it back!”

— “Take-Mikazuchi, back in the circle?” Eight said, “but if it goes back in, there won’t be any life force left to summon it again!”

— “We’ll just get more!”

The dark giant struggled hard and lashed out, trying to tear the Black Beast off its body. It flailed its arms, until it grabbed one of the Beast's necks and ripped the head off by force.

Torn from its roots, the Black Beast was hurled toward the town, shattering its walls to pieces. But by then, Take-Mikazuchi's massive body keeled over in pain, even while it yanked off the head that had bit into its sides.

— "''GET ON WITH IT!''" Seven yelled angrily.

— "'''''I'M ON IT!''''' You don't have to yell!" Eight snapped back with a sharp glare, while she thrust her hands forward. She immediately concentrated and began chanting a spell.

Out of the corner of her eye, Take-Mikazuchi tore off another one of the Black Beast's heads and fell to the ground, engulfing the town fast. Seven and Eight's voices conjured a spell as one, summoning a magic circle under the fallen Take-Mikazuchi. The circle glowed red as wildfire, with its lines formed from cracks on the earth; like a volcanic eruption about to happen. While the ground quaked violently, Take-Mikazuchi's body was slowly swallowed up, like iron melting in fire...


...and the Black Beast with it.


— “STOP THAT SPELL!”

At the bottom of the gently sloped hill where Seven and Eight stood, Nine and Jubei made a blazing entry, the witch shouting at the top of her voice and the catkin pulling out his sword. Jubei ran up the hill in a flash and swung his sword at Seven's arm, only for the mage to flee into a curtain of water. The water's pressure was stronger than it looked; Jubei's sword lost its momentum, only leaving enough to graze Seven's arm softly.


— “Argh…!”

Seven grunted at the bit of pain he still felt, and he used the water to hide from Jubei. At the same time, Nine, who had teleported to the top of the hill, threw a lightning bolt at Eight, drawing her attention. A loud crackle pierced the air...


— “MIND YOUR BUSINESS!!” Eight shouted hysterically, swinging a thorny whip at Nine.

Yellow rose petals scattered from the sky, falling like gravel from a mountain. All were burned with a wall of flame, before Nine teleported in front of Eight again and grabbed at her furcoat.

— “Get Take-Mikazuchi back, now!”

— “Are you kidding me?! GET OFF!”

— “The hell I am—”

— “NINE!” Jubei called out sharply.

Jubei stared down the hill wide-eyed, His sword was pointed at Seven, who raised his arms in surrender. Neither Seven nor Eight had cast their spell already; if they ever cared for it.
Even then, Take-Mikazuchi didn’t stop sinking into the massive magic circle under it. The tremors grew louder, close to earth-splitting levels, until everyone could barely stand upright; Eight lost her balance and fell on her hips.


— “Oh, God, no…” Seven cried in frustration, “the Black Beast is falling in the circle too?!”

Only then, did he realize how bizarre the situation was. Eight’s hand rose before her mouth in shock.

— “It can’t be…!”

— “Nine, what’s going on?!” Jubei asked, his hairs standing on end.


There was a sense of pressure, as if something was expanding…

When Jubei asked his question, Nine channeled lightning magic through her outstretched arms.

— “It’s trying to bust into Take-Mikazuchi’s hangar; and that can already barely hold the thing!”

Nine shot a ball of lightning at the Black Beast, so large it shocked even its surroundings.

— “I have to get it away right now!” She had to get the Beast off of Take-Mikazuchi at all costs.

Jubei only answered with an understanding nod before running off. The closer he got, the more vivid and overwhelming the terror felt, but he shook it off through sheer, stubborn courage.
This was no time for cowardice. He had to get closer, no matter how dangerous this was…


But Nine could not unleash another magic lightning bolt.

Jubei could not get within slashing range.

Trinity had finally lifted the paling around the town, but she could not step outside.

Valkenhayn could not jump over the castle’s walls after a warning from Rachel.

Hakumen could not dash in to swing his sword.

Celica could not throw herself in front of the beast.


They were all too late.


Take-Mikazuchi and the Black Beast were plunged deep into the magic circle, before a devastating storm of seithr exploded in a silent black smog.