BlazBlue:Calamity Trigger Part 1 Chapter 5

BBCT Chapter 5: Calamity black — Dark Demise

Part 1

As the final elevator came to a halt, the doors, which had been joined together, silently slid open. The floor that unfolded before him was dimly lit. The lighting was minimal, casting an eerie glow on the cold, metallic surfaces of the floor, ceiling, and walls.

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere hung in the air, a stark contrast to the bright, magnificent ambiance of the rest of the branch. The rows of machinery, the simple, undecorated lights and pillars, and the sterile walls—it was a space deep underground that seemed more suited for researchers than guards. And yet, there was no one here.

A deafening silence swallowed up the sound of Ragna's footsteps, ascending towards the high ceiling. The ceiling was so far away, and the dim lighting made it impossible to see clearly. It was as if darkness was gathering overhead.

Breaking the silence, Ragna stepped forward, his boots making a rhythmic sound. A massive device loomed in the dim light. It seemed to blend into the sterile surroundings yet simultaneously stood out with an unnatural, oppressive presence. As he approached, Ragna looked up at the device, a cauldron, and furrowed his brow.

"So... This is it. Same as the others, huh?" This floor was virtually unknown to the general public and even to most soldiers. But for Ragna, it was a familiar sight.

All branches were fundamentally the same. And the cauldrons, located even deeper underground than the lowest city, were always built in a similar fashion. This one was almost identical to the one in Akitsu, the branch he had just left, down to the arrangement of the machinery.

"Well then... Let's get this over with. I'm tired of this." He muttered wearily, pressing down on his blood-soaked shirt. The wound hadn't closed yet, but the bleeding had almost stopped. The dried blood stuck to his skin and shirt, and the fact it came off whenever he moved hurt more than the wound itself.

The diagonal gash inflicted by Jin's sword should have been a shallow wound that would have stopped bleeding much sooner. The fact that he had healed enough that it didn’t affect his movement was due to the unique nature of Ragna's body. He had always healed quickly, even as a child. But his right arm had drastically changed that.

His right arm, or rather, the grimoire within it, constantly absorbed life force and human souls, regardless of Ragna's consciousness. And the absorbed life force was returned to Ragna, its host. In other words, he healed his wounds using the life force of others.

However, this time, it wasn't healing as quickly as usual.

Nox Nyctores.

"A phenomenon weapon, huh? The healing’s slow."

If Jin's sword had been ordinary, the wound would have closed, if not healed completely, in such a short time.

Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa. Since it was a weapon that killed the Black Beast, it probably had some kind of special power. Ragna grimaced at his aching wound.

"Damn it, getting hit by a phenomenon weapon twice in one day. What a pain in the ass."

Come to think of it, the wound on his cheek, from the Nirvana he had encountered before reaching the branch, still hadn't stopped bleeding. It wasn't a serious wound, but the constant dripping of blood and the stinging pain were incredibly annoying.

Ragna passed the rows of machinery and descended a set of stairs to a lower level. This brought him much closer to the cauldron. He had seen many of these cauldrons in other branches, but each time he was taken aback by their size and ominous presence.

Around the cauldron were an array of devices whose purpose Ragna couldn't fathom. At the same height as the floor, circular openings lined with needle-like protrusions were arranged in a row. These openings were currently closed.

That circular opening was the cauldron, the gate to the Boundary. If opened, it would reveal a realm beyond this one.

As he walked, Ragna placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. He wanted to finish this quickly and leave the city. He felt like he'd gotten caught up in something far more troublesome than he'd anticipated. There was too much unnecessary wear and tear.

"...What... the..." Suddenly, Ragna's body tensed, and he came to an abrupt halt. It wasn't a conscious decision to stop. His body involuntarily stiffened, and he was unable to move.

A presence seemed to sweep over him like a sudden gust of wind. It came from the darkness ahead, where something was waiting. It was there, slowly approaching, and exuding a killing intent so thick it was almost suffocating.

"Wh... who are you?" Fear, primal and instinctive, forced a cry from Ragna. It was like the bark of a cornered dog. Even without seeing his opponent, there was no room left for composure in his voice.

Forcing his reluctant feet to stay planted, Ragna strained his eyes in the darkness. Heavy footsteps drew closer. And soon, the source of the footsteps, and the killing intent, emerged into the dim light of the underground.

It was a man in white. Clad in a white garment that covered him from head to toe, his face was hidden by a featureless white mask. His sturdy build clearly indicated he was a man, and he was tall. But was the form beneath those robes truly human?

No skin was visible, and only long, silver hair-like strands that swayed with each step, emerging from beneath the mask, gave him a semblance of life. Despite his tall stature, he carried a long odachi on his back, disproportionate to his body. With each step, he drew closer, his mirrored eyes fixed on Ragna. He stopped just a step away, where the tip of his odachi would have reached Ragna.

"It's been a long time, 'Dark One'," a deep, muffled voice spoke from beneath the mask.

Ragna's shoulders jumped, and he bit his lip. "What... What are you talking about? I don't know you!" He forced himself to speak firmly, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. He was already short of breath. He lowered his center of gravity, ready for a fight, and wiped his neck with his gloved hand. His neck was slick with sweat.

(What the hell is this guy...He's just standing there, but he's giving me the creeps.)

Even though he wasn't being glared at or intimidated, the oppressive feeling was overwhelming. He felt like his knees were about to give out. He felt like if he didn't keep up this act of defiance, he would suffocate under the weight of the killing intent. This, he realized, was true terror. Desperately trying to maintain his composure, Ragna thought.

"Don't bother me! I’ve got something else to do here, so get out of the way!" Ragna shouted, his voice hoarse. He drew his sword as a threat. He needed to do something to keep himself from collapsing. The tension between them felt like a physical pain in his neck.

The faceless white man stared at Ragna with his eyeless gaze. Ragna couldn't look away, as if his eyes were glued to the man's. The longer the white man remained motionless, the more Ragna's mind seemed to deteriorate. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his forced shouts grew ragged.

"You cannot pass," the white man said in a heavy, low voice. It was like a declaration of punishment. "You will become the dew of my blade."

The killing intent that was directed at Ragna was unmistakable. It was as if he were being sentenced to death.

"Hah... Don’t be ridiculous! Why should I die by your hand? What the hell are you talking about, you masked freak!" It was a bluff. Even Ragna knew how pathetic he sounded. But he couldn't stop himself. His right arm began to tremble uncontrollably. His aim wavered. The white man watched, his expressionless face revealing nothing.

"Are you afraid, 'Dark One'? Do you remember, or is it instinct? Either way, you must overcome that fear." His tone was calm, despite the violent words, as if he were something beyond human. Or perhaps, he had simply forgotten what it meant to be human.

The white man's aura shifted. The killing intent was still there, but now it was mixed with a fierce fighting spirit. The pressure rippled through the air, causing his long silver hair to sway gently.

The white man spoke again, each word a blade aimed at Ragna.

"I am the white void, I am the cold steel, I am the just sword. With blade in hand I shall reap all sins and destroy evil." He drew his odachi from his back, his posture tense. The tip of the blade was pointed directly at Ragna. "I am Hakumen. Your end has come!"

With a voice that commanded obedience, the white-clad figure swung his odachi in a vertical strike. Ragna retreated instinctively, but the opponent's swift footwork was a step ahead. The cutting wind of the blade made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It was a terrifying sensation, as if death itself were closing in.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" With a strangled cry, Ragna desperately raised his sword to block the attack. The impact that followed felt like his body had been cleaved in two, even though he had managed to block the blow with his sword.

For a moment, he thought he was dead. But he was alive. The strange sensation in his trembling right arm brought him back to reality. He quickly pushed the odachi away and put some distance between them.

Resuming his stance, Ragna looked at the white-clad man intently. He had said something just now. Despite the shock, Ragna recognized the words.

"Hakumen... you say?"

How many people in the world would not know that name?

Hakumen was the hero who had defeated the Black Beast, the monster that had driven humanity to the brink of extinction during the Dark War a hundred years ago. When Ragna was young, he heard so many different stories from his sister that he couldn't tell which parts were true and which parts were fiction.

The Six Heroes fought with phenomenon weapons: Jubei, the beastkin who was Ragna's sword master; Valkenhayn, who shared the same name as Rachel's butler; Yuki Terumi; Nine; and one other whose name has been lost to time. And then there was Hakumen, said to have taken their role as leader.

One of the legendary Six Heroes was here. Is that what this white-faced man was saying?

Ragna forced a bitter laugh.

"What's that, playing the hundred-year-old hero? Or is this some kind of joke? What is a legendary hero doing wandering around a place like this?"

And why was this hero so intent on killing him?

A sharp pain shot through his chest. The blow he'd taken earlier must have reopened his wound. Blood dripped from the cut on his cheek, and Ragna wiped it away with his right arm. His right arm was shaking uncontrollably, and he didn't understand why.

(What the hell is going on…) As Ragna grimaced in disgust, the man who called himself a hero calmly raised his sword.

"You are evil. Your very existence corrupts the world. Therefore, I shall slay you."

"That doesn't answer anything!" Ragna's shout was almost a plea. His right arm was trembling more violently. He could barely grip his sword. It was as if that specific part of his body was terrified of this white-clad man. In the dim light, the odachi’s tip gleamed coldly. There were no words, just a menacing presence that seemed to loom larger than the man himself.

"I won't ask again. You must die." Ignoring Ragna's protests, Hakumen lunged. It wasn't an exceptionally fast attack. Ragna himself, or even Jin, could move faster. But the sheer, irrational killing intent numbed Ragna's senses.

"No questions asked, huh? Damn it, every one of you keeps yelling about killing and dying!" He shouted to keep himself grounded, parrying the incoming strike. The impact sent a shockwave up his arm, and his grip faltered. Hakumen struck again, and Ragna, unable to hold onto his sword with his trembling right hand, dropped it and stumbled backward.

"Ugh..." The strain on his open wound was excruciating. He couldn't afford to be distracted. When he looked up, Hakumen was charging towards him.

He couldn't dodge it, and he couldn't block it with his bare hands. He grabbed his fallen sword and swung it around, parrying Hakumen's strike at the last moment. He slipped beneath Hakumen's arm and moved behind him. He swung his sword at Hakumen's back. Two red orbs, like eyes, stared at him from the man's shoulders.

"Drop dead!" His sword, shrouded in darkness, struck out. He intended to sever at least one of the man's arms.

A long, silver blade flashed across Ragna's vision.

Ragna's descending sword connected with Hakumen's raised forearm, but it felt shallow, weak. His right hand, which had been gripping the sword, suddenly went numb and his movement slowed. And yet, not a single drop of blood spilled from the wound. There was clearly a gash there, made by Ragna's sword.

"What the..."

He wasn't human after all.

As Ragna’s eyes widened in disbelief, Hakumen's body twisted, and a strangely shaped foot plunged into his abdomen. The impact felt like he'd been hit by a steel hammer. He was sent flying and slammed into the wall. He pushed himself up with his hands, but he couldn't breathe. He coughed violently, blood and mucus splattering on the floor.

"Cough... hack... gasp... cough..." He couldn't catch his breath. Blood-tinged stomach acid welled up and spilled out.

The power difference was clear. He couldn’t win. He had to escape.

But the white-masked figure wouldn't allow it.

"'Dark One'," Hakumen called out in a condemning tone and raised his sword overhead with both hands. Realizing his predicament, Ragna tried to distance himself from the wall. He crawled towards his fallen sword. But before he could reach it…

"Perish!"

The sword’s pressure took on a different shape and flew out, exceeding the reach of the odachi’s swing. The rushing energy, which looked like water splashing up, closed in on Ragna, and he tried to dodge...

"Aaaaaah!" A deep, bloody cry escaped his lips.

Hakumen's attack had sliced through Ragna's flesh and bone, catching him off guard. He heard the sound of metal being torn as the wall behind him was sliced open. Ragna collapsed to his knees, his strength failing him. He gripped the wound in his shoulder.

"Haah... haah... ugh... ugh..."

His heart pounded like a drum. Blood seeped from his shoulder and formed a pool on the floor. He looked up as he heard footsteps. The distance between them had narrowed, and the white-clad figure stood before him. The red orbs on his shoulders moved as he raised his odachi.

Ragna couldn't get up. He was on his knees, like a criminal awaiting execution.

(Am I going to die... here... at the hands of someone like this?)

He gritted his teeth and tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond.

The raised odachi was about to descend, ending his life.

For some reason, he felt like this had happened before. Perhaps it was just the delirium from losing so much blood, but he felt like he could remember the heat of a blade against his neck.

The odachi descended mercilessly…

...but instead of cutting into Ragna's neck, it stopped in mid-air.

"...What?" He thought, If you're going to kill me, just do it already.

Ragna looked up at Hakumen, who was frozen mid-strike. It was as if he had suddenly turned into a statue. But the slight tremor running through his body, as if he were trying to break free from some unseen force, proved otherwise.

"Wh... what..."

"It's... phenomenon intervention..." Ignoring Ragna, Hakumen strained, his eyes wide.

Whatever was restraining his movement must have been incredibly powerful. Even with the power that had so easily defeated Ragna, he was unable to move a muscle.

As Hakumen spoke again, static-like noise appeared on his black and white form, as if it had become distorted. It quickly became too intense to look at, and soon obscured most of Hakumen's appearance from Ragna’s eyes.

"Tch! Don't get in my way, grimalkin!" With a venomous roar that shook his very soul, Hakumen suddenly disappeared, like the image disappearing from a monitor that had lost power.

"What the hell was that..."

He had been beaten and left with more questions than answers. At least he was still alive, but it was all so confusing.

"Damn it. This is always happening." He clenched his wounded shoulder.

The world was unfair. It threw incomprehensible problems at him, one after another, and yet it never gave him the answers he needed. No matter how much he questioned, no one could explain what was really going on. And all the while, his wounds kept piling up.

"...Hah. I have to destroy the cauldron."

With Hakumen gone, Ragna became acutely aware of the room's vastness and silence. At the same time, he remembered why he had come down here in the first place.

Speaking to himself as if to reaffirm his purpose, Ragna shakily stood up. Dragging his feet, he picked up the sword he had dropped. It was badly damaged as well. He would have to get it repaired somewhere.

The trembling in his right arm had stopped. Perhaps it had been the influence of the grimoire.

The Azure Grimoire was gradually beginning to repair Ragna's body.

Feeling a sense of urgency, he took a step forward, but stopped abruptly.

Right before his eyes, as if it had been waiting, the cauldron began to move.

Part 2

As if the previous silence had never been, the devices around the cauldron began to whir and hum. Turbines spun, and various machines scattered around the room flickered to life. The fasteners lining the circular edge retracted, and the lids beneath them began to open slowly, like a clenched fist uncurling. It was reminiscent of a flower bud blooming, but at the same time, it was like a grotesque monster opening its mouth to devour its prey.

As the lids rose, light spilled out from the other side. It wasn't the gentle light that illuminated the statue of the goddess of branches. This light was intense and vibrant, capable of melting anything.

Once the opening was complete, the space beyond was filled with an almost sacred atmosphere that belied its cold, metallic walls and ceiling. It looked more like an underground laboratory than a place of worship.

"Damn..." Ragna cursed under his breath, standing still in the overflowing light. Without taking a step forward, he peered into the cauldron. Beyond the giant hole was a crucible of light and heat. It looked like molten lava or molten glass, swirling in a viscous mass.

That was the Boundary. And at the top of the cauldron, illuminated by the otherworldly light from below, was a magnificent decoration that looked like the hilt of a sword thrust into that Boundary.

Shifting his gaze from the contents of the cauldron to the giant sword hilt, Ragna furrowed his brow.

"I was too late."

The cauldron was completely open. That meant the refinement experiment had been completed.

What was being refined? The answer... slowly rose from within the Boundary, entering Ragna's field of vision as he looked up.

Amidst the overflowing light, as if gravity didn't exist, a slender girl began to materialize. She was a white girl, cool and serene despite being bathed in scorching light. Her skin was so pale that it was almost ghostly white, and her long white hair, tied in a braid on her back, fluttered in the air. She wore a simple white dress that clung to her slender body, and over that, a loose white cape. With her arms lowered, she rose up towards the hilt of a massive sword, as if descending from the earth itself, then slowly descended to the cold floor.

She had a lovely appearance. If she had white wings on her back, she might have looked like an angel. But instead of wings, it was her long braided hair swaying behind her, and a double-edged sword hanging at the tip gave her a more dangerous presence than anything mystical.

As she descended as if she were asleep, Ragna instinctively stepped back, maintaining some distance. The girl's bare, white feet, with delicate nails, gently touched the metallic floor as she landed.

"——Loading." Her pale lips whispered mechanically. "Loading, loading. All functions normal. Murakumo is activating."

Her voice was mechanical. After moving her lips mechanically, the girl closed her mouth and, with a slight click, lifted her eyelids.

"...Huh?" In an instant, her voice changed, taking on a sweet, almost affectionate tone.

The girl's eyes were red. They were the same color as Ragna's right eye. Her large, long eyelashes that nearly spilled over, and dark shadows gathered beneath her eyes. ​​Only the left side of her face was healed; her right eye was covered by an eyepatch with a red prosthetic.

With her left red eye, the girl looked straight at Ragna, and then her eyes shone with a look of longing.

"Oh, Ragna! It's been a long time. You came to see Nu again, didn't you?" she cooed, smiling seductively. "I'm so happy. Is this the fourth time?" Ragna frowned deeper.

"It's the third time," He replied bluntly, and the girl calling herself Nu clasped her white fingers in front of her mouth.

"Fufufu, that's right, the third time," she said, counting the number of visits.

While Ragna was attacking the Librarium's branches and facilities, destroying cauldrons, there were a few instances where he found cauldrons in the middle of refinement experiments.

The first time he destroyed one of those cauldrons was the "first time" Nu was referring to. And the second time he destroyed a cauldron in the middle of a refinement experiment at a different location was the "second time."

Ideally, this "third time," he would have finished the job before the girl-shaped body, the prototype, came into contact with the Boundary and completed the refinement process. But he was too late.

"But it's okay, this time I have a proper body. So we can talk, Ragna. The last two times, I couldn't talk to you because I wasn't ready by the time you came."

For Nu, it seemed she had missed out on two opportunities. To show off her newfound ability to move freely, she opened her arms and spun around in place.

"But Nu was watching, you know. The first and second times... Ragna stabbed Nu with his sword, cut her to pieces, killed her." Oh, what a sweet memory. Nu hugged herself, swayed her braid, shook her head, and spoke dreamily, as if savoring the words.

Ragna felt a sickening twist in his stomach, as if he were being embraced or caressed. It was a terrible feeling of disgust. He couldn't imagine being happy or calm hearing someone describe his actions in such a blissful manner.

Moreover, although he had only seen three of the prototypes, including Nu, they all had the same face.

No matter how artificial the prototypes were, it was impossible for him to feel good about being told that he had "stabbed and torn apart" someone with the same face as the previous ones.

"Ragna, you looked so happy back then. Nu knows. You were smiling while you stabbed me, weren't you?"

"...Stop it. I don't want to hear that."

"Why? Fufufu, it felt good, didn't it? Hey, did it feel good to tear Nu apart?"

"Stop it!"

"Nu felt good. It was like Ragna was entering Nu, it felt so good. Fufufu, even now when I think about it, my body heats up..."

"I told you to stop!" Ragna shouted, leaping back. His muscles tensed, and the deep wounds in his chest and shoulder ached.

But what troubled Ragna more than the pain was the unpleasant, sticky feeling that clung to the inside of his chest.

None of the previous prototypes had ever activated. They just laid there, lifeless and silent. But Nu was different. She smiled with a familiar face, spoke with a familiar voice, and nodded with a familiar gesture. Nu... and at the same time, the two prototypes he destroyed before, were too similar to his youngest sister, Saya, whom he lost along with his brother.

'Ragna, do you hate talking with Nu?' Nu asked with a slightly hurt look in her eyes. Ragna gritted his teeth.

"Yes, I hate it. I don't want to talk to you," he said, his voice filled with disgust. The more he looked at her, the more he heard her voice, the more memories flooded back. His mind was filled with things he had lost, and he felt like he was suffocating.

(What an idiot I am...) Ragna thought to himself, his mind racing. He was so pathetic that he couldn't even be surprised at himself.

Jin and Saya were both gone. And yet, today, he felt an overwhelming urge to wallow in self-pity. He had been suppressing these feelings, but now he couldn't seem to contain them.

Nu pouted her lips in a childish way and placed her white finger beside her mouth, looking displeased.

"Aw, that's cold. Ragna can be so mean," she said, walking towards him with her slender bare feet gliding across the floor. Ragna held his breath and looked up as the damp sound of her footsteps grew louder, and he took a step back. Even so, Nu didn't stop approaching. The sound of her footsteps continued.

"But that's okay. We'll be together forever. I'll do anything for you. Nu belongs to Ragna. I'll love you very much."

As Nu approached, she held out her hands to Ragna. She smiled sweetly and invited him into a hug. Ragna gritted his teeth so hard they made a sound. If he had bitten his lip, he would have cut it with his canine teeth.

Don't look at me with those shining eyes. Don't say those seductive words in that voice.

He was irritated.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't come here to play nice with you," Ragna said, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. He drew it and pointed it downward.

Nu stopped. Her eyes widened in wonder and stared at Ragna's sword, then smiled with an ominous cheerfulness in her bright red eyes.

"I know. Ragna came to kill Nu, didn't he?"

"No. I came to destroy you." Don't claim to be human when you're just an artificial creation, an imitation.

The words that Ragna muttered to himself were a scolding of his weak spirit that, if he didn't constantly remind himself, would be swayed by appearances and dull his blade.

The words spoken were filled with rejection.

Nu, who had been the target of that rejection, lowered her chin and looked down. Soon, the thin shoulders covered by her white cape began to tremble slightly, and the light cape rippled like waves.

"Fufufu... Ahaha, hahahahaha!" A high-pitched laugh burst from her small jaw, a sound that seemed to grate on the ears, almost like the scraping of metal. "That's right, Ragna. You destroy everything. Everything, all of it... Just like Nu."

With a dreamy intoxication, Nu narrowed her large eyes and smiled. But her smile was far too unsettling to be a girl's smile and was overshadowed by a dark desire.

Disliking the red gaze fixed on him, Ragna swung his arm wildly to brush it away.

"Don't think we're the same!"

"Ahahaha, we are, Ragna. After all, Nu and Ragna are the same, right?"

Chuckling merrily, Nu shrugged and tilted her head. With her eyes wide open, she looked at Ragna from a tilted angle, as if trying to peer into his brain through his green and red eyes.

"Hey, Ragna, don't you want to destroy everything? Don't you want to destroy everything you hate? Nu, the people you hate... this world, even yourself?" Ragna flinched at her words.

What did he really want to destroy? His subconscious mind asked him.

(What do I want to destroy...)

Was it the prototype, the cauldron, the Boundary, the NOL? Was it that green shadow that had robbed him of his memories, or his foolish younger brother?

Or was it something else?

Staring at Ragna, Nu said with a drowning affection, "It's okay, destroy it. Destroy Nu with your own hands. But in return, Nu will destroy you."

A giant sword flew from somewhere and plunged into the floor behind New. The impact shook the ground. The huge sword that had been thrust into the ground was also a refined Murakumo, a part of Nu.

"Ragna..." Nu called out his name with a deep affection. Ragna felt a cold chill run down his spine at the sound of her voice.

The huge sword, which had been thrust diagonally into the ground, began to unfold at Nu's command. The tiny parts that made up the shape of the sword clattered and rearranged themselves in a complex manner.

It was like turning a switch on and off, or opening and closing a lock. As the giant sword transformed, so did the clothes Nu was wearing.

When the sword finally quieted down and Nu's transformation was complete, standing before Ragna was no longer the barefoot Nu with her fluttering white cape, but an entirely artificial-looking version of her, with her vision obscured by headgear dotted with red lights and her legs transformed into swords.

Eight thin blades spread out around Nu, as if she were spreading her wings. Beneath the headgear, Nu's small mouth smiled. The corners of her mouth were drawn back into a sharp slit, and her sweet smile carried less of a seductive allure and more of a simple, life-threatening danger.

"Nu is going to hug you tight!" With a joyful shout, Nu launched all eight of her wing-like swords at Ragna.

Part 3

“Uraaah!” Ragna roared, swinging his sword sideways. Nu’s eight flying swords were all knocked aside, losing their trajectory and returning to their master before rearranging into a wing-like formation as if nothing had happened.

Dragging them behind her like a thin garment, Nu flew at him again.

"Fufufu, Ragna. Hug me!"

Her bouncing voice was that of a lovely young girl, hardly fitting for someone engaged in a sword fight. But at the same time, the eight swords spread out like a fan and one by one threw themselves at Ragna.

It looked like some kind of accordion-like craft. If they weren’t blades, the eight-fold attack would have been beautiful. Ragna held his sword sideways, using it to parry and endure the attack. “Ugh…” The groan that escaped him wasn’t because Nu’s sword had grazed him. He had taken the impact of eight consecutive strikes, each with a weight that belied the slender blades. The impact of wielding the sword and taking the blows naturally aggravated the wounds already etched into Ragna’s body.

“Huh! Ragna, you’re seriously hurt. What happened? Poor Ragna.” Nu looked at Ragna intently through the eyeholes of her headgear, her tone light and insincere, as if she were genuinely worried.

She probably was worried. But it was a different kind of worry, thinner and more pathetically simple than a human’s. And even as she pitied him. The eight swords spun around on Nu’s back and rearranged themselves for the next attack.

“What a horrible thing to do… Should Nu kill them? I can’t forgive anyone who hurts Ragna.”

“Shut up. It’s none of your business. And if you think that, then at least put away that dangerous sword.”

It seemed unbelievable that these were the words of someone who was more likely than anyone else to kill Ragna at that moment. With a pained breath, Ragna expressed his annoyance and disgust.

As expected, Nu seemed to misunderstand, just as Ragna had vaguely anticipated. She twirled her swords around her feet like a dress’s hem, scattering them in random directions.

“Wh… what…” Ragna looked up, his breathing already ragged, wondering what she was up to. But he soon understood. There was nothing strange about it.

The swords, which had been thrown in completely different directions from Ragna, were deflected by an invisible wall at the perfect moment, as if repelled, and began to aim at Ragna from all sides.

First, aiming for his side from the right. A second later, from behind. Less than a second later, his shoulder was targeted from a diagonal angle above, and two swords accelerated simultaneously, as if to sandwich his torso.

Feeling blood gushing from his wounds, Ragna swung his sword to knock them away. But there were too many. Even though he knew where they were coming from and how fast they were approaching, his body couldn’t keep up.

It wasn’t so much painful as it was heavy. He was losing too much blood. Willpower couldn’t replace the severed flesh, bone, and nerves.

“Gaaaah!”

The sixth sword rose diagonally from below and penetrated his thigh. The seventh, slightly deflected by Ragna’s sword, pierced his left arm along with his red jacket. The eighth was plunged into his back from behind.

That was his limit. Though he didn’t fall, he could do nothing more than support himself by planting both feet. The sword he held in his left hand was more of a support than a weapon. He didn’t know where all the blood dripping onto the floor was coming from.

“Raagna,” Nu’s high, thin voice sang sweetly. The swords that were embedded in Ragna’s body and around him floated up and returned to Nu, spreading out like wings, four on each side.

Next, those eight swords would pierce Ragna’s body all at once. If that happened, he would probably die.

It was unbearable.

“There’s still… this…” Muttering to no one in particular, Ragna moved his prosthetic arm. He raised his palm towards Nu, level with his face.

A rough and feverish breath was swallowed. With a fierce gaze, as if to devour her, Ragna glared at Nu, who had stopped in her tracks, puzzled.

"Restriction 666 released, dimensional interference field deployed!" In response to Ragna's words, his right arm throbbed greatly.

A sensation as if something was being transmitted from his right arm to his entire body washed over him. It felt slightly different from the last time he used it, but now was not the time to worry about it. If he didn't use it, he would die.

Ragna clenched his fist as if to confirm the feeling of his own arm and addressed his right arm.

"Azure Grimoire activate!" He said in a voice drawn from the bottom of his stomach. At that moment, Ragna felt as if his right arm had suddenly inflated to an abnormal size. And immediately after that, he lost all sensation in his arm.

"Wh... what..."

Unable to understand everything at once, Ragna hurriedly cast his gaze at his right arm. The arm was there. It hadn't been blown off his shoulder like it had before. But the arm was swollen, though not as much as the delusion he had just had, and it had burst through his black clothes and red jacket, revealing a sword.

A jet-black arm painted in darkness that was unlike the color of human skin. It was certainly there, but why couldn't he feel anything? Not only the sensation, but also the weight was not transmitted through his nerves.

"What the... guh, gah..." The question turned into an inarticulate sound. As if being swallowed up by something, the sensation disappeared from his right shoulder. The invasion descended from his right side to his abdomen and then to his right leg. It was as if his body was being carved away.

But what was even more abnormal was that as the invasion progressed, he began to perceive the lost sensations in a different part of his brain, understanding that this was his body.

It was as if necrotic flesh was regenerating in the same order as it had rotted.

The invasion spread to his chest and rose up his neck.

"Ah, how lovely. Ragna, you're going to be with Nu," Nu spoke gently to Ragna, who was panicking but unable to do anything about the abnormal situation.

Sliding her feet once more, she came in front of Ragna and stroked his cheek, which still retained the color of human skin.

"I love you so much, Ragna. Nu and Ragna are one. Nu has always wanted to be one with Ragna."

"St... stop... don't touch me..." He tried to push Nu's hand away. But his body wouldn't move as he wanted. He didn't know how to move his own body.

"It's okay, it hurts a little, but Nu is with you." Speaking soothingly, Nu summoned the huge sword that had been stuck in the floor. The sword leisurely pulled itself out of the floor.

Nu's slender arm glided through the air as if beckoning. To her arm, to her shoulder, to her torso.

Countless ice blades rained down.

"Brother!"

A voice flew after the ice. Jin, who had let out a scream that sounded like a cry, leaned against the wall of the passageway, holding the unsheathed Yukianesa.

The wound on his chest had become a deeper red than when Ragna had last seen him, and Jin's face was pale, his breath coming in shallow gasps. He was in no condition to move around properly.

Nevertheless, Jin tore himself away from the cold wall and stepped forward with the unsheathed Yukianesa in hand.

Realizing that he was coming this way, a sudden rush of anxiety caused Ragna's jaw to clench.

"What... What the hell are you doing?! Get out of here! This isn’t the time for you to get involved!"

"No!" A denial was hammered out. "No... I'm the one who’s going to kill my brother, I won't let anyone else have him! I won't let you have him!!" With his blood-stained blond hair flying wildly, Jin let out a trembling, pained cry. It was like the words of a child throwing a tantrum. But his voice was closer to a scream, and there was even pain in his expression.

Jin stepped over the machinery that lined his path without hesitation, crushing delicate switches with his hard boots, and landed on the lower floor.

Nu watched him with red eyes floating in her headgear. The ice that hadn’t been able to injure her body, but part of her slender arm was frozen.

"......Target confirmed, possession of phenomenon weapon verified. Acknowledged, acknowledged, target recognized as enemy," the mechanical tone came from Nu's mouth, as if a switch had been flipped. The target of that inorganic coldness was undoubtedly Jin.

She bent her elbow casually, and the ice that had been clinging to her arm shattered and scattered.

Her sharp toes slid, and Nu's body rotated about ninety degrees. Eight swords, spread out like wings, targeted Jin, who was staggering but standing his ground, holding up Yukianesa.

"Jin, run!"

"Beginning eradication of target."

Ragna's voice, which should have been a shout, was muffled and crushed.

Nu's voice announced the launch of the attack. The eight blades spread out, were fired one after the other towards Jin from right to left. The speed at which they tore through the air was much faster than those directed at Ragna.

Jin parried the first strike, deflected the second. He knocked away the third, dodged the fourth's tip. The fifth he twisted away from, the sixth grazed his thigh. The seventh pierced the arm that held his sword, and the eighth sank into his abdomen.

A muffled groan, tinged with blood, escaped Jin’s lips as he dripped a red thread from the corner of his mouth.

“You’re in the way… Get lost!” Yukianesa’s ice raced across the floor. It reached New’s feet in an instant, and the ice that protruded from below bared its fangs as if to pierce him.

“Ineffective.” Swinging her sword-like leg, Nu backflipped to cut away the approaching ice. Despite their ethereal movements, the two blades carried a heavy destructive force, and Jin’s ice, losing its sharpness, shattered.

The eight swords that had returned from around Jin circled around Nu. Amidst them, Nu calmly gazed at Jin’s wounded form.

“Such a scary face. And that feeling… I hate it. I have to kill you.” His low, muttered words were dark, filled with a thick, muddy enmity. A hatred that crawled up from his feet enveloped Nu.

“Field activated.” The eight swords around Nu aimed at Jin. At the same time, Nu thrust both hands forward. A dark circle appeared at Jin’s feet, gathering the surrounding gravity to the bottom.

“Ugh…” Unable to move, Jin was caught in a sensation of being dragged down. Desperately, he stabbed the circle with Yukianesa. But ice could not stop gravity. The ice shattered against the floor with a sharp crack.

Removing her headgear, she revealed a cold, expressionless glare.

“Die.”

The eight swords, now aimed at Jin, flew towards him. Their perfectly aligned blades were about to impale the exposed body mercilessly.

“No, no, no!” A thin, graceful figure intervened with a desperate voice.

No one, including Nu, immediately understood what had happened.

When and how had this girl entered this underground area?

Between Nu and Jin, locked in a deadly confrontation, a strikingly vivid color swayed.

It was a soft camellia red, a glossy, elegant red that stood out against the winter snow. The color, which undulated widely and fell gently, was the hair color of the girl who had jumped in front of Nu’s sword.

Jin, his face pale and covered in blood, let out a voiceless scream, his throat constricting.

The girl, with a sword piercing her back and protruding from her chest and abdomen, collapsed to her knees like scattered petals.

Jin, having escaped the gravity field, desperately reached out and caught her as she fell forward. Behind him, the discarded Yukianesa clattered coldly on the floor.

Nu seemed bewildered by the sudden intruder. Ragna, too, widened his eyes in surprise, staring intently at the girl who had shielded Jin with her body. She wore the blue and white uniform of a Librarium soldier.

(Jin's... acquaintance?) It was clear from Jin's expression alone that their relationship was more than just casual acquaintanceship.

For Ragna, the scene was unbearable. To see Jin, his brother who had been consumed by the phenomenon weapon, lost himself, and been swallowed by madness and forgetfulness, being protected by another human.

"Tsubaki...?" Jin's trembling voice echoed through the suddenly quiet surroundings. His eyes wandered vacantly as he looked at her and touched her body, his expression filled with confusion.

"Jin, brother..." Even her faint voice echoed through the underground. With the red stain spreading from the base of the sword protruding from her back, Tsubaki, the girl who had been embraced, found Jin's face and smiled weakly. "I'm glad you're alive... I made it in time. I've never been very fast at running."

She had arrived underground just a moment ago. Using a different elevator from the one Ragna and Jin had used, she had descended directly beside the cauldron. When she went outside and sensed the conflict, she had instinctively run towards it, realizing it was Jin who was fighting.

"No... this is crazy. Why did you do something so reckless? Why are you here...?" Jin's voice trembled with agitation. The confusion in his eyes deepened as he looked into Tsubaki's blue ones. Those eyes shouldn't be here.

Tsubaki lowered her eyebrows in distress. "I'm sorry... I'm really stupid. I forgot my weapon somewhere..."

Even soldiers who weren't combat specialists were issued firearms for self-defense and intimidation. If Tsubaki had had hers, she might have tried to attract attention with gunfire rather than shielding Jin with her body.

But that was just a possibility.

In a different fate, she might have fired her gun. But the result might have been the same.

"I... I was on a mission. I came to pick you up. You were missing... and if I left you, you would've been considered a traitor. So I've been looking for you all this time," Tsubaki gasped, her voice strained as she struggled for breath. She was unaware of the blood welling up in her mouth with each breath.

"Why... Tsubaki..." Jin cried out, his voice raw. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the situation and reasons. In fact, considering Tsubaki's personality, it was easy for him to understand. But he couldn't accept the reality he held in his arms. He didn't want to understand.

Resting her chin on Jin's shoulder, Tsubaki exhaled a long breath and smiled happily.

"Ah... it's been a long time, hasn't it? Brother Jin calling me 'Tsubaki' like you used to." She couldn't bring herself to tell Jin how much it meant to her to be called that.

"Brother Jin..." Tsubaki leaned against Jin, her body heavy in his arms. Jin felt the weight of his soaked glove outside his field of vision, realizing that this wasn't a coquettish gesture.

"No... Tsubaki, Tsubaki!" It sounded like a life was fading away. Tsubaki gently grasped Jin's clothes with her slightly moving fingers. It felt like they were embracing. On Jin's shoulder, Tsubaki closed her eyes.

"Let's... go back to headquarters."

Those were the last words Tsubaki uttered.

The body he held grew suddenly heavy. Her unusual hair and pale cheeks lost their vividness in an instant.

Not knowing how to hold the still-warm, lifeless body, Jin breathed out a trembling sigh and looked up.

Beyond the eight blades still embedded in Tsubaki, he saw Nu tilting her head awkwardly.

"Oh well, she's dead. But it's just as well, Nu didn't like her anyway." With a disinterested tone, Nu flicked her long braid and turned to Ragna. Jin had no weapon, and the intruder was dead. There was nothing left to trouble Nu.

Smiling seductively, Nu bent down and peered at Ragna. She wrapped her arm around Ragna's neck, which was now completely black except for his face, and leaned in for a kiss.

"We're done here, Ragna. Nu's a bit tired, so let's go."

"W-wait..."

Though he should have pulled away, Ragna's body didn't move to reject Nu. No matter how hard he tried to struggle, he couldn't shake off the ticklish fingers that stroked his neck and shoulders.

Behind Nu, who was leaning against him awkwardly, the giant sword began to move again.

In Ragna's field of vision, which was directed behind Nu's shoulder, the sword slowly raised its tip vertically and looked at Nu and Ragna with a sharp silver gleam.

"Ragna..." Nu whispered in his ear, her breath drawing him in.

The giant sword pierced straight through Nu and Ragna’s bodies, vertically penetrating their abdomens and chests. The sensation was incredibly vivid, yet there was no pain.

In fact... why was it? For a moment, he even felt a sense of comfort. It felt like something that had been lacking was being replenished and filled. He sighed.

The sword dragged the bodies of Nu and Ragna with the force of its thrust, pulling them towards the open cauldron.

Jin shouted at Ragna, his voice torn by anguish.

"Don't go... don't go, brother! Nothing will change if you do!" What was wrong and what wouldn't change? Even if he asked, no one would answer, surely.

With a strangely hazy mind, Ragna thought to himself.

What a sad face Jin was making. Come to think of it, he was always such a crybaby.

"...Sorry, Jin," Ragna murmured, looking at Jin who was reaching out, while listening to the swirling sound of the Boundary behind him.

The moment after, the floor disappeared from beneath Ragna's feet. With a light tap, New's foot kicked the floor. Beyond that was no longer this world. It was the Boundary.

"Let's go, Ragna, and merge with Nu," she said happily, her lips, which were losing their ability to form words, touched and overlapped with Ragna's.

Embraced by the girl's surprisingly strong arms, Ragna fell down and down. All he could see was the ceiling of the large room built underground. And then... Jin's face, rushing in.

"Brother! Brother!"

But his shout was fading away. His senses were fading away.

And when Ragna's body fell deep into the cauldron, into the Boundary... he felt himself being swallowed up by a deep darkness, transforming into something very large and very terrifying, and closed his eyes.

Somewhere, he heard the roar of a beast.

Ragna felt like he knew the beast.

It was a very large and very terrifying beast, capable of destroying the world.

Before he could understand the meaning, Ragna's consciousness dissolved into the Boundary.

Part 4

...Immediately after Ragna fell into the cauldron with Nu, pierced by the giant sword, Jin jumped into the cauldron after them.

"Well, well... I guess it didn't work out."

The sound of leather shoes hitting the floor echoed in the large room deep beneath Kagutsuchi.

A thin man in a black suit stepped out from the shadows, with a hat pulled low over his eyes and one hand in his pocket.

Captain Hazama of the Novus Orbis Librarium’s Intelligence Department.

However, his name, rank, and title had all become meaningless.

"Hmph," Hazama snorted, feigning a sigh as he looked down at the figure sprawled on the cold floor. A young girl, her body pierced by eight swords, lay there, her clothes, arms, face, and hair stained crimson.

He chuckled, his shoulders twitching slightly. Loosening his black tie with a tug of his fingers, he nonchalantly stepped on the girl’s corpse.

“You’re useless, as always. Just trash, absolute trash. You’re good for nothing but dying horribly. Aren’t you?” He addressed the unresponsive girl with a feigned look of exasperation, repeatedly stomping on her face. Her cheeks were still soft, and each stomp distorted her lifeless features into an uglier grimace.

Keeping his foot on her head, Hazama took out a communicator from his jacket and placed it to his ear. After a three-second wait, a voice answered.

‘Looks like it failed again.’

“Yep, just as you thought. All three of them fell into the cauldron a moment ago.”

‘How much longer until the end?’

“Hmm, probably a few more minutes. Or maybe not, I don’t know.”

‘I see.’

“So, it’s back to square one. Again. For a hundred years. It’s such a long story. I wonder when I can finally escape this half-baked fusion and get it back.” Hazama muttered, grimacing as he pressed a finger to his temple and mimicked a headache.

He knew his complaints wouldn’t solve anything, but it was just a casual remark. However, the reply from the other end of the communicator was unexpected.

‘Well, who knows? ...Ask God.’

“Huh?” Hazama opened his mouth in confusion. Then, he started laughing, clutching his stomach. “Hahaha, God? You’re talking about God, huh? What a joke! I can’t believe I’m hearing that!”

With loud, mocking laughter, Hazama shook his shoulders, kicking away the corpse at his feet as if it were trash.

“Heeheehee... Oh, my stomach hurts... I think I’m going to puke. Well, this was a complete shit show, but at least I got to hear your divine words. It was worth a hundred years of my life.” The other end of the line was silent. He probably didn't feel the need to respond.

Suddenly, the ground shook. The ceiling of the underground chamber began to crumble. Soon, this underground chamber would collapse, followed by this branch, then Kagutsuchi, and finally, the world.

No, perhaps ‘collapse’ wasn’t the right word. Hazama corrected himself internally with a twisted smile. This wasn’t a collapse; it was the end. The end of the world.

Once certain conditions were met, the system that managed this world would declare an end to the current world and start the world over from a certain point.

The conditions were, simply put, the fall of Ragna the Bloodedge and the original body into the cauldron. And what would be born from that would restart the world.

“It seems like it’s about time,” he said, his voice returning to its usual nonchalant tone, a far cry from his earlier crazed laughter.

‘It’s starting on our end too.’

“Damn, you guys have it easy.” Hazama’s face contorted into a strange expression, his tone changing. But the next moment, he was back to his usual enigmatic smile.

“Well, well, don’t complain too much, Terumi.” The other personality within Hazama, the one he called Terumi, seemed to groan in response. But only Hazama could hear it.

“Well then, Technical Colonel, until next time…” With those words, Hazama cut the communication.

The ceiling’s collapse grew more intense. It wouldn’t be long before the end was complete.

Tossing the communicator aside, Hazama looked up.

Amidst the falling debris of the ceiling, he spotted a small figure on top of the giant cauldron. It was a familiar face. Dressed in a black dress with golden hair, the figure looked down with a disdainful expression. It was Rachel Alucard, the crimson vampire.

Hazama met her gaze with a provocative look, his lips curled into a deep sneer.

Rachel, with her indifferent expression, and Hazama, with his serpentine smile.

The collapsing ceiling swallowed both figures whole…

And so, the world ended once more.

Back to Chapter 4: Burned church — Brothers

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