BlazBlue:Phase Shift 4 Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Swirling Tea

In a certain conference room in a certain country.

The windowless room was drowned in an oppressive darkness. Several people sat around a donut-shaped desk, the light from their computer monitors illuminating only the lower halves of their faces. They were all clad in fine suits and had their hands folded in front of their mouths, as if to hide their motivations along with their facial expressions. They all projected a solemn, uptight aura, but strangely, an air of sluggishness pervaded the room as well.

People could occasionally be seen leaning back to take a sip of coffee or staring at their monitors like they were trying to drill holes in them.

"...It seems the damage to Ishana Island is enormous. A complete recovery will likely take considerable time."

"Be that as it may, this only happened because they put their faith in such an overwhelmingly powerful force. Surely they were mentally prepared for repercussions like this."

"I doubt they're thinking positively. If they request it, we'll have to raise funds for the island's reconstruction. I'm not sure it'll fit into the budget..."

Talking in a tone that implied that this sequence of events was a foregone conclusion, these men contributed to the strange sense of sluggishness with their utter lack of urgency.

Examining the strife of people on the other side of the planet with disinterest like onlookers on high, their eyes passed over their monitors and their documents placed solely for appearances sake with a drowsy dullness.

The people gathered around the table were all ministers with a responsibility to carry the burden of a specific facet of their governments' authorities. However, not a single representative of a country that had directly suffered from the Black Beast could be found in this room. These were the lucky people who could watch what was happening far away somewhere else in the world and call it a tragedy; people who did not yet know despair.

"It's safe to assume... that the Black Beast has become aware of the Magister's City of Ishana."

Someone murmured with a sour voice, and the groans of several people signified their agreement. However, they were by no means lamenting Ishana's plight. In fact, they saw this as a chance.

"We've already collected plenty of information and techniques concerning the use of Ars Magus and alchemy. Even if Ishana ceases functioning entirely, it won't affect our ability to wage war as we are now."

"In fact, Ishana is currently monopolizing far too much of the world's total power. If the Black Beast wants to just go ahead and destroy them for us, I would actually appreciate it. It saves us having to resort to other methods."

The words being exchanged in this room were all impersonal, indifferent, and cold as ice, untouched by the warmth of emotion. After a little thought, a different man opened his mouth. It was the man responsible for the military affairs of this meeting's host country.

"How long until that thing reaches the island?"

"We can't be certain, but we expect it will be about four months. It should take about a year before it clears the Eurasian Continent."

"Hm, a year... plenty of time for us to get a hold of the situation."

Once again, several voices around the table sounded their agreement, now with a note of satisfaction. To these people, Ishana's present crisis and the destruction of Eurasia were inconsequential. If anything, they were desirable. You might even say that they were pleasing.

"...It's hard to believe this is all working out exactly as that man said it would. It's a little unsettling."

Like a subtle sigh, someone cast a shadow over the room's tepid atmosphere. Tenacious wrinkles carved themselves deeper into the faces of many of the people gathered. Several people reached for their coffee mugs with feigned ignorance written all over their faces while others chuckled wryly through strained smiles.

"If I recall correctly, according to that man's predictions, the Black Beast is supposed to perish within the next few years."

"It will spell trouble for us if that doesn't come to pass. We're already working to get a leg up on how the world will be from here on out, after all."

"We wouldn't want the vast amount of funds the Orbis Librarius Norma invested in us to go to waste either."

"Ah, yes, about the Orbis Librarius Norma..."

Audibly tapping the end of a document he was reading over with a finger, a man who oversees diplomatic affairs cast his eyes across all present. The chatter died out and the room fell silent.

His pretentious turn of phrase caught everyone's attention. Having acquired both silence and an audience, the pretentious man spoke with dramatic weightiness.

"I have succeeded in establishing a new bureau, by which we may collaborate with the OLN. The preparations are all proceeding according to plan."

The one who had advised them to found this new bureau was none other than that man who had been the topic of their discussion earlier. If that bureau were to commence operations, their research into the causality weapons held by the Orbis Librarius Norma would be able to progress by leaps and bounds. If they could do that, it would be possible for them to wrestle global sovereignty in the wake of the Black Beast away from the Orbis Librarius Norma.

──This newly established bureau was to be named "Section 7".

Part 1

The island of Ishana floated atop the ocean in isolation. Within its white stone walls that glimmer in the sunlight were green fields and blue rooftops. All sorts of vividly colored trees enclosed the island and a slightly elevated hill watched over both the town and the sparkling sea.

Ishana was a beautiful island. However, that painting-like beauty was currently lying in ruins.

The black giant that had fallen from the sky, Nox Nyctores Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi.

That ominous behemoth had crushed roughly half the town beneath its body and reduced an uncountable number of buildings to rubble in an instant. The city was now a hellscape, and it showed no sign of ever returning to normalcy. Ishana benefited from the wealth of hidden knowledge and history collected over the years within the Mage's Guild and the entire island was concealed by a magical barrier. Because of that, it had been known as ‘the safest city in the world.’

Now, it was the exact opposite.

This city, which a fragment of the Black Beast had set foot in, had become the next destination of that living calamity that terrorized the world. Daily reports indicated that the Black Beast and the vestige that constituted a part of it were slowly but surely making their way across Eurasia, heading straight toward the isolated island.

This was a lone island in the middle of the ocean. Ishana was now 'the most dangerous city in the world.'

Within the most dangerous city in the world, a calm and clean wind unbefitting of its ominous title was blowing through the streets. The air in Ishana was refreshing, as it always had been. That was partially because of the powerful barrier that kept all the Seithr from the outside world out, but also because the dense mass of Seithr brought in by the fragment of the Black Beast had been frantically purified by the hard work of the mages who stood at the pinnacle of the Mage's Guild, the Ten Sages.

However, very few people knew that in truth, the presence of one particular girl contributed massively to the Seithr removal operation. Celica A. Mercury, the girl who had quietly inserted herself into the role of Seithr cleaner, breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the wind suddenly stroke her cheek.

The end of her ponytail, tied high on her head, brushed her ear as she gently narrowed her deep brown eyes, the color of wet soil. Her cheeks, slightly dirty from dust and grime, were faintly flushed from fatigue. She wiped her forehead with her hand, brushing away her weariness like sweat. This was no time to complain about being a bit tired. "...Okay, let's get this done." Squeezing her hands tight to encourage herself, Celica set off at a jog. Behind her, a female silhouette far taller than Celica herself followed along.

It was Nirvana, with her sturdy, clearly non-human body and robotic movements. Celica and Nirvana were out in the middle of Ishana, but who could say how accurate it was to call it 'the middle of Ishana' anymore? This area was a little special. It was the space between the city of Ishana... and what used to be the city of Ishana.

Just one street over was a mountain of rubble and dust that could no longer be called a city. Atop it all was the massive, black, human-shaped weapon that had made about half of Ishana unlivable.

The Nox Nyctores Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi.

Celica couldn't help but get a gloomy expression whenever she thought of that name.

The Mage's Guild's ultimate weapon, capable of repelling the Black Beast with just one strike. Celica didn't know much more about the black colossus than that, but it had crushed many plants, trees, and even people along with the buildings and streets. Scores of people died. Countless were injured, and many more were left to grieve. "Celica-dono."

Celica jerked her chin up as someone called out to her from one step behind her, shaking her out of it.

Keeping her feet moving, Celica looked over her shoulder. Behind her stood Valkenhayn, who had removed his working jacket to reveal the fine white shirt he wore beneath it.

"You seem to be doing less than well..."

Looking down at her with his far taller build, his discerning eyes were every bit as sharp and severe as when he was in his wolf form. Nevertheless, his eyes also revealed the sort of kindly reliability that showed he's always ready to catch her if she were to stumble and fall.

"Oh, I'm alright. I just kind of zoned out."

"That's perfectly understandable. You've been running around like this since last evening; it seems you're getting tired."

Breathing a heavy sigh, Valkenhayn knitted his brows together seriously. He surveyed their surroundings with grim eyes.

Even though the buildings around them were hardly damaged, there was no sign of the usual Ishana to be seen. Men and women wearing Mage's Guild uniforms were rushing back and forth across the streets, tending to people who had been rescued from collapsed buildings and trying to transport the severely wounded out of the area.

People were lined up on the roadside awaiting treatment, with those who couldn't stand squatting or sitting down among the uneven terrain. Take-Mikazuchi had fallen with the Black Beast's head just last evening. By the time night had completely fallen, the entire island was illuminated by artificial lights as everyone who could still move participated in the rescue operation.

The rescue operation was still underway now, and Jubei, Hakumen, and the Kakas were pitching in as well. With hardly any food or sleep, Celica had spent the whole night going around casting healing magic on injured people on the side of the road.

"It would do no one any good if you were to faint, Celica-dono. Go and get some rest already."

"Thanks. I really am okay though, no need to worry about me."

"Celica-dono..."

She wasn't going to listen no matter how many times he said it. Valkenhayn was getting fed up with trying to convince the stubborn girl, but Celica refused with a strong look in her eyes.

"Please, let me do absolutely everything I can. There are still so many injured people; I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."

"...Just a little while longer. If you try to overwork yourself much more, I will drag you back home."

Valkenhayn grimaced as he reluctantly gave his consent, and Celica responded with a smile like a flower's first bloom.

"Got it!"

Emphasizing her words with a vigorous nod, Celica's ponytail jumped around her head as she ran forward.

She went to a woman crouching wearily beneath a street lamp and wasted no time in kneeling down and healing her, starting from a particularly nasty shoulder injury.

"Unbelievable..."

Just how stubborn could those sisters possibly be? Valkenhayn groaned with exasperation and a hint of resentment, then went to kneel down next to Celica. Celica gently touched the woman's shoulder with her hand sheathed in a faint light.

As Valkenhayn was handling the lighter wounds on the woman's limbs, he couldn't help but admire Celica. The efficacy of her healing magic was astonishing, no matter how many times he saw it. Without so much as a sound, wounds disappeared like they were melting into the light.

"That should do it. I'm sure it's still going to feel uncomfortable for a while, but your shoulder is alright now. I healed the cut on your forehead and the bruise on your back for you too. The smaller injuries are still there though, so take it easy!"

Celica gave a sheepish smile, thinking that she would rather have healed her all the way down to the last scrape.

The woman thanked them profusely as she got up and walked away. Celica saw her off, then took a quick breath and headed off to the next person in need.

She turned and called over her shoulder as she set off.

"Hey, Valkenhayn-san... those people are still following us, aren't they?"

The people she was referring to were a pair of men standing on a street corner where some injured people were sitting, staring straight in Celica's direction. She glanced at them with a bewildered look on her face. Wearing blue and white uniforms, not bothering to lend a hand to the people trudging down the street or the guild members running around with first aid kits, they were completely focused on watching Celica and Valkenhayn.

"...It certainly seems so."

Valkenhayn answered in a low voice as his eyebrows knitted together. They were what you would call 'lookouts.' They kept on observing Celica, Valkenhayn, and Nirvanas' every move.

"What Hakumen did likely ruffled some feathers. After the rampage he went on, it's not surprising that they want to keep us on a short leash even in this dire situation."

Valkenhayn's bulky chest heaved beneath his fine white shirt as he let out a sigh. The soldiers of the Orbis Librarius Norma had recently tried to detain Celica and her friends, but Hakumen single-handedly laid them all out like a gale scattering a pile of leaves. The image of a demon clad in white mowing down an entire squadron with one swing of his nodachi was probably permanently engraved into the memories of the soldiers present right now.

"Hakumen-dono is likely being followed by a detail several times larger than the one following us."

"But we aren't going to do anything funny in a situation like this..."

"Sound logic like that won't dissuade the likes of them... Nine was able to work it out with the Ten Sages and keep us from being arrested, but we'll have to accept certain limits on our freedom."

"I guess so..."

Unsatisfied, Celica pursed her lips. She understood why they were being watched and she was willing to put up with it. She also understood that the people following her didn't particularly want to do it either, and that they were just following orders.

Even so, Celica cast her eyes around from left to right with open dissatisfaction on her face.

"Can't they at least lend a hand while they watch us?"

There were lots of people in the vicinity who could certainly use some help, but the men following them were flawlessly ignoring every single one of them, as if they didn't even realize that they were there. It was unacceptable.

"I mean, I know those OLN folks see us as just a bunch of people they've never met living on some island in the middle of nowhere, but still."

"The OLN... that Orbis Librarius Norma or whatever?"

"Yeah, them. It wouldn't kill them to have a little sympathy for once. Even if you say something straight to one of them, they pretend like you aren't there!"

Crossing her arms indignantly in a rare display of anger, Celica suddenly remembered something and looked up at Valkenhayn.

"Hey, didn't Onee-chan get called to go somewhere by the OLN? I hope she's okay..."

"...What do you mean, called to go somewhere?"

Valkenhayn answered her question with a question, his face grim. Immediately understanding what he meant with that inquiry, Celica shrugged and forced a smile.

"I just hope she won't lose her temper and go overboard again, that's all."

Nine had half-destroyed Ishana's capitol building, and then Take-Mikazuchi's fall had finished it off. Valkenhayn's not-yet-visible wrinkles were growing deeper by the minute.

"It's well within reason to think she might."

"...Yeah, you're right..." The place that the Orbis Librarius Norma and the Mage's Guild had summoned Nine to was the guild's miraculously undamaged council room. If Nine went berserk and blasted her way out of the building again like she had done with the capitol building, it wouldn't be so lucky a second time. Sending a prayer up to the sky beyond the barrier that that wouldn't happen, Celica hurried over to the next injured person in need of her help.

Part 2

In the joint headquarters of the Orbis Librarius Norma and the Mage's Guild. The Mage's Guild, dedicated to the protection and preservation of human history's accumulated knowledge and technology, had formed a joint headquarters with the Orbis Librarius Norma, a massive organization that had originated as an alliance of various nations but that now specialized in handling beings and technologies that overturned common sense, such as the Black Beast and the Arts, by way of a special focus on Arts themselves. The two groups had established their alliance like they were moving in together, sharing the guild collaboratively and splitting the space half-and-half. The hierarchies of the respective organizations were left as-is, but they smoothly and seamlessly shared information and strategies with one another, working together to stand up against the Black Beast in any way they could.

With humanity on the verge of annihilation, what sense was there in humans butting heads with one another?

Everyone in the Joint HQ sang that mantra to the high heavens, transcending race, nationality, and religion to miraculously join hands and fight off extinction. Whether they were someone who didn't know how complicated the situation really was, someone who was fully aware, or someone who was actively making the alliance more complicated than a tangled ball of yarn, they all said the same thing. It was practically the capital of all things convoluted.

Upon seeing Nine of the Ten Sages, whom they had summoned, the people lined up in a row of seats inside the guild's largest council room found themselves admiring her lovely hair and perfect proportions. These were the people occupying the highest echelons of the Joint HQ's hierarchy. The military brass and diplomatic leadership of all the nations involved were represented, of course, but the Ten Sages of the Mage's Guild were in attendance as well.

Their harsh glares that were clearly looking for an explanation for the current situation were not directed at Nine, but rather at two others nearby. Specifically, at a man with golden hair wearing thin-rimmed glasses over his ice-blue eyes and a gaudy woman wearing a fur-trimmed dress with a deep slit on the side.

It was the Sages Seven and Eight, who had received their triangular purple hats at very young ages (though not quite so young as Nine). The former was maintaining a cool, collected, and intellectual lack of expression, while the latter was standing there with a sullen scowl on her face.

The council had just finished going over the sequence of events that led to Take-Mikazuchi falling on Ishana, why Take-Mikazuchi had not returned to its summoning circle, and how a fragment of the Black Beast had infiltrated Ishana.

"So, to sum it up, they tried to return Take-Mikazuchi to its summoning circle while it was still engaging the Black Beast, but the circle couldn't contain Take-Mikazuchi in that state, so the magic went wild as a result?"

A military official from a certain country sitting amongst the executives lined up behind a conference table went over the account with a grave tone of voice and a sullen face. Nine stood up and met the gazes of the council. Raising her chin and narrowing her eyes like she was looking down on everyone in the room, Nine's eyes flashed sharply as she answered the question in a clear voice.

"That is correct."

"Hold it! Don't act like you had nothing to do with this!"

Eight's scowl had been growing progressively more irritated as Nine gave her explanation, and having now reached the limit of her patience, she shouted at Nine like she was trying to bite her.

With a fire burning in her large eyes, she swung her gaze across the gathered officials.

"The unsummoning magic we used in that moment was imperfect because we were interrupted partway through. It's only natural for sorcery like that to go out of control if it's interrupted during the casting. Take-Mikazuchi fell on Ishana because Nine of the Ten Sages recklessly obstructed us!"

"If you don't know what you're talking about, don't run your mouth. If you had any idea what you were doing, it would have been obvious that the spell was going to malfunction if you tried to unsummon Take-Mikazuchi in that extreme situation."

Nine responded to Eight's spitfire hostility with bone-chilling composure.

Eight's cheeks blazed red with an almost audible pop.

"What did you just say to me!? That I don't know how Take-Mikazuchi works? Do you realize that I'm the one who completed it and crafted its magic circle!?"

"Then why don't you understand!?"

Faster than a blink, Nine's composure burnt to a crisp.

Eight shrank away from Nine's sudden outburst. Regaining control of her firestorm of emotions, Nine addressed everyone in the room and continued.

"If that unsummoning spell had been allowed to complete under those conditions, Take-Mikazuchi would have returned to Ishana with the entire Black Beast in tow. If we had taken a breather and held a meeting about it first, Ishana would have been obliterated. In the worst-case scenario, the Black Beast and now-out-of-control Take-Mikazuchi could have blazed a path of destruction as they started duking it out across the entire planet."

It wasn't hard to envision how the world would have ended up if that had happened. A shiver ran across the room following Nine's vivid statement, but Eight, despite flinching earlier, raised her head and continued undeterred.

"That's just your theory! What proof do you-"

"Eight, just stop already."

Seven, who had kept his mouth shut up until now, chastised Eight with a tranquil voice, but Eight and Nine both knew that his tranquility was just a facade.

Eight glared in dissatisfaction at the side of his face, but Seven kept his cold gaze fixed straight forward.

"What, now you too? at this rate, we're going to be held responsible for-"

"Seriously, shut up. How much clearer do I need to make myself?"

His ice-blue eyes, never once so much as glancing in Eight's direction, said that she wasn't even worth looking at. His voice still sounded peaceful on the surface, but he was out of patience for Eight.

Eight did agree that it would be wise to not make any more of a scene. This was the meeting place for the higher-ups of the Joint HQ. As Sages, Eight and Seven didn't need to bend the knee to this council, but picking fights wasn't going to do them any favors in the eyes of their fellow Sages. Biting back all the things she still wanted to say, Eight cast her big hazel eyes down toward the floor.

Waiting for her to do just that, Seven finally took a glance to his side, but he wasn't looking at Eight: he was looking at Nine, who was standing beyond her. Laughing faintly, he moved his chin down in a half-nod. It was easy to imagine him telling her, 'I've shut her up for you, so by all means, continue your explanation,' and Nine, much like Eight, felt some very unfavorable emotions toward the man.

"...Does anyone have any questions?"

Brushing off his relaxed eyes with a single sharp look, Nine couldn't quite keep the irritation out of her voice as she addressed her question to everyone in the room.

A single hand quietly rose above the crowd. Recognizing the hand's owner, the sharpness in Nine's eyes wavered for a moment. It was a man with white streaks running through his otherwise gray hair and a purple triangle hat sitting atop his head. He was the current head of the Ten Sages, Two.

"The Joint HQ's intelligence indicates that the Black Beast is currently heading toward Ishana. What do you have to say about that?"

With a heavy voice, Nine gave him a straight answer.

"That is the case, without a doubt. Having infiltrated Ishana with one of its heads, the Black Beast is now aware of the existence of this island. It also now knows that this place is... no, that we are a threat to it."

Furthermore, Take-Mikazuchi, which the Black Beast had already gotten its jaws on, was also there. It couldn't ask for a better guidepost.

"But will it really come here? I can't believe that the Black Beast would prioritize us like that."

Someone who worked in military funding sitting at the corner of the table grabbed his head and shook it sullenly from side to side. Voices expressing similar sentiments pressed in from all sides.

In that moment, at least, they must not have been paying attention to the data and reports they all ought to have received. From the bottoms of their hearts, they didn't want to accept the reality that the Black Beast was heading straight for them. Nine didn't want to either, but while they were all sitting in this undamaged building, drinking cold water and having one of their beloved conferences, the Black Beast was on the move, step by inexorable step.

And its destination was Ishana.

"Even if you can't believe it, it's the reality of the situation."

Nine said it like she was stabbing them. They couldn't postpone this problem. She needed to make everyone in this room share her acute awareness of the crisis to come, so keen she could feel it on her skin.

"It is an absolute fact that the Black Beast is coming."

Right that very minute, Seithr was flowing invisibly across the ground somewhere in the world, never slowing down even for a moment.

In the afternoon hours, the temperature of the wind cooled down a little.

A chain of command was finally established for the relief effort and the transportation of the wounded, and the chaos and clamor of the morning abated considerably. There were fewer injured people languishing on the street corners and cases of severely injured people in desperate need of healing magic only cropped up about once every hour.

Seeing things finally begin to settle down, Celica breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess things are alright for now... wah!"

In that moment, Celica lost all the strength in her knees.

In a flash, Valkenhayn, from her right, and Nirvana, from her left, shot their arms out and caught Celica, supporting her limp body. As a result, Celica dangled there in the air between her two protectors, laughing pitifully.

"A- ahaha... thanks, I'm so sorry."

"...No, excuse me."

Valkenhayn lifted her body up into his arms a little awkwardly.

He sat her down on the stairs behind them just as she was, and she couldn't have stood up if she tried. She was still acting tough at noon, but at this point she really had exhausted absolutely all her mana. All she did was relax her tense body a tiny bit, but that was all it took for the fatigue to catch up with her and hit her body like a truck.

"Fwaaa～ That sure was rough... not that we're anywhere near done."

She wrapped her arms around her thighs and bent her upper body to lay her face on her knees. Valkenhayn grimaced (very understandably) down at her limply dangling ponytail and rained his deep voice down upon her.

"This isn't the first time I've said this, but that's enough for one day. I don't care how much you insist you're alright. I'm not letting you carry on any longer."

"Ugh... sounds good... I'll take a little break. But, we should get back to work in a minute..."

"Did you perhaps not hear me when I said I won't let you?"

Celica raised her head again with a smile, but Valkenhayn shot her down. With the same obstinacy and irrationality as Nine, completely unburdened by the concept of reason, Celica sat herself back up.

"Pouring your very heart and soul into the task of saving lives is profoundly admirable, but what do you expect to accomplish when you pass out? You're just going to take up one of the few open hospital beds. Getting the rest you need so that you have your strength when you're needed most is the responsibility of a rescue worker."

"Valkenhayn nagging Celica, now that's not something you see every day."

A third voice suddenly wedged itself into their conversation.

Celica's face lit up as she realized someone was backing her up, but Valkenhayn frowned disapprovingly and turned to face the owner of the voice.

"...I wasn't nagging: I was giving her a warning."

"Haha, that's pretty much the same thing in your case!"

It was Jubei, laughing merrily. He had changed out of his battle armor in favor of something easier to move in but he was completely covered in dust and dirt, from the hooded jacket covering his triangle shaped ears, to the white and brown two-toned fur beneath it, all the way to his two split tails.

He must have been helping people get out of one of the piles of collapsed roof tiles until just now. As he was powerful despite his small size, Jubei and the Kaka clans folk who had been created from his DNA were very well suited to that sort of work.

"Are you taking a break too, Jubei-san?"

Resting her elbows on her knees and holding her face in her hands, Celica tilted her head to look at him. She was sitting on the staircase while Jubei was standing up straight, so their eyes were at about the same height.

She was getting a much closer view than normal of his one big, red cat eye, the left eye, and she thought that it was really pretty.

"Yup. We've gotten everyone we could detect with magic outta there, so now we just gotta haul Take-Mikazuchi off and clean up all the rubble..."

They had to retrieve the bodies of all the people who had lost their lives.

A despondent shadow clouded Jubei's eye for just a moment, and Celica once again felt pain in her heart for the deceased.

"The real cleanup work starts tomorrow. Apparently they're gathering up people to help with the injured 'til then."

Jubei dropped his shoulders with a heavy breath out, refreshing himself like he was splashing water on his face, then put some strength into his words. His soft cheeks rose as he gave Celica a big smile.

"Because of that, the hospital's at capacity for volunteers tonight. But don't you worry, 'cause tomorrow there'll be enough work to make your eyes spin. For now do what Valkenhayn says and save up your mana."

"Fine... if you both insist, I guess I can't say no."

Even as she said it Celica still had a childish look on her face that said she didn't want to, and Jubei and Valkenhayn met eyes and shook their heads ruefully at each other. Feeling the need to work far harder than was expected of them was a flaw that the Mercury sisters shared.

Celica looked past the two beastkin and suddenly her eyes were sparkling. They could tell what she was looking at just from her body language. Just as Celica bounced to her feet like a baby chicken, Jubei and Valkenhayn turned around to face where she was looking.

It was a little before dusk right now. Backed by a water-blue sky, so beautiful that it was hard to believe that something like the Black Beast even existed in this world, Nine was walking towards them. Celica waved her arms vigorously at her even though she wasn't very far away, and Nine ran straight to her, unhampered by her narrow high heels.

"Celica! I'm so glad you actually stayed with Valkenhayn!"

"Yep. The people tailing us didn't cause any trouble either, don't worry about me."

Celica had actually wanted to talk to her lookouts and try to get them to open up a little bit, but unfortunately, she hadn't gotten a chance to yet.

"More importantly, I hope you're okay. Did you handle whatever they wanted to talk to you about?"

It took a little while before the sisters calmed back down. Celica was laughing happily and Nine let her usual stern expression soften in the space of one breath.

"Yeah, for now at least. The Orbis Librarius Norma seems to love nothing more than setting up tables and holding meetings around them, so they'll probably call me back at some point. I can't believe I have to waste my time putting up with such nonsense from a bunch of impotents."

Still wearing a delighted smile that made her look like a completely different person compared to how she was during the council meeting, Nine uttered some biting criticisms.

Smiling awkwardly at her thorny words that were completely at odds with her face, Jubei asked a question.

"So, what're they gonna do with us?"

"Our sentence is postponed. So long as we don't piss them off, we're free to do as we will, like before. However, any and all operations against the Black Beast have to be done in conjunction with the Joint HQ from now on."

"The 'Joint HQ?' And that is?"

Puzzled, Valkenhayn asked for clarification, and Nine took a shallow breath.

"Simply put, an organization joining the upper echelons of the Mage's Guild and the Orbis Librarius Norma. Forget the Ten Sages, even the Duodecim are best buds with the OLN at this point."

The Duodecim were deeply ingrained in the Mage's Guild dating back to its foundation, and were essentially nobility.

The Ten Sages, chosen purely for their abilities, led the Mage's Guild and passed down sorcery and alchemy to future generations, but the Duodecim, inheriting their positions through lineage, governed the city of Ishana.

"...It may be just a matter of time before the Orbis Librarius Norma swallows up the whole Mage's Guild."

Speaking listlessly, she swept her long hair back.

Seemingly having followed Nine, a group of people approached from further down the street, troubled expressions on their faces.

"Worry not, the Duodecim will not sell Ishana out."

With his placid voice and refined features and bearing, there stood Seven.

Beside him stood Eight, her large earrings swaying as she walked, and behind the both of them stood an old woman and a man in his mid-thirties that Celica did not know. Nine's eyes sharpened to daggers in an instant, and she wheeled around to face Seven so fast that her hair flew behind her.

"Should I take that as an official statement from Seven of the Ten Sages, or from the Kisaragi clan of the Duodecim?"

"No matter which one, you wouldn't care, would you?"

With a suspiciously composed countenance, Seven withstood the naked hostility of Nine's gaze.

The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. The mild old woman who had come with Seven inserted herself into the conversation, saying,

"You're both members of the Ten Sages, so stop having such a childish fight out in the street."

Her voice itself was very soft, but the words she scolded them with revealed her exasperation.

The old lady was shorter than Celica and she wore a robe and mantle so long that it dragged on the ground. Atop her pure white hair, set in a high bun, sat a triangular purple hat. The tall, black haired man standing next to the old lady also wore such a hat.

They were both Sages.

Celica's jaw dropped as she watched this scene unfold before her eyes.

The Ten Sages could have up to ten members, but she had heard that they currently had fewer than that. There were five Sages present right now. In other words, more than half of the Mage's Guild's Ten Sages were standing on this street corner. Celica may have been a student in the Mage's Guild, but it was still the first time she had seen so many of them bump into each other in a place like this. She was shocked by the sight of so many of these triangular purple hats gathered out on the streets she knew so well.

Not noticing how star-struck Celica was, Nine deferentially shifted her gaze to the old lady. Compared to how she looked at Seven, her eyes were far less sharp. It was clear that Nine had a hard time dealing with this woman.

"If I may-"

"A lady ought to say, 'yes, ma'am' when reprimanded by her elders."

She cut Nine off with her hoarse but hard to disobey voice.

Surprisingly, Nine stopped and went silent. Clearly she really had trouble handling this woman. Celica, sneaking a peak at her sister's face, couldn't help but let a gasp of admiration slip.

Considering that matter handled, the old lady turned her amber eyes to address Celica's group standing dumbfounded to the side.

"I believe this is the first time any of us have met. I am the 3rd seat of the Ten Sages, Three, and this man is Four, another Sage. We're going to be joining you in concocting a strategy to combat the Black Beast, so this is a good time for introductions."

As the old lady, Three, gave her introduction, the taciturn man with posture so straight and well-guarded that he seemed like a bodyguard just stood there silently, bowing the bare minimum amount to count as an introduction when the time came. He was the 4th seat of the Ten Sages, Four.

"Huh? When you say you'll join them, you don't mean you're going to fight too, right, granny?"

Celica asked the question before thinking better of it, and so Four, who had hardly moved his body at all up until this point, looked squarely at Celica.

"Shut your mouth, Celica A. Mercury."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

Feeling like she had been yelled at by a teacher at the academy, Celica hunched her shoulders and covered her mouth with her fingers. It was certainly a rude thing to say to an elderly lady who was also one of the Ten Sages who stood at the pinnacle of the Mage's Guild.

However, the lady in question, Three, just looked at Celica with a little surprise for a moment before her face broke into a smile and she laughed like a witch out of a fairy tale.

"Hoho, I've heard about all of you already. Jubei-san, hailing from a village of beastkin, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing-san, of the Alucard house, and Nine's little sister, Celica-san."

The way Three said her name seemed a little formal to Celica. Celica didn't have any memories of her grandmother, but if she did, she thought she would be like Three. As she was thinking that, she straightened her posture under Four's intimidating influence.

"Yes, I am. I'm grateful for everything you have done for my sister."

"My, what a nice little sister. You have a strange feeling about you too."

Three exhaled quizzically as her amber eyes examined Celica.

As if to obstruct her view, Nine cut in.

"Three. Please don't pay my sister much heed: I don't want her to get involved with the Ten Sages."

Her tone was mirthless. As if the direction of the wind had changed, the already stiff atmosphere became palpably sharper, and Eight barked at Nine.

"Where do you get off talking that way to her, Nine!? Three is the longest-serving member of the Ten Sages and an exemplar of our organization. Are they not teaching propriety to little girls anymore?"

"I respect Three's abilities; she's got a head on her shoulders, unlike you."

Hearing Nine's comeback, dripping with sarcasm, Eight narrowed her eyes sharply.

"What did you just say... care to say it again!?"

"What, are you saying I ought to respect you as much as I respect Three? That sounds pretty insolent to me."

"You- you arrogant little... that's exactly the kind of attitude I'm talking about, like you're looking down on me!"

"Well, don't stand so far beneath my notice then. I'm sick of looking at you actually, so why don't you just drop off the face of the earth?"

"Would you two cut it out!? Think of where you are!"

Nine's intense hatred was showing clearly on her face and in her even more irritable than usual words. With sparks so intense flying between Nine and Eight that it seemed like they might catch on fire, Four roared with fury.

Seven, not wanting to get lumped in with them, had taken a step back and place a white-gloved hand on his forehead.

"I can hardly bear to listen to this."

"It's good for young ladies to be so energetic."

In stark contrast, Three's wrinkles deepened as she looked on like she was watching two kittens play.

Five purple hats had gathered on a street corner to bicker with each other: anyone who was familiar with Ishana would have thought that that was a very strange statement. After all, they were the ones who stood at the pinnacle of the Mage's Guild; the very symbols of wisdom. To a mere student like Celica, the sight of people on a level far exceeding hers acting like this was really damaging her perception of the Ten Sages.

"Feels like a bad time to try to join the conversation..."

"You could say that again..."

Celica murmured her thoughts aloud and Jubei agreed bitterly. Valkenhayn, having seen enough, shook his head from side to side.

"So this is what the Ten Sages of the Mage's Guild are like... I'm leaving. I must return to the manor and give a report."

Turning his wide back on the still bickering Nine and Eight, Valkenhayn loped off toward a side street with long strides. It wasn't long before his footsteps could no longer be heard. He most likely crossed through a portal as soon as he got out of sight. His destination was the Alucard Castle.

"Maybe I'll go home too. It looks like Onee-chan will be here a while."

Celica tapped her hands on her cheeks with a bitter smile. Nine would have surely come with her if she had asked, but Celica didn't want to do that.

It seemed like Nine didn't much care for Eight or Seven, but she would have to work together and fight alongside them from now on. It would cause problems if she ignored them and went home with Celica right now, and Celica wasn't going to put her sister in that position.

"Do you want to come too, Jubei-san? You're waiting for Onee-chan, right?"

"Nah, I've gotta go back to my post too. I'm worried about leaving the Kakas on their own for too long."

Jubei cast his gaze toward where Take-Mikazuchi still laid. He couldn't hear any commotion or other signs of trouble, but he was a little worried about how well they could behave themselves in this unfamiliar town. What's more, there was a profound sense of anticipation whirling about Ishana, and for better or worse, the unfamiliar kaka girls were probably standing out like sore thumbs.

With one bow of her head, Celica stealthily walked away so that Nine wouldn't notice her leaving.

"Well, come over if something comes up. The kaka girls are invited too; I'll make tea and set up a place for naps."

"Don't bother. You just get some rest yourself, ya hear?"

Casting a wry smile at the two antagonistic Sages' argument as it escalated into a full-on shouting match, Jubei waved goodbye with one big paw.

"See you later!"

Celica waved in response and ducked into a narrow alley with Nirvana to slip away.

Part 3

Upon returning home, Celica found herself lost for words after opening the door. Celica and Nines' house was located a little ways into Ishana's main street. It had just barely avoided being crushed under Take-Mikazuchi thanks to that, but the impact shook the entire island, so there was so much upturned furniture and so many scattered items that there was literally no clear space to step.

"It'll be tough to even make it to my room."

It didn't look like she would be able to offer the Kakas a place to sleep. Dropping her shoulders dejectedly, she rolled up her sleeves and put on a smile to cheer herself up. Looking from the entrance to the middle of the house, she came up with a plan to at least clear a path to the living room.

Nirvana reached with her large hand from behind her to pick up a fallen shoe box. Mindful of Celica, still turned away from her, she set the shoe box back upright.

"Oh, thanks! Could you put it next to the wall too?"

Celica laughed brightly, but Nirvana didn't give any particular response, other than setting the wooden box in the corner like she was asked.

That alone was enough to make Celica vaguely happy. Celica planned to clean up the whole house on her own since Nine seemed busy, but now she had a reliable partner.

"Let's clean this up together."

This was Nine and Celicas' home, so that made it Nirvana's home too. Thinking of it like that, Nirvana felt like a new family member.

Celica cheerfully looked up at her tall figure, seeming like she would touch the ceiling if she stood up straight, and thought that she looked like she was nodding her assent without moving her head.

"I'll pick up all the scattered little things, so could you handle all the furniture and heavy stuff? For starters... the living room door looks unfixable, so could you take it off for me? After that, please take care of the broken glass and tableware before handling the furniture."

Answering with silence, Nirvana walked off somewhat awkwardly, but Celica saw her answer in her back.

"Oh, be careful to not hurt your hands when you pick broken stuff up."

Right after she said it, she realized there's no way broken glass or tableware would be able to hurt Nirvana. She was a very reliable partner. Celica hid her smile as she gathered all the scattered shoes and lined them up in the shoe box.

The effect of Nirvana's aid was enormous, so they were able to clean up the disaster zone of things strewn about the floor in no time flat. Nirvana's large hands weren't suited to precise work, but she was able to right furniture and carry heavy objects much faster than Celica could have done it, even with magic, and she carried out every task she was given as soon as Celica gave it. Celica put everything that wasn't broken or that was especially important back in its place while Nirvana did the heavy lifting, and the work went surprisingly smoothly.

They never stopped moving their hands as they worked to tidy the place up, and eventually the house was awash in the color of sunset from the light coming through a slanted window.

After managing to get the living room back to a state where she could walk through it again, Celica found an envelope that she didn't remember seeing before.

"What's this?"

It didn't have a stamp, or even an address for that matter, so it must not have been a letter. Maybe it belonged to Nine. She was a little hesitant, but she nevertheless peeked inside.

Inside she found several photographs.

"Ah..."

Gently pulling them out, Celica's eyes went wide. Her deep brown eyes displayed nostalgia and joy as her cheeks relaxed.

"Hey, Nirvana, look at these. They're pictures of my family."

Taking a few quick steps over to Nirvana, Celica held one of the photographs up to her beautiful glass-like artificial eyes to show her.

The photo Celica was showing her, vague pride reflected on her face, showed three people standing together. In the middle stood a little girl with brown hair and a big smile, her hands folded behind her back. To the girl's left stood a tall girl with her lips pressed tightly together as she stared sternly at the camera, while to her right was a man with a baffled smile on his face. It was a photo taken over ten years ago, showing Celica, Nine, and their father, Shuichiro Ayatsuki.

There was an old man living in the neighborhood at the time who loved cameras and was close with Celica, and he took this picture for them. There were several more photos in the envelope, including ones with just Celica and Shuichiro and just Celica and Nine.

"I wonder where this was hiding... it's bringing back so many memories."

The nostalgia was so intense that Celica could feel herself tearing up.

Moving the photos out of Nirvana's line of sight again, Celica touched a picture of her father like she was tracing him. Shuichiro had gone missing many years ago, but Celica had seen him briefly in Japan at the end of the year before last, just before he passed away.

Her wryly-smiling father in the picture had a complex expression on his face, but he was still young and his vitality and passion for research were plain to see. After this time in his life, Shuichiro certainly could not have been called a devoted father. He spent almost every day engrossed in his research, devoting his full attention to studying thick tomes and compiling theories. At the time, young Celica had thought he looked really cool.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could take a picture together with Onee-chan sometime soon, Nirvana?"

Then they could decorate a desk or something with it and this old photo. Celica decided to do that as she carefully sealed the envelope back up.

Suddenly, Nirvana raised her head, turning her inorganic eyes to the front door. Wondering what she was looking at, Celica turned around in time to see the lock turn. It wasn't magic, so it must have been someone who lived here.

Just as she had thought, a triangular purple hat came in through the door like it always did, bringing the sunset in with it.

"Celica, are you here? Uwah... the house is a disaster."

The crisp sound of high heels resounded through the house as Nine's flustered voice accompanied it.

Celica hurriedly pulled open a cupboard and shoved the envelope into it before taking Nirvana with her to the living room.

"Welcome home, Onee-chan. Are you done talking to Eight-san?"

Celica asked with mischief in her voice, and Nine pouted sullenly.

"I never wanted to talk to that woman in the first place... more importantly, did you do all this cleaning yourself? We could have done it even faster if you had asked for my help."

Letting out a brief sigh, Nine let the serious expression melt off of her face.

Doing a full 180 from the face of a Sage she had a moment ago, her eyes softened as she returned to being an older sister. Seeing the look in Nine's eyes, showing both exasperation and remorse, Celica cheerfully shook her head from side to side.

"I didn't do it myself. Nirvana helped me out."

When Nine heard those words, a cloud passed over her face.

"Nirvana did?"

"Yep. Nirvana is super tall and strong, you know. I don't know what I would've done without her."

"Is that so... Listen, Celica, about Nirvana..."

Nine fell silent as she thought about her words.

What's up with her? Celica tilted her head in confusion as she waited for her to continue. However, instead of finishing her sentence, Nine turned around and walked back to the entrance that she had just come through a moment ago.

"Sorry to interrupt your cleaning, but could you come with me for a moment? There's somewhere I want to take you and Nirvana."

"Me? Sure, I guess."

She must be busy right now, so was it really okay to take up her time going somewhere with her? Feeling a little awkward, Celica followed her out the front door, closing it behind her.

Outside, she found that another woman had come with Nine.

"Huh?"

Celica was surprised, but the woman smiled at her as gently as sunlight in Spring.

"Good work today, Celica-san～"

Her voice was as sweet as candy. She wore a robe with an extra big hood, had her long platinum hair tied loosely on either side, and covered her kindly green eyes with big round glasses. Trinity Glassfille stood waiting with her hands clasped in front of her.

The place Nine took Celica, Nirvana, and Trinity to was a place at nearly the center of Ishana.

It was an area removed from the town scape that was still bustling even now, despite the city currently lying in ruins. There were men and women dressed in the uniforms of the Mage's Guild and the Orbis Librarius Norma having discussions with each other and rushing to and for. Celica's group stood atop a wooden scaffolding that seemed to overlook the area.

She didn't see the broken townscape below her: she saw the black colossus that had crushed the once beautiful Ishana beneath it, laying so still it seemed like time had stopped. She saw Nox Nyctores Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi.

While Nine stood in front of her with her arms crossed nonchalantly, Celica flinched and gasped. Seen from a distance, it looked like it was blackness taken from the darkest part of a shadow. From up close, however, it had a haziness that made it seem like its edges were melting into the air around it.

Its nearby head was featureless. She remembered that it had had eyes and a mouth like empty caverns when she saw it summoned before, but now there was nothing, so it must have closed its eyes and shut its mouth. With its limbs splayed out powerlessly around it, it looked like an abandoned human corpse. Above all, it really was absurdly big. Transcending all reasons, it made you shiver with how unnatural it was.

"This... is Take-Mikazuchi?"

This was the first time Celica had seen it up close.

Having spent a lot of time since the previous night dealing with this thing, Nine and Trinity were sick of looking at it. Even so, Trinity clasped her hands over her chest and lowered her chin as she looked down over it nervously.

"Yes, it is. It's out of commission for the time being, but still, be careful to never touch it directly."

"O- okay..."

Truthfully, she wouldn't have wanted to touch it even if Trinity had asked her to. Celica took a step back without even realizing it. She was shivering uncontrollably. It might have been even more uncomfortable to be around than the Black Beast.

(No, what's a better word than uncomfortable? It feels... torturous.)

Gazing upon the prone black giant, Celica lightly bit her lip. Even more shivers ran down her spine as she thought about how this was a weapon created by mankind.

"So, Nine～? What is it that you wanted help with?"

Trinity accompanied her question to Nine with a small gesture like when she greeted Celica. A little differently from how she asked Celica to go somewhere with her, it seems Nine had asked Trinity to 'help' her with something.

Still with her arms crossed and eyes fixed on Take-Mikazuchi, Nine answered.

"I want to retrieve this thing's core tonight."

"It's core?"

Celica asked while tilting her head in confusion. Looking through her long, gently billowing hair, Celica saw Nine lower her chin.

"This."

Nine stuck her arm out over the edge of the scaffolding as she spoke. Pointing her palm down toward Take-Mikazuchi, she followed up her cryptic statement by reciting a short incantation.

As she did so, the black giant's chest region emitted a single slow pulse of red light. Then its black external layer pulled apart like a line drawn in sand before its chest split in two, swinging open like a double door. Surprised by the unexpected contraption, Celica once again recoiled from the sight. In human terms, it was like watching someone's rib cage open up. Celica shuddered at the thought, but her disgust quickly gave way to kitten-like curiosity.

A red globe was buried inside its now open black chest. It was almost like a heart. It was big enough that Celica might not be able to wrap her arms around it, but compared to Take-Mikazuchi's massive body, it was small.

"I never would have guessed something like that was inside it... but is it alright to just take that out? If you take the core out, it won't be able to move again, right?"

Putting her hands on the scaffolding's rail, Celica stretched her neck out to get a better look below her.

Watching her nervously out of the corner of her eye, Nine answered.

"We'll only be taking half of it out, so it'll still be able to move. I'd rather it didn't move, though. We won't be using it against the Black Beast anymore."

She would clearly brook no arguments to the contrary. Celica and Trinity exchanged a glance.

Bewilderment in her eyes, Celica asked,

"You're not going to use it... will that be okay?"

There were very few ways to damage the Black Beast available at this moment. Hardly any of the world's population was capable of using magic, and while there were plenty of people with an aptitude for Ars Magus, the technology had only just been developed. Hakumen was the only person in the world capable of doing any real damage to the Black Beast, but there was no way he would be able to take it down on his own.

Take-Mikazuchi, which had already dealt a serious blow to the Black Beast, was their ultimate weapon and best chance at success. If they lost that, what would humanity do?

Obviously, that was a question that Nine had asked herself before ever hearing it from Celica or Trinity, so she looked straight ahead and gave her answer.

"I don't care if it's going to be okay or not, I'm not using it. It requires special mana capable of suppressing seithr in order to control it, and if it's not under control, it's a menace to everyone around it... what's more, it sucks the life out of defenseless people, which is way too dangerous."

"If- if it's me you're worried about, I'll be fine!"

Knowing what she meant by 'special mana capable of suppressing Seithr,' Celica put her hand over her chest and took a step forward, but Nine's cold glance over her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"That's not my only reason. The Black Beast is thinking about it now."

"Thinking about it?"

Celica had no idea what she was talking about, but Trinity put one white hand to her chest and dropped her gaze in sorrow.

"The Black Beast now sees Take-Mikazuchi as a threat. That's why it prioritized eliminating Take-Mikazuchi over simply destroying everything it could see yesterday when Take-Mikazuchi got unsummoned. It was a fairly simple decision, but it means that the Black Beast has enough intellect to analyze a situation and choose a logical course of action..."

"We had always assumed that the Black Beast was nothing more than a monster devoid of sense or reason that was ruled by an instinct to destroy, but now we know that's not the case. I wouldn't say it's particularly sharp by any means, but still, it can actually think the same way we humans do."

Celica didn't know exactly how big of a deal that was, but she could tell from how Nine and Trinity were acting that it was a truly terrifying prospect.

Nine's hair flowed like a wave on the ocean as the lukewarm wind swirled around her. She ran her finger tips through it to brush away dust and continued.

"The Black Beast has figured out how to deal with Take-Mikazuchi: we won't be able to pull the same trick again. In fact, we need to consider the possibility that it could use Take-Mikazuchi to its advantage."

Just like it did around this time last night, when it hitched a ride on Take-Mikazuchi straight to Ishana.

That moment of utter despair was still burned into all of their minds in great detail, even Trinity and Nines'.

"...So, I've got to create our next weapon. Not a simple but powerful independent weapon like Take-Mikazuchi; a weapon that a human can wield in their hand."

With a sharp tap, Nine took one step forward. With eyes brighter than Celica's, she looked down at Take-Mikazuchi's motionless chest cavity.

"For that, I need the core. If I divide it up into enough pieces, I can suppress its power enough that it won't be fatal for humans to come in contact with. That way, I can make new cores out of the fragments of this one, and use them to make new weapons."

"So that's why you wanted my help～"

Trinity spoke sweetly as she finally understood what she was here for.

Suppressing the power of the core would require applying a kind of seal to it. Nine wasn't particularly good with seals, so she might accidentally make the seal too strong if she did it on her own. Whenever she needed to make very fine adjustments on the strength of a seal, she always asked Trinity for help.

Nine laughed uncomfortably as she felt like one of her weaknesses was out in the spotlight.

"Yeah. I'm also worried about the core affecting the surroundings when I pull it out, so can you put a barrier or seal or something on it right now too? I've got to carry this thing all the way to the guild."

Take-Mikazuchi may be out of commission, but who knows what that core in its chest could do to a person. It was unlikely that they would have an accident on the way, but they couldn't be too careful. Trinity knew that too, so she airily nodded her assent. She was genuinely happy that her area of expertise was helpful to Nine.

Next, Nine turned her eyes to Nirvana standing behind Celica.

"I have a favor to ask of you two as well. Just like Take-Mikazuchi itself, humans can't touch that core. So, I want to have Nirvana help me pull it out."

"Can Nirvana touch the core?"

Celica followed Nine's line of sight and looked up at Nirvana. Nirvana's large eyes were looking straight ahead.

Nine got very serious and turned fully around to face Nirvana- no, to face Celica.

"Nirvana's claws are made of a certain special material... to put it simply, it's a metal that cuts off seithr. It's the same thing Kushinada's Lynchpin was made out of."

"Kushinada's Lynchpin..."

Celica repeated Nine's words like they were reeling her in. It was still a recent memory for her.

The seithr that guided the Black Beast all came from the various cauldrons excavated around the world, which were all connected to a different dimension called the Boundary.

Kushinada's Lynchpin was a device that acts as a dam to Seithr, capable of temporarily cutting off a cauldron's connection to the Boundary. Creating it was the final act of Celica and Nines' father, Shuichiro.

To Celica it was like a memento of her father, but Kushinada's Lynchpin was currently lost.

"Oh, yeah..."

Whispering with a slight chuckle, Celica looked up at Nirvana standing beside her and gently touched her large hand. The silver claws she had in place of fingers had the chilling feel of metal.

Her father's final work may have been gone, but she was deeply moved as she realized that the technology he had created it with was preserved right here. Knowing that it was her sister who had revived that technology lit a warm candle in Celica's heart.

What Celica didn't notice as she was smiling up at Nirvana, however, was the look of pain that flashed across Nine's face. Hiding her anguish from Celica, Nine didn't notice that Trinity had picked up on that look.

"...Nirvana's claws have the ability to physically touch Seithr, which means she's the only one capable of touching Take-Mikazuchi's core. Will she lend me a hand?"

Nine's breath had caught in her throat, but she regained her composure and asked her question.

Celica held Nirvana's hand and nodded her assent.

"Of course. Right, Nirvana?"

The tall robotic doll didn't answer, instead jumping down off the scaffolding to carry out her task.

She landed near Take-Mikazuchi's open chest, right next to one of its armpits. Standing atop one of the chain-like bands of restraining magic stretching over its body, she looked up at the three girls lined up above her as if awaiting orders.

Nine gave the hair laying on her back a big flip.

"First I'm going to split the core into halves, so have Nirvana pull one of them out once I do that. Once she's got it all the way out, Trinity will seal it off from the open air. Everyone got that?"

Nine had already started casting her magic as she gave her no-nonsense instructions and went straight into an incantation as soon as she finished giving them, drawing countless symbols in the air.

A single red line pulsed through the red-black orb embedded in the black giant's chest as an ear-splitting sound shook the air. That sound stabbed their ears for 5 seconds straight before the core split soundless in two.

"You're up, Nirvana."

Celica shouted down from the edge of the scaffold and Nirvana hopped off the magic chain and reached her arms into the open chest cavity.

Even Nirvana, whose arms were a little long for her size, could only barely get her arms all the way around the thing to carry it. Gripping it firmly with her claws, each one thicker around than Celica's wrist, she slowly carried it out. Once she pulled that unsettling heart-like thing free of Take-Mikazuchi, Trinity, who had been ready to cast as soon as Nirvana finished, wrapped the red-black half-orb in a dim golden membrane.

"That should do the trick～"

Trinity breathed a little sigh and took a peek at Nine.

Nine thanked her best friend and her little sister for their help.

"Yeah, that's great. Thanks, both of you."

"You're quite welcome. But, I mean, you should be thanking Nirvana, not me."

As Celica made her mischievous little comment, Nine's smile turned into a grimace.

"Yeah, you're right. Not right now though. I still have another favor to ask. I want her to carry that to the Mage's Guild now, to a room I'm borrowing to house it in."

She closed Take-Mikazuchi's chest back up as she spoke, then carried Celica and Trinity down to the ground with her on a gust of wind.

Nirvana caught up to them a moment later, and once Trinity had cast an extra layer of magical defense against any ill effects from the core on her, the whole group headed off to the Mage's Guild.

Part 4

The sight of three girls walking alongside a large robotic doll carrying a disturbingly-colored half of a globe was unusual to say the least, even in the less-than-traditional city of Ishana which had built its culture on sorcery and alchemy.

Nine had chosen a room used for magical experimentation located below the Mage's Guild to store Take-Mikazuchi's core. She had chosen it mainly for the magical compatibility of its old wooden floor and walls, and she had cleared everything she didn't need out of the room in order to hold her tools. When Celica's group entered, the room was lit only by magical lamps casting fire-colored light, and aside from a table with three chairs near the entrance, there was nothing else noteworthy to be seen.

In place of tools or books, a recently drawn magic circle dominating the center of the room awaited them.

"It's a sealing circle designed to restrain the functions and power of the core. Nirvana, put the core in the middle of it."

Figuring that Celica was going to ask anyway, Nine preemptively answered her question as they walked in. The dull thuds of Nine's high heels hitting the wooden floor reverberated throughout the room as she went.

The entrance was a big pair of double doors, designed with the need to carry bulky equipment through them in mind, but Nirvana was still only barely able to get the core through. Once she managed to get into the room, she put the core into the magic circle as ordered.

As soon as she did, the circle started emitting dark purple light and the core floated off the ground and hung in the air.

As if it was being held up by an invisible hand, the flawlessly split core held perfectly still as it was suspended between the ceiling and floor. "...Guess that's a job well done?"

Nirvana retreated back to stand beside Celica, who asked for confirmation uncertainly.

Perhaps it was because they had just carried an incredibly dangerous thing that could have unknown adverse effects on humans though the street, but they were all as tense as a taut bowstring.

Once Nirvana had put the core safely into the magic circle, Celica's words served to slowly ease their tension.

"Yeah. Thanks for your time, you were a big help... all three of you."

Remembering what Celica had said earlier, Nine thanked all three of them this time.

Appreciating her sister's thoughtfulness, Celica clasped her arms behind her back and smiled. The town was still in chaos and the world was in grave danger, but she thought that even at a time like this, a little happiness would do wonders.

"I still have work to do, so you go on home, Celica."

Crossing her arms beneath her bountiful chest, Nine put on her big sister face.

There was no clock in this room, but by the time they had entered the Mage's Guild, the sun had already sunk below the horizon and the sky was turning a dim purple. By now night should have completely fallen and the moon would be rising.

Celica's hair shook as she nodded. "Okay. In that case, I'll finish cleaning up and make us something to eat. I don't really know what we have left though."

It had been some time since they were chased out of Ishana, so the fruits and vegetables they had at home had probably gone bad by now.

It would be nice if she could go grocery shopping, but she wasn't holding her breath for that to happen right now.

"Do you want to come with me, Trinity-san?"

"Ah... I'm sorry～ I want to talk to Nine about something for a bit."

"Oh, okay. I'll just go back with Nirvana then."

Trinity apologized again, and Celica waved to Nine as the latter saw her off with a loving look before heading out of the wood-enclosed underground room.

The girl and her robotic doll left through just one side of the double door, and it closed shut behind them with a heavy thud.

Celica's light, bouncy steps slowly faded into the distance. Eventually both her and Nirvanas' presences disappeared…

In an instant Nine wheeled around to return to Take-Mikazuchi's core enshrined in the sealing circle. The fire-colored magical lighting cast a solemn atmosphere through the dreary room, reflecting off the dark wooden floor and giving the illusion that time had stopped. The half of the red-black globe floated silently inside the magic circle, looking like the contents of a cup in solid form, flat side facing up. It may have only been half its original size, but it still made this reasonably large room feel cramped.

"Nine... sorry to bother you when you're so busy, but I don't know when else I'll get a chance to talk to you one-on-one～"

Trinity was the one to break the silence. She realized that Nine wasn't going to start up a conversation right now no matter how long she waited.

With a nearly imperceptible gulp, Nine shifted her attention back to her. Trinity couldn't see her face past her long hair and the wide brim of her hat, but she saw her lips, no different from any normal girl's, breath a shallow sigh.

"Is this the kind of conversation we have to have privately?"

"That's a little mean of you, pretending you don't know what I want to ask."

"Then you should know what my answer is going to be."

Her tone was curt, but she wasn't outright refusing to talk to Trinity. She was just begging her not to ask.

She was showing her girlish, fragile side that never came out except when she was alone with Trinity, or sometimes with Celica or Jubei. Her soft center that she kept hidden under a layer of tough armor. It showed itself in the whispering tone of her voice. Normally, Trinity probably would have just left the room with an understanding smile, but Trinity couldn't do that this time.

"You've been hiding something about Take-Mikazuchi from us this whole time... haven't you?" Humanity's ultimate weapon, capable of taking on the Black Beast, that could scorch the earth and warp the landscape with a single attack, and that sucked the life out of countless people in seconds. It crushed Ishana beneath its incredible mass and brought a piece of the Black Beast back to the island with it. With just a glance anyone could tell just how dangerous that black colossus was to humanity. Everyone was more afraid of that thing than ever before, Trinity included, but hardly anyone knew that it was the intellect and techniques of this girl that had created it. Even her little sister, Celica, thought that it was something the Ten Sages had developed.

Nine rubbed her temples like she had a headache.

"Sorry, Trinity..."

"Why do you insist on doing everything by yourself, Nine?"

Trinity gently interrupted Nine's words.

"This is just hypothetically speaking, but what if the most terrible weapon in human history were to come into being, and then someone were to use it, thereby sacrificing countless lives? In that situation, would the blame lie with the one who used it, or the one who created it?"

Nine didn't have an answer to that question, but regardless of which one she picked, she would definitely blame herself. After all, she was without a doubt the one who had created the problem in the first place.

"You feared Take-Mikazuchi. You regret having ever made it, right? But even if you are the one who created it, I don't think it's reasonable to put all the blame on yourself."

Silently praying in her heart, Trinity walked around to stand in front of Nine. Nine had a confused look on her face, but it was quickly replaced with a frown and an intense expression.

She knew what laid beneath that intensity. Trinity clasped her hands in front of her chest.

"Please tell me what Take-Mikazuchi really is. What scared you so badly that you kept it from us?"

Trinity had a feeling that it had something to do with why Nine said the core could have a fatal effect on people earlier, and that it was weighing on her so heavily that she couldn't bear to say it. If Nine were to say, and if Trinity were to listen... then no matter what the truth was, she would accept it. If Nine told her about whatever heavy weight she had placed upon herself, she wouldn't blame her for it no matter what it was. In fact, she wanted to tell her that she had done the right thing and free her from her regret. After all, Take-Mikazuchi saved many lives the first time it was summoned, too.

But…

"I'm pretty sure I already said I won't tell you."

Nine wouldn't open the lock over her heart.

"If I told you this one thing, I'm sure I'd end up confessing everything to you."

Seeming to fear that more than anything, she hugged herself with her folded arms.

She had more than just one thing she wanted to hide. Take-Mikazuchi wasn't the only sin weighing her down, and she had no intention of unburdening herself to Trinity. Hearing her best friend say that, Trinity's chest ached so badly that it surprised even her. She knew that the stabbing pain she felt wasn't directed towards Nine, but it still hurt.

"Nine, I just..."

Wanted to talk. Just wanted to hear you out. Must have wanted to hear you say, 'you're the only one I can turn to.' The friend standing before her wasn't the genius mage; she was a girl named Konoe Mercury. Trinity might have just wanted that weak, fragile girl to think of her as the only person who would accept her for who she really is, the only person who would protect her.

She was getting déjà vu because this wasn't the first time Nine had pushed her away like this. Trinity was terribly dejected. Her heart dropped as badly as it had in the gut-wrenching moment when she had watched the Black Beast and Take-Mikazuchi drop on Ishana.

In that moment, Nine let go of herself and unfolded her arms, leaning to one side with casual posture.

"I'm sorry, Trinity. I'll tell you when this is all over."

Nine barely managed to keep herself together and act natural as she said it. Her voice wavered a bit.

Trinity weakly bowed her head. Now Trinity was the one who needed Nine to worry about her feelings and protect her. She didn't want to have to say this.

"...Do you... promise?"

Softly, ever so softly. Trinity exhaled as softly as she possibly could. She didn't want to accidentally put more pressure on Nine. No matter how dejected and bewildered she may be, that was one thing she never wanted to do.

In place of an answer to Trinity's hesitant question, Nine lifted her head. Her face had lost its intensity, and her eyebrows drooped as she chuckled wryly, remembering their many trifling daily conversations.

"On second thought, I'll leave dividing the core and applying the seal to one of the other Sages. Sorry Trinity, you ought to be helping the injured. They don't have many people who know how to make medicine out there."

"Nine..."

"...Making that face doesn't make me want your help more."

Don't make this any harder for me. Regret shone in Nine's eyes as she dropped her gaze.

It's hard to say who this was more difficult for: Trinity or Nine. Nine didn't want to hurt Trinity, nor did Trinity want to hurt Nine. They were thinking practically the same thing, but they still couldn't see eye to eye. They couldn't reach each other. In this moment, they were like shirt buttons put into the wrong holes. This sort of thing happens a lot, but in that moment it was much more difficult than either of them would have thought.

Trinity put her hands over her chest, feeling like she was going to suffocate, but managed to smile.

"Make sure you go home to Celica-san tonight. It'd be a waste if you don't eat the dinner she's going out of her way to make for you～"

If she had kept on pressing the point, would Nine have opened up to her? But knowing so much about her, Trinity couldn't bring herself to hurt Nine even worse, and so she decided to stop asking.

It wasn't kindness. It wasn't consideration, either. To avoid hurting Nine with her actions, she was just running away from the truth that was creating friction between the two of them.

She was such a weakling. Trinity's feeling of powerlessness turned to cold misery and buried itself into her heart.

"...Yeah, I'll make sure to do that. Don't worry about me."

Watching Nine's shoulders relax was Trinity's only consolation.

Back to Illustrations

Return to Main Page

Forward to Chapter 2: Sweeping Away Crimson Grief