Editing BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 2 Chapter 10 (section)

===Part 3===

The dusty floor made a rough, gravelly sound as Naoto landed. 

The old, dilapidated building was on the verge of ruin, with only the tenant signs remaining, and the inside was empty except for the snack bar in the basement.

Naoto jumped through a broken window into a former video shop on the second floor, losing his balance and brushing his hand against the floor as he raised his face.

The room was filled with a dreary atmosphere, with empty steel shelves toppled over, leaning against the walls like a failed game of dominoes. The floor was quite spacious, but two thick pillars in the center and abandoned shelves and cardboard boxes made it feel much more cramped than it really was.

The air was dusty, and breathing it in made him want to cough. Amidst all this, Naoto spotted the tall man he had just kicked and glared at him with strong hostility. In his line of sight was a tall man with wild, unruly hair swept back.

Valkenhayn Hellsing. A beastman who could transform into both a wolf and a human, and a slayer of the undead hired by the Mitsurugi Agency. On the sleeves of his deep-colored suit, there was a whitish scuff from Naoto's sneaker treads.

"Weren't you guys supposed to be hunting immortals!? What the hell are you doing getting serious with a kid in such a deserted place, you pervert!" 

"You are...Naoto Kurogane. Did you come here to be killed?" Valkenhayn's eyes, filled with contempt at Naoto's scornful words, were now ablaze with hostility and a fighting spirit.

Naoto was taken aback for a moment when his name was called, but he quickly figured out how the other man knew. Kiiro must have told him. The mere thought of the mysterious woman from the Mitsurugi Agency, who wasn't here, gave Naoto a nasty, sticky feeling in his chest.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Raquel gracefully descending from the remnants of the tenant space. Just her presence seemed to brighten the air, likely due to her otherworldly and noble aura.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust at the dusty, unclean room, Raquel looked around as if inspecting it. Her gaze landed on a man standing alone, his eyes obscured by a black band.

"So you’re not nestled under the boy's arm today." Realizing the words were directed at her, Raquel stared intently at the blindfolded man, Relius.

"Relius Clover..."

He was the Immortal Breaker targeting her father, Clavis Alucard, alongside Valkenhayn. However, after examining him from head to toe as if seeing through him, Raquel furrowed her finely shaped eyebrows in confusion.

"…No, it’s not you." Raquel seemed to be searching for something in the room. But Naoto, with his blood boiling, was too focused on the situation to care or even notice.

Ever since Haruka had invited him to go grocery shopping and Raquel had suddenly murmured about feeling a presence, Naoto had been searching for a Drive user who might be causing trouble somewhere. He had even flown into the sky with Raquel to find the scene, only to find this situation.

He wasn’t sure why Saya and Valkenhayn were fighting. It was clear they both had a tendency to resort to violent and reckless means to resolve issues. One of them must have started the fight.

(Probably Saya…)

Glancing back at his sister over his shoulder, Naoto’s expression twisted bitterly. Saya still couldn't get up. She sat slumped, her kimono soiled by dust, hands pressed to the floor. It must have been tough for her to stay upright.

Her thin shoulders trembled, rising and falling with rough breaths. Her face was pale, and she didn’t look like a girl who could wield a katana. Yet, the spark of fighting spirit still burned in her expression as she looked up at Naoto with accusing eyes.

"Brother...you shouldn't have..."

"Don't be ridiculous! What shouldn't I have done? You're the one who's been doing something stupid!" 

Raquel turned around in surprise at Naoto's sudden outburst. Saya was intimidated and fell silent. Naoto clenched his fists tightly, trying to suppress the emotions that were raging inside him.

"You suddenly show up at my house, and then I don't hear from you for a while, and then I find out you're fighting some freak like this. What the hell were you thinking? You said you were going to kill me, and now you want to kill yourself? You idiot!"

Saya Terumi was a symbol of dark, heavy, painful memories for Naoto. Because of her, their parents died. Many relatives, as well as those who worked in their home, were gone. People he loved, those he didn’t care for much, people he had fought with, and those who had inspired him—all of them died because of Saya.

Saya had killed them all.

And yet…

"You're always causing trouble… Don’t mess with me, damn it..." Naoto spat out the words resentfully.

And yet, he thought of her as his sister, as family.

He hated her, wanted to stay away from her, and didn't want to see her face, but the moment he saw her about to be finished off by Valkenhayn, it felt like a knife had been plunged through his body. He had moved instinctively to help her.

His worry turned into an anger he couldn’t contain. Gathering his rage toward Saya, Naoto glared at Valkenhayn with fierce intensity.

Memories of the fear from their first encounter flooded back—his pierced abdomen, his crushed legs. Just recalling it made his stomach tighten.

He had been beaten so thoroughly back then. Even though he had become somewhat capable of fighting the Apostles, Naoto couldn’t believe he could hold his own against Valkenhayn now. 

But he couldn’t back down.

"Ha, shall we go for a rematch? If you're feeling motivated, I won't hold back."

"You've got some spirit, kid. Alright then, this time I’ll crush your head and finish you off.” In response to Naoto's lighthearted provocation, Valkenhayn returned with serious killing intent. Ideally, he would have preferred if Valkenhayn would simply leave in disgust, but seeing Valkenhayn get ready for a fight, Naoto made up his mind.

(I’ll have Raquel take Saya and escape, and then I’ll find a way to get away too!) 

He resolved to do just that.

However, just as the fire was about to be ignited, the voices of two who stepped forward suppressed it.

“Wait, Naoto.” 

“Hold on, Valkenhayn.” 

Both spoke with a strong tone that left no room for argument.

Naoto and Valkenhayn were both caught off guard by the simultaneous calls from two directions. 

“Hey, what’s going on…”

"Be quiet… I sense the presence of the Azure. And it's approaching rapidly..." Raising a small hand to stop Naoto from interrupting, Raquel focused her attention with a very urgent expression. As if listening to an almost inaudible sound, her red eyes darted from left to right.

Perhaps it was because of the unusual situation, or perhaps because they sensed something strange like Raquel, Relius and Valkenhayn also fell silent and spread their senses around them.

With a snap, Raquel turned to Naoto.

“Your sister and Valkenhayn. The collision of their powerful Drives has intensified the remnants of Azure in this area to an abnormal degree. And the Azure remnants attract the Azure’s power. The stronger it is… do you understand?”

“Ah, just skip to the conclusion. We’re in a hurry, aren’t we?” 

“Right now, this place is an incredibly conspicuous abnormal zone for anyone involved with the Azure… especially for those searching for the presence of Azure.” 

“So, the conclusion!”

"Spinner will sense it." As soon as Racquel uttered that name, the window outside, where Naoto had jumped in, suddenly lost its brightness and turned black. Naoto hurriedly turned around. It was definitely not sunset. The sun was setting, but even at night, it wouldn’t plunge into darkness outside.

Yet all that filled Naoto’s sight was pure black.

As if seeping out from the cracks in the floor, the black was covering the window and the surrounding walls. 

The black wasn’t outside the window. It was inside.

Naoto recognized that strange darkness. He had seen it in the hallway of the night school. It was the mass of darkness that Spinner had brought with him, which had devoured and swallowed people whole.

“You…!” Instinctively stepping forward, Naoto shielded Raquel behind him.

The darkness spread gradually, moving with a creepy motion. From within the depthless black, countless arms shot out with the force of water bursting from a breached dam.. The long, shadow-like arms reached straight out and grabbed Saya, who was frozen in place, pulling her into the darkness with the same force they had when they emerged.

“Wha– Saya!!”

Before Saya could even scream, she was enveloped and vanished. Naoto screamed as if his throat was being ripped open and rushed forward. He never expected Saya would be the target.

His thought process was in chaos, wondering why. Driven by a desperate urge, Naoto lunged into the darkness without a second thought. He heard Raquel's cry to stop, but he didn't care. He reached out into the darkness, trying to grab its edge, even though he didn't know if he could. But the shadow slipped through Naoto's fingers like liquid and slid out of the window.

"Wait! Saya!" Naoto immediately chased after her, leaning out of the window. The darkness slid up the wall, making a sound like dragging a sandbag. And on the rooftop, he saw a figure. A man with a sinister, gaunt face, dressed in a black suit with his gray hair neatly combed.

Spinner Superior.

He gave Naoto a contemptuous glance before turning away without a word, retreating deeper onto the rooftop. Following him, the darkness also vanished from Naoto’s view.

"Damn it… damn it!" 

He couldn’t run along the walls. Naoto leaped from the second floor without hesitation. He raced up the emergency stairs at full speed.

(Why… why Saya! Why her!)

She had nothing to do with him and Raquel. Did he intend to take her hostage? For what purpose?

(I don't understand!)

His heart pounded and he was having trouble breathing. Forgetting about normal breathing, he ran in a frenzy and kicked open the door to the rooftop.

When he burst out onto the rooftop of the dilapidated building, there was no one there. 

The western sky was dyed crimson. 

Night was about to fall. 

Tonight was supposed to be a full moon.


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