Editing BlazBlue:Bloodedge Experience Part 2 Chapter 9 (section)

==Part 4==

After school, Naoto and Raquel headed towards Shika Street near the station, leaving Haruka behind to do student council work. However, instead of turning onto their usual route to school, they walked straight towards the station. Their destination was a supermarket that Haruka often visited.

It wasn't for casual shopping to pass the time. Haruka had asked them to buy groceries for dinner since she would be working until almost the end of school due to her extra work. Even if they went to the supermarket after school hours, it would still be open until 9:30 PM, so there was plenty of time. But since Haruka always cooked delicious meals without complaining, despite being busy, he felt he should at least do the shopping. Besides, he had a very important mission today. There was a time-limited sale on a pack of ten eggs for only 100 yen, starting at 4 PM.

Haruka had given him a shopping list with a fervent request to buy the eggs no matter what, and her determination had made Naoto flinch. She would definitely make a capable wife.

"Let's look around this area tonight," Raquel suggested, more like a statement than a question, as she looked around the street lined with stylish streetlights.

What they were searching for was Spinner's Apostles. Naoto sighed, his shoulders slumping wearily. He understood that he needed combat experience to defeat Spinner, and the thought of creatures like Apostles lurking in his familiar town made him feel uneasy. But he couldn't bring himself to clench his fist and say, "Let's do this."

Honestly, he wished he could pretend that the Apostles and Spinner didn't exist and return to the peaceful days of old.

"Speaking of which, Raquel," he turned to his side, intending to ask how many Apostles might be lurking around here, especially near the station.

But... Raquel was gone.

(No way...)

It wasn't that Raquel had disappeared. Something was happening all around Naoto.

All the sounds had ceased. The murmur of people, the sound of footsteps, even the barking of dogs on walks. There was no sound of cars, bicycles, or trains. Not even the wind. 

In the unnatural silence, Naoto realized it wasn't just the sounds that were missing. Everything that made sounds was gone. The people walking through the bustling streets had vanished. There was no one. The city was still, as if time had stopped, and an empty, hollow feeling spread around Naoto.

He had seen this before.

It was when he was going to school with Haruka that morning. Suddenly, everyone had disappeared, and when he turned around, there was a girl there.  She had golden hair tied in two pigtails, with large ribbons like rabbit ears. She looked a bit like Raquel, but she was much younger.

Recalling that memory, Naoto swallowed hard and looked behind him. The familiar scenery he had walked through was once again devoid of people. At the end of the straight path, a single figure stood still.

"Wha…" Naoto felt a jolt of surprise at the "figure," and his breath caught in his throat. He instinctively took a step back.

The being with crimson eyes staring intently at him was not a girl with blonde hair and black ribbons… but a stunningly beautiful man with long, glossy black hair cascading down his back.

Clavis Alucard.

In this ambiguous, surreal space, where it was hard to distinguish dream from reality, he was the only one exuding an aura that felt like a blend of awe and a cutting pain.

He approached slowly, gliding towards Naoto. The distance of about five meters was closed in a single breath.

Naoto was breathless. He looked up at the man who had suddenly appeared in front of him, feeling as if he were much taller, even though their heights were not so different.

He couldn't look away. It wasn't just his gaze; every part of his consciousness was drawn in, making him feel that if he wavered even slightly, he would lose his head. Those crimson eyes naturally instilled a primal fear as they looked at Naoto and suddenly softened.

"It’s been a long time, Naoto Kurogane." The soft, sweet voice was gentle, yet it held a power that seemed to command the very air itself.

Naoto swallowed involuntarily and asked, his voice strained, "Why... are you here...?"

It was absurd. He didn't even understand where he was, or whether this was reality or not, yet he couldn't judge whether it was unnatural for Clavis to appear here. Rather, it was Naoto who was being left behind in the situation.

Clavis narrowed his terrifyingly beautiful eyes and deepened his smile. "You speak as if you know where 'here' is."

"Well, it happened before. Something similar, where everyone disappeared. But it wasn't you I saw then." Clavis's tone didn’t seem particularly responsive, yet Naoto felt a chill deep in his gut and began to string together words of explanation.

As he spoke, he realized something. The previous encounter, when he had entered a dreamlike state where time seemed to pause, had only lasted a few seconds. He hadn't been able to move his body as he wanted, and he hadn't been able to ask the girl who appeared who she was.

But now it was different. Though the reality felt distant, the fear he felt towards Clavis was all too close, and he could speak freely.

"Hmm... So there is someone else who has intervened with you," Clavis mused, bringing his porcelain-white fingers to his lips.

It was a shame that he had involuntarily stiffened at such a small gesture. Trying to forget his obvious reaction, Naoto pretended to be calm and asked, "Intervened?"

To Naoto's question, Clavis replied in a sweet voice, "Phenomenon Intervention." 

It was a word he had never heard before. The strange sound gave Naoto a slight dizziness. Perhaps it wasn't a word he was supposed to know. For some reason, he felt that way, and he pressed his temples. For Clavis, however, it seemed to be a perfectly ordinary word, as he needed a few seconds to think before explaining it verbally.

"It refers to the 'Azure’s' power to manipulate the possibilities that could arise by interfering with the flow of time. However, I lack the power to trigger Phenomenon Intervention. This is just a poor imitation. I can only stop the flow of time; I cannot interfere with the possibilities."

"So... you're stopping time?"

"Yes, that's right." His gaze, which had momentarily drifted away, returned to Naoto. Just that was enough to make Naoto…

Naoto had to swallow hard to keep from choking. He swallowed the tightness in his chest along with the stale air and shook his head.

"For someone like me, just being able to stop time is impressive enough... It’s kind of god-like, isn’t it?" he said, a bit sarcastically. After he said it, he wondered if that sounded a bit sarcastic, but Naoto didn’t feel like retracting his words. There were beings that could manipulate time and possibilities.

Borrowing a phrase from Kiiro, it was a "threat." Despite such manipulations, ordinary people like him remained ignorant and vulnerable to being toyed with by "someone."

With his brow furrowed in irritation rather than confusion, Naoto watched as Clavis shrugged and chuckled.

"That's quite a cynical view. As you say, it is the work of someone who is not human," Clavis said.

Although Clavis's smile seemed bright, Naoto felt a sense of dread creep down his spine. Perhaps it was because of the crimson eyes that peered at him from behind his long, doll-like hair, still curved in a smile.

Maintaining his smile, Clavis continued in a gentle yet unsettling tone, as if he were holding Naoto's heart in his hand. "You don't need to understand the rules of the outside world. And you certainly don't need to worry about this barren place where time is simply suspended, devoid of any possibilities. This is merely a means to an end. It's not my goal."

Naoto furrowed his brow, puzzled. "Do you want something from me...?"

"I wanted to have a leisurely chat with you. In a place where no one can disturb us," Clavis's lips twisted into a wry smile.

By "disturb," he probably meant the Mitsurugi Agency. With Clavis appearing in this city, Kiiro and the organization would be frantically searching for him. There was also the possibility that this included Raquel. Naoto felt a nagging sense of unease at being invited into this "barren place" while ignoring Raquel.

"What do you want to talk about?" Naoto asked, his voice tense. It was unhealthy for him to be alone with this incredibly beautiful and intimidating vampire. But at the same time, he was very curious about why Clavis wanted to talk to him so much.

The crimson eyes slowly scanned Naoto's entire body, painting him in a pool of blood-red color.

"I want to know why Raquel chose you," Clavis said.

Naoto made a small sound in his throat. “Chose” was the word Clavis used, both now and before.

"How would I know that?" Naoto shook his head, his face contorted in confusion. "You should ask her that."

"If that were possible, parents in this world could live a little more easily."

"Wh-what...?" Naoto was speechless. He hadn't expected such a domestic statement from this man. "I don't know... It's not that I was chosen. It's more like I was rescued by Raquel by accident.”

"I see... Well, then, let me rephrase my question. Naoto, what do you intend to do with the 'Azure'?"

The moment Naoto was called by his name, he flinched involuntarily. It felt like his heart was being squeezed in a vise, and now someone was lightly scratching at it. But he couldn't cower like this forever. Naoto took a deep breath and looked straight at Clavis.

"Of course, I want to return to being human and have a normal life," he said. 

In less than a year, Naoto would become a vampire and lose his self and reason. He had to return to normal before then. A completely ordinary human. He would use the “Azure” or anything else to achieve that. And if he could erase Saya's annoying Drive, that would be even better.

"As I said before... if you wish, I will take appropriate measures to prevent you from becoming a vampire. I promise to fulfill your wish to return to being human if I obtain the 'Azure'."

"So, you want me to get Raquel to back off?" Naoto retorted reflexively. His tone turned somewhat aggressive without him realizing it.

As if in a flashback, Naoto remembered the first time Clavis had appeared. Raquel, who was usually arrogant and condescending, had cowered. Yet she had said that they would obtain the “Azure”.

"Do you not trust me?" Clavis asked with a cold smile. It was just a whisper, but it felt like a sharp blade to the throat.

Clenching his fist to steady himself, Naoto replied firmly, "It's not that. It's just that I trust Raquel more than you."

"I see," Clavis smiled. It was the smile of someone who wasn't human, a smile that didn't reveal what he was thinking.

"Can I ask you something?" Naoto asked, challenging him. Clavis extended his hand, as if to offer a truce.

"Go ahead."

"You..." Naoto hesitated for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. He couldn't think of the right words. He roughly scratched his head and gave up trying to find the right words. "I heard it from someone at the Mitsurugi Agency. You... you're the one from the mass disappearance incident, right? They say you made a huge number of people vanish all over the world. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is." Clavis replied without hesitation or doubt.

“Wha-” It was a surprisingly straightforward confirmation, devoid of hesitation or doubt. Naoto was taken aback and took half a step back. He wasn't expecting a denial. Nor did he want an apology or confession. But the answer that slipped out was far too casual.