BlazBlue – Phase 0

Completed.

The dangerous object that was being sought by Relius and the snake-like man has been completed.

However, I too, have taken interest toward it.

I am a researcher, after all.

That is why I developed this.

This is a lynchpin.

If they intend to create a blade to sever the entrance to the Boundary, then this will be the nail to shut it close.

They are oblivious to the fact that I have made it. They still shouldn"t be aware of it later on.

Nothing but Kusanagi is reflected in their eyes.

Next, if I can get my hands on the key, this lynchpin will be truly complete.

Key... My key.

Until that has been properly raised to accomplish the role of a key, it will be nice if nothing happens.

It seemed the hard tiptoe of the high heel was carefully aimed at Ragna"s temporal region before hitting it.

"GUAAHH!?"

Much like a bouncing spring, Ragna"s body flew. The sounds of his jacket sc.r.a.ping the ground could be heard when he rolled over the rough ground.

"That... hurts! The h.e.l.l are you doing all of a..."

Ragna strongly held down the part that was kicked as he yelled. But that voice quickly faded away.

When Ragna raised his face up, the woman with pointy hat who had gifted him a roundhouse kick was now raising both of her hands while glaring at him.

There was yellow light on her hands that was scattering like sparks. Crackling sounds started to swirl.

Judging from her gaze, the one she aimed the offensive magic to... couldn"t be anyone else.

"H-Hey, stop it! First, calm down and tell me your reason!"

"Reason? You mean there"s any other reason than wanting to erase you...?"

"H-Huh? What are you sa..."

"If you fail to comprehend it, then I"ll beat that body of yours to my heart"s content... Your crime for just casually deceiving my sister... Don"t you think you can leave unscathed. Now, you shall regret that you were born!"

Simultaneously with that declaration, the ma.s.s of sparks flung while aiming at Ragna.

"WHOA!?"

Ragna jumped backward and tried to decrease the light orb"s force by stopping it with his sword. Before his eyes, the sparks from the brutal force were dancing around while scattering.

Groaning, he forcibly knocked off the light orb to the wasteland. But the recoil blew away Ragna again.

The tall figure bounced on the hard ground"s surface for two, three times.

"Ragna! Look out!"

Before he could even comprehend what happened to his body, he heard Celica"s word of warning. He shifted his body by rolling sideways, only by pure reflexes.

This time, what aimed the spot where Ragna had landed was a downpour of sharp rocks.

If Celica didn"t warn him, perhaps his body would be full of holes in the place where he was at several seconds earlier.

Using the momentum from his roll, Ragna sprung and got up. This time, lances of flame launched in a straight line, aimed at his face.

"You kidding me!?"

Even being unforgiving still had its limit. For the first fire lance attack, he twisted his body to the point that it barely grazed him, so he somewhat dodged that one. But the woman was aiming that very moment and suddenly made Ragna"s feet frozen, robbing him of his movement.

c.r.a.p. When he was quickly confirming his fleeting thought of that single word, an invisible shockwave sunk into Ragna"s abdomen.

"U... ugh..."

The contents of his stomach welled up from within his body.

One second later, he experienced a sensation as if the whole of his bodily functions had been stopped. No more strength came out of his hand. It made the large sword fell as if spilled from his hand, before it stuck on the ground.

Sounds of cracking ice could be heard from his feet. In a moment, his feet were released from the binding. Ragna dropped to his knees.

"Cough, cough... Guh... Hurk..."

With his trembling back in addition to his coughing, Ragna raised his head. The witch with the pointy hat, who had been attacking him with her barrage of attacks, was walking closer. The sounds of footstep originating from her hard high heels could be heard faintly.

She stopped before Ragna"s eyes. Slowly, she raised her foot... and swung down the heel to the top of Ragna"s head with all her might.

"Buh!"

Ragna plummeted into the ground.

"Hmph. I was wondering how strong the person who wields that grandiose sword would be... But you"re just small fry. It"s utter nonsense for you to cut apart the magical power of this supreme me."

"You... b.i.t.c.h..."

As Ranga lifted his enraged head up, the witch mercilessly trampled down his body. It was very much like pinning down a dog to discipline it.

"Consider this an honor. After all, I will personally hand down judgment for a worthless man like you."

The witch"s raised her palm upward with such a graceful movement. On her palm, a fireball as big as a man"s head ignited. The impression of the light on her overlooking eyes made it seem she was beyond reasoning.

Cold sweat ran down Ragna"s forehead.

"S...Stop, stop it! Let"s, uh, try to collect ourselves again. I think we should understand each other with more composure, more logic, and mooooore carefully!"

Ragna was desperately trying to negotiate, but the witch just stared at him with surprisingly calm eyes. Her vivid lips spoke few words as if engraving them to him.

"Enough talk."

Creating a rumbling sound, the flame on the witch"s hand blazed.

Aah, magic flame is definitely hot. Ragna absentmindedly thought about it while the situation hadn"t changed for the better.

At that moment, Celica jumped from the side and held back the arm of the witch that was about to throw the flame toward Ragna"s face at any moment.

"Quit it, Onee-chan! Ragna isn"t a bad person!"

Toward the complaint from the displeased and red-faced Celica, the witch quickly dismissed it with a harsh tone of voice while holding the flame still.

"Please be silent, Celica. This is you we"re talking about. Without knowing this man that well, just because you get along a bit, you decided that he"s a kind person and can be trusted, am I right?"

"It"s not like that! Ragna is truly a kind person!"

"Don"t you always consider everyone related with you a kind person?"

Then, the witch intensely stared at her. Knowing what it meant all too well, Celica was at a loss for words.

"Good grief. It"s because of you saying foolish things like searching for that man that this guy pa.s.sing by can easily trick you."

The witch brushed away the long hair on her shoulders and annoyingly turned to face Ragna.

"Okay? This is a good time, so remember well. Since you"re an obedient, simple, and cute child, you"ll get approached more easily by men with disgusting ulterior motives. This man is no different. Quickly exterminating this pest is doing a favor to society."

"You... What do you mean by pest?"

Whatever the circ.u.mstance might be, she had said too much. Ragna raised his voice in discontent. With a look like she was about to shoot him, the witch turned to Ragna.

"Do you have a complaint? You"re not any different than an insect."

"You b.i.t.c.h. I won"t stay quiet and let you say whatever you like to me. It"s too far, even for a joke."

Having been trampled down until now, Ragna got quite p.i.s.sed off and shook off the witch"s feet that had been holding down his shoulder.

"What"s wrong with you? Listen to other people"s stories even for a bit! First of all, I"m not deceiving Celica! I"m in her debt since she saved me when I was unconscious. I went through so much that I ended up only wanting to help find her old man!"

If he was just hated, then it"s fine. But he couldn"t accept being called a pest. Moreover, it"s unthinkable to just dismiss Celica"s feelings when she was concerned about her father.

"...Besides, you don"t have to speak that harsh to Celica. You seem to disapprove of her searching for her old man, but he has been missing for six years. Think about it for a sec. If you consider Celica"s feelings, don"t you think that "foolish thing" you said is a bit heartless?"

Celica knew she was being reckless by disobeying her sister and rushed from her home. It was easy to just declare that she was being reckless. But it wasn"t easy for Celica"s feelings to leave her home at that time.

"...You talk like you know everything."

Then, the eyes of Celica"s older sister narrowed.

In an instant, Ragna felt a chill ran down his spine. It seemed that he had just stepped on a switch that shouldn"t have been disturbed.

And that was definitely not his imagination. Although a magician, the beautiful woman was pretty direct with her violence. Her visibly remaining composure had been cast aside. Her rage was laid bare when she raised her voice.

"No. One. Asked. For. Your. Opinion!"

Her hand formed a fist, crushing the fireball she had specially created. The witch"s high heel kicked Ragna in a regular rhythm.

"Ugh. Guh...!"

"In the first place, you"re just a man pa.s.sing by. Don"t talk like you"re already familiar with Celica! Your filthy hand feels sticky and it disgusts me. You trash! Garbage!"

The tip of her high heel grinded against Ragna"s forehead. The intensity of her expression gave form to an emotion called hatred.

"Onee-chan, stop it already!"

Holding some irritation, Celica"s voice got hoa.r.s.e and tearful. It agitated even more of the witch"s anger. Celica"s sorrowful face. Celica pleading for Ragna. It was as if all of it was Ragna"s fault.

She put more strength to the foot that was crushing him. At that moment.

"Okay, okaaaaay. For now, shouldn"t we take a break somewhere nearby~?"

Until then, she had been a bit separated from them as she continued to watch the arguing. The woman who wore a hood and big gla.s.ses had already closed in before anyone noticed it.

With a gentle voice as soft as marshmallows, she forced herself between Ragna and the witch with the pointy hat.

"Everyone, let"s have some warm tea to drink. Alright?"

With a dumbfoundingly carefree tone, the gla.s.ses woman smiled cheerfully toward Ragna and Celica"s older sister.

A short while afterward.

"...I get it already, Trinity."

In a completely reluctant manner, the witch with the pointy hat finally released her foot from Ragna.

They were not far from the First District... or they should be. On a desolate mountain trail with no vegetation growing, Ragna, devoid of energy to stand up anymore, sat down with his back placed against a big rock.

Even though his body was grazed many times against magic effects and received a shock wave to his stomach, the damage received from the continuous kicking was the most severe.

He rubbed his hurting forehead while he watched what was on the other side. There were Celica and seemingly her sister of a witch with the pointy hat. They were both quarreling and sometimes even shouting.

It was hard to say that the atmosphere was gentle. But he judged that there wasn"t a tiny speck of anything serious that couldn"t be mended. They seemed to be close sisters.

Ragna was at loss on how many times he had sighed. He had been completely out of the loop from some time ago.

"Here you go."

A gentle voice approached him from his side. It was the woman with gla.s.ses holding out a small plastic cup. Its contents was herb tea, which she blended herself. Thin white vapor was rising.

He wasn"t particularly appropriate with the likes of herb tea, but Ragna was thankful to receive it. There was an unusually refreshing aroma there.

Although there was no water around the wasteland, it didn"t really make the spectacled woman concerned in getting hot water since she had magic. He didn"t have anything against magic, but even when he knew that it was harmless to drink it, he still had complicated feelings about it.

The spectacled woman sat beside Ragna. She charmingly gazed at the sisters who were a bit separated from them.

"Please forgive her for suddenly intruding. When it comes to her sister, she will just disregard anything on her surroundings."

"You saw it, huh?"

A little while ago, his body realized it directly.

"Well, it"s just because Celica is very important to her, right? ...I know she"s being overprotective, but I"ve got problems with that."

Ragna spoke before sipping his tea while the spectacled woman giggled.

"Just like Celica-san said, you"re very gentle, Ragna-san."

"What do you mean...? I don"t get it."

"Ufufu. You"re so shy."

As expected, the spectacled woman was viewing Celica and her older sister as if looking at playful kittens. Then, she took a sip of the warm tea.

"My name"s Trinity~. And that girl is Nine. As you may already know, she"s Celica-san"s big sis."

"Nine?"

"Of course, it"s not her real name. She"s currently the ninth of the Mage’s Guild"s Ten Sages. Therefore, she"s called Nine."

"Hmm. I see."

It was a fitting reaction toward it, but Ragna"s response didn"t mean that he felt the name was unusual.

Nine. The Six Heroes defeated the Black Beast, and among them, there was someone named Nine. If that was the case, then she was probably...

"It"s actually just a t.i.tle. But it seems Nine isn"t that fond with her real name~."

"The reason"s probably her old man, huh?"

As Ragna muttered, Trinity bitterly smiled while furrowing her eyebrows.

On the opposite side, the usual tension could be heard from the voices of Celica and Nine.

In regard to Celica"s serious pleading of Ragna isn"t a bad person!, Nine said her opinions like it"s not good being together with a man that has doubtful origins, let alone when he"s no less than small fry, or, isn"t it like picking up a dirty animal?. At any rate, they were horrible things to say.

Trinity listened to that conversation while charmingly smiling and sipping her own cup.

"When she discovered that Celica-san had gone to find her father, Nine was in a panic. She always and always searched for her."

"Well, it"s her sister"s nature after all. Of course she"d be worried."

He didn"t know what other things she was capable of, but her handicap of not having any sense of direction had burdened them so that they were barely able to reach the mountain near the port. It might have been not less than a miracle for them to have been able to get there.

"That"s why a while ago she entered the mountain, relying on the powerful magic that had suddenly occurred. When she finally came across Celica-san, Nine felt so relieved. But when she saw a man she had never seen together with her sister, she was sooo surprised. ...And then, she felt a little determined."

"The meaning of her determination was different."

Despite Trinity grinning as sweet as sweet pastry, Ragna wondered why he sensed a dangerous aura the moment he said those words.

"That, too, was because of her feelings for Celica-san. Please excuse her~."

"I"m not that angry. But it sure was painful."

His forehead still hurt. There might still be shoe marks there.

"...Though, I know that she"s just worried about her sister."

"Oh my. Does Ragna-san have siblings, too?"

"Nope. I still can"t remember about that clearly."

Celica had already told Nine and Trinity about when he was unconscious and the amnesia he got.

His memories were certainly coming back little by little. His mind especially felt clear immediately after he went to the Alucard residence.

Nonetheless, there were still many blurry parts. He tried to absorb the meaning of the word "sister" which Trinity had said repeatedly.

Did he have a younger sister? Or maybe a younger brother? Either way, their existence was surely important.

"Why!? Why are you so against me searching for Father!?"

Celica"s loud voice came in suddenly.

Before anyone noticed, the conversation went from talking about Ragna to Celica searching for her father.

Until now, Celica"s tensed face was stiffening. She fixed her eyes on the sister that was a little taller and had a composed face.

"Don"t you worry about Father? j.a.pan has been like this for six years, but still no one knows where Father is or whether he"s alive. It"s weird!"

"It"s a rare occurrence for someone to be alive if they"re in j.a.pan when the Black Beast appeared. Many people have been missing for a while, and now they"re treated as if they"ve died. Even you should understand it, right?"

"But there were survivors!"

"It"s just a coincidence. It"s meaningless to find him."

"That"s not true! At least, I want to know if he"s in good health, or if I"m not able to meet him anymore..."

"And how will you do that!?"

Nine"s voice became harsh.

The piercing tone of voice blocked Celica"s reply back in her throat. However, her staring eyes didn"t flinch. She wasn"t that weak of a younger sister.

Rather, as the one who seriously shouted, it was Nine who was flinched as she dropped her gaze. To calm herself down, she took a deep breath.

"And what if he"s alive? After you"re satisfied with meeting that man again, are you going to return home together with him?"

"No. It"s not like that. Not at all..."

Even after she had regained her composure, Nine didn"t hide her irritation.

Celica desperately tryied to get the right words as she shook her head forcefully. Her long hair danced around.

"I just want to find him. If he turns out to be okay, then that"s enough. If he"s injured and in poor condition, then I"ll heal him. And once again... Father will become like his former self and try his best to do lots of research for the better of society. I"m fine with just that."

"...For the better of society, huh."

Averting her eyes, Nine let out a short breath. Immediately, Celica"s face was dyed in anxiety. But before she asked something, a third voice interrupted them.

"Nine. If you scold Celica-san that hard, wouldn"t you feel sorry for her?"

It was Trinity. Before anyone noticed, she had stood between the two sisters. Just like when she interfered with Ragna and Nine who were fighting each other... or rather a one-sided violence.

"If only you spoke more honestly. Like, "I was very worried. I"m glad you"re okay"..."

"What do you mean? That"s what I"ve been saying until now."

"You didn"t say it."

Since Nine was too haughty with her reply, Ragna unconsciously let his mouth to interrupt her. At that moment, a frightening gaze eyed him.

"...Ahem. Anyway, if you just wander aimlessly in j.a.pan, you won"t reach your goal. There"s a nuclear attack, and stuff similar to Black Beast fragments remained all over the place. Don"t do futile efforts anymore. Let"s get home already."

Folding her arms below the voluptuous bosom, Nine made a statement while trying to be careful not to make her tone sound harsh. Nevertheless, there were glimpses of irritation in every word she said.

Like Trinity had said, Celica must have been anxious and troubled.

Even Celica fully understood her intention. However, the younger sister shook her head stubbornly.

"I don"t want to give up yet."

"Celica!"

"Anything"s fine. I can accept anything that happened... but I want to know what"s going on with Father. If I don"t put this to an end, I"ll keep worrying about Father forever. I might also drag someone down."

Celica crossed both of her hands in front of her chest.

"Even if the worst case happened, I"ll accept it completely. It"s better than being clueless like this. ...I want to properly know what happened to Father."

If in the end nothing would be gained, rather than keep wishing for unseen things, it"s better to have something visible stolen away. Of course, it would be ideal if that visible something within their arms could return.

Celica"s voice was confessing as if she were praying. Her chest seemed to be suffocating. Unable to stay quiet, Ragna stood up. He took Clavis" map that Celica had been holding in her hand and presented it to Nine. She must have been gripping it tightly. It was crumpled.

"An acquaintance told us to go there since there might be some clues. We"re already close to it. Only a bit more, so let her be satisfied."

Nine didn"t seem amused. But she took back her previous blatant hostility and looked at the presented map. Still crossing her arms, she didn"t move her hands.

"...The First District, hm?"

"Do you recognize it, Onee-chan!?"

"The vicinity was nothing but a place related to Black Beast."

Nine spoke, looking a bit uncomfortable.

The reason was simple. Ragna asked her about it.

"You"re aware that your old man"s got something to do with Black Beast, huh?"

"Eh!?" said Celica as she let her voice out. Celica stared at her older sister with a surprised look on her face.

Nine didn"t give a nod, but with an affirmative expression she answered.

"...The one who investigated it was the Mage’s Guild, after all. It"s natural."

A mere ordinary pupil like Celica might not be able to know about it, but it was a different case for a member of the Ten Sages like Nine. One could only wonder just how much information she had obtained which didn"t make it to the public.

"So that"s why you don’t want Celica to get close with her old man."

"You just happened to pa.s.s by. Don"t act like you know everything. I felt discontent towards that man"s researches in the past."

As if rejecting him, Nine averted her face from Ragna. Feeling completely annoyed, she then sighed and brushed up her long hair.

"As I thought, you"re trying to trick her after all. I don"t know from whom you got this, but he gave you a useless map."

Even with those kind of words, her tone of voice revealed that she had given up.

"...This the last time. If we don"t find any clues after examining the First District, we"ll take it that the man has died. Then we"ll go home, okay?"

Nine stressed it while pointing her well-treated fingertip. It was the utmost bargain she could give.

Even when Celica was a bit hesitant, she gave a big nod since it was better than to shake her head and get dragged home.

"Yup. Got it."

"Well then, what are we going to do~?"

"Hmph. You already know it, Trinity."

At her friend"s prompt of a smile, Nine spoke with a disappointed tone. Her rolled up sharp eyes were looking to Celica in resignation.

"Since it"s you we"re talking about, you"ll probably get lost. I"ll take you until the First District, so put away that useless map."

Averting her face suddenly, Nine turned her back from Ragna and Celica. Contrary to her harsh words, the movement of her hair, which was long enough to reach her hips, was graceful.

Celica looked at Ragna with a delightful face. Then, she leaped to reach the arm of her sister who had turned her back.

"Thank you, Onee-chan!"

"This is reaaaaaaally the last time I do this."

"I know, I know."

The sisters were talking as they returned to where they had come. As for Ragna and Trinity, both were giving a pleasant but bitter smile at the scene. Just as they had expected, the sisters were going back to the same ruined mountain trail.

The First District.

Once formerly a lushly green land, the landscape had what was called a small basin that was encircled by slightly elevated mountains.

It was the location where the Susano"o Unit and the Cauldron were discovered. A few years before the Black Beast had appeared, the place was under the control of the government. Since the progress of the excavation, its investigation was considered not to be going any further, and so the rights for it had been sold to a private company. Afterward, the records became blurry.

Six years ago, the Black Beast crawled out from underneath to the surface.

And several months later, it became the target of a nuclear strike.

There was a gigantic crater within the mountainous region. On the mess of the ground that had suffered scars from destruction that was caused by the Black Beast, there were many holes spreading out. One could sense nothingness.

"There."

On a place overlooking the crater, Nine pointed at the center of that nothingness.

Since it was covered by sand, it couldn"t be seen clearly. A giant metallic gate so big, a small aircraft could enter through. The gate that lead to the underground was left behind in a destroyed state.

"Originally, there was a facility that was connecting the building with the surface, but..."

Nine didn"t finish her sentence. After some time had pa.s.sed, nuclear weapons had been dropped to kill the Black Beast. Everything vanished without a trace.

Trinity proceeded to chant some short words. A protective magic then unfolded around them. Incredibly, there wasn"t anything like sand, metal, or anything exceptional that would make their chests feel nauseous. They were wrapped up in bland air.

Was it because of the effects from the continuous nuclear attack that there wasn"t any blowing wind on the j.a.panese island?

Inside the crater, there was radiation and several chemical substances leaking from the ground caused by the nuclear attack. If there wasn"t any means of protection, treading upon it would not get them very far since their internal organs would get roasted.

Descending into the crater, they were now facing the gate in the middle.

Taking a closer look, it was truly enormous and impressive.

Besides the enormous gate that looked like it was covering something, there was something else. It was a normal-sized door, and while it was composed from solid metal, it was forced open. Then, they went in.

When they exited the firm entrance that was isolating the place from the surface, what lay ahead of them was as if it were a different world.

Sheets of metal spread before them on the floors, walls, and ceilings. There were several places that had rust and discoloration. The colors and odors induced shivering.

Ragna and the others headed down to the metallic pa.s.sageway. The pa.s.sageway continued circularly, like roads following the circ.u.mference of a gigantic digging site.

The top half of the wall circling the hole was a thin fence. The spectacle peeking from its crevice was magnificent.

"It"s really deep..."

While grabbing the fence with her fingers, Celica looked at the other side while she spoke.

What was there was the mouth of a gigantic hole which was enveloped by darkness.

The bottom remained yet to be seen as they didn"t know how far the hole had been dug. If the fence wasn"t there, the depth would induce vertigo that would invite someone to fall into it.

Surrounding the hole, there was a similar pa.s.sageway encircling it where a great number of lower floors could be seen below. There were also stairs and elevators connecting the upper and lower floors. Heading down the pa.s.sageway, the circle grew smaller. The digging site looked similar, as if it were a large mortar.

But the pa.s.sageway and the installed equipment there were destroyed miserably.

Although the facility was in a good condition back six years ago, it was now disintegrated ruins that let itself be deteriorated.

The scars left behind by Black Beast were deep.

"The entry door must have been repaired after Black Beast had made its appearance~"

That exceptional door was the only thing that was able to preserve its original shape. Trinity spoke while she was looking at a snapped iron pole from faraway. Nine nodded in agreement as her cold eyes looked down upon the thick darkness.

"Seems so. Probably... to protect the Cauldron that was inside."

Even if the research facility wasn"t functioning, they had already excavated the Cauldron, which was the Boundary"s important point. There had to be countless people wanting to make use of it. Nine"s tone of voice sounded like she despised those kind of people.

Awfully loud noise resounded every time they walked in the pa.s.sageway. The sounds of footsteps within the silent place unnecessarily agitated their nervousness.

Coincidently, the rasping sound of footsteps let Ragna and the others knew that there wasn"t anyone else who was walking within the pa.s.sageway other than themselves.

"Nevertheless... I"m surprised. Even though I believe that this facility ama.s.sed the best of the scientific technology from their time... they seemed to also utilize alchemy if you take a closer look around."

With great interest, Nine stroked the weird pattern on the chiseled wall she pa.s.sed by. Having lost the functionality from the used technique, the pattern didn"t give any response. Nine got bored of it as she cleaned off the dust that was dirtying her fingers.

"Those people were combining science and magic. It"d be wonderful if another area of expertise were born since they were able to do that. Jeez..."

Her muttering that had started as admiration transformed to a grumbling in the end.

While she couldn"t help but giggle, Trinity enlightened Ragna.

"Nine"s researching that kind of technique back in the Mage’s Guild."

"Combining science and magic?"

"That"s correct. But of course, it"s not for building this kind of large research facility~"

Nine lightly snorted, cutting her off.

Trinity giggled again. Like a child getting blamed for a prank, she ducked her head.

Trying to get back to the topic, Nine continued on after giving a big sigh.

"...It"s not only the building. This large-scale excavation also made use of alchemy and magic. Under no circ.u.mstances could they have easily dug a ridiculously big hole like this with just machinery."

"But it"s magic. Not many people should be able to use it... right?"

Feeling uneasy, Celica asked her sister. It was because she was a mage who belonged to the Mage’s Guild. She understood how, in this age where magic almost had no acknowledgment, it was very difficult and rare to combine science and magic, like what Nine just said.

However, just like Nine had said, she could see a strong influence of magic on every technique in her surroundings.

"That"s the extent of how the First District relates to the deep-rooted part of this society."

Nine said it over her shoulders while being annoyed. She was not pleased with the ulterior motive of someone who worked only to dig up ancient objects, and making use of magic, all while concealing themselves in the shadow of society.

Within the flickering of the exhausted lights, Ragna, looking disinterested, grumbled while viewing the scene around the vicinity.

"Science and magic, huh...? I"m trying to differ them bit by bit, but I still don"t really get it."

In the period where Ragna had come from, roughly a hundred years later, magic had scientific aspects in it while science had magical aspects in it. Blurring the separating line between them made various technologies to be discovered. So Ragna just couldn"t grasp the old-fashioned "combining magic with science was something hard and rare" like what Nine just said.

"Oh?" said Nine as stopped while deliberately turning around. It was the first time that Ragna saw her heartful smile.

"If only the great people in this world have a good-natured mind like you, that would be nice."

Her remark was just the same as usual. Ragna frowned bitterly.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry for being good-natured."

"Indeed. An idiot is just worthless."

"Why, you..."

Even though he never considered himself a smart person, he was not amused when it was a.s.serted directly like that. Clenching his fist, Ragna"s lips twitched as it made a smile. That time, Celica"s hair swayed as she broke into a run.

"Ah, hey!"

"Hey, don"t go on your own!"

Simultaneously, Nine and Ragna quickly called out for her to stop. If they were to lose sight of Celica in such a large, unknown place, there was no telling where she might end up.

Still, Celica stopped several meters ahead and violently waved her hand as she turned to them.

"Say, it seems to still move!"

What Celica had discovered was a s.p.a.cious elevator hall which jutted out above a deep-stretching hole.

Fortunately, the damage done by Black Beast only gouged half of the hall. The remaining half had a single elevator contraption that, while slightly damaged, had a green lamp that continuously blinked, informing of its arrival.

After Celica touched the tip of the thin cylinder protruding from the floor, the sounds of machinery being operated hummed before the elevator"s door opened.

"I see," said Celica as she nodded.

"Instead of searching little by little from the top, it might be faster if we went straight down."

"Seems so. At least we didn"t find any person on this floor."

Ragna once again skimmed around the pa.s.sageway they had walked on. From the entrance until here, the pa.s.sageway was deserted. There wasn"t any hint of any living beings at all, let alone a human. The pa.s.sageway on the other side was collapsed in the middle. There didn"t seem to be any place being concealed over there.

"It"s a bit exciting."

Being the only one with sparkling interest in her eyes, Trinity entered the elevator"s box after Celica did. Nine and Ragna followed them.

"You know how to operate it?"

"Of course."

Celica nodded while looking at Ragna who was peeking inside. There were numerous b.u.t.tons lined up near the door. As Celica"s finger pressed one of them, the door closed. After she pressed another, the box started descending.

Although its structure was made by scientific technique, the box was actually operating using magic with alchemy as its basis. The burdens-free floating feeling that was gently enveloping them was none other because the box was currently gliding.

Like a thick wire slipping down between fingers, the elevator descending gently, but with enough speed.

In the box, there were windows installed at the height of one"s face. Looking back over his shoulder, Ragna took a view from the outside.

What he saw was darkness. Within it, sometimes the illuminations from the circles of pa.s.sageways could be seen pa.s.sing from below to upward.

Likewise, he only saw darkness down below. It was like they were swallowed inside the belly of a mysterious gigantic being.

"I wonder if Father"s here."

Standing next to Ragna, Celica softly murmured.

Moving only his gaze, Ragna looked at the girl beside him. With her hand touching the windowpane that was acc.u.mulating years of dust, Celica stared at the darkness with a wishful look.

No, perhaps she was actually wishing for something. For her father"s safety. For him to be innocent. For another real reunion with him.

"...You"ve come here to make sure of it, right?"

"Yes... That"s right."

Celica"s lips raised up slightly. Feelings of numbness came to Ragna"s chest merely because of that change of facial expression.

Why did it happen? Sometimes, a painful feeling floated across his chest when he looked at Celica.

Expectation and anxiety trembling in her eyes, Ragna unwittingly lifted his fingers to the profile of Celica.

He himself wasn"t sure why he considered touching Celica. But somehow, he wanted to kindly comfort her and tell her that it was going to be okay.

However, just before Ragna"s hand tapped Celica"s thin shoulder, the elevator that had been going down smoothly until then suddenly screeched a grating metallic sound and stopped with a violent shake.

It seemed like some kind of a.s.sault collided with it. As the noise faded away, a light went off and illuminated the elevator"s interior all of a sudden. An emergency lamp was shining in a dim orange light.

"Wha... What happened all of a sudden!?"

As if drowning Nine"s scream, the elevator shook again.

This time... figuratively speaking, they were caught in a dangerous situation; if the elevator couldn"t withstand their weights, it would slip down.

In disbelief, Ragna turned around to the window behind him. What was on the other side of the window was the outside scenery which was slowly swaying left and right.

No. It wasn"t the scenery that was swaying around, but the elevator"s box with four people inside. It was only supported by a single point on the top part of the right side where the lined up floor b.u.t.tons were. Slowly moving, it was like a weight hung at the end of a string. Just like a pendulum.

"Get out! It"ll fall!"

No sooner after he shouted, Ragna clung to the entrance. He tried to shove in his left hand inside the crevice between the double doors. But it didn"t budge.

Nine stepped forward while feeling irritated.

"You can"t open it with just a left arm! I"ll use magic to...!"

"Stop! It"ll fall if there"s a shock!"

"Then what do we do!?"

"Please... open up!"

On the corner of his eye, Celica, who was next to Nine, was pummeling the b.u.t.tons. The alchemic device had been carrying four people with unfitting comfort while inside a ruin. But it was now completely silent, similar to rubbles.

"What should we do...? We can"t attempt to do teleportation while inside an unstable place like this..."

Even Trinity couldn"t stay calm within this situation.

During the moment of confusion within the small box, Ragna intuitively drew the sword from his waist. Ever since he heard an audible creak from above, he had a grave feeling. There was no time.

"UOOOOOOOHH!"

Giving all his strength, he slashed several times. Then with all his might, he hurled a kick to the disfigured metallic doors of the elevator until it fell off into the gigantic pit.

The shaft and wire that were supporting the elevator were about to snap off. The wire of the box, which Ragna and the others were in, was in its last straw.

Creaking, the box was slipping down. They didn"t have a long time.

Fortunately, the distance to the elevator"s ceiling was just about one third of their heights. The plate appeared to be damaged to the point that it was torn.

"Get up there!"

"I know!"

After giving Ragna a harsh reply, Nine nimbly jumped up. Her plump body slipped through the gap and went up. From the opposite side, she held out her hand.

"Hurry!"

The creaking noise started to get louder. Willing it or not, the distorted sound made them impatient.

Ragna held up the slow Trinity with his left arm before Nine pulled her up.

Continuing on, Celica was also taken by force and was held up.

But... just when he did that, the worst kind of gruesome noise petrified their ears.

The sound of something got snapped. It was the last cry of the metal fittings that were connecting the wire to the elevator.

"CELICA!!"

Nine shouted in desperation.

Half-throwing her, Ragna lifted Celica up and pushed her until Nine"s hand got hold of her.

He then immediately kicked the elevator"s floor. He didn"t jump up to where Nine was. He didn"t even have the intention to go that far.

In the middle of jumping, Ragna widely swung his sword and aimed below to the edge of the floor that was dangling on the void before diagonally thrusting it.

With half of the sword buried on the floor, Ragna was hanging midair while gripping the sword"s handle.

Lifting up his gaze he saw that Celica was close by. Her feet didn"t touch the floor and were dangling in midair.

Taking them by surprise, the elevator"s box started to drop after it finally used up all of its strength. They couldn"t afford to make sure how far it would fall.

"Celica! Put your feet on the sword!"

"Eh. Ah. Uh...!"

While clinging to Nine"s arm, her teary face instantly looked at Ragna.

"Quick! It"ll fall!"

"O-Oka..."

Her reply wasn"t clear. Desperately, Celica put her feet on the blade"s broad portion of the sword that was pierced diagonally to the floor.

Relying on the temporary foothold, she supported her body. She crawled and went up.

After finally getting a safe footing, she hurriedly looked back to Ragna.

"Ragna should also quickly..."

Despite her waist was giving out, she stretched her hand while speaking in a tearful voice.

But before Celica could finish her words, a familiar noise groaned on the gap between Ragna and Celica.

Aah. Ragna felt a strange insight when he heard the sound. Celica"s eyes opened wide instantly.

Ragna"s sword was pierced to the floor"s edge. The cracks from the first time the sword thrusted into were spreading without pause. Then, the sword became unstuck and fell—it all happened in slow motion.

"Ragna! Stretch your arm!"

Celica shouted in a tearful voice. But if he were to release the hand that was gripping the sword, he would certainly fall. His other arm couldn"t be moved, let alone stretched.

He saw that Nine was doing something like chanting magic he was unfamiliar with.

Apart from it however, the crumbling had reached its end.

The portion of the sword that had been stuck was now falling, along with a part of the floor. Ragna once again got dragged into the dark void.

"RAGNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Celica continued to stretch her hand with all her might even when she was pulled by Nine. Her figure rapidly grew smaller.

Aah. There was a moment like this way back then...

While remembering such déjà vu within the corner of his mind, Ragna fell within the deep, deep hole.

Ragna didn"t fall on the metallic-plated floor, but rather on the ground surface that was as cold as freezing rock. Thankfully, he didn"t seem to receive that much of an impact. He immediately raised his body.

"Tch... That was seriously dangerous."

As far as he remembered, he likely had repeatedly put his so-called life in danger.

Somewhat dejected, he stood up and put the sword that had tumbled nearby back to his waist. Then, Ragna once more looked toward his surroundings and tensed up.

There was a bas.e.m.e.nt built which was even further down compared to all the descending he did until now. The place was similar to a huge dome. The metallic plates that were covering the whole place were stripped off in several spots. The freezing soils behind it were exposed.

Ragna was standing on a floor that had eerie traces of cuts. Even if Ragna were to spread both of his arms, it wouldn"t even reach the length of the cuts. Including the soil, the metallic plates were gouged as if someone was trying to make a road there. But sometimes there were cuts like something was crawling and quickly climbing up higher and higher.

The traces of something going back and forth. For example... something unimaginable like a gigantic serpent crawling about.

Then it left, leaving behind many scars. Although Ragna never saw anything that could actually do that, he had an idea about it.

And then another one. Something had s.n.a.t.c.hed Ragna"s gaze.

A Cauldron.

The object was the starting place of the gigantic serpent"s crawling traces as it was heading toward the surface. Its large hole was spread out. The hole was surrounded by partially destroyed devices on its rim. Its mouth was filled with surging lava.

It was as if looking through the center of the earth. However, what was on the opposite side wasn"t the earth"s core, but a s.p.a.ce that transcended everything. The Boundary.

"This is..."

Oddly, the vast underground dome seemed to be made to cover the Cauldron. But ultimately, the place was made by humans. Garnished by all kinds of devices, the Cauldron was the focal point of the location.

The overwhelming heat reached as high as the ceiling. Even so, an ominous chill was still drifting about. Another air was flowing from the world where people were living in.

Aimlessly, Ragna took a step forward.

His head was in pain. The headache and dizziness resembled a bell chiming in his head. His body would be robbed of its balance in any moment. Ragna was about to fall down the ground.

Using the huge ceiling plate that was stuck on the ground, he supported his body.

The headache was terrible. Rather than saying his head split, it felt more like something was being dragged out from within his head.

"Ugh... Argh... Guh..."

Unable to withstand it, he strongly clutched his head and groaned. The immobile right arm was hurting like it was being ground. The right eye which was unable to reflect light was hot as if burning.

"Uagh. Agh. Aaaaaaargghh...!"

His trembling throat was howling in pain. Cold sweat oozed out.

Information, images, records, feelings. They came out of nowhere and rushed into his head. All of them. The enormous amount of them crushed Ragna"s skull from the inside. It was definitely, definitely not normal.

...But every storm would eventually fade away. The pressure on the inside from the waves of information slowly, slowly drew back.

Later on after the aching and pain subsided, his memories were completely restored without anything obstructing it.

"I... So it was that time..."

Why he had arrived in such a distant past. He remembered what had caused it.

Everything was because of what was on the other side of this Cauldron... It was all related to the Boundary.

Then, if he were to make a contact with the Boundary once more, he might return to his original time. He considered it while adjusting his breath that had been disturbed by pain.

But that thought suddenly halted.

A feeling like being torn by a blade of ice crept up from Ragna"s spine to the nape.

Someone was here. No, something was approaching.

Unable to afford to look back, Ragna turned over his body and slid into a nearby hiding spot.

He didn"t know why he hid. But there was something bad there. His instinct gave off violent warnings.

Before long, footsteps were coming down.

It was alone.

It wasn"t Celica. Not Nine nor Trinity, much less Mitsuyoshi.

More heavy, more intimidating.

The nonchalant noise simply trampled both reason and irrationality.

Behind the dropped ceiling plates and machinery that had fallen from somewhere, Ragna stole a glance at the approaching figure. Like a child frightened by a soldier, he peeked from the slight opening.

Instantly, he gasped.

The heat from the lava within the Cauldron acted as light and shone on the figure.

A well-proportioned body. A tall and firm figure. Things like red eyeb.a.l.l.s attached around the achromatic clothes which covered the whole body.

The most distinctive feature was the face.

Facial expressions and emotions. As if the purpose was to hide them... the face was concealed by a pure white mask.

"Ma..."

Unintentionally letting his voice out, Ragna swallowed his words of surprise.

(Masked b.a.s.t.a.r.d...)

With this, he had encountered four people who existed within his memories. But only he lacked any difference. He was... one of the Six Heroes. Hak.u.men.

If there was something different, it was the willpower. The pressure from his presence that Ragna felt was tremendous. With just a step forward, it suppressed the atmosphere of the place. Removing all impurities, the blade kept sharping his killing intent to the limit.

Approximately a hundred years later, Ragna would encounter the person called Hak.u.men. However, compared to the killing intent that was now before Ragna"s eyes, he only had nothing more than its remnants.

Within his cover, Ragna noticed that his breathing grew thin and shuddered. His knees collapsed, and his hips gave out.

If he were discovered, he would be killed. He a.s.sumed it without any reason whatsoever. He believed it almost certainly. The tension pierced deep into Ragna"s body.

"...Strange."

Hak.u.men murmured in a low, flat voice.

The long silver hair swayed as he took two, three steps, approaching the Cauldron. His neck was turning around at the vicinity.

"There was certainly a dark presence within here..."

A small noise like metal being sc.r.a.ped could be heard. Hak.u.men raised the sword by his hand.

From the opposite side of the research facility"s wreckage where Ragna hid himself, he could see that the white face was attentively observing the surroundings.

"What is the matter, Dark One? I do not care if you are only a wretched remnant. Show yourself before my blade."

Every word sounded like heavy slashes.

Ragna exhaled carefully.

(This is... the true masked b.a.s.t.a.r.d...)

Anyone would feel that he was truly terrifying.

Suddenly, Hak.u.men stopped moving. After examining the surroundings up until now, he stared at a single point where there was a presence.

Ragna couldn"t make sure of it. But the expressionless white mask seemed to be intensely focusing to the back of the junk where Ragna hid himself.

With one large step, his feet moved forward.

Ragna"s body became stiff.

He could hear something being slipped out of a scabbard.

The oddly long silver blade reflected the light of the lava that was leaking from the Cauldron. If he kept advancing, the blade would be even more dyed in vibrant red. By Ragna"s blood.

Death. The absolute phrase clung within Ragna"s mind.

With his immobile right arm suspended, his left hand strongly gripped the handle of his sword.

"......Wh...!?"

From the tall ceiling, a high-pitched female voice resounded.

Hak.u.men"s feet came to a halt.

Afterward, several footsteps could be heard hurriedly running down a staircase.

They descended to the underground cave in no time and came across Hak.u.men who was standing in front of the Cauldron. They stopped while displaying their wariness.

"...What are you?"

The one who was standing ahead was Nine. Caught in front of Hak.u.men"s figure, she put herself on guard while protecting Celica and Trinity behind her.

Hak.u.men also turned around to face Nine with blade in hand.

"...A magician."

The tension strained to the point where it was painful.

"You don"t seem to be a survivor from this facility. ...Are you even a human being?"

Whether she was inquiring or couldn"t help but confirm her suspicion in words, Nine put out a low voice.

Hak.u.men"s white mask seemed to be staring at something. As if examining the presences, he only motionlessly faced forward.

Neither side moved. They couldn"t move.

If the unpleasant pretense were to be interrupted like cutting a strained thread, that would result in violent destruction. It was not the aftermath Nine... nor Hak.u.men wished for.

"The dark presence is gone."

Abruptly, Hak.u.men told something. He sheathed the blade he held to the scabbard on his back.

Nevertheless, Nine still hadn"t dropped her guard. A mysterious white-faced man. She felt that what she was facing now had completely crossed over human intellect.

"...I see. I understand who all of you are."

The pa.s.sed words which were directed toward someone were vanishing as if sinking heavily.

"It is acceptable for the moment of our fateful meeting to be now. ...My sword"s purpose is to defeat the Dark One. It is not for slaying fragile human beings like you."

"You... Just what do you know?"

Judging from her question, Nine was startled. The mask didn"t have anything that resembled eyes, so there shouldn"t have existed any place to look from... And yet, she had a feeling that she was being seen directly.

Although the sharp sword had been sheathed, he gave off an air that if one were to carelessly approach him, they would be immediately sliced without any hesitation. Even with that, the faceless man calmly spoke something.

"...Until then."

Then, he quickly kicked the ground and leaped.

"Wait!"

Raising the corner of her eyes, Nine yelled. However, when she looked over there, the silver figure had already gone.

The girls had come down using the staircase along the wall. But there was nothing but silence within the darkness.

The sharp tension had stiffened their muscles. But the remains of it were drifting away.

"Just now..."

Next to Nine who was looking for the silver figure, Trinity displayed her uneasiness. The unfathomable person who couldn"t be seen. Reflecting upon it, Trinity sensed the thread of unavoidable destiny.

"Nine. I know that this is nothing but a hunch."

"What? Speak clearly."

"I believe that we"ll meet that person again. Most likely in a distant future."

Something beyond reasoning had told Trinity that this moment was the beginning of a circle. The same premonition also somewhat appeared within Nine"s chest.

Because Hak.u.men had left, it was as if the atmosphere within the underground cave regained its warmth once more.

"Ragna!"

At the same time, Celica noticed Ragna who was sitting down behind a cover. She rushed over to him.

"Thank goodness... Are you okay? How about wounds?"

"No..."

Celica"s hands touched his shoulders. Feeling the sensation and body temperature, relief suddenly came to Ragna. He thought he was going to die. Exterminated by that sword.

No, if Nine and the others were slightly delayed, that might have come true.

"Ragna?"

"Aah, I"m fine. Though I hit several things when I fell."

Toward Celica, who was looking at him worryingly, Ragna replied with a stiff smile. Even so, it was hard to make a smile. With the fear still not gone, he couldn"t help but worry if his voice was trembling when he answered.

"Does it hurt?"

"Nah, I"m okay."

Shaking his head, Ragna grabbed the ceiling plate he had used as a shield to stand up. Truthfully, he might have been in pain, but now that feeling had gone off somewhere else.

Fortunately, having overcome the silver terror, his body stopped trembling and he was able to support it.

"You"re quite healthy for someone who fell from that height."

Nine"s high heels. .h.i.t the solid floor.

"By the way... Do you know that strange man?"

It was as if her tone of voice accused him like he should have known about him since he was hiding.

Removing his hand from the ceiling plate after pushing it away, Ragna gripped his hand forcefully.

"Yeah. But then again, I don"t know him that well."

"What is he?"

"Beats me. I also want to know."

"Then, what about his name?"

"...It"s Hak.u.men."

It was the name the guy referred himself as. With that as the exception, Ragna didn"t know anything else regarding that silver man.

Where did he came from, and what was he trying to do? Was he even a human? The wish to know more was just as much as not wanting to know anything else. He felt that if he ever learned about him somehow... he wouldn"t be able to go back to the way he was before.

"Is that... the Cauldron? Where the Black Beast came from...?"

After confirming that there wasn"t any serious injury that stood out on Ragna, Celica finally regained her composure. Then, she looked towards the gigantic hole which was excreting its overwhelming presence within the underground cave.

Starting with Celica, the squirming red lava within it begun to bathe everyone"s face in red light.

"It"s the gate of h.e.l.l. Mankind shouldn"t stick their noses in it."

Nine spoke spitefully.

"I don"t know if it"s the Original Unit or the Boundary... But if only they weren"t discovered, a lot of people wouldn"t have had to die."

"...Yeah."

Ragna saw that Celica immediately frowned as if she were in pain.

Averting her eyes, Nine turned her back from the boiling Cauldron and went forward.

"I don"t want to linger in this place any longer. We should quickly... Huh, Trinity?"

The hooded figure that should have been near her was missing. Confused, everyone looked around their surroundings. The figure whom they had been searching for earlier replied back.

"Hey~ What"s this?"

The voice they had heard was definitely Trinity"s. Due to the light from the scorching heat of the Cauldron, a distinct shadow was projected on a part of the underground cave. The voice that could be heard came from within it.

"What"s wrong, Trinity-san?"

Celica quickly jogged and approached the shadow to peek inside. While being puzzled, Ragna and Nine followed her.

Inside the shadow, Trinity, with both knees on the ground, fixed her gaze toward a part of the wall.

It seemed due to the impact from the Black Beast toward the Cauldron"s surroundings that most of the metallic plates from the wall had become loose. What Trinity currently saw was a bare-naked bedrock. Trinity"s white hand traced a part of the bedrock.

"Is there... something here?"

From behind Trinity, Celica, Ragna, and also Nine leaned their faces together to look at it.

There were cracks running down the bedrock. It appeared the bedrock might have been previously placed there to conceal something.

No. It was certainly for that very purpose.

Beyond the cracks. There was some kind of a metal visible from beyond the slightly crumbled bedrock. With a brute force that didn"t suit her delicate fingers, Trinity tore off the dark brown chunks.

The dry lumps of mud weakly crumbled.

"Ah..."

Celica raised her voice. Underneath the bedrock, metal sheets appeared subsequently more and more. Judging by the appearance, it didn"t seem to look small.

"Step aside a bit."

Replacing Trinity"s place, Ragna thrusted his sword toward the cracks. It crumbled completely.

The whole thing that was concealed was now revealed. Each of them gasped in surprise.

What was there was a single door.