A/N: I can hardly remember the last time I updated twice in the same month.

Parallels. Any given choice branches into an infinite number of alternate realities. But no matter how far these realities differ, constants remain. In another world, a parallel to the Grim Reaper fought against his own fate. But whatever became of him and his fight?

Tsubaki glared up at the man waiting for her at the top of the stairs. For nearly half a minute, the only sound was the hum of her sword. Her eyes narrowed as she ground her teeth. Belioz, smug and fanciful as ever, held his own glare, while the others present could only wait on bated breath for one to make a move. Tsubaki vanished, and the weighing tension shattered.

"You bastard! In the name of my father, I will see you dragged to hell!" Tsubaki snarled as she brought a full slash of her glaive across Belioz's chest, only missing cutting him down on the spot by virtue of a stone wall rising from the floor to protect him. She grunted and kicked the barrier down, before jetting his way with a heavy stab at the chest.

"Gah!" Belioz leapt to the side, backing towards a hallway. Still, despite the assault, he turned to give her a derisive smirk. "You are truly a fool, Yayoi. You could not have chosen a worse battleground. This manor is my castle and fortress; it is composed and decorated entirely to amplify my abilities. Perhaps I should play you a prelude?"

Before Tsubaki could strike again, Belioz swished his conductor's baton. At once, the floors shifted and large spikes of clear quartz stabbed at Tsubaki. She leapt to the air and tried to fly out of the way, but more crystals came down from the ceiling. She spiraled to the side, and the first group of crystals lanced closer toward her. Unable to find anywhere else to dodge to, she flew backwards, back down the flight of stairs. As she landed, Belioz gave a laugh. "Pathetic, as expected of a Yayoi. Every inch of this manor can produce the essential building blocks of all silicate minerals, the cornerstone of my attacks. There is no escape; you and your consort will die here."

"Tch…" Tsubaki growled. The thick crystals created an impenetrable barrier, the gaps too narrow for her to fly through. But she was granted no time to think it over; the floor beneath her feet rumbled. Without any more hesitation, she teleported again, coming up well behind Belioz this time; a moment later, a geyser of crystal erupted right where she had been. She slashed from a distance, and a quintet of green blades launched his way. But once more, a stone wall rose to block the attack. She landed, snarling in frustration.

"Stymied, are you? This is the difference between a truly noble family, and your inbred plague of a clan." Belioz swung his baton downwards, and heavy stalactites smashed down toward her. "Your father was a pathetic fool, and you are nothing without that weapon you bear. You never should have stepped foot within these walls, but your lust for justice and blood has done you in."

"Shut up!" Tsubaki appeared straight above him and dropped like a stone, leading with her pike. The laser narrowly missed as Belioz sidestepped out of the way. Tsubaki swiveled and lunged to stab at him; Izayoi pierced most of the way through the rock wall Belioz summoned in defense and managed to singe his mustache. "I will not allow you to speak of my father like that."

"I'm afraid you have no say in the matter, pathetic girl." Belioz swished his baton back and forth; all of the rock walls he had summoned rocketed toward Tsubaki. As soon as she predictably teleported away, he flicked it upwards. The moment Tsubaki phased back into existence, two crystals from below met her, sending her spiraling out of control until she impacted against the ground. Belioz merely sniffed. "As I said. You are nothing. Die, you blight upon the Librarium, so that we may not suffer your existence any longer.

Tsubaki yelped as she hit the ground. Her blade shifted from green to purple, signaling a loss of power. As she rose to her feet, she could only stew. She had never expected such power from this man, and she cursed herself for assuming an easy battle had awaited her. But she had to win this. Justice could never fail. As she looked up, Belioz swung his baton in an arc her way, and a trio of large, spiked stones launched at her. She speared one through and destroyed it, wincing as the shrapnel tore into her skin, but stared Belioz down, resolute as ever. She held up Izayoi before her, basking in its glow as she focused all she had on drawing out every bit of energy the weapon had. "Belioz Mutsuki! Prepare for your judgment! Freedom Justice!"

As though kicking into an overdrive of sorts, energy rushed through Tsubaki's blade. At the same time, however, a deep, leaden pain pierced through her eyes. She winced, but darted forward, leading with a slash. A bolt of green split the air, a horizon outburst from Izayoi, and even though Belioz summoned another wall to keep it from piercing through, Tsubaki vanished and came from the other side. Another wall halted her attack, but once more she disappeared and attacked where the first wall was still crumbling. This time, her attack hit him, slashing across Belioz's back and sending him bouncing into the nearby hallway. Without the slightest delay, Tsubaki pursued him.

Back in the foyer, Ragna, Kagura and Hibiki had hardly moved while the battle raged. With a sigh, Hibiki closed his eyes. "Lord Kagura, am I to assume that the task of clearing out all this rock will fall on me?"

Kagura just shook his head. "Nah. Let Belioz clean up his own mess."

Ragna snarled at the two of them before racing up toward the stairs, intent on keeping Tsubaki in sight.

Tager growled up at Azrael, clutching his wounded shoulder. For a moment, his gaze flicked over to Bullet, still lying prone and motionless in the distance. God damn it; how could this monster have taken such a blast and remained standing? And now, with his limiter lowered, what the hell was Tager supposed to do? But churning anger within, simply from staring this barbarian in the face, pushed him toward an answer. "I don't care how strong you are."

"Oh, really?" Azrael laughed, before stepping forward. In a flash, he covered the entire distance between himself and Tager, and launched into a heavy punch to Tager's just, sending the hulk sliding backwards, doubled over. "What, you think you're gonna be able to beat me just by being mad enough? Come on, then! Show me your rage, Iron Tager!"

"Very well. Overclocking core! Voltech Veil!" Tager roared and arched backwards as internal power sources whirred and increased their output. A visible field of electricity crackled around him, stray bolts launching off to strike nearby objects; one jolted Azrael in the forehead and made him step back. Tager growled as he lumbered forward. Two minutes was all he had now to defeat Azrael, but this was his only potential recourse. "You're mine! Terra Spinner!"

He spun forward into a lariat, fist extended like a flail coming down on Azrael. As he expected, his foe disappeared. But that was all according to plan; he had fought this monster in the past after all, even defeated him. Azrael had the power advantage—but that alone couldn't make him invincible. Tager's spin continued, and as he came around a full 180, his open palm caught Azrael, just appearing from his attempt to flash step behind Tager. Before Azrael had a chance to realize why electricity ate into his body, Tager finished his spin and tossed Azrael at full strength into a distant pillar. The stone shattered from the impact. But as the dust settled, Tager trudged forward. "Show yourself, Azrael. I know that didn't defeat you."

"You piece of shit…" Azrael appeared outside of the cloud, heaving. Scorch marks crisscrossed his body, mementos from Tager's electric shroud. Even as he stood still, the enormous magnet known as Tager drew him closer. He licked away some blood that trailed from his eye down past his lip, and grinned. "Now this is what I'm talking about! Come on! You still haven't done half of what that girl did!"

"You're living up to your name, Mad Dog." Tager extended a hand as he advanced. The electricity pulsed in his palm, projecting a barrier in case Azrael had any further ranged attacks ready. "As much as I wish I could refuse to give you what you want, you need to be brought down, here and now."

"Oh? Try it. Here, I'll even get in grabbing distance for you." Laughing, Azrael appeared right in front of Tager and threw a punch in a burst of his oppressive aura, holding no regard for the electric field around Tager—it was just another thing for him to defeat, after all. When Tager caught the punch with his extended hand, Azrael only laughed. "Nice catch. How about this?"

Azrael's leg came back, and a cloak of dread covered Tager. He released Azrael's, only for Azrael to grab him by the wrist and pull. The kick came, a powerful shot straight at Tager's shoulder joint. With Azrael pulling on the arm, the blow jolted Tager backwards; a metallic groan came from the joint, and Tager roared in pain and collapsed to his knees. Foot still pressed on his opponent's shoulder, Azrael snickered. "Come on, is that the best you got? Just some electricity? Gonna have to do a lot more if we meet again."

He jammed his foot harder against Tager, and this time the groan of breaking metal came with snaps from cords and cables breaking. Still roaring incoherently, Tager swung his other arm around, only for Azrael to effortlessly block it with his free hand. "And now!"

"Captain…!" From the grasses, Bullet stumbled forward, trying to kickstart her Armagus again. "Let him go, you…!"

Another kick, and this time Tager launched back, while his arm remained in Azrael's grip. The Mad Dog clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Welp. Looks like I broke it. Here, you'll need this when you go crawling back to Kokonoe."

As Bullet watched on in silent horror, Azrael tossed the disembodied arm back to where Tager lay. However, to the surprise of both, Tager sat up, heaving and shuddering while electricity continued to flow rampant around him. He fixed Azrael with a glare, his glasses gone to reveal mechanical eyes. "Melt… down…"

Everything went a blinding white, and the roar of thunder washed over the plains. A shockwave lifted Bullet and tossed her back, just before a tsunami of electricity pulsed out from Tager's body in all directions. Azrael stood his ground snarling, before being swallowed in the electric ocean. His roars joined Tager's for a moment… and then all fell silent.

From where she lay, Bullet groaned as she tried to look at the result of Tager's attack. In a perfect circle around Tager, all details of the landscape had been eradicated, leaving behind smoldering waste. Both combatants remained upright, smoke wafting from their bodies. But while Tager soon toppled over, depleted of energy, Azrael wobbled up to his feet. He stumbled a bit, his knees trying to give way. "Shit… I underestimated you, Red Devil… but it wasn't enough… heh."

"Captain…" Tears welled up in Bullet's eyes as her commander remained unmoving. After so long, she had finally found a place to belong again. And now that security blanket lay comatose, perhaps worse, amidst greyed destruction. She dragged herself forward toward Tager. "Goddammit… this isn't supposed to happen…"

"Stay back." Azrael turned to her with a scowl, all humor gone. He gestured toward the grey circle he stood in. "This whole area's radiated from that attack. You're probably fine right now, but getting too close… Well, I'd hate to see good fighter like yourself die to this shit. I mean, it might already be too late, but-"

"Screw you!" Bullet tried to leap forward, but stumbled back onto her knees; blood ejected from punctured lungs as she coughed. She rose as high as her body could take, snarling at Azrael. "I'm gonna…"

"You're doing nothing like that. Face it; you've lost. You two got me pretty good, though." Azrael looked over his body. Hardened, cracking red rose all along his skin, burns from the electric burst. Every movement delivered pain, but it was nothing he couldn't take. Breathing heavily, he dragged himself away from Tager, towards where Voivod lay. "If you ever think you can take me again, come find me. I'll fight you anytime; you're too entertaining for me to just kill."

"You… bastard…" Bullet collapsed all the way to her stomach, slamming a fist on the soil while just allowing the tears to flow at last. "I'll kill you one of these days…"

"Yeah, uh, you're never going to be able to touch him, you idiot." In a flash of light, Kokonoe appeared beside Bullet. Two red gauntlets gleamed from either arm. Several balls of fire descended toward Azrael. With a scowl, she looked down at Bullet. "I'll took care of Tager. You go and drag that traitorous piece of scrap metal over there, and drag his ass back here. Got it?"

"…Who's…?" But it really didn't matter who it was in the distance, lying motionless as he had all battle. Bullet tossed Kokonoe a glare and scoffed—how dare this scientist give her orders? But… "Whatever. Just take care of that bastard…"

As Bullet picked herself up and trudged toward Voivod, Kokonoe turned her sneer toward Azrael. As she expected, he had simply flash-stepped his way out of the fireballs' path. "Geez, you really did a number on Tager, didn't you? At least he's still got life signs; emergency power, though. Damn. That and the arm's gonna be at least two full days to fix. After I lock your ass back up in the cryo chamber again, you asshole."

"Well, well. The great leader herself, huh? I've been waiting for this chance." Azrael blinked himself closer, the thrill of coming battle clouding the pain of his burns. "Come on, then. Let me see what a genius brings to a battle!"

Rachel huffed and shook her head. "Are you even trying? You must clear your mind, Noel. You will not be able to summon the powers of the Godslayer otherwise."

"I know, I know…" Noel gave a whine, before closing her eyes again. She settled into deep breaths, with several full seconds between inhaling and exhaling. With just a few breaths, calm overcame her, and she turned her mind to her goal.

One by one, she thought of all her friends—Tsubaki, Makoto, Jin, Ragna, Rachel, Mai, Kajun, Nu. And as each one came to mind, she cast them out just as quickly, focusing only on a single nexus: herself. She envisioned herself in the Godslayer's garb, tried to focus on the power lurking within. The darkness of her thoughts lit up in blue. She had come this far before, but every other time, the sudden burst of azure distracted her.

This time, though, she maintained focus, even as it brightened. In her mind, Mu moved further and further away. She wanted to call out, tell her alter ego to stop, but she feared doing so would break this spell. Instead, she just focused all she had on Mu. After all, Rachel said she was the Eye, so even Mu should bend to her will, right? Maybe she didn't quite understand it all though…

The blue broke, swallowed in a sudden burst of white. Before her waited a massive white gate. At once, a terrible dread overcame Noel. This wasn't just the fear for her life—something Lovecraftian in its power waited beyond that gate, something that no one should ever unleash. A moment later, she realized she was screaming. She silenced herself, looking down at the grass while heaving, while sweat poured down face. "Wha… what was that…?"

"Noel! Are you quite alright?" Rachel kneeled before her, a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me, what did you see?"

"A…" Noel curled up into a fetal ball, shivering. Just what was it about that gate that struck her so full of terror? "A gate… a gate in a white void… I saw Mu go into it, and…"

"A gate, you say? Then I suppose you are making progress." Rachel closed her eyes and curled her lip. "Did you see anything else?"

"N-no, I didn't. I'm sorry…" Noel whimpered. "What is that gate, though…?"

"Unless I am much mistaken, it would seem to be the Gate of the Azure. I do believe even your feeble mind can grasp the significance of such a name. Noel." Rachel extended a hand to raise Noel's chin and look her in the eye. "I know you are scared, but you must be strong. It is vital you open that gate."

"What's… behind it…?"

"The Azure itself, of course. Doing this will allow you to harness the power of Kusanagi."

What was justice?

The question crossed Tsubaki's mind as she flew toward Belioz. Her target rolled to his knees, a hand on the ground as he glared at her. The ground under his feet roiled back and dragged him away, and spikes of quartz jutted out from the walls. But Tsubaki didn't slow down. She dodged almost before the lances registered in her mind. Instinctual movement, almost as though she were guided by some force.

Clearly, what she was doing was just. All the fires of righteousness burned through her veins, and all could only lead to one conclusion. Every dodge, every weave, every blink out of existence to evade the stones, the spikes, the walls of rock was but part of the inexorable stream that would lead to her vengeance.

Vengeance? That was justice? Or was 'justice' just an excuse for Tsubaki to vent all her rage and hatred into killing this man? Grinding her teeth, she shook off the thought. No, of course this was right. Belioz has not just taken her father; he had sought to exterminate her entire family, as though one would do to termites.

A wall of rock descended from above before her, and she growled. Clearly Belioz had no further intention of fighting head-on, and just wished to slip away and ambush. She would not allow this serpent to slither free. She touched down and bolted forward with a slash, cutting straight through stone. Pebbles and gravel ate at her skin, but she didn't care in the least. Rows of rock shredded toward her, and she took to the air again.

Of course destroying those that wronged her was justice—those who wronged period, in fact. But who was to be the objective judge of such things? As she slashed through a trio of large stones hurled her way, she snarled. Why was she thinking about such things now?

Because the weight of her wrath and anger pressed too heavily to ignore. No matter how much she tried to force the notion aside, it lingered. White-hot anger, not any sense of justice, controlled her actions—she could feel as such. But if delivering this man to the fires of hell was not justice, then what was?

She cut through two more spires of crystal. Not far before her, the hallway came to an end. As fast as Belioz made the ground below him retreat, it was nothing compared to the Zero-Type armor. Already, Tsubaki had closed in enough to see his face pallid and sweating, Belioz clearly realizing the futility of his retreat. Soon, justice would be served. And that's what this was.

So why did her eyes burn so bad? Why could she not see straight? What sacrifice was she supposed to make, and how could she remain a pedestal of justice if this was the toll? Her own words came back to her, delivered to a misguided soul also seeking justice, what felt like a lifetime ago— "You help those you can and stop what evil you see." Of course, that was it. Even if she had to sacrifice all she had to this ideal, if it saved one person or annihilated one source of evil, all was worth it.

Belioz crashed back into the far wall, and his earthen summons fell still. He shouted something as he scampered to his feet—Tsubaki couldn't make it out through her bloodlust. He turned to race down another hallway, but by now, it was too late. Tsubaki vanished in a whisper of wind and appeared right in front of him, sword extended. A stone wall started to rise, but Belioz's last movement was for naught. The blade plunged deep into his chest, its heated laser burning all it touched. And in that moment, all became clear to Tsubaki.

What was justice? This was. Taking the evil that plagued this world, and dragging it to hell for eternal suffering. Who was decide what was good, what was evil? There was no other choice—Tsubaki herself was the only who could. She was pure; she was just. With Izayoi in hand would she judge the sinners of this damned world and cast them into the hellfire. She was justice incarnate. And anyone that defied her and Izayoi would meet eternal damnation. This was what she was meant for.

Belioz staggered back, coughing up blood as more spilled out from the gaping wound in his chest. As he fell to his knees, baton useless out of his reach, he looked up to watch Tsubaki approach. But rather than lift Izayoi to his neck for a clean, swift kill, she pointed it at his torso. Right where he was already wounded. Realization descended upon him, an absolute terror in his final minutes: he wasn't going to receive a quick death, but a torturous one. He opened his mouth to protest, but blood choked out the words…

With a cry, Tsubaki lunged the blade straight at his chest, turning it so as to create second hole crossing the first. But it never connected. A thick slab of metal intercepted it, and Tsubaki recoiled. As she looked up, her world shattered. She was justice; she was righteous. It fell upon her to judge the sinners of this world. To stand against her was to declare oneself an enemy.

So why did Ragna stand in her way, sword in front of Belioz, eyes downcast as though in hiding?

"Relius Clover…" Mai growled, drawing her spear back to hold it to her side—almost behind her. She sidled her way closer to Relius, trying to get him in her most comfortable range. She glanced back at her friends. "Take Nu and get out of here! This man's too dangerous."

Shaking her head, Kajun stepped back. "I'm sorry, Mai, but we really can't. It would take about half an hour to release and awaken Nu here."

"How fascinating." With utter disregard for the conversation, Relius just watched Mai, stroking his chin. Where anyone else would see a young woman, he saw so much more. "Yes, I remember you now. The girl who was once a man. I should like very much to see how your soul continues to evolve."

"No chance." Mai tensed up to spring at Relius, but before she could, Makoto blew right past her in a blur. She hammered a blow against Relius, pushing him back a full two feet with the impact. However, as she darted in to rain more punches against him, various blades extended from his arms to keep her back. She leapt back to Mai's side, and despite the grim situation, Mai tossed her a grin. "Been a while since we've worked together, eh?"

"It hasn't been that long since Kajun introduced us to Sector Seven, you know." Makoto returned the smile. "Let's show this creep what Team Remix Heart can do!"

"Still way too long. And yeah, let's get him." Mai lifted her spear up at shoulder height like a javelin. Red energy built up all around its tip. "Makoto, if you can keep him occupied, Outseal can land a good hit here. Don't worry, I won't hit you as well. Trust me."

"…Right then!"

Makoto rushed at Relius once more, while the scientist just shook his head. "Do you not learn? Your abilities are worthless before me. Stand down; this is a waste of our time."

"Not gonna happen!" As Ignis lunged in on Makoto, she spiraled to the ground into a spinning strike with her tail. Of course, it did little to a man with such a doll-like skeleton. A jointed claw slashed down from above, forcing Makoto to wheel back. She spun back around in the same motion with powerful straight to the jaw, reeling him backwards. On instinct, she leapt off to the side, just as Ignis tried to catch her with her claws. Having recovered from the punch, Relius drew the chainsaw-like weapon again and slashed. As Makoto ducked toward him, the blade chewed up the side of her shoulder. She grimaced, but came back up between it and Relius with a full-power uppercut to Relius's jaw. As the scientist launched skyward, she ducked back down to cradle her bleeding shoulder. "Worthless, you said? Don't underestimate me!"

"Yeah! Don't mess with us! Outseal, go!" Grinning, Mai hurled her spear. Outseal bolted far faster than it should have, tracing a jet stream of red behind it. It struck Relius square in the chest with a burst of crimson and passed right through his body, before turning and crashing straight down. The polearm impaled Relius and pinned down to the earth. Mai winked and gave a thumbs-up to a nearby rock. "Never misses, by the way. Kajun, finish him!"

"But of course." Kajun popped her head out from behind the rock and chucked a beaker at Relius. It struck him and shattered in a burst of white mist; a moment later, a thin layer of frost covered his entire body. "And some liquid nitrogen for the coup de grâce. A splendid performance, everyone."

"Heheh." Mai grinned and rubbed the back of her head as she recalled Outseal; the spear simply vanished on the spot and reappeared in her hand, while Relius remained frozen in place. "What did you expect? We're not losing to anyone when together!"

"Hmm…" Somehow, despite the ice over and in his body, Relius laughed. Cracks sounded as he straightened up, every movement stiff and excruciating to watch. "I… can't say I expected such… resistance in this incursion. You are quite impressive. But flawed, I'm afraid. Take for example… the grimoire posing as a human. Are not grimoires meant to be used by people?"

"…What are you talking about?" Mai bent her knees into a pose, spear back and ready to strike. "I have a grimoire inside me, yes, but…"

"That is not quite correct. Observe." Relius extended a hand, before murmuring and clenching it into a fist. At once, Mai gasped, and then dropped like a sack to the ground. As Kajun yelped and Makoto paled, Relius smirked, giving a low murmur of a laugh. "As I thought. You are more Nameless Grimoire than human now. Merely another tool to be utilized. I would quite like to extract your grimoire given the chance, although I'm afraid you would not survive the process."

"Mai!" Kajun and Makoto both bolted toward their friend, unmoving but conscious. As Kajun drew near, she tossed a glare Relius's way. "We won't let you—"

Before she could even hope to finish, Ignis appeared behind her. Her drill of an arm lunged and pierced Kajun's abdomen from the back, its point jutting all the way through, out her stomach. As Ignis's claw retracted, she gasped and toppled forward. A trembling hand lifted her potion vials up before her as she coughed up blood. "H-how…?"

"A fatal blow, I'm afraid. I did not wish to slay any here, but you have cost too much of my precious time by now. Makoto Nanaya." With a snap of his fingers, Relius recalled Ignis to his side, eyes on the grief-stricken beastkin. "You are once more alone. And as we've established, you pose no threat to me. Surrender, and I will at least leave the Nameless Grimoire alive."

"N-no… this can't… my friends…" Helpless and small, Makoto glanced back and forth between Mai's unmoving body and Kajun's desperate, shuddering attempts to locate a potion. Tears struck her eyes, and her entire body quivered. But from the terror rose flames, a rage pure and white, setting her very soul alight. Her eyes flashed as she turned to Relius, a visible aura churning about her fists. "How dare… how dare you hurt my friends, you bastard!"

"They should not…" Before Relius could even finish, a ball of blue energy sizzled towards him, a shockwave pressing outward from the speed of it. Ignis hovered forward to take the blow, and crumpled as it struck her. A blur of a punch connected with Relius's chin a moment later, staggering him backwards.

"Don't you…" Twin punches rained down from above Relius, Makoto placing all her power into them to drive him to the ground. "Ever!" A hook to the face sent Relius sprawling to the side. As he woozily rose to his feet, Makoto chased after him. "Screw with us!" A straight to his gut spun him around, and an even heavier punch to his back followed. He bent back, too far for any normal spine to take. An uppercut launched him sky high, and Makoto leapt after him, fist reared back and a gargantuan hand of brilliant aura poised to hammer him as well. "AGAIN!"

The blow shot Relius into the earth, cratering the ground around him. As Makoto landed, she glanced straight over to Mai and Kajun. The former still had not moved a muscle, no matter how she fought. Kajun, on the other hand, had risen to her knees, now holding an emptied vial. As far as Makoto could tell, the gaping wound in her gut had been healed, almost certainly from some regenerative concoction in her arsenal. Makoto snarled and wheeled around to Relius. "Well. You gonna get up so I can kick your ass some more? You're not walking away from this after what you did."

"Indeed, I am not. It would seem that my spine has been broken, and as such, my legs no matter function. But do not believe yourself the victor yet. Ignis, to me. Summa Creata." On command, Ignis appeared at his side. At once, her limbs and torso all split apart and opened. As he sat up and lifted as arms, she drifted closer. Her arms fitted themselves around his and closed, before she rose higher into the air, letting Relius dangle limp. Her torso extended multiple mechanical ribs to enclose his chest, while her legs enveloped his and shut. Ignis's head turned upwards behind his, Relius smirked down at Makoto's shocked stare. "I anticipated that something could happen to my body, in spite of all of my attempts to transcend humanity. Thus, I saw fit to build this emergency configuration into Ignis. With her connected to me, I can continue to battle, troublesome though it is. Your soul will be mine, Nanaya."

"What… what the actual hell. Seriously." Makoto ground her teeth and lifted her fists back into a ready position. "I'm getting so sick of your bullshit already! Why don't you stay down this time?"

"I am afraid that I'm far beyond the level of a mere rodent." Still hovering in the air, Relius darted forward and slashed with Ignis's claws. "Summa Creata may remove my numbers advantage, but I believe you'll find it still quite formidable."

"Grk!" Makoto blocked the chop the best she could; her wounded shoulder flared in pain as though demanding her to not use it anymore. She stepped in to try and deliver a punch, but yelped as a taloned foot came around. She dropped back, although the kick still lined a cut across her stomach. "Geez, what gives here…?"

"Cease this futile resistance." Blades whirred at either of Relius's hands, and he slashed at her. Although the motion was slow from the lank of his arms, Makoto still found herself having to dodge out of the way from their deadly saws. Relius smirked as she rolled underneath him. "Your performance ends here."

The talons of Ignis's feet launched out from the legs, clamping at her arms and pinning her face down in the mud. With a victorious laugh, Relius swiveled around and floated down to perch over her trapped body. He extended a hand to her head. "Now. Let me see your glorious soul."

Makoto ground her teeth as she turned back to glare at him. Was this it? Was this really the end? It couldn't possibly be. But… "Dammit… It doesn't matter how perfect you are, or what Izanami's done to you. You won't win." She grinned, desperate and feral, pure rebellion in her face. "Tsubaki and Noel will avenge me. That, I can take comfort in."

"Perfect, you say?" Relius scowled, and his hand clenched her head. "How dare you say such a thing? Calling me such is an insult to the perfection I seek. One such as I could never attain such a thing. My soul is too weak. So instead I will create that which is perfect, and craft my own world through it. Your contribution to this venture is appreciated."

With a low muttering, he chanted. His hand glowed blue, and he shifted it over to rest atop Makoto's head. A moment later, the beastkin stiffened up, the light in her eyes fading. Relius pulled his hand back, and with it came a blue orb the size of a softball, bright enough to burn away all shadows in the area. He smiled. "So this is a truly powerful soul. How marvelous. With this, Alpha shall be awakened."

Makoto's soul in his grasp, Relius hovered off into the distance. A minute later, Mai stirred, no longer bound by whatever Ars the scientist had weaved to nullify her. And at once, she pounded a fist against the ground, spraying mud. "Makoto! Kajun!"

Using Outseal as support, she jumped to her feet and bolted over to Kajun, long since passed out from blood loss. A quick check of the girl's pulse sent a shock of relief through Mai—her friend had survived the impaling. But now was not the time to relax. She raced as fast as she could to where Makoto lay. "Makoto, please tell me…"

But although the beastkin's heart still beat, no life flickered in her eyes. No movement, not even the twitch of her tail or perking of her ears, answered Mai's cry. As Mai collapsed to her knees, a stream of tears breaching forth, she could see no other explanation. Although Makoto's body still lived, no living soul existed in the shell. For all intents and purposes, Makoto Nanaya was dead.