Note: I will not reveal the names but here is the titles of the newcomers (spoiler: they are the same person). Think of this as what in-game Izanami calls them when selected as system voice in Central Fiction.
混沌の男 (Konton no Otoko): Man of Chaos
白銀の武神 (Hakugin no Bushin): Silver War God.
開闢の災神 (Kaibaku no Saishin): Disaster God of Beginning.
復活の魔帝 (Fukkatsu no Matei): Resurrected Demon Emperor.
究極の上帝 (Kyukyoku no Jotei): Ultimate Supreme Being.
"Sorry, lady. Shishisenkou!" I elbow Tsubaki's guts and then slam her into a bulk of concrete with a palm thrust. The blow is strong enough for her to cough up a little blood and take a while to recover. I use this opportunity to scan my surroundings, looking for a suspicious dude with a fedora since I am 90% sure that this is an Intervention. No way Tsubaki can be here and right at the moment me and Lambda arrive.
"Kuh, Ragna the Bloodedge!"
"Yeah? C'mon, use your Izayoi to throw some blades at me. I'm in good mood so I will entertain your justice ass." I am feeling stupidly confident today so I taunt her with my index finger. She glares at me in return and throws the whip sword at me, catching my right arm in the process.
"…Alright, fuck my mouth."
"Haaah!"
She is surprisingly strong enough to pull me toward her before landing a kick at my face. That hurts as FUCK! I yank my arm from her grasp and go for a Fafnir-lookalike straight punch, complete with the trailing flame, to knock her away. She looks ever angrier now with that flaring white aura and flapping wings. From the look of it, she is going to unleash her Distortion Drive on me and the question is, which? The dash or the sword throwing?
I let out a low growl as my hand clenches hard to draw more power from the half-opened Grimoire, resulting in the edge of Blood-Scythe glowing even redder. Savage Fang then…
"Your reign of terror ends here, Ragna the Bloodedge! KYRIE!"
"Oh shit, it's the fucking bow!"
Caught off-guard, I cannot intercept the startup in time as Izayoi transforms into a large luminous bow and Tsubaki quickly pulls the string. I blink my right eye thrice and time slows down. Even so, it is too late to stop the barrage of laser arrows. I narrowly dodge most of them but some manage to impale through my body.
"SHIKOU BAKUENJIN!"
I yell at the top of my lungs and charge at the floating-and-frozen-midair Tsubaki with Shishisenkou. I stomp on the ground and leap into the air before slamming the glowing sword down, creating a fiery pillar of darkness that engulfs both of us.
Ragna the Bloodedge… He is the main reason why Jin Kisaragi and Noel Vermillion deserted. Well, not completely but his presence drove them to follow him. He is the Ultimate Evil in this world and you, Lieutenant, will be the one to erase him from the World of Order.
Captain Hazama said to her prior to her departure to Kagutsuchi, Tsubaki recollects. She is skeptical about his wordings but it is undeniable that according to the officers in Jin's office, the Major went insane after the reports of the Reaper's sightings and stormed out after that. Noel is either brainwashed or coerced into following Ragna as well.
That is why Tsubaki vows to kill him in the name of Justice. However, something is missing here. She has this déjà vu feeling, like this scenario has happened before. Flashes of her fighting against Ragna, whose movement is hesitant, and her chatting with him under a dark sky.
Hey, I fully support ya and my bro. Also, don't hate Noel. She has done nothing wrong except born with that flat chest.
The Ragna in her memories sounds so friendly and non-hostile to her, which confuses Tsubaki greatly. She tries to press it down when unleashing Lux Kyrie on the present Ragna. Her head hurts after an unseen blow from him and…
Wait, she remembers now. She remembers everything now! Ragna is –
***-kun… I love you. I love you so much…
Just shut up, Ayame! You are making it worse!
Ah, so ***-lun does love me after all… I'm happy… ***-kun…
Ayame…? AYAMEEEEEE!
This time, images of a less spiky, silver hair Ragna-lookalike cradling her in his arms and she sounds like dying. Tsubaki does not understand at all; her name is Tsubaki and the only Ayame she knows is her ancestor, the first Izayoi wielder. Why did this person know her ancestor? It makes no sense at all.
My dear, you are not supposed to see those.
Who is there?
My name is Ayame Yayoi, your ancestor from the Dark War.
Gradually, a woman appears before her eyes. She looks like a Tsubaki at her mid-twenties, wearing a lighter-colored version of the NOL uniform. Ayame cups Tsubaki's cheeks gently.
I'm afraid our first meeting has to end abruptly. The snake is gunning for you and I cannot do anything unless he is fully resurrected and I reclaim my body.
What are you saying? Who is he?
A very important person to me, and the one became Evil in order to vanquish Evil. You will learn of him shortly. Say hello to his current incarnation for me, alright? For the time being, please bear with it a little longer, okay? Now, forget about me and our conversation please.
Faust barely restrains himself from laughing like a mad man after seeing the white explosion. Behind him is the smoking, motionless body of Tager.
"Just a little longer… A little longer…"
His right eye is shining crimson right now and he has to cover it with his hand, lest the 'Perception' goes out of control and damages the World. For now, he will entertain himself with the Continuum Shift to see how far the Takamahagara can Intervene him. Although, the current vessel is Blocking blindly and he cannot chat with little Koko at all. That's why you never give dangerous toys to a newborn.
I stay put for a while, waiting for the searing hot flames to disperse and the blinding white to disappear. When they do, I slowly open my eyes to find Tsubaki staring at me disbelievingly. Uh, what the heck?
"Lady, how you survived Shikou Bakuenjin (Fiery Beast) is beyond me. Still, want a second round?"
"No… No, I think this is more than enough." Tsubaki smiles warmly at me. "I remember."
"Really? Jesus, I almost thought you went Mind Eater on me the third time. Still, how was it? Travelling back in time, I mean."
"Okay-ish, I suppose. Except this time, I'm not under that wrenched spell."
I grin; that sounds assuring enough. I turn around to see Lambda still looking at me attentively at the same spot. Damn girl, you are both cute and creepy at the same time. Our reunion does not last long as the space around Tsubaki becomes distorted and glitchy while mine is still fine. This only means…
"Shit, Intervention. Listen, Yayoi, if you unfortunately run into Hazama and he throws his snake… chain… thing at you, well, wait until I hit you hard enough again. He will mind rape you, eat your memories or both with it so… Good luck!"
Tsubaki does not even reply in time as she disappears. I let out a long sigh and turn back to Lambda, whose eyes are probably transferring footages to Kokonoe probably, and take out the walkie talkie. I hit the button and she picks up immediately.
"You saw that shit, Kokonoe?"
"Yeah. Seems only you are immune to magic and shit, not those close to you. Damn, I have to be careful with Lambda from now." Kokonoe is typing like crazy at the other side. "Sorry but she has to return now. You can suck her face later."
"Screw you." I glare at the device at the same time as Lambda goes poof into nothingness. Great, now I'm alone again. Well, since it is almost dark, I decide to get some foods before taking a nap. Except, there is something wrong here. Someone is watching me.
*Kaboom*
I unconsciously swing Blood-Scythe and fire a bullet at the incoming projectile, resulting in a small explosion. I level the smoking barrel at the shooter and oh shit that's Relius!
"Impressive. Your instinct is sharp enough to detect Ignis' presence and your body's reaction is fast enough to stop a railgun round. Very, very impressive."
"Mad Puppteer… Relius Clover!"
"You know of me… Good, we can skip introduction." The bastard rubs his chin while staring at me through his creepy mask. His doll, and former wife Ignis, materializes next to him. If he is here, Phantom must be nearby. He saw our fight and teleported Tsubaki away for sure.
"Ah, the Eye of Terror. Still capable of perceiving me at usual." Relius speaks with the smallest grin I ever see from him. "That explains how you can force the Yayoi girl to remember about the previous possibility, nullify both Ars Magus and Magic. Not only that, the Eye can block Observers like Rachel Alucard to interfere with your actions. Very interesting indeed."
"Yo man, I know you once crossed the Boundary and saw lots of shits but." I snort. "Don't bother to tell those to someone knowing jackshit without ensuring they can understand you."
"Ah, my apologies. It would seem that you are his newest Incarnation. An Outer One to boost! Fascinating. How utterly fascinating."
Despite his ramblings, I can understand one or two bits and I think he knows what the hell is going on with me and this Blazblue world. The man he is mentioning must be the R.O.B that abducted me and placed me in Ragna's body. Relius may even know of foreknowledge, if that's why he calls me an Outer One. Hope that has nothing to do with Lovecraft. Not to mention, why is one of my eyes called Eye of Terror? Is he a 40k hardcore or something?
"Listen buddy. If you want to test my strength or whatnot, find me tomorrow. Right now, I'm tired as hell and fighting you only gets me killed. You surely hate having the ''test subject' died before the experiment, right?" I slightly lower my weapon. Relius ponders for a moment before nodding.
"Very well, I have observed enough for today. May we meet again so I can see how powerful an Outer One like you can be. Oh, and keep an eye on the 12th Unit. I may not directly involve with the Plan but I would advise you to keep a close eye on her. A failed product turning out to be exceptionally fine is hard to get by. So long, Man from the Chaotic World."
"What the fuck?! Hey, where the hell is Terumi –"
Both Relius and his doll disappear before I can finish the question. Dammit, I hope Noel is still hanging around with Makoto. I hope she wouldn't run into troubles.
Jin escaped from the custody of that lousy ninja after hearing a new whisperer in his head saying that Ragna is gone. He did not believe it, of course. He is destined to be the one to put his brother out of his misery and no one is allowed to claim his life before he does.
"Where is he…? Where is my brother…?"
Jin mutters to himself and shoves anyone standing on his way. The ruthless stare on his face is enough to make the bystanders stay far away from him. All except two, however.
"Wait, Major Kisaragi?!"
"Kisaragi-senpai?!"
Jin makes a sharp turn and faces the surprised Noel and Makoto. He tries his best to suppress the urge to kill the 'trash' right here, right now and regards them with a curt nod. The beastkin makes a loud gulp and asks for his wellbeing, which he doesn't answer.
"Aw Kisaragi-senpai, stop being a douche already. Tsubaki is sad, you know."
"State your business, Nanaya. I have no time for games." Jin leaves the 'I must find my brother' part unspoken. Makoto looks like she has figured this out, judging from her disapproving look. She says nothing and urges Noel to step ahead.
"W-W-W-Well, Major Kisaragi, good evening sir…"
"Fix that stuttering, worm. Or I will make you."
"EEP!"
"Tch, just when I thought you could stay out of troubles for once, Little Noel." A very familiar voice speaks behind Jin and his face shifts into an uncontrollable glee. The ice blade emerges into existence and Jin draws it.
"BROTHER!"
"Shut up."
Ragna drives his fist into Jin's chest abruptly, making the Major gurgle in pain. He tries to stay conscious but then a knee to his face launches him into the neon sign behind. The last thing Jin knows is a burning crimson orb staring down at him before darkness claims him once more.