Rebirth of Azure

by Storm VII

After the events of Central Fiction, Ragna finds himself in a bizarre new world that seems to have the chance of a fresh start for him. What is this realm he's been brought to? Is this just another possibility of the Azure? Why does he still remember his past life so vividly? What's the point of it all? The story of the Grim Reaper continues...

14. Urgent Development

Blue XIII: Urgent Development

"I never thought I'd ever need to discourage too much researching, but have you slept at all in the past week?" Clause asked as Ragna added another three books to his reading pile. It had already grown to where the elf was starting to worry whether or not the table legs could support that weight. "You know that you're not going to master magic overnight, so why are you acting like you're on a time limit?"

"The Holy Horizon tournament for one thing," Ragna reminded before taking his seat to resume note taking. "It's not like I'm pushing myself that hard, otherwise I'd never be able to memorize all this damn info."

"Which is why I'm saying that you need to pace yourself. If you try to learn magic without truly grasping the finer details of each spell casting, the results are sure to be fatal. Why, not even Nine is stubborn enough to study when she's at anything than her best… And we both know she isn't exactly the most temperamental person in the guild."

"Speak up; I almost didn't hear you." Clause's naturally lighter elven skin turn a few shades paler as he realized that the pink haired woman had just arrived in the room. "Have either of you seen-?" The soft purring that she heard coming from beneath Ragna's table gave her the answer she needed. Glancing under, she found Jubei who had already leapt onto Ragna's lap and curled up in the short time he'd sat down. "Seems like you have a thing for cats."

"This one just has good taste," Ragna told her dismissively as he stayed focused on his notes. He might've missed his old teacher, but it was hard to say there weren't just a few qualities he preferred from this version. As an added bonus, his presence helped keep a certain someone away. "What'd you need him for?"

"Just wanted to check in on him since he hasn't been coming to us for food, but it seems you've been handling that for us," she noted. "Back to Clause's observation, hypocritical as it might be he still has a point."

"Hypocritical?" the elf demanded with indignity.

"Ever since we got back from the troll extermination mission a few days ago you've been studying non-stop. You were eager to learn when you first got here and I can understand that, but where did this newfound craze come from? And don't tell me it's the tournament; I can tell you don't give a damn about that overblown ritual."

'You try relaxing when three people that previously wanted you dead or worse are staying in the same town as you.' "Must've been your magic display during our job. You looked so great, I just had to commit myself so I could do half the stuff you could."

"…That has to be the worst attempt at flirting I've ever heard."

'If you heard half the stuff Kagura has said… only somehow it actually works.' "It wasn't, just bullshitting you."

"All to avoid answering a question? Fine then, be that way," Konoe grumbled as she went over to the desk he was using and looked over the books. "All of these are on combat spells."

"Magus training, remember? This is the best place for me to start," Ragna reminded. "Besides, what was all of that magic I saw from you yesterday? Seemed like the word attack could be used a lot there."

"Because I was in the middle of a fight; that doesn't mean I don't know how to use other magic," Nine argued back. "You'll need to develop a good balance of the different types of magical arts. You never know what's going to give you that lifesaving edge."

"…There's a saying that heard from someone. Don't know if they got it from someone else or if they were just trying to come off as some battle philosopher." Ragna rubbed Jubei's fur, getting a low purr from the cat. "Either way it's managed to stick with me. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. I'd rather be ready to fight in the moment, all of that separate prep work can wait… at least until I get that much down."

"An… interesting saying," Konoe said, not as compliment nor insult.

"If he needs to be ready in case of an emergency, he can always go to Celica for help," Clause offered, only to get a scowl from her sister. "What? Just because you can't use the magic-"

"None of us can! That's why he'd be wasting everyone's time. Kind of like you are now just by bringing it up in the first place!" She sounded much harsher than she needed.

So long as certain rules from back home applied in the new and strange kingdom, Ragna had a decent suspicion where things were going. That, or Konoe dislike the idea of him spending time with her sister. More than likely a strong case for both.

"Want to fill me in since you're not going to stop bothering me anyways?" Ragna asked curtly as he wrote down more notes for another attack spell to add to his growing arsenal.

"…He should know," Clause said, though he didn't exactly sound confident saying it under Konoe's sharpening glare. "What? We shouldn't be keeping secrets from him if he's going to be a member of the guild… and it's not like your sister could ever keep a secret. It's honestly a miracle that she hasn't already let it slip."

"I guess you have a point," Konoe sighed before turning her gaze back to the reading Ragna. "What do you know about Healing Magic?"

"Not a lot, just that it's supposedly rare," Ragna answered as he finally closed the book to give Konoe his full attention. He did his best to play dumb here, remembering that one time he'd cured an infection when he'd been a kid by using the Azure. "What does this have to do with Celica? I think I remember hearing that she has it or something."

"See?"

"Whatever. She does. And it's less that it's rare and more that it's… complicated," Konoe said as she took a seat, almost tired just bringing this subject up again. "There are actually plenty of people in the kingdom that are able to use the healing magic, but all of them are in the church in one form or another. Sometimes the church will send its members on pilgrimages to find people able to use healing magic. Others join the church and are able to uncover their healing abilities while serving there. There are also plenty of stories and legends of people awakening to their healing abilities, given to them as a gift from the gods themselves. But there's always one constant; by the end, they're a part of the church."

"And considering you already have the Church of Magic breathing down your necks, that's a problem for all of you," Ragna noted. "How did Celica awaken to her healing magic in the first place?"

"As far as we know, there was never a set point. One morning we saw her healing an owl's broken wing and she just told us that she's always been able to do it… as much as she could anyways. She was still learning to talk, barely able to walk."

"And the churches already seem to know about her extraordinary abilities, though we don't know how they learned of it," Clause added. "They've also been rather insistent to have her join their ranks. If it weren't for our town's governor, chances are Celica would already be a member of the church."

"You're not giving me enough credit," Nine said sternly with a fierce glare in her eyes. "There's no way that I'm letting them take my sister from me. Not a chance in hell."

'…Probably not the best time to let her know that she was running a church in her past life,' Ragna thought. 'Wait a minute, back during that Goblin attack Kagura used some kind of magic to heal some lesser wounds I'd gotten. He did it pretty openly too. Did just trust me enough in that moment or are nobles exempt from the rules somehow?' "…Well I guess I'm in this tournament to help our guild's reputation; maybe I'll be able to get some heat off your back."

"I'd appreciate that." Even if Nine was stubborn and still didn't see eye to eye with Ragna, she knew a good deal for her sister when she saw one. "Just don't go bringing attention to her, the last thing we need is to turn this into some sort of scandal."

"I can keep my mouth shut," Ragna assured her. "How powerful are Celica's healing powers in the first place?"

"It's difficult to know with her type of magic," the elf in the room admitted. "Unlike with attack magic you can't get a good sense of its power by the piercing power or blast radius. Even magic that amplifies the target or caster can often be measured by some degree. It's difficult to know with healing, but…"

"But what?" Ragna asked, trying to find why they were so hesitant about this.

"There was an accident in the village about a year ago…" Konoe explained. "Some farmhand got in the way of another farmer's scythe. Had his entire arm chopped off. They brought him to us so that we could stop the bleeding, but once Celica got involved…" She hesitated again. "She managed to reattach the thing. In a minute it didn't even look like it had been cut off in the first place."

'Then there's no way the church would be able to ignore that kind of power.' Ragna thought to himself. "What about the people involved? The ones that saw her do it?"

"Bawling their eyes out with gratitude," Nine said with a shrug. "Even now the families still sometimes come over with pies or other treats. We don't need to worry about them selling us out."

"Just checking," Ragna said. He'd already been here to study on a difficult subject, but now Nine had given him even more to think about. 'One thing at a time Ragna, you've got enough to worry about.' "Thanks for getting me up to the speed, but I need to be getting back to my work. I'm here for another two hours studying before I put this into practice… if not more."

"Why do you say it like that?" Clause asked, confused as Ragna had been trying to research in the first place.

"Because someone here is already down for nap," the former Reaper answered, looking at the cat that had fallen asleep in his lap. "…And I know damn well I'm not gonna have the heart to move him."

Meanwhile

Thrusting her palm out and sending out a powerful blast of wind, Silvana's wind magic slammed into the nearby training dummy. Maintaining her concentration on the heavy target, she kept the constant stream of wind while strongly holding her footing as her own magic threatened to blast her back. Her face straining as she continued her taxing magical spell, she gave one final push of pure effort and eventually knocked the training dummy over where it fell to the floor.

"Wow! That was even better than last time!" Celica cheered from the sidelines where she'd been watching. "And you didn't even have to regain your balance at all! You're really getting good with that spell!"

"Still not strong… enough," Silvana said, still having difficulty stringing four words together. "Knock it down… in one go."

"That sounds pretty hard to do," she said as she tried to push the training dummy back up. She had to use a fair bit of effort to do so. "These things are super heavy, so knocking it over at all is really impressive. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

"Regular people can… resist my spell," the young half elf reminded. "Need to get… stronger. Protect the guild… and my friends."

"I guess that's a good reason to keep at it," Celica agreed. "I know I shouldn't be, but I'm honestly a little jealous of you. You're only my age but with minimal training you've already managed to cast super strong wind magic. That's really impressive."

"Not young."

"Huh?"

"Not young. Half elves age… slower than humans," Silvana explained. "…About thirty."

"Thirty and you still-!?" To say Celica was blown away at the revelation was an understatement.

"Clause didn't explain?" Silvana asked with a tilt of her head. "Full blood elves… age even slower."

"He… never said anything about it," Celica admitted. "Does Ragna know about this?"

"…Probably not," Silvana admitted while blushing slightly. "But we can… both try to… get stronger. Work together… to protect people… we care about… as partners."

"Sounds good to me!" Celica said happily. "But… doesn't this technically make you my senior since-?"

"NO."

"O…kay," Celica said nervously, giggle under the harsh glare of the much shorter girl. "Well I'm not really good with most forms of magic, but I guess that's all the more reason to stick with it!"

Later -Outside of Town-

"Ugh, my legs are still getting their feeling back after sitting for so long," Ragna complained as he walked through the northern lands. A thin mist escaped from his lips to indicate the low temperature. It wouldn't be long now before the kingdom finally set in for winter and the north was likely to get the harsher of the season. "I guess this should be far enough."

"Good, then you can get started in practicing," Trinity said with a smile while Ragna only gave her a tired look. "Be sure that you don't push yourself."

"Right right," Ragna sighed as he began looking at the few notes he'd brought with him.

Trinity had gotten word earlier that Ragna was going to be heading out to practice some of the spells he'd been studying. Because he wasn't just using the guild's training room, she'd correctly assumed that these were spells of a much stronger nature. While he didn't have a problem with either version of the woman, he preferred to be alone while he worked on his Azure influenced spellcraft. He'd tried turning her down nicely enough… but she'd then suggested that he take Terumi with him instead. Even if Ragna was fairly sure that Trinity was only offering this out of goodwill, he couldn't afford to her bluff here. Looking at the bright side, he would at least have a more magically adept set of eyes on his work, even if Konoe would have had better expertise on attack magic.

"So what spell are you going to work on first?" she asked as Ragna continued to read through his notes. "I'd suggest starting small, but it's also necessary that you know what you're doing with whatever spell you're working with."

'Might as well be a fire one then,' Ragna thought, considering his combat practice with them against the trolls and how his Azure Flames resembled normal fire… minus all universe altering he should've been able to do. "Guess I'll start with an Eruption spell."

"That's the first thing you're going to cast? That's quite an advanced spell for someone that's only been here a week," Trinity noted, though she sounded more worried than impressed. "Why not start with something less flashy and just as useful, if not moreso? Like the Elemental Arrows?"

"Already practiced Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, and Water. I'm ready to move on," Ragna said stubbornly as refreshed himself on the spell he was about to cast.

"Practiced? Not mastered?" Ragna didn't give Trinity a response. "…Should… we get Celica out here?"

"I'll be fine. This damn giant body is good enough for taking damage at least," Ragna assured her. 'And it's not like I can't grasp the fundamentals of those. Unlike with Ars Magus, I actually have decent aptitude with this stuff. The problem is that final 'mastery' step. It's like something's in the way of that, blocking me off.' "Just keep back, alright? And take these notes so that they don't burn."

"Understood," Trinity said as she took the papers, though it was clear that she wasn't entirely satisfied with this setup. "Promise you won't push yourself?"

"No such luck."

Placing his open palm in the ground, Ragna focused and cast the incantation. The way this spell functioned he could control an area of the ground that would 'detonate'. The range would be about thirty meters while the blast zone itself would be closer to ten in diameter. Since it was his first casting he didn't expect to exceed or even match those numbers just yet. Picking his target, he found an old and dead tree stump about fifteen meters away. Carefully finishing the channeling, he activated the spell and watched for the effect. The was an explosion of blue fire in the snow, but it was fairly off target, didn't even make it halfway, and the blast itself was only pitiful enough to send some chunks of dirt flying.

"Guess I was setting my expectations a little high," Ragna muttered.

"At least the spell didn't backfire. I was worried you were going to have a firsthand lesson in how dangerous it would be to cast spells unprepared," Trinity said with genuine relief.

"I'm not stupid; I won't rush into an incantation without understand its core principles," the former Reaper noted as he appeared deep in thought. "Any advice?"

"For your average magical user; nothing save to keep at it and continue to practice the spell. Like you said, you have the fundamentals down. Now all that's left is to keep working at it and mastering each part of the spell until you officially have it down."

"That's obvious, but like you said that's just for your average magical user," Ragna said as he created a plume of Azure flames in his hand. "What've you got for me?"

"While taking it slow and figuring it out was good for a first step, I can't help but think that it actually hurt your casting," the Alchemist admitted. "Maybe it's better that you simply go for it."

"Go for it, huh." A small smile formed on Ragna's lips.

"After you practice the spell plenty more at least," Trinity continued. "Try working with it for a dozen more castings or so. Find the ins and outs of the spell, study the way the channeling reacts to your methods, and-"

Striking the ground with a powerful punch, an explosion erupted from the stump a split second later. Right on target and with a blast radius as powerful as he'd described. The stump was violently reduced to ash in the single blast, along with the roots if the deep crater could be believed. He then looked smugly at Trinity.

"Thanks for the advice."

"You're… welcome?" Trinity hadn't planned on that. 'A successful casting on the second attempt, even if that was just lu-' As if to respond to Trinity's mere thoughts, Ragna struck the ground thrice more and caused an additional three explosions around the first one to create a perfect triangle. "…Now you're just showing off."

"Wish I was. I was trying to increase my power output on each of those, but no matter how much energy or force I put into any of them the end result stayed the same. And it's not that the spell has any notable damage cap; one of the books said that this spell was once mistaken for a volcano going off. This is just the best I can do for the moment."

'At least he doesn't think that limits don't apply to him, as low of a bar as that is,' Trinity thought as Ragna struck the ground again and created an explosion the exact same size as the others, much to his disappointment. 'Still to think he's taken to an unfamiliar spell so quickly, even if he was studying almost non-stop.' "What now?"

"I mean an explosion like that is still an attack; it's far from useless. I just gotta keep working at it to give it some real kick," he decided, indicating that he planned to take the move much further. "For now though, I think it's best to put another move in my arsenal."

"You're changing spells already?" Trinity asked as this was even more danger to Ragna's already reckless mindset. "Switching different magical spells that you're still working on is going to throw off your body's magical energy. If anything goes wrong that would put you out for-"

"You realize that even if you give me every worst case scenario you come up with, I'm still going to go throw with it anyways?" Trinity stopped talking, but she the disapproval in her eyes only grew. While Ragna knew what he was doing (for the most part) he also know that Trinity was only doing this out of concern for him. "…Two more spells then. I'll do some work with all three and stop there. You can even choose my next two spells if you want."

'He's doing his best to work with me,' Trinity thought as she looked over Ragna's notes, which seemed to be fairly competent summaries for each spell. She found one much more difficult and was honestly a little surprised that Ragna was even attempting it, and that was after what she'd just seen from the man. She considered putting it aside for another day, but since it was a particularly good spell she decided that it may as well be his final spell. Looking a bit more, she found a more basic one. "Here we are, Ice Javelin."

'Of course it has to be the ice one,' Ragna thought a little bitterly, remembering his brother from back home. 'I guess I'll have to run into Jin sometime. But he'll probably be another person, same as everyone else here. Wonder if we'd even be brothers, don't even know a damn thing about who my mother was here… or my father.'

Pushing that thought aside for now, Ragna re-read the notes he'd taken on that particular spell. Unlike Eruption which was a sudden and violent release if magic energy, this one required that energy to actually create a solid projectile. While not exactly related, the spell certainly had minor elements of creation magic to it. It also allowed for minor control of the object in order to 'throw' it with their magic. The process may have sounded complicated, but the actual channeling was fairly straightforward.

"Okay, let's put this into practice," Ragna said as Trinity stepped back and he cast the spell. Giving the cold temperature, creating the ice was fairly straight forward and even forming it into a lance like shape was easy enough. Scanning the clearing, he looked for a decent target to fire at.

"Hold that spell for a moment," Trinity told him before speaking a short incantation. There was a small flash of light before a small training dummy was formed a short distance away. "There. Now you can practice without worry of harming the wildlife."

"Thanks. Might need you to teach me that one," Ragna told her, causing Trinity to give him a small smile at his eagerness to learn something that wouldn't blow him up for a change.

Now focusing on the target itself, Ragna willed the projectile to fire at Trinity's creation. The speed of the spell was enough to create a sonic boom from takeoff as it slammed in the dummy. Its aim was slightly off, so instead of hitting dead center like he'd planned it struck slightly to the left where the heart would be. That side of the manakin was completely obliterated and the Ice Javelin sailed to the other end of the clearing before shattering.

"That was a pretty powerful casting," Trinity complimented. "But from what Nine's told me, this spell isn't meant for use on single targets. It's meant to travel through an entire line of enemies."

"That's what the notes said as well. How many off those can you have out at a time?"

"Ten is a comfortable limit; any more and they start to lose quality and don't last as long." Casting a stronger version of the spell, a line of dummy targets formed in front of Ragna.

"You set 'em up, I knock 'em down," Ragna said with a smirk as he started another channeling. 'Let's see how much damage this thing can really do.'

The form and thickness of the projectile didn't have any noticeable improvement, though it did form quicker since this was Ragna's second casting. Likewise while the force he launched it didn't seem any stronger, his aim was better and he managed to strike the training dummy dead in the chest like he'd planned. The first three of the dummies were completely destroyed, but those following showed lessening damage, though the spike still pierced them. The attack made it until the eighth target before it lost power and shattered completely, still inflicting major damage on the final mark.

"Pretty good I guess," Ragna said, though his serious tone made it clear that he wasn't satisfied as of yet. "Mind setting up another set?"

"Sure thing," Trinity said before she accommodated his request. His next attempt at the spell replicated the attack he just casted, she would've thought it was what he'd been trying for if not for his harsh scowl. "Did you try increasing the power?"

"I did increase the power; I could feel a ton of extra energy being poured into the casting. It was the final result that didn't change at all. Like I've got this limit put on me that I can't get around."

"Excuse me for how this may sound, but is it possible that you're giving yourself too much credit?" Ragna gave her an odd look, too dumbfounded by her comment to feel insulted. "You're learning these spells at an almost impossible pace even if you are only using their base power. Isn't it more likely that you're not completely used to the castings yet?"

"Normally you'd have a point," Ragna reluctantly agreed. "But what are the odds that I cast a new spell the exact same way when I'm trying to improve? If anything, it should have gone haywire."

"…I guess that's true," the alchemist admitted as she thought back to some of Nine's more forced castings. "Do you want me to summon more training dummies?"

"Not yet, I should…" Ragna paused for a moment as he gave a noticeable grimace. It only lasted a moment, but the pain that had caused it felt sharp as a dagger. Obviously, Trinity had noticed and her concern had seemed to reach its peak. "…Relax, it's just a headache. I'll call it quits once I get down the next spell. I even go and finally get some sleep right afterwards."

"…Alright," Trinity said with a sigh as she handed him the final papers.

'She not fighting me on this? Guess I finally made it clear just how stubborn I really am.' he thought studied his earlier notes. "So you want me to learn the Chain Lightning spell?"

"Yes. Back when our guild was full of proper mages, many of them were skilled in this particular spell. It's one of the more practical spells, though it's also one of the harder to cast at even its base level. If anything this will be a good indicator if you really do have some form of a limit on you."

"Right, make sure it's not just a lack of skill," Ragna agreed, focusing intently on his notes. "Gotta say that you're really putting my feet to the fire with this one; those last two spells don't even come close to this one's complexity." Handing the notes back, he took a deep breath to center himself. "All right, time to go for it."

Casting her regular spell, Trinity managed to call another ten targets into form. Their placement wasn't a straight line this time however, they were spread out along the clearing in different directions and distances. Ragna knew how this was supposed to test his spell, but instead of worrying on that he focused on the initial casting. Much like he'd said earlier, the casting of this one was far more complex and even with the Azure's power guiding his magic he wasn't able to even conjure the lightning around his hand at first. Knowing it was dangerous just to put more pressure and force the casting (though it had hardly stopped him before), Ragna just took the casting slow and let it come naturally to him. His effort was eventually reward as azure blue spark emitted from his hand before they began to form proper strands of lightning. A while later and the spell had finally seemed to form in his hands. Thrusting his open palm forward to cast Chain Lightning, a long bolt of electricity arced out and his target dead on and caused it to explode from the magic. From that explosion another stray bolt arced out and destroyed another target, two targets down from one casting.

'Damn. I was really carefully in casting that and I only managed to get one extra target, it wasn't even the one I was going for. It was just the closest to the first target. The way this book describes this spell's base level, it should have been able to destroy seven of them in one casting and I should be able to pick out my targets and the order that they're destroyed in. And given how slow I was just casting this I doubt a second try would-'

Grunting at the sudden pain in his head again, he lurched forward and gripped his forehead. Unlike the last time, this pain wasn't subsiding quickly and the agitation only seemed to be growing. Fighting through it, he glanced at Trinity who looked concerned but refrained from making a comment.

"…Kind of a waste that I came out this entire way, and all I got were a couple of magic castings as practice," Ragna muttered with a sigh.

"Not at all; it's better that you made sure you couldn't do any real damage if your magic truly went haywire. None of us would want the town blowing up… or the townspeople growing fearful or the guild if any of them caught sight of your spellcasting."

'I wanted to be alone in the first place,' Ragna thought slightly irately to himself. 'It helps keep my secrets from getting out. Should I have tried to hold back my magic? Nah, then I wouldn't have accomplished anything. It's too late to do anything differently anyways.' "Come on then, let's head back and I can make good on my promise. First thing, straight to bed."

"While that was the deal, could I tempt you with a cup of tea?" Trinity offered with a much more relaxed smile. "It's not much, but it will at least help your body to relax and dull those headaches of yours."

"Not much of a tea drinker to be honest, but if you're offering it then thanks," he agreed with a tired smirk as he remembered that it was Trinity's classic method of calming rather hostile situations… like when he'd first ran into her and Konoe. "So, any advice you can give me after today?"

"…I'd tell you to be careful and to not take things too fast, but I imagine you'd rather have some advice you'll actually listen to." Her smile hadn't faded in the slightest.

"Hey…"

Meanwhile -The Academy Kitchens-

"Much as I enjoy getting a rise out of you Queen Bitch, you do know that you don't have to eat here, right?" Terumi said as she closely observed a boiling pot of eggs. "Since you got here, I think the water's only grown hotter. And if you could glare any harder, I'm fairly sure this minty hair of mine would've been alit by now."

"Shut up, I need to start saving up so it's no wonder that I'm eating here," the pink haired mage retorted as she took a spoonful of soup Ragna had made that morning for the guild.

"Right, Trinity's birthday is coming up soon enough, isn't it? Gotta make sure you don't blow all of your money on drinks before you buy her a nice present… again." Terumi didn't have to look behind her to see that Nine was forming a fireball, she could already tell by the noticeable temperature jump. "Oh put that away, will you? We both know that all that's going to happen is you getting in trouble, Celica lecturing you about your temper, and-" The flames finally fade. "Now isn't that better?"

"Again, shut up. Or better, maybe you can explain what you're still doing here?" Terumi didn't give an immediate answer. "Normally you only stick around this long when you're taking a break, and even then you're still looking for your next couple of jobs. But not this time, so what's changed?"

"What's wrong with putting my feet up every now and again? I can't just be all work and no play; sounds way too dull for my liking," Terumi retorted. "But you're right, I normally don't stay around our peaceful little slice of land. Not when there's so much going on in the rest of the world! You've been around, you can see the chaos and that it's only getting worse."

"And I'm worried how much of that chaos you're causing on purpose," Nine countered.

"Please darling, I'm a professional," Terumi responded, almost showing that she was the more levelheaded of the two. "But on my travels I heard a couple of rumors about this guy. At first I thought it was just exaggerated bar talk, making some up and coming warrior look like he was a mountain itself. But there was something different about these stories, no matter where I heard them in the next few weeks, they all said the same thing. Now I'm not one for gossip-"

"Liar."

"But I know that if rumors can agree with one another, then it's more probable that there's some truth to it. And seeing him in person not only confirms all of that, but it also tells me something even better." Konoe felt herself get a bit worried as she saw Terumi's toothy grin. "Whether he wants it or not, his sudden rise to fame is the very definition of chaos. I've got no idea what's going on with him and I don't want to miss any of it!"

"…I guess I should've known it was something like that," Nine responded with a sigh.

"That being said, I wish he didn't look like a wall of meat," Terumi added. "Most of the barbarians I run into don't look half that crazy. Magic or not, that body of his is downright absurd."

"For once you're not wrong." Obviously, Konoe hated when she had to agree with her mint haired colleague.

That Night -Unknown-

"Okay… what the hell was in that tea that Trinity gave me?"

Ragna asked himself this as he glanced around a setting he'd been in only once before. A ruined temple with the view of a black stormy sky through the window cracks. His last time here he'd found himself inside the granite hallway, but now it seemed like he was inside a lobby of sorts. There appeared to be six entrances, four of them were walled off by thorns and the fifth appeared to be the same granite one that he'd appeared in last time. The second open tunnel was made of marble and looked like it was emitting a strange light. Speaking of light, each entrance also had a pair of lamps decorating either side though only the granite hall's lamps were lit with Azure flames.

"Great, just great. If I'm here, that means…" He glanced around, but didn't find the enigma he was looking for. "Pandora? Hey! Pandora! Get your ass out here! I'm not up for any of your shit!" Nothing, not for the full minute he waited. "So she's not here. I guess I should happy, but if I need her help again I'm screwed… at least this is back."

That last statement was actually said with something of a smile as Ragna glanced down. Now he was finally garbed in his traditional red coat and black hakama set. He still didn't have the Aramasa, but since it had been his intention to leave his sword behind he couldn't reasonably be upset with its absence. Of course he was shorter than when he'd fallen asleep, now only above average in height instead of the behemoth this last visit here had made him. Although being here a second time…

"I'm about to get another crazy growth spurt outta nowhere, aren't I?" he thought aloud with a groan. "I guess I gotta deal with that, it's not like I could get out of here last time without obtaining that Azure thing. Still, can't exactly keep a low profile with that shit."

Knowing he'd have to deal with it when he was out of here, Ragna made his way down the new hallway. While the seemingly endless corridor didn't appear to have anything noteworthy in it, Ragna still kept a vigilant watch for the Seither-like beasts he'd encountered the last time he'd been forced here. To be fair he didn't have a solid plan of dealing with them past running like hell, but it didn't hurt to be ready when he really needed to book it. Much to his fortunate surprise, he didn't encounter anything of the sort and eventually found himself at the vortex at the end of the hallway like he had the last time he'd been here.

"What gives with the easy route; I was expecting a real shitfest to slog through," Ragna muttered as he glanced down into the raging vortex. "Of course I might be saying that for nothing. Last time, this was where the real trouble started." The setting, the damn monster that had stood in his way, and that was when he'd at least had a solid weapon on him. He couldn't feel his usual connection to the Azure Grimoire despite his old form either, so he wasn't exactly drowning in options.

"Well then, damned if you do… etcetera," Ragna muttered as he launched himself off the side. Falling into the depth once more, he closed his eyes and awaited the change of scenery. Feeling the air around him shift he opened his eyes and saw… another marble room. "Okay… pretty I've never been here before. What gives?"

In front of him in the center of the room rested a plaque with the words The Origin of Power written on it. It was in the same language he'd used back home, not this world's version which he'd come to learn as a child. Behind the plaque were two mirrors floating in midair reflecting himself, the room, and a…

"HOLY-!?"

It was another of the black beast headed creatures from last time, frightening similar in design to the apocalyptic monster that had only barely been able to stop in the past. Unlike the warrior that he'd faced last time, this one was different. Still towering over his at an absurd 16 feet tall, but was sitting cross legged. Clad in a cloak, the creature held a long papyrus scroll in its right clawed hand and a scale in its left. Beneath its hood Ragna could easily see the head of the Black Beast, the familiar bestial features an apt representation of how powerful these monsters could really be. However, this one didn't appear to have the same battle lust as its predecessor, only waving its hands to cause a shift in the air.

"CHOOSE."

The monster didn't move from its position as it continued to stare down Ragna with its red glowing eyes. Daring to glance behind him in the presence of such a danger, Ragna saw now that the mirrors had been filled with an image on each of them. The one the left showed Ragna glowing with the darkness of the Azure Grimoire as he fought down Hakumen. Upon closer inspection, Ragna recognized that particular event by the setting; it was when he'd first encountered the leader of the Six Heroes and had been hopelessly outmatched. Even with the increased power output from his restriction release, the best he'd been able to do was outmatch Hakumen before Kokonoe finally managed to recapture him. The other picture was somehow even less flattering, showing Ragna in the earlier days of his training as his master Jubei threw him on his ass. Those days had been particularly brutal for Ragna, as he'd never had much sense to interpret Jubei's oddly cryptic instructions. More than once his master had scolded his lack of progress… and he still wasn't sure that the old cat had ever truly accepted him as a warrior. Harsh as these training memories might've been, Ragna still felt a soft pang of lonesomeness as he missed his old teacher.

'Choose between these two, and it's supposed to be the source of my power…' Ragna gave an audible sigh. 'What is this? A personality quiz? Get real.' Turning his attention back to the creature, slowly made his way towards the two mirrors. The judge-like being made no attempts to stop him and soon he was in front of the mirror of his choice. '…At least they made this an easy choice.'

Touching the mirror with Jubei's training on it, Ragna felt himself become covered in a bright light before the room appeared to reset. Or was he in a completely new one? He couldn't tell. The judge was there as well in the exact same spot as last time. Now there were three different mirrors, and the plaque at the front had different text than the last one.

Who was the greatest threat?

"CHOOSE."

Again the mirrors brought forth a different image. The first one was of the Mad Puppeteer, Relius Clover. The next was of the imperator, Hades Izanami… Saya herself. Then at least came… Ragna had been expecting to see either Yuuki Terumi or the recompleted Susanoo, but this mirror remained as just that; a mirror.

"…Something wrong with the signal?" Ragna asked sarcastically.

"CHOOSE."

"Right."

Daft as everyone might've claimed him to be, Ragna knew what the last mirror represented, and he also knew that it was the right choice. Relius and Izanami were destructive forces to be sure, but they were still bound by the laws of the past world and still had limits to what events they could influence. Himself though… if he hadn't removed himself, the world would have remained stagnant. Trapped in a never ending hell of repeated cycles. If that was to be its fate, then of course he was the true danger… save if Terumi had been an option. Touching the mirror that represented his own reflection, a familiar bright flash of light and he found himself in front of four mirrors this time. Looking at the plaque once more, it now read The Ideal Ending.

"Ideal?" he repeated aloud.

"CHOO-"

"Yeah, yeah; I get it. Just get on with this damn self-reflection, will ya?" The low growl that Ragna heard coming from the creature made him think that he was pissing it off… honestly, he felt a little too satisfied at that fact. The four mirrors then shimmered as they each gave off a different possibility.

Save for the first one apparently, because this one appeared to be blank. Ragna had an idea what this one represented, but instead focused his attention elsewhere. The second one showed him surrounded by Kagura, Jin, Noel, and even a few NOL members. At first he though this was supposed to be his grand arrest or execution, but then noticed the papers he was holding in his hand. While he couldn't make out most the writing, the word 'Pardon' was apparent enough. The third showed what appeared to be Kagutsuchi in flames while he stood at the center of the destruction, smirking evilly as Jin, Tsubaki, Makoto, Kagura, Hibiki, and even Noel lie defeated at his feet… he was rather certain they weren't just unconscious.

'…Not that one.'

Somehow, the fourth and final image was an oddity even compared to those that came before it. It showed a figure that appeared to be completely made out of the Azure Flame. In his hands he held a collection of stars that seemed to form the world itself. In the other hand, Ragna could see the figure's hand waving above those stars, seeming to influence the events that would take place. The world would become perfect in the creature's… no, in his perfect image. That of a god.

'Is that what would've happened to me if I hadn't tried to erase myself? Taking all of that power of possibility and shaping the world with it… that ain't my damn job.'

Waving it off, he moved onto the picture showing him getting pardoned for his attacks on the NOL branches. While those he could consider to be on good terms with seemed happy enough for him, it didn't take a genius to see the rest of the army appeared less than pleased by these events. There was part of him that couldn't help but want this, to see what everyone made with the new world with his own eyes… but he knew it would never work.

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?" Ragna growled as he finally choose the blank mirror that symbolized his lack of existence. Another bright light, another shift, and now with only three mirrors in front of him. "Funny, I was expecting five choices. Running out of ideas?"

"CHOOSE."

"Fun talking to you too," the former Reaper muttered as he read the plaque. "Desires of the Future, eh? Not sure what I can really say about this. What even are my options?"

Glancing at the first option, Ragna was even less of a fan of these questions. Much like the previous 'bad end' option, the world itself seemed to be on fire and Ragna himself was sitting in the middle of a destroyed army. There were countless banners desecrated around him, showing the different nations that had seen him as a threat and tried to stop him. He himself was in the center of this chaos with a shit-eating smirk that looked closer to a face that the old Terumi would have in the middle of his own carnage… Frankly, Ragna wondered why this monster had even made this an option.

The next option was easily better (kinda hard to get any worse than the last one), but Ragna could hardly consider it a Desire of his. Now the Reaper appeared in shining knight's armor with a red cape flowing majestically in the wind behind him. He was walking through a large crowd of what appeared to be cheering people, flower petals falling through the air to welcome him home as a champion of the realm. Maybe even a hero if that was what it was trying to show. Ragna didn't necessarily have a problem with taking credit for his supposed good deeds, but he couldn't help but feel that somehow he was being used here. A tool of the system.

"Still pass. Which leaves… huh."

Ragna's last option here actually looked like they had a couple of things going for him. Swords, Axes, Lances, and plenty of other weaponry lay broken a strewn about but not a drop of blood accompanying them. Instead there were such things as a farming scythe, a desk with a few tomes, some paper, and a quill on top of it, and even a few of those theater masks he remembered seeing. Perhaps this was to signify and end to wars so the world could flourish and develop in peace? He actually kinda liked that idea. Helping it further were the broken shackles and what appeared to be destroyed slave collars. While Ragna hadn't seen any forms of slavery in the towns he'd been to, he at least figured this might've meant an end to the damn Half-Elf prejudice. Then Ragna saw where he fit into this and he grew powerfully hesitant. Dressed in a regal gown, sitting bored on a large thrown, with a jagged crown made of ruby and ebony. If he'd wanted this outcome for the world, he was going to have to lead it there.

"…Not my style," Ragna decided before shaking his head.

"CHOOSE."

"Choose what? Your options here all suck ass," he crassly informed the monster behind him. "Maybe if you'd give me something that I actually could've worked with I'd- UGH!?"

"CHOOSE!"

Dark lightning bolt had emerged from the creature and were painfully shocking the Reaper. He'd been hit by attacks from being who could have been considered gods and this wasn't even his first time being hit by magic, but something about this effect was striking him to his very core and amplified the sensation of pain even further. All Ragna could do was clench his teeth and not give the monster the satisfaction of hearing him scream. To him this tortuous sequence lasted an eternity, but it eventually did cease as he fell to his knees, catching his breath and sweating from the lingering sensations.

"CHOOSE."

'So that's it then,' Ragna though with a harsh scowl at the judge. Every part of him wanted to rush this monster down and put an end to him, but if that last blast was anything to go off of this was one fight he couldn't hope to win… not like this at least. Returning his attention to the choice presented to him, he reluctantly selected the third option with him as some form of a leader. 'Dammit if this doesn't leave a sour taste in my mouth, but I guess it's not like I have to make good on any of this. Just give him what he wants, get the Azure, and get the hell out.'

The bright light shifting the world around him again, this time Ragna found him in an odd circular room. At the center sat the monster while Ragna stood closer to one of its edges. A collection of mirrors floated around in the walls, though none of them had been given an image yet.

"THE FINAL CHOICE." Now the monster was speaking in full sentences, and at least Ragna knew he was almost out of whatever the world had decided to put him through. Waving its hand, images filled the mirrors once more. More accurately, portraits of people that Ragna used to know; those he'd met back in his home world. "FOR THE REST TO BE SAVED, TWO MUST BE SACRIFICED. CHOOSE."

"Sacrificed?" Ragna repeated as he felt his blood grow cold. The mirrors continued to rotate, showing people like Bang Shishigami, Bullet, and Rachel. Intently watching the images, he tried to watch for the people he'd been trying to stop. Terumi obviously, Relius, even Azrael wouldn't cause him to lose that much sleep. But they never appeared… it would have been too easy. "What… what the hell is this?"

"CHOOSE."

"You can't expect me to go through with this!" Ragna shouted as he turned back to the creature. "This sick game of yours-!"

"CHOOSE!"

Though it didn't strike Ragna with the same intensity as it had last time, the same dark lightning cackled around the area and hit Ragna to remind him of the painful death he'd be in for if he didn't answer here. Gritting his teeth, he turned his attention back to the rotating pictures as his mind raced for an answer.

'Come on idiot, it's not like choosing here is actually going to kill them… Oh what am I saying, that could totally happen here. Somehow the Azure is involved so choosing a person here could mean god knows what!' The risk presenting itself, Ragna's eye landed on Platinum the Trinity. 'Wait, this brat is actually two souls crammed into one body. Three if Trinity herself is involved. Is this an answer to a damn trick question?' Slowly reaching forward out of desperate instinct, Ragna stopped himself as he realized what he was doing. 'Stop it. Even if those twerps were hell to deal with, you can't just throw them away like that. But it's not like anyone else is a good option…'

"CHOOSE."

Ragna could feel the crackle of dark lightning coming from behind him again, already he had to fight to keep from wincing. He knew what was in store if he continued to hesitate, not mention what would happen if he refused outright. Any action he took was a risk in some way… and he'd be damned if he took the coward's way. Turning on his heel and blasting forward, he brought his fist back to smash the monster in what would likely be his only attack. The monster's lightning shocked him with an even greater intensity from before and even packed enough force to slow his lunge to a halt. Ragna fell to his knees right before the monster.

"CHOOSE!"

Ragna couldn't even come up with one of his snarky comebacks or profane insults through the mind-numbing pain. Even Rachel's lighting had never felt this bad and Ragna knew he'd been on the receiving end of her serious attacks. He knew it wasn't as strong though, there was something else about it. Eventually the lightning faded and the Reaper could barely hold himself up.

"CHOOSE!"

"Screw your… damn decisions," Ragna forced out. His reward was another barrage of pain going right to his core. The attacks were becoming more intense and he felt dangerously close to blacking out… but he wasn't out yet. 'I've got… one chance at this.'

Managing to adapt to the pain coursing through his very being, Ragna raised himself to his feet. The monster's only response to increase the electricity's output at he who dared to refuse their trial, only to see that the Reaper wasn't falling. With one final war cry, Ragna launched himself forward in a final reckless attempt.

"CHOOSE!"

"FINE! HERE'S MY ANSWER YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Now the lightning could do nothing to stop him now. Closing the distance and force his final haymaker forward, he only barely made connection with the monster before everything went white.

"…What?"

The creature was gone. The pain he'd been put through had also disappeared completely. And his surroundings had changed from the marble room to a location from his past; one he knew quite well.

'This is… the Cauldron below Kagutsuchi,' Ragna realized as he looked around cautiously. 'Is this from when I had to fight off the masked freak and Nu? Or is it…?'

Noticing some of the key details, he had his answer. Long gashes on the ground that had not formed during the first fight, patches still frozen from Yukianesa, and other areas melted from plasma based weaponry. Despite these signs of damage, Ragna smiled softly.

"This was when I stopped Noel. Right after Terumi had finished smelting her into some damn God Killing Sword. The way she was, no one could do damn thing about her." He gave a low sigh. "At that point even Rachel thought I'd have to kill her before things went too far. And all she'd wanted was to talk to me. Just a sad little girl in way over her head and completely unaware of what she was doing."

Raising his left, Ragna took a good long look at his second replacement. In his last ditch effort to change her back, he'd reversed the flow of his Azure to undo Terumi's smelting. His surviving natural arm had been the price to pay, sacrificed as energy and material to bring her back.

"…Worth every damn cell."

As soon as he'd said that, a dull blue glow started shining from the edge of the Cauldron. It was another sphere of Azure like he'd found the last time he'd been here. Smirking, he realized that this trail had finally ended.

"Time to wake up from this damn dream," he said confidently as he reached for the object… only to stop short. "Dream… if this is supposed to be a dream, then why does the Azure only impact my body when I'm awake? And this place is the only one where I still have my actual form, so is waking up the actual dream? What side of this is real? And just what the hell am I doing by collecting these things?"

Too many questions swarming his mind, none of it Ragna could actually make sense of. In the end, he finally decided that there was nothing he could do now. And besides…

"As long at the end of the day I'm still me…" Ragna began as he touched the sphere and began absorbing the warm essence. "Then why the hell should I care?"

Trudalla Mage's Guild -Ragna's Room-

Ragna groaned as he lifted his head, but instead of feeling a throbbing headache his head somehow felt painfully empty. As his vision cleared from sleep, he found that he'd at least awoken in his guild's bedroom where he'd fallen asleep. Glancing outside the far window and judging the time by the sun's position in the sky, he'd slept in pretty late. It was already mid-day and most of the guild would be gathering for lunch. In spite of this, he smirked slightly to himself.

"At least this time I don't have to worry about causing a damn scene."

Throwing the blanket off, he was about to get out of bed and get changed into his regular clothes… only to realize that his bed suddenly seemed larger than when he'd gotten in.

"…You gotta be kidding me."

The Guild Mess Hall

"He's… at a saner height and muscle mass now at least?"

Somehow it sounded like Terumi was trying to help. Minus their leader, everyone Ragna had met at the guild was in the mess hall for their mid-day break and all of them were at a loss for words as they stared at the changed Reaper. Thankfully Ragna's reversal in height hadn't been a complete 180, but going from his titanic and absurd height of 6'10 back down to his more classic 6'1 was enough to garner a couple of looks. Aside from his still matching blue eyes, he looked exactly the same as he had in that strange dream world… the same as he had back home. The only one that didn't seem offset by the change was Jubei, who was already rubbing against Ragna leg and expecting his daily pampering.

"What even happened to you?" Clause demanded as he adjusted his glasses, trying to make sure he wasn't just going crazy.

"…Probably something Trinity put in her tea last night," he offered as a terrible excuse.

"There were only basic herbs in that," the alchemist weakly defended.

"Same thing happened… in Trudalla," Silvana explained. "Grew like crazy… after being covered… in blue flames."

"That could explain it," Terumi agreed as she remembered the rumors she'd heard surrounding Ragna the first time.

"Does it really matter? He looks even better now," Celica said a-matter-of-factly, causing a couple of people to do a double take.

"Celica, that's not the issue here," her sister said sternly, before focusing on Ragna with a harsh glare. "You really have no idea what's going on?"

"Clueless."

It wasn't a lie, Ragna had no solid evidence what the point in that strange other world was or how it really interacted with this one. He had a few vague theories, but that's all they were. Considering his present company, these magically gifted individuals might've had a better insight into his powers than he had. That said the fact that a few of them had been his some of his greatest threats in his past life made it risky for him to show anything off.

"What a minute? How are you still wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" Trinity asked as she got up and thoroughly inspected Ragna's clothing. "This is the same outfit you were wearing for certain, so why do is look like it fits you better now than it used to?"

"Easy, I just stopped by one of the alchemy tables on my way here to change it to a more suitable size." At least that explanation was simple one that wouldn't needlessly make things difficult.

"And you got it right on your first try, without any difficulty?" the alchemist asked again.

"Yeeeeah? What's the big deal? I've already done it before," the former Reaper tried to remind his instructor for that field. As Trinity seemed to be focusing her gaze on him, Ragna then noticed Konoe doing the same thing. "…You two are starting to scare me. What's going on?"

"The flow of your magical energy has changed considerably, how could we not have seen it earlier?" Nine said as if that were painfully obvious. "Short version, your much more in control of your inner magics and I think that helped with when you tried to adjust your clothes. In fact it looks like your magic ability as a whole has gotten a significant increase."

"Seriously?" Ragna responded simply as he thought it over. While he could've tried channeling something there in the moment to test that theory, again he was trying to keep his powers on the down low. "…So I get and increase in magical power and my body shrinks? Seems like an odd trade off."

"Considering how you got that huge increase in height in the first place, nothing about this could really be normal," Clause reminded. "But it's still strange that you'd get a negative impact like that if… Ragna, can you please pick up that water barrel to your right? The still full one."

"Sure, I guess," Ragna said as he lifted the object with ease. "So?"

"How does it feel? Any more difficult to pick up than it was yesterday?" the elven mage questioned. Ragna shook his head. "I see… The theory that I have at the moment is that while your body's mass has changed, its overall physical strength has not been negatively impacted."

"So his body is back to… normal then," Nine summarized. "But how did it get so exaggerated like that in the first place if its back to normal now?"

"Unclear. Another part of my hypothesis is that whatever's fueling his power was too powerful for him to adapt to at first, or it was set of prematurely. Likely a case can be made for both."

'Damn you, Pandora. It's almost like you wanted me to cause a scene,' Ragna thought irately, keeping in mind that he'd have words for the enigmatic woman the next time they met.

"So what's your plan now?" Trinity asked and showing even more concern for Ragna.

"…Think it's time I left town for a bit. I'd rather not cause much of scene while I'm here and it's time I moved on anyways." 'That, and it'd be better if I got out of here before Relius Clover caught on.' "Since the day's already started, I'll spend the rest of it preparing and head out tomorrow."

"Am I… staying here?" Ragna glanced to Silvana, his usual traveling companion in this world. Thankfully, she didn't seem too hurt or offended. A little disappointed though for sure. "…Konoe told me."

"Konoe, huh?"

"What? I told you that I'd keep an eye on her when you weren't at the guild," the other pink haired mage reminded. "She's safe here with us. Besides, it's probably better that you head for the capital and make sure you're ready for the next round of the Holy Horizon."

"Right, there was that too," Ragna nodded. "I guess that's the plan for now."

"Almost the plan." Terumi had finally spoken to break her silence only to receive a low groan from Ragna. "Hey, hey. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I've just a couple of things to show off before you head off into the world. For an up and coming Magus like you, they're practically essentials. You got some magic, but I've got a few helpful tips for you before you shove off."

"More like a headache for the road," Ragna returned.

"So judgmental and we haven't even started yet," Terumi gasped, pretending like she was hurt by the insult. Getting up from the table, she short Ragna a smirk before she started walking out. "Meet me in the training room in a half hour. This won't take long at all."

'Guess I'll have to see what it is she wants me for,' Ragna thought bitterly to himself. 'Last time she almost got me when she fired off that damn spell at me. I'm probably better equipped to handle anything she tries now that my magic got an increase, but… what's she plotting?'

An hour and a half later

"Great, says that she's got something for me and what does she do? Keep me waiting," Ragna growled as he continued to pace from one end of the training room to the next. Truth to be told he'd tried leaving an hour in thinking that he'd been stood up, but it was Silvana of all people that convinced to continue waiting. Ragna didn't like she was coming to Terumi's defense, and the thought of leaving her here almost felt… No, he'd already decided to trust Trinity and Nine with her safety. End of discussion. "Hopefully, she take after the calmer of those two."

Letting out another annoyed sigh, Ragna glanced around the room. Judging by the stillness around him and the lack of any other presences, he should have been alone in this room. That was if this city full of mages hadn't developed a way to spy on him without his knowledge or if they hadn't gotten bored waiting for him to do something of interest. He was rightfully a little worried that it was still a chance for Terumi, but for now he decided to take that chance. Summoning the Azure Flames to his hands, he was able to hold the unburning flame with ease. Even for something crafted by magic itself (or whatever was powering it) Ragna could always tell that it was exceptional, not of this world. But now he could feel it. Every flicker of flames, every bit of power flowing outwards, every instance of its shape, it was like it had become a very extension, no an expression of who he was… it almost scared him.

'Just what is this? What the hell am I for that matter?' he thought. Sensing a familiar presence before hearing footsteps, Ragna forced the flames to dissipate the instant before Terumi barged through the doors. Quickly collecting himself to form his classic scowl he glared at this… thing. "You're late."

"Sorry about that, I just figured I'd help you with a few steps for… convenience sake," she told him with a half smirk. "Before we get started though, I have a quick question for you; how could you tell I was hiding knives on me?"

"You seem the type. And instinct," he lied. "And I wasn't wrong."

"No, you weren't. And more to point I'm impressed," she told him truthfully as he came forward and held out something. "Here."

"What the-!?" he said before looking at his "gift" with a skeptic gaze. "A ring? Why the hell are you giving me this?"

"Well…" she began with a giggle. "I guess you could call it a propo-"

"BLUUUUGH!"

"Huh!? What the-!?"

Ragna sudden response to that implication had been to vomit, violently. His stomach had only been filled with a quick lunch, but the shock on both of their faces was clearly apparent. Ragna's from Terumi's joke, and Yuuki herself from the end result. Ragna looked at her in a painful glare before doubling over and dry retching.

"Don't… do that."

"I… why did you just… do that?"

"Don't just set me off like that… seriously," Ragna said through pained breaths. "Damn it… For you to just-"

"Just what?" the hooded woman demanded.

"Just… that."

"Oh I get it… I'm really that disgusting to you, am I?" Terumi demanded. There was an unfamiliar strain on her voice.

'Wait, is she…?' "Ugh, what?"

"What? What!? I'll tell you what! I'm OFFENDED. I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE!" she shouted at him. "Sure I'm trying to have some fun with you, but it's nothing harmful. I was playing! You're the one here treating me like I'm a damn parasite even though when I'm here to help you!? What? You think I'd be better off dead?"

'…Did I actually just hurt her feelings?' Ragna was a little too confused to feel guilty. "Look, I'm sorry and-"

"You don't mean it!"

"I'm trying."

"No you're not!"

'….Dammit, she has my number.' "Look, just give me what you can here to help me with. Or don't. Either way I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

"Fine, take these then," she ordered as she tossed the ring she'd showed him along with a second one she'd been hiding. Both rings appeared to be crafted from simple steel, yet pulsed with energy from their magic engravings. One engraving was crimson while the other was pitch black. Still not trusting of Terumi he tried sensing out their energies for anything malicious. "What's the hold up? Put them on."

'Doesn't look like she's trying to curse me with these or anything, but I don't know what these are for… then again, I didn't try looking.' Putting each of the artifacts on separate ring fingers, Ragna was surprised by how natural the fit was. "I should warn you; I don't exactly have the best experience with magical artifacts. Most of them blow up the second I try to use them."

"Not problem, just go for it," she told him strictly. "Besides, whatever control you gained last night should help now, no? Just trust that… unless you're trying to blow it up intentionally."

'Wow, someone's holding a grudge,' the former Reaper thought to himself. Sending a small pulse into the black ring on his right hand, the engraving gave a harsh glow before a surge of power conjured into Ragna's hands. It quickly took shape and became solid to form- "A scythe."

"Yep, seemed to be your preferred weapon so I got you that from the blacksmith shop. The other ring has a Zweihänder inside it, but all I really did was look for the biggest blade that they had. You seem the type to grab the largest thing in the area and swing it around with reckless abandon. Am I wrong?"

"…Pretty on the nose honestly," he admitted as he looked at the scythe. 'So these rings help carry different weapons? I guess that would be useful, but…' "You do realize that-?"

"I know that you can create weapons out of your magical energy. I can do it too, but it's too costly to form an entire style around," she informed. "How strong are the weapons you create?"

"Last I checked they were fine, but well-crafted steel would still be a little better," Ragna revealed. "Of course that was before I obtained all of this control."

"And that's going to help, but it's not going to make it better than what you can achieve with an actual weapon. Not by a long shot. The stronger you make that weapon, the more energy it's going to maintain. Even skilled mages would be drained in minutes if they constantly kept a full output. This weapon here will give you somewhere around those results and all you have to do is summon it."

"…I get it now," he said as he glanced at the scythe. "There's magic in this thing beside whatever's bonding it with that ring. You had this enchanted."

"Yes, and that's why I was an hour late," she responded, trying to stay on her streak of verbal payback to the Reaper. "Listen up; there are three usual means of getting the best weapon you can. The first is the base material. Both weapons were made of high quality steel. The next is the skill of the blacksmith, and while he's not a living legend our local man has a strong reputation. And finally, there's the strength of the enchanter. I put a little something on the scythe, Queen Bitch did the sword."

'This couldn't have been cheep then.' Was Ragna just being stubborn in clinging to his old hatred? Was this version of Terumi actually different? …He still couldn't be certain. "What kind of enchantments?"

"On the sword she put a strong Razor Edge enchantment. Pretty straightforward, just gives the sword itself much more cutting power. For the scythe I did something a little more personal. When you cut someone with this you'll absorb some of their… force."

"Life force?" Ragna guessed.

"Nothing so harsh, but I'm honestly not sure what it's taking. The best I can guess is… fighting spirit?" she didn't sound so sure. "Either way, this will give you a noticeable boost whenever you use it on an enemy. And that's not all with these weapons either; I had Trinity use her alchemy magic to strengthen all of the materials. Any better and these magic weapons would be comparable to the royal guard's."

"…Then you really went all out to help me," he realized before slouching slightly. "…Sorry… For being an ass."

"…You really mean that?" she asked, looking closely at Ragna.

"Yeah…" he said hesitantly, uncomfortable with her so close.

"Well…" she began before turning on her heel. "You'll have plenty of time to make it up to me on the road."

"Make it up to you on the what?" Ragna blurted out immediately.

"The road. I'm coming with you," she decided.

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am. I'm still offended."

"No you're not! This is just… you set me up!"

"Sorry! Can't hear you. Too busy planning for our trip! Make sure you clean up that vomit!"

'…Kill her. I am going to kill her by the end this trip. I know it.' Ragna let out a sigh. 'At least this time I can keep an eye on her but… good god.'

Author's Note

Say it with me everyone… Another chapter that doesn't have a lot of story significance, but will set up other important events. God, it should just be my catchphrase at this point. At least Grimm Reaper's is about to move along. Got kind of a big update spree going on that one.

Which brings me to my next point. After the next chapter of Grimm Reaper's of Remnant, I'm going to give another story an update. I have three options listed on my profile page, so submit your votes if you haven't already. I'll close the poll and start working on it when that GRR chapter is out so… you probably still have about a month… or two.

Lastly before I address the reviews, I've started streaming lately on my YouTube channel and have even worked in some live commentary and fan interaction. Right now I'm doing a weekly stream of Final Fantasy VII (1997) while also doing a much more frequent steam called 'Sticking with It' where I try to adapt to BlazBlue now that I'm using an arcade stick.

Whew, that's enough shameless plugging. Onto the reviews.

Vanitas50: Well it naturally worked its way into the story. You're very welcome all the same.

ArmntusCumPinnae: I already know what I'm going to do with Rachel, but it's not something Ragna will be able to do in the near future.

The Unplanner: Considering that magic in this world is much less strict on who can use it, he'll most certainly have that ability.

Doctor Snake Eater: Toast and troll roast. Best part of waking up.

Wlyman2009: Eesh, this was made back in April of last year. Gives you an idea of where we were.

Twylaken: Not that Ragna's changing location, you can expect more chances to encounter the upcoming characters.

Rialga: That's all for the guild, but in other areas… well thing will be interesting.

Monkeymerc: I mean it's a pretty common ship and Jubei is… currently unviable.

Almightylord34: My god…

Guest (1): TBD.

Qmaster: Tempting.

Lovnag: Really? Well I'm glad to see you're such a fan.

Niphilim: Thanks for the check, I just try to catch this stuff in post.

Hotshot6: Ragna did too… hence the violent vomiting.

Guest (2): Sadly you certainly had to.

Guest (3): Well they're already bickering like mad now.

BlitzNeutral69: The fact that you have 69 in your name clears a lot of things up.

Beard-Cutter: A needed change for the story. If Terumi acted too much like their old self, then Ragna would have killed them on the spot.

Yuki terimi: Uh...

Neogoki: No… but according to this there's still a system for Ragna to break.

Galiono: I wouldn't call it underrated, but thanks for the support.

Until next time! Ciao!