What on earth was she doing? How could she leave someone to die for her, without doing everything in her power to defeat the evil that threatened the both of them? She needed to turn back right now, and join Ragna in bringing down that monster. But…what could she hope to do? Azrael would just swat her aside, no more threat to him than a fly. How could so powerful a man exist, anyways? Was science just that advanced, to create a single being who alone trumped all Ars Magus development to date? And why was she just leaving Ragna to his death at such a person's hands, damn it?

The maelstrom of emotion that threatened to rip Tsubaki apart peaked, and she dropped to her knees, hugging herself and shivering. She had to go back and help Ragna. But he had a plan to defeat Azrael. And wanted her to get to safety. She had to trust him here, not throw her life away… But was hers so much more valuable than his? Azrael couldn't be allowed to roam free anymore. She had to help, but she couldn't do anything about it, but she…

Tager. She needed to get help for Tager. No matter her feelings on Sector Seven, the Red Devil had done his best to apprehend Azrael, in all likelihood saving her life and Ragna's. At least he hadn't died for her sake as well, even if it was just because Azrael found him boring. With trembling hands, she drew out the radio and fumbled with the dial. She waited on bated breath, hoping that whoever she was contacting would actually answer…

"Alright. How the hell am I being contacted by a Library radio? Ragna, if this is your idea of a joke…"

"I mean you no harm. Really." The inadvertent sniffle would probably help convince this woman, as well. "This…this is one of the top scientists from Sector Seven, right?"

"Heh. As if you could do anything to me." A prideful laugh followed. "But yeah, I am. Name's Kokonoe. Now, the hell do you want? And who are you? And how'd you get my frequency? Only about three people should have this, and none of them carry a Library signal."

"I'm…Major Tsubaki Yayoi of the NOL's Zero Squadron. Ragna gave me your frequency, and—"

"And why the hell would Ragna give a Library officer my number? Look, I've got your coordinates right now. This shit's traceable, you know. So if you can't…"

"Please, ma'am. Ragna's in trouble, and I really need to get back to him." Tsubaki shivered, knowing that desperation must have shown through in her voice. Once she was certain the scientist was listening, she continued. "I am calling you to report that Iron Tager has been defeated, and requires attention."

"…And just who did this?"

Tsubaki took a breath to steel herself. Not that it did much good, as tremors in her hand continued to shake the radio. "Another agent of Sector Seven. Azrael, who has also been pursuing Ragna and I."

Silence, for far too long for Tsubaki to be comfortable. At last, the woman on the other line spoke. "You're shitting me. Azrael…how the hell is he doing anything?!"

"He…was locked up in the past by Tager, wasn't he?" Tsubaki searched her panic-laden mind, trying to recall exactly what Tager had said. It was something to that effect. "It would seem that Sector Seven saw fit to release Azrael. He has been after us for hours now, and Ragna…" She broke off, unable to speak of his sacrifice.

"Ragna's what, exactly? Dammit, Major, this is important! Keep it together!"

Tsubaki recoiled at the reprimand, but gave an utterly pointless nod. "R-right, my apologies. Ragna…in order to spare me, is…is currently fighting Azrael alone."

"…Go figure. The guy's braindead. And what the hell happened to Tager?"

"He came to our rescue at one point and attempted to fight Azrael himself. Needless to say…he lost. But Azrael said that he left Tager alive, so…"

"So I need to drag my ass out there to collect that bucket of bolts. Got it. Yayoi, listen to me. Calm yourself down, and get the hell out of there. Ragna probably ain't gonna last long if Azrael has just one of his limiters removed, so you don't have very much time."

"But…" Tsubaki hung her head with a shudder. "I can't just leave him…"

If the silence that followed was any indication whatsoever, her words completely shocked the scientist. "…Never thought I'd see the day an NOL brat gave a shit about the Grim Reaper. But you need to pull yourself together, Major. Chances are, Ragna's just gonna run the hell away from Azrael first chance he gets if he knows he can't win."

"…I doubt it. Ragna…said he'd give Azrael a good fight, if it meant that Azrael would spare me."

Again, frozen silence followed. "…Well, damn. Never thought—well. No. He makes a living doing dumbass things." A sigh followed, and then an echo of reverberating metal. "God damn it, what the hell is wrong with that idiot? He goes through with it, he's gonna die. And if not…"

Tears leaked from Tsubaki's eyes at the implication. "I can't just let him die for my sake. I need to go back, but…"

"Listen, I'm getting down there as quickly as I can. I'll deal with Azrael. You…make sure Ragna makes it through, alright? Just try and avoid fighting Azrael if at all possible. He…well, let's just say we Sector Seven got what they wanted with him, for better or for worse."

"…What is Azrael, anyways? He…he can't be human…"

"Oh, he was at one point. I'd explain exactly what we did to him, but…well, shit, you probably wouldn't understand all the sciency shit. I'll just say the Sector modified the hell out of him, and now he could probably kick anyone's ass. Now, get going, we ain't got time for you to lollygag around."

"All…alright. Thank you very much."

With a roar, Ragna flipped toward Azrael, his sword's blade extended and angled into a scythe. The swath of caliginous shadow sank into Azrael's raised arm to little effect; Ragna grunted. "Okay, how the goddamn hell can you do that?"

"That was your plan?" Before Ragna could land, Azrael gave him a swift knee to the gut and launched him away with a punch, an orange nebula coiled around it. As Ragna bounced away, Azrael shook his head and clutched the gash that the spinning cut had engraved in his arm. "You need to do more to entertain me, Reaper! I'm still bored...maybe that girl would be a bit more fun!"

"Tch. Like you'd be able to find her again." Still, Ragna's heart stopped a moment at the threat. There wouldn't be any escaping from this, unless he wanted to sacrifice Tsubaki to this bastard. "Seriously, what the hell would you get out of tracking her down now?"

"Settlement." Azrael punched the ground, sending fissures Ragna's way. Dull crimson, the color of his aura, burned in the cracks as they snaked along the ground. Ragna jumped away from them as Azrael hefted a chunk of the street and hurled it after his prey. "If you won't give me what I want, then maybe she will!"

"Sorry, but we don't exist for your damn pleasure." Ragna ducked under the flying block of street and glared at Azrael, trying to think of anything. The harebrained plan he'd come up with, which would have ended with him bolting and Azrael none the wiser any time soon, was useless. And goddammit, if he didn't satisfy this bastard's bloodlust, Tsubaki would pay. The black mists radiating from his arm grew as he allowed more of the Azure's power to flow through him without restriction. Almost immediately, he grunted and almost doubled over. He had never demanded this much from his Grimoire before, and he hoped he'd never have to again. "Alright, you want a fight…"

Azrael's eyes widened the slightest bit from both surprise and hunger as a tar-like gangrene inched up from Ragna's shoulder to his neck and right cheek. Just what was this man? Teeth glistened as his grin widened. "Oh, this is interesting. Why did you hold such power back before, Reaper?"

Because Jubei had told him that pulling this particular stunt could end in total destruction. "Because I didn't think a dumb monkey like you was worth it. Well, whatever. Bring it!"

Ragna lunged forward with a punch. As expected, Azrael just caught it on his palm with all the effort of swatting a fly. "Good! Your talking was getting boring!"

Ragna's fist opened and clenched around Azrael's, before jerking him into a shrieking demon's head of Azure energy. To Azrael's surprise, the attack drove him back a good distance as it corroded his body. Scratching his eyes from the mist clouding his vision, Azrael failed to see Ragna's blade coming until it had already embedded itself in his gut. The blade pierced, but not all the way through. Azrael grunted as he clasped his hands to either side of the blade and pushed back, snarling as his blood dripped to the street below. They held the checkmate for several moments, hardly moving in the least.

"Die, asshole!" With a sudden surge of strength, Ragna hefted Blood-Scythe overhead and brought it down, the mists around it extending as their own blade fifteen feet past the sword's end. As the sword came up, Azrael vanished and reappeared several feet back, only to receive the Azure's scald before he could hope to react. Another charging punch followed, and this time the following burst of shadow sent Azrael skidding back. Ragna stood still, panting. He could do this, dammit. Sure, his fingers felt twisted and a veil of crimson had fallen over his eyesight, but who gave a shit? He had all this power; nothing could stand before him! "You're not walking away from this, you bastard!"

"To unveil such power for your love…heh." Azrael emerged from a hole blown into a building, limping the slightest bit. Okay, maybe he would have to increase to level 3 again after all. It was, in all likelihood, the only way to handle someone as utterly inhuman as Ragna was proving to be. Still…one more go with him at this current power. This was too fun to pass up. "Come, Ragna the Bloodedge! Feed me more! Feed me everything! I will overcome your all and consume you!"

"Still a damn nutcase, even when you're bleeding out. Fine then. Let's go." Ragna swung despite the distance, and a massive serpentine head of the same misty substance that cloaked his entire body swam over the street at Azrael. Ragna dashed after it and slashed, shadows once more extending the size of his cut.

"Growler Field!" Azrael raised both arms with hooked fingers, an ursine posture, and the red field around him swallowed both attacks. "Distance does me as much good as it does you, Reaper. Phalanx Cannon."

A bolt of the red aura fired at Ragna and caught him square in the stomach to carry him all the way back against a far building. He stuck to the wall a moment before tumbling forward to the ground…only for his fall to be intercepted by a second blast from Azrael. He dropped to his stomach and rolled to his back. Before he could get up, Azrael took a mammoth leap at him, intent on crushing Ragna beneath his feet. It was all Ragna could do to bring Blood-Scythe up and parallel to his body, braced with both arms in the hopes Azrael would land on it.

Azrael did so, coming down on its flat and delivering enough force to press it into Ragna's chest. Ragna gurgled as his breath choked and his ribs probably cracked, trying not to think of what would have happened had he not buffered the force with his sword. With a barked laugh, Azrael jumped a foot and swung around for an overhead kick at Ragna's head. On instinct, Ragna blocked with his arm, nearly shattering his bone. And once again, the sheer weight of his opponent threatened to shatter bone as Azrael landed on him again. Smirking, Azrael peered down at Ragna. "Heh. You weren't bad after all. But it's all over now! Patriot…"

Azrael hopped back and punched the ground, his aura projecting itself and burning over Ragna to paralyze him. With the ground below him shattered by the strike, Azrael dug his hands under the street and lifted. A gargantuan chunk of street rose with it, Ragna panting in agony on top of it. He tensed up, preparing to hurl several tons of rock skyward. "Apocalypse!"

Before he could throw the chunk of asphalt, however, something crashed into him from above, a star-hot globe that bowled him over onto his back. He had no time to react as a meteoric rain fell upon him, brilliant spheres of light from high above. They pummeled him like nothing else before, leaving him scorched on the street. In spite of his sheer agony, his burnt body, Azrael still managed to fight to his feet, to battle with whoever had dared interfered.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised when he saw who it was, but nevertheless the sight of Tsubaki, wincing but still preparing another attack, threw him for a brief loop. He coughed out a laugh. "Heh…should've known…Growler…"

He tried to lift his arm, to expand Dragunov to capture whatever came next. However, his body was spent, destroyed by the comets of light that had just peppered him, and he sagged back to his knees. Given time, he would no doubt recover. But…

Tsubaki's eyes opened as the point of her sword glowed with stored light. She had no idea what toll Izayoi would take on her for such an overuse of its abilities—already everything blurred beyond recognition, but Azrael's blue hair made it impossible for him to be mistaken as anyone else—but if it ended this madman's rampage, then no price was too steep. "Let sinners be punished. Let justice be done."

Kill Ragna.

No.

A white finger of light, too bright to gaze upon, jettisoned from Izayoi. Azrael had no chance to dodge the attack, or even brace himself. The laser blasted straight through his gut. He gasped once and fell forward, eyes wide and glassy. His fingers clawed in spasms at the gravel on the street as he fought to remain conscious. But he knew it was a losing effort. "…Not bad…"

As Azrael stopped moving, Tsubaki gave a scream of pure anguish and dropped to her knees, curling up in the street. Burning agony beat down her eyes, radiating through her skull until she was certain she would die from it. She trembled as she clutched her face, Izayoi's blade dropping to the ground in front of her. She opened her eyes at the clink and stared at the blue eye of its hilt. And as she did, her vision faded, her last sight the mocking visage of her weapon. As blackness overtook her, tears leaked out of useless eyes.

Something—a hand by the feel of it—descended upon her shoulder and Tsubaki gasped, looking up on instinct despite the eternal night her vision had become. The hand squeezed her shoulder once and a friendly, if feral, voice answered her fear. "Hey, relax. Just me."

"Ragna…" Voice faint, Tsubaki curled up against him, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know you told me to leave, but…I couldn't just leave you to die."

A light chuckle, lacking much of the earlier edge, tickled her ear as a pair of arms came around her for a hug. "And it's a damn good thing you did. Somehow, I get the feeling his last attack would've finished me. Well, come on. …You alright?"

"…I can't see." And as though to prove it, Tsubaki opened her eyes once more, hoping that against all odds, she would be able to see Ragna. All in vain, of course. And even now, her strength siphoned straight out of her body. She pressed closer against him, the only comfort she had. "I'm sorry. Izayoi's toll…I doubt I'm going to recover…"

"…No, god dammit, you're not dying here. Not after that." His grip tightened on her, Tsubaki could just imagine the look of angry determination on his face. She came up off the ground, and knew Ragna must have lifted her to carry her somewhere. On instinct, she coiled her arms, weak though they were, around his neck. But no, she didn't feel any further movement. Metal scraped over gravel, an unpleasant noise that made Tsubaki's stomach turn. "Come on, there's gotta be a hospital around somewhere. You're gonna be fine."

Something gripped Tsubaki's hand, warm and leathery. She was lifted a few feet off the ground, only for Ragna to utter a hiss of pain and drop back down. Tsubaki shook her head and forced a smile. She had accomplished something, had taken out a potential tremendous threat to the world. "Don't worry about it. I…don't think a hospital would help me much. You're injured…please don't strain yourself for my sake."

"But…" There was a momentary silence. A touch of dryness colored Ragna's tone. "I think I've made a habit of it now, anyways. Shut up and hang on."

"It's okay." Tsubaki returned the squeeze with what minimal strength she possessed, even as Ragna wheezed hard with the effort of lifting her again. Cool wetness spread across her side and her face; one heavy and clammy, the other light droplets.

She paused as something wet splashed to her cheek from above. Her hat slipped off and fingers traced through her hair. "…Ragna? Could you do something for me?"

"Of course." His arms brought her in tighter.

"Do you know Noel Vermillion?"

"Yeah, course."

"Tell her…" Tsubaki broke off with a wince, and took a moment to regain her thoughts. Her mind was so fuzzy now… "Tell her I'm sorry for everything…that I forgive her, and that I hope she can do the same for me…"

"I'll tell her." Tsubaki gasped, her breath weak, as he started stumbling forward. From the slow drag of the motion, he was leaning against a wall to do it. "God…Tsubaki…hang in there, okay? Look, once all this shit's over, let's, like…I dunno, get dinner or something? Whatever you want…"

Tsubaki chuckled. "That…sounds wonderful. I'd love to…"

"R-right, then. It's settled. Soon as you're better…" Ragna fell silent, unable to finish the sentence. His grip tightened. "…Thanks. You saved me there, you know…"

"Mm…" Tsubaki turned her face up, feeling with it to figure out just how close Ragna was holding her. After a moment of fogged consideration, she pressed her lips to his cheek. "…Please tell Jin I'm sorry, as well. And Makoto."

"You seriously think you're going to die and the last thing you try to do is apologize to people for the inconvenience?" Ragna weakly joked as his fingers tightened painfully. Still, his grip slumped.

Tsubaki gasped, the best imitation of a laugh she could muster, even though she knew that it was not be. Nothing Ragna could say could change the reality of the situation. But least he was doing everything he could to make her final minutes pleasant…as much as possible, with her weakening breaths and dying heartbeat.

Kill Ragna.

…Why was that voice still here, commanding her to do the last thing she wanted to do, when she wasn't even physically capable of obeying? Instead, she just did her best to snuggle closer to Ragna.

Hurried footsteps sounded behind them, and a voice that lay on the dimming vestiges of Tsubaki's memory followed. The Sector Seven official she had spoken with earlier. Kokonoe. "Well, damn. You guys actually got him. Nice work. If he's still alive, we'll lock him up for good."

"Kokonoe!" Ragna's skin left Tsubaki's, but his grip didn't let up at all. "This girl needs help right now! She…used Izayoi, and…"

"…Izayoi. Wonderful. Just a second." The footsteps grew louder, and another hand fell upon her forehead. "Shit…glad I got here when I did. Hold still a moment."

A low murmur and then a warmth in her forehead Tsubaki could not describe followed. It spread through her body, coursing in her blood to burn away the haze of darkness settling in her mind. As the sensation worked its way through her, it soothed Tsubaki to peaceful slumber in Ragna's arms.

Kokonoe straightened up and looked down at the pale girl before her. "Don't worry, she's just asleep. I've halted Izayoi's corruption, so she should survive, but I can't reverse it without some preparation."

Ragna started, but came to a halt once his near-broken body protested. "You…you can save her?"

"Yeah. She'll be out for a few days, and I doubt she'll ever be the same, but I'm pretty sure I can reverse most of Izayoi's damage. Just gotta get back to the lab." Kokonoe's gaze drifted from Ragna to the defeated Azrael. "But shit, she got him, didn't she? Amazed he's still breathing, but he's so far past human, I really shouldn't be. The hell'd she do to put a hole in his belly?"

"Dunno; just a bunch of light's all I saw." In spite of the knowledge that Tsubaki would be okay, Ragna refused to stop clasping her. "What are you gonna do with him?"

Kokonoe twisted her lip as she observed Azrael before planting a sharp kick to his side. "Well, I'd love to end him right here, but somehow, I don't see that going over well with the Sector Seven bigwigs. I'll contact the local Sector branch and get some guys down here. Drag his ass off to prison. Meanwhile, I heard from a Library Major that Tager's been kinda trashed, which is why I'm here really."

On realization, Kokonoe turned back to look at the girl. "…That's Major Yayoi, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's her." Ragna's eyes still did not break from the girl in his arms. "Thanks, Kokonoe. Seriously."

"…You sure seem attached to her. Ah well, from how she was freaking out while I was talking to her, I guess Azrael put you two through a lot of shit." Kokonoe sighed. "I'm gonna go fix Tager up as well as I can, then get you two down to my lab to do the same for you. Just sit tight a moment."

"Right." As Kokonoe scuttled off to search the nearby rubble to find the rust behemoth, Ragna glanced down beside him, where Izayoi lay. That goddamned weapon had damn near taken Tsubaki's life. He wanted nothing more than to destroy the accursed thing right now, so that it couldn't torment Tsubaki anymore. But…he should probably ask her about it first. He was not about to take any chances, considering how tied to Izayoi its wielders were. So he would take it with him, and let Tsubaki decide its fate. Right now, all he could do was wait for Kokonoe to return.