"Nii-san! Where are you going?!" But Jin's question never caught up with Ragna, who had taken a sharp turn down an alternate path leading deeper into Kagutsuchi's undergrounds. He whispered a curse, turning to face the person to blame for distracting them from their reunion. "You'll pay dearly for this!"

"I assume you won't be stepping aside and letting me through," Relius said, expression unchanging from his placid one.

The man had an interest in his brother. And that fact Jin could not tolerate. "Don't you even think about going after him! He's mine. No one is allowed to kill him but me!" Yukianesa was in accord with him, rightfully so.

A dry chuckle shook Relius' shoulders. "Kill, you say? Well then…Shall we collaborate in that effort? His grimoire does make him a difficult target to—"

"Do you take me for a fool?" His proposal was ridiculous to the highest degree. "I'll slaughter you for uttering those words!" The call from his Nox Nyctores to enact justice grew louder. For the transgressions, the Mad Puppeteer had earned a death sentence.

Jin bolted towards Relius. Just as swiftly, the oversized doll stood in his path. With the hooks on her clawed hand, she caught the swing of his sword.

Unfazed by the attempt to attack him, Relius observed just calmly as before. "Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa… What a fascinating phenomenon. This calls for some testing to be done."

Realizing the unfavorable situation he found himself in, Jin jumped back. As he did, he fought off the automaton with a slash. Ice encased her feet and hand but she broke free by exerting some force on it.

As Jin made his landing, he drew out his weapon again. He struck the air and ground to send a cutting wave. Immediately after that, he gathered enough energy to cast an ars magus attack by stabbing his sword into the ground.

The doll countered the initial wave using the appendages attached on the sides of her head. Knife-like parts extended at the tips, shielding herself and her master. Ripples of ice disintegrated against her, bursting into a dense mist of cold fragments. Yet it wasn't enough to stop it all.

Moving around the obstacle, the follow-up attack sped toward Relius. For the first time, the man moved. Leaping to the side, he managed to avoid being skewered by a multitude of giant ice blades shooting out from where he stood before.

While his opponent's puppet recoiled, Jin sent more waves across the floor. Relius had to be boosting his movement, as he dodged the ars magus attacks with inhuman speed.

Eyes darting around to keep track of the man, Jin moved in the same direction. He saw his chance to close the distance.

But halfway through drawing Yukianesa, something snagged his foot. Looking down, Jin saw ball-jointed hands latched on to him. The disgusting things climbed up, further ensnaring his leg. "Tch, out of the way!" A single cut, and they fell apart.

"Strike, Ignis!"

At the same time as Jin had freed himself, a motion from the corner of his vision made him look up. He narrowly reacted in time to shield himself from something aimed his way.

Pain erupted as the explosion engulfed his body, sending him hurtling through the air.

After a few rolling tumbles, he came to a complete stop. Jin took a shaky breath. "Shit…" Coughing from the lingering smoke, he tried to rise to his feet. Still disoriented, he searched for his sword, only to find it no longer in his hand. Through bleary eyesight, he spotted it stuck to the ground when it had been flung away.

Withdraw! You are no match against this adversary!

Hearing the commanding voice return, Jin growled under his breath, "Hah…Like I would retreat like some coward…" Besides, hadn't it also expressed its desire to kill Relius when he first encountered the man?

He stumbled forward, set on calling Yukianesa back to him. His ringing ears failed to detect the sound of footsteps coming closer.

"I commend you for surprising me with the Nox Nyctores, but I'm afraid your handle on it is subpar at best."

A sinister glow appeared underneath Jin. "What is this—" Before he had the chance to move, a large mannequin's hand seized him by the head from behind. It pulled him up until his feet could barely touch the floor. Out of the portal after the first one, a multitude of arms kept him suspended.

The gears coming from the mechanism summoned by Relius creaked. He stopped in front of Jin. "To think the Power of Order would be this weak here..."

Another person mentioning it struck a nerve. "Ngh…Why should I give a damn about this 'Power of Order'? How about you tell me what the hell that is?"

Relius didn't appear to be listening to him, focusing on something else. "Now to finish my observations, please don't make this a hassle."

"You bastard…!" Jin attempted to struggle, glaring daggers, but immovable ceramic fingers held his limbs in place. No amount of strength he used made the things trapping him budge, only worsening his injuries. "…!" Piercing nausea briefly washed through him out of nowhere.

The autonomous weapon called Ignis floated back to its master's side when he apparently got done studying. "The initial result is still valid. No noteworthy changes to the construct. I should really just dispose of him for being a nuisance… However, I am not the kind to overlook an opportunity when it is presented before me. I need as much data as I can gather."

"Tch, more pointless gibberish." Being stuck hearing him drone on, Jin started to grow tired of his antics. Much like when they had crossed paths for the first time, nothing coming out of the man's mouth made any sense. Since strength alone failed to break his binds, he attempted to channel his sword's powers.

But Yukianesa refused to answer, remaining still right where Jin could see it.

"But how…?!" An interference field strong enough to stop a Nox Nyctores was unheard of unless something close to sorcery had created it. Who was this man?

"Naturally, some sort of entryway will be needed for the observation I require." Relius stepped forward, his featureless eyes pointed closer at Jin. "And the best way is through the locus of particular instability… How about I loosen your seal just a little, Kokonoe?"

"W-what are you talking about?" An extended hand filled his view.

The sickening dizziness returned with a vengeance.

In the middle of it all, a flash of red took over. What he saw, where it came from, or how, Jin understood none of it. Exhilaration, rage, hatred, despair, grief, and madness—a chaotic swirl tied to unknown concepts emerged, bobbing around in a tumultuous ocean.

Don't lose yourself to his meddling!

Easier said than done, Jin thought bitterly when it spoke again. At the very least, the voice prevented him from being completely swept away by whatever he was experiencing. But darkness creeping over the edges of his vision threatened to pull him into oblivion for good.

If it's going to be like this…then surrender. Give me the reins…

"F-fine…!" As much as Jin disliked the idea, he made an exception this time.

Some form of reprieve came when everything suddenly grew distant and twisted, including his own mind. The world seemed to be plunged beneath that same stormy sea. But instead of violent whirlpools, he found absolute stillness. He could only watch as events unfolded before him.

A cry of frustration tore through his throat before calling out to his sword, "Yukianesa, activate!" Without hesitation, it obeyed.

Ars magus drawn through his sword gathered around his body. The temperature within his vicinity dropped. Soon, the hands trapping him turned brittle and shattered violently.

Not letting himself be caught in the direct blast, Relius backed away with Ignis. He pulled the edge of his cape to cover his face from the harsh bite of the cold. After putting a safe distance between himself and Jin, he dusted his clothes where small pieces of ice fell off. "This is fascinating indeed! Has the Power of Order decided to strengthen out of necessity, or is this the actions of another?"

At his command, his Nox Nyctores materialized in his possession once he landed on the ground. Although parts of him still ached, he stood up straight, ready to fend Relius off. The act of freeing himself came with a heavy cost, however.

Do not proceed with this fight, Jin Kisaragi. I cannot help you...any more than this…

"I didn't ask for it anyways," Jin muttered as the clarity of the world around him returned. Infuriating as the situation was, he had no better choice but to flee lest he wasted the chance given to him. Ignoring the strain, Jin broke into a run.

Behind him, Jin caught what Relius said to his companion. "No, we have other pressing matters, Ignis. Let him go for now."

"..."

One empty corridor hid behind another. Hoping for them to lead him closer to Ragna, he passed by some while taking turns down a few that led to promising stairways. He had to find his brother before the man did so first.

But soon, he fell against a wall after losing his balance. His legs could barely hold him up, making him slide to the floor. It should be safe to rest now, but Jin got up again as soon as he recovered just enough energy to move. Few things in this world had shocked him as much as seeing Ragna alive, even if his brother looked different from what he remembered years ago. Was this a constant unique to this plane of reality? "Nii-san…were you alive this whole time?" He needed to find out.