(A New fate has arrived. Now, let us see what happens next to everyone involved.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Fate 14

Previously on Canon Distortion…

Sora Minakaze and Makoto Nanaya had the displeasure of meeting Azrael. The Mad Dog had retained his memory of Sora and was hoping to have a chancec to chase after his prey. Sora agreed and fought against the man while Makoto, feeling she was not going to be of any use in that situation, decided to go and see what Ragna The Bloodedge was doing. When Sora was finished, he made a deal with the Mad Dog for him to proceed in exchange for a duel against the man in the future. When he tried to call Makoto however, silence…

And now, the continuation of Canon Distortion…

The underground layer of the Kagutsuchi NOL's base, a place where the cauldron is said to lie. Makoto took a deep breath as her elevator arrived at this floor. Memories of when she was here last time came flowing back to her mind as she knew very well how important this place was to her. To her, this place was truly where things started going all kinds of wrong, where her life truly changed for the worst. She did not know how to feel about being back here but she knew that it was more important to focus on what was in front of her instead of what happened before.

"If Sora's right about this, Ragna The Bloodedge should be here right now…" Makoto said as she remembered what Sora had said about Ragna and his current situation. To him, she would most likely be another enemy and he may try attacking her to defend himself. She had to be prepared for that possibility as she stepped out of the elevator and began walking towards the cauldron. As she did, her footsteps echoed with each step she took, her nerves flowing up her body like a river to a stream.

'Alright Makoto… Time for you to do some thinking and use your inner voice for this.' Makoto thought to herself as she knew that she was now walking towards the hornet's nest. She did not know what was going to come after next. It could be Ragna The Bloodedge which she should be able to talk down but there is also the possibility that someone else unsavory may show up instead. She couldn't dismiss the idea that Es would use this as her chance to return and deal with her at that moment as she was still a threat to everything the Master Unit wants from the world.

That did leave a question in her mind, why did the Master Unit choose to not come after her? Was it because Sora was nearby and she decided that her minions wouldn't be able to handle her and Sora at the same time? Was she waiting for the chance to attack her when Sora wouldn't be near her, to eliminate Makoto away from prying eyes? Makoto merely tensed her hands to a fist at that thought and decided that further thinking would be just a waste of time at that moment.

'Whatever happens next...happens next. I cannot let myself get paranoid about every single possibility.' Makoto thought as she relaxed her fist at that moment. She knew that letting her mind wander and think about all the possibilities that could be happen to her at that moment would be a waste of time. She needed to focus on herself and what she could do now and deal with the situation that comes her way after that.

"Oh well well well, what do we have here…" The moment that Makoto heard a certain snake's voice she couldn't help but feel every inch of her body tense at that moment. She wanted to ready her fists at that moment, ready to punch the living hell out of the man. "I did not expect to see you all the way down here little squirrel. Got lost trying to find your way back to the surface?" The man questioned as Makoto shook her head at that moment.

"I know it's you captain. Show yourself already so I can deck your face with my fist." Makoto said as silence greeted her ears at that moment. She knew that the man was simply keeping quiet, waiting for his chance to jump her. Instead of falling down to his pace, Makoto decided to try and push her own offensive as she began to focus and try to find where her shitty and creepy captain would be, her eyes scanning every crevice and hole he could be hiding at that moment.

"Oh come on now, there's no need to be so hostile towards your own captain. That's just uncalled for." The man said as Makoto ignored the clear provocation thrown her way and continued to focus on finding her target. Soon her eyes caught a shadow being cast across the ground, a hat being the cause of the shadow made. She could approach the shadow and before she fully exposed herself, she would lunge out with fist at the ready and punch the man before he could attack her.

Meanwhile on the other side, the man waited for his former subordinate to pop her head around the corner. In his hand rested a balisong knife, ready to thrust and jam it down it's victim's throat. The man waited like a predator waiting for his prey as he saw a second shadow cast itself on the ground in front of him. "Come on now please. There's no need for you to be as quiet as you have become. Let's have a normal conversation between the two of us, no strings attached." the man said as he pushed his hat tighter on his head at that moment.

As soon as he saw the shadow stop moving, he waited for his chance, freezing in place and making sure he did not make any unnecessary movement. The silence that greeted his ears at that moment lingered for a while longer. "Sorry captain. Not really interested in having a conversation with a bastard like you." before the captain could respond, he suddenly saw the wall he was taking cover behind at break apart, a metal hand exposing itself to him.

The captain then felt the collar of his shirt get grabbed before he was pulled through the pillar, causing the entire thing to collapse in the process as he was tossed towards another pillar. The man was fast enough to throw out a chain with a snake head at the end towards the pillar and have it wrap around the circular pillar. Using the momentum he had gained from the toss, he spun past the pillar and delivered a kick towards his assailant's way.

At that moment, Makoto had raised her arms up to guard and was pushed far as a result. Makoto felt her feet about to give up but using Balmung, she was able to regain her footing before she fell over completely from the sheer power of the kick she felt. Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings and soon came face to face with a metal snake head threatening to bite her head off, prompting Makoto to dodge out of the way. A low sound of annoyance could be heard coming her way as Makoto slowly got back up to her feet.

"My how rude. Is that how you treat your superior?" Makoto's captain, Hazama questioned as he brushed off the dust that had collected on his hat. Makoto simply stared at Hazama with glaring eyes at that moment as she allowed him to feel her menacing gaze. "Yeah, that's how I treat jackasses like you." Makoto said as Hazama simply tilted his head upon hearing that statement. "My what did I ever do to you? I swear treated you kindly lieutenant." Hazama said as Makoto shook her head.

"Shut up you damn snake! I hate your guts!" Makoto shouted as Hazama placed his hands on his chest, feigning pain. "My how hurtful of you. I thought we were developing some sort of common understanding between each other." Hazama said with a tone that feigned pain. "Oh please, cut this whole nice guy act. I have always known that you were a creep and you are still a creep right now." Makoto said as Hazama simply shrugged upon hearing that statement.

"Really now? I really did thought we had developed an understanding with each other." Hazama said as Makoto scoffed upon hearing that statement. "As if we would ever develop any kind of understanding with each other. You're always making me do stupid shit like make me make your coffee and boil your eggs for you only to make me do it again when the eggs were cooked for 1 second too long." Makoto said, expressing her complaints out in the open.

"But those tasks are important for me to be at my peak condition. Do you really want your boss to suffer?" Hazama questioned as Makoto couldn't help but feel something was very off about Hazama, something completely wrong. "Yes, I am very happy to make someone like you suffer. You made me boil hard boiled eggs and pure black coffee. Who makes their work colleague do such things!" Makoto complained as Hazama shook his head at that.

"I am hurt by your comments Miss Nanaya. You should have forwarded your complaints towards upper management." Hazama said as Makoto tensed her fists at that moment, feeling a familiar chill in the air as she sensed danger was coming her way. "Looks like I will just have to kill you at the end of the day. Especially after finding out you and Kagura have been conspiring with each other." Hazama said as Makoto saw Hazama pull out his balisong knives, spinning them around his hands as his gaze locked eyes with Makoto's.

'What is this feeling…? Malice? No...this is not like what I felt before.' Makoto thought as she still could feel a sense of disgust roll up the back of her throat, threatening to choke her of precious air as Hazama could notice the sense of unease his lieutenant was feeling. He simply smiled at that feeling as Makoto saw the man calmly approach her. "So please. Do your best to resist. It makes it easier for me to prove that you resisted when I bring you to the NOL for your judgement." Hazama said.

Makoto at that moment felt a sensation strike her at that moment, the sensation of being stabbed at her stomach being all she needed to know that she needed to act as she threw a powerful punch to prompt Hazama to take a step back, his knife ready to stab her in her gut. This made Hazama open his eyes with a growing curiosity. He was sure that he had caught her off guard but the fact that Makoto was able to respond to his attack before he even did it made him raise his eyebrows.

Makoto did not waste the time she had gained from throwing Hazama off balance and immediately got up and close to Hazama's face, hand grabbing Hazama's collar tightly and delivering a punch to his gut. Hazama felt the air rush out of his body at that moment as Makoto then pulled him towards her knee to try and slam his head on it. Hazama was staggered but not stunned, allowing him to prompt Ouroboros, his Nox Nyctores to pull him away from the attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Makoto shouted as she created a ball of Ars Magus in front of her. "COMET CANNON!" Makoto yelled as she puncheed the ball of ars magus in front of her as hard as she could. As soon as she did, the ball went flying towards it's intended target. Hazama used a barrier to block the attack only to feel his feet slide on the ground as he felt the impact of the projectile slam right into him with force. As soon as he lowered his guard to see what Makoto was up to, he immediately saw Makoto lunging towards him at that moment.

"Woah!" Hazama simply said as he got down to his knees and lowered his back to the ground as low as he could get. Makoto flew right past him as her eyes looked at his as he slowly closed his yellow eyes, a small grin on his face before the both of them recovered and got back to their feet. Makoto did not let up on her aggression as she tried to deliver a punt to the man's face but Ouroboros came to save the day once again as he used the chain to pull him out of Makoto's punting attack to safety.

As if that wasn't enough, while he zoomed to the sky, Hazama had enough flexibility to turn his body in an acrobatic manner and aimed his kick towards Makoto's head. Makoto felt the impact of the kick hit her at the back of her head but managed to avoid getting knocked unconscious by simply following the attack, following the direction of the attack to reduce the impact her head would have felt. While it did not do much in terms of reducing the attack's damage, it was enough to at least help her maintain her consciousness.

Before her head could connect with the ground, Makoto immediately tucked her chin in, allowing her to roll out of the rest of the attack as she immediately felt the sensation of something biting down on her neck. She had little time to react even with her beastkin reflexes and knew to avoid what she had saw she needed to use Balmung as she used the Lost Nox Nyctores to dodge the attack, feeling her neck muscles stiffen and spine shift and crack. Even this small movement was enough to make her body feel like it was about to snap in half.

But she had no time to think about how much pain she was at right now as immediately Hazama came flying in, his own knee aimed for her own face as she used her metal arm to block the green haired man's flying knee. She was unable to stop him in his tracks however as he soared past her and as soon as he went right past her, just before the chain pulled him further away, had the flexibility and agility to deliver a kick to the back of Makoto's head, making her stagger.

"What's the matter Lieutenant? Did you eat too many chestnut parfaits today? Getting sick on me are we?" Hazama questioned as Makoto couldn't help but feel annoyed upon hearing that statement being made at her way. "Oh shut up you. I don't have time to deal with your nonsense right now." Makoto complained as she gave chase once again. She may have Balmung now but that doesn't change the way she fights, she was going to deliver his way a series of fists that would shake anybody to their core.

Hazama remained calm and cool, moving his head left and right to dodge Makoto's attacks. They were not with ease but he could see them coming his way. However Makoto's punches were purposely aimed to be easy to dodge as another head punch came Hazama's way, prompting him to duck to the side and attempt to try and stab Makoto at that moment. His eyes then caught a glimpse of Makoto swinging with her other fist right towards his liver, striking it and causing his eyes to open in shock as Makoto was quick to follow that successful strike with a series of quick blows before delivering her signature corona upper and lightning arrow combo.

Makoto gave a few sharp breathes as she knew what she did wouldn't have been enough to put him down but she needed to apply the pressure before he was able to overwhelm her. She was not the same weakling that he fought her as before, she knew she was better than who she was before. As she grabbed Hazama's collar, she immediately felt her own breast get grabbed at that moment, causing her to fluster out in surprise as a red crimson blush appeared on her face.

"Whats the…" Before she could finish her sentence, she immediately used Balmung to make her head duck to the side as Hazama had used his cheap move to try and make her lose balance, attempting to slice her throat as he did so. Had Makoto not seen what would have happened to her with Balmung that would have been her bleeding all over the floor, desperately trying to hold back the blood on her throat as she knew that she couldn't lose focus right now. She needed to focus on what was going on now rather than what could happen.

Hazama meanwhile didn't lose his smile, even when Makoto landed some good hits on him. He couldn't help but take some delight in the challenge Makoto was giving him. Makoto herself noticed that Hazama did not smiling even when he was facing off against her. She didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified by how this man was behaving. The first time she fought against him he took great glee in tearing her apart, now it was less obvious his enjoyment for suffering but his smile was what creeped her out the most.

He had just taken some damage and instead of being in pain he just continued to smile, as if the pain was only serving to give him more delight. Makoto did not know how to feel about the expressions that man was making only that they made her feel extremely uneasy. Those thoughts however were not important over the fight she was in right now as she continued her cat and mouse game with this man, determined to make sure her fist landed on his face hard.

Makoto threw a basic one two punch combo but Hazama was quick enough to bob and weave around her attacks. He responded by trying to backhand Makoto in the face but Makoto was quick enough to raise her arm up to parry the attack, leaving Hazama exposed for a punch to the gut which she quickly delivered. Hazama ignored the pain he suffered and proceeded to slice at Makoto, knicking her stomach as she backed away in time before her stomach was slashed open.

As Makoto took a step back, she placed weight on the base of her foot and like a well trained boxer, twisted her hips to deliver a strong punch right on Hazama's body. Hazama used a combination of a barrier and reinforcement Ars Magus to strengthen his arm to block the incoming attack however the combination of the two was not enough to numb the pain his arm felt and as a result, his arm immediately lowered afterwards, leaving his sides exposed to a follow up blow from Makoto's fist.

Hazama's eyes opened slightly, their bright yellow staring right at Makoto's way as Makoto punched Hazama's jaw, exposing his chest for Makoto to deliver a level 3 punch right at it. Makoto could feel her fist dig in deeper but something was off. At that moment, she should have felt something like the ribs at that moment but what she felt instead was nothing, as if the man himself was purely hollow. Her punch was enough however to send him flying as Makoto shook off the feeling of unease she felt and gave chase right away, grabbing Hazama by his leg and pulling him closer to her, delivering a level 3 fist right on his head and smashing it to the concrete.

Once again, as soon as she did that, she felt a strange feeling once again. Instead of hitting the skull with that punch, she felt like she only struck a rubber ball that briefly compressed before expanding out to push her fist away. That told her that Hazama was either very durable or his body was something else entirely, prompting her to increase the power of her strikes if she hoped to cause more damage to him.

Hazama meanwhile could feel the power of Makoto's strikes and how they caused him to legitimately feel some pain. He didn't mind how hurt he felt but he knew that if he indulged too long the pain he was suffering, he was more likely going to get knocked unconscious before he could actually enjoy himself. He then figured it was fine to get more aggressive at that moment as Makoto's attempt at a retaliatory strike was repelled by hazama using his Balisong knife to swipe and knick her hand.

"You know Miss Nanaya, You are quite the slippery squirrel aren't you. Since when did you possess such punching power? You must work out quite a lot don't you." Hazama said as Makoto knew that he was simply saying all of this stuff, spewing random nonsense towards her way to try and cause her to lose focus and leave herself open. "Oh yeah? Then why don't you stand still for a little bit and let me give you a good old nice knuckle sandwich." Makoto said as she did not want to be pulled into the man's mind games.

"And ruin my wonderful looks for the ladies? I wouldn't dare do such a thing." Hazama said as Makoto couldn't help but scoff upon hearing that statement. "Well you should worry less about your looks and more about my fists smashing your face like the piece of shit boss you are!" Makoto shouted, charging and creating an astral fist to punch Hazama with, prompting him to use Ouroboros to escape to the air.

"GET BACK OVER HERE!" Makoto shouted as she created a second astral fist to give chase, using it to lunge and grab Hazama before he could fully pull himself away from the incoming danger. Hazama simply prompted Ouroboros to pull him further up the seemingly endless ceiling, prompting Makoto to put in more work and have the astral hand chase even further, not relenting in it's pursuit to grab the man.

Hazama soon found himself reaching the very roof of the cauldron, being cornered like the rat he was in Makoto's eyes. She was sure that he had no other way of escape but Hazama simply smiled and launched Ouroboros right at Makoto, having the head bite down on Makoto's shoulder at that moment before pulling himself towards her. This was enough for Makoto to lose focus for a brief moment and cause the astral fist to simply smash the ceiling, dropping debris and dust all around.

As Makoto recovered from the flash of pain she felt, she saw that Hazama was no longer on the top of the ceiling, and had soared right past her. Makoto's instincts were quick enough for her to know that he was behind her as she turned to face him only to see that Hazama was not there. "Where on earth…" Before Makoto realized it, she felt the back of her head get stepped on, causing her to smash face down on the ground as she felt the air rush out of her chest at that moment.

"Awww, looks like I stepped on some dirt here." Hazama commented, placing his foot on Makoto's head as Makoto struggled to turn herself to face him. Hazama however simply smiled and pressed his foot harder on Makoto's face, making sure his dress shoes could feel every inch of her face. "Fuck you…" Makoto said before she found her mouth being shoved with his shoes. "Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh, Language young lady. Did your mother raise you to have such a tongue?" Hazama questioned as Makoto felt the chill that she felt before slowly start to creep back up her. "Maybe I should brush that mouth of yours with my shoes, give you the discipline that your mother failed to give."

"Leave my mother out of this you bastard!" Makoto shouted as she tried to overpower him by standing up but Hazama's foot on the back of her head simply pushed her further to the ground. "Oh but I will not, for you see, no parent would raise such a rowdy child like you, no less one that doesn't know when to listen to those higher than them." Hazama replied as Makoto gritted her teeth upon hearing that as she continued to try and force herself to stand up.

"You see, people like you and Kagura are the way the world is right now. Rules are there for a reason you know. Without them, people would just become animals and animal is what you are right now." Hazama said as Makoto couldn't help but feel her blood boil a bit upon hearing that. "Screw you asshole. You are only speaking this way because you take enjoyment belittling others!" Makoto argued as Hazama simply nodded his head at that.

Hazama: And what if I do enjoy doing this? What then?

Makoto: What?

Hazama: You think that by accusing me of being a sadist that enjoys the suffering of others that you would somehow make me change my ways? A friendly reminder, this is not your shounen manga where you can talk you way out of things.

Makoto: As if I wanted to have you by my side in the first place.

Hazama: So why even mention that little detail in the first place?

Makoto: Because I have always wanted to say that to your face but because of workplace obligations I held my tongue… until now.

"Awww, So we are hashing out our feelings for each other here? How nice of you to do so." Hazama said before pulling out his knife and stabbing Makoto's arm with it, making her scream as he looked at the metal arm that had replaced it. "Though that's odd, your reports had never shown that you had lost an arm before." Hazama said, making Makoto look at him with a bit of confusion but also scorn. "That's because you were the one who ripped it off you dick!" Makoto shouted as Hazama couldn't help but look at her with a growing curiosity.

"I did?" Hazama said as Makoto was about to respond to that before a realization started to light up in his head. She merely remained quiet as soon as that lightbulb moment lit up her mind. "Hmmmm… I would have loved to remember all the details but it seems that it all has slipped my mind." Hazama said as Makoto couldn't help but feel a chill crawl down the back of her spine upon hearing him speak about his supposed horrific crime like it was just another day.

"You….You really are nothing but a monster." Makoto said as she had been trying to get back up to her feet but her body felt like lead. It wasn't that she didn't have the strength to stand up as she wasn't as badly hurt as she was previously fighting him but something about how Hazama was behaving was making her mind behave in ways she couldn't believe. 'Come on you! Get up already!' Makoto thought as she continued to fight her body's urge to remain lying while she wanted to fight against the green haired bastard.

"And so what if I am hmmm? What are you going to do about it?" Hazama questioned as Makoto felt her head get stomped on by Hazama some more as she could feel her forehead bleed a little bit. "Are you going to say what I am doing is wrong? How I should try and change my ways?" Hazama questioned as Makoto bit her tongue, knowing better than to dignify that question with an audible answer as Hazama simply smirked upon hearing that.

"That's right. You know it yourself. I prefer being the bad guy at the end of the day. Much easier that way." Hazama continued as Makoto felt Hazama stomp on her head again and again, as if trying to knock her out. "So you know what I am going to do? I am going to detain you, torture you and see if Mr Mutsuki would be willing to bring himself here to rescue your worthless hide." Hazama said as Makoto soon felt the metal head of the Ouroboros slowly stroke the back of her exposed skin.

"I wonder how he would feel, watching you helplessly dangle on the ceiling, head pointed towards the ground and ready to go splat. Will he bring your friends along to try and save you or hell, will they come in their own violition. I know a certain red haired man who wouldn't be able to stop himself from trying to rescue his friends after what he had been through." Hazama continued as Makoto could feel something underneath her well up at that moment.

Was it anger? She was already angry but that wasn't it at all. Was it disgust? No she was already as disgusted as she could with this creep and getting even more disgusted was not an option for her. So what was this feeling that she felt at that moment, this feeling of unexplained wrath she felt as Hazama could feel a vengeful gaze be directed upon him, making him smile even more. "Ahhhh yes, that sense of palpable hate one has for a person. I do wish I can savor it more." Hazama said as Makoto couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust come over her upon hearing him make that statement.

"How do you even take joy from torturing others?" Makoto questioned as Hazama simply sat on Makoto's back at that moment, placing all of his weight at that moment on her back as Makoto tried even harder to fight back at that moment, feeling her body wanting to freeze and cursing the fact she was not moving her ass off the ground. "And why are you asking me all of these questions? Are you trying to become a therapist in the future?" Hazama questioned.

'Who would want to be your therapist you...You!..' Makoto thought as she knew that Hazama was trying to get a reaction from her. It was clear from his previous choice of words that he just wants to make her suffer for as long as he wanted, not intending to give her a peaceful death at the slightest. "Regardless, You are going to be made an example of. For everyone who ever plans on rebelling against the NOL and your friends to see. And I am going to take great joy in your suffering." Hazama said as Makoto could see the flash of steel shine on her eyes as she knew what Hazama was planning to do with her at that moment.

'Dammit… I'm sorry… Noel...Tsubaki...Hunter….Sora!' Makoto thought as she simply closed her eyes. Her mind wanted to fight but her body refused to stand up against the man. She wanted to fight but not even Balmung was showing her a timeline she can stand up to fight against this man. It was as if her own body knew she was currently not strong enough and that she needed more strength to fight against this man.

"So...That's what you desire…"

A voice echoed in Makoto's mind as Makoto couldn't help but open her eyes at that moment, shock coming over her mind as she heard a voice she had never heard before. Then as if the world itself had snapped itself out of existence, she found herself standing in a black void. The fear that had gripped her body instantly vanished, allowing her to tense her fists as she did not know what to expect next.

Was she saved by this unknown voice? Of course not, if there is one thing she knew very well, strange people speaking to your head and teleporting you to places that you have no idea you were at were never a good thing. While she was away from the danger that is Hazama, she was now in the new danger of the unknown. "To think… that even someone like you who tossed everything away would have such desires… Such is the nature of humanity I guess."

"Who are you… Why don't you show your face to me and let me give you a nice little knuckle sandwich!" Makoto shouted, raising her fists up to a battle stance as she assumed stable footing on the black ground below her. "Are you sure you should be picking a fight with beings you are not aware of? Has all that power you gained made you bold or dumb?" The voice questioned as Makoto couldn't help but feel her body become tense yet again, her sense of danger once again returning.

"Woman who erased her name… You will do well to show some humility. That power you wield is that of the devil itself." The voice continued as Makoto was now able to tell that it was a woman's voice talking to her. "Oh yeah? That power you call the devil is the reason why I am able to talk to you in the first place with my memory intact." Makoto responded, speaking from her heart as the voice simply scoffed upon hearing that comment. "That power you speak highly of? That power is nothing but playing god. You were better off having discarded that power and instead been happy being just one of the world's sheep." The voice replied as Makoto couldn't help but be annoyed at that statement.

"God huh… In that case what does that make you huh? Why all of this secrecy? Don't tell me, I am speaking to the Master Unit itself." Makoto accused. "If you really are not the master unit, Show yourself right now!" Makoto demanded as her adrenaline was beginning to spike once again, her senses telling her to be ready for anything. She was more than prepared for what was to come her way next and she was determined to be one step ahead for once.

"Are you really sure you wish to tempt fate? Do you really want to know who you are facing?" The voice questioned as Makoto at that moment could feel heat start to touch her skin. "Do you really wish to tempt your fate right now? Nameless one?" The voice continued as Makoto figured this was some intimidation technique that was being thrown her way. "And what if I want to tempt fate?" Makoto said as suddenly, without warning, flames burst in front of her, prompting her to take a few steps back as the heat clawed on the ground.

"Then you best lay on the bed you have made… the bed of coals I will create from your ashes." The voice said as without warning, flames blasted all around Makoto, causing Makoto to shield her eyes as the fire was simply intense, nearly scalding her skin in the process. The heat was simply unbearable and she felt the air around her choke her as the oxygen was stripped from it. Makoto kept as calm as she could to prevent herself from inhaling too much precious air as the flames soon parted, revealing to her the scenery that the sea of flames had created.

Flames, that was the first thing her eyes could see left and right as Makoto processed her surroundings. Giant pillars of unruly light littered all around the surroundings as Makoto felt the stone ground she was stood on. At the edge she could see pure lava flow beneath her, wisps of flames following around it. The architecture of the place was much older than any modern building Makoto had ever seen, with what looked to be the remains of a bell tower being the main centerpiece of this infernal landscape she had found herself in.

"So come now… Balmung's newest owner. Show me you are worthy of the power you now wield." The voice, now clearly a woman's voice said as Makoto turned to face the person responsible for creating this mental landscape. At first it was to face her target but immediately her body froze upon seeing who she was facing off against. "No way… you're…" Makoto said simply in shock as her eyes could only glimpse at the figure that was in front of her.

The first thing that caught her eye immediately was the woman's pink hair. That woman's long and lucious pink hair could only belong to one person in the world. Her purple dress that failed to hide the volumptious breasts she had made things even more clear to Makoto as to top it all off, she wore a long and pointy purple hat that looked like the kind witches would wear. However her choice of dress mattered little to Makoto, as by just looking at her pink hair she knew who this woman was as the woman simply glared at Makoto with her yellow eyes with black schlera, a small smile growing on her face

"So… Are you ready… Balmung." Said the great sage Nine, creator of Ars Magus herself…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? 2 months remain in the year of 2023 and I have to say, other than the world's usual amount of craziness, the month of November seems to be another normal month for the rest of the year. The only hope I have is that the rest of the year remains normal and craziness doesn't start to overtake our lives again just when things are looking peaceful.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT TO MAKOTO NANAYA!? WHAT WILL BE HER TRIAL AGAINST THE GREAT SAGE NINE BE LIKE!? AND HOW IS THE GREAT SAGE INVOLVED IN ALL OF THE CURRENT WORLD'S EVENTS. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WILL SHE REVEAL ANY DETAILS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF BALMUNG TO MAKOTO!? All this and more will be revealed when fate turns to our heroes once again.