BlazBlue:Phase 0 Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Reality's Red

———Log 4

The Takamagahara System. A supreme program humanity has attained. There is a theory that said its development was influenced by the Original Unit.

Once, humanity had tried using it by trying to interfere with the Master Unit.

Master Unit is located on the other side of the Boundary.

First of all, it's not possible to interfere with it without making contact with the Boundary itself.

What I and Relius currently constructing is the object needed for that purpose.

The Boundary.

He called it as gate.

The Sheol Gate, that is.

Some said Sheol to be underworld, meaning realm of the dead.

Our research is progressing smoothly. It's precisely because of it, I keep feeling a threat day by day.

Is it really going to be fine if we make a contact with the Boundary?

Is discovering it won't be the biggest mistake in human history?

I'm frightened. I'm afraid of it being completed.

I have a feeling that our research will unleash something terrible.

If that time ever comes, then I...

Part 1

After getting in Rachel's teleportation, Ragna and Celica arrived at an old castle that had majestic feel on it.

The grey stone walls were completely covered with thick ivy. The intimidating gate, that was too big for a human to use, was both astonishing and eerie at the same time.

For some reason, it was night. Dawn never came here.

A place eternally cloaked by night.

A place that was nowhere.

A place that was connected to everywhere yet could be reached from nowhere.

That was the residence of the Alucard.

Once they arrived, a butler immediately carried Mitsuyoshi inside the castle.

Ragna and Celica followed little Rachel to the parlor and told to wait there. Both of them sat side by side on a refined antique sofa.

Even though the appearance had a feel that ghosts would appeared there, the interior was exceedingly relaxing and elegant. The room was lined up with an immodest amount of ornaments and tasteful furnishings.

Despite all of it, Ragna seemed to be very uncomfortable.

Celica looked nervous as she examined the room. A while ago, the sturdy male butler had brought some teacups. She took one, but immediately put it back on top of a bulky table before even tasting it.

She repeated that motion several times. Then, the parlor's door slowly opened.

"I have to apologize for keeping you waiting, honored guests."

Along with the soft but deep voice of a man, a wheelchaired elderly gentleman entered the room. The room's interiors felt dull as nobility oozed from him.

His hair had become completely white. The severely thin skin was already decaying. But those characteristics only increased his dignity.

The butler who served the black tea from earlier was pushing the wheelchair until the aged man was on the other side of table from Ragna and Celica, facing both of them. Then, he smiled with his deeply wrinkled mouth.

His narrow eyes, which were his only body part not appearing declining, were vivid red.

"This is the first time we meet. I am the current head of the Alucard family, Clavis Alucard. This here is the man presently employed as my butler, Valkenhayn."

With his thin hand, Clavis pointed to the man who was standing by behind him. The stern looking butler introduced as Valkenhayn bowed.

"Valkenhayn..."

Ragna repeated the name he had heard. Ragna recognized that man's name. However, the 'Valkenhayn' before his eyes was a man at his prime, contrast with the 'Valkenhayn' he knew who was an old man.

(...This guy too, huh.)

There were knowledge of people and others in his memory, but he couldn't accurately picture it. That was the case with Mitsuyoshi, Rachel, and now Valkenhayn.

Clavis continued on as he put his hand on a small figure close to him.

"Moving on... This child's name is Rachel Alucard. She is my daughter."

"Daughter?"

The person who was doubtful was Ragna. Clavis laughed softly.

"Haha. I guess if you looked from a human's perspective, it would have been more acceptable to say that she was my grandchild. Or perhaps, even my great-grandchild?"

"Aah, it's not that. Well, saying her as your daughter at that age sure sounds fishy... No, that's not it. If you're Rachel's parent, are you a vampire then?"

"Kid. Watch your way of talking toward Clavis-sama!"

Hearing Ragna's disrespectful manner of speaking, Valkenhayn, who was behind the aged man, scowled at him with a grim face.

Unafraid, Ragna was ready to talk back. But before he could do it, Clavis raised his hand to soothe and control the situation.

"Indeed. Rachel and I are both vampires. ...A thousand years has passed and made me forget about my age. However, I have witnessed many eras of mankind in those thousand years."

"A thousand years..."

"Do you find it hard to believe, young lady?"

"N-no, it's not like that...! I'm only a bit surprised."

Faced with a graceful smile, Celica suddenly flustered and shook her head.

A vampire who had lived for more than a thousand years. Ragna and Celica couldn't imagine for someone to live for such a long period of time.

"Well then, Mr. Ragna and Miss Celica."

Repositioning his fingers, Clavis calmly began to talk.

Ragna and Celica surprised since Clavis knew their name before they even introduced themselves. But if it's Clavis, it felt like he would know even the secrets of their birth unknown to themselves.

"I apologize for suddenly bringing you to this desolated place. Originally, it was Mitsuyoshi alone that was supposed to be brought here... However, it seems my daughter felt uneasy to just leave both of you there and decided to bring you along."

Clavis looked over his daughter with affection. Rachel, the girl who was being talked about, seemed uninterested and turned her face way to other direction.

"Um. Is Mitsuyoshi-san going to be fine?"

Celica leaned forward. She had been waiting to ask it since she was really concerned about him.

"But of course. He is presently receiving medical treatment in the inner section of the castle. His condition was terrible, but there is nothing life threatening. So, please be calm."

"That's great..."

Letting out a big sigh, Celica felt relieved.

Ragna also let out a sigh of relief.

"To survive from a fight against the Black Beast. Beastkins are surely tough, aren't they?"

"Aah... Mitsuyoshi seems to misunderstand it too. The black mist that all of you encountered was not the Black Beast."

"Eh?!"

Celica raised her voice in surprise while Clavis calmly continued on despite the situation.

"That was a remnant of Black Beast. Although its purpose is still uncertain, it was left behind at the area where Black Beast manifested and will annihilate anything it sees that comes near. Albeit it is a part of the Black Beast, it is merely a tiny portion of it."

"Then, what actually is the Black Beast...?"

Ragna's face was clouded with unrest as he asked. Uneasiness was also floating on Clavis' eyes.

"Naturally, it is not on the same scale as the black mist from earlier."

It was more powerful, frightening, and irrational.

The fragment of Black Beast that Clavis called as remnant didn't have any arms or legs. Just how much of a fear symbol the real form of Black Beast was, vaguely thought Ragna. On the contrary, he couldn't even imagine on how to stop it.

"Nonetheless, the inside of that remnant was particularly dense. Perhaps it had been concealed there for such a long period of time and accumulated a great number of remains. Even with someone at Mitsuyoshi's caliber, it is not something you would easily defeat."

"...You seem to know Mitsuyoshi very well."

"Aah, that I do."

"Just then, you said you're planning to bring Mitsuyoshi back, right? Does it mean the one who ordered Mitsuyoshi to catch Shuichirou Ayatsuki was you?"

Celica gasped. Her huge eyes widened on that harsh reality and made her stared at Clavis.

Ragna and Celica. Clavis was showered by both of their gaze, and yet he didn't flinch even a bit as he nodded.

Then, Celica forcefully stood up from the table.

"Why!? Father isn't someone who would do dangerous thing! He always does what he considered the best for people!"

"...You are Professor Ayatsuki's daughter, are you not?"

"Y-yes."

Clavis' voice was soft but dignified. Both of Celica's hands rested on top of her knees, gripped tightly. With nervousness on her face, she straightened herself.

"Perhaps fate has seen it fit that we should meet. Now that it has come to this, I shall tell both of you a story... It is but an old man's tale. It is a bit long, so please have patience in listening to it."

From here on, Clavis moved on to the real issue at hand. Closing his pale eyelids, he took a deep breath. As if reading to them about a legendary story, he began to speak.

"It was a very long, long time ago... In a certain place called Japan, an object called the Susano'o Unit was excavated. It was a mysterious object nobody had ever seen before. Then, mankind wondered if they could find more were they continued excavating. Everywhere, anywhere they dug through. Finally, they discovered... the Cauldron"

Deep down below the surface, the gigantic cauldron abruptly opened its mouth.

The inside was filled with red flames dancing around as if it hiding something beneath. When peeking inside, for some reason there was a temptation to be swallowed by it. Those were the rumors circulating around that time in the actual place.

"On the opposite side of the Cauldron, there was something called Boundary that had spread out. A different dimension from the world humanity lived in, a truly bizarre space. Charmed by great curiosity, mankind proceeded to delve deep to the depths of the Boundary... Deep within, they located something that had a purpose. It was called the Master Unit. ...It was an existence humanity referred as god. Humanity then constructed Takamagahara System to control the Boundary and to try to make a contact with Master Unit."

"Something like... getting closer with god?"

"No. It was to kill god."

Clavis spoke those dangerous words with nonchalant and composed manner.

"...Shuichirou Ayatsuki developed something as a substitute for the Takamagahara System. Something to contact the Boundary, and reach the Master Unit deep within... The Kusanagi."

"Kusanagi..."

Dumbfounded, Celica repeated the word.

That was what her father had been seeking. A tool to reach god. Then if possible, a weapon that might kill god.

"Why would Father create such a thing...?"

"Well now. I myself do not know the reason. For humanity to once developed Takamagahara System and attempted to kill god at the same time... It perhaps might have been something to do out of curiosity. However, I deemed that experiment to be dangerous. Therefore in order to prevent it, I dispatched Mitsuyoshi to recover the prime field... But it seemed I was too late. He had already completed it and performed the test experimentation as well."

Clavis shut his mouth for a moment. It was only for a brief of time, but it was enough for Ragna to guess what happened next.

"...And then, Black Beast appeared, right?"

"Exactly. The Black Beast was born from the Cauldron which was discovered on the same place with Susano'o Unit. That place, too, was where they conducted the test experiment."

Shuichirou Ayatsuki had made contact with the Boundary, and from Boundary the Black Beast came. If it was only based on that fact, it was possible to say that his experiment had unleashed the Black Beast.

Celica hung her head. Her long hair weakly slipped from the nape of her neck to her chest. The hands on her knees clenched tightly.

"Is my father... still alive?"

"I do not know. It is only been a few days since we have known the truth that his experiment was conducted in the same place where the Black Beast had appeared, as well as the same time. But if we could hear the details of the story from Shuichirou Ayatsuki himself, we might be able to get hold of clues regarding the Black Beast."

Having spoken that far, Clavis sunk his frail body into the wheelchair. Fatigue ran across him as he exhaled a deep, long breath.

A vampire that could age and also become tired. Ragna got an interest to that unusual notion.

"...The Black Beast. It is a monster born from the Boundary... no, it is the Boundary itself. It is not something a man should associate with. Humanity is still immature. Although their immaturity was the reason of their curiosity, a contact with the Boundary must not happen."

Feeling gloomy as if he was reciting a poem of folklore, Clavis' voice was filled with weariness as he spoke.

"Before long, it seems humanity will shift to the next 'phase'. However, this is not the 'destruction' that was needed for that purpose. It is simply a 'massacre'. ...The Black Beast cannot be ignored. Otherwise..."

...We will undoubtedly meet our demise.

With Clavis' statement, an uncomfortable feeling somehow struck Ragna deep within his mind.

Within that instant, Ragna himself was incapable to understand what it was. What he understood was... even though Clavis and Rachel were both vampires, something in their fundamental parts made them felt like two different entities.

More than that trivial uneasiness, Ragna now felt the weight of Clavis' prediction. The truth, which was borne from his soft tone of conveying that story, felt as cold as ice.

It was as if Clavis could see the fragments of humanity's downfall future.

"After Mitsuyoshi has recovered, I once again will request him to seek Shuichirou Ayatsuki. I will leave what both of you will do to your own judgment. However..."

As if dispersing the tension, Clavis smiled gently.

"Before that time come, please take a comfort and rest yourselves here. It has been only a short while after your encounter with the remnant of Black Beast. Even if you haven't noticed it yet, I am sure that some fatigues must have accumulated within. Valkenhayn will prepare the rooms, so until then, ease yourselves in this room."

After saying it as if he was facing a relative's children, Clavis left the parlor with Valkenhayn and Rachel following him.

Before long, Valkenhayn returned to the room although not much time had passed. He guided Ragna and Celica to the guest rooms on the second floor of the mansion.

Although Mitsuyoshi's injuries were not as serious as they had expected, there wasn't any reason for them to leave this place in a hurry.

As fatigues they were shouldering finally caught up with them, Ragna and Celica took upon the appreciated generosity from Clavis.