"Hmm, this is oddly peculiar." It's nighttime around Mitakihara, yet it doesn't look far off from Tokyo because of how bright everything looks even in the dead of night, yet for all the inner beauty of a city goes, there's always a dark few secrets hidden behind closed doors if one were to know where to look.

Within one of the tall buildings stand a girl in her teens with blond hair styled into twin drills. Her eyes are of the same color as her hair and she dons the Mitakihara middle school uniform plus black tights and wearing some white shoes. In the palm of her hand is a yellow glowing gem in the appearance of a Faberge Egg, glowing gently.

"There should be more of them around, yet they've disappeared." She ponders to herself. As far as she's concerned, no other person has claimed protection over this very city and she is still doing whatever after their little falling out.

"Is something wrong, Mami?" An androgynous voice asks behind her. The now named Mami turns around and sees a small cat-like creature with white fur and four ears, two of them looking closely to a rabbit's. Its eyes are red, lacking any pupil and its rabbit ears seem to contain a golden ring encircling them along with three red ovals.

"Oh, hi Kyubey. I was just investigating something."

"You mean the recent drop in familiar population?" Mami nods her head, focusing some more and causing the gem on her hand to glow slightly brighter.

"It is odd. Considering the amount of witches that appear in this city, it would be logical for you to be fighting some of its lesser brethren by now." The creature did find it somewhat logical that killing off a familiar would help prevent it from turning into another witch, even though nothing is to be gained from it. Nevertheless, it needed to stay around.

"Have you seen anything, Kyubey?" The cat-like creature shakes its head.

"No, but I have detected something strange in the air." The blond-haired girl raises an eyebrow.

"The weird thing is that it feels like magic combined with something else. You have been feeling it too, yes?" Whenever they come upon a site where the familiar was last located, traces of energy were left there, except it didn't come from a familiar or even a witch. It felt dark, acidic and even oppressive. Granted, familiars and witches are far from friendly either but whatever's left behind isn't conjured by either.

"Do you think this is the work of a magical girl?" Kyubey shakes his head.

"Impossible. Although one's powers differ from person to person, it's easy for me to identify a magical girl since you all share a common signature. What I felt is different." In Kyubey's perspective, even he's at a loss as to who's leaving behind such a trace. While there is a possibility, but the chances of it being a witch is very low that he can almost dismiss it, since almost all of them prefer to stay within the labyrinths they created.

"I see. Well, I'll be patrolling the area to see if there's anything amiss." Mami is then covered in yellow light, her uniform switching into an outfit with a beige skirt with black tips, long-sleeved white shirt with puffs and a small brown hat with white fur along with gray and white leggings and yellow knee-high boots. She then jumps down the side of the building, conjuring ribbons to slow her descent.

"Hmm, an unknown variable in play...this is troubling indeed." Kyubey speaks aloud, tail swishing.

Meanwhile...

"You know, this kind of reminds me of our own world minus the seithr." A certain Black Beast points out.

"True, it's technologically advanced, energy efficient and not overrun by a tyrannical government. Plus, unlike our own world, people here seem happy and living their life to the fullest."

Introductions to the middle school division was easy enough and the students welcomed him with open arms. He had to go here as a sort of cover from authorities since they'd probably arrest him upon finding out he doesn't have a proper education of sorts. With his luck, that would've been likely.

Our certain former criminal walks down the streets of Mitakihara, free from his school uniform and now wearing a red hoodie, black leather jacket and gloves along with some shoes of the same color as well as pants. More or less a good night to go out somewhat casually.

Compared to his old world, this looked like paradise. No Library, green-haired troll who wants to destroy the planet to fuel his sadistic desires or a certain mad scientist who isn't afraid to cross moral boundaries for the sake of his research...well you get the idea.

Luck would have it, however, that this world's also got a few problems of its own.

"Now that I think about it, no one's aware of them, huh?"

"You mean the freaks that keep dragging us into those mazes? Not even an hour of being here, already got dragged into one with intent to kill."

"Even without a bounty, people and other oddities still want to kill you. How surprising." Ragna nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm used to it. They were small fry anyway." The Grim Reaper comes across a street to cross and after making sure no cars or any other vehicle pass by, keeps on walking.

"There's also something I'm concerned with, magic existing here. I can feel it in the air and it's much stronger in those labyrinths." Akuma opens up.

"I know. If we're not careful, we could end up in deep shit, and there's another thing that troubles me too."

"What?"

"I've got a bit of a hunch where they came from. The things we've fought were nothing more than small fry separated from their master, yet when feeling the trace amounts of residual magic-"

"The feeling is different, but the signature's all but consistent. Been bugging me for a while but we need to find something more than just mere small fries if we want to prove our little theory."

"This isn't a coincidence. I've also detected a similar-"

"Excuse me for a second, are you Ragna Kisaragi?" The Grim Reaper turns to his side and sees a girl wearing the Mitakihara Uniform with blond hair styled into twin drills and yellow eyes. Her eyes show no form of hostility, yet she's far from unguarded.

"Depends on who's asking." He replies coolly, merely looking at the girl in front of him, somewhat surprised how she's not intimidated. She gives him a polite smile.

"The name's Mami Tomoe, ninth grader at Mitakihara. You must be one of the new transfer students."

"Ah, the mysterious transfer student cliche." Chuckles Akuma. He really didn't expect something so cliche to actually work. Ragna could see her looking up and down at his taller form with intrigue.

"My, for someone who's a year my junior, you're rather grown." The red rebel blinks for a second, not expecting that.

"Umm, thanks?" Mami giggles.

"No worries, so what are you doing out here?"

"Eh, just walking around." The drill-haired girl gives him a look of concern, walking after him.

"You're not worried someone would be here to attack you?" Ragna snorts.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine." Mami's yellow eyes then look into the former criminal's ruby and emerald orbs, trying to see if he's lying. She detected none.

"Ragna, you've also noticed she's got the same ring as Homura right?" The Central Fiction nods his head mentally.

"Yeah. Her magic signature's also similar. Good thing I've put on a sealing Ars for my arm to prevent seithr from leaking out else she would've found mine."

"So you're a night person, if I'm guessing correctly."

"It's one of the few times I feel at peace."

"Or when you're attacking an NOL base and killing everyone inside." The white haired teen rolls his eyes but doesn't deny it. Just looking at the stars is one of the only moments in his old world where he had a semblance of peace. Well, that and buying meat buns from the nearest vendor, only for a certain Kaka clan member to swipe it out his hands and drain his wallet of vitality.

"Ah, yes. There's always something so beautiful about the moon. Sure it's not as bright as the sun, yet it still shines in its own right." Ragna doesn't say anything but looks up.

"Normally the Rabbit would be bugging me for some reason, either to annoy the hell outta me or there's a cauldron that needs to be destroyed." The red rebel and his acquaintance just walk down the street, neither of them speaking.

Minutes pass by and they come upon a flower vendor.

"Hello, sir and madam. Are you two on a date?" Mami's face turns slightly red and looks away, but recomposes herself.

"No, we're not. Just talking." The drill haired girl follows up with her denial.

"Ah, I see. Nevertheless, would you guys be interested in a flower?" Ragna's about to say no until he sees it.

A red flower that blooms beautifully despite the coldness of the season. Its hardy petals struggle to stay open to reveal its inner beauty within.

"Thanks for the reminder." The Grim Reaper thinks glumly. Rachel Alucard, for all the times she annoyed the hell outta him, always had a way of getting him to listen through all that snark and trash talk. He couldn't forget the face she made when she shed tears before he removed her memories of him and left.

Mami saw his stoic expression turn downtrodden for a second, only to be hidden underneath that gruff mask once more.

"I'll take a rose." The vendor brightens up.

"Ah, that'll be about 300 yen please." Ragna fishes out his wallet and gives him the exact money needed, causing the transaction to be made.

"Have a good night, sir." The Central Fiction nods his head wordlessly and goes on his merry way, holding the lone flower in front of him.

"How beautiful. What're you gonna do with it?" She questions.

"Put it in a vase." The drill haired girl gives him a curious look. Ragna, seeing how her curiosity won't die down, decided to entertain her a bit.

"Knew someone who's been a big fan of roses. Always had some on her garden."

"Ah, and where is she now?" Ragna's face turns brooding once more, holding the delicate thing on his hands.

"Let's just say we won't be seeing each other again." He spoke in a soft gruff voice, the baritone within holding immense weight upon his words.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No worries." Mami's eyes become one of worry. Despite just knowing him, she could see weight behind his dual-colored orbs. The eyes of someone who's braved despair and pushed through the impossible odds.

"Well it's nice getting to know you, Ragna but I gotta come home."

"Cool, see ya." Upon arriving at the next intersection, Mami turns right while the white haired teen keeps on going.

"You okay, kid?" Ragna didn't say anything for a second and merely kept on looking ahead of him.

"It's pointless dwelling on it, yet here I am. Dwelling on what's happened won't bring them back." Akuma could feel his host's well of emotions.

"Just take pride in the fact that you've saved them. Even if they don't know who you are." Ragna merely nods his head. Everything happened to fast that he barely had the time to properly process it all.

Noel becoming Kusanagi, Azrael's imprisonment and Terumi turning into Susano'o. So many things happened in such successive order that he had to focus on the present.

He can sometimes feel the arms of his siblings around him, crying as their dear brother was about to erase himself from the annals of existence. After all, he is the Central Fiction, the one Amaterasu needed to "save" him, otherwise the world would be unable to move on forward. How ironic that a feared criminal, the very same one that made the world fear him, saved its existence from the hands of a madman.

Ragna closes his eyes and focuses for a second.

"Don't worry Jin, Noel, Rabbit and Master. Your fight is done, but mine will still be unending. I'll walk tall and move forward for all your sakes." Ragna then eventually finds himself in front of his house.

It's rather big and had a futuristic feel to it, with a library, a theater along with multiple bedrooms that have king sized beds which not only have their own flat screen TVs that can activate by either pressing a button or voice command but also came with several video game systems. It even came with a hot spring just in case he wanted to relax there.

Taking off his left glove, Ragna pressed his thumb in the scanner. After a few seconds, multiple locks could be heard clicking, prompting him to wait a bit until opening the door. Coming inside, the door relocked once more and the lights opened automatically.

He saw an empty vase, filled it with water and put the flower there so that it can be sustained. He looks at it for a second and lets out a small huff.

"The wheel of fate turns once more."

"May our battles be glorious." Ragna goes into one of the rooms and goes to sleep, allowing that drowsy feeling to take over.

Insert Small Timeskip Here...

"Pretty noisy in the lunchroom." The Grim Reaper sits within the rooftop of the school, holding his tentama udon in a throwable bowl and using chopsticks to eat the noodles. Another day begins for our dear former criminal to begin his steps towards proper education. Except he's already learned most of these things, only being here to not get in trouble with the law for skipping school for a person that looks like his age.

Middle school is supposed to be a time where kids are still learning things and when their parents still need to guide them on the way to adulthood. At this time, kids are well into their early teenage years and like most teens, they normally don't think of anything besides video games, food or even talking about crushes from time to time.

"Must be nice being a kid, isn't it?" Ragna merely snorts at that.

"Kinda cool to just act your own age and not worry about the big shit in life, I guess. Didn't even have that luxury back home thanks to Master's training."

"Ah, yes. The most you got for a birthday party gift is Rachel shocking you with her electric frog." Chuckles the Black Beast.

"While Master's birthday gift for me was to lift a huge boulder three times my size for strength training." To be fair, they were at least necessary to make sure his body doesn't end up failing due to being unable to handle seithr, although he sometimes wished the Alucard vampire could just find ways to entertain herself without annoying the hell outta him.

"Just feels weird, ya know? Being in a normal setting considering my past." His schedule there is either attacking a Library base, fending off any bounty hunters, killing Terumi among other things. Considering the weirdness of the people he has to deal with, it's surprising how he's been able to hold himself together despite having an abnormal life.

"Plus, I need to keep reminding myself that my dumbass brother isn't looking for me when I sleep." Even after his brother more or less resisted the effects of his weapon, Jin's attacked him so many times in a fit of yandere rage that he needs to constantly remind himself that not only is he fully cured from its insanity-inducing effects, he doesn't even remember him.

"Ah, thought I'd find you here!" Ragna turns around and sees Sayaka along with a certain pig-tailed pinkette trailing behind her slowly.

"Why aren't you at the lunchroom?" The Grim Reaper ponders the question for a second.

"Not the type to be around crowds." Admits the red rebel bluntly.

"Especially considering everyone either wanted to use me for their plans, annoy the hell outta me or want me dead." He mentally snorts. Peace and quiet is the closest thing he has when people aren't bothering him.

"Sad thing is, the only people who don't either are Tao orCelica, and even then the former drains you of your money constantly and the latter has a really big tendency to get lost even with a map."

"Yep."

"U-um, do you mind if we stay here then?" Ragna shrugs his shoulders.

"Do whatever you want." He scoots to the far right side of the bench to make space for Sayaka and Madoka, with the latter sitting next to him. None of them say anything, causing a blanket of silence to cover the surrounding area. The Central Fiction didn't even bother, happily consuming his noodles and drinking the broth. The two childhood friends momentarily glance at the only male and try to find a topic to broach towards Ragna, but find themselves lost to say anything.

"S-so, nice weather today huh?" The white haired teen gives Sayaka a deadpan look.

"Hey, it's kinda awkward having it so quiet around here!" He says nothing, merely looking out into the city below.

"You're so tall, Ragna!" Notes the pinkette. Just seeing him so close made her realize how small she looks compared to him.

"And your eyes have two different colors, it's so cool!" Sayaka's eyes are sparkling, looking into his dual colored orbs.

"Never met someone with heterochromia before?" Madoka blinks in confusion.

"Hetero-what?"

"Heterochormia. It means someone with two different eye colors." Explains the blue haired friend.

"They're so innocent." Chuckles Akuma in amusement.

"You know, we were looking for you Ragna." Ragna raises an eyebrow at Madoka.

"In gym class, you freaking dominated everything! The track, long jump, you did it with ease! Let's not even forget the dodgeball match!" He momentarily scratches his head sheepishly, remembering how well that went.

Flashback...

Alone.

The Grim Reaper stands alone in the crowd, clad in a red shirt and black shorts. Fortunately, the school gave the okay to wear their own sports equipment, which he took full advantage of.

No dodgeballs were at his side, for the opposite team had them. Each of the students were looking at him menacingly, eyeing him as if he was nothing more than easy prey. Normally, such a standoff would seem hopeless, even stupid to stand against. Considering the odds are 17 to 1, such odds are unlikely.

"Get off the stage so we can win!"

"Aww, looks like the newbie thinks he can take us on!"

"Just because you placed first in the past doesn't mean you'll take the win on this one!"

Ragna merely ignores their catcalls and insults, having been insulted many times worse by enemies of the past.

"You know, the game ain't over until the last player's out. Aren't you getting a little cocky?" He asks calmly, hands in his pockets. Good thing he wrapped up his right arm and sealed it with a bit of Ars Magus to prevent anyone curious enough from staring.

"Says the one talking shit! Get off the stage and accept defeat already!" Ragna ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He initially didn't even wanna bother with this game and he couldn't even play because he was on the reserve team, but the urge to put the kid in his place became a rather tempting idea.

"How about no. Make me move then." The red rebel taunts the leader. The whole gym fell silent for a second. All of Ragna's sidelined teammates looked at him in worry.

"You think he's gonna do it?" Asks the pinkette.

"I don't think so. He seems pretty calm despite the odds against him." Sayaka notes.

"Very well, then. You heard the man, pelt him with everything you've got!"

They all came at once. Multiple red circular objects flew through the air at supersonic speeds. Each of them would've had enough power behind it to knock someone off their feet. The missiles came close at impact, closing in upon Ragna.

All of his team gasped in horror. Some even closed their eyes, not wanting to see the beatdown that would transpire.

To Ragna, each of them were as fast as a snail going at its fastest. A red blur was seen in the eyes of the crowd and none of them even noticed anything until a loud grunt could be heard in the attacking team. Turning in shock, the leader and his team saw one of his teammates down, a ball imprinted on his stomach.

Everyone could do nothing more than stand with their jaws promptly dropped. Ragna stood in place, hands in pockets as usual. His expression still held that stoic demeanor.

"Didn't see that coming did ya?" That deep voice snapped the crowd out of their stupor and saw the Grim Reaper repeatedly throwing a ball and catching it on one hand.

His iconic frown had morphed into a small predatory smirk, much to the horror of the opposing team.

"You've had your fun. Consider that your last step."

"Wha-" A loud whizzing sound could be heard, followed by a loud bonk and a grunt of pain. The leader looked on in horror as yet another one of his teammates was down on his back, groaning and clutching his stomach.

Another groan of pain could be heard. Then another. And another. And another.

Dodgeballs came flying at them with even faster speeds, hitting the opposite team squarely to knock them out. The lone member threw them at such speeds that no one can register how fast they were until it hits a player, followed by that grunt of pain. All of Ragna's team just looked with their jaws on the ground with utter shock.

"!" Someone threw a dodgeball at Ragna, only for him to nonchalantly tilt his head to dodge the blow. It bounced towards him and he calmly picks up the object and glares at the source.

"Ehehehe...whoops?" He got a dodgeball to the face for his troubles. Eventually, there weren't any more dodgeballs for Ragna to throw.

"Go! He's just one man! Counterattack!" All of them threw dodgeballs in desperation, trying to hit the red rebel.

Ragna bends over backwards, some of the dodgeball aiming close to his face, yet not making any form of contact on his person, not even his clothes.

Without looking, he grabs some of the dodgeballs that were heading towards him and uses them as shields to either deflect the upcoming projectiles or just catch them instead, giving him more ammunition.

"Go!" The remaining twelve members of the opposing team threw their dodgeballs towards the white haired teen, who, instead of trying to dodge them, power slides under the hail of objects. Getting his hands on the nearest ball, The Grim Reaper throws the one on his hand towards one of the other thrown dodgeballs.

He threw it in such a manner of precision that the ball ends up ricocheting towards the opposite team, smacking them soundly before any of them can even register what was happening. Groans of pain followed as the lone ball brought down all members of the opposite team, effectively taking them out of the game.

Except for one.

"Homura Akemi." Ragna sees her walking towards him, that stoic visage on her face. She merely gave Ragna that blank stare she usually had, looking at his dual colored orbs.

"Oh, shit." Sayaka whispers. The whole crowd merely watched in anticipation as the two best players stared each other down.

"Impressive display, Kisaragi." She speaks.

"I'm guessing you don't wanna give this up, huh?" She shakes her head, making that curtain of black hair move along with her head.

"No, they were mere waste of space anyway. Let's settle this match."

"And here I thought you didn't care."

"It held some value of amusement, but I grew bored of this massacre." Neither of them moved a muscle, merely holding their ground. A blanket of silence surrounded the area, with not even the breath of the spectators can be heard.

Homura made the first move, throwing the dodgeball at Ragna, who effortlessly ducks. He delivered with a throw of his own, except Homura catches it and throws it back with equal fervor.

The squeaks of rubber could be heard as both players repeatedly try to pelt each other. Both their athleticism allow them to dodge their throws with such speed and reflexes. Homura got a few close calls, with a few shots nearly hitting her face. Ragna's torso nearly got smacked, missing him by a hair's breadth.

As much as the black haired girl wanted to deny it, she could feel a small hint of excitement go through her veins. The mysterious enigma that is Ragna not only matched her reflexes, but also had a few acrobatic moves of his own. Thanks to countless moments of living through this particular month, it allowed her body to be physically stronger, a far cry from her past self.

Initially she wanted to get this tedious activity over with, yet even now she finds herself caught in the swing of things.

Every time they throw a dodgeball, it ends with either them dodging or even intercepting with a throw of equal force, canceling out the trajectory and making them fall on the ground from having its momentum halted.

"Damn, look at the transfer students go!"

"So cool!"

"I vote for Homura to win!"

"No, Ragna's gonna be the one to kick her ass!" Cheers could be heard from all sides as they either cheered for Homura or Ragna. Both of them paused for a second and let them catch their breath as they heard the roar of the crowd.

"Ragna!"

"Homura!"

"Ragna!"

"Homura!"

Both look around and can feel their fervor filled cheers throughout the gym.

"Well look at that, it seems we've pulled quite a crowd." The Grim Reaper replies dryly, cracking his neck.

"Good. It'll allow this victory to be all the sweeter." Homura admittedly began to enjoy herself even more, much to her own surprise. In the past, she wouldn't even bother to play such stupid games and was even going to opt herself out until Ragna began to kick her team's ass.

All the crowd could see were a blur of purple and red as the sounds of smacking rubber intensified. Their roars became ever louder.

Every throw Homura did, Ragna countered it by catching and retaliating with a dodgeball throw of his own. Homura backflips gracefully and kicks a few dodgeballs rocketing towards the white haired teen, who deflects one, throws the one on his hand to cancel it out and bends over backwards and catches said ball and throws it back.

He then begins spinning on the ground and kicks himself upward in the air. Finding a few dodgeballs coming his way, Ragna threw it at Homura, who did the same with her own ball. The thrown projectiles cleared out the rest of the floating projectiles blocking his view and before both of them knew it, a dodgeball was headed for both of them.

Homura got hit on the chest, the impact knocking her back a bit. Ragna's face got the brunt of the hit, knocking him off balance and causing him to recover at the last second.

The crowd got silent for a minute, no one saying a word and seeing both fighters get hit simultaneously. Eventually, one person begins to clap, then another, then another as more people begin to clap. Cheers could be heard across the stadium as the crowd once more cheered for Ragna and Homura.

"That was certainly fun." Admits the former criminal, going up to Homura and offers a hand to her. He expected her to reject it, considering her rather blunt response to him earlier, but to his surprise, she accepted the help and he helped her up, allowing the girl to straighten her hair via a hair flip.

"Good game." Homura replies with her usual flat voice. Ragna wordlessly nods as he goes back to the locker room.

Her mouth twitched and eventually, she couldn't hold it and let the sliest of smiles escape her lips. Despite everything, even she, in the end, found the entire set of events rather amusing.

Flashback End...

"Man, you and Homura were so damn epic!" Cheers Sayaka, pumping her fists in excitement.

"Yeah, went overboard with the dodgeballs though." Sheepishly admits the white haired teen, running a hand through his hair.

"Kinda wish you won over that creepy girl though. Oh well." She goes back to eating her sandwich.

"The class has been looking for you ever since that little dodgeball fiesta. Maybe you should meet your adoring fans!" The Grim Reaper shakes his head.

"Nah, I'm good. Not a people person." Madoka chuckles sheepishly.

"I can see that. Where'd you come from anyway?"

"Originated around Britin. Grew up in a church." Both girls eye Ragna curiously upon hearing that.

"You're a foreigner? Makes sense, not a lot of people are six feet tall at fourteen." Sayaka replies casually.

"Are you a religious person?" Madoka asks him.

"No, literally grew up there. Wasn't a bad life, pretty peaceful." Then memories of Terumi taking his arm via his brother and the smell of burning wood came back full force. Little did that help at all.

"Yeah...peaceful." He sighs. Both girls could see a hint of that brooding expression come back.

"Oh, sorry if I brought up anything bad." Sayaka asks guiltily.

"Don't worry 'bout it. You didn't know." He clenches his fists for a second before letting them relax. His eyebrows furrow ever more slightly. Footsteps could be heard approaching and the two girls and one boy could see Homura walking towards them, running a hand through her hair.

"Hello Madoka Kaname, Ragna Kisaragi." Madoka gives a shy wave and Ragna merely eyes her, wondering what she's doing here.

"What am I, chopped liver?!" The pinkette smiles and the white haired teen shakes his head.

"May I sit here?" Before any of them could say anything, Homura sits next to Ragna, sandwiching him in between Madoka and the black haired girl.

"Welp, guess asking wasn't something you needed to do." The red rebel dryly replies. Homura shrugs her shoulders as she digs into her own bento.

"How nice, wanting to come here all of a sudden after your display of hostility." The black haired girl momentarily looks away.

"I was merely surprised by your appearance. Forget you've ever heard of this." Ragna can tell that she's really hiding something and can see that when she momentarily looks as Madoka, her lips twitch subtly. Plus, it didn't seem anything that personal when they last spoke and it wasn't the first time he's even heard those words.

"Jeez, she's rather invested in Madoka. If she wants to be friends or something then out with it."

"No, it's more complicated than that."

"That being said, I'll admit to being impressed. No one's ever matched me athletically before." The white haired teen merely answers by slurping some of his noodles.

"Thanks."

"So...Homura? How'd you get your hair to be so long?" The amethyst eyed girl gives the bluenette a blank look before turning her head to Ragna.

"If you'd like, perhaps we may have gotten off the wrong foot." Ragna merely slurps the rest of the broth within his throwable bowl and chucks those and the chopsticks into the trash can, precisely making both items inside despite him not looking back.

"Do whatever you want." He runs a hand through his hair.

"Hey, don't ignore me here!" Pouts Sayaka. Madoka giggles cutely in seeing her friend riled up.

"Maybe if you can lower your voice I may be tempted to even speak to you." Homura replies blankly. The Grim Reaper could see her mouth twitch slightly at seeing her reactions.

"Damn, she's good."

"Why are you here other than to annoy the hell outta me?" She crosses her arms.

"No reason, I merely wish to be here."

"Right." The red rebel rolls his eyes, not even believing her for a second, especially considering she's not the social type either.

"I'll give her credit. She certainly knows how to keep her emotions in check, yet I can detect something in her." For some odd reason, having the Black Beast within him has granted him the ability to detect emotions within a person. It actually is a useful tool to find out a culprit in denial of a crime.

"She's full of self-deprecation, regret and nostalgia. There's a damn lot of it too." He notes. The red rebel can already tell that wherever she came from and for someone as young as her to be filled with such negative emotion, it really messed her up that badly.

"How can someone be filled with so much self hate and loneliness?" Akuma wonders. Considering a middle schooler's mood is normally optimistic such as the two childhood friends talking amongst themselves over there, she certainly does stand out in a crowd for not only being pretty, but level-headed, yet that level-headedness belies a cauldron of emotions kept tightly under wraps.

When they played that dodgeball game and tied each other out, he felt a small spark of amusement within it, a rather rare feeling for someone like her. Guess she wasn't lying when she said she genuinely enjoyed the match, if a little bit.

Homura couldn't help but also feel a tad curious at seeing this enigma before her. Someone who adorns such a dark frown enough to scare away his fellow middle schoolers, adding into how he's an unknown variable in all of this. Never before has she seen him in the past times she has reset this very month, his surprise appearance throwing her into a new scenario.

Every time the number of players were the same. Yes, some events played out slightly different and small changes here and there, but a new addition to this loop gets her thinking for a bit.

Just what is his purpose here? He's not a typical middle schooler by any means and his gruff expression is more than just some sort of half-assed attempt to make himself look cooler.

"Madoka seems to want to befriend him. I have to make sure he isn't a threat to her safety." The black haired girl thinks to herself, eating some sushi she prepared this morning. Driving them away is out of the question, as doing so would draw more suspicion towards her.

It's somewhat annoying how friendly Madoka can be towards people, yet that's what made her endearing. Through her kindness alone did she find a way to befriend everyone, yet that personality makes her viable to the whims of more amoral people.

Ragna doesn't seem to be a threat to her safety for now, content in doing his own thing. Despite that aloofness, both Sayaka and Madoka seem intent on befriending the enigma before her.

It probably would've been a wise idea to try and steer them away, as he seems to have his fair share of skeletons in the closet, yet she can see the hypocrisy in that mentality. While she isn't expecting to be best friends with Ragna, it'll do her some good to not be on the wrong foot, unless he does something to actively put her in danger.

"Ragna?" The white haired teen looks at her inquisitively.

"There's a cafe nearby here. If possible in the near future, do you want to come with me?" Upon hearing that, Ragna still gives her that raised eyebrow while Madoka and Sayaka gasp in surprise.

"Well that's a shocker." The bluenette comments. She didn't expect someone like her to ask something like that.

"Is it a date?!" Madoka wonders innocently yet excitedly.

"Yeah, right. Why the hell would it be, we just knew each other." Scoffs the Grim Reaper. He then turns to the black haired girl.

"So first you start talking shit about me, then you ask me to go chill with you? If you hate me that much, then you could've said so." Bluntly replies the Grim Reaper.

"It was a foolish mistake on my part to jump to conclusions." She admits. That and her gut feeling keeps telling her that picking a fight with this guy isn't a good idea. She doesn't know why, but her instincts are warning her whenever he gets confrontational.

"Closest thing we'll get to an apology, I guess. Doesn't seem like she's lying either and what the hell is she up to? First, she's hostile and now she wants to hang out?"

"I think it'll do you some good to attend this little get-together. Knowing her, she's trying to get to know you better not necessarily for the sake of friendship."

"And it'll give me an idea about her as a person. Makes sense."

"Fine, I guess I've got time to kill." Ragna shrugs his shoulders.

"Well look at that, Homu's got a date." The black haired girl turns to glare lightly at the bluenette.

"Please don't address me with such a ridiculous name." Sayaka merely grins at her.

"I mean your name's Homura so I may as well call you that for short, you know?" The blue haired girl turns to Ragna.

"You are hanging out with someone with white hair after all. Are you sure you're a middle schooler?" The white haired teen twitches his eyebrows.

"Do I even look like I have wrinkles to you?"

"She isn't exactly wrong considering-"

"I don't think anyone's gonna believe me."

"Well, it is rare for someone to have white hair." His face turns deadpan upon hearing Madoka's comment.

"And having blue or pink hair isn't? Besides, don't either of you have any dates?" The bluenette blushes, shyly looking away while Madoka presses her index fingers together shyly.

"U-uh, well there's this guy-"

"It's Kyosuke." Interrupts the pinkette. She glumly looks down, hanging her head in shame.

"She makes it pretty obvious she likes someone anyway." He dryly thinks to himself.

"You mean the guy with brown hair and a bandaged hand that sometimes comes here to get his homework?" Seeing Sayaka's blush brighten further confirms his thoughts.

"I don't really think that I'm good looking enough to get a guy." Admits Madoka.

"Eh, I don't know. I've seen a few guys talking about how cute you are." For someone who claims herself to be plain, a few guys have made passing comments about how her innocence is part of her charm and her sweet nature made a few of them get diabetes just from being around her.

"R-really?!" Madoka looks up, smiling brightly.

"Admittedly I'm inclined to agree." He bluntly drops. Madoka's face turns red and blushes shyly, poking her fingers together. He then felt someone slap his arm, although it felt more akin to a bee sting.

"Nice job, being rather upfront with Madoka. If only I can be as blunt as you sometimes." Pouts the bluenette.

"Then go tell him. Shouldn't be that hard."

"If only! I always think about how hard he's gonna reject me." Ragna could feel Homura's and Madoka's stares towards him, utterly blaming him for the awkwardness of the situation. Even the gentle Madoka's eyes were shaped in a manner that clearly pointed blame towards him.

"Shit. I'm not good in situations like this, I haven't even gotten a girlfriend yet!" "Right...so how long have you known him?"

"Years, but-"

"Has he actually given a shit about you? Helped you out in the past?" Sayaka nods her head without hesitation. She thought back to all the times he's helped her with homework or actively gave her moral support whenever she felt down.

"Then I don't see why he'll reject you. If he clearly cares about you that much then you shouldn't have any problems."

"Except whenever she finds him and makes a contract, she ends up consumed in despair." The black haired girl thinks dryly. All the times she tried doing things for his sake it always ended in her wallowing in her own self-doubt, mostly because she wasn't completely honest with herself about her desires. Exactly what he wanted.

"Look, rejection's something that all of us go through. If the dude doesn't like you, then move on. We're only in middle school, he ain't the only guy out there." Ragna sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

"Don't know why you all even bother with shit like crushes and take it so badly. It ain't the end of the world if the person you like rejects you. He alone doesn't define your whole love life."

"Much like how your "love life" consists of three clones of your sister, a brother who throws into yandere fits, a girl who keeps getting lost despite having a map and a tsundere vampire whose hobby is to annoy you?" Akuma asks dryly.

"Hey, I don't exactly choose the people I hang around with and really, including Jin in my shitty romance circle?"

"The undertones aren't exactly subtle." Much as Ragna wants to deny it, the beast does have a point there. Unfortunately to the eyes of others, people tend to get ideas about their already complicated relationship.

"You're right. I guess it wouldn't help if I just stay here and sulk. Thanks Ragna, you're nicer than you look." Says the once sulking blue haired girl.

"Heard that way too many times, but no problem." He replies back, rolling his eyes.

"Hmm, if she actually were to confess and face rejection, least that's one Witch not to worry about." Ponders the black haired girl. Already the potential changes he can make in this loop can potentially show.

"Or it can be taken the wrong way. The power of love can drive people off the edge after all."

"I didn't think you'd be rather wise about that, Ragna." Madoka innocently comments. Even though she didn't mean to sound insensitive, the implications behind her words made his eyebrow twitch.

"It's nice to think about it and all. Guess it's best to experience that feeling at a young age." The red rebel then gets up and cracks his neck.

"We've been talking here for almost an hour. Better get back to class." Madoka looks at her phone and gasps.

"You're right! Come on, Sayaka!" She then drags her friend to the entrance where they came from. Both the white and black haired teens just watch the girls go downstairs.

"The innocence of youth is a valuable thing to possess." He replies, putting his hands in his pockets. Homura couldn't disagree with that. She too knew how that felt when first meeting her.

Class came by rather quickly enough. There was a test in math, which went by rather quickly. Nothing out of the ordinary happened except for their homeroom teacher giving some life lessons about relationships that were full on point.

"Wow, that test was pretty hard, huh?!"

"Yeah it was! I couldn't figure out the first question!" Ragna merely walks with his hands in his pockets as his peers talk about the test or any random gossip going on.

"Honestly, that was easy."

"Surprising, considering you were literally asleep when the teacher talked about that section."

"Good thing years of being attacked by vigilantes allowed me to actually help keep my senses sharp." Old habits are hard to ditch, after all. Despite this world (seemingly) being more peaceful, he still lived in a world full of bounty hunters. One must always keep a sharp eye for such circumstances. Even while under the prospect of taking a nap he still made sure that nothing is off within his surroundings.

"What's the game plan, kid?" Asks the Black Beast. He ponders about that question for a second.

"Eh, done all my homework in class while the teacher was talking so...nothing I guess." The white haired teen just yawns out of boredom. Except for gym and maybe lunch, school was pretty typical.

"Ragna!" He turns around and sees Madoka running up to him with that smile on her face. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. So much for solitude.

"Hey." The pinkette then walks up to him, happily humming a tune.

"How'd the test go?" She asks curiously.

"Didn't see why everyone freaked out so much. Got it done in like fifteen minutes." He replies nonchalantly.

"Actually kinda glad Master and the Sister gave us education. Least she's a decent teacher for someone with a shitty directional sense." When he was still under the tutelage of the cat Beastkin, he normally tried to run away from moments that didn't involve getting stronger with his right arm.

"Yes, if I remember correctly that loli vampire blackmailed you into becoming her man servant had you not heeded his instructions." Chuckles the Black Beast.

"Have you seen the way she treated anyone that isn't the old man?" Considering Rachel's position of power (and how her familiars can be a gigantic pain in the ass at times), calling animal abuse isn't exactly ideal.

"Wow, lucky you. It took me the whole period to finish it." Replies Madoka, sheepishly scratching her head.

"Didn't Sayaka help you out or at least study?" His pink haired companion chuckles.

"Sadly, she isn't the ideal study partner, always getting distracted by something or someone." Ragna snorts upon hearing that.

"Yeah, I could see her silently screaming in the background." Deadpans the Grim Reaper.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

"Home." He turns left, with Madoka following him.

"I go home this way too! Isn't that nice, talking to someone other than Sayaka." The white haired teen wanted to be somewhat snarky with his response, but the thought of the pinkette being in tears forces him to bite back that thought.

"How amusing. For someone who wants to be alone you've gotten yourself surrounded by people who want to get to know you."

"Oh, shut up." His face furrows in thought and his face turns back into that intimidating frown, causing Madoka to look at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" Ragna merely looks away and keep his hands jammed in his pockets.

"Just not used to this, really." He slightly admits. Upon seeing the pinkette's confused look, he opts to elaborate.

"Being in situations like this. Usually when people approach me, they...normally do for their own purpose." Pushes on the white haired teen.

"You're not wrong there. Even though you've only been here for a couple days, Madoka and Sayaka treated you arguably better than the time you spent with Rachel. Not to say that she doesn't care about you of course, but-"

"I know. Most of her dialogue consists of her saying how much of an uncultured brute I am. That and her cryptic bullshit doesn't get me anywhere. Though a part of it is my fault since I can be a dumbass who charges in sword swinging." He merely keeps silent and has that brooding expression on his face. Madoka couldn't help but give a look of concern his way.

"How can someone look so angry all the time?" She thinks to herself. Even Sayaka at her angriest doesn't look as scary as he does. It gave her some relief that he wasn't some unrepentant jerk and looks down on others to make himself feel good, although his bluntness is rather surprising.

While Homura's facial expression is that of a cold level headed beauty, Ragna's is akin to being perpetually pissed off. It wasn't until their earlier talks did he become more approachable than first glance.

"I-I may not be able to help with your problems, but if you need to talk to me, then I can lend an ear." She speaks out softly towards him. Ragna merely looks at the shorter girl before him before letting a small breath out of his mouth. No sound came except from the talking of nearby pedestrians and the sounds of car engines and horns passing by.

"My bad. It's become a bit of a forced habit." He's been so used to having life constantly fuck him over that his face gradually looked like his current expression. Not helping that everyone in his old world did something to piss him off or make his life harder in some shape or form.

"Well you've got friends now, Ragna. We may have known each other for a short bit, but it's been nice getting to talk. Sayaka's right, you are nicer than first appearances suggest." Normally, hearing something would've made him snort in derision and say something cynical, but the pure innocence in Madoka said it along with her earnest desire to befriend him made it hard to actually disagree with her.

He's killed people. Lots and lots of them. He lost count when he approached the thousands. All those lives lost because of him. For all their technology and Ars Magus designed to take people like him out, they failed. The feared Grim Reaper roamed the lands, adding more to his long list of people that fell by his hand for the sake of returning the pain Terumi had brought upon his family and him manyfold.

"Sure thing, I guess." Is his mere reply. The pinkette giggles cutely.

"Admit it Ragna, you at least seem to be fond of us. Even Homura, despite a rather...odd beginning." She adds.

"I've put up with worse, I guess." He replies blankly. Upon coming to a crosswalk she looks at the Grim Reaper.

"Well, this is where we part ways for now. It's been nice!" She runs to the right, her shoes tapping against the concrete while Ragna merely watches her until her form disappears in the sea of people.

"Kinda hard to act like a dick around her, huh?"

"How can I? Don't need Homura giving me death glares considering she's so damn protective of her."

"Well true, but I mean how more...open you were around her?" Ragna shrugs his shoulders.

"Whatever. Let's go ho-" His train of thought got interrupted when he felt a small spark of energy a distance away.

"That felt like magic." Ragna then speeds up his walking speed, gently pushing away the crowd until he got clear and runs ahead, narrowly getting hit by a car until he slid over its hood, making the drivers drop their jaw in shock.

Giving them a wave to apologize, the white haired teen keeps on going straight. Conveniently, all of the crosswalks he went today are green and none of them forced him to stop.

He ends up breaking into a full sprint, turning left into another street.

"It's weird, there aren't any cars here and the magic is stronger compared to the ones I've discovered before." The feeling he got whenever he's about to enter one of those places is the same except it's much stronger.

"Uh, kid you might wanna look up." Doing what Akuma asks, the Grim Reaper widens his eyes. A lone figure stands on top of the tall building, approaching closer to the edge.

"Shit, don't tell me-" His fears were confirmed. The figure gets to the edge and unhesitatingly dives towards the cold concrete. Reacting quickly, Ragna jumps high enough and catches the figure in mid air before gravity takes over and they both fall to the ground. Fortunately, Ragna fell from higher heights so he landed on the ground without any problems.

Looking down, he sees a man in his mid-thirties wearing a gray suit, white polo short, black tie and shoes. A suitcase came falling which the Reaper catches without any problems on one hand and sets it down on the ground.

The man's eyes seem to be closed and small groans escape his lips, showing he's indeed alive and kicking. Scanning his body, he sees a mark on the left side of his neck.

"That mark-"

"It's got something to do with one of those freaks we fought. I can feel the source of that magic, it's up there."

"Right." Gently putting down the man and his suitcase on the side, Ragna walks inside the parking lot. So far, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary except for rows upon rows of cars collecting dust.

"I'm starting to see a pattern here."

"So wherever these things are, they're normally in abandoned places. Good to know at least." The red rebel walks up to the next floor of the lot and sees more rows of cars collecting dust.

"Ah, so cliche." Ragna keeps on moving forward, feeling the source of magic getting ever closer. His dual colored eyes keep darting left and right, making sure nothing is amiss.

"Wanna bet that it's at the top?" Jokes the Black Beast.

"I really wouldn't be surprised if it was." Deadpans the Grim Reaper. Slowly he made his way up through the cascade of floors and empty vehicles. If the source is much stronger compared to the past, getting cocky isn't an issue. Plus, considering that this is magic, it's still potentially harmful to him.

"While we're playing Donkey Kong without the rolling barrels, anything you wanna talk about?"

"Homura. First she said I don't belong here now she wants to hang out? Isn't that a fast way of change."

"To be fair, I don't think she's being a bully. Your presence has caught her by surprise for some reason."

"True. She kept looking at me in shock in our introductions." A small silence followed after that.

"Everything feels off about her, and I'm not just talking about her eyes."

"Her soul...it feels older than her physical appearance."

"That too. She looks fourteen, but she doesn't at the same time. Alarm bells were ringing in my head when I felt it."

"Well, we can find out with your little get together with her. It's plenty obvious she wants to find out about you too."

"Yep. None of this makes sense at all." Admits the red rebel.

"Least if there's one good thing about being constantly left in the dark it's finding out answers for yourself." Only difference this time is that Rachel's hints aren't here to annoy him. Even if she were to come here, she wouldn't have any knowledge of this world either.

"Yep, it really is the top floor." Akuma deadpans.

In front of the man and beast is a circular portal of sorts. It constantly changes colors and the design itself looks eldritch in nature.

"Looks like someone got a little bit too high and drew this."

"Quite the type of substance to take if this is the end result." Ragna slowly approaches said portal and he can feel the source of magic getting ever stronger.

"Yep, this is the place alright. Ready for another run?"

"Let's get this done." The red rebel gets closer to the portal and can feel its magic trying to absorb him into the maze. He makes no movements to stop it as the labyrinth absorbs him into the other realm.

Ragna opens his eyes, and looks around for a bit.

"You know what they say. Drugs are one hell of a drug."

"That's rather irrelevant." When the Grim Reaper came into the other side, he expected something along the lines of kooky, a little bit crazy and something in between. Considering the small fry that brought him into their respective mazes, everything within seemed to defy logic.

Yet instead he sees a street. Yep, just a normal, empty street that's devoid of almost any background light except for little dots floating in the air as big as a marble. Even then, they didn't give the former criminal a line of sight due to how little they are.

"Good thing attacking NOL bases at night got me used to this type of condition." Thinks the Grim Reaper to himself. Slowly he walks down the long street, expecting something to attack him, except nothing has even jumped out of the blanket of shadows to try and surprise him from behind, making him all the more tense.

"Hard to see shit in here." Complains Akuma.

"So I'm looking at a very empty street with no semblance of light except for those little dots. I expected something a little more surprising." As Ragna walks by his words were proven false as he can see shadowy figures of all shapes and sizes minding their own business. Some of the said figures even turn to stare at him, except they possess no eyes whatsoever.

However, many of them seemed to be holding hands or sitting in benches made of pitch black, showing signs of affection towards one another, yet just as many were looking as if they were having a fight, with even some of those said fights turning physical.

"Uh, kid? Be careful what you wish for."

"Oh that's bull-" A loud screech could be heard behind him, forcing the Reaper to turn around and grab the assailant with his right arm.

The perpetrator in question looks about the size and shape of a child, with four arms and legs, similar to a spider minus the beady eyes. The little guy struggles within Ragna's grip, trying to free itself only to fail.

"...What the hell?"

"Huh, it's kinda-" Just then, the minion suddenly grows a pair of jaws out of its shadowy form and tries to devour his arm, only for it to come in contact with black flames, screeching in pain until nothing is left.

"Okay, that was pretty weird but I've seen-" Ragna feels his senses tingling as he felt it all.

Stares. All around him. Every single shadowy figure within the area didn't possess any form of organ that allowed them to see, yet he can clearly feel their eyeless gazes towards him. Some of the figures begin hissing dangerously.

"Oh, son of a bitch." They jumped. Every single shadowy figure tries to devour him and turn him into one of the nameless figures. In the name of their master they cry out and carry forth her command, to kill any intruders that dare enter her reality and see to it that he or she becomes one of the nameless ones.

Yet they didn't anticipate black flames to not only surround the one they're fighting, but to also be burnt to a crisp. Despite using the power of darkness, the element used to supposedly strengthen not only her but also the ones under her command, it felt oppressive and was burning them to their shadowy bones.

Within the middle of the circle stands Ragna, his right arm glowing red and a pissed off expression on his face.

"Fine." Focusing his powers, a black pillar of flame erupts from his right hand, further condensing until it turns into a sword that looks more akin to a slab of metal. A single edged blade that brought down the likes of gods and have endured against the strikes of those who can defy physics.

"Let's Rock!"

(Cue Devil May Cry 3's Test The Blood Remix by gvgkid)

Ragna makes the first move, swinging in a wide arc and eliminating a group unlucky enough that got close. Rushing forward, he delivers a hard jab to another figure's shadowy face and launches it to its fellow shadows.

Sensing danger behind him, he jumps high into a group of enemies who gets knocked back by slamming his destructive blade into the concrete, causing the ground to shake in his power.

Realizing he needs to keep moving, the Grim Reaper takes on a running start and books it to the end of the street. Predictably, more enemies from all sides surrounded the red rebel. He covers himself in black flames, warding off any poor sap that got too close and even burning a few.

"You're getting annoying!" The host of the Black Beast then starts pouring bits of seithr into his blade, coating it in black flames and swinging it, creating a crescent wave of energy that burns any that got in its way.

"Keep going straight, that's where the source is located!" Ragna dashes forward, amping up his speed with his oversized cleaver of a weapon barely slowing him down.

"Only thing I can do now is give them peace." He thinks to himself. Whoever's behind this isn't human, or at least was once human but turned into something else. If whoever's the one behind all of this brainwashed more people or even killed them, the only thing he can do now is prevent it from happening again. Least it won't do anymore harm when all is said and done.

The Grim Reaper stops and sees five tall gigantic figures in front of him. Some were about thrice the size of Azrael and all of them were peering into the white haired teen's form.

Hearing screeches and roars behind him, Ragna can also see the mob of shadows calling out for him, to turn into one of them.

"Reminds me of the time a shit ton of bounty hunters tried to outnumber me." The red rebel thinks amusingly. Long story short, they ended up fighting over themselves who claimed rights to the ridiculous price for his head, allowing him to finish them off in one fell swoop. Human greed became their undoing.

"I got a stupid idea."

"Oh dear." As if on cue, one of the giant shadowy figures charges towards him, intent on claiming their prize. Ragna runs towards the large one and slides between its legs, narrowly dodging the hands of a few more enemies. After getting behind the giant, he delivers a punch towards its shin, causing it to buck and kneel.

"Giddy up!" The red rebel jumps behind and jabs his sword onto the closest thing to its neck. It roars and tries to get him off, but he holds firm to the single edged sword and despite the situation, couldn't help but grin slightly.

Using his sword as a bit of a guide, Ragna compels the monster to push forward, charging towards its comrades. Before any of them can even stop, the giant's full body weight crushed many of the shadowy figures. Whenever they weren't crushed via a belly flop, its sharp claws swiped away anything that got close.

The Grim Reaper's makeshift horse roars in pain and unsuccessfully tries to pry him off.

"You want me off, don't 'cha?! Here, lemme do it for you!" The former criminal did indeed jump off, but not before slashing down in the middle of its back. The two halves end up disintegrating.

Ragna sees a gigantic hand coming his way and jumps to its arm and delivers a gigantic drop kick towards its face. Charging his blade with Seithr, he roars and brutally jabs the sword towards its torso.

Grunting with effort, he yanks it out and climbs to its face and palms it, driving the poor sucker towards the hard ground, making it shake under its immense weight. The monster tries to get up, but a slash solves that problem.

Huffing, the red rebel could see the immense amount of shadowy figures coming his way. Numbering around the hundreds, they all had their eyes upon him.

"Man, they're endless."

"Keep going forward, you aren't far." Nodding his head, he leaps to the side of the buildings and runs, making jumps between gaps. Whistling sounds can be heard and ducks his head, nearly getting hit by a few spikes. Making it worse is that instead of staying put, the projectile then grows and transformers, heading towards him.

Jumping down and eliminating a group of shadows, he keeps up the ante and pushes ever onward. Looking behind, he can see shadowy spikes multiplying and heading to whatever direction he's in.

"Just my damn luck."

"Over there!" Akuma's voice cries out within his mind. In front of him plastered into a tall tree is a pitch black portal made of darkness itself. Ragna then runs faster, backflipping over a group of enemies and sliding down between the legs of some giants, but not before making them trip and causing a brief distraction.

Leaping over some spikes, he dives headfirst into the portal. As he gets ever closer, multiple black doors bound by chains break open one by one as he plunges into wherever it's about to take him.

"This hasn't happened in the past. Whenever I go here, it just shows up and that's it."

"Keep your guard up." Warns the Black Beast.

Eventually, he comes across the end of the road. Beyond the already surrounding darkness is even more pitch black if that's even possible. Both beast and host could see the one behind it all.

It looked like one of those comic blurbs but made of darkness. Four hands sprouted out of her body and looked about Takemikazuchi's size. A name sprouts up in front of Ragna. Despite the words not being in any familiar language, he can somehow read the word perfectly.

"Witch: Suleika."

"So what's what these guys care called." Hums the Black Beast.

Both Suleika and Ragna stand each other down, waiting to make the first move. Neither of them move for a second, anticipating the other's attacks.

Growing impatient, she launches spikes towards the white haired teen, who jumps backwards to avoid it. The spikes then multiply and head towards him, forcing him to channel a barrier. It stops the attack flat, although the integrity of the barrier weakens a bit.

"Shit!" Ragna jumps back to the side of a building, getting some distance between the witch and him. It was if briefly time stands still between both of them, as neither had dared to make a move.

"That's convenient. Those projectiles eventually disappear after a brief period." True to his words, the spikes that Suleika has shot begin turning into particles until nothing is left.

"I gotta find an opening though." The witch then proceeds to stretch out her arm in an attempt to grab Ragna, only for him to jump onto the extended limb and start running.

Growling in frustration, Suleika then uses her other hand to try and get the Grim Reaper, opening her other hand and willing each of her fingers to hone in on the white haired teen. Those fingers then begin to divide and multiply into numerous spikes with the intent to impale.

Ragna barely avoided getting hit, sidestepping a few that came his way and even backflipping when the witch tried to make a trap that would immobilize him. While in the middle of his backflip, he sees multiple more spikes coming his way and pours dark energy into his weapon, turning extending its length and revealing a red energy blade underneath.

The moment the spikes got close is when Ragna swings, effectively severing some of her fingers. Using his hands to momentarily keep himself stabilized, he jumps once more and turns around, seeing he's in close proximity with the witch.

Maintaining it into its scythe form, the red rebel notices her hands suddenly retract and do the same technique where her fingers separate and hone in on him.

Roaring in fury, he didn't hesitate to slice open its fingers, the weapon cleaving through the witch's body like butter. As he gets close, Ragna surrounds himself with black flames. Upon contact, the witch screeches in utter pain as she can feel herself weakening with every strike that connects.

Not relenting, Ragna then drags his sword upward, leaving behind a trail of black flame. Getting near its "face", Ragna clenches his right fist and delivers a hard uppercut before enhancing it with seithr, increasing its potency and forcing its face to look up.

The Grim Reaper then proceeds to jump upwards to grab some momentum before making a dive-bomb towards his target. In desperation, the witch continues to shoot projectiles at Ragna, which burst into many spikes and hone in on him. Some of them ended up in front while others behind, completely surrounding him. They moved without hesitation, seeking to impale their target as commanded by their master.

Ragna reacted quickly, slashing off some and blocking some more with his barrier. Eventually, there were more spikes than Ragna can handle and found himself overwhelmed by their sheer number and closes in on him...

"GET OUTTA HERE!" On cue, Ragna wills the flames surrounding him to become stronger, surrounding him in an aura of black fire. He pushes back the multitude of thorns that seek to kill him and resumes course towards Suleika.

Increasing in momentum, he amps up the amount of seithr pumping out, enveloping the Grim Reaper and his form disappearing, turning into a head of the Black Beast. Its eyes glowed red and teeth gleaming white, the head roared in anger as it increased in speed and made a beeline for its face.

The poor thing didn't even have a chance to react until Ragna crashed onto the witch, causing an explosion of seithr to ring out and making the ground quake in his power.

It roared in pain as the flames created by the Black Beast consumed it to the core, burning it to its very soul. Ragna lands on the ground, no worse for wear.

"Good thing you've been getting more flexible with your powers." Akuma notes. Ever since the Black Beast joined the ride, it gave Ragna much more versatility in manipulating seithr than before.

To Ragna's surprise, the witch wasn't out of the fight, albeit it was badly damaged, with black flames still licking off its form.

And it is pissed.

A loud roar shook the area as minions poured forth from all over the area, created by the very darkness of this labyrinth. Despite having no eyes or any organ used for sight, their body language made their intentions very clear.

Ragna didn't even bother counting. They were practically everywhere. A small grin makes its way onto his face.

"Guess Witches are tougher after all."

"They're all cannon fodder. Mow them down." Akuma growls excitedly. Ragna's grin turns wider.

"With pleasure."

(Devil May Cry Anime - Kill It With Style)

"Dead Spike!" Ragna summons forth a head of the Black Beast and devours some of the mooks with no mercy. Without hesitation, Ragna charges forward, pouring forth seithr into his destructive blade.

All of the minion hordes charged towards the Grim Reaper with no rhyme or reason other than to protect and obey the will of its master. Converting his weapon into a scythe, Ragna cleaves through hordes upon hordes with little effort. Their being so clumped up together made it easy for area of effect attacks to be more effective.

"Hell's-" Ragna launches a straight jab at some minions. "Fang!" Finishing it up with a draconic head, it engulfs some of them down.

Seeing how this lone teen was able to take on entire hordes on its own, the witch decided to take action. It roars in fury as it brings down its fist towards Ragna, but instead of dodging the attack, he then blocks it by using his sword as a buffer. Even with the Witch's larger size, Ragna held it up with little struggle.

He then uses Aramasa to pin the bigger monster down and pour seithr into the blade, making the Witch screech in pain not only from the burning but it could feel his attacks touching its soul, as if he was draining it. Leaving it there, Ragna ducks from a familiar and punches a hole through it.

One of the bigger familiars try to impale Ragna by doing the same finger extending attack as its master, except Ragna grabs the extended appendage and lifted the poor sap of its feet, then spinning like a top, knocking down some of the familiars in the process along with flattening some more when gravity did its job after he decided to let it go.

Hearing the roars of the Witch getting stronger behind him, he quickly turns around and picks up his blade, momentarily throwing it into the air.

"Die already!" Ragna punches the Witch before giving it a drop kick to the head, the impact of the blow making it fall down. Ragna then summons a head of Akuma and traps it between its jaws, siphoning more of its soul.

"Inferno Divider!" The Grim Reaper does an upward slash while jumping up high, revitalizing him even more.

"Kid, don't you notice something different when you're using Soul Eater?" Ragna raises an eyebrow as he backflips from a ray of spikes .

"Gauntlet-" Ragna brings down a hammer fist covered in dark flame. "Hades!" adding a roundhouse kick at the end, draining more of its soul.

"Not now!"

"It's like you're draining something else from them. Pay attention." Ragna doesn't stop his attacks, yet heeds his words. Spikes appear from the ground, causing the former criminal to jump, only to be impaled at the back.

Seizing the opportunity, the Witch adds more spikes into the attack, effectively turning him into a human pincushion and knocking him into a nearby building, still visible from the witch.

"Wait, where's my-" His question got answered in the form of his sword appearing.

Impaled in his chest.

Ragna coughs out some blood from the attack, but is otherwise unfazed. He's taken worse hits.

"Huh. Being stabbed by your own sword. Where else does that happen?"

(Meanwhile, in another universe, pause BGM...)

Bodies of creatures untold laid upon the ground, in the process of disintegrating. Some looked like ants, others had a bunch of mouths while some used scissors for weapons, whatever. They all came for his life. From the looks of it, there were hundreds, if not thousands of such creatures in the process of disintegrating or have already passed on.

Within the center of the carnage lay a man in his forties clad in a crimson coat and black shirt, along with some fingerless gloves and black pants and light brown boots. His hair is a tint of silver with a pair of sapphire eyes to see. His right hand is holding a claymore which looks like it's made of hardened lava.

"Wonder how long I've been stuck here."

As much as a pain in the ass his brother was, he had to make sure he was there when that tree he (or rather one side of him) was put to rest for good. Suddenly, the man sneezed. At first, nothing happened until the ground in front of him gave way and broke apart, making him jump back in surprise.

"DANTE!" A voice from below speaks out, causing a sheepish grin to make it way onto his face.

"Sorry!"

(Back to our fight, with music resuming...)

Ragna yanks out the sword that was embedded within his gut with little effort, no stain of blood or even any signs of rip of tear in any of his clothes.

"I'm quite sure that Witch did that just to spite you."

"No shit, wanna tell me something I don't know about?" Ragna covers his hand in seithr and punches the Witch. With every hit Ragna inflicts upon the Witch, he could feel it get weaker and weaker.

"Let's wrap this up." He could already feel the adrenaline of the battle flowing through him, earned from punching as well as getting punched himself.

"Carnage-" Ragna rears back his slab of metal of a sword and charges forward, mowing down any unfortunate saps that got too close. Upon reaching his destination he slashes.

"Scissors!" He then slashes upwards, creating a cross of dark flames that exploded outward and launched back the abomination. The attack served to revitalize him more than any of his other moves, already feeling its soul come to him.

Without even looking behind, Ragna elbows one of the smaller mooks and tossing in back to his kin, but not before Ragna turns his sword into a scythe once more and slashes, creating a crescent wave of dark flame that burned through all the familiars and poor saps that got caught, causing them to screech in pain as Soul Eater did its work.

With more coming, Ragna jumps into the fray and slams his destructive blade down the middle of the horde, further blasting them back and dividing their numbers, along with taking out some that were a little too close for comfort.

The Bloodedge then wraps up the fight by summoning a dark wave of seithr that burns through whatever's left of its minions, blasting away most of the retreating mooks. Their cries of pain went ignored as he turned his back on them.

(End music)

Ragna sighs and cracks his neck."That was a tougher fight than last time."

"Makes sense. The ones you fought before were those separated from their master." Seeing how no one else is in sight, Ragna sighs and scratches his head.

"Now what?" The Grim Reaper hears the cries of the Witch, except they weren't cries of anger of revenge.

Ragna's attacks have done a number on the enemy. It couldn't even get up without feeling like its entire body and even its insides were on fire, along with the feeling of something missing from within.

"It's still alive, clinging on to life. Thing's got guts, I'll give it that." Noted the Black Beast.

"Listen for a sec." Akuma did what his host asked and raised a proverbial eyebrow, not that he could see it.

Small moans escape its gaping maw. Its body shakes not only from physical pain, but also mental. The Witch then looks upwards to Ragna's direction, yet it makes no move to even attack.

Instead, its moans and shaking intensify. On the ground, black ink escapes its form, creating a small river of the substance, reaching out behind him.

"It's crying...it's in pain." Akuma realizes. From the shaking and the small rivers of ink, their attacks must've done something to it.

"Normally, I'd be laughing, but something feels wrong about this." Ragna can detect a whirlwind of emotions from it. Pain, sorrow and despair.

Yet within that cauldron of negative emotions lie a small twinge of longing for a better life. For someone to rescue it from the pit of despair it has since reached.

The Grim Reaper merely looks at the monster in front of him with pity. The victory he felt didn't seem so sweet now.

"I think whatever this was-"

"Used to be human." Finishes the red rebel. He clenches his fists in anger. He's seen a lot of stuff done by the NOL. Some of the horrific experiments they kept behind closed doors and how people like Relius Clover and especially Yuki Terumi subject anyone to their whims and manipulate them until their use has expired, yet the sight of this makes his blood boil.

"Who could be so heartless as to subject someone in such a state?" The red rebel doesn't even answer his question. All the anger in his eyes dissipate and his emerald/ruby gaze softens, merely looking at the creature in front of him with a hint of melancholy.

"Hey." Ragna softly calls out to the Witch. It looks up at him, as if listening to what he has to say.

"I don't know if I can turn you back to the way you were-" The Grim Reaper raises his blade.

"But I'll end your pain. You've suffered enough already." The Witch then bows its head in submission, as if granting it permission.

Ragna strikes down the Witch with one fell swoop, yet no cries of pain were emitted from the once human being. For some reason that made the pit in his stomach even worse. The labyrinth then starts to dissolve, replacing the pitch black with the afternoon sky and leaving him on top of a building once again. He doesn't even say anything, letting out a small sigh in the process.

"Rest In Peace." Ragna swipes his arm, creating a small wing of darkness that dissipates soon enough. He takes his leave when on the corner of his eye, he sees it.

"Look." Laying on the ground is a circular pitch black jewel with intricate designs. On top is a small emblem of the Witch he fought and a needle of sorts on the bottom.

"What the hell?" Curiosity getting the better of him, Ragna swipes the item from the ground and inspects it with a close eye.

"Never dropped one of these before." Realization struck him the moment he detects the small trace of magic laying within.

Akuma seems to have noticed it too, since the beast of destruction speaks up not a moment too soon.

"Kid, the rings Homura and Mami had-"

"The magic feels different, but there's no doubt about it. It's similar to the magic emitting from those rings, yet this one's clouded with so much negative emotion."

"So they have a connection to these Witches. I don't think they're the ones behind this."

"No, it doesn't make sense. If they were planning something, I would've picked up anger and malice behind underneath." Even without using his emotional detector, both girls seem to have their own fair share of issues to deal with, but they didn't seem the type to involve other people like this.

Also helps that dealing with Hazama, be it having with or without Terumi holding the reins, has given him some insight on dealing with such people. Unless they're heartless and uncaring to the core like Terumi, they would at least try to look less conspicuous.

Homura was somewhat hostile to him (initially), but it was more on shock than anything else and even though Mami would've been at least a little better at hiding, she would've given away some subtle indicators.

"I think when Soul Eater struck the Witch, it started to remember fragmented memories of before it turned into what it is now. However, I think using Soul Eater on the Grief Seed anymore would potentially destroy whatever this is and be absorbed into your arm." Ragna merely looks at the gem in wonder, thinking about what to do.

"Wait, I think I got something." The former criminal concentrates for a second, finding the power deep within himself. This wasn't the power he used many times over when he fought against his enemies or to destroy whatever stands in his path, but something else. The power his right arm possesses after he took the life of Yuki Terumi. Beyond Soul Eater.

On cue, flames surround the strange gem in front of him, except they weren't the familiar black flames that he's used to seeing.

Instead, they were a dark blue hue and they weren't burning the gem, lighting up very brightly to contrast the appearance of the blackened gem.

As the flames lick the side of the strange gem held in his hand, the darkness that corrupted the gem begins to leave and now go into Ragna's arm. Slowly, the pitch black of the gem begins to brighten up slightly. The needle point begins to lose its edge until it disappears entirely and the gem slowly goes from circular to oval shaped, not too differently from an egg.

As he slowly works his way in eliminating the corruption, a gasp escapes his lips and his head suddenly feels as if someone's pounding his skull. after a brief few seconds, they start to flow within his mind.

"This must be its memories." Akuma realizes, seeing the same thing as his host.

"They're fragmented though. Being a Witch for so long or she was so deep in despair that it must've made her forget most of her time before all of this." All he could see were brief glimpses, yet he was able to piece them together.

(? POV)

Pain.

It's as if someone locked her mind within a prison and had it repeatedly stabbed with needles. For so long she could do nothing except wallow in her own despair, seeing the labyrinth she had created through her faze of deprecation and hate.

All those people holding hands and some of them fighting. It's as if there was a key that almost freed her mind, except it was the wrong key.

She wanted to escape from her prison. She wanted to leave this hellhole, yet every scream of anguish that erupted from her mouth instead translated into a roar of rage. Even as proverbial needles prick at what's left of her consciousness, they weren't trying to kill her. Instead, they caused her pain, yet still not enough to kill her. It's as if those very same needles were having a mind of its own and enjoying the pain and suffering she felt.

Yet through her fog of despair, she could see him. Someone with hair coloring that of snow, contrasting the very labyrinth she had created. His emerald and ruby eyes, which initially held disgust now is replaced with one of pity. It's as if he was aware of the pain she felt and the powerlessness of her situation.

When she was defeated by his hand, the darkness that he used saps her own. After he took her down, the needles seemed to stop. While they were still embedded within the remnants of her consciousness, they were no longer moving nor were they trying to actively punish her.

Then she felt warmth.

She could feel the dark azure flames clearing away the devices used to torture her. Those flames helped absorb the darkness that surrounded her mind and helped clear the way. All of the obstacles that prevented her mind from thinking other than enduring the pain she felt were now clear. Hell, even the wounds inflicted by the torture devices seem to heal her, as she could feel a faint warmth surrounding her very being.

"Please..." She begs. As the flames continue to remove every ounce of pain, her mind could think more clearly.

"Let me live..." The dark azure flames grows stronger, as if listening to her command. Every ounce of accumulated grief seem to now burn away.

As she begins to feel more hope, a feeling she hasn't felt in a long time, it seems to clear away the darkness further. The flames provided enough light for her to see. The darkness that surrounded the area was now too weak, the flames effectively holding it back and pushing it away.

"I WANT TO BE NORMAL AGAIN!" She screams out loud. She wanted to make sure whoever's out there could hear her wish and desire after being denied comfort for so long. As if on cue, the sound of a door could be opened.

Feeling hopeful while still cautious, she slowly looks up to see the source of the noise.

Someone around her age, but a guy. He wears a pitch black school uniform and gloves, yet that spiky white hair is a familiar sight to see. He walks closer to her, his movement gentle, contrasting his brutal fighting style not too long ago. His face looks overall intimidating with the frown he has upon his face.

A small shred of fear goes through her. Is he here to take her to the afterlife? To be denied the right to live after so long? From her haze of despair, she could see him using a scythe, befitting of his title as the Grim Reaper.

Yet to her surprise, his frown softens and his hardened emerald and ruby orbs take on a more gentle appearance. A small smile graces his lips as he stretches out a hand, as if beckoning her to come.

She was so used to feeling so let down that she didn't think it was possible. Was he the source of those flames? She reluctantly looks at his hand and his face, yet could see no malice within them.

"One more chance to live. At least if I die, he's here to take me to the afterlife." Slowly breathing out, she daintily grabs his hand.

The white haired teen didn't hesitate as he gently pulled her out of the darkness and after so long, she could see the light getting closer until it overwhelmed her.

(Ragna POV)

The Grim Reaper opens his eyes and backs up as the azure flames did their work, the gem floating in the air. Eventually, the flames die down to reveal an indigo colored gem in the shape of an egg. Gone was the emblem of the witch and the needle sticking out of the bottom. The design of the gem is still intricate, but it no longer houses any form of darkness.

In contrast, the indigo gem glows brightly, as if it was a nightlight of sorts. It stayed in the air afloat for a few seconds, as if it was affected by gravity.

"Did it work?" Akuma asks. As if to answer his question, the gem begins to glow brighter to the point that Ragna is forced to cover his eyes. When the light dies down, next to the gem reveals a girl lying on the ground.

Around his age.

"Wait, a girl that young was a Witch?" Ragna merely narrows his eyes as the girl seems to come to her senses.

She's wearing a black cloak and has dark gray hair. Underneath her cloak is a sleeveless top that shows her midriff along with a light and dark purple skirt. She wears pink stockings and open toed shoes.

The girl then slowly gets up as she opens her eyes, revealing purple orbs.

"You've been out of it for a bit." Ragna decides to speak up. Her head turns to the source of the voice to see the Grim Reaper casually leaning on a nearby wall with his arms crossed.

Her mind flashes back to the one who reaches out for her at her moment of need."You-"

"Yep. Don't bother hiding it, I know what happened in that labyrinth." She looked at his eyes and could see no ounce of fear within them. Despite braving the labyrinth, he didn't look the least bit fazed by the whole ordeal.

"Point is, how are you feeling?" He asks her.

To be honest, she didn't know how she felt. It was only recently did her mind feel clearer than it did before, yet she could feel a small headache. Compared to the eternity of pain she felt, this is nothing.

"Fine. Physically, at least." She replies.

"What can you remember?" Her mind races back as far as she can get. Her time with her family, the guy she liked and making a contract with-

"AGH!" Her head starts pounding at her skull, forcing her to clutch her forehead in a vain attempt to stop. Only did she stop remembering beyond what she liked and her wish did the pain go away.

"Shit, sorry!" Ragna apologizes. He didn't think that remembering certain times would cause her that much pain.

"Alright, you can stop. Your mind's still healing from all that trauma you endured." She looks at him and the worry on his face is more evident. The girl then looks at her hands and limbs. It felt so surreal, not having her limbs be shadowy black.

"I really do feel like myself again." She looks at the gem in front of her, not even bothering to hide her face of disgust.

"What are you?" He asks her. A small part of her wanted to lie and just say a cosplayer, but considering the cat's outta the bag and he's already aware of the existences of witches, may as well spill the beans.

"I'm a magical girl." Ragna raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Like those Sailor Moon cartoons?" Akuma voices out. The girl sees the look on his face and chuckles mirthlessly.

"You don't have to believe me, but that's what I am."

"I expected someone preaching about love, justice and all that cheesy shit, not girls turning into monsters." Ragna says blankly.

"Wait, is there a magical girl anime we know that involves girls becoming monsters?" Akuma asks. Most of them were about girls about his current age with the typical stock transformation, catchphrase, defeating evil and all that jazz.

"I don't think so. I'm just hoping I don't have to deal with a bunch of Platinums."

"Ahh, the blond brat. Yep, she definitely gives off that vibe."

"Not in terms of personality at least." All the times she tried to attack him even after paying for her food. Least Tao was grateful.

"Yeah, screw her." Realizing they were going off a bit on a tangent, he looks back to the girl.

"If I'm going by the typical magical girl formula, I'm guessing you got a team pet or something?" Inquires the Grim Reaper.

"Really?" Akuma asks blankly.

"I mean if we're in a magical girl situation..."

"I don't remember that part. I'm sorry." She tells him. He detects no lie from her face, seeing how she struggles to actually remember some of the scant details.

"Why don't you tell me from what you remember all you know?" The girl looked at him, baffled.

"Not that I'm not grateful for you saving me, but why? Why bother involving yourself into something you're not a part of?" He's a guy and there hasn't been any mention of those fighting witches that's a dude. Until now, at least.

"Already been a part of this since I encountered familiars." Ragna replies honestly.

"Just admit that you care."

"Shut up."

The magical girl then proceeds to tell him the details she can remember. Any personal information she left out, just saying that she remembers them and nothing less, only that she knows about the duty of magical girls to right witches.

At first, it was a fun deal. It involved the typical magical girl anime tropes people watched, with her defeating monsters and all that, even working with an acquaintance of hers that she met during one of her times she defeated a witch.

It wasn't until she broke up with her boyfriend, coupled with other magical girls willing to fight each other for the resource that is grief seeds that she began to understand the harsher aspect of being a magical girl.

"It sucked, but I still at least tried to survive by getting grief seeds and all-"

"Is that what that's called?" Ragna interrupts her, pointing at the egg-shaped gem.

"No, this is a soul gem. I use it whenever I want to become a magical girl." She replies back.

"I think what she meant was those circle gems that witches drop when they're defeated. They use those to purify a soul gem." Akuma chimes in. Ragna nods and gestures to her to continue with the conversation.

"It was only when I realized that magical girls can never become human again, did I turn into a witch. I couldn't stop the flow of feeling so angry. The rumor I chased and everything I thought to be real was a lie." She speaks out. Even knowing that her soul gem was darkening because of her emotions, it flowed like a river unrestrained. She couldn't stop it, as if being a magical girl made it worse.

Everyone is capable of feeling emotions, that it itself isn't a surprise, yet for a magical girl, having one bad day is enough to turn them into someone who's drowning in their own despair. Some are aware (at least vaguely) of their actions and what they've turned into, yet the fog of negativity that surrounds them leaks out and she's powerless to do anything, instead only being able to vent out against the world.

"So magical girls can become witches by either overusing their magic or experience too much negative emotion."

"Good thing there aren't any magical boys, otherwise I probably would've been one of those things."

"Add in the fact that you have me..." Akuma trails off. Ragna shudders at the thought of having this world end up like his old one again, maybe even worse.

"So you really can't afford to be sad or be reckless with magic. It's an endless cycle too. These magical girls eventually end up becoming witches themselves, leaving others to pick up the hunt."

"And eventually they become witches themselves from magic overuse or having too much negativity. It's a cycle that never stops."

"Not to mention how they're kids, not even in high school with a huge life ahead of them. Instead, they're forced to fight a secret war with no adult to reach out to while eventually becoming the very creatures they fight." Ragna's fists clench in anger. Whoever designed this system made sure no not only to extend its efficiency, but also made it in a way that the cycle continues no matter what.

His case was different. He's been used to fighting ever since Terumi ruined his life. His master put him in situations where he was at death's door before he hit puberty to prepare him for the harsh reality of his old world. These girls were living normal lives until someone offered them something that they couldn't resist and ended up paying the price for it.

"I don't think these girls were forced into it, though. She did say that there's a contract involved, meaning it requires consent on her part."

"Except the one who gave it to her probably didn't hand out all the terms and warnings. It must've been something good in order for them not to turn it down."

"They're also teenagers as well, and you know how impulsive most can be."

"Are you okay?" The girl voices out. Blinking, Ragna realizes what he was doing and shakes his head.

"Sorry, I was thinking for a little bit. Thanks for the information. You said you wanted to be normal again?" She nods fervently.

"Yes. I'm tired of all this fighting. Not only do I have to fight against witches, but also against other magical girls as well. A lot tried to go after me because I had enough grief seeds to last me for a bit." A small sigh escapes her lips and her shoulders sag a little bit in exhaustion. Even now, she's still making sure that her hands aren't that of a witch's.

"The pain in my head's gone, yet it feels like it's still there." Even with her being reverted back to the way she was before she fell into despair, it still feels like the needles that were striking at her mind were still there, giving her pain to make her suffer yet still keep her alive. It's as if her despair was rubbing it in her face about the futility of it all.

"If you want, I can have you also forget everything. At least you can try to live normally again." To his surprise, she shakes her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but no. Through my time as a witch, I've learned something about myself. That and feels like I'd go even more insane if I lost any more memories."

She thought that the life of a magical girl was something out of a cartoon. After all, it has the typical tropes of one from transforming into a battle outfit to working with others. She wasn't a major fan of the genre, but she did get the general idea of what those shows entailed.

However, as TV shows and cartoons have a tendency to exaggerate or have a romanticized concept in certain areas (ala love like Disney), of course not everything is filled with sunshine and rainbows. It wasn't until the usage of grief seeds and the corruption of her soul gem along with other magical girls fighting for the same resource did the harsh reality sink in.

It was one thing to be angry. To be sad and for someone to be in a depression. Being a magical girl made that ten times worse. They're forced to keep a happy attitude (or at least not be so negative) lest their soul gem gets corrupted. Through her time as a witch, imagine all the negative pent up emotion just burst forth in the form of the labyrinth.

Even though she wasn't herself, she could tell that she no longer resembled a human. Gone was the magical girl and in its place is a monster who can only roar at the world. What little of her consciousness that remained was unable to break out from their mental prison. It's as if being a magical girl further amplified those negative feelings, ensuring her that she stays that way.

Ragna just looks at her with a hint of pity. Despite being reverted back from a witch, it's obvious the mental anguish she's been through will remain. As harsh and harrowing as being a witch is, when there's pain, there's also a lesson behind them. After all, it's something he learned first hand when Terumi manipulated his brother into cutting off his arm. The world wasn't a fair place and one can't always get what they want.

"Guess television tends to romanticize even that which is seen as fiction." Akuma points out.

"True. There's still some questions that need to be answered."

"I may know the answer, but you've got this to do so I'll let you finish."

"Glad you're taking this better that I thought." Ragna tells her. The girl shakes her head.

"In all honesty, I'm a little spooked. Even though the mental pain's gone, it feels like there's phantom needles digging into my head. That's why I didn't want to forget this, because I feel like it'll make that feeling even worse. Until I met you, I didn't think there would've been a way to even go back from being a witch." She admits.

"Seems she's stronger than I thought."

"Pain does make a person stronger if they can get through it."

"Yet the scars will always remain."

"It's a burden those with trauma can bear. I just hope she can learn how to cope from all of that."

"Alright. Just hold that gem close to your chest." She did what was asked and held onto it tightly in the palm of her hands.

Ragna puts his hand over her hands and closes his eyes, concentrating.

"Good thing I still remember this trick when I fused Noel and Izanami together." His right palm glows brightly as the girl could feel warmth spreading throughout her body.

Her mind seems to relax and her body could feel itself easing away from all the accumulated tension over the times of fighting and being on the run as the indigo light coming from the soul gem seems to slowly transfer from said gem back into her body.

Eventually, she looks down and to her surprise, the once indigo light that filled her soul gem was now replaced with nothing. The shape of the egg-like gem is still there, but it just looks like it's made of glass now. Shortly after, the gem slowly crumbles until it dissolves into dust.

"Congrats, you're now a regular human again. How does it feel?" He asks her.

"Don't feel any different, but I'm glad to be given this chance. To start over again and live a normal life." She says to him. The Grim Reaper just nods his head.

"I really can't believe it, though. I'm no longer a magical girl. I'm human again." She whispers to herself in surprise. She didn't think she would find a way out of this and there hasn't been a magical girl that could go back.

She thought she could feel happy, and she is. She's glad to finally be given a way out of the life she wanted to escape from and even though this white haired teen didn't have to, willingly granted her wish for normality.

Yet if anything, it feels like a heavy weight is placed upon her shoulders and all the accumulated stress from fighting and feeling paranoid left her, leaving her a little drained to be jumping for joy.

"I know I asked this before, but why did you even bother to help me? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for what you did. It's just there's never been a way for a witch to revert." For a moment, Ragna didn't even say anything and just looked out into the horizon.

"One, I tend to have a habit of getting involved in stuff like this. I wasn't even aware of this whole witches thing until I met you. I've been killing off familiars." Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait, you haven't seen a witch until now? Then how did you-"

"Let's just say I'm no stranger to the battlefield. The means to survive when the odds are stacked against you is a feeling I am all too familiar with." Ragna could remember all the battles from Azrael, his brother and Terumi as well as his original form.

While it was true that he was one of the most feared people in his world, almost everyone kicked his ass because they were either too strong or had something that could cancel out his powers. He needed to rely on his own strength.

"Are there any magical girls at all that aren't in their teens?" She shakes her head no.

"I thought as much."

"The way I see it, it's an endless cycle. Magical girls become witches and those witches get hunted down, only for them to be turned into witches as well. I may not have exactly known what it's like to live in your shoes, but I do know the feeling of being stuck in an endless loop. How things can never move forward."

"It's why I chose to devour their wish in the first place, because the world kept resetting along with the people unable to accept their loss. I had to ensure that they could move on and accept it." She could see his eyes turn a little melancholy, as if looking back into a distant memory.

Even though he was able to briefly reunite the family he lost thanks to Terumi, he still had a mission to do. As being the one God desired, he couldn't stay in that world forever. As much as he cherished having his siblings back before the fire ruined everything, so much was at stake.

"So much weight in his eyes...how can someone look so serious?" She thinks to herself. Despite him being a teen, his facial expression made him look a little older. Behind those eyes is someone who has experienced the worst life had to offer.

"You've given me enough answers for now. I still gotta look for more information before I do anything, though. Hope you can enjoy this second shot at normality." He walks toward the edge.

"Wait! Do you mind if I get your name?" She asks.

"...Ragna." Was his only reply.

"I'm Kuroe. Thank you for what you've done." The red rebel just nods his head once more and jumps to the streets below.

"This is gonna take some getting used to." She admits. The smell of fresh air, the sight of the afternoon sky...darkness is all she was used to seeing that sensations that are normal felt almost alien to her, despite experiencing them in the past. If only she could warn the others about this, but the problem is, will they believe her? She hasn't even seen that pink-haired girl with the white cloak in a while since they separated ways.

"Hope you find your answers Ragna."

Back to the streets below, the Grim Reaper and Black Beast are having a mental conversation.

"How did you cleanse the corruption?"

"I isolated the corruption from the soul gem and drained it of all of its negativity thanks to the Azure Flame Grimoire. I did a reverse use of Soul Eater to turn her back into a human."

"Wow, that's pretty smart."

"Don't expect me to start doing any phenomena intervention though. I can't do something absurd like that."

"Even so, we need to figure out not only who's creating these magical girls and their intent. I don't think this is being done just to fulfill some sadistic desire."

"Agreed. It's too logical and well thought out. If this was something like Terumi, they would've added something a little more to make sure they suffer."

"Right, almost forgot the bastard's got a nigh-orgasmic high from seeing people get tortured. You'd think he jacks off to that type of thing." Akuma replies. Ragna's face turns squeamish.

"Please don't. I don't want that image in my head."

Despite the new circumstances in the situation, he couldn't help but smirk. Seems like no matter where he goes, he's always gonna be dragged into some situation one way or another.

"Guess it's back to the old saddle again."

"Once a rebel, always a rebel, kid." Akuma chuckles.

AN: Wow, it's been awhile since I updated this. I got a little stuck trying to write this chapter. Next chapter entails some interaction with our time manipulating magical girl and a little look on how Ragna makes a living.

Just an FYI, Homura isn't really friendly with Ragna yet. She still sees him with suspicion, but doesn't wanna jump into conclusions. I don't wanna portray her as someone who's really obsessed with Madoka, especially how Rebellion went.