A/N: Remember what I said about something darker coming? Yeah.

Warning: character deaths and the ever-present language. And eventually very dark Tsubaki.

She stood still and silent in a grassy plain, sword in hand. This was holy ground, where one of the last servants of justice had been slain, where his armor and sword had been scavenged by the vultures of the Librarium. He had died as he had lived, ever fighting and casting his judgment on the evils of the world. But his will would live on; his mantle would pass to one who had revered him from childhood.

"Sir Hakumen… I may not be the white void, or the cold steel. I will, however, serve as the just sword in your stead." Tsubaki hung her head, tears burning in the corners of her eyes. Izayoi waited in her hand, its lavender blade of light pulsing in time with her breaths. She had been naïve before; her belief she could save everyone and turn people from evil were just the dreams of an innocent girl. Hakumen's death had revealed the truth to her.

"…I really can't save anyone, can I? No, of course not. There's no salvation for those who willingly sink into darkness. I should have known this all along. Then…I see my path now. To cut down those who would obstruct my justice." Anyone who stood in her way. If she were to purge this damned world, she couldn't relent for anything. There would be no mercy for the wicked.

"Farewell, Sir Hakumen." With one final nod towards Hakumen's resting place, Tsubaki turned and marched away, out of the seithr-coated wastelands and toward the towering Hierarchical City in the distance. Judgment beckoned, and she would not rest another moment to deliver it. "So that's how it is. For there to be justice, there must be sacrifice."

A/N: Right. So this is basically a character exploration piece, as well as a deconstruction of Tsubaki's current code of 'justice'. Hope this thing'll be somehow enjoyable.