Ragna the Bloodedge

Ragna the Bloodedge is a wanted criminal with an extraordinarily large bounty on his head (well in the trillions) for attempting to destroy the Novus Orbis Librarium, and is Jin and Saya's older brother. He is a playable character and the main protagonist of the BlazBlue series.

Information
As a youth, Ragna was apparently confined in a lab along with his younger siblings Jin and Saya for presently unknown reasons. However, they were eventually freed from the lab by Jubei of the Six Heroes. They were then taken to a church and were watched over by the sister of one of the Six Heroes. At some point, Saya became very ill and Ragna decided to look after her, and in turn spending less time with his brother. Jin eventually grew jealous of Saya for being able to spend a lot of time with Ragna, and he began to hate her.

Soon after Saya became sick, the church was burnt down by Jin and Yūki Terumi, who also cut off Ragna's right arm and kidnapped Saya before leaving him for dead. At some point, Ragna was bitten by a vampire to save his life. He was later found by Jubei, the beastkin who left him at the church, where he proceeded to train Ragna on how to control the power of his newly acquired Azure Grimoire which replaced his lost arm and repeatedly stated that although the item was a part of him now, the power was not his to command yet. For the next few years, Jubei trained Ragna to control the power of the Azure, being periodically watched by Rachel, who requested Jubei to take care of him. During the time, he met Taokaka as a child. When his training was at last complete, Ragna had finally come to the decision to depart on his journey.

But before the three would part ways, Jubei took Ragna to the burnt down church and handed Ragna two items once belonging to a hero named Bloodedge: his jacket and the sword – Blood-Scythe. Feeling the weight of the man that gave hope to the world and the Six Heroes, Ragna finally takes off, his training now complete.

Ragna has a deep hatred for the Novus Orbis Librarium, and travels from city to city destroying their bases; due to this, he has become a world-known criminal and has a bounty on his head "large enough to buy a small country", according to Jin. Despite this, he seems to travel through cities by night without much fear of being detected or captured by the NOL or any vigilantes.

Memory of Blue
Trekking through the 9th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Kō in the dead of night, Ragna noted how dull and unremarkable the city was until the looming figure of the NOL headquarters stood overhead. Coming close to the building, he was met with several officers issuing warnings for him to turn back; Ragna came too close and a trap designed for feral beasts was raised, however, he easily dispelled it. Ragna was met with dozens of armed Praetorian Guards, but they were easily defeated as he blasted them and the gate down. Leisurely walking down the interior of the branch, Ragna was eventually met with an army of 300 plus armed officers, awaiting him on the staircase connected to the central hall. He launched himself recklessly into the crowd, effortlessly massacring each and every soldier without much of a struggle from the opposition. Afterwards, Ragna descended into the area that contained the Cauldron and effortlessly destroyed it. The weather control in the city was destroyed alongside the Gate.

Becoming slightly lost in the labyrinth that was the lower levels of the City, Ragna encountered Rachel, who teleported in front of him and gestured towards the northwest, whispering that he should go to the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi. Rachel then abruptly left as Ragna managed to find his way out of the City. Shortly afterwards, Ragna earned his moniker - the 'Grim Reaper'.

Calamity Trigger
On the date 2199/12/31 AD, New Year's Eve, Ragna travels to 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi to destroy the NOL base located there. Along the way, he has a brief confrontation with his younger brother, Jin, inside the headquarters. After the fight he makes his way down to an elevator shaft that leads him straight down to the headquarters basement. There, he meets Hakumen of the Six Heroes and a lengthy battle ensues. As Ragna is about to lose, he activates his Azure Grimoire to tap into the power of the Azure and is able to defeat Hakumen.

He then arrives at the battle between Noel Vermillion and ν-No.13-. Right before her death blow, Ragna intervenes and saves Noel, but cannot defeat Nu, either. Noel then saves Ragna from being taken by Nu, who wanted to fuse and jump into the Cauldron with him.

Rachel then appears and tells Ragna that Noel is the new "eye", who will inherit the "true" Azure, and that the world will change. She then departs to activate her Tsukuyomi Unit to protect Kagutsuchi from a powerful blast that came from the Nox Nyctores named Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi. Shortly after Rachel returns, Hazama appears before all three of them, and Ragna immediately recognizes him as Yūki Terumi, the one who cut his arm off and burned down the church. He and Rachel attack him, but Terumi merely rubs them off, stating that Ragna is too weak for him to fight and Rachel is the only one who can keep up with him. He then leaves the three of them.

Continuum Shift
After the incident at the Sheol Gate, Ragna lets Noel travel with him for a short time, though he tells her to leave afterwards, upsetting Noel who tells him that the next time they meet they will be enemies. He is shortly thereafter attacked by the vigilante, Carl Clover, managing to beat the boy though he is dealt a nasty blow from Nirvana. He then wakes up in the Kaka Clan village, having fallen in there and spends the next few days recovering and becoming friendly with the Kaka Clan, including Taokaka.

He leaves shortly thereafter and meets Platinum the Trinity before fighting Λ-No.11- due to Kokonoe messing up the teleporting process. After fending her off, Ragna hears from Kokonoe not to fight Hazama as he cannot beat him. Hearing Noel's name from Kokonoe prompts Ragna to find Rachel who tells him where to go, though reminding him that he must not fight Hazama. He then runs into Jin at the Librarium branch, and he manages to beat Jin. There Jin also warns Ragna not to fight Hazama, saying Ragna cannot beat him.

Nonetheless, Ragna proceeds to fight Hazama, though his Grimoire is useless as Terumi, the original creator of the Azure Grimoire, locks Ragna's. Ragna is forced to watch as Noel descends from the Cauldron as μ-No.12-. Just as he is about to be killed, Nu intervenes in Lambda's body and gives Ragna the Idea Engine, allowing him to bypass his Azure Grimoire's restrictions and allow access to the true Azure and defeat Terumi. He runs to Rachel to free her from a binding spell cast by the phantom, and then fights Mu. Ragna manages to wake Noel's mind by using the True Azure's power to activate the Idea Engine, but his left arm is destroyed in the process. After the fight, he, Jin and Noel see that Hazama and Relius Clover are working for Saya, which is a shock to them. After they leave from Kagutsuchi, he, Jin and Noel decide to leave the city and become stronger. Kokonoe gives Ragna a new mechanical arm using parts from Lambda's regeneration tank. Ragna leaves for Ikaruga with Taokaka, who was ordered by Jubei to go with him much to Ragna's dismay, but he caves in when he realizes Taokaka would follow him even if he declined.

Chronophantasma
While traveling with Taokaka, Ragna temporarily separates with her and visits the Sister's grave on the remains of the Celica A. Mercury's church. Rachel approaches him and they have their usual typical argument. Ragna asks Rachel about the Kushinada's Lynchpin and where it is located. Rachel tells him that it is located in Ikaruga, and that the technique to activate the Lynchpin has been lost, but she doesn't know all the details surrounding the Lynchpin. She tells that the Lynchpin has the ability to sever the connection between the Boundary and the Cauldron, stopping the flow of seithr, which could defeat the Imperator, and give Ragna the chance to defeat Yūki Terumi. Ragna asks Rachel how he can obtain it, but she tells him it is impossible for him. She tells that Tenjō Amanohokosaka had sealed it, and to remove the seal, Noel's power as the Successor of the Azure and the Eye of the Azure is required.

Suddenly the Imperator appears with Phantom, who immobilizes Rachel with Gravity Seed. The Imperator asks Ragna to become hers, swear loyalty to her and serve her forever. She offers him Yūki Terumi's head in exchange, but Ragna declines. Then, the Imperator switches to Saya's voice and asks Ragna to come with her. Ragna attacks her in rage, but becomes subdued by Phantom until the two take their leave.

Ragna is injured due to Phantom's attack, so Rachel asks, the recently arrived, Torakaka to take him to the Kaka Hot Spring that is located in the old Kaka village. Rachel reveals that attacks by Magic inflicts damage towards the soul, and that the Azure Grimoire remembers all the damages that Ragna takes, even bypassing dimensional interferences, and that it is the same case with damages occurred by Nox Nyctores. She warns Ragna that if the Azure Grimoire's assimilation continues, he will become damaged by injuries that happened within other dimensions.

Ragna and Taokaka arrive in Ikaruga. Taokaka complains that she is hungry, so Ragna takes her to a restaurant. There he bumps into Bullet. Taokaka comically insults her, calling her a "Butt Person". Bullet mishears it and thinks that Ragna said that. Ragna asks her if she is looking for a fight, but Bullet takes her leave after revealing her name.

Ragna becomes separated from Taokaka, who said that she will look for Noel. He soon encounters Tager, and asks him if he knows where Noel Vermillion is, but Tager tells Ragna that he wouldn't reveal where she is even if he knew, which leads to a fight. Ragna defeats Tager but tells him he won't kill him as he has a debt to Kokonoe for the arm he received from her. He calls out to Kokonoe asking if she knows where Noel is, but she tells him that she doesn't know either and tells Ragna not to involve himself, but he declines, saying he will take care of things his own way.

Amane Nishiki then approaches Ragna but due to him being deep in thought about Tsubaki's Sealed Weapon Izayoi and Noel, he ignores Amane until he receives Ragna's attention. Amane  asks Ragna to show his "dance" to him, which breaks into a battle. After the fight, Amane asks Ragna if he would join him, but Ragna declines. Amane takes his leave, saying he shall meet Ragna in the future.

Ragna finds Tsubaki. Tsubaki attempts to arrest him, but ends in vain as Ragna overpowers her. She blames Ragna to be the reason for the change in Noel, Makoto, and Jin, and declares that she will definitely kill him. Tsubaki pleads him to kill her, but he declined because she is Noel's friend. As Tsubaki keeps blaming him, Ragna decides to just destroy the Izayoi. Hakumen appears out of nowhere to protect Tsubaki and let her escape. Ragna tells Hakumen that Tsubaki is currently affected by the Mind Eater technique and that it isn't something she can solve by herself. Hakumen tells Ragna that the one to toss aside the Sealed Weapon Izayoi should be Tsubaki and not Ragna and the two begin to fight.



After the fight between the two, Hazama appears insulting them, telling Phantom to get rid of the obstacles, and both Ragna and Hakumen are teleported. Ragna is teleported into the Grave Marker of Bases, and decides to face against Terumi, but he declares that his opponent is not him, while ν-No.13- descends. Hazama requests that Ragna fight against Nu, the Sword of Hades. Ragna tries to activate the Azure Grimoire, but he becomes unable to do so, because Terumi used the power of Takamagahara System to create a dimensional influence. Ragna becomes surprised as such level of dimensional influence is impossible, but Terumi declares that the Imperator's dimensional influence power is above the Successor of the Azure. Terumi tells Ragna and Nu to continue fighting and killing, and that their distressing "song" will open the Nemesis Horizon.

Time rewinds back to when Ragna eats with Taokaka in the restaurant. Suddenly Ragna feels intense pain and injuries start appearing from his body. Taokaka becomes shocked by the sudden happening, and Bullet runs into the scene asking if Ragna was alright. Ragna asks her if her name was Bullet, then she takes caution as Ragna knew her name. Ragna remembers the words that Rachel told him before about Ragna receiving injuries from Magic and Nox Nyctores. Ragna's vision becomes blurry and he is unable to think straight, then faints.



Ragna dreams about his time with the Sister when he was young, and wakes up to find out he was lying down on Celica A. Mercury's lap. He realizes that Celica was using magic to heal him, and stands up in panic. Suddenly Taokaka appears, who reveals that she had followed Ragna who was wandering around in pain, then saw that he had collapsed, and that Celica had approached her to help. Celica happily comments that Ragna is the same as always, but Ragna tells her to not call his name so easily. Suddenly Ragna's right eye becomes blind and his right arm also paralyzed. Celica asks Ragna if he is still hurt somewhere, but Ragna pushes her aside and runs away.

Later Ragna walks on a rainy street, and notices that his right eye and arm had gone back to normal and suddenly bumps into a stranger. Ragna's temper appears and he tries to attack the stranger, only to see that Rachel had teleported him away. Ragna tells Rachel to go away, which makes her disappear after she insults him due to his behavior. Ragna wonders why he is in an enraged mood, then meets Noel. Noel becomes surprised as Ragna was soaking wet in the rain, where she tries to dry him with something. Ragna suddenly grabs Noel painfully, saying that he had looked for her everywhere, and demands her to come with him. Noel pleads him to let her go but Ragna keeps on trying to bring her with him by force. Suddenly Kagura Mutsuki comes to Noel's rescue by attacking Ragna. Kagura calls Noel "his woman" and asks Ragna what he was doing to her. Ragna becomes more enraged and tries to attack Kagura and fights with him, only for him to fall into Kagura's pace. Kagura insults Ragna by calling him weak, which makes Ragna try to activate his BlazBlue, but then suddenly his arm and right eye becomes paralyzed again, due to Celica appearing. Kagura tells Ragna not to look away then knocks him unconscious.

Ragna gets arrested and is thrown in jail. He asks why he is jailed, Kagura replies that it is because of Ragna's past crimes, and tells him to be grateful that he wasn't executed on the spot. Celica and Noel becomes surprised by his statement, which makes them ask Kagura to not execute him. Kagura tells them he was joking and that he still has a job for Ragna to do. However Ragna declines saying he will not do anything Kagura asks him to do. Kokonoe later reveals that the reason Ragna was imprisoned was because of the Imperator's dimensional interferences and that the underground where Ragna is has an anti-dimensional interference device, and that Ragna should cool his head while he is imprisoned.

Celica, who was watching him, offers some books to read as Ragna was bored. Ragna asks Celica to go away, but Celica tells him that she was ordered by Kokonoe to stay with him. Because Celica was acting familiar with him, he asks her if they had met before, but Celica is unable to answer him properly. Suddenly, Rachel appears, which makes Ragna ask her to teleport him out of prison, but she declines. Noel then appears, saying that she felt like she was called down to where Ragna was. Rachel tells them about the Story of the World, which Ragna comments that it was a boring story. However after hearing the story, he questions himself what he is fighting for and against what. Kokonoe arrives to Ragna's jail room, telling him to get out and follow her. Ragna asks if it's OK for her to let him out of prison, then she shows him a rectangular object with a switch, and reveals that Ragna's left arm has a bomb installed in it, which would kill him alone if activated. She tells him that if he falls apart from Celica in a certain distance, the bomb would activate and explode. Because of Kokonoe's threats, Ragna is forced to follow her.

Ragna, Noel, Celica and Kokonoe had taken two hours to arrive at Kagura's room due to Celica leading them to random locations because of getting lost. Kagura asks Ragna to cooperate with him, but Ragna becomes suspicious of it. Kagura and Kokonoe tells Ragna to not use his BlazBlue for awhile as it causes Ragna's BlazBlue to be sensed by Terumi's BlazBlue. They reveal that they need Ragna to become a bait for Azrael as he is a threat. Hibiki Kohaku reveals that the news about Kagura having arrested Ragna had spread all around Ikaruga, and that there will be a tournament with Ragna's bounty as a prize at the Colosseum, where Ragna will fight against the participants, which would attract Azrael to join in. Ragna asks if he has to fight against Azrael, but Kagura tells him that he will be the one to fight. Kagura tells Ragna that he and Azrael are strong even without BlazBlue and he doesn't feel any power coming from Ragna, as all he does is just flailing power around. He tells Ragna to look at himself more and find out what he is fighting for and for what he uses power for. Kagura tells Ragna that he will reward him with the Kushinada's Lynchpin. Ragna abruptly asks Kagura if he truly has the Lynchpin, Kagura says that the key to activating the Lynchpin is already with them, and points to Celica. Kokonoe confirms that Celica is the key to activating the Kushinada's Lynchpin. After hearing this, Ragna decides to go with Kagura and Kokonoe's plan. Ragna then asks what their plan is. Kagura answers that their plan is to take down the Imperator and take over the Novus Orbis Librarium.

Jin then enters the room, which makes both Ragna and Jin become surprised in seeing each other. Jin pushes Ragna aside to talk about the issue with Tsubaki with Kagura and Kokonoe. Afterwards, Ragna becomes headbutted by Jin, who greets him while laughing. Ragna tells everyone to leave the room, and Celica tells Ragna not to fight. Jin makes fun of Ragna because he had lost against Kagura. Ragna and Jin continues to insult each other and tries to fight against each other until Kagura stops the two of them. After Noel comes in, Jin pushes her aside and takes his leave, telling Ragna to meet him outside later at the entrance. Ragna then meets Celica in the main hall, where she offers him to go with her, Kagura, and Noel to a tea shop, but Ragna declines. Ragna at first tells her to go alone, but after realizing that she can get lost easily, he tells her to stay on the spot for a bit, telling her that he wants to be alone for a bit outside.



Ragna then meets Jin outside, where they start their fight. However as Ragna's right arm and eye were paralyzed, he was no match against Jin. Jin excitingly attacks Ragna until Celica comes kicking Jin from the back. Ragna and Jin are then healed by Celica's healing magic, and Ragna says that there are only two people that he knows that uses Magic, which are Rachel and Phantom. After healing, Celica tells Ragna and Jin to not fight anymore, but they both said it is impossible. Then Celica tells them to fight only where she is, so she can heal them. She asks the two of them to promise her, and at that moment, they suddenly see the Sister's image after looking at Celica.



Later, Ragna and everyone have dinner together. Celica feeds Ragna as he couldn't pick up the food properly. Jin becomes jealous of the situation and tells Celica to not concern herself with Ragna. After he sees everyone happily eating, he smiles too, then suddenly sees that Taokaka and Rachel had joined the dinner. Kagura and Kokonoe tells Ragna and the others the details of the plan for the next day, and after hearing what plans Jin, Noel and Makoto were to execute in order to save Tsubaki, Ragna tells Jin that he will be wishing him and the others good luck. After dinner, Ragna heads to his room to sleep, then meets Noel, who thanked Ragna for what he said to Jin back in the dining room, and left to her room. Celica then comes to Ragna's side, commenting that Noel is very cute, commenting that she now knows how her sister feels when looking at Noel.

Ragna then talks with Celica, where he tells her that he is concerned about what he is fighting for and for what he is wielding power for. He tells her that he had been fighting to "defeat", for himself and thought that was what was needed to be strong. But after seeing Jin and Noel, Ragna wonders if it is truly fine for him to keep following that path. He says that he is thinking about why he wanted power and what duty exists for those who want power. Ragna admits that he is currently weak and is unable to fight, and reveals that he knew that Celica was the one who made Ragna's Azure Grimoire sealed. He thanks Celica for giving him the opportunity to think back about the power he has. He tells that he had always relied on the Azure Grimoire, and wonders what his own strength is, saying that the current him is just a coward who can barely wield a sword. However Celica denies this, suddenly telling Ragna about what he had done for her in the past, and that Ragna is a brave and strong person. Celica then asks Ragna if he can fight to protect her, to protect her from anything. Ragna agrees to her request, which makes her hug him in excitement. Then Celica reveals to Ragna that during the First War of Ars Magus, people she knew became known as "Heroes" after a great battle, but that there was another "Hero" to them, who had fought alone when no one knew and who had left alone after the battle. But Celica reveals that to her he wasn't a "Hero", but a "Brave Warrior". She commented that she thought that way as a "Hero" was a result, but the lone warrior she knew was more of a "Brave Warrior", who had fought against adversities even after having to suffer and go through painful experiences. Ragna asks if the person was her lover, but she tells him that it was one-sided love. Ragna and Celica decide to go inside as it was getting cold, where Celica wished good luck for Ragna for the battle next day, and Ragna tells Celica that he will be counting on her when the Kushinada's Lynchpin has to be activated.

After Noel obtains control over her powers as μ-No.12-, it is shown that the room where she was sleeping was covered in a dimensional barrier, making the room inaccessible, which made Ragna, Celica, Kagura, Kokonoe, and Makoto unable to enter her room until Noel's consciousness comes back to her. It's shown that Noel was getting absorbed by Arakune, and due to her being unable to become free, she unconsciously calls out for Ragna, calling him "Brother". Ragna senses this and is able to enter the room, then sees that the room has turned dark, full of spider webs, and that Arakune was there. Ragna tries to attack Arakune but Kagura attacks Arakune instead, forcing him to flee the area. Kokonoe reveals to Ragna and the others that it was her fault that Arakune had infiltrated the area, due to her relationship with him. Kokonoe reveals that her frailty was what had caused this, and that her frailty may take an ally's life as the enemies they are facing should be considered like gods. Ragna tells Kokonoe that he doesn't believe in gods. Ragna sees that Jin had come visiting to see what was going on, but then sees him take his leave. Celica comments that Jin isn't being honest, but Ragna tells her that Jin was always that way.

The next day comes, and everyone gathers at the Colosseum. Ragna acts like a true criminal and appears in the main stage with Kagura and Celica. Tsubaki congratulates Kagura for arresting Ragna, and insults Ragna, telling him that he is to be taken to the headquarters and be executed for his crimes, but that she has a mountain of things to ask him, so that she will personally question him. Ragna insults Tsubaki back and tells her that he doesn't have anything to tell her, which makes Kagura hit Ragna for his behavior, but Ragna insults Kagura and Tsubaki more, which makes Kagura hit him more. After Tsubaki takes her leave, Ragna becomes angry that Kagura hit him too hard. The participants of the tournament enters, and Ragna asks if he isn't facing against all of them, where Kagura tells him that there are 100 participants, so Ragna is only to fight against the ones that have passed the preliminaries. Ragna then sees that Rachel had come to see the fights as she was bored, and she teases Ragna saying she wanted to see Ragna being very worn out from the fights. Ragna sees that Azrael was not around, so he asks Kagura in worry why Azrael was no where to be seen. However after the preliminaries are over, he sees that Bullet had entered the tournament and that Azrael had finally made his appearance. During their battle, Ragna sees that Azrael was too overwhelming for Bullet as she was getting tortured by Azrael. Celica pleads Kagura to stop Azrael from hurting Bullet any further, but due to Iron Tager's power output to make the Coordinate Fixture for capturing Azrael was unstable, Kagura could not enter yet. Because Ragna could not watch any of this further, he enters the stage to stop Azrael from hurting Bullet any further. After seeing this, Kokonoe tells Ragna to buy some time for her to stabilize Tager's output.



Ragna fights against Azrael, but due to his paralyzed state, he could not fight against Azrael properly and was getting overwhelmed. After seeing Azrael try to attack Celica who was healing Bullet, Ragna becomes enraged and tries to activate his BlazBlue to kill Azrael. Ragna suddenly has visions of him fighting against Azrael in another time, where Ragna is unleashing his BlazBlue and Azrael unleashing his Enchant: Dragunov. Ragna asks himself if he is really relying on his BlazBlue again, and if he is running away towards the power again. Ragna asks himself whose power BlazBlue belongs to and who it is for. Ragna admits to himself that the reason he wanted power was to defeat his enemies such as Terumi and the Imperator, but that was all an excuse. He admits that the true reason he wanted power was because he was scared after losing everything before his very eyes and that he fell in despair over his powerlessness, weakness and sadness, which made him run away to obtain power. Because he did not want to lose anything. However Ragna sees that he is trying to unleash his BlazBlue, where he yells to himself to not activate it as it is a power that takes away things.

Ragna's BlazBlue activates but goes in a berserk-like state. But Ragna becomes able to subdue it and deactivates the BlazBlue. Kagura becomes impressed at Ragna for being able to subdue the Azure Grimoire and Rachel also becomes impressed over Ragna's growth. After seeing this, Azrael questions Ragna why he didn't use his power and tries to kill him in disappointment. However Kagura makes Ragna retreat, saying his turn is over. Ragna runs over to Celica, asking if she was alright. Celica asks Ragna how Kagura is doing and sees that Kagura was getting overwhelmed by Azrael, but then sees that Kagura was able to find out that Azrael could not attack first, and sees Kokonoe successfully capturing Azrael.

Afterwards in the Infirmary, Ragna becomes healed by Celica, but then notices that he had a small bruise that wasn't healed. Celica becomes surprised by this fact and tries to heal his last injury, but Ragna declines it, saying it's nothing to be concerned about. Kagura comments saying something has changed within Ragna, but Ragna denies this. Rachel then appears in the room, where Ragna reveals that Rachel had protected Celica from Azrael's attack before. Ragna reveals to Rachel that he is going stop using his Azure Grimoire, saying that it is a power that takes away things, and that the power he wished for was a power that prevents losses. Rachel notes that what Ragna is doing isn't really different from running away, but Ragna tells her that he no longer wants to use a power that takes things away, and that he doesn't really understand anything about the Azure Grimoire itself. Rachel tells him that the Azure Grimoire isn't something that simple, but Ragna states that in the end, his Azure Grimoire is a fake created by Terumi. Rachel tells Ragna that it is indeed a fake, but that is exactly why he must come to face against that power in the future. Ragna wonders where the "real" Azure Grimoire is and wonders if the one Terumi has is real, but Rachel corrects him saying Terumi's Azure Grimoire is also a fake. Ragna continues to ask what Azure Grimoire is in the first place, where Rachel tells him to be prepared to make a resolve, in knowing the truth, but warns that once he finds out about the truth that his future will become decided. Ragna says he wants to decide his own future but comments that it seems his future is already decided. Ragna still tells Rachel that he would like to know the truth, and when Rachel asks if he still willing to go through it even if he has to lose something, he tells her that he is fighting to not lose anything. Rachel then tells Ragna to bring Celica and Noel to the Ibukido's cauldron in the next day, where she says she will lead Ragna to the doorway into the "Zero". Ragna then sees Jin, Noel and Makoto preparing to fight against Tsubaki, where he wishes them good luck. Jin comments that it was really close that Ragna wasn't killed by Azrael, as if it happened, he wouldn't be able to kill Ragna himself.

After Jin, Noel, and Makoto succeeds in freeing Tsubaki from the Imperator's control, Ragna goes with Celica to the underground where Kokonoe is. Ragna realizes that Celica was worn out from the day's incidents and tells her to rest. Kokonoe picks Celica up and takes her with her. Ragna realizes that his right eye and arm went back to normal and wonders if it is because Celica had gone away from him. Ragna wonders what kind of answers he will find the next day about the Azure Grimoire, but then suddenly Hazama approaches him and tells him that he was unable to "observe" him, which forced him to come find Ragna himself, and attacks him as he wants to find out if Ragna was "real".



Ragna becomes overwhelmed by Terumi in the fight until Iron Tager and Kokonoe interferes, then Ragna notices that his right eye and arm became paralyzed again. However he also sees that Terumi was suffering in pain. Terumi, who was in extreme pain asks Kokonoe what she had done, and she reveals that due to all the observations done by the Imperator's group, she had gone through extreme research on how to fight against them without getting observed, and that she had found out the answer. Terumi yells out to Phantom to teleport him out of the area in panic, and questions Kokonoe why Celica A. Mercury was alive when he had killed her in the past. Celica then appears, who runs to Ragna to heal him. Terumi becomes surprised after seeing Celica's appearance, and Kokonoe reveals that Celica is a Chronophantasma, someone who doesn't exist. Ragna then sees Phantom appearing to teleport Terumi away from the area. Ragna asks Kokonoe just what is going on in confusion, but Kokonoe tells Ragna that she will tell him all the details back in the base.

Afterwards back in the base, Ragna asks Kagura and Kokonoe just what they are up to, where Kagura tells Ragna the same answer as before: To bring down the Imperator and take over the NOL. However Ragna asks for the means to execute such plan. Kokonoe answers him, telling him that Celica is not a human of the current time and is a Chronophantasma, who had her soul copied from the past, and reveals that she is a person from the First War of Ars Magus era, and that she has a special ability to suppress Seithr, which was the reason why Ragna's right eye and arm became paralyzed after coming in contact with Celica. Ragna asks if her power isn't a problem to the everyday life within the base, but Kokonoe tells him that Celica has a limiter that limits the amount of seithr that becomes suppressed. Kokonoe reveals that because the current era has seithr spread around the entire world, Celica's ability had been going on all the time. Ragna asks if Celica was called from the past because of her ability to suppress seithr, but Kokonoe tells him although that is an ability that is needed, the real reason was for to use Celica as the activation key for the Kushinada's Lynchpin, and that she requires Ragna's Azure Grimoire to activate the Lynchpin. Ragna asks one more question what Terumi meant by Celica being someone who shouldn't exist, where Kokonoe tells him that normally she is someone who doesn't exist, so Amaterasu and Takamagahara System doesn't have any data on her, which makes her someone who cannot be observed, which also meant that she cannot be affected by the dimensional interferences, which was why Ragna did not receive any either as he was always with Celica. Kagura then tries to talk to Ragna about his reward, but Ragna tells him that it will have to wait as he needs one day of time and that he needs to borrow Noel and Celica. Kokonoe rejects his request but Kagura allows it. Ragna tells them Rachel will also be with him, but Kokonoe tries to reject his request more after hearing that Rachel will be involved. Ragna then tries to take his leave, but then Kagura gives an advice to Ragna that this is just the beginning for him and that he wants to see the resolve that Ragna had made when he had fought against Azrael, and tells Ragna to show him the answer he had found regarding what he is fighting for.

Ragna heads to his room then meets Noel. Ragna congratulates Noel for succeeding in freeing Tsubaki, but Noel says it was thanks to everyone and that she owe Ragna for what he did for her. However Ragna tells her he didn't do much and that he is thankful as he learned a lot of things after watching her and the others. Noel asks Ragna if he had seen the Ibukido's tower before, but he says he never saw it before. Then Ragna asks Noel if she can go somewhere with him, which she mistakes as him asking her on a date alone and becomes flustered, but Ragna then tells her that Celica and Rachel will be with them. Noel then becomes somewhat disappointed. He reveals to her that they will be going to the Ibukido's cauldron. He apologizes to her saying that he should have mentioned about it first, but Noel tells him that she will follow him anywhere, since she had made a great debt from him, including his left arm. However Ragna tells her she doesn't need to be concerned about his left arm as he has accepted the arm as his arm and that it doesn't matter whether it is artificial or not. Noel admits that it is the first time they had such a long talk, but Ragna tells her that he hasn't been able to keep the promise he had made with her yet, where they would talk to each other. Noel says it isn't something that great and that when she talks with Ragna, she feels as if she is talking with a family member. Ragna says even Noel reminds him of someone of his own family member, but he stops talking about his family as he doesn't really want to talk about it with others and also because Jin was eavesdropping. Jin comes out, saying he was hearing out some pointless discussions. Jin warns Noel to not have any pointless discussions with Ragna and especially about himself. Noel apologizes but Ragna tells Jin that Noel doesn't need to apologize and whatever he talks about is his freedom. Ragna and Jin goes into a fighting mood, then Noel tries to stop them. Jin then takes his leave, declaring that even if they are in the same location, he does not want to get along with Ragna. Ragna then takes his leave to his own room after.

The next day, Ragna, Noel, and Celica heads down to the Ibukido's Cauldron, where Rachel was waiting. Ragna asks what he must do, where Rachel tells him that she will be sending him to a certain location. She tells him that there are people who doesn't have the time to think about What or Who, and that Ragna has a duty to do in that world, and that after he returns, his future will be decided, from the future of his end. Ragna asks what he must do there, where Rachel tells him that it is for him to decide for who, and for what he will use his Azure Grimoire for. Rachel reveals to Ragna that he will have a time travel to the past through the Boundary. Rachel then uses her Tsukuyomi Unit to protect Ragna from the influences within the Boundary. Ragna then goes into the Cauldron to begin his time travel back to the First War of Ars Magus era, 94 years back.

After returning from his trip, Ragna goes in a state of panic, asking where he is, but is able to remember Celica, but asks her which era's Celica she is. After looking at Noel, Ragna is able to calm down, where he asks her what day it is, where she reveals it is February 3, 2200, location being the Ibukido's cauldron located in Ikaruga. After hearing the name of Kushinada's Lynchpin, he takes Celica and runs over back to the base to find Kokonoe. After arriving at the base, Ragna violently calls out for Kokonoe, then sees Kagura. Ragna asks Kagura if he knew the truth, but Kagura asks what he is talking about. Kokonoe appears in the room, where Ragna asks her how she plans on activating the Lynchpin. Ragna asks her if she knows the meaning behind it, then Kokonoe asks Ragna who he had heard about it from. Ragna reveals that to activate the Kushinada's Lynchpin, Celica's soul must be used as a catalyst. Kagura asks what he means by catalyst, where Ragna answers him saying that Celica's soul must be fused into the Lynchpin, which is how it is activated. However once the soul is fused into the Lynchpin, the soul cannot be returned, as it will be bound to the core, and the soul's life will be used up until it dies, and once the soul dies, the Lynchpin would deactivate, where the seithr it stopped would spread once again. Kagura becomes stunned after hearing this, but Ragna reveals that he had heard it from the words of Nine. Kokonoe asks if Ragna had met her mother, where she reveals that she is Nine's daughter. Ragna tells Kokonoe that her mother was more of a human than she was, as Nine was fighting to protect her sister, but Kokonoe tells him that her mother was foolish. She reveals that if Nine had used the Lynchpin, the Black Beast would have had stopped its activity from 3 to 5 years.

Ragna tries to attack Kokonoe in anger, but Celica stops him. Celica reveals that even she thought of becoming a sacrifice 94 years ago due to the tremendous loss humans had experienced during the First War of Ars Magus, but Ragna corrects her saying that even if she had become a sacrifice and the Black Beast had stopped its activity for 3 to 5 years, it would have been meaningless as Nine would have given up all hope after losing Celica. Ragna reveals that because he had bought 1 year of time for humanity, Nine had worked all her hardest in creating the Ars Magus as she only had thought about protecting Celica. Celica denies that her sister is that weak, but Ragna corrects her saying that if one were to lose something very important, they would become weak. Ragna tells her that when the Kushinada's Lynchpin was found, no one there had ever thought about wanting to sacrifice Celica. Celica asks if Ragna thought the same, where he tells her that he did not want to lose anything, which was why he had fought against the Black Beast alone. Kokonoe tells Ragna that the only reason she had made Celica was to use her as the activation key for the Lynchpin, and that Celica herself knew about it too.



Ragna asks them what they were planning on using the Lynchpin for, and asks if they had plan on striking it into the Cauldron to stop all seithr activity, and when Kokonoe asks what he would do if that was the plan, Ragna declares that he would stop them. Kokonoe tells him that if they used the Lynchpin, seithr activity would stop for three years and that stopping seithr activity is Sector Seven's main goal. However Ragna tells her that is the goal of Sector Seven and not her. Kokonoe tells Ragna that she doesn't have to reveal how she will use the Lynchpin, but Kagura reveals to Ragna that they had plan on using it to strike against the Imperator. Kagura and Kokonoe reveals that the incident with Azrael was like a rehearsal to prepare against the battle with the Imperator. Kokonoe reveals that the Imperator's group is planning on summoning the Amaterasu from the Boundary, and that Amaterasu itself was going to be a bait to lure the Imperator. Ragna came to understand their plan but rejects the idea of using Celica as the catalyst. However Kokonoe tells him that if there was another way, she would have already found one. She asks Ragna why he is being so emotional with Celica, as she is just a fake who has a copied soul. Noel asks Kokonoe what is wrong with being a fake, that if she is Celica A. Mercury, then she is who she is. Ragna agrees with Noel and that whether she is real or not, she is the Celica he knows. However Kokonoe reveals a shocking truth, that Celica only has about half a year to life span left due to her ability always being active due to the seithr around the world. Kokonoe tells Ragna that using a soul for the benefit of the world is the right choice. Ragna then grabs Kokonoe in anger, where Celica tells him to let Kokonoe go.

Celica tells Ragna that she is really thankful towards Kokonoe for letting her meet Ragna, and that she would be glad sacrificing herself for Ragna and the benefit of the world. Ragna denies this and tells Kokonoe to stop with the lies, but Celica tells him it is the truth. Ragna nearly gives up, but Kagura tells them they will not sacrifice Celica. Then suddenly he punches Ragna, asking him if he had given up just for a moment. Kagura tells Ragna to not give up no matter what and be prepared to protect one or two women. Ragna asks Kagura if he has a good idea instead, but he tells him he doesn't have any good idea either. Kagura tells Ragna that he is a man that he has taken respect for, that he should not give up no matter what, and tells him to protect his important things till the end. Ragna punches Kagura back and tells him that he didn't have any intent to give up in the first place. Ragna promises Celica that he will protect her from anything no matter what.

Rachel and Valkenhayn R. Hellsing then appear in the room, where Rachel comments that Ragna has become able to say a wonderful thing. Ragna becomes surprised by the fact even Valkenhayn had appeared, which makes him tell Ragna to be quiet and asks him if he knows whose fault it is for this happening. After Valkenhayn introduces himself, Rachel reveals a hidden secret that no one ever knew. Rachel asks Ragna if he remembers the story that she had told him back in the Sister's grave. Rachel asks Ragna why Tenjō Amanohokosaka would have had the Kushinada's Lynchpin as his secret weapon if he did not know about the existence of Celica. Rachel reveals that there is another way to activate the Lynchpin. After Celica tells Kagura the way to activate the Lynchpin, which would fuse the soul and the core, Kagura realizes that Tenjō Amanohokosaka's soul is inside the Phoenix: Rettenjō possessed by Bang Shishigami. After theorizing that the Kushinada's Lynchpin may activate with the Phoenix: Rettenjō, Celica wonders if she isn't needed, but Kokonoe tells her that she is needed as an assurance, which makes Ragna tell her to stop with the jokes, but Kokonoe rejects him, telling him that Kagura and Kokonoe had already made many sacrifices for the preparations for the upcoming battle. Celica comforts Ragna, saying everything will be okay and that everyone will be working together, and that Ragna will be protecting her. Suddenly Noel unconsciously calls Ragna "Brother", where Ragna asks Noel if she had said something, but Noel comes back consciously, asking if something mattered.

Kagura tells Ragna, Noel and Celica to go activate the Lynchpin since everything is ready. Kokonoe gives Ragna a teleportation device which needs to be attached to the Lynchpin, and that the energy for the teleportation will be Ragna's Azure Grimoire. Ragna asks Kokonoe how he is going to do that when Celica seals the Azure Grimoire's power, then Kokonoe makes the Idea Engine activate, which makes Ragna's right eye and arm come back to normal. Ragna wonders how this happened, and Kokonoe tells him that the Idea Engine has a Noise Canceler installed that negates Celica's power from affecting the Azure Grimoire, and as long as Idea Engine is active, he will not be affected by Celica's power. Kokonoe reveals that the whole bomb thing before was a lie. Kagura tells Ragna that there will be someone waiting for him at the Lynchpin's location, and that the person will be a final trial in order to obtain the Lynchpin. Kagura tells Ragna that Hibiki will be guiding them to the location. Ragna asks him not to involve him in something too bothersome anymore.

Ragna, Noel and Celica arrive at the location but only find an empty room. However Noel tells them that she can see the door, but Ragna and Celica are unable to see it. Celica tells Noel to take strong awareness of the door. Noel transforms into μ-No.12- and takes strong awareness of the doorway, which reveals a large room with the Kushinada's Lynchpin. Suddenly Bang enters the room and declares that he was waiting for them to arrive, giving off a big killing intent.

Ragna asks Bang if he was trying to start a murder, but Bang declares that the Kushinada's Lynchpin and the Phoenix: Rettenjō are two things that his master, Tenjō Amanohokosaka had left with him, and that they are above the lost lives from the Ikaruga Civil War. Ragna asks Bang what he is fighting for, where he answers him that it is to protect and return the pride, bravery and smile of the people of Ikaruga. Ragna thanks him, saying that he can now fight giving his all. Ragna and Bang fight with all they have, where Celica and Noel cheer for Ragna. Bang then asks Ragna what he is fighting for, where Ragna reveals he is fighting to not lose anything and to protect. Bang calls Ragna a hypocrite due to all the crimes Ragna had done in the past. Ragna admits that he truly went overboard, but that is why he has taken resolve to fight. Bang then asks Ragna why he isn't using his Azure Grimoire, where Ragna tells him that it is meaningless if he himself doesn't win the fight, and that he will refuse to use the power of the Azure Grimoire even if he dies. Bang finally acknowledges Ragna of being worthy of entrusting the Lynchpin, and declares he is willing to use the Phoenix: Rettenjō for Ragna. Bang comments that Ragna was actually a good person. Ragna tells Bang that he doesn't know how to use the Lynchpin but Celica knows about it. Ragna then tells Noel to put the teleportation device onto the Lynchpin. While trying to find out how to use the Lynchpin, Celica asks Bang to insert the Phoenix: Rettenjō into the Lynchpin. When Bang tries to go to the Lynchpin, he is suddenly attacked by Litchi Faye-Ling. Noel is then assaulted by ν-No.13- who starts synchronization with her, while Ragna is forced to fight against Relius Clover who gets in Ragna's way from approaching Noel.

After Terumi activates his BlazBlue, souls start getting sucked into the Ibukido's tower. Kokonoe contacts Ragna, telling him that Makoto and Tsubaki are on their way to where he is, and tells him to protect the Lynchpin and Celica no matter what. Nu finishes her forced synchronization with Noel and becomes the Successor of the Azure like Noel, where Ragna questions Relius what they have done to Noel. Relius tells him that Noel and Nu have synchronized, and that Noel is no longer needed, where he orders Nu to kill her. Celica tries to protect Noel, then Ex Machina: Minerva arrives to protect Celica from harm. Kokonoe tells Ragna to leave Noel and Celica with Minerva and that he should focus on the battle. Relius tells Nu to head over to where Hazama is. Suddenly seithr concentration becomes thick which makes Ragna, Noel and Celica cough in pain. Relius reveals that all the cauldrons around the world have been released, which is absorbing all life around the world and is being gathered into the monolith tower of Ibukido as a catalyst, in order to summon the Amaterasu.

After Relius reveals that he will be the one to recreate the world after Amaterasu is destroyed, and that not even the Imperator is needed in that world. Ragna tries to attack Relius, but Carl Clover comes to protect him. Kokonoe contacts Ragna again to ask if the Kushinada's Lynchpin is ready as the Imperator has started the summoning of the Master Unit, but Ragna tells her that the situation is terrible. Kokonoe asks if he has put the teleportation device onto the Lynchpin, which he confirms that it is. Kokonoe tells him to activate the Lynchpin no matter what, and tells that she plans to have the Lynchpin strike into the cauldron by having it strike the monolith tower. However Kokonoe tells Ragna that one problem is that if the monolith tower's foundation is hit, the tower itself will be destroyed and that the tower currently has souls trapped inside.

The Master Unit Amaterasu becomes successfully summoned. However due to Ignis and Nirvana's dual attacks, Ragna is unable to approach the Lynchpin. Tsubaki and Makoto arrives at the scene. Celica suddenly receives orders from Kokonoe, which makes Celica and Minerva run off to somewhere. Ragna asks Celica where she is going, but she doesn't answer him. Ragna tries to ask Kokonoe, but she does not answer him and asks him to only focus on activating the Lynchpin. Bang tells Ragna to follow Celica and that he will activate the Lynchpin and Rachel telepathically tells him that she will teleport it. Kokonoe asks if Rachel can use teleportation magic, which makes Ragna ask what she means by that. Rachel and Kokonoe doesn't answer and tells Ragna and Noel to chase after Celica.



Ragna and Noel leave the area and see Amaterasu floating in the sky. Suddenly they see something fall from the sky, which is revealed to be Take-Mikazuchi. Ragna asks what the giant is, where Jin comes out, telling him about the Take-Mikazuchi. Ragna asks Noel and Jin to help him defeat it, and they head towards it. While heading towards the Take-Mikazuchi, they find Celica in the area. Kokonoe reveals that she plans on deactivating Celica's limiter because the Kushinada's Lynchpin hasn't been activated yet and that Take-Mikazuchi has been attacking Amaterasu. Kokonoe tells Ragna that she is planning to use Celica's ability to make Take-Mikazuchi unable to attack the Amaterasu, but if that doesn't work, she plans to use Celica as a bullet and fire at the Take-Mikazuchi. Ragna yells at Kokonoe saying he will never let something like that happen. Kokonoe tells him to buy 10 minutes of time as that is the time limit before Celica ceases to exist. Ragna asks Kokonoe if that doesn't work either, what she would do, where she answers that she will fire all nuclear missiles at Take-Mikazuchi. Suddenly after hearing that, Hakumen appears. Ragna and Celica then asks Hakumen to destroy the monolith tower's foundation.



After Hakumen accepts their request, Ragna asks Kokonoe to give him access to the communication towards Bang, where he asks him to activate the Lynchpin within 10 minutes. Ragna tells Bang that the fate of the world and Celica's life is at stake. Bang asks if he is lying, where Ragna tells him this isn't the situation to lie. Afterwards, Ragna asks Kokonoe to confirm that Master Unit needs to be protected. Ragna tells Celica to turn off the limiter once 10 minutes hit, whether the Lynchpin activates or not. Ragna declares that in the worst scenario, he will try to take down Take-Mikazuchi alone. Celica, Noel and Jin becomes surprised at his declaration, where Celica tells Ragna that it will be the same as before if he goes to fight alone and that she doesn't want him to disappear from the world he is living in. Ragna tells her he doesn't want that either, and declares that the Lynchpin doesn't matter, and that the Take-Mikazuchi will be taken down within 10 minutes. Ragna tells Celica to believe in them. Celica then calls out to Ragna, Jin and Noel, telling them to do their best. At this moment, they see an image of the Sister by seeing Celica. Ragna declares that they will do their best and runs off towards Take-Mikazuchi. After Celica releases her limiter, Ragna and the others face against Hades Izanami, where she declares that she shall give them "death", where the battle begins between Ragna, Jin, and Noel against Take-Mikazuchi begins.

After Hakumen defeats Yūki Terumi and destroys the foundation of the monolith tower with Jin, Ragna sees that Celica is suffering and was reaching her time limit. After Bang successfully strikes the monolith tower with the Phoenix: Rettenjō, the activity of all seithr stopped, where Rachel immediately tells Ragna to activate his BlazBlue and take down Take-Mikazuchi. Ragna asks how he can even use any Ars Magus when seithr activity has completely stopped, but Kokonoe tells him that the Noise Canceler within his Idea Engine works the same for such situation. Ragna then activates his BlazBlue and defeats Take-Mikazuchi.

Afterwards, Ragna, Celica and Minerva goes inside the Take-Mikazuchi's core. Ragna asks Celica why she had followed him, where she tells him it was because he was heading inside all alone. Ragna asks Minerva to get Celica out from the inside, but Celica rejects going out without Ragna. Celica realizes that her Limiter was not moving, where Ragna guesses that it is because of the inside, commenting that it is similar to the Boundary. Celica asks Minerva but she tells her she doesn't know either. Ragna comments they are a funny bunch.

Nu suddenly appears in front of them, starting to speak like how Noel talks, that the inside is accelerating due to Celica being inside. Ragna says he knew that Nu was inside. Nu tells them the place they are in is Magister's City: Ishana, which was the final scene that the current Celica saw before coming to the future. Nu tells Ragna that she was waiting for Ragna and was worried because he was taking so long. Ragna tells Nu to drop her current way of talking like Noel as it feels creepy. Nu tells Ragna that he is being mean because she is currently also Noel Vermillion, but Ragna corrects her saying she is Nu. Nu then asks Ragna if he knew that Ibukido was the place where Noel should have disappeared normally. Nu tells Ragna that on the day Ibukido was destroyed, Noel was being smelted to become a Black Beast, in order for Sector Seven to win the war against the Novus Orbis Librarium. Nu asks Ragna if he knows how a Black Beast is made, where she tells him that an Azure Grimoire, which is the body and a Murakumo Unit, which is the heart is required, and that when they fuse, a Black Beast will be born. Ragna asks why Sector Seven knew such method, where Nu tells him it is because someone had taught them the method, which was Relius Clover. Nu then tells Ragna that Noel was the Murakumo Unit and asks if he knows who the Azure Grimoire possessor was. Ragna guesses it was Yūki Terumi, where Nu tells him he is correct, and that on that day, Noel was to fuse with Terumi, but that may have been why the experiment failed. Nu tells Ragna that Terumi was the one who took away her family and destroyed her mind, and that even for her she wouldn't fuse with him even if she had to die. Nu however says that it was a relief because Take-Mikazuchi had destroyed everything. Ragna asks why Terumi wanted to become a Black Beast, but Nu tells him to ask the person himself. Ragna suddenly asks himself in thought if Nu had said "family", and wonders if a Boundary Interface Prime Field Device even has a family.

Nu tells Ragna that her story is over, and asks if Ragna came to kill her, then goes back to her normal way of talking, laughing insanely. Nu tells Ragna they should kill each other and that Celica can join in if she wants, but that she would kill Celica immediately. Ragna however tells Nu that he did not come to kill her or destroy her, and points out that even if she dies, she actually doesn't die. Nu tells Ragna it is because of the Life Link they have and comments that it is like the Strings of Fate. Ragna declares that they really need to end their bad relationship once and for all, where Nu tells him that she wants to kill each other with Ragna forever. However Ragna tells her it is over since Nu had just told him to save her. Nu denies saying such thing, but Ragna tells her that she had indirectly asked him to save her by telling him the story about the incident with Noel. Nu then becomes angry, telling Ragna to stop with the jokes or that she will kill him for sure. Ragna taunts Nu, telling her to try killing him if she can. Nu becomes more angry, then Ragna calls her a brat and tells her to bring it on, because his method of saving is rough.

After becoming defeated, Nu goes in denial over how strong Ragna has become. Ragna tells her that he isn't the one that is strong, but Nu is just weak. Nu then loses consciousness, where Ragna runs to her to catch her from falling. Even though he won, Ragna comments that Nu truly is strong. He points out that Nu's sleeping face looks really identical to Noel, where even Celica comments that she looks cute. Ragna tells Celica they should bring Nu out in order to stop Take-Mikazuchi from moving, but wonders how they can even escape the core. Celica tells Ragna that she truly wasn't really thinking by jumping in without thinking. Minerva then leads Ragna and Celica out of the core.



Celica escapes the core first while Ragna then comes out from Take-Mikazuchi's core while holding Nu in a princess carry position. Noel and Jin run up to Ragna and Celica, being worried about them. Ragna asks how long he was inside, where Noel tells him they were inside for only about 2 to 3 seconds. Noel takes notice about Nu, where Ragna tells her he picked her up from the inside, and asks Celica to heal Nu. Hakumen then approaches Ragna and asks why he isn't killing Nu. Ragna tells Hakumen to shut up as he doesn't want to kill her. Hakumen then declares he will finish her off and tells Celica to move over, but even she rejects Hakumen from killing Nu. Hakumen however tells her he cannot abide to that request as he declares that Nu will definitely bring disaster in the future.

Suddenly Hades Izanami appears, which makes Ragna attack her. However Ragna does not actually even hurt her as he stops his attack. Hades Izanami asks Ragna what is wrong and that she isn't striking back. Hades Izanami asks Ragna if he actually wants her, then in Saya's voice, she says that Ragna is rejecting her again, where Hades Izanami then says that she cannot be saved, for all eternity. Suddenly Nu awakens and attacks Ragna from the back, who tells him to not say a sad thing such as saving her. Ragna then collapses from the pain. Hakumen then attacks Hades Izanami using his Time Killer technique but is proven to be ineffective. Phantom, who had just arrived teleports Hakumen away from the area. Noel then transforms into μ-No.12-, where Hades Izanami comments that since Noel is known as the God Killer Kusanagi, she must strike back.



Hades Izanami then declares the awakening of the Beast, which makes Ragna's Azure Grimoire go fully berserk, where Black Beast like creatures and aura start coming out from him, and Ragna's right hand turns into a dark claw. Ragna tells Jin and Noel to take Celica and run away, and yells out in pain. Celica calls out for Ragna but he tells her to run. Jin also tells Noel to take Celica and run as well, but even she declines of running away. Noel tells Minerva to take Celica and run away, where Celica becomes taken away while she sadly yells out for Ragna. Noel declares she will fight too and that she cannot leave Ragna the way he is right now. Ragna tells them they are both being stupid and yells out in pain again. While watching, Hades Izanami notices that neither Hazama or Relius are coming, and points out that her contract with them had already ended, but since they had served her, she declares that she shall give them a "good death" and disappears with Phantom. Noel tells them to wait but then is attacked by Ragna. Ragna tells Noel to run away before he kills her.



In the Epilogue, Tsubaki arrives at the scene only to find Ragna gone and saw that Noel and Jin were both critically injured. Kokonoe comments that she is having Tager look for Ragna, but that it is possible he may have already died. Kagura however tells her that Ragna won't die so easily. Although Noel herself wasn't as badly injured, Jin was in a critical condition with heavy injuries that Celica was giving her best to heal him. Tsubaki then prepares to take her leave. Rachel asks her where she is going, where Tsubaki answers that she is going after Ragna. Rachel asks Tsubaki just how she sees Ragna, where Tsubaki answers that Ragna is an evil that must be destroyed. Rachel reveals that Ragna does not have much long to live on as he possesses a great evil that is big enough to devour the entire world, and that it is eating away his life. Rachel tells Tsubaki that Jin or Tsubaki must kill Ragna before he dies a natural death, and if that fails, Rachel tells Tsubaki that she must use her Sealed Weapon Izayoi's Immortal Breaker technique to kill Rachel herself, saying that it is another way to kill Ragna.

Phase Shift
Although it is not a widely remembered part of the Dark War, six years after its appearance the Black Beast went dormant for an entire year. This was due to the actions of an individual known only as "Bloodedge", who sacrificed his life and managed to delay its cataclysmic destruction for an entire year. This small window he created allowed the Six Heroes to teach humankind how to use Ars Magus, and to amass a greater and stronger following. His sacrifice also strengthened Jubei's resolve to defeat the monster, as he had personally bore witness to Bloodedge's final moments.

Bloodedge was a close friend of Jubei, then known as Mitsuyoshi, one of the Six Heroes, who is one of the few people who remembers Bloodedge and what he did for the world. After Ragna completed his training, Jubei gave Bloodedge's red jacket and weapon to his young apprentice. Ragna's title, the "Bloodedge", is in honor of this man. Ragna even speaks a phrase eerily similar to something Bloodedge once told Jubei.

In reality, Bloodedge is actually a time-displaced Ragna, who was thrown into the past and stripped of most of his memories, along with the ability to move his right arm or see with his right eye. At first, the only thing he can remember is his name 'Ragna', but he continues to regain fragments of his memories as the story progresses as he traveled with Celica and Mitsuyoshi.

He travels with Celica and Mitsuyoshi to the now destroyed Japan, which had been hit by nuclear missiles from around the world in an attempt to kill the Black Beast after it appeared, to search for Celica's father, Shūichirō Ayatsuki, since Celica wanted to prove her father's innocence in the project which caused the Beast's appearance.

Towards the end of the novel, he fully regains his memories due to being in close proximity with the Boundary through the Sheol Gate. Together with Nine and Trinity, they managed to find Celica's father. They then learn that he wanted to use Celica as the key for the Kushinada's Lynchpin, which would defeat the Black Beast, but in return would mean Celica's sacrifice. However it would only be temporary, as it can only be activated until Celica's life wears out. Angry, Ragna walks out from Shūichirō's laboratory to cool his head, though it is only an excuse to meet Rachel who recovered her memories as an Observer and was waiting for him near the Cauldron. Ragna asks her how to create the one year window of chance, to which Rachel says that he has already knows the answer.

Suddenly, the laboratory shakes, and through one of the surveillance camera, everyone is aghast to realize that the Black Beast is coming at tremendous speed. Nine and Mitsuyoshi wants to stay and fight, but Ragna tells her to wait for a chance, which he will create to defeat the Black Beast. As Nine prepares to teleport everyone out, Ragna tells her to gather the Six Heroes and prepare for humanity's counterattack during that one year. He also warns her to be wary of Terumi, and passes his jacket to the tearful Celica and promises her that he will return afterwards. Mitsuyoshi stays behind with Ragna to fight the Beast, while Ragna laments the fact that he had lied to Celica. Ragna makes Mitsuyoshi promises to run away as soon as he gives the signal, as he is needed in the future.

As Mitsuyoshi and Ragna fight their way to the Beast's body, the are struck with fear, realizing how much of a monstrosity the massive Beast is. However, Ragna realizes that his inability to move his right arm or see with his right eye was due to Celica's latent magical ability to suppress seithr. Reaching the farthest point they can go, Ragna signals Mitsuyoshi to retreat and activates the BlazBlue before charging at the Black Beast. The clash between the Beast and the Azure Grimoire creates a reaction, which pulls Ragna into the Beast's core and results in the phenomenon which the Beast is dormant for one year.

Inside the pitch black darkness, Ragna meets ν-No.13- and fights her while time is distorted. Approximately one year later in the real time (much shorter in the core), the Beast re-emerges in the real world and Ragna is temporarily expelled of its body. While the Six Heroes fights the Beast on the frontline, Ragna reunites with Celica, brought by Rachel to see him one last time before he is sent back into the future. As their window is short, Ragna says farewell to Celica and tells her that they will meet later in the future before heading back into the Beast's body again.

Personality
Ragna is sardonic, rude, and abrasive to anyone he comes across. He is also quick to anger, stubbornness, and never misses a chance to use as much vulgar language as possible. In this regard, Ragna is similar to the stereotypical anime delinquent. This is caused mainly by Yūki Terumi practically destroying Ragna's life, which has created a mass of hatred in him; stronger than that of any other individual. Ragna often becomes infuriated at first sight of Yūki Terumi, which he often takes advantage of through taunting him. However, even in cases where he cannot win or is on the brink of death, Ragna possesses an undying will and refuses to give up, something many characters either hate or admire.

Beneath his gruff exterior, however, Ragna does possess a softer, more compassionate side. He chooses to keep up his public front because of the path he chose – that of revenge. He does genuinely care for certain people, such as Taokaka, Noel and Jubei. He spared Arakune's life due to Litchi's pleas, and in his Arcade Mode, he directly references his promise to Litchi to let him live after he defeats him. Also, despite Jin's role in the destruction of his life, still cares for him as a brother. He also expressed anguish when Nu sacrificed her life to protect him, despite the past animosity he harbored for her and later declares he will "save" her.

Later on after the events of Chronophantasma, Ragna goes through more personal development which changes his opinions about the reasons he fights. He starts to rely on his own strength instead of the Azure Grimoire, as its power is to "steal" instead of "protect". He declares that he will no longer fight to destroy and for revenge, and instead, decides to fight in order to protect his loved ones.

Appearance
Ragna is modeled after the traditional Japanese manga and anime hero. He is a young adult with white spiky hair and heterochromia: his left eye being green and his right being red, a side effect from assimilating the Azure Grimoire into his body. His clothing consists of a hybrid of modern, futuristic and old features. He wears a vibrant red sleeved jacket with two long thin tails hanging from the back. Under it is a black shirt with three red belts. He wears a pair of black gloves with a red shell on the backs of the hands. His right arm is prosthetic after having lost it when he was younger. The shell opens up to reveal the Azure Grimoire whenever he utilizes it. He wears a black hakama and steel-toed red boots. He also has a black birthmark on the center of his chest.

When he was in his mid-teens, he had blond hair and green eyes before being bitten by Rachel. After he is taken care of by Jubei, he wears a traditional Japanese style sleeveless red turtle neck top, long black gloves that reach to his elbows, baggy black pants, and red shoes.

In BlazBlue: Alter Memory during the hot spring scene in Episode 5, Ragna wears only a pair of black, baggy swim shorts; his, otherwise, spiky hair is pushed down from the water and comes down just below his nose.

His swimsuit in Chronophantasma is different than that of BlazBlue: Alter Memory - he now wears an open, long sleeve red-and-black hoodie, which shows his chest and eight-pack abs, orange-and-red swimming trunks with black flames on each side, and red-and-black sandals.

Powers and Abilities
Ragna is an extremely powerful individual within the world of BlazBlue, having been trained in combat and ars magus by Jubei, wielding an Azure Grimoire and a rather unusual sword called Blood-Scythe, he is able to easily take down entire squads of the Librarium by himself. Being the wielder of an Azure Grimoire, Ragna is able to manipulate darkness in the form of the various body parts of the Black Beast through his Drive, Soul Eater, which also absorbs the opponent's life force to replenish his own. By utilizing an ability called "Blood Kain", Ragna is able to use his Azure Grimoire to greatly enhance his physical abilities and strengthens his Drive, although it wears down his own life force during its duration. During Continuum Shift, ν-No.13- (then in the body of Λ-No.11-), sacrificed herself to save Ragna from Hazama's onslaught and transferred her Idea Engine into his Azure Grimoire, allowing Ragna to access the True Azure and preventing Hazama from suppressing it again. In Chronophantasma, the combination of Ragna's "Blood Kain" and the Idea Engine becomes his Overdrive, called Blood Kain Idea, which puts him in the "Blood Kain" state but without draining his health.

During the events of Chronophantasma, Ragna's right arm and eye become paralyzed due to Celica A. Mercury's power, which made him become very weak compared to his normal self. However this enabled him to fight without relying on the Azure Grimoire, which made him become physically strong enough to defeat ν-No.13- without the Azure Grimoire; something he failed to do before.

Etymology
Ragna is a name that is Scandinavian in origin. It is actually a feminine name that is the short form of female compound names beginning with the element Ragn-, from Old Norse rǫgn, which roughly translates as counsel.

However, the more likely explanation is that his name derives from Ragnarök, which translates as the final battle of the Gods. The word Ragnarök is a compound: the first element, ragna, means organizing powers and was commonly used to refer to the gods or their actions. In a sense, Ragna's first name could literally translate as God from Norwegian. The reason for this name is how Ragnarök describes the end of the world and Ragna possesses the power of the Black Beast, a being that killed off half of the world's population.

In Continuum Shift, his name suggests another Norse reference, which is the legends of Ragnar Lodbrok, a hero who slayed the serpent Jörmungandr. Interestingly, the serpent itself is the symbol of Ouroboros in Norse Mythology. The relationship between Ragna and Yūki Terumi, who possesses the Nox Nyctores, Ouroboros, somewhat reflects the relationship between Ragnar and Jörmungandr.

His title of Bloodedge is much simpler in origin, as it is nothing more than just blood and edge combined to form a title that only exists with the BlazBlue series.

Trivia

 * Ragna is called Shinigami (死神) in the Japanese dub, meaning God of Death. This was replaced in the English version with Grim Reaper, a more Western personification of death.
 * During Ragna's flashbacks, his outfit resembles one of the concept designs for the early design stages of Ragna's character.
 * Ragna's fear of ghosts may derive from the fact that they are spiritual, and thus he cannot fight against them, especially seeing as how they rely on illusions and dark arts, which cannot be physically countered. Although in theory Ragna can absorb ghosts, them being simply souls by another name, it is possible that he avoids doing this because of some undesirable side-effect. Another explanation is that his fear stems from the fact that Hazama, his archenemy, is a ghost, and he is still suffering from the psychological trauma he inflicted upon him.
 * The blade of Ragna's Blood-Scythe resembles an enlarged version of one of the 8 blades the Murakumo Units use during combat. In early concept art, the two are identical.
 * Ragna was bitten only once by Rachel, as she admitted it in her ending in Calamity Trigger. In all the other timelines, he was able to save himself by touching the Azure Grimoire, as it is described in Rachel's short story Endless Waltz.
 * In one of Ragna's endings in BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, after Ragna and Nu fuse together without entering into the Cauldron, the new entity is able to activate the Murakumo Unit and deploy the Blood-Scythe at the same time.
 * Ragna's crest seems to be a variation of the Black Beast's crest, implying the fact that he is one of the two beings that need to be fused in the Cauldron in order to the Black Beast can surge.
 * When Ragna activates the Idea Engine together with his BlazBlue, the crest that appears is that of the Black Beast, but blue in color, indifference to when he uses only his BlazBlue, as it then appears red. This supports Ragna's claim, that this is the true Power of the Azure, as the same blue crest is present on the Master Unit, Amaterasu.
 * All of Ragna's D attacks involve either seithr or a part of the Black Beast.
 * Ragna dislikes needles, as revealed by his dialogue in his Help Me, Professor Kokonoe! section.
 * Three of Ragna's Special Attacks which involves using his darkness element have names related to 'hell' (Hell's Fang, Gauntlet Hades and Inferno Divider). Both Hell and Inferno share the same meaning, while Hades refers to the ancient Greek god of the underworld. In Hell's Fang's case, the intended name might have been actually Hel (the name of the goddess of death in Norse mythology), but was changed to Hell in the English version due to the similarity in their kana. It happens the same with Belial Edge, in which Belial is one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell.
 * Ragna, along with Jin, Hazama, Hakumen, Platinum and Rachel, is featured as a "Playable Character" in the MMO Action Game, Lost Saga.
 * There is an artistic error found during the Calamity Trigger Reconstruction story in Continuum Shift Extend, when Ragna's right arm was cut off, he still has white hair instead of blond.
 * Although the image in which Ragna transforms into the Black Beast is part of Ragna's Bad Ending in Continuum Shift, it is listed as part of the True Ending in the Gallery.
 * Although Ragna has his own unlimited theme, Black Onslaught, this is not played in both Jin and Hazama's Arcade Mode in Continuum Shift, where the theme played is instead Under Heaven Destruction and Nightmare Fiction respectively.
 * In the Chimelical Complex manga, when Ragna uses the Azure Grimoire, his arm changes to the black claw that he uses in Devoured by Darkness, instead of the black aura of seithr that normally surrounds his body. When he used it to defeat Jin, Ragna's body turns darker as it happens in Black Onslaught; black feathers can also be seen spreading around him.
 * When Ragna is beaten by Platinum in the latter's story mode, his sprite is the bloody Ragna with his left arm torn off instead of the normal defeated sprite. This might be a case where the game loads the wrong sprite for the situation.
 * Ragna's jacket is drawn inconsistently from image to image. His Calamity Trigger artwork features two small metallic plates on each side of his jacket, but they are usually not noticeable because of the belts and thus, not seen in most in-game CGs, as well as most game sprites (though they are slightly visible on the opposite side while he is standing). The said plates disappear completely in Ragna's Continuum Shift artwork. In Ragna's Chronophantasma artwork, the metallic plates are positioned lower so they are visible from all sides, but still absent from the new in-game CGs. His new game sprites have them, however.
 * On the clean cover artwork of BlazBlue In L.A. Vocal Edition there is a text written on one of Ragna's belts – it is -NO.5- Es.
 * Some of the symbols on the apparatus that is linked to Nu, match the symbol on Ragna's clothes and chest.
 * There is a strange symbol visible on Ragna's back/neck, when he reatains a humanoid form, right before being slain by Hakumen.
 * The remains of the Black Beast that Ragna attains, is actually his own beheaded humanoid form.
 * Ragna's favorite food is stated to be tentama udon
 * Ragna, along with Jin, Noel and Rachel, is featured as a Playable Character in the MOBA game, Chaos Heroes Online.
 * Ragna is featured in the Square Enix game: Lord of Vermilion Re: 2, alongside Noel and Jin.
 * Ironically, his birthday falls on "I Want You To Be Happy" Day.
 * In the BlazBlue Material Collection, there is a sketch of Ragna defeated in front of Jin, with Ragna holding a sword known as the Rebellion, Dante's signature sword in the Devil May Cry series.
 * A running gag in the series is Ragna's tendecy to treat people to meals. In Calamity Trigger, he decides to feed the starving Taokaka and is left with a large bill as a result. In Continuum Shift, he is forced to feed Platinum when Sena makes a commotion in public. In Taokaka's Chronophantasma Arcade Mode, Tao and Luna leave a large restaurant bill on Ragna's tab. In episode 4 of Teach Me More, Ms. Litchi, Ragna gives Platinum a cake, and Sena remarked that if they asked, Ragna would probably buy them as many cakes as they wanted. This tendency is noted by Ragna himself in "The Mechanical Soul", where he preemptively tells Lambda that he wasn't going to feed her.