Ragna the Bloodedge

Ragna the Bloodedge is the main protagonist of the BlazBlue series. He is the current wielder of the Azure Grimoire and Aramasa. Ragna is also one of the twelve original playable characters who debuted in BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.

Biography
Ragna is a powerful criminal who has a burning hatred for the world government the Norvus Orbis Librarium. Due to this hatred, Ragna uses his knowledge of combat, the weapon Aramasa, and the powerful Azure Grimoire to destroy military branches around the world, possibly killing hundreds every time. The Librarium labelled him an SS class criminal and issued him the largest bounty in recorded history, 90,000,000 platinum dollars, which, according to Jin Kisaragi, is enough to buy a small country.

Early Life
Ragna and his siblings were first found by Jubei in Relius Clover workshop, where they were confined for unknown reasons. Jubei decided to save the three, gaining several wounds in the process, and left the three with Celica A. Mercury. Ragna grew up in her Celica A. Mercury's Church along with his younger brother Jin Kisaragi and his younger sister, Saya. Jin was dependent on his older brother, and frequently demanded a high level of affection and play time from Ragna. However, Saya became very ill and Ragna decided to care for her. Jin became jealous of this and began bullying Saya, causing Ragna to spend even less time with him. Jin was driven mad by the Nox Nyctores Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa, and learned of his future. Yuuki Terumi used this to convince the boy to burn down the church, while Ragna was out gathering water. He rushed home to check on his family within the burning home, but was instead confronted by Jin, who was posessed by Terumi. The two cut off his arm and Terumi proceeded to mock Ragna, killed Celica, and then kidnapped Saya to use as a vessel. He soon blacked out from the pain and shock of losing his arm. Ragna woke up as the rain put out the fire and heard Saya's music box in the wreckage. He cried out until he fell unconscious again.

Ragna tried to crawl out from the wreckage and find help some time after, but couldn't manage to prop himself up to stand. Rachel Alucard appeared before him, looked into his eyes and saw that he wanted to live. She offered Ragna the Azure Grimoire which, once he touched it, saved him. The new Grimoire took the shape of a human arm and replaced the arm that had been severed. Rachel then took Ragna to Jubei, who agreed to care for him. Jubei became both his caretaker and his trainer, teaching him proper sword fighting and how to control and use the Azure Grimoire. Out of respect for him, he started calling Jubei "Master." At some point with Jubei, Ragna was introduced to both Taokaka and Torakaka.

Evergreen Eyes
Ten days after arriving at Celica's church and sometime before Relius and Terumi destroyed his young life, Ragna was forced, along with Saya and Jin, to go foraging for strawberries with Celica to make jam. Unfortunately, they ended up lost thanks to Celica's navigation. Despite this, they soldiered on, with Ragna carrying Saya and Jin complaining about the distance. Ragna noticed something wrong with Saya as she detected the presence of someone, but he dismissed her worry and claimed it was likely a rabbit; eventually, the smell of strawberries lead the search to a close. Sunset loomed and Ragna stood back in the kitchen as Saya and Celica made strawberry jam. He laid the table with Jin when asked, but was offered up Saya's jam to eat. Even though the jam itself looked akin to black sludge, Ragna still consumed it once prompted. He was knocked unconscious as a result.

BlazBlue: Remix Heart
Ragna makes a brief cameo appearance in the manga BlazBlue: Remix Heart. He appears at the end of chapter 10 and is present until the middle of chapter 11. Ragna is sent by Jubei to look for the Adesqui Grimoire, which is located beneath the Librarium's 15th Hierarchical City of Torifune. While searching for the Grimoire, Mai Natsume, dropped in front of him from the levels above. Ragna is initially worried when Mai reveals that she is searching for the Azure, but is relieved when she says that she is looking for it to help her friends. He agrees to help her look for it, since she doesn't know he possesses it, and he couldn't "leave a woman alone in a place like this without losing sleep." After a short while looking for each respective Grimiore, the two run into the Adesqui Grimoire. A defense system is activated that summons minions to stop Ragna and Mai from getting the Grimoire. Ragna manages to dispatch a few of them, but is taken by surprise when he tries to activate his Azure Grimoire. He is grabbed and thrown down a garbage shoot, where he is found by his master, Jubei, who is annoyed with Ragna for not searching for the Grimoire on his own.

Memory of BLUE
Ragna arrived at the 9th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Kō in the dead of night, he 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 NOL 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 Cauldron. 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
While walking through the forest on the way to the Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, Ragna uses an Ars Magus that conceals his presence, thinking that someone was following him from the shadows. This person turns out to be Jubei, who wanted to check up on his pupil. He warns Ragna that "he" is here, but does not clarify who "he" is, to Ragna's annoyance. Before leaving, he cautions Ragna not to mistake the Azure's power as his own, which Ragna brushes off. The man then continues toward the city. Ragna arrives at Kagutsuchi a few days before New Year's Eve, hoping to destroy the Cauldron at the NOL base before the year ended. He ends up taking a nap in the Junkyard, and dreams about the fire that caused him to be maimed. He is awoken by Rachel, who taunts him until he agrees to battle her. Once the battle ends, her butler, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, escorts her back to the castle. Ragna enters the sewers to try and reach the rest of the town and then moves on to Orient Town. There he encounters Taokaka, who pesters him for food, eventually forcing him into a lose-lose match where, regardless of if he wins, he still has to pay for her meal. He takes her to a restaurant, where she reveals her mission to capture him and shows his inaccurate wanted poster, causing him to spit out his food in shock and disgust. Tao orders so much food that Ragna scolds her, saying he can't possibly pay for this, which gets the two in trouble. They run to the Kaka Village, with Tao guiding him. There he meets the kittens as well as the elder, Totokaka, who recognizes him as Jubei's pupil and offers to help him escape and continue on his mission. She orders Tao to take him to their secret tunnel to Orient town, which she happily agrees to. Ragna is warned by Taokaka about Arakune, and later he feels his presence following him as he attempts to leave. The creature attacks him and Ragna is disgusted to learn it was once human. He defeats Arakune and attempts to mercy kill him, but is stopped by Litchi Faye-Ling. She fights Ragna to buy Arakune time to escape. After the fight, she asks about Ragna's grimoire, saying she wants it to grant her wish to save Arakune. Ragna says that it takes the souls of those around the wearer if they stay near anyone for too long, and that Arakune is too far gone to be saved. He complains about her tapping into the Boundary for power, but agrees not to harm Arakune any longer. She says he is far nicer than the stories make him out to be. He finds the comment amusing, but still leaves, troubled by her story. Ragna is then interrupted by Valkenhayn on his way to the NOL base as he complains that he might not make it to the top by nightfall. Valkenhayn insists on fighting Ragna to see if he is worthy of Rachel's interest, eventually goading him into a battle. Rachel interrupts the fight and scolds Ragna before sending Valkenhayn away. She attempts to give advice, but is too cryptic for Ragna to understand. Annoyed, she takes him to her castle to punish him and fights him. Upon his victory, Rachel insults Ragna many times before saying he is marginally better than "last time" and showing some trust in him. She tells him to never give up and teleports him in front of the NOL base.

At the NOL Base, he is initially unsettled by the lack of people there and proceeds with caution. As he enters a room within, he sees Jin and immediately attacks. The two fight, with Ragna defeating the man. However, he spares him, insisting that he has questions to ask Jin. His brother insists that he's too soft, telling him that this is why he cannot protect anyone. Ragna attacks him again and leaves, angered with how soft he's been with his brother. As he descends into the NOL base, he is suddenly frozen with fear as Hakumen arrives. Hakumen refers to Ragna as the Black Beast and insists that he will destroy Ragna. During the time loop that occurs within the story, Hakumen severely weakens Ragna, but is suddenly transported away by Kokonoe. Ragna leaves to challenge Nu-13, who defeats him. She stabs a sword through the both of them and they fall into the Cauldron, sending the two back in time, merged as the Black Beast. However, in the True Ending, Hakumen wills himself to remain where he is, causing Ragna to activate the Azure Grimoire so that they may finish their fight. Meanwhile, Noel Vermillion confronts Nu, but regains her sense of self mid-battle, and is nearly killed. Ragna intervenes just in time to save her, but cannot defeat Nu, and is once again stabbed and thrown into the cauldron. Noel has a flashback to memories of Saya's and decides to save Ragna from the cauldron by grabbing him and pulling him up. She then punches him in the chest and scolds him for being stupid before crying herself to sleep in his lap. Rachel arrives and explains that something has greatly changed and tells Ragna that his Grimoire is artificial, but does not elaborate on that point.

Terumi calls to Noel to look at him as she wakes up, and despite Rachel's warning, she does that, bringing Terumi back to life. Ragna immediately attacks him, but misses and is mocked by Terumi for his attempts. Rachel warns him that he cannot possibly defeat Terumi, which Terumi agrees with, saying that Rachel is the only one that could possibly keep up with him. Terumi leaves and Noel cries out in confusion before calling Terumi "The Dark Susano-o." Rachel asks Kokonoe if she has seen what just happened and Kokonoe replies that she had been waiting her whole life for this. The story ends on her declaration that she will erase Terumi from the world.

Since Rachel left both Ragna and Noel inside the collapsed interior of the NOL branch, the Grim Reaper was forced to burrow himself out of the rubble, being slowed progressively by Noel's repeated clumsiness. Finally, they made it outside of the building, despite Noel's slow movements.

Continuum Shift
After the incident with Terumi and Nu-13, Ragna allows Noel to travel with him for a short time. Ragna brings her to the top of a desolate, abandoned building, where he asks Noel why she is still there, clearly annoyed. After Noel says she "just wants to talk," he tells her that there is nothing he wants to talk with her about and that she should just get lost. She leaves, but only after declaring that they would be enemies when next they met. Shortly afterwards, Ragna calls out and tells a hidden entity to stop stalking him and come out from the shadows. The figure slinks out and turns out to be Carl Clover. Carl attacks Ragna, claiming that he needs his Azure Grimoire, but Ragna manages to fend him off. Ragna loses focus for a moment, flashing back to his brother's cries for help when Carl cries for his sister. In that moment, his weapon, the Deus Machina: Nirvana stabs him, sending him falling down to the lower levels of Kagutsuchi. Ragna then wakes up in the Kaka village near Tao, who asks if he's napping before he falls unconscious. He spends the next few days resting and recovering. While there, he befriends the residents and grows closer with Taokaka. While eating lunch with her, he remembers that the two had met before when they were children, but does not tell Tao. Tao offers to spar with him to aid in his recovery, and he agrees. He leaves shortly after meets Platinum the Trinity, who swindles him into feeding them by loudly shaming him and declaring that they will haunt him until he dies. While eating with the child, Ragna asks Sena who's the other spirit in her body, to Sena's surprise, and says that the the staff wrapped in cloth is a Nox Nyctores. Sena introduces himself and forces Luna to do the same. However, repeatedly insults him and calls him a pedophile. Luna storms off angrily, and while Ragna is attempting to pay the bill for their food, Lambda-11 appears after a sudden power outage. Ragna assumes that she is after the grimoire, but Kokonoe denies this, once again reminding Ragna that his grimoire is nothing but an imitation. She decides to have Lambda spar Ragna for battle data. After giving Kokonoe some "useful data", she tells Ragna that he shouldn't fight Terumi, but doesn't elaborate on why before suddenly being interrupted and leaving. She mentions Noel Vermillion, which Ragna notices, and thus calls out for Rachel, demanding answers from her. She only will give him information if he proves determined enough, so they end up fighting. When Ragna wins, she tells him not to fight Terumi because there is a reason he cannot win, but does not say why. She explains that he is the destroyer of the Order of the world, and that Jin Kisaragi is an antibody that is attempting to destroy him for that. Ragna does not listen to her warning, however, and goes to the NOL headquarters to locate Noel Vermillion, and runs into Jin. Jin demands a fight, but Ragna defeats him once more, and says that if Jin is to kill him, Ragna wants Jin to kill him as himself, not acting as the world's antibody. He also says that if he has to be killed, he would want Jin to kill him. Jin claims that his actions are entirely his own, and insists that he will kill his brother, before Ragna leaves after feeling a heart beat from a Murakumo the Azure Grimoire didn't seem to recognize. Ragna then arrives to the top of the Kagutsuchi branch and meets the man calling himself Hazama. Hazama inquires if Ragna agrees that the power of the Azure Grimoire is 'wonderful' to which a scornful Ragna replies he had nothing to say to him. Ragna demands to know the location of Noel Vermillion before Hazama mentions that Ragna already knows before pointing out the Cauldron behind the monolith on the floor. Hazama taunts him on how divine it is to see Ragna's despair as he angrily-- almost desperately-- asks him to stop smelting. Eventually leading to Ragna releasing the Azure Grimoire to fight him, before Hazama shifts to Terumi and unveils himself as the creator of the BlazBlue when he unleashes his own and locks Ragna's preventing Soul Eater or use of his Azure. Ragna freaks out over this and while Terumi relishes in it, he mentions its why Ragna couldn't beat him, even so, Ragna fights him. Ragna scarcely manages to hold off Hazama without his power, deflecting a shot from the Geminus Anguium Ouroboros, and Hazama then comments he was doing better then he thought he would. The Cauldron hits a crescendo in its pulse and Ragna asks if he's planning on reviving the Black Beast. Hazama says he has no use for the Black Beast as it was a failure-- merely an experiment with a Cauldron gone haywire while he was trying to make the sword-- but while gathering souls and 'foundational Azure energy' from the Boundary, it went insane and became the Black Beast. He explains to Ragna what the Cauldron is also considered: The Gate to the Boundary, the entrance to the Origin, and Ragna himself. He further explains the Cauldron is used to make a sword as it gathers souls to smelt itself in its body, and that this is the purpose of Ragna's own BlazBlue, which is said by Hazama to be a sort of prototype. Hazama mentions that Noel Vermillion is different from other Units (citing Nu as an example) and doesn't need the Grimoire-- instead, she contained the True Power of the Azure all on her own. He then summons the Sword of the Godslayer: Kusanagi from the Cauldron and Ragna looks on in anger. After Kusanagi is summoned, Terumi mentions how he wanted to make Kusanagi in the appearance of Ragna's little sister, Saya, which infuriates Ragna. When Terumi asks Kusanagi to go kill Amaterasu, Ragna tries to tell Noel not to go-- to which Terumi responds by injuring him further, adding that Noel is only a puppet, and is just like Ragna in that aspect. Ragna doesn't respond how Terumi evidently expected (presumably with despair), and hegathers Jubei already told Ragna the truth, which annoys him. Ragna mentions he made a promise to fight until the very end as a human being, and challenges Terumi with renewed vigor, telling him it was 'Time to Play', but takes several injuries from an angered Terumi as a result, as the man brutally attacks him for having the nerve to think he could talk like that to him. Just before Terumi delivers what appears to be a final blow to Ragna, Lambda-11 comes in and is struck from behind by Ouroboros instead, and Ragna recongnizes her now to be part of Nu. Terumi strikes her again, telling them to die together. The dying Lambda falls into a surprised Ragna's arms, her last words being used to tell Ragna that she always dreamed of him while she was alone in the Boundary, and this was why she wasn't lonely. She tells him that she will always be by his side. Ragna breaks down, asking her why she would even die for him. As Ragna cries out in anger for her choice to die over him, Kokonoe manages to get in contact with what she thought was Lambda, instead contacting Ragna and getting inside his head. In surprise, she mentions that Ragna absorbed Lambda's Idea Engine. Ragna furiously exclaims he will never forgive Terumi and begins to release his Grimoire. Terumi mentions it to be useless, until Ragna engages the Idea Engine and somehow bypasses Terumi's restriction over his Grimoire's power to tap into the Azure. Through the Idea Engine, Ragna's BlazBlue accesses the True Azure and he uses it to beat Terumi severely, very nearly killing him. Terumi, after freaking out over it, calms down and laughs mentions that it was what he'd been looking for all along, and demands Ragna continue. However, Ragna doesn't kill him and simply leaves him there to suffer, stating that he had questions for him still. Ragna then hurries down and rescues Rachel Alucard from the seal put on her by Phantom before explaining he beat Terumi, which Rachel commends him on. After telling him to be cautious and subtly complimenting him on his perseverance and efforts so far, Ragna goes down to the level of the Sheol Gate once more, where Mu-12 is facing off with Jin. Ragna catches his little brother and asks him to stay back while he fights Mu-12 with the True Azure's power in an effort to save her. Mu reads Ragna's data identifying him as the Azure Grimoire-- but most of his data is restricted, forbidden or unknown. Ragna then faces off with her after he says she's still Noel Vermillion. When Mu is defeated, she explains she can't understand and repeats she's a doll, as well as repeatedly stating her hatred. Ragna responds that he's the same way, but he still fights as a human being to his last. Rachel asks him to use his BlazBlue to shatter her soul from within, but Ragna ends up refusing that request, instead, he counter-currents the tempering with his own power and destroys a part of his body (his left arm) to restore her control as Noel Vermillion. Rachel and Noel both call him an idiot for it continuously, and a heavily wounded Ragna lays at Noel's lap. Hazama ends up reappearing completely unharmed as he commends Ragna's work and growth, and mentions he took away Takamagahara power thanks to Ragna's efforts. Hazama then comments on how he could kill all of them at once, but is stopped by Relius, who mentions that the Imperator has arrived, which Ragna sees and recognizes as Saya. After the Imperator departs, Ragna curses the situation, mentioning that he knew that this was the case. Jin comes over and tells his brother that Saya was the one to give him Yukianesa. Ragna is later seen with Kokonoe, who builds him a new right arm from Lambda's regeneration tank's spare parts, and asks him to take care of it. Ragna then heads off to Ikaruga Federation, but not before being spotted by Tao, who exclaims she's going with him at Jubei's request. When Tao asks why he was going there, Ragna mentions there was something he needed to 'do' there. The two then venture off together toward Ikaruga.

Chrono Phantasma
While Tao and Ragna are traveling to Ikaruga, Ragna brings an unknowing Taokaka to the church where he had grown up. Upon arrival, Ragna asks Tao to give him some alone time with the site, and Tao agrees, though a bit reluctantly, as she thinks something "fishy" is going on. After her departure, Ragna turns and heads to the location of the grave of his dead foster mother. There, Ragna talks to the grave as though he were talking to a real person, and he tells his caretaker of that he met his siblings, how Jin has grown a little, yet is basically the same, and how he won't be able to keep a promise he made to her about Saya. Ragna is then confronted by Rachel, and Ragna asks Rachel how he would go about acquiring Kushinada's Lynchpin. Rachel reveals that while the original technique to activate the lynchpin has been lost, there may be a secondary activation method, and explains that Kushinada's Lynchpin's is capable of halting the flow of seithr if it comes into contact with a cauldron. Rachel says that with the lynchpin, it would be possible to defeat both Saya and Terumi in one shot. She also tells Ragna that the only person capable of obtaining it is Noel Vermillion, as Tenjou Amanohokosaka, the previous owner of the lynchpin, sealed it in a room that can only be accessed by the Successor of the Azure. Ragna says that he will use the lynchpin against Saya, and Rachel questions whether or not he is capable of killing his own sister. Ragna brushes her question aside and says he will kill his own sister, but Rachel laughs at his claim, saying that there is no possible way to "kill" Saya. Elaborating, Rachel claims that Saya is the host of Hades: Izanami and that there is no way to kill the god of death. Going even further, Rachel says that it will be near impossible to even defeat Saya, claiming that the Imperator is more powerful than the Black Beast The Imperator Librarius, Saya, and Nine the Phantom appear before the duo and Rachel is subdued by a powerful Gravity Seed before she can do anything. Saya then turns to Ragna to makes an outlandish request, that Ragna swear fealty and eternal loyalty to only her. A confused Ragna angrily declines the offer, but Saya says that in return for him being at her side, Saya will allow Ragna to kill Terumi. Ragna still refuses and attacks Saya, but she easily injures him with a single attack. Saya says she is dissapointed because having him around would've put her vassal at ease, but leaves when she realizes that Ragna will not accept any offer. A time later, Ragna and Rachel are able to stand, and Tao arrives. Rachel gives Ragna a grim warning, that if the Azure Grimoire continues to corrode at this rate, it will "remember" his wounds, transcending even Phenomena Intervention. Basically, if he continues to use the Azure, any injury he sustains will not heal, even if the event that caused his injury has been voided. She then instructs Tao to take Ragna away so he can heal, and Tao follows her instructions. Some time later, Ragna and Tao arrive in Ikaruga, and Ragna treats Tao to some food, where they run into Bullet. Bullet recognizes Ragna as the Grim Reaper, but decides against a public confrontation. Until Tao calls Bullet "naughty" for her clothing and Ragna insults her wardrobe, calling her shorts "butt floss." Bullet then says that she will take down Ragna when next they meet. Ragan then tells Tao that he is looking for Noel, and so Tao says that she will find her and runs out of the restaurant before Ragna can tell her how foolish it is to look for one person in such a huge, densely populated as the four Hierarchical cities that make up Ikaruga. Ragna then leaves the the resraurant and runs into Iron Tager, and Ragna inquires him on the whereabouts of Noel. However, Tager refuses to answer and the two engage in a short battle, where Ragna emerges victorious. Kokonoe then calls Ragna and Ragan then asks her where Noel is, and Kokonoe says that not even she knows her location. Ragna leaves Tager behind and soon encounters Amane Nishiki. Amane then challenges him to a battle, and an angry Ragna complies and the two fight. Afterwards, Amane says that Ragna "dances wonderfully" and that he is always welcomed in his troop. Ragna soon gets sight of Tsubaki Yayoi, who then confronts the rebel. Tsubaki says that she has orders to arrest Ragna so she confronts him in another fight. Ragna easily beats Tsubaki, claiming that he has "a lot of experience" fighting weapons like the Sealed Weapon Izayoi. Tsubaki blames Ragna for Makoto Nanaya, Jin, and Noel deserting from the NOL. Ragna senses the Mind Eater (Interfectum Malice) spell and decides that it would be best to destroy the Izayoi, while not harming Tsubaki, there and now. Before he can deliver the final blow, Hakumen arrives and stops Ragna, purposefully allowing Tsubaki to escape. Ragna angrily snaps at his rival, telling him that the spell that's been cast on Tsubaki isn't something she can break on her own, but Hakumen tells Ragna that the only one that can break the spell is Tsubaki herself. Hakumen questions Ragna attempt to acquire Kushinada's Lynchpin and says that he will stop him, no matter what his goal is. The two battle each other yet again and for the first time, Ragna is able to duel Hakumen to a standstill without using the Azure Grimoire. Hazama then appears before the two and throws his usual insults at the two. Hazama then requests that Phantom remove the two from his sight; Hakumen is teleported to an unknown location and Ragna is teleported to a separate location that is unknown to Ragna. Confused, he looks around, when Hazama's voice appears in his head and tells him that Ragna is to help him in his "preparations." Calling her "The Sword of Izanami," Hazama instructs Nu to attack Ragna, and the two engage in combat. After a while of fighting her, Ragna decides to activate his Azure Grimoire, but before he can, Saya uses the Takamagahara system to initiate a Phenomena Intervention. However, before it can take full effect, Nu manages to injure Ragna greatly. Time rewinds and sets the clock all the way back to when Ragna and Tao are at the restaurant. Rachel's warning rings true, as Ragna's Nu induced wound suddenly opens up. Ragna falls to the ground and passes out, just as Tao begins to freak out over his sudden injury. Bullet rushes to the commotion, and much to his surprise, Ragna finds that he can vaguely recall her who she is, despite never actually meeting her in that timeline. A confused Ragna runs from the restaurant and remembers that he was fighting Nu and recalls Rachel's warning about the Azure Grimoire remembering wounds across timelines. Ragna falls onto the street and passes out yet again. Ragna recalls his time talking to his foster mother and remembers the warmth of her hands. Upon awakening, Ragna finds that he is being healed by Celica A. Mercury, who is using magic for the healing. He asks her for her identity but she says that doesn't matter right now, Celica even calls Ragna by his name. Ragna then stands up and finds out that he has lost the use of both his right arm and right eye. He asks Celica again for her name and how she is using magic, but is interrupted by Taokaka. Feeling better, Ragna leaves the two girls and heads out in search of Noel Vermillion. After he searches for a while, Ragna regains the use of his arm and eye. Ragna becomes enraged when he doesn't make any ground to find either Noel or the Lynchpin, and starts to pick a fight with a local man. Rachel teleports him away from his would-be victim and begins to scold him as if he were a child. Ragna genuinely insults her, and Rachel turns her back and begins to leave. He tries to stop her, but Rachel leaves without saying another word, which only serves to frustrate him even further. He soon runs into Noel and he tells her and tells her that he needs her for something. Being too excited, Ragna accidentally hurts Noel, and an angry Kagura Mustuki intervenes to help Ragna calm down. The two battle, ending with Kagura's easy victory, he actually calls Ragna "disappointing." Ragna attempts to activate the Azure Grimoire, but he looses control of his arm and eye yet again when Celica steps onto the scene. Kagura knocks Ragna out and brings him to the NOL branch at the top of the Hierarchical city. Ragna awakens within a jail cell and sees none other then Kokonoe, Kagura, Celica, and Noel staring at him from outside the cell. Kagura asks Ragna why he shouldn't execute him now, and Celica readily jumps to his aide, vouching for his character. After a little banter, Kagura tells Ragna that there is a favor he needs him to do, but Ragna declines the offer. However, Kagura offers Kushinada's Lynchpin as an incentive for Ragna's cooperation. Ragna reluctantly agrees to help Kagura, but he isn't let out of his cell. Kagura leaves Celica in charge of guarding Ragna and takes the others with him to his office. Kokonoe returns to the cell, telling Ragna to get out and follow her. After some discourse, Kokonoe threatens Ragna by stating she's attached a bomb to his left arm that is set to explode and kill him should he venture too far from Celica. Reluctantly, Ragna follows Kokonoe to Kagura's room for a mission briefing. Kokonoe and Kagura explain that they need Ragna as bait for Azreal, to subdue him for a certain time. Hibiki Kohaku tells Ragna that news of his arrest has spread throughout Ikaruga, and that a tournament has been organized at the colloseum with his bounty as the prize. The tournament is set to have Ragna battle against the participants, giving Azreal an even bigger incentive to join. Kagura bribes Ragna with the promise of the Kushinada's Lynchpin. When Ragna asks if he actually had the Lynchpin, Kagura says that they already have the key to activating it; Celica. Kokonoe confirms this. Ragna then agrees to the mission, but asks what the big plan is. Kagura responds saying that he wants to take over the Novus Orbis Librarium and take down the Imperator. As Noel is gaining control of her abilities as Mu-12, a dimensional barrier prevents Ragna, Celica, Kagura, Kokonoe and Makoto from entering her subconscious state. This barrier is breached, however, when Arakune is seen absorbing her. As Noel is unable to escape, she subconsciously calls out to Ragna, calling him "Brother". Ragna senses this, and is able to pass through the barrier. Ragna attempts to attack Arakune, but Kagura manages to drive Arakune off first. The breach was described by Kokonoe as being caused by her own frailty, and past relationship with Arakune. She warns them that this frailty may cause the death of an ally in the future. Jin is quickly seen investigating, but leaves shortly after. Celica says that Jin isn't being honest, but Ragna laments that he's always been like that.