Hey guys! Back with another chapter!
Ain't got nothing to say except thanks for the reviews and for waiting!
Enjoy!
xX The x Final x Test Xx
"So, is this tunnel gonna end anytime soon?" Killua asked rhetorically, still walking in complete darkness.
He was using Gyo to see ahead, but it really only gave basic outlines. It didn't give him the full details of objects that would be in front of him. He could hear vermin scurrying about as they saw him coming and a buzz of electricity overhead. Simply following wherever he heard the buzz, he was soon enough in a stage. It was more like a wide expanse within the tunnel. The buzz of electricity crackled above him and powered something, as the expanse of the tunnel began moving upwards. The darkness above him split and he was back in the forest again.
Now, he was before the middle-aged teacher who was also known as the assistant of Ozpin: Glynda Goodwitch. As Ozpin had stated before, she wasn't exactly Happy to see him.
"Ah, Mr Zoldyck..." She seemed to hiss; her words laced with venom as she spat them. "I am your next opponent."
"Yes, Ms Goodwitch. No hard feelings?" He replied, with a growl. She pushed her glasses up her nose-bridge while raising her cane. The wind swirled around her as her aura activated itself into what seemed to be a state of Ren. Killua activated a slight portion of Ren in retaliation.
"None whatsoever."
Killua rushed towards her; nails lengthened & hand outstretched to slice her head from her shoulders, yet he missed. In such a quick reaction, Glynda had turned around and kicked him in the back. He landed on his feet & skidded to a stop. Turning to see her, he grinned. Glynda's eyes widened as she felt blood trickle down her cheek. Placing a finger on it she marvelled at its sight.
"How? My Aura was activated..." She whispered, confused. Killua took the advantage, coming in for a kick to her left side. She had no time to block the attack and was sent into a tree. As she smashed into it, Killua chased after her; smashing a fist into her stomach. She coughed up saliva as she bent over his arm. Killua moved his arm, letting her fall to a knee. She gasped for breath then rolled to the side as Killua tried to slice her in half, but only the tree was cut as finely as sliced bread.
Before she could get her bearings once more, Killua was upon her again, smashing a foot into her jaw, a series of punches to the chest. Twisting he dealt a roundhouse kick to her face; sending her skidding across the grass. Killua took his time to walk over to her still body.
"It's not over."
Killua was smashed aside as an uprooted tree (that he had cut down earlier) bashed into him. He flipped over to land back on his feet; jumping once more to dodge the tree. Landing on it with another jump, he ran across its length; cutting it to pieces as he crossed over. Dashing towards Glynda, he attempted to kick her across the face, but the parts of the tree that he had chopped to pieces attacked him. He just managed to block a chunk of wood from bashing his head in with his arm, while using Kyo around his leg to block another log. He kept blocking and dodging; no longer able to get towards Glynda since he was now on the defensive.
Killua grinned as he activated Hatsu; releasing his electricity. With a snap of static, he evaded the incoming blocks of wood & attacked Glynda. Luckily for her, she still had one more block of wood that she used to stop Killua's fist from reaching her face. Unfortunately, he smashed right through it; his fist coming ever closer to her face. Glynda squeezed shut her eyes as she braced for his fist.
"I've won."
Glynda opened her eyes to see an Auraless Killua, offering his hand to her. With a grin, she took it; letting herself be pulled up. She brushed herself down as she took out her scroll to call Ozpin.
"I accept defeat."
Ozpin's drone returned to them from the trees.
"Well done Mr Zoldyck. You have passed the test. Now you must go through the forest where an Airship is waiting for you. It will take you back to Beacon..." His voice crackled, over the speakers of the drone.
"... Somebody's waiting for me, isn't it?"
"Oh? How did you know?"
Killua gave a look that seemed to say 'isn't it obvious?' which Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle at.
"You are correct. Ruby Rose is waiting for you within the forest. But her exact location, even I do not know."
"Ruby? Well isn't that terrific..."
"Whether you win or lose against Ms Rose-"
"You think I'll lose?"
"That is to say... If you decide to fight her, whether you do or do not will not change the fact that you have passed this test."
"That's good to know... See ya."
With that, Killua headed into the forest; starting with the beheading of a Beowolf. As he headed deeper into the thickness of the forest, he knew immediately that he was being watched. Ruby (he assumed, seeing as she was the only actual person in the forest) was definitely close. He could feel someone's gaze drilling a hole in the back of his head but even he had no idea what her position was... Well, if he used En he could probably find out.
Which brought about a question he needed answers on: Why did the Grimm not have any Aura?
He had noticed when first encountering them, that they did not appear within En.The only way to do that would mean you're dead. All living things had Nen; unless...
Killua collapsed his head in his neck as he heard the swinging of a blade. The blade seemed to sing as it sliced through the air. He popped out his head, pretending that he hadn't noticed anything by scratching his head in thought and continuing to walk without looking back. Even Killua had to admit; that was pretty fast... For an amateur. For Killua Zoldyck that was barely a warm-up. He licked his lips in anticipation of the next attack; activating Ten.
It came.
Killua blocked the massive scythe's blade with his arm, looking at Ruby as she went wide-eyed. The look of surprise on her face made Killua want to laugh. It excited him very much. Within the next second, Ruby was gone with a flutter of rose petals. Killua smirked as he took after her, his burst of speed causing a wake of the now still rose petals which fluttered once more.
"Time to begin the hunt."
Ruby sped through the air, trying to find a way to hide from Killua. Now that he knew she was attacking him, she had to be cautious so that he wouldn't be able to predict her movements.
"Where are you going, Ms Rose?"
Even though she was not currently in her human body, she immediately felt her veins go cold as ice. Though she couldn't actually, 'see' him next to her, she could sense that he was right there. Running right next to her, even though she was in petal form. How the hell was that possible?
She didn't answer him but instead sped up; tapping into more Aura to push herself. She was soon seeing things in slow motion as everything around her blurred.
"You can't run from me, Ruby. I'm faster than you think."
Impossible. He was still right next to her. She pushed herself as fast as possible, almost unable to see where she was going. Thinking up a plan, she turned round to have a head-on collision with Killua. But killua ducked; as if predicting the fact that she would try to attack him once more. She flew overhead, out of semblance form and landed on a tree branch by using her scythe to latch on. Killua was walking towards her, still as calm & collected as ever. She narrowed her eyes in anger at him.
"You've grown, Ruby. I'm actually surprised, since I thought you would actually try to take me on immediately. But using sneak attacks? I like how you're learning." Killua stated, sharpening his nails as he activated Ren causing a burst of wind to blow outward from him. "But this isn't enough. You still aren't good enough."
In retaliation, Ruby growled and attacked in Rose petal form; becoming a vicious scythe swinging ball of rose petals. Killua sidestepped the death ball as it finely cut down trees around him. Ruby fell out of her Rose petal form. She was breathing heavily, with beads of sweat starting to make themselves known on her forehead. Killua began to understand the workings of her Semblance.
"So to use your Rose petal form thingy... You take energy from your Aura? That's a double-edged sword."
Ruby looked up in surprise, but her eyes turned to slits as she frowned once more. She raced towards him; twirling her Scythe around her and then going for the kill. Killua dodged, again and again, jumping twisting & even dislodging joints to escape the blade (but mostly to show off). Ruby couldn't suppress her rage or surprise as it shown on her face. Finding an opening when she was twirling her scythe, Killua landed a backflip kick to her abdomen; sending her skidding along the ground but she stayed upright.
"Hmm... I'm going to enjoy this..." Killua said, giving off a wave of Nen through the reactivation of his Ren. She blocked the wave but was still pushed back slightly, grunting as he walked towards her. "It's my turn to attack now, right?"
He moved. So fast, Ruby had barely seen shadows of him.
"Here I am." He whispered into her ear from behind. She gulped as the killing intent blossomed from him and surrounded her. Upon instinct, she turned into Rose petals to get away from Killua. Yet, when she reformed he was tapping her shoulder from behind. She sliced in a full circle around herself, cutting down the trees in the area. Feeling a weight on her scythe she looked at it to see Killua holding himself on the tip with one finger.
"19, 20! Now that's a workout."
With a shout of anger, Ruby twirled her scythe as fast as she could, try to dice killua into pieces. She only managed to wear herself out and kick up dust. He was waiting by a tree while he let her gasp for breath.
"Now that you're done..." He said, looking at his sharpened nails. Ruby's eyes spotted him. He moved once more, this time towards her; his bloodlust as high as ever.
"Bye-bye."
His fist met her stomach and immeasurable pain seemed to explode in Ruby as her Aura shattered. She was sent flying immediately, knocking over trees and changing the face of the landscape. She stopped metres away, a buildup of trees, earth & rock having slowed her down. Killua sighed as he began to walk away.
"Guess, you aren't worth it..."
A burst of pure Nen. A beacon of lightning shooting into the sky. The ground shaking like it had a mind of its own. The air becoming cold as ice. Hearing the crash of waves of water from the nearby lake like a rolling thunder. The crackle of fire as oxygen seemed to burst into flames. A roar of anger that was unmatched in vigour.
Killua ran, moving as fast as possible; dodging the explosion of elements. Fire raged, water sloshed, wind howled, earth shook, lightning sparked; Killua just ran as he dodged the uncoordinated and random attacks. He had accepted the fact that this was amazing. Controlling all the elements in their purest forms was something that even the most veteran hunters (those who controlled elemental powers) could only dream of doing. Yet, here was Ruby Rose, simply flaunting the hidden power within her. She would put them all to shame.
'If I can get her back to normal that is...'
He had noticed the hidden potential with her; noticing it was foreign to her own Aura, yet compatible. It was hiding behind her dominant power and she simply hadn't noticed it. It was his job to make her understand that she had more power than she realised, but the same power had now overtaken her mind. Hopefully, Killua could talk sense into her.
'Emphasis on hopefully...'
Killua activated Hatsu, letting electricity scream around him. He ran back towards Ruby, being careful not to be caught in any more attacks; such as the lake of fire that was spreading across the whole forest. Or the water that is submerging the trees on another side. Even pure air was being frozen solid and being thrown towards every direction as spikes of death. He slapped away a few shards of ice in his way and jumped over the lake of fire, using his momentum to jump from tree to tree. He let electricity strike him but it ejected itself immediately after.
He could now see her; a body surrounded by a mess of swirling elements that were trying to mix. She seemed to be unconscious within the sphere of chaos. A wall of wind smacked into Killua, sending him flying away from her. All of a sudden, the attacks were now being concentrated towards him. He dodged a blade of wind that threatened to cut him in half, a few trees that fell in his direction as the fire burned and water attempting to drown him.
"Dammit!" He growled, tapping into more electricity within himself. Speed Of Lightning.
He burst in a squeal of electricity, the elements trying but failing to catch him. Soon enough he had reached Ruby once more, but now all of nature was against him. The very earth burst as pillars to surround Ruby and some came as spears from the ground to impale him. His body dodged on instinct; even faster than he could have thought, running up the rock to reach her. Encountering the sphere again, he jumped off another rock spear aimed at him and punched at the sphere. He felt its resistance and bounced off.
"Fuck it."
He jumped for the sphere once more, just being able to move out of the way of water trying to collide with him, gathering Ko into his fist and smashing into the sphere. He had timed his jump to perfectly enter into the lighting area of the sphere. As a result, he shot right through, bursting out the other side into the air. Unfortunately, he hadn't exactly planned his landing, nor did he have Ruby in his arms as he had wanted.
... No, he was only trying to be cool. Y'know, like a prince saving the damsel in distress?
Whistling lowly, Killua called a small black cloud of lightning to his aid (the same cloud from chapter 6). Standing on it, he headed down to where Ruby Rose lay. She was truly unconscious. He poked her with his foot, expecting a response but got none. Sighing, he got off the cloud to pick her up.
She moved, a flash of rose petals. He moved, a flash of lightning.
"Nice, though I guess you still aren't normal." Killua mused, looking at the glowing eyes Ruby had. With a quick scan using Gyo he realised that the power within her had stabilised enough to control its host. Meaning, Ruby was actually not in control of her body any longer.
Ruby did not reply but instead flung her arm out towards him, letting loose a barrage of ice & water spears. Killua ducked & dived out of the way, his Whirlwind ability coming in useful. Ruby picked up her scythe and attacked again; much faster than normal. He sidestepped her multiple swings and jumped back when she stuck her scythe within the earth. The ground rumbled once more and cracks opened, threatening to swallow him into darkness. Killua jumped again, going from tree to tree. He stopped immediately as Ruby tried to behead him once more. When she swung at him again, the arc began to burn, shooting forward towards him. He managed to evade it by jumping into the lake.
That didn't manage to deter Ruby, who transformed the whole lake into a giant sea monster, sending Killua flying away. She chased after him with wind arcs as sharp as knives trying to slice him. He deflected them with his nails easily, but he was feeling the start of weariness. He had been fighting for a good 4 hours; the Grimm, androids, students... It was starting to get to him. Killua grinned when he thought that he would need to use his special form.
Ruby had caught up to him again, axe kicking him into the ground in which he created a crater; he realised that she had finally gained a hit on him. He coughed up the dirt and dust, rising to the challenge of Ruby. She attacked again; swirling beautifully before attacking viciously. He sidestepped easily, even tripping her over in the process. With a growl she turned round, firing a huge ball of flames at him. Killua evaded as usual, but he quickly turned back to counterattack, smashing a fist across her face. She was sent spinning away, but she landed in another twirl. Her Aura had successfully mitigated the damage. Killua grinned as he rushed her again.
He ducked beneath a slice, jumping upwards for an uppercut. While they were in the air, Killua roundhouse kicked her to the floor once more; even following up with a half-hearted lightning bolt from his finger. She takes the lightning with a scream & ejects it into the sky. He evades a few more sure-kill slices and counters with the lightning palm, shocking her into submission. But this time, she accepts the lightning; taking on his trait of covering it with herself. Killua frowns when he sees it.
"Let's see if you can copy this." He said, raising a hand to the sky and sending his lightning upwards to the clouds. The clouds took it, all becoming black and dark as the lightning jumped from cloud to cloud. Soon enough, the sky was dark. Ruby's glowing eyes widened as all the lightning that had been generated gathered into one cloud and shot downwards to a smirking Killua who bathed in all the lightning around him.
There was an explosion of Nen from Killua that slammed into everything in the vicinity. Ruby could only hold on to the trees swaying in front of such raw power. As the lightning fizzled out, Killua wasn't simply human any longer.
He was a god. The God of Lightning.
"This is a place where you can never reach, dear girl." Killua thundered, his voice no longer even sounding human. "Bow before the almighty Raijin. God of Thunder & Lightning."
He literally became a flash of lightning as thunder crackled.
Ruby screamed in pain.
Yeaaaah I'm finally done dammit! This chapter is much longer, as the others were just pretty short in comparison. So, hope you enjoyed!
Ah, yes, one more thing! Just so you know, the idea of Raijin mode for Killua is not originally mine. It actually belongs to a fellow writer whom I borrowed it from.
Their name's Code Musica and the Raijin Mode is from their story The New Dawn. That story is fucking awesome, I swear.
Anyways, I gotta go. BYEEEE!
~ScourgeTheBoss
