Last chapter of volume one for Death March. Poll results will be discussed in the chapter.
Sorry this wasn't posted on June 10 like I promised. The heat in the area is making me forgetful for some reason.
(BREAK)
When the two teams returned Fox glanced up from his book and took note of how subdued Jaune looked. "Did something happen?" he asked curiously.
"Nothing bad." Jaune quickly denied as he rubbed the back of his head. "Just… detention with Professor Goodwitch."
"Ah," the fox-like being nodded in understanding. "Well as I'm sure you're all aware this is the last chapter of the first volume of the Death March series." He explained holding up the book in question. Ignoring the groans from the more action-oriented students he continued. "After this, we will put to a vote whether or not to continue reading this series or just drop it entirely."
"It's not rigged is it?" Weiss asked with narrowed eyes.
"What are you talking about Weiss?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head.
"Don't forget Fox can control this space at his own will. Who's to say he can't just force us to raise our hands for a 'yes' vote?" the heiress explained causing the others to turn towards Fox with questions in their eyes.
"I'll admit that I asked some watchers to vote as well," Fox explained with a bow of the head. "Watchers are those from my master's world who watch these worlds as well, just so you know." He explained seeing the students about to ask some questions. "Their votes will be counted with yours."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "And we're only hearing about this now because…?" she trailed off as she made a motion for him to get to the point.
"PR" Fox shrugged his shoulders. The sounds of palms meeting face filled the room as RWBY and JNPR sighed in defeat.
"Greetings from the battlefield, the commentator Suzuki Ichirou, will be sent off by me, Satou."
Expect to get even more skills with increasing tension, Satou's here.
While pretending to be dead behind the mantle, I activate many skills but...
I didn't expect it to cause a situation like that!Well then, let's start "Let's Dance With the Demon [Final Part]"!
"Ugh, how asinine." Weiss rolled her eyes and looked around for a book to read while she waited for the vote.
"What's that mean?" Ruby asked Blake with a whisper.
"Extremely stupid or foolish," Blake explained. Ruby nodded her head in thanks while Jaune leaned towards Pyrrha to ask the same question.
"You could just ask me if you didn't know what I meant," Weiss muttered with a twitch in her eye.
"But you always give me that scary look when I ask you things like that." Ruby pointed out causing Yang to laugh while Blake looked at Weiss with a smug smile.
"Only when it's a word I think you should know by now." Weiss ground out as she glared at her other two teammates. "Asinine isn't exactly a common word to hear."
I take out a two-handed sword from the shadow of my mantle.
At the same time, the magicians begin their counterattack, after waiting behind their formation.Fireball, Firestorm, Wind Blade, Lightning. Four systematic magics assault the demon one after another, and it also lands on me who is seemingly petrified near the demon.Furthermore, more attacks come after a bit. Stone Bullet, Sandstorm, Water Ball, Snowstorm.
"Ooooh, pretty lights!" Nora cheered happily while Ren smiled at her enthusiasm.
The last one to arrive is simply a pillar of light piercing through heaven.[Fire Magic Skill Acquired]
[Wind Magic Skill Acquired]
[Lightning Magic Skill Acquired]
[Fire Resistance Skill Acquired]
[Wind Resistance Skill Acquired]
[Earth Magic Skill Acquired]
[Water Magic Skill Acquired]
[Ice Magic Skill Acquired]
[Earth Resistance Skill Acquired]
[Water Resistance Skill Acquired]
[Ice Resistance Skill Acquired]
[Light Magic Skill Acquired]
[Light Resistance Skill Acquired]The log flowed at a great speed.
"That is so unfair," Yang muttered as she folded her arms. "Learn an ability just by experiencing it once?"
"It would make life super convenient." Blake agreed while Pyrrha frowned.
"I think I like it the way it is." She admitted. "At least then I know my efforts have meaning."
Maybe because of my level the damage isn't much, but unpleasant things are unpleasant.The demon seems to think the same, and returned lightning magic to the magicians' lot.
Probably predicting it, the magicians defended with a barrier before the lightning hit.Already breaking apart from the magic earlier, I shatter the petrified mantle and shield.
"Now that I think about it, I think this story would be better from a third person perspective rather from Satou's point of view," Ren stated causing the others to look his way. "He's obviously the type to gloss over the details in order to get the information out quickly, but because of that we, the readers, don't get a good feel for what's going on."
"You might be right," Weiss admitted as she finally found a book she could occupy her time with. "Hm, this short story is almost done is it?" she muttered to herself as she flipped through the pages.
"What's that?" Pyrrha asked curiously.
"Filth"
Pyrrha blinked in surprise at the answer. "Than why are you still reading it?" she asked at length causing the others to look at Weiss oddly.
"I have needs too." She replied airily.
Being a bit away from the demon, I stand up and immediately jump to close the distance. Aiming at the demon's head I swing the two-handed sword.
Since the demon tilted his head, the full attack did not connect, but I succeeded in cutting one of his horn.[Two-Handed Sword Skill Acquired]
[Helm Splitter Skill Acquired]
[Air Battle Skill Acquired]
[Weapon Destruction Skill Acquired]The soldiers are looking over here while saying something.
They're probably surprised that someone who just got shot by barrages of magic could calmly fight.
"I think Ren's right." Ruby muttered softly "This just doesn't feel tense at all."
"Right?" Nora agreed loudly as she hugged Ren tightly causing the boy only a minor discomfort already used to her antics.
With my disheveled long blond hair swaying on the back and the silver mask reflecting the sunlight, I face the demon.
I thought that a hooded mantle would suffice, but it was a good decision to prepare additional disguises as insurance.After receiving that much-concentrated fire the demon finally suffered about 20% damage.I bear the two-handed sword to on my shoulder. I have no problem wielding it, but it's hard to balance my body due to the weight. It's good that I become younger and all, but since my body also became lighter it might be a minus in a battle.
"I remember taking forever to get used to Crescent Rose when I first made her." Ruby nodded in agreement.
"I'm pretty sure most people don't make weapons heavier than they are." Jaune pointed out needlessly.
"Most people aren't awesome like me." Ruby stuck her tongue out at him while Yang swatted at her for the small jab.
For now, the demon is too close to the magicians' base. If I don't somehow lead it away from the plaza…I don't want you to misunderstand me, this is not because of some sort of heroism of not wanting any victims. The reason is quite selfish; they do damage the demon, however small it is, so it's troubling if they're all annihilated.The demon attacks during the gap where my thoughts derailed. Dashing on the ground, the poisonous claws rushed towards me!
"How heroic." Blake mused sarcastically.
"It would be so much better without his personal input on things." Pyrrha nodded her head in agreement.
"I was hoping to see the important supporting characters soon, but I guess we won't." Blake sighed in disappointment.
Even if I tried to shake the demon off with the two-handed sword, it boldly closed the distance not letting me get away.I throw the two-handed sword at the demon to elude the poisonous claws, taking out a hatchet from the mantle and use it to cut the demon.
Because the hatchet stuck deeper than I thought, I left it there and avoided the demon's counter.[One-Handed Axe Skill Acquired]
"Boring." Yang drawled as she leaned back in her chair.
"Action scenes are obviously not this author's strong point." Jaune agreed
While empty-handed, I'm exchanging blow with the demon while retreating.
Sometimes, I pick up weapons dropped by the soldiers on the ground to add onto the attack. Since I haven't activated physical attack-related skills, the damage I'm doing is small.Should I break the deadlock soon?Most knights have wounds all over the body, only a few of them are unhurt. There aren't any useless shots from the magicians either, seems that they ran out of magic power.
"What's the story you're reading about Weiss?" Ruby asked her partner.
"Pyrrha embracing her sexuality," Weiss answered simply causing said champion to blush heavily.
"EXCUSE ME? Pyrrha screamed as she tried to snatch the book from Weiss' hands. However, the Heiress quickly flipped out of her chair and kept the book out of Pyrrha's hands. "Give me that book Weiss!" Pyrrha growled as she made to chase the heiress down.
Fox huffed as things degraded from there. "Kids." He muttered with a roll of his eyes. "You done yet?" he asked once everyone had settled down. Seeing them all nod their heads in return he continued reading.
Seemingly, it's not only me who thinks so, from the castle gate several horses come out pulling a cannon.I position myself to divert the demon's attention from the gate until the cannon finished setting up.When I get near the wreckages I draw the demon's attention, behind the wreckages, I switch my weapon. I put a blacksmith's hammer onto my waist, and wield a two-handed axe and a sledgehammer in each hand.
Nora frowned "That's so impractical." She muttered angrily.
It's not really practical but thanks to my maxed STR, I can wield it just fine. Maybe because I look ferocious, the demon's expression becomes unpleasant.I jump from behind the carriage. First, let's strike with the sledgehammer!
The demon guarded to the right with both hands but without minding it I slashed from the opposite side with the two-handed axe.
The axe cut through, and the arm fell!...I remember, from some manga, about an episode of an arm that had been separated from the body attacking independently. Let's pay attention to that arm...[Two-Handed Axe Skill Acquired]
[Two-Handed Hammer Skill Acquired]
[Dual Wielding Skill Acquired]
[Herculean Strength Skill Acquired]
"Must be nice to have that much strength," Ren noted only a little jealous.
"Certainly make things a lot easier." Jaune nodded in agreement as he crossed his arms.
Though it's a different story with a surprise attack, after all, fighting using a sledgehammer with one hand is difficult, I fight single-mindedly with the two-handed axe.
The cannon still isn't prepared yet.The demon inhales greatly.
Magic!I close the distance. But, that was a bad move.The demon let out an acid breath!Even though I've seen it once! I completely forgot that it has this kind of attack!
I guarded with the axe which immediately broke, the wig and the robe got terribly burnt.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
"Is it really dangerous for him though?" Ruby asked in some confusion.
"Probably not, but he seems like the type to bitch and moan about a paper cut." Yang dismissed it easily.
I go to the nearest cover, throw off the robe behind the bronze statue, and wear a new mantle. I wore commoner clothes underneath the robe yet there's also a large hole in it too.If the surface area of the axe wasn't big, my face would have burned...[Decay Resistance Skill Acquired]
[Quick Dressing Skill Acquired]I allocate [Decay Resistance] and [Quick Dressing] with skill points.I wonder what the variety of skills are, I want a wiki.
"What's a wiki?" Pyrrha asked looking at Fox.
"It's like an online informational page." The being explained pulling up a wiki page about apples as an example.
Since the axe is no longer usable as a weapon, I throw it away; I try to strike once with the blacksmith hammer from my waist. Since it didn't seem very effective, I put it back when I got the skill.[One-Handed Hammer Skill Acquired]
[Blacksmith Skill Acquired]I think blacksmithing is quite different from this...
"Wait he got blacksmithing from hitting something with a blacksmith's hammer?" Ruby asked in disbelief as she gaped at the book. "That's so unfair!"
Meanwhile, the cannon installation is complete, but it seems that it will require some time before it could fire.I pick up the sledgehammer which I discarded earlier.
Of course, the demon doesn't let up his attacks, but whether it's because of the avoid skill, or because I'm getting used to fighting, I've reached the point where I have some margins in this fight.I should end this soon...
I allocate skill points to [One-Handed Sword].
"He should have ended the fight as soon as possible." Weiss pointed out as she giggled slightly. "So naughty." She whispered still reading her own book.
"I thought that was your shtick," Yang whispered to Blake who glared at the blonde brawler in return.
The cannon seems to be ready to fire. Magicians on both sides of the cannon begin to cast spells.The demon seems to be really worried about the cannon. It's putting up an air.
The demon charges toward the cannon during the gap when I avoided its tail attack!I discard the heavy sledgehammer and pick up a sword lying on the way while chasing the demon.
"Oh gods above this is bad," Pyrrha muttered covering her face with her hands. "Please tell me it gets better."
"Eh, I think it does," Fox gave his own input
The demon, with agility belying that huge body, jumps over multiple soldiers who block the way.
The light soldier with spears immediately cover but they become prey to the poisonous claw.But the demon stopped.Just like the demon, I jump over the soldiers and cut one wing off the demon, then I pierce the sword to its leg and stitch it to the ground. After getting the sword skill, I could understand the principle of swordsmanship. The demon only has 30% remaining on its HP gauge.
Furthermore, I pull the only remaining arm of the demon to the ground.
I intersect the demon's arm to its leg, and with my free hand pick a spear left by the killed soldiers earlier to use it to crucify the demon on the ground.[Fighting Skill Acquired]
[Capture Skill Acquired]
"Yay, something cool!" Yang cheered as the others laughed with her.
I look at the person who looks like a commander besides the cannon who's measuring the timing to shoot the cannon.I fix the demon with another spear and nodded there.The commander swing down his arm, at the same time, I jump off from the line of fire.The cannon shoots out buckshot and innumerable wounds appear on the demon's body. Moreover, as a final blow, a magic combo like earlier struck.
"Hm, I wonder if that's enough," Jaune muttered watching as things unfolded.
I wonder if the cannon can't shoot multiple rounds, it didn't finish the dying demon. The magicians probably don't have enough magic power either, only three people cast spells.I could end it if I run there with the sword but let's give the honor of ending the demon's life to those guys. Like I said earlier, this is not out of goodwill; even if the opponent is a demon, I don't like killing with my own hand. It's really stupid, but I'm from society unrelated to violence since a long time ago... Even though I eat meat and fish, I shirk on killing.
"Ugh, he's so naïve," Weiss muttered with a groan.
"It's like a huntsman saying they won't kill Grimm because they don't believe in killing," Ruby muttered in distaste. "If something is so obviously evil and bad than kill it!"
Putting that aside...The demon used the tattered hand freed from the stitch to lift up its body from the ground, raised a roar and destroyed the cannon with lightning magic. Is there no one who could use a barrier anymore?!Then the slightly late magicians use magic to shave the little of the demon's strength (HP).
Furthermore, the knights get off their horses and sidle up to the demon with their long swords ready....It'll end after the encircling completely, huh. Amen~
"This guy is so flippant about everything that I'm actually considering reading more just to find a scene where he gets the shit beaten out of him," Blake muttered with a frown.
The end can already be seen, but the demon hasn't given up yet.The hand which has been restrained by the knights is thrust into its own chest, pulling out a dark red heart. The pulled heart begins to pulse harder. Matching the violent movement, light overflow.The knights hurriedly try to destroy the heart, but they don't make it in time.With loud bursting sound, the heart breaks apart!
"A last-ditch suicide attack," Jaune muttered sadly.
"Satou could've saved them," Yang muttered angrily. "If he killed the demon then that wouldn't have happened."
"He'd rather let them die than kill a demon," Ruby whispered in horror
When the light subsided, several magicians who set up barriers have become corpses in a heap. Only the lower half remaining of the demon's dead body. The ground is gouged in a fan-shaped form following the demon's direction toward the castle gate, the gate itself has been partially destroyed.The demon's corpse falls apart and becomes black dust.I slip into the alley during the clamor and hide.Title [Combat-Ready] Acquired
Title [Skilled Warrior] Acquired
Title [One Who Dances With Demons] Acquired
Title [Hero] Acquired...I wonder if the last one is sarcasm.
"He got a hero title," Nora whispered in shock. "He half-assed the entire fight and even let those people die at the end because he didn't want to be the one to finish it off. And he still got a 'Hero' title…"
"How disgraceful," Pyrrha muttered in distaste as she crinkled her nose.
"Alright, shall we vote now?" Fox asked pulling up a whiteboard to tally the votes. "All those in favor of continuing to read this story?" Blake, Yang, and Ren raised their hands. "All those in favor of dropping this story?" Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Weiss raised their hands.
"Alright so with the watchers that makes twenty-four continue votes and twenty-three discontinue votes,"
"Blake why?" Weiss lamented as Yang and Blake shrugged their shoulders guiltily.
"I wanted to give this one more chance," Blake admitted simply. "I am surprised Yang voted with me though," She admitted glancing at her partner. "I thought you didn't like this story."
"I saw some pictures from the other volumes," Yang admitted with another shrug of her shoulders. "Some of the girls are adorable."
"When did you even?" Ruby asked in amazement.
"I followed Weiss-cream's lead and looked around for something to distract myself during the boring parts," Yang explained simply. "I just want to see the dog-girl and the cat-girl before I drop this."
Ren hummed slightly. "I'm more curious about the food that will be displayed in the story. If we could try them perhaps I could learn a new recipe."
"Ugh, if you didn't count the votes from those watcher people you mentioned we could've read something else as a group." Jaune moaned in disappointment.
"Sorry, but their opinions matter too." Fox apologized softly
"I may not like the decision, but majority rules." Pyrrha grimaced slightly hoping things would get better.
Nora just groaned and flopped onto her back "It better get better soon!" she howled lamely.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Just to clarify I wrote this all up before I closed the polls. If there had been two more no votes or two less yes votes this story would've been discontinued.
Anyways, so as things stand we will continue with RWBY reads Death March. I will bring up the "should we continue?" Poll near the end of volume 2 and we get to decide if we keep going then.