Interlude: Alone Against the Grimm
August 3rd
An Ursa charged through the woods of Anima towards a teenage girl. The girl swung her hand at the creature, and vines exploded from the underbrush to restrain the beast. The Grimm struggled against its bindings but was held back, its claws inches from the girl's face. She closed her fist, and the vines squeezed the life from the Ursa.
The girl lowered her hand, and the vines went slack. She looked around the forest for any signs of motion. She was surrounded by the corpses of a dozen Grimm, and those were just the ones that hadn't already dissolved.
Finding herself alone, the girl sighed and rested her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. She was far from inexperienced fighting Grimm; in fact she'd killed thousands over the past few years as she traveled across Anima. But it was getting more difficult with each battle. Every day there were more negative emotions attracting the monsters and fewer warriors of Mistral fighting against them. Among the last five villages the girl had visited, she had seen only two trained fighters.
"This can't go on much longer," she whispered to herself. Then she sighed. "At least I'm finished with these ones. Maybe I can finally get some rest."
Having finally caught her breath, the girl picked herself up and began walking to the west. She debated between setting up camp where she was and pressing on to the small village of Shion. Sunset was less than an hour away, so it was unlikely that she would make it before nightfall, or even before midnight. Even so, the thought of sleeping in a warm bed for the first time in weeks was tantalizing.
Torn between her immediate exhaustion and her desire for comfort, the girl decided to look for a vantage point from which she could see the path to Shion and then make her decision there. Continuing through the forest, she quickly came to the edge of a cliff, allowing her to see for miles.
Off in the distance, marching single-file through the forested terrain, the girl saw four Goliaths, each twice as high as the tree line. She saw Death Stalkers the size of houses clustered around the elephantine Grimm, and an enormous King Taijitu slithered beside them. At least a hundred Beowolves surrounded the larger creatures. Nevermore circled in the sky above them. All of the Grimm were heading south. Though it was out of sight from her perch, the girl knew that Shion lay in that direction, alone and defenseless.
The girl sank to her knees and began crying. She curled into a ball, letting her tears fall to the dirt beneath her.
"Grandmother," she sobbed. "I can't do it. I can't keep defending them when all they want to do is destroy themselves. I'm so tired. I'm all alone out here. It's too much."
The girl sat there and cried for a long time, trying to think of what her grandmother might say if she were here right now. Eventually, her thoughts turned to the stories she had been told as a young child.
The girl calmed her breathing and whispered to herself.
"The maiden retrieved a handful of seeds from her basket, and began to dig in the old man's garden. Working through the afternoon, she turned what was once a mere pile of dirt and manure into a beautiful garden, from which life would surely blossom. Her hard work had created something magnificent, and soon they all would benefit from her labor."
The girl stood and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she looked towards the Grimm framed by the setting sun, and leapt off the cliff.
She sped towards the ground far below, keeping her eyes trained on the monsters far away. As she fell past the tree line, a massive oak reached out and caught her. She landed smoothly on the branch, and as she pushed off it, the tree added its own force to the jump, hurtling her onwards.
As the girl soared through the air, she heard an immense creaking as the oak tree ripped itself out of the ground and followed her, crawling along on its roots and branches. Hundreds of feet further on, another tree reached out and helped her continue her flight, then tore itself from the earth to come with them.
As the girl finally fell to the ground, the land came up to meet her. It softened itself to cushion her fall, then rose up and carried her along in a massive wave of moving earth. Faster than a train, it brought her towards the Grimm as dozens more trees ripped themselves up to join her.
The girl carried no sword, spear, or gun. Anima was her weapon, and with it by her side she was armed and ready.
Her earthen transport finally reached the monsters, effortlessly crushing a dozen Beowolves in a second. The girl leapt upwards, bringing herself to eye level with the lead Goliath. A huge tree nearby twisted itself into the shape of an arm. She threw a punch and an enormous oaken fist hit the Grimm in the face, smashing through its mask of bone.
The girl landed in front of the Grimm's collapsing form, and quickly looked around. A Death Stalker charged towards her, but one of her bark-clad companions reached it before it could cover the distance. Roots wound around its legs and claws while branches wrestled with its stinger. After a moment's struggle, the monster was ripped in half.
The girl heard Beowolves charging behind her, but a gesture sent a giant of earth and wood crashing among them, pulping several with each swing of its oversized fists.
Then she heard a massive trumpeting sound and barely had time to react as a Goliath reared up and stomped down to crush her. She raised her hands and pillars of dirt rose to catch the massive foot.
Her aura wavered and her muscles screamed. Thousands of pounds of force threatened to crush her flat. The girl sank to her knees as the pillars she had conjured were gradually pushed back into the ground. The elementals around her slowed and weakened as the girl began to fear she might be killed. She tried to think of the young women she had met across Anima, considering who might be worthy to inherit her power.
Then the girl remembered the people of Shion, sitting defenseless in the path of this horde of Grimm. She knew that if she died, they would soon follow.
It can't end here. I can't keep winning forever, and I can't save everyone. But I can win today, and I can save THEM!
A war cry escaped her lips.
"I won't surrender!" screamed the maiden, her eyes burning with golden flame.
She thrust her arms to the side and the Goliath's foot was turned away from her. As the creature moved to regain its balance, a vine sprouted up to circle its neck. The massive Grimm was pulled to the ground, its knees buckling beneath it.
"I'll never stop fighting!" she cried, more to herself than the Grimm.
The maiden raised her fist, and a column of earth rose from the ground. Then she brought her arm down and the column smashed into the Goliath's head, crushing it flat.
"You can't break my resolve!"
The flock of Nevermore dove towards the maiden, talons reaching for her. She swiped her hand to the side, and leaves shot up from the ground and the trees. They spiraled into a tornado which cut the Grimm to ribbons.
"I know that I can't save everyone!"
The first Goliath was beginning to pick itself up, but with a wave of the maiden's hands, dozens of thick vines sprouted from the ground to bind it. They tightened sharply, and there was a tremendous snapping sound as the Grimm stopped struggling.
"I know that I can't make them change!"
A dozen more Beowolves charged towards the maiden. She flung her arms to the side and a wave of earth caught them in the flank. Those that weren't crushed completely were flung hundreds of feet in the air.
"But I'll do everything that I can!"
A Goliath swung its tusks back and forth, sweeping aside the trees that attacked it. The maiden stabbed her arm upwards and a fallen oak became a massive wooden spear which pierced the Grimm's stomach. As it reeled in pain, the other trees renewed their attack, tearing at the monster's flesh until it stopped moving.
"There will be peace!"
The King Taijitu grabbed an elemental in its mouth and hurled it away. The Grimm slithered rapidly forwards and reared up over the girl. She made a grasping motion and an enormous hand of dirt rose from the ground to mimic her. It grabbed the serpent's head and crushed it in an iron grip.
The final Goliath turned its head towards the maiden, seeing that all of its companions had been slain. The massive Grimm charged at her, trampling any elementals that got in its way.
The maiden knew that she no longer had the strength to kill a Goliath that size. She had pushed her powers too far and exhausted all of her energy. So she decided to take her power from another source.
"Until that day…"
The maiden focused on the trees around her. She drew upon the energy of the sun that each and every leaf collected. Her eyes and skin began to glow with a warm inner light.
"I'll save everyone that I can!"
She thrust her hands at the charging Grimm, and an enormous beam of light engulfed it. The blast impacted the creature's bony mask, and then grew until it dwarfed the elephantine monster. Brighter than the dawn and hotter than molten steel, the shining beacon could be seen for miles. The Goliath's skin blistered and its blood began to boil. It gave one final trumpet blast as its body dissolved into ash under the intensity of the light.
The maiden turned her eyes skyward, breathing deeply. As the last rays of daylight shone on her face, she could see the stars appearing in the sky. Her body burned from the strain of pushing her powers past their limits, but she felt more alive than she had in a long time.
The Spring Maiden screamed her defiance to the world, and the ground shook in answer to her cry.
Author's Note: This was something I had planned since the beginning. I hope it's as fun to read as it was to write.
Thank you all for reading, please leave a review.