Hey everyone. Really sorry for getting this out to you all so late. As some of you might have noticed, December is very near, which also means the end of another semester of college (blows paper birthday party horn). And since it's near the end of the semester, that means the school workload is significantly increased. This year isn't too bad, I have 2 papers to write as my finals, both of which require max 2-3 pages (really simple shit, but does take a bit of time) and an online quiz final (also pretty stupidly easy, but still pretty lengthy). Technically speaking, I can finish both papers in a night, which is what I'll try to do after posting this.

As for why it took so long specifically to post, most, if not all of you, know how much of an absolute lunatic I can be concerning certain matters. Before thanksgiving break I did practically a whole months worth of Homework and such a week before the short break and barely fit in time to write (Although to be honest, going home for the break, I got my hands on Middle Earth: Shadow of War and spent excessive amounts of time playing it since I thoroughly enjoyed the first game and more than love the second. So sorry not sorry). So on my way back home then back to college on a plane ride was all the time I could fit in to write (about 10 hours total). And I just finished it today.

So yeah, again, sorry (also not sorry for Shadow of War) for the wait, here's this weeks chapter. Enjoy.


Chapter 28: The Fallen King's Resolve

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Atlesian Knight 200's lay broken and shattered on the ground by the hundreds, their decimated bodies crackling with the last bits of power they had left before experiencing complete shutdown from the extensive damage they suffered. Raum removed his sword DarkSeeker from the massive body of a fully automated Atlesian Paladin, jumping off of its massive body as it's power core flickered briefly before completely fading away.

"Tch… Stupid machine puppets…" Raum whispered as he kicked away one of the heads of the AK 200's, "Can't catch us before, can't catch us now. Then again, these aren't the same humans as in Primordial…"

When humanity in Primordial was made fully aware of Dark Entities, they once again had to create tools in order to defend themselves from the Dark Forces as best they could. Luckily, with the help of Mages and Exorcists, humanity more or less stood a chance. That, and they had Dante and his allies.

Overtime, alternate forces came to light as well, those that were more or less on the side of good. Yōkai, Magical Creatures and Beings, they were one of many that were made known and had created peace between those of their Realms and and the Human Realm. And because of this, Humanity, Yōkai, and many other types of beings quickly began to coexist together peacefully.

But even with such a united front, the forces of Darkness were just as plentiful and many.

What seemed to be an endless struggle was abruptly halted, all through the efforts of one boy and his group of allies.

Raum had never suffered such a great defeat before then. Fighting against Dante as long as he did was by far the most irritating and most irking experience he had ever endured, more so than the time he was forced to cease his war against The Plane of Angels many millennia ago.

Now?

Not only had he made some sort of peace between himself and Dante, but a young wolf Faunus girl had come into his care, not willingly at first. To this day, he constantly ponders the thought of how a tiny insignificant child had managed to change him. She was no one special, and given that she was abandoned on the streets at such a very young age, she had no such thing as fortune, especially the abuse she suffered from passerby's that never had a friendly disposition towards those of the Faunus persuasion.

Until she met her quote unquote savior.

But by no means was Raum going to be compared to a certain bearded man in sandals he met at least two millennia ago that created fish and bread from thin air. That was by far the most confusing, profound, and slightly entertaining experience he had ever witnessed.

Raum was a bit disappointed in the way he went, expecting many other methods instead of what he saw.

That was then, this was now.

Finding a slightly intact Atlesian Paladin, Raum ripped open the cockpit with one hand, finding the seat inside fairly comfortable as he sat in it and swung his legs up on the dash to rest them.

"Hey." He said tugging down on the hood of his black leather coat.

No response.

"Hey!"

This time he felt some stirring within his large hood, hearing a tiny, groggy groan. Soon after, a small, fluffy black wolf tail freed itself from the inner confines of his hood, lightly whipping about against his chest.

"I will eat the applesauce if you don't wake up."

At that moment, his hood had completely flipped down, as the young wolf Faunus girl forced herself up and used her tiny hands to push the hood down completely, eagerly looking about in soft hums.

"Here." Said the Dark Entity raising up a packet that had a nodule to drink from.

Irene immediately snatched the packet and and worked hard to unscrew the top cap so that she could dive into her quote unquote breakfast. Raum had formed a bowl of black and green Aura in his hand, then snapped his fingers as a large black chest appeared next to him in a small, fiery burst of his Aura. Searching the chest, he found a paper packet of brown sugar oatmeal and poured it into his bowl, pouring in water from a water bottle soon after. His hand radiated with intense heat for a few moments as his bowl steamed slightly, his oatmeal now ready to eat as he formed a spoon of his black and green Aura to eat.

Hunger and thirst was not as...apparent with him as it was with Irene. Normally, he would eat gladly, but as of late he had no real appetite. Not since…

He let out a sigh as he looked up to the cloudy sky, not able to see a single ray of light before his gaze shifted to a happy Irene, busy devouring the applesauce within her drinkable packet.

A group of low toned growls sounded from a short distance away, forcing the duo to look in the direction of the growls and find a small pack of Beowolves and Ursi slowly approaching them across the battlefield of broken machines.

"Meh… They just don't know when to call it quits…"

Raum moved to get up, but Irene surprisingly jumped down from his shoulders onto his lap, and quickly took a few steps forward with her small legs.

"H-Hey, what are you-?!"

Now standing on the hull facing the Grimm, little Irene raised her hands in the air and shouted in her tiny voice "Rawrrrrr!"

Raum looked to Irene, then looked back to the pack of Grimm, noticing them whimper in fear before running off into the forest with fearful howls following behind them.

The Dark Entity looked on in a small form of bewilderment. It's not that it hasn't happened before, he just didn't know why it kept happening. Whenever Irene stood her ground and growled "roared" at them, they all tucked tail and ran. She even did the same with a pack of Nevermores, who when they saw and heard her, flew off fearfully in the opposite direction.

How did one child hold so much power over Grimm? Rather, why were they far more afraid of her rather her being afraid of them? It was...profound…

"I don't know how you keep doing that… But keep doing it. Less work for me in the end."

A smile formed on Irene's cute little face as she nodded with two affirmative "hmphs". Instead of going back to eating his oatmeal, Raum leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest for a while. That was until he felt small hands patting his stomach.

"Need something?" He asked looking down at the small child.

She simply shook her head, and raised the bowl of brown sugar oatmeal to Raum, as if asking him to eat some more.

"No thanks. Not really that hungry. That, and I ate more than enough for the day. You can have the rest.

The young Faunus' wolf ears perked up with excitement, but soon folded against her head as she shook it once more, pressing the matter that he should eat more.

"It's alright. I did make enough for you you know."

Even with that fact in mind, Irene simply placed the bowl down in Raum's lap and crossed her arms, letting out a "hmph" as she looked away.

The Dark Entity rolled his eyes and let out a sigh as he formed another spoon from his Aura and got a scoop of the oatmeal.

"Hurry up and eat. We've got a ways to go if we're going to make it to the tower today."

He'd rather be elsewhere at the moment. In fact, he would have liked to see-

No, the task came first. If he left to go do what he wanted, it wouldn't take long for the brat and his fox to come find him. Not to mention, if any of them figured out why he wanted to leave...he'd be more embarrassed than the time they all found out he was caring for Irene.

The immortal brat would never stop poking fun at him.

Hearing a tiny giggle, Raum looked down to see Irene smiling at him coyly, hiding her mouth behind her hand as she gave him a sly glance.

"What are you laughing at you little cretin?" He replied as he playfully pinched her nose between his fingers as the young girl struggled to break free.

Eventually, she bit into his hand playfully as he raised her up in the air to dangle, her wolf tail whipping about happily until she let go and plopped back down on his lap.

"You eat the rest. Wake me when you're done."

Irene gave him an affirmative "hmph" and nod before returning to her bowl of oatmeal, allowing Raum to finally take his rest again as he looked up to the cloudy sky once more before closing his eyes.

How much longer I wonder… Until I can…


The road before them had been fairly simply and without much trouble. The fact that there were no wanderers was a bit disturbing for Raum. Then again, he reminded himself that he wasn't in ancient times anymore, nor on the same World. The people of Remnant usually stayed in their villages or kingdoms, or took the skies with their flying machines to avoid the Grimm on the ground beneath them.

Even if they could escape the claws and fangs of the Grimm below, there were still a few that could take to the skies, like Nevermores, Griffons, and the like. There were even wasp-like Grimm that proved to be a massive nuisance.

But they were in the clear for now, allowing Raum to let his hood down so that Irene could take in the sights around her. It was amusing to hear her sounds of amazement and awe whenever they passed by a sight.

However, Irene's ears soon perked up as she let out a silent gasp, cowering behind Raum's head given that the fluffiness of his slightly spiked black hair hid her near perfectly.

"What's wrong with you?"

As soon as he asked this, he soon felt a presence at the edge of his senses, and when looking ahead, he could see someone in the distance walking towards them. He wore a black cloak, and had messy chin length black hair. He couldn't see the man's eyes, for they were narrowed to slits practically as he continued walking down the road with a smile on his face. Raum kept calm and continued walking forward unhindered, despite how tightly Irene held on to him and whimpered.

It wasn't long until they were in close proximity to one another, the man before Raum halting himself as his head moved in his direction, forcing the Dark Entity to a halt as well.

"Pardon me, but does there happen to be a village down the way you came? I'm running rather low on supplies you see, and would like to restock before I continue any further."

Raum was about to answer, but he saw the man drop his smile as he tilted his head in curiosity, eyeing Irene that sat behind Raum on his shoulders.

"Hang on a moment… Are you..?"

From the corner of his eyes, Raum saw the man and Irene staring at each other, but the man had a more curious expression about him compared to Irene at the moment.

"Never mind. She happened to look like a child I knew sometime ago. Now then, is there a village nearby?"

The Dark Entity could feel Irene's grasp grow tighter, thus forcing him to quickly act.

"There won't be a village for some time unless you're heading towards Mistral. If you feel like making a long trek, there is one further down the way, about a day's walk." Raum pointed behind him.

"I see… Should I be wary of any Grimm along the way?"

"No, I've dealt with most of them on my way here. Should be safe for some time."

"Wow! That's very impressive! You wouldn't happen to be a Huntsmen now, would you?"

"Sorry, but I'm no such thing. I'm just a traveler with a child in tow."

The man laughed amusedly for a moment.

"I see, I see… Well then mr. Traveler, may you and your child reach your destination safely. Bye-bye now!" He said with a small wave as he walked off in the direction Raum came from.

Even now with the large distance between them, Irene looked back fearfully at the stranger as he continued walking, and he looked back at her. The only thing he gave the young Faunus girl was a smile and a wave, and turned back to his path.

"Hey." Raum said catching Irene's attention, "You growl at Grimm twenty times your size, they tuck tail, and run. Then you lose your composure when seeing a human?"

Irene quickly shook her head, then raised a hand to her chin to to try to figure out how to relay what she wanted to say to her caretaker. She then began waving her arms up and down like a winged creature, giving the Dark Entity his first clue along with the second as she let out her usual, tiny roar numerous times, followed by blowing air and motioning her hands to look like…

"Fire..? What, like a dragon?"

She nodded her head rapidly, clearly glad her guardian understood what she was trying to say.

"Right, as scary as a dragon… I'm surprised you could even tell. I knew that guy was weird, but I never would have guessed he was dangerous or anything. To me at least."

Irene seemed as though she wanted to add something else, but she stopped midway, as if she thought about it for a moment, then plopped her head atop Raum's Head as they continued on their way.

Their Tower was close.


The mechanical army set before Raum's path lay in ruins, their bodies crackling with the last bits of energy they had left in their reserves before fading away. The Dark Entity removed his blackened sword from the body of the last machine unit he destroyed, looking upon the white tower that had circuit-like patterns running up it from all sides as they brimmed with black energy, slowly traveling through the circuit paths all the way to the top until they emerged from the ground floor again, repeating this same pattern continuously.

Now that Raum was closer, he could feel something within the tower. It...seemingly resonated with him…

He could feel the grasp of Irene's tiny hands on the top of his grow tighter with nervousness, but it wasn't like before. If anything, she was less nervous and only slightly concerned.

Still, to be able to perceive the presence of things at such a young age… She had to be something special. Especially considering she could scare off Grimm just by mewling at them. But he never saw her scared after their first meeting before today.

Now? She was a little bit intimidated. Though to be honest, Raum himself felt slightly intimidated by what he was feeling from inside the tower.

Intimidation… It has been a very long time since Raum felt such a thing.

An overwhelming presence swept through the area, the air around Raum shuddering and quaking violently as his head quickly scanned his surroundings all around him, trying to find the source of the immense Aura Signature.

It wasn't until a moment later he felt himself pushed forward a bit, a tingling sensation present near his abdomen, causing him to look down and see a bone white spear point jutting out from his body. But he was least concerned with his well being and more concerned about the fact that he couldn't feel Irene's small weight on his shoulders anymore.

"Papa!"

His eyes quickly darted up towards the sky near the tower, watching as a figure with large, black, feathery wings rushed up the side of the tower towards the top, Irene in his hand and reaching out to Raum below.

He meant to leap up after them, but immediately spun around and brought forth his sword DarkSeeker from his black and dark green Aura, swinging at the incoming spines of earth before raising up his weapon to block his body from the massive fist that crashed into him, sending him flying into one of the cliffs surrounding the forest nearby.

When he regained his senses seconds later, he saw another, much more immense figure scale the tower effortlessly after his winged ally, disappearing from view with Irene.

"Bastards!"

Raum lunged forwards towards the base of the tower, his Aura coating his weapon in in an explosive burst of jagged energy as he swung with all his might. But the area he intended to strike with a concentrated blast of black energy, completely negating the shock of his attack as his Aura dissipated from his blade.

Taking a few steps back, Raum meant to strike again, but halted himself when he realized it would do him no good. The tower negated both the physical aspect of his attack as well as his Aura. He could be out here all day and take shots at the tower, but it wouldn't be dented in the slightest.

"Damn them…" he said in a low growl, trying to understand what to do next.

As if by some form of luck, or by the sheer tenacity to sneer at his rage, the large double doors near the base of the massive white tower opened up, revealing a small, cramped room inside, an elevator of sorts.

He was cautious to step in it at first, but if they went to the extent as to take away Irene, then open up the tower to him to traverse it all the way till he reached the top, it was required of him to step inside.

Clenching his fists tightly and gritting his teeth, Raum effortlessly and almost painlessly removed the spike in his lower abdomen and crushed it in his hands as he quickly walked forwards inside the elevator, black and dark green Aura crackling around his wounds as they closed them almost immediately.

When inside, the doors behind Raum closed, and he felt his weight shift upwards for a moment as the elevator quickly took him upwards. As if to mock him, some form of diabolical music played through the box, annoying the Dark Entity even further until he stomped on the floor with his foot, unleashing a large torrent of his dark Aura that seeped into the floor. The elevator soon quickly sped up faster than it was traveling, Raum heating the cracking of metal outside as the light inside began to flicker until it faded.

At his destination, behind the elevator doors, a large crash sounded as smoke stepped through the doors, alerting the AK 200 units and Paladins inside to focus on the door. A small "ding" noise sounded as black smoke billowed from within the elevator, Raum stepping out from the smoke as he glanced furiously at the mechanized Units.

Before he moved further, he looked around his surroundings, understanding this wasn't by far the top of the tower where those two mongrels took her. Instead, he now found himself in a seemingly vast space, must vaster than the proportions of what the tower gave from the outside. But it wasn't the space that was strange. The entirety of what filled it resembled a city of sorts, where every single structure, building, road and object was colored white and brimming with the same circuit patterns in some, but not all, locations, black energy traveling back and forth along the paths.

It all looked like a fake copy of a city, like something someone feverishly put together and created for the simple joy of it. But that was the least of Raum's concerns at the moment. After looking around extensively, he found what he was looking for in the form of a white, tube like structure that lead further up. With how far away it was, and with the current mechanized troops in his way, it would be very difficult to arrive there quickly like he intended.

He would arrive there within a minute instead.

Wasting no time, Raum leapt up into the air to avoid the gunfire he suddenly found himself subjected to, extending his sword into its spear form before letting go of it to hover in the air before him. After spreading out his arms, in a quick burst of black and dark green Aura, his blackened spear multiplied to ten spears, which when finished multiplying, the Dark Entity forcefully thrusted his hand towards the the units below, his spears diving like bombs through the air, tearing through the waves of androids with destructive abandon.

With his spears leading the charge, Raum found his way to the ground and recalled the original to his right hand, allowing him to effortlessly mop up any and all stragglers unfortunate enough to be in his path.

But something was strange about these machine units.

They...seemingly had voices to them…

Raum initially ignored them, but the overlapping death cries of each AK 200 and Paladin he slew reminded him much of the battlefields of old he partook of.

Their cries… They sounded so real… Almost as real as any other person…

He no time nor the desire to understand the meaning behind it all. He had to save Irene. As far as he was concerned, anything within his path was an enemy, waiting to be crushed by his hand.

And so the Dark Entity continued skewering and slashing apart the machines as he made his way to the tall structure that reached into the sky of the space above, ignoring their cries as he rushed past them and continued slaughtering them.


The elevator doors opened up again, and out stepped a bloodied and tattered Raum, parts of his clothes riddled with bullet holes, burn marks and slash marks. His wounds had still healed, but he didn't take the time to mend his clothes or clean himself of his blood and the blackened substance found within the numerous androids he slew.

The Dark Entity tossed aside the mechanized body he kneed in the face when slipping inside the elevator, stopping a moment to look around him once more.

The area he was in much resembled the one below, a fake city created from this white material that brimmed with circuit like patterns, subtle black glows traveling along the paths that had the patterns.

"What the hell is this place..?" Raum wondered as he quickly walked through the "streets".

Why did someone go through the effort to create a replica of a city? And why kidnap Irene? Did they figure out he was here to potentially destroy this place and kidnap her because of this? Just as importantly…

Why did the black energy flowing through the circuit paths mimic the properties of Darkness Essence?

Eventually, Raum found himself standing in a wide open space, something he thought resembled a city center crosswalk that lead in numerous alternate directions through the "fake city".

"Man… We thought you were a pushover or something, but it looks as though we were wrong about you."

Raum's dreadful gaze moved to one the buildings overlooking him from above, eyeing a figure sitting atop the roof. He wore a long sleeved black shirt and black pants, had black hair and red eyes that almost flowed, and behind him...were large, black feather wings.

"Where's the girl?!" Shouted Raum.

"Eh~? Where I wonder..?" The winged man cheekily replied.

A massive beam of black and dark green Aura rushed forward towards the winged man as he let out a fake gasp, easily dodging out of the beam's path and remaining suspended in the air by his wings.

Raum made to point at the man and fire off another shot, but instead stood still, completely motionless when he saw the man in his line of sight.

"Hahahahahahaha! A wise decision!"

Behind the winged man, lodged into the windowsill, was a white cage of the same material as the rest of the fake city, and in it, sat an unconscious Irene.

"Had you gone ahead and attacked, surely you would have hit her rather than me. And I know you wouldn't have that happening anytime soon."

The man's wings flapped in Raum's direction briefly, unleashing a hail of razor sharp feathers, few of them passing by the Dark Entity as he turned to shield his head and face. Few of the feathers pierced his body before he let out an outward shockwave of his Aura to dislodge them, allowing them to clatter to the floor loudly as he growled and looked up at the winged man.

Before he could say another word, Raum spun to his side and blocked the harsh impact of a shoulder charge from a massive body, the force too great to keep him standing and instead sent him flying a few feet until his feet found the ground once more.

Looking up at the new arrival, he saw that he too had a human form, but was significantly taller, about ten feet tall, and much much more bulky and muscular. The other difference between the two was that this larger man had long horns on his head resembling a bull, or rather, a Minotaur. He too had red eyes and black hair, only it was shorter and spikier.

"Took your time Brígo. What would have you done if he actually did kill me?"

"I couldn't care less if he did, Râk." The Minotaur man spoke, "If he did kill you, I wouldn't have to listen to your annoying voice any more."

"Aw, now that's just mean…"

Raum cautiously re-stanced himself and glanced at the two as they continued their conversation. They most certainly weren't human, but they weren't Faunus either. Their Aura signatures were too...dark, too sinister. They weren't natural in the slightest, and to make matters worse, their combined Aura Signatures were as strong as Raum's.

For the moment.

"Oh, where are our manners? We have a guest you know…"

"Hmph… He doesn't even look all that tough. He's almost as scrawny as you."

"Now now Brígo, you can't compare sizes with everyone all too easily. I mean, you're a giant compared to most."

"I don't give a damn who any of you are or how big you are." Raum said raising his voice as he pointed to them, "Give me back the girl. Or I'll obliterate you out of Existence."

"Heh… Look at you talking big… All bark and no-"

Raum appeared behind Brígo in a flash of his black and dark green Aura, which sounded similar to a small burst of static, and swung full force at the back of his neck, creating a large dust cloud that obscured the Dark Entity's vision. Before he could pull back, a massive hand reached out and grabbed him by the leg, tossing him away into a building nearby, forcing him through it entirely.

The smoke cleared from around Brígo as he removed his hand from his neck, revealing a small cut on it as he chuckled briefly.

"Not bad for an ant. You managed to knick me a little. Not to mention you actually survived being thrown by me. I'm actually impressed."

Raum emerged from the building side, growling as blood dripped from his head.

I'm not this weak… What's going on here? None of them are sapping my Aura, otherwise I would've noticed early on and would have set up a ward around my body…

"Looks like you figured it out… See, we've been watching you for the past few days and we thought to ourselves 'Zowy! He looks very dangerous!'. So while you were on your way up, Brígo and and I set up an area-wide weakening effect that only afflicts others besides ourselves. And to make matters worse for you, it stays up for as long as we have Aura or until one of us dies."

Raum smiled at that statement.

"So...if I kill one of you, the effect weakens, right?"

"Logically speaking, yes. But with my ranged advantage, and Brígo's tough hide, you don't quite stand a chance, friend."

"You think so, huh..?" Raum stated as he plunged his sword into the ground.

Long had he held back the undesirable side of himself, mainly for the sake of the one he protected. But now was the time he had to bring forth that side of him. Too much was at stake to follow guidelines the immortal brat had laid out for him.

He was going to annihilate the two of them.

Black and dark green Aura flooded the room, darkening the whole of the fake city of white as if it suddenly cut to nighttime.

The shadowy Aura unraveled like large vines with thorns from the area where Raum was completely obscured, revealing his new form.

His body was completely covered by a shadowy second skin that billowed wisps of black smoke, glowing dark green patterns resembling thorn-vines adorned his arms, legs, chest, and neck, his maw of jagged, sharp teeth a part of his shadowy flesh, the inside of his mouth glowing like the patterns surrounding his body.

His eyes were clawed out gaps with sharp, pointed edges completely surrounding the outer sides of both hollowed out eyes, each glowing with the same dark green energy. Lastly were the numerous black horns surrounding the top of his each horn no bigger than an index finger until it reached the front three horns, the two side horns noticeably larger than the other horns. They were glued to the large horn in the center of his forehead which was the longest compared to the rest by at least a foot long.

His menacing gaze met his two attackers, his voice greeting them with a hollow, echoing exhale of breath that was visible from the now cold environment.

"Well now, haven't seen that before… Make sure to crush him this time Brígo."

"Don't need to tell me that…" the burly man spoke as he quickly walked over to Raum's position, the Dark Entity walking just as quickly as he left his sword behind him.

The two warriors dashed at each other full speed, Brígo certain he could crush Raum in one blow.

The horned man did not know any better.

Their fists connected with one another, and Brígo laughed triumphantly as he was sure that he crushed Raum. But when he shifted his head to the side, there the Dark Entity stood, unharmed and quickly overpowering the Minotaur-man. With a short roar, Raum pushed his fist upwards and broke the momentary clash between the two, slightly raising both into the air. The Dark Entity quickly landed on the ground, reared back his leg and swiftly and powerfully swung his leg up into his opponent's groin, hearing a loud cry of pain as his opponent flew through the air, his scream dying out the further he traveled.

Dark green chains formed around Raum's right arm and forearm, which connected all the way back to his sword DarkSeeker, allowing him to bring the weapon back to him in one powerful pull. The base blade of the sword remained the same, but the handle cracked with energy as it extended into a pole, making the sword now a spear.

With a swift and fluid throw, the speared traveled through the air with laser-like precision, soon making contact with the stomach of the humanoid creature he sent flying. With his chains still present, the Dark Entity tugged on them harshly to bring his opponent crashing back down into the earth, then proceeded to swing him around like a toy, the man's body crashing through a wide array of buildings and structures until he was finally raised into the air yet again before promptly being smeared into the floor.

Raum gave pause to his onslaught for a brief moment, and attempted to recall his chained weapon, only to find himself unable to.

Something was pulling back.

Soon after, black and earthy colored Aura burst forth from the area Raum slung his enemy into, the violent burst of Aura growing larger and larger until it reached to about twenty feet. It was in that mass he could see his chain deep within, rising upwards with the Aura at its center point.

The Aura quickly flung itself outwards like water crashing against a rock, revealing the new figure of the Minotaur-man.

"Bûreal Requiem (Blackened Awakening)..!" sounded a deep, booming voice that echoed throughout the fake city.

The twenty foot tall figure was none other than Raum's opponent Brígo, who now more or less resembled the form of what his horns represented. His legs were now hooved, hind legs that were covered in grayish fur, his entire upper torso now a blackened, muscular hide. White, vicious bone playing covered the entirety of his colossal arms, each retaining red marks and patterns. His head now full resembled that of a bull's, only it was completely covered in bone plating that retained similar wavy red marks. The hollowed out sections glowed with crimson red energy, similar to that of a Grimm's.

"Look upon my form and despair…" Brígo's voice falling heavy on the air, "It's as we told you from the start… You were completely outmatched the moment you stepped into this tower!"

His massive armored hand grabbed hold of the chain link from the spear embedded in his abdomen, and pulled, only for Raum to resist by digging his feet into the ground and pulling back just as hard.

But it was for naught.

Brígo soon tugged more forcefully, and this time easily pulled the Dark Entity towards him, giving him no time to recover as his smaller body crashed into the Minotaur's massive fist, embedding Raum into the floor beneath him.

The Grimm-like Minotaur then removed DarkSeeker from his body by its chain link and tossed it away like a scrap of paper, soon raising his fist high above him before letting out a bellowing roar and crushing his colossal fist into Raum on the ground, burying him deeper within the floor alongside the crater that formed.

Brígo was unrelenting with his brutality, quickly and repeatedly smashing his fists into Raum as his laugh echoed loudly through the city. Deep within the ground up earth, the Dark Entity continuously felt the ferocity of his opponent's fists, the dark green energy from the parts of his body that glowed growing dimmer with each hit until it completely faded to black.

"I put far too much effort into smearing you into nothing… To compensate for this along with your life…I will eat the girl too to sate my appetite…" he said between punches.

"You may as well Brígo. She's absolutely useless to us after all. We only needed her to draw him into the tower. So you've got my go ahead." Râk spoke as he winced after an especially vicious punch.

The winged man turned his head to the cage next to him after hearing a tiny groan, looking to see the small wolf Faunus child within awakening from the violent quaking below them.

"Ah, you're up! Wonderful!"

The little girl gazed at him with a startled expression, Râk only shooting back a menacing smile as he pointed to his ally below.

"See that? Your little friend there is getting crushed by my partner as we speak." He spoke, Irene's head turning panickedly to the crater, "I'd be surprised if he were still alive after sooooo many hits."

"Papa!" She shouted, her voice barely able to fill the air of violently crushed stone.

"Oh, so he's your father is he? That makes this so much better then!"

"Papa!"

"It's no use little one. He's pretty much dead since his Aura Signature's faded. Brígo's just working out his frustration."

Irene didn't want to believe what she was hearing. She very much wanted Raum to be alive. She was hoping in her tiny heart that he was.

Which is why it didn't hurt to try again.

"PAPA!" she screamed as her voice rang out.


When did I get so weak?

I had just about everything I needed and wanted. The only thing that ever really mattered...was power. The power to crush, slice, and dominate my foes. The power to always stand at the top, like a king should. I had that power...and then I lost it.

That brat screwed everything up for me. He's the reason I got here in the first place. He's the reason why I'm as weak as I am now because he killed me. But…

He's also the reason that I discovered something new within me. Something I never would have imagined that I possessed in any lifetime. If he wasn't the reason why I was stuck here…

I never would have met the little one. And...I'd still very likely have stayed the same.

Even with a new reason to continue onward on this new path...I was still weaker than I used to be.

Where did all of that power I had go? Why did it leave me?

I never really had an answer. Until now. Thinking back to it, the answer was quite simple.

I lost confidence in myself.

Fighting the brat is the first time I ever, truly...experienced defeat. For once, I could understand the feelings of all those before me that I fought and won against. Losing...damaged my mentality.

It made me feel inferior.

There was never a time where I couldn't help but compare myself to him. And each time...I found myself lacking and inferior to him in many, many ways.

If I was so inferior by comparison...then what was the point of me getting stronger? Why should I have strove to be at the top when there came along one who would always surpass those around him for the sake of his own goals?

It was a futile effort.

But these past few months have given me new reason to continue fighting. I just...never realize it completely until now. I never utilized it to the core of my very being as a reason to continue moving forward.

She was the main reason for a while...but...meeting you soon became a part of my reason.

I have things I want to protect and cherish now. Whenever, wherever, and however I could.

So I will continue to seek power. I will continue to crush, slice and dominate my foes.

I..! I am..!

I AM THE KING!


"Sweet suffering gods Brígo, give it a rest already. He's probably nothing but a pretty red stain at this point."

The colossal Minotaur gave pause to his unrelenting onslaught of earth shattering punches, standing up straight to glance at his companion. Both had seemed ready to leave.

But little did they know...this would not happen.

The air began to rupture and quake with such violent intensity that the white earth within the area began to crumble slowly from the sheer pressure of the immense force flooding the area.

"W-What the hell?! He's still alive after all that?! Tch… Brígo!"

Without saying another word, the colossal Grimm-like Minotaur turned back to the cracked crater and raised up his fist only to lower it as quickly. The resulting attack created an immense shock wave that kicked up an immense amount of dust and smoke, obscuring the lowest parts of the streets.

Râk watched from above in anticipation, wondering if it was time to resort to his first alternate option.

Irene looked on with renewed hope in her eyes, ears perked up as she let out a silent hum.

Black and dark green Aura once again flooded the streets, only now, with a much more sinister presence. The violent flow of Aura brought forth an immense chill in the air, and within the Aura itself were silent, echoing, demonic screeches.

A figure came into view as the smoke cleared, a single hand in place, or rather, the figure's index finger, that blocked the immense fist.

The figure was clad in black plated armor that took on a twisted, jagged shape, numerous parts of the armors edges sharp and pointed, the points like those of a thorn's. Small shoulder guards covered the figure's shoulders, the outer edges of each shoulder guard featuring three prominent spikes that curved inwards at a ninety degree angle towards the figure. The arms were equally plated in twisted black armor, the knuckle-guards shaped like small, jagged thorns. The armor around the top of the fingers were the only plated parts, the tips of the fingers like demonic claws.

The palms were covered in greyish material that resembled muscle fibers, the same being said for any visible gaps in the armor. Around the figure's waist was a sort of grey, tattered waist-cape that featured thorn-vine patterns that were colored black, the cloth only covering the rear and the back of the legs up to the center of the calves. There were two more strands of the waist-cloth, which were significantly less wider, about as wide as the average adult's arm, each one covering both the left and right sides of the waist and legs, reaching only to about the knees.

The figure wore a thin armor plated mask-helmet of sorts that covered the entire head. The front part of the mask-helmet seemed to be a formation of long twisted spikes shaped like diamonds, where from the chin to the cheeks the formation took on a long triangular shape. It wasn't until near the forehead section that the spikes began to branch out more and were slicked backwards, almost resembling a mishappen and contorted crown of sorts. Two hollowed out eye-gaps were present, the gaps long and sharp, and the edges all around the sockets resembling jagged thorns.

Lastly, the underside of the arms featured black arm-blades of sorts, where the hilts resembled demonic skull-like faces with slicked back horns and opened maws of vicious, sharp teeth from whence the actual blades emerged. The eye sockets featured dark green glows. The blades themselves were wide and double edged, spanning the entirety of the figure's forearm up to his wrists, and were curved only by a slight amount, the sharp edge of the curve featuring viciously sharp, hook-like edges. The center of the blades featured thorn-vine patterns that glowed a vibrant dark green.

"Impossible! You were dead!" Brígo's voice echoed throughout the surrounding area.

"Not quite…"

There Raum, one of the Four Dark Entity Kings stood in his Dark Entity form, completely reformed and made anew.

The eyes gaps soon revealed a pair of black sclerae with irises that glowed brightly like shining emeralds, the pupils black slits like that of a reptile.

Raum extended his free right hand, the arm-blade on the underside of his right arm shifting instantly to his hand as a handle of coiled together metal strips formed together as the handle, where at the end of the handle remained a black chain, each chain link featuring numerous serrated edges that resembled thorns.

With weapon in hand, the Dark Entity quickly reared back his arm and straight tossed his weapon at Brígo's massive head, the blade burying itself deep in the forehead of the Minotaur mask that had Grimm-like resemblance. With a single, forceful pull, the head of Raum's opponent was forced towards the earth, and just as quickly meet Raum's armored fist, the thorn-like spikes on his knuckles instantly breaking through the bone or the mask and sinking deep within the head beneath, forcing the colossal man to reel backwards a considerable distance and crash into a building behind him.

The building alone was able to cushion his backwards fall, keeping him on his feet, but when he looked below, he could see Raum dashing at him quickly. Fed up with the breathing Dark Entity, Brígo grabbed hold of building as large and wide as himself, and quickly uprooted the structure from the ground, slinging over his shoulder before he took a single step forward and stabbed it into the earth where Raum was supposed to be.

Smoke and dust yet again filled the air, but it wasn't long before Raum darted out from behind them, now running up the diagonally planted building. When he reached the area near the top, the Dark Entity leapt high up into the air a good fifty feet, then extended his left hand as the arm blade shifted into his palm and formed the handle, Raum now wielding two vicious shortswords with chain links. Rearing back both arms, Raum straight-tossed both of his chained weapons into the buildings side, then forcefully pulled himself downwards with intense speed, granting him enough momentum as the soles of his armored feet brimmed with jagged black and dark green Aura.

Like a comet from the deep confines of space, Raum crashed feet first into the buildings side in a low squat, whilst simultaneously reinforcing the entire structure, then kicked off it with a force strong it sent out a massive shockwave throughout the area. Brígo was too late to remove himself from under the structure as it now toppled him, forcing him with his back to ground as the building crushed his entire body up to his neck.

He let out a pained roar as the rest of the building pinned him, his roars soon sounding with intense, animalistic roars filled with rage.

When Brígo looked to the building, he could see that the armored Raum stood atop the edge of his snout, glancing at him with a menacing, piercing stare that reached the depths of whatever it was the Minotaur-man consider as a soul.

His roars now grew more fearful.

Raum let out a small, disappointed "Hmph" as he raised both short blades up and straight-tossed them deep into Brígo's large eyes, the blades so deep that they were no longer visible, only the chains were visible. The Dark Entity leapt off his "perch" and landed a good distance away from his opponent's head, and when he grasped his chains, he harshly pulled on the chains once despite his enemy's cries of pain. He pulled twice, then thrice, and with a final fourth pull...Brígo's head was cleanly torn off.

An ocean of black blood erupted from the neck stump, staining the pure white streets of the fake city in the area pitch black.

Raum then spun around once and slung away his decapitated enemy's head in the distance, his arm-blades retracting to the undersides of the Dark Entity's arms.


Brígo's head, now reverted to its normal size and shape, landed at Râk's feet, his crimson eyes setting upon it as his now regular size body flew in soon after.

When he looked up, Raum had appeared from nowhere, his new Dark Entity form still active as his Shadowy Eyes met with his attacker's.

"Well, you did warn us. I'm thoroughly impressed actually. Not too many could overcome Brígo normally. His skin is way too tough for gunfire or blades. But to use his Bûreal Requiem on you and to perish? It's honestly quite surprising..."

The Dark Entity have no response and only kept his piercing gaze on the winged man.

"Hmmm, I don't suppose I can just leave, right?"

His fists clenched tightly, just about ready to pounce after his next target.

"I figured as much."

Râk stretched his hand out to his side as a large mass of sinewy tendrils three times his size began to form around his hand, its appearance resembling something of a demonic pair of sinewy jaws, which when fully formed and dripping with viscous black liquid, screeched in a high pitch tone as it writhed around in the air.

"Devour…"

The jaws snapped to the direction of Brígo's body and head, extending outwards to the corpse and head to snatch it up and chomp them in one go, swallowing said body parts as the mass soon vanished back into Râk's arm.

His body brimmed with blackened Aura, his body growing larger and much more muscular as the same bone white horns Brígo had formed on the sides of his head.

"Bûreal Requiem!"

The mass of black Aura surrounding Râk collapsed in on him, consuming his entire body in a brilliant blaze of black that soon dissipated seconds later.

Râk's wings had grown much larger, about four times his size, his black feathers seemingly shining like perfectly sharpened blades. His blackened legs were now like hind legs, his feet blackened talons like that of a Griffon as the rest of his body was blackened. His hands up to his forearms was covered in white boneplate material that was covered in red markings. His head was shaped more like a bird now, resembling a Griffon type Grimm now, and the boneplate mask he now wore resembled a mixture of the Griffon Grimm mask, only, it now had the addition of the Minotaur horns from Brígo.

"Can you feel it..? My power...has increased!" He spoke in a deeper, distorted voice as black Aura burst forth in short stream of violent energy.

Raum continued standing where he was, unshaken by what he saw.

"You must be wondering how exactly this is possible… I'll tell you… People like Brígo and I have the ability to devour living organisms around us with that mass of black we summon to our arms. We can Devour anything from humans, to Faunus, to Grimm, and even others of our own kind. By performing an immediate Devour such as I did, we can gain the intrinsic properties and power that made up the devoured lifeform. For instance, I gained Brígo's strength, steel-hardened skin, and bits of his appearance. But that's not all… Devouring Brígo added his total sum power to my own, vastly improving it by large margins!"

Raum was taking in the information, but he cared little for the explanation. He was simply being polite and letting him finish before he would slaughter him.

"Unfortunately, the massive gain of power does not last long, three hours at most. After the three hour period, I retain only a fourth of Brígo's total amount of power. In any case, I still become stronger either way. It's like we told you from the start… The minute you stepped in here was the minute your fate was decided!"

"You done?" Raum spoke in his hollow, echoing voice.

Râk seemed surprised. There was no hesitation in Raum's voice or gestures, no signs of fear whatsoever.

Was he that confident that he would be able to kill him?

"Hehehehehe… Still talking big after seeing and hearing all that? Very well then! Since you're so eager to meet your end...allow me to send you to hell, mongrel!"

Râk moved to raise his hand, but was already too late to do much of anything.

Raum was already upon, fist raised and blazing with black and dark green Aura.

The transformed man couldn't think at all. He had no time to think with the seemingly endless flurry of near invisible punches that attacked him from various angles facing him. The punches dented Râk's flesh, severely bruising it and leaving permanent damage that only worsened as more seconds passed. But it wouldn't be enough to kill him.

Raum's next attack would, however.

Taking a brief, momentary pause from his assault, Raum's right fist brimmed with a powerful flow of his Aura, his hand now sinking deep into his enemy's abdominal region as a violent flow of the Dark Entity's aura tore apart the floors around them.

Râk was unable to move an inch, but Raum took a steady step forward and fully extended his arm, the whole power of his punch now unleashed. The winged man reeled backwards until suddenly he was propelled away by a massive torrent of black and dark green Aura, the mass of energy moving towards the center of the city, the core that he sensed that powered this tower.

With his enemy gone, Raum had one final matter to take care of, despite the massive blood loss he was suffering currently. His armblade extending into his handle, allowing him to twirl it around quickly before sending it towards the cage's way that still held Irene. Once connected, Raum quickly pulled the cage to his left hand and grabbed hold of it tightly before dashing off towards one of the back walls of the tower.

"Papa!"

"Don't talk right now! Just stay put! I'll get us out of here!"

He then heard the collision of his nerdy attack finally make contact with the core, prompting him to move even faster than he already was. The maw of Raum's helmet-mask opened up to bit into the chain link attached to the cage, freeing his left hand up so that he could shoot a few dozen bolts of his Aura straight ahead in a circular formation. The bolts sure enough made contact with the back wall the Dark Entity sprinted towards, weakening the foundation in place, but the floor beneath him began to shudder and split apart violently.

Before the raging fires from behind could reach him, Raum dashed straight into the broken section of the wall he created, allowing him to make his impromptu escape.


His feet found themselves on normal ground once again in the forest, but rest was not to be had just yet. The tower behind them began to crumble and fall apart. He needed to escape the damage zone.

Raum's body vanished in a blur of black and dark green just before a large chunk of the tower nearly crushed him, and he continued moving through said method until he finally came upon a lake. Looking back, he could see he had done it.

They were safe.

Raum let out a sigh as he lowered the cage to the floor and grabbed hold of it with his left hand, tearing open the door to allow little Irene to escape her prison and embrace her savior.

He was...somewhat surprised she would hug him in this form…

The armor surrounding his body soon began to turn into a viscousy black substance that quickly dripped away from his person before turning into mist and vanishing in the air, reverting the Dark Entity to his more "human" form once again.

His body was badly beaten and bruised, blood still present and smeared across his person as he let out heavy breaths.

"Papa..?" Irene asked with concern in her tone, looking to his right arm.

He too took a gander, and suddenly realized his entire right arm had gone missing. But rather than think of it as stray debris or a random attack that hit him from nowhere, he knew exactly why it was gone.

He put his all in that punch. And if he lived up to his promise, he hopefully erased his opponent's entire being with that attack.

"Don't…" he began in a more silent tone than usual, "Don't worry so much about it... It'll grow back… I think…"

Raum's movements became more sluggish until he attempted to rise up, only to fall to the floor on his rear before slumping down to the ground.

"Papa!" Irene shouted, kneeling next to him as he looked to her while she shook him.

"Relax… I just… I need to take a nap for a bit…"

The little Faunus girl let out tearful, distraught groans, continuing with her shaking despite him already closing his eyes.

What would she do? What could she do?

She suddenly remembered something. Her head jolted upwards before she dug into her caretaker's pocket, fining his black Scroll that he used to communicate with others. It took her a few seconds, but she remembered exactly how to access the Scroll and search for the "Contacts" section, seeing the names of Dante and his group on the display. But Irene knew better than to call any of them. They all had their important tasks to handle. And she didn't want to be the reason they had to stop what they were doing just to rush over to her location.

So instead, Irene tapped on the only other contact Raum had on his Scroll. She remembered him saying once that under no circumstance was she to call this person unless she asked him to. But this was a serious emergency. She would handle being scolded later. And considering this person was the closest to their location, they would more than likely be able to help.

The still sobbing Irene had tapped the contact, then the call button, and waited until some picked up the line a few seconds later.


(Omake: The True Fluffy Terror, by me)

Raum sat leaned back in the cockpit of the rogue, automated Atlesian Paladin he destroyed amidst the battlefield of strewn robotic corpses, mostly rogue AK 200's. He had done quite a bit for the day so far, so he would have liked to rest for sometime before continuing.

But first, he had wondered something… Where was Irene?

Looking around, he had finally found her, but she was doing something rather...curious. And that was simply glaring at a pack of ten or so Beowolves.

Raum had seen situations like this before. He knew what was about to happened. The only thing he questioned at this point in time was how hard he was going to laugh.

The Beowolves crept in closer, growling and snarling at the young wolf Faunus girl. But she simply stood her ground, completely unafraid.

Then, in a sudden motion, she raised up both of her tiny, balled up fists and cutely shouted "Wan! Wan!", like a dog usually would.

And as expected, the Beowolves yelped amongst each other as if all of them had been kicked, and ran off into the forest with their tails between their legs.

Raum smiled a tad bit.

His smile soon dropped when he saw a small pack of Ursi emerge from within the depths of the forest, one of them an Alpha that stood up on its hind legs, raising its hands over its head as it let out a bellowing roar.

Irene stood where she was, arms uncrossing as she too raised up her hands over her head and shouted "Grawrrrrrrrrr!"

The Aplha fell on its rear and promptly scurried away with its back behind it. But that wasn't the end, no…

A Berigngel had bursted through the treeline, roaring madly as it eyed the little wolf Faunus and pounded its chest as its roar carried out for a great many yards.

It was now that Raum began to show some concern.

And what did little Irene do?

She nodded her head up and down, as if it were her silent way of saying "Impressive indeed". It wasn't long until she followed suite and replicated the Beringel's movements, pounding her chest a few time before quickly raising up her arms and…

"Grwoarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" Her tiny voice squeaked out.

The ape-like Grimm skipped backwards, as if it just avoided an attack that would have meant certain death, before it too took off in fear, crashing through a few trees as it did so.

Irene's wolf ears were peeled up, her wolf tail whipping about happily and triumphantly as she placed her hands on her hips with an affirmative "Hmph!".

Raum only stared on in amusement and slight bewilderment, feeling not so tired anymore after seeing what he did.

"Does nothing scare that little girl..?"


(Semblance Encyclopedia 11)

"Yo yo yo, it's ya bois Ciel and Leo ready to drop some knowledge on ya'll!"

Leonard simply sighed as he punched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in a disappointment.

"Just kidding guys. We're totally not like some cancerous leeches on the Internet, right?" Ciel asked elbowing Leonard.

"I wonder about you sometimes…" he muttered silently.

"Anyway…" The shorter twin started as she covered Leonard's mouth with her hand, "Semblance Encyclopedia time ladies and gents! This week's subject..! She's blonde, she's awesome, and makes a damn mean knuckle sandwitch! The queen of temper tantrums herself...Yang Xiao Long!"

The blonde brawler herself stepped out on stage, waving to the audience before striking a pose and shooting out a piece sign.

"Ms. Xiao Long, thank you for being here today." Leonard said.

"No problem guys! Happy to be here."

"Wow! You must be hot, cause that new arm of yours is smoking!" Ciel said motioning both fingers to Yang.

"Thanks. I guess you can say...that I got a hand from people in high places!" She said motioning both fingers back to Ciel as they both laughed at their terrible jokes.

Leonard stood behind them, only now comprehending the apocalyptic proportions of these two meeting and becoming friends.

And it wasn't just the puns and jokes that would be devestating either.

"So Yang, tell us a bit your Semblance. I heard it's killer!"

"Totally! So, the way my Semblance works is that it absorbs the damage I take and then kind of reroutes through my body like a massive energy boost."

"Like buffing yourself before a boss room on Phantom Souls!"

"Yeah! Kinda like that! The more damage I take though, the harder I hit back. Though, it kinda has some drawbacks…"

"From what I've heard, you take the full brunt of the attacks instead of negating the damage like my sister does. That, and the key to winning agaianst you and your Semblance requires speedy and incredibly powerful attacks more than you can handle. And in order for you to use your Semblance more effectively, you have to take extensive damage."

"Like a give and take relationship pretty much."

"So how much damage do you dish out really when your Semblance is quote unquote charge up?" Asked Ciel.

"Mmmm… Double of all the damage I've taken. You've got something similar, right?"

"Yeah, but it works kind of like a double standard. The more damage I deal, the more damage I build up for an attack. Same for taking damage too. And then, I let out all the power I gathered in a single devestating attack that can even blow up mountains!"

"Woah! Really?!"

"Heck yeah!"

"Apocalyptic indeed…" Leonard muttered to himself as two continued chatting, "Well then, I believe that concludes this week's Semblance Encyclopedia. And the conclusion of this universe now that two of them are acquainted…" he said before clearing his throat, "In any case, do join us next week everyone. Until next time."


I've basically explained myself uptop and don't have anything clever to say since I'm still pretty exhausted. So with that...

I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing story XSRA's Flame written by Xera Stark. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you seriously read it. You won't want to miss out on this story.

Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen as I mentioned above. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it pretty much immediately. And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, and more than definitely worth spending the time reading and enjoying!

Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.

Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!

Bye-bye now!