And I'm back! Was tempted to write more than just one chapter for my novel, but writer's block still plagues me, it seems – just writing the most recent chapter for it had been pretty hard. To be expected considering the part of the novel I'm at is pretty damn dull by my own admission. Going to have to change that up if I want it to be well-received once I'm done with it and publish it. Like seriously, I'll definitely need to improve it quite a bit at this point. My only solace is that soon the action in it will begin and I'm fairly confident that those scenes will be much easier for me to do.

On another note, finally caught up with volume 5 of RWBY. And I'm sure my opinion of it is very much along the lines of you guys' collective and individual opinion as well. A shame the volume turned out the way it had. In all honesty, it definitely had potential and personally I feel that it could've benefitted from maybe an additional five episodes for the crew to properly expand on the events that occurred in this volume because it all felt extremely compressed. Plus, it probably would've better helped the narrative flow, but maybe this is just me being a bit too optimistic in my assessment.

Oh well. Hopefully volume 6 will really turn things around. I'm somewhat hopeful for the antagonists to have better showings in the future as well because they really need it.

Anyways, onto the chapter! Things are going to be rather bleak in this one!

Chapter 49

Winter wasn't a person prone to despair, but in this case, that is exactly what she was feeling.

She had no idea who or what those two entities had been – it'd taken her a brief moment to realize those two streaks of light and darkness were actual beings initially – but the mere fact that they'd shown up to apparently combat that monster had more than elated her.

But while those two beings had certainly had a far better showing against that thing than the fleet had, it still hadn't been enough it would seem. They may have managed to actually carry that behemoth away from the city, but her hopes for something more than that had been short-lived.

Now the monster was back and those two entities were no longer anywhere in sight.

Had they been killed? Knocked out? Merely trapped somewhere? Winter couldn't begin to guess.

All that mattered was that the monster was once more trampling its way through the city, deeper and deeper into the kingdom, waves and waves of energy being fired from its body and bombarding all that she could see.

Against such a seemingly almighty foe, all seemed lost. To continue trying to combat it would be foolish.

Yet that was something that even in the midst of her despair Winter intended to do.

She was a proud member of Atlas' military, a specialist under the direct command of general Ironwood himself. Her duty was to defeat any foe that dared attack Atlas or otherwise posed a threat to the peace between the kingdoms. And although the scale here was one she was well out of her league in, her duty still applied.

In the time it had taken for this thing to return and begin its assault once more, she'd managed to reach her ship. Sadly, most of her crew had died in the crash and the very few surviving ones had been so badly injured that they expired from their injuries not long after she'd gotten to them.

She was all that remained, at least here in this part of the kingdom.

It'd been with barely withheld tears that she'd managed to send out a transmission to anyone and everyone who could possibly receive it of what was going on, a warning of this massive demon, sent with the hope that maybe – and only maybe – others would somehow be able to put together something to fend this creature off.

That had been just a few minutes ago and now she ran, no longer caring about the injuries she'd sustained from the crash, after that thing.

Perhaps it was sheer dumb luck that she'd yet to be slain. But the behemoth seemed to be firing all those beams far away, evidently not accounting for any potential survivors that were near it, relatively speaking.

…Not that there were any other survivors to speak of so far.

Winter's grip on her weapon, which she'd finally managed to draw forth, tightened to a point where even her own barely remaining aura could keep her fingers from painfully drawing blood from her palm.

Despair gave way to rage. Rage led to action.

She'd been in awe of how those two unknown entities had combatted this monstrosity. But despite her awe, she'd made sure to pay as much attention as was possible in the hopes of perhaps replicating what they'd done. And while she couldn't really be sure about the entity of darkness – had looked vaguely like a Grimm, but sure didn't act like one – the other one seems to have been one of pure aura. And both of them had been able to continually get close to that thing without meeting the same fate as everything else.

It was only hypothesis on her part, one with only this little bit of info to work with, but she was fairly sure that aura could bypass whatever death-field that surrounded this thing.

And her semblance was more or less exactly that.

Concentrating even as she ran, a glyph formed beneath her constantly moving feet and immediately went into effect, boosting her speed as much as her own body could withstand in order to keep up with the monster's far slower yet equally larger strides.

Another glyph then formed behind her and from it came a multitude of birds, constructs of pure aura modeled after Nevermores that she'd slain during her years of service. At her mental command, they all flew as fast as they could towards the behemoth that arrogantly walked forth, unaware of their incoming presence.

Their speed, while certainly greater than any average bird, wasn't enough however, and so it was with a great deal of effort that Winter created multiple acceleration glyphs along their straightforward flight path, each one large enough to ensure the entire flock passed through it.

As soon as they passed through the first one, the aura constructs shot forth through the second and third and so on with ever increasing speed, to the point where even Winter herself found it hard to keep track of their forms.

A second later, they reached their target, striking the underbelly of the massive creature and exploding on impact, said explosions small yet packing enough power that when combined with their momentum up until now would've been enough to put the hurt on even Goliaths.

But against a creature of such mindboggling size and power, it didn't seem to do anything to it, not even get its attention.

But this confirmed Winter's hypothesis and that alone was enough. It meant that she had some way of reaching it.

Slowing just enough to start leaping onto a pile of rubble and from there onto a building that remained somewhat standing, Winter made her way to the very top of it.

Memories flooded her mind as she did this. This building had once been a hotel and a very high end one at that. It had once stood forty stories tall and had been one of the most pristine and well-fortified structures that this city had to offer. Now it was in shambles, leveled down to the tenth floor and the remains of it looking ready to collapse completely with just one more decent attack.

Reaching what remained of the tenth floor, Winter dashed to the edge and planted herself there before kneeling. A glyph far larger than the one before appeared beneath her and from it, two aura constructs appeared in the form of Nevermores, each one twice the size of a truck.

Sweat formed and trickled down the side of her face as they took shape. This was eating up what remained of her aura. By all rights, she was now as defenseless as she could ever be. But even if she did retain her full aura, it still wouldn't protect her at all against a creature like that, so it was ultimately a small price to pay for some additional firepower.

The aura constructed Nevermores let out silent caws and proceeded to fly towards their massive target and at far greater speeds than the smaller ones she'd made not even half a minute ago.

Once more creating acceleration glyphs for them to pass through, Winter watched as she continued to make as many more aura constructs as possible to follow after the first two.

One after another, they flew through the glyphs and accelerated towards the target. And unlike before, where the smaller birds had struck the underbelly of the creature, virtually all the aura constructs she was making proceeded to essentially bomb its chest and front legs. Each and every explosion that resulted from impact filled Winter's now tunnel-esque vision, the woman looking for any sign of damage at all.

There was none.

But…

She'd succeeded in getting its attention now, the monster making a sound that might've been a hum. Its disgusting face turned ever so slightly in her general direction before a vicious human-like sneer appeared on its face.

Suddenly, more than several dozen beams shot forth from its body. Its target, her.

Winter all but slumped onto both knees, her aura now completely exhausted and with the resulting strain impacting her ability to physically move. Not like it would do her much good against a barrage such as this, where every single beam was many times larger than any Nevermore she'd encountered. And considering their blast radius as well, evasion wasn't possible even if she'd been at her best.

Even so, she glared past the beams and at the one who'd shot them, defiance in her eyes. Here and now, she'll fall, but she'll be damned if she gives this thing the satisfaction of breaking her spirit.

And so with one final silent plea for Remnant to survive, Winter Schnee died alongside the rest of the city.


James' facial expression remained tight, not giving away anything to his surrounding crew.

Yet his rage and sadness were undeniable.

He'd received Winter's transmission just moments ago and while only parts of it had been able to come through due to interference, it'd been more than enough.

Salem in that new nightmarish form of hers was in Atlas. It didn't take a genius to know what was now going on there in his home kingdom – death, destruction, despair.

Salem was no doubt laying waste to all that was there with maddening glee on that warped face of hers.

His hands, currently balled into fists, trembled with such fury that it was a wonder to even himself that he hadn't started punching holes in the surrounding walls.

But his rage was tempered by discipline, which was being pushed to its limits. But it was aided by a growing fear as well.

If pushed to the absolute limit, his flagship can travel from home base back in Atlas to Vale – or vice versa as was the situation right now – in just a little under seven hours. Yet Salem had crossed a similar distance in a matter of minutes, putting her speed in a league of its own.

Chasing her down would prove impossible should she decide to take off like that again. And knowing her desire to stomp all the kingdoms into dust, it'd only be a matter of time until such a thing happens.

But until then…

"She likes to play with her food," he muttered under his breath.

Yes, that fit the bitch to a T. She'll definitely take her sweet time leveling the entire kingdom before moving onto the next one, just so she can fully revel in her power and the negativity it would bring out in the people.

She'll take things slow, for better or worse. Which meant he had some kind of timeframe to work with… but would it be enough? Moreover, would it even be worth the risk?

No. In all honesty, he couldn't say it was. Every second wasted was another life lost and that was being generous.

Other ways would have to do, if only to slow Salem down in some way.

"How many people can you make contact with?" the general demanded of his crew.

"Excluding our forces back home, we can still send and receive transmissions without any trouble to our allies in the other kingdoms," spoke one of them, his face pained by the knowledge that contacting their fellow soldiers back in Atlas was likely because they were dead. This was something that was mirrored in all of the other crewmembers as well, their military discipline just barely hanging on in the face of the threat Salem posed.

"Let them know of this… recent development," James uttered. "Tell them all that this takes precedence."

"But what about the rest of the Grimm?" another crew member asked.

"Naturally, they're to keep fighting back. But if possible, they need to start preparing. Their best fighters, their best weapons… everything they need to simply survive, they need to start getting ready now." James all but glared. "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!"

The ones in charge of communication immediately got to work, leaving James once more to himself to think and to worry.

That was but one thing taken care of and a meager task at best. Just what now was he to do personally?

No answer was coming forth and this hurt him far more than anything else ever could.


Salem laughed, a sound that echoed for miles on end as she continued her trek forward.

That meager pest back in the city having been dealt with, the monstrous woman had picked up her pace a bit, her twisted mind and heart leading to her feeling oddly giddy, like a young girl.

This was in perfect and horrific contrast to her actions as her nightmarish form stomped forth whilst blasts of aura continued to shoot forth randomly, levelling all that was within sight.

It was very slight, due to being drowned out by the roaring of the resulting explosions, but Salem could distinctly pick out the screams of humanity as she razed the kingdom of Atlas to the ground.

The sounds fulfilled her in a way she'd never known before and her heart begged for more.

She obliged.

She stomped around much more harshly than before, ending whatever survivors remained from her barrage of beams either by being crushed beneath her feet or by sheer virtue of the earth splitting tremors her stomps produced.

The truly unfortunate ones were those that were simply too close to her, her semblance ripping apart anything and everything on the atomic level and merging it with her being.

She'd called forth the Grimm as well following her moving from one city to the next and her beloved creatures of darkness, born from the darkness within humanity, came to her in droves, at which point she made an effort to expand her semblance's effect to absorb them.

A sound of pleasure tore its way from her throat as she could actually feel their strength and mass being added to her own, her power ever rising and her body growing slightly in size every time.

And meanwhile… humanity continued to die all around her. Crying and pleading to whatever higher power they believed in for salvation from her, only to be snuffed out with their pleas unanswered.

Truly, nothing could fulfill her more in these moments.

Not even when some tried to resist their inevitable demise. If anything, the way some of the soldiers here and even some huntsmen and huntresses tried to shoot at her amused her immensely. Did they not know how futile their actions were? How utterly ineffective it was? Can they not see she was being far beyond whatever resistance they could put up?

Really now, the only exceptions were those whose semblances consisted of pure aura in one form or another. Even in her own somewhat fractured state of mind, Salem was capable of acknowledging the fact that as energy, aura wasn't subject to her semblance and could therefore hit her.

Not like it'd do her any harm however.

Nonetheless…

Her mouth opened as wide as was possible and she took a deep breath, her chest expanding to accommodate the sheer amount of her she was taking in.

The kingdom of Atlas, despite its technological superiority to the other kingdoms as well as its dense population, was rather small, possibly the smallest of all the kingdoms really. This was due to the mountains and climate making many areas on the continent impossible to live in and thus forced the entire population into what amounted as one big levelled area to build their homes and other structures.

It wouldn't be much longer before the rest of the kingdom was dealt with, especially with her continuous barrage of beams.

She was beginning to grow marginally bored of the inhabitants here. Time for a change in venue. After finishing them off for good of course.

So taking in the maximum amount of air possible for her, Salem roared.

It was a deafening sound, even to her. Thanks to her body being noticeably larger than when she first started out as well as her greater and ever-growing power, the roar she unleashed proved to be even more powerful and devastating than the one she'd let loose back in Vale.

And the impact of such a roar was immediate.

The constant snowstorms that plagued the kingdom were literally blown away, revealing a clear dark and empty sky above. Mountains and buildings were instantly leveled and even the ground itself was torn up for tens of miles, stretching all the way to the frozen coast of the continent in the east.

As for the people, they practically disintegrated from the sheer force behind her roar, if they were lucky. The unfortunate ones were blown away along with everything else, no doubt little more than smears along the now levelled path.

Her roar lasted for half a minute and Salem made sure to lower her head as much as she could to ensure she blasted the entire land, even moving from left to right slowly to make doubly sure she got everything.

Even after her roar finally came to an end, the ground rumbled and cracked, the sheer force she'd unleashed so great that she must have split the land for miles downwards in some places.

If, by pure chance, some people survived this, well, no big deal. She'll just have to return to be more thorough later.

But alas, the kingdom of Atlas hadn't taken much time at all to level, which was truly something pitiful, but what did she expect of humanity at this point, yes?

In any case… time to move on.

Her wings spread out and began to flap, achieving lift off in a matter of seconds.

Her next destination – Mistral, a kingdom known for its beauty and arts… as well as its dark underside.

Time to see if her presence can perhaps bring that darkness out. It may spice up her fun just a bit.


For what had to be the millionth time, Jaune tried to force his way out of the ever-tightening barrier Salem had trapped him and Tenebrous in.

And once more his efforts proved to be for nothing.

He could feel his strength growing more and more by the minute. However, as of now, strength still meant nothing when he had no way of properly applying it; the shrinking space he had within this barrier made it impossible for him to maneuver his 'limbs' in any meaningful way.

Tenebrous had returned to his fog-like form of darkness in order to allow a bit more room, but even this action had accomplished nothing of note other than cause the barrier to shrink even more much more quickly. As things now stood, the barrier was small and tight enough to keep a single being such as himself completely pinned while Tenebrous swirled around him just as helplessly.

It would seem that not even the god could find a way out of this barrier.

In response to this predicament, Jaune could only scream, which only echoed within the barrier as it had also trapped a good deal of air from back on the planet when it had first been formed. Not that he or Tenebrous really needed it due to being entities of aura and darkness respectively beyond needing it to actually produce sound.

"Nonononononono!" Jaune was panicking unlike ever before.

Just down below, he could literally see the damage done to the kingdom of Atlas. Salem must have roared or performed an attack that could produce a similar level of destruction. Regardless, the continent had been utterly wasted.

Just how many lives must have been lost down there already?

His 'heart' hurt even thinking of such a thing.

His friend, however, remained silent in the wake of this situation even though Jaune could clearly tell that Tenebrous had been watching as well.

The lack of any verbal response from the Power worried him even more. Normally, the god always had something to say regarding the situation. And while not every idea was particularly smart – not like he could claim to be any better in this regard – the god had never once been truly speechless before in situations somewhat like this.

He needed to talk to Tenebrous. Needed to try and come up with some way to break out of this barrier. The world needed the two of them back down there, even if Salem was still clearly much stronger than either of them now.

"Tenebrous, what do we do?" Jaune asked of his friend immediately. "You tend to have a better feel for this kind of thing than me. Any sort of weakness we can exploit?"

The pitch-black fog around him didn't answer, at least not immediately. Instead, Tenebrous in his fog-like form, proceeded to swirl about slowly before coming to a sort of halt.

"Tenebrous…?"

There's no way for us to break out of this, Jaune.

The god's answer was projected straight into Jaune's mind and those words, spoken in a matter-of-fact tone, was enough to make the aura being cease in his struggling from the shock.

Jaune could only look at the black fog in complete amazement.

"W-What do you mean?! There has to be a way to-!"

There isn't.

There was a pause.

Not as you currently are, that is.

Once more, Jaune could only remain still and silent in the face of such words. This gave his friend the time to continue speaking.

Had I still retained my full might, this barrier would have done nothing to stop me. Not even Salem as she currently is would've been much of a match for me. However, a vast majority of my power had to be sacrificed in order to start and accelerate your ascension process back then. As I am now, I'm a nonfactor.

However, the same cannot be said about you. Your power is still growing steadily… but not quickly enough. In order to break this barrier and return in time to defeat Salem, your full might will be needed.

"But how am I supposed to speed up the process?" Jaune asked, now latching onto every word his friend spoke. Given the situation, it was a better idea than none at all, even if Jaune silently admitted to himself having some misgivings.

You won't be speeding up the process, Jaune. Rather, I will.

Tenebrous' fog form began to shift around until the god's red 'eyes' appeared within the pitch-black form, staring at Jaune in a way that the young man turned aura being couldn't decipher.

It'll require all the power I have left in order to do so… as well as my very being itself.

If Jaune still had eyes, they would've widened considerably right now. And with reason. What Tenebrous was essentially saying is that… "You'll die as a result?"

For lack of a better way to put it… yes.

"No. No way! We're not doing this!" Jaune replied indignantly.

But we must. You're the only one who can stop Salem now… as well as take her place.

His long string of protests halted before it can even begin. Jaune simply couldn't reply to that one bit. Thankfully, Tenebrous was quick to explain.

I'm sorry, Jaune. All this time, you likely thought that we'd find a way to defeat Salem without killing her perhaps. Or maybe that your sister would somehow take over for her. But this was the one thing I actually lied about Jaune. From the very beginning, you would be the one to take over.

"…But I'm not the Mind. I don't have any of the characteristics of one!"

Ah, but you do. To be the Mind requires a great deal of will, great enough to enforce one's self over the Grimm. Salem naturally has that kind of will, but now so do you. After all… to maintain your aura body the way you have been doing so far isn't exactly something that can be done so easily.

Jaune was speechless.

This current form of yours is a transitional one, if I had to use a word for it. From the very beginning, you were more than just an Apostle of myself, but rather my very hope for someone who can take the place of myself and my other half. Although, you being my Apostle naturally meant you had a far greater attunement to being the Power rather than the Mind. But now it's time for you to fully ascend and become what you were always meant to be.

"…And just what would that be?" His mind beginning to feel overloaded from what he was so suddenly being told, Jaune could only reply in a quiet voice.

A savior, Jaune. A savior of all. Through your hand, you can eventually guide humanity to being whole once again.

"With the Grimm under my thumb… just like with Salem," he muttered.

You and Salem are like night and day in terms of personality and desires. Never compare yourself to her, Jaune. Alas, we're wasting time here – look, she's already started to wreak havoc in Mistral.

Sure enough, the god was right. A quick glance back at the world below showed the atmosphere itself being affected by Salem's growing might right above the northern most part of Mistral. The visible devastation was quick to start working its way down south and to the east, where most of Mistral's population was at.

Such a sight was enough to make Jaune begin unconsciously struggle again, trying to force the barrier open. But it was to no avail.

Furthermore, he could feel Tenebrous look at him as if a point was being made in his futile actions.

"Just confirm one thing for me – is this truly the only way?" he asked quietly in the end. From the start, he sort of knew deep down that a time would come where Tenebrous would no longer be around. But never did he entertain the thought that such a being would actually die, much less die just for him to achieve his full potential.

Yes.

Tenebrous sounded sorrowful.

I'm sorry. But it truly is the only way. For whatever it is worth, I'd initially thought things would play out differently than they have so far.

Jaune could only give his friend a sedated nod in response. "Then what do I have to do?" He'd truly love to continue arguing the point, but like Tenebrous just said, time was of the essence. Every second counted now more than ever.

The time to argue ended long before it ever even began, really. Didn't mean he had to like it deep down, though. But neither was it an excuse to prolong things.

Remember how much I stressed strengthening your body? It was all for this exact moment. Your aura is so immense and powerful that it would tear apart your physical self on a subatomic level, which ordinarily would mean it'd never survive.

But thanks to your training and my own efforts to strengthen the body down to the last particle of it, it managed to stay together – you can't see it, but as your body disintegrated, the very particles that made it up continued to circle around you, waiting to reform once the time was right.

So while I merge with your very soul to fully draw out your aura for good, it'll be up to you to will your body back together again. It will be tough to do – your particles will all but insist on remaining apart due to the sheer intensity of your current self – but once you fully pull it back together, it should stay together since, ironically, your very soul has been pouring aura into the particles themselves to age them.

"A-age them? Is that even possible?"

In a world such as this, where the darkness of humanity has taken form, is such a thing truly that shocking? But yes, it's very much possible. When your body reforms, it will be in its physical prime, fully capable of withstanding the usage of your full strength.

This will take a few minutes to fully accomplish, so we must start now. I don't know if the process will cause you any sort of discomfort, however, so prepare yourself.

"...Alright then," Jaune began as he glanced to the world below once more. The path of destruction Salem was leaving behind seemed to be growing faster now. "Let's do this… and thank you too. For everything."

Had it not been for Tenebrous entering his life, Jaune couldn't even fathom how things would've turned out for him. Especially during the Trial. Would he have been able to do some good, save and protect others from the Grimm? Or would he have died, never knowing just what he could've been capable of and how much more good he could have ultimately accomplished.

It was a thought that honestly scared him. And in turn, made him all the more grateful for the being he called a friend.

And as such, all he could do as Tenebrous' fog-like form began to enter the very core of his own form and dissipate, was thank the god for all that he's done. He hoped his gratitude was somehow reaching the Power, even as he proceeded to remain silent for the process.

Things could have certainly been done differently, done far more intelligently and better overall… but Jaune found himself cherishing how things played out, if only for the time it had given him to spend with Tenebrous.

As Tenebrous' form entered him completely, already feeling a change beginning within him, Jaune swore he could feel Tenebrous' emotional state as the god's consciousness steadily began to fade.

And thank you as well, Jaune… my emotions may not have developed that much but know… that you'll always have my friendship and gratitude.

With those words resonating from Tenebrous within Jaune's mind, the god finally began to fade away.

And the process to fully achieve his full might truly began.

Out of respect for his now fading friend, Jaune focused his very will as much as he possibly could, a sensation akin to tears forming at the corner of his 'eyes.'

He wouldn't let his friend's passing end up being senseless.


When the Grimm had suddenly begun to retreat, the residents of Mistral's many towns and villages had thought it most odd, but were more than ready to embrace respite, no matter how brief it may be.

However, while many did anticipate the Grimm making a comeback in some form, they never would've imagined the nightmarish sight that had so suddenly landed and begun stomping its way towards and through their homes-.

A monstrosity bearing draconic and womanly features, pitch black and red over most of its body like a Grimm while the rest looked almost like human skin, but deathly white. A Glasgow grin that extended down the neck, revealing innumerable teeth. Massive horns on the very sides of the face that curved outwards. And two massive red eyes that looked down on them all.

A monstrosity that was easily two hundred meters in size and exuded a primal fury and darkness that caused all that looked upon it to feel absolute despair.

This despair was somehow only further enhanced when the beast had actually started to move and go on the attack, a multitude of energy blasts firing out from its body and levelling everything within sight.

The monster roared in dark triumph, a sound that filled the ears of everyone for miles on end right before they were blown away. It was the sound of the end of the world and it would haunt these poor souls well into the afterlife.

The monster continued its trek forward, seeming to head for Haven Academy.

Along the way, everything was utterly crushed before its might, either through the blasts it continued to let out or literally underfoot. And for the very unlucky ones, those that were just far enough away to not be stomped on and close enough to avoid being blasted, they seemed to be viscerally ripped apart until they were little more than molecules and absorbed into the massive beast.

People, the ones that weren't paralyzed by fear, screamed and ran as fast as they could and as far as they could. They all died.

The ones who found courage within themselves to try to fight back roared out a battle cry… and died before they could accomplish anything.

Mistral's police force, which had long since been mobilized to combat the Grimm that the townspeople couldn't, brought all arms to bear and opened fire, conservation of ammunition completely done away with in the face of such a massive and outright almighty creature. They just barely managed to last longer than the others.

Huntsmen and huntresses that had been spread throughout the land had responded to the unspoken call, especially when it became notable that the Grimm that had retreated had actually been running towards this thing, being absorbed by it. These warriors, much like the police force, held nothing back, firing every last bit of ammo they had. Those that had semblances that could attack from long range all but abused them, dishing out one attack after another just to try even slowing the creature down.

Everything proved ineffective – makeshift weapons, bullets, missiles, grenades, Dust, and more all failed to make it even close to this beast. The only things that seemed to make actual contact were certain semblances.

Pure aura appeared to be the only thing capable of making it to the creature without simply disappearing, a fact that was quick to be spread by these desperate people to anyone and everyone capable of listening, be it in person or over a radio.

It did little to change the situation, however. People died all the same and in droves, the blasts that the monster was firing reaching further and further out.

Its steps were slow, but its size meant it could cover distances that would take a person much longer to cross. And with every step taken, the destruction grew as its strength seemed to grow, seismic tremors tearing apart the land.

Within several minutes of its arrival upon Mistral's land, the path of chaos and death it had created looked like a scene right out of hell and was vast enough for those at Haven Academy to see from a distance. Even the sky above had darkened, lightning storms being generated seemingly as a mere result of the monster's very presence.

It was a sight that terrified the town directly around Haven as well as the academy's students and teachers.

Its headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart, was also no exception to this growing fear. But unlike his students and staff, he was doing a better job at hiding, albeit not by much.

"My god… is this how it all ends?" the headmaster muttered to himself with a tremble in his voice. His lion tail swayed behind him frantically, a sight that was at odds with his more muted expression. It was also a sign that he was thinking just as frantically to those that knew him personally.

As of now, he stood atop the tallest structure that Haven had, which provided him with perhaps the best sight possible of the incoming beast.

It had ceased firing that endless barrage of energy, sparing his academy the quick and undignified death of being blasted into nothingness, but this only worried him more rather than put him at ease.

That it had stopped doing so meant it may very well be aware of what this place was… and therefore, it wanted to enjoy crushing them all as slowly as it could manage.

Such a thought made him shudder almost uncontrollably. Whatever this thing is, it's clearly intelligent, to a degree that no other Grimm had demonstrated thus far. And that was saying something considering how the Grimm had been acting up until now.

The sneer that formed on its face as it seemed to look directly at him only confirmed this.

Such a sight nearly made the headmaster wet himself. It also simultaneously forced him to take action.

"Prepare to attack!" he cried out, just loud enough for all on the academy grounds to hear. "Those that can attack with only aura, ready yourselves!"

The news that aura attacks could bypass whatever sort of ability this creature had was something that had reached him just a moment or so ago, just in time for this thing's appearance. He intended to make as much use out of this as was possible.

In response to his command, a number of students and teachers took to the top of Haven's many structures – the ones that could attack with only aura in some form or another. As for the rest of the people here, they prepared their weapons' gun forms. Even if bullets essentially did nothing to this thing, they weren't about to simply sit back and watch.

Were he capable of it too, Leonardo would've joined the main attackers as well, but didn't. He wasn't capable of attacking with his aura in such a way and his own weapon's range made him more suited to mid and close-range combat rather than the long range needed to even scratch such a behemoth. He felt ashamed that he, Haven's headmaster, couldn't do much more than this, but it was the hand being dealt right now. He'd have to simply make the most of it.

The creature took one more lumbering step forward, this action putting now just right outside the town below. A dangerous move to be sure, but a needed one – even if it was massive, that didn't mean their attacks were going to extend that far and hit it.

But now?

"OPEN FIRE!" he bellowed at a volume and in a voice not even he knew he possessed. It was enough to instantly make everyone obey.

An instant later, streams of aura and a hail of bullets and rockets filled the air, the coalescence of sound all but rendering him and no doubt the others deaf temporarily.

These attacks crossed the distance between them and their target in a matter of microseconds. Bullets and rockets prematurely exploded before even making contact with the creature's skin. As for the aura attacks, coming in the form of spheres or continuous beams, they struck true.

But as Leonardo expected, it did little if nothing at all; the creature took one more step forward, unperturbed by the assault.

No, if anything, it seemed almost… amused. The way its chest and shoulders rumbled as well as the slightest twitches of its neck and mouth made it look like it was trying to hold back a laugh.

It didn't take a genius to tell that this would be futile. By all rights, he should call off the assault right now before they all exhaust themselves and beat a retreat.

Yet Leonardo couldn't find it in him to give such an order. He wouldn't give this monstrosity the satisfaction of seeing them run. Not like running would do them much good anyways given its size and range with those blasts it can generate.

It was either make a stand now or not at all. And he would not let himself and most importantly his students and staff go down in history looking like cowards.

"Spread out! Move across the mountains, attack it from its sides!" he yelled. As of now, they all were concentrating their fire on the creature's front. While he highly doubted it had any kind of physical weakness, the only way to be sure would be to try attacking it from any and every direction possible.

This was something the others seemed to understand, for they moved with both haste and purpose.

But it was at this exact time that the beast began to do more than just move.

Its tail, almost hilariously long even for its size, moved with a speed that he didn't think such a massive creature should ever be allowed to possess. The appendage swung directly at the entire mountain range to the left of the academy. And although it didn't directly make contact, the sheer amount of force put behind such a move was enough to level the mountain anyways.

The air pressure behind such a blow blew everyone that had been heading for that area back. Even those that weren't even close to the affected zone such as himself got sent flying through the air, their normally nimble selves unable to land properly due to how strong of a wind it was.

Leonardo hit the ground hard, his aura protecting him from injury for the most part, though that didn't make the sudden impact hurt much less. He groaned as he quickly got to his feet, just barely aware of others nearby doing the same.

But just as he stood back up and looked, the monster was already swinging its tail again and this directly at the town below.

He wasn't sure if he screamed or not, but Leonardo was vaguely aware that his mouth was open in shock just before the resulting air pressure wiped out the town below in the blink of an eye. Then the air pressure struck the base of the mountain Haven was founded upon, the mountain itself breaking in the process.

In that instant, Leonardo feared the worst, but this second strike apparently hadn't been as strong as the initial one, the air pressure ceasing to blast through the mountain and somehow traveling upwards, blowing away entire portions of the academy grounds that overlooked the area directly below.

The students and staff that had been there when the air pressure struck got blasted straight into the air, the attack so strong that Leonardo could see their auras get instantly broken. And that was only for the lucky ones – the far more unfortunate ones… by god, the way their bodies literally broke or were otherwise lacerated into oblivion would haunt Leonardo until the grave and beyond.

When the air pressure finally died down and the beast seemed to cease in its sudden activity, an unnatural silence immediately filled the entire area as everyone that remained simply looked upon the results the creature's two attacks had.

Leonardo could literally see whatever hope and resistance many of them had in their eyes simply die right then and there. Just like that, their spirits had been beaten and broken.

The monster then seemed to let out a sound that pierced through the silence a knife through a jugular, the sound so loud that everyone recoiled as if physically struck.

Leonardo recognized the sound for what it was: a snicker.

This damned thing was mocking them.

And there was absolutely nothing any of them could do about it.

For a good minute, the snickering continued with the remaining people and Leonardo himself unable to find it in themselves to move anymore.

But then things took another sudden change when off in the distance, a light seemed to appear.

A silver light, coming from one of the very few nearby towns that this monster had overlooked for one reason or another, likely just dumb luck.

The silver light was somewhat dim at first and small, but seconds later, it grew rapidly in size and even brightness, forcing Leonardo and the others to cover their eyes lest they risk going blind, even though the distance and position meant it should've been physically impossible for the light to reach them like this.

It was as if a presence had made itself known to them and by extension to the monster before them, for the creature hissed as the light enveloped its entire form.

A few seconds later, the light dimmed and faded and as Leonardo risked a look, the very first thing he saw was the monster's entire form smoking ever so lightly, as if someone had tried to fry it.

He put two and two together immediately; the light had done this.

But whatever damage it had done to the monster was minimal at best, the smoke and scorched smell being the only indicators that any sort of actual damage had been inflicted. The monster itself seemed to not be in pain, however, merely enraged and the way its expression twisted into something so dark and cruel made Leonardo feeling rather glad to not have that look at him or his students.

The monster turned around and as it did so, energy began to gather within its open mouth. Then before Leonardo knew what to do next, the monster unleashed its attack.

A beam of pure power was unleashed from the monster, so powerful that even though its back was now turned to Haven, the 'recoil' was enough to tear up parts of the surrounding landscape. As for the beam itself, it traveled towards the town the silver light had originated from, enveloping the entirety of it in a split second before continuing to travel onwards towards the west.

By the time the beam died down half a minute later, Leonardo had lost track of where it was going. It'd simply been that fast. But there was no mistaking the level of destruction it had caused, the ground it had traveled across now nothing more than molten earth.

"Holy shit…" Leonardo heard someone mutter numbly. Not quite the words he'd personally use here, but the general sentiment was one he definitely shared.

To say that they had no chance against this creature would probably be putting things mildly.

Now it was turning back around, causing him to prepare giving orders again. But unlike before, the monster now seemed to be deep in thought of all things. About what, the headmaster of Haven couldn't even begin to fathom.

What mattered right now, however, is that the monster didn't look as interested in attacking as it had been before. Instead, it now turned its head around as if looking for something.

Then several seconds later, the beast turned around and began to actually walk away.

Yet Leonardo wasn't about to count his blessings just yet. Especially when the thing's massive tail started to slowly swing towards the mountain.

At this point, Leonardo could only yell out one simple order. "EVACAUTE!"

Bellowing this out at the very top of his lungs, the surviving students and staff quickly sought to obey -.

-But not before the tail smashed right into the mountain, causing it to now collapse.

All Leonardo could do as Haven gave way was scream.

Then moments later, his screaming ceased as did that of the others that had cried out as well.


Salem inwardly huffed.

She'd wanted to take a bit more time playing around with Haven and its populace, but following that burst of silver eyes power, she'd reluctantly decided to change things up. This is why she'd decided to simply do away with the academy in one move as opposed to drawing things out.

Against her in this form, the silver eyes were little more than mild irritants and barely at that. But the same could not be said of her precious Grimm. Against most types of Grimm, the silver eyes were instant-kills. Their deaths meant her having less friends and moreover having less to add to her current form.

Very well then!

She'll just focus on the other towns and villages here in Mistral first! Then once she's certain any and all remaining silver eyed people were wiped out here, she'll hunt down the maidens. Based off what she recalled seeing from her Grimm, one of them was keeping busy combating the Grimm in Vacuo.

Ah… and if she remembered right…

She sneered.

Jaune Arc was from Vacuo. That meant his family was there too.

She resolved to make sure she paid them some very special attention.

But first…

Her entire body glowed as she channeled aura through it. Then from every pore she now had, beams of pure aura fired outwards, curving as they all traveled far across the kingdom of Mistral.

For as far as her eyes could see, the horizon was dyed with her power, each beam having packed enough power to completely vaporize the largest of islands. Against such might, there wasn't a single town or village that could possibly remain after being struck.

Nonetheless, she kept on unleashing one barrage after another.

The time for playing around has ended for now. Until she'd gotten rid of the nuisances, she'll have to take things just a bit more seriously.

So for the next several minutes, she walked southwest, heading for the coast while continuing to unleash her power. In the process, she just kept on growing, her semblance tearing up and absorbing all that was near her.

She smirked with such viciousness that her many teeth grinded against one another.

With Mistral having swiftly been reduced to a sea of flames and cries of agony and despair, she considered her work here done for the time being.

Readying her wings, Salem looked towards her next land of victims well before she even started to fly -.

Vacuo.


Ozpin's hands were clenched together to the point of drawing blood.

Just a few moments ago, a massive beam of aura had all but appeared out of nowhere off in the distance from Vale. But as far away as the beam had been from Vale and Beacon, it did little to relieve him in any form.

No, if anything, it enraged him.

He had a great grasp of geography. Over where that beam had struck had lied a good handful of towns, spread out just enough to remain independent, but close enough for the residents to practically consider each other neighbors.

…The size and power of that beam, especially when it had exploded now no doubt meant those towns were no longer in this world. And of course, that meant the people there were very much no longer alive, assuming the Grimm horde hadn't initially wiped them out much earlier in the day.

"Salem…!" he growled out through gritted teeth, his longstanding patience having likewise long since met its end.

Over the decades he's been alive thanks to his own semblance slowing down his aging process, Ozpin had learned how to rein in his emotions, to view things from as objective a point of view as was possible. This was a self-taught lesson that had begun following Salem's burning at the stake all that time ago, a sort of self-inflicted punishment one could call it.

Even earlier, when Salem had been here herself, he'd strived to keep as level-headed as he could manage.

But following his former friend's transformation and subsequent leaving to undoubtedly massacre the other kingdoms first to save him and Vale for last, his control had slipped dramatically.

Now his rage very much showed on his face, causing the others who would've otherwise been asking him what to do now to keep a bit of distance from him until he calms down. That wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Besides, against Salem as she currently is, just what even was there to do? What defense can they even possibly mount to protect them from her increasing power? What weapon or ability can any of them conjure up to do more than just nick her?

These were questions with the same exact answer: none.

They weren't simply fighting a losing battle; that implied they had some meager chance at winning. No, this was futilely trying to survive the apocalypse.

And yet…

"Oz…" Qrow suddenly spoke up, the alcohol loving huntsman being the only one willing to approach him right now. "I think it goes without saying, but we're all fucked here. You think we should try evacuating the city or something? Cause the Grimm are no longer coming our way anymore."

Evacuate, huh? Not a bad idea, but where to? And would they even get all that far before Salem finally comes back? And it's not as if they didn't have any injured to tend to first before they could be safely moved.

These thoughts must have somehow showed on his face, for Qrow sighed and rubbed the back of his head tiredly. "Yeah, I figured as much too."

"There must be something we can do though," Glynda now spoke up as she neared them.

"But what?" Ozpin said a bit more snappishly than he'd meant to. "If I'm correct, that beam just a moment ago had come from well across the sea… from Mistral's direction. Considering Salem initially flew north towards Atlas, it would seem she's already gotten through them both."

His words were enough to render them silent.

If Salem really did steamroll Atlas and likely Mistral by now, then it wouldn't be long at all before she comes back to wipe them out.

The only kingdom that remained, however, until Salem returned was Vacuo…

Ozpin closed his eyes and removed his glasses, massaging the spot in between his eyes in a futile attempt to calm himself. Upon finishing this, he opened his eyes back up, not bothering to put his glasses back on as he stared off into the distance.

While it definitely sounds arrogant even to himself to think this, he had a hand in this entire thing. His brashness and ignorance from back then had resulted in him selling out Salem's secret to the others, had resulted in her burning at the stake and ultimate renouncement of her humanity.

Had he been a far more understanding person, perhaps Salem could've grown to be the 'hope' that the Mind had desired. Perhaps this Trial could have turned out far more differently had an ultimately benevolent Salem been at the helm rather than the embittered and hateful woman she'd become.

Again, this sounded quite arrogant of him to think, but it was something he couldn't help but think nonetheless.

It was high time he tried to truly pay for his mistakes.

"Qrow, Glynda," he said in a noticeably calmer voice than before. "I want you both to take charge. For now, just focus on patching up the injured and doing a head count of who's still able and willing to fight in case more Grimm get sent our way. If any defenses we initially had up are still relatively intact, get them patched up too."

Both glanced at him inquisitively yet said nothing immediately in response. "And what about you?" asked Glynda.

Throwing aside his glasses and stomping them underfoot, Ozpin readied his cane.

"I'm going to give our enemy a bit of a welcoming party in Vacuo," he said in a voice so utterly calm and contrasting with his emotions that he doubted the words he just spoke registered with those that heard him.

And by the time Qrow and Glynda seemed to comprehend what he'd just said, it was already too late for them – using his semblance to its utmost limit to vastly accelerate his own 'time' and therefore 'speed,' Ozpin had taken off.

Off towards Vacuo to await his former friend.


Not the longest chapter for this Trial so far, I know, but I felt it best to end it here lest I let myself get too carried away and drag things out for far longer than I should. Whether or not this is a good decision still depends on one's point of view, though. So naturally some of you may disagree.

That said, the fic is really nearing its end now. Vacuo is pretty much where things are really going to hit its climax so I'd say maybe another two chapters or even three AT THE MOST until the epilogue of the story.

Wow, feels kind of surreal to type that for some reason. Probably because it feels like this Trial could be stretched out for far longer despite the plans I'd set for it well in advance.

In all honesty, the very concept of the Trial for this fic has a lot of potential – if I'd so desired, I could've written probably a dozen or so chapters more detailing the two day siege of Grimm upon all humanity, narrating it from various points of view… but naturally, I vastly cut down on that since, despite the various points of views I've given throughout this fic, Jaune is ultimately the protagonist and so the events will stay generally focused around him and his friends/allies/etc. This is why the Trial has played out the way it has so far.

So yeah, I'm willing to admit there was quite a good bit of potential that I'm ignoring with this concept, but I hope you guys are willing to forgive me for that. And for taking so long to get this chapter posted despite its relative shortness compared to the previous few chapters – I'd gotten sick recently and while I got over the fever somewhat quickly, the phlegm and odd temperature swings of my body caused me to work much slower than normal due to how distracting/irritating it was.

But I'm all better now so hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to work on once I get started on it.

Hope none of you guys get sick like I did and if you do, hope you get better soon!

Until next time, everyone. Take care!