Alright, let's just get to it. Enjoy!

P.S. Some random info in ending AN.

Chapter 56

Grimm. Grimm everywhere.

That was just about the only thing Pyrrha could really think of as she used Akoúo to cut through a very lean Beowulf that would've otherwise slashed at her. Even then, the wolf-like Grimm had come all too close to striking her.

Normally, a Beowulf would never be able to get so close to landing a hit on her. At the risk of sounding arrogant, the redhead considered herself more than skilled enough to take down any number of the more common Grimm without issue.

But now that previously unshakeable pride of hers was being worn down very quickly.

It's been no more than perhaps half an hour since she and her fellow students had been sent out into Vale to reinforce the defenses there and already she and the others were feeling so terribly exhausted. Though her years of training and experience have ensured she was more than ready to fight prolonged battles, it had never been quite to the extent she was currently experiencing, having to give all she's got from the outset and maintaining her best for so long without even the slightest bit of rest.

Case in point – no sooner than when she cut down that Beowulf, another four came charging at her from a nearby alleyway, howling as they leapt over whatever was in their path. A quick raise of her other arm resulted in a nearby car being flipped wildly over thanks to her semblance and the vehicle went crashing into the four Grimm with great force.

Pyrrha kept herself from panting, knowing she had no time to even think of indulging in such a luxury as several Boarbatusks now came running down the street. The wild beasts of darkness, wild even by Grimm standards, were smashing through whatever was in their path – cars, lamp poles, walls, entire buildings albeit on the small side… literally everything.

Several grenades were launched from behind her and the grenades exploded at the spot where the Boarbatusks were just about to converge. The resulting explosions took out some of them, having been direct hits, but two managed to get through relatively unscathed and only picked up in speed.

That was when Nora, who'd been the one to fire the grenades, rushed forward with a battle cry and swung her hammer down as hard as she could. The section of street right before her gave way, collapsing down. The Boarbatusks went down with it, squealing as they fell. Now that they were trapped, the N of JNPR swiftly shifted Magnhild back into its gun form and peppered the Boarbatusks with a few grenades.

"Nora, wait! Don't go shooting off too much – conserve your ammo!" Pyrrha called out as she rushed up to the girl. While grateful for the assist, it definitely wouldn't do for Nora to be using up so much ammo this early on.

The girl grimaced but nodded and backed off – only to then take a swing at the spot above Pyrrha's head, nailing a small Nevermore that had just been about to divebomb right into her head. At the same time this happened, Pyrrha had shifted her own weapon into its rifle form and opened fire on some Creepers that had just leapt out of a ruined store. Her shots struck true and the Grimm fell.

The two girls then shared a wordless nod of thanks and assessed the situation.

"Where's Ren?" Pyrrha asked, worried. Going into this fiasco, the plan had been to stick together as much as possible, but against the relentless assault of this many Grimm, maintaining a solid formation was practically impossible. Already, the numerous teams and staff pairings sent out into Vale have ended up split and scattered throughout the entire area.

"Further north – we'd found some civilians still stuck out here," Nora immediately replied. "He's using his semblance to get them somewhere safe right now. He plans to stick to that since his weapons aren't really cut out for fighting a lot of the bigger Grimm here."

The redhead, now relieved to know her friend was safe, nodded. That made sense; Ren's semblance was very much suited to this self-assigned task of his. She could only hope, however, that he'll be able to maintain whatever pace he ends up setting for himself during this entire fiasco.

A loud hiss filled their ears and the two girls turned in the direction it came from…

Just in time to see one of many Deathstalkers skittering about. Off in the distance, there were some other students from Beacon too, some of them opening fire on the nearest Deathstalker while another tried engaging a larger one in close combat, using some kind of massive gauntlet-like weapon to deliver heavy strikes to its thick shell. The student in question managed to make several huge cracks in its shell as the male teen forced it back – only for the other Deathstalkers that the other students couldn't keep at bay to charge in and nail him across his back and side with their stingers.

Cries began to fill the air and this spurned them into action.

Nora wasted no time firing upon the Deathstalkers to get their attention and as soon as she accomplished that, Pyrrha chose to make her own move.

As the nearest of the Deathstalkers closed in, she recalled the experienced they'd had back during initiation and proceeded to act on that memory. When the scorpion-like Grimm went in for a claw smash, she dropped low and slid under it, shifting her weapon into its xiphos form. With one perfectly smooth yet furious motion, she cut through the thin gaps in its armored legs on its right side, causing the Deathstalker to shrilly cry out as it then lost balance and fell at an angle.

Even when downed, the Grimm lashed out wildly with nary an issue, its tail flitting about wildly. Pyrrha used that to her advantage by shooting at another Deathstalker to draw it in whilst dancing around the strikes from the tail. Once the second Deathstalker was close enough, the redhead charged at it and dodged at the last possible second just as the tail of the first one struck out once more – only for it to end up stabbing the second Deathstalker right through one of its eyes.

Naturally, the second one cried out and began its own retaliation, its claws and tail striking forward to make the first Deathstalker back off. Pyrrha took this chance to get in close and slip past its wild claws and stabbed it right through the other eye. Having turned her weapon into its javelin form to give her additional range, she'd made sure to thrust the weapon as far in as she could.

Her efforts ended up being rewarded as the Deathstalker ceased its activity and dissipated. But in doing so, the stinger of the first one that had been embedded in its eye was now set free. The first Deathstalker, still active, had managed to turn somewhat and swung its tail free as hard as it could. The wild limb ended up smacking right against Pyrrha's left side hard, knocking her down.

Needless to say, that had hurt but she was already recovering, rolling along the street to avoid being stomped to death by the irate Grimm. Nora came in at that instant with a fierce hammer strike that rattled the Deathstalker's entire form, causing it to cease attacking for a blessed second. Meanwhile, the other Deathstalkers, having been distracted by their arrival, were now at the mercy of the other students who wasted no time wailing on them with all they had. A girl wielding a broadsword ended up mimicking Pyrrha's action earlier by sliding under one, but rather than cutting through the legs, the girl cut through the very bottom of the Deathstalker itself.

Now that she was up and it, Pyrrha reached out with her javelin and cut off the stinger of the tail in mid-motion while Nora delivered another rattling blow with her hammer to further disorient it. The girl tried going for a third swing, only for the Deathstalker to push forward on instinct with its claws and its meaty appendages ended up knocking the auburn-haired girl back.

"Nora!" Pyrrha cried out. Immediately, she used her semblance to grab the girl by all the metal she had on her – her weapon and the metal buckles on her outfit – and practically yanked her forward and perhaps a bit too harshly. Thankfully, Nora was able to take advantage of this to deliver that intended third strike and this time she pulled the trigger on Magnhild at the same time. The combined might of her swing and the grenade going off was enough to finally fully break through the Deathstalker's shell and end its existence.

As it dissipated, Pyrrha rushed towards Nora to help the girl just as she began to stagger. "Sorry for the tug," she muttered, the girl having clearly gotten some minor whiplash.

Nora just shrugged it off. "Eh, we do what we gotta do… though it looks like we're already both pretty bruised." She then motioned towards Pyrrha's left side. Sure enough, that hard smack she'd taken just a moment ago was already resulting in some bruising along the parts of her shoulder, arm, and leg that were visible.

Pyrrha grimaced. She knew this wasn't exactly an ideal situation, but she'd really been hoping to be able to avoid some injury until later on. That she and the others were already being smacked around like this so sloppily said something.

Some cries from overhead got their attention. With all the Nevermores and Griffons in the sky in addition to the Atlas fleet firing everywhere, such cries really shouldn't be getting their attention… but the sheer proximity of these cries was enough to make them snap their gazes upwards.

They looked up just in time to see a huge Griffon falling right upon them. They didn't even get a chance to dodge and the next thing they knew, they were crushed under the heavy body of the Griffon.

Pain wracked Pyrrha's form and she hacked and coughed and gasped for air as the Griffon, now upright, was practically stomping on her sternum harshly. She dedicated as much aura as she could afford to defense, but that really wasn't much. With no choice but to beat it back, she tried to pound away at the Griffon's feet with her bare hands, her weapon currently unavailable to her. Nora, being in the same situation, did the same.

Their efforts proved unsuccessful, however, and the Griffon merely let out a shrill cry before jabbing its massive face right at them. Pyrrha had to twist to the side as much as possible to avoid the attack and even then it clipped her left shoulder, cutting it open a little.

She let out a small cry from the pain but soldiered through it. If anything, the sharp pain gave her just a bit of clarity. Using her primary weapon wasn't an option, but she still had her shield. Flicking her arm outwards hard, it promptly flew off of said limb and using her semblance, she managed to steer it in mid-throw. Thus, the shield immediately circled back around and upwards. It smacked right into the side of the Griffon's neck, startling it and tricking the Grimm into thinking another person was attacking it.

It jumped off them and looked ready to take flight – but Pyrrha wasn't about to let that happen. Still in control of her shield, she used her semblance to make the shield rebound and cut across the Griffon's left wing as quickly as she could manage. She actually succeeded in cutting the wing itself to some extent, thus grounding it just as it'd been about to take off.

She took that split-second opening to grab her weapon and throw it right into the Griffon's open mouth and Nora rushed forward and drove the weapon further in like a nail via a hammer strike. The Griffon let out an awkward squawk before beginning to dissipate.

Alas, its death only heralded the arrival of more Grimm.

From up above, a flock of Nevermore broke off from an attack upon an Atlas ship to now circle the air directly above them. More Griffons flew off towards the north and east. And the roars of Ursas can now be heard from the south, an entire pack of them now clearly making their way here.

Pyrrha and Nora shared a look with each other and then with the other students, who've just finished off the remaining Deathstalkers and had also fought off some Beowulves just now.

This look lasted all of a second at the most before they all proceeded to take up arms again and prepared for the next wave.

Though it's already been a half hour since the start of the battle, they all knew that they were still only barely getting started for real.


Ren grimaced from the strain he was currently under. Just now, he'd managed to lead a small group of civilians to a nearby shelter, an action that brought about a sense of accomplishment to the R of JNPR… but also brought about the beginnings of strain.

His semblance, for all its usefulness, was ultimately not something meant to be used for very prolonged periods of time and especially not for so many people. Used only upon himself and one other, he could remain hidden from the Grimms' senses for quite some time, but three people and up and he really starts struggling to maintain concentration then, especially in stressful circumstances.

And things couldn't get any more stressful than a damned Grimm horde assaulting Vale.

But now more than ever, he couldn't afford to let himself get worn down so easily. He and the others had known a day like this would come and he'd done his best to train to improve his stamina. Despite not having had long to do that, he felt there's been at least some bit of improvement and he fully intended to make the most of it.

With the hole that had suddenly been formed in Vale's southern wall, it went without saying that everyone had been taken aback and whatever leeway the powers that be had had to evacuate the citizens to shelters had been drastically cut short. Thus, there still plenty of people still out in the streets and within the buildings all around here.

Knowing that he wouldn't be of too much use against the much bigger Grimm – the price he pays for preferring small arms fire as opposed to Nora's heavy weaponry in the form of Magnhild – Ren opted to do what he can to get citizens to safety. His semblance made him ideal for this and knowing that the smaller Grimm tended to prioritize hunting down civilians when possible meant that should it come to combat, he'll be equipped to take on the enemy.

That said, things were obviously far from ideal.

This hadn't been the first group of civilians he's gotten to safety nor have the trips to their locations and then to the shelters been combat-free – in order to preserve whatever stamina he could afford for his semblance, he's had to rush around and blast his way through numerous Beowulves, Creepers, and Ursas to get to wherever civilians could be. He's been all too lucky so far in only having to fight small packs of Grimm at a time, Vale's streets and numerous buildings doing wonders in ensuring the Grimm can only come from so many directions at once, but this really only worked again on the 'lesser' Grimm, not so much against the airborne ones and this definitely wouldn't slow down the much larger ones like Deathstalkers and Goliaths. Hell, the Boarbatusks alone could smash their way through whatever was in their path once they started their charge.

And it was on this note that he found himself in thick of action yet again.

Having heard what sounded like some crying people from a clothing store nearby, he'd wasted no time hurrying over to the already ruined store, but his path had ended up obstructed by five Beowulves and two Boarbatusks.

He opened fire first on the Boarbatusks, not wanting them to charge into the store – if that happened, there'd be no stopping them in time before the building ends up collapsing. However, as expected, his shots from Stormflower did nothing more than make them aware of his presence and they turned in his direction.

Naturally, his shots also got the attention of the Beowulves and they were the first to move. Of the five Beowulves, two jumped right at him while the remaining three rushed forward on all fours.

While firing one of his guns at the Boarbatusks in the hopes of shooting out their eyes, he aimed his other gun at the jumping Beowulves and felled them with a burst of gunfire. As soon as those two were killed, he swung around and used both guns to quickly put down the remaining three.

That was when one Boarbatusk began its signature charge, having suffered virtually no damage from his gunfire just now. It moved with surprising speed despite being larger than the average Boarbatusk and Ren just barely managed to roll out of the way and swiped at its exposed side with the blades on Stormflower.

He grunted in a combination of annoyance and fatigue. He'd been hoping to strike the spot where the Grimm's thick hide gave way to soft underbelly, but his aim ended up being off. The result of his mounting exhaustion, he had to assume.

The other one now charged at him and he quickly slid under it and opened fire right into its underbelly in the process. His hail of gunfire proved enough to put this one down as its form dissipated a mere second later.

By this point, the first Boarbatusk had managed to bank a hard turn and head right back for him – and from the street perpendicular to him, another three snorted loudly as they spotted him and charged right over the bodies of several officers who've been felled long before he'd arrived on the scene.

Looking at this, Ren started to think through his next move…

…Only for his thoughts to suffer a most unfortunate interruption.

"Ah?!"

The Boarbatusks, while not as large as Deathstalkers or certain Nevermores, were a very heavy breed of Grimm. When they started charging, it was all too common for the ground to rumble for many yards on end. And with so many Grimm rushing throughout Vale, the ground was pretty much rumbling perpetually now.

Thus, he didn't sense it coming at all – a King Taijitu bursting from right under him and wrapping itself around him. The two-headed Grimm's grip on him proved to be so tight that even with his aura up, he could feel his bones bend and groan under the pressure, getting a harsh wheeze out of him. And thanks to the position he'd been in just as he was grabbed, the blades of Stormflower were being pressed directly against his legs.

He screamed mightily as he immediately tried to break free. He was met with some success, able to force the two-headed Grimm's grip off him somewhat, but as soon as it noticed this, it just tightened its hold some more while also rearing back one of its heads for a massive bite.

Ren kept on struggling, noticing that he could break free if he kept at it – just not in time to avoid the incoming bite. With how much aura he's already been made to rapidly expend so far…

"No!" he declared in a firm voice, tripling his efforts. Through sheer grit, he was able to force himself out just in time to flip through the air and avoid the bite. Even so, the fangs of the King Taijitu ended up clipping his ankle and he ended up sprawling onto the ground hard. But he forced himself up and wasted no time opening fire into the eyes of one of the heads, causing it to hiss and writhe about. Then when the other uninjured head went in for another bite, he moved to the side and used the blades of his weapons to cut through the side of its now fully open mouth.

His attack, motivated by pure emotion, proved enough to practically cut the side of its head open along the side and down a significant portion of its upper body. It was a deathblow and so the King Taijitu ended up dissipating… but not before its lower half flailed about and threatened to slam into him. He had to leap over the swiftly disappearing tail to avoid being hit.

And so, this sudden nuisance was dealt with.

Unfortunately, the time spent dealing with it ended up taking his attention away from the Boarbatusks, which were far closer now than ever before. He wouldn't have enough time to react-!

At that instant, someone shot past him and let loose a battle cry. A mace suddenly slammed into the street and a concentrated shockwave was released in the direction of the boar-based Grimm. This threw them off their charge somewhat, just enough to slow them.

"Hurry up, Renny boy!" called out the person.

Ren needed no further prompting.

Taking in a deep breath as quickly as possible, he charged at the unbalanced Boarbatusks and attacked them – but not with Stormflower.

No, he used his hands.

Against such durable Grimm, weapons such as his were only of use when their much softer underbellies were open to attack, either that or their eyes. However, he had one more 'weapon' that he's rarely had a chance to use ever since initiation.

Jaune wasn't the only one on JNPR to so heavily rely on aura, albeit in a different way.

Concentrating aura heavily into his palms, Ren smacked them against the very sides of each Boarbatusks' front legs and their lowered heads. The aura concentrated within each strike ended up traveling inwards and before it could be seemingly consumed by the beasts, it promptly ruptured like sentient bombs.

Yes, through masterful usage of his aura, the R of JNPR was able to effectively explode the Grimm from the inside out. He's done something similar to a King Taijitu back during initiation, before he and Nora had met up with the others, but he'd had to put in a lot of aura to take it down due to its size, having had to concentrate it all into a single palm thrust. But here, against the admittedly tough but ultimately smaller Boarbatusks, he was able to use less aura for each strike.

Each blow wrecked the Grimm practically in unison, such was his speed. In the time it took for him to practically rush in between and past them, his strikes found their marks and the sides of the Grimms' heads ruptured like macabre fireworks.

As the forms of the Boarbatusks disappeared into blackness, Ren looked wildly in the direction of his unknown helper.

"…Cardin?" He couldn't quite keep the surprise out of his voice.

How could he not as the leader of CRDL approached him. The C of the team bore the same grimace he seemed to have most of the times nowadays, but there was absolutely no hint of the usual arrogance and swagger that Ren had once believed to be a typical trait of the bigger teen.

His confusion must have truly been obvious on his face because the teen huffed. "We ain't got the time to sit here and talk about this." He motioned towards the shop. "Civies first, then we can ask twenty questions or whatever if you're really that curious."

"…No, I believe that won't be necessary… the questions, that is." Ren stood, just the beginnings of a small but understanding smile on his face.

Ever since Jaune had schooled Cardin during combat class, he and the rest of their little circle of friends hadn't exactly paid much attention to the teen, having been way too busy focusing on other matters in between then and now.

Just now, that swing of Cardin's… it'd been much faster than what Ren could recall from his spar with Jaune back then, stronger too. And yet, the shockwave had been so terribly controlled… looks like Cardin had been quite a busy bee this whole time. A true pity that Ren nor the others have been unable to notice this.

"Hey, Cardin, we got the civies!" called out Dove as he came running out of the ruined shop, carrying a kid in his arms while another person, presumably the kid's father, practically hung off the teen's side due to his clearly injured side. Several more people, sporting dirtied and bloodied looks, hesitantly popped out alongside the teen, looking scared to even take another step forward. "Let's book it back to the shelter!"

Only now did Ren take note of Russel and Sky off in the seeable distance, picking off a large pack of Beowulves that would've otherwise attacked him from behind if not for them. Much like with Cardin, their movements seemed considerably sharper and more controlled despite the circumstances.

Really now, just how much have he and the others missed all this time? Had they truly been so focused on their own matters that they'd let the efforts of others go this unnoticed?

Cardin nodded as he hefted his mace. Like Ren, he clearly looked worn down already, but there was still a fire in those eyes of his. He somehow seemed the same as before, jock-ish and blunt… but there was now genuine resolve in those eyes of his. "Alright, let's get moving then! I'll take point! Hey, Rus, get over here and help Renny boy here cover our damn rear – can't afford to lose our new precious cover!"

At that, Ren merely snorted as he hefted his weapons and quickly got closer to the civilians and Dove, nodding to the teen as he placed a hand on him. "Don't worry about me – just clear a path so we can get them all to the shelter ASAP."

Cardin snorted but cracked a smirk. "Well, if you really think you can keep up, little man…" He muttered cheekily before turning around and rushed off to lead the way.

As Ren activated his semblance and began to run alongside Dove and the civilians, he looked at the backs of Cardin, Russel, and Sky. The three teens, especially Cardin, made sure to spread out and form a three-point lead not too far ahead of them.

An Ursa roared as it came lumbering from the side. Cardin spun and swung his mace in one smooth motion, the blow reducing the Ursa's head to nothingness with ease. Meanwhile, Russel had dashed off a bit past the Ursa to suddenly cut up an Alpha Beowulf that had been creeping up on them too. Some helpful shots from Sky allowed Russel to deliver a flurry of cuts to the beast's throat and chest before it could do anything. A swift stomp to the side of its left leg made it drop and Cardin stepped in with another mace swing to finish it off for good.

This took perhaps a millisecond tops, giving the three plenty of time to get back into formation and continue running without missing a single beat.

Despite the circumstances, Ren found himself feeling that he was in good hands for the time being.


All throughout Vale, the collective battle against the Grimm waged on. And even from this far out, Ozpin could see just how well everyone appeared to be holding up so far. It truly was yet another reminder as to what humanity could be capable of when they came together.

However, as warm a sight as it was, that it came now during the brink of destruction sure did make for a sour note.

It especially didn't help that even from distance, he'd been able to see what had become of the southern wall.

"By gods, just what is even going on anymore…?" muttered Glynda from nearby, the woman still unable to get over how sudden the hole had appeared.

"No doubt, it's due to Hazel," Ozpin said dryly, his tone not changing in the slightest even as he swatted aside a Nevermore twice his size. His single, lightning fast strike killed it effortlessly. "…I can only pray the damage will not worsen."

Right now, things were actually going surprisingly well, all things considered. James' fleet was making slow but steady work of the avian Grimm that had come from the south and the ground forces were making a dent in the Grimm there. It helped immensely too that Amber and Raven, both of whom can just barely be spotted slinging around lightning bolts and fiery hail all the way from here, were dealing with the far bigger Grimm such as the Goliaths.

However, it was only a matter of time until everyone hit their limits, at which point, their resistance will undoubtedly falter. Another point of grave concern was the obviously huge fight going on in southern Vale and was swiftly moving deeper into the kingdom.

That must likely be Mr. Arc facing off against Hazel. The flashes of light and veritable earthquakes that could be seen and felt from here respectively lent some credence to this assumption of his. The all too familiar sensation of magical power helped too.

But just what had Hazel even become…? No, that wasn't relevant right now. What mattered was banding together to continue combatting this grave threat.

And speaking of threats…

Given the state of chaos going on, no one had noticed what was happening here on the western front, save for himself and the others stationed here. The thick storm going on above Vale certainly did help to keep anyone who may possibly be watching from down below from spotting what was off in the distance too.

"Ozpin, is that…?" called out Bart, the good doctor's voice sounding slow and shaky even as he used his weapon's flamethrower function to roast some reckless Griffons right above them.

"Yes," Ozpin whispered.

Not all that long ago, it had appeared on their horizon – another horde. Smaller than the one attacking from the south, but seemingly not by too much from what he could tell. Binoculars had confirmed many of the Grimm to be Beringels of all things, but ones with wings much to everyone's surprise save for his own.

But even without the binoculars, there was absolutely no missing the massive whale-like Grimm that was taking up a significant portion of the sky out there… nor did he miss the also all too familiar sensation of magic out there.

Salem was out there too. Likely riding upon that massive Grimm. He'd been right – she now sought to crush Vale in one fell swoop so that she may search without issue for the Relic of Choice. And if she got her hands on that, then humanity was done for – the Relic of Choice effectively allowed whoever used it to usurp free will. If Salem managed to get it out of the vault it was in then it'd be all too simple a matter to command the other kingdoms to turn over the remaining two Relics.

Another Griffon screeched as it swooped in, clearly intent on impaling him with its own face. Even with his thoughts elsewhere, his centuries of experience allowed him to respond in a literal instant. Casually putting on a burst of speed, he rushed at its lowered form and grabbed it by its right wing while simultaneously using his cane to trip up its feet just as it'd been about to touch down on the wall. Its balance thrown off, he was able to spin it around and toss it right into the mouth of a huge Nevermore.

The Nevermore, having been about to try and take a huge bite out of this particular spot, ended up choking on the surprise snack and that was when Glynda reached out with her semblance to telekinetically grab hold of it and chuck it downwards towards the ground below. This was then followed up by Peter letting out a bestial howl as he leapt after it and cleanly cut through the Nevermore with a single and ridiculously smooth swing of Blunderbuss.

In spite of the sight of the incoming second horde, his comrades remained stalwart. Ozpin found his confidence boosted considerably.

It'd likely be another half hour to around forty-five minutes before that horde reaches here judging by the surprising speed with which it was travelling by. Even so, numerous Nevermores and Griffons were able to break ahead of the horde and come all the way here, though most of them had also come from the southern horde too. Looks like Salem fully intended to wear them down as much as possible by the time she even got close.

A very obvious tactic but sadly one that would be effective, if only due to how many Grimm there are.

Oh, if only he retained the strength he had in his distant past. Even though smiting an entire horde would be impossible for him, he'd certainly be able to charge ahead and meet them head on to thin out the numbers first. Alas, there was no point in dwelling on such childish what-ifs.

This was it. The calm before the final storm.

Until said storm arrived, however, well, the best he and his comrades can do is thin the numbers as much as they can. Even one less Grimm could potentially make the difference and if they were to have any true chance at overcoming Salem and that behemoth of a Grimm, then they'd need to consolidate their forces as much as possible.

"Everyone," he called out in mid-concentration. His magical power was very weak, the result of centuries worth of gradual decay. Creating the Maidens and granting Qrow and Raven their shapeshifting abilities have further drained him. He truly was a shadow of his former self. But even so, as green energy, a combination of what little magical power he had left and his own aura, flared all around him, he somehow managed to feel as strong as ever in some respect.

Before he'd been forced into his numerous leadership roles, where all he could do was order others to do while he sat back and thought, he'd been but a humble warrior that sought challenge… and here was the final challenge on the literal stormy horizon.

His blood was boiling with a mixture of anger over all that's happened until this point… and some level of excitement.

"Let us properly introduce ourselves to our enemy, shall we?"

Though he'd heaped such a horrible fate onto his numerous allies throughout his lives, including this one, everyone gathered here let out a brave cheer that belied the fear that was undoubtedly in their hearts right now.

And so, as another flock of Nevermores and Griffons approached, everyone got ready… and then leapt into action.


From her vantage point atop her mount, Salem watched with narrowed eyes as Ozma and his forces moved in almost perfect unison. Her former love was the first to move and the fastest as well, leaping atop a Nevermore before splitting it in two with a sharp swing of his cane. He then leapt off its form before it could even start to dissipate and cut through several Griffons in mid-leap before landing on a much larger Griffon that he then skewered through the throat of.

Ah, for all the bitter loss between them, she'll admit that the sight of Ozma fighting was somewhat nostalgic. It reminded her of back when she'd first met him and they'd gone on their adventures around the world.

They'd been so full of love and life back then… and now here they both were, shadows of their former selves albeit in different ways. She was as strong as she'd ever been, but even she was not blind to how she's changed since the pettiness of the Brother Gods. As for Ozma, he'd remained the naïve but lovable fool he'd always been, but at the cost of his once great strength.

However, as he managed to keep himself in the air and cutting his way through one Nevermore and Griffon after another without ever once looking to be in danger of falling… she could see it – the steady return of the man she'd fallen for.

It was a lovely sight… and a painful one. It was truly sad that only when they were both on opposite sides that she could get to witness such a thing.

But just like all the pain she's felt before, she'll shove it all down. She's long since made up her mind on what she wished to do and she shall not deviate in the slightest.

If Ozma was now so willing to get back to fighting on the frontlines, then she'll give him the challenge he most surely sought.

Through her connection to the Grimm, she reached out to fifty of the modified Beringels.

Go to him.

They responded by howling and picking up their flight speed. In all honesty, the Beringels were plenty capable of heading out to Vale ahead of her mount, she'd merely kept them around as a precaution on the small chance that damnable Atlas fleet had tried opening fire on her. Not that such a thing would've stopped her, but she'd felt it best to avoid any inconveniences.

But now that she could see for herself that no such inconveniences would be happening, she can afford to start sending out some advance forces.

For now, she'll just send out this many, just to test out the modified Beringels and see how well they hold up in an actual combat situation. Depending on their performance, she'll send out more of them.

However, while she did that to keep Ozma and his forces occupied…

She closed her eyes and reached deep within the connection between herself and the Grimm.

There was another Grimm relatively nearby, but deep in slumber. It rested within a mountain of all things, having been content to lie about and grow when it had ran out of prey to kill so very long ago.

It took a long minute to reach out to it – such was the deepness of its sleep – but once she was able to reach it, it took but a single command.

Rise.

Somewhere off to her right – southwest of Vale – the entire mountain range there began to rumble violently as the Grimm awoke upon her command and let loose a roar that even from here seemed to shake the very air itself.

The tallest mountain in the center of the range suddenly burst open at the top, as if an eruption had suddenly occurred… only this was no eruption.

From the top of the mountain, it appeared – the Wyvern.

With but a single flap of its wings, it promptly took flight.

Right towards Vale.


Jaune let out a grunt as the monster successfully delivered a hook that knock him right off his feet. Even though he'd guarded against the strike, it still lifted him off the ground and sent him flying through a building.

The blond teen was a complete mess – most of his clothes had long since been burnt off, leaving him in only his pants save for just a small portion of his long sleeve shirt remaining. Even with his healing working overtime, he was bruised and battered all over. His bones ached like crazy and his insides in general felt like mulch. Even as he recovered from his impromptu crash, it felt like his brain wouldn't stop rattling.

But in spite of all these injuries, he could still fight on and that's exactly what he did.

Reaffirming his intent for the umpteenth time, his power grew and he swung his blades with such speed and skill that his swings actually somehow managed to cut silently through the air. The sheer speed of his slashes generated sharp winds that promptly cut into the monster as it proceeded to leap after him and the monster actually seemed to flinch somewhat as the winds struck its thick body. Even so, it wasn't slowed in the slightest and it promptly unleashed that same impossible to see blast at him.

However, unseeable or not, Jaune wasn't the same person he'd been moments ago. Though he couldn't see it nor hear it, he was still able to react to it, instinctively cutting at the very space before him with such force that space itself ended up severed, creating a gap that the 'blast' ended up traveling around harmlessly.

Sadly, by doing things this way, the 'blast' ended up splitting in two, with said halves now going right through an entire city block. It was only the fact that he knew this entire section had now been abandoned that he didn't feel any worse than he already did.

That said, such recklessness absolutely can't be allowed. He can't afford for this fight to head any further into the kingdom.

Landing on the ground, there was a small pack of Beowulves nearby. They charged at him, but with just a single swing of his left blade, they were all killed instantly. He didn't even bother taking his eyes off the incoming monster, who impacted against the ground hard enough to send rubble flying directly at him.

Jaune charged, weaving in between the pieces of asphalt headed his way before reaching his massive foe. The monster threw two insanely fast punches at his head, but the blond leaned to the side to avoid the first strike before outright sidestepping the next one. This also put him in a favorable position to attack, which he then did, slicing horizontally at the monster's torso.

Alas, the monster once again demonstrated its gift for combat by suddenly raising its right knee, partly deflecting his attack just before it landed. His blow still cut into the monster's skin and even managed to nick it quite well compared to just a moment ago, but it did nowhere near as much damage as he'd have desired.

With that same raise knee, the monster pivoted forward and slammed it into Jaune. He was able to twist around so that he was able to use his other blade to block the blow, but it still sent him skidding all the way across the street and into a building.

Just before impact, however, Jaune did a flip backwards and as soon as his feet barely touched the building's front wall, he kicked off and upwards. Launching himself up to the rooftop, he briefly surveyed the area.

Absolute chaos, it was the only way to describe it. The Atlas fleet overhead was engaging in a fierce aerial battle with Nevermores and Griffons while further into Vale, huntsmen, soldiers, and others can be clearly heard fighting all the ground forces roaming around wildly. The occasional explosions and rumbling that could be seen and felt even in midair rocked him to his very core.

He had to help them out as soon as possible – they weren't going to last-!

The monster ran forward and slammed into the building as soon as he'd even landed on the roof. This disturbed his balance but he remained upright and alert. He also leapt back as soon as he sensed danger and sure enough, the monster had jumped directly upwards at him from within the now crumbling structure.

It swiped at him with an open hand and nearly grabbed him, but he was able to maneuver a foot around to kick off the monster's outstretched forearm. Landing on the far side of the still crumbling building, Jaune immediately kicked at the rubble. His swift action resulted in the monster being pelted right in the face by a huge chunk of debris, getting a grunt of surprise out of it.

Taking this chance, Jaune concentrated all his strength into his blades and swung at the open air, cutting a vortex into existence that caused the monster to stumble forward awkwardly until it was practically in the center of the collapsing rooftop. Jaune then jumped above it and swung both blades at its unprotected head, launching it down through the building and into the ground.

With that done, the blond allowed himself to fall back towards the street and prepared himself for whatever the monster would do next, sensing it building up energy already.

Sure enough, the monster appeared from the rubble that was once a building and it did so in rather dramatic fashion, a burst of pure power being unleashed directly upwards.

Jaune followed the trail of the burst… only for his eyes to then go wide in pure shock, even terror.

So preoccupied with his battle that it wasn't until now that he ended up glancing off into the far southwest. And just barely, he could make out the form of an absolutely massive Grimm approaching. It looked terribly like a wyvern out of fairy tales… only this one, being a Grimm, certainly did have any of the majesty and awe that such a creature would normally evoke.

It was coming right towards Vale…!

Everyone will-!

So great was his surge of worry that he left himself completely open to several attacks from the monster. It suddenly shoulder charged him right down the street, tearing up the asphalt in the process. This was then followed up immediately by four quick jabs to his face that left him somewhat dazed but otherwise still able to make out what was going on.

They were getting dangerously close now to the highways, where the last battle he'd had with Hazel had roughly taken place… and they were packed with abandoned cars and soldiers who'd turned sections of the highways into impromptu forts, using them to pick off Grimm from a safe distance.

This was about all Jaune was able to make out before the monster's fist slammed into his face three additional times before a knee sent sprawling right along the entrance of the highways. He managed to gracefully turn his sprawl into a controlled roll, after which he came to a stop and swung his blades at the approaching monster's legs – only for the monster to merely jump right over his swings and literally stomp down on him.

His body nearly ended up folding backwards on itself due to the angle the attack came at. That such a thing didn't happen at all was more due to sheer luck than anything on his part. That said, it still rendered him out of sorts for an instant, just long enough for the monster to raise its foot and stomp down one more time before then using its other foot to land a kick to his jaw and sending him flying upwards.

In just a split second, Jaune was sent a solid mile upwards before finally beginning to slow down. It wasn't until he was at around the mile and a half mark that momentum ceased and gravity started to take hold – only for the monster to then come slamming into him, having launched itself after him.

But Jaune had been able to react to this, albeit not in the most ideal way possible – he'd ended up letting go of one blade so that he could use a free hand to catch the incoming punch while using the blade still in his other hand to slice into the monster's hand just as it had been about to impact against him.

Jaune internally grimaced; he was down yet another blade, leaving only the one in his hands and the other blade still sheathed on his left side.

But more than that… from this high up, even in his current situation, he could still get an even better look of the state Vale was in.

By this point, it must have been about an hour since the Grimm had started pouring in through the hole in the southern wall. And already, the havoc the Grimm have been wreaking was immense. Even from this high up, he could still make out all the ruined buildings and streets, hear the increasingly fewer and fewer screams and war cries being let loose throughout the kingdom, indicating the gradual lessening of brave men and women who were opposing the horde. The Atlas fleet was also not looking too hot, the blond just barely able to make out two of the bigger ships being brought down as an immensely dense flock of human-sized Nevermores managed to get past the anti-air fire and smash through the ships' command decks.

As the ships started going down towards Vale, Jaune could only watch with growing horror and sorrow, even as he himself struggled with the monster as they too fell.

Behold.

A voice resonated suddenly within his mind and Jaune immediately focused back on the monster's face, which was so close to his own now. Though it had no mouth with which to smile or speak, the ways its eyes crinkled at the corners was more than enough to tell it was reveling in this.

As expected, the fall of humanity begins here. The monster continued to struggle against him but didn't try to launch any other attacks in the midst of their fall. Neither did Jaune for that matter, too lost in horror and shock to do much more than just match the monster's struggle with his own. And also as expected, we both come to realize the truth: you may not be a slave any longer, but now it is certain you're no hero.

The monster let loose a 'sound' that could probably be classified as laughter, but its 'voice' was such a horribly distorted mess that Jaune could only scarcely make out anything.

He grimaced aloud now, that horrific sound drilling its way through his mind and down to the very core of his soul.

Congratulations, oh great fool – all your efforts to avoid this have ultimately been for nothing. Salem – no, I – shall reduce this kingdom to nothing more than a mere memory once I've fully trampled you out of existence.

But before I do that, tell me - how does it feel? Knowing that for all your efforts, you've allowed yourself to be so worried about others, so divided in your attention that you've been reduced to this pathetic state?

"I…" Jaune tried to reply but was unable to do so.

Only vaguely did he notice how close they were to ground once again, perhaps no more than just half a mile up in the air by this point and falling rapidly. It'd be only a moment longer before they struck the ground, for better or worse.

Meanwhile, a vicious roar from the massive Wyvern off in the distance filled his ears, followed by the soulless howls and cries of its fellow Grimm across the kingdom, seemingly uplifted by the Wyvern's incoming presence.

Ha, a true pity, really. In the end, all you can do is just fight and die all on your lonesome. But worry no longer – once I'm done with you, I shall track down your friends and send them to join you first. Consider that a final 'gift.'

At that, rage replaced terror and Jaune finally did something.

Letting out a grunt, Jaune flipped around in midair so that they were now upside down. The monster showed just a bit of surprise at this before doubling its efforts now. But by the time it attempted this, it was too late.

Concentrating aura into his sword, Jaune unleashed an explosive aura wave at point blank range and with such power that it truly ended up ruining the fist that it had been cutting into up until now. The monster let loose an additional sound of surprise but Jaune cut it off with a vicious punch that sent it flying downwards at incredible speeds.

However, just as he'd struck it, the monster also ended up striking him with another one of those instantaneous 'blasts,' hitting him right in the stomach and blowing him back through six tall buildings.

The blond recovered in an instant and slowly walked forward until he was the ledge of the hole of the building he was currently in. Off in the distance, he could spot just where the monster had landed, evident by the huge cloud of dust and smoke caused by its harsh landing.

Jaune took a breath before jumping out of the building and towards where the monster lied. By the time he arrived, it was already back up and glaring at him fiercely, clearly annoyed by what it assumed to be futile resistance.

The feeling was sort of mutual, to be honest; Jaune has had it up to here with how condescending and hateful the monster – formerly Hazel – is to him. Even though there'd been good enough reason for such an attitude, by this point, no amount of suffering the former human had undergone could ever hope to excuse such heinous actions.

But more than that…

Jaune took another breath. For as spiteful and cocky as the monster's words had been, it'd brought up an interesting point, one that only helped to solidify a point that the blond himself had been debating internally.

It had all started with what Pyrrha had said to him before he'd gone out on this final mission.

Did he really, truly have faith in humanity?

Before now, he'd thought that he did… but now, as was always the case, hindsight was proving to be twenty-twenty.

He trusts his friends as well as he does just random people he's met. His fellow students at Beacon, the staff there, the people of Sol, everyone he's met out in Vale and on the frontier… he truly did trust them to live up to whatever standards they set for themselves.

But trust and faith were two different things, he now realized.

He trusts his friends and everyone currently fighting right now to continue doing just that, to live up to whatever ideals they had as huntsmen or soldiers or whatever… but did he actually have faith in their ability to accomplish the intended goal of survival? Did he have faith in their ability and drive to defeat these dark forces and live to see tomorrow?

Only now did he realize that he didn't.

All those other times before, whenever he and his friends had been out in the field and he'd left them to their own devices… that was different, he noticed. Different in that, should things somehow go wrong, he would've been nearby to swiftly come rushing to their aid… something he'd partly been expecting, even itching, to do in one form or another.

But here on the brink of destruction, such a thing wasn't possible.

For all his power, he was but one person and the current battlefield – all of Vale as of now – was far too vast for him to be able to be everywhere at once to lend his assistance. And it was this that had been frustrating him deep down, had been driving him somewhat insane.

"Ah…" Jaune let out what sounded like the beginning of a bitter comment aimed directly at himself.

Of course, it's only now in the midst of his own battle that he'd once again learn something about himself. And to think he once believed he knew how things were like out there in the world… how unbelievably arrogant of him. He should've been slapped long ago for such foolishness.

After all, a 'hero' didn't simply help people and strike down evil… no, a true hero made sure to also inspire others and always, always have faith in others. Even if a hero often operated on his lonesome, that didn't mean it was entirely up to him to solve everything both major and minor – sometimes, he had to trust in others to be able to do what he sometimes could not.

And now was a perfect example of that.

Yes, the odds were horrendously bleak – so many Grimm still roaming around, to say nothing of the Wyvern approaching and what looked like another horde coming from the west too, but when was it ever in the nature of the good and righteous to let the odds dictate what they can and can't do?

In realization of all this, a final change was now occurring in Jaune, one so grand that he ended up outright ignoring the monster even as it now started charging right at him.

His semblance was what he'd often called, if only to himself, Slave of Light – that is to say, his semblance effectively made him the very embodiment of positive human emotions and traits: courage and love, prosperity and progress. In effect, the very desire to always be moving forward. Looking back simply wasn't an option at all. Thus, his very soul brimmed with positive emotions, ambitions and expectations, always desiring to move on and ensure the safety and progression of humanity.

In other words, he was essentially an ideal hero made real, if only for embodying such typical traits of righteousness – or so it would seem at a first glance.

The issue was that, because he so thoroughly embodied those traits, he was made a slave to the positive doctrines of humanity itself, to the point of complete excess. This excess manifested in the form of sheer, overwhelming spirit, limitless for all intents and purposes. It is this limitlessness that is the source of his strength, causing an ever-drastic and ever-continuous rise in his power via his internalized and always surging aura. So great was this boon that his own body had always been skirting the line of complete collapse. If not for aura's natural applications for healing, he'd have long since exploded from his own power and this is in no way a hyperbole.

Through this great yet terrible power, he could always rise to meet whatever challenge may impede his way. Through his sheer tenacity, he could survive just about anything thrown against with nothing more than strength of will and bring about genuine miracles, or at least as close to the genuine article as one could get while still being within the realm of possibility.

But now… he was truly a slave no longer. In light of his realizations, his semblance began to alter itself accordingly.

The boons still very much remained, if not more so… but now, he was truly free from all the constraints it had forced unto him.

He was no longer a Slave of Light. No, if he was to be called something now, he'll be the Martyr of Light, he who has conquered the excessiveness of humanity's positive doctrines. He shall still adhere to his original goals – smiting evil and helping others – but no longer shall he allow himself to head down the path he'd initially started out on.

He would not be alone in his quest anymore.

But first thing first…

The monster approached, a fist coated in pure magical power aimed right for his face.

With how close the monster is to him, Jaune should have absolutely no chance of responding in time.

And yet, he did.

In an instant, he drew out the final blade he had on him so that he was once again dual-wielding and promptly swung both blades in perfect unison. His swords cut silently through the air, severing sound itself before cleanly cutting off not just the monster's incoming fist but also a significant portion of its forearm too.

Letting his momentum carry him, Jaune then twisted and delivered a powerful kick to the monster's stomach that blasted it back a dozen meters.

The monster made no sound, such was its shock and pain. It actually paused to feel up its clearly injured stomach with its good hand before then looking to its freshly amputated right arm.

Its unhealing right arm.

By now, the arm should've already begun to reattach itself or simply regrow what had just been lost… and yet that didn't happen. Because Jaune refused to let that happen. His swings just now hadn't been targeting just the physical aspect of the monster – no, he'd cut even further beyond than that.

He'd targeted the monster's regeneration itself.

This was a true absurdity, not even Jaune himself could deny that. And to think, this was but a small demonstration of what he can now do.

But more than that, Jaune could feel it – despite how much stronger he'd just suddenly become, he was still growing and evolving. Into what, he had no idea, but that was yet another thing that can wait until later.

He shifted into a stance. The sound of his feet grinding against the ruined street ended up drawing the monster's blank attention.

And no sooner than when it looked at him did Jaune go on the attack.

Now was the time to finally put this to an end.


The monster could only gape, if only internally, at its amputated arm. It could feel it – no matter how much it concentrated, its arm simply refused to regenerate.

What was this? Just what in the hell was happening?!

No, it knew right away what had happened.

It had made a horrible mistake – in each of its prior encounters with Jaune Arc, the teen had always seemed to undergo some sort of enlightenment and with each of those experiences had come change. With change had come power, great enough to start making a difference.

And it was now clear that whatever change or evolution the teen had undergone just seconds ago had put him leagues above the level he'd been at before and in ways that the boy himself probably didn't fully understand yet.

And now the teen in question was lunging right at him.

On pure instinct, the monster sought distance. Right away, it could tell that close combat was no longer something it should be engaging in. Recalling the soldiers stationed on the highways, the monster now intended to head right for them. Not necessarily to kill them – though if such an opportunity was present, it'd eagerly do so – but rather to ensure that its young foe's options would be subsequently limited.

But then just as it began to move…

…Jaune Arc swung. And this time, the results were quite different from before.

The teen had sliced at the open air, only a relative bit of aura being channeled into the weapon. The monster prepared to defend itself against what it assumed to be another wave of aura… only for that to not be the case at all. Instead, the blond teen cut at the air – and in an instant, the teen was no more than just a few feet away from the monster.

The monster's eyes went wide to an almost comical degree. Due to its source of power – that of the essence of the God of Darkness – its senses had become attuned to things beyond the physical senses. Thus, it was privy to the insanity the boy had just accomplished:

Jaune Arc had cut space itself down. This was why the distance between them had suddenly dropped to practically zero.

Immediately, the monster tried to put up a barrier of pure energy, one so powerful that even individual particles would struggle to slip through it. Alas, the follow up swing from the blond easily sliced through its barrier just as it had through space itself… and right into it.

The blade cleaved through its right leg, striking just a bit above its knee. Several more blinding fast swings followed up, cutting the now severed limb into literal nothingness.

A sense of genuine panic now settled into the monster as it began to lose its balance. But even so, it acted. It planted its sole good leg as firmly as it could, preventing its fall. As soon as this was accomplished, it immediately glared at the teen and fired a blast of unrelenting power, an attack embodying the very concept of power itself right at the teen.

This attack struck Jaune head on… and barely even slowed him even as it partly caved in his chest. The blond teen's eyes merely narrowed and glowed with unbridled yet inexplicably tamed power now. The boy was closing in again, preparing to swing-.

The monster couldn't let that happen! It will not fall!

Out of desperation and rage, it just chose to unleash as much power as it could instantly muster in a wave of pure energy. By all rights, everything within several miles of its current location should be completely removed from existence just like that…

…But no sooner than when it began to generate this wave, the teen demonstrated the impossible yet again by swinging his other blade, severing the wave itself and dispersing it into harmless nothingness. Another swing then followed, cutting through the monster's other hand just as it had started to raise it to attack.

Then another swing and then another.

Its remaining arm was completely cut to ribbons that rapidly began to fade. Same thing went for its remaining leg along with its lower body in general. Its horns were likewise destroyed just before what remained of its body could even begin to fall towards the ground.

A sudden kick impacted against its chin in mid-fall, warping its face horribly and knocking it several yards away.

The monster gasped internally.

How…? Just how can this be…?!

The sound of Jaune Arc's steps snapped it out of its despairing thoughts and it managed to somehow twist itself around to look up in time to see the blond now standing over him.

H-How…? Just how can you always improve in mid-battle like this?!

With its regeneration halted and reduced to such a state, the monster knew there was nothing more it could do. Despair was setting in along with frustration.

It was just too damn ridiculous – no matter how bloodied and battered the teen ended up being, he just never died, was always able to somehow keep up no matter the odds!

Jaune raised the blade in his right hand a little until its point was literally inches away from its face. In that second, the monster's eyes started to soften, realizing this was finally it. It would die with its purpose unfulfilled and its questions gone unanswered.

However, to its surprise, the boy did answer him a moment later.

"Because of others… and you." His tone was terribly soft, almost sorrowful in a way. But there was also a strange hint of thanks in its too.

The teen's previously razor-sharp gaze had softened and now the two of them shared a look for but a split second.

"I've long since questioned a lot of things about my semblance, about myself. And maybe it was because of my semblance's effect on my mentality, but I was just never able to figure out what exactly was wrong with me or what I may have been lacking," Jaune said. "It took others pointing things out for me to start really identifying the flaws in my previous way of thinking and doing things… but it wasn't really until my battles with you and the conversations that took place during them that I came to realize how to correct them, how to be the person I truly wanted to be."

Jaune drew his sword back just a little, enough for them to stare at one another better. He was now beginning to raise both blades, which almost literally hummed with aura now. The teen's body language spoke of resoluteness. No longer did he seem to be questioning his own actions and intentions.

Jaune Arc was truly free now, free to pursue his own ideal of heroism.

"…As crazy as this may sound now of all times, I thank you," he said quietly. "If not for our words, I probably would've never come to these realizations, at least not for a long while… but I believe that deep down, that was your intention… wasn't it?"

!

In response to that, the monster could not say a single thing at all.

The teen raised his blades a little more, now fully ready to attack. "…Goodbye. And don't worry – I may still have a long way to go… but I'll be the hero you've been searching for."

As the blond began to move, the monster closed its eyes in acceptance.

I see…

Those were the last two words it ever uttered.


Jaune swung. He cut and sliced and hacked away, just like he had attempted before. But this time around, there was no longer anything to interrupt him, nothing to impede him nor slow him down. He wouldn't allow such a thing ever again.

And so, he cut away with impossible speed and precision. What remained of the monster – of Hazel – was swiftly decimated, cut down into ribbons and then those ribbons down into individual molecules… and then he just kept on cutting.

Down to atoms, down to particles… and then… down to absolutely nothing at all.

In the span of perhaps several seconds at most, the monster was no more.

A feeling of quiet triumph filled the blond as he delivered that last swing and he came to a sudden halt. But this feeling was also mixed with a heavy dose of sadness.

Just now, in these final moments between them, Jaune had realized something about the monster – no, about Hazel.

That man, for all his resentment and rage, for all the crimes he's committed since going down this path… deep down, Hazel had been longing for someone to save him from the lonely hell his life had become all that time ago, an actual 'hero.'

In no way did this excuse what the man has done since that time. Hazel had hurt and killed many people in the name of misplaced vengeance and had become a genuine monster, all for the sake of bringing down humanity itself… but even so, in spite of all that, Jaune couldn't help but feel genuinely sorry for the man.

The road to hell was always paved with good intentions… and it was so terribly easy to be worn down into a veritable husk the further down that road one goes. Hazel, mighty as he'd been, had ultimately been just another victim of that horrible fate.

Jaune closed his eyes for a second or two, offering up a silent prayer for the man. However, the sounds of battle raging all throughout the kingdom were quick to snap him out of it.

He rolled his shoulders, shifted his legs a little, and hefted his two remaining blades up as he now stared off into the distance where that Wyvern could now be seen, flying right over Vale airspace.

Hazel had wished for a hero… and right now, certainly many of people out there was wishing for one as well.

Jaune had no intention of disappointing, not because he had to, but because he wanted to live up to those wishes.

But even as he made a mad dash towards the massive Grimm's location, the blond felt little in the ways of worry any more.

After all… he had faith in the others' ability to pull through.

As he ran, aura began to slowly and unconsciously pour out of him and start to disperse everywhere.

A hero got his strength from the people… and in turn, a hero can lend his strength to others as well, after all.


And bam – final battle between Jaune and Hazel done! Perhaps not as lengthy or as flashy as I'd have liked, but at the same time, I worried over dragging it out too long, something I'm sure several of you guys worried about too. And with good reason too since very few authors out there can write out fights spanning entire multiple chapters and keep it from getting stale – a group that I DO NOT count myself among as; I'm still but an amateur and have a long way to go before I reach such a point.

Anyways, Jaune's finally reached his ultimate answer and by extension his 'final form' so to speak… but he will still keep getting stronger and even more absurd. After all, he's a Slave/Martyr of Light – and those types of characters do not know the definition of stopping.

Remember how I've said time and time again, the whole concept of Slave of Light is lifted from the Silverio visual novel series? There's a reason why Jaune is so absurd in this fic… and honestly, if anything, I've really been downplaying what he has the potential to do.

For example, Helios (my fav Silverio character and one of my fav VN characters in general) eventually grows enough in power to be able to do crazy/impossible things like headbutting miasma, cracking singularities with his footsteps, chomping on anti-particles, kicking interdimensional vibrations, repelling all sorts of abilities just by yelling, cutting nonexistence itself, using the entire world as a sheathe for his swords, ignoring attempts to teleport him away by condensing his power that much, negating anti-Astral particles that are meant to negate the abilities in the series (basically, he power nulls a power null… yeah), picking up an entire dimension to use as a blunt weapon, making shields out of space itself to use, ignore his own death so strongly that reality itself collapses to undo said death and make himself immune to what killed him, and being so damn stubborn that not even a hundred million higher dimensional beings can impede him… and the kicker? Helios' Sphere (basically his special power) is geared towards immortality. In other words, offense isn't his primary specialty.

Then there's Christopher Valzelide/Keraunos (the basis for this version of Jaune), who as Sphere Punisher is a more offensive version of Helios and thus can do all that he can do in addition to other crazy shit like cutting space to negate distance, destroying black holes, severing electromagnetic radiation, withstanding continental plates grinding against him, and eventually being able to ignore the time axis in order to destroy any phenomena in the past, present, and future.

And finally, there's Kagutsuchi (affectionately called moe muscle mass by the Silverio fans), who specializes in sheer output and thus can amp his power by obscene amounts to the point where he can literally blow away all concepts/laws directed at him, including abilities that can create/destroy universes and generate parallel worlds. He can also gain new abilities and the like via reactive evolution, letting him do crazy things like spawning biometal from nothing, acquiring entirely new biological functions, and transcending the influence of Astral (higher dimensional particles that are a necessary component of the Silverio setting) to the point where he's become a whole new type of being all together. He can also eventually develop an ability to kill beings called Ancestors, who are basically higher dimensional beings whose bodies exist in the 3-dimensional world while their souls/information exist in a higher realm.

And the kicker to all this? All three of these ridiculous guys were nowhere near done evolving by the time of their final appearances in the series.

So, yeah, the point of my rambling just now was to point out that, as ridiculous as Jaune might be powerwise right now, he's still a long way to go before he becomes truly absurd… but I also want it said that he does have the potential to reach the levels of Helios and Keraunos, but I'm saying this right now that such a thing WILL NOT be happening in this fic.

Anyways, rambling done for good here. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter (especially the brief return of Cardin too) and will look forward to the remaining chapters of the fic.

Until next time, everyone. Stay safe.