Hey there, everyone. Hope you all have been doing okay since the last chapter. Speaking of which, glad you guys liked it! And yeah as you've noticed too, this fic really is coming to a close, but not too soon just yet. Again, can't quite predict how many more chapters it'll be until this fic is done, but it shouldn't be too many more.
In any case, I continue my goal of making this as enjoyable as possible for all of us. May the battle between Salem and Ozpin here live up to expectations.
Onto the chapter!
Chapter 58
Thanks to his semblance, amped by Mr. Arc's aura, Ozpin was able to make the first actual move despite him and his former wife preparing their attacks at the same exact time.
It would seem that even now after all these centuries, Salem was still prone to certain habits. Namely, that in the case of facing much speedier foes, she'd always open up with the manipulation of space itself in order to effectively block off which routes he can take here.
Now, by all rights, such an action that was meant to limit his movements would've worked – while mighty by the standards of huntsmen, his current self was but a shadow of his former might from so long ago. However, thanks to the boost provided generously by Mr. Arc's aura, he was now at almost the same level he'd been at before just prior to illness first taking him.
As such, when the very fabric of space around him began to contort, he simply put on a burst of speed that allowed him to outstrip this action by a fair margin. Immediately closing in on his simultaneously most cherished and hated foe, he concentrated what little magical power he still had within himself. However, it was no longer quite so feeble, his inherent magic interacting quite well with Mr. Arc's aura.
Having concentrated his magical power and aura into his cane, he thrust it forth. In an instant, he pierced through his former wife's abdomen, at which point the power contained within his weapon effectively detonated like a bomb.
The result? Well, his wife exploded as well, of course, if only her upper body. Bits of her got all over himself, but he paid no mind and instead punted away her lower half a good few yards before moving again.
He knew all too well how Salem operated in battle, their first lifetime together being more than enough to learn her quirks inside and out. The curse placed upon her was also something he'd become quite familiar with thanks to their first ever battle, where their dear daughters had paid the price for their parents' mistakes.
As that particular memory shot through his mind, self-loathing and rage welled up within him and he took it out upon Salem's already reforming body. He brought his cane down as if it were a blade, cleaving her lower half and what had barely reformed of her upper half into several pieces with just a single slash.
Power swelled within the area and he immediately threw up a barrier of green magical energy to shield himself. He could've easily backed away in time to avoid it but didn't dare wish to give Salem any leeway here. Though reduced to her current state, she could still very much make use of her magic. However, using her magic when in such an injured state required a bit more concentration and time than when she was fully formed. A sort of mental block perhaps, or maybe some kind of odd loophole involving her curse and using her magic. Whatever the case, it was something to exploit and the fewer chances he could give Salem to attack, the better.
But again, it wasn't as if she was completely helpless when like this. Sure enough, that swelling power burst into existence like a huge balloon, the very air around them combusting. Even with his barrier up, it still managed to make his insides churn a bit, but he endured the pain and simply pressed on, swinging his cane more and more.
Tapping into his semblance some more, his speed increased even further and his more refined control over the ever increasing amount of aura he had thanks to this blessing going on allowed him to gradually increase the power of his attacks without much effort on his part.
In virtually no time at all, he'd managed to reduce his former wife to little more than splotches of blood in the open air.
"-!"
Suddenly, his instincts kicked in and unlike before, he had no choice but to leap back this time to avoid Salem's counter. No sooner than when he moved away, the very earth he'd been standing upon suddenly opened up and warped, spikes forming that were easily two feet in length and nearly half that in width. Had he not moved when he did, the shifting earth would've sucked him down and right onto those spikes. Death would've been instantaneous.
Ozpin internally grimaced. While his power right now may be close to his peak, it didn't allow him to perform anywhere near the same level of overall feats he could've pulled off during his original life. Back then, when he'd possessed the fullness of magic, he too had been able to command the elements and even twist some concepts to his will. Nowadays, the best he could do was create barriers and use pure magical energy for other simple purposes. By no means was this a bad thing in and of itself, but his lacking versatility put him at just a bit of a disadvantage against Salem here.
And sure enough, thanks to him being forced to back off, the ruler of the Grimm began to swiftly reform. As her body started to regrow itself, an eruption of magma spontaneously appeared from the ground and spewed forth like a concentrated flood in all directions, but with a particularly heavy flow in his direction.
Even from this distance, the sheer heat was proving quite painful and Ozpin had no choice but to retreat. He considered it good fortune that he'd taken this fight a fair distance away from where Amber and Raven were at, but he'd have to be mindful not to let himself be driven too far back lest they end up getting caught up in this battle of theirs.
Unfortunately, with magma now flowing everywhere, his options were limited. He couldn't fly nor were there any safe spots nearby.
…No, wait, there was one….
Narrowing his eyes, he girded himself before suddenly throwing his cane with incredible precision and speed at the now fully reformed Salem. However, as fast as his throw was, his cane can only travel so fast. Thus, Salem saw it coming and swatted it aside with a hasty backhand-.
-But that backhand gave him the opening he needed; for just a split second at the very most, her own hand had ended up obscuring her own vision.
He pounced, literally. He leapt right over the dangerous area between him and Salem and practically landed right on her face. The widening of her eyes just before the sole of his shoe impacted against them was practically priceless. Then in one fluid motion, he reached out and grabbed his cane out of the air before it could fly too far away and he then jumped up – but not before managing to hook his other leg around Salem and bring her up with him.
Flipping around in midair, he let go of her and then delivered a powerful swing with his cane, sending her flying off into the distance… and right into her own magma flow. She let loose a howl of surprise and pain as her form naturally began to burn and practically melt. As for him, he landed just where Salem had been standing, the only spot devoid of magma.
But he wasn't done just yet. Grunting, he unleashed a swing of his weapon again at an upwards angle, using just some of his magic and aura to blow some more magma onto Salem's struggling form.
But just before it could envelop her, Salem suddenly thrust out a palm and the magma immediately transformed into hard and jagged rocks that then flew right at him.
He swatted them down with ease – but unfortunately, allowed himself to remain still for too long. Just as he'd nearly finished up destroying the rocks, the magma all around suddenly reversed its flow and literally leapt off the now scorching hot and ruined ground and onto him.
His form was immediately enveloped by it and he let loose a cry of agony. He's died in all sorts of ways these past centuries. Magma was something new, to be honest.
His clothes started to burn and his glasses were ruined instantly, gone in a split second. However, he fought through the pain and concentrated both his magic and aura in unison, strengthening his defenses and beginning the healing process. It'll take quite some time to be fully healed even with the enhancement brought about by Mr. Arc's aura, but that was something that could wait until later. What mattered was making sure his nerves and limbs remained intact enough to function normally.
Then he let out a burst of power, forming a barrier from beneath his own charring skin and making it expand outwards without issue, literally pushing all the magma off him. He did so just in time to also block a follow up strike from Salem, a blast of pure magical energy slamming against the very front of the barrier. If he'd been too slow, that would've struck him right in his heart. Good thing he was still so quick.
Speaking of which…
He deactivated the barrier and immediately charged at Salem, relying on his speed to close the distance between them.
And that distance was closed in pretty much an instant-.
"…?!"
-Except, the end result wasn't quite one he'd liked.
Just as he'd been about to attack, he suddenly found himself facing completely away from Salem. Realization struck him an instant later – she'd anticipated his approach in advance, no doubt through that prophetic sight of hers, and had prepared a spatial trap in advance.
Now his back was completely open to her.
Immediately, he started to twist around in midair – only for Salem to then lash out by slamming both hands together. A section of the scorched ground rose up and smashed right against him just as the very space above him condensed and crushed him; he'd effectively been turned into a human sandwich.
He groaned, for that strike just now had really damaged his insides even through his aura and hastily formed magical barrier. He'll live, of course, but not for much longer if she follows up with another strike.
Of course, that's exactly what Salem tried to do, motioning with her hands as she prepared what was to be her final strike.
Unfortunately for her, she'd been standing too close to him.
He swung his cane out and caught her just a bit under her right ribs. The strike cracked said ribs along with his cane itself – despite his efforts, seems like he hadn't been able to shield it completely from the magma just a moment ago. Still, it was worth sending her flying away and making the condensed space revert back to normal.
Rolling off the still raised bit of earth, he landed on the ground and let out another groan. That hit just now really had done a number on him. He focused on healing as best as he could, but there'd really only be so much he could do in just these precious moments.
From when he'd first attacked Salem up until now, barely a minute has passed when to him, it'd felt so much longer. Such was the result from just how fast and vicious the two of them were being so far, himself especially so.
And now here they were, experiencing something of a brief respite.
Well, he was, at any rate – as for the woman he'd once loved so dearly, Salem was already back up on her feet and not looking tired at all.
Damn curse, he thought. As a side benefit of infinite lifeforce, it granted her seemingly infinite stamina. No matter what he did to her, she'll never tire out. He should know. After all, the first time they'd ever battled, he'd proven himself capable of reducing her entire form to ashes multiple times over, showing that he was indeed much more powerful than she is at that time. Alas, all the power in the world means nothing when the foe can literally just keep getting back up indefinitely. Attrition truly was Salem's forte.
"…"
"…"
The two of them simply stared at one another, making sounds of such discontentment that the very word itself was honestly inadequate in expressing how they clearly felt.
They'd once been so very deeply in love. Had he never decided to eventually obey the God of Light's request, Ozpin could've very well envisioned himself being by Salem's side indefinitely without issue. No matter how many times he would have ended up having to die and then reincarnate, he'd have eagerly returned to her forever. And Salem would've likewise had no issue with such an outcome and would've always waited for him every time.
Alas, well, circumstances always have a way of changing things dramatically.
The horror he'd felt when Salem had first expressed to him her desire to rule over this second version of humanity as gods back then had been but the start of it and it went without saying that his betrayal of her trust in him when he tried to sneak their daughters out of their home only made things infinitely worse.
And from there… well, they'd always been emotional people. That they'd been so ideologically opposed at that point thanks to the actions of the Brother Gods had only caused their love to begin its collapse, to say nothing of it being their own fault their daughters had died. And the many clashes they've had over the centuries have only added more and more to their growing ire for one another.
Ah, by no means was this some new revelation he was having here. In fact, it was one he had not very long after the official start of his shadow war with Salem. If he had to try and place when, he'd say it was around his sixth or seventh reincarnation that he really noticed just how much he'd actually come to hate the love of his life by then. And not long after that, when he'd managed to fight directly against Salem again, he'd been able to tell by the look in her eyes at the time that she'd had that same realization too.
Words of pure hurt and confusion had been thrown about during that particular confrontation as well some other fights after that, at least up until his power began to wane and he no longer had been capable of being on the frontlines of his own war.
They'd long since talked it all out, had laid out all the things they've wanted to say to one another. He knew exactly how Salem felt and she knew exactly how he felt about all this.
Unfortunately, by the time they'd said everything they could ever say, they were both just too far gone in their own ways to just stop. Salem had become obsessed with her own goals just as he'd been obsessed with his own, if only by that point to possibly lay his wife to rest forever and hopefully find a way to break his own curse.
…He remembered his conversations with Mr. Arc. He recalled the young man seeming to view himself as something of a slave once upon a time. And now in light of all this, Ozpin couldn't help but feel he and Salem were slaves too, slaves to this war between them.
Sad, really… but it didn't stop what must be done.
Slowly, he stood without ever breaking eye contact with Salem. He flicked his wrist lightly followed then by his other wrist and then moving onto the rest of his joints. Seemed that they were still intact and functioned well enough good.
As for his cane…
Inwardly, he winced. He crafted this weapon long ago. Though simplistic in design, it's served him well for many lives now, had proven its reliability time and time again when he's gone into battle for whatever reason. The sheer amount of time he'd spent crafting it had ensured it was a durable weapon despite its lightweight nature, but now it finally seemed like it was wearing down, though to be fair this was the first time it'd ever been coated in magma. In any case, it perhaps only had a good few swings in it left before it broke for good, though aura could hopefully extend its 'life' just a bit longer than that.
"…Just how long has it been since we've last fought, Ozma?" Salem suddenly asked of him.
He gave his cane a light twirl before responding. "Hard to say, really. At some point, the years start to blur together. I imagine that's very much the case for you given your isolation."
Salem snorted lightly. "I will admit that this cycle has proven to be most interesting… but just like all the other times, its end is now here." Her eyes narrowed and the veins upon her once unmarred visage pulsed darkly. "As will everything else. I've long since grown tired of this entire affair, Ozma. I will take the Relics this time around… and then, when those so-called gods come, I'll take the fight to them."
Ozpin closed his eyes for a moment, trying to envision such a thing. Certainly, if she could get all four Relics, Salem truly would be a force beyond compare… but that was only when trying to compare humanity to her by that point.
Against the Brother Gods, Relics or no Relics, she'd stand no choice. Surely she must know this.
"You should know just as well as I do that they're beyond us in all ways," he stated as he began to take up a stance. "All you'd accomplish is perhaps being granted yet another fate worse than death. And if that ever comes to pass, you truly will be alone for good."
If she succeeded in her goal of obtaining the Relics, by that point humanity would no doubt be wiped out completely. She'd be all on her lonesome yet again, much like when she'd been locked away in that tower. Only this time around, there will be no one to free her from such a horrible prison of her own making.
"…Perhaps." Her response was so quiet and solemn that Ozpin's stance loosened up from the shock. Never in all these centuries had he ever seen her look so worn down nor sound so tired. But that look lasted all of a microsecond before she steeled herself yet again and the cruel and resolute visage of the ruler of the Grimm returned in full force. "But no matter what the end result will be, what matters is that this will all end for good. And you will not stop me anymore, Ozma."
She spread out her arms and magical power began to rapidly gather all around her. Just as he'd been readying his next move, so was she.
"But before such an end comes about…" she began in a tone colder than even the harsh environment of Solitas. "There must first be an end to our battle. Now… have at you!"
And with that, the second round of their battle began furiously.
Salem stared down Ozma as she made the first move. And unlike before, it was she who held the true initiative this time as the concept of space itself submitted to her will. But it wasn't just space itself that did so, but also nature itself as well.
This was it – the beginnings of the fullest of her power being put to use. For far too long she'd kept herself entertained with manipulating things from the shadows. Now was the time to truly cut loose and put a proper end to this loathsome war between her and Ozma once and for all.
She cared not that he'll just continue to reincarnate. All that mattered was winning this one decisive battle today and then her true battle against the Brother Gods would officially begin in earnest upon obtaining the Relic of Choice.
Space rippled all around them, but specifically her like a barrier. The rippling effect spread towards Ozma, who immediately sought to move away. However, just as he started to blur towards her left, entire chunks of the ground rose up at incredible speeds, forming obstacles that he had no choice but to navigate around. Meanwhile, hail and lightning rained down from the storm above which intensified as she manipulated it to her own ends.
Though Ozma had managed to avoid being caught up in the ripple effect, the onslaught of earth, lightning, and hail caused him to slow considerably and that was when she made her next move. Just as her former husband began to prepare a barrier, she made a small bit of air right by his legs spontaneously combust. The combustion blew him back and into a piece of raised earth. It even blew him through said bit of the risen ground and that was when many more chunks lifted up to smash against him relentlessly.
Levitating herself in order to get a bird's eye view here, she raised a single hand and in the follow microsecond, a majority of the lightning that had been firing down now switched directions and coalesced within her open palm. All that power and heat concentrated itself within her palm and then traveled into just a single finger.
She wasted no time firing it at Ozma and the burst of unfiltered lightning made everything else up until this point look weak in comparison.
Alas, her greatest enemy proved his combat ability once again. Even as he was struck by a bit of earth, he managed to use the momentum to flip himself over and then jump straight up. Normally, such an action should've left him a sitting duck, especially as her fired lightning curved its path to follow him. However, he then generated a barrier – no, not a barrier, but a platform. He promptly kicked off it just in time as her attack struck the generated platform and it exploded with such force that had it struck Ozma, his entire form would've been reduced to nothing but ashes.
He'd leapt right at her, but she was already flying higher up, bending space in order to route him downwards where she could rain down her wrath upon him.
Unfortunately, the simple issue with this is that she wasn't fast enough. That annoying semblance of his current body, an internalized form of time manipulation allowed him to greatly speed up all his movements, no matter how improbable such a thing may be. It was like hitting fast forward on a bit of video and thus his form blurred more than ever before as he suddenly put on a burst of speed that allowed his leaping form to close the distance between them before he could get caught in her spatial warp.
He slammed into her hard and they went tumbling down to the ground hard, but through it all he was able to stay quite literally on top of her. A punch was let loose and it slammed into her face in mid-tumble, breaking her nose. By no means an unexpected action – she'd even seen it coming via her prophetic vision, but it'd just been that fast. In any case, it rattled her brain around a little and left her just marginally dazed, long enough for Ozma to rain down a few dozen more blows before finally getting up and kicking her right in the side and launching her several yards away.
Fool, Salem thought with a mixture of annoyance but also triumph. After all, whenever there was even a bit of range between them, she held the overall advent-.
"-?!" Suddenly, she let out a sound of pure surprise as her impromptu flight incomprehensibly found itself being slowed down.
As she tried to turn to see what was going on – a movement that was also being dangerously slowed – her action was met with a stab of Ozma's cane right through her throat. A powerful yank and tug then separated her head from her body and to her humiliation, her head ended up being punted away.
But even in the midst of all this, she now had a feeling of what was going on.
Their fight was being taken further and further away from those Maidens and more importantly from Vale. More than that, whenever her head was fully destroyed, she was still technically able to 'see' thanks to being a disembodied spirit by that point and thus not bound by physical things, but so long as her head remained intact, she could only physically see through her eyes.
In other words, as her head impacted against the ground, she had absolutely no idea what moves Ozma was preparing next.
"Damned man…" she growled as she tried to reform her body from her head.
Just why was it he could only ever demonstrate ingenuity like this during battle? Why could he never do so in their personal life back then?
No, that mattered no longer. The past was the past and they've long since argued each other's faults throughout the centuries. There was no bringing back their daughters nor the trust they'd lost in each other all that time ago. All they had to look forward to now was the future, but ones of their own making.
In her case, it was a future where the Relics were hers and her revenge against the Brother Gods would begin.
In his case, it was a future where the Relics were all safely placed out of reach and she was driven off for good.
Their obsession with their own desired futures were naturally at an impasse and even if they hadn't first fought so long ago, it would've only been a matter of time until they just naturally split apart anyways.
Ah, yet another thing to perhaps blame those so-called gods for, Salem thought. If the Relics had never been created, if Ozma had never been brought back for the sole purpose of stopping her and uniting humanity, would the two of them have been able to remain together forever? A part of Salem that she'd thought to have died long ago actually thought such a thing could have been possible.
Unfortunately, the Relics existed. Thus, a chance for her to fully vent her rage towards the Brother Gods existed. From the very moment Ozma had told her of the Relics and his new duty from the God of Light… yes, that had been when the inevitable collapse of their bond had begun, she realized.
For too long, she'd suffered. Like hell she'd allow something as ridiculous as the Brother Gods returning to live alongside a united humanity come to be. The gods were petty and fickle beings. It'd only be a matter of time until they once again willingly chose to make humanity suffer for whatever reason they could make up.
Her rage burning hotter than ever before, Salem tried to reform her new body… unfortunately, she was having some trouble here. Because her curse worked to make her something of a fixed point in time, there could be only one of her at any one time. If an arm was severed, it would first crumble away to nothingness before it would reform upon her person.
In this case, in order for her body to regrow, the severed body would have to first be turned to nothingness first. This was an automatic thing, however, and thus not something she really had to worry about normally… except now, it seems.
However, she could tell her body was crumbling away, but nowhere near as fast as it normally would. Most likely, whatever new trick Ozma had pulled off was being used to do the same here.
In which case…
Concentrating, she made the very space of the entire area unstable and begin to collapse inwards at a rapid pace.
Ozma must have backed off because her body was finally destroyed and she swiftly reformed it from her previous state.
Quickly, she got back up – and had to hastily conjure a barrier of pure magical energy to then ward off the incoming strike from Ozma. The strike struck hard and her barrier almost faltered in that following instant but managed to remain intact enough.
Immediately, Salem made the barrier expand and nearly slam into Ozma but he merely retreated several yards and considered his next move.
She would not give him that sort of time.
She could feel it – whatever new trick he'd developed working to slow her down somehow. Even her barrier had been somewhat affected by it.
But if she was being slowed down… then it was just a simple matter of getting some help to divide his attention.
Come to me.
Her forces had been dwindling quite rapidly now on the southern front – not just because of the empowered huntsmen and soldiers there, but also of because of a certain blond who'd been out there for a while now. But enough of them still lived and now responded to her call.
Entire flocks of Nevermores and Griffons began to break off from their ongoing aerial battle against the diminished Atlas fleet to rush her way. Alpha Beowulves and Boarbatusks ceased their assault from the south and started to rush here posthaste.
It was the air-based Grimm who reached her location first, of course.
And sure enough, they were all too quick to begin their attack on Ozma just as he'd been about to move.
As the first of the Griffon tried to divebomb him from directly above, forcing him to turn his attention to it, Salem could feel the slowed effect upon her lighten up somewhat. Not completely, but certainly enough.
The return of her most of her mobility was enough to bring a small smile to her face.
And as the Grimm relentlessly threw themselves at Ozma, she prepared her next big move…
Ozpin grimaced. In this short time, he'd been able to gain exactly two advantages. Firstly, he'd managed to enhance his semblance enough by channeling both enough of his own empowered aura and his magic to add a new effect to it – that is, the ability to slow down a target of his choosing by the same amount and rate he's able to speed himself up. It was through this new effect that he'd been able to reverse the tables on Salem and decapitate her.
And it'd been on that front that he'd gained his second advantage. Having fought her for so long, he knew exactly how her curse worked. If any part of her body was severed, it'd first disappear before reforming on her being. The only times this wasn't the case was when said part was destroyed outright or her entire being was turned to mulch or ashes or what have you. And he'd used his newly enhanced semblance to make the most out of that by slowing the time at which her body would dissipate and reform.
Unfortunately, some Grimm had now been called here and his attention was divided here. Because this new facet of his semblance had just been so hastily formed, it required a great deal of concentration on his part, making it rather impractical to keep it up when faced with so many foes at once, a lesson he was learning all too well.
That first Griffon, upon noticing it, had been swiftly dispatched with a solid swing of his aura enhanced cane, but the following rush of Nevermore had required him to back off, especially since he could see Salem from here preparing her next big move already.
He grimaced. Though the slowed effect placed on her had lightened considerably seeing as she's reformed now, it still was in place upon her. It was taking some effort on his part to keep it in place, but as Grimm continued to swarm him no matter how swiftly he was responding to them, it'd only take one wrong move for his concentration to break entirely and allow Salem to fully regain her mobility.
But more pressing than even that…
He spared a glance back towards Vale, where the dissipating body of the whale Grimm was still heading for.
Thanks to how fast he and Salem have been fighting it out, the dying Grimm had yet to reach Vale, but it wouldn't be much longer until it did and flatten most of the western front… and to his internal horror, that was an amount of time he very likely didn't have here; the battle between him and Salem would likely last for quite a while unless something happened to drastically turn the tides for one of them. He could only pray that his allies atop the western wall would be able to do something about the whale Grimm's collision course.
A Nevermore thrice the size of his head flew right for his open left hand, intent on skewering his open palm with its beak. In a flash, he twisted and snatched it by said beak with his free hand. Spinning and using its own momentum to his advantage, he was able to chuck the Nevermore into the flight path of another one of similar size. The impact killed them both, their forms dissipating in midair – and opening up a path for a Griffon that had landed to rush at him like a runaway horse.
Getting low, Ozpin slid forward and swung his cane at the charging Griffon's legs, slicing through them like nothing before then maneuvering his weapon upwards to cut through the Griffon's body. Much like the Nevermores, it died instantly.
And then that was when Salem made her move.
"…!"
Just as his swing had reached the end of its arc after slaying the Griffon, the very space it had occupied suddenly distorted and sucked in his cane. The next thing Ozpin knew, his cane had been snatched out of his very hands and teleported over into the oncoming rush of numerous Boarbatusks. Even with his semblance, Ozpin wasn't fast enough to do anything as his cane was immediately crushed into pieces beneath the heavy and perpetually furious stomps of the boar-based Grimm.
Just like that, he was rendered weaponless… but not defenseless.
Salem's teleportation of his cane had ultimately been the prelude to her main attack, which took the form of the entire ground beneath his feet literally erupting. He narrowly avoided it by jumping straight up, using the power of the eruption to carry himself high. By all rights, such a way of avoiding this attack should've left him a sitting duck, a fact compounded upon by space itself compressing in on his area. It'd only be a split second at the most before he was crushed within a barrier.
However, he'd seen that coming and proceeded to flip around in midair.
"Come on…" he mumbled to himself as he concentrated. The continuing amplification of his aura in addition to its mixture with what little magic he had was birthing some new miracles here. While still vastly lacking in the versatility he had long ago, he was still thriving in his own way.
On that note, he succeeded in doing what he'd wished to do – that is, creating a small foothold for himself in midair via a small yet solid layer of energy. He kicked off it and towards the hoard of Boarbatusks.
Accelerating via his semblance, he reached them instantly and was upon them right away. He first flipped around in midair and slammed both feet into the back of the one in the lead of the herd, breaking it in two. He then strode forth into the oncoming Boarbatusks and wasted no time letting his fists swing loosely.
Even with this ongoing amp, challenging Boarbatusks as large as these ones ought to be a foolish endeavor without a weapon, but he more than easily made do. Concentrating aura into his palms, it was as easy as slipping in between the large Grimm and slapping them against their sides. His control over his own aura once again shown through as the aura concentrated within his strikes were unleashed, travelling through the bodies of the Boarbatusks he struck and exiting out through their other sides, the aura now striking the others that he couldn't physically reach.
Said strikes proved to be more than powerful enough to bring them down right then and there and one by one, the boar-based Grimm quickly collapsed and dissipated even in mid-charge. In the span of microseconds at best, Ozpin proceeded to deal with the initial wave of Grimm and then charged onto the next one, consisting of a small handful of Alpha Beowulves.
However, as he did so, he sensed Salem making another move. On instinct, he ran right into the pack again and then leapt up just as Salem unleashed a wave of pure energy that snaked along the ground, tearing it open. His last second leap ensured his safety from this attack, but it didn't spare the Alpha Beowulves who got obliterated instead.
Even from here, he could practically hear Salem grimace and that brought a small smile to his face. He was more than aware of her prophetic sight, of the flashes of the current and somewhat future events that it showed her, especially when in mid-battle. However, it didn't matter if she could outright predict what he'll do next if he's too fast for her attacks to catch. And while the Grimm are ultimately expendable given their sheer numbers, tearing through her own forces even if by accident would certainly be a mood sourer.
That said, Salem was nothing if not stubborn – centuries of warfare between them have more than proven this. Sure enough, despite her failed attack, she immediately generated spears of fire and ice and lightning from the air all around him and promptly fired them at him. However, a barrier was quick to form on his behalf and tank the attacks, though not without effort. He also ended up being quite rattled just due to the sheer force behind the sudden barrage of elemental spears, but again, it was nothing worrisome so far.
Accelerating his fall, he landed with as much grace as he could manage and focused back on her, ignoring the new waves of Grimm heading his way. No sooner than when he came to a full stop, gravity all around him suddenly increased and drastically so, his bones creaking just from the new extreme exertion that came with just standing upright.
Groaning with great effort, he formed yet another barrier as space all around him exploded violently, rattling him. And it didn't just explode once either but then a second time, then a third time and then a fourth. It would seem Salem has forgone flashiness in favor of just brute forcing her way to victory.
Honestly, Ozpin would be hard-pressed to say it wasn't effective. Pinned by the increased gravity and with him now having to dedicate his all to defense, there wasn't really much he could do other than hold a hand up to his barrier and pouring as much power as he could muster into it.
Up until now, he's done his best to regulate the steadily growing power that came with Mr. Arc's aura, but now he had no choice to let all that building power cut loose in order to withstand this relentless onslaught.
This time, the man really did cry out in pain as the aura surged throughout his entire body. It almost felt as if his very soul was on the verge of exploding and this reflected in his body as well. Bones started to fracture apart and his organs were pretty much beginning to shut down even though his growing aura was simultaneously trying to keep him in one piece. The simultaneous process of destruction and restoration was truly an agonizing one and for just a second, the ancient wizard had to wonder if anyone else was going through this same experience right now. If so, then it would seem that Mr. Arc's help may very well become a bane in short order if only due to this one drawback.
It was just too much, far too much. And to think the teen was diffusing so much power across all of Vale… just how was the boy able to endure having this much power pouring out of him constantly?
Alas, that was a question that could very much wait until later – he had far bigger matters here.
The ground beneath started to give way, a sinkhole forming that began to suck him in. If not for his barrier still being up, the ground would've no doubt closed up in an instant and crush him to death.
But while he may be avoiding such a fate right now, it'd only be a matter of time until his barrier was brought down – either by Salem's own relentless efforts or the breakdown of himself first – and once that happens…
"…!"
Letting loose a bellow that he hasn't made such his much younger and more reckless days, Ozpin took a risky action and forced himself through it.
Concentrating as much power inwards now, he dropped his barrier – and sure enough, the ground wasted not an instant in trying to close around him. The explosions were still ongoing too as an additional wave of attacks. Nonetheless, he fearlessly jumped upwards, unleashing all the inwardly concentrated power to perform the mightiest leap he's ever performed. Not even the vastly increased gravity could keep him down anymore.
However.
"Ngh!" He quickly found himself slamming against an invisible barrier. It would seem Salem had literally foreseen his action and had manipulated space to form something of a ceiling right above the ground.
Alas, it would not stop him.
He'd anticipated as much and so, despite his grunt of pain, he simply forced himself onwards. Forming a small barrier around his right forearm as he slammed it against the spatial wall, he managed to break through it and successfully make it out of the veritable death area.
Now in midair again, he formed yet another foothold and bounced himself off it and towards Salem this time.
The woman had all of a millisecond or two to spot him coming before his elbow came smashing across her jaw with such force that it actually seemed to disorient her. Indeed, it left her stunned just long enough for the man to crash beside her, get up and now set himself upon her.
Ozpin kicked directly at Salem's left knee. He didn't do so hard enough to break it, but rather just hard enough to make the entire leg shift and cause the woman to tumble forward – right into his next attack. Twisting to the side just an instant prior, he brought his elbow down upon Salem's defenseless skull, cracking it severely and then twisted again, getting back in front of her still stunned form to deliver an uppercut with his other elbow. So fast and sharp was his strike that it actually cleanly cut open her face, nearly splitting it apart.
And then finally, he brought down a fist upon her opening face. Into Salem's wounded face did it slam, knocking the woman down with such ferocious force that it actually made her flip around more than a dozen times in place before finally striking the ground like a human bomb. The impact sent her practically bouncing, her crashing tearing up the ground each time.
Ozpin watched with baited breath for just a moment as Salem struck the ground one final time and stilled. Against all hope, it would seem that she currently incapacitated… but only for several seconds at the very most. All in all, he's bought himself nothing more than a very minor but much needed reprieve. Salem will never tire nor die. He, on the other, did and is despite the power boost. Additionally, even with how fast he is and how strong he is now, he had no way of restraining Salem's defenseless form for very long, much for any actual significant length of time.
But even so, this was a respite he very much welcomed. It gave him some time to reassess things and finally get one last look at the-.
-At the dying whale Grimm's form just as it was about to slam through Vale's west wall.
His eyes went wide with horror, realizing that there was now no way for the Grimm's dying act to be prevented.
"No!" he cried out, even holding out a hand in its direction as if that would make any difference.
Except, amazingly, this single act did make a difference – but not one he'd wanted.
Salem had recovered much more quickly than expected and in a surprise attack, incredibly thin but impossibly sharp blades of wind had been unleashed just as she'd started to get up.
The blades cut into him despite the growing amount of aura that should've been protecting him, a sign of how powerful these attacks were. The hand he'd raised out was immediately severed from his wrist and the other blades had cut him along the sides of his legs and torso. Though he'd lucked out in only losing his right hand, the wind blades had gone all the way through, cutting cleanly through his flesh and organs as if they weren't even there.
"…Only when you're perfectly still am I capable of actually landing such a hit," Salem uttered with a grimace as he stumbled and fell forward. The sight of him falling did restore the smile to her face a little, however. "A pity it took this long for my vision to come to fruition… but it was well worth-."
Just as she'd been about to finish that sentence, yet another surprise occurred and this was a surprise for the both of them.
An eruption of golden light occurred off in the distance and in the very next instant, the body of the whale Grimm had been completely annihilated. And more than that, that explosion of sheer power had also been more than enough to wipe out the remainder of the air-based Grimm within the area.
From his downed position, Ozpin desperately looked in the direction the attack had come from. Only vaguely was he aware of Salem turning around wildly to locate the source of the attack as well.
Due to the distance, Ozpin couldn't make out anything of note… but even so, he couldn't help but smile through his pain.
"And so… just as in stories," he began quietly to himself. There was more than a little amusement in his tone.
"The hero arrives just when all hope seems lost…"
Whereas just a second ago where everyone was being completely loud, they were now absolutely silent. Before, everyone atop the western wall had been making plenty of noise thanks to their combat against the constant wave of aerial Grimm as well as the numerous battle cries and shouts of pain being made in direct response to said combat.
And when they'd noticed that humongous whale Grimm's dying form approaching, they'd all gotten especially loud. Needless to say too, none of them were particularly slow in unleashing whatever they upon the massive Grimm's form, hoping to blow away enough of its body to at least diminish the inevitable damage.
However, despite all the gunfire being unleashed upon it from the soldiers and huntsmen and even some Atlas airships that had managed to finally provide support, absolutely none of their efforts had done much to actually chip away at the whale Grimm's form.
Not even the vastly enhanced power of Glynda Goodwitch's semblance had been able to do much. Even though space itself was now something within her domain of control, there'd still only been so much Glynda could do to tear apart the whale Grimm and alter its flight path. It would seem that even with such a boost, there were still limits to what she could do. Whether this was due to the whale Grimm's sheer size and weight was unknown but in any case, she'd really been the only one to make of a difference, if only due to slightly altering its descent path so that the inevitable crash would be somewhat mitigated.
However, just when it seemed that this was it, that had been when a burst of golden aura had been unleashed from somewhere behind them all – and with what appeared to be a single attack, the whale Grimm had been fully destroyed along with the remainder of the Grimm in the area.
And now steps were heard as someone landed atop the wall. Everyone practically hurt themselves just from how quickly they pivoted about in order to see who it was.
But it was only the Beacon staff there who actually knew who the arrival even was.
And it was Glynda Goodwitch who spoke up. "M-Mr. Arc…?"
"Sorry for the hold up, professor," answered one Jaune Arc, standing tall and proud with both blades in hand. His entire form was practically enveloped in golden aura, which surged outward yet in an oddly calm fashion. "I'd been busy aiding the southern areas. The horde from that direction has now been stopped… so all that remains is just whatever forces remain here to the west."
Despite his current state of dress – shirtless and with torn up pants and utterly obliterated shoes and socks – the young man managed to portray an image of absolute strength and confidence and this caused his quietly spoken words to somehow carry out much farther than they should have.
And those that heard him instantly felt at ease, even outright relaxing their previously tense forms.
In contrast to them, however, Jaune's muscles rippled. He was ready for action.
Walking towards the edge of the western wall, he glanced outwards as far as he could. Due to the distance, he couldn't make out anything too substantial other than whatever remained of the Grimm forces out there… but even so, he just knew the main enemy was right over there.
Well, it was about time he went and finally met her, he supposed.
He prepared to leap into the fray – only to then pause for just another second. He looked back at everyone… and then smiled gently. "This may sound pretentious coming from me," he began. "But you've all fought well. If not for all your efforts, this never would've been possible. Thank you. And now, in order to properly pay my own respects to your efforts…"
He looked back out to the battlefield, his gaze hardening. "…I'll do so by striking down our invader herself… once and for all."
Without waiting for any reply to his words of thanks and his spoken vow, Jaune girded himself… and then leapt onwards.
Onwards to battle. Onwards to victory.
Here's to hoping the battle between Ozpin and Salem was a good read for you guys. I did my best trying to give both sides their fair share of advantages and made sure to make them exploit said advantages as much as possible.
Ah, and don't worry – Ozpin isn't down and out just yet. Nor are Amber and Raven. Just because Jaune is now back in the spotlight doesn't mean he's going to be hogging it in this final confrontation, heh.
On a related note to the battle too, I also did my best to try and give Salem some logical weaknesses despite the overall advantage her curse and magic abilities grant her. Hope they made sense and didn't make things too weird or whatever.
On an unrelated aside, the new Grand Battle theme from FGO's new Gudaguda event was a real banger that helped me write the last bit of this chapter. Definitely check it out if you can, everyone.
Until next time, everyone. Stay safe.
