As of this chapter, this story is over 200,000 words long. I hadn't really noticed that milestone creeping up on me, but I guess the 9,000+ word chapters I've been writing added up. I always knew in my head that I'd have to write well over 200,000 words to finish this story, but it feels nice to have come so far. My writing has had its ups and downs, but I firmly believe I have been improving, and that is largely thanks to all of you readers and the constructive criticism you all give me. So I just wanted to thank you all for the advice you've given me, and I hope you continue to do so in the future.
Also, about posting this story on AO3: I've managed to get some help from several people, but I haven't been able to actually put their advice to good use since my account is taking a few days to be confirmed. I probably should've made that account before I said I wanted to crosspost this there, but oh well. Special thanks to both Sithdoom and Avistar123 for their help in teaching me about how to properly post on AO3.
The next chapter will be coming out on the one-year anniversary of the first chapter of this story, so that's when I'll be posting this story on AO3 as well. Since I'm going to be sifting through all of the old chapters so I can post them there, I'll take the time to fix some of the more egregious grammatical mistakes from those first twelve or so chapters. I won't edit any of the story structure or change any plot points, but I will be fixing the numerous spelling errors I made.
Lie Ren grunted in surprise when a black limb hurtled towards him, extending far longer than it should have been able to. The black-haired man threw himself to the side in a roll to avoid the attack, which slammed into the ruined house behind him. Some of his men hadn't been so lucky. A few of them had broken bones and shattered ribs from where they'd been struck by glancing blows, but far more were lying dead in the street.
The one responsible for such wanton murdering stepped closer, snorting loudly as black smoke drifted from its nostrils. A horse-like body that towered over ten feet tall stepped forward on its mismatched pairs of legs. The front legs bore two clawed toes, while its back legs possessed hooves similar to a horse, while a mane of black fire raged wildly on its neck. But the worst part about this vile creature wasn't the horse; it was the rider.
Stretching out from the horse's back was the abdomen of a massive humanoid figure that added another eight feet to its height. The figure looked gaunt, its stomach small and its long, spindly arms hanging limply as they dragged across the floor. Its face was the stuff of nightmares; a horned skull mask bearing red markings that covered hateful red eyes and hung over a mouth filled with needle-like teeth.
Various weapons were impaled into the creature's back and stomach. Swords, lances, axes, arrows, and a whole other arsenal of weapons showed the fate of the countless warriors, mercenaries, and soldiers who had crossed paths with this abomination. Some showed the dull red color of rusted iron, while others gleamed with enchanted silver. The creature cared not for who fought it; they all died just the same.
Ren recognized this monster. How could he not? The Scourge of Mistral. The Bane of Oniyuri. The Nightstalker. It went by many names, but few knew what its own truly was. The Nuckelavee. A creature that seemed to be born from the depths of hell for the sole purpose of haunting him. The destroyer of countless villages in western Mistral over the past decade, his own included.
A sudden twitch from one of the monster's two-fingered hands was all the warning he received as a whiplike arm snapped outwards, arcing across the air to try and smack him. Ren's pink eyes widened as he ducked low to let the arm pass harmlessly above him, cursing himself when he saw two of his soldiers fail to dodge the attack in time.
"Captain Ren! What do we do?" A terrified soldier asked him with a wild look in her eyes. The green garbed man just looked at her numbly before glancing back at the Nuckelavee. He hadn't trained them for this. He couldn't expect them to hold their own against such a monster. He himself could barely survive its attacks, let alone manage to hurt it.
But ordering a retreat was a death sentence. The Grimm's movements may have seemed lethargic and lazy, but Ren had seen how fast the lower half of its body could move. Most horses would be hard-pressed to outrun it, so they had no hope of escaping on foot. If they were to survive, they'd need to scatter. But even then, the creature might still chase every last one of them down.
"Look out!" A soldier to his right cried out as another limb flew at him. The man tackled him to the floor to evade the arm that slammed into the far wall. As Ren scrambled to his feet and knocked an arrow, he couldn't help but glance at the man. He was easily forty years old, yet he took orders from a boy less than half his age. Why was he fit to lead these men and women? He had led them to their deaths.
"Take this!" One brave soldier cried out as he charged towards the monster's flank, clutching his katana with two hands. With a powerful cry, he slashed his sword along one of the clawed legs, only to gasp in surprise as he stepped back from the monster in fear. That attack seemed to have done more damage to his sword than it had to the Nuckelavee; the metal was bent oddly while the Grimm only sported a minuscule scratch.
The rider twitched its neck to glance down at the soldier who'd attacked it and let out a hissing sound. The man dropped his sword in fear and stumbled backwards, tripping over a loose pile of debris. Backing away in terror, the man let out a horrified scream as the human-like Grimm lowered its head to stare him directly in his eyes, its skull-like face a mere yard away from his own.
A few soldiers worked up the courage to try and save their comrade, charging forward with their weapons held high. The Nuckelavee's head twitched and glanced behind it, its twisted mouth widening in a sick parody of a smile.
"No, stop!" Ren called out a warning, but was too late. The creature's torso snapped upwards as its arm quickly swung out in a wide arc, catching the four soldiers who'd tried charging it from behind and slamming into them with enough force to shatter bones. The black-haired man knew instantly that they were dead, and a crushing weight settled in his stomach.
Clenching his fist, Ren cursed this situation. He cursed the kingdom that had forced them to scavenge here like animals. He cursed the beast that had destroyed his home and was killing his men. But most of all, he cursed himself for being too weak to do anything to stop it.
One of the few mages in his group fired off a simple bolt of lightning that crackled harmlessly across the monster's pitch black skin, only causing it slight discomfort. In return, it flung an arm forward that tore through the mage. Bloodstained bone claws protruded from the back of her chest as she slumped over.
With a growl, Ren withdrew an arrow from his quiver and knocked it. Taking only a second to aim, he let the projectile fly from his bow, sending it straight into the creature's torso. The arrow sank into the flesh, finally causing it pain. Another soldier took advantage and thrust his naginata into its equine ribcage, only for the steel weapon to sink maybe an inch into its hide.
A swift kick from its back legs shattered that man's chest, sending him flying into a nearby building. A woman tried slamming a heavy axe into its ankle, but the weapon failed to break through its skin. The woman jumped back to avoid being kicked herself, but the rider quickly resumed moving and snapped its arm outwards, sweeping her legs out from underneath her.
Ren fired another two arrows into the creature's shoulder and knee, both striking true. The Nuckelavee screeched in agony before lashing out with its arms, slamming them both down with enough force to create a spiderweb of cracks when they missed him and struck the cobblestone below. The archer rolled to his feet and drew back another arrow, sighing as he took aim.
The wind around the arrow swirled as he released it, creating a tunnel of air. The arrow spiraled faster and faster as he used his enchanted bow, Stormflower, to manipulate the winds. Curving in a wide arc, the arrow flew into the back of the monster's neck. The spinning arrow drilled deep through its flesh, sinking almost halfway up its shaft.
The Grimm shrieked and launched an arm forward to try and grab Ren, who threw himself to the side to avoid the limb hurtling towards him. As he landed, he stumbled a bit and nearly lost his balance. The Nuckelavee, having predicted his dodge, threw its other arm towards him mere seconds after the first, leaving him helpless as the two-clawed appendage raced towards his chest.
Just before the hand could hit him, however, a figure dashed in front of him, armed with a massive hammer that gleamed silver. The weapon stuck the Grimm's wrist, redirecting the blow away from him and breaking it. The monster retracted its limb with a pained cry and warily regarded the newcomer.
"Nora!" Ren cried out in relief as he took in the sight of his childhood friend. She wore silver armor that covered her torso and legs, with a bulky black coat that made her look bigger than she was. Pink and black fingerless gloves covered her hands to help her grip her hammer, Magnhild, better. Her short orange hair waved in the wind, and she turned around to look at him, teal eyes meeting pink.
"You okay?" She asked first, to which he nodded. "Where'd this thing come from? We didn't even see it coming!"
Ren shrugged. "Its lair must be near the village. I didn't notice it until it was right on top of us," He growled with a clenched fist. Seeing the look of concern Nora sent him, he buried his emotions and adopted an impassive look. "How are things looking outside?"
Nora's eyes lowered to the ground. "Not good. None of the Grimm are approaching the ruins because they're scared of the Nuckelavee, but they're also being drawn in by all the fear. If we want to escape, we'll have to break through the horde," She reported grimly, causing him to wince.
"But if we try and run, the Nuckelavee will catch up to us. Yet staying to try and fight is pointless. We'll all be killed," He surmised, appearing outwardly calm. Internally, Ren was panicking. This nightmare from his childhood had returned to haunt him, and even a decade later he still felt helpless before it. He didn't have any hope that he'd be able to escape.
The rider slumped over suddenly, allowing the horse-like Grimm to take over. With a snort, the Nuckelavve charged towards them, forcing them to jump in opposite directions to avoid being trampled. Nora swung her hammer at its rear legs before falling back out of its range, but her blow did little more than cause it to stumble. Ren tried firing an arrow, but it just bounced off its bony ribcage.
Retreating to gain some ground, Ren fell into a slide to avoid an arm that suddenly swung out at him. The limb sailed overhead, missing him but ripping through a building with ease. The pained scream that rang out soon after told him that one of his soldiers hadn't been so lucky.
He saw Nora rush forward, swinging her hammer into the horse's side with enough force to knock it back slightly. The orange-haired girl dodged a kick and slammed her hammer into its knee, making it buckle suddenly.
The rider twitched to life and tried to smack her away, but Nora hopped over its whip-like appendage with a grunt. Swinging her weapon downwards, she crushed the limb with a heavy blow. Ren, who had been taking aim while she fought the monster, released an arrow into the monster's back before drawing, knocking, and launching another arrow in a mere second. This one was less accurate, striking slightly below its shoulder, where he'd been aiming.
Noticing an odd movement out of the corner of his eye, Ren tried to shout out a warning as the arm Nora had blocked by breaking its wrist writhed around, snapping back into place. The newly healed limb wrapped around Nora's legs and yanked her down, pulling her to the floor with a yelp. The Nuckelavee raised its arm into the air and swung downwards, trying to rake its claws across her chest.
Before it could strike her, however, she raised her hammer to block the blow. The claws still slid across her breastplate, leaving a long scratch across the metal but not ripping through it. Nora strained against the arm as Ren shouted worriedly, firing several arrows into the rider's torso. Glancing at him balefully, the Grimm's other arm began to bend erratically, repairing itself after being crushed.
Ren barely had time to dodge as the arm thrust forward, extending abnormally and ripping through the wall of the building behind him. The pink-eyed man drew two arrows and launched them both, using his bow's enchantments to control the wind and send them both flying towards its eyes. The Grimm slumped over at the last second, causing both arrows to bounce harmlessly off its horns.
Several of his soldiers managed to overcome their fear and rush to Nora's defense, a variety of weapons raised in the air. Spears and arrows sank into its side while axes and swords hacked and slashed at its legs. Despite being attacked by so many people at once, the Nuckelavee barely registered them as their attacks were only flesh wounds.
"You've gotta be kidding me," One soldier gasped out after having unleashed an onslaught of strikes into the monster's hind legs, only to see the lack of results that had achieved. "We didn't even scratch it!"
A bit of an exaggeration, given the small lines Ren's trained eyes could pick out along its legs, but the sentiment was the same. Even if they had been able to slightly damage it, there was no way they could keep up with this. Without an enchanted weapon or enhancement magic, their attacks barely registered. Even with both, Nora's attacks hadn't been enough to kill it. How could a bunch of poorly-armed soldiers be expected to kill it?
As Ren thought this, his body moved without thinking. He launched several arrows that struck superficial wounds across its chest and sides, but as the rider once again rose to life he realized just how pointless it was. Nora had managed to free herself out from under its claws, but she was clearly exhausted from holding it back for so long.
Nora backed away from the Grimm and stood at Ren's side, shooting him a reassuring grin when she noticed the concerned expression on his face. "Got a plan?" She questioned, out of breath. He just shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
"I'll stay behind and distract it. You take the others and retreat back to camp," He ordered, but Nora just rolled her eyes.
"You're too out of breath to persuade me. Besides, we're not gonna be able to make it. We either stay here and fight or die trying to run away," She countered. Ren opened his mouth to try and convince her, but gave up when he realized she was right.
They both jumped to the side to avoid a flailing limb that struck the ground between them before countering. Ren drew a curved dagger from a sheath on his thigh and slashed the elongated arm while Nora struck it with the back of her hammer, causing it to bend unnaturally.
The Nuckelavee shrieked in response before retracting the limb and glaring at them, its head twitching erratically. They hadn't been able to do much lasting damage to it, but they had seriously pissed it off. Ren counted that as a victory of sorts.
"Captain, what're your orders?" A woman next to him questioned with eyes wide from terror. Ren glanced out over the small group of soldiers he had remaining. When they'd come into Kuroyuri to scavenge for supplies, they'd numbered twenty-five, not including him and Nora. Now, a measly seven remained, each gripping their weapons shakily as they regarded the legendary Scourge of Mistral.
Ren met Nora's eyes and saw her teal orbs harden with determination. A wordless conversation passed between them as they came to a silent agreement. They wouldn't just lie down and die. They'd fight until their last breath. They couldn't stop the Grimm from destroying their homes and taking their lives, but they'd never destroy their spirit. Ren made up his mind.
"Alright. There's no point in lying. There's little chance of escape, and I don't like our odds of killing this thing," Ren began, noticing the looks of despair that appeared on the faces of his soldiers. He clenched his fist. "But we can't just give up. We have to keep fighting, down until the last man! I've always been proud to say that you've never faltered in the face of impossible odds, and I don't believe that will change now!" The normally quiet man passionately shouted.
"Yeah! Let's do this! We'll make this bastard regret the day he ran into us!" Nora cheered enthusiastically, spurring the soldiers on. The despair in their eyes did not leave, but it was overtaken by a look of resolve that all seven of them shared. With a loud cry, Nora charged forward, spinning her hammer in the air above her head with a war cry, leading them onwards without hesitation.
Screaming an answer to their roar of challenge, the Nuckelavee's rider slumped over, allowing the horse to take over. The equine Grimm reared up on two legs and made a distorted whinnying sound before galloping forward to meet them. Ren sheathed his dagger and drew his jade-green bow Stormflower. Taking careful aim, he knocked two arrows at once and fired.
The precise control his weapon required was taxing. Using the enchantments on his bow to manipulate the air around his arrows took much effort on his part, and that effort was increased dramatically when he added another arrow to the mix. Nevertheless, both arrows spun rapidly as they flew through the air, curving around to strike the Grimm in its lower half's stomach, piercing deep into the beast.
Ren tripped and fell to the floor, mentally exhausted after trying such a maneuver. While it didn't require a large amount of aura, it still required intense concentration and control. He was a skilled archer and usually avoided using the enchantments on his bow, but against such a foe he had been forced to use every tool he had at his disposal.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be enough. The Grimm snorted in pain but continued its charge, heading directly towards Nora. He'd hoped his arrows might have injured it enough to give her an opening, but the abomination had just shrugged off the pain. Right before the orange-haired warrior reached it, the horse-like body reared up on its hind legs. Nora's swing passed through empty air, the momentum forcing her to commit to the failed attack. From where he stood, Ren could see her eyes widen in fear as the Nuckelavee began to bring down its clawed feet on her in a crushing stomp. She wouldn't be able to get out of the way.
However, right before the Grimm could crush his friend, a massive wall of flames shot forward and cut it off from them. Stumbling back in surprise, the creatures warily retreated as the charging soldiers skidded to a stop to avoid colliding with the fire that now separated them from their foe. Ren's pink eyes darted around, trying to find where it had come from.
He gaped in surprise when he saw a woman wearing resplendent silver armor riding a white horse up to them. In her left hand, she clutched a flaming rapier as she gripped the reins of her horse in the other. Her snow-white hair was pulled into a long, off-center ponytail while her icy-blue eyes peered at them curiously.
"W-who are you?" He gasped out in surprise as the other soldiers took notice of her. Nora managed to clamber to her feet and run over to them, right in time for the knight to respond.
"There's no time for introductions. I presume you are the leader of this group?" She directed the question towards him. He responded with a mute nod. "Very well. You and your subordinates should retreat while you can. I won't be able to hold this thing off for long," She declared, prompting Nora to get an offended look on her face.
"Excuse me? Do we look like the kind of people to just leave someone else to deal with our problems?" She questioned with an affronted look on her face, but the knight just shook her head.
"I'm not saying I'll stay behind and sacrifice myself so you can escape. I'm not suicidal," She said with a pointed look towards Nora, who flinched at her words. "But I am willing to buy you time. I should be able to stall the monster for a little while before I am forced to run away," She explained with a gesture towards her steed. "Seeing as none of you will be able to outrun this thing, I'd say this is your best chance of survival."
Nora opened her mouth to say something, but Ren held out a hand to stop her. "We understand. Thank you for this," He spoke softly, barely above a whisper. Had it just been him and Nora, he might have considered staying behind to help her fight. But not when he had his own soldiers to worry about. "I wish you the best of luck. And fair warning; the Nuckelavee is faster than it looks," He advised.
The woman nodded in response. "I see. Thank you for the warning. Now go. I'll buy you all as much time as possible!" She declared, swishing her sword through the air as the wall of flames finally began to burn out. She drew a large glyph in the air in a matter of seconds, activating it with the tip of her rapier. Chains of yellow light shot from the glyph and wrapped around the equine legs.
Giving the woman a respecting nod, Ren grabbed Nora's arm and gently tugged her away. The other men and women he commanded didn't need to be told twice. Nora gave the knight a conflicted look before turning around and running off, following them as they fled out of the eastern gate. Ren ran at the back of the group, despite being the fastest runner of them.
The seven of them rushed through the forest, with Ren and Nora occasionally casting glances back towards Kuroyuri. Their eyes met a few times, and the black-haired man could see the tumultuous storm of emotions in his friend's teal eyes. Neither of them felt good about leaving that woman behind to provide them an opportunity to escape, but there was no use in talking about it.
After several minutes of running, they began to have some uninvited guests. Beowolves and Ursai rushed out of the trees, only to end up with arrows in their throats. Whatever Grimm Ren didn't immediately kill Nora struck with her hammer, shattering their legs with a single blow. Any ones that didn't go down after that were ignored, as they didn't have time to be wasting fighting these Grimm.
Eventually, they found themselves partway up a mountain overlooking the valley in which his hometown once stood proud. Ren felt the drops of rain falling from the stormy grey skies as he stared out over the verdant expanse separating them from the Nuckelavee. They'd managed to break through the small horde of Grimm encircling the village, but there was no guarantee that woman would be able to as well.
Nora seemed to have similar thoughts as she stood by his side, staring out across the valley with a worried expression on her face. The other soldiers all looked at them in confusion and fear as Ren grappled with himself. Every bone in his body screamed at him to go back and help that woman, to try and claim revenge for his parents. But his deep sense of responsibility held him back.
But as Ren took in the sight of his former home, he realized something. The Nuckelavee was an extremely intelligent Grimm. It was old enough to remember that they had run away, and could probably recall the exact direction they'd fled. It might wander in that direction and stumble upon their camp. While he was sure they could drive it off if it did, he knew there would be casualties. He knew what he had to do.
"Boss, what do we do now?" A timid-looking woman asked, but Ren didn't respond. "Boss?"
"The rest of you know where the base camp is. Return there without delay," He ordered without turning around, gripping his bow so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I'm going to go back to the village to try and help buy us some time," He declared.
The response was instantaneous. His soldiers all gaped in shock and began to clamor about, trying to convince him not to. Several of them tried to tell him that it was impossible, while others mentioned that they needed him to lead them. He just shook his head sadly.
"I'm sorry, but I can't just leave someone else to finish my fight for me. I won't let anyone else sacrifice their life so I can escape. Never again."
The warm feeling of a hand slipping into his alerted him to the fact that Nora was beside him, sending him a reassuring smile. She nodded wordlessly, silently showing her support for his decision. Turning back to the soldiers, she nodded.
"Ren's right. He and I will go back to Kuroyuri and try to take care of that monster! It's destroyed too much to let it keep running around unpunished!" She declared confidently, despite the fear evident in her eyes.
"We'll come back with you!" One soldier tried to say, but Nora shook her head.
"No, you'll just get in the way. Instead, go back to camp and bring as many strong warriors as you can. The generals, those mercenaries, anyone you can find! Bring them back here and tell them what happened. We'll try and save some of the fun for them," The orange-haired girl ordered. The soldiers looked at each other unsurely before nodding and taking off, sprinting back towards their camp.
"Thanks," Ren said quietly, which made Nora look at him curiously. "For sticking by my side," He elaborated, making her send him a wry smile.
"I told you, didn't I? We'd always stick together, right? Do I look like the kind of person to break that promise?" She declared. He shook his head no in response, but said nothing else. "Come on. We have to pay that knight back for saving us!" With that, the excitable girl took off into a sprint, heading back towards the village they'd just fled. The pink-eyed boy shook his head fondly before sprinting after her.
As they raced through the forests, jumping over roots and following rough hunting trails, Ren silently prayed to whatever gods or spirits were listening. That woman had given them an opportunity to escape, so leaving her to die alone would hardly be fair. Three fighters may not be enough to take down the Scourge of Mistral, but with a little luck they might be able to hold out long enough for reinforcements. And so Ren and Nora raced as quickly as they could to a village of the dead.
Snowpea broke into a gallop as the glowing chains restraining the Nuckelavee's lower half snapped after a single tug. Weiss's lips curled into a frown when she realized just how powerful this Grimm was, but she didn't have time to think on it more. A sudden arm stretching out towards her forced her to pull on her horse's reins to steer it away from the attack.
The clawed hand struck the cobblestones with enough force to crack them. The monster thrust out another arm, but Weiss spurred her horse to run faster in a circle around it. The wide square they were in provided ample room to outmaneuver the fast yet predictable attacks. A large bell tower stood behind the beast, while a cherry blossom tree grew to the right of it. Opposite the tree was a large statue of a man wielding a bow that was missing an arm. All of which would provide plenty of cover if she needed to break the monster's line of sight.
Ruby glanced at her worriedly, but Weiss paid her little attention. If she needed to warn her of an attack or offer up a strategy she could use, the ghostly girl would say so. Until then, Ruby would avoid distracting her. Just as Weiss trusted in Ruby's judgment, Ruby trusted in her abilities.
The rider slumped over as the horse took over, snorting aggressively before taking off into a sprint. Weiss grit her teeth and drew a glyph in front of her, firing off several shards of ice at its legs that shattered harmlessly against them. She sorely wished she hadn't used all of her Fire Dust to create that wall of flames, as that would've made it possible for her to cut off its charge.
Turning to help build up speed, the Nuckelavee curved around to charge directly at her, the rider bouncing limply as it did so. Weiss raised her sword above her head and pushed both her aura and Earth Dust into the blade before meeting its charge. Snowpea neighed nervously but trusted her judgment and raced towards the much larger creature.
Just before she collided with it, Weiss tugged her reins to the right and dragged her horse away from the Grimm. As she passed beside it, she swiped at its back legs with Myrtenaster, channeling aura into her muscles so she could make a deep enough cut. The Grimm whinnyied in pain but continued to gallop forward before turning to face her.
As Weiss pulled Snowpea to a stop, she turned to look at the damage she'd done. While the cut she'd made was small, the area around it was already being covered in stone, severely hindering the leg's movement. As the Grimm turned its neck to look at its injury, the white-haired girl drew a glyph in the air and fired off a ray of white light into the horse's shoulder.
The black skin was singed as the beam of magic tore a shallow hole into the muscle, but the Nuckelavee seemed more annoyed by that than anything else. Rearing up on two legs, it charged forward once again, albeit slower this time. Weiss spurred her horse forwards, filling her blade once again with Earth Dust and aura. She used it far less than other kinds, so she didn't have much. And given how much she had been forced to use to turn such a wide area to stone, she was using up her last of it.
Gripping her sword tightly, Weiss thrust it forward as she passed by the creature. Yet the instant Snowpea swung to the side, the rider shot to life. One of its whiplike arms snapped to life fast enough to shoot up and strike her in the chest, throwing Weiss from her steed. The noble groaned in pain as the wind was knocked from her chest, but was otherwise alright.
She'd been lucky since she knew that the Grimm could've smashed her ribs in a single blow. Yet the arm didn't have time to fully extend or crack out like a whip. Instead, it had simply crashed into her; enough to crack a few ribs and throw her to the ground, but not enough to kill her. And it clearly didn't get away unscathed, given the stone that was already spreading up its left flank.
Weiss leapt back to avoid being crushed by a stomp before hopping over a limp arm that tried to sweep her feet out from under her. A flash of silver told her that Ruby was nearby, but she didn't have time to be concerned about her. A sudden kick nearly removed her head from her shoulders, but she barely managed to twist out of the way.
Rolling backwards to avoid a swing from a clawed leg, Weiss thrust her blade forward, the tip sinking a few inches into the pitch-black skin. The Grimm hissed in pain, but the ex-heiress didn't have time to celebrate her efforts. A limp arm twitched erratically before shooting out, trying to pin her to the ground.
The mage managed to evade the attack, but another arm swung out in a half-circle, trying to slam into her. Ducking under the attack, Weiss cursed as she was forced to give up ground to avoid being crushed by a tentacle-like arm that slammed into the spot she'd just been standing in. Trying to draw a glyph in the air, the white-haired girl took her attention off the monster for just a moment.
"Weiss, look out!" Ruby screamed as two arms swung towards her from opposite directions, like a gardener's sheers slamming shut. One arm went too low for her to duck under, while the other was too high to jump over. With no choice but to decide, Weiss ran towards the lower one. She ran up and jumped over the air before throwing herself into a dive to try and avoid the other arm.
Unfortunately, the limb struck a glancing blow on her shoulder and sent her sprawling onto the cobblestones. Weiss clenched her teeth in pain as she rolled her shoulder experimentally, but was pleased to find that it hadn't been broken. Hearing a warning cry from Ruby, she rolled like a log to her right, causing a two-clawed hand to just barely miss her.
As Weiss struggled to her feet, she tried to think of a way out of this situation. It was too fast for her to be able to reliably escape on Snowpea. Her initial plan had been to slow it down with Earth Dust, but that was no longer possible. Besides, even just mounting her horse might give it enough of an opportunity to kill her.
She couldn't fight it up close, since the rapid kicks and powerful stomps from the legs forced her to focus more on dodging than countering. Trying to attack from a range with glyphs was ineffective, since drawing a glyph took too long. The disjointed arms let the monster thrash its limbs about, preventing her from effectively fighting from long or mid-range. Anything she tried, it could counter.
The issue was that it was solely focused on her. She'd sent those fighters away earlier so they wouldn't get in her way and distract her, but now she sorely wished she had at least one other person to draw its attention and give her an opening. Yang, Jaune, hell, she'd even take Henry Marigold. But it was only her, a ghost who couldn't fight, and a bunch of dead bodies.
A sudden realization washed over Weiss as a confident smile came over her face. If she couldn't use her glyphs to fight it, then she'd use her inherent magic. In an ordinary situation, she wasn't exactly confident in her skills with it. Her instructors had mainly focused on teaching her how to wield glyphs or enhancement magic. But there was one trick she had up her sleeve.
She rarely got to use it since she either had too many witnesses around or a lack of vessels to use, but this abandoned village had plenty of corpses. It might be a tad bit disrespectful, but she had a feeling they'd gladly let their bodies be desecrated if it meant killing this Grimm. So Weiss gathered up aura into her hands, warping and distorting it with necromancy before flinging it outwards.
Streaks of dark magic flew outwards, twisting and writhing in the air before slithering into the corpses of the soldiers she'd been too late to save. A few of them were too heavily damaged to reanimate, but most were able to rise to their feet, her necromantic spell temporarily replacing their bodies' need for a soul.
The fourteen zombies she'd been able to create turned towards the Nuckelavee in unison, raising their weapons without a hint of the skill they might've once possessed. But what they lacked in skill and intelligence they made up for in durability, strength, and unwavering determination. Her undead minions charged recklessly forward, not caring about the lethal wounds they already had. They felt no pain and would persist until their bodies were too damaged to maintain their pseudo-souls, usually meaning until they had their head removed. The Scourge of Mistral seemed almost nervous as it regarded the tireless soldiers now surrounding it.
There. That ought to have evened the odds.
Man, I haven't really gotten a chance to show off Weiss's necromancy yet, and that is for good reason. She summoned a few skeletons in the Arma Gigas fight, and she drained some of Torchwick's aura in their first encounter. The only other time she used it in combat was a last ditch effort against Bane, but none of those times were all that impressive. In the first one she didn't exactly have a lot to work with around her, while in the other two she couldn't just summon an army without drawing a lot of attention to herself.
Here, though, she gets a chance to show off. Weiss's necromancy in this fic is inspired by how she can summon foes she defeated in the past in RWBY, but I'd argue this is the stronger ability. And man am I excited for the next part of this fight.
Speaking off, this is a two-part fight! While that may not seem special to all of you, this is something I'm very excited about. Usually the fight scenes I write are resolved in a single chapter, and even fights like the one at the harbor from a few chapters can be divided into two seperate fights; one against Roman and Neo, the other against the Deathstalker. But this chapter goes straight into the fight, and the next one is going to pick up immediately where this one left off.
The first part of this chapter being from Ren's POV may not be something everyone enjoys, but there is a reason for it. This is Weiss and Ruby's story, yes, but its important to see the views of the other players in this story. Better writers then me could write only from the two main characters POVs while still incorrporating the side characters in meaningful ways, but I am not one of those better writers.
Ren's section is a little vague at times, but those instances will be explained latter on. Obviously Nora, Weiss, and he will interact again at some point. As for their interaction in this chapter, it might've seemed a little forced and tense. That is intentional. There was currently a horrifying abomination of a Grimm on the other side of a flimsy wall of fire that wanted nothing more than to kill them all. They didn't have time for introductions or debates.
There wasn't a lot of Ruby in this chapter, but there's been a lot of her in the recent chapters and there will be plenty more in the next few, so don't worry about that. Now, to talk about a small pet peeve I have in the RWBY fandom.
Whenever I see the Nuckelavee mentioned in FanFiction, it is often described as a Nuckelavee. Not the Nuckelavee. Sometimes people assume there are multiple of these things running around Remnant, which I honestly find horrifying. The Nuckelavee is a unique Grimm like the Wyvern or the Arma Gigas, at least until we see another one. According to the Volume 4 crew commentary, it is actually two different Grimm fused together, something called an Imp and an unamed Horse Grimm.
Its a small thing, but I don't want someone to call me out for hyping this monster up so much in this fic. Its a lot less scary and legendary when there's more than one of these things destroying villages. Again, its a small thing, but one I see pretty often.
As for the Nuckelavee in this fic, I can't tell if I've made it stronger or weaker. On one hand, this one ripped through a group of soldiers in a matter of minutes without even really being scratched. On the other hand, RWBY's Nuckelavee took a few grenade blasts from Magnhild and plenty of rounds from Crescent Rose without even flinching. But my version of this monster still has a few tricks up its abnormally long sleeves.
The next chapter will be coming out in about a week, on the exact anniversary of my posting of the first chapter. Its pretty obvious why I'm choosing to post it then. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful day.