The zombies surged forwards in unison, clumsily swinging their weapons at the Grimm. The rider sprang to life and flung an arm out at one of the approaching undead, tearing into its chest and pinning it to the ground. Yet the other corpses felt no fear as they shuffled forwards, moving jerkily as they struggled to move their damaged limbs.
As the first of the raised dead reached the Nuckelavee and plunged its steel naginata into its side, Weiss took the chance to try and catch her breath. The monster slumped over as the equine lower half snorted angrily. A swift kick shattered the zombie's ribs and caved in its chest, yet the necrotic energies running through its corpse allowed it to persist.
Seeing as they lacked the years of training they had possessed while they were alive, the zombies' weren't very effective fighters. They had been hastily raised to provide Weiss with a distraction, but even if she had taken time to weave her dark magic into them she couldn't make them into formidable fighters. She'd heard that only the most powerful necromancers could create undead capable of fighting on par with a knight.
What they lacked in skill they made up for in strength and durability. Living beings didn't use their full strength to avoid tearing their muscles, but undead had no such qualms. Their clumsy swings cut much deeper into the Scourge of Mistral's inky black flesh now that they were able to draw on their bodies' full power.
And given the way she'd just seen one get its chest caved in before struggling back onto its feet, there was no question in her mind as to whether or not humans were more durable. The zombies' reckless strength and unfeeling durability made them a formidable foe, but they were obviously no match for the Grimm. Their attacks cut deeper, but they were less accurate and still didn't injure the Grimm enough to do anything more than hurt it.
Which was why Weiss was drawing a large glyph in the air in front of her, using the distraction her minions had provided for her. As the rider snapped to life and lashed out with its arms, sweeping a few of her zombies off their feet, it raised its head to look at her. Weiss could've sworn she saw surprise in its baleful crimson eyes as she activated the glyph by slamming an armored palm into it.
A cyclone of air spun out from the glyph, picking up any loose weapons or chunks of debris from when the Nuckelavee had struck a decaying building. Chunks of rock, shards of wood and glass, and a few light weapons all spiraled towards the rider, who slumped over and let the horse take over. The horse tried to get out of the way, but the hurricane-force winds slammed into it with enough force to nearly knock it over.
Weiss was pleased to see the creature stumble slightly as the shards of wood and debris embedded themselves into its legs, but frowned when it merely snorted in anger and shook the pain off. Her frown deepened when she saw the sorry state her attack had left a few of her zombies in. Three of them had been completely destroyed by her storm, while two others had lost a limb.
The rider flung an arm out at her that she was only barely able to dance out of the way of. Her zombies once again surged forward, but the horse reared up as they drew closer. Once they were within range, it slammed its clawed front legs into the ground with enough force to shake it, causing the zombies to lose their unsteady balance.
Weiss drew a few glyphs and activated them, sending a barrage of magic at the Nuckelavee. Icicles flew through the air and shattered against its horns as bolts of electricity crackled harmlessly off its torso. She grit her teeth as she was forced to dodge a flailing arm before drawing another glyph that spun in the air and shot out a ball of fire that exploded harmlessly against the horse's head.
"Weiss! You need to weigh down its arms! They're fast and hard, but they aren't actually all that strong!" Ruby called out to her as she floated up behind her. Weiss spared her only a glance before turning her focus back onto the battlefield.
"Yeah. That's a good idea. But how do you suggest I-" Weiss was cut off as a black tendril shot out towards her. She managed to roll backwards in time for the limb to crash through Ruby, who simply dissolved around it. The horned rider seemed confused as it glanced down at its arm before back up at... Ruby? It could see her?
Dodging another arm, Weiss slashed out with Myrtenaster, scoring a small hit along its arm. The Grimm retracted both its arms with a hiss before sending them both out again. One hurtled right towards her while the other lagged slightly behind it to the left. It must have predicted she'd dodge left, but Weiss had no intention of falling for the trap.
Jerking to the right, she quickly drew a slowing glyph in the air right as the first arm crashed into it. The black hand dramatically slowed down, but it still moved fast enough to jerk back out of the glyph before Weiss had a chance to do anything. Ruby was right. The arms were too fast. She needed a way to weigh them down.
Glancing at her surroundings, she grinned once again. She flourished her sword in the air before pointing it at the Nuckelavee's arms. The Grimm glanced down at them in confusion, but it hadn't been the one she'd been directing. The thudding of footsteps splashing through the muddy cobblestones alerted the Grimm to the small horde of undead racing towards it.
The corpses flung themselves onto the arms and struggled to restrain them at Weiss's direction. The Grimm let out a panicked shriek as it strained its limp arms to try and rid itself of the passengers, but it seemed Ruby had been right again. Its arms were only deadly because of how fast they moved.
Yet Weiss knew there was another threat to deal with before she could escape. If it switched control over to the lower half, the Nuckelavee could free itself and pursue her. She needed to slow its legs down. Directing two zombies to remove themselves from the pile restraining its arms and wrap themselves around its legs, Weiss charged forward, channeling Dust and aura into her blade.
The equine half took over right as Weiss reached it, rearing up onto two legs and flinging the undead from its legs. But before it could slam its feet down and try and rid its arms of the zombies, Weiss plunged her sword into the ground. The enchanted blade sank into the ground, bolstered by Weiss as she pooled aura into her left arm. A large sheet of ice spread out from where she'd struck, right below the Grimm's feet.
As the legs slammed down into the ground, they slid forward, sprawling out as the horse-like body tried to find purchase on the frozen floor. Weiss poured more Dust-empowered magic into the ground, covering the hellish beast's front legs in ice and freezing it in place. The white-haired woman smirked as she backpedaled away from the Grimm.
The monstrosity alternated between struggling to free its arms from the undead's grasp and trying to break free of the blocks of ice its front legs were trapped in. Weiss turned away from the creature and hurried away. Ruby looked at it in wonder as she flew after her friend.
"Woah. That was incredible, Weiss!" She cheered excitedly. The ex-heiress blushed slightly at the praise but didn't let it distract her too much.
'Thank you. But we need to hurry. Those zombies won't be able to hold it for long, and the ice won't last much longer than that," She explained as she hurried out of the town square she had been fighting in. There wasn't much reason to stick around now that she'd managed to temporarily immobilize the Grimm. Even restrained, it was still too much of a threat to risk trying to kill. Better to leave it for now than come back later with more fighters.
"Yeah. I think I can see Snowpea in one of the nearby alleyways," Ruby informed her as she floated above the buildings to get a better view. "Yup. That's definitely her. Just take a right then a left and you'll find her!" The spectre called down cheerfully. Weiss nodded at her words and sped up her jog. Her white mare was fast, but the Nuckelavee was faster. She needed to put as much distance between them as she could.
Just before she turned into the alleyway, however, she heard a strange sound. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes went wide at what she saw. Ruby paused for a second to ask what she was doing, but Weiss knew without even looking back at her that she was as wide-eyed as she was. "What are you- W-what? What is it doing?"
Ruby's panicked tone mirrored Weiss's internal feelings as she watched the vile abomination she had trapped writhe about in agony, its equine body neighing distortedly as the jet-black flames that formed its mane intensified. The rider shot up as though awakening from a nightmare before letting out a piercing screech that made its prior screams sound like whispers.
The mage was forced to cover her ears as the torturous sound echoed throughout the valley, dimly aware that Ruby was calling out to her but unable to discern what she was saying on account of the ringing in her ears. Her shock deepened when she saw the changes the creature's body was undergoing.
The long, bony protrusions on its back stretched out and elongated as its arms tensed. The horror's twisted facsimile of a grin widened as its jaw fell open, hanging limply like a door with its hinges destroyed. Its clawed fingers and toes made a scraping sound as they dragged against the stone, growing longer as the Grimm spasmed about.
Perhaps the most terrifying new feature of the Nuckelavee was the pitch-black smoke now drifting from its agape maw, pouring out like a tidal wave of death. The layer of ice covering its legs began to fracture and shatter as it pulled its legs free from the icy prison she'd trapped them in. With a loud crash, the legs tore free of the Ice Dust and sent shards of it flying in every direction.
A few of her zombies were struck by stray chunks, causing them to lose their grip on its extendable arms. Suddenly finding its arms much less restrained than they had been a moment ago, the monster cracked its appendages like a whip, flinging her undead servants off of it. A few managed to maintain their grip, but another crack was all it took to remove those ones as well.
Weiss felt a shiver of fear run through her when the rider turned its hateful gaze to her, its neck twitching erratically as its jaw opened and closed randomly. She tried to raise her sword to draw a glyph but was cut off when Ruby screamed a warning at her.
"Weiss, run!"
The Nuckelavee swung its arms out rapidly, inky-black arms tearing through the air with speeds Weiss could barely react to. Whatever was in their way was torn apart as the arms thrashed about, ripping through buildings and corpses alike, shattering bone and rending stone. The arms lashed out erratically, slamming into objects without any finesse or purpose.
Weiss was only barely able to dodge the first few swings before she managed to escape out of the creature's range. As it began to slow down its furious assault, the rider slumped over and let out a noise similar to a choking gasp. The noble knew that the attack must've been tiring for it to perform, but she dreaded the idea of it trying again. She'd been lucky that she had been almost out of range; if she had been closer she'd have surely been torn apart.
Speaking of which, most of her zombies had been reduced to pieces by sharp claws and quick arms. Of the fourteen she'd started with, a mere five remained, two of which were heavily damaged and on the verge of failing. Things weren't looking good for the white-haired girl, and she struggled to find a way to deal with this new surprise.
Her only consolation was that the spines on its back seemed to recede back into its body as its jaw snapped back into position. The flames that formed its mane dimmed as the stream of black mist pouring from its gaping mouth cut off. The arms untensed and once again went limp while the claws on its fingers and toes shrank back.
"I-It... went back to normal? What was that?" Ruby mumbled to herself, but Weiss still answered her question.
"I've heard of Grimm that lived so long they could mimic human intelligence, but this is unprecedented. It's almost as if..." She trailed off, but Ruby finished her thought for her.
"It's almost like it was using enhancement magic."
That was a terrifying thought. Some Grimm could perform feats that were similar to magic, such as how a Geist could possess objects or a Nevermore could regenerate feathers at a rapid rate, but those weren't actually magic. They were supernatural, yes, but they weren't magic. They were biological functions, or at least as close to biological as a creature of darkness could get.
While that might have been what the Nuckelavee had just done, it had felt different. It had almost seemed like an imitation of enhancement magic. A twisted parody it had taught itself how to use after a decade of facing skilled warriors who had tried to slay it. Something had felt... off when it had performed that little trick. If she wasn't unsure as to whether she'd survive, she'd try and get the Grimm to do it again to investigate.
But she knew that she wouldn't be able to survive if it used that... ability again. Weiss needed to finish this fight quickly, before it could perform its pseudo-magic once again. Escaping wasn't going to be an option now that it had freed itself. Without either Earth or Ice Dust, she wouldn't be able to quickly slow it down again. She could try using glyphs, but powerful Grimm had a habit of shrugging off magic with ease.
Well, it wasn't the only one who could imitate enhancement magic.
The noble thrust her hand up into the air, gathering necrotic energy and flinging it towards her four uninjured undead. The two ones with serious wounds collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, slumping onto the ground as they transferred the dark magic she'd used on them into the others. There was no point wasting aura keeping those two animated.
With a groan, they charged towards the panting Nuckelavee, weapons dragging behind them. The additional dark magic she'd granted the zombies provided them with inhuman strength. Their steel weapons sank much deeper into the abomination's legs as they used the dark aura in a crude form of enhancement magic.
As the horned torso rose to life and began to lash out at the undead, Weiss began to draw a large glyph in front of her. A sudden twitch of its neck caused the Grimm to notice her, but it was too late. She thrust Myrtenaster into the glyph and activated it. A plume of fire shot outwards, scorching its front as Weiss rolled to the side to avoid its hasty attempt at a counter.
She drew another glyph as her undead servants continued their onslaught on its legs. A large circle with three smaller circles on the outside formed in the air as she drew with her sword. Activating it with her aura, Weiss watched as the glyph shot countless thin beams of light at the Grimm, searing small holes into its left flank.
A zombie began to clamber up the Nuckelavee's limp arm at her command, but the horned head only jerked its arm out and sent it flying into a building. It tried to rise to its feet, but the Grimm mercilessly flung its arm through the undead's torso, destroying it. Weiss cursed as she formed another glyph in the air, mad at herself for trying something so reckless.
Without her giving them explicit commands, the risen dead simply attacked the monster's legs mercilessly, putting no effort into dodging its attacks. One of her undead was killed once again when an arm snapped out, flinging it into the air before slamming into it and spiking it into the ground with enough force to crack it.
The glyph Weiss had drawn glowed white, sending out a massive bolt of lightning that struck the Nuckelavee's torso, throwing it backwards and leaving a smoking scorch mark. A cry of pain told Weiss that she'd managed to land a devastating hit, but she had no time to celebrate as Ruby called out a warning through the smoke.
An arm rushed towards her with the intent to impale her. She threw herself to the left, but cursed when she collided with a wall. She managed to avoid the first arm, but she knew from experience that a second was sure to be following. She quickly drew a small glyph in front of her with practiced ease. This was one of the most basic glyphs she knew, but it was one Winter had made sure she knew.
The glyph she'd drawn was the size of a fist but quickly enlarged just in time to block the clawed hand that slammed into it. The barrier glyph held for a minute, but Weiss hadn't had time to strengthen its effects or add a layer that would cause the glyph to spin and thus absorb more force. The black hand broke through the barrier after only a slight delay, crashing into Weiss's arm and throwing her backwards.
As she rolled along the ground and let out a scream of pain, the ex-heiress realized that her right shoulder had been dislocated. She bit her cheek to keep herself from screaming too loud, but the pain was overwhelming. She felt slightly woozy as she shakily tried to rise to her feet, but the Nuckelavee didn't give her a moment to rest before rearing up to attack her once more.
The noble thrust her hand out, manipulating her aura to wield necromancy and give orders to her two remaining undead. The zombies didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately charging the monster together. At the last second, one of the corpses bent down and let the other jump off its back and onto the Nuckelavee's.
The rider let out a screech as the zombie plunged its sword into its stomach, twisting its torso around to stare directly at the zombie. Weiss took advantage of the momentary distraction to let out a scream of pain she'd been bottling up. Ruby flew over to her with a terrified look in her vibrant silver eyes.
"Weiss, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Weiss grit her teeth and struggled to respond. "S-shoulder. Dislocated."
Ruby's eyes went wider than they already were. "Crap. You need to get that healed, fast. Those zombies won't be able to hold out much longer," She predicted. Weiss couldn't help but agree with her. They'd managed to stall for time by getting onto the monster's back, but once the zombie was thrown off it would be killed easily.
"Can't. I'm running low on aura," The white-haired girl hissed through the pain. Ruby's expression morphed into one of panic as she looked around for some answer to this situation. She saw her gaze flit from the piles of rubble, to the weapons embedded into the Grimm's back, then finally down to herself. The silver-eyed girl sighed and held out her hands towards Weiss.
"Use my aura. It should be able to heal you."
Weiss shook her head negative. "No. It's too risky. We don't know if it'll heal me or drain what little I have left in me. For now, it looks like I'll just have to try and run while the undead distract it," She mumbled as she cast a worried glance to where her minions were struggling against the Nuckelavee. "I just wish I had more of them."
She quirked an eyebrow when she saw the gears begin to turn in Ruby's head. "More of them, huh?" The ghost pondered aloud before glancing at the piles of rubble that used to be houses. "How about a whole village's worth of ghosts?"
The white-haired girl immediately caught on to what Ruby was implying and nodded. It was a clever plan, but one that would require time to set up. It would be risky to try and pull off, but it seemed like it was her only option if she wanted to come out of this situation alive.
"We might just be able to kill this thing, then," She said as she flourished her sword in the air with a confident smirk. She gave the ghost a determined nod before stabbing her blade into the ground and fishing through her pouch for chalk.
Weiss directed her two cadavers to distract the Nuckelavee for as long as possible while she went about drawing a huge glyph on the ground with chalk, sprinkling in some Gravity Dust evenly throughout as she did so. Ruby kept an eye on the horrid amalgamation while she worked, warning her every time it seemed like it would turn their way.
The mage wiped a bead of sweat from her brow while she worked, wincing as she stretched her right shoulder accidentally. She needed to ensure that this glyph was perfect so that it would work as intended. If it failed then she was likely going to die; either from the Grimm or from the resulting explosion. She didn't really care which got her first since the end result was the same. She'd have failed Ruby.
She couldn't let that happen! As Weiss drew the glyph on the uneven cobblestones, she experimentally pushed some aura into the structure. Finding a mostly complete magical circle, the aura flowed naturally, fizzing out when it reached the end of the glyph. Nodding to herself, she quickly finished the glyph and began to draw the outer layers that would help her to control its effects.
After drawing three additional layers outside of the first one, she finally risked a glance upwards to see the state of her servants. She almost wished she hadn't. The one that had been riding the Grimm's back had been flung off and into the nearby fountain where it now lay, crumpled unnaturally. The only sign of the other one was a hole in the walls of the town and a lack of the connection she always felt to her summoned undead.
The Scourge of Mistral stared her down with hatred in its crimson eyes, snorting angrily and screeching balefully. Yet the creature did not move, seemingly waiting for her to act. Weiss didn't break eye contact as she stepped into the middle of the glyph, raising her sword with a wince. It was only when she looked down and thrust her sword into the ground that she heard the heavy hoofsteps as the equine body charged towards her.
As Myrtenaster sank into the stone ground and activated the glyph that seemed to suck in all of the surrounding light, Weiss felt some of her aura be sucked into the web of magic. Her surroundings seemed to darken as magic was drained from their environment and absorbed into the glyph, which flickered as black bolts of energy shot from it. As the dark magic began to draw the dead from their rest in the afterlife, Weiss clenched her eyes shut and chanted a mantra.
"Lost souls of Kuroyuri, come to my aid! Return from the beyond and help me to vanquish the being who sent you there! Lend me your power so that I may avenge your souls and help you to find peace!"
The glyph Weiss had created was one of the most complex glyphs she'd ever seen, let alone ever drawn. It used the lingering aura that clung to the ruined village to draw souls out of the afterlife and back to the place of their death as ghosts, binding them there until the glyph was destroyed. Dark energy crackled in the air as the Nuckelavee skidded to a stop. Weiss's eyes opened wide when she heard it stop and let out a gasp.
"What is it you need of us?" The ghost of a bearded man asked her, standing a few feet in front of her. A massive gash across his chest told her that he must've been killed by the Nuckelavee's claws. Countless other ghosts surrounded him, many bearing the same wounds as he did, while others sported claw marks that must've come from Nevermore or Beowolves.
The ghosts were numerous, and Weiss couldn't help but feel nervous as she took in a gulp before she addressed them. "Souls of Kuroyuri. I have summoned you back from beyond the veil of death to aid me in my fight," She began to say, trying to speak in an authoritative tone. "I shall return you to the afterlife once you have helped me to kill the Nuckelavee."
A few whispers broke out among the crowd of ghosts as they nervously glanced back towards the creature in question, who warily paced back and forth while glancing at Weiss from the other side of the horde. A few ghostly voices shouted out to her, but they all fell silent when the bearded man raised a fist to silence them.
"Very well. I cannot claim to understand why a necromancer would come to our small village ten years later, but we shall aid in your fight. I, Li Ren, do vow to help protect you and vanquish this foe," The ghost, now identified as Li, declared with a passionate cry. Weiss gave the man a respectful nod as he withdrew a spectral bow from his back.
"Brothers and sisters, hear me! Ten years ago, we all lost our lives to this fiend. While some may choose to place the blame on the king, or on Oniyuri, the simple fact remains. It was neither the king nor the rebels who took our homes from us. It was not they who led a horde of Grimm to our secluded home. It was the Nuckelavee that took our lives. And it is only fair we help return the favor!"
The ghost cheered his men onwards with a cry, knocking an arrow in his quiver and firing it at the monster. The ghostly arrow did not truly harm it, but the Nuckelavee hissed in pain all the same. While only truly ancient ghosts or wraiths could actually use magic and influence the world around them, these ghosts could still cause the Grimm pain.
A small army of ghosts charged towards the Nuckelavee, flying through the air and swinging translucent swords through its inky black skin. The abomination screamed in pain as the phantoms plunged their weapons into it, thrashing its limbs about in an attempt to swat away the ghosts. While the spirits distracted it, Weiss took the time to draw out several large glyphs and activate them with some dust.
Streaks of violet light shot from one glyph and struck the Grimm, weighing down the areas she had struck. A lime-green circle shot out a glob of liquid that matched its color. The acid slammed into the Grimm's leg and hissed, but it didn't even notice the pain. A glyph shot three clumps of dirt into the ground near one of its hind legs, thick roots springing up from the roots and wrapping around the leg.
Ghastly spears and swords alike pierced the ancient beast's skin, causing it unending pain. None of the ghosts were able to actually harm the Grimm, but in turn, it couldn't do anything to stop them from causing it pain. The Nuckelavee tried to back away, but the ghosts were faster and quickly caught up to it and cut it off before it could get far.
A cyclone of glowing white ghosts circled around the Grimm, slashing and stabbing at the creature as it thrashed about, trying to ward off the attacks coming from every direction. Weiss fired off a few weak glyphs while it was distracted, landing small attacks on its back while it was turned away from her but not dealing enough damage to draw its ire.
"Necromancer, can you do something to allow us to harm the creature?" Li Ren asked her as he floated up to her, bowing deeply as he approached. Weiss pondered his words as she looked around, but Ruby spoke up and gave her an idea.
"Weiss, can you get them to possess the statue?" The silver spectre suggested, and both Weiss and Li glanced at the statue in question. It was made from cast bronze and seemed to depict a man who resembled Li, albeit slightly older. Likely a distant ancestor and either the founder of the village or its greatest hero. It wouldn't be efficient, and it was missing an arm, but she might be able to do it.
"That would work. If enough of us possessed the armor, we might be able to inflict some actual damage on this bastard!" Li cheered, but Weiss and Ruby could do nothing but gape at him in shock.
"Y-you can hear me? And see me?" Ruby asked incredulously. Li quirked a ghostly eyebrow and nodded.
"Of course. Or at least, partially. I know not what you are, but I can make out a vaguely defined shape and hear your voice," Li answered honestly. Weiss frowned at his words. That was completely different from how both she and Oscar could see Ruby. Why couldn't her curse be more consistent? Her life would be so much easier if new questions stopped popping up every time she got closer to figuring out Ruby's curse.
"That doesn't matter right now," Weiss interrupted both the ghosts' conversation and her own thoughts. "We can try Ruby's idea. I'll draw the glyph," She declared without leaving room for argument. With a nod, Li went back to distracting the Nuckelavee while Weiss ran up to the statue and began to draw a complex glyph.
Creating golems was a difficult process that required both enchantments and glyphs, but she could forgo the need for enchantments thanks to the numerous spirits she had at her disposal. But she still needed to create a glyph that would allow the statue a limited range of motion and let the spirits possess the armor.
It would be a rudimentary golem; not particularly powerful nor agile. But it would help them to hurt the Grimm. So Weiss wove a series of lines together on the front of the statue's chest with Myrtenaster while the army of ghosts distracted the Nuckelavee. Once she was finished, she took a brief moment to check her work before calling out to Li.
"It's ready! Head into the glyph!"
At her words, he raised a ghostly arm to the sky and gave a confident shout. A few of the other villagers looked at him oddly but soon followed after him when they saw him enter into the glyph she'd drawn in the center of the statue. The army of ghosts crashed into the statue as it began to creak to life, dust and dirt falling from its arms as it took a few shaky and unsteady steps.
The one-armed statue worked on a similar principle to the Geist-possessed armor she'd fought back in the ancient fortress in Solitas. The glyph she'd drawn on the front acted like the Geist's mask, acting as a sort of 'brain' for the statue. The ghosts possessing the armor acted as fuel, powering the glyph that allowed it to move its joints. The difference was that her golem was far more rushed and shoddy.
But that didn't seem to matter to the villagers of Kuroyuri, who steered the statue towards the confused Nuckelavee and delivered a swift elbow to its horned head. They followed that attack up with a jab into its stomach and a knee to its equine head before finally slamming its massive replica of a bow into its legs with enough force to break it.
The Scourge of Mistral stumbled back as the golem unleashed an onslaught of blows, relentlessly pressing forward. But despite the force behind the strikes, the Grimm was still able to fight back. Finding an opening after the hastily-made golem swung a fist at its throat and missed, it whirled around and kicked with its hind legs, leaving a massive dent in the statue's stomach.
Rising shakily to its feet, the golem once again charged the Nuckelavee, only for the Grimm to rear up on two legs and slam its feet into the statue, tearing its arm off with ease. The statue managed to deliver a spinning kick to the side that broke the horse-like body's ribs and sent shards of bone into its flank, but the golem quickly lost its balance.
Whiplike arms slammed into the downed golem repeatedly, tearing large gashes into the metal. The statue tried to rise to its feet, but without arms, it wasn't able to. The two-clawed arms eventually slashed through the statue's stomach, disrupting the glyph Weiss had drawn. Ordinarily, those would've been drawn on the inside of a golem, but she hadn't had time to do that. Fortunately, it seemed to work in her favor here.
As the glyph she'd drawn was disrupted, it exploded outwards. The force of the magical explosion forced the Nuckelavee back as a storm of ghosts soared out of the destroyed statue, swirling around the Grimm like a cyclone. Weiss could tell the souls were exhausted from controlling the golem, but they persisted on Remnant out of a desire to stop the Scourge of Mistral.
Unfortunately, Weiss knew that her chance to kill this thing had passed. She'd thought she'd had a chance when she'd created the golem, but now it seemed things had taken a turn for the worse. She should slip away while she had the chance. Limping towards the alleyway Ruby had said Snowpea was hiding in, she used her rapier to support her weight while she walked.
The swirling storm of souls would distract the Nuckelavee for a few minutes at best, so it was important that she got away as quickly as possible. Weiss turned around and debated trying to slow it down with a glyph but discarded the idea. It would only waste time. She needed to get out of here fast. But to be honest, she did feel slightly guilty.
Kuroyuri's former residents all flew around the monster, shouting at it to draw its attention and fully believing Weiss was going to avenge them. Which she was planning on doing. After all, she did have to figure out where the translator tome that had been here had gone. But she knew that she couldn't win this battle on her own. She would come back after she found strong enough help to finish off the Nuckelavee.
Fate, it seemed, had a different plan. While the ghosts were able to block the Grimm's view, they couldn't do anything to actually block its attacks. And while it wouldn't be able to land a hit on Weiss since she was moving, it wasn't that hard for it to hit a still target. Weiss had underestimated this creature's intelligence and paid for it.
With a shriek, the Nuckelavee thrust its arm out towards the black glyph she'd drawn on the ground to summon the ghosts, disrupting the glyph and creating a massive explosion that froze Weiss in her tracks. The white-haired noble turned around to watch as the spirits she'd summoned gave her apologetic looks before fading away in the wind, returning to the afterlife she'd pulled them from.
"Shit. That's not good," She cursed as she was once again left alone with the Nuckelavee. The rider screeched angrily at her, eyes burning with malice. The ancient Grimm once again let out a vile shriek as its spines began to elongate once more, causing Weiss to panic. It was using its pseudo-magic again, and this time she barely had enough aura left to dodge a single attack.
Yet instead of thrashing about as it had before, the Nuckelavee did something strange. It curled its arms up and reached behind its back as though it were scratching an itch. Weiss heard a strangled clinking sound as she backed away from the monster, but she never broke eye contact and kept her sword out in front of her.
With a sudden twitch, the Nuckelavee exploded into motion; snapping its arms out and flinging a barrage of steel and silver towards her. "T-the weapons on its back? It kept those there for a reason?" Weiss exclaimed to herself as she threw herself out of the way of a volley of spears and swords that the Grimm had thrown with enough force that they sank into the ground.
Weiss screamed in pain as she landed on her bad shoulder, letting out a string of curses. She heard Ruby call her name faintly, but the pain was too distracting to think. The pounding on the ground told her all she needed to know, however. The Nuckelavee was charging right towards her, and she was going to be trampled to death.
She tried to push herself to her feet, but much like the golem she simply couldn't with her arm in its current state. She managed to rise to a kneeling position just in time to see a massive black shape hurtling towards her. Bracing herself for impact, Weiss's mind went into overdrive trying to find a way to survive this situation while Ruby screamed at her to try and get out of the way.
She never had to. Because before the Grimm could even reach her it was thrown off course when two green arrows sank into its neck and a massive silver hammer slammed into the back of its hind legs, shattering its knees. The Grimm fell with an enraged whinny as Weiss felt strong arms help lift her to her feet.
"Are you okay?" A feminine voice asked her as she was lifted into the air by whoever had swung the hammer. Weiss's icy blue eyes met the teal eyes of the orange-haired warrior she'd told to flee the village earlier. If she was here, then the archer must've been the black-haired man. Realizing the girl was waiting for a response, she nodded wordlessly, taking in the sight of her two saviors.
The woman holding her wore a large black coat lined with red cloth that made her already muscular arms seem even larger. Beneath that she wore a matching silver breastplate and greaves with black tights underneath to keep her warm. A pink skirt frilled out around her waist while pink and white fingerless gloves reached up to her elbows. She was somewhat short in stature, yet she easily slung her hammer over her shoulder.
The man had long black hair cascading down to the small of his back with a single strand of pink framing the left side of his face. A sleeveless green vest bearing a lotus emblem adorned his chest with two tails splitting off at his waist and reaching down to his calves. Black, open-toed sandals covered his feet while matching fingerless gloves ran along his forearms. A large quiver hung from the back of his waist, filled to the brim with arrows.
"Didn't I tell you two to run away?" Weiss hoarsely muttered, but the pink-eyed man shook his head with a determined grimace. The orange-haired woman shrugged helplessly as if to say "What can I say?"
"This village was once my home. Forgive me, but I was not willing to let another die here to this monster so that I might escape," The archer declared in a quiet voice.
"Besides, it didn't look like you were in a position to refuse our help," The teal-eyed woman explained in an oddly chipper voice. Weiss wanted to argue, but couldn't find the energy to do so. And she was right, after all. Despite her efforts, she hadn't been able to think of a way out of the situation she'd just been in.
"I... thank you. You saved me," The white-haired girl lowered her head to show her gratitude and respect, but the energetic girl simply snorted and waved off her thanks.
"Nah. You saved us first. We were just repaying the favor," She reasoned while her taciturn companion nodded with a slight smile. "The name's Nora Valkyrie. The tall, handsome, and brooding gentleman over there is Lie Ren. You are?"
Weiss pondered Nora's words before responding. She was willing to bet her father's fortune that Lie Ren was the child of Li, the ghost she'd summoned earlier to aid her. "Weiss Schnee, at your service," The ex-heiress introduced herself with a wince as she pulled her shoulder, not missing the bewildered look the two warriors shot each other.
She half expected them to ask what she was doing here or if she really was who she claimed, but was pleasantly surprised when Ren shook his head to clear his mind of the distraction. "The rest of these introductions can happen later. For now, we need to figure out what we're going to do about this thing."
Nora gripped her hammer tightly as she shifted her stance to a more defensive one. "We can't just run away. It'll heal its wounds and be after us before we even get the chance to make it out of the valley," The woman reasoned.
"I managed to do a number on it, but I don't have much left up my sleeve," Weiss explained before casting a wary glance back to the monster. "The same can't be said for this thing. Before, it was able to use some kind of... mimicry of enhancement magic."
Ren cast her a curious glance. "Grimm can't use magic."
"This one did."
She left no room for argument, but it wasn't as though Ren was willing to waste time and energy doing so anyways. A massive hand raced towards them as they spoke, forcing the trio to leap in different directions to avoid it. The archer fired off an arrow that sank into the horse's thigh, but the Nuckelavee jerked its arm to the side, trying to sweep his legs out from underneath him.
He dove over the attack and shot another arrow that missed its head by an inch as Nora charged forwards with a warcry. Ducking under a kick, she swung her hammer into the head of the horse, knocking out a few teeth with the blow. Weiss called out for her to dodge as she activated a glyph, sending a small bolt of fire straight towards the Grimm that Nora barely managed to dodge.
The noble charged forwards, sword held high as she channeled Dust through its blade. Arcs of electricity crackled along Myrtenaster before coursing into the monster when she thrust her rapier into its equine neck. It tried to grab her with an arm, but Ren managed to knock the hand off course with a well-placed arrow. The mage was forced to give ground when the creature stomped a clawed foot into the ground where she'd just been standing.
Nora's hammer crashed into the rider's limp arm with enough force to shatter stone, practically flattening the unmoving limb. The humanoid figure atop the horse screamed in agony before throwing a two-fingered punch into Nora's side that struck a glancing blow that sent her sprawling across the ground. Ren called out in worry, not noticing when the same arm lashed out behind him.
Weiss managed to tackle him to the ground before the tentacle-like appendage could break his spine, clenching her teeth in pain as she landed on her injured arm. A scream lodged itself in her throat, but she forced it down as she rose to her feet unsteadily. Ren managed to pull himself into a kneeling position as Nora limped over to them.
"Ow! I think that thing broke a few ribs!" Came the complaint from the orange-haired woman before either she or Ren could ask how she was feeling. "Just attacking it like this clearly isn't working. We need a plan."
Weiss wracked her brain to try and come up with an idea, but Ren offered up one of his own. "If I could get a clear shot, I might be able to guide an arrow down its throat and pierce its heart."
The blue-eyed girl's gaze met Nora's as they both shrugged in response. "Okay, but what does 'a clear shot' entail? Could you make it from here?" The hammer-wielding woman queried, but Ren shook his head negative.
"No. I'd need a few seconds to take aim, and the Nuckelavee would have to be looking directly at me. Never mind, it was a poor idea," He clenched his fists with a frown on his face, but Weiss pondered the idea and expanded on it.
"Actually, that might work. Look at its back leg. It's almost broken. If Nora hit that hard enough to break it, the lower half would go down. From there, she and I would have to find a way to restrain the arms for a moment while you take aim. It'll be hard, but it's our best bet," She surmised as Nora gave her a curious look.
"No offense, but you look like shit. I doubt you have enough aura left to use any kind of magic to restrain it, and even then your shoulder doesn't look good. How are you planning on holding its arm down?" Nora asked incredulously.
Weiss gave a glance to her left, where the reason she was here in the first place floated with a concerned expression on her face. "I have a way. But first, you'll need to deal with its legs. Think you can do it?"
The redhead gave her a cocky smirk somewhat reminiscent of Yang's. "Can I?" She boasted confidently. Weiss nodded at her before turning to Ren with a questioning look in her eyes. The green-garbed man sighed.
"I might be able to make the shot if you were able to do all that. But there's no guarantee."
"It's a risk we'll have to take. Now move!" The white-haired girl barked out an order as they flung themselves to the side to avoid a strike from the Grimm. Nora charged forwards with her hammer dragging behind her, but the rider gave her its full and undivided attention, likely wary of her after seeing how strong she was first hand.
With a horrible screech, the spines on the Nuckelavee's back began to grow as its spine bent backwards at a seemingly impossible angle. Its body spasmed in pain as its hands wrapped around its torso, its long digits coiling around the arsenal of weapons impaled into its back. Weiss called out a desperate warning to Nora as the arms snapped forward faster than she could blink, flinging a volley of weaponry at the girl.
A few stray weapons landed glancing blows on Ren's side while a single spear managed to knick Weiss after bouncing off her breastplate and knocking the wind from her stomach. Nora received the brunt of the attack, however. She slammed her massive weapon into the ground at the last second, creating a massive shockwave that sent several of the weapons flying off course, but many of them still struck her.
Yet the Nuckelavee was quickly forced to focus on Ren as he fired a rapid volley of arrows at its head. A few of them struck its neck or its shoulder, with one lucky shot puncturing through its gleaming red eye. The Scourge of Mistral roared in anguish as Ren created a blind spot that Nora took advantage of, quickly running to its right side where it now could no longer see out of.
But just before the teal-eyed girl could strike its hind leg with her hammer, the Nuckelavee's arm whipped back fast enough to kick up a small cloud of dust before colliding with Nora's hammer and throwing it from her grasp. The Grimm turned around to face Nora directly, slumping over to glare the now-disarmed girl in the eye. Conveniently, its back was now turned to Weiss.
With a nod towards Ruby, she extended her rapier to the heavens above. The silver spectre dissolved into flames of the same color that writhed through the air and swirled around Weiss before crashing into her, sending a wave of powerful emotions through her. Fear and concern seemed foremost, but beneath them, she could sense Ruby's desire to protect these fighters who were aiding them.
At the end of the day, Ruby was a simple girl. She wanted to be like the knights from her mother's stories. But since she couldn't do so due to her lack of a body, Weiss was happy to be the vessel through which Ruby used her power to protect others. Brilliant silver light began to pour out from Weiss as her flames were wreathed in the flames that all Grimm knew to fear.
Ren gaped at her in surprise as Weiss ran forwards, having gained a second wind after merging her aura with Ruby's. She could feel the power flickering slightly, which concerned her even though it quickly stabilized. She still wasn't quite sure how merging auras with Ruby worked or how she was meant to control this power, but she didn't have to know how to bake bread to know how to eat it.
"Yeah! Let's kick this thing's ass, Weiss!" Ruby cheered from within her aura, her familiar voice sounding out deep within Weiss's mind rather than being physically there.
It took some effort, but the radiant girl managed to push Ruby's aura into Myrtenaster in time for her to stab her blade into the back of the Nuckelavee's leg. The Grimm let out a shrill scream of pain before whirling around, its singular red eye widening with an emotion she'd never thought she'd see in a Grimm. Fear
Weiss paid this no heed, however. Rather, she withdrew her rapier and thrust it once more into the creature's twisted leg, puncturing through it as though it were paper. With a furious cry that Ruby matched from within her soul, she tore her sword free from the monster before plunging it back into the leg over and over again. Once, twice, thrice... Myrtenaster tore through the leg until it was only barely attached by a few strands of pitch-black muscle.
"Weiss, behind us!" Ruby tried to warn her, yet the white-haired noble wasn't able to react in time to evade the attack.
The Grimm's arm lashed out and wrapped around her leg, yanking her back and flinging her a short distance across the cobblestones. Weiss's sword sank into the earth as she tried to slow her momentum, but a tugging in her arm told her she was in danger of dislocating her other shoulder as well. The Nuckelavee glared at her as it prepared to finish her off, but fell over when Nora snuck up behind it and swung her newly reclaimed hammer into its remaining back leg.
The equine body neighed in agony as it fell to the ground while the extendable arms thrashed about in pain. One of the limbs tried to smash Weiss from above, but the noble managed to roll out of the way before impaling her blade through the limb and pinning it to the ground. She could feel Ruby's aura running low from her flurry of blows earlier, but she was sure she'd be able to hold out for now.
The other arm tried to swipe at her to free itself, but Nora managed to hook the back of her warhammer around it and tug it down to the earth before rolling onto her back to pin the appendage under her own body weight. The Nuckelavee strained against her grip, but tugging on either arm proved ineffective.
With an enraged screech, the Nuckelavee's jaw fell open as it began to use its mockery of magic. Its arms began to tense up and expand as Weiss felt a current of something similar to aura run through the arm. Its tugs began to pull Nora and Weiss out of position, but in using this technique it had sealed its own fate.
With its jaw agape, Ren had a clear shot down its wretched gullet. Nonetheless, the pink-eyed man took a few seconds to steady his breathing and adjust his aim before letting loose his arrow. Weiss heard him mumble something under his breath, yet couldn't discern what he'd said. The missile twisted through the air as wind guided it along its path, soaring through the air before curving down into the monster's maw.
The Grimm let out a horrible shriek as it writhed in agony for a few moments before finally falling limp. It twitched weakly a few times as black mist began to pour from its jaws and eyes before finally slumping over and beginning to dissolve into that same mist. Weiss heard Nora let out a relieved cheer as Ren gave a sigh of relief.
"Weiss, we did it! We actually managed to kill it! We took down a legendary Grimm!" Ruby's thoughts echoed deep within her soul as waves of relief and pride washed over her, emanating from the excitable girl dwelling within her own soul. Weiss managed a weak smile before falling to her hands and knees, vomiting her stomach out.
The silver flames were immediately ejected from her body as it began to give out on her. She was dimly aware of three voices panicking as they called out to her, but she could only faintly hear them. Without Ruby's aura to support her, exhaustion took hold of her and her head began to spin, making her feel woozy as her shoulder throbbed dully.
The last thing she saw before blacking out was Ren and Nora rushing to her side while Ruby stared down at her, horrified. Behind them all, she could've sworn she saw a red and bronze figure walking up to them at the head of a small party of people. Weiss faintly heard Ruby yelling at her to stay with her, but that faded along with everything else as her world went black.
Now you see why I ended the last chapter on a cliffhanger. This one was over 9,000 words long while that last one was 4,000. This was definitely my longest fight I've written yet, but I'm not sure where I stand on it. The Nuckelavee is an awkward Grimm in that it works really well in a visual format while not translating well to a written one. Nevertheless, I tried my best to write a fight. Weiss got to bust out a few necromancy tricks and was definitely the MVP in this fight, but it didn't feel right to let her have the kill when the Nuckelavee is responsible for killing Ren's parents. Speaking of which, next chapter we'll be getting into who the hell Ren and Nora are and what they're doing in Kuroyuri. I left plenty of clues in the past few chapters, so I bet you all can figure it out pretty easily.
This chapter is special for two reasons: First off, as of this chapter I will be cross-posting on AO3 under the exact same name as I currently have. The story is the exact same, though I have gone back and edited the grammatical mistakes in the first fourteen chapters. Secondly, this chapter is being released on the one-year anniversary of the day I published the first chapter on . I guess I'm biased, but I'm really proud of what I've done with this story. It's not perfect and definitely has room for improvement, but I can firmly say that I am happy that I finally worked up the nerve to start writing and posting my story. I may try my hand at writing a few Oneshots as well, but for now, I'll focus on the story you're all here for: Silver Spectre.
Thank you for reading,
-Rabid Bear