God above, how much I miss writing my fic. So many essays and other written assignments and exams to have been taken care of first before I could even think to write this… but now it's all over and done with. I'm finally entering the final lap so to speak; just about 5 more weeks to go before finals and the graduation ceremony and then it's pretty much all over. Just one more class during the summer and viola, done with college! Man, what a ride it's been. I won't miss the classes/workload for the most part, but there will definitely be some classes I'll miss not being in anymore. And for sure, there will be some professors and a number of people I'm going to miss hanging out with…
Well, that said, it's time to get this chapter started. Enjoy!
Chapter 19
Surma, as powerful and as agile as it was, was momentarily taken by surprise by the sheer speed of the professors' attacks as it charged forth at them.
Glynda's attack, in the form of several purple energy blasts, was the first to land upon the sentient Relic and with startling force. The beast had grown used to the weak blows of the students and their lackluster speed compared to it, and thus it had falsely believed the professors to be on roughly the same level.
And now it was finding out how wrong it was in this assumption as Glynda's attack actually forced the beast to a temporary halt, just long for Peter, quick on his feet in spite of his hefty build, to close in the gap between them and striking Surma's left knee with tremendous force from his weapon, Blunderbuss. Much to the beast's shock, Peter possessed enough strength and had struck with enough momentum and precision for it to actually feel the blow.
Although it by no means actually hurt, this one fact spoke volumes of Peter's might and it showed as Surma's leg trembled. But Peter wasn't done yet and so he quickly rushed behind the sentient Relic and shot the very back of Surma's lef knee several times in rapid succession.
It was with a triumphant laugh that Peter watched as Surma collapsed onto one knee, allowing Bartholomew Oobleck more than enough time to launch his own assault, peppering Surma with a barrage of dangerously precise attacks from his own weapon and with a speed that the students, still very much trying to recover, could barely even see.
Delivering one final blow to Surma's exposed throat, Oobleck was rewarded with a muted cough from the creature, showing that he had managed to strike a somewhat soft area. "Serves you right, beast!" the usually extremely talkative professor only now speaking.
"Back!" Glynda then said, having been readying her next attack until now. And with no other words spoken, she launched her next move just as Peter and Oobleck both leapt well out of the line of fire. The ceiling above broke apart into several large pieces of debris that then rained down upon Surma's stunned form with terrifying force, making the very room shake from the hits.
But Glynda wasn't done just yet. Normally, she'd abhor the haphazard destruction of the environment around her, having always been one for tidiness even in the midst of battle. But against a creature that was undoubtedly related to the Holy Knights in some way, this wasn't a time to adhere to her own quirks.
This showed in the form of her unleashing what could only be best described as a veritable hellfire, with intense purple flames bursting into existence all around Surma before converging on the beast.
"You got him!" Peter all but yelled in glee as Surma's form was completely enveloped by the flames. But while he was most exuberant about the deputy headmistress' attack, the woman in question didn't share his joy.
"No, I doubt it's done just yet…" She then gritted her teeth in equal parts frustration and worry. She had seen how little her comrades' attack have actually damaged the beast and while she took pride in her own power and skills, she knew well enough that at best she'd only be able to scratch this strange beast a bit. That was what frustrated her. But what worried her was the fact that there was no one else to call upon. If this attack were to have happened on any other day that Ozpin and the others had been out of Beacon Academy, it would have been easy to simply call them and have them return here in record time. But whenever they had to meet with the council, it was impossible to call Ozpin or the magi due to the fact that the council was very strict about them not being interrupted during their meetings. So until the meeting ended, Glynda and the others there were on their own.
This was one particular thought that drove proverbial ice needles into her spine as a thunderous roar made itself known then and there. From the inferno of purple flames, Surma casually walked out of it without any visible damage, save for its fur being partially singed in some areas. Its red eyes glowed ominously as it leveled a glare at Glynda, seeing her and by extension the other two professors in a new light.
"Good lord…" Oobleck muttered as he readied his weapon. Behind his large, round glasses, his eyes had widened a great deal as he assessed just how little of an effect their attacks had had on the sentient Relic.
"What manner of beast is this thing?!" Peter exclaimed as he hefted Blunderbuss, ready to attack.
Only he never got the chance to do so.
Having its back towards Peter as the inferno died down, Surma's very much snake-like tail sprung to life, lashing out at the professor with truly serpentine movement and speed, its jaws wide open and its fangs ready to sink themselves into Peter's flesh. The man hardly knew what hit him as the tail struck him, the fangs clamping hard into his right arm and pulling hard. The bit alone broke his forearm while the sudden pull dislocated it as Peter went soaring across the room, crying out in pain from the attack before landing hard on the floor near Oobleck.
"Professor Port!" Glynda whispered harshly in shock as she sparred a glance towards her injured comrade. She began to rush towards him to check on his condition, her eyes never leaving Surma as she did so.
Alas, just because she was keeping her eyes on the beast didn't mean it was going to just stand still. With far greater speed than before, Surma charged forward and cut Glynda off, swiping at her with its massive claws.
Glynda was agile, however, and was able to jump back in time to avoid the attack, if only by a hair's breath. In retaliation, she created a small ball of pure energy that launched itself directly into Surma's stomach, hoping to stagger it.
But unfortunately, Surma had used her and her friends' previous attacks to surmise their combat strength. Now knowing just how much of a punch their attacks had, Surma withered the energy attack without so much as acknowledging it.
Glynda in turn could only swear under her breath as she cautiously took a few steps back in order to put some distance in between them. Even as Oobleck rushed to her side, the blond could only curse the beast and its power. As a caster-type huntress, her strength relied in long range attacks. But against a foe whose speed and other physical abilities outclassed hers and her friends' by many orders of magnitude, she found herself at a loss on how to proceed now, especially since the students all around the room were only barely getting up and trying to move out of the way even in their injured states.
Surma, on the other hand, could only allow itself a predatory grin as it watched Glynda and Oobleck take up defensive stances.
Taking a few lumbering steps forward, the beast went on the attack yet again. Although its mission was find and slay Sif, it couldn't help but wish to indulge itself a bit more in this battle.
And so it was with a grin still upon its face that it closed the distance between it and Oobleck and brought down its claws on the shocked professor…
Elsewhere, Katsu was still in the midst of his own crisis.
Sensing danger from behind, the magus moved as fast as he could to avoid the unknown attack. As he leapt away, he looked out of the corner of his eyes to see just what had been about to strike him, but whatever it was, it was already gone.
He didn't get time to ponder this as he sensed danger yet again, this time from his left and right sides simultaneously. He ducked and stepped forward just in the nick of time, feeling something slice above his head.
"Hmm, that speed of yours is considerable, to be sure," Apophis commented, holding his Relic tightly, though now in a different stance than before. The second seat smiled a little as he motioned for Lugh behind him to back away a bit more. "Guess I'll have some fun then."
"Tch, just what was that?" Katsu thought as he looked to the Holy Knight. "Something nearly struck me. Based off the air pressure, it could be a blade… but how? He's still a good distance away from me and has yet to even move a single inch."
Indeed, whatever had hit him the first time around, rendering his arm the way it is now, had nearly struck him just now. It felt like a blade, yet Apophis had yet to move. The only thing Katsu could think of was that the Holy Knight had some particularly special ability that he couldn't quite pinpoint.
It was on that note that Katsu could only growl in frustration as he stood up to his full height, shifting into a defensive posture. From the beginning, this entire battle had been against him. Due to the nature of his magical weapon, he could only deal a true death blow with just one of his fists no matter what form he switched World Ender into. And since he himself wasn't exactly immune to his own ability, he had to take care not to graze himself, which in turn limited his taijutsu considerably, forcing him to stick to nearly the simplest of punches and kicks.
In hindsight, it might have been the most ideal thing for him to have simply tried to grab Lugh's spear, Areadbhar, but given that it was constantly covered in clearly mystical flames, the flames would take the 'hit' well enough for Lugh to pull his Relic out of his hand or simply reignite the flames. Since the flames were solid enough to be felt when he punched them in the first place, this had seemed likely. Though now, Katsu could only ponder if things could've turned out differently if he had at least tried such an option.
At the very least, if he had been successful, then he'd only have this older Holy Knight to worry about, rather than still have to worry about both of them.
"You should've tried to grab Lugh's spear…" Apophis spoke calmly, watching in slight amusement as he saw Katsu's eyes widen microscopically. "That probably wouldn't have worked given the nature of his flames, but at least it would've had a good chance of working. Although if that were to have been the case, I'd have sliced your arm clean off before his Relic could be destroyed."
Apophis raised his sword high and then swung down.
Katsu could only watch in alarm as the blade glowed with mana before sensing something about to appear right before him. And in response he ended up sidestepping just in time to see a blade materialize in midair and swing where he had just been standing.
"That was…" he began.
"My blade," Apophis finished for him as he finished his attack and calmly began to walk towards Katsu now. "The Devouring Blade it's called. With reason, I should add. You see, Tyr, unlike my comrades' Relic, all of which are actual mythological objects, mine is not. It's completely artificial, though it's no less dangerous than any other Relic out there. That's because when it was made, we made sure to model it after a… what do you magi call it… a conceptual magical weapon."
Katsu's eyes went wide at that. "Then…" He said, hoping to egg the man on to learn more. All the while, he discreetly prepared himself to rush in and destroy the Relic as soon as the man's guard was down for good.
Apophis grinned. "Yes, my blade can, to an extent, manipulate concepts itself. More specifically, it can partially refract dimensions whenever I pour mana into it." He hefted his blade and readied it for a diagonal cut. "Much like this."
The Devouring Blade glowed ominously as Apophis swung and Katsu had to take several steps back to avoid the wide arcing blade that appeared before him with great speed. But just when it seemed like he was safe, Katsu was met with the very same attack occurring directly behind him as he had been backing up.
And thus he could only cry out in shock and pain as the blade cut him deeply across the back, drawing a great deal of blood. He staggered forward a few steps before nearly collapsing to his knees as the same strange feeling from when his arm got cut welled up in his new injury.
"Dimensions, Tyr. Dimensions," Apophis chided. "Meaning that I can attack not only from any angle or direction, but can also generate the very same attack multiple times from different directions simultaneously." He continued walking forward the whole time. Seeing Katsu about to stand fully back up, he swung his Relic at a low angle, said object glowing with mana. As he did so, a blade manifested behind Katsu's legs and cut at the back of his ankles. Not all the way through, but certainly enough for the ancient magus to go crashing forward into the ground.
"Damn it!" Katsu could only yell as he tried to push himself up. His wounds weren't healing at all, no doubt some sort of strange side effect of the Devouring Blade Apophis wielded. He tried to crawl forward, but this action served no purpose; Apophis now literally stood before him.
Literally looking down on the ancient magus, Apophis' smirk took on a more sinister quality as he slowly pointed his Relic at the man. "As you can surely tell, your wounds aren't healing at all. Yet another little trait of my Relic. You see, we Holy Knights all have our codenames based on mythological beings… and I'm named after a creature of chaos and decay. As such, my Relic reflects this quality quite well. When infused with my mana, my blade deals wounds that not only cease to heal, it also 'injects' my mana into the struck down target, slowly transmitting them one atom at a time to another dimension, one of complete entropy… only they naturally don't survive the trip and definitely not in one piece."
Apophis chuckled darkly, taking joy in gloating to his opponent as he harshly cut Katsu across the check before suddenly maneuvering the blade to cut the magus deeply across his back yet again before literally stabbing him in the back of his shoulder, close to his neck. Watching Katsu hiss in pain, Apophis took delight in raising his Relic high with just one hand. "My name is Apophis, ancient magus, you pathetic and insignificant fossil. Remember it well in your next life."
And without any further words spoken, he brought his blade down.
Back at Beacon Academy, what appeared to be the worst scenario had occurred.
Literally smashed into the ground, Glynda and Oobleck lied in the middle of a large crater with a number of injuries all over their bodies. It had all happened so fast. One second, they had been about to try and drive Surma back enough to drag Peter away from the battle, but the beast had apparently deemed it no longer necessary to hold back its immense power. And so it had been with impossible to track speed that the beast had struck them down, not killing them, but certainly wounding them greatly, all but physically broken under Surma's might.
"P-P-Professors…!" Ruby, now finally back on her feet albeit unsteadily so, squeaked out in a weak and hurt voice.
Surma, standing over the nearly unconscious forms of Glynda and Oobleck, slowly looked to the team leader with disinterest, the beast finally determining that this entire mission was a complete failure. Having crushed the three professors underfoot, it could now tell that none here had anywhere near enough power to fight it. Furthermore, considering the fact that no one else came rushing here showed Surma that its target was nowhere near the academy at all today, for one reason or another.
With a discontent growl, Surma turned its back on its defeated foes and began to walk away, only to stop at a handful of students who now stood in its way. At the forefront of the group was none other than Ruby's sister Yang, the blond brawler's eyes blazing red with anger and energy.
"T-This isn't-!" she had begun to say despite knowing what would happen. But Surma cut her off with the same sort of disposition one would have when chasing away a fly. With one of its massive hands, he harshly swatted aside Yang and the other students that had stood with her before beginning to walk away, brazenly heading for the cafeteria's entrance/exit point.
"It's alright," said Kalma's voice directly into Surma's mind, trying to sooth its disappointment. "Just come on back so we can-."
But the young girl's telepathic message was cut off when someone threw something at the very back of Surma's head. Some tray covered in a bunch of juice and other sorts of liquids that the students had been drinking during lunch.
Angered by this, Surma whirled around to see who had struck it and found itself expecting it to be the blond brawler. But to its surprise, it wasn't her, but rather another girl. Although the best knew not who she was, teams RWBY and JNPR, still all but incapacitated with everyone else, recognized the girl as the one who beat Jaune in combat class a week or two ago.
Said girl now seemed to be rather regretting her course of action as Surma looked upon her with murderous rage.
With a deliberate slowness as to take joy in the girl's shock and terror, Surma ran towards her, beginning to raise a fist high in order to crush her.
The girl, realizing that the blow would most certainly be a fatal one, tried to move from where she sat against the wall, but to no avail; earlier when the beast had been throwing around everyone, it had broken her right leg while severely bruising her left one.
Seeing that she wasn't going to be able to escape this fate, the girl looked upon the approaching sentient Relic with resigned horror, looking at the beast growling viciously at her as it continued its deliberately slow – by its own standards – charge.
But then, something happened, much to the shock of everyone conscious enough to watch and much to the particular horror of teams RWBY and JNPR.
Hurt, but not out for the count, Jaune found the strength to rush from his spot, close to where the girl was at, and stand in between her and Surma.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out upon seeing him now stand defenselessly fifteen feet in front of the girl while Surma approached still, its eyes darting to the blond leader.
"W-Wait, get out of there!" Ruby exclaimed.
But the blond didn't seem to hear their words nor the words of other students as they began to yell at him to move, or to do anything at all. Instead, he simply thought back to the training sessions he's had so far with his team and Naruto.
"Just… how exactly did professor Namikaze move again?" Jaune asked, watching as everything around him seemed to start moving in slow motion.
His breath, shallow and slow, sped up a bit as his heart pounded faster as he continued to think, even as Surma further raised its hand.
"That one time, during one particular spar… the way he moved to KO me… it was so fluid…" the blond thought. Having been the one to spar with Naruto the most, he had begun to get a rather good feel for the older blond's fighting style, especially as Naruto had no qualms in laying the smackdown on him if necessary. That said, the free flowing nature of Naruto's taijutsu was simply something he could never forget even if he had been a spectator rather than a sparring partner. The way the ancient magus would go from one move to the next was simply something Jaune wished he could do with his sword and body.
And now, despite the situation, he wished to see for himself how well he could pull this off. "Come on!" he silently yelled to himself. "Remember all of this little tips the professor gave you!"
His breathing slowed a bit as he almost serenely looked to Surma, the beast now so close to him, being no more than several feet away.
Follow the enemy's movements. That had been one of the 'tips' Naruto had given to Jaune during their training sessions. And so Jaune looked to Surma, his eyes never leaving the colossal beast's form as it further approached.
Anticipate the enemy's attack. That had been another thing Naruto tried to drill into him. Jaune's blue eyes narrowed as he looked to Surma's raised hand, trying to predict the speed at which it'd bring said hand down, trying to figure out the exact angle of the attack to come.
And then…
Strike at the first opening.
Surma's raised hand finally began to fall downwards upon the blond leader, even as the beast still continued to run forth. At the very same time this happened, Jaune spotted what he was looking for; an opening. The beast's entire body was practically wide open now, clearly not expecting anyone or anything to lay a finger on it. And on that note, Jaune acted.
At the same time Surma swung its arm down, Jaune moved forward, taking a giant step towards the beast with his right leg even as the beast kept on running. Lowering his head, Jaune ended up going right under the sentient Relic's arm and was now too close for the beast to possibly launch some other attack at him.
Jaune grit his teeth in preparation of what he was about to do. It was stupid really, considering how subpar he was compared to everyone else at Beacon. But he'd be damned if he let this creature hurt anyone else anymore today.
And so as best as he could, the J of team JNPR mimicked Naruto to the best of his ability and threw a left punch directly at Surma's chest.
Jaune's fist went high in order to accommodate the height difference in between the two of them and managed to strike the beast right where its heart was. A thunderous thud made itself known, thanks to a combination of Jaune's fist hitting with surprising force, the blond having managed to throw his attack with a proper stance, and Surma's own naturally hard body.
Everyone could only recoil as they heard the breaking of bones, watching as Jaune's left arm visibly broke in several places. But the blond hardly seemed to notice this. He was focused too much on Surma to really take note of the pain.
Surma itself felt surprised, but alas it was too late for it to do anything given its positioning. All it could do was watch as its own hand finally slammed into the spot where Jaune had once been standing while the blond leader went on the move again.
Still trying to imitate Naruto's own movements, Jaune sidestepped to his left, going under Surma's arm and spinning in order to build up some momentum. The very second Surma's entire body finally hunched over from its own failed charge and attack, Jaune jumped as high as he could in that moment to smash his right elbow into the very back of the beast's neck, resulting in another thud that made everyone wince, hearing Jaune's elbow fracture.
Surma, upon receiving this blow, felt its balance shift more than it should've and as a result of this forced shift, it went tumbling to the floor facefirst.
An almost hushed silence fell upon the entire cafeteria as they watched this happen, their eyes full of disbelief.
As for Jaune himself, the blond remained stoic for a moment as he turned to look at the knocked over beast before the pain finally hit him. He all but collapsed to the floor himself, holding his broken left arm in some strange attempt to try and hold it together.
"Gah… guess I did something stupid… hehe…" he muttered, chuckling a little in shock at what he had just done.
But whatever other emotions his own actions made him feel right now came to a halt as Surma slowly stood back up, a roar of anger escaping its throat as it whirled around to face the one who caused it to fall like that.
As soon as it did so, Surma looked upon Jaune with more than just anger, but actual respect as well. It never would've though such a frail person to do such a stunt. But alas, in spite of this newfound respect, pride still proved to be the more important thing here for Surma.
And so before the eyes of everyone, Surma lunged at Jaune, who could only watch helplessly as he became the beast's new target.
Meanwhile, in Lugh's Robotics Space, the battle there had finally come to an end.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Apophis sent the blood on his Relic flying off before he dismissed it. As he did so, he didn't once look away from the body of Katsu, who had been dealt one final strike in the form of a cut that nearly split him in two across his back. Apophis watched silently, literally feeling the mana he had channeled into his Relic still eating away slowly at Katsu through his wounds.
It wasn't until the puddle of blood around Katsu finally reached Apophis' boots that the Holy Knight in question moved and spoke. "We're finally done here."
"…He's still alive, you know?" Lugh spoke softly, looking to Katsu. He pointed to the ancient magus and sure enough, to his eyes he could see Katsu's body still slowly rising and falling with every near silent breath he was taking.
"I know. That was my intention, more or less," Apophis spoke. "As it is, he's unconscious and his wounds, since they won't heal, will simply bleed out until he dies…. Which should be happening in roughly half an hour at this rate. If he's lucky, that is."
Apophis turned around and started walking away. 'Dismiss Robotics Space; it's time to go."
"Where should we return to?" Lugh asked the older Holy Knight as he dismissed his own Relic. Robotics Space, being an artificial construct that can be called upon and deactivated at will, the Holy Knights have a certain level of control over where exactly they'll be at once they return to the real world.
"Hmm, close to that damn club of Loki's. Perhaps we could even dump Tyr's body in an alleyway near there as well…" Apophis suggested.
With a nod, Lugh did just that, mentally deactivating his Robotics Space and returning the three of them to Atlas. Now Lugh and Apophis stood in the middle of a deserted alleyway, only a block away from Takehiko's club. Katsu was on the ground, slumped over in a water puddle just several feet away from the two Holy Knights.
"You know that Loki is probably going to sense his mana," Lugh commented as he walked up next to Apophis, who was now slowly walking away from the dying Katsu. "Although his magical weapon was dismissed upon your final blow, he's still giving off some mana."
"Oh, I'm well aware of that, my boy," Apophis replied with a small grin. "And that's what we want to do; to give the ancient magi a true symbol of our resolve to wage war with them… and ultimately crush them, so that our new world will begin. Tyr's broken and dying form will be the perfect thing to use for such a true declaration…"
The man paused for a moment to look back at Katsu, who wasn't budging an inch. The second seat took no small amount of satisfaction with his handiwork. "Now come. It's time for us to go." He said this to Lugh as he walked out of the alleyway, the younger and stoic Holy Knight nodding as he followed.
Half a minute later, the two of them all but blended into the oblivious and bustling crowd of people, content in having completed their job.
All the while, in Takehiko's club not so far away from where Katsu now lied, the owner of said club slowly yet surely ceased what he was doing. Having just been in the middle of looking over a few things in his private office, the ancient magus slowly stood up from his chair and looked in the direction of where Katsu was.
Although he couldn't see the man, he could feel his weakening mana. "Katsu…"
In an instant, the owner of the club disappeared from sight as he rushed to see what had become of the man he regarded as his good friend.
Back at Beacon Academy, the students could only look on in scarcely disguised sickening horror at the sight that they were simply unable to turn away from in their injured states.
Lying against the wall just a little ways away from where the girl who had thrown the tray was at was none other than Jaune, broken and bloodied and very much unconscious.
His right arm had been all but crushed in order to match his left one, numerous bruises were all over his body, his ribs had been slightly fractured and his legs looked as if someone had taken a large and jagged blade to them. His face remained intact, but it was impossible to not notice cuts and bruises across his cheeks nor the fact that blood seemed to be running down the side of his head, caking his blond hair in the process.
And over him towered Surma, who could only hum in appeasement, its pride having been restored. It had been quick yet meticulous in how it crushed Jaune as repayment for the two blows he had managed to land. The sentient Relic could only be a little sad now knowing that it would be a long while before the boy was fully healed, assuming he healed at all; if the boy had been able to land two hits on it in spite of his hurt and weak state, then Surma could only imagine how the boy could've turned out if he had been properly trained.
Alas, the beast's surprisingly deep thoughts could wait for later. Its mission had been a failure and thus it was time to leave.
Turning its back on the physically bludgeoned and broken Jaune, Surma ignored the cries of Pyrrha and the rest of team JNPR as they forced their hurt selves to rush to Jaune's side.
As the beast quickly rushed out of the cafeteria and well away from Beacon Academy, it sparred the place one brief look before its body dissolved into a shadowy mist, which then returned all the way to Kalma's cold shadow from whence it came.
As this happened, the young girl could only wince as Surma returned. For once it merged back with her own shadow to rest up, she ended up gaining some of her Relic's memories and saw in detail the sort of beating it gave to everyone, especially the one called Jaune Arc, based off the panicked cries of team JNPR and by extension team RWBY, the latter team having been spotted by Surma just as it left to be crawling towards the battered blonde as well.
"Oh dear…" Kalma whispered, feeling her stomach all but drop as she saw mentally the state Surma had left Jaune in.
Although she had told the captain she'd be willing to fight for the sake of a world with magic leading humanity's and Faunus-kind's evolution towards a better state, Kalma could only wince horribly upon having, in a way firsthand, experienced just what her efforts would entail for the enemies of her captain and comrades.
She was suddenly broken from her current train of thought as her scroll pinged a few times, indicating she was receiving a video chat.
Pulling it out with one hand while still using the other to hold the umbrella, she opened her scroll to see who it was.
"Oh… Morgan," Kalma greeted softly to the person contacting her. "Has something come up?"
"Ah, just checking on the captain's request to see how things are going for you," Morgan replied with a graceful smile. Said smile only made Kalma feel uneasy; Morgan was a kind woman to her comrades, but there was just something about her very presence that made Kalma feel a little scared sometimes. "And also to inform you that soon enough we'll be having four new allies. Much like Torchwick, to be precise."
"A-Ah, that's good… just what are their names?" Kalma inquired as she slowly made her way away from the cliff she had been standing. She paused to briefly look back in the direction of Beacon Academy, where no doubt everyone there were now trying to deal with the aftereffects of Surma's visit already.
On the other side of the video screen, Morgan looked over a chart which had the names and certain information regarding this new people scribbled down on. "Adam Taurus, one of the White Fang's best operatives. Neopolitan, Torchwick's little lackey that he thought he could keep hidden from us at first… and the last two are none other than our dear Amaterasu's two little followers." Morgan put down the chart so that Kalma could no longer see it on screen. The third seat could only chuckle. "I have to say, Kalma, I honestly hadn't been expecting her two henchmen to be joining us for real… or perhaps I should have, considering they are following Amaterasu around for more than just money or something else."
A pause.
"But that aside, just how did the mission go? Did you take care of Sif?" Morgan asked the sixth seat.
That made Kalma stop walking. The girl looked away, her expression tinged with shame and numerous other emotions brought on by what Surma had done. "…No. She wasn't there at all. Nor were any of the other magi." Kalm bit her lip before continuing. "And Surma was somehow spotted. He ended up engaging a number of students and three of the professors in combat."
At those words, Morgan's pleasant smile dropped and a look of surprise took its place upon her beautiful face. "That's certainly unexpected. How did they spot Surma?"
"I don't know. They just… did. The second he entered the cafeteria, seven people just… seemed to sense him somehow," Kalma replied.
"Well," Morgan began. "That's a bit troublesome, but it can't be helped now. I take it Surma gave them quite the pounding?"
Kalma nodded stiffly. With Morgan's words, once again the image of Jaune's beaten form came to the forefront of her mind and lingered. "One student in particular was beaten very badly by Surma… poor boy, he didn't deserve…"
"Oh? Just what exactly happened to him?" Morgan asked, curious. "On that note, just how does he look like?"
Kalma's breath hitched, the image not going away. "I-It was horrible, Morgan… he was just a student…" she muttered, seemingly ignoring the third seat's words. "A-And the way his friends called his name as Surma left… Jaune… yes, that was his name. Jaune Arc…" Kalma had to make an effort to not shed a tear for the blond boy. As a Faunus, she had been subjected to her fair share of racism and had taken a few beatings here and there under differing circumstances. Nonetheless, the sort of injuries Surma had inflicted on Jaune was just…
She stopped herself from continuing these thoughts and looked back to Morgan, who, much to the sixth seat's surprise, had all but literally froze in shock.
"Jaune… Arc?" Morgan whispered. "A blond boy?"
"Y-Yes," Kalma replied. "How did you-?"
She was cut off when Morgan all but screamed at her. "What did Surma do to him?!" she exclaimed with such shock and anger that Kalma nearly dropped her scroll. "How badly was he hurt?!"
"W-W-Wha-?! M-Morgan?!" Kalma could only reel from the older woman's screaming questions. "P-Please calm dow-!"
But Morgan didn't. Or rather, she couldn't. Through the screen, Kalma could see the shock and anger in the third seat's eyes be quickly replaced with horror and concern.
The woman ceased her screaming and closed her blue eyes for a moment to try and regain her calm. But when she finally did and reopened her eyes, it only made Kalma shiver in fright as Morgan fixed her with a gaze that could melt steel.
"What happened to him, Kalma?" Morgan asked in an almost eerily calm voice, though one could still hear the concern underlying it.
"Just what did your Relic do to my younger brother?"
And that's that for now. Just how many of you saw that one coming? I hope it was able to surprise you somewhat.
In regards to Apophis' Relic, I pretty much took Assassin's Tsubame Geashi attack from Fate/Stay Night and literally weaponized it and threw in an extra 'perk.' And you can expect the weapon to be every bit as broken as you'd think it to be.
In addition to that, Jaune's attack against Surma was a homage to a scene from Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, with Sooujuro Shizuki from the VN doing the same thing to Lugh Beowulf, only with differing results. I hope I was able to replicate that scene's epicness. Speaking of which, you can find said scene on Youtube, titled Sooujuro: Total Badass. Although I probably spelled his name wrong by a letter…
That said, my semester's end fast approaches. But after that comes the graduation ceremony, a meeting with some people who could potentially help me start a career, a court date that'll decide whether or not I get stuck on jury duty (I pray I don't get jury duty), and one final class to start on May 25th or so to get the last 4 units needed for my actual degree. As a result of these events, I can't quite say when the next chapter will be out, but probably not until the end of this month.
But I'm going to try anyways to get the next chapter out a little earlier than that.
So until next time, everyone! Take care.