I'm back everyone and my apologies for the wait. It's been a busy time just staying on top/ahead of the workload that my summer class has placed on me. With the homework load and the not really knowing when to expect tests, it's rather hard to do much thinking let alone working on the next chapter. But there's less than a week of actual instruction to undergo before the class' final and then I'll be homefree until I can get myself a job. I better start looking once I'm able to ease up on this class…
That said, this chapter will be an action chapter, so you can expect this to be a little longer than usual, at least if only in word count.
Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 25
Mercury Black could be described with a number of words and phrases. Thrill-seeking. Bratty. Childish. Annoying. Casanova. And so many more. But the young grey haired man could also be described with another word that those that personally knew him – such as Emeralrd – would grudgingly admit: perceptive.
"Hmm, just what do we have here?" he thought to himself as he silently stalked about the warehouse. Having picked up on the tense atmosphere that had hung over this place like a thick blanket, he'd quickly deduce that things were going to go down soon enough and it looks like he'd been right.
Although he couldn't tell if anyone else had noticed, he'd detected a subtle shift in the very space all around him, a shift so nearly impossible to have spotted that one could argue he'd simply imagined it. But the young man knew he hadn't.
Something had just happened.
And furthermore, something else was going to be happening, is what he silently believed. It was to this end that he'd started to creep about like this through the workers' quarters, staying near the very end of the place to avoid being spotted.
Sure enough, his perceptive deduction had been proven true when just a moment ago he'd spotted teams RWBY and JNPR, save for Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha, who had left the group earlier to attack the work area.
Whatever they had been about to do here in the workers' quarters was interrupted when explosions and fighting started to break out from afar, which Mercury had also figured to be the handiwork of others who had snuck into the place.
"Damn it, they've already started," Blake muttered from next to Weiss. "It'll only be a matter of time now before everyone is on the move."
"We know…" Weiss muttered, readying her weapon. "Then let's start before things can go wrong!"
Overhearing this, Mercury allowed himself a smirk. "Oh things just went wrong for you all, little boys and girls…" he muttered, low enough only for himself to hear.
But just as he finally decided to step out of the shadows to confront them, the entire warehouse was rocked by an absolutely massive shockwave that sent him and everyone else sprawling about, with Mercury being launched out into the open for Ruby, Jaune, and their teammates to see even as they were knocked off their feet too.
"What the-?!" Mercury exclaimed, however, much more focused on the sudden shockwave rather than his ambush being thwarted before it could even begin.
While he was correct in figuring out something had been about to happen, he'd gravely underestimated the severity of it all.
This encounter gone wrong between Mercury and the majority of teams RWBY and JNPR had occurred at roughly the same time Ryuichi had finally made his move, hence the shockwave.
If only it had been one of true victory rather than partial success.
"Tch." Ryuichi could only make that sound as Apophis had detected him just an instant before his blow had struck him and hade pulled up his Relic to block.
If there was one thing Ryuichi could take some satisfaction in, it was the fact that Apophis hadn't been able to fully block in time; when he'd raised his Relic to deflect Ryuichi's fist, he'd been unable to truly account for the attack's angle and as a result, his index finger along with his middle and ring fingers had suffered broken bones, with the fingers bent in odd angles.
"Gh!" Apophis actually grunted in pain and in genuine fear, having not anticipated an ancient magus to attack here of all places.
But whatever he appeared to be about to say was cut off when Ryuichi, undeterred, followed up his attack by delivering a vicious and well-aimed spin kick to Morgan's solar plexus, sending the stunned young woman careening down the hallway and smashing through the wall.
"Gah!" Morgan cried out in both shock and pain, having not noticed the magus codenamed as Thor until he'd attacked Apophis. "Ah… such a mistake on my part!" she thought as she tried to avoid falling into a stupor.
Her mind raced wildly as she tried to immediately figure out just how an ancient magus could be here in their base. And all that came to mind was Roman Torchwick. "They made him talk after all!"
Apophis came to this same conclusion too, but whilst fighting off Ryuichi who had unleashed a powerful assault upon him.
"Hmph!" The second seat maneuvered his blade with all the peerless skill one could expect of a master swordsman as he deflected every attack Ryuichi threw at him while pulling back every time the magus went for a grapple.
But alas that was all he could do; Ryuichi's strikes were powerful and blindingly fast, so much so that Apophis doubted he'd be able to match him for much longer if he kept this up continuously. What made it all the more one-sided was the precision and technique behind each seemingly simple blow. Punches aimed for the kidneys and solar plexus and ribs. Elbow strikes aiming for the throat and heart and face. Kicks attempting to outright destroy the back of his knees and his own feet to keep him pinned. Ryuichi was a true taijutsu master, utilizing several different styles all at once to try and take Apophis down.
Furthermore, the relentless yet tranquilly delivered assault was such that it kept him from using his Relic's abilities as he'd need to focus his mana into it in order to actually use it as he'd done against Katsu.
"My friends and I already know about what you can do," Ryuichi suddenly said.
Apophis' eyes widened. "What?!"
"Katsu, bless him, lived long enough to pass on some info about you… Apophis," Ryuichi replied. And as he'd expected, even Apophis had appeared stunned by what he'd just said, no doubt wondering how such a slip up had occurred. And that had been exactly what he needed; Apophis' reflexes dulled for the briefest of instances, but that was all it took for Ryuichi to drive a palm strike directly into Apophis' side, near his arm. This had the effect of nearly popping said arm right out of its socket and it stopped Apophis' attempts to block and dodge cold. But Ryuichi didn't end it there and proceeded to get as close as possible to the second seat, which had the effect of preventing the man from properly using his blade with him in such close proximity. And so with a series of blows delivered repeatedly to the solar plexus, chest, and throat, Apophis was knocked back and through a series of walls with one final blow to his jaw from Ryuichi.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Ryuichi saw the woman he'd struck leave the area, which worried him since that could only mean she was going to call for reinforcements. But ultimately, he chose to focus on Apophis, who had been the one to ultimately kill Katsu. And from what Roman had told him, Apophis' main ability was one of the most dangerous anyways, so it'd be best to take him out of the game early on lest he cause trouble later.
Still, there seemed to be something familiar about the woman…
Ridding himself of the thought, Ryuichi, now standing just a few feet away from the Holy Knight, gazed coldly upon the man who was using his Relic to help himself stand up. His attacks upon him thus far had really hit their mark; some blood could be seen on the front of Apophis' uniform, having undoubtedly coughed up blood after being struck so hard in the throat and jaw.
"Katsu's magical weapon, due to its properties, made it rather hard for him to truly go all out, from a purely taijutsu perspective," Ryuichi said in a dissonantly calm voice that betrayed the emotions he was feeling now that he stood before one of the Holy Knights. "…But mine doesn't have that problem."
"Gate open."
A flash of light appeared, nearly blinding Apophis as Ryuichi spoke the words that called forth his magical weapon, Mjolnir. And it was accompanied by a red bandana around Ryuichi's head, Megingjoro.
Apophis' eyes widened in genuine shock, immediately recalling what Vidar had told them all about the ancient magi. More specifically, the capabilities of each of them and their magical weapons. Then he narrowed his eyes and grunted as he now fully stood up. The blows that had struck him packed enough force to punch through mountains. Even with the accelerated healing that came with being a pseudo-magus, his wounds won't be healing up for a while now.
And he could only imagine how much more he was going to be hurt just now.
"Turbulence!" Ryuichi roared, dropping all acts of stealth as he decided to go all out from the start. If he wanted to truly win this and decrease the advantage the Holy Knights had over everyone, then he has to do this here and now.
Apophis could only grunt as mana exploded from Ryuichi, the magus' eyes turning green and his hair blonde as a lightning aura surrounded him.
He grimaced just as Ryuichi smirked a bit. This was going to suck for him just as much as it was going to be rewarding for the latter.
Then with a speed that now exceeded lightspeed, Ryuichi went on the offensive yet again.
Elsewhere in the warehouse, specifically with Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha, the three girls had done well enough so far in their task. The minute they'd reached the work area, Pyrrha had wasted no time in locating the weapons; with her semblance of polarity, it'd been child's play to just use it to pull the metallic weapons towards her. From there, Yang and Nora had simply unloaded everything they had on the large stockpile Pyrrha had rounded up.
However, one doesn't simply destroy a stockpile of various weapons, including guns and ammo, without something exploding. And that had been exactly what happened hence their current situation.
A proverbial army of White Fang members had come running to see what had happened and they'd been greeted with a hail of bullets and explosive rounds from Pyrrha and Nora respectively. Some particularly unlucky guys had been on the receiving end of point-blank shotgun rounds when Yang punched them in the stomach or face with Ember Celica.
And for the past few minutes now, this is what three young huntresses in training had been up to, simply fighting off a crowd of White Fang goons that didn't seem to be decreasing in number any time soon.
Even as the entire place shook violently from the actions of Ryuichi on the opposite side of it, the three kept on fighting, seemingly unaffected whenever the whole place shook.
Rolling under the wild haymaker of one weaponless White Fang member, Pyrrha leapt up, striking him across the side of his face with her shield before pivoting and kicking another guy in the kidneys that dropped him. Pulling out her sword, she switched it into its gun form and fired it singlehandedly at a number of other guys that tried to approach her from behind before using her shield to sweep the first one off his feet.
A ways away from her, Nora, as lively and enthusiastically as ever, was tearing through the crowd around her with ease, hopping off the back of one guy that had lunged at her in order to properly strike another man clear in the side with her weapon, Magnhild, in its hammer form. She swung with such impressive force and momentum that it ended up nearly breaking the guy's arm and sent him crashing into several other members nearby. But Nora hadn't been satisfied with that and so she spun a bit before smashing Magnhild into the ground, firing an explosive round just as she struck. This had the result of generating a large explosion that knocked everyone around her off their feet and disorienting.
And that was when Yang came in. The ones that had remained standing from Nora's attack were in no shape to be focusing on anything, much less fighting. As a result, they were defenseless against Yang, who got up close and unleashed a torrent of punches that felled them for good, unconsciousness overcoming them before they could even fully fall back onto the floor or smash into a wall.
Incidentally, the few White Fang members that did come armed with weapons tried to focus their attention on Yang, though for what reason was unknown.
That didn't stop the blonde brawler from mopping the floor with them though or the other two girls from joining in as well; just as one guy took aim at Yang with an assault rifle, he was distracted quite harshly when Pyrrha suddenly threw her shield right at his hands, knocking the weapon away before using her semblance to call her shield back to her as she ran forward and used the back of her blade to hit the man and knock him unconscious.
Another weapons user was taken out swiftly and very violently when he took a swing at Yang at a dagger. An attack that she dodged, but not fast enough for her hair to remain untouched. And so as a strand of Yang's blonde locks fell to the floor, Yang's aura flared violently and her eyes turned red in color and her hair glowed. "Oh, you're asking for it now…" she growled out.
Sensing what was to come, the White Fang goon had all of a half second to whimper before Yang violently punched him in the face before following it up with a series of vicious blows that rendered him unconscious halfway through it before she finally knocked him across the room with a blast from Ember Celica.
And the last of the goons were taken out by none other than Nora, who started spinning her hammer around wildly, shooting off explosive rounds to boost her momentum even more. The sight of her spinning around like some deadly top would've been comical if it wasn't for the fact that she was swinging around a hammer, a fact that the last of the White Fang goons in the room took immediate notice of and tried to run. But it was too late as Nora was moving faster than they could run and they were sent flying through the air at great speeds.
"That was fun!" Nora then exclaimed as she finally slowed to a stop not too long afterwards. She stumbled around a bit, dizzy from her own spinning, but was otherwise unharmed.
"Eh, I kinda expected more…" Yang muttered as she ran a hand through her hair. Just thinking of her hair getting damaged, even in a situation like this, made her emotions flare up.
Pyrrha didn't share her friends' view on the matter. "I don't think we should be lingering too much here though," she spoke as she relaxed her stance yet still kept her weapons out. "After all, we're still very much in-."
"Danger? I wouldn't argue against that."
The three girls went from a more lax state back into a combat ready state at the sudden voice. However, as they whipped around in the direction it came from, the three girls froze.
Stepping out of a hallway that was off to the far side of the room came Indra, who was baring his Relic, Vajra.
But the young man wasn't alone. Out from behind him came none other than the first seat himself, Heracles. "Oho?" the lion Faunus began with an amused smirk. "I never would've imagined such young cubs to travel straight into the den of their predators." Just then, his muscles bristled beneath his snug uniform as he slowly readied himself to fight. "Nonetheless, it wouldn't do to just sit back and do nothing…."
"Heracles, no. I should take care of this, don't you think," Indra spoke to the senior Holy Knight, having to look up considerably to look the man in the eyes. "After all, it's just three people, not even magi."
Heracles looked down to Indra, his expression suddenly blank. "Surely, you don't think it's just them that are here…" he thought. Indeed, just a moment ago, he'd detected the usage of genuine mana. One of the ancient magi was here, judging by the quantity and quality of the mana he'd sensed. But it doesn't seem like Indra had noticed for him to make such a comment. But in which case, Heracles didn't hold it against him. After all, it takes time to fully learn how to sense mana from farther and farther distances.
So with a bit of a grin now, Heracles nodded. "I suppose you have a point. Wouldn't want to accidentally destroy the warehouse, after all." He let out a booming laugh before clasping Indra's left shoulder, doing so with unintentionally enough force to nearly knock the seventh seat forward a few feet. "I leave them to you then."
"You won't be leaving at all."
Just as Heracles had been about to turn around and leave, he and the others there were somewhat startled to see that someone else had arrived.
"You and him can both die here together…" Takehiko spoke with a certainty as he entered the room through the same entrance the two Holy Knights had.
Upon seeing him, reactions were mixed. Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha looked relieved to see him whereas Indra tensed up, recalling his extremely brief attempt upon Takehiko's life all those weeks ago now. But while Indra reacted with something akin to fear, Heracles had the exact opposite reaction.
"Mmmhahahaha!" Heracles' laughter was nothing short of joyous. He held out his massive arms as if he had received a wonderful gift. "I knew they could not be the only intruders here! But to think that an ancient magus such as yourself would be here as well, Loki!"
Takehiko simply glared at the larger of the two Holy Knights, not looking very impressed and seemingly unaffected by the intense amount of power Heracles radiated simply by breathing. "So you know of me and call me a codename as well… I see that your comrade there wasn't kidding when he boasted of you Holy Knights knowing of my friends and I…" He took a few steps forward, hands in his pants' pockets and his stance completely relaxed.
"Uhhh," Nora mumbled out as she looked to the ancient magus. Holding Magnhild defensively, she seemed unsure on what to do. "Is he gonna fight or not?" For once, the usually lively girl seemed quite concerned, noticing that Takehiko had yet to take up an attack or defensive stance at all. Never mind the fact that he had wasted a good chance to ambush the two Holy Knights in favor of directly approaching them.
"Just wait to see what happens," Pyrrha whispered to her, her weapons at the ready too. Now that Takehiko was here, she knew that fighting the Holy Knights was no longer something she and the other two huntresses-in-training would have to do given the sheer power difference between them. That being said, battles have been known to have very unexpected results, so it'd be best to wait and see just what exactly happens.
"Hmph." Takehiko looked Heracles and Indra up and down and found himself feeling almost disappointed. "Only you two… a shame. If only another one of your comrades were here with you, then perhaps things would be better..."
"Oh? Better in what way?" Heracles asked with a smirk, subtly preparing to summon his own Relic as soon as Takehiko fully dropped his guard. He may love to fight, but he wasn't one to ignore potential danger either.
"All the better for me to crush you… in both body and spirit," Takehiko declared. And then he paused, his mana suddenly bursting forth from his body and all but swelling. "'Kneel!'"
King's Scripture, which he'd hidden back in the hallway, away from the two Holy Knights to notice and attack, responded to Takehiko's command and in turn put it into effect.
One instant, Heracles and Indra had been standing proudly, but now reality around them seemed to have other plans for them. Faster than they could react and with a force that they couldn't retaliate against, they collapsed onto the knees with such force that the floor beneath cracked a bit as their knees hit it. Just as Takehiko had commanded, their upper bodies lurched forward a bit towards the ancient magus.
The two Holy Knights, much to their shock, were actually kneeling to the man before them.
"W-What?!" Indra cried out in shock, having not expected Takehiko's magical weapon to have such an effect upon the two of them.
"Hrmm!... Impressive!" Heracles praised. He tried to force himself back on his feet, but it felt as it the very space around him refused to let him do so. "We knew of your magical weapon's capabilities, but to think it could do even something like this-!"
"Yes, I know. It's certainly something." Takehiko interrupted the man without a care and was now silent again, glaring at the Holy Knights. He silently noted how even when kneeling, Heracles was still nearly eye level with him due to his much larger than average height and build. "Hmph, this is certainly more convenient, being eye level with you… but it's still not enough." His glare, if even possible, intensified even more. "Your comrade was responsible for the death of my longtime friend. Combined with your own goals, I dare say it's time to repay the favor. 'Kneel!'"
King's Scripture let out a pulse of mana that made the very space in the room shudder and groan audibly. Indra and Heracles could only grunt as their bodies literally began to further sink into the floor, the cracks deepening and extending and a crater began to form beneath the two, making the entire room quake.
"Holy shit…" Yang finally said once the effect was over with. Not even a whole minute has passed and here Takehiko had two of the Holy Knights practically prostrating before him, albeit unwillingly.
"Y-Yes," Pyrrha could only mutter in agreement, her jaw feeling a little slack at the sight. Even Nora looked stupefied, her lower jaw openly hanging to make for a more comical appearance.
"Yes, this is much better," Takehiko said, a vicious sneer appearing on his face. "This is how you two should be before you die. So says the 'king.'"
Meanwhile, back with the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR, they had their own situation to deal with. Due to the literally earth-shattering battle that broke out between Ryuichi and Apophis, the resulting shockwaves from the battle caused the White Fang members that had been resting in the rooms to come out and investigate.
In other words, they more or less ran out into the hallway and all but literally ran into Weiss and Ren, who had been the two closest to one of the rooms. Although the two White Fang members that had appeared were swiftly knocked out by the two teens, that didn't stop the other members from flooding into the hallway to see the teens.
And that was the situation as of now.
"Ha!" Blake, by far the most agile of the group, stayed on the move as she flitted about the hallway like an untouchable shadow, swinging Gambol Shroud with great speed and precision at every member that had the misfortune to be in her way.
With every swing, she felled one member or at least hurt them a good deal, aiming for their necks and other areas that would cause them great pain. She made it a point to use the back of her blades though; killing wasn't the goal, not now, not ever for her.
As she did this, Ruby was on the move as well. Taking into account the size of the hallway, using Crescent Rose in its scythe form wasn't feasible for her, but using it in its gun mode sure was. After all, getting whacked with a giant rifle still hurt quite a bit, aura notwithstanding. And combined with the speed with which she kept sliding around from place to place, it made for one hell of a club.
Spinning in one perfect motion, Ruby jumped slightly and whacked one White Fang member straight in the chest with the butt of her weapon, knocking the air right out of him before using her semblance of speed to give her a boost that allowed her to blitz right past him. She did so with such blinding speed that the air pressure it generated actually knocked the unlucky Faunus down along with several others.
Just as the ones that were knocked down began to get back up, Ren got in on the action. Hitting one member with a running knee, Ren proceeded to then vault over the man before ducking underneath the kick of another member that had gotten up, which he then followed up with a leaping uppercut with his weapons, Stormflower. Even with aura's passive protection, the blade on the gun cut into the man's flesh a bit, just enough to draw blood and make him go stumbling away from Ren, who promptly ignored him and went onto the next foe.
As for Weiss and Jaune, the two were taking this time to form quite possibly the unlikeliest duo right now. Weiss, much like Ruby, Blake, and Ren, was at a slight handicap right now. Ruby and Blake were unable to use their weapons' blade form due to space issues and the fact that the chance of accidentally killing a White Fang member would be high in such a situation, let alone hurt themselves due to the size of the hallway. Ren and the girls couldn't utilize their guns' functions either; due to the sheer mass of bodies, it'd be easy to accidentally shoot someone fatally and that's before taking into account friendly fire. As such, Weiss, with her weapon's utilization of Dust, was restricted mainly to Myrtenaster's blade and her own semblance, which was hard to use in such close quarters.
But much to her slight bemusement (which she'll never admit), that was where the advantage of having Jaune nearby came in. Unlike her and the others, who've trained to use both close ranged and long range attacks, Jaune has trained to only fight in close range due to Crocea Mors' traditional style. This meant he didn't have to worry about having a part of his arsenal or skillset unavailable to him. And while his swordsmanship still had much room for improvement, the training he's done thus far with Naruto made itself known as he expertly blocked and redirected enemy attacks with his shield while countering with careful thrusts and swings of his sword. The blond boy clearly packed a punch, considering most of the guys being hit by him rarely got back up.
And that worked perfectly with her fighting style. "Jaune, step on the glyph!" Weiss commanded the boy as she activated her semblance, placing a light blue glowing glyph just a few steps in front of him, the same kind of glyph she'd used in tandem with Ruby against the Nevermore back during initiation.
Not questioning Weiss' judgement, Jaune rushed forward into the glyph, holding his shield up before him. The very instant he stepped onto the glyph, it took effect, making him accelerate forward at a much greater speed than what he could naturally achieve. The White Fang members that were attempting to rush him from ahead didn't have the chance to react as he suddenly bashed right through them with his shield, smashing them aside like a bowling ball striking the pins.
Weiss then used the very same glyph to follow after Jaune, using her weapon to take down any stragglers that Jaune missed in his charge. With each one she did strike, Weiss allowed herself a little more than a sliver of satisfaction. While she and Blake are now on good terms with one another, with said bond giving her a different outlook on Faunus, that didn't change the fact these guys are members of the White Fang, who had plagued her family for many years.
But her brief moment of elation was tempered by the slight worry of the unknown man from earlier. When the warehouse was first shaken, a grey haired man – Mercury – had stumbled out into the open, but had retreated when the shaking had stopped and the White Fang started to pour into the hallway. Weiss had no idea just who the man was, but she very highly doubted he was just some random guy; he clearly had the bearing of a skilled fighter and she and the others had briefly detected the artificial feel of mana from him when they'd laid eyes on the man. Meaning he was a pseudo-magus too, one who's had his artificial abilities awakened already judging by the feel of it.
With that in mind, Weiss couldn't help but let the worry gnawing at her continue to do so as she continued to fight alongside her friends.
Just a ways away from the five teens, Mercury was currently leaning against a wall, holding back a sigh. He couldn't believe his ambush had been ruined so abruptly and before he could attempt it! Sure seemed like a sign of bad luck, if one were to ask him.
"Damn and since they saw me, they'll probably be keeping a lookout for me too now…" he thought. He could tell by the look in their eyes that they'd noticed he was a pseudo-magus now. And while he had no doubt that his abilities now exceeded their own greatly, he knew that attacking them when they were ready for it would be more troublesome than taking them down without their knowing he was there. Looks like he's going to have to wait until they start dropping their guard or tire out, whichever comes first, he silently dwelled on.
His thought process was cut short when he heard someone approach him. Looking up from the floor to see who it was, he was marginally surprised to see Morgan approach him.
The woman, being a good deal taller than Mercury, grimaced upon hearing the sounds of the fighting not so far away from them. If one were to ask Mercury, he'd say that judging by her current facial expression, she'd come across another outbreak of fighting elsewhere too.
This was something that he gave voice to. "Let me guess: more intruders elsewhere?"
"Unfortunately…" Morgan muttered. She held up her scroll, which Mercury hadn't noticed her having in her hands before. "I've already contacted the captain about it and he's currently scrambling to get a few things tucked away from any and all prying eyes." The very tall and buxom blonde frowned greatly and folded her arms under her more than ample breasts. If she was aware of Mercury looking to her chest appreciatively, she seemed to not show it. "Thor is here… and based on the new mana signatures I'm detecting, he's not the only ancient magus here either."
"Hmhm, I see. So how come you're not getting in on the action? Scared?" Mercury joked, hoping to get a rise out of the blonde.
But Morgan didn't take the bait and just answered normally. "Given their abilities, skills, and experience, I can't imagine a person that wouldn't be scared to fight one of them… but no, there's another reason I can't fight them, at least not now…" she spoke, her voice getting softer near the end there.
"Oh yeah, and that reason would be…?" Mercury probed, curious.
But Morgan didn't answer him. She couldn't simply tell him that there was a chance of her being recognized by the ancient magi. Granted, most of them hadn't seen her when she had gone to Beacon Academy to check on Jaune following Surma's attack, but Fenrir had seen her and it wouldn't have surprised her if he's told the others about her visit. And if they do recognize her and tell Jaune, then surely the fact he is her younger brother would be dragged out into the light, a fact she didn't want her fellow Holy Knights and allies to know lest something happen. She wouldn't be able to live with herself knowing that her potential actions could lead to Jaune being in genuine danger.
"…It's no real concern of yours," she said to Mercury a minute later. "Just know that I'm heading for the captain now to help assist him in moving things out of her. With my ability in particular, it'll be easy to do so given the others are fighting right now…" She thought of Apophis and wondered how he was faring against Thor. "That aside, why are you just standing around?"
Mercury 'tsked,' having been wondering when she'd ask that. "Was planning to ambush some of the intruders, but stopped for now. They spotted me earlier, but they're busy tangling with your White Fang lackeys."
"Other intruders? Not the ancient magi?" Morgan inquired in slight disbelief. She couldn't sense any mana from the direction Mercury indicated, so it couldn't be an ancient magus. But in which case, just who could it be?
"Nah, some kids… from Beacon considering where most of the 'ancient magi' as you lovingly call them stay at… have to say…" Mercury grinned a bit. "They're pretty good. Hell, even that blond boy is holding up decently with that old school weapon of his."
At those words, Morgan froze. Considering the tabs Vidar had been keeping on the ancient magi, there was only one blond boy in particular that went to Beacon that she could fathom being here of all places. "Jaune…" she whispered.
Then, faster than Mercury could fully react to, Morgan ran off at impressive speed towards where the grey haired man had indicated.
Reaching the hallway Mercury had indicated in record time, Morgan stayed hidden out of sight, just past the corner and suppressing her mana in case Jaune and the others could sense it.
It appeared she didn't have to worry much at all; although a number of the White Fang still remained standing, futilely trying to call for backup despite all the chaos, it looked like her little brother and his friends were faring admirably against them. Aside from some minor scratches and bruises that were no doubt picked up from close call dodges and parries, Jaune seemed unhurt.
Why, Morgan, hidden as she was, was even greeted with the sight of her dear brother bashing his shield right into the gut of one White Fang goon before Ruby sped on by, using the hilt of Crescent Rose to take his legs out from under him.
"Oh thank God…" Morgan thought, releasing the breath she had been holding in.
But her relief vanished when she detected a familiar presence making its way quickly towards the teens.
As for the teens themselves, they too felt it due to their now inherent sense for mana, save for Jaune, who never took in the artificial mana that his friends had all that time ago.
"Blake, duck!" Weiss exclaimed as she was the first to accurately predict where this presence was located.
Blake responded to her simple words with no hesitation, ducking just in the nick of time as something punctured its way through the wall she had just moved closer to. Quickly moving away, the cat Faunus looked to see what had nearly pierced her and saw it to be a spear. Said spear suddenly found itself coated in intensely hot flames that melted the steel wall in mere seconds.
Everyone there tensed up, feeling the mana that was empowering the spear. And for good reason.
"Impressive reflexes for a non-magus," Lugh spoke in his usually quiet voice as he then stepped through the hole his Relic made in the wall. "Then again, considering the slight detection of artificial mana I'm picking up from most of you, perhaps it's to be expected…"
Lugh looked them all over, unsure as to how and why he could faintly feel artificial mana coming from four of the five teens. But alas, the how and why behind this were questions that could be answered after he's dealt with these intruders. He was going to have to be quick about this too; he had felt the sensation of actual mana elsewhere in the warehouse, meaning that at least an ancient magus or two was here.
Lugh readied Areadbhar as he took up an attack stance. "I don't know who you are, but will you surrender?" he questioned, more out of formality than any actual sense of desire. As he expected though, the five teens simply remained quiet, looking at him in fear, to be expected given the power difference. Nonetheless, he could see them all subtly shift into offensive stances. None of them were going to back down.
The fifth seat let out a slight sigh. Then for a second so brief that none of the intruders noticed, his gaze flickered to Jaune. Silently and without any preamble, Lugh judged the blond teen to be the weakest of them all and therefore the easiest to take out. So the Holy Knight decided that he'll be first. "Very well then."
And without anything else said, Lugh went on the attack.
Back with Takehiko, the kingly magus suddenly found himself at a loss for words. "What?!"
For the past moment or so, both of the Holy Knights before him had been subjugated by his power, King's Scripture making them kneel before him. Given that his magical weapon was a conceptual magical weapon, that therefore meant that only a higher tiered magical weapon capable of concept magic could overwrite any and all concepts he's made. As such, it should be completely impossible for either of the two Holy Knights to do anything.
And yet…
"Hmhmhm…" Heracles' massive frame shook slightly from the beginnings of a laugh as he gazed upon Takehiko's shocked face.
And Takehiko couldn't be blamed for such an expression, for what could only be considered the impossible was taking place: Heracles was now standing.
But that wasn't the only thing either. Before, Heracles had been weaponless, but now that no longer appeared to be the case, for he now wore upon his arms intricate gauntlets with a lion-type design to them. Golden in color and exuding immense power, simply looking at the gauntlets made Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha nearly quake and Takehiko shiver.
As for Indra, who was still kneeling much to his own chagrin, the young Holy Knight couldn't help but grin just a bit.
Heracles had summoned his Relic, the Nemean Cestus.
"The look on your face, now… if only you could look in a mirror to see it," Heracles spoke calmly to Takehiko. He raised both of his arms as if to show off his Relic. "You may have taken me by surprise with your 'command,' but now such things will no longer do you any good."
So very lightly, Heracles bumped his fists together, firing himself up for battle. And yet in spite of the simple action, the effect was ludicrous; a golden wave of unfettered mana came forth when his covered fists collided with one another, blowing back the three huntresses-in-training and nearly doing the same to Takehiko.
"I-Impossible!" the ancient magus thought as he felt his concept magic collapse for lack of a better word. Whenever he issued a command for King's Scripture to enforce, he could literally feel the command take effect and also feel its presence up until when he chooses to end it or it's undone in some other way. This is due to the intricate link that he has with his magical weapon, the same link that all magi have. And so he could only react this way because that is what had happened: his 'command' had collapsed.
Heracles laughed in glee as he looked to see Indra quickly leap back onto his feet, Takehiko's command undone. Looking back to Takehiko, the first seat grinned in a manner very similar to that of a predator that has cornered its prey.
"Now then, let us see just how well you can really fight! Come, Indra! We'll fight together!" the man boasted.
"Yes!" Indra replied, more than eager to do so.
Takehiko, still stupefied, could only look on as both Holy Knights went on the move against him. But thankfully for him, his stupor only last long enough for the two men to move in, something that he rectified by leaping high over them and moving towards the three girls.
"Get up and out of here!" he commanded of them, not quite taking into account that the shockwave Heracles had generated had dazed them a fair bit. Belatedly realizing this, he clicked his teeth as both Holy Knights swiftly turned around to focus on all four of them.
"Urgh!" Yang groaned as she was the first to stand. This was partially due to her own natural toughness and partially due to her semblance, which essentially increases her power the more she is damaged, somewhat absorbing the blow a bit. This was shown in her very hair glowing a bright golden color that almost matched the color of Heracles' Relic. Incidentally, she was also the first to notice Heracles going on the move first now. "Big guy incoming!"
"I can see that!" Takehiko growled out as he now summoned King's Scripture out of its hiding spot and to his side. "'Burn him!'"
Although his magical weapon was one that utilized concept magi, what could be considered 'normal' magic wasn't out of the question for it. To demonstrate this, the magical weapon opened up and from its pages spout forth an intense beam of pure flames at the first seat, who was charging forward.
Unafraid of the flames, Heracles didn't slow at all in his charge and Takehiko and the girls could only look on in astonishment as the flames struck the lion-type Faunus and immediately vanishing upon hitting its mark.
"Take this!" Heracles roared exuberantly as he raised his right fist and swung it down at Takehiko.
Only for him to not hit his mark.
A blur shot out from seemingly nowhere, moving in between Takehiko and Heracles. It was this blur that brought Heracles' fist to a stop.
As this happened, a great deal of air pressure was generated from the stopped blow, so great that it would've knocked out Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha if not for Takehiko using King's Scripture to generate a temporary barrier for them. The air pressure also shook the entire warehouse and even the area outside, creating a massive crater in the floor as a result as well.
"What?" Heracles looked genuinely perplexed. Although he put only a small portion of his strength into the blow, he doubted Takehiko could have somehow done something to physically stop it. Physical combat simply wasn't his thing, after all.
But when all of the dust and smoke that had resulted from the air pressure's damage finally lowered for everyone to see who it was, Heracles could only slightly gape whereas Takehiko and the girls looked much happier about it all.
"Miki… took you long enough to catch up," Takehiko said, albeit with a smirk.
There, holding back Heracles' covered fist with Svafrlami, was Miki. Her face was scrunched up in concentration and the muscles in her arms and upper back could be seen through the snug fabric of her dress straining slightly as she used both arms to wield her blade. She evidently hadn't quite been anticipating Heracles' now failed attack to have such strength behind it. It simply exceeded what she had originally imagined.
That said, Miki still had it in her to return Takehiko's smirk with a small smile of her own. "Sorry. But you know that speed has never been my strong suit."
"Ha… of course. Brute strength has been much more your thing. Never could understand how your Amazonian physique and strength could ever appeal to your husband," Takehiko lightly quipped in good humor.
"Well, to each… their… own!" Miki, with every brief word she spoke, maneuvered Heracles' fist aside before suddenly pulling back her weapon and swinging directly at the larger man's chest.
Thanks to years of training and actual experience, Heracles silently predicted the precise angle that Miki's magical weapon would strike him at and managed to raise his left gauntlet in time to block the blow. But just as Miki hadn't quite been prepared for his strength, he definitely hadn't been prepared for her own strength. As Svafrlami impacted upon the left part of Nemean Cestus, Heracles found himself literally blown back, his body simply having not been ready for the monstrously strong swing.
Blown back all the way across the room, Heracles had to correct his center of gravity in midflight in order to land on his feet near Indra. "Ha… incredible!" Nonetheless, he didn't seem all that worried over Miki's strength. "To think I'd encounter you, Brynhildr! Your strength is even greater than what the captain has recorded!"
Ignoring his prattle, Miki simply moved next to Takehiko, the latter releasing his barrier around the girls. "Think we can take them?" Miki whispered to her friend.
"The younger one, yes. The older one you just pushed back, however…" Takehiko trailed off. "And both of them together…"
Miki nodded curtly. "I see." Then she cautiously looked over her shoulder to the three students of Beacon. "Girls, as crazy as this might sound, we could probably use some help. Up for a little cover fire?"
"…Heh, against that monster of a man?" Yang asked with a lopsided grin. She pumped her fist. "I'm always up for a good challenge."
"Same here," Pyrrha replied with a confident smile, readying her weapons as she did so.
"I'm always game for a fight!" Nora responded, her liveliness having returned with Miki's arrival just now.
Both Miki and Takehiko could only smirk as they focused on Heracles and Indra, both of whom took up their own stances now. Evidently, they were waiting for them to make the first move.
This definitely wasn't lost on the two ancient magi.
"Well then, with that decided…" Takehiko began. "Shall we oblige them?"
"Let's," was Miki's reply.
For all of one second, everyone there remained perfectly still. And then in the next second, everyone moved.
The battle between the ancient magi and Holy Knights had truly begun this night.
A little over 8,000 words on its own, not including the bump up the word count gets with the addition of the horizontal bar. Wow, this may be one of the longer chapters I've ever written for a fic, excluding several plot/action heavy ones from the God Slaying Wolf.
There are other characters that still need to be focused on and that is something that will be done in the very next chapter, that much you can expect. That said, I honestly can't say how long exactly this 'arc' will last, but it definitely won't be ending in the very next chapter. In fact, I'd say another two or three chapters will be what it takes for the current events to come to an end before things move further along.
Once again, I can't accurately guess when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully sometime in early to mid July.
Until then, everyone. Take care.