Hey there, everyone. Just got back from Vegas and let me just say that I was just itching to get around to working on this chapter. Alas, I wouldn't have had the time to do so during my stay in LV, so I had to wait until I got back to do so. But now that I'm back, I was able to get to working on it in short order.

That being said, boy oh boy, do I have a lot in store for you all. For not just this chapter, but the next chapter as well and later down the line… makes me a little giddy just thinking of it.

However, I will also continue my job hunting for any job now and if I do get one, as always, I can't be particularly sure how it'll impact my updating time, so just be aware of this in case the future chapter seem to be taking longer than usual to be put up.

But enough of that, now. Onto the chapter!

Chapter 31

Of the three combatants, Ren actually chose to fall back rather than rush towards Surma. But while he did retreat a good several feet, he made sure to make it count. With Stormflower in hand, he opened fire upon the ferocious beast, his new and improved mana bullets shooting out like hellfire towards his target.

But Surma ran forward to greet Nora and Pyrrha, Ren's hail of mana enhanced bullets doing little more than aggravate its already fearsome temper. With a mighty roar that threatened to deafen everyone, Surma then spun. As it did so, its snake tail lashed out at Pyrrha, the snake's mouth wide open in an attempt to bite down on the redhead of team JNPR. As this happened, Surma also leapt towards Nora and brought down its left hand upon the auburn haired girl, intent on crushing her flat beneath its gargantuan hand.

Both attacks failed however; with practiced grace, Pyrrha smacked aside the snake tail with her shield, Akouo, before countering with Milo, swinging it in sword form at the snake's face. As for Nora, the girl turned Magnhild into its gun form and fired an explosive round at Surma's approaching hand before jumping and dropkicking the beast right in the chest.

Pyrrha's swing, packing much more force behind it than ever before, managed to actually cut the snake tail to the point of drawing blood while Nora's one-two attack of explosive round and physical blow succeeded in blowing back both Surma's hand and Surma itself.

The beast actually gasped in pain as it went stumbling back awkwardly, only remaining on its feet due to its unnatural sense of equilibrium. But as it recovered quickly, Surma's face seemed to scrunch up in thought. Nora's blow had actually hurt. Same thing went for Pyrrha's attack, the beast feeling a dull pain shoot through its snake tail. Although the blows were minor ones hardly worth a mention, it became clear to the sentient Relic that the might of the three Beacon students before it had grown tremendously.

As if somehow detecting what it was thinking, Nora and Ren sprang into action. The former, aiming to capitalize on her previous attacks, rushed forward, staying low in order to avoid Surma's massive arms whilst switching Magnhild into its hammer form. Ren ran to the side, circling around Surma while firing off controlled bursts at the beast, trying to aim for what he presumed to be its more tender spots.

But to their surprise, rather than try to defend itself or just straight up attack one of them, Surma instead ran forward, passing Nora by and heading straight for Burgundy. The beast didn't bother even giving Pyrrha a single glance as the redhead took up a defensive stance, only to realize that Surma was going to run past her instead. As this happened, the redhead's eyes widened marginally.

Surma was going for Jaune and the villagers, all of whom had still yet to fully retreat a safe distance.

Aksel and Lili, with their families and unfortunately still within distance of the beginning battle, could only scream as Surma's blurred form came barreling towards them. Their screams of fear brought about screams from other villagers, children and adults alike as the beast shot past a shocked Pyrrha.

It was these screams that prompted Jaune to rush to the forefront of the crowd, intending to act as a shield for them. Crocea Mors drawn, Jaune could only eye the oncoming beast warily, but resolutely. Scared as he may be, he wasn't going to let this thing hurt anyo-.

Although Burgundy was a modern village, there was hardly any metal for Pyrrha to use in any significant way. But she had Milo and Akouo and that was enough. Hurtling Akouo with tremendous force, she used her empowered semblance to control its 'flight path,' ensuring it'd hit Surma. And sure enough, it did.

Akouo struck its mark, hitting the back of Surma's right knee with enough force for the shield to be able to pierce effortlessly through thick stone. But in Surma's case, all it did was succeed in bringing the beast's charge to an almost comical halt, forcing the beast to lurch forward and nearly fall to its knees.

Seizing the moment, Pyrrha ran after the beast, Milo in its sword form still, and swung it at the very back of Surma's neck. Much to the girl's chagrin, her weapon did little more than graze the sentient Relic, a testament to its thick hide and overall durability. Undeterred though, Pyrrha leapt over Surma so that it was now in front of it and using her semblance, she called forth her shield in time to harshly smash it into the side of the beast's face.

As this happened, Jaune simply blinked stupidly, his thoughts from just a moment ago having been cut off. Nonetheless, he recovered admirably. Gritting his teeth a bit, hating what he was about to command of his friends, he spoke. "Guys, you have to try and force this thing as far back as you can! Into the forest and away from the villagers!"

In other words, he was essentially commanding his team to hold the line by themselves, to go and keep this powerful beast occupied elsewhere long enough for him to try and get the villagers to somewhere safe first. After he'd so desperately wished to be able to fight alongside his friends, here he now found himself having to do the exact opposite and of his own will at that too.

The thought was enough to nearly make him puke.

But as much as he wished to be here with his team, the safety of the villagers came first and someone was going to have to serve as their guard. And as he wasn't powerful enough to fight Surma in any capacity, that meant it had to be him.

"Got it!" Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren all said at once. Immediately, all three of them began to converge on the sentient Relic, now aiming to drive it elsewhere.

But much to the surprise of everyone there, the beast actually moved back on its own. Leaping back high, Surma shot right over Nora and Ren and towards the forest, its eyes never leaving Jaune and the villagers.

Although Surma didn't show it, it was inwardly sneering. For Jaune had just given it an idea. Although the blond teen's team was much stronger and more skilled than before, the beast still held a physical advantage. But engaging these three students in direct battle would potentially be more of a task than it'd prefer. So it'll just use the forest to its advantage instead.

And besides… it was about time the Grimm got to join in on the fun.

Just as Surma retreated into the forest, what could only be described as a small wave of Beowolves and Ursa made itself known, running out from the forest after having been called into action by Surma's howl several minutes ago.

"My God!" one of the villagers cried out in abject shock and horror. The man wasn't the only one either, with many others rumbling about in desperation.

Jaune gulped as he saw the Grimm run forward, taking stock of their numbers, which quickly proved to be more than 25 and still rising rapidly. But he held his ground. With narrowed eyes, he decided to issue new commands. "Ren, start mowing down the Grimm as much as you can! I'll stay with the villagers and take down any stragglers!" he yelled to the raven haired teen before looking to team JNPR's two girls. "Pyrrha, Nora, go after that beast and make sure it stays away from the village! There's no way it's just going to leave that easily!"

Responding wordlessly, the three other members of team JNPR got to it. Deciding to utilize long range attacks rather than short range, Ren jumped onto the top of a nearby house and opened fire on the Grimm that poured out of the forest. His bullets enhanced automatically with mana, the punch they packed was more than enough to floor a single Grimm with just one shot, a feature that Ren took advantage of as he carefully yet quickly aimed.

"Ren, clear a way for us!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she and Nora started to run towards the forest.

"Right!" Taking aim, Ren proceeded to ruthlessly shoot down any and all Grimm that barred the way between his teammates and the forest, watching as the two quickly ran through the opening in the wave to the forest to deal with that beast.

Ren could only wish them good luck. But that thought was one he quickly pushed away as something caught the corner of his eyes and as he proceeded to continue firing on the Grimm, he spared a glance to what it was. And it was a sight that nearly made him redirect his attacks elsewhere. "Jaune, from your right! More are coming from the right!"

It appears that having anticipated this, Surma had called forth even more Grimm, but rather than have them attack from the same direction as the others, the sentient Relic had ordered them to flank the village instead. And so from the west, came a veritable small army consisting entirely of Beowolves, all of them letting out roars of madness and bloodlust and fear as they headed directly for Jaune and the villagers, all of whom still tried to keep on the move, but to little avail.

From his spot atop the house, Ren grimaced. He'd immediately wanted to try and open fire on the Grimm from the west, but the ones from the south here didn't let up at all in their never-ending charge, meaning he couldn't divert his attention to anywhere else. As things already stood, a few Beowolves had already managed to jump onto the house and try to attack him, only barely being stopped by quick and precise slices from the blades on Stormflower.

A grunt of annoyance and worry made its way out of Ren's mouth as more Grimm managed to avoid his bullets and start making their way towards him. This wasn't going to be ending any time soon.

As for Jaune, the boy ran to the west side of the group, all while yelling at the villagers to keep moving, to get to any sort of shelter. But just who was he kidding here? With so many Grimm now converging on Burgundy, there was no way any kind of shelter would be able to last very long under the sheer pressure of their numbers and combined strength. And if Surma manages to make its way back here, then any sort of safe house that actually could keep the Grimm at bay wouldn't hold the beast back for even a second.

This was a small set of facts that the villagers all seemed to realize too, for they seized running anywhere even after Jaune had told them to do so. Instead, all they could do now was remain where they were, near the very center of their village and wait until it was all over.

Jaune, realizing this as well, could only grit his teeth. "This is it then…" he thought. This really was it, the potential end of the line. Ren was now clearly busy just trying to fend off the Grimm from the south and Pyrrha and Nora would be fighting their lives just going after that beast. It was up to him now to keep the villagers as safe as was possible… against the small army of Beowolves that were so very close now.

Hold the line.

That was all he could do now.

With sword and shield in hand, all Jaune could do was ultimately keep the villagers safe. Even it might mean giving up his life to do so…

"Which I'd do gladly…" the boy thought as his grip on his sword tightened and he took up a stance as the Grimm at the forefront of the west wave started to come close.

It was time for him to hold the line.

Meanwhile, with Kalma, the girl seemed to wander through the forest and towards the cliffs in a sort of trance. Still lost deep within old and bitter memories, the sixth seat didn't know what to do anymore.

Surma had gone off after the children and had made contact with the village and team JNPR. The worst case scenario she'd worried about had come at last and the potential fallout seemed to assault her psychologically with just as much force as her memories of abuse and loneliness.

"Just what do I do?" she whispered aloud as she finally began to step out of the forest and started to walk her way up a cliff. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in spite of not feeling cold. But she certainly felt a chill run down her spine, nearly making her stop where she was.

She could order Surma to retreat, but after what had happened, the beast would most likely not listen; it could never tolerate any sort of affront to her at all, even if what those two kids did was nothing more than unknown verbal attacks. Combined with the efforts Surma had already taken to trying to crush Burgundy by calling the Grimm in to attack, there was no way that Surma would leave now, no matter what she tried.

The only good thing about all of this was that her identity as one of the Holy Knights remained a secret, something that relieved more than it would've as of several days ago. On top of what's already occurred, Kalma honestly didn't know how she'd have reacted if Jaune had found out she was his enemy.

If he had, just how would he have acted? Would he have started to hate her? To maybe fear her, thanks to Surma's actions at Beacon Academy? Would he have started to heap one vicious word after another at her in a rage over this?

Kalma simply didn't know at all and it made her at least somewhat thankful that such a thing hadn't happened.

But still.

Just what should she do? Due to how isolated Burgundy was, even though she was now nearing the top of the cliff, sending out a message to the captain via scroll would take forever due to the weak signal here in this area. So calling for any kind of help would be close to impossible.

Which only really left one single option: to just leave. But to do so now would mean to not continue her mission. And to do that would be to return to her comrades with her head hung low in failure. And even excluding that… if she left now, she'd be leaving Surma behind. And that was yet another thing she could never bring herself to do.

Her dog ears twitching rapidly in worry and anxiety, Kalma could only look down on the forest from her spot atop the cliff. It'd seem that all she could do for now was to simply wait until the conflict now taking place came to an end.

She just hoped that it wouldn't end with lives lost.

Meanwhile, deep within the forest below, Pyrrha and Nora walked amongst the humongous trees with great caution. The two of them back to back with their weapons still drawn, the girls moved about slowly, their senses remaining sharp and on the lookout for anything even remotely resembling an attack.

For a span of nearly ten minutes, the two girls remained like this in complete silence, trying not to let the unnatural silence of the forest around them bother them too much.

"Just where is it?" Pyrrha thought in growing worry. Surma had yet to make an appearance again. For a brief moment earlier, she had worried that perhaps it all had somehow been a simple ruse, a trick meant to lure her and Nora here while it waited for them to slip past so that it could head back towards Burgundy.

But that thought had been dismissed not long afterwards and for one simple reason: both she and Nora felt like they were being watched. The beast was here alright and it was keeping a sharp eye on them, but from where they didn't know. And that is why they were in their current positions.

They kept on the move, slowly motioning in a perfect circle as to cover every direction. Every now and then, the girls would glance up as if to expect Surma to come crashing down from above. The trees were certainly tall enough for the massive beast to do so if it wished.

And yet… no attack came.

For minutes on end, the only sounds that could be picked up by Pyrrha and Nora were just the sounds of their own feet crunching the grass under them. But the feeling that they were being watched never went away and it only made them be more on guard.

Realizing just a few minutes later that simply waiting like this wasn't going to work, the two came to the silent conclusion that they'd have to entice the Relic to come to them instead.

So they lowered their weapons.

And only seconds later… Surma made its move.

From atop a tree branch a few dozen meters away from the girls, Surma had been waiting patiently for such an opportunity to happen. And seeing this lowering of Milo and Magnhild, it pounced.

Closing the distance between them with frightening speed, Surma kicked Pyrrha hard, knocking her almost all the way through a nearby tree before jumping away, moving onto the branch of another tree far away. Then it turned around and watched.

"Pyrrha!" Magnhild raised protectively yet again, Nora rushed on over to the redhead, her usually energetic demeanor gone and instead replaced by one of concern.

"I'm alright…" Pyrrha muttered as she grunted, pulling herself out of the tree she'd been vicious knocked into. She raised Akouo. "I managed to block its kick just in time."

But as she got out of the tree, she and Nora both winced slightly as they looked over Akouo, which now sported a bit of a dent. Following her awakening as a pseudo-magus, the mana Pyrrha now possessed in lieu of aura had strengthened Milo and Akouo, making them more durable and in Milo's case, sharper. As such, Pyrrha was able to use them in conjunction with her vastly increased strength without having to worry about accidentally damaging them. But for this beast to dent her shield…

Using her semblance to manipulate the metal, she forced the dent to disappear, bending the metal back into its original smooth shape. But although she was relieved to have quickly fixed the damage, she couldn't help but worry too. Clearly this beast possessed immense strength, strength that it hadn't been able to fully exert just now due to how quick it had to attack her. Meaning that if it ever decided to go for a full force attack, Akouo may not be able to stand up under its might.

This was something Nora seemed to realize as well as she turned to face the direction Surma had leapt off in. "Oh boy…" the auburn haired girl whispered. As powerful as she and Pyrrha now were, this thing still had the power advantage and it definitely showed. They'd have to be careful lest this beast destroy their weapons.

As this occurred to her, another thought also popped into her mind. This thing was clearly using the trees to its advantage, using them so that it can utilize hit and run attacks, hoping to wear them down. Well, she decided that enough was enough of that already.

So Nora decided to use her semblance.

Many thought that she and Ren hardly used their semblances. In Ren's case, they may be right, but in Nora's, they were wrong. In fact, the girl used hers fairly often. It just so happened to be that her semblance complimented her weapon extremely well; her semblance was being able to make virtually anything she can throw or shoot being capable of piercing through whatever is between her and her target. It was a very simple kind of semblance, perhaps something that most wouldn't really think of… but just how else could her weapon had been so effective against the likes of a Deathstalker? On its own, the explosive rounds of Magnhild could only do so much against that particular Grimm's hard shell, but her semblance made it possible for her rounds to pierce through its shell, one inch at a time. The only real downside of her semblance is that, it can only pierce through so much before it stops. It's why her explosive rounds could only get through a Deathstalker's shell so much.

But now as a pseudo-magus…

Loading a round into Magnhild, Nora's usual smile bloomed into place as she took aim at a tree off in the distance… then fired.

Her explosive round, enhanced by mana and by her semblance, blasted right through the thick tree as if it was made out of tissue paper and smashed through the tree behind it as well before the round finally lived up to its explosive title.

A massive explosion of pink mana then went off, blasting the trees it smashed through along with several other trees to little more than microscopic ash. Surma, the beast having been crouching atop the branch of one of the trees, actually yelped in shock as the tree simply ceased to be, the explosion being powerful enough to even blast Surma off, singing its fur a bit.

Hurt, but not by much, Surma growled as it went sailing through the air. Turning the force of the blast to its advantage, the sentient Relic proceeded to shift its center of gravity, turning the momentum of its impromptu flight into a flip that allowed it to land gracefully on the ground.

And out in the open for Pyrrha and Nora to attack.

Switching Milo into its spear form, Pyrrha hurled it with impressive strength at the beast's chest, the spear impacting hard enough to make Surma cry out in shock and pain. Running forward, Pyrrha then threw her shield at the tip of her spear, which had pierced Surma's thick hide just enough to remain stuck there. Akouo struck the back of Milo hard enough to impede the spear an addition few centimeters into Surma's chest, also having the side-benefit of making it stumble back from surprise.

Nora wasn't simply waiting around either and she shot off two other explosive rounds, charged with less mana to avoid harming Pyrrha, right at Surma's stomach. Both rounds exploded with terrifying force, damaging the trees closest to Surma.

But to the beast, it did nothing. Having been taken off guard by the first round and then by Pyrrha's attack, it now steeled itself, ready for anything. As such, it was able to shrug off the rounds with virtually no trouble. Surma even went as far as to pull Milo out of its chest and toss it at Nora at a speed that the girl couldn't hope to avoid. It was only thanks to Pyrrha using her semblance to redirect the weapon's path that it missed her, albeit barely.

Calling Acuo back to her in time to fully close the distance between her and Surma, Pyrrha went on the attack again, smashing her shield into its leg. But the beast barely even flinched before it spun in place, lashing out with a fierce kick that forced Pyrrha to jump. It then lashed out with its snake tail, the thing hissing viciously as it attacked the redhead just as she had jumped. It was only thanks to her shield that she had been able to avoid harm, deflecting the snake tail's teeth with it.

Sensing Nora preparing another attack, Surma then leapt back, hoping to retreat to deeper within the forest. But Nora had anticipated this and proceeded to open fire not at Surma, but at the trees around her. Through the previous combination of her mana enhanced rounds and semblance, she was quick to lay waste to a plethora of trees, reducing them to dust before Surma could even think to weave between them.

Growling at having its intentions read so clearly, Surma came to the realization that its previous strategy of hit and run tactics weren't going to work, at least nowhere near as easily as before if this girl insisted on blowing up parts of the forest to keep it in the open. So changing tactics, Surma rushed off to the left, moving at even far greater speeds than it had before.

Circling around the immediate area to get to Nora, Surma reared back its right fist and threw a powerful haymaker the instant it had covered the distance, just as it had gotten beside Nora. But it seemed as if the girl had anticipated such an attack, for she rolled forward several feet to escape its immediate attack before leaping back at it, switching Magnhild into its hammer form in time to try and bash Surma's ribs in.

The sentient Relic, however, blocked the blow in advance, using the same arm to bring up and ram it into Nora's own hands, nearly making her drop her weapon from the sudden action.

And that was when its other fist smashed straight into Nora's exposed side.

"Nora!' Pyrrha cried out. Ordinarily, she never would've done that, confident in her friend's abilities. But as the auburn haired girl careened through the air at lightning speed, she couldn't help but worry greatly; she could've sworn she heard the cracking of some bones under the booming noise that had been generated from the impact.

Worry gave way to anger at that exact moment and so using her semblance, she commanded her shield to come flying from its current position and bashing into the back of Surma's head, earning the beast's surprise and subsequent ire.

And as she called Akouo back to her, Pyrrha readied Milo as Surma now made its way towards her…

Back in the village, the relentless waves of Grimm continued to make their approach upon the villagers and its two defenders.

Both male members of team JNPR were doing well in holding the fort in spite of the severe number disadvantage. Ren, having abandoned his position from before, now opted to mix in close range combat with his long range attacks. Having realized that shooting the Grimm down could only get him so far, he had found keeping on the move and getting right into the middle of the wave to be a much more effective maneuver to pull, for his presence drew most of the Grimm to him rather than to the villagers within Burgundy.

Using Stormflower's blades, Ren made incredibly short work of an Ursa that had foolishly tried to attack from behind, having spun and sliced the bear-like Grimm apart with the greatest of ease. After felling the Ursa, Ren jumped onto the back of a nearby Beowolf and promptly leapt off of it with enough force to knock it down. As he went through the air, he shot the knocked down Grimm with a precise shot to the back of its head before spinning and hitting another Beowolf with a surprise axe-kick, shattering the white mask-like structure it had upon its face.

But Ren was far from done just yet. With a sudden burst of movement, he rushed in a zig-zag pattern throughout the wave of Grimm, using the blades of Stormflower to deeply stab and slice any unfortunate Grimm in vital spots while peppering the ones immediately out of his reach with his mana enhanced rounds.

And then as he noticed the numbers dwindled a fair bit, the raven haired teen decided to put his semblance to use.

Much like Nora's, his was one that was used surprisingly often but wasn't immediately noticeable to the eyes of others. His semblance was a rather specific form of aura manipulation, though as a pseudo-magus, it could now be a more specific form of mana manipulation. It was a very simple one that allowed him to easily channel such energies into either his fists or the blades of Stormflower. This made his punches more damaging and channeled the aura/mana into the organs of his foes, rupturing them from within with stupid ease. When this particular detail had been explained by him to the ancient magi during training one time, Ren had been told about the comparison between him and members of a long deceased clan known as the Hyugas.

However, when used in conjunction with his weapons, his aura – now mana – made the blades much sharper than normal and could even add a few extra invisible inches to the blades to extend its reach. Before his awakening, this extension was minute, little better than the reach Stormflower's blades already had. But as a pseudo-magus now, his reach, while still rather short, was noticeably improved.

This was one fact that was then demonstrated when he slashed open an Ursa's throat despite the actual blade of Stormflower being roughly three and a half inches away from the target.

The Ursa screamed bloody murder from the wound, the Grimm awkwardly stumbling past Ren as he slid into the legs of another nearby Ursa before suddenly jumping, nearly cutting the beast in two with one of his weapons.

Dodging a lunge from a Beowolf upon landing, Ren shot it down and proceeded to leap back in order to survey his handiwork and how many were left.

The results before him were mixed.

Of the dozens of Grimm to attack from the south, he managed to dispose of nearly three quarters of them in short order and with far less difficulty than he'd been expecting. However, the remaining quarter of the wave left were some of the more larger and thus more powerful Beowolves. Not exactly the most difficult of Grimm to deal with, even prior to becoming a pseudo-magus, but by no means easy when dealing with large numbers of them, especially under the current circumstances.

And based on their current movements, it seemed that these larger Beowolves were smarter than their fallen brethren too; they had changed direction and now seemed to be trying to get to the villagers by smashing straight through any buildings in the way or otherwise circling around, well away from Ren's current spot.

Such a sight was nearly enough to make Ren sigh, partially out of frustration, but also a strange sense of relief. After all, once these larger Grimm were dealt with, then it seemed like the attack from the south would have been completely stopped.

But… there were still the Grimm from the west to deal with.

"Hang in there, Jaune…" Ren muttered. And without another word spoken or thought formed, the teen leapt into action yet again.

As for the team leader in question, he was in quite the bind. Currently standing in front of a few rather elderly looking villagers, Jaune struck down a thankfully small and weak Ursa with an overhead swing from Crocea Mors.

But as the Ursa was slain and its body crumbled upon death, Jaune could only heave a ragged sigh.

He wasn't looking too good.

Although no one would ever call him the most skilled or experienced of students at Beacon, Jaune had a bit of a reputation for his sheer resiliency and crazy amount of aura, continually getting up no matter how badly beaten he was during combat class. But right now, he was going through much more trouble than a combat class could ever give him; as much protection as his aura naturally afforded him, the blond leader was sporting a nasty gash along the side of his right arm, his tricep damaged badly, but thankfully not to the point of being permanently damaged. Although his clothes hid it, he was sporting several large bruises under his shirt, the results of several Beowolves plus one large Ursa managing to slip past his blows and striking him relentlessly before he managed to get them to back off. His left arm, which held his shield, remained undamaged, but was shaking badly, the result of having blocked so many blows thus far, some of which hadn't been done perfectly due to the sheer number and speed of the Grimm being able to catch him off his guard.

He also sported a slight cut above his left eye, enough to draw blood and force him to blink every now and then to keep the blood from blinding his left eye. And the smallest of scratches could be seen too upon his upper back near his neck from when a Beowolf had slashed at him when he'd killed one of its pack that had nearly managed to get to one of the villagers behind him.

But in spite of his injuries, Jaune remained standing steady and still holding the line between him and the villagers. "You alright?" he asked the elderly couple behind him.

A shaky nod from the villagers in question lifted his spirits, but not by much.

Because of how many Grimm there were, it was simply impossible for him to hold absolutely all of them at bay. Some of them had managed to slip past him and attack a handful of the villagers, but mercifully had been unsuccessful in killing them before the surrounding villagers would manage to hold them back long enough for Jaune to rush in and kill the Grimm.

However, as things now stood, it was an increasingly bleak situation. Jaune had been able to take down more Grimm within the past ten minutes than he'd ever dreamed of taking down in his entire life, but there still remained a formidable number of Grimm, perhaps around 20 left and they seemed to have become rather aware of how he fought. Taking them down wouldn't be easy, especially with his wounded state.

Furthermore, the villagers weren't looking too good either. Because they all had to move around whenever the Grimm got too close for comfort, they were already getting tired, especially the elderly who no longer could move like they used to in their distant youth. A number of villagers had been hurt and while the wounds they were dealt weren't life threatening, the blood loss and overall severity kept them from moving around much.

And then there were the children…

For the most part, the children seemed intent on smothering themselves into the collective chests of their families, as if looking away long enough would make the Grimm change their minds and leave. But there were a few that looked ready to go blindly running as long as it meant getting away from the monstrous beasts and it took virtually all their parents had to hold onto their kids, much less move around with them in tow.

All in all, the villagers were all but pinned down for good in this current spot and there was little to be done about that.

"From your left!" one villager suddenly cried out, getting Jaune's attention.

From the blond teen's left came a wiry looking Beowolf, its mouth open wide as it made a beeline straight for the hunter-in-training. With a tired battle cry, Jaune rammed the tip of his shield into the Grimm's open mouth, getting a cry of pain out of it from the movement. Then not wasting a single second, Jaune took two steps forward and stabbed the Beowolf right through its stomach with Crocea Mors before pulling it out and kicking the severely wounded beast away. Amazingly, it was still kicking and it quickly went on the attack again, but an upwards slash stopped it for good before it could fully go into a lunge.

Jaune panted a bit as the Grimm died, his arms drooping in the process from a combination of fatigue and pain. "Damn it…" he muttered under his breath as he eyed two Ursa charging from the other side, trying to blindside the villagers.

Then as he eyed the particular villagers the two Grimm were going after, Jaune's eyes widened in fright.

It was heading for the kids. Aksel and Lili and a few other children that often played together with the two. The very same kids that Jaune had taken to playing with the past few days.

The kids and the adults around them screamed as they now saw the Ursa coming, moving back as much as they could, but to little avail; they couldn't push their way past the other villagers directly behind them, most of whom were too tired to move anywhere and were therefore unmovable dead weight.

Adrenaline surged through Jaune without warning and the team leader full on ran towards the kids and incoming Grimm. He closed the distance quickly, so much so that later on he'd find it hard to believe he'd ever been able to move that fast so suddenly and just in time too.

As the Ursa closest to them reared itself back, intent on squashing Aksel and Lili under it, Jaune got in its way, shield arm raised up to stop it. Jaune grunted as the Ursa all but collapsed on top of him, having not been fully ready to hold back the Ursa's weight. That was when the other Ursa roared as it came from his right side, smashing a massive paw into Jaune's ribs. The faintest of cracks could be heard upon impact and the sound was loud enough for the kids and their parents to hear it, a sound that would surely haunt them in their dreams later on.

But Jaune held his ground nonetheless and with a great heave, he pushed the Ursa off of him enough to send it sprawling onto its back. Then with an almost savage speed, Jaune spun and viciously slashed through the other one's arm, cutting it off at the forearem.

Crying out in agony, the Ursa still didn't let up on its attack and simply tried to attack with its other paw. But Jaune got in close, causing the attack to overreach and unleashed a brief torrent of slashes upon the Ursa's exposed underbelly, going through the very same series of swings that Miki had first taught him. And the results showed too; sporting nearly ten deep wounds, the Ursa fell to Jaune's side, dead before it even hit the ground.

Not letting up though, Jaune whirled back around to focus on the one he'd knocked back and just in time as it had gotten back on its feet. So with one mighty slice, he nearly cut the beast's head almost completely off and it fell bloodlessly back to the ground, dead.

"A-Are… you… alright?" Jaune asked in between quick and deep breaths, looking to Aksel and Lili and the others.

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah," Aksel eventually managed to stutter out, tears streaming down the boy's face. Lili next to him didn't seem to be fairing any better, crying almost uncontrollably into the bosom of her older sister, who held onto the young girl tightly.

Jaune sighed in relief. But then it passed quickly and he proceeded to all but drag himself back to his previous position, eyeing the remaining Grimm from the west. He actually quirked an eyebrow upon noticing something strange.

They weren't approaching anymore.

The remaining Grimm, consisting of Beowolves, simply remained where they were, more than a few dozen meters away from the current position of Jaune and the villagers. And what's more, their attention no longer seemed to be focused on them.

"What the…?" Jaune narrowed his eyes and then proceeded to follow their collective gaze towards the forest, confusion abound within him.

But then all of three seconds later, it hit him.

The Grimm were looking in the same direction that Surma, Pyrrha, and Nora had gone off in. Then something else registered to Jaune: the Grimm were still roaring, but no longer out of their usual bloodlust and rage.

They were howling in fear.

An impossibly loud rustling was heard, freezing Jaune and everyone else in place. Ren, having just finished up the Grimm from the south, came to an almost awkward halt as well due to being closer to the source.

All of a sudden, four of the massive trees that made up the forest fell and crashed to the ground with deafening thuds. And the ground rumbled violently as this happened as well.

That was when Ren and Jaune and the villagers were able to hear the screams. Of desperation. Of pain.

Jaune's and Ren's eyes went wide with horror. "Nora, Pyrrh-!" the former began to yell.

Only to come to an abrupt stop as the two girls in question were flung harshly from the forest and into the village. With devastating force, both girls slammed into a house near Jaune, scaring many of the villagers and causing Jaune and Ren to go running towards them.

"N-Nggh…" Pyrrha was the first to get up out of the now demolish house. And she did so, her male teammates and the villagers couldn't help but let out one big gasp.

The redhead who was often thought of as an invincible student was heavily wounded. Her armor cracked and in some spots missing, her left arm sporting a large and bloody gash, a massive bruise upon her face, missing grieves and what looked like a twisted right ankle all showed signs of a brutal fight. The redhead herself was breathing heavily as she awkwardly gripped Milo and Akouo, an action that drew attention to her bloodied hands, as if she tried to punch something very hard yet to little avail.

And as Nora now crawled out of the house, it was immediately clear that she wasn't fairing any better. Wheezing, the damage she'd suffered to the clothing around her abdomen and side revealed massive bruises and cuts. No doubt, she was sporting some internal injuries as well, likely cracked ribs and maybe even a damaged organ or two. Magnhild looked to be in bad shape, part of its hilt heavily damaged and the edge of the hammer end chipped or cracked.

If not for the fact that the two young women were endowed with tougher bodies and a relatively fast acting healing factor as pseudo-magi, they ought to be either dead or simply not being able to move at all until medical attention is given.

"N-Nora…" Ren whispered his longtime friend's name in an indecipherable tone, his expression blank as he looked over her injuries.

The auburn haired girl somehow managed to force a sheepish smile onto her face. "Heya Ren… We… didn't manage to do all that good…"

"It's here…" Pyrrha then whispered. She might as well have yelled, for practically everyone seemed to hear it.

And as it to further compound her words, a wild roar was heard just as Surma leapt from the forest and into Burgundy, landing little more than eight yards away from team JNPR.

As it landed and rose to its full height, the Grimm still off in the distance growled and whined in fear, looking ready to run. But a sudden yet brief glance and growl from the sentient Relic was enough to compel the Beowolves to remain.

The villagers fell into a special sort of silence, one brought on by muted horror at the beast's proximity to them.

Jaune and his friends looked upon it with apprehension. Jaune in particular looked upon Surma with fear and with reason.

Aside from only a handful of minor cuts upon its chest and face, it had no other injuries. It had gone up against Pyrrha and Nora, two of the strongest people Jaune had ever known, and this was all the damage it had suffered.

Such a thought was enough to make him wish to run for it. But the sound of his friends breathing beside him and the quiet sobbing of some of the kids was more than enough for him to take up a fighting stance. He even went as far as to take several long steps forward, being the one now closest to Surma.

"J-Jaune?" Pyrrha said his name in a tone of almost complete disbelief. She never would've imagined he'd actually get so close to the beast. "W-What are you doing?" she asked.

"What I have to do… protecting people," Jaune answered in a surprisingly steady voice. "… I wouldn't mind having a little back up though."

After making the quip, he could immediately hear his team ready themselves, something that nearly made him smile. Ren, he could understand being quick to assume a combat ready stance, but Pyrrha and Nora had been just as quick to do so as well. Even when they're horribly injured, they managed to still be ready.

Without a doubt, his friends were heroes.

And now… in spite of his fear of this beast, it was time for him to be one as well. As scared as he was of this thing, he could no longer let his friends do all the fighting now, not after getting so cruelly beaten like that.

And so… Jaune made the first swing.

From afar, Kalma gasped as she watched the battle erupt through the mental link with Surma. She watched as Jaune struck that first blow, a blow that had then been followed by blows from his teammates. Surma's response had been expected yet no less horrific a thing to witness.

From here atop the cliff, Kalma could only watch as Surma ceased to hold nothing back. Her sentient Relic had clearly grown tired of doing things slowly like it had at first. Now it seemed to unleash upon team JNPR almost the full entirety of its current might, repelling all of their attacks with insulting ease before responding with its own.

"No… please stop, Surma…" Kalma pleaded silently. But her Relic didn't listen one bit. Through the mental link, she watched helplessly as the beast ravaged the team, dealing one malicious blow after another upon each teen.

She watched with horror as Surma picked up Ren by the head and smashed him into the side of a building. She watched numbly as her Relic's snake tail bit deeply into Nora's shoulder and threw her violently into the air, before slashing at her leg in mid-flight. She watched as Surma then moved onto Pyrrha, who valiantly tried to keep it at bay through a combination of a relentless hail of bullets and Akouo flitting about thanks to her semblance, smashing into Surma all over the place with increasing speed, only for it all to be for nothing as Surma charged forward, leaping and crushing Pyrrha under its foot.

But it was what happened next that had Kalma almost completely in tears.

Stepping off of the nearly unconscious redhead, she watched as Surma turned its attention towards Jaune, whose first attack it had completely ignored before having focused on his teammates.

"No, Surma… Surma, stop right now!" Kalma actually yelled, tears in her eyes. She had never wished for this happen, but Surma's overly protective nature had been triggered by those kids and now it didn't seem intent on stopping anytime soon. Especially when Jaune, who had so thoroughly caught the beast's interest, was right there in front of it.

Kalma actually screamed as she watched Surma through their link smash a shoulder right into Jaune, sending the boy sailing back before giving chase. She could only cry fruitlessly as she watched Surma close the distance between them and proceed to lay into the teen, assaulting him not quite with its full strength, but certainly with much more power than it had demonstrated back at Beacon Academy.

And as Surma continued to beat upon the boy, dolling out far worse blows than it had upon his teammates, Kalma could only feel her heart break with every attack.

But it wasn't until Surma swatted Jaune aside and proceeded to face the villagers that Kalma really felt terrified. "Surma, stop! Stop right now!"

She tried to call her Relic back, tried to summon Surma back within her, but to no avail. In order for Surma to be called back within Kalma, there had to be a form of 'agreement' upon the matter between the two of them, shared through their mental link. And right now, the beast was far too focused on the matter at hand to even think of retreating.

In fewer words, Surma wasn't listening. And it seemed like the Relic wasn't planning to anytime soon.

However, just as Kalma could only watch with tears in her eyes as Surma took lumbering steps towards the villagers, she gasped in complete shock.

Someone stood in the beast's way: Jaune.

Back in the village, the villagers found themselves little more than ten yards or so away from the powerful beast that had so quickly yet thoroughly beat down team JNPR. And yet, none of them were currently feeling any fear. Instead, all they felt was a sort of stupefied awe.

There, standing in between them and Surma was Jaune, beaten and bloodied almost beyond recognition, his clothes torn in several places and his body sporting innumerable wounds, ranging from severe bruises to gashes that simply hurt to look at.

And yet, the boy remained standing. Hurting badly and equally tired, but standing nonetheless.

Panting, Jaune spared a glance to his teammates, all of whom were battered as well and sprawling all around him, Surma having knocked them around like ragdolls. "Guys…" he thought, praying for their safety. As it is though, he was simply glad to see that they were all still breathing.

But even then… just what sort of monster were they facing here? As strong as his friends had become, this beast had still proven to be beyond their abilities to handle.

In all honesty, Jaune himself wished for this all to be over, feeling so tired and hurt that it was literally taking all he had just to remain conscious. He couldn't even begin to fathom how he was still even standing.

But then… one of the children a ways behind him sobbed quietly and that sound was enough to remind him just why he was standing before Surma.

He has to protect everyone.

Much to the amazement of everyone – his friends included, who were just still conscious right now, and Surma, who eyed him with genuine shock – Jaune steadily raised his arms into an attack ready position, his sword ready to swing and his shield at the ready to block.

"J-Jaune…" Pyrrha, through a mouthful of blood, managed to mutter his name, but it was barely above a whisper. She tried to move, but to little success; right now, her body was hurting too much for her to just stand up. She'd have to remain here for a while to let her body rest and heal before she could do that. But then that'd mean leaving Jaune to stand alone against this… this… thing.

"L-Lad… please, just stop already…" Hans, moving slowly to the forefront of the huddled group of villagers, said. The elderly man looked upon Jaune with wet eyes. He honestly didn't think of himself as being a man that found crying easy, but the boy – no, the young man – before him had suffered a beating so brutal that it moved his heart so much to still see him standing. "You and your team… you've done enough…"

Jaune didn't seem to hear him. He simply shifted his legs into a 'ready' stance, looking as if he was about to sprint up to Surma.

"Jaune!" Lili then cried out, the girl pulling herself free of her sister's grasp and running up to the blond. She was pulled back at the last second by her parents. Tears and snot streamed down the young girl's face, her face red from the complete swelling of emotion she's undergone alongside everyone else. "W-W-Why do you gotta do this?!" the little girl all but demanded of him. "J-J-J-Just run!"

Amazingly, Jaune chuckled. The sound was enough to all but floor everyone. Even Surma, who still stupidly stared at the boy before him, took a bit of a step back in sheer befuddlement.

Turning his head slowly, Jaune smiled in spite of the blood running down the side of his face. "I can't, Lili," he said simply. "It'd be pretty hard to protect you guys if I did that…"

Then just as quickly as it had appeared, his smile vanished and he turned to look at Surma again. "Alright then, you overgrown pup… let's dance."

Although Surma wasn't capable of human speech, it could certainly understand it. And the blond leader's words aggravated it considerably. When the boy had continued to stand no matter how badly he was hit, the sentient Relic had come to be almost disturbed by the boy. It hadn't been until Jaune had managed to stand back up after it all and stand in between the villagers and it that Surma had genuinely paused, unnerved.

But now that Jaune had gone and opened his mouth, Surma decided that enough was enough. No longer was it going to let this human faze him. It was time for him to be taken down for good.

Firstly, however… maybe some of those villagers should be slain first. Just to show the boy just how futile his efforts really were.

It'll start with those damned kids that had insulted its master first.

Surma was roused from its thoughts though when Jaune took the initiative, running up to it with Crocea Mors held high. But with a growl of rage being let out, Surma backhanded the boy at lightning speed, hitting him at an angle in order to smash him into the ground.

As soon as Jaune's body impacted upon said ground, doing so with enough force to make a crater, Surma took a step forward – only for Jaune to get up again.

Shocked, Surma lashed out with a kick that knocked the blond into the air, which the beast then followed up with a vicious punch that would've destroyed a building. Jaune went sailing into a nearby house as a result.

And once again, he got back up before Surma could even take another step towards the villagers. Coming at the beast from its side, the beast's snake tail struck out with serpentine speed and savagery at the team leader. But Jaune managed to surprise everyone yet again by being able to deflect the tail's attack, deflecting its sharp fangs with a quick bash of his shield.

As he did this though, he felt a chill run through him. He had just messed up.

Eyeing Jaune's shield, Surma turned quickly and yanked it right out of Jaune's hand, doing so with enough speed and aggressiveness to nearly pull the entire arm out of its socket too. Holding the shield now up above its head for everyone to see it, Surma proceeded to crush it within its grip.

The most unsettling of crushing sounds made itself known as Surma did that, turning what had once been a sturdy and reliable shield into a misshapen ball of metal, one so small that it would've looked more at home in the hand of a child than in the massive hand of the sentient Relic.

Shocked by what had just happened, Jaune actually gaped. Although he had once called his shield and sword hand-me-downs, they had still been in his family for generations, wielded by his forefathers during times of great conflict. To see it crushed so effortlessly and suddenly nearly rendered him frozen on the spot.

But even then… seeing one half of the Arc legacy being crushed didn't fully stop him.

Now wielding his sword with both hands instead of just the one, he let out a battle cry as he charged headlong at Surma.

As he neared, Surma growled. And then with one swift flick of its left arm, it shattered Jaune's blade in midswing.

Jaune hardly had time to process this before Surma raised a foot and brought it down on him, smashing him flat into the ground.

And as it reeled back its foot and took a half step back, Surma gazed down on the boy to see if he was going to get back up yet again.

Jaune didn't. To the shock of all, he was still alive… but he no longer seemed capable of getting up.

Surma allowed itself an actual sigh, letting out a breath that it hadn't imagined it had been holding. Just how could one human, a boy whose strength and skill were only noticeably better than a civilian, strike such a sense of uncertainty and fear into it?

Sensing that Jaune wouldn't be moving anytime soon, the sentient Relic grinned as it now turned its attention back to the villagers. Only sparing the other three members of team JNPR half a glance, it discerned that they'd no longer be a threat to it, their bodies still too damaged for the moment for them to even get back up, let alone fight.

But as it neared the villagers, as said villagers tried to all move away in fear, none of them realized that something was going on.

And Jaune was the source of this 'something.'

Shockingly, the boy was still conscious, but only barely, darkness threatening to overtake him. "Am I… dying?" he thought weakly. If not, it sure felt that way to him at any rate. His body just felt so weak… but at least the pain seemed to be ebbing away.

His eyes, which were open just a bit, slowly closed all the way a second later.

He'd done the best he could, right? There wasn't much more he could do, right? After all, he was just a normal guy for all intents and purposes… just how was he to have ever stood a chance against that thing?

Yes, it could certainly be said that he'd done enough…

…

But was he satisfied with this outcome? Jaune's open hands clenched tightly into fists, almost drawing blood.

No, he wasn't.

Aksel, Lili, Hans, Alisa, and the rest of the villagers. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and his other friends back at Beacon Academy. Here and now, they still needed him. Of that, he's never felt so sure of until now. Even if he was weak, even if he was less skilled than others, even if he was still a clumsy fighter overall… surely, there was still much to be done, many people that needed to be helped…

Starting with everyone here in Burgundy.

A pulse of power resonated from deep within him, making the boy gasp. The pulse disappeared for the briefest of seconds before returning again, even stronger before fading. But the third time it came back…

…Jaune moved.

With Surma just a moment prior to this, the beast had approached the villagers, all of whom seemed to have given up on running. The sight of tired and reluctant resignation on their collective face was enough to nearly make it smile. Its smile only grew as it proceeded to stand over the two children that had hurt its master so badly with their thoughtless unkind words.

Surma couldn't help but feel bemused as Aksel's and Lili's families gathered around the two, trying to serve as a massive human shield for them. Such an amusing sight it was. Smashing its fist past them and into those children would be fun.

Raising its left fist high, the sentient Relic savored its soon-to-be victims' collective flinch before bringing its fist down…

Only for it to be stopped.

Surma could only stare, its mouth ajar as someone suddenly moved in between it and the villagers and caught its fist with just one hand.

Such a thing should have been impossible. There was not one person here with the strength needed to accomplish such a task. It was simply an unfathomable thing.

But what truly shocked Surma, what had left the beast feeling so terrified now… was just who had stopped its attack.

Jaune.

The blond boy's head hung down, making it impossible for Surma to see his eyes. Tightly gripping Surma's fist with unnatural strength with just one hand, Jaune then proceeded to lightly shove it back, an action that the beast didn't oppose, numbly letting it happen.

But just as this happened, something within Surma seemed to just snap.

Sick of seeing this boy continue to get up, Surma reared back its right hand and lashed out with a fierce punch to Jaune's torso, with enough power in the blow to bring down even the largest and sturdiest of all buildings.

But it had underestimated the change that Jaune had seemed to have undergone. For the boy managed to actually catch the punch with both of his hands, stopping it cold though clearly not without effort, Jaune's teeth gritting startlingly loudly in the process.

As Jaune's body took the majority of the resulting shockwave from the stopped blow, the villagers behind him and his teammates could only stare with wide eyes as this all happened.

A sort of hushed silence fell upon everyone then as Jaune's mouth proceeded to move.

"Gate… open!"

As an explosion of sky blue light appeared, forcing everyone to look away even as they were nearly blown back, Surma could only stare on, undeterred by the blinding light.

Shakily, the beast actually took several steps back as it only now realized what had happened.

Jaune has awakened as a magus.

This was the last thought the beast had before pain rocked its whole world.

And done! Hope that this chapter lives up to the standards I had personally set for it. As well as any standards you guys may have for it as well.

Well, not much else to really be said here other than that my job hunt still continues. Not sure if I'll be getting any notifications back regarding my applications, but if so, it could delay the next chapter at any rate.

That said, you can expect me to be starting the next chapter very soon as well – tomorrow, in fact.

But for now… I need to rest.

Take care, everyone. Until next time.