Kamen Rider Saber: Tale of Two Worlds
仮面ライダーセイバー：二つの世界の物語
Kamen Raidā Seibā: Futatsu no Sekai no Monogatari
First Book: Beacon of Hope
初の書籍：希望の烽火
Hatsu no Shoseki: Kibō no Hōka
Chapter Five: Of Fantasy and Wonders, the Other World.
第五章：ファンタジーと不思議の、他の世界。
Dai Goshō: Fantajī to Fushigi no, Hoka no Sekai.
The swordsmen who defend the world of wonders.
不思議の世界を守る剣士。
Fushigi no sekai o mamoru kenshi.
(OST: EP 5 Score – The First Step, Pt 2)
On another side of the forest, Ruby would fire off a few rounds from her weapon to slow herself down, before unfolding her weapon. Converting her weapon into its scythe mode, she caught onto one of the tree branches in her blade, gracefully landing on the ground.
Weiss wielded what appeared to be a white and gray rapier, before summoning a white snowflake circle under her, using it to leap above the forests, in the hopes of finding the relic and getting the task done as soon as possible.
Ren would spin in the air, pulling his weapons out and using its blades to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking upwards, seeing Yang flying above him.
Yang would soar right above the treetops, using her gauntlets to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she ultimately would crash through the leaves of a tree, leaping off two trunks to tumble to the ground.
Pyrrha, still flying the air, would arm both of her weapons, in what appeared to be a sword and shield formation, before crashing through several trees, ultimately catching on a branch and rolling on it. She would shift her blade into a rifle, looking into the scope to see a Jaune flying through the air helplessly. Pyrrha would then use her weapon, in spear form, to throw the javelin through the forest, somehow pinning Jaune to a tree.
And as Kuen found a spot to land, landing almost painfully, he winced, before trying to figure out which direction the ruins were going to be in. Doing some on-the-spot mathematics, he figured he'd actually have to keep moving forwards. Both motivation, and brilliant puns.
Travelling through the forest, he kept his blade up, very wary with the situation around him, knowing full well of the Grimm lurking in the forest around him, mainly due to the research he'd done in the week he had before entering Beacon.
And indeed, his gut instinct seemed to be right, as Kuen would hear a very low and inhuman growl, noticing a pair of red eyes staring at him from the darkness. At that exact moment, he would roll to the side, as a wolf-like creature of darkness leapt out of the shadows, narrowly missing him.
Kuen would then ready his blade, as he charged towards the creature, slashing and hacking at it with the best of his abilities. Definitely not swordsman-level, more so a caveman.
He stared down the Beowulf Grimm, its red eyes piercing through the greens and browns of the forest, and its pale white claws preparing to strike. The monster charging at Kuen once again, he would parry the blow, running to the side and scanning the Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book at the tip of the blade once again, as it echoed once more.
DRAGON! MM-HM!
ドラゴン！うーん！うーん！
Doragon! Un! Un!
Preparing another attack, Kuen would pull on the trigger of the weapon, activating another finisher, as he would chant to himself, "Kaen~ Shibouzan."
The blade's runes would flicker in red and white, reading out the kanji, "火炎死亡斬", before he would execute a flaming slash on the Grimm, splitting it into two, and causing the black fog to dissipate into the air.
SHUTOKU ISSEN!
習得一閃！
Shutoku Issen!
Meanwhile, Ruby landed in another part of the forest, dashing in one direction, thinking about one thing in particular. "Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find... Yang! Yaaaang! Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! ...I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... Ugh!"
She then wondered to herself, "Okay... Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Kuen, aaaand-"
And ultimately, time would somewhat stop, her words cut off as Ruby would find herself encountering Weiss of all people, the two making eye contact, followed by a pause and a long awkward silence. The latter would immediately turn the other way, walking away from the former, as Ruby chased after Weiss.
"Wait! Where are you going?! We're supposed to be teammates..." Ruby screamed at Weiss, almost completely dejected.
And as she heard occasional grunts and 'Ow's in the distance, Ruby would notice Weiss heading back to her, before pulling her by the hood, stating, "By no means does this make us friends."
"You came back!" Ruby exclaimed, almost instantly rejuvenated with energy
With Ruby being dragged by Weiss, the former would ask the latter confusedly, "What's the hurry?"
"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your— what the...?"
Ruby would suddenly appear in front of her in the blur of an eye, before stating, "I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!"
"When did...?"
"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters! You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, 'Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool... and I wanna be her friend!'"
And just like that, Ruby would disappear into a shower of rose petals, which Weiss would wave away as she heard crackling in the bushes around her.
"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" Weiss called out. And then the wind went silent.
"Ruby?" Weiss would then notice a pair of red eyes glaring at her, as she pulled out her weapon, calling Ruby's name repeatedly.
And Jaune was now stuck to a tree, trying to get himself out, waving his arms in panic.
"Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!"
He looked down, only to see Pyrrha looking at him, the latter asking, "Jaune? Do you... have any spots left on your team?"
"Very funny..."
He looked at her, before softly chuckling, an expression which was returned by her.
"Now please get me out," Jaune pled.
(OST: EP 6 Score – The Emerald Forest)
In yet another part of the forest, Yang travelled through the dense foliage, as she called out into the area around her, her voice echoing.
"Hello? Is anyone out there? Hello?" she continued calling out, as multiple pairs of red eyes started forming around her, though without her notice.
"I'm getting bored here!" She called out, before hearing rustling noises in the bushes. "Ruby, is that you?"
She peeked into the bushes, before hearing a very familiar low and inhuman growl, before she jumped backwards, her head rising up as she stared down the creature
"Nope!"
Quickly rolling to the side, an Ursa would jump out of the bushes, as its gigantic bear-like body of darkness would tower over the yellow fighter, ready to attack the blonde brawler with its claws. Yang would immediately get up, activating a twin pair of golden-yellow bracelets, before they morphed into a more golden set of boxing gloves, the latter staring down the former.
Somehow, immediately on cue, another one of the Ursa would appear from behind her, charging her back, something which Yang would barely avoid, jumping over the grizzly Grimm, before the first Ursa would charge at her again. The red shells on her gauntlets glowing, Yang would knock back the Ursai with an explosive punch, sending the Grimm flying back as the other charged at Yang once again.
Barely dodging the Grimm by getting under it, she would deliver multiple rapid-fire punches, and a kick, sending the Grimm a good distance away from her.
Teasingly, almost as if holding a red cape for a bull, she noted, "You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?"
And as the Ursai growled at her, she then retorted, "You could have just said 'no', you know?"
One of the Ursai would stand on its legs, trying to relentless swipe the blonde brawler as she continued to barely dodging the attacks, laughing in the process.
"Geez, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a ba-" Her insult was immediately interrupted by her own thoughts as she noticed a single strand of golden hair, falling in front of her face, landing on the forest floor in front of her.
Her reaction changing from teasing to complete shock, she closed her eyes, barely muttering out, "You…" as the Ursai looked at each other confusedly.
Immediately, she opened them back again, her violet pupils turning into blood-shot red, her hair catching on fire for what was a brief second, before dissipating.
"You monster!" She screamed, relentlessly attacking one of the Ursai with a flaming flurry of destructive punches and aggressive kicks, sending it flying through several burning trees, while also leaving partly-Ursa shaped holes on some of them.
And as it crashed into another tree, dissipating into the wind, the other monster would run towards Yang, barely stopping short at her gaze as a tree would fall to the ground right beside her. "What?! You want some too?!" She screamed, the Ursa then preparing to strike.
And then there was a brief whirling noise, and the monster was no more, revealing Blake Belladonna, a katana blade wielded in her hand, with what was essentially a double-edged sharpened blade.
Yang would pant in exhaustion, whilst the black beauty would recall the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and chuckling.
Yang, closing her eyes and opening them, her pupils now lilac again, spoke to her new partner over the dusty remains of the monster, "I could've taken him."
As Weiss deflected the swipe from one of the crowds of Beowulves around her with her rapier, the monster would relentlessly strike her, landing her in the middle of a circle of the wolf Grimms, all preparing to strike her down, as she took a deep breath.
Closing her eyes, she would reminisce on the fencing practice lessons she had taken over the years, muttering to herself, "Remember your training, Weiss. Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward, slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and... now!"
Weiss would dash forward, a revolver chamber in her weapon suddenly spinning, as the blade of the weapon slowly glowed a dark red.
However, Ruby would suddenly appear between Weiss and the Grimm in a blur of rose petals, swiping down her scythe, and landing a very deadly hit on the monster, screaming, "Gotcha!"
Caught by surprise with the sudden interruption, Weiss' eyes would widen, causing her to scream as she stopped, swinging the sword in a random direction and creating a line of fire. The said line of fire would set a nearby tree ablaze, followed by many more trees.
As Ruby, distracted by the sudden embers, was suddenly attacked by the same Beowulf she tried to attack, she would be knocked backwards and into Weiss, the former screaming, "Hey, watch it!"
"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!"
"You'll have to try a lot harder than that..."
As the two partners wielded their weapons, the pack of Beowulves growling and whining as they approached them, they were immediately interrupted by the sound of a mysterious echo.
GATE! MM-HM!
ゲート！うーん！うーん！
Gēto! Un! Un!
Emerging from one of the nearby bushes was Kuen, who dashed towards the Beowulves, much to the surprise of Ruby.
Charging up his blade, the sword would catch on fire as it started to flicker red and white, '火炎跳躍斬' forming on the blade. And Kuen pulled the trigger, as preparing for another finisher.
"Kaen~ Chouyakuzan!"
Immediately he would execute another wave of fire, of which would jump around the Beowulves, before attacking them, and sending them flying.
SHUTOKU ISSEN!
習得一閃！
Shutoku Issen!
"Are you two alright?!" Kuen called out to the two of them, only for Weiss to reply, "Barely!"
He would nod, focusing on the matter at hand, as he told them to run to the temple while he handled the wolf Grimms. And as Weiss quickly nodded, she would grab Ruby's arm, leading Ruby out of the blaze beginning to form, as Kuen wielded his sword again, staring down the pack of Beowulves.
DRAGON! MM-HM!
ドラゴン！うーん！うーん！
Doragon! Un! Un!
"I am so not ready for this…" Kuen muttered to himself, in a tone that almost came off as frightened and shocked, as he began slashing at the wolves.
Once again, he prepared another finisher, similar to one he had done before, charging up his weapon with the Brave Dragon Wonder Ride Book, preparing to execute one more finisher in rapid succession.
Chanting out, in a soft tone, he muttered to himself, "Kaen~ Shibouzan."
The blade's runes would flicker in red and white, reading out the kanji, "火炎死亡斬", before Kuen would execute a flaming slash on the Grimm, splitting them into two, and causing the black fog to dissipate into the air.
SHUTOKU ISSEN!
習得一閃！
Shutoku Issen!
Ruby and Weiss managed to land a good distance from the smoke and flames, and Kuen and the wolves. The girl in white would lean on a random tree, gasping for air, as the girl in red would look behind her, asking, "What was that?! That should've been easy!"
"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"
Ruby only scoffed, asking sarcastically, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just surprised someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!"
"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!"
"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!"
Walking in what she assumed was the direction of the ruins, Weiss walked off on her partner once again, as Ruby, with an agitated shriek would unfold her weapon in its scythe mode, slicing a tree down to the stump and refolding her weapon.
Almost on cue, however, Kuen would arrive, before looking at Ruby.
"Hey, Ruby. You alright?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Meanwhile, halfway across the Emerald Forest, a certain Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc were making their way through the bushes, the two with their weapons at the ready somewhat in the event that any Grimm were going to potentially attack them.
Continuing to travel, Jaune would hear what appeared to be the sounds of howling and gunshots, as he turned his head, asking to his partner, "Did you hear that?"
"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy."
As they continued to move forward, Jaune still staring in the sound's direction, Pyrrha would raise a branch to pass, before accidentally releasing it right in Jaune's face, causing him to land on the ground as he winced in pain.
Realizing what had happened, Pyrrha would immediately apologize. "Jaune! I'm sorry!"
"It's okay, it's just a scratch!" Jaune laughed it off, as he lowered his hand, revealing a gash on his cheek, as Pyrrha approached him with a very confused expression.
"Why didn't you activate your Aura?"
"Huh?"
"Your Aura."
"Gesundheit."
"Jaune, do you... know what Aura is?"
As Jaune tried to wave the question, avoiding eye contact, he muttered to the other, "Psch! Of course I do! Do you know what Aura is?"
Pyrrha chuckled softly, as she prepared to explain. "Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"
Jaune confusedly replied, "Uh, yeah?"
Walking around Jaune in the small area that they had, she stated, "With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."
"What about monsters?"
"No. The monsters we fight? They lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. They are the darkness, and we are the light."
"Right, that's why we fight them!"
Pyrrha then noted, "It's not about why; it's about knowing. Understanding dark and light helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of both."
As her hand softly glowed, Pyrrha continued, "By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting."
Jaune's eyes would widen almost to that of a six-year-old who had just received candy from his mother, before he exclaimed, "It's like a force field!"
"Yes, if you want to look at it that way."
And Pyrrha would walk up to Jaune, holding his shoulders, as she asked a simple request, "Now, close your eyes and concentrate."
Jaune could only comply, replying a half-assed, "Uhh… okay."
The other closing her own eyes, she would take a deep breath, before the faint red Aura would form around Pyrrha once again, as a bright white outline would form around Jaune.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."
As she uttered the last of the words, both of their Auras would flare up, before dying down, as Pyrrha hunched down, very tired from the ritual.
A very concerned Jaune would only mutter out her name, to which her response was a simple, "It's all right. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own. You have a lot of it."
As the scratch faded from Jaune's cheek, he could only let out a very amazed, "Wow…"
Lie Ren was trekking through the tall grass, as he would stop, narrowing his eyes slightly, looking around him warily. A gigantic serpentine Grimm would then rise up from the grass, dwarfing the much smaller Ren, as its jaws would spew out multiple fangs, its long and black forked tongue hissing.
Ren would enter a martial arts-styled fighting stance, as the snake would coil together, beginning its assault on the green martial artist. As it began attacking with its fanges, Ren would barely leap out of the way, the snake's mouth hitting the ground, and immediately rising once more, attacking a dodging Ren with its snout.
As Ren took the hit, before landing in a crouch, the serpent would hiss aggressively, before circling him again, as he unleashed his weapons at the serpentine Grimm. Firing rapidly at the creature, he would then strike at the snake's snout, slashing at its head.
The Grimm recoiling from the attack, it would once again circle around the martial artist, before trying to bite him again. Ren would narrowly roll to the side, just in time to dodge the attack, before flipping over it, driving his weapons into the Grimm's head, pausing for a moment, very unaware of the other half of the serpent behind him.
Realizing the presence behind him, he would turn around to see the white half of the King Taijitu launching itself towards him. And he dodged it, landing just in time to see the serpentine prepare to attack him.
And as it approached him at almost-blinding speeds, he would run towards it, leaping onto the other head, using its body as a slide of sorts and firing at the other head. However, he would be unprepared for the other's sudden attack, as the white half would headbutt the green fighter, knocking him off as he dropped his weapons.
Ren was now only barely able to do anything, leaving him to merely raise his arms and distantly cry out an oddly-very-loud "No!" to the mouth of the black head.
Gripping on the front fangs of the colossal snake in his hands, his arms would pulsate a very soft pink, glowing dimly as he would grip the teeth firmly, pulling them out of the King Taijitu's mouth. Said action caused it to begin flailing all around the place, in an action that screamed of anger and pain.
And it retaliated that anger, the black half rushing towards Ren in an attempt to bite him, but not before he would spin to the side, stabbing a fang into its eye, causing it to blow up into a black mess of dust.
Wielding the fang in one hand, and one of his dual pistols in the other, Ren would prepare himself, as the white head would charge at Ren, making the same mistake as its other half. Ren would jump on top of the white head, before impaling the tooth of the black half into the body of the white half, causing it to howl.
He stood atop, finally defeating the gargantuan serpentine Grimm, and slipping his dual pistols back into his sleeves. And immediately, he found himself greeted by a strange and animal-like noise, as he looked up to see an upside-down Nora Valkyrie.
Ren chuckled softly, commenting, "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."
Nora could only boop Ren's nose, as he chuckled, leaving them to head to the relic zone.
As the Megid general held the Gansekiou Golem Wonder Ride Book in his hand, he would then open it, the engravings glaring back at him, before revealing the picture of a golem shrouded in darkness, staring back at him.
GANSEKIOU GOLEM!
岩石王ゴーレム！
Ganseki-ō Gōremu!
Immediately, from the book, multiple books would emerge, forming what appeared to be a human formation, before shattering, revealing what appeared to be a monstrous creation of beauty. Resembling the figure in the illustrations, a golem-like creature emerged from the shattered books, as it stared at its creator, who would approach it, with a small smile on his face, directing him to a new point of attack. The Emerald Forest, of course.
And as he took out a white blank Ride Book, he would hand it to the Megid, as it would grab it, the two phantom beasts chuckling madly.
Born from the corrupted manuscripts, the golem begins to exist...
破損した原稿から生まれたゴーレムが存在し始める...
Hason shita genkō kara umareta gōremu ga sonzai shi hajimeru...