A wolf walks the streets looking for stray lambs to devour and the Huntsman has left his post at the tower. When this tale ends only one of these legends will be left in power.
I forgot how difficult it was to write fight scenes when they encompasses a majority of the chapter and how difficult it is to get dialogue out when you only have one character in the scene. Especially since Ruby isn't the type of character to just start talking to herself without a decent prompt for it and even then it's mostly just her thinking out loud.
Disclaimer I do not own RWBY or Bloodborne both pieces are owned by there respective publishers.
Crescent Rose wasn't built to operate soaked in blood and with bits of its prey remaining lodged around the components. Grimm were no problem since they began dissolving after their deaths clearing up anything that could affect her weapon's performance however people tended to stick around after their deaths or at least their body parts did. Ruby felt bad at first for thinking ill of the dead until they started bother her even in death. Taking a few swings with the weapon Ruby tried to dislodge some of the gore that clung to her baby.
The journey was starting to take its toll on Ruby despite walking for an hour she felt no closer to her destination and the way the roads seemed to loop back on themselves made finding her way even tougher. A group of four walked up the street like a pack of wounded dogs. Dragging their weapons and barely lifting their heads until Ruby was close enough to them to elicit an attack. Approaching the group the first one sung at her with a chipped sword giving Ruby the chance to dodge underneath the blade and get between them. Bringing Crescent Rose back on her shoulder she swung it trying to catch all of them in the spiral of death.
The blade however got caught up on the third man lodged in his body halting all the momentum the blade had built up. The third man was dead on his feet, but Crescent Rose wouldn't budge letting the last living member of the group strike Ruby while she tried to pry her weapon free. The blow hit harder than a Beowolf and it reminded Ruby of the time she sparred with her sister.
With the impact Ruby tightened her grip on her weapons handle so when it sent her a few feet back it dislodged her weapon. Lifting Crescent Rose victoriously above her head Ruby waited as her target approached. As soon as he was within reach she swiftly brought the scythe down trying to bisect the man. Ruby's excitement turned to annoyance when the scythe got stuck about half way down between his gut and chest forcing Ruby to spend the next minute trying to free her weapon.
"I might have to do some work on you later. I definitely didn't design you with people in mind." Ruby said as she pulled put a rag from her pack and tried removing some of the blood that clung to the edge. Ruby tried getting her weapon to transform into its compact form only for it to stop half way before going back into a scythe. "And I can't make you more convenient to carry around just great."
Ruby wondered how many lambs she killed so far in this city. She felt like keeping count would be the least she could do for the nameless prey, but the more she killed the less she cared. It got to the point where she started wondering how many were left instead of how many she claimed. After all a wolf needs to sharpen its claws before it can hunt stronger prey. Even if she couldn't find any worthy prey so far it didn't mean there weren't any in the city.
Climbing the nearest building Ruby looked out over the town trough her scope for anything of interest. She spotted pyres bellowing out smoke in what could only be the town square. The pyres seemed to be crowding the square with only about five feet between each one and once Ruby focused in on them she saw that people had been strapped to the stakes.
Looking around the area she spotted a large cloaked figure walk out of the smoke and look around the area. He held an axe in his left hand and what looked like a bladed gauntlet on his right. Lining the crosshairs up on his head Ruby got ready to pull the trigger when he turned and looked directly at her. His eyes looked like that of a predators and it shocked Ruby causing her to pull the trigger. The man tilted his head to avoid the bullet and smiled as he held up his axe pointing it at Ruby in challenge as she jumped off the roof for shelter.
Ruby felt her heart pounding in her chest a new surge of adrenaline filling her. A culmination of both fear and excitement for what she just saw. Whatever was standing in the town square had a mind and seemed strong enough to put up a fight. Worthy prey for her to hunt tonight and it was on her way to the comm tower so Ruby happily ran through the town trying to find a way to the town square. Ruby was ignoring all the lambs she passed on the street as she was trying to find the man quicker.
Coming up on an entrance to the area Ruby saw the two burning stakes lining it like torches on a doorway. The remains were still smoking even if after lives have long since ended and Ruby was nearly mesmerized by the way the flames danced around the bodies. Refocusing on her objective she slowly walked towards the center of the town seeing the man walk out of the smoke in front of her.
Ruby could now see his equipment clearly from his worn attire to his weapons. The axe was much larger than a usual lumber axe with it was clearly designed to hunt Grimm. An intricate pattern lined the handle and ran over the axe head reminding ruby of a tree's roots. The gauntlet on his left hand had a worn silver color to it having been faded over the years of use. Two sickly hooked blades arced from the gauntlet extending about one and a half feet out from his hand. His entire appearance reminded Ruby of Huntsman from the stories she was read as a kid, heroes who wielded an axe to protect people from the Grimm that lived in the surrounding forests.
"Another wolf has wondered into my town and seeks to hunt others." He picked the axe up holding it in one hand as he pointed to Ruby with his bladed gauntlet. "You will burn just as all the others have once I'm through gutting you."
He leaped forward closing the distance in the blink of an eye causing Ruby to panic at how fast her adversary could move. Rolling out of the way his axe smashed into the ground causing the stones to fly in every direction. The makeshift shrapnel didn't cause any damage, but once the dust cleared Ruby couldn't find the man. Franticly looking around all she could see around her was the smoke rolling off the pyres.
"Stop hiding you coward and fight me." Ruby yelled as she swung away in a direction. Slashing one of the stakes in half caused the lumber to fall onto to kindling killing the flame as embers flew skyward. Ruby felt something slam into her back and flew through another stake shattering it as she slid to a stop.
"I will end you through any means necessary you beast." The Huntsman said as he walked over to Ruby axe in hand to deliver the finishing blow.
Seeing him approach Ruby quickly stood up and charged him again hoping to land a decisive blow to alter the course of battle. Sparks flew as Ruby passed him their weapons glancing against each other in the exchange. Trying to end it Ruby fired Crescent Rose to accelerate her back towards her opponent with the same result as before as weapons sparked. Ruby was emptying her clip flying back and forth trying to land a single hit on the Huntsman.
With each pass the Huntsman altered his strikes getting a feel for Ruby's speed and honing in on his target. On the final pass he deflected Crescent Rose with his axe and ran his gauntlet across her side. Ruby dove through the smoke trying to find some cover no avail as the Huntsman followed after her. Ducking the axe that was aimed to decapitate her Ruby continued running in hope of distancing herself from the man.
"What's the matter little wolf? What happened to all that energy you had moments ago?" Getting no response the man started dragging his axe across the ground trying to put fear into his mark. "I will have your head you damned monster."
Ruby was clutching at her side she couldn't remember the last time she felt such a burning sensation. Looking at her hand she saw it covered in a crimson liquid. Taking a moment she realized that she was bleeding from the gash she received across her abdomen. She almost forgot how painful it felt to have an injury actually draw blood after such a long time of fighting with tournament rules. Ruby felt like she was drowning with so much on the line and her life span currently being determined by how long she could run.
Everyone was right, Ruby thought. I'm in over my head and I can't win this fight. Knowing that losing was inevitable Ruby turned her mind to finding a way to survive.
Spotting her exit she reloaded her riffle and flew out of the town square and through a second story window of a nearby building. Landing in what looked like a living room Ruby rapidly looked around for the exit when two blades punctured the brick wall and hooked themselves to the structure. The steady sound of what could be best be described as a fishing line being reeled in got louder and louder as Ruby ran down the hall. She heard the wall being smashed through behind her as she leapt out a window and out onto the street below.
Ruby was being hunted and she now knew how dreadful it felt to have something so powerful coming after her. This wasn't just some beast that was after her it had a mind and knew the environment around it. It was slowly forcing her into a corner and Ruby knew it was happening as she took each turn. What she needed was a playing field she had the edge in and some time for her plan to work.
Looking at an apartment complex Ruby busted down the door and began rapidly climbing the stairs as fast as she could. Making it to the roof she looked out over the city seeing just how high up she was. Reaching into her back pouch she pulled out a metal bel and she began ringing it. Dropping the bell Ruby used both her hands to clutch at her head as she screamed out in pain from what was happening. It felt like something was being ripped from her soul and was using a drill to head to do it. The feeling slowly subsided and Ruby knew that any chance of the Huntsman not knowing her location was gone once she screamed to the heavens her location.
Looking down she saw the Huntsman aim his gauntlet at the roof before the blades flew out hooking into the building. Ruby tried firing at him only for the Huntsman to block the shots with his axe. Smashing through one of the lower floors windows Ruby knew she was stuck waiting for her target to make an appearance. She didn't have to wait long as she heard shatter glass on the side followed by him leaping onto the roof.
"Tired of running little wolf?" He asked as Ruby slowly backed away from him and towards the edge.
"Only one of us is walking away from this fight." Ruby responded readying Crescent Rose as she felt something resonate inside of her. She grabbed at her own side feeling the sting of the injury renew its self.
"I'm going to enjoy throwing your copse on the fire after everything you've put me through." Fear filled Ruby's eyes as the he approached her. Not even raising her weapon to defend herself he knew that his prey had surrendered itself to death. "Any last words monster?"
"Dunstan," The name meant nothing to the Huntsman, but the name did hold significance to the Hunter standing behind him as an explosion slammed into the Huntsman's back. Crumpling to the ground the Huntsman screamed out as the Hunter's hand pierced his flesh trying grab or damage anything vital. While his hand was still buried in the Huntsman the Stake Driver primed another attack and drew back the stake before launching forward with an explosion violently forcing the huntsman off his hand and the building.
Falling towards the ground the stunned Huntsman could only look up in shock as the red cloaked girl leaped off after him firing away with her riffle. Each bullet stung and kept him from moving midair as the impacts shook his body.
Ruby hooked her scythe into the side of the building stopping her decent as the Huntsman continued downwards until he slammed into the ground breaking through the street and into the sewer system. The road crumbled inwards as debris fell into the newly made hole.
"You okay down there?" Dunstan asked looking over the edge of the roof to see Ruby hanging onto her scythe.
"Yeah I'm fine!" She yelled back up as she jumped in through a nearby window. "I'll be up in a minute!" finding the stairs Ruby walked back up to the roof to find Dunstan looking over the edge inspecting the damage they just caused.
"Quite the beast you found here Ruby. I didn't know the plague had reached this kingdom yet."
"Wait you mean the plague you told me about is this." Ruby said doing a sweeping motion with her arm towards the town below.
"Well an early stage of the plague just give it a month or two and you'll get Darkbeasts and other such beings wondering the streets." Dunstan could now see Ruby and all the slight changes she had gone through. "What happened to you Ruby?" he asked with some concern in his voice.
"You remember when you warned me about the crippling bloodlust that some Hunters have, well surprise." Ruby said with an uncomfortable laugh at the end.
"How bad are we talking here?"
"I murdered a small group of people while unconscious then tried to drink there blood when I came to." Ruby sheepishly replied. "I then sought out stronger prey to hunt and that man was what I found." The word 'prey' almost felt natural at this point as if what she hunted would always be below her no matter how strong they were.
"It shouldn't be that bad yet." Dunstan said thinking back on every other blood addled Hunter he faced and the reasons they fell. Once a Hunter was stable though it took something quite drastic to alter them either from repeated exposure or finding something much worse. Dunstan them remembered a quality all Hunters shared despite coming from different backgrounds something that every workshop made sure of before performing the transfusion in the hopes of creating new hunters to aid them in pushing back the scourge.
"Dunstan, hello are you okay because you're kind of zoning out." Ruby waved her hand in front of his face trying to pull him from thought.
"Ruby how old are you?"
"I've been told I'm very mature for my age"- Ruby paused for a moment thinking over everything she had done so far with her two semesters at Beacon –"at times."
"Please tell me you're over seventeen."
"Why does my age matter?"
"You don't fill a glass freshly crafted from the oven with water the vessel will break from the sudden change while it's trying to stabilize." Dunstan explained while Ruby looked blankly at him trying to wrap her head around the analogy. "You're possibly still growing and changing on a chemical and physical level. Throw in some beast blood and watch as your body destroys itself from the sudden changes."
"Why is this happening now shouldn't this have happened when I was a baby."
"People aren't normally born with the blood unless the mother is a Hunter and as for the bad timing my guess is that a new Hunt is coming and kicking the plague into gear. You being exposed to more of the stuff certainly isn't helping the matter any."
"Is there any way to reverse this or stop it from getting worse?"
"Word of advice never drink your prey's blood or bath in it. Too much of the stuff will turn you into a beast more fearsome than you can imagine."
"What makes you say that?"
"Firsthand experience I've seen it happen to others before and Hunters always turn into the most fearsome beasts when turned. Also it's just plain unhygienic to bath in blood." Ruby laughed at the last reason Dunstan gave.
"So there's no way to reverse it then?"
"We either stop you from fighting until your body adapts to the changes it's undergoing something I don't think you'd agree with or you reinforce your body and force it to adapt to the change." Dunstan said wondering just how high Ruby's blood echoes count was and if he was still collecting them if he was disconnected from the dream.
"Got it I'll start doing pushups in the morning and go on jogs with Yang." Ruby said pleased that the solution was so simple.
"Not that kind of reinforcement that would take far too long. You're going to visit the doll and have her help you."
"I'm not sure she can help me she seems a bit frail."
"Next time you talk to her just ask her to help you and she'll take care of it." Ruby looked at him with doubt in her eyes over what Doll could do for her. "Just trust me on this she's the reason I'm as good as I am."
"That can wait until I'm done here. Can you help me reach that tower in the distance?" Ruby pointed to the comm tower.
"Sure after all you paid the price to bring me here its only right I see it through. What happened to your team by the way?" Not having entire team around Ruby Dunstan feared the worse with the plague abound.
"I left them behind at a safe house. I don't want blood on their hands from trying to protect me."
"Good call on your part the plague spreads though blood and if they started killing they would more than likely slowly perish just as this town is. So ready to head out then, I figure this will take about two hours maybe three if we encounter any resistance?"
"You mind if I talk to you about everything that's happening first"
"Sure, can't have a clouded mind while we're on the job anyway usually leads to some amateur mistakes." Dunstan sat down knowing that this would take a while.
"How do you deal with everything that you've done? Every time I stop fighting my mind clears up I start remembering everything I did to get here and it scares me that I can so easily take another's life." Ruby said as she sat down joining Dunstan. The killing high she had been running on finally fading from the lack of recent fuel.
"That fogginess you're experiencing won't last once your body adjusts to these new sensations so it's best we work this out while the burdens still relatively light. For me whenever I kill those afflicted with the scourge I feel like I'm giving them peace from the plague. Since there's no cure they will only grow stronger and hurt others as long as they continue to live. So I save them by releasing them from that coffin of flesh."
"So I need to find a reason to kill them. What if I don't want to kill? What if I just want to run away and complete the job?" Ruby said nearly pleading for a way out of having to kill others.
"Then you are responsible for every person killed or harmed by the ones you let get away. As Hunters we sacrifice the few for the many even if we are some of those few. We keep the plague at bay as best we can and burden ourselves so others can live their lives. It's not fair and this path often leads to our own ruin, but would you rather have this job or let another take your place?"
"I just don't want to kill people it makes me feel like a monster. As if I'm no better than the Grimm I kill."
"I once met someone like you on my travels he saw those infected with the scourge as humans even once they had fully turned into beasts. He relinquished his title as a Hunter and abandoned the oath we take to fight the scourge of beasts. Taking up residence atop a church he tried to protect all the beasts that walked the quarantined city. He would kill any Hunter who approached and in the end I face him atop that church killing him with my cane."
"Why did you kill him? Couldn't you have just left him and the people alone?"
"I was told to find a chalice hidden in the depths of old Yharnam and even if I spared him I would have had to return to claim his life once I became a Hunter of Hunters. He abandoned his oath and sided with beasts killing any Hunter that approached him it's my job to put down any who stray too far from the path as to protect others from them."
"That sounds sad having to fight people who used to be allies and friends."
"It's a thankless job, but if I don't do it who will? This was never a simple task and I refuse to let others risk their lives when I can do it in their stead."
"And the part about me being a monster?" Ruby asked wondering what advice he would give compared to Yang and the others.
"Ruby the titles Hunter and Huntress both hold a strong meaning to you. The value you place in such titles is up for you to decide. Let others say what they will it is ultimately up to you to decide whether or not to put any value into what they are saying." Dunstan almost felt proud for managing to give some advice to Ruby.
"So I should just ignore it then?"
"Have faith that your friends will be there for you when you need them and if they still think you're a monster it's high time for some new friends."
"Thanks I needed to hear something like that from you." Ruby said as she sat up and starched her legs getting ready for the rest of their journey.
"Remember Ruby a hunter is never alone, besides I can't have my best student dying on her first hunt." Dunstan said standing up and looking out over the city.
"I'm your only student."
"Doesn't change the fact that you're my best, besides once this night is over we can try to deal with that bloodlust problem."
"Alright then lets head out" Ruby was about to jump off the building when Dunstan stopped her.
"You still have your scroll on you." Dunstan said motioning to Ruby's side.
Taking it off of her belt Ruby held it up curious as to why Dunstan would mention it when she remembered how Yang and the others had always managed to find her whenever she ran away or was separated. "What should I do?"
"Whatever you want to. They're friends so what you do to either aid or hamper them is your choice alone. "Ruby looked at her scroll then back to Dunstan before she made her decision. Tossing the scroll into the air Ruby bisected the device with her scythe removing any chance of her team following her.
"I hope this is the right decision." Ruby said as she used Crescent Rose to descend from the building safely.
"I hope so too." Dunstan said under his breath as he turned around towards the stair case.
Heads for everyone this arc is coming to a close so only expect a few more chapters in the Asylum arc. I'm mostly saying this since the end of this arc is in sight for me and I'm dying to get our characters back to Beacon for some more light-hearted stuff. Don't get me wrong I'm loving the progress happening in Asylum, but it's starting to take it's toll and I only have one more boss fight in mind for this town.
Thanks for tuning in this week and I hope you'll enjoy next weeks installment of Hunter to Huntsman.