(Ozpin)

"Here, these are the hunter reports for this week." His assistant said, putting a stack of papers on his desk. "And have I voiced my very clear displeasure of letting Arc and Team Cardinal remain in this school?"

Ozpin groaned, taking out his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Glynda. You've done so many times already."

"Then let me reiterate." She glared. "The five of them should be kicked out of Beacon in regards to what they've done. What you're doing could very well jeopardize Beacon's and your reputations."

"Glynda, we've been here before." He sighed deeply as he began going through the papers. "I'm giving them another chance to see if they can grow. I've already given them appropriate punishments."

"With all due respect, locking them to C-Rank Hunters is not an appropriate punishment, sir." She said. "And neither is the extra year or Arc's leader status being stripped away."

"Our hands are full as it is." He replied. "We can't afford to lose possible hunters. Sending them away could either drain any motivation they have or killed should they try to enter the guild at their age."

"So we leave them here?" Her eyes narrowed. "This could be detrimental to their growth. No one is willing to trust them anymore, Ozpin. Most students hate them."

"That's enough." He said firmly. "I've made my decision and you will not change my mind."

She scowled at him before huffing, obviously annoyed at him. From the moment he revealed that he's giving them all a chance, she's been colder to him and the students in question. He doesn't blame her though, as she gets attached to her students far too quickly, and her witnessing what they did made her detach herself from them.

She does not hate them per se, but she's far less willing to teach them and doesn't trust them as hunters anymore, which is also understandable. They could've killed many students and even themselves with that stunt of theirs, and while unwilling to kick them out, Ozpin had to at least punish them. Harshly.

So for the first punishment? They're currently stuck for one more year

And the second would be locking them to C-Rank hunters until after their graduation. Most Beacon graduates will range from A to the very rare SS Ranks, with very few B-Ranks, who usually have the lowest scores. The pay for C-Ranks is… quite low compared to the other ranks, and it could take them years to reach the next rank.

It really depends on how vigilant they are.

So the five of them, Jaune Arc and Team Cardinal are guaranteed to be the first-ever C-Rank graduates from Beacon. Low pay, a laughingstock to the masses and other hunters, and a very low chance of getting picked for special missions. Who would want a C-Rank when you can have an A-Rank?

Cardin and his team begged, bribed, and even tried to subtly threaten him for all his amusement, but with a single promise of making it even worse for them, they immediately backed away and "accepted" their punishment. Ozpin knew this won't the end of them, so he warned them that a single word of any of them causing trouble will get them kicked out, which set them straight.

Jaune, however, took the punishment with a nod and a salute, making Ozpin admire his spirit slightly more. He lacks the skill, smarts, and power of a proper hunter, but he at least has what most other hunters lack. The heart of one.

He admitted to his mistake and was willing to face the consequences, unlike most people, so Ozpin decided to be slightly more lenient, especially when he saw how much harder he was working.

As he went through the papers, he paused and frowned as he read a certain paragraph. An all familiar feeling in his gut made itself known as worry began to fill him.

"Glynda." He started. "A certain team did not report for six days now, and one of the members seems to be Taiyang Xiao-Long."

"What?" She turned to him, shocked. "Taiyang is missing?"

"The Hanged Forest." He nodded. "From what this says, he went there after reports of people going missing near it, yet neither he nor his team reported."

"A lack of signal?" She supplied, not quite as worried. "This isn't the first time a team went quiet for a little under a week, and the Hanged Forest is quite known to block scroll signals."

"Possibly." He agreed, then his eyes narrowed. "But I… have a bad feeling about this."

Ozpin wasn't exactly close with Taiyang, especially not when the latter lost Summer. Tai blamed him for her death and completely cut ties with him after he learned that Ozpin was the one who sent her on her mission. Getting back a crate of Stardust after a certain Grimm stole it.

Summer was… probably one of, if not the best student he's ever had. Aside from her incredible skill with her weapon, she perfected the power of the Silver Eyes, and that made even the strongest of Grimm fear her, so she obviously was the best bet to at least destroy the crate and not let it fall in Salem's or his hands.

While she succeeded, she, unfortunately, lost her life in the explosion. A large one in the dark continent that wiped out the entire mountain. Ozpin didn't want her to die, but Tai was convinced that he deliberately sent her on that "suicide mission".

Ozpin has seen this scenario far too many times, and simply accepted Tai's hatred without even trying to defend himself. He's seen it happen over and over, and every time he tried to at least explain himself, it never made a difference. He's honestly thankful that Qrow understood and forgave him, but that didn't stop the Scythe Wielder from losing himself in alcohol.

Even still, Ozpin did not hate Taiyang, for he too was his student. And even if he did, losing one of their more powerful hunters isn't something he's keen on letting. Even as the weakest member of Team STRQ, Taiyang was S-Rank level Hunter, and Ozpin will not lose someone so valuable.

Ozpin took his scroll and quickly sent a message to Qrow telling him to return. Taiyang and Qrow are close, so he should at least know about this. The search for the Summer Maiden can wait

"Glynda, contact the Guildmaster and see if she has any hunter to spare." He ordered. "Qrow should be here in four days, but we'll need a team to go looking for him now."

"...Understood." She nodded. "...Should I contact Reid Astera? He might be willing to lend a hand."

Ozpin paused for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No, not now. He's currently busy with the potion factory. We'll ask for his help once we are certain that this is serious."

"Of course."

"And…" He sighed. "Don't tell Ms. Xiao-Long about this either. We would worry her uselessly if this turns out to be nothing more than me being paranoid."

"Are you sure this is wise?" Glynda furrowed her brows. "I understand not wanting to worry her, but Taiyang is her father."

"No, no, we shouldn't let this weigh on her mind." Ozpin shook his head. "She's better off ignorant right now. We'll tell her once we discover what's happening."

"...Very well." She said, before leaving him alone in his office.

He wasn't sure what's happening as of now, but the feeling in his gut is not a positive one. He's been alive long enough to trust his instincts for things such as this, and it never failed him. Should Qrow arrive in Vale before Taiyang or his team report back, then something bad did happen to him. The mission was supposed to be three weeks at most, and even then, never reporting for a whole six days is quite worrying, as common as it is.

Ozpin hopes that whatever he's feeling is wrong…

(Ruby)

With a deep breath, she tightened her grip over her weapon before dashing at the smirking Reid, who had his hands on his hips. She swung Crescent Rose at him, making him easily dodge by twisting his body down. She quickly turned around and swung over and over, but he evaded all her strikes with ease.

Her eyes narrowed in mild annoyance as he flipped over a sweep, not even attempting to attack her as he goaded her with that annoying smug smirk of his. Ruby clicked her tongue and propelled herself with a gravity bullet, and even as fast as she is, she still couldn't land a single hit.

This is her third day of training, last day of the weekend, yet there was no difference to the previous times. Her training consisted of her trying to land a hit on him, but with his reflexes, she wasn't very lucky. There were certain times where she was close, but at that last second, he somehow slithered away from her strike.

She could've sworn she saw his eyes turn red those times…

And in all honesty? She was annoyed. Not at him, but at herself. True, Reid was someone who defeated a Titan, a real hero, but the difference was… disheartening. Though her resolve never faltered, in fact, she had more reason to become stronger now. If he was this strong, then she couldn't hope to protect him. She'll just get in his way.

So she needs to at least reach a level where she could give him a run for his money.

Though, the other thing that admittedly got under her skin was… well…

"Why won't you fight back?!" She scowled.

"You haven't given me a reason to~" He replied with a condescending tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her eyes narrowed and her grip tightened.

"Who knows~" He chuckled. "But I'll say that you're making this boring for me~"

With a growl, Ruby dashed with her Semblance, aiming the tip of her weapon at his head. He backed away, his face inches away from the strike, then ducked under a swing before flipping over another. He dodged and weaved everything she could throw at him as if he saw her attacks miles away.

What really grated on her nerves was when he closed his damned eyes.

Okay, that's it!

Ruby used her remaining Gravity rounds to gather momentum as she shot, gaining a distance. She used an entire cartridge along with her Semblance to run around the big training room, trying to gain enough speed so he couldn't react, but she knew that this wasn't enough.

As she changed her trajectory to rush him, she noticed that his eyes were crimson again, but she ignored that as she went on to slam the end of Crescent Rose on his head. While this is extremely dangerous, as in could split someone's head even with a full Aura dangerous, she knew he'd dodge it.

And as he did as she predicted, Ruby's grip tightened as she used the rod of her weapon to twirl around and kick him right in the face. He stood his ground and didn't get thrown way like how most people would, but that still made Ruby grin smugly.

"Got you!"

Suddenly, she was sent flying as her cheek felt in pain. She flipped and landed on her feet, her weapon thankfully still in her hands. She blinked away the ache, then paled as she saw Reid smirk darkly at her. That… doesn't look good for her.

"That you did…" He growled.

Said made her shiver, but not in fear. There was another feeling there she never quite felt before, but she couldn't really comprehend it as a pitch-black fist was right in front of her face. With her fast reflexes, courtesy of her Semblance training, Ruby managed to narrowly evade it.

The fist still hit the wall behind her, and the force of the punch created spiderweb cracks, making her eyes widen in shock. They...were underground. There's only earth and dirt behind that wall, and to generate such a force with only a punch is-!

Her shock did not prepare her for another strike right in the chin, and before she could realize what had happened, something hot and painful wrapped around her ankle before slamming her into the ground. She quickly got up, but then was kneed right in the face and was sent sprawling on the floor.

A part of Ruby really regrets asking him to fight back now…

She shook her head and got up, grimacing as she noticed how low her Aura is. She didn't get hit a lot, but she used her Semblance to hit him for more than an hour. That drained her a lot already…

Reid took his time and slowly walked towards her, both of his clenched fists look as if they were made of steel. They were pitch-black, and the reason Ruby could come up with is "Magic". Far more versatile than Aura it seems…

Fire, Water, Light, and now whatever this is. It's like he has many Semblances at once, which reminds her that she never saw his Semblance.

Reid is… way out of her league. She's still not sure how they just clicked, but she isn't complaining.

A certain thought made her smirk. Oh, she can't imagine what Yang's reaction would be, but Ruby is sure as heck gonna be as condescending as she can. Thought she could be smug about her relationships that never last over a month? Well, the "socially awkward" Ruby scored a hero!

Take that you big-boobed jerk!

"Focus!" His voice snapped her out of her trance, making her only barely dodge a hook.

She ducked under a jab and swung her Scythe upwards, but to her shock, he grabbed Crescent Rose by the blade and slammed it down before grabbing her face. A second later and a surge of flames sent her flying back without her weapon, ending the fight as her Aura was at its lowest.

"Alright, that's enough." He sighed. "What happened just now? You were doing so well."

"Ugh…"

"Well, at least you got much better than before." He said, kneeling down to give her a potion. "Come on, we'll take a break then continue for a few more hours."

She sat upright and drank the potion, feeling her Aura getting restored almost fully. She sighed and put the vial next to her as Reid made himself comfortable in front of her.

"So what have we learned today?"

"Uh… well… I was um…" He scratched the back of her head, unsure. "Too eager?"

"More like dangerously eager." He said. "I get it, I'm more of an offensive fighter myself, but being too aggressive isn't a good idea against opponents who are obviously better than you."

She nodded, listening attentively.

"Sometimes you need to get defensive and learn how your opponent fights before countering." He continued. "You were able to dodge most of my attacks, and should've kept that up until you were comfortable with my attack pattern and fighting style."

"But I got too impatient and tried to attack you before getting comfortable." She nodded again. "I… see what I did wrong. I just got too excited after hitting you the first time and well…"

"Nah, I get it." He shrugged. "Sometimes we don't have the luxury of studying opponents, so you're not fully in the wrong. I'm just surprised you lost focus so suddenly. What got you like that?"

"A-ah, well, it's nothing really." She tried to wave it off as she blushed slightly. "I was just thinking about stuff…"

Reid blinked then smirked widely, getting closer to her. "What kind of 'stuff'?"

"N-nothing…" She said timidly, not meeting his eyes.

"If it was nothing, then you wouldn't have lost focus, no?" He said cheekily. "C'mon, tell me~"

"It-it's really nothing…"

"Was it about me?"

"No!" She quickly replied, then realized how unconvincing that sounds. "I-I mean-"

He grinned, closing the distance between them, a few inches keeping them apart.

"W-well…"

It was strange, she thought. She wasn't even thinking of any excuse anymore because it might get him to stop his advances, and she doesn't want that. Instead, she turned to meet his blue eyes, and his lips met hers. She never got used to kissing like this, as much as she enjoyed it, so she let him take control. Contrary to how he fights, he gently embraced her as his hand went through her hair, deepening the kiss as she let out a small moan.

She almost voiced her disappointment when he broke it off, but that'll just give him more reasons to tease her. He held her hand and helped her up, smirking at her flushed face.

"We can do this sappy stuff once we're done." He said. "You got your hit, so I'm gonna start fighting back now, and I ain't gonna go easy on you."

"Um, yeah…" She mumbled, then remembered something she wanted to ask. "B-before we continue, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"It's stupid, but…" She hesitated, but asked anyway. "How do you deal with bullies?"

"Bullies? Ah, right…" He put his hands behind his head. "Personally, I'll just beat them up."

"I did that already, but it didn't work." She frowned. "In fact, it became worse. Am I… doing it wrong?

"...What do you think I mean when I say 'beat them up'?"

"Um, defeat them in combat class?" Ruby tilted her head.

"Oh, oh no no no." Reid chuckled. "I mean beat them up."

"...I'm not sure I follow."

"Beat the living fuck out of them." He shrugged. "Make them beg for forgiveness, send them to the hospital, make them fear you – that kind of stuff."

"W-what?!" Ruby was taken aback at the response. "No, I'm not gonna do that! That's… that's wrong!"

"In what way?" He raised a brow. "They're just bullies, no? Honestly, I think showing them that there's a bigger fish out there should push them away, and to do that, you need to make them regret messing with you."

"But- but that'll make me just as bad as them!"

"No, it won't?" This confused Reid. "Are you gonna start doing what they did? Target the weak and generally be an unlikable asshole?"

"N-no…"

"Then what's there to worry about? All you did was scare them away, and sometimes you need to take drastic measures to make it stick, otherwise, they'll just keep coming back."

"M-my powers shouldn't be used on other people." She weakly protested. "I want to protect, not hurt. I know they're bullies, but they aren't... criminals or Grimm…"

She didn't know how Reid would react. Hell, she didn't know he was so… violent? Hot-headed? He wasn't a bad person. She realizes that not everyone will have the same ideals or thought process as her, but he doesn't seem very… well, not as heroic as she thought he'd be.

Not there's anything bad with that. She still loves him anyway. She just didn't expect that kind of response.

He sighed deeply. "While I heavily disagree with that sentiment, I don't think I can convince you to believe mine either."

"...Sorry?"

"No, no, it's just simply how different we are." He shook his head, then smiled. "You're too nice to do what I'd do anyway."

She chuckled, feeling a little bashful. "Thanks…"

"Well, if you want advice that doesn't involve getting their shit kicked in…" He hummed in thought. "I guess being confident will work."

"Being… confident?"

"Well, do you ever think why bullies target you specifically?" He asked, making her shake her head. "It's because you look weak, or an 'easy target' to be exact. You looked too timid, too shy, too meek, and they thought they could take an advantage of you."

"Oh…"

"Not to say that shy means weak or anything, no." He said. "It's more like… how you hold yourself, I guess. If you show confidence – real confidence – they'll slowly lose their will to continue their shitty antics, and you'll even feel good about yourself."

"So I just… change how I walk?"

"Among other things, yes." He smirked in amusement. "Show them that you don't fear them anymore. Don't show weakness, not in the way you walk, talk, or act, and always hold your head up high. These little things are far more effective than you'd think."

Ruby paused as she listened to his advice, absorbing it like a sponge to water. She's… never shown them confidence, did she? Even when she defeated Palli in their matches, she never really did any of what Reid said. Maybe showing them that she's not afraid will work. If she didn't give them the reaction they wanted, then maybe they'll leave her alone.

"And hey, if you think you can't do it, always remember what you did." He added. "You killed demons, saved my life, and saved Remnant from total and complete annihilation, and what did they do? Nothing. You're better than them in every way."

Ruby blinked and grinned widely, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she was reminded of her incredible deeds. "Yeah, I'm better than them! I'm not gonna let them bully me anymore!"

"That's the spirit!" He grinned back, getting into his stance. "Now come at me!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Tomorrow was a school day, and at first, she was a little nervous, but now? Ruby started looking forward to it. She made a silent promise to herself and to Reid that she'll stop them from pushing her around, or even anyone.

She won't let herself be bullied, and won't let anyone else go through that either.

Screw Palli and her stupid friends.

Ruby has had enough.

(Reid)

The past few days training Ruby, I remembered that there's this dungeon I wanted to complete, the one where Tyrian and Hazel ambushed me. It's an Epic Dungeon, and I'm high level enough to actually enter it, but every time I remember that feeling when I got near it, it just made me… apprehensive? Not scared, more very uncomfortable.

Its presence was heavy, the pressure it let off made me fall to my knees, and at the time, it genuinely frightened me. It was like staring at someone I had no chance of beating, I guess.

And remembering that very obviously dangerous stuff made me actually start preparing for stuff. First, I had enough healing potions to heal an entire village, enough Aura and Mana potions that I'm probably never gonna run out, and a lot of stat increase potions. I even stacked up on unique potions like invisibility and phantom body.

I wanted to bring Golems with me, so I made a small building-based Golem in the shape of a box and filled it with ten Enhanced Steel-Dust Golems. Two Sabers with Fire Dust, two Brawlers with Lightning Dust, and three Rangers with Wind Dust. All of them are level 75, so they should be pretty useful in fights.

Of course, I also trained my enchanting, and turns out I was right. Leveling it up was as easy as leveling up Alchemy, and in three days of extensive practice, collectively around 24 in hours, I managed to level it up to 30. Thankfully, enchanted stuff can be upgraded with newer, better enchantments later on, so I don't really waste stuff by enchanting my strongest items.

I just added a 500 HP increase for my chest piece, 500 MP increase for my leggings, and 100 Fire Damage for my Gauntlets. Why fire? Because the Fire Blessing perk affects fire enchantments. It's fucking broken.

I also enchanted a newly bought white cloak with a speed increase. Not DEX, but simply a 15% movement speed boost. I'm not at the level of stat increase anyway.

But that's not all.

I experimented using the demon blood some more, and I managed to make a… special potion of sorts. I call it Demon Serum because it looks too badass to be called a normal potion, and because… well, it's not a normal potion. This is the first potion that has negative properties, and they're honestly worrying. It's why I'm only gonna use it in dungeons or when it's in an emergency.

Demon Serum – Tier 3

A magical injection made from the blood of demons that increases one's magical and physical capabilities, and even gives the user temporary demonic abilities, though, it is quite dangerous to use as well

Increases all stats by 75%, and all spells deal 50% more damage and gain an unholy variant for 3 minutes

MP and HP regen will be stopped for 3 minutes

Flaws will be x3 more prominent for 3 minutes

Powerful, but risky. The stopped regen is easy to deal with since potions, but the flaw thing is… bothersome. Battle Maniac will be way harder to control, and there's this question going through my head: Will Gamer's Mind stop the flaw from getting too dangerous? Because remember, it shares a subconscious, and brain dead me-

So just normal you then.

-will really believe I can take on someone way stronger than me, and I'll be in bloodlust basically the entire time. It's scary to think about it, but this is power, and you should never be afraid of your own power. I'll just not use it unless I was in a dungeon or really, really need to use it.

On the bright side, this kinda reminds me of Devil Trigger, but a lesser version of it, and I'm a fan of Devil May Cry, so why the hell not. I'm not gonna stop myself from getting a fucking Devil Trigger. Edgy or not, demons are badass.

When they're not invading the planet of course.

Nonetheless, I'm gonna need to use it anyway. The entrance creeps me the fuck out and I really don't want to die.

I take a deep breath then glance behind me, the Golems all standing together as I nod to myself. Roc is hidden behind a boulder, and I don't really think I need to do that since I'm pretty sure time stops whenever I'm in a dungeon, but why not. I'm being cautious as it is anyway.

I throw the key in and wait for the door to form. As it did, my Golems and I all enter through the door, the light blinding me for a few seconds before… A cave?

[The Fallen Empire of Poseidra]

Objective: Defeat Eero Delmar, The Frail Emperor of Poseidra

Bonus Objective A: Defeat the three advisors

Bonus Objective B: Find the treasure vault

Bonus Objective C: Kill all Serpent Guards in the city

Rewards: +20 levels in Water Magic, [Kingslayer] Title, 17K EXP, 17K Credits, 1 Gacha Token

Bonus Rewards A: +10 levels in Water Magic, Sea Stone, Tide Necklace, Staff of the Ocean, 15K EXP, 10K Credits

Bonus Rewards B: 2000 EXP, 50K Credits, [Treasure Hunter] Perk

Bonus Rewards C: 10K EXP, 10K Credits, [Only One Remains…] Perk, +5 levels in Water Magic

That's… a lot of rewards. I don't know who Eero is, and I sure as hell don't remember an empire called Poseidra, but from the rewards and the names, I'm guessing it's a water city dungeon of sorts. I'm some kind of a sea creature as well, so this is fine by me.

But where's the entrance? I'm in a damp cave, and the only thing I see in front of me is a small puddle… that's also really deep. I need to go in there, don't I? How the hell am I gonna bring my Golems with me? I can't just carry them, certainly not all ten Golems…

I guess I can bring three, four if I really push it. This is great, just fantastic. When I over-prepare for shit, this happens.

Goddamn it all…

(?)

It's been thousands of years since he's felt… that. More precisely, an overwhelming burst of negative emotions. As if millions of souls cried out in fear, rage, agony – and other emotions at the same time only to… disappear in the next instant.

Such a thing only happened once, and it was when his lords punished humanity for their transgressions. When they turned on their gods, lead by that wretched woman, only to be wiped out in an instant. He still did not understand why the gods gave humanity another chance, but what would he, a mere servant, know?

His mission was quite simple, and it was to keep the balance in the world. Should the Grimm become too powerful and threaten to push mankind to extinction, then he will help humanity. Should humanity break down all the pillars of darkness, then he'll descend down to wipe a large part of humanity out of the face of the world.

No side should become too powerful, and for many years, it stayed as such. In a constant battle for dominance, his brethren and mankind stood their ground and pushed back against one another.

Then, he felt that. He could still sense mankind alive, nothing changing, but that feeling… it reminded him of that day. But that wasn't it, for he felt dark and deplorable magic. Darkness that surpassed the Grimm's need to slaughter, unholy energy that even set him on guard, if only for a few seconds. He was sure the pillars felt it, as well as that despicable woman.

As it only exploded for an instant, none of them tried to investigate, nor did they care as much. They all needed to regain their lost magic, and she simply blinked it away. Even after many years, she did not get used to the semi-empathic powers yet it seems.

But he did not care.

Someone was messing with the natural order.

And while he did not quite know who it was – for the moment it happened, it clouded his vision – he knew that he should keep an eye out. Mankind is reaching places they're not supposed to ever reach, and it's his job to stop them before they bring the end to the world.

If someone were to end the world, it'll be him.

He stirred, opening his large red eyes as he stared at the world beneath him.

For what kind of servant lets others do his job for him?

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