Chapter Twelve: Salem's Prowess
The battle took place in the construction of an additional wing to the school, girders lining the area and making the area look unfinished. Glynda looked at this structure, analyzing it, seeing how she could use it to her advantage.
"You may pick a weapon that we have taken," Salem gestured to a display holding quite a few weapons, from maces to swords, bows to flails, ball and chain weapons, bo staffs to katanas to nun chucks to sais. All of them were in very good condition, looking as if they had just been made the previous day.
"I will use my riding crop. That is all I will need."
"Very well," Maria couldn't help but notice the pause in Salem's voice. Perhaps she didn't expect Glynda not to take one. Regardless, the two climbed up to the girders.
"You are the only one besides Hazel and Watts to see such a thing, but you shall see my Grimmlord Trait," Salem took a deep breath, her body glowing as a red crystal, shaped like a blade, emerged from her chest, glowing with a dangerous color. There was a smaller one on the back, almost like it had been impaled through her. "This is how I possess the ability to manipulate gravity, my Grimmlord Trait. Witness what no mortal has born witness to before and never will again."
Glynda looked at the crystal, feeling a strange calm. She could feel no bloodlust from Salem, no desire to fight. She tabled that feeling, her desire to not let the Grimmlord pick up on her feelings. She stood on the girder. After thirty seconds, Salem jumped up. The blonde looked down at Glynda, staring into her eyes.
"We shall begin," Salem moved back, holding her hand out, Glynda moving toward her. The Aura master used this momentum to kick off Salem, sending a short burst of Aura through her t cause her to flinch. It wasn't much, the momentum and impact small, but it was enough to stun the leader of the Grimmlords. Salem clutched her shoulder, glaring at Glynda.
"Still no bloodlust. This can't be normal," Glynda's eyes narrowed as she jumped down to a lower level of the girder. She summoned her Aura to her riding crop, concentrating on the enemy she faced. As her Aura resonated with the energy Salem contained, she struck, a solid blow to Salem's arm. There was a resounding crack of her crop, the swing connecting solidly as Salem's arm exploded.
The Grimmlord gave a yell of pain, dropping to her knees and looking up to Glynda with a glare. She said nothing, leaping up toward Glynda, who levelled a kick to her throat that knocked her back, Aura coursing through her body.
"This was far too easy," Glynda muttered, looking down at the Grimmlord. "Your compatriots put up much more of a fight. But, perhaps their undying loyalty was to your ideals rather than your power."
But, there was something off about Salem. Her blonde hair seemed amiss. Glynda, being one with blonde hair herself and thus used to seeing different colors in hair, easily picked up on this. Salem's hair fell to the ground, landing in front of Maria.
"A wig?" She picked it up. "But, if that's not Salem's real hair… look out Coach!"
Glynda felt the presence just an instant before it made contact with her. Salem's hand grabbed her, the force of her gravity ability crushing Glynda's shoulder. A genuine cry of pain ripped free from her lungs, the first time Maria had heard her in actual pain.
"N-No wonder there was no bloodlust," Glynda turned to face the monster head on, wounded shoulder and all. "She didn't intend to fight fair."
"You Aura wielders and your honor!" Salem laughed, landing a solid punch to Glynda's jaw. "I can't believe you fell for that shit! I mean, talk about a bleeding heart. Your bleeding heart is going to be the death of you. But, for all the trouble you both have caused, I'll make this last a bit."
Maria knew this would be over if she didn't do something, but there were several Grimm in her way. She attempted to fight through them, but her focus kept returning to Glynda.
The Aura master, for her part, clutched her shoulder in an attempt to shove her Aura into it to heal. Her riding crop was still clutched in her injured hand. She knew she had to make sure that she survived this. Maria wouldn't be able to win this by herself, even if she did manage to take out Salem.
Salem stepped closer, cruel and victorious smile painted on her face. Glynda could see the distortion of gravity as she held up her hand, the crystal in her chest glimmering in the moonlight. The dangerous eyes of that Grimmlord were far more terrifying than anything else Glynda had seen, but she showed no fear. Her shoulder had healed enough to be useable, allowing her to swing her crop at Salem. Salem dodged, allowing Glynda to swing around with a kick to her face.
Unfortunately for her, Salem smacked the kick away before the Aura could travel through and into her. The Grimmlord stalked closer, grabbing Glynda by the shirt, her gravity ability crushing Glynda's ribs into her chest. With one last cry of pain, Glynda coughed blood onto Salem, who licked it up with glee.
She tossed Glynda to the girder, stomping on her leg to break it. The single kick and the snap it produced could be heard by Maria, who felt sick to her stomach as she heard it. Glynda was barely conscious at this point, only able to look up as Salem kicked her to the ground. Since they weren't too high up, Glynda's body was able to tumble to the ground without much further injury. But, from even a glance, Maria could tell she had multiple fractures in all her limbs.
Maria ran over to her coach's body, holding it. She could feel her Aura fading, but she was still alive.
"Coach, speak to me!" She shouted, feeling tears once again brimming in her eyes. Her distraction proved to be a problem, though, as Salem dropped to the ground, levelling a kick to her head that sent her crashing into the wall of the school. Her Aura was weakened after her fight with Hazel, so she now suffered a bleeding head wound and several broken ribs. She limped out to face Salem, who held Glynda suspended with her gravity ability over the school's bonfire pit. Maria wasn't sure why the school had that, but it was super old, so whatever. The pit had huge spikes at the bottom. A rope was tied around her broken arms to keep her in place.
"Years ago, witches were burned at the stake," Salem spoke as if it was a casual conversation over tea. "I figured I would bring back the same tradition."
"Salem, you bitch!" Maria shouted, running as fast as her injured body would allow, the pit in between her and Salem.
"Oh, don't think I've forgotten you, Maria Rose," Salem cleared the gap in one jump, standing behind Maria and kicking her into the fire pit. A hundred feet above the ruined pit was a small metal platform. Maria grabbed this, noticing that Glynda was just above her. She hauled herself up, feeling her ribs to be even more broken than before.
Salem landed on the platform as well. "I still owe you a painful death for killing Watts and Hazel after all."
"You won't get away with this!"
"Oh, that's cute. You really think you have any sort of chance to stop me? Face it, Rose, you're on your last legs. Your Aura has to be pretty weak now and those two kicks I dealt you damaged you quite a bit."
Salem reached under Glynda's top, grabbing the Stone from her possession. She held it up, looking at it.
"I've waited four—no five thousand years for this moment!" The look on her face was one of manic glee as she looked at the stone. "With this, I shall become the ultimate lifeform, unsurpassable by any being past, present, or future!"
"You'll have to kill me first!" Maria leapt into the air, kicking Salem in the head. Salem made no movements, simply grabbing Maria and crushing her leg. She didn't need any gravity manipulation, she just used her raw strength to crush the Rose's leg. Maria shouted in pain as she fell to the ground.
"Don't get in over your head, girl. I've learned from countless lifetimes how to obtain this stone and I shall use it to become a true god!"
"As long as I draw breath, I will stand in your way," Maria balanced on her good leg, summoning the last of her Aura to mend her broken bones. She concentrated on Salem, her eyes locked as she looked at Glynda.
"She'll be fine for now," Salem taunted. "I'll deal with her after I've dealt with you. That fire in your eyes is the most problematic in my conquest and I must deal with it accordingly."
With that, Salem picked up a shard of metal, her gravity manipulation crushing it to a point and forcing it toward Maria like a bullet. Maria jumped to dodge, making a run toward Salem, summoning any of her last dregs of Aura. Salem jumped to avoid the attack, Maria grabbing the rope holding Glynda thanks to her distraction. A kick to her spine knocked her off the platform, dangling in the air over Glynda. She pulled the portion of the rope holding Glynda up toward her, trying to save her coach.
"You had me fooled, but it ends here." Salem looked at her, her hands clasped behind her back, crystal glowing as if a candle was inside of it. "Now, if you make one more move, I'll cut the rope and send her to her doom. But, if you allow me to kill you, I'll let her live. Once I'm done with this, I will have no fear of even your Aura."
Maria growled, didn't want to compromise. But, now, she had no choice. Like with that hot girl on the bridge, she couldn't just let the bad guy get away with it. Maria made no movement as Salem came up to her, raising the two of them up with her powers.
"Such a pain to deal with aura wielders. They always have to hold on to the very end." Salem said. "Now, what will you do? Will you stand still?"
"Fine," Maria stood still, allowing Salem to come close. Her gravity powers distorting the air around her left hand, Maria waited until she was within reach, whipping out Life and Death with a motion nearly uncaught.
"So, you brought such a childish weapon with you to this fight," Salem laughed. "I had thought you for a better warrior than that."
"Well, listen here, bitch," Maria swung the two weapons in a wide arc. "I've been waiting to use this to crack open some Grimmlord skulls since I first tried it out. And, now I'm going to get just that chance. My life before now led me to this point, to stop you here and now."
With some renewed vigor, Maria began swinging, a few drops of Aura coming into the blades with each swing, just enough to keep her from completely running out. Salem weaved in and out of the strikes like she was made of liquid matter, Maria unable to land a hit on her.
One particular swing embedded itself in the platform, unable to be pulled out.
The Grimm looked down, beginning to pour into the pit to kill them, but a bright light shone over them, evaporating all of them. Salem and Maria looked on in shock as from above the pit stood someone that Maria was especially glad to see.
"You utter fools!" Polendina gave the Atlesian salute, two large lights strapped to her back. "Atlesian science is the greatest in the world!"
"Even though it's our technology," Raven sighed from right next to her.
"Salem, we will annihilate you in the name of the fatherland!" Polendina pointed, cackling like a madman. Salem, however, was sheltered by the platform's roof and thus was unaffected by the blast.
"Miss Raven, isn't that Maria's mother down there!?" Fiona pointed at Glynda. Raven looked down, gasping in horror at the sight of Glynda. She couldn't see the full extent of the damage, but she could tell it was pretty bad.
"My gods, you're right. She needs medical attention stat!"
"You need to tell Maria!" Robyn said, pointing at Maria.
"This isn't my place," Raven was conflicted.
"Well, tell us the story," Fiona begged. "I mean, you only told us bits and pieces, but we want to know the full story."
"Very well, children," Raven sighed. "But, this is none of our business, so don't breathe a word of this to Maria."
"Right," The two children nodded.
"Okay," Raven said. "The story starts fifty years ago.
"Maria's grandfather, Taiyang Rose took in a child after the destruction of the boat that she and Summer, Maria's grandmother were taking. However, he couldn't take in the child and care for his own, so he asked Lionheart to take care of her."
"Lionheart?" Fiona asked. "That crazy guy that Maria shot with a machine gun?"
"Well, that explains the bill she gave me for a café damage… But, yes, that Lionheart. He raised her in the ways of Aura. Now, Maria's father, Carmine Rose II was a brilliant man in his own right. He didn't have Aura abilities, but he most certainly had the potential for them. Had he trained, he may have become an Aura master rivalling Summer Rose. But, he chose to join the Patch Air Force to help his country. And, what a brilliant pilot he was."
"What happened?" Robyn chimed in.
"Have I told you anything about Cinder Fall?"
"Only that she wasn't nice."
"She was the purest of evils I've ever encountered. She was destroyed by Summer Rose, but she gave up her own life in the process. Well, when we encountered her, she had made several Ghasts, or creatures created by Grimm. We thought we had destroyed them all, but one escaped. Now, this one was more clever than the rest, and he used his smarts to hide his presence. He never left traces, never made more of himself, blended into society. Well, he happened to be a colonel at the Patch Air Force."
"I don't like where this is going," Fiona covered her eyes.
"Well, Carmine Rose II discovered this. While he didn't have Aura abilities, he most certainly had paid attention to the stories of that day fifty years ago. He discovered the Ghast's secret. But, before he could escape and tell us, the colonel found him. With no Aura training, he couldn't have defended himself. But, the worst part was when Glynn Rose, his wife found out. She rushed down to the base, eliminating the monster. But, she was always rash and she was seen. She was labelled as a traitor. But, we managed to sneak her out, changing her name to Glynda Goodwitch."
"That's… that's so sad," Fiona sobbed.
"Indeed," Raven looked down at Maria, standing in between Salem and Glynda, one of her blades embedded into the platform. "But, hopefully, Maria can do it. It cannot be anything other than fate that these two have reunited once again. Colonel Polendina, Maria needs your help!"
"I'm working as best I can!" Polendina called back, attacking Grimm with the lights. "I'm being held up by these Grimm! There's thousands of them!"
"Hurry!" Raven stood in her position with the children, regretting not having been firmer with them about staying with Tai. If only Vernal were here. She'd have been able to get them to stay.
The Colonel was trying to defend them and herself from the Grimm, but they seemed to be innumerable, swarming them from all sides.
"Where did they all come from?!" Polendina shrieked, turning up the lights on full blast. "Men, overcharge! We must destroy them all! Not one is to be left alive!"
"Miss Raven, you have to tell Maria!" Robyn shouted. "She's going to die!"
"I can't," Raven looked down at Maria. "That's up to Glynda now."
Maria swung her remaining blade at Salem, wild abandon as she made herself look like a veritable tornado of blade and chain. Salem was still moving around the blows, but seemed to be doing so less.
Maria seemed confused, not sure why she wasn't pressing the attack. Her fears were confirmed when Salem moved forward and delivered another blow to Maria's chest. Maria coughed out more blood, dropping to her knees. Salem stood over her, a triumphant look in her eyes as she stared down at her final opponent.
"You've lost, Maria Rose. And, now, I shall take my revenge for Watts and Hazel."
"Your next line is "With this, the Aura Tribe is destroyed."" Maria muttered, a cough coming from her lips and blood splattering once again onto the ground.
"With this, the Aura Tribe is destroyed!" Salem shouted, hand raised with the distortion of gravity, her eyes widening as she realized what had happened. With one fluid motion, Maria pulled on the chain holding Life and Death together, moving forward and tripping Salem. The Grimmlord caught herself, but Maria used that moment and her momentum to flip up, bringing her foot up for a devastating kick.
The kick connected, Maria's breathing sending a blast of Aura, the last of her reserves, into the kick, shattering the crystal rose petal in Salem's chest. The shriek of pain from the Grimmlord caused all eyes to turn to her. Salem stood shakily, the physical trauma of losing her crystal hurting her badly. Rage contorted her features as Maria stood on shaky legs, still standing to fight.
"You will die here and now," The Rose panted heavily. The punch she landed didn't do anything, but with one discreet movement, she yanked the chain, the blade coming free. It embedded itself into Salem's back, allowing Maria to pull it, sending the Grimmlord toppling over the edge. She stared down, watching as Salem fell into the firepit, being impaled by some of the metal poles scattered around the floor. She didn't move, lying face down as if dead.
With one last blast, Polendina had managed to clear enough Grimm to reach the pit. She jumped to where Maria was, looking down.
"Polendina," Maria panted, giving a cocky salute. "Good to see you back in one piece."
"And you as well, Maria Rose," Polendina's salute was one of honor and respect. "You would make a fine Atlesian soldier. But, for now, we must deal with the filth at the bottom of this pit."
"I'll get Glynda up, you do that," Maria looked up, trying to find a safe way back up the walls of the pit."
"Very well," Polendina laughed. "Get some rest, my friend, we shall discuss this over breakfast when we have cleaned up."
"I'll hold you to it."
With a nod, Polendina jumped down to the base of the pit. Maria found a rope, tossing it up and fastening Glynda to it. She weakly pulled the two of them up, having to take many breaks due to her Aura being weakened (more like empty). With an extreme effort, she pulled them over, Raven running over and helping her pull Glynda over to a safe place.
"I'm so glad you're both safe," Raven held Maria and Glynda tight. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you both."
"You've got some explaining to do," Maria mumbled. "Particularly about this photo."
"I'll tell you later, I promise. Let's just clean up this mess first."
Maria didn't want to take that answer at first, but she really had no choice, nodding and laying back.
"Well, well, Salem," Polendina stood over the fallen Grimmlord. "You've caused a mess in the fatherland. Look at that gaping, ugly Aura wound in your back. Well, I'll make sure you are no longer a threat to us. I told you, you utter fool! Atlesian science is the greatest in the world!"
With that, she turned on the lights once again, shining them with full power onto Salem. But, as the light struck her, the blonde Grimmlord looked at Polendina, a familiar mask on her face with an even more familiar gem placed inside of it.
"N-No!" Polendina tried to smash the lights, but it was too late. Salem's body shot up into the air, landing outside the pit. Polendina quickly climbed back up, looking at the prone body that had once been in the pit.
"Wh-What was that?!" Raven exclaimed. "Why is she here?!"
"I-I didn't see her put on the mask…" Polendina was mumbling like a madman. "I didn't see her put the stone in it… We are all doomed."
"Wh-What happened?!" Raven exclaimed. "What was that just now?!"
"The light hit the stone in the mask," Fiona, who had heard what she said, trembled, stepping back away from Salem.
"Oh no," Raven gasped, her hands trembling. "No, no, no, I'm so sorry, Summer. I couldn't do anything."
"Miss Raven," Robyn put a hand on Raven's hand. "We should go."
"Right… right. You children need to escape."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to face my death like a warrior, like Summer would have done."
"But, we want to stay with you."
"No, children. It's far from safe for you. Hey, you! Atlesian soldier! Please take these children to safety."
But, it was too late; far too late. A brilliant, deadly light shone from the gem on the mask, the mask cracking with a black light as veins of malignant black energy creeped along it. Salem's body wasn't unaffected by this, her exposed skin turning a pale, chalky white. Black lines, almost like veins, spread along her arms, showing the pure corruption she was becoming.
Her hair turned from its blonde shade to a deadly white, white as salt. Her fingernails grew longer, becoming black and pointed. The mask fully crumbled away, the gem dropping to the ground. This revealed the most horrifying part of Salem's appearance; her face. The soft grace of her ancient body was gone, replaced with a terrifying visage of white features, pale as salt. Her eyes were black in the sclera, irises of blood red hue blinking as her body once again began to glow with black, unholy energy.
The gem in her chest burst forth, black, demonic power leaking from it, piercing the air like a blade, though this time, it split into two, spreading to the left and right, but still that bloody red color.
Everyone in the area could feel that power, that terrifying and deadly power. The last of the Grimmlords was no more. A White Witch was born into this world, a force more terrifying than any Grimm.
Everyone stood transfixed as the display of the true purpose of the mask of bone was revealed, the ascension of Salem.
"It's over," Raven stood, horrified. "We've lost. We failed to stop her. She's won."
Maria looked down at Glynda, seeing her Coach injured, barely alive, hanging on by a thread. Even Polendina was frightened, having stopped muttering to herself about Salem having gotten the stone and mask.
"What can we do?" A soldier asked. "We can't fight the full power of the bone mask. We weren't trained for this. We're all going to die here!"
Even the Grimm that were gathered around were silent, watching as their mistress stood up, her transformation complete. She fixed a gaze on them all, raising her pale hands to the sky as tendrils of unholy energy peeled off of her in waves. Her gaze settled on Maria, the hatred in those eyes the clearest emotion that could be seen from her. It was almost as if she was saying 'your death is assured'.
And so, the ultimate lifeform has been born into this world. What shall happen now? Will fate favor the cursed blood or the ancient evil?
I can't believe we're almost at the end of this second part. One more chapter to go (unless it's too long and then the epilogue will be its own chapter). I thank each and every one of you for sticking with me through this. It's been so fun. I hope you stick around for the rest. I've got more planned.