He we are, I'm amazed by just how much you guys are loving Grievous Arc. Hope you all enjoy this month's chapter.
Luci walked calmly through the ruins, enjoying the familiar weight of a blade at his hip. He let his hand caress the grip of Sapentaoi as he made his way through the abandoned sections of Vale.
He had no destination in mind as he kicked a rock out of his way. His eyes wandering about the landscape. The Grimm had left him alone for a long time, the queen was up to something he was sure. All he could do was slink away for a short while before returning, better to annoy the demanding bitch with his antics then to have to fight her.
His thoughts were stopped as his body went into overdrive and a wave of disparity overtook the skies. He felt as though his every sense was kicked up to eleven as his eyes darted upwards. There, flying in from the Grimmlands, was the shape of a creature barely one hundred feet away.
It dive bombed just in front of Luci, destroying the concrete around it as it landed. Smoke arose as Luci was overwhelmed by the sensations his body wrought from the despair emanating from the Grimm's body.
He looked up, staring the Grimm in its eyes, and the despair doubled. This creature was a walking battery to someone like him, so why would the both send it here.
His question was answered when the Grimm reared back one of its arms and shot it right at his own, severing his left clean off. Luci jumped back in response, his body numb to the damaged. The Grimm continued its assault by grabbing Luci by his throat and slamming him to the ground.
Luci pulled out Sapentaoi and swung for the gap at the Grimm's armor. The blade barely cut in before being caught in the joint and pulled from his grip. Luci shot his hand out and attempted to absorb the essence from the Grimm. His mind was overwhelmed by the sheer deluge of negativity that was absorbed within the first second.
The Grimm snapped off the other appendage and slammed Luci into the ground once again. It looked into his eyes once more and for once in a long time, Luci felt fear.
Jaune sat calmly, his mind reminiscing on he positively of the past. The joyous memories of past actions and justice that he had dealt out to many. There was a grandiose amount of memories to enjoy as he let a slow breeze brush through his room.
Then he felt a crushing level of despair crash through his body. He had only felt it for a moment before it disappeared, but he had only felt such a force from one thing before. He ignored any pain that wretched his body as he grabbed Drachenzunge and Pars Lunea from their resting spots and donned his coat.
He opened the door to find that many others had been hit by such a wave of despair. A nurse who had been close to the door was hyperventilating on the ground as he walked past her.
More and more people were either laid down on the ground or trying their hardest to recover from the shock of what they had been hit with. Jaune could not relax with such a dangerous Grimm out and about. Its mere presence from a distance was enough to bring hunters to their knees, so it was best to take care of it quickly.
He made for the tent, finding Ozpin was the only one to still be calm. "Looks like your break will be ending early" Oz remarked, his snark being countered by the shaking in his legs. "Yeah, damn shame though, I was enjoying not having to worry about everyone" Jaune said before he pulled his bag out from under the table.
He walked out of camp, his weapons at his side, he had a Grimm to hunt before it made it's way to the camp.
Blake stood alongside Yang and Adam as the trio scoured the ruins for any survivors. It was tough work for the group but they had been at this for a couple days by now and there was little places left to search. They had found no one in their set of ruins by now.
Then they saw it, an arm, but not just any arm, the arm of the man who had attacked them during the Battle of Beacon. It was laid out just near the crossroad they were checking, probably thrown from the far left street.
They rushed forward, weapons drawn and ready in case of the worst.
They were greeted by a disgusting sight. The man's other arm was thrown just as far as the first. Both his legs were torn off at the knees, which had been crushed flat. His torso had been thrashed around and pulled at until it stretched twice as far as before.
His neck was lodged in the rubble with a piece of rebar sticking out. They couldn't even see his head.
The moment all this registered the trio went back to back, eyes darting in every direction. Something had torn their way through a powerful man, a thorn in Uncle Jaune's side to be accurate, and left him in a grizzly condition.
A wave of despair wretched through their bodies as a shadow flew overhead. It touched down, some sort of Grimm in the shape of a winged knight, and approached them. With every step the level of despair grew more powerful as the trio was forced to the ground.
Adam grit his teeth and tried to push himself to stand. In response the Grimm brought its fist down, sending the faunus flying to their left. The girls were stuck on the ground; Yang's fists digging into the concrete while Blake kept her right arm to the ground.
The Grimm stared down at the two, its eyes glowing a deep crimson while it watched the two writhe against its aura of despair. It then lifted one of its arms, its clawed hand pointed right at Yang's eyes.
A red glow began to emanate from the left of them, taking the Grimm's attention. Adam stood, his body overtaken by a deep red glow, and held up Sapentaoi. The Grimm seemed confused for a moment before lunging forward with near supersonic speed.
The force of Adam's semblance being projected through Sapentaoi clashing with the Grimm's armored fist left a deep ringing in everyone's ears.
The Grimm just starred as a crack in its armor was created from the clash. Adam was struggling on his knees, the only thing keeping the surging despair from knocking him down was the piece of rebar stuck in his leg. Yang pushed herself to her feet and used Ember Celica to push herself towards the Grimm. It just turned to her and swung its other arm, knocking her away.
It then turned back to Adam and raised its other arm to strike him down.
It was a miracle that managed to save him.
Luci had used this chance to put himself back together and let his tongue morph into a blade. It was fired from his body and struck the Grimm in its eyes. In response the Grimm let off its attack on Adam and rushed the grimm man. Luci was crushed to the floor once more as the Grimm began to pummel him.
Blake used this chance to drag herself to Adam and heft him up. Yang managed to get up and helped Blake out.
Their last veiw of the street was Luci pulling himself back together and trying to defend himself from the Grimm's onslaught.
Jaune trudged through the ruins, his only guide being the levels of despair surging from the various streets of Vale. He had his hands on his weapons, ready to draw them at a moments notice.
The sound of footsteps gained his attention. He had to surpress shock at seeing Blake and Yang (both roughed up and near tear faced) dragging Adam (who had a piece of rebar in his leg and Sapentaoi in his hand). He rushed forward, hands leaving his weapons, and grabbed the three of them.
"What the hell happened?" was all he could ask and the trio tried to hold themselves together. "Grimm/winged knight/fucking demon" was the mixed responses of the three. Jaune could only look at three before it clicked just what they had encountered. "Keep going, don't stop until you reach the camp, tell them to recall the other teams as well" He warned them before following the trail of blood left by Adam.
When he arrived he was met with a beast tearing Luci apart. Its wings were crystalline and its body armored. The aura of despair kicked in the moment he was within one hundred feet of them, knocking him too his knees for a second before he pulled himself up.
He withdrew both Drachenzunge and Pars Lunea and rushed towards the battle.
And that's the end, yes I'm an ass for leaving you all on cliff hanger.
That's that, I just want you all to know that I'm probably just going to finish this fight before leaving this fic for a while. In all honesty this entire fic was felt a bit draining on my creativity. So I'll at least have the dignity to finish this fic with a fight and an ending message before putting the shudders on the experiment.
See you all next month.