Still watching LoL Worlds. Still cheering G2. Ah, FNC. I really thought you could beat FPX, though. Why of why did you put Rekkles back on Garen? Fml. Still, exciting to see one EU, one Korean and two Chinese teams heading into the semi-finals.
It also came to my attention that I forgot Salem's BOLD writing last chapter. Whoops. My bad. I usually write it all out first and then go back and bold things so I don't need to always ctrl B it over and over, but I must have forgotten.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Dishwasher1910
Book 9: Chapter 19
Salem's army had reached the walls of Beacon and were being fought off by a combination of Hero, Soldier and Labour Caste – along with students from the school itself. The Grimm were cut down in droves against the stronger walls, while the rest of the city lay deserted. The Royal Palace burned in the background, smoke rising into the bright sky.
I slammed my back into a wall beside Blake, Ruby crouching behind a barrel nearby. Blake waved for us to stay still and peeked out, cursing under her breath.
"She hasn't reached the walls yet."
"Then we wait," I said. "We let her start her attack first."
"Do you really know how to do this? Or are you just saying that to make us think we have a chance." Though it was Blake who asked it, I saw Ruby listening in, clutching her scythe grimly. To my eyes, the `Seal` on the blade glowed faintly.
"I know. The Rune. It's the answer."
"How?" Ruby called out, voice soft. "It didn't work for Raven."
"She didn't know how to use it, none of us did. She – and probably Ozpin – thought it was something to seal a person away. Lock Salem in some container and close the lid." I wasn't sure if Raven thought she'd be put into the Starmetal sword; that it was some plan to both get rid of Salem and secure her place as the strongest in the world with a weapon fuelled by Salem's power. "That was flawed. The temple wasn't designed to seal anyone inside, and neither was my amulet. Salem has never been trapped – and she sure as heck wouldn't teach us how to do it."
The `Seal` Rune was all over her outfit too. On every accessory she had. Considering Runes were the language of the demons, or her language assuming she was the only one of said `demons`, she could have had any Rune she wanted. Strength, Constitution, Intelligence – she had more versatility than I did. And yet she chose the `Seal` Rune. And she chose it en masse.
Most people, if given unlimited choice of Runes, would pick those that enhanced their Stats – either their survival or their primary Stats so they could fight or cast better. Having something like a flaming sword was all well and good, but a non-flaming sword could cut just as well and cut harder with a few extra points of Strength. Even if you didn't want that, you would take Constitution to survive.
What did you do when you were already the strongest being in existence?
What did a few points of Strength mean when you were already stronger than everyone else? Faster? Hardier? The better mage? When you didn't believe anyone could realistically kill you, Constitution became pointless. Your options opened up, options in Runes and build and what you could afford to take.
When Stats become meaningless, utility is king.
More options. More versatility.
"It's for infusing items with spells."
Blake's head shot to mine. "What?"
"It's not locking something away – not exactly. It's more like… putting a spell into an item. Or a weapon. Do you remember my amulet? That changed my Class name to Knight. Nothing more. I thought the item itself was magic, but it wasn't. Sun recognised the symbol as being something from Vacuo. It was literally just a bauble picked up by Salem. It wasn't magic at all."
"But the effect-"
"An illusion spell. The very same one Neo used to pretend she was a Maid." A reminder that I hadn't been the first to hide my Class. "Salem didn't give me an item that changed my Class; she wanted me to die from my bravado, so she gave me something that just hid it. But she couldn't afford to follow me around for however many months it took maintaining a spell. She put the spell into a random piece of jewellery, sealed it in with a Rune and gave that to me."
"Seal," Ruby whispered. "It's just glue-?"
"Pretty much. It sticks a spell to the object and keeps it from ending. There's probably more, something to make the effect perpetual, but that's pretty much what the spell does. And why Salem was so amused when Raven tried to use it on her."
"Because Salem could read it – and because it was empty."
"Yes. Raven had the right idea, but she didn't put a spell into the sword. Salem must have found that hilarious."
We'd always been working with only half the pieces and a vague understanding. And it made sense; Runes were Salem's language and not something we were ever supposed to have. That I did wasn't some divine providence or act of fate; it was Salem's arrogance in thinking I couldn't survive the life of a Hero. It was putting me in constant proximity to a Rune that affected me for near twenty-four hours a day and not expecting my Path to gear me toward that.
Ironically, my Path probably thought I was under constant attack. If someone had spells cast on them all the time, they'd gain a Skill to become resistant to that. My Runesmithing and Runesight was an attempt by my Class to give me the tools to remove that influence. I'd never wanted to, but my Path couldn't know that. All it knew was that I was constantly being hit by a Rune over and over.
"Ruby's weapon has Salem's attack sealed into it," Blake realised. "That's how she survived a fatal blow, isn't it?"
"Exactly."
Ruby looked down to her scythe in awe. The blade looked the same as it always had, despite blocking one of Salem's attacks head on. It should have shattered. That it hadn't was a miracle. I touched a hand to my chest as well, feeling something hot and heavy beating in my chest. I'd have died without the same Rune etched on my heart. On the sword Cinder impaled me on.
"The Rune absorbed the attack and locked it inside. It would probably do that with just about any spell. If I'm right, the weapon should be imbued with it now. Either when you slash or maybe in some other way."
"You're not sure?"
"Knowing how it works doesn't mean knowing how to use it."
"It doesn't matter," Ruby said, grinning ferally. "What matters is that my scythe has the power of Salem's magic in it. That's what you meant when you said you knew how to win."
"Yeah." I matched her smile with one of my own. "We'll kill her with her own abilities."
"It just might work," Blake whispered. "We're not strong enough to beat her, but she is. If we can turn her spells back on her… even if they don't kill, they'll be the most powerful attacks we have." She drew out her throwing knives and pushed the bandolier toward me.
I took them and began to Engrave a Rune into each and every one. I'd already done her daggers but the more she had, the more offensive and defensive capability she'd have.
"Shouldn't we tell everyone?" Ruby asked. "They need to know."
"We can't get back through Salem into Beacon. Not unless we contact them with the stones and open a portal. That might work, but we're better off attacking from two sides at once. Otherwise, she'll just put an endless army of Grimm between us and her."
"Jaune's right," Blake said. "If she catches hint of what's going on, she won't let us near. We need to cut off her options."
I knew that, and what had to be done. Blake probably did as well judging by her frustration, while Ruby either didn't see or refused to accept it. In open space, we couldn't catch Salem, but if her manoeuvrability was impacted, we'd have a better chance. Beacon was our home, our lives, but it was only brick and mortar at the end of the day. The city could be rebuilt.
"We wait for her to breach the walls."
/-/
The walls of Beacon had been abandoned.
It made sense given the fate the walls of Vale received and must have to Salem seemed more a reaction of fear than any given plan. I crouched low in the ruins of a burning house, peering out through the smoky haze at the backs of the Grimm growling and snarling as they battered down the west gate.
Floorboards creaked behind me and Ruby came to kneel at my side, scythe flat on the ground. "I talked to Yang."
The Whisper Stones from Archmage Ironwood. "What did she say?"
"Relived we're alive and that she's spread the plan to Ozpin." Ruby looked ahead as Beowolves scaled the walls, only to be torn asunder by spellfire the second they crested. "They're holding the inside and using the walls as a firing line, killing anything that shows its face."
"That won't work indefinitely…"
"I don't think they expect Salem to have indefinite patience."
I had to smother a laugh there, even given the situation. "You have a point. She's going to blow the walls down if she gets annoyed."
"That's good for us. It'll mean she has to go inside the walls."
Into the Guild Village. From there it would be closed street-to-street fighting as everyone retreated up the steep staircase onto the plateau the academy itself stood upon. Even once she got into the walls, the interior of Beacon was set out as its own little fortress – with a quite literal fortress in the Mercenary's Guild standing at the far end of the Guild Village. Salem and her army would need to ascend the staircase to Beacon. Or fly. That'd make her an easy target, though.
"Yang says we shouldn't go in after her until they give the signal."
I turned to her. "What's the signal?"
"She didn't know. Ozpin says we'll recognise it for sure. And that it'll buy us a big distraction."
The light outside the house dimmed and we both cut off to stare. Salem was stood with her back to us but still a host of Grimm between us and her. Her robes billowed as black light flashed forward, burrowing into the base of the wall.
There was a second of silence.
Then, the wall erupted.
"No one on it," I reminded as Ruby made a pained sound. "All she killed was Grimm."
Of course, she'd made an entrance now and the Grimm streamed into it, massing into the Guild Village and among the buildings that made up our home. The Lodge was at the far wall, but even that would be overrun. We'd struggled so hard to earn, win and keep our little Guild hall. To lose it now hurt more than I thought it would.
As the Grimm poured in, those outside the wall diminished in number. Salem kept a cadre around her but soon she was surrounded by only a few thousand and not the two or more hundred thousand she had been. Then a few hundred, and then only about two hundred. Those seemed to be her personal bodyguard because they didn't move until she did, and they flanked and surrounded her, taller Grimm in front to block attacks with their bodies.
"Do you think she'll enter?"
"She'll want to see Beacon destroyed with her own hands," I said. "She'll go in."
"And if she doesn't?"
Then we were in trouble, but I was banking on her arrogance. Or rather her confidence, as someone who had never lost over thousands or millions of years. Controlling the Grimm from a distance to destroy Vale would be a win for her, but it would be distant and impersonal. You always like rubbing it in. You like to show people just how much smarter than them you are. Go on. Enter the school. Destroy us with your own hands.
Salem raised a hand and fired off two more dark blasts of energy, destroying the wall in two more sections and allowing more Grimm to stream in. it wasn't entirely necessary and that gave me hope. I leaned forward, holding my breath. She wouldn't waste energy creating more gaps unless she felt she had to, either as an entrance, or as a potential escape route.
Her entourage began to move, taking her toward the centre gap in the wall.
"It's working!" Ruby stared to stand.
I dragged her back down. "Wait. We wait for Ozpin's signal."
We had once chance. Assuming this worked. If we went in now, Salem would turn her Grimm around and kill us. They needed to be engaged with the defenders first, and the sound of combat would help mask our approach. Blake was already scouting ahead, watching from a more advantageous position. I trusted her to get that close and not be seen. And if she needed to run, she could block one of Salem's attacks with a throwing dagger.
"Did you ever think it would be like this?"
"Huh." I looked back to Ruby. She was no longer struggling to get out my grip. "What do you mean?"
"Being a Hero." Her eyes were calm but there was a waver to her bottom lip. She was rigid and bundled up, muscles tensed and ready to explode into action. I was little better. "When you decided to sneak in," she continued. "Did you think it would be like this?"
"Vale under siege and the world in the balance? No, I didn't."
"I think… I think I did…" Ruby stared at the battle. "I always knew I might not be a Hero Class, especially with my Stats. Mom was a Hero, though. I wanted to be just like her, even if I didn't know what that meant. I always knew I might get killed doing it."
"Yeah." I sighed. "I felt that as well. The fear. What if I'm not good enough and die? I was never fast enough to hit my opponents. I always had to have Blake save me…"
"I was too fast but couldn't hurt anything. Yang looked after me, and you made me a scythe I could use in a fight. Without that… I would have died so long ago. Back in that Dungeon, or after. I'd have never made it through Atlas and Mistral."
"You saved us too," I said. "We all worked together."
"I know. It's just… What if it happens again now? What if I'm not good enough?"
Her tone quivered and I turned to look at her properly, finally seeing the tears in her eyes. She was shaking badly, enough so that her scythe rattled on the floor. With the speed at which she could move it was more a constant vibration.
"Before, it was just being afraid that I'd die," she said. "After, I was afraid Yang might get pulled down with me. What if I messed up and she tried to save me, then got hurt in the process? And when the Guild was formed, I had to worry about them as well!" Her voice cracked. "I was always one hit away from death. How could anyone trust me to have their back if I'd be killed that easily?"
"You weren't. Ruby, it didn't happen. You're still here."
"And now this," she whispered, eyes not on me but the walls of Beacon. "If I can hit her, I can kill her. Beacon is saved. Vale is saved. Remnant is saved."
I could see where it was going but for the life of me didn't know how to stop her.
"But if I'm not good enough…"
Everyone died.
Everyone.
I'd not thought of the pressure she might be feeling – not when I could so easily rely on my Resilience to force my own down. Ruby had no such barrier and with everything placed on her shoulders, would make or break the Kingdom. No, the world itself. We could buy her an opening, but she was the only one who could really drive the blade home.
"What if I miss?"
"You won't."
Tears ran down her cheeks. "But what if I do!"
I put Crocea Mors down and sat, reaching out to wrap my hands around her shoulders and pull her into my chest. My skin tingled, the ruined breastplate abandoned and my body still healing. Even so, I rubbed her back, letting her sob onto my shoulder. I could tell her I believed in her until the cows came home, but it wouldn't do a thing for the doubt she felt.
There was no faulting it. This was too much pressure to be on one person's shoulders.
Ruby was right to be afraid. If she failed, countless people would die, many of whom she loved. That wasn't fair but it was the reality we were facing, and she was smart enough to know that even if I lied to her and said otherwise. I didn't try.
"I was an idiot. Looking back, I can't say Salem was wrong to think I'd die. I mean, I wasn't just a Blacksmith, but I was so far below the average level for Beacon that I had no right being in the First Quest, let alone coming out alive. I nearly didn't…"
Ruby sniffled and continued to cry into my shoulder but I knew she was listening. Her hands found my back, dingers digging in and scrunching up my bloody tunic, holding onto it for dear life.
"Did you know I nearly died to Canis? Canis, the very first Grimm I ever saw. What a joke. It nearly tore my throat out then and there, and the only reason I lived at all was because I let it nearly bite my arm off just so I could land a good hit. I wasn't just bad, I was useless. And when a Beowolf spawned. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Salem who made it – but if it wasn't for Blake stepping in to save my sorry ass, I'd be dead. If it wasn't for Pyrrha, Nora and Ren coming to help me fight it after, I'd have been dead again. But I was in Beacon. I'd made it."
I let my chin rest on her shoulder, my cheek against hers.
"But that wasn't the end of it. I sucked in combat and was dragging everyone down. Just being in didn't change the fact I only made it because everyone carried my ass. I think that was most obvious at the Dungeon, when you nearly died because I fucked up."
Ruby tried to pull her head back to argue. I locked a hand onto it and pulled her back into me.
"You probably think it was your fault, but it wasn't. Not really. Pyrrha asked me if I could tank and I thought I could. It'd be easy, I thought. I'm useless with Dexterity and couldn't hit shit, but I could stand there and be beaten up – that's easy. Turns out it wasn't. I couldn't keep the Grimm's attention and you nearly died for it. Another failure – and this time I knew it was because I wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough because of my Class, and you nearly paid the price for it. I never tanked again."
"That wasn't the last time I failed, though. Viktor died in Atlas to save me. He literally gave his life to protect me from Merlot." And he'd known it. I could still remember him cursing me as he did, knowing he would die and hating us for putting him in that situation, but still following through to save our lives. "And we wouldn't have been there if I hadn't trusted Roman. Sure, he had Charisma, but my Resilience was high enough to stop it. Truth is, I trusted him because he appealed to my being Labour Caste. I was prejudiced and trusted him because of that."
I'd tried to be better after and liked to think I was. Labour and Hero Caste – the only difference was the Skills you earned and the distribution of Stats. Either could lie. Either could betray the other.
"I failed in Mistral as well, being saved by Cinder. I failed in the war and killed a soldier, breaking the treaty." I heard Ruby gasp. "Blake saved me there, breaking the treaty herself and killing our own soldiers to protect me from punishment. And how did I repay her? By sneaking off and destroying the siege towers in Mistral's camp. She risked everything for me and that was how I repaid her. And that's to say nothing of me lying all this time and never telling anyone. When it came out in Vacuo." I sighed and shook my head. "I deserved everyone's scorn."
"No," Ruby cried. "You didn't."
"I did." I rubbed her back until her words dissolve into meaningless tears. "And you know what, that's fine. Because despite all that, despite all the failure and all the stupid mistakes, I'm still here." I smiled and rocked her in my arms. "We're still here."
Gently, I drew her head back so that we were face to face. I pushed my forehead against hers, forcing her to look me in the eye. Hers were red and wet from crying while mine glowed faintly, still in some small way under the influence of my Resilience.
"If you fail…"
Ruby tensed.
"Then we'll find another way."
Her breath hitched. Her entire face contorted – pain, grief, relief.
"That's what we've always done, and it's what we'll keep doing. The Guild has pretty much bent over backward to pick up the slack after all my failures. I think we can afford to do it for the first you'll ever make." I smiled for her. "That's what it means to be in a Guild, right? And as long as we keep learning from our mistakes, we'll make it through."
I wasn't sure how much my words helped. They sounded so much better in my head than they had in real life, not least of all because what I wanted to impart was that I trusted her and that she wouldn't fail. But that didn't feel right. I had no idea what was to come and telling Ruby she wouldn't fail when she was clearly worried about just that didn't feel right. There was a very good chance this wouldn't work. That didn't mean we'd give up.
Ruby wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my neck again. This time, the tears were lesser. She snorted and snuffled instead, wiping away her fear in my neck. "M'sorry."
"For what?" I asked. "Being human?"
She giggled. "For getting your neck wet…"
"Ha." I squeezed her tight. "Apology accepted. You feeling any better?"
"Not really." She drew back with a fragile smile. "But I'll do my best. That's all I can do, right? And if it doesn't work… we'll just have to find another way."
"Exactly."
Ruby smiled nervously. "Jaune…?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell Blake."
"Tell her wh-"
Ruby's lips slammed against mine. Her arms wrapped and linked behind my head, tongue pushing into my mouth before I could even realise what was happening. I fell with a startled gasp, landing flat on my back with the small Reaper on top, pinning me down. Ruby fisted her hands in my collar and closed her eyes, kissing me harder than anyone ever had before.
When she drew back, I was too shocked to move. My lips were red and sore.
"There," she said, gasping and red but also strangely satisfied. The flicker of colour in my eyes had been blown away – not even my Resilience being able to stand up to that. "That was my biggest mistake," she said. "Sitting back and doing nothing. Letting Blake get everything."
"W-Wha…?"
"That's why I'm not going to sit back anymore." Ruby sat on my stomach, legs on either side of me. "We both have to live through this so I can fight for what I want. Blake does too, so she can tell me how much a mistake this was."
An amused snort came from the side. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Ah! Blake!" Ruby's confidence vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving her to roll back off my body while I was still stunned. She stumbled to her feet, hands outstretched. "It's not what you think. I-I mean, it is, but it's not. I… ah… It's – um. I was trying to make a point!"
"I can see that." Blake looked down at me and rolled her eyes. The tip of her boot prodded my side. "You going to just lay there or get up?"
"I don't know," I said. "I was thinking of just laying here for a bit."
Ruby brought both hands up to her face and groaned in complete embarrassment.
"Cute," Blake said. "I'll keep what you said in mind, Ruby. We'll both have to make it out of this if we want to settle this. Don't mess up and get killed or you won't have your chance. That goes for you as well." Blake gripped my hand and hauled me up. "Try not to let Salem kill you. I don't think she'll fall for the same trick a second time."
"Y-Yeah." I took a deep breath and let it go.
No time to be flustered. Nor upset. No time for anything, really.
A loud roar tore up over the city. It was, for once, nor an animalistic one. The three of us exchange quick looks and then made our way to the streets outside, where our faces were bathed in an orange glow and the sudden rush of heat. The academy of Beacon stood upon its cliff, ringed with vague shapes of what could only be its defenders. It stood gleaming, silhouetted before the giant silver tree that Ironwood had left behind.
Flames licked up the cliff and staircases toward it, the Guild Village and everything on the tier below on fire, burning angrily away with Salem and the Grimm trapped within. Even from such a distance I could see flaming Grimm fall to their death from the staircases cut into the cliff face. Grimm were dying in their tens of thousands, and fireballs rained down from Beacon, adding to the inferno.
"I guess that's our signal," Blake said.
Ozpin had been right; we couldn't miss it.
/-/
Burning buildings crumbled on either side of us. Grimm roared and flailed in the ruins, fur and skin burning under eldritch fire. Rooftops collapsed inward as support beams cracked with splintering snaps and sent walls crashing down. The crackling of fire all around was deafening, driven out only by the sound of dying Grimm. It was midday and yet the sky was black with smoke lit reddish-orange. It was difficult to see even a hundred feet ahead.
Just as difficult for Salem, I hoped.
I swung Crocea Mors to split one Grimm from foot to chest, twisting him aside and down. My sword tore free and slashed down on another, lopping off an arm before being reversed and driven deep into its chest. I pushed it away with my shoulder, letting gravity tear it off and to the ground. Blake vaulted off the chest of her own, her daggers pulling out its eyes.
Ruby stayed behind, still holding back for fear of breaking her weapon. It was imbued with Salem's magic now, but it was still fragile. It had to be saved for the real deal.
"This is our best chance!" Blake snapped, pushing on and through with me and Ruby in pursuit. "We'll never have a chance where she's more distracted."
Ahead, I heard a roar. A giant shape tore up from the burning buildings, wings split left and right. The dragon wheeled and curled its way up toward the school. "Blake!"
"She's not riding it. She's still in the Guild Village!"
The others could deal with the dragon. I had to hold to that. We were three and they were many – yet out job was the more dangerous. Blake darted right and cut through an intersection between two Guild buildings, leading us in the direction the dragon had come from. It had to be where she was. If we could get on her while she was distracted with the fires, we had a chance.
"Don't attack until you see your chance," I told Ruby. "Let me and Blake grab her attention first."
"R-Right. Do you think she'll let her guard down?"
"I think I can draw her attention."
We turned out onto another road, one leading up toward the staircases. The fireballs and spells continued to be cast from above, but they were all aimed closer to the cliff. With how bright and hot the buildings burned, I could only assume they'd all been stuffed with straw and oil. They'd made Beacon a trap for Salem, using the fires to incinerate her forced once they were inside. That wouldn't stop her making more, but it would delay her. It'd also cut down the number of her bodyguards. Like Blake said, it was our best chance.
"Ahead," Blake hissed. "I can hear them."
"Salem?"
"The Grimm. But where they are, she'll be."
"Right." I took a breath. "Blake, take Ruby around and find a good angle. Strike when you have a chance but make sure it's good! No matter what it takes." I fixed Blake with a meaningful look. "No matter the cost."
She held my gaze for a long moment and then nodded.
The two darted right, moving much faster now that I wasn't dragging them down. They disappeared into the remains of a burning building and out of sight. I sighed, drew Crocea Mors and cracked my shoulders. I was still wearing the graves and boots of the Vale Royal Guard armour, but the breastplate and shoulder guards were removed, leaving me essentially topless but for a bloody and ripped tunic. My bare arms were singed from the fire and my hair was loose and wild.
I pushed through a wall of smoke and into an opening between buildings, a flat expanse of grass that burned but not brightly, far away enough from any structures that those in the centre were safe. Or relatively so. Several Grimm rolled on the floor in agony while more burned to death where they stood, twitching and howling but unable to move thanks to Salem's ironclad control. They literally died on their feet.
In the centre of it all stood Salem, surrounded by Ursa and staring up at Beacon, her back turned toward me. I couldn't get close with all the Grimm still around her, but that didn't matter. I stepped forward, held my sword to the side and spread my arms wide.
"SALEM!" I roared.
The Grimm went silent. Fires burned around us. Timber cracked and splintered. A Beowolf under her control finally succumbed to the flames and slumped down, dead. It dissolved into black particles of smoke that cut across the distance between us. And through it all, I saw her shoulders rise and fall.
"No." Her arms fell slack to her sides. Her head dropped, shaking from side to side before she turned, black robes flowing behind her, pale skin revealed, eyes burning red. "No. No. No. I simply cannot believe it. I refuse to believe it. You are dead! Dead!"
I laughed.
"Do I look dead to you?"
"I tore open your armour. I peeled open your chest. I used on your heart magic that has torn downthe walls of your city." She seethed with dark energy, wisps of black smoke rising from her hands. "You. Are. Dead!"
"I was dead after Cinder killed me as well, dead enough to fulfil the terms of my wish to you."
I concentrated and felt the words above my head shift. Felt my very being shift, as an impossibility – a miracle – ran through me. It wasn't just my Stats. It wasn't just my Skills. My Swordmaster Class came into the fore not as an extension of my life as a Blacksmith, but as an anomaly. A mistake. Classes were given on birth, on the arrival of life. I had not been born anew, but I had returned death unto life. The words that changed above my head were proof of that.
"I was dead. And then… I wasn't."
Swordmaster burned above me. The pain in my head returned, not pain from the knowledge filtering in as I'd first thought, but pain from my own body rejecting me. I was quite literally fighting two identities at once, and like a body rejecting an organ, my soul was split. My eyes burned blue as my Resilience pushed me through it, allowing me to raise my sword up to point at her.
"If Cinder couldn't kill me. If Merlot couldn't kill me. If Tyrian couldn't kill me. If Watts couldn't kill me. If Roman, Raven, Neo and all the others you sent couldn't kill me." I smirked. "Then what made you think you could?"
Salem roared. Her hands linked above her and black light split into being between her palms. Not once stopping her furious scream, she brought her hands down, both pointed directly at me. A beam of purest black pierced forward.
Now or never. It occurred to me for a second my hypothesis hadn't really been tested.
Well, I wouldn't have to worry about it if I was wrong. Crocea Mors slid into a lunge, the tip aimed directly into the beam of dark light. I braced myself, one foot back bent, ready. At the last possible second, I yelled out and thrust into the attack.
It was like stabbing a tidal wave.
The attack forced me back and I would have fallen if not for my bracing. Ruby had been hurled back by the force of it and I couldn't allow that. Bracing with my shoulder, I growled and pushed into the attack, forcing my left foot to slide forward. My hands were shaking, sword wavering in the air before me.
No more. No more failing. I'd learned from my mistakes.
It was time to finish this.
Wrapping my fingers around those of my right hand, I twisted, turning Crocea Mors like a key – or like I was twisting a knife into someone. The blade became hot and heavy. With an angry "Rargh!" I swept it down and to the left. Salem's attack splashed into the building, destroying brick and mortar and at least twenty Grimm in its path.
I stood, panting, smoking, sword tipped down toward the ground.
Her attack was diverted.
Heaving, I brought Crocea Mors back up in front of me. The blade shimmered with dark light that stood out in the red glow from burning buildings. It flickered and warped, bursting with power just waiting to be unleashed.
"What are you?" Salem hissed. "You can't be human."
"Me?"
I smiled.
"Just your everyday Blacksmith."
Well, if there's one skill Jaune has mastered over any other, it's aggravating his enemies so much they lose their minds. And hey – it's canon! He managed to make even Pyrrha stab a javelin through him when he flirted with Weiss pre-initiation. xD
Next Chapter: 4th November
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
