AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support this series has gotten here and on Tv Tropes. We now focus on the team that is taking on the Leader of the White Fang Killers. Weiss, Yang, and Reines are in for the match of their lives as their opponent is not holding back. Of the fights so far, this one as a lot of cool moments I had fun writing. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.

Chapter 54 – Lucky Shot

Reines.

The airship lands with Reines leading Yang and Weiss down a dirt road, "We're almost there." She informed the two, "No use trying to flank him."

"This guy does sound like the type that would be prepared for that." Weiss said before looking to Yang, who was looking away in dejection, "What's wrong?"

"…His eye," Yang asked, "Did you know it was like that?"

"Not at first," Weiss responded, "It explained why he always had that mask on. As well as some other things." She said before noticing the blond brawler's fists still clenched, "Yang, you need to push that out of your head right now."

"She's right," Reines spoke, "Our enemy is the Leader of the White Fang Killers." She said before turning back, "We need to be focused."

"…Okay," Yang said before taking a breath, then smiled, "So, we just go in and wing it against this guy if he is this strong?"

"Don't worry, I've had some time to think," Reines responded, then smirked, "It will require a lot of luck, but I have a plan."

Yang sighed again, "You know when Ruby says it, I get excited," She said before crossing her arms, "But the way you say it, I get a little nervous." She said with Reines slightly snickering.

After a debriefing, the trio continues down the road before making it to an opening of tall grass near the edge of a cliff. However, sitting in the middle of the field was Munenori. He wore a set of black armor and cape, his eyes closed, "You are not the woman I was expecting." The Saber Empireo spoke before a blue energy pulsated from his body before he stood up, "But I can feel the pressure of the Maiden's aura emanating from you." He said with his eyes opening to focus on Reines.

"Tsk," Reines gritted her teeth, then saw Yang and Weiss step forward.

"You want her, you're going to have to get through us," Yang spoke before spawning her Celicavalon gauntlet.

"You're the leader of the White Fang Killers," Weiss said before drawing her gunblades, "We're going to be the ones to stop you."

"Heh, a couple of lambs to the slaughter." Munenori said before unsheathing one of his katana, holding it with both hands, "Very well, let's see what you've got." A silence then filled the area, only the rustling of the tall grass was heard.

Suddenly, Weiss created a glyph to fire icicles at the Leader of the White Fang Killers. Yang pivoted with her Celicavalon, unleashing a horizontal wave of yellow light energy towards her target. However, Munenori grimed before dashing, avoiding all attacks as he rushed the white heiress first. Weiss crossed her gunblades to block his strike, but was slightly pushed back by the overhead swing, "Tsk," She gritted her teeth as the Saber Empireo smirked.

However, Munenori glanced to see the burning first of blond brawler heading towards his head. He jumped back to dodge, but Yang continued her barrage of punches. Munenori dodged each one before reposing his katana, then unleashing a flurry of slashes. Yang gasped before changing to the blocking stance, using Celicavalon to absorb all the sword strikes. Suddenly, her gauntlet glowed yellow to match her hair, but Munenori jumped back just a light pulse wave would have hit him, "Damnit." Yang said under her breath before reposing her stance.

"I see, you're from the weaker Kingdoms," Munenori commented, "I should have known, your techniques are all about flair over fluidity." He said before reposing his blade, "Those powers you rely on to win. Semblance and dust. I require either of them to kill my opponents." The Saber Empireo then closed his eyes, "I have a free spirit, an immovable mind. I exist in a realm void of worldly thoughts."

"Good for you," Yang sarcastically spoke with half-open eyes, "You done talking?"

"My, the temper of this one." Munenori commented while opening his eyes, "It will make your end even more satisfying." He said before rushing the blond brawler, going to an upwards diagonal slash.

Intercepting his attack, Weiss rushed with her gunblades. One blocked the katana, while the other was mid-slash towards Munenori. The Saber Empireo jumped back to avoid the slash, but as the white heiress pulled the trigger, a shot was fired towards his chest. However, his armor absorbed the shot before it could make any serious damage, "You're the one who will fall here." She said before reposing her blades, "Your misguided ways are because you refuse to accept the methods of someone else being better than your own."

"Tall words from a little girl," Munenori spoke before smirking, causing Weiss to respond with a cold glare, "I see, allow me to remind you of why I gained the title of the Saber Empireo."

Weiss reposed in a blocking stance as Munenori rushed in. She parried his swift sword slashes but was unable to line a shot with her gunblades. Suddenly, the Saber Empireo hit her weapons with an upward attack that left Weiss in a stunned state. The White heiress gasped as Munenori adjusted for a downward slash.

However, Yang intercepted and caught the blade in her left hand. Munenori gasped before he is punched in the chest by the blond brawler's right fist. A shockwave of yellow aura pulsated through his body, shattering his armor as he was launched back. The katana blade cut out of Yang's hand as the Saber Empireo was seeming about to be launched off the cliff. However, he slabbed the ground to slow himself before stopping at the edge. In standing up, Munenori glared at Yang, whose right hand was already healing with the same yellow aura, "I don't care what your title is," The blond brawler spoke before hitting her fist together, "It's still two against one."

"In that case," Munenori responded he brushed off the last bits of armor on his body, fully showing his gi underneath, "I shall cut you down." The Saber Empireo spoke before dashing towards Yang.

The blond brawler put up her fist in a blocking stance but was slightly shocked at Munenori's speed. His slashes were twice as fast as before. She parried with Celicavalon but soon has multiple cuts thought out her body. Before they could fully heal, a new cut was made over the old one. She gritted her teeth through the pain but was staggered by a downward slash. Yang's eyes went wide as she saw Munenori repose for a horizontal swing aligned for her head.

However, a white glyph appeared on the ground at Yang's feet. Her body was then pulled back just as the slash passed by her. The blond brawler let out a sigh of relief before turning to Weiss walking up, "Thanks." She said with a smile as the white heiress responded in kind, "For a second, I thought he cut my-" Suddenly, the blond brawler saw a few strands of her golden locks fall before her eyes.

"Oh no," Weiss panicked as Yang's eyes went red towards Munenori, "Calm down, we need to stick to the pl-" She pleaded, but the blond brawler already lunged towards her opponent, Celicavalon already reeled back with a fist clenched.

Munenori then smiled as he assumed a calm stance, "Kenjutsu Musou, Kenzen Ichinyo." He declared as a calm aura filled the entire field.

As Yang rocketed towards him, the Saber Empireo dashed past her in a mere second. However, at that moment, the blond brawler's right arm was severed from her body. The light faded from Celicavalon as Yang's eyes closed from the sudden pain, while Weiss's widened in horror, "YANG!" She cried out as her teammate was lost in the tall grass, along with the severed right arm.

"A sword shows its true worth on the boundary of life and death," Munenori spoke as Weiss turned to him, "While Zen allows one to reach enlightenment through reflective meditation." He said as he now looked to Weiss, "I know what friend saw, but which side will you see upon confronting my sword?"

"You bastard!" Weiss said before reposing her gunblades, then fired a barrage of bullets. However, Munenori dodged some of the bullets while cutting the rest in half with his katana. He rushed in as Weiss assumed a blocking stance, "You'll pay for that!" she said as their blades clashed.

"Is that so?" Munenori responded while continuing his assault, "I can tell, you are a Schnee." He said with Weiss gasping, "I had heard of your linage during my time, but never got the chance to face one in battle." He said before Weiss crossed her gunblades to block a downward strike, "Then, I heard of their retreat to the business world, and their abilities faltered." He said with Weiss gritting her teeth in rage, "There was word of one who join the military who had promise." The Saber Empireo then smirked, "However, I can tell that person, is not you."

"You're referring to my sister," Weiss responded before scowling, "She would beat you in an instant." The white heiress responded before smirking, "So I will do it in her stead."

"Hm, doubtful." Munenori responded, "Especially with this pathetic plan of yours." He said with Weiss gasping. Suddenly, the Saber Empireo pushed away from Weiss before dashing towards Reines.

Reines stood with her eyes closed, the yellow aura radiating from under her eyelids. However, she opened her eyes to see Munenori mid-swing of his blade. She gasped before a black glyph blocked the strike. However, the Saber Empireo pivoted before kicking below the glyph and into the Princess of El-Melloi.

Reines fell back in the tall grass, her aura around her eyes fading, "Tsk." She spoke under her breath while glaring at Munenori.

"Letting your bodyguards do all the fighting while you were calling a storm with the Maiden Powers." Munenori commented, "Cleaver, but very predictable." He said before pointing the blade at her throat, "You are not a master of that power, and you never will be." Suddenly, The Saber Empireo blocked a rush attack from Weiss, his katana grinding against one of her gunblades, "And your attacks have now become easy to read. You are no longer a challenge," Munenori said before pushing against his blade, causing it to launch Weiss's gunblade out of her hand. He then went off a fatal blow, but Weiss blocked with her other weapon.

As the gunblade spun in the air, Reines caught it before swinging it towards Munenori's back. However, the Saber Empireo drew his second katana to block it. He parried both their strikes before kicking Weiss back. the white heiress skidded on the back of her heels before gasping at Reines, who was about to be slashed by Munenori. Weiss then concentrated with a yellow clockwork glyph appearing below the Princess of El-Melloi. Reines radiated the same yellow aura before dashing out of the way of the slashes.

Weiss and Reines then rushed Munenori at the same time, pressuring him to move backward. He then glanced back to see the edge of the cliff near his feet. Weiss went for an overhead slash but was blocked by one of his katanas. However, Reines aimed the gunblade, firing a shot, and shattering Munenori's blade.

Weiss's attack then continued towards Munenori's body, but he dodged out of the way. She gritted her teeth in anger at the miss but then had her eyes widen in pain. The white heiress then realized where the second katana was. She looked down to see the hilt of the blade in her abdomen. Reines gasped in horror as she saw the rest of the blade exiting out of Weiss's back. Munenori sneered before piloting his body, launching Weiss's body over the side as the katana was pulled out. The Princess of El-Melloi dove towards Weiss's body, grabbing her right hand. Reines then stabbed the side of the cliff with the gunblade, locking both from falling.

"Oh no," Weiss said before coughing blood, her wound continuing to bleed.

"Use a healing glyph while I-" Reines tried to call, but then had the tip of the katana pressed against her throat.

"You should just drop her already." Munenori said, "Let her die so you can live. At least, as my prisoner until the Woman in Black needs you for her plan."

"D-damnit," Reines spoke before looking down, "I knew we couldn't win." She said before looking up with a smirk, "Not without getting lucky."

"What?" Munenori responded, then felt a heatwave behind him. The Saber Empireo turned to discover Yang back on one knee, her right arm in her left hand. The blond brawler's eyes were yellow as she reattached her arm with a golden light, then clenched her fist, "You!" Munenori called out before he saw her right fist raised with the gauntlet pulsating with power. He tried to dodge out of the way, but discover his feet frozen to the edge of the cliff. In looking down, he discovered Weiss glaring up at him with a cold stare.

"Take this," Yang called out as her first hit the ground, "Celicavalon!" she declared as a yellow power wave of energy ran through the field. It collided with Munenori's body, blasting him off the cliff's edge and into the forest below.

Reines and Weiss shielded their eyes from the light, but in the shockwave, the gunblade in the cliff started to loosen. The light faded with the weapon unlodging from the stone. Just as the two girls started to fall, Yang reached out and grabbed the blade. Her fingers bleeding, she pulled the two up over the cliff. The three were panting, "Well, the plan worked." Yang said through her heavy breathing, then turned to Weiss, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Weiss said as she used a green healing glyph on her stab wound, "How about you? Your arm?"

"Well, I think I put it on straight." Yang responded as she saw her fingers heal, but noticed her hand still trembling, "Still, Gil was right, I'm never going to forget that pain." She then clenched her fist before looking to Reines, "I hit him full force with my Noble Phantasm, you think he's dead?"

"I won't confirm anything yet," Reiss said as she stood up, looking over the edge of the cliff, "Not until we find the body." She said while her eyes focused on a pillar of smoke in the middle of the forest.

A short while later.

Weiss, Yang, and Reines walked through the woods before reaching a small crater. At the center, Munenori was seen standing, causing the blond brawler and white heiress to assume a fighting stance. However, Reines remained calm, "You've already lost." She spoke, noticing his broken body and blade. Blood leaked from every wound, but the Saber Empireo still stood, "Now tell us, what does the Woman in Black want with the Maiden Powers?"

"…Heh…very well..." Munenori spoke, "Think of this... as your reward…for beating me… She intends to… recreate the Grail."

"The Grail?" Yang asked, "What Grail?"

"I have no idea what means?" Weiss said before looking to Reines, "Do you know about it?"

"I have a theory," Reines responded with a glance back to the white heiress, "And if it's true, we can never let her get all the powers." She then focused on the Saber Empireo, "You failed to capture me, and your mission as the White Fang Killers will fail as well."

"Your other members should be taken care of by now," Weiss added.

"None of you will be hurting anyone ever again," Yang spoke as well.

"We will also take down your base," Reines spoke with her arms crossed, "Your plan to blow up Menagerie will never come true."

"Hehehehe… Blow up Menagerie?" Munenori spoke, "What are you… talking about?"

"The dust you stole from the White Fang bases," Reines spoke with a glare, "You were making a powerful bomb."

"That part is true." Munenori spoke while looking at three girls with a sinister smile, "But you have the reason for it… dead wrong."

"Then what is it you plan to blow up?" Yang asked with her eyes turning red, "Tell us, or I'll-"

"I'm afraid… I'm done… answering questions." Munenori spoke before closing his eyes, "Now, I can experience…true Zen." He spoke before quickly stabbing himself in the stomach. The three gasped as they tried to run over, but the Saber Empireo violently ripped the blade out of his body, slatting what blood was left in his body onto the ground. He fell backward with the three girls stopping near his body.

"Weiss, can you heal him?" Reines asked as the white heiress knelt to the body.

However, Weiss let out a sigh, "He's already dead," she spoke before turning to the others, "The fact that he was even alive after the Noble Phantasm was insane."

"Damnit," Yang responded with a scoff, then turned to Reines, "What did he mean at the end?"

"I don't know," Reines responded, "And that's what scares me."

"Hey," Weiss spoke with both girls looking to her, "That last time one of these monsters said something cryptic before dying, it resulted in us discovering something worse." She said before standing up, "And put someone we care about in grave danger."

"You're right," Reines responded, "We need to inform Blake, now." She spoke with Weiss and Yang both nodding.

AN: There you go, the Leader of the White Fang Killers is no more. Munenori was a hard fighter to kill. To clarify a few things, Yang could reattach her arm here thanks to Celicavalon being bonded to her soul, not her body. And as for why Munenori could not sense her doing this, Reines used her sound canceling ability to hide Yang's movements in the grass. The others kept him distracted while making there way to the edge of the cliff, setting up for Yang to make the final attack without endangering her friends. This plan required a lot of teamwork, skill, and luck to work. Still, the heroes pulled though. However, a dark truth now reveals itself. We see why The Woman in Black needs the Maidens, but moreover, the use of the dust has been debunked. Meaning, what do they intend to blow up? You may get the answers soon, as the last battle against the White Fang Killers is next. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.