Dragonheir Arraleith, the Entombed Tyrant
(▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓)
Now now, the Lost Hunter told himself, he had fought beasts many times his size before, gods even.
He had participated in many a Darkbeast raid back in Yharnam, most notably the stalwart Sentinel of Loran, the Darkbeast Kann-kur - which he had fought and killed on his lonesome. Gods too, when he battled Fauna in the Great One's Nightmare - and though he admit he was never able to end the Great One completely, for the Doll would not allow it, he still mortally wounded it.
He had never fought a dragon before, but heard many tales of their might. The greatest of beasts, they were called - the pinnacle of evolution, rulers of land and sky. And so while the beast before him was no dragonlord but still a dragonheir, it would still make worthy prey.
Aye, he reminded himself, you are a hunter, and before you is your quarry.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇██▇▇█▇▆▅███▅▇██!"
Dust and rock fell from above as the mighty dragon reared its head and roared. In response, the hunter lowered his stance, and extended his saw cleaver. The Lost Hunter steadied his nerves, and grinned, oh aye, dying is the day worth living for.
Roman Torchwick was not in the best of moods.
To be fair, he hasn't truly been in a good mood since being coerced by that bitch Cinder Fall - but he tries anyway. Not that he was trying now.
And it was all going so smoothly, too! They were right on schedule, the train was in operating order, the subways were cleared of Grimm - all was set to carry out the plan. Until he got reports of missing Fang members not showing up for roll call.
At first it was all good, because obviously not everyone was onboard with blowing a hole into Vale and letting Grimm through - so it was granted some might desert. Not that there was anywhere to go, down here, most likely the deserters ended up as Grimm dinner. But that wasn't the end of it, screams began to rule the night as they tried to sleep.
Lookouts were found dead, even after being ordered to go out in groups of four or more - brutally slaughtered all of them, with horrendous tears marring their corpses. That's when he realised there was someone else down here with them, so he set Neo loose to get rid of the perpetrator.
And now Neo was on the verge of death, lying on a makeshift cot, a layer of sweat covering her skin. The fucking bastard had ripped out her right kidney from behind, somehow shattering her aura shield, punching through her rib cage, then tearing out the organ. There were no adequate medical facilities in this shithole, and so despite the best efforts of the White Fang's field medics, it was still up in the air whether Neo would survive.
There was no way he would let her die, obviously - if he had to abandon Fall's plan to get her to a hospital then he would. But before he could make up his mind about the idea, a faunus called for him from outside.
"Hey boss! Found something you might wanna see!"
Enough moping around, Roman told himself, Neo is stronger than she looks, she will be fine. Time to get back to work.
"Is it good or bad?" He called out as he stood up, "Cuz let me tell ya, I've have had a day."
"Uhh… it's a little girl?"
Uh oh, he didn't like the sound of that. Roman went to the door of the box car and leaned out the frame - and saw fucking Red captured between two Fang grunts. Because of course the Huntsmen were here as well, not counting the madman - what was that saying again, the one that said if something could go wrong, it would?
Because while Roman didn't really take much stock in sayings, he had a feeling that one was grounded in truth. Ruby Rose met his gaze, looking just about as confused as she was annoyed - yeah, well, he could relate. He sucked in a breath.
"Yeah… that would be bad…" He trailed off.
Suddenly, the boxcar rocked violently and he lost his footing, stumbling out the the car and falling onto the earth below. Well, that was embarrassing. Roman stood up, dusting himself off, and realised that he wasn't the only one that fell. The two grunts holding onto Red were looking around cautiously, and one mech had even fallen over.
"What was-"
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇██▇▇█▇▆▅███▅▇██!"
His ears popped as a thunderous howl reverberated throughout the cavern - any windows still uncracked suddenly shattered, several buildings collapsed, and dust rained from the ceiling. The earth shook as loud thumps could be heard and felt beneath his feet.
Because of course things could still get worse, and this time he didn't want to stick around long enough to find out what it was. Oh yes, let it not be said that Roman Torchwick doesn't learn his lessons.
He stared at the two White Fang grunts, and they nodded back. Well that settles it.
Roman clapped loudly, then hollered at the top of his lungs, "Alright people, we are LEAAAVING!"
From everyone's reactions, that seemed to be the most popular decision he made all week.
Dragonheir Arraleith, the Entombed Tyrant
(▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒)
Adrenaline raced in his veins, exhilaration set in his bones. The Lost Hunter laughed with manic glee as he danced with death
The hunter ducked under a swipe of Arraleith's tail, using the opportunity to grapple on to limb as it passed overhead. As he was pulled through the air, he brought his saw cleaver to bear - slamming its sharp end down into the tail, biting deep into a previously dealt wound. Indeed, the dragon doesn't seem to learn, and keeps attacking him with its tail, allowing the hunter to deal blow and blow to the same spot.
But this time would be the last, for the hunter dragged the saw cleaver downwards, making good use of its serrated edge. With a ripping squelch, the monstrous claw located at the end of the appendage was sawed off - and thus the hunter kicked himself off the tail, backflipping to land on his feet.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇███▅▇██▇▇█▇▆▅█!"
Arraleith howled its fervent rage, opening its gaping maw to spit plumes of orange-gules flame. Quickening out of the way, though he could still feel the scorching heat washing over his skin, the hunter responded by firing a blood bullet into the beast's exposed gullet.
The mighty dragon reeled back at the sudden intrusion, allowing the hunter to take back control of the fight. He leapt forwards, rolling into the creature's blindspot - right under its torso, in between its wings. For the creature had no forearms to swipe at him, and its serpentine neck was not long enough to twist around and face him.
He retracted the saw cleaver and slashed deep into its chest, all the while staying light on his toes to dance away if one of the dragon's wings came too close. After several deep rends, it was clear to him that the dragon could not allow this to continue any further.
Arraleith lifted its grand wings, stretching them as far as it could in the cramped space, and lifted off. The onrush of wind slammed into the hunter with all the might of a speeding carriage, knocking him over and smashing him into the ground.
Frantically, he scrambled to his feet, backing up as far as he could, sending off a few shots with Evelyn. The dragon was still attempting to fly, slamming itself over and over into the cavern ceiling to no avail. Bloody tar dripped from its wounds, its partially amputated tail swinging around violently, spraying viscous black liquid everywhere.
The dragon seemed to realise its actions were to no avail, for it stopped to look down at the hunter. He noticed how the muscles of its wings tensed in preparation for a great beat - pulled closer to the body and lifted up and over, and the hunter realised it was attempting to dive at him. Mad, but Evelyn was always a solution.
Aye, just as the overgrown lizard was about to charge, Evelyn sang its bloody song - causing it to lurch mid-flight, bat-like wings suddenly splaying out, releasing a gust of air that made it slam into the far wall.
There was a rumble, a deep, low groan that the Lost Hunter felt to the marrow of every bone in his body. Dust rained from above. The cave was growing increasingly unstable, with all the dragon's thrashing about. He must end the fight soon, lest both he and the dragon were buried alive under a mountain.
He charged the beast, quickening through a swipe of its sanguine wings, and pumped bloody lead into the torso of the dragon with Evelyn. Arraleith staggered on its feet, but without space it merely slammed into the wall once more, allowing the hunter to conduct a visceral attack.
The hunter stowed away Evelyn and leapt, grabbing onto one of its rib bones with his left hand, and using its lower ribs as footholds. As the dragon writhed around, its wings outstretched and scraping the walls to their flanks, he plunged his right arm deep into the beast's chest, right where its heart should have been. But that was not his intention.
Cupping his palm, he dragged his arm back out of the dragon's chest, catching it on the embedded side of one of its rib bones.
As if realising his intention, Arraleith thrashed even more violently than before - quite literally throwing its entire body into the cavern walls with its entire force behind it. Holding on for dear life, but ever unflinching, the Lost Hunter braced his legs against the dragon, steeled his muscles, and pulled.
CRACK
With the bone already weakened by previous slashes of the saw cleaver, the hunter snapped off its entire length - prying off the entire rib from the dragon's body.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇███▅▇██▇▇█▇██!"
The hunter kicked himself off before he could be thrown by Arraleith's thrashing.
Instead of attacking him, the dragon took flight once more, crashing into the ceiling. But this time, entire chunks of rock fell from above, entire house-sized boulders rained on their heads - his worst fear had been realised, the cavern was collapsing.
The hunter rushed under the dragon, intending on surviving the rockfall by using the beast's body as cover. Alas, the hunter saw the slightest glimpse of blinding light through the dust - and something shifted in his mind's eye.
"Just my luck," he grumbled, "By Oedon's formless behind, I'm in for it now."
With a thunderous, ear-shattering roar, mighty Mountain Glenn collapsed on the both of them, and all went dark.
Dragonheir Arraleith, Unearthed Scourge of Vale
(▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒)
The train thundered down the tracks, Roman had ordered the engine driver to use less water in order to superheat the boilers.
But even as they raced towards Vale, the train was growing more and more unstable, rocking violently from side to side at times. Partly due to the unmaintained railroads, he surmised, but also due to that fact that the entire tunnel was fucking collapsing.
He instinctively ducked once again as a massive tremor shook the tunnel, shaken by the faraway roars of a distant Grimm ever growing closer. Did that bitch Fall know of this? Was this her plan all along, to awaken some ancient Grimm sleeping in the depths of the mountain to lay waste to both Vale and him? A loose end, Roman knew what he was, he had lived his entire life in the underbelly of Vale, after all.
But even then he had assumed he was still of value to Cinder Fall, well now he wasn't so sure.
While contemplating his next move, his handheld transceiver beeped at him. What was it now?
"Yeeeess?"
"Boss, we've got trouble, they've boarded the train!"
Oh for fuck's sake. He even left Red back at Mt. Glenn, why are they still following him? Oh wait, it's because of the massive fucking Grimm waking up and bringing down the entire mountain. Well, Roman wanted to stay alive more than he feared Fall's anger, so her plan can eat shit - he wasn't going to help the Grimm kill him by blowing holes in the tunnel.
He brought the transceiver to his mouth, "Keep them occupied, I'm comin' over to deal with 'em. All of you - disarm the bombs, I'm sure no one wants to anger that thing any further!"
Then, Roman turned to the engine driver, "Slow down the train, we don't want to crash into the collapsed bit of the tunnel, do we?"
"Got it, boss."
"Right, keep it up. And decouple the bomb cars yeah?"
Roman pried open the door of the cabin, and leapt over to the next car. The tunnel they were racing through now was once the Vale-Glenn Line, which was of course discontinued after the Valeans collapsed the tunnel at the end. But a subway line must have a station, and this line ends at Vale's Coulee Station.
Of course, the station has been demolished, and a plaza was built to fill in the empty space. A memorial plaza, that was, one that honoured the deaths of all the 'brave pioneers' that dared to expand the territories of mankind. What a load of horseshit, as if the Valeans weren't the ones who abandoned Mt. Glenn when they called for aid against the growing tide of Grimm. As if the Valeans weren't the ones who made no attempt to evacuate the Glennites when they begged to use the subway for that purpose.
As if the Valeans weren't the ones who collapsed the subway in the first place, and became mass murderers in the process. All because of pride, the Valeans' mighty ego did not allow them to help their fellow man just because Mt. Glenn had voted for higher autonomy.
They wanted independence, it's not our problem anymore, we are no longer obligated to help them against the Grimm.
The Glennites were killed by the City of Vale as much as they were killed by the Grimm, all knew this, no one cared.
In any case, the point he was making was that this line ended at Coulee Station, and he was in no mood to kill himself by ramming into a wall of rock. The train would halt right before the blockade, then everyone would evacuate through a previously dug out corridor - which leads straight to the abandoned station. From there, they would sneak back into the city.
And Roman would bring Neo and disappear back into the city's underworld, far away from whatever scheme Fall is brewing up next.
His transceiver beeped.
"Boss, one of them is headed your way, to car three."
Car 3… damn it all, that's the one Neo is recovering in. He sped up his pace, frantically thinking of a way to deter the Huntsman approaching away from Neo. His boots clanged against the steel floor as he raced through the boxcars, leaping over coupling after coupling.
Finally, he reached car 3, and swung wide the door. Neo was sleeping in a cot, still recovering, the door on the far end was still shut tight. He had arrived first, good.
Roman loaded a 'firecracker' round into his Melodic Cudgel. A specially crafted round made of combustion dust and lightning dust. When shot, it was very loud, very bright, but not very dangerous - at least to someone with aura-shielding. Aptly named, that it was.
Just on time, the door on the far end slid open, and one Blake Belladonna stood on the other side of the threshold, ready to rush in. Roman pointed the barrel of his Melodic Cudgel at her.
"Hello there kitty cat, I'm afraid you've got the wrong door."
BANG
Dust and flames spewed from the cane's maw, rocketing towards to disguised faunus. As expected, the girl used her Semblance to create a Dust Clone, which the firecracker round impacted. The girl, however, had leapt up onto the roof of the boxcar - not ideal, but anywhere away from Neo would do.
Roman turned around to the door on his side, and hefted himself up unto the roof to face her. Except, the girl wasn't facing him, but looking over the end of the roof to see whether she could jump back down.
"Come one now, kitty cat." He raised his voice, catching her attention, "Why can't you just… leave us alone?"
"Oh yeah, and let you bomb a hole into Vale? Do you think we don't know there are bombs-"
"Defused bombs! They are defused!" He shouted, "And we've decoupled all the cars as well, can't you see that too!?"
Blake turned around, and indeed of the twenty or so carriages that should've been trailing behind after them, only six were left. And of the detached cars far in the distance, none had exploded.
"Huh…?" She looked back him, and though she tried to hide her confusion it was clear as day, "Well clearly it must be another plan of yours!"
"Plan? Mine?" He laughed, "Girl, I don't even wanna be here! Didn't you hear the roars, the shaking of the mountain? Something's back there, girlie, and I don't want to know what it is!"
"Then you shouldn't have woken it up in the first place!"
"We've been here for weeks! Only now that you lot have come, IT HAS WOKEN UP!"
The faunus' eyes widened in surprise at his loss of composure. Roman took a breath to calm down, it has been a hectic day, the sooner he convinces her they were on the same side the better.
"Tell your friends to calm down!" He pleaded, "Then we can all get out of here alive!"
"And how do I know you aren't-"
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇███▅▇██▇▇█▇████▅▇█!"
An earth-shaking roar was tore through the tunnel, and though muffled it was still forceful enough to send the entire train shaking from side to side. A deeper rumbling sound was heard, then suddenly with a great series of crashes the tunnel started to cave in. Both he and the cat faunus watched as entire sections of the cavern began collapsing behind the train - and it was catching up with them.
Roman hastily took out his transceiver and screamed into it, "Speed up the fucking train!"
He then looked to the Huntress-in-training, his eyes boring into hers, "Well!?" He demanded.
"...Fine." She caved.
"Alright, alright alright alright!" He breathed, "You have a Schnee right, the one with the glyph Semblance - get her to the front, we need to stop the train before it collides with the blockade!"
"Y-Yeah, I got it!" The faunus tapped an earpiece, "Guys, I'm sure you have an idea of what's happening, so stop fighting! Weiss, can you get to the engine car, you need to set up a glyph in front of the train so we don't crash!"
Following her lead, Roman brought his own transceiver to his mouth, "All of you, we have a truce with the Huntsmen until we get out of this mess-"
BOOM
The entire cavern rocked, and the train nearly derailed itself from the sheer force. He was forced to fall onto the boxcar's roof so as to not fall off, and he saw that Blake had stabbed her weapon into the metal and held it for dear life.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
It was as if there was something thumping against the walls of the tunnel, continuously ramming it with full force. He paled, and turned to look at the the Huntress in front of him - she seemed to mirror his thoughts.
"Oh, fuck me-"
BOOOOM
The entire tunnel wall on his right side was torn away, and blinding sunlight rushed in to fill the darkness. See, most of the Vale-Glenn Line, and Coulee Station, was built in the side of the Alpyrene Mountains, which ran north-south down the eastern part of Sanus. Once the tunnels reached about the source of the Simes River, the Line would turn west until it reached Coulee Province - which bordered the Alpyrenes.
Which was why from the newly-made window into to Great Eastern Valley, he gazed upon an incredible sight. Miles upon miles of untouched primordial forest, and the shimmering blue Sea of Marselle beyond it. And on the far northeastern end, the massive, sprawling Megalopolis of Vale. A great spotch of grey in the midst of emerald green, encompassing all of the Simes River from source to mouth - the city stretched from the Alpyrenes in the east, to Forever Fall and the Sea of Ulysses in the north, to the Sea of Marselle in the west.
The largest city in the world, both in land area and population, and home to nearly a billion souls.
Now if only the view wasn't scarred by the colossal Grimm Wyvern flying alongside the mountain, parallel to the train. Its blood red wings were outstretched, with the right wing digging into the mountainside, carving the massive gash which allowed them to see into the Valley. Suddenly, the dragon released an ear-rapturing howl, and veered away - gliding down, and heading straight in the direction of Vale.
Wait… if the tunnel is collapsing behind them, and the dragon carved open to mountainside… Roman swivelled his head around at lightning speed, hearing some bones crackle. Behind him… he watched, slackjawed, the peak of Mt. Glenn crumbled away, snow and stone mixing together as the entire mountain caved in on itself, creating the world's largest avalanche, rockfall, and glacier all in one.
A colossal mushroom cloud of smoke and dust rose high into the sky as the peak slowly lowered in height. He was sure all of Vale could see the spectacle clearly even from where they were, no every man, woman, and child on this side of the Alpyrenes could see it.
So shocked, he was, that it didn't even register in his mind that the creature that caused the catastrophe was a living legend. A Grimm Wyvern, the kind one would read about in fairy tales and story books - he had heard of them, of course. Survivors of Mt. Glenn would appear on television, from time to time, talking about their experiences, some would mention witnessing a dragon - but everyone dismissed the claims. Ridiculous, they called it… not so ridiculous now, eh?
After all, the 'ridiculous claim' was making a beeline straight for the heart of the city.
Dragonheir Arraleith, Unearthed Scourge of Vale
(▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒)
Torrential winds whipped at him, tearing at his clothes and threatening to blow him off his perch.
The Lost Hunter gripped hard onto the leg of the dragonheir, hanging on for the life of him. He had managed to take hold just before the dragon burst out of its tomb as if emerging from an egg. A brief look over his shoulder confirmed that Mt. Glenn had caved in, where was once a mighty peak now a gargantuan crater, with entire leagues of forest, rivers and lakes flattened by a literal mountain's worth of stone and rock.
He grit his teeth, and extended his saw cleaver - swinging it upwards to punch into the upper thigh of the dragon.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇███▅▇██▇▇█▇▅▇█!"
A guttural scream ripped from the maw of the great beast as the hunter used his trick weapon like a climbing pick. Placing his trust in the saw's serrated edge, the hunter let go of the leg and hauled himself up using the saw cleaver's long handle.
He reached the upper thigh just before the dragon folded its wings and dived in an attempt to throw him off. The hunter braced his legs onto the inner-side of the beast's knee, and dug deepe into its flesh with his saw cleaver. Right before crashing into the forest, the dragon suddenly extended its wings and lifted up - and the hunter nearly blacked out, he could feel all his blood rush to his legs from the sudden shift.
Wrenching the saw cleaver out of Arraleith's thigh, he then threw it upwards once more - and watched it embed itself into its waist, right where the leg meets the body. However, to get the cleaver so high he had to throw it entirely, letting go off the handle. Thus now the handle stuck out of the dragon as a wooden protrusion.
He breathed in, and pulled out Evelyn.
"Come on now, beastie." He clenched his teeth, holding his breath.
Just as the dragon lifted its wings for another beat, the hunter got a clear shot at its head.
BANG
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇███▅▇▅▇█▇██▇▇█!"
A blood bullet punched deep into one of the beast's six eyes, prompting it to howl in pain, or rage. Oh aye his aim was quite admirable, a consequence of entire moons of spear-fishing back on the Mission Fleet to sustain himself in the middle of the Singing Sea.
Quickly stowing away the pistol, the hunter released his tight grip and slid down the dragon's leg to crouch into the inner side of it's knee. He tensed his muscles, preparing to leap.
Suddenly, the dragon dived, hurtling towards the forest at incredible speeds.
"That's it!" He laughed, let go, and leapt upwards.
Now in free fall, the hunter spread out his limbs to slow his descent. The dragon was below him, still diving towards to sea of emerald green below, the hunter's keen eyes honed in on the saw cleaver, still stuck deep into the beast's flesh - and its protruding handle the perfect catch. Aye, the hunter loved it when a plan came together.
He pulled his limbs close to his body, and shot downwards. With a smaller frame, the hunter quickly caught up with the dragon, one arm outstretched to grab onto the saw cleaver's handle.
Then, the dragon suddenly jerked upwards.
The hunter's eyes widened, before he hastily twisted himself midair in order to avoid colliding with the beast's back. Just before the dragon shot above him, he spied the handle of the saw cleaver, now in arms reach.
He gripped onto it, and was immediately thrown upwards from the force of the great creature lifting. The hunter spun around the handle of the trick weapon like an acrobat, making a backflip with the handle as his pivot to dissapate his momentum. He landed on two feet, in a crouch - right on the dragon's back.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The hunter howled in manic triumph.
The Lost Hunter wrenched his saw cleaver from the flesh, and starting making his way to the dragon's head, following right along its spine. He kept his body lowered to the back, slamming the saw cleaver into the flesh from time to time to keep a firm grip. Once he ensured he had firm footing, he indulged himself with the view of this Dream.
…Was that a city? Nay, that's an entire kingdom! The hunter stared, maw wide open, at the monstrous metropolis spread over an entire section of the continent like a blanket. There must be tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of people living in there.
That is Vale!?
Indeed, a closer inspection revealed blocks upon blocks of cuboid structures, similar to ones found in Mt. Glenn. A massive river ran through the centre of the city, and to the north there was a vast forest of bright red trees. Along the coast was a sprawling harbour, and even from the height he was at he took notice of thousands of absolutely huge vessels moving in and out of ports.
And far, far on the western edge of the city, sat a glittering cerulean palace utop a cliff, greater and grander than any he had laid witness of before.
Well, now he knew why the Huntsmen took their time getting to Lower Cairn. In the grand scheme of things, the town was less than insignificant compared to this monstrosity of a city. So this was why the land was so unpopulated, in view of the beasts plaguing this land, the people converged to create these kingdom-sized metropolises.
Where all of this Dream's cities like this? Incredible.
Even more incredible, were the airships floating above the city. They too were cuboid-shaped, the people of this land seemed to love their sharp edges, and splayed out behind the main body of the airships were three pairs of skeletal wing-like protrusions. Was this the power of Dust? He could see why they were so reliant on it, if Dust allowed more magnificent creations of such manner.
Alas, he could admire it all later, first he had a beast to kill. But even then, they were leagues up in the sky, and he needed a way to get down and survive the landing. The hunter scanned the city, searching for any suitable landing sight.
The were many parks and open spaces, but they were all surrounded by buildings - and the hunter didn't want to risk any collateral damage. So instead he scanned the outskirts of the city, and found a suitable place.
A wide open plaza, located right against a sheer cliff - where the city bordered the mountain range. He could have the dragon crash into the cliff, killing its momentum, then make use of its bewilderment to kill it. And at the same time, the dragon would bounce back off the cliff face and land right in the plaza, where there shouldn't be many people.
The hunter grinned, plan set in his mind, he leapt forwards and brought down the saw cleaver into the dragon's serpentine neck.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇█▅▇█▇██▇█▇▅▇█!"
Howling in response, the beast dived once more - but the hunter would have none of it. He moved forwards, one leg infront of the other as if balancing a tightrope, then grabbed the beast's bone-skull. The mask-like skull had a frill, bony horns swept backwards to cover the point where the head met the neck.
He pulled out a blood vial, one harvested from a bovine faunus. In his experiments with faunus blood, he had found out that while they were not as effective as beast blood in healing, faunus blood was incredibly versatile. He considered a fair trade.
The hunter stabbed the vial of bovine beast blood into his thigh, and felt the distinct feeling of inhuman strength slithering into his muscles. Bull-like strength, one might say.
With two hand, he grasped a horn tightly, then wrenched it up and to the right.
Arraleith twisted midair, its head suddenly shifting towards Vale, and its body following. Below, entire city blocks were cast in shadow as the mighty beast flew overhead. Looking up ahead, the hunter saw several massive buildings approach at speed, seemingly made of glass and rising high enough to reach for the clouds.
He wrested the dragon's head upwards, and the body followed, not dissimilar to a snake. They scraped the top of the towers, before the hunter pushed the dragon back down. The cliff was nearing, and the dragon knew it.
With renewed vigour, Arraleith wrestled for control of his own body, writhing around violently.
The Lost Hunter let go of its horn with one hand, grabbed onto the saw cleaver, and smashed the sharp end into its skull.
Arraleith screamed - then slammed face first into the cliff face.
The hunter was mostly unharmed, protected by the dragon's bone frills and curve of its neck. He held on once more as the beast rebounded, pushing its massive body off the wall with its powerful wings, dropping on all four onto the plaza grounds.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▇█▅▇▅▇█▇▇█▅▇█!"
He could hear the screams and shrieking of unwitting cityfolk as they ran in terror, and the sirens of what were likely policing forces coverging on their location. It was not everyday a dragon landed in a bastion of humanity, after all. A shadow was cast over them, and the hunter watched as an airship floated overhead, releasing smaller airships and flying vehicles which were descending unto them.
Were they trying to steal his kill? Unacceptable, did they have no pride?
The hunter injected another vial of bovine beast blood into his thigh, and gripped his saw cleaver tightly.
In a motion one would make when chopping at a tree, he slammed his cleaver underneath the skull-mask - just like opening up a clam, he thought. Then, he began sawing away the tendons that connected the bone to he flesh. Once the trick weapon was suffieciently deep enough, he turned the cleaver so that it was perpendicular to the bone, and shoved it in so that the entire blade was underneath the mask.
Using two hands, he used his entire weight to push down on the handle - the weapon had become a makeshift lever.
CRACK
With a snap, the bone lifted from the flesh, all it need was last push. The Lost Hunter released the cleaver and gripped the mask firmly, and pulled.
"GRRAAAAGHH!" He roared, not unlike a beast's own.
With a great rip, he wrenched the entire skull mask from its head, and threw it onto the paved ground below - revealing supple black flesh underneath.
The dragon fell to the ground with a great thump, cracking the stone beneath, without even the effort to roar. He collected his saw cleaver, and moved to stand on its now unarmoured head, staring into the beasts five red eyes, as he had blinded one with Evelyn.
Dragonheir Arraleith stared back at him, and even though there was a biological barrier between them, the Lost Hunter still recognised the emotion stirring in its sanguine gaze - acceptance.
"You were a worthy hunt, dragonheir." The hunter told it, "Be proud."
The dragonheir shifted its head, a motion not dissimilar to a nod - then it closed its eyes, and huffed.
The Lost Hunter raised his saw cleaver, and brought it down.
Dragonheir Arraleith, Unearthed Scourge of Vale
(▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒)
PREY SLAUGHTERED