Inspired by: Jujutsu Kaisen, especially the manga
-oOo-
As the smoke and dust dissipated from the air and revealed what was being obscured by it, Cinder Fall looked absolutely livid.
Not even an hour has passed from the first episode of showing, and another one has started to play even if they have not yet recovered from having the horrifying knowledge that Jaune Arc was sacrificing his life and lifespan to fought against a mistress of evil.
Both of her underling were currently lying on the ground, on the pool of their own blood, totally dead. While the man they believed to be a fool and weak person was standing over their miserable corpses, staring coldly at her with those pair of crimson eyes.
She doesn't like how this has turned to be.
As her anger and irritation reached its peak, flame burst out from her palms and her Maiden power flared ferociously.
"Hmh, what an amateur..." Under her breath and mask, Raven muttered with a smirk.
She shoots two orbs of burning flame, and soon, two zap of blazing bolts almost hit Jaune
If Jaune was fighting without using [Flowing Scale, he might have found himself as nothing but a crisp of burned flesh left on the ground. Unfortunately, the usage of it also restraned him from using Aura as protective barrier since he was already splitting his focus in maintaining his blood flow and keeping his eyes in battlefield.
"W-wait!? He can't use his aura!? Does he have a deathwish!?" Yang shouted, baffled by the fact that someone was fighting without using Aura, the source of power for every hunstman.
"W-w-we should believe h-him, Yang! T-this is J-Jaune we're talking about." Says Ruby with a teary determined gaze.
Although in all honesty, Ruby was just as worried and as shrouded with doubt as everyone else.
Crouching low, Jaune keep dashing left and right to avoid the deadly barrages of flame bolt. But what made Cinder felt even more infuriated is the fact that each time her bolts almost hit him, the blonde boy unnaturally avoid it in the nick of time.
Even as the barrages get faster and the trajectories of flame get even more complicated, the boy was still as slick as an eel.
This won't do...
"Y-yes, Jaune, good... K-keep her occupied until backup come... P-please don't act rashly..." Pyrrha murmured, praying to the Brothers or whatever deity up in the sky for her crush's safety.
But Cinder wasn't the only one with trouble, Jaune was just as stuck as her. Death was practically breathing on his neck each time the woman in red shoots her magic bullets at him. It was either by sheer luck or the inhuman speed and instinct that safed him from having his ass burned.
This won't do...
Jaune rushes forward, deciding to close their distance even if he had to threw away his long range advantage.
"N-no, Jaune! Please just wait fro reinforcement, please!"
Cinder meet his invitation in kind, propelling forward using the blast of her fire magic while using her semblance to turn a stray metal into a smoldering sword.
Jaune's eyes were trained at her, the muscle of his legs tensed, ready to coil forward and deliver a jumping roundhouse kick.
Cinder swung her sword.
He spr-
"RRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"
*Crash!* *BOOM!*
"Huh-!?"
A giant blur crashed into the wall of the room, and soon the tower of Beacon fell.
Gasps of disbelief were escaping several lips while the people who looked relaxed or calm before were now sitting upright on their seats.
"What the heck are Dragon Grimm doing in Beacon!?" Qrow shouted, slightly grimaced at the curse he accidentally thrown.
Ozpin grips on his mug tightened as his hardened gaze was aimed at the clearly ancient Grimm. Something really, really bad has happened at Beacon in that world, and Ozpin prays to the two Brothers that it won't happen too in their world.
Meanwhile, Cinder was looking at the screen with amazement. Her masterplan has successfully working, and this monstrosity was the prove of it.
Shame that she won't be able to execute her plan when she come back, what with everyone already knowing it from this.
The two combatants, Jaune and Cinder, were thrown off balance as the floor collapsed. They have no time to react as the massive body of the dragon come barelling down unto them, launching the two through the wall and out of the crumbling symbol of Beacon.
"Guh-!" "Ugh-!"
Chilly breeze of winds greeted them both and they immediately snapped out of their shock.
With gritted teeth, Cinder willed her flame to propel herself up and regain her sense of balance. Seeing that the stupid dragon was heading to her, she prepared herself to caught it and stays on its back.
Jaune on the other hand wasn't as lucky as her.
While the woman in red has already on the dragon's back, he was still free falling into the ground with the buidling debris around him.
The students' breathes hitched in their throat, horror painted their face.
"N-no, please, something must have come to save him, right?" Surprisingly, it was Weiss who rambled rather than the others.
Even those who were not exactly close with boy like Yang, Blake and Coco were currently worried dead and biting their lips in frustration.
Frustated in their own helpless state, only able to watch someone they supposed to protect.
His blood won't be able to help him. If he can harden them, he might be able. But he can't.
"Wait, so how did he create that machete and... blood arrow?" Winter murmured, voicing the same question that passed in everyone's mind.
What he did before was rotating the blood at a high speed to the point they become sharp and look solid. That way, it would be quite a trouble if his enemy decided to fought him with sword.
Though, it seems like he don't really have to worry about swordfighting as of now, what with him falling freely on the sky.
The feeling of emptiness and dripping fear filled his heart as the sensation of falling fl-
Before Jaune knew it, a large maw of the mighty dragon greeted his sight. The world seemingly moves slower as the darkness began to envelope him, but before he could be swallowed whole...
Death was on his side.
And he accepted its cold embrace.
"JAUNE!"
"No!"
And thus was the end of the golden valiant knight. Such a wonderful talent, Ozpin mused. If only the boy could show his version of that world about his semblance and martial art prowess, then Ozpin and the rest of faculty may be able to help hone his capabilities beyond perfection.
He may even surpass Ruby with her silver eyes in versatility and Yang in martial art if that was the case.
Qrow chugged on his drink while watching the children cry or at least shed their tears secretly. Even the equally icy sister of Winter was crying just as hard as his youngest niece.
Though, he would admit, the boy's powerful and his dead was such a shame. As long as he could stay away from his nieces, Qrow will get along pretty finely with him.
"Such a talent..." Ironwood lamented sadly, before turning to his specialist.
The woman was gritting her teeth, obviously shaken by the fact that she was powerless and could only watch the death of someone. A feeling that was shared between the other much younger occupants.
Cinder scowl deepened as she silently watched the boy being eaten by the dragon. Even though she felt satisfied by his death, there was still some lingering displeasure for not being able to kill the pest that ruined her moment of victory.
Though, she suppose it was for the-
The dragon suddenly trashed wildly and Cinder had to crouch and tightly hold unto it's spiky scales. It flew without any clear direction, up and down, clawing it's own face as if it was fighting some sort of inner demon that tried to possess it.
Cinder's wide eyes were filled with shock and confusion. What the hell is happening with this stupid dragon now? What-
Before she could try to reason what was currently happening with the majestic Grimm, the dragon suddenly flew straight into the remnant of Beacon's tower.
*RUMBLE!*
The occupants of the theatre were now watching the screen with confusion, even the profusely crying ones were lifting their face and questioningly looked at the weird scene.
What is happening? Aren't the show supposed to end by now?
Cinder's aura instantly drained from her reservoir, being crushed by the massive body of the dragon and smashed unto the rubles of the tower obviously took a tool on her pool.
*ROAARRRR!*
Cinder lifted her head before carefully tried to stand on her feet, watching as the dragon roared into the sky before repeatedly smashing its own head on a particularly huge and sharp boulder.
Their jaw dropped at the sight before them. Some was even barfing into their own bucket as the gory scene keep playing.
Even if it was the abyssal monster that terrorized humanity for centuries that was currently turning it's own head into fine paste, it won't change the fact that the monster have animal anatomy and therefore look exactly like a living creature.
It was horrifying to say the least. Even the homicidal ice cream midget, Neo, was bothered by the bizarre occurrence.
*Smash!*
Its plating bone cracked.
*Smash!*
The Grimm plate splintered.
*Smash!*
A teeth flew out of its mouth.
*SMASH!*
The head-bashing become even harder and faster. Crack and squelch echoed as blood spurts unto the sky, painting the dark blue night with void black.
And soon the dragon fell limp, motionless and dead.
Cinder, standing shakily on her two legs, dumbfoundedly stared at the slowly dissipating carcass of might monster. How, just how in the actual fuck it fucking dies?
Black smoke wafted off from the dead creature while it's body slowly but surely collapsed. For some unknown reason, Cinder felt every single fiber of her being stiffen while the hair on her nape stood straight.
As if death was gripping her heart.
Those who are not profusely crying were watching the screen with their utmost attention. Even those who looked quite disinterested before, like Qrow, Raven and Roman, were now focusing on the scene.
Even the Grimm that littered around Beacon's ground were being attracted by the heavy atmosphere around the dragon's corpse. Some could be seen from afar coming closer to where Cinder and the corpse laid.
Cinder could heard her own heart beating against her chest.
The dragon's chest began to fall apart.
Cinder stood on her two feet, ready to bolt the moment she see any other odd occurrence from the fading Grimm.
Its ribs disintegrated and crumbling into dusts.
And from within the dark, a pair of glowing crimson was staring straight into her soul.
Cinder immediately jumps backwards, taking cover behind the lines of alerted Grimms.
Whatever that thing is, it was attracting negative emotion- no, it was more like the thing was the source of the negative emotion that filled this field. It was powerful, it was raw, it was chaotic, it was-
*Thud*
Step reverberated across the totally silent field.
.
.
..
...
And from within the darkness, emerged Jaune Arc.
""JAUNE!""
Joyful shouts came from the children as they watched their friend was actually still alive. Happiness and hope filled their heart to the brim as they-
"W-wait! What happened to him?" Glynda questioned, staring at the screen with fear and trepidation.
His eyes, they are black, the sclera was void black while his red blood iris become even more prominent. His skin was sickly pale along with his blonde hair that was now borderline platinum.
As if he was a cursed combination of human and Grimm.
"I remember... a bit now..."
"What?"
Jaune was muttering to himself, staring at his own hand as he gripped his fist.
Suddenly, blazing golden flames with inky black outline erupted from his hand, it was chaotic and powerful.
It's name was Cursed Energy.
"Cursed Energy?" Ozpin wondered aloud, even he the great wizard Ozma from the ages of magic had never known anything about something like that.
What exactly is that? That was the question everyone shared silently in their mind.
Whatever that thing is, it sure as hell look and sounds powerful.
Cursed Energy is, to simply put, the polar opposite of Aura.
While Aura was protective, soothing and calming, the Cursed Energy, in the other hand, was absolutely destructive, corrosive and wild. It was dangerous and volatile in nature, since, after all, Cursed Energy was born from negative emotion.
Sadness, anger, hate, envy, fear and any other kind of negatives emotion. It derived from it all.
Hence why it was called cursed.
"Is that thing even possible?" Roman had to give it this time, this thing he was watching, it definitely managed to drop his jaw.
How in the actual hell something like that could exist!?
He was not alone in the state of total dumbfound. The inner circle of Ozpin and Salem (Mainly Cinder, Mercury and Emerald) were watching in shock since they never ever heard anything about this.
However, the main question is, how did Jaune Arc of all peole managed to obtain such a seemingly vile power?
Jaune Arc was awake.
He remembered, albeit only pieces and bits.
His true nature. His origin. His power. His skill. His strength.
His true semblance wasn't the ever so powerful and versatile Blood Manipulation. No, it was a hereditary technique he obtained due to the fact that he was the reincarnation of a powerful warrior.
"Hereditary Technique?" So that blood control was akin to the Schnee's family glyph.
But that was hardly the most surprising news. What surprised them the most is that Jaune Arc is actually a reincarnated person. Was that really the truth? It was rather laughable and lacked any proof, but the way it was being said...
His semblance... is called Link.
The ability to create a link to basically anything in this world, whether they are alive or not, it doesn't really matter. He could practically impose order upon anything that's linked to him or influence the linked thing.
However, Jaune could only create a link when the other individual was agreed to it...
Or he could just directly touch their core.
"What?"
That semblance was... simply said, a total bullshit. It practically turn whoever person linked to him as his slave or he could just subtly turn them into a overzealous dog that will do anything for him.
But Jaune... he would never use such power for malevolent intent... right?
But Link didn't come without its own repercussions. Everyone, everything have a compatibility with his soul. If their soul wasn't compatible with them, his soul will automatically change some part of his body in order to prevent any damage from the foreign energy he shared with the linked person.
And just now, he had managed to touch the core, the heart of the dragon, and force itself to commit a gruesome suicide.
It was quite a hard mental fight, but he managaed. Unfortunately, he didn't come out unscathed as his eyes and his physical capability was transformed from his Link with the dragon.
While the physical boost was quite a nice help, Jaune doesn't really think that dying after the next 12 hours was worth it in the long term.
"Ah, shit. Man, here I thought it would end with happy ending." Qrow mumbled under his breath, watching his nieces began to cry again after their hope got crushed by the sudden news.
No matter, his goal as of now is to kill that woman. His wellbeing after this doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
And with that, his Cursed Energy flared.