It was a calm mid-day in Atlas Command Center. However, calm was a subjective word. The absence of noise filled with a sense of order in the physical world could be considered a calm environment. But, how about the mental world? An individual could express a calm exterior, but if the mind raged on without a care in the world, could that be considered calm? For Winter Schnee, it was somewhere in between.
It was a calm mid-day in Atlas Command Center and Winter Schnee was concerned. It shouldn't be out of place for a soldier to express their concern on the job as long they yield satisfying result, but Winter Schnee was an efficient and prideful soldier who kept her thoughts to herself—a well known fact in the military. As such, it was quite obvious to anyone watching to notice that the former heiress was concerned especially with how her eyebrows knitted in a particular way and lips curled into a half frown.
A report laid out on her desk and a mug of Atlesian Black in her left hand, she read the report once more. Its contents detailed about a failed Wendigo hunt. It was not a normal Wendigo however. This particular one was first recorded approximately 53 days ago on Base N-D13 on the North, which guarded an SDC Dust mine. This Wendigo was noted to hunt humans and fauns not because of their Grimm-based instinct, but to actually eat them. All records pertaining this Wendigo had one similarity that stood out, this Wendigo ate its victim to the bone while leaving the head untouched. Combined that with three failed consecutive hunts and Atlas got a Grimm with a capital 'A' for its danger level.
That wasn't the main source of her concerns however. The last hunting team was led by Marrow Amin from the SOU (Special Operatives Unit), an Ace Candidate with a good head on his shoulder who possessed a Semblance that could freeze any targets in his field of vision as long as he concentrates on them. If someone with good instinct and powerful Semblance could be felled by such beast, then how much intelligent that the beast had accumulated?
Better question, why Atlas hadn't send their knights or even bombardments towards the Wendigo? The answer lies within the terrain. The beast was intelligent, it only traverses regions with dense foliage or heavy snowing, which makes their laser guided ordinance quite inefficient. As for the knights, they were designed mainly to support frontline Hunters—disposable shields basically—Amin had some, and the beast swatted them away like flies. How about the Paladins? They're still in prototype phase; if a group of first year students could beat one, then it wasn't ready for an 'A' class Grimm. As such, elite Hunters were needed for this thing.
Winter Schnee already filed a proposal to deploy the Ace Ops together with her as the leader. She only needed to wait until the General gave her clearance to proceed. Then her scroll vibrated, it contained approval from the General and he was waiting for her in the meeting room, she smirked at that. Finally, something positive.
To hunt a Grimm wasn't something relegated to high ranking officer such as herself—her tasks mostly concerned the national and international security and public relations; urban areas most of the time. But, if the situation calls for it, she will sortied to the frontline. She found herself in the middle of such situation, and fortunately, her craving for actions was relatively high after hearing her sister's escapade in downtown Vale.
Such were her thoughts when entering the meeting room. Only the visage of the General brought her mind to the forefront and escaped her silent musing. She snapped a quick salute and quickly sat on the available seat, she was the first one here. However, that only lasted for a few moment.
The door slid open and entered the Ace Operatives.
Clover Ebi, the luckiest man on the job.
Vine Zeki, the pacifist to the roots.
Elm Ederne, the unwavering tree.
Harriet Bree, the fastest rabbit in Atlas.
Tortuga Kwassaint, the immovable shell.
These were the Ace Ops, the greatest team of Hunters in the world. Their Semblance might not be as mighty as most people thought, but their sheer versatility and endurance made them a mighty team only contested by a few.
They, like her, performed a quick salute, before sitting down.
"Good, everyone is here," a pause, "then I shall begin this briefing."
The holo screen at the forefront of the room lit up in blue light creating a semi transparent surface in which information could be displayed. As every person in the room expected, it displayed images of their next target, the Abhorrent Wendigo.
Like any regular Wendigo, this beast possessed a body proportion more centered around the upper body—bulkier chest connected to a pair of arms which were nearly as long as its body height; a head in the shape of a moose skull complete with antlers and mane of fur; lower body with smaller proportion than the rest of the body, yet the beast proved to be uncharacteristically flexible and ferocious. Unlike any regular Wendigo, this one glowed orange on some parts of its body. The reason for that was apparent when it spat fire against the Knights engaging it.
Winter quirked an eyebrow when she noticed at the top corner of the screen was a name given to this Grimm. A named Grimm was rare. If one had a name specifically assigned to it, then its danger level was either 'A' or 'S'. The record team believed this beast deserved a name and Winter agreed with that basing on the reports. However, it wasn't the fact that it was named that piqued her interest, it was the name assigned to it: Laurence.
Winter recognized that name, how could she not? A Wendigo like beast wreathed in eternal flame—a figured lifted straight from her favorite piece of literature, Saga of The Good Hunter. A classic literature that felt so Solitas, rang true in the hearts of Solitas, and lived the life of Old Solitas. Yet, ironically, it was written by a man from Eastern Anima with no Solitas ancestry.
She then blinked, and realized she went into tangent. Fortunately, she didn't miss anything crucial when she refocused.
"That is all, any question?"
They had none. The hunting team stood and gave salute to the General before leaving the room in a line.
Time to go hunting, Winter Schnee thought with excitement in her mind.
Laurence Hunt. Day 1. Status: Incomplete.
Hunting a Grimm was a mandatory training regime for all Hunters in the world. Coincidentally, it was her favorite part of being a Hunter. It presented her the feeling of freedom that she longed since the time of her maidenhood. To be released from the shackles enforced by her tyrannical of a father, a good dream in her opinion. Although, she did understand the necessity in the education provided by Jacquess Schnee, they proved invaluable in her time as a soldier after all.
Other than that, she loved Grimm Hunting as a result of her Semblance. One aspect of the Schnee Semblance was the ability to create semi-living construct. Technically, that construct could be anything. But the Schnees were Hunters before the dawn of SDC, as such, Grimm construct appealed naturally to their descendants. By immersing herself in the hunt, she could better understand the Grimm that would be her construct. How they behaved, how their body operated, and other details that would be missed with reading a simple record.
With the conditions above, the inner child of Winter Schnee couldn't help herself but be excited at the prospect of fighting the real life version of The First Vicar of The Healing Church itself.
The professional side of her however, kept remaining the maiden to take consideration of the danger of this particular hunt, especially with the death of prospective Hunter such as Marrow Amin.
But… the thrill of the Hunt?
No. Keep your thoughts rational. There's a possibility you could die here.
Winter Schnee huffed internally. Still, the rational side of her was indeed correct. To hunt a Grimm of this caliber was a dangerous endeavor, with the slightest of mistake would cost their very life.
But that was the essence of the Hunt. Her childish side supplied.
Her rational side deigned not to reply that.
Even with the argument inside her head subsided, the image of Ace Ops fighting against Laurence The First Vicar was already seared in her mind. Oh, such grandeur image it was. Winter Schnee believed in their victory even before they meet the beast, for the Ace Ops were the best of Atlas and she was the Right Hand of Ironwood, victory was promised to them.
Ah, such lovely image… lovely enough for herself to not don the strict persona of a cold Specialist. Normally, she would maintain a strict rule of emotional suppression to herself and subordinates, for emotions were the cause of failure in plenty of tasks from the dawn of man. She was enjoying herself, for they were flying towards a grandeur Hunt, so she let the Ace Ops had their moments.
Ebi was reclining on the floor while chuckling at something on his scroll. Occasionally, he would throw a twenty-sided die. The particular instance when Winter was watching the throw, the die rolled a 1. Huh, that was unusual, even Ebi was surprised.
Ederne and Zeki sat on the middle of the Manta. Both of them were meditating… one of them was meditating while the other trying and failing to meditate. She did not need to elaborate which was which.
Bree and Kwassaint were occupying one corner of the Manta, spending their time giving 'subtle' glances at each other while holding hands. It was open secret that both women were in a relationship, this might just be their way of reassuring themselves to be victorious.
An hour had passed and they soon arrived at their drop point—the travel was actually quicker than the preparation.
The frigid wind of Solitas caressed them with no remorse. No longer the manta protected them from this cold nor their uniform of nylons and cottons. No sun was there smiling to the Hunters, hidden somewhere behind the sea of clouds. In this cold air below 40 degrees Celsius, only their uniform of wool and leather paired with their strong Aura that sheltered the greatest Hunters from the cold.
As the Manta flew farther away, the Hunters surveyed their surroundings. They stood at the base of Mount Wayne—named after Wayne June, a researcher who discovered an Ancient Grimm deep within this very mountain. This drop point was not chosen on random. According to the tracker planted by the first hunting team, Laurence wandered around this area frequently. She checked her scroll, the blip from the tracker came from two kilometers Southwest. That meant they must braved the forest of this region.
The Cree Forest covered the entire base of the Alaska Mountain Ranges—from Mount Wayne to Mount Church. A forest mostly consisted of pines with some space in between trees that allows more mobility than the usual forests that Winter visited in her missions, which she was grateful for. More space, more chance to do a blitz to a big enemy.
The Atlas Military specialized in this kind of terrain, so it wasn't much of a surprise when the team moved easily inside the forest even with the thick snow hindering their movement somewhat. Fighting wasn't much of an issue too, even with this situation. The only one who might gain disadvantage was Operative Bree since her Semblance needs wide solid surface to properly function, and that could be rectified with Winter's glyph or just clever usage of ice Dust.
Fifteen minutes had passed and they had covered roughly one-third of the distance between them and Laurence—thick snow and lesser Grimm making the process longer than usual. The team shared no banter nor quip while they walk as something like that could potentially distract them from other important matters, such as the bombs that were being checked by Operative Kwassaint.
Ah yes, the bombs.
The team has two different plans in approaching this mission. The first one, with Winter giving her full approval for it, was to duel Laurence like how a Hunter should be and proves the superiority of humanity. That plan got everyone's approval. However, unlike Winter, the Ace Ops didn't have sentimental attachment to Laurence. As such, they preferred to fight more efficiently as it would increase their success rate.
Their agreement then came down to bringing Kwassaint's self-made bombs which included excessive thunder Dust. Oh, and there's a portable shock trap.
Suffice to say, they felt reasonably unbeatable with this setup.
Forty minutes had passed and the team slowed down. The reason, a bellow came from the front, and the team went to formation. Kwassaint at the front with her ballistic shield deployed, ready for incoming damage. Ederne and Bree right behind her in anticipation for a blitz. Winter, Ebi, and Zeki at the rear for support. Slowly they marched and before long they stood at the edge of a clearing at the base of a cliffside. It was at the center where Laurence awaited them.
Uncaring, or maybe unaware, of the Hunters, the beast wreathed in eternal flame entertained itself with its toys. The Hunters took the chance to fully analyze the beast. ItIts height equals three grown men with a mane of fur covering its back and left arm, just like the record. Its bellow was loud, surely it would stroke fear into lesser men, but not these Hunters. From a distance, this beast looked just like any other beast that a Hunter must hunt.
Although, one aspect separated this one from its lesser kin. Its intelligence. Even without reading the report, the intelligence of this Grimm clearly surpassed the majority of its species. In each of its arms was a Sabyr, clearly alive judging by their agonized howls. Laurence's right hand went up and then brought the Sabyr down unto its brethren with a loud bellow. The Beowolfs were not dead yet. Now, its left arm went up, and the same action was repeated, followed by a sound they could only described as a raspy, twisted laugh.
It was akin to watching a toddler playing with their new toys, and that made Winter smiled. What kind of thrill would this beast brought her, she wondered.
Another crunch resounded through the air and Laurence found the two Sabyrs crushed under its hands. At that moment, Winter brandished her saber, which alerted Laurence of their presence, and pointed the tip at the fiery beast.
On that sunless day, Winter Schnee of Atlas Military, challenged Laurence The First Vicar to a battle of Life and Death.
Laurence, seeing the challengers, stood straighter ; eyes scanning the Hunters in its wake. Hunters were enemy, it was a fact embedded in its consciousness since its birth. For years, Hunters flocked to it just for a chance of glory in slaying a species of Grimm known for their ferocity and a tale as old as the kingdom. Those hunters ended up shredded by its very arms.
Laurence understood that the Hunters who came in its younger days were of the lower standing in the food chain, for they were weak. But then, more Hunters came, more powerful as the day went. They too were slain and eaten.
Laurence realized that day; it needed more power to survive. Thus Laurence watched its kin doing their things day by day, until one day it met that smoky black thing. The smoky thing was weak, so weak that it cannot fight a Hunter head on, yet it was also formidable. It became one with the grey stones and shiny stones, a powerful creature that may as well kill Laurence if more stones were to become its body.
Laurence was enlightened that day. To be one with the stones is to be powerful. Thus it seek the shiny stones. It chose red, for red was fire. For fire brought agony to the Hunters. For fire roasted the flesh for a delish feast.
With its newfound power, it went to the one place with many not-Hunters and many shiny stones. That was the greatest feast it ever had. Unfortunately, its action brought stronger Hunters to it, and these Hunters challenging it were the same kind of them, for they had the same skin.
Laurence had been pondering how these Hunters always find it no matter how many times it moved. It reached a conclusion just now. The previous Hunters stabbed something on its back. It wasn't something that bothered it, so Laurence let it be. Yet, Laurence could feel some kind of energy coming off of it. Perhaps the Hunters used the thing to find it. Hmmm… It needed an experiment.
Soon, a plan formed, and Laurence couldn't help but smile in delight. Then, Laurence shall proceeded, it hopped backwards, towards the cave at the base of the cliffside.
The Hunter—Winter Schnee—widen her eyes only for a fraction of a second before narrowing into dangerous slits. Laurence declined her challenge, if so, no mercy shall be given.
Ederne launched a volley of rockets to the retreating Wendigo. It responded with a fistful of snow, disrupting the rockets and making them hit the ground besides it, throwing snow and smoke in the air. Then the beast snarled when Bree surged from beyond the snow with the help of Winter's glyphs. With how sudden she came, Laurence did not have a choice but to take a straight punch to the face. When its right arm flayed forward, Bree had retreated.
To the side, Laurence noticed the Hunter with white fur charging an attack with a glyph. It knew that such attack would be dangerous, as such Laurence found it mandatory to disrupt the Hunter.
A ball of flame hurled towards the Hunter and made her dodge. Another ball hurled towards the closing fast-Hunter, and she too was forced to dodge. Then, still retreating, Laurence gathered power in its jaw before launching a mega flare. It hoped the flare would cause a substantial amount of damage. However, the Hunter with the shell went straight into its flame. Laurence watched in mild curiosity when the energy of its flare was absorbed and then released to the surrounding, negating any damage that would've struck the Hunter.
White used glyph, Small was fast, Shell could absorb. The Wendigo noted.
Unfortunately for the Hunters, the fight must come to a stop as Laurence just entered the cave. The cave was safe, the cave was home. It could plan ahead with all the time in the word.
As for the Hunters, they universally scowled. They stood at the cave mouth, pondering what's the best course of action they should follow. Normal people would say blow the cave and let the rubbles do the job. Sadly, multiple cases had happened where the Grimm target survived a cave-in. So they must lure it out somehow and confirm the kill themselves.
Winter then sighed to herself. Was this the mighty Laurence from the Saga of The Good Hunter? It surely wasn't after seeing how cowardly it was. She scowled again, what a waste of her time. She came here expecting a grand battle against a legendary Grimm in the making and added it to her collection of summon. But no, it was simple disappointment that greeted her in the deepness of this forest.
Sensing that her irritation was surging up again, she immediately gave her order less she made irrational decision. Her order in summary: set the bomb beside the entrance and prepare a tripwire and lure the beast out. The bomb would do the rest of the job. What if the cave had another exit? Unlikely, given the unnatural way the hole was made. Probably made by a Burrower for a quick shelter.
Ebi was chosen as the bait, for his luck never betrays him.
Winter watched Ebi's back slowly melted into the darkness of the hole in the rock, expecting a quick success and then a warm celebration. They were the best of Atlas, of course they would succeed. It was just a matter of when. Hmph… if Winter Schnee cared not for her persona, she would've snorted out loud by now.
They heard a bellow from within and immediately backed up. In the next second, Ebi bolted out from the cave, Laurence pursuing hot behind him. When Ebi was out, Laurence stopped. Eyes scanning the Hunters once more.
Hunters and Beast eyed each other. Their cold frown and narrowed eyes challenging the beast for a battle. Laurence, being the rational beast it was, chose the other option of retreating back into the darkness.
HISSS
Winter Schnee hissed. She actually hissed audibly. That was a rare sight. Fortunately, the Ace Ops did not question her. They understood her irritation, how could they not? Her fondness of Saga of The Good Hunter series was universally known, and here they were fighting a beast bearing the visage of The First Vicar, which turned out to be a complete coward. Of course she would be angry and disappointed.
What should they do then?
Zeki proposed he pulled the beast out with Ederne's help, a proposal vetoed by both Winter and Ebi. Forcing the beast out would just provoke it to stay inside. It must get out on its own term, and then be blasted by overcharged thunder.
The bombs themselves nested comfortably just beside the entrance where it was a blind spot from the inside. The beast won't know what hit it once it got out.
The team retreated to the edge and began making camp. It wasn't their first time camping in the snow nor it won't be their last. It was still something not so pleasant however, nothing was truly pleasant in 40 degrees Celsius below zero.
The sun hadn't shown itself today, which won't matter a lot in the heat department, but it painted a gloomy world on this region. Truly, today wasn't the day for Winter Schnee and it seemed that the sun agreed with her.
Speaking of heat… she should build a fire.
While the Ace Ops prepared the ground, Winter looked for dry woods around the forest edges. Twigs were abundance, and with Ebi's luck dancing merrily in the air, a piece of dried log was there for the taking. Tis' would make a fine fire, she thought.
Returning to the camp, she found the ground already done with Ederne and Zeki preparing a tent. A hunt like this could went for more than a single day, especially with a beast this intelligent—although Winter preferred the word cowardice to describe the beast.
Winter then approached Kwassaint who already had a bit of fire Dust rubbed on her palm. The twigs and log were laid down and the faunus woman began to work with her hand. And then voila, a fire was born.
In the middle of the cold forest, a fire cackled with life, for its purpose was to give warmth and it was happy to do so. Upon the fire, Ebi arranged a small pot with the purpose of heating water, and the fire heat it with glee.
Winter checked her scroll, the beast hadn't move for a quite a while. Hmm, then perhaps Ebi's idea of having a quick meal was for the best. And just like that, the MREs were out and waters were poured. Around that small bastion of warmth, the team enjoyed their simple meal. And they, assured of their victory, relaxed themselves and be lost in nostalgia.
One mouth opened, regaling the others with a tale of a soul sucking game of poker that left him as the victor. That was the day when Lady Luck began favoring him.
One told the tale of a brutish tree who knows no bound only for said tree to prove the other one right by butting in oh so often.
One told a tale where she ran so fast until she reached that point of being unstoppable, only to be stopped by a tortoise that just refused to move. Said tortoise only nodded with a faint smile.
The last one… after a moment of deliberation, finally regaled the team with a tale. Not with a tale of her own, but of her sister. A Princess of Ice finally free from the clutch of the Frost. Now, she stayed at the Emerald Tower and befriending a little red riding hood.
Tonight we spoke of our grandeur past. Tomorrow another prey shall fall!
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Incomplete.
Morning had came for the Alaska Mountain Range. On normal days, the sun would have kissed the mountain a wake up call and rousing those still asleep from their blissful slumber. Terrible be today, for today was not a normal day. Much were the same as the previous day where the sun refused to be seen, even if it just a glimmer. The same grey sky for the same grey day.
But that would not deter the Hunters.
They were already active from an hour ago. Within that time they already broke camp and finished their preparation for the hunt. For today they shall bring down Laurence, with or without the bomb.
They could wait for more time, but they chose not to. The reason for that was pretty simple actually. During the night, one pair of eyes always paid close attention to the blip on the scroll. For the duration of the night, Laurence ever only went back and forth inside the cave. Never did the beast ever went nearby the entrance. At midnight, Laurence ceased moving even until the clock struck six.
When she heard that, Winter became suspicious. So she ordered Bree to scout around the area. Lo and behold, a kilometer from their current position was another brimming with Sabyr activity, and that cave was quite possibly be connected to this one
She let out a huff of air.
Alas, Laurence still hadn't move. While the possibility of the beast understanding the concept of digital tracking was there, Winter chugged it to be a concept far complex for a Grimm to understand. So yes, that blip was still Laurence refusing to move for hours on end.
Well… that prey's decision of not moving would become more of a suggestion in the next few minutes.
The tactic was simple, Ederne would rooted herself and Zeki would utilized his vine. Ederne would then pulled the vine, she was confident in her strength to pull Laurence out. For contingency, Winter, Ebi, and Bree shall blitz inside and provoked the beast in close range. As for Kwassaint, she would stand by a few meters away to tank hits from Laurence.
Should they dismantle the bombs then? Yes they should, and Winter order—
INCOMING.
From four o'clock, that was what Ebi said.
They pivoted in place and they saw a fireball heading their way. Their instinct told them to dodge first, unfortunately, they realized a fact too late. That fireball wasn't going their way. It was going for the bombs. Eyes widened and mouth agape, distress shouts were delivered in that scant timeframe. Yet they couldn't do a single thing. That fireball was fast, fast like bullet. They had not the time for reacting such a thing by surprise.
With their adrenaline filled system, their eyes perceived the impact in slow motion.
And the rage of yellow be waged in that moment.
Winter knew not the human body could withstood such pain. She knew what pain is, her heart experienced much within the Schnee Manor. Her body endured much in the early days in the military. This… this was on another level.
First came the pain, it felt like something was writhing and biting every inch of her insides. Then came the static, the previous just vanished in the snow. And finally nothing, only the occasional spasming. She knew that a thunderstorm was raging around her yet she felt nothing.
When her muscles finally answered her command once more, she struggled in the snow to just stand up. Looking down at herself in her miserable state, she found her uniform already in tattered from the raging yellowness. But something didn't add up, how did she survive? That explosion was strong enough to fatally injured an 'A' class Megoliath given the right positioning. For their case, it was point blank. As such, her surviving should be impossible.
Her self preservation side was simply happy for getting this miracle, but her logical side was craving for answer. She won't need to be confused for long, the answer was already there in her own vision! Blood. The answer was blood. She followed the blood and found them concentrating on a single spot.
Her breath hitched, and anger set in.
Kwassaint had an absorption type Semblance, specifically she absorbed energy and released it in another form. She used her Semblance in a state of panic when the fireball struck the bombs, resulting in the survival of the rest of the team, and she paid it with her life. And judging by the blood and body parts strewn around, she hadn't had the chance of expelling the accumulated energy back to the environment, and all of that energy just sort of… burst from within.
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Incomplete. Death Toll: 1
Winter heard a familiar shrill, it was something Bree always did when having a too serious spar against Ederne. She knew where this was going so she immediately ordered a retreat, unfortunately Bree was too occupied with her own rage to hear the desperate voice of Winter. In that injured state, Bree would definitely die, Winter morosely thought.
The Semblance of Atlas' fastest runner burned and struggled in the thick snow. Her goal was in her face, the beast that killed her love. She would avenge her lovely tortoise, no matter the struggle she must endure. And so, clouded by rage and obstructed by snow, her Semblance ran not with utmost efficiency, and Laurence knew that.
The beast chugged a fistful of snow at the advancing Hunter, she dodged it. Another fistful of snow, she dodged it. She kept advancing no matter what. And when she finally reached the beast, she jumped high and reared her arms for a devastating blow. In that moment, she forgot that she couldn't dodge midair, her only goal was to one shot the beast with an enhanced fist!
And so, Laurence simply spread its jaw wide and a flare erupted. It hit Bree at point blank and launching her several meters backward. But even before she could land, Laurence was already upon her with a maw hungry for roasted human flesh. In that encounter that lasted only for a scant seconds, Laurence claimed its first meal.
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Incomplete. Death Toll: 2
The lower and upper part of Bree were shredded from each other. What once a cheerful and active woman was reduced to an unbreathing corpse filled with the sorrow of losing a loved one.
In the wake of Bree's death, Laurence advanced, leaving the fresh corpse to be eaten later. These Hunters must die first before it could truly savors the flesh of the strong Hunters. Its target, the one who used glyphs for she was the most dangerous out of everyone.
The Hunter struggled to get back on her feet, but the residual electricity made it hard to do so. On that sunless day, Winter Schnee could only watched helplessly as Laurence advanced with its thunderous bellow shaking the snow they stood on. Yet Winter Schnee refused to die!
Move! She screamed.
Her rage against Laurence were up front on her face, a snarl and glistening eyes zeroed on Laurence, even if it kills her, she would shove this silver blade of her up that beast's eyes!
And then something unexpected happened. Winter focused too hard on the beast to the point she didn't hear Ebi screaming her name, as he worried for her safety. Ebi knew that Winter was more valuable than him, and with his Kingfisher gone, he did the only thing he knew could do. He ran and shoved Winter away from impending death. In turn, he was the one to be caught within the maw of death.
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Incomplete. Death Toll: 3
Winter tumbled down the snow, her last glimpse of the lucky man was their eyes making contact, and Winter saw hope in them.
Move! Lest your team died because of you.
Winter stumbled as she tried to stand, her eyes filled with hatred at the beast chewing upon the corpse of Ebi. The electricity in her muscles almost completely receded, and s she brandished her blade once more and went into her stance, challenging the beast to a duel once more.
And as if to mock the Hunter, Laurence ignored her yet again and went to the nearest Hunters, the downed Ederne and Zeki, and brought its foot and arms down on them. Those bodies made a splat that stabbed her heart even more.
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Incomplete. Death Toll: 5
Silence descended upon them, only the howling wind and cackling fire echoed in that small snowy patch. Winter Schnee and Laurence—nay, a Hunter and a Beast, nothing more nothing less. They stood apart from each other, eyes judging one another in preparation for a kill.
This time, the Beast had an overwhelming advantage, the fact that it was still in top condition made it superior in any way.
Yet, as far as humanity was aware, a Hunter always at a disadvantage against the Grimm. Tis' was a normal days for them.
The Hunter knew that her Aura was in yellow, and her other injuries were still healing slowly, and the cold were starting to get into her. But why should she care? Her heart still beats and blood shall flows. Her rage still burns and spirit shall acts. They say emotions were the source of failure, but at that moment, they might as well be the thing that brought victory for her.
And so, her Semblance raged with her. From a snowflake of the Schnee came a being. A being of pure white yet with appearance that was so black. An Old Solitas Hunter Garb complete with a Tricorn hat. In their right hand was a short sword, in their left hand was a pistol, on their back was a sheath so large they may as well be a blade.
Today, Venatores The Good Hunter joined the Hunt.
Today, a chapter in the Saga of The Good Hunter became a reality.
And Winter Schnee—a small part of her hidden behind all of that rage and sorrow—felt giddy. The hunt that she craved finally realized.
Under the sunless sky, both Hunters brought their left arms forward and gave their salutations. Laurence, seeing the unfamiliar gesture that intrigued it, mimic the gesture. Understanding that by doing so, Laurence gave its respect to the Hunters.
Once they took their stance, a single beat of nothingness descended upon them. Nor the Hunters nor the Beast lunged and clawed at each other, no, they instead waged war in their mind on how should they proceed.
Winter knew she couldn't keep up Venatores for long, it was almost an exact copy of the Good Hunter down to his power after all. Considering that, she must took the fast option of blitzing the Beast.
Laurence understood that its victory against the previous Hunters relied heavily on its wits and the Hunters underestimating it. That of course worked wonder against this teamteam as well. However, with just the white fur left standing to challenge it for a duel, Laurence felt obligated to fight her head on. For it was a Beast and a Beast was prideful.
And so, Laurence began with a bellow that shook the mountain and sky before Hunters and Beast surged.
Winter was upon the Beast in a blink and delivered a series of stab into Laurence torso. It didn't seem to mind and retaliated by pounding the snow underneath, forcing Winter to ease her aggression and weaved around the scattered snow. That should be an advantage since both Hunters had white as their dominant color. Not against Laurence however, since the Beast could sense energy. It wasn't much of a surprise when Laurence swatted Venatores, who was hiding in the snow, away.
Then, with a move never described in the book, Laurence initiated its offense. The Beast leaped towards the surprised Winter with its left arm gouging the earth below. Winter would've been caught in the attack if Venatores didn't shoot the Beast's head and disorienting it midair, allowing Winter the smallest of opportunity to slip through the attack.
When the Beast fell, winter began her assault once more by stabbing her saber into the exposed head, making the Beast screamed in agony and wildly flailing its massive arms to catch the offending Hunter. Winter successfully rolled through the attack and retreated to safety. Her actions subsequently earned Laurence full attention, something that Winter approved of.
With the Beast focused on Winter, it didn't notice Venatores closing in and bringing down his massive holy blade unto the vulnerable torso.
Steel and flesh met with a sickening crunch resulting in the severance between the upper and lower body. In response, Laurence screamed and turned to Venatores before spitting lava at him. No, that wasn't lava. That was Grimm flesh heated to the point of glowing like lava. It might not be lava, but the heat sure did resemble the genuine article.
Seeing an opening, Winter approached immediately but was rendered retreating when the severance wound also spewed lava. She required another approach then, and of course, she had one.
She channeled almost all of her remaining Aura into Venatores and told him to do his best, and of course, a Hunter shall do their best to bring down a Beast. Venatores, uncaring for his own safety, approached Laurence.
The Beast arms were flailing wild, rending the earth and scorching the air in an effort to staunch the agony it was in. Yet Venatores kept approaching. Every strike was parried and dodged with a grace befitting of an elite Hunter. Even when a mega flare crashed into the Hunter, he kept approaching and therefore keeping its attention.
Only when a surge of energy came from above did the Beast realized its mistake. Looking up, a giant snowflake hung above in the sky of gray. The White one at the middle, governing this mass of energy, and Laurence felt fear for its life. Of course it tried to run, but the other Hunter impaled their big sword straight at Laurence chest. And no matter how many times it clawed and chewed, the Hunter was solid as a mountain.
And so Laurence could only watched with dread and hopelessness as a shooting star fell from the sky.
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Returning to base. Death Toll: 5
Winter was panting hard, that last attack took the remaining dreg of her Aura. She was completely empty now.
Ha… ha… ha…
When she looked behind, the corpse of Laurence was slowly becoming one with the realm of nothingness, leaving behind the still intact fire Dust that it consumed beforehand.
Ha… Haha… ha…
Winter had no idea… it never crossed her mind that in order to hunt this Grimm, all of the Ace Ops must be sacrificed.
Haha… ha… ha… ha…
Did that make her incompetent? Oh, yes. Certainly so. She was indeed a failure not just in her own eyes, but also the general. Of that she was sure of.
Hahaha… HA… HAHA…
Perhaps… she should take some days off and book a flight to Vale. Yes, that would be good. Atlas bad, Weiss good.
HAHAHAHA! HAAAHAHAHAHAAA!
But first, she must build a fire. The cold was beginning to get a hold on her after her adrenaline died down. She took the still hot fire Dust and thought to herself, what should she burn? Logs and twigs were the first to enter her mind. But to do that, she must walked to the forest over there. She possessed no confidence of completing that simple task. She was Auraless and practically naked, the cold would shut down her muscles before she could accomplished the feat of building a fire.
How about the corpse of her comrades? Out of the question. She'd rather die than burning her comrade's remains before giving them the proper respect they deserved. Then how about—
?
She heard beasts approaching, Sabyrs they were.
Of course. They would take interest in me after that battle.
Her saber still gripped in her right and a fire Dust rested in her left. Oh, she knew what to do. The fire Dust was crushed and a tiny spark of Aura ignited it. If she had nothing to burn, then her body shall become the fuel. And fire set ablaze.
Ah, warm. Yes, fire brought warm, fire brought peace, fire brought solace. With this flame on her side, she would survive.
HAHAHAHAHAAAA! My name is Winter Schnee and I shall ravage all of you! I shall return to Atlas and be the guiding light of my Weiss! That I swear in the name of my Ancestor!
And so Winter fought and fought… she fought and fought… until the beasts were nothing more than what they were, nothing.
Yet… her flame had died out… and with no energy left in her being, she laid flat on the snow and let the cold claimed her being.
Oh, my Weiss. I wish I can see you once more… for one last time. Big sister is sorry for not going home… please, live a fulfilling life, ok?
Laurence Hunt. Day 2. Status: Complete. Death Toll: 6
Weiss Schnee was having good day. She had no assignment left, Ruby actually improved her grades, Blake began talking more, and the Brute hadn't made a ruckus today. And to add a cherry on top, the Headmaster summoned her for a matter regarding her sister. Perhaps, her sister was visiting Beacon? Oh, such a wonderful day!
The elevator dinged and she merrily stepped into the clock-like office. Rather than seeing Winter, she was met with a frowning Headmaster with eyes that denoted pity. Weiss was confused.
"Ummm… Excuse me, Headmaster Ozpin sir. Had something happened to my sister?"