Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all doing fine!
Chapter 168 is here and, as always, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you all once more for following/ favoring/ reading the story so far. You are all amazing and I won't stop reminding you that!
See you all on the 21st in chapter 169. Until then, be well and have fun!
The otherworldly presence reached Gnastaur before the monstrous Grimm noticed the green light slowly approaching its chamber's open door. Its eerie nature, akin to its brethren's, startled the Hierophant.
Footsteps, quick and heavy, echoed in the dark. The light flickered in a wild heartbeat, casting shadows at all directions. A powerful, imposing aura spread in the Mad King's chambers- an outsider.
"Here" a human voice sounded from nearby. The priest recognized it as the scholar who had been studying and working with them in order to awaken their King; Maize Goldenrod. He was leading the enemy to him.
Was he laying a trap? And if so, who was the victim and who was the hunter in this? "Good" a scorching voice, sizzling and wavering like a vile, roaring spark of underworld flames, replied to the man. A loud thud, accompanied by a confused and pained gasp, followed the short reply.
A short figure appeared before the door. It was a human woman with long blonde hair and a muscular body. Or at least that was what that being once had been, before the haunting curse engraved in her soul had consumed her.
The woman's clothes had been torn apart. Thick black unholy marks resembling Grand Mother's dream catcher patterns spread along her naked left arm and shoulder, rising up to her nape and cheek. Green veins spread out of the mark, forming thin lines across the burnt skin.
A dozen red eyes climbed over her arm, blinking in malice and hunger at the priest. Gnastaur could feel the immortal hatred radiating through them; an undying grudge towards its Father from its fellow Elder.
Green fire pulsed around the transformed skin. The girl's face, once a lively and joyful visage, had now partially transformed in a mask of raw, unbridled anger.
Shining in the green hue a pair of scarlet eyes without irises glared like maleficent blood moons. Blood dripped off the woman's left socket as the vicious power was clearly taking its toll at the host.
Gnastaur raised its hands and gathered power. That woman was not a mere host; she had been chosen and marked by Grand Mother itself. In a way, she was more of a threat to them than the tortured girl lying on the altar could have ever possibly been.
Yang's gaze followed Gnastaur's movement as the spawn sent a glance at the altar behind it-
Her breathing stopped. Her mind, firmly and strongly trying to retain all of its humane thoughts and capacities, registered the image of a girl on top of the abominable table of worship, surrounded by a river of blood.
No! Yang screamed in her mind in disbelief. That thing couldn't be real.
No! That pile of carved flesh, all bloodied and drenched in red-stained clothes, couldn't be her sister. This barely breathing person, this moving corpse wasn't her beloved Ruby- there was no way she was.
No; that red cloak wasn't- "Fuck you all!"
Power surged up from within her. Fire erupted in her veins and throat, surprising both Maize who was looking at her through the opening and the ancient Priest who felt her magical energy rise exponentially.
A green halo formed above her. To Gnastaur, it resembled the almighty rings surrounding Petelstar, Grand Mother's beloved star up in the dark skies. The flames intensified and spread, forming rings of eldritch fire.
Yang charged in a straight line. She wasn't as fast as Ruby but there was no reason for the Grimm to risk it. It teleported in a shower of sparks and appeared behind her, blasting the woman with a scorching beam.
The attack found her undefended back- and immediately bounced on the green halo's fiery aura. Half a dozen mouths formed in the flames and devoured the magical ray, voraciously consuming its vile energy.
The flames intensified, fueling Yang's aura. She spun on her left foot and punched the air. Ember Celica activated, but instead of its usual dust propelled rockets, a sphere of eldritch fire was shot at the priest.
Gnastaur covered its body with a wall of scarlet flames and then used its powers to teleport before the two attacks collided. A powerful blast scorched Yang's face and covered the entire room in a shower of heat.
Sparks flickered and died, shedding wisps of light travelling across the ancient decrepit surfaces. The scarlet pools of blood surrounding Ruby and the black lines of dark goo around the altar were highlighted in her eyes, adding more fuel to the possessed woman's hot burning anger.
The Hierophant had already planned its next move. Its four arms moved and formed a complicated set of hexagrams, conjuring a massive runic array. Yang's lilac eyes opened wide taking in its resemblance to Weiss'.
The glyph pulsed in power and dozens of black figures were hurled out of the arrays. A swarm of baby Deathstalkers, clad in charred armored plating and wreathed in scarlet flames, was summoned before her.
The arthropod Grimm rushed at her, small beacons of hateful flame. Their conjurer expertly weaved a circular pattern and formed a group of burning spheres, hovering around its body ready to be hurled at her.
She had no care left in the world for such antics. The combined attack could have been dangerous indeed, if only she cared for her wellbeing enough at this point. Yang curled her fists and activated her semblance.
The exhaustion she had suffered from the continuous fights and the curse bestowed upon her, was massive. The green flames might have been a protection, but the physical and mental strain on her was huge.
Therefore, the damage she had accumulated over the last few hours- or days for all she knew- was of colossal proportions. Yang felt power; raw and unstoppable, augmented by the same curse that was eating her, fill her veins and muscles. Euphoria and despair filled her heart and soul.
She stomped the ground and the tremor from her movement was huge enough to pin the swarm for a moment. She jumped forward and, as she expected, the Gnastaur unleashed its fireballs at her as she landed.
The spheres blasted her, once again being absorbed by the hungry and unquenchable mouths forming by the miasmatic halo. The agony grew exponentially and her power rose even more. She punched the earth.
The floor cracked. Before the Deathstalkers could turn around and hunt her again, the ground broke in shards and pieces. Her punch formed a shockwave of eldritch green fire that carbonized the scorpion Grimm.
Yang rose from the ashes and jumped above the circle of ruin she had just created. Gnastaur didn't wait for her to reach it and teleported to the other side of the room, weaving a spell as soon as it landed down.
The pillars surrounding the altar shone in a red light. If direct attacks and summons couldn't deal with Grand Mother's new toy, then a little subtler approach should do the trick. The pillars ignited in red magma.
The magma didn't erupt, however. Instead, it overheated in a blinding red-white light that suddenly filled the room. The antithesis and sudden change from the darkened castle was so big, even the Grimm was a bit startled as its spell finished. Possessed or not, no mortal eyes should-
Its cautious nature and inhuman awareness was the only reason why the ancient monster was able to dodge Yang's punch in time. Wreathed in her green halo and with her eyes closed, the girl's fist landed a few inches away from the Grimm's skull, leaving a hole in the hard granite.
Gnastaur hadn't prepared a teleport, so its natural reaction was raising the wall of fire- the blonde opened her mouth and bit it off, absorbing all the heat and powerful magic with a bloodcurdling roar.
Her transformation was rapid and intense. The power she exerted while still maintaining her basic form was nothing sort of astonishing to the old priest. Normal humans would have already lost both mind and soul.
Yang dived under the monster's torso and moved with immense speed. In a mere heartbeat, she spun and performed a roundhouse kick to its abdomen. Stripped of its magical shield Gnastaur blocked with its arms.
The pain was something new to the monster. Yang's kick was so strong it sent the large monstrosity flying to the nearest pillar. It slammed on the hard granite, its back being seared in lava. It teleported away again.
Yang chuckled. So, you can feel pain. Good! Her eyes were still shut, but it didn't matter. She could see, no; she could feel the enemy's magical power through the cursed Grimm eyes tainting her shoulder and hand.
The monster channeled energy through the pillars. In her eyes, it was reflected as a network of cables connecting the Gnastaur to each of the apparatuses. There were a few more, leading beyond this room as well.
All she had to do was to destroy them! Her halo rumbled and the green flames burned down all cables, immediately shutting down the spell it was preparing. Gnastaur attempted to conjure another glyph above it.
It was too slow; or rather, Yang was too fast with all that power backing her. She wasn't as fast as Ruby, but a single fiery shot from her tainted Ember Celica was enough to dispel the new teleportation circle at once.
Another shot propelled her forward and this time, she didn't allow it to run away. Yang grabbed Gnastaur's neck, raised it with impossible and utterly godlike might and pummeled it on the nearest shining pillar.
The hard granite broke in half and the woman slammed her enemy on the floor, impaling its body on the pillar's jagged remains. Enduring the pain, the horned monster armed its hands with fire and sliced at her.
The damage wasn't enough to pierce her halo, but the pain made her stagger for a bit. Gnastaur stood up and dug its claws on her shoulder, piercing with all its might as the green flames charred its skin.
"AAAAAAARGGGG!" Yang drove her head back and head butted her enemy. The attack wasn't enough to free her, but it freed her hands. In a split second, she punched her enemy's stomach and jumped away.
Being now sure that its attacks had accumulated enough damage, the priest conjured six fireballs- Yang skidded on the floor and grabbed the pillar's broken half with her left hand, raising it with ease.
Before Gnastaur could unleash its spell she fully charged her semblance and ran forward. Gnastaur tried to teleport, but another shot disrupted its attempt.
The last thing the monstrous spawn saw in its accursed existence on this world was the shining magma dripping off its own ritual apparatus.
A moment later, Yang pierced its horrifying head with the pillar, melting both its skull and neck before pulverizing the rest of its corpse with the magic-infused granite.
-o—
Her breathing was steadily becoming calmer and soother. Her lips were now slightly trembling, as if searching for something to drink. Sun was ready and tenderly poured a few drops of water in Blake's shut mouth.
Jaune was still pouring aura in the faunus' body. He was scared at first, but the black-haired girl had received his treatment quite well and her improvement was a huge weight off his shoulders. He smiled in relief.
Weiss was standing a few meters away, observing the bloody trails of Alastor's corpse. She wanted to avert her thoughts from Blake's dire situation, so examining what had transpired before them was a much needed distraction; especially now that all noise had suddenly ceased.
There is nothing here; leaving the blood trails aside, there is no hole or even a trace that something of considerable size passed through. She tapped her artificial eye. There is no trace of magic being used as well.
She raised her head. Her eyes looked up, realizing that she was right in the middle of a towering room. The ceiling in this point was so high; the platinum haired huntress couldn't even see it through the darkness.
The walls began resembling chambers with tall arches in a circular array disrupting the monotony of the engraved tombs and enchanted chains. It seemed like a huge tower spread above her. A thought came to her.
How many abominations are lying sealed in those walls, stirring in the cold, enchanted granite while waiting for their master to call them out? The number her mind conjured was high enough for her to shiver.
She decided it was time to get back to her friends. Jaune was still in the same position as before helping Blake's recuperation and Sun was still gently cradling her while softly whispering in the cat girl's ear.
As she stopped before them, a low moan of pain escaped the injured faunus' lips. All of them smiled in mirth as a pair of feral yellow eyes opened slowly. "What… happened?" she asked out. "Sun? Is that you?"
"Yes it's me" he caressed his future wife's cheek. "What the hell were you thinking, Blake?" he tried to sound angry, but couldn't for the life of his play that part at the moment. "I-is everyone all right?" she asked.
"Thanks to your impossible stunt, yes we are. Weiss killed that Grimm, as intended" Jaune eased his grip at the girl, but still kept pouring aura to her body. It was a good thing he still had large reserves to go by.
"I see…" she reached out and caressed back Sun's cheek. The warmth was enough for her to break into a smile "good job to all of you" she turned her gaze to Weiss, who glared at her in a mix of anger and relief.
"Don't you ever again call anyone else reckless, do you hear me?" she tried to hide her tears, mostly to escape Sun and Jaune's teasing later. "You could have died, Blake!" she couldn't hold back a remark at least.
The cat girl thanked Jaune and stood up, kissing Sun's cheek as she did. Her back and limbs were hurting her and she sported quite a few more burn marks on her body and face, but the knight's treatment had done miracles in restoring her body and a portion of her own aura.
"I did what I had to" she replied. "I am not talking to my leader, I am talking to my friend" Weiss objected. "We can discuss this when we are back at home all you want" the cat girl seriously accepted her complain.
Jaune was ready to interfere, but the petite woman sighed deeply and nodded in approval before pointing towards the towering room that spread before her "I have found only one thing; this place is colossal."
"I concur; this is a specifically designed chamber intended to resemble a castle, a place of worship and a mausoleum all the same" the voice that reached Blake's eyes shocked her, despite its apparent familiarity.
The cat girl's shadow shifted and grew, forming the all-familiar shape of Blake's purple eyed clone dressed in outdoor combat gear. Everyone jumped at their feet at the intelligent weapon's sudden appearance.
"Eidolon" the faunus stared at her clone in relief "you are back." Purple eyes blinked in surprise at her "I never left, Master Blake. I was merely rendered unable to connect with you due to a powerful magic barrier."
"And since you are able to do so now, I take it that this barrier has been removed" Weiss asked the clone. "Indeed, Miss Schnee. I have no way to know why, but the barrier has been deactivated. That would mean Clayhorn village is now going to return to the actual world of Remnant."
"Ahem, what?" Sun asked in confusion. "The barrier was designed to prevent any outside interference. Its existence allowed a real village like Clayhorn to exist in the Netherworld. Without it, the old town will slowly return to your world, overlapping with its modern counterpart."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Blake asked her weapon. "I had enough time in my hands and attempted to slice through it quite a few times. I learned a few things about it, along with the fact that it was responsible for the abysmal heat you all felt when first stepping into it."
"Now that you mention it" Weiss rubbed her knees "I do fell a draft all of a sudden. This place grew significantly colder than before." "That is an issue but definitely not as important as the previous one" Blake said.
"Right" Jaune nodded "if the village returns back to Remnant, it means that everything lying within it will be unleashed upon Vacuo. Who can tell that this necrotic castle and all of its residents-" he pointed up in exaggeration "-are not going to join in for a ride?" he rubbed his shoulder.
"Is this why they all grew silent?" Sun asked out loudly. "Are they saving their energy for when we return to Remnant?" The implications were so terrifying that all huntsmen fell into a deep, uncomfortable silence.
"Well, no reason in pondering over 'what ifs' like helpless rookies" the team leader took a deep breath "we have to do something about it as soon as possible. And by something, I mean what we came here for."
She stared at the mirror blade "what else did you find about the place while investigating?" The clone replied in its usual emotionless manner "nothing more, Master. I do sense two dangerous presences, though."
"Are they like the thing we fought before?" Jaune asked. Weiss gulped. She had a really bad feeling about this and her stomach was already beginning to churn. Somehow, she felt she knew what the answer was.
"No, there are many presences festering in the darkness around us, but none among them stands out a lot, despite them being considerably strong" the blade replied. "I am talking about two Elder-tier presences."
"Two Elders?" Weiss' face grew pale. Blake tried her best to retain her calm and the boys coughed in their fists to suppress the rising anxiety threatening to overwhelm them. "There are two Eldergrimm in here?"
"One seems to be the Lord of this palace" the stoic weapon replied. "I feel a mixture of energies swirling in its core. It's disjointed and filled to the brim with madness and hatred" it ominously elaborated to them.
"Where is it located?" Jaune asked it. Blake nodded in approval. "I can sense it far below; deep into the bowels of this castle. It began slowly, but its aura is pouring out by the minute." Sun laughed nervously.
"We should stop it before it is too late" he recommended. "Normally, I would agree" Blake replied. "But I want to know first about the other presence, Eidolon. What is it and where can you sense it?"
The sentient sword curtly closed its eyes, as if it was trying to focus. "The other presence is smaller in size, but its intensity is quite notable. I can feel its hunger, its lust and appetite for energy. It radiates like a tiny beacon in that charnel mausoleum, in full contrast to the Mad King's."
"That sounds weird" Weiss, slightly worried by the description and its vividly human nature, commented. "There is something else, too" in a strangely colored voice, Eidolon continued providing information.
"Its presence and power feel oddly familiar, Master Blake" it informed her. "It feels as if I have come into proximity with that particular source of energy; there is a connection to that pulsing beacon I can't explain."
"That…" Blake's voice trailed off "that is called remembrance. Have you felt that sort of presence before? Maybe when your previous masters used you?" The weapon stared at her drawing everyone's full attention.
"It doesn't resonate with war and combat" it replied. "It mostly brings forth images of catacombs and stale water; silver chains and-"
"Prison…" the cat faunus' girl's opened wide in acknowledgement. "It reminds you of your prison- Grand Mother's prison-temple in the lake below Cornfield." She turned her gaze to Weiss, who gasped in horror.
"You don't think…" she barely managed to stifle her pained screams and form coherent words. The black-haired woman gulped and tried to explain to her friend as calmly as possible without terrifying her more.
"We don't know where Ruby and Yang are- they may have found a way to this place as well" she said in a restrained manner. "But you heard Eidolon; the power is small in size, with great intensity" she suggested.
"Oi, let's not jump to conclusions" Sun argued. "We have no reason to believe it is Yang radiating that power. For all we know, someone who worships Grand Mother sneaked in here, waiting to attack Charon."
"You may be right" the cat girl acknowledged "and you may be wrong as well. We are merely-" "I think we should check it" Jaune interjected.
"…" Weiss stared at the blonde knight in appreciation, as Blake and Sun turned around to face him. "If it is Yang and Ruby, finding them now and boosting our forces before facing the Mad King is a better move."
He rubbed his arm. Now that his aura was less than what he felt comfy with, he began to realize just how extremely cold this place had turned all of a sudden "if it's an enemy, I think we shouldn't ignore it, Blake."
"You don't have to tell me that, you know" her harsh tone was filled in so much happiness for her friend's suggestion, she could barely hold back her own smile as she turned her attention to her sentient weapon.
"Lead us to the familiar presence Eidolon. Let's see if it's friend or foe."
They all nodded in approval and, as soon as the weapon melt into the shadows, began following it deeper into the castle of forgotten horrors.