"Stop! Thief!" the vendor yelled. He jogged a ways after the culprit, but knew he could not catch up to the young one's speed. He pointed at the thief as he ran, and a few other citizens tried to follow. The young thief darted into a dark alley, and the few people on his tail decided it would be best not to pursue. After all, they knew who it was, and no one wanted to deal with him.

The vendor sighed. He really wished he had the guts to go after the little punk, but that boy sacred him. He scared everyone in their little town. They had had bad eggs in Kuroyuri before, but that kid was something else.

The thief gripped his prize tighter in his fist. When he was sure no one was chasing him anymore, he jogged to the end of an alley and sat down cross-legged on the cold stone ground. He looked down at his new acquisition and admired it: an ornate dagger, with a handle made of carved wood and animal bone, and a dark metal blade etched with the image of a lily. It was truly great craftsmanship.

The boy admired the blade until he heard a squeaking. He exhaled slowly before doing his best to silence his breathing, going silent to lull his victim into a false sense of security. He was so focused on the squeaking that he did not even see three other boys about his age walk in front of the ally. The tallest of the three spotted him, and they all stopped to stare.

"Hey," the medium-height boy said. "Isn't that that creepy kid?"

The tallest boy nodded. "Lie Ren. He's old Li Ren's son."

"What's his deal?" the shortest boy asked.

"He's weird," the tallest boy said. "He's as quiet as a mouse, but he's really fucked up. He kills small animals and steals stuff in his spare time. The whole town's afraid of him. He's a freak."

"Let's go before he kills us too," the medium-height boy said. The three of them chuckled nervously as they hurried along.

Ten-year-old Lie Ren scoffed quietly. If he wanted them dead, they already would be. His arm darted out and caught the squeaking rat that had wandered too close, gripping it tightly. The rat squirmed and squealed in his tight grip as Ren carefully set it down on the ground in front of him. He held his new knife over the creature's neck and pressed down, not stopping until the anguished squeals and furious writhing had ended. He admired how clean he had made the cut as blood began to pour out.

It was truly great craftsmanship.


"How could you?" the man said sternly. His aged face was wrinkled with stress and anger, and his dark beard was furrowed. His gaze cut right into Ren, who simply returned the gaze with a cold stare of his own.

Li Ren, his father, shook his head quietly. "You should be thankful that the poor man is still breathing tonight!" he barked. He gazed with anger and disappointment through the cell bars at his son, who sat on the wooden bench within in handcuffs.

"He… wronged me," Lie Ren said in a monotone, slow voice.

"And that gives you reason to stab him?" Li almost yelled grabbing one of the bars and shaking it slightly. "What wrong did he do that was terrible enough for you to make an attempt on his life? Tell me, Lie, tell me!"

Ren paused for a moment before answering, before stating slowly, "He refused me service."

"He refused you service because you are sixteen, and trying to buy sake!" Li yelled, grabbing another bar with his other fist. Ren showed little emotion. He was aware of his father's rage and his mother's heartbreak, but he did not care.

Li dropped his head and released the bars. "We tried, Lie. Your mother and I. We tried to raise you better." He took a few steps back. "No matter what you stole, no matter what defenseless creature you hurt, we tried to teach you the error of your ways." He looked into his son's eyes. "And every time they called you a freak, every time they called you a menace, your mother and I stood up for you. We tried to protect you. We tried to help you. We tried to love you."

Ren huffed quietly, leaning back against the icy wall of the cell. He could feel the cold through his green and black tailcoat, and could feel splinters in the wooden bench beneath his black pants.

"But no more," Li continued. "You have hurt us one too many times, and worst of all, you have hurt someone else." He glared at Ren with an expression of anger, though his eyes reflected sadness. "You cannot expect our protection or help any more. And most of all, you cannot expect our love. You are not our son."

Ren inhaled slowly, taking in the news. His mind was racing, but he made sure that his face would not reflect any emotion. Even if he had allowed his emotion to come through, it would not have been an emotion that a normal person would feel in this situation.

"You may stay in that cage like the animal you are," Li said, his words trailing off. He quickly turned and began marching towards the door. "May I and my wife never see your face again," he finished before walking out and slamming the metal door behind him, leaving Ren in darkness and cold.


Every day was the same routine of meals, the prison yard, and meditating in his cell. There were so few criminals in the small village of Kuroyuri that the prison was mostly empty, with the exception of Ren and a few others. Early during his incarceration, a few of the other inmates had tried to pick a fight with him, but he did them the honors of breaking their arms and noses. Ever since then, they mostly just left him alone.

Ren liked the quiet. It gave him time to relax, and think to himself of all the acts of violence he could perform. He did his best to keep his homicidal tendencies at bay, knowing things would be less quiet if he let loose. He did not restrain himself for morality's sake, but rather for his own amusement. When he was not eating, cleaning, sleeping, or meditating, Ren was out in the prison yard in his own shady corner, silently exercising and practicing martial arts. Every once and a while he would find a sharp rock or twig, and incorporate it into his motion as if it were a blade. After all, a sound body aided in a sound mind.

However, after a year of imprisonment, Ren felt himself getting restless. He did his best to suppress his emotions, but he needed stimulation. He needed to kill something. There were rarely rats in his cell, and when there were, there was nothing to kill them with. Another one of the prisoners seemed like they would be fair game, but Ren always saw the watchful eye of the inspectors on him and never found his chance to make his move. After so long of keeping his emotions and desires down, Ren feared that boredom and his sheer thirst for blood would finally break him down into just another raving madman like the others were. He had always aspired to be a better class of criminal than those other wretches, and he felt that if he did not give into his desires soon, all of his hard work would go to waste.

One dark, cold night, Ren was meditating in his cell. His breathing was rapid. He longed to hear the squeak of a rat so he could strangle it with his bare hands, but there was only the sound of crickets from outside. He felt ready to go mad when he heard male voices on the street outside his cell window.

"What is that?" one of them asked.

"What?" the other questioned.

"That," the first man said. Ren assumed he pointed.

"Oh damn," the second man said. "That's Lord Ozpin's ship!"

"Lord Ozpin?" the first man said, obviously shaken. "What is he doing way out here?"

"There's a new order," the second man replied frantically. "He decreed that children ages five to eighteen can be taken away to be sent to an Academy and be recruited into his new elite military force! I heard that he was coming personally to oversee some of them! We need to prepare! Hurry! Go warn someone! He's here!"

Ren dropped from his meditative stance as he heard footsteps run away. He lifted his head to the window and peered through to see a regal golden airship landing on the outskirts of town. Shortly after, the warning bell in one of the towers began to ring. Slowly but surely, Ren heard screaming and commotion as the people of Kuroyuri panicked, desperately trying to hide their children.

It was mere minutes before armed soldiers began marching through the front gates, gripping their weapons tightly. A pair of law enforcers ran up to attack them, but were quickly gunned down. The sound of gunshots echoed through the night, and Ren heard more people scream in response.

"Those idiots," Ren thought. "If they don't calm down and comply, all that fear… all that panic… all that rage… will attract Grimm." Ren did not yet realize how right he was.

Ren watched as tall, green, tank-like vehicles with Dust cannons rolled into Kuroyuri. Armed soldiers disembarked from it and rushed to houses, kicking down the doors. The sound of crickets was soon replaced with the chaotic sounds of crying and gunfire. The soldiers emerged from houses, dragging weeping children out by their arms. Parents would attempt to give chase or pull their children back, but were always pinned or shot in the leg by a soldier. Ren observed the chaos, his body aching that he could not be a part of it.

The soldiers threw the children into the backs of the vehicles, and yelled orders and advice to one another. One of them was near his window, but did not seem to notice him. The soldier looked over to the far edge of town.

"Oh, shit!" he suddenly yelled. He turned around and yelled to his comrades. "Code Black! I repeat, Code Black! We have Grimm incoming!"

"How many?" another soldier yelled.

"Just one, but it's a really big one!" the first soldier exclaimed. The second soldier looked over, then took a step back.

"Fuck! That's a beast!" he yelled. He turned to the other soldiers. "Code Black! Code Black!"

Suddenly, above all the screaming and crying, there was a screech that overpowered them all. Ren was forced to drop from his perch and cup his hands over his ears, wincing as the high-pitched shriek penetrated his brain. The shriek was followed by what sounded like thundering hoofbeats and the sound of soldiers shouting.

"Open fire! Hurry!" a voice shouted.

"Make sure it doesn't get to Lord Ozpin's captures!" another voice screamed.

There was the sound of gunfire from several sources. The hoofbeats continued, and then there was screaming and choking from the soldiers.

"Use that! Now!" a soldier called.

There was a loud explosion that shook the ground under Ren's feet. Ren assumed it was a Fire Dust rocket launcher of some kind. The explosion had to have been nearby, as a faint orange glow seeped in through his window. Ren had to see what was going on. He jumped back to his window and looked out.

Before him, standing in front of a fiery wreckage, was the biggest Grimm he had ever seen: a Nuckelavee. It looked like a skeletal black horse with red fire seeping from its nostrils. Attached to its back was an elongated, humanoid part with a skull-like face, long arms, protruding white horns, and an array of white spikes down its spine. It screeched again, revealing a red mouth of sharp black teeth. The soldiers fired at it from all sides and it shrieked in pain, but grabbed at them with its elongated arms and crushed them, audibly snapping their spines. Every house and structure the soldiers attempted to duck behind was caught in the Nuckelavee's swing, which easily smashed through the walls. Ren watched as the Grimm smashed through homes, including his old one. Its horse-like half trampled people under its hooves, both soldier and citizen, cracking their bones and leaving bloody stains. It lunged at one of the vehicles, clawing at it. It rammed the tank with its body, sending it skidding across the ground. Ren heard the children inside scream as the vehicle was flipped upside-down, detonating the Dust cannon on top. There was a massive explosion, and the screaming was silenced.

Then Ren saw a pair of soldiers step a few feet in front of his window and begin firing at the Nuckelavee. The humanoid, imp-like head turned to look at them as it growled, then it turned to face them.

"Oh, shit," Ren said. He quickly jumped down and ran to the bars of his cell, hunched down, and covered his head with his arms and shut his eyes.

There was a pair of screams before a loud crack behind him. Ren heard blood splatter and bone break, as well as the heavy hoofbeats nearby. He then heard more distant gunfire, which the Nuckelavee seemed to respond to. The presence behind the wall turned away, then charged again to another place.

Ren opened his eyes and stood up, looking behind him. His cell wall was heavily damaged, and was almost down. The stone was cracked, and there were now chipped holes in the structure. Ren inhaled and attempted to kick the wall down, but the stone, while damaged, was till sturdy. He jumped back up to the window, and tried to loosen the stone with his feet.

Just then, another figure appeared in front of his window. Ren looked to see the side of a man, though he was unlike any man Ren had ever seen before. He was tall, with grey hair and dark brown eyes. He wore regal green and gold, and a pair of spectacles darker than the blackest midnight. In his pale fists was a cane that did not seem to be made out of any material on Remnant; it was dark and menacing. Even standing among fire, his presence was as dark as the night.

There was no mistaking. This was Lord Ozpin.

Lord Ozpin did nothing but watch as the Nuckelavee slaughtered his soldiers, but Ren did not care. This powerful-looking man was the best possible chance for him now. Ren cleared his voice, then spoke.

"My Lord!" he called, doing his best to keep his tone monotone and respectful. The dark man turned and stared him down with a glare that unsettled even Ren.

"Please, with your kind permission, I would like to aid your forces in stopping that beast!" Ren said, doing his best to charm the Lord.

Lord Ozpin's eyes seemed to turn even darker as he slowly approached the cell, his cane tapping menacingly on the stone.

"And why," he said with a venomous voice, "would I care about you or these incompetent buffoons?"

"Because," Ren said, a bit scared of the dark man, "you desire children for your forces. And if your men fail, you will lose out on your prizes." Ren did his best to bow down, all while keeping his head at the window. "I know that there are strong children in this village, and that they will be assets to your glory. I live only to serve you, my Lord. Free me, and I will aid your soldiers in stopping that monster, and delivering you that you wish!"

Ren understood, simply from the darkness emanating off of this man, that any action he took would not be out of thankfulness or charity. Only desire. So that was what Ren did: appeal to his desire.

Lord Ozpin stood, silent and unmoving as the screams behind him escalated. "So," he finally hissed, "you desire freedom, in exchange for servitude?"

Ren bowed lower. "I serve only you, my Lord."

Lord Ozpin gripped his cane tightly, then suddenly swung it at the cell wall. Ren did not even have time to react as a blast of energy obliterated the wall, knocking him backward into the bars behind him. Ren gritted his teeth in pain as he stood straight, feeling the cold night air hit his face. Ren looked before him to see a hole where the wall once stood, with piles of rubble and two corpses lying on the ground.

Ren stepped forward slowly, then stepped outside of the cell. He was freed, finally allowed to kill as he desired again. Lord Ozpin had freed him.

"Go," Lord Ozpin commanded. "And do not fail me."

Ren faced him and knelt down. He pulled a dagger off of one of the soldier's corpses as he bowed.

"Yes, my god," he said.


The soldier fired at the Nuckelavee's head, causing it to screech. The beast swung its arms at him, but he dodged. As he looked back up, he saw a teenage boy runnng towards the Grimm with a blade.

"What the-" the soldier muttered.

Ren slid down and sliced at the Nuckelavee's legs. The monster screeched as it backed up, both heads turning to look at Ren. The beast kicked, and Ren just barely dodged the hooves. He rolled under the horse-like body, appearing next to the soldier.

"Tell your soldiers to circle around it," Ren said. "Draw its attention in all directions. Then, when it extends its arms to attack, use any means necessary to pin them down. Stab them with something, roll over them in your vehicles, whatever it takes. That's the only way it's going down."

The soldier nodded, not questioning the boy's authority and instead just going with the plan. He stood up and ran to his troops and began barking orders.

The Nuckelavee tried to step on Ren, but he jumped up and grabbed onto the horse part's neck. He clung to it as he stabbed it several times. The horse whinnied before throwing Ren off. The Nuckelavee extended its arms and grabbed at Ren, grasping him around the waist and squeezing. Ren winced under the pressure as the Grimm pinned him to the ground and raised its claws to slice him open. Quickly, Ren slammed the dagger into the Nuckelavee's finger, causing it to release him. Ren gasped for air as the monster pulled back and shook the dagger out of its hand, throwing it to some unknown place. Just as the Nuckelavee turned its attention back to Ren, there was a flurry of gunfire.

There was a ring of soldiers forming a perimeter around the Grimm, all firing. The Nuckelavee turned and shrieked before extending both its arms, each of them catching a soldier and killing them. As one hand slammed its soldier down to the ground, cracking their skull, several more soldiers emerged from one of the destroyed houses, carrying a sharp wooden beam. They rammed it down in unison, stabbing through the Grimm's arm and pinning it to the stone. The Nuckelavee roared and screeched in pain, but could not free itself.

Before its other arm could rise up to pull the beam out, one of the vehicles rolled over it with audible crunching. The Nuckelavee cried out again and attempted to free itself, but could not. A soldier was sitting at the Dust cannon on top of the vehicle. She turned the canon towards the Nuckelavee's head and fired, creating a fiery blast that enveloped it and blew off one of its horns.

Ren stood back up and approached the now helpless Grimm as it writhed and stomped, attempting to free itself. As Ren approached, he saw a glimmer nearby, and looked to see the knife he had been using lying on the stone road. Ren slowly picked it up, looked at the Nuckelvee, and threw it. The blade landed neatly in the humanoid head, right between the eyes. The Grimm shrieked one last time before its whole body collapsed dead onto the ground.

"Impressive," a voice said. Ren and the soldiers looked to see Lord Ozpin approaching. They all knelt in unison, with Ren placing down his weapon before him as he bowed.

"We serve only you, my Lord," Ren said.

"Indeed," Lord Ozpin remarked in his toxic voice. "I suggest you accompany my forces, child. You are just the kind of killer I'm looking for."

Ren felt his heart swell, but made sure to keep his mouth straight. "Yes, god."