Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all fine!
Chapter 97 is out. As always, I hope you enjoy it!
Including this one, we have three remaining until chapter 100 which will be the end of this arc. After it, I intend to make a one or two (depending on my work schedule) week break in order to focus on the summary of the series before we proceed to the next arc.
Thanks again for following/ favoring/ reading the series through another arc. You are all awesome and I wish you the best!
See you next week with chapter 98. Until then, have fun and be well!
The shockwave pulsed down and hit Yang head-on. The blonde lost her balance and fell down the manhole, crashed on Blake's head and then dragged her along as they both crash landed in a pool of lake water.
"Fuck" fortunately for them the water was deep enough to prevent any serious injury, but not too deep for them to have to swim. They both helped each other stand up, red blood dying the water around them.
They were in the end of a medium-sized, dimly-lit tunnel, whose floor was covered in lake water. The smell of chemicals was mixed with that of the murky waters, turning them into a viscous, smelly green liquid.
They both stared upwards at the hole they had just come down from. "Did you know from the start that she intended to stay behind?" Yang asked her partner, sadness evident in her voice.
"When she told us her plan, it made no sense; how was she going to seal that thing after we closed the gap? Either we would all have to stay inside, or she didn't intend to follow us to begin with" Blake replied.
"What about the opening in the wall? We could have all-" "Yang, we are barely standing as it is. I am on the verge on collapsing and you are bleeding so much I am worried you will die in my arms any moment."
Lilac stared at yellow. Another pulse of energy shook the ceiling, tossing dust and small pieces of rock inside the rising waters. "Let's go; I would hate drowning after all the shit she helped us survive from" the blonde said.
They walked away from the accursed prison, keeping a fast pace but not running. They had to conserve what little energy was left in them- in their state a simple pack of Grimm was potentially lethal.
A few minutes passed by, wordlessly. There was no visible change in their surroundings and no indication of the tunnel's length. Blake's eyes did notice something was amiss, however. Specifically, the water was-
"Hey Blakey" before she could voice her thoughts, Yang's downtrodden voice called her. "I am sorry, partner. I feel like I have messed up this entire thing" she stared at the faunus with sadness in her eyes.
"I… I let Rubes and Weiss to deal with the mission on their own to repay a debt I thought I owed. I dragged you into this and nearly got us both killed" she gulped. Blake folded her ears and nodded her to continue.
"And then, to make things worse, I ended up owing even more to her instead of returning the favor…" Yang's shoulders dropped. "What am I even doing at this point, partner?" she asked with a trembling voice.
"I understand…" Blake replied in a similar manner, despite her voice being more controlled than Yang's. "But you don't have to apologize- if anything I should apologize to you for what happened inside there."
"Blake, come on" "I failed you, Yang!" she took one firm step forward, splashing water around her foot. "After all that boasting I did and the tough words I said, I collapsed and dragged you down! How can I accept an apology I don't deserve when you got hurt like this to save me?"
The blonde and the black-haired averted their gazes. Yang kicked the water and Blake rubbed her eyes. "Let's go get Rubes and Weiss; we have to at least do that properly" Yang proposed and started walking.
"About that" the yellow-eyed girl sped up to catch up with her "did you notice the water isn't rising at all? We have been in this place for a few minutes and there has been no change at its level."
"You think it's them?" the brawler asked. "It would make sense, yes. If Weiss notices how the system operates and makes Azure tell them why he flooded the passage, it would be reasonable for them to stop it."
"I hope you are right; this means they took him down" the blonde kept splashing water around her, trying to feel for any sort of traps or threat while walking the tunnel.
"We may have been the stronger pair in terms of combat, but I don't think there is even one couple in Vale that can stand up to them when actual huntress' job is concerned- those two are way too professional."
"Unlike us" Yang scratched her head. "I didn't say that." "You thought it though, didn't you?" There was no response from the yellow-eyed girl. "Don't worry, kitten. I thought the exact same thing" she smiled at her.
Blake's face dropped. "Hey Yang, can I trust you with something?" she gulped. "Oh, are you finally going to talk?" the reply made her stare at Yang in confusion, earning a slightly forced knowing grin in return.
"I have the privilege of competing with Monkey-boy for knowing you the best- do you think that I wouldn't notice something is off with you since we left? You may hide from the others, but not from me, Blakey."
She licked her lips. "I swear you and Sun are so similar; it creeps me out some times." "Yeah, I wouldn't entrust your pretty little butt to any guy who doesn't get my seal of approval. Now, out with it."
"Ok, only Sun and Glynda know of this, but" "Glynda? How come she-" "don't cut me off, please. As I was saying, Glynda asked me to work as her aide and bodyguard" she blurted "permanently" she hastily added.
"Huuuh?" The reply was as confused as Blake expected it. After what they had been through, it made sense for a toned-down response after all "since when Glynda needs a bodyguard?" Yang asked back.
"It's just a step-up and a way for her to show me the ropes" lilac eyes noticed that, even in the dim light of the tunnel, her partner's face had turned a vivid red color. She must have been really embarrassed, huh?
"The ropes for what?" she decided to ask directly. "To…" the faunus licked her lips nervously "to succeed her" she said in such a low voice that it made her words hard to hear.
But Yang did hear. And her wide open stare and agape mouth stopped only after she nearly tripped on a submerged rock. "Glyn retiring aside, seriously? You? Commander of the SHU?" she asked in astonishment.
"It sounds ridic-" "This is awesome, Blakey!" the blonde sent her the very first genuine smile she had seen since they started their descent into the accursed bowels of Cornfield's soil "when do you begin?"
"I- I refused" she hated to cut Yang's enthusiasm off, but there was no need to lie in her partner's face. "What? Why?" and here was the one question she dreaded; why?
"For starters, there are so many better choices than me. Ruby is the leader of our team, Weiss is good with people, Lumia is a one-woman army on her own; all three of them are much better than me."
"Yeah, I don't think so" she firmly stated. "Lu is a polite person, but way too straightforward to do anything related to politics. She can do a far better job cutting down Grimm and assessing data in that PC of hers."
"Well…" "Weiss is a no-no too. She is smart and well-mannered but trust me when I say it, Snowpuff is far too emotional to do that. She may end up sending half the council to the hospital if they annoy her."
"Yes, I know, but…" "As for Rubes, come on. There is no way you can do well by taking her out of the front lines. Plus, can you even imagine her dealing with the press? She would collapse of anxiety after a week!"
"Be serious, will you? How is me becoming the new commander a good thing for anyone, Yang? Since when do I have been a person to lead and inspire others to lay down their lives for a proper cause?" she replied.
Oh it was about that, wasn't it? "The SHU is not the White Fang Blakey" she took a serious face, wiping the blood off her cheek. "And you aren't the same Blake Belladonna who left her house chasing after Adam and Sienna Khan's war band of terrorists" she emphasized every word.
"That still doesn't make me a good choice. It just makes me less of a bad one. Seriously, Yang, I am not a leader! I am not good with people! I don't even know what Glynda saw in me when she proposed that!"
There was silence for a few minutes. "Why don't you ask her, then?" a short question was the only thing that left the tall woman's lips. "Or is it that you are afraid to?" she raised an eyebrow but kept smiling.
Blake averted her gaze and stared back at the front. There was a small opening- thankfully for her- in the end of their path. "I see an exit" she replied and sped up, leaving a sighing Yang to follow her.
They both readied their weapons and walked with their backs on the wall, slowly making their way to the exit. Once they did, Blake snuck a peek inside- and quickly retracted her head, staring at her partner.
"It's a flooded room with a large round table in its middle, full of stuff." She took another peek "I can also see a few statues and some pendants hanging from the wall" she added, narrowing her eyebrows.
"Like the one we saw in the entrance?" Yang asked her. "Possibly, but I can't be sure unless I get closer" the reply came "there is an opening on the other end of the room as well, but I can't see or hear any enemies."
Yang nodded and stepped in. The room was a circular one with a high dome-shaped ceiling made of stone. Like Blake said, a large round table made of pitch-black stone was in its middle, a few small objects on it.
Pendants and talismans hung from the ceiling, attached to thin ropes. A sickening feeling filled her stomach as she saw teeth, hair, skin, carved wood and bones form most of them, creating blasphemous parodies of mouths, eyes and tendrils. She shivered and decided to look away.
The walls were made of the same weird granite-like material, except for a strange light being emitted from them. Five tall statues that depicted hooded women stood next to the walls, made of the same kind of rock.
She walked closer to the first one. Its hands were shaped like a bowl, as if she was trying to hold something- or she had been holding something that had been removed. Maybe some precious gem or offering?
She was standing on top of a podium. In its base, some letters could be seen just below the dust and cobwebs. She dusted them off and knelt to read the old-looking scribing with the help of her dust lamp.
"Aminha Sals Verh Ams" she blinked a couple times. "The Sun crosses path with Lirs" Blake said, standing a couple meters behind her. "Do you know this language?" Yang asked her, clearly impressed.
"I don't know why" she seemed taken aback "but this is the language of Elm Isle; the name Menagerie had before faunus settled in. It is now considered a dead language, found in history books and old folk tales."
"Another suspicious holy place connected to faunus' history. I see the pattern keeps going, kitten." "Yes. I checked the other four as well" she gulped and pointed at the rest of the statues.
"Sun crosses path with Lirs. Alto is hidden before the tail of The Grand Helix. The Chorus is encompassing Aurea. Clover runs after the breath of the Polar Dragon. And Petelstar reigns supreme in the heavens" the girl announced, while writing the phrases down in her notebook.
"Are these constellations?" slightly confused, Yang asked. "Yes. It's a stellar map; a system that uses constellation movement and position to note down certain time periods and places, like a primitive calendar."
"Lemme guess- it is used as a means to note down important religious days, isn't it?" Yang rolled her eyes. "At least it did so in Elm" the black haired girl nodded and walked towards the table.
On it there were scattered white rocks, small as- she touched one and immediately grimaced. "Bones- probably of animals, but I am sure I will find human ones among them if I search properly" she told Yang.
The other girl walked closer and let her lamp on the table, gazing at the scattered bone pieces on top of it. The bright light dyed them a yellow-red color, as if there was clotted blood on them. She grimaced as well.
"What purpose would they-" she stared at the dimly-lit statues on the table's perimeter. They were all like the one she had saw, except for the fact that they were all holding ceremonial bowls. She bit her lip.
"I see I don't have to reply to that, do I?" Blake traced the table's hard surface "there are some tool marks; the blade used to make them must be exceptionally sharp" she exclaimed, running her gloved hand on top of a particularly long and thin cut- and pulling it away at once.
"Is something the matter?" the lilac-eyed girl asked her. Blake donned her calculating expression and bent over the table to get a better look at the line she had been messing around with.
Then, she jumped back on her feet "throw everything off the table- I think I found something here" she requested and, as usual, her friend was quick to comply, tossing all the skeletal remains in the water.
"Hold the light please" she tiptoed around the table, splashing around as little water as possible with her agile and nimble steps. Her fingers kept tracing on lines, but she could also see circles and oval patterns.
Slowly and carefully, Blake bent over the table and crawled on its top to confirm another thought. Yes, this looks familiar. And it also makes a lot of sense, if you think about it.
"The marks are not random; there are marks of stars and constellations carved on the table" she announced, still lying on top of it with her stomach "and some of them can be pushed- like parts of a mechanism."
Yang stared at the statues and then at her friend who had just jumped back on her feet and was dusting herself off "ok, it's official; Ruby's ancestors were cultists and designed this place" she rolled her eyes.
"Let's see…" Blake opened her notebook "if we are both correct on it, then we have to find the five places on the table that correspond to our statues' instructions." "Don't we need a reference point as well?"
"Exactly. Let's find where the moon is. And search for a complete one, this place was made long before it was shattered by the Gods" the girl announced, her mood visibly brightened.
It took them a few minutes to search the entire table and find the circle that had the highest possibility of being the moon. Using that as a basis, Yang started pinpointing the other stars, as per Blake's instructions; a task that was becoming quite difficult with the low vision she had.
"Are you sure about this?" After pressing down the symbol that Blake told her was Clover Constellation, Yang asked her in worry. "Of course not- I am using my intuition and dad's sailing lessons about navigating using the stars; how can I be sure?" the disgruntled answer came.
"I wasn't talking about that- your intuition is so often accurate, it scares me. I was talking about why didn't Azure activate this? I am sure he had enough time and resources to find out the solution to the mechanism."
The faunus stared at her partner, hesitation evident in her eyes. She had just pinpointed Petelstar, the last one mentioned and her gloved fingers hovered above its symbol- a large carved circle in the middle.
"Are you ok with leaving it like this, then?" yellow stared questioningly at lilac. "Honestly, no I am not" the reply came at once. "But let me be the one to push it." Blake narrowed her eyes- and pressed the circle.
"Hey!" "Enough of this; let's see what-" a heavy, rumbling sound filled the room, as if stones were being grinded on top of each other. They both felt tremors and saw the pooling water forming ripples.
A couple seconds passed, with the rumbling intensifying, along with their annoyance. They had both drawn their weapons and waited in the middle of the room for any sort of attack, when the rumbling stopped.
Immediately after that, one of the walls moved. Like a revolving door, a part of it opened, revealing a small crypt, like an ancient wardrobe- and a human skeleton chained on it, its preserved bones staring at them.
They stared at each other and then slowly walked towards the skeleton. It was bound on the wall, wrapped in thick silver chains that remained almost pristine except for a thick layer of dust and a few cobwebs.
Its clothes had been surprisingly kept intact- a large black ceremonial robe and an outfit made of wool. A bone mask resembling a Creep hung from its head. "It must be magic or something" the tall girl said "even the bloodstains have been preserved."
"I agree" Blake sidestepped to take a better look behind the remains. She thought for a moment she saw something gleaming and took one step forward, careful to not disrupt the poor man's rest.
Yang gently tapped the man's pockets and pouches. She felt a little bad- until her eyes fell on a small chain in his neck. It was gold, but she didn't care about its value; rather, she was drawn in by its familiarity.
"I found something!" both girls exclaimed at once, turning to show each other their discovery. They smiled awkwardly and then exchanged their findings, careful to not damage them.
Blake held a short dagger in her arms. It was still gleaming, despite the numerous years that seemed to have passed and had a wavy thin blade full of runes. Its handle was black, seemingly forged by iron.
Yang, on the other hand, held a pendant. It was gold in color and had the distinct image of a Spectator- the floating Grimm that looked like severed heads. A gold, bloodied chain was wrapped around it.
"His wrist bones have been sliced- the guy was pretty desperate" she told Blake. "You don't mean that he cut off his wrist, do you?" Yang took a deep breath.
"This is a sacrificial chamber, Blakey. He was thrown inside there, but kept his weapon and talisman. There is only one way to explain this- he offered himself as a sacrifice Dust knows why…" she explained.
"I can't believe it…" she stared at the knife. For a moment she thought it pulsed with energy. She could almost feel its blade turn purple before she rubbed her eyes and cleared her thoughts.
"He sealed himself in the chamber and cut off his wrist to offer his own body as a sacrifice. The reason he did so was probably cause he could keep chanting until he passed out of blood loss" she exclaimed, making Yang's hair stand on edge from the shock.
"Ahm, could you put that thing away until we return to Lakkard? It kind of gives me the chills, kitten." "Yeah… I should…" the weird reply made Yang stare at the cat girl- whose eyes had dilated and dyed purple.
"Blakey?" The faunus was gazing at the blade. It truly was a beautiful knife, magnificent even to someone like her who lacked the expertise Ruby had. Just how many Grimm could I kill with this?
"Blake Belladonna!" Yang's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She stared at her partner, ready to complain… but then realized that not only she was holding the knife, she was also pointing it at her partner.
"What happened?" she asked in confusion. "That's what I want to know as well; you were acting weird, even by your standards" Yang softly yet firmly informed her.
She took out a towel and wrapped the blade, her whole body shivering in terror "I am putting this away and we can examine it back in Vale."
"Do that" the blonde approved "because next time you are doing this wide bulging-eye stare, I am knocking you to sleep" she turned around and walked to the exit, hoping it would soon lead them out of this Dust-damned place of endless bad luck and mental torture.
Alas, it wouldn't be that easy. As soon as she did so, loud splashing sounds came in from the second opening; the one they hadn't checked out yet. It was as if something heavy was walking in the flooded tunnel.
"Oh, you have to be kidding me…" Yang whispered as soon as heavy breathing and growling accompanied the footsteps, along with the very familiar sound of bone being rubbed on stone.
She back-stepped and clicked her tongue. "Now what?" she whispered. None of them was in proper shape to fight the Hag- not with their auras down and dust almost depleted.
Blake barely managed to drag her friend behind the closest statue, as the loud footsteps, heavy breathing, bone thrashing and splashing grew extremely faster than both huntresses expected them to.
They stood still, holding their breath. Blake gulped and slowly peeked from the edge of their cover the exact moment the Hag stepped into the room.
What she saw both scared and perplexed her. The monster was as she remembered it, with its large red eye, bloodstained white bone mask covering its face and thin, wet strands of hair adorning its lipless mouth.
However, there was something different on it. Its torn cloak revealed its black rugged thick torso unlike before. Its clawed hands barely held the bone staff, more like dragging it on the wall rather than wielding it.
Its body was slowly bent forward, like an ape's. The sinister bulging eye was open wide in fury and saliva dripped between its needle-like teeth. There were no traces of the suffocating aura it had showed them back in the museum; it was as if she gazed at a blood thirsty mindless beast.
The beast threw the staff down and gazed around, its eye moving in different speed from the rest of its head. It stopped at the open crypt- and its feral howling echoed inside the tunnels like a death sentence.