Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all fine!
Chapter 127 is here and as always I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks again for keeping up with the story. Following/ favoring/ reading it means a lot to me and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I do.
I will see you all in chapter 128 next week. Until then, be well and have fun!
Keep calm; stay still. Analyze the situation.
The first thing Blake had done after the veil of darkness surrounded them was to sniff her last aroma bottle. Meanwhile, she took out Eidolon and poured her aura inside it, its presence filling her shadow.
She tried to light her lamp. It flickered for a mere moment and then it died, as if she hadn't fine-tuned it just a few hours ago. Was it a few hours or not? Irrelevant right now; just try to focus on the pressing-
"Guys! Where are you?" Yang's screams cut through the darkness. "Next to you, you oaf!" Weiss groaned. They were masking it well, but she could feel their anxiety; the darkness was blocking even her sight.
It is here; the Nameless One. Eidolon whispered directly in her mind. How do we defeat it? Blake asked. Can you take control of my body like you did before? She asked. I am your shadow blade now, nothing more.
"Guys!" "I am here; move towards me!" Blake seethed her nerves in full alert. This thing could attack any moment- from any angle. And after all the fights we have had so far, any hit could be potentially lethal.
"Guys! Where are you?" Velvet's shouted. It was a little far away and sounded rushed, almost as if she was panting. I shouldn't have let us split like this, even when we are investigating! Blake noted her misstep.
"Where are you Velv?" Yang, now significantly close to Blake, shouted at the darkness. "I am here; move towards me!" she replied, again panting. "She doesn't sound very well" Weiss commented in concern.
Yang, even though the other girls couldn't see it, stared at the alien eye in her left palm. It was unmoving, possibly depleted from the fight she had before. Maybe it's for the better, she tenderly let Cherry down.
"I am coming Velv!" Yang started moving towards her friend. "Don't act so rash!" Weiss objected, but aside from sensing the tall girl, none of the huntresses could do anything to stop her. "Guys! Where are you?"
Yang stopped. Blake felt a chill run down her spine all of a sudden. Weiss' eyebrows rose, concern giving place to worry "Velvet?" "I am here; move towards me!" the bunny girl replied to her alabaster friend.
However, even more this time, the girls noticed her replies were a bit too mechanical. A haunting, eerie feeling crept up their skin. "Hey, bun-bun" Yang gulped, sweat running down her hat dripping on her face.
The sound of Velvet's mechanical replies scared her more than the most Grimm she had fought did. "This is a really bad time to be joking; there is a-" she gazed around, trying to see "-a freaky monster here."
"Next to you, you oaf!" Yang felt the blood being drained from her face. A sense of dread hit her, threatening to choke her lungs. The use of Weiss' phrasing was so wrong at this point in so many different ways.
Eidolon; can the Nameless One- "Don't act so rash!" the phrasing, the void and monotonous rhythm... the childish way her voice paused, as if she was learning how to speak... Blake felt she had been gut punched.
It doesn't matter! She bit her lips, using her pain to focus away from the haunting voice. Velvet may be in danger! Now's not a time to hesitate!
"Weiss; light it up! Permission to use your magic!" she screamed at the pitch-black darkness, cursing herself for not being quick enough to demand that earlier. She just hoped her bunny friend was not-
"The eyes reflect the madness within; voices spread, darkness unseen" an ethereal, mystifying voice sung the words of power.
A pulse of pure white light spread, cutting through the deepest and darkest shadows like knife separating pieces of soft butter.
Its source was a small figure pulsing with power; the white-clad woman with her heterochromatic eyes blazing in blue-white magical energy.
"What the fuck!?" Yang's scream drew away Blake's attention from Weiss. And for a good reason the cat girl thought trying to not let her heart burst from the horror of the scene that was revealed in front of her yellow eyes, unmasked by her friend's beacon of light.
The Nameless One was there; its pale bone mask covered its triangular face, black and white glistering in the reflection of Weiss' light. Its rotten body was draped in tattered, rune-covered black cloth like before. Its long thin right arm was raised up high.
Its left one- the cat girl's stomach churned- had somehow grown back, replacing the tendrils for clawed plates. Said claws tightly held Velvet's throat, leaving large bleeding traces on the girl's tender skin as it carried her in a sick parody of a princess carry.
"No..." she heard Weiss whimper. The faunus' eyes were a ghastly white color, irises completely reverted. Blake could see the girl's chest and it furiously moved up and down like it was struggling in extreme agony.
The monster's head slightly tilted. Velvet's body followed suit. Her throat pulsed like she wanted to vomit. Thin lines formed along its skin and the huntress' mouth opened wide "Hey, bun-bub" it misspelled.
Yang's body was filled in shivers. Weiss covered her mouth to not scream. Blake trembled in shock. It's trying to use Velvet's vocal chords to mimic her voice- it comes out too mechanical 'cause it fails to do so.
Thanks for the notice she replied, more due to reflex rather than paying any heed to anything other than the horrible monster and her friend who was suffering in its arms. "Move towards me!" Kindly fuck off.
The girl's mouth gulped open again. She could see Velvet's throat move in rapid motion, without any voice coming out that a gurgling sound akin to drowning. "Let Velv down right now!" Yang stomped forward.
"Wait; don't do anything stupid as long as it has Velvet!" Blake pleaded to her partner. Yang stopped her advance and the Grimm stared at her as if it was a curious kitten. This thing is giving me some serious chills!
Meanwhile, Blake had managed to recollect a little of her mind. Eidolon; I want you be on full alert. Any moment you sense it using its wires, use as much aura as you want and cut them off at once she demanded.
Earning a quick nod of approval, she then turned to Weiss who had just barely moved her lithe body and was trying her best to study its runic patterns. She was going slowly, doing her best to not startle the Grimm.
Blake took a small step forward. Her cat-like agility helped her make little to no sound at all, gracefully leaving the monster's line of sight as its full attention was turned towards Yang.
She raised her index finger for Weiss to see and the girl understood the meaning of her leader's motion. She took a couple quick and graceful steps towards the right, moving opposite from Blake's current position.
The monster's head snapped back at her. In a disgusting show of its alien nature, it spun its head 180 degrees like an owl and fixed its gaze at the white girl. "Don't act so rash!" Velvet's throat viciously gurgled.
Seeing the pattern of her teammates' movement, Yang realized Blake's plan to surround it. Knowing her own figure and footing were not even closely to the other two girls' alacrity and grace, she dutifully stood by.
Her left arm was quite timid; it had reacted so violently to that Grimm in the underground that she was kinda expecting it to go ballistic right now. She shook her head to push that thought away for now and focus-
The creature moved towards Weiss, hovering like a puppet hanging from cables. Its aura of malice suddenly expanded, making the brawler sick in the stomach. Velvet was still cradled in its vicious powerful grip.
"Hey!" without any hesitation, Yang took a heavy step forward "what do you think you are doing ignoring me, you bastard?" It stopped at its tracks and turned that bone-covered face at her, oozing with evil power.
Nice! Blake took full advantage of the diversion and made a quick and as silent as possible dash to the Grimm's back. Unable to use Eidolon as it had merged with her shadow, she gripped Nightfall ready to attack.
Weiss moved forward, adjusting the light to not alert the monster. She hoped her footsteps were not that easy to detect, even at such close proximity and once more thanked her upbringing for the ballet lessons.
Yang suppressed a satisfied smirk. I can't believe it's working; at this rate, Blakey will take that thing's arm and- The overwhelming aura all of a sudden subsided, as the Nameless averted its gaze from the blonde.
Lilac eyes narrowed and Yang held her breath. Of course, I had to jinx it! "What's the matter, scary guy? Are you too afraid to-"
Velvet's head twisted, her flesh wrinkling like tissue paper. Her face stared at Yang, cloudy white eyes focusing on her own purple ones. The girl gurgled again. Her mouth pulsed like a puppeteer's new mannequin.
"Hey!" she shouted, mimicking Yang's earlier provocation. "WATCH OUT!" Blake's screams saved her hide or more accurately, her stomach, from being cut in half as the Grimm's arm sent a wave of cuts at her.
The blonde rolled on the floor allowing the slices to pass above her. Still having its back turned, the Nameless moved in front of Weiss, holding Velvet's body as a shield in between them. "Are you too afraid to?"
Blue pulsed. The light emanating from her body sizzled for a moment. A large white glyph formed below the Grimm, impaling the monstrosity on a large stalagmite made of ice dust and raising it up high in the air.
Velvet's body rattled and started to shake violently. But Blake was there as soon as she heard the sound of her friend's semblance. She took a mighty jump, stepped on the stalagmite and landed next to her friend.
The impaled monstrosity, however, had no intention of letting the mortals have their way. Its head snapped towards Blake and its left arm tightened, holding the bunny faunus in a furious vice-like grapple.
Simultaneously, its right one sliced at the cat girl like a well-sharpened razor. The wave it formed crashed on Blake- and severed her clone's body in half as the huntress used her semblance to avoid its attack.
Nightfall came down. The Nameless twisted its body and tried to move so that Velvet would be placed at the magma-colored blade's way. "Not even closely!" Yang landed on the pillar, almost stomping it to pieces.
She grabbed the monstrous Grimm from the back, not allowing it to move the way it intended. Nightfall cut and the ancient horror dissolved into black goo, being forced to let go of its captive in order to escape being hit.
Yang grabbed her unconscious friend and landed next to her fiancée who had already formed a platform for Velvet to rest on. Blake was the last one to land, same time as the creature reformed away from them.
Velvet moaned in pain, but she seemed to be alive for the moment. Weiss moved the glyph array and carefully set the bunny faunus down.
The monster hovered a little further away, standing on the staircase just in the border between Weiss' light range and the darkness engulfing the planetarium. It tilted its head and cracked its huge, clawed left hand.
Invisible threads made of magic spread around the area. Its subtle move filled the air with dozens of needle-like weapons that flew towards its unsuspecting victims who stood by waiting for a powerful, flashy attack.
Fortunately for said victims, Eidolon wouldn't suffer that. Blake's shade expanded and the faithful weapon jumped out of it. Able to see the lines of the threads' reflections, it cut at them with its mirror-like blade.
A sound like fiber being stretched filled the area as Eidolon landed next to Blake, a perfect copy of the cat girl save for its covert ops armor and eyes. The Xiao Long couple stared at the figure in awe, truly impressed.
The Nameless closed its fingers. Its confusion grew. Its darkness, able to devour lighthouse beacons, was being held back. Its sharp wind cuts were easily avoided even its threads were being cut off like mere toys.
It stared at the three women who refused to acknowledge its terror. Its confusion grew- and with it, its anger. It felt infuriated... disturbed... full of primal fury. It felt an inescapable craving to tear their flesh off them.
It slowly raised its left hand. Eidolon whirled its blade. It cracked its fingers. Weiss channeled aura inside her weapons. Its claws reached out and grabbed its mask. Yang tightened and raised her fists in defense.
The creature's claws dug inside the mask. A hideous cracking sound filled the room; lines formed on the black-white surface. The girls' eyes opened wide when they saw the Grimm tear off its own cranial plating.
Pieces of bone, accompanied by thick black blood, dropped on the floor. The remains of the plating followed soon after. The creature once again tilted its head, Weiss' pulsing light falling on its now visible face.
Disturbing. Alien. Abhorrent.
These were only a few of the words that formed in the girls' minds as the waves of light showed the Nameless' face. Most Grimm couldn't, as far as they knew, remove the bone plating covering their bodies.
But this thing, as well as the Elders, didn't seem to obey such rules. It had easily torn off the pale white and black-splattered plating as if it was an ordinary mask and not a part of its abominable Grimm body.
A triangle of black flesh, with a pair of tormented little red eyes pulsing in agony and abysmal hatred stared at them. It had no other features, other than a thin mouth, stitched shut with thick, durable threads.
It slightly moved it open and the wires cut through the flesh, offering them a bloody smile through barely visible needle-like teeth. Thick black blood dripped on the floor, staining Velvet's neck as it slowly fell.
The creature kept smiling at them. Blake stared at her weapon. It was as vigilant as before, maybe even more. She remembered the fight it had with the Nameless back in the tunnel. Is it itching for a rematch?
Eidolon; the finishing blow is yours she finally said. Until then, stay put. I want you to focus only on killing it once we give you an opening. There was no reply, but she knew it agreed; she could feel its excitement rise.
It tilted its head again. Its lips opened a little more. A sound akin to fiber being torn reached Weiss' ears. And then, without any prior notice, it attacked the pale huntress, hovering towards her at incredible speed.
Always keeping an eye out for her lover, Yang jumped at once between them. Her right arm rose in defense and blocked the humongous claws. She then bent forward and gave a left hook at its belly- "don't do it!"
Weiss' warning came too slowly. As if being suspended by invisible threads, Velvet's body suddenly hovered in between them, shielding the monster from the blonde's attack.
The only thing Yang managed to do was hold back as much as she could at the last minute. She felt her fist land on her friend – Blake's body slammed on the creature's back. The power wasn't enough to cause any damage, but it forced the monster to flee, moving Velvet along with it.
"Freezerburn!" instinctively, the Xiao Long couple performed the move. A cloud of mist burst from the floor, sheltering them from the monster.
Seemingly undeterred, it hovered up high. The brunette's body followed its movement, like a marionette. "It uses some sort of strings to move her around- don't jump in to blindly attack!" Blake chastised Yang.
A surge of energy flew at them, as the Nameless once more used its right arm to send a wave of cuts. Weiss jumped forward and conjured a large stone slab that absorbed the hit "what do we do?" she shouted.
"I have a plan" she pointed at the magical dagger in her belt "we have to hold it still only for a few seconds, without hurting Velvet, that's all!"
Another surge of energy formed in the Nameless' hands- two missiles flew at it from the mist cloud. It released its attack, splitting them in half and causing a set of explosions that failed to light the place any more.
A wave of glyphs formed around it, sizzling with gravity and lightning dust. Its eyes focused on the strange, yet familiar arrays. It could feel a modicum of magic from the runic scribes, despite their low potency.
Blake and Yang jumped on top of the platforms trying to get to it. With every step they took, lightning dust filled their muscles and nerves while accelerating their speed and reflexes to the utmost possible level.
Still cradling his captive, Nameless cracked its fingers. Its magical blast got reshaped, changing from a wave to a beam. Using its feral instinct, it shot both girls, aiming at their landing points as soon as they selected them, intending to blast off their legs and send the crash on the ground.
Being sniped from that close, by an invisible weapon while maneuvering mid-air and with the pain from their nerves and muscles' overwork would make it impossible for any normal huntsman to avoid getting hit.
The Nameless' problem was that Blake and Yang weren't by any means normal huntsmen. Even among their group of friends, their instincts were the sharpest there were. And they had Weiss covering for them.
A sudden burst of magical power conjured wind runes beneath the girls' feet. A single step was all it took for Blake and Yang to jump away from the path of the death beams. Yang stepped on the closest gravity glyph.
She created a foothold with her hands and let Blake step on it. The monster turned to face them again- and Yang shot her partner at it with all her might. Nightfall's red blade shone in Weiss' powerful light.
The monstrosity didn't manage to comprehend what they were trying to do; all it cared for was to exterminate the fool who flew towards it.
And it did so, moving its hostage towards the blade's path and swinging its sharp claws at the foolish faunus who dared challenge its primal fear- "Flight of the Bumblebee!"
Blake used her semblance to create a clone and used it to turn her body around mid-air. She unfurled Nightfall and shot its falcon blade at Yang, who had already jumped after her. The brawler grabbed its bladed wire.
Before the Nameless could react, Blake spun and swung with all her might in order to drag Yang's muscled body to her. A couple shots from Ember Celica gave the boost the blonde so much needed to accelerate.
The Grimm tried to dive away, but it was too late. Yang cannonballed at it and grabbed Velvet's unconscious form. She kicked the monster in order to jump away, finally freeing the bunny girl from the alien wires.
Nameless let out a horrendous screech and amassed a surge of mighty energy- a colossal gust of wind erupted from below; a mass of primal air magic that drew the ancient Grimm's attention towards its source.
"This is enough" Weiss' clothes shone in a shower of green dust energy. A pulsing array of magic engulfed her body, augmenting her glyphs with her grandfather's scribed magic runes. She narrowed her mismatched eyes and released it.
A wind cage erupted around the monster. A sphere of hurricane-fast wind surrounded it in all directions, enclosing it and holding it in place. It furiously started attacking, the cage trembling with every mighty hit.
But Weiss persisted. She channeled even more aura inside her glyphs and expanded them, trying to capitalize on the ample magical energy surrounding them as she had done in Gloomharrow village.
Go! Blake dragged her body on top of a glyph she had caught on as she fell before. She gave the command- and her shadow obeyed. Eidolon's purple-eyed form ran across the glyphs, gathering magic on its dagger.
Weiss dismissed the cage as soon as the Blake-lookalike form charged it. The Nameless roared in fury and amassed power to annihilate the girl. It couldn't feel the weapon's presence. Its rage didn't let it do that.
The magic knife severed the hideous Grimm's arm and then decapitated its triangular, malformed head. It stabbed its chest, split it in two and watched in reserved glee as the Nameless One vanished from existence.
Light returned to the room and all three huntresses let out a sigh of relief before the black and white duo ran at Yang to check at Velvet's condition.