Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all fine!
Chapter 130 is here and as always I hope you all enjoy it.
Once again (not the last) thank you for following/ favoring/ reading the story. You are all awesome!
See you again next week in chapter 131. Until then, be well and have fun!
"No matter what, I want three teams and one company of soldiers always on patrol. As soon as the Shadow Border acts in any manner, they are to immediately report it to either me or General Nile."
Those were the instructions Glynda Goodwitch had given. She had lived a lot of her life after Ozpin's command and, despite her objections to many of the man's tendencies she was determined to follow his example.
'Let humanity live in peace and quiet; it is us who are going to take their burdens and fears away. We are going to worry and cry in their stead.'
His words still echoed in her mind every time she looked at his picture on top of her desk. He was calm and collected, proudly standing next to her, Oobleck, Peach and Port. Qrow had taken the shot- it was rather blurry.
She was exhausted by all means- the whole situation was an occurrence out of her very nightmares. Not only a mysterious dome had appeared to cut off a huge part of New Vale, there was also a mysterious and powerful Grimm from the old era slaughtering an entire clinic under her nose.
She stared out of the window. The dome wasn't visible from that part of the Academy, but she knew exactly where it was. The night sky welcomed her, the brilliant stars trying to deceive her with their gleaming beauty.
Is it already this late? She hadn't realized how quickly time had passed. RWBY and their allies had been almost an entire day inside their mission grounds. She hoped they had been doing well- or at least surviving.
She wouldn't admit it in front of them, but she had grown quite fond of the little group of huntsmen Ruby had formed with her close friends. She had proudly watched them all return from the war, not as amateur and foolish children, but as accomplished, yet childish huntsmen; as warriors.
Blake was the one she had been especially worried about. The cat faunus, despite the bad impression she had given in the beginning, had turned out to be a very pleasant person to interact with during this last year.
She was dutiful and willing; she was smart and quite the bookworm. She also was the one with the most idealistic view of the world out of all of them, carefully masking it under a veil of fake pragmatism- just like me.
She took off her glasses. Her eyes were tired, despite still shining in their regular bright green color. She saw a couple wrinkles had formed around them. Wish father and mother were here to see me growing that old.
She put her glasses back and let her gaze fall on the few bottles of wine Ozpin kept for his guests- Qrow, mostly. I guess this is why the dusty fool was such a heavy drinker. She decided to make herself a cup of tea.
As soon as she went to her cupboard to get some leaves, the phone rang. She felt her heartbeat rise. There is no way this is for good. Glynda ran to pick it up- and then the Night Patrol Sirens started screaming loudly.
Oh no! Glynda picked up the phone, the sound of the huntsman giving her the report barely recognizable under the cacophonous roar of the alarm.
-o-
A few minutes ago.
For the huntsmen stationed on top of the barricades, it was a spectacle of both awe striking proportions and horrifying implications. It begun with a mighty pulse that shook the air, making all dust lights flicker in the night.
Immediately after that, the dome stirred. The swirling purple-black mists began to move and shake, rapidly accelerating as they formed a massive whirlpool made of fog. A charnel, stale air assaulted their eyes and noses.
And just like that, the towering dome collapsed. Or, more accurately, it transformed. The torrent of mist rose up in the sky and coalesced into a pitch-black mass the size of a large human that hovered in the dark skies.
As to what was revealed- death. Soldiers and huntsmen took a glimpse of the rotten, rusted sepulchral kingdom of Grimm the former lively district had turned into. They gazed at the remains of an unbelievable massacre.
Worst of all was the fact that TV cameras that lurked around the area managed to get the same glimpse. Images of the destroyed city filled the news within a few minutes, allowing the citizens to see the macabre ruins in their entire splendor. Blood and destruction filled all of Vale's monitors.
"Call General Nile at once!"
"I am calling Commander Goodwitch too!"
"Sound the alarms!"
"ALL HUNTSMEN AND SOLDIERS! TAKE POSITIONS!"
Orders barked left and right, calls were being made; people hastily armed and dressed ran up and down the barricades to mount Vale's defenses.
"Commander Goodwitch? This is Pier Pois from the Border Night Shift. It has collapsed, madam. The border has collapsed and- and the city inside has been-"
"I am seeing it in the news, Pier. I am on my way; all teams are to stay put and focus on maintaining the Border's defenses. Call the Police and tell them to get the emergency evacuation plans moving." "Yes, madam!"
Driving at three times the speed limit, something unheard of for the stern woman, Glynda dialed another number. It beeped three times- to her it seemed like an age- before a boy's voice replied "Professor Goodwitch?"
"Mr. Wukong; where are you?" she asked without greeting him. "I just ate at a noodle stand nearby Neptune's house. Did you see the news?" "I did. And so did all of Vale. Tell me the address and I am picking you up!"
Sun informed her of their location and closed the phone. He turned at his friend who was currently watching the news with an intense look on his face "situation is bad, man. Blake and the others are inside there, really?"
"Well, I am sure Blake is fine. She is tougher than she looks- or thinks" a really simple explanation, but that was Sun all the time. "I wish I had half your optimism, man" the blue-haired boy didn't raise his eyes from the-
A howl echoed all over the city. A piercing, cacophonous screech that was unlike any other thing the boys had ever heard in their lives. It shook the ground, broke the window panels and froze the blood in their veins.
It was something out of this world; a blasphemous, unearthly cry of pure malice. Neptune hoped it was some kind of weapon. It was impossible to believe anything, even a Grimm, could produce such a horrifying scream.
"Duude!" he grabbed Sun's collar and showed him the footage. The news' camera had gotten closer to the ruined city now and the video recorded as clear as day hundreds of sinister, mist-covered red eyes glaring at them.
Within a couple seconds, the video was snuffed out without prior notice. Another abhorrent screech made them look at the sky- nothing could be seen from their place but a scornful, hauntingly calming crescent moon.
"Is it this Nyctos thing's doing?" Neptune asked; eyes up in the sky. "No idea, man. We just have to-" A loud screech filed their ears once more; this time, though, it was quite familiar- the skidding tires of Glynda's car.
"Get in! Do you have your weapons and badges with you?" she demanded without even greeting them. "Yes!" they replied as they got into the car. Glynda gunned the pedal and the car drove towards the north barricades.
-o-
The panic that broke out in the city was of colossal proportions. Bistre had taken even that into account. No matter how abhorrent a sight may be, it was truth that the more humans were exposed to it, the less effect it had.
The dome served that purpose, in addition to sealing Nyctos. It created a sense of morbid anticipation and stirred public's imagination. Thus, upon its reveal, all that suppressed fear would burst out in a surge of hysteria.
And, naturally, such uproar would attract the attention of every single Ghoul, Husk and Moroa in the vicinity. Hundreds of hungry eyes and salivating mouths turned at the glorious feast that stood in front of them.
Their creator, the King of the Night, had His attention somewhere else, so they would be able to gorge their hunger and satiate their need for flesh and blood without Him. At once, the nocturnal predators charged at Vale.
On the wall, standing above the barricades, dozens of surveillance lights opened in full power. Their blue rays illuminated a feral, charging mass of growling and roaring, mist-covered, red-eyed monstrosities.
Up in the sky the vengeful Moroas with their skeletal forms hovered away from the swirling, human-sized black cloud. They dove at the huntsmen stationed on the wall's upper watchtowers as deadly as they were silent.
It was this moment the wall's defenses should have been activated- a series of portable turrets manufactured by the Vacuan forces during the Salem war designed for the defenses of barricades and moving camps.
The SHU had acquired a few dozen turrets and had equipped the walls with them. All it would take was a single button push from the patrol commanders to activate. Only problem was, this push never happened.
Because as soon as the Moroas came closer, a third mighty screech from beyond wracked the sky. Unlike the previous ones, this was a lot more feral. Instead of a crippling sense of fear, it evoked a primal feeling- rage.
"DIEEE!" instead of properly organizing defenses, all huntsmen were filled with anger. They grabbed their weapons and started blindly shooting at the advancing swarm of death, following no plan or tactic- only their fury.
Dust vials and shards flew, semblances activated without any reason, lots of bullets got wasted, taking down as many Ghouls as they could, but not being able to stop their regeneration, or the horde's charge.
And then, the Moroas came down.
They landed on the wall, pushing the luckiest huntsmen back. The less fortunate ones got engaged in a furious battle with the vampire shaped terrors- a battle they didn't care to win as long as they could fight it.
Combatants piled on top of the Grimm, using their fists and as much of their dust as possible to fight them. Blinded in anger and rage, they started attacking with their weapons, caring not to hurt, only to land a hit.
Screams of agony filled the night air. The Moroas reacted as violently and as viciously as expected. Ignoring the suppressive fire from the few ones who had escaped the madness, they started tearing apart the humans.
Death and blood poured on the wooden piles. Corpses fell on the ground below, as the monstrous Grimm feasted on their hapless prey. The Ghouls got next to the wall and begun to scale the defenseless-
All of a sudden, the turrets sprang to life. They rose from their places into the ground and barricades and with a mechanic sound begun to shower the Grimm in dust-powered large caliber bullets. The gunfire tore through the Grimm ranks, annihilating Ghouls like they were made of cardboard.
Realizing the imminent danger, the Moroas flapped their wings and flew up high to observe the changes in the battlefield; all but one.
Four golden monkey faunus clones jumped on the ascending monster and grabbed its long legs. Despite its attempts to evade them they dragged it down with all their might- onto the lightning tip of Neptune's spear.
The monster got impaled and screamed in primal fury at the blue-haired boy, lashing out to bite his throat. Sun jumped next to him and smashed its neck with a couple nunchuck strikes. It slashed at his abdomen.
Pieces of rubble shot forward with unimaginable precision and hit the impaled Grimm, tearing off its torso and face. A small fire shard wrapped in stones and wood got embedded in its chest- and blew it off to pieces.
Glynda ran up to the central watchtower, glad to see General Nile's bald, muscular form operate the turrets. Behind, soldiers ran towards the wall to reinforce the defensive line and cover the opening left by the attack.
She saw the blood pools and piles of corpses scattered on the ground. Sun and Neptune tried to help survivors to stand up, but she could easily see the shock and terror in their eyes. She fixed her glasses and stared down.
"What is with this pathetic display?" Glynda shouted, trying to be heard above the gunfire and Grimm shouts. "You are huntsmen of Vale, not a bunch of hapless childish amateurs holding glow sticks! Act like it!"
There was no need to say anything more. The screeches from the Moroas above made all huntsmen stare above. They could feel the horror, death and despair the winged monstrosities carried with them.
But at the same time, the fear and shock had vanished from their hearts. It was as if Glynda's words had purged away all the confusion and doubt. Sun jumped up next to her and readied his weapons, smiling at the sky.
And then Neptune followed through. And two more huntsmen. Then, a few more jumped up. And then another few. Glynda let a satisfied smirk form in her lips as she saw one after another guns getting readied.
She turned her gaze at the horde. They had retreated a few meters far behind the turrets' firing range. Nile had stopped their auto-firing mode, waiting for the next attack. It's as Blake said... they are acting smart.
"Ranged semblance users and melee combatants mount the wall front area! Long range huntsmen; get on the watchtowers! I need one support semblance user for each ten huntsmen on the front line!"
She glared at the pitch-black swirl above the ruined city. It stood out even in the dark night, despite its average size. There was something about it that made her uneasy. Still, I have more pressing matters at the moment.
The Moroas screamed and the Ghouls roared. Heavy footsteps echoed in the open wasteland, as the towering outlines of a dozen Husks appeared in the searchlights' view. "Here they come! Stay strong and hold the line!"
"Yes, Commander Goodwitch!"
-o-
Pain filled her left hand. Blood dripped down to earth, slowly and gently splashing on the floor. Her breath was ragged, not from the wound but from the immensely furious adrenaline rush she had just escaped from.
Blake closed her fist and removed her knife from her palm, happy to see her aura mend the stab. She turned around- Weiss had done the exact same thing- even though the choice of using Crown was a bit sloppier.
Yang had done nothing. She could feel the energy on her body- this eye, this abhorrent thing was filling her with power and somehow countering the enraging aura Nyctos had showered them with. She silently coughed.
"Leaving the Marked One aside" Bistre, still standing next to the ashes of the eldritch fire, eyed them in contempt "stabbing yourselves to focus on the pain in order to escape Nyctos' power is quite the old-fashioned trick."
"I was reluctant to use it" the cat girl shook her hand to ease the pain "but it does the trick; the point is to inflict a shock on your nerves, unlike the small wounds we accumulated in our previous encounters with it."
Yang didn't comment; she only gazed at her palm, her face a mask of pure sadness. So, it blocked even Nyctos' powers... Cherry was right. This thing has to be related to something equally strong- like the Grand Mother.
"We don't have enough time" Blake's words snapped Yang back to reality. "Tell us how do you intend to trap Nyctos and what do you mean you are going to gain Salem's power" she demanded, pointing Nightfall at him.
Bistre's gaze met Blake's. Despite her slightly trembling pose and tension dripping from her stance, her eyes were gleaming in determination. There was no sympathy in her motions, only a sense of fear and anticipation.
That's one great look in your eyes Belladonna; you understand how tough your position is and it seems you won't hesitate to cut me down if I come to be a threat. He hid his satisfaction. You are still inexperienced, though.
"This whole array of runes is a giant Grimm trap designed to ensnare even something as powerful as Nyctos" he said "that's all." As I said before, you knowing part of the truth is more dangerous than knowing nothing at all.
"As soon as I ensnare it, I shall use Azure's concoction to control Nyctos and harness its great power." Now, that was an elaborate lie if he could say so. It scraped the truth a little, but still had bits of reality included in it.
"You will control this monster with magical runes and a potion?" Yang's face was marred in disgust "what is with you guys and your overbearing arrogance? Have you learned nothing from your dead companions?"
She took one step forward- and then stopped. Her left arm suddenly and without any warning started to throb in intense pain. Her flesh felt as if it was on fire and her nerves were fried like they were being electrocuted.
Weiss' heart throbbed and she run towards Yang screaming her name as the blonde collapsed in a wave of agonized screams. "WAIT!" Blake ran at them and jumped, raising her sword just in time to defend.
The strike was so powerful that it sent the cat faunus flying. Weiss formed an array of glyphs to get her- a powerful invisible strike broke her aura and sent her skid on the floor in a trail of blood. "BLAKE! WEISS! AAAH!"
Yang's mind and body felt like they were in extreme pain. She saw both her partner and her girl stand up trembling but her eyes then darted at the other side of the room, as if summoned by an unseen, eerie power.
A powerful cloud of black mist, moving faster than she had ever seen any being move except for her sister, formed in the middle of the circle a few meters away from Woodrock who had subtly retreated far from it.
Her eyes gasped in pain as it took form. She felt her arm convulsing as if the malicious eye tried to tear itself off her body. A surge of hatred and a powerful feeling of ancient euphoria overwhelmed her. It hurt like hell.
"The gifts of the Elders are a double-bladed sword; I am sure you realized that long before you allow yourself to reach that state" Bistre's mellow voice reached her ears as she stared at the manifesting monster in awe.
"Shut. Up!" she tried to stand, but between the streams of tears she saw Blake motion her to stay put. Somehow, she realized what her partner was doing despite her vision becoming blurry and her mind falling apart.
"Did you really think that an eye able to negate all magic comes up with no repercussions?" he smirked, as the mist subsided and revealed the being that lurked inside its abysmal core; Nyctos, the Elder King of Night.
Its body had the same humanlike shape they remembered. Its torso, head and limbs were charcoal black, with long white claws on its two thin arms. A pair of thin bat wings sprouted from its back, supported in bone plates.
Same plates covered now its shoulders and chest, arranged as if it wore a sort of twisted, demonic medieval armor. A long, thin spiked tail waved around, scattering mist all over the circle.
Its face was even more human-like than before. Its mouth was wide and had a twisted expression, as if a permanent smile was etched on its lipless form. Thin, sharp teeth accompanied two pairs of sanguine large canines.
Its facial plating had grown, reaching up its skull and forming a series of spikes and twists around its upper head. They resembled both horns and ears in a way only the abominable creations of the God on Night could.
It opened its mouth and a miasmatic black fog came out. Blake stared in shock as it slowly towered towards Bistre- and then the man snapped his fingers.
It was as if the entire building came to life. Ancient, powerful runes that contained immense amounts of potion roared dying the observatory's interior in a mighty blue and silver color. The monster's attack stopped.
A storm of chains burst forth, ensnaring the monstrosity. Nyctos screamed in agony as the magical bindings wrapped around its torso and arms. It tried to turn into fog, but the runes inscribed on the floor had sealed that option away. It roared and struggled, but even more chains piled on it.
Bistre didn't allow himself to get carried away- and with good reason. It took no more than a few seconds for the Elder to start moving. Even as the powerful binding spells assaulted it, its magical aura started to rise.
Consuming all those humans was a tremendous boost for it. It hasn't by any means retrieved its full power, but it's far above any normal Grimm the cultist thought as he saw the chains beginning to rattle and creak.
The sound of steel being broken brought horrible memories in Yang and Blake's minds. "I told you, you idiot..." she tried to focus as much of her power remaining as possible to ignore the pain in her arm "you are too-"
"No" the man cut her off as he raised his head towards the monster. His hands moved towards his face, a few meters away from the escaping Grimm. He smirked- and gouged out his eyeballs with a sickening sound.
"WHAT THE?" Yang was unable to contain her shock. Blake stared at the man agape. Weiss didn't react. Unlike the other two, her position allowed her a better look at the man's face. She was shocked speechless.
As Bistre's eyes fell on the floor, a surge of magic filled the interior- and then, brilliant shimmering silver light filled the room. It engulfed them in an instant, bringing back many memories of their last years in the war.
Unlike then, however, the light was cold and merciless; filling then in an eerie chill of absolute desolation instead of the usual warmth it produced.
It subsided and faded away, leaving an incredible spectacle behind. Nyctos had fallen on its knees, its body sizzling in pain as if it had been hit with a tactical nuke as more and more bindings sealed it in its place. The ancient terror stumbled and fell like a newborn kitten, rising up again only to be engulfed in even more chains.
The three huntresses stared at each other in shock. It wasn't due to their confusion about the Elder's state. If anything, they knew exactly why it had been crippled like this all of a sudden- and that was the worst part.
Yang stared at her arm- the markings were there and she could still feel its presence, but significantly faded away. She stared at her friends in shock. "That was... no way!" she couldn't find the words to express herself.
"If I am arrogant, then you are ignorant" kicking the fake eyeballs away with a satisfied smile on his face, Bistre turned his back at the Elder and gazed towards the huntresses through a pair of cold, shining silver eyes.