Hello everyone! How are you doing? I wish you are all fine.
Chapter 131 is here and as always I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks again for reading the story, following or favoring it so far- you are all awesome!
See you next week in chapter 132. Until then, be well and have fun!
The luminous wave passed by, leaving Velvet at a state of confusion. What was that light? It felt impossibly cold. She stood up, her arm limp at the side, and aimed Envelop at the door, holding her breath.
She somehow knew the chances of a Grimm being the source of this frigid light were thin. Still, she never left the door off her eyes as she walked to it- until something stirred in the room behind her.
"No… way" Cherry had managed to wake up. Her wounds seemed a lot better than they did a few minutes before and she was still laid on the stretcher, trying to use her arms to stand up. Her face was in agony.
"Stay where you are" Velvet turned her gun at the woman. No matter how weak and damaged she seemed, this was the same monster that had required all four of them to beat; she would take no chances.
"That light…" the fox girl stared at her fellow faunus "it was the magical power of the God of Light- the weapon of silver-eyed warriors." A pair of black disks opened wide but the weapon still aimed at the girl.
"That is impossible" she argued "the last silver-eyed warrior to exist is Ruby and she lost her powers two years ago!" Green orbs weakly and painfully narrowed as Cherry nodded "this is why I have to find out."
"I don't think so; you are staying where you are" Velvet objected. "I am not falling for your tricks, no matter what you say. The others may hold you in high esteem, but I am not that sure yet."
"The only people in Antares are us two, Blake, Yang, Weiss and Master Woodrock, as far as I know" the fox maiden replied. "If there is a silver eyed warrior here, they are an unknown variable- a threat we are not aware of" she explained "with unknown goals and secret allegiances."
"You are worried about Nyctos" the huntress concluded "but I have no reason to fear. If this thing is annihilated, it suits us just fine." "So you are fine if your friends die in the crossfire between two monsters?"
All of a sudden, Velvet felt cold water run down her spine. She saw the pink-haired woman manage to sit on her butt, but didn't try to stop her as she took a couple deep breaths and turned her gaze back at her.
"Please, let me go. I promise I will do nothing to bring harm to them as long as they don't attack me first. But I have to see what is going on out there- I will even help them escape!" "I can't trust you, damn it!"
"Then shoot me" the fox girl mustered as much power as she could and forced herself to move "only killing me will keep me away from helping my master and my God in their time of need!" she shouted at Velvet.
The bunny faunus gritted her teeth. Images of Coco, Yatsu and Fox in their coffins passed through her mind. Her eyes were doing their best to remain calm. She slapped her forehead "I am coming with you."
Cherry smiled at her fellow faunus "thank you." Velvet glared at her and showed her the Leviathan pendant she had taken from Cherry's neck while she was asleep "I am holding on to this" she helped her up.
"Understandable- but please treat it well. It is unique" she requested. The bunny girl didn't reply. She just put the pendant in her pocket and showed Cherry the exit, aiming at her with her gun "you first." "Okay."
-o—
Blake could hardly believe her eyes. She stood there, one leg kneeling on the ground, staring at the pulsing silver eyes of Bistre Woodrock. In the corner of her vision, she saw Weiss holding her mouth in shock.
Yang was trembling, just a few meters away from the man. "You are a silver-eyed warrior? How?" she heard her partner blurt. The tall man scoffed at her question, but didn't relax his stance even for a moment.
He is weary of us, even though he clearly sees us as barely a threat at the moment. She let her gaze travel for a second at the paralyzed and overwhelmed by the silver magical energy Elder wrapped in chains.
The situation is weird, but not the worst possible one. Being extremely careful to not alert Woodrock, she made a couple hand gestures at her alabaster friend. Weiss, even in her deep shock, understood her plan.
Blake gently moved her weight at the bottom of her feet. She saw that Weiss tipped Myrtenaster's canister with her fingers to place the ice cylinder in the firing chamber. Unaware of their plan, Yang stood up.
"If you are a silver-eyed warrior, you should fight against Grimm, not against humanity!" the blonde's outrage formed a huge smile of contempt on Bistre's face "what a simple-minded way of thinking!"
She rubbed her left hand- it barely felt any different right now. Seems the blast from this bastard's eyes forced it to hide or something.
"Each person has to always serve one master- themselves. That is the fundamental truth of the world, Yang Xiao Long" he smiled. "Even heroes, who protect humanity, only do it because they are part of it."
Blake's anger flared, but she kept herself in check. She stretched back her left leg, ready to charge any moment she saw an opening. "Don't impose your selfish values on us!" the tall woman cracked her fists.
"It is the truth" he stared at the captive Elder, still encased in a thick layer of silver light and held in place from his magical chains "humans help others because they want something back- progress, love, fame, money, peace… fill the gap with anything you want.
You never do anything for free. Even when you help others, even when you bleed for them, it is always for a reason- to gain something material or something spiritual, depending on the individual. Me for example…"
He grinned at her- and then turned around and sent a blast of abysmal black energy at Blake and Weiss. Surprised by the sudden assault both girls barely managed to dodge before the blasts blew them to pieces.
"You thought I wouldn't notice?" he whirled his hand and Weiss' cyan eyes saw a long, thin magical black chain form from his body. It ran to the back, stretching out and forming a circle of runes around Nyctos.
Bistre snapped his fingers and the runic circle glowed. Black mist made of pure magical energy flowed out of the Elder's body. Unable to move, Nyctos couldn't even scream as its life force slowly started being eaten from the circle- and transferred into Bistre with a sickening radiance.
"What was I saying?" he asked at the huntresses. "Ah, yes. I only desire power. The power to subdue every little bug I find in my way- and rule as the new King of Remnant… forever."
-o—
Blake managed to keep her shock under control. She let her eyes dart on the charcoaled floor, where steaming, burnt marble stood at the place where Bistre had attacked- the place she stood a moment ago.
The man was either crazy, delirious or both. He spoke of eternal life and world domination as if it were simple. He spoke with such contempt of Salem and Ozma and the gifts they both rejected as if he knew of them.
"You know nothing" she said, staring at Yang, whose lilac eyes shifted at her side. Weiss was a few meters behind her but Blake knew the pale girl was staring at her as well. It was time, she decided as she spoke.
"You speak with such arrogance, as if you know. But you know nothing of Salem's torment. You know nothing of Ozma's delusions. You know nothing- of us and the world you decided to curse in your wickedness."
Bistre glared at Blake, visibly aggravated. His eyes, now a dark red color, stared at the yellow, feral orbs of the cat girl. For the first time since he had laid eyes on Blake, he saw a powerful will in her- and he hated it.
"Enough talk" he stared back, happy to see his blast had still effect. His lips curved even more- the culmination of all anti-Grimm spells he had acquired and the power of his eyes and that thing still survived.
Not for long, of course. He felt its immense power surging through his veins. If not for the blessing of Light he had been bestowed with, he would already have started to rot from the inside. He raised his hand.
"Killing you is not my intention- you still have your uses" he smirked. A quick exchange of stares between the huntresses was the only reply he got. "Unfortunately for you, I excel at keeping my victims barely alive."
"DUCK!" Blake rolled on the floor and Yang jumped backwards with all her might. Weiss skated to her left and conjured a shield- a powerful surge of black wind erupted out of his hands, covering the entire hall.
It was cold and smelled of rot and decay. Blake consecutively conjured three clones to get away from the death cloud. Weiss' shield melt with incredible speed, making the alabaster girl find cover behind a desk.
Yang's body was hit head-on. The brawler let out a fierce gasp of pain as the dark energies surrounded her skin. Weiss' breath halted and she- "NO!" Blake stopped her, grabbing her arm as the pale girl moved.
Wordlessly, the petite woman broke free of- her eyes opened wide in shock, seeing Velvet holding her shoulder, carefully covered by the same half-molten table. "What are you- no, Yang!" she turned around.
And just in time, Blake stepped on the floor opposite of them with her partner in her arms, glaring at Woodrock. The blonde coughed a bit, but except for a few superficial wounds seemed as fine as ever to Weiss.
"An exceptional combination of your semblance with Eidolon's shadow magic that was" the cultist's eyes narrowed at Blake. "Should you have used this to attack me instead of saving her, you may have had a shot."
"You wouldn't understand" the black-haired girl shook her head. Yang let out another cough. "You have never, ever valued anyone else but you in your life; there is no way you would understand how we think."
Those words came from Weiss, stepping forward from the table that had now been reduced to a pile of plastic and wood on the floor. She walked towards the man, hoping he would miss Velvet hiding behind.
Yang gripped her fists and took a boxing stance. She spent a few gazes to the unnerving monster behind the man; it stood still, even after all that time but its mere presence was making her uneasy to say the least.
Weiss stowed Crown away and poised Myrtenaster. She passed her thin fingers over the blade "Passion, as fierce as a blaze; as elegant as ice" and the rapier glowed in a mystifying unison of gleaming ice wrapped in red scarlet flames that protected instead of melting it.
Blake stowed Nightfall away as well. She drew Eidolon and felt the eerie presence wrap around her body, like a protective mantle. Somehow, it felt warm and reassuring. "Burning Eclipse formation!" she shouted.
Yang grabbed one of her remaining fire crystals and threw it mid-air. A wall of ice and flame formed around her, courtesy of Weiss, as the tall huntress shot a missile towards the crystal, making it explode.
Bistre's magical shields didn't even flinch at the burning wave. He even formed a protective barrier around Nyctos' cage, just in case. A searing light obscured his vision, forcing him to avert and close his eyes.
Weiss and Blake shot forward. Burning Eclipse was an attack RWBY did not like to use a lot. It used Yang as bait, making her imposing presence form a flash bang grenade with fire dust to completely attract all of the enemies' attention on her while the others would encircle the target.
As the light slowly vanished, burning ashes and scattered crisps of rusty equipment were pushed away. Weiss and Blake moved in perfect and complete harmony, their blades arching towards Bistre's neck and legs.
Even if he somehow managed to dodge that, there was one final attack coming from a fourth person, hidden away from them. Velvet realized Blake had seen her and raised Envelop, aiming at the man's heart area.
Yang, wanting to make sure nothing would go wasted, gathered all the might from the blast and charged at him as well. Her scars and burns itched like hell, but she absolutely didn't care about her body right now.
"What primitive way of thinking- Agrathor" utilizing the power he gained from Nyctos, Bistre spoke one single command word. The power surge was so great, Weiss gasped in shock as she felt her veins freeze in place.
Monstrous chains of green-silver metal burst out from the floor. Just one moment before the girls' attacks hit their mark, the chains attacked them with intense ferocity and otherworldly intensity.
Blake was forced to teleport away, cursing under her breath for missing her chance. Yang gasped as a couple thick metal bindings wrapped all around her stomach and pinned her on the floor with a loud thud.
Velvet was bound in her wrists and ankles. With not enough energy to resist, she could only groan in disappointment as she dropped her gun down and fell on the blood-soaked tiles, rendered immobile.
Weiss spun on her heels with graceful alacrity. She danced around the chains, spinning her rapier with ease and using its magically-enchanted blade to cut off any metal binding that came too close to her.
Slowly, yet steadily, she pirouetted towards Yang cutting down chains and thwarting magical attacks aimed at her- until a colossal blast of magic came from Bistre's hand and hit her in the back with full force.
Straining enough for her body to bleed, being cut from the bindings, Yang grabbed and secured her fiancée in her arms. The motion was powerful enough to absorb the impact and send them both crashing down in a bloodied hug before a new pair of chains trapped them.
Blake glared at the man. All had happened so fast; she barely managed to acknowledge his motions. Bistre's gaze fell on her. "You are so much outclassed I barely notice you- you are not even stopping me absorbing energy from Nyctos. How did you insects defeat Salem in her prime?"
With lots of support and a series of well-made preparations. Blake took a quick step to the back. Eidolon's blade shone in her arms- it gave her a hungry feeling, like when it fought the Nameless One.
Bistre had the upper hand, no matter one would look at it. Their trump card against Nyctos wouldn't work on him, they were severely depleted from all the fighting and he had made ample preparations for them.
She stared at Velvet and the Xiao Long couple, struggling to break free from their chains. As far as she could see, escape was not impossible if Bistre had his attention elsewhere- more precisely, on her.
Would she be enough? It didn't matter. Right now, whether she felt like a powerful huntress, a scared cat or a tormented lunatic didn't matter. All that matters is what Blake Belladonna can do at this very moment!
A rustle and the sound of footsteps came from her back, right from the entrance of the observation area. Heavy panting and gasps of ragged breathing followed through. She knew at once who they belonged to.
"Cherry" Bistre's face betrayed both surprise and annoyance "you did survive." The woman raised her eyes- Blake was shocked by the intense hatred reflected in the feral green orbs as the faunus stared at the man.
"They didn't finish me off" she spat. Her body was in extremely bad and tormented state, gaping wounds and carved marks of Grand Mother on her body glowing in a greenish hue. She stumbled, holding her left arm.
"I dare not consider why." "They are my friends; even if we fight for a different cause… I get it. They are honorable and honest and they still acknowledge a fool like me who was swayed by the words of a traitor. I was a fool... I thought we were doing this for the sake of our Lords, not your own personal gain!"
The man's eyebrows furred "you are overstepping your boundary little fox." "Don't call me that!" she gasped in pain. "This is the nickname my father, Silk Nome, gave me. You traitorous fiend are not allowed to use it! You used us all- Master Silk, me, the cult- for your selfish purposes."
"If you didn't want to be tricked" he smiled "you should have been a lot more cautious" a surge of magical energy blasted Cherry. It surrounded and engulfed her, shining like an angry star of eldritch green light.
The fox girl tried to dispel it, but she was too weak right now. Mother's markings on her body started to glow violently, throwing her on the floor in agony. "Cherry!" Yang screamed and reached her hand to her.
"I won't kill you. I want you to feel the pain" he announced, smiling at Blake who glared daggers at the man. "This curse activates the carvings of Grand Mother's runes- it shall remind you for the rest of your life the true position you have. A weapon that forgot its place" he highlighted.
"You bastard!" Yang roared, earning a disapproving mirth from him. In the background, Velvet struggled to move. Weiss groaned in pain and the blonde stood between her and the sorcerer. "Weapons… are…"
Bistre's attention snapped back at Cherry, still on the floor panting. "I failed to grasp it- did you say something?" "Weapons… are dangerous."
She stretched out her hand "flow and ebb, spins like a web. Reversing and pulsing, our lives now grasping." Despite her agony, she managed to form a set of runes around Bistre, shining in the same greenish light. They were similar to the man's chains, but had a slightly more feral design.
"You want to absorb my power?" he chuckled, knowing she would pass out even before the spell became dangerous. "Not me" she smiled "I'm only placing my faith to someone I trust, you filthy traitorous fiend."
Bistre's eyes opened wide. He turned around to see Nyctos. The beast swayed a little, but otherwise nothing had happened. She bluffed? For what reason-
A sharp pain through his chest brought him to reality. He gasped, his own body raking in pain as he felt something warm running down his back. He looked down- a thin, mirror-like blade had pierced his heart.
Right behind him, holding that very blade, Blake Belladona stood. A pair of ominous purple eyes, shining with an otherworldly glee, narrowed as she removed the blade and kicked his bleeding body on the floor.
"Ho…w?" he gasped, feeling blood rise up his throat "I didn't sense you move." He glared at the threatening visage- and his eyes fell on a second Blake standing a few meters behind it, yellow eyes open wide.
"My semblance allows me to create empty images that act as decoys" a calm voice announced "when combined with Eidolon, it lets me form a single solid clone that can autonomously attack and protect me."
The chains tugging down Yang, Weiss and Velvet broke. The alabaster girl recognized the technique- it was similar to her grandfather's magic and semblance combination. The curse was lifted from Cherry's body.
"When you spend so much time looking down on others, you forget to brace yourself for those coming after you" Blake dissolved Eidolon back to its sword form. "It's time to pay for your crimes, you monster."
"Exactly that" Cherry's voice cut her off. Bistre, trying his best to stop the bleeding with his magic, didn't even manage to react as a powerful graviton blast sent him flying back- right in Nyctos' open arms.
"NO!" Blake screamed. Yang ran towards the fox girl and Weiss tried to conjure a set of glyphs to drag Woodrock away. But they were all too late; Cherry had already cast her spell, erasing all the Elder's bindings.
"No…" Bistre's eyes opened wide. A cracking sound accompanied by a sudden flap of wings reached his ears. His heart beat faster, spilling even more blood around him.
A low hiss echoed inside the observatory. A pair of bat wings sprouted once more, accompanying the monstrous figure that raised behind the fallen cultist's form- the perfect sacrifice for the newly-awakened Elder.
"NOT LIKE THIS! NOOOOOOOO-"
He turned around to blast the monster with his eyes once more. And that was the last thing he managed to do, as the sharp claws reached out and plucked Woodrock's eyes from their sockets.
His screams of pain filled the room. "Take cover!" Blake screamed and threw a vial of Azure's concoction at the monster, while everyone else hid behind fallen desks and rotten pieces of equipment.
The vial hit the monster's head, spilling the liquid on its body. And then, a wild, macabre screech almost broke their eardrums. Nyctos' howl of pain was unlike anything they had heard or felt in their lives- a mixture of agony, torment and cacophonous primordial guttering.
It accompanied Bistre's dying screams, filling the cursed land with a mix of cacophonous wails; the swan song of a tormented, dying choir.
"NO!" Cherry tried to reach out, but Yang grabbed and held her down "that's enough of you, little fox" she angrily reprimanded her. "You did more that you should, Cherry."
The mix of Nyctos' pained screeches and Bistre's agonized screams was scenery out of a nightmare. Blake tried to move towards the monster. Now she had seen the concoction was effective, they may still have-
A black cloud swirled around Nyctos. It covered up its body, engulfing Woodrock and absorbing all the chains and their magical energy that remained around the area. It whirled and grew, obscuring the beast.
Then, all of a sudden, it shot up. Nyctos' screeches stopped as the cloud absorbed it and then flew away into the sky with immense speed, the dying screams of Bistre Woodrock piercing the night sky as his body was being slowly and mercilessly sacrificed to the King of the Night.
With the man's horrified pleads fading away, a deep silence fell on the now empty and ruined observatory. Cherry let out a breath of relief, but it was short-lived. Yang dragged her up and pushed her on the wall, anger marring her usually gentle and kind lilac eyes "what did you do?"
Cherry looked at her friend, glaring at her in fury. Weiss stood behind them, staring in displeasure. Velvet punched the ground with her good arm.
"I did my duty. He is now a mere husk of what he was, but there is still hope for Nyctos" she replied. Yang's stance broke and sadness replaced her anger. She clenched her fox girl's kimono in her arms. "You…"
"Where will it go? I think we deserve to know that at least" Blake came by and asked, gently tapping her partner's back. Cherry nodded and she pointed towards the west- where the Shadow Border stood.
All four huntresses opened their eyes wide in horror and realization of what the cultist meant. "He will go after the greatest source of energy he can find- none other than New Vale City."