Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you are all doing fine and wish that 2022 is a better year for all of us!
Chapter 134 is here. I hope you will enjoy it!
Thanks again for keeping up with the story so far. Reading/ Favoring/ Following it means a lot to me and I am really happy you like it!
See you again next week in chapter 135. Until then, be well and have fun!
The cloud smelled foul. It was such a putrid, earthly stench- akin to a freshly-opened tomb. Blake was reminded of the charnel pit inside the bowels of Cornfield. A light shiver passed down her back and spine.
The fog was not dense- it was more akin to a heavy dust cloud that was partially obscuring and blurring her sharp vision. Heavy orange lights dyed it a light brown-reddish color, as if the whole place was burning.
As a matter of fact, it was actually burning! Blake moved quickly to the nearest pulsing light, her instincts in full alert. Sounds of combat could be heard in the distance, but the road ahead of her was silent and still.
Fresh blood formed pools on the ground. Its heavy smell added to the macabre sense that engulfed her. Dozens of monstrous clawed foot prints spread on the pavement. Bullet holes and destroyed cars gave the place a post-apocalyptic look, covered under the brown-red cloud.
She tiptoed around, her ears sharp at the top of her head. The burning light was emanating from around the street corner. She had a very faint idea what street it was and the bad vision didn't help her find the plate.
The blood pools were increasing in number, accompanied by large red trails, indicating someone dragged the wounded away from the front lines. Strange… she stopped for a moment, realizing something.
What is it? She heard Eidolon's voice inside her mind. I see no corpses around… why would they take the time to drag the corpses away too? It is supposed to be an emergency! She replied in deep confusion.
There was no answer from the specter. She didn't mind at this point. If she wanted to be honest, she didn't feel that fond of talking to it in the middle of a war zone. Speaking of… why is it all too silent here?
Blake moved next to the corner. She dropped low and skulked towards the edge of the nearest block where the light came out from. A surge of heat could be felt pulsing out from the street- something was burning.
Blake stopped for a moment, as her ears twitched. She heard a couple rasped voices talking, along with loud sobs and heavy panting. There was no sound of battle accompanying them, however. That's strange.
She raised her head, carefully hiding behind the door of a trashed car. Her feline yellow eyes tried their best to take a good look of the area surrounding her, even with the fog troubling her vision like this.
The buildings stood tall and pristine; only a few broken doors, ruined windows and stray bullet marks indicated that a battle had broken out here. Except for that, however, there was nothing more to be noticed.
It seems the evacuation was done smoothly. She narrowed her gaze in an attempt to find any details she had missed. Where are the Grimm? I saw dozens of them charging the Border! Why is this place so silent?
The conversation from around the corner had stopped; the loud sobs could be heard more easily now. Someone was crying- in a very painful manner as matter of fact. They are going to attract Ghouls here!
Moving faster, but still using the shadows to her advantage, the cat girl reached the corner and took a peek inside the narrow, fiery lit street. A line of barricades made of earth dust greeted her as soon as she did so.
Behind it, the black-haired girl could spot six figures clad in weapons and armor standing around a large bonfire. The heat emitting from it hit her in her face, forcing her to narrow her eyes. She tried to see if they wore a uniform or not, but it was too bright to see with the fog.
There was a distinct, heavy smell coming from the fire. It was a sweet, slightly sickening aroma that seemed to meld into the charnel essence of the cloud. She realized it at once- it was the smell of burning corpses.
They are holding a funeral pyre? Why here and why now? Almost sure she had nothing to be afraid of Blake lowered her weapon and moved into view towards them, trying to make noise with her footsteps.
"Who's there?" the closest one turned around, holding a large shotgun with two barrels. He wore a helmet with mechanical goggles- they must have been night vision ones. As soon as he stared at her, he gasped.
"Miss Belladonna!" he shouted in a mix of surprise and respect. He had a slightly youthful voice, maybe even younger than her. On her name, a couple more armed figures walked forward to meet her.
As soon as they came close enough for her to be able to discern forms, she recognized the SHU crest on their uniforms. Immediately, she ran to them. They all wore masks and night vision goggles like the first one.
The first thing that came to her mind was ask what the status was, but she immediately dropped it; she was no longer part of the unit and they had no reason to report to her, celebrity or not.
"Are you ok?" she tried to take a much friendlier tone with them. "Yes, but you shouldn't be here, Miss. It is dangerous without protection" he pointed to his helmet. "We were ordered to not inhale that fog at all."
Her eyes opened wide. She took a little whiff of the fog- now that they had mentioned it the putrid stench was way too rich to be coming out of the pyres. It must be one of Nyctos' abilities… she finally realized it.
With quick motions, she took her own gas mask out and put it on- the filter activated at once and she felt a knot untangle from her stomach. How stupid of me! How come the aggravating aura didn't get me?
I had no part in it the blade read her thoughts. Am I getting used to the Elder powers? She decided to shake her head and don a professional face "why are you performing the funeral rites now?" she asked them.
"Communications are off" another person replied, slightly annoyed. "Commander's last orders were to fall back and burn the dead- she spoke of the Grimm being able to turn corpses into copies of them."
The cat girl for once was happy for her mask- it prevented them from seeing the surprise on her face. She was sure Nyctos had barely arrived in the area- it shouldn't have enough time to kill so many people.
That could only mean one thing. "The Ghouls… can turn the ones they eat into them as well? That sounds disastrous!" "We know. And-" he turned his face to the other person "we don't provide info to civilians!"
"Hey, she is barely a civilian!" he objected. "Will you two shut up?" a girl shouted from behind. "Pay a little respect to their souls for once!"
Blake rubbed her ears to thaw them off- humidity was bad for them. It goes without saying the situation is tense enough even without Nyctos' power. "Why is it so silent?" she tried to shift their attention elsewhere.
"We managed to evacuate the block" another female helmet-wearing woman with a more mature voice replied "but those Ghouls, as you called them, stormed the buildings ignoring us. They are lying in wait."
Shit! She cursed in the inside. She had a pretty bad experience with the Ghouls' hunting tactics and without proper surveillance those empty blocks of flats were literally the perfect hunting ground for the Grimm.
"You should fall back, behind the fog and form a new perimeter" she blurted. "We know that" the annoyed voice replied. "We are simply taking our time to burn any of our comrades while doing so."
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to sound condescending or demanding" she tried to apologize. "It has been a long night on our end too" she added.
"Forget it; at this point it doesn't matter" another person, holding a guy whose sobs could be heard through his mask, replied. "You are coming with us though. We can't let a civilian roam free inside this place."
A thin smile graced her lips. It was good to see a bit of professionalism from the SHU members. However, they had their own job to do "I am still on a mission from Professor Goodwitch" and she had her own one.
She pulled out a piece of paper- a note Glynda had given her for such cases the previous night. If felt like days had gone by to her. They inspected it and returned it to her "I'd still advice you to stay with us."
"I appreciate your professionalism, I really do. But I have to meet with Commander Goodwitch and Professor Wukong. Do you have any info on their last whereabouts?" she pleaded on their sense of honor.
They exchanged a few indecisive looks. "Last time we heard of them, it was half an hour ago. They were south, next to the Shadow Border's main facilities- where the taller buildings can be seen" he pointed out.
"We… well…" another person seemed like they wanted to speak, so she turned her gaze at them. "Is something the matter?" somehow, she had a bad feeling about this. The person- a short boy- coughed a little.
"As far as protocol goes, since communications are off, the signal flares from the watchtowers were supposed to be fired" he said in a pretty apologetic manner "but none of them did and it has been half an hour."
For a second, she didn't realize what the boy was saying- but then she did and every fiber of her being wished she hadn't. The only ones with codes for the flares were the army officers- and Ozpin Academy staff.
Which meant only one thing- neither Sun, nor Glynda had managed to activate the watchtower communication flares. As for why this had happened- her heart stopped for a moment and she fought the urge to vomit. She bit her lip to keep her wits in front of her fellow huntsmen.
Glynda was the commander. Sun and Neptune were with her- and quite probably a lot of the best huntsmen too. If Nyctos decided to feast, the Border's main line of defense was the most likely place to attack to.
"Thanks a lot- I really appreciate that. But I really have to go now. If I am able to, I will find a way to sign the flares as well." They nodded "wish you good luck, Miss Belladonna."
She stared at the imposing buildings ahead of her again. She now knew they were full of Ghouls that waited for a chance to attack a helpless, stranded huntress. She cared not. Sun- Sun was out there. But where?
She stared at the partially covered flats and grabbed Eidolon "good luck to you as well" and started to move back towards the main street. As she did, her ears caught a few words being whispered behind her back.
"So that was Blake Belladonna?" a man's voice said. "I expected her to be a little… more. She looks like just another faunus immigrant" a girly one added. Right now, she didn't care enough to get angry at her.
Blake jumped over the blockades and ran to the south, her eyes always open wide observing the dark, silent buildings housing death at every corner. She only hoped her beloved ones had stayed away from it.
-o—
She was as silent as the dark city around her. Blake's footsteps left no sound on the orange-colored asphalt as she ran through the abandoned road.
It wasn't going to do anything to keep the Ghouls away, of course. From how fast her heart thumped in her chest and how erratic her breath was, she must have been a beacon of moving worry at the moment.
Sun is out there… he didn't reach the watchtowers… Glynda too… Port and Oobleck were stationed far away and the rest of the academy staff is supposed to be monitoring the evacuation she thought of the escape protocol the SHU had installed a year ago for emergencies.
She took a quick look around. A parked bus, dark and otherworldly as it should never look like, entered her vision far in the distance. The fires had dyed it a sinister burning hue. She felt her chest sting- and tripped.
As she rolled on the floor, she accelerated and tumbled to jump on her bent knees. She gulped audibly to check her erratic breathing. Her ears twitched all of a sudden. Above her beating heart, she heard growling.
Slowly and carefully, Blake rose and turned her yellow eyes towards the nearest street. A low, dying fire was in its middle, slowly being snuffed out- just like the lives of the huntsmen lying dead around it had been.
She saw the corpses stand up. Their forms were blurred by the fog and covered by the fire behind them, casting dark shadows towards her. A sudden feeling of sorrow festered inside her tormented heart.
Slowly yet steadily, their skin started to melt. Cysts of dark flesh formed on their limbs and forehead, spreading around with a sickening sound akin to fiber being stretched to its absolute limits. Holes and cuts close.
Their limbs curved and thinned, long sharp claws protruding forward. A growl, feral and full of malice, accompanied the bat ears sprouting out of their head. Blood poured down, dripping thick like liquid shadows.
At the last stage of their transformation, their faces got severed in half. Their facial bones expanded with a sickening crack and then merged to form the Grimm facial plating. The eyes melt into dark, hungry red orbs.
Still dripping blood, making their horrifying forms seem even more alien under the brittle light, the four newly-formed Ghouls opened their jaws and howled at Blake, gooey saliva mixing with their tar-like blood.
She gritted her teeth. Her eyes narrowed, donning a feral expression. I don't have time for this! I have to find Sun now! She felt a little guilty of disregarding them so easily, but she couldn't fight the pain in her chest.
The Ghouls attacked, running at her ferociously. Use me! She reacted in pure instinct to her blade's demand and grabbed it as the first Ghoul's attack landed on her. Blake teleported away and swung at its thin neck.
Paying no heed to the monster's abilities, the mirror-like blade passed through its flesh with ease, severing the head completely. As it fell on the ground, Blake jumped away to not fall prey to its counterattack.
But there was no such thing. The moment its head touched the ground, the Grimm started to collapse. Blood poured out from the open neck, slowly evaporating into nothingness along with the rest of its body.
There was no time to think about it, though. Two more pounced on her and she rolled on the ground to avoid the attacks. She stood up and got Nightfall on her left hand, blocking the final one's attack with its blade.
She plunged the magma-colored weapon inside its chest, cutting it in half, before she turned around and unfurled it, whirling it like a huge chain to decapitate the other two. All three of them collapsed down.
And, unlike the previous one, started to reform using the same hateful mist she had come to fear. Quickly, Blake jumped on top of the nearest one and sliced it dead with Eidolon. The fog dissipated and it vaporized.
Her heart beating like a jackhammer, she ran as fast as possible and barely managed to dispatch the others before they could pose a threat to her. As they dissipated beneath her, she stood up to look around.
And, as she did that, she felt chills running down her spine. Shadows, dozens of them, surrounded her. They stared at Blake from the corners of the buildings. They stared at her from behind the abandoned cars.
Hungry red eyes looked at her from the dark, lifeless windows. She felt as if she were a sheep thrown inside a cage of wolves. She was being hunted- and she felt every bit of the danger looming in the shadows.
Reactively, she raised Eidolon. The mirror blade gleamed in the orange mists with a purple hue. As it did, a low growling sound echoed around the place, before the shadows retreated back to the foggy darkness.
They are waiting… Blake gulped. They saw what I did to the others and wait for a chance to get me in my weakest! Their predatory behavior is unreal! She stared down at her weapon. I owe you one, nonetheless.
I am merely fulfilling my part of the contract. The voice, as calm and as collected as ever, replied. Blake nodded and, deciding she had lost way too much time in this place, started running again to the south.
How many minutes had passed, she couldn't know. The orange funeral pyres were slowly getting diminished; most teams were falling back to the second perimeter, so their outposts had been abandoned.
The mist continued pouring down. Traces of combat, the smell of burnt corpses and a deadly silence spread around the area. Sounds of battle could still be heard, but they were getting further away as she moved.
The defense line was shrinking- they were surrendering the border to the Ghouls! Tactically, it was a sound move. Without Glynda to guide them and with no means to communicate with the army, the only way out of this with minimum casualties was a slow retreat to the safe zone.
Unfortunately, that meant abandoning everyone who couldn't make it in time to the hungry claws of the Grimm. She had to find Sun! She had to find him now! And then, she had to light the signal flares somehow.
Her heart was burning. She never remembered when was the last time she had run that much in a single night. She had no idea if Ruby, Yang, Weiss and everyone else was fine. She had no idea if she was fine.
All she knew was that she had to find Sun then sign the flares and trail Nyctos. And, as always, she was running out of time. She jumped on top of a car, decapitated the corpse starting to move inside it, and stopped.
A large funeral pyre roared in the far away distance. The vast expanse that spread in front of her was briskly illuminated by the twisted, fog covered blaze. Shadows were being cast at every single direction.
On her left, something moved. She turned around- only to see a bird fly in the distance. A tiny gust of wind made the fire flicker and the dark lines at her eyes' edge momentarily broke in a wicked, horrifying dance.
Right next to the fire, a lone block of flats rose up to the sky. It was lit up by the orange sparks, casting an imposing shade on the empty alley lying in front of her. Its top was concealed in an exceptionally thick fog.
Blake knew exactly where she was. She stood on top of a news station minivan- just outside the SHU Shadow Border camp. It had been built on top of a parking lot and the foggy building acted as the watchtower.
She stared at the abandon spreading around her. Her heart didn't want to, but she had to go search inside. She stared up to the flats' rooftop and suddenly felt a chill in her spine, as if the fog stared back at her.
The cloud covering it was unnaturally thick. And now that she looked at it even more carefully, it seemed like it throbbed. Like a twisted heart, or a pulsing ribcage. It's up there, Eidolon announced in all seriousness.
Why am I not feeling any anger at all, then? Blake pondered. I have no idea; I just feel my prey staring at us from above. She let out a small bit of humor form a smile on her mouth at her weapon's current antics.
We are going there, she replied. But only after we find Sun and Glynda, she underlined. Without waiting for a reply, Blake jumped down from the van and entered the camp- and immediately stopped at her tracks.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she heard a series of furious, hungry howls erupt from the shadows around her. Her eyes opened in shock as she saw dozens of dark wisps rise up from the ground.
The wisps quickly formed into Ghouls, surrounding Blake in a sea of red feral eyes and drooling jaws. The motion was so simple, so quick, the cat girl barely manager to register anything but a simple, terrifying fact.
This fog was the Ghouls natural territory. Since their bodies were made of the same dark substance, it was extremely easier for them to hide and plan ambushes. This is why the SHU has been falling back so fast!
With her anxiety increasing and mixing with her weapon's hunger for Grimm blood, she took a combat stance. The monsters opened their jaws and started advancing, taking their time to- "Cover your eyes!"
Her instincts helped her respond in time. Blake shut her eyes off at the familiar voice, just before a flash grenade fell a few feet away from her.
The result was a brilliant eruption of blinding white light that evoked a chorus of cacophonous screeches and angry roars from the Ghouls. She had no time to think on it, however, before a strong arm grabbed her.
"Follow me, Blake!" "Neptune?" she asked. "Yes; now follow me!" the boy ran while holding her arm, barking orders around. A couple of gun shots and loud curses accompanied her as they made their escape.
They ran for no more than a minute. From the increasing warmth on her face, she understood Neptune was carrying her towards the pyre. When she opened her eyes, she was glad to see she had been right.
She found herself surrounded by five huntsmen, Neptune included, all wearing gas masks and SHU armor. They were standing next to a large fire that burned bright, barricaded inside a tall electrical fence.
She didn't remove her mask, but jumped and hugged her friend with a much uncharacteristic for her motion. Always the affectionate one, the blue-haired boy returned the hug "I am so damn glad to see you."
"Same here" she broke the hug and turned to the rest. "Thank you all so much for rescuing me!" "It goes without saying, Madam" a thin man with a long squirrel tail responded in a respectful manner. She smiled.
And then, after the shock of reunion passed, she felt the pain in her chest return. "Neptune" she grabbed her friend's arm "what happened here? Where is Sun?" she asked him, failing to mask her worried state.
"Sun is with Glynda, most likely" his expression was hidden behind the mask, but the sudden drop of his voice didn't help alleviate her worries at all "we got separated when the fog fell, but I saw him go up there."
Even before she turned her gaze to look, Blake knew exactly where her friend pointed to. Her breath stopped for a moment and her worries increased tenfold as she followed his pointed index- towards the block of flats' mist-covered rooftop of malice. The place where Nyctos was crawling, licking its claws, waiting for its prey- her.