Hello everyone! How are you doing? Thessaloniki is chilling cold but I hope you are all doing fine!
Chapter 137 is here. As always, I hope you all enjoy it.
Thank you in advance for another week of keeping up with the story. You are all amazing!
There are now two chapter left for the end of the Arc. They will be normally uploaded on February 2nd and 9th respectively. Afterwards, I will take a week off to plan a bit about the final arc of the series- and rest from the work-writing-work schedule XD.
On that note, see you all next week in chapter 138. Until then, be well and have fun!
March 13th, 85
"Are you sure about this?" Glynda stared at the resignation note that was currently standing on top of her pile of documents. Her eyes left the pure white paper and travelled to meet a pair of yellow orbs.
Blake, trying her best to control her unease and hoping Goodwitch's gaze wouldn't cause her skinny body to wither even more, nodded. A pair of huge black circles added more depth to her weakened visage.
"It's for the best." She hated how weak and uncertain she sounded. "I can't join missions like this, Professor Goodwitch. I am sure you are aware of my state already. Stepping down is the right thing to do now."
"Have you discussed this with your friends?" Blake averted her gaze. A loud sigh left the stern woman's lips. "I can't accept this Blake" she took the note and offered it back to the surprised faunus with a harsh glare.
The scared girl didn't accept the paper. She stared at her commander in a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Why?" "I can't take seriously a person who can't even look me in the eye for such an important matter."
Blake reluctantly accepted the paper and bowed in respect. "No one is irreplaceable" the cat girl said "I just think it would be for the best to have someone take my place, so that RWBY won't have more troubles."
Glynda's expression softened and she gave a rare smile to the troubled girl.
-o—
A quick cut of her blade was able to open the door to the final floor. A swift movement from Glynda's crop propelled the splintered door away and slammed the prowling Ghouls to give the two women an opening.
Nightfall whirled, severing legs with its chain blade. Before the Grimm bodies fell on the floor, the blonde woman impaled them with a series of hastily-made projectiles infused with just enough dust to kill them.
Blake looked up. The ceiling was partially hidden in the same dark mist, throbbing like it was being moved by a set of unseen lungs. It pulsed in, then pulsed out; then it pulsed again… it was almost hypnotizing…
"Snap out of it; will you?" Blake lowered her gaze, blushing in shame. "I am sorry, Glynda. It's just so deceptively calm…"
It happened in a split second. The mist pulsed in and then, instead of its normal motion, expanded with immense speed. It covered the entire floor, engulfing both women before even Blake managed to respond.
A sudden surge of dread, accompanied by a tiny current the cat girl's ears barely managed to register, overwhelmed them. The attack came out of thin air, with no prior notice- thankfully, Glynda was there.
As a tall, thin shadow with bat wings and gleaming red eyes appeared in the mist, the stern woman raised the floor to deflect a strike aiming for the faunus' neck. Sharp claws screeched across the concrete surface.
Losing no time to understand what had happened Blake unfurled her red blade and lashed out to the monstrous shadow- only to hit thin air. The monstrous figure had vanished back in the mist without any trace.
It's here! The excitement palpable in Eidolon's voice was rather creepy. "It decided to hunt us instead of waiting" the cat girl moved to guard Glynda's back. "I wonder what prompted it to do that" Glynda replied.
The yellow cat eyes shone in the brown-dark cloud. She could at least see the outlines of objects at this state- which would be a huge help to fight. "It may have sensed us coming; or finished its preparations."
A surge of wind made her ears twitch. "Behind you!" Blake's warning allowed her commander to slam the attacking monstrosity with a pulse of gravity-augmented telekinesis. For a brief second, the monster froze.
The cat faunus' eyes briefly managed to get a better look of the Grimm. Its humanoid features had been lessened. Its arms and legs had turned skinnier and elongated. Its flesh had dried up, giving a skeletal image to the being, highlighting its facial plating and sharp canine fangs.
The sinister eyes focused on the gleaming blade in Blake's left arm- and then vanished away, hiding inside the fog. It's in really bad shape- I bet it doesn't even realize how worn out it has become, Eidolon noticed.
"I think we actually may stand a chance, seeing it that weakened" she replied to Eidolon, while informing Glynda. The stern woman didn't say a thing- she only kept her riding crop high, cursing the fact her night vision goggles had been damaged in the first assault. She should have-
Another attack came from the left corridor. Blake shouted at her, but a flick of Goodwitch's arm indicated she had already been aware of it. She formed a protective wall between them-
The wall cracked. Nyctos didn't fall back this time and simply pushed the barrier to its breaking point, using its massive power to crush any form of resistance her semblance may have intended to put against it.
Nightfall whirled and wrapped around the commander's body. Being as always cautious and trying her best to drown all horrible images of her being eaten alive that formed in her mind, Blake pulled Glynda away.
The bat-like Grimm passed between them, its razor-sharp claws raking their flesh as they both rolled on the floor away from its charge. A loud crash followed after and Nyctos flew away through the broken window.
Blake withdrew her weapon "Glynda! Are you ok?" "I am fine! Focus on your part! You could have scored at least three hits on it while it left!"
She stopped at her tracks and helped the woman stand up. "I will not, by any means, let it hit you just to score a few hits on it." The woman's gaze fell on her, the mists hovering around them making it even scarier.
"I told you once that no one is irreplaceable. Do you remember what you replied to me back then?" Blake shifted her body around, making sure nothing was trying to prowl on them under the cover of the mist.
"No huntsman is irreplaceable" she approved. "But Blake Belladonna, the person, is. You can't be replaced in the hearts of those who love you no matter what" the commander recited her own words at the girl.
Blake nodded "the same goes to you- who is going to replace Glynda in the hearts of those who look up to you?" she reprimanded the usually stern woman. A rare display of surprise appeared on the blonde's face.
A violent beat of winds seared the corridor. The window panels flapped and cracks formed on their surface. The mist dispersed, but returned at once as if it was moved by an unseen hand. As expected, it is unnatural.
I owe you so much… Blake crossed Eidolon and Nightfall in an X-pattern before her. You had no reason to help me… you had no reason to stand up for me. She eyed her commander who walked behind a corner for cover. You had no reason to trust a deadbeat woman like me, Glynda.
The winds ceased. Blake lowered her body. She eyed Goodwitch again. The stern woman nodded; she had understood what the cat girl's plan was and quickly infused a piece of furniture with an ice dust shard.
The shining red eyes pierced Blake's soul even from far away. Her first instinct was to run, but she drowned her cowardice deep inside her soul. She lowered her stance even more. Its fine, she said to herself.
Have faith. Nyctos flapped its wings and dived to the building, aiming straight at her. So many people have placed their trust on you; have a little faith on them for once. And, for dust's sake, don't mess this up!
The bat-like form descended and crashed through the torn windows in a heartbeat. The speed and agility it displayed was amazing; it could put even Ruby to shame and catch unaware even the weariest huntsman.
But Blake's instincts were even sharper. Instead of waiting for its claws to connect, she activated her semblance the moment its body passed through the broken glass panels, throwing some ice dust to enhance it.
Nyctos hit her ice clone, momentarily freezing in place. Its raw power was enough to tear it, but it was that exact moment Glynda's ability threw a frozen projectile at its legs, engulfing it inside an ice explosion.
Undeterred by the blast, Blake rolled on the floor and managed to get behind it. Filled in frozen mists, its reaction time was marginally slower and the black-haired girl took full advantage of that.
She wrapped Nightfall's chain around its arms, using the brief moment this provided her with to jump and cut at its throat with Eidolon. A loud cry of triumph filled her ears and a primal sense of bloodlust erupted-
The nightmarish Grimm's head made a 180-degree turn like a monstrous owl and snatched her magical blade with its sharp fangs. She had been expecting some sort of resistance, but the sheer absurdity of its action made her lose focus and slam on its body with all her might and speed.
Nyctos shook its thin body, small cracks appearing on its skin. The dark fog swarmed around it, voraciously eating the ice crust away from its flesh. The monster was freed and towered over the slender girl's form.
"Get cover!" Glynda swung her crop and ushered her power to reform the corridor. Her semblance roared and the ground shook, twisting and turning to attack the Grimm. The ceiling shattered and Glynda shaped it into projectiles with her telekinesis. The floor wrapped around its limbs.
The King opened its jaws and screeched. It was a loud, cacophonous roar that penetrated the dark night like a siren. The fog burst out and threw Blake's sword away. It attacked and smashed all projectiles.
Goodwitch dashed to her left, instantly animating more projectiles and showering the monster with immense precision. The fog swirled again and formed a protective carpet around the monster. "Now, Blake!"
The cat faunus acted in exemplar speed. She blinked at the creature's back and sliced the fog away; she was happy to see Eidolon was really effective in dispersing it. Nyctos opened its monstrous jaws at her.
It bit towards Blake, but the faunus didn't react. She let it get a good taste of her left arm, shifting just barely around to make sure it would bite at her outstretched hand; the hand that was holding Azure's vial.
Pain wracked her body. The powerful jaws crushed her aura and tore through her flesh like knives cutting through butter. She felt something warm and gooey running down her arm. She stifled a gasp of pain.
Mustering all of her power Blake let go of the vial inside Nyctos' mouth. A second after, Glynda shot a kinetic missile on the monster, forcing it to open its jaws and let go of Blake's mauled, dripping in blood, arm.
She dropped on her knee and tried to control her pain. Adrenaline ran through her blood and skin. Her heart was thumping like an engine. But she couldn't care about the pain; not with what happened before her.
Nyctos was convulsing. Its body sprawled dark mist, stained in its thick blood that oozed out of its pores, all over the place. Its clawed arms grabbed its head and its jaws dripped saliva mixed with vile black goo.
Its eyes were pulsing in agony. The bone mask oozed filth through its cracks. Its wings thrashed around, crashing the ceiling and the window panels. It was screaming; no, it was trying to scream but couldn't.
Its silent cries of agony as the figure thrashed across the room were so terrifying; Blake felt she had once more poked into the deepest depths of darkness. The monstrous wings flapped around- she was pulled back.
Her body slammed on the floor, a good distance away from the spectral monster. Glynda dragged her with her ability, forming one animated barrier after another to protect them from the King's violent outburst.
The monster dropped on the floor. Its form shook and convulsed. The mist covering around its form finally burst out, exploding like a wicked bomb. Goodwitch saw it coming- and quickly jumped in between.
The block of flats shook. Sun Wukong's worry skyrocketed. A couple seconds later, all Ghouls prowling in the mist-covered city let out a howling screech of pain as if they were joining in their abhorrent king's agony.
-o—
The floor was filled in disgusting, vile goo. The blast wasn't as grandiose and powerful as Blake expected; but that didn't mean it wasn't as deadly. She raised her head to see the concrete being eaten by the filth.
Nyctos wasn't anywhere to be seen. A large crater was left in its place, remnants of the solidified black mist having splattered all over the floor the walls and the ceiling. A trail of slime led up to the rooftop. "…ke"
She stood up. Where was Glynda? She remembered her jumping in between the monster and her. Why- "Bla…ke"
Blake's eyes opened wide in horror. The weak voice belonged to Glynda for sure. She turned her head- and came face to face with the horrible image. She felt her body paralyze in sorrow as she took in the picture.
Glynda was sitting with her back on the wall a few good meters away from her; quite possibly thrown by the explosions power. Her torso and face were filled in cuts, wounds and burn marks from the acidic goo.
The worst part, however, the part that evoked that particular response from Blake, was her legs. They were almost… molten. Black fog had fully devoured most of the flesh and tissue and lots of splinters and shards from her destroyed barriers had impaled them, oozing out red blood.
Her green eyes still looked at the cat faunus in determination as Blake jumped and knelt next to her. "Glynda? Can you hear me?" she didn't even try to hide the anxiety in her voice. "Loud and clear" she replied.
"We have to get you out of here; we have to get both Sun and you to a hospital" she focused her gaze on her commander's legs. They were so horribly damaged; she couldn't even think how they could be treated.
"No" the stern woman replied "what you have to do is finish the job, Ms. Belladonna." She tapped Blake's shoulders and pointed to the trail with her index finger "I saw it skulk up there; it's heavily wounded."
"It's still alive?" she asked out loud, trying to avert the woman's gaze from her teary eyes. As expected, it's tough to kill even in that state, Eidolon commented. "It's one tough Grimm, to take me down like this."
The faunus tenderly offered some water to the blonde woman "I saw it; I saw you jumping between me and the explosion to shield me."
A loud sigh escaped the woman's lips. "I am quite rusty; couldn't hold the barrier up for long enough and ended taking much more that I had been expecting. Staying behind a desk all day has its consequences."
"Why did you do it?!" her outburst echoed through the empty hall. For a second, silence followed through. Her sensitive cat ears heard a low tone growl from above. "Don't give it more time to recover, Blake."
Goodwitch reached out to her pocket and took out a small keycard and a scroll "you know what you have to do; don't waste any more time on such stupid thing as sentimentality in the middle of a mission" she said.
Blake wiped her tears and took the items. She swallowed her tears and then reached out to caress the woman's hair. "I owe you so much I can't even begin counting; please stay alive and well till I get us help."
Glynda smiled softly "what did I say about sentimentality? Go finish the mission! The card key is for the flares and the scroll is to directly relay a message to all the SHU commanders and General Nile after you-"
She started to cough violently, so Blake gave her a little more water and a towel. She then stood up and took a couple deep breaths. This is it, my master. She started walking forward. Yes, this is it; it all ends now!
She trailed up the stairs, following the goo splatters. The fog was much lighter now, so she was able to notice dozens of splashes had eaten at the wall and railing. It must have been badly hurt to convulse so much.
She reached the end of the stairs and carefully peeked out. There was no sign of- forget it; she saw the monstrosity having reached the end of the rooftop. It oozed filth at every step, leaving a slimy trail behind it.
I think it goes without saying, but don't let it come closer to any human or any of its spawns. Blake nodded and jumped out of the opening. She landed on the concrete floor, stepping down hard to make a loud thud.
The Elder turned its gaze at her. Its flesh was dripping out of its bones and gave a disgusting feeling of the creature's form being less solid and more gelatinous than she was comfortable with. She held her breath.
"King of the Night, Nyctos" she raised her blade, purple magic gleaming out of Eidolon. "I am vice commander of the SHU, Blake Belladonna. My assistant here" she pointed her sword at it "needs no introduction."
From the reaction it evoked to the traumatized Elder, she was sure of it. The monster flapped its wings open, splashing an impossible amount of dark blood across the roof. Behind it she could see the outpost remains.
The fog surrounding them persisted, despite having been significantly thinned. The creature was barely holding- she could see it in its slower reactions. She stared at her left arm. It's not that I am in better shape.
Nyctos opened its jaws- and vanished. Her surprise held a mere second, since she could now see its sluggish movements inside the cloud as its body dispersed and reformed at a much lower speed than normal.
The claws lashed out at her. She parried the slash with Eidolon. Another slash aimed for her face. She ducked underneath and thrust at its torso.
Its reaction was slow, but it managed to dissolve into fog. Blake used all of her thrust's momentum and jumped away from the monster. It flew and reformed above her, crashing down on Blake with all its might.
She activated her semblance and left a fire clone behind. The explosion evoked an inaudible cry of agony from the monster, burning its feet and arms. It reformed, albeit in a slower pace than usual, using the fog.
Blake was upon it this time. Unable to use both swords since her left hand could barely grip anything, she dashed towards the monster and struck at its wings. It swung its body and its claws blocked the attack.
The faunus tried to fall back but the monster pushed her down. Despite its weakened state, her physical strength was no match for it. Eidolon's blade shone under the strain- she mustered more power and blinked.
As she landed, she spun and rolled on the floor to her left. This motion allowed her to avoid the Grimm's bite that aimed for her landing. She back flipped and stroke at Nyctos' left leg. It flew away, hovering in air.
She conjured a clone and jumped on it. Its grip was weakened from the lack of aura, but it managed to provide a foothold before it vanished.
Blake activated her sword. She poured out half of her current reserves and created a shadow copy of herself; Eidolon's animated form. They both lashed their blades in an X-pattern at the flying Grimm's wings.
Not expecting such a quick attack in mid-air, Nyctos barely managed to protect its back. Both blades severed its wings, forcing it to crash down on the rooftop, creating a small crater and letting out a silent shriek.
Failing to maintain her balance, she crashed on the rooftop as well, her aura breaking from the intensity of her attack and the heavy impact. A loud cry of pain left her lips- but she jumped up at once nonetheless.
Her body was aching and her muscles were ready to give up. You aren't going to hold much longer! Even her weapon's voice inside her mind was significantly weaker now. Blood ran down her nose and forehead.
Nyctos rose from the crater. Black mist erupted around it, dyed in its pouring blood. It opened its jaws and spit out vile goo, mixed in with pieces of blue crystallized liquid. Its form shook, like trying to keep up.
Same goes for it, I see. The fact it hasn't screamed out even once makes every fiber of my being get goosebumps. She poured a bit of her power into the blade again, dying it in a purple-reddish color. Just a bit more!
Her stomach, however, failed her. Bile rose up from her inside and her throat got burnt. Unable to hold it much longer, she vomited blood in front of the monstrosity. Nyctos saw the opening- and charged her.
She barely managed to react. The Elder pinned her down, throwing a pile of black filth in her face. She spit out all the goo piling up inside her and barely managed to put her blade between her face and its jaws.
The mighty claws, covered in melting flesh, pierced her shoulders. She tried her best to hold her breath-the monster snapped her blade in half and tore open her throat, eating her neck and feasting on her while she was still alive. She could barely manage to scream as it chewed on her-
"NO!" she cast the image of impending doom away and pulled her blade back, allowing the monstrous jaws to close around her neck. At the same time, though, she thrust back, passing Eidolon through the Eldergrimm's skull. With one mighty cry, she split the bat head in half.
The sharp canines slashed her carotid- and barely missed biting it off. a powerful shaking pushed her on the floor, forcing the faunus to drop her sword in order to protect her head from being broken on the floor.
A pair of sinister eyes stared at her, before they closed forever. Nyctos gasped and convulsed heavily, battering her on the floor with every single spasm it made. Its bile oozed on her, opening her wounds more.
Without making any sound, the distorted, broken shell of Nyctos torn by Bistre's magic, poisoned by Azure's potion and slain by Blake's magic blade, faded into nothingness, its essence returning to the abysmal void and vanishing from the face of Remnant forever.
Its body dissolved into black mist, showering Blake's bloodied form as she, for the first time in her life, let out a mighty cry of victory, her eyes burning from relief and her heart beating like her partner's bike engine.
A floor below, carrying Glynda's unconscious form in his arms, Sun's lips broke into a smile of happiness as the fog around the Shadow Border begun to dissolve, revealing the first outlines of the dawning red sun.
Five minutes later, all SHU scrolls would activate, receiving a message in the voice of an exhausted, half-dead huntress who had just taken one more step towards conquering her own nightmares.
"This is Blake Belladonna acting in Commander Goodwitch's orders! All units; retreat to the third barricade and prepare counterattack measures! Reform your teams and wait for General Nile's response!"
A few seconds after that, a wave of red signal flares would alarm Vale Army, signaling the beginning of the attack.
Far to the east, a pair of faunus' pink eyes opened wide in satisfaction. Alexandra Spectre, clad in Cypress Outpost's scout unit uniform, raised her scroll. "Blake and Weiss did it! It's all up to you guys now!"
Yang Xiao Long, clad in spare Cypress combat gear, turned her gaze to Albus Duskwood, standing below a massive canon. His power indicator showed 37% output. "No need to ask me twice, Yang" he replied to her.
She gave him a friendly pat on the back and a toothy grin, winking at Velvet who was seated on a proper stretcher, next to Cherry's sleeping body.
"It's payback time" she cracked her fingers, her eyes turning bright red. Unknowingly to her, for a mere moment, the bulging eye gleamed in a similar pattern before being absorbed back on her skin.
It had feasted a lot this night. It was satisfied for now.