Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all fine.
Chapter 158 is here and as always, I hope you enjoy it.
Once more, thank you so much for supporting the story by following/ favoring/ reading the chapters. You are all awesome and I really appreciate it!
Now, I would like to inform you that there will be no chapter on the 1st of August, due to me leaving on vacation tomorrow. I will upload chapter 159 on the 11th, unless I manage to end it on an earlier date.
Nonetheless, until then I wish you all to be well and have fun! See you in two weeks!
Pain filled his back and legs. He had tried to use the dolls as a shield, but the only thing he managed was to end up lying on a broken doll house, surrounded by pieces of cracked porcelain and splintered wire.
His aura, luckily, still held firm, sizzling from overuse. He tried standing up, when his eyes fell upon his enemy. Ruby Rose had her back turned at him, standing before a freshly erected ice wall blockading the door.
Damn, she is even faster with that oversized gardening tool of hers! In a fit of both desperation and anger, he silently formed a couple of arrows out of the dolls' pieces. They swirled and flew for her unguarded back-
The scent of strawberries filled his nose the very moment his attack fell on the icy wall. Rose had burst away, without even turning to see him.
"What the- AGH!" Crescent Rose's blunt side slammed his head. The force was nearly inhuman and pummeled his body of the floor. I didn't even manage to see her move! What the actual fuck is she?
Blekklat's presence crawled closer. Could it pass through the wall? It surely wouldn't be held back from such a trivial barrier. If he could just hold her- a blade's back side was pressed on his throat with force.
"I will give you two choices" Ruby, standing ominously before him, with her silver orbs fixed on the wall as she tried to pinpoint the Grimm's movement, announced. "Help me fight it or help both of us escape."
She was pinning him on the ground with her back turned. The large and gelatinous form scraped on the walls as it moved towards the door. It surely took its time- maybe even deriving pleasure from sensing them.
"I am not even reflected in your eyes, am I?" he spat in disappointment. Ruby sighed and lowered her gaze a bit, hands trembling in alertness for the moment the monstrous terror would break through the barrier.
"Cinder was a magnificent fighter" she said, earning the boy's shocked expression. "She was fighting for the wrong cause in my opinion, but I never ignored how powerful and cunning she was. She knew exactly how powerful she is and how to use her power against her enemies." She sighed deeply and audibly.
The gelatinous sound stopped on the door. A scraping hiss echoed from the outside. "Compared to her… you are just an angry boy with a strong power. You command an excellent semblance but have no experience."
"I…" "You wanted to sacrifice me and Weiss by letting Avyssos consume us. You abducted Jaune with Cherry's help. You claim you want to kill me, but I seriously doubt you have ever actually killed someone, Alizar."
For the first time, Ruby's eyes fell on his. A pair of silver, no dead metal eyes pierced through his soul. The eyes of a killer, belonging to a person whose hands had been dirtied with blood, peered into his soul.
He averted his gaze, cracking under her glare "you are too strong for me" he admitted in shame. "I couldn't even fight you for a damn minute!" The doorknob cracked without any slamming sound- just by applying mere pressure.
"I have a policy to hold back against humans" she told him in her usual, more cheerful tone. "But this is not human. So, I will ask again; are you willing to help me fight it? Or do I have to knock you out cold?"
"Why would you-" he stared at the door. A low cracking sound heralded the appearance of ripples on the ice barrier's surface. "What do you gain from keeping me alive right now?" he stood up, panting for breath.
"I want you to tell me how I will find my sister, even if I have to force it out of you" she replied, raising her rifle towards the collapsing barrier.
Alizar barely managed to cover from the attack. Ruby cocked her trigger in anticipation for the monster's arrival. The ice crashed on the floor along with the splintered remains of the old wooden door and walls.
"Naïve…" the voice was slippery and filled in malice. Alizar felt his skin crawl and Ruby bit her lip. She had heard such a voice before; both in the otherworldly altar of the stars and her vivid, endless nightmares.
The creature never stepped in. Instead, a surge of magical energy filled the room. A blob of peerless darkness engulfed the humans, hiding all but the image of three sets of sinister inhuman eyes staring at them.
Shit! Ruby burst backwards where she knew the nearest doll house was standing. She could see neither Alizar nor Blekklat, immediately being put into a disadvantage. Could Cinder's brother maybe see in the dark?
The eyes slowly moved towards her. Crescent Rose was aiming at them. She couldn't hear anything, so the creature was concealing its noise; or it was floating for all she knew. Alizar was silent as well; quite helpful.
Dreadful heat surrounded her. It was a weird sensation; so far she had connected the Elders and their servants with cold and abysmal places. But that darkness engulfing her was fiery hot, akin to burning charcoal. Sweat began dripping down her forehead. The Grimm breathed loudly.
She gulped and held her breath, tiptoeing to her back. The red sinister eyes were slowly moving towards her, ignoring Alizar's presence. They were taking their time, probably eager to see her spirit break in fear.
She could easily shoot between them. No matter how fast that thing was, she knew she could shoot at least four or five bullets at the wicked scarlet orbs advancing on her. She could end this in a damn heartbeat.
It's a trap; there is no way this will be that easy. She slowly reached out for an anti-Elder casing she had strapped on her thigh. The eyes- ceased their advance. Shit! She cursed again. What a pitiful joke you are… Ruby.
The voice sounded right inside her mind. She bit on her lip harder to avoid letting out a scream. She knew from Weiss that Elders had the ability to invade your head, but listening it casually call her name was so damned horrifying it nearly made her puke in uncontrolled disgust.
The attack came at the exact moment she slipped her guard in order to regain her composure. Hands- disgusting, slippery arms full of charred flesh and jagged claws- burst out of the darkness behind, grasping her.
Crescent Rose dropped on the ground, just beneath her feet. She made a desperate attempt to reach out for the scythe, but the hands held her in place with a grip so strong, she felt her bones shaking under her skin.
Ruby put up no fight. A swarm of scarred and rugged monstrous limbs quickly overwhelmed her. She simply raised her arms, letting the dark hideous flesh grapple her torso, squeezing her as they tried to drag-
The joke's on you, pal.
Ruby opened her left hand and activated the small sigil she herself had sewn- and infused with a generous amount of gravity dust- on her glove. At once, her baby's handle reacted to the carving, shining in the same purple hue.
It took the reaper a split second to activate her emergency recovery system, dubbed by her, and grab the scythe in her now free hands. A rapid-fast motion filled the scythe with the anti-Elder ammunition clip.
A whirlwind slash, followed by an anti-Elder blue halo, severed the dark appendages and freed Ruby from their grasp. A putrid howl of the foulest nature erupted around her. She held her breath and smiled.
Insolent mortal! She could hear it seething inside her brain. What? She focused her mind, hoping it could read her thoughts.
What in the world made you think that you are safe just because I can't see you, decrepit remnant of an era history itself decided to erase? She stepped forward and burst right through the wicked scarlet sigils.
For Blekklat, the girl standing before it engulfed in its darkness orb was just another victim to be used. She was another one of the countless mortals it had lured in the manor and devoured through endless years.
It didn't matter what its prey was; children, elderly, mothers, warriors or even its own worshippers. As long as someone was deemed worthy of being sacrificed to Charon, it would take its time tormenting them and then tear to shreds before the altar. The rest were just slaughtered.
That girl fell under the first category. Using people's fears to render them helpless was its specialty. It had done so with all huntsmen who had foolishly tried to oppose it, including the latest ones it had left in a half-dead state inside Ribuli's apartment. It would sacrifice them later.
That girl with silver eyes and red cape was no exception. It only took a pathetic mimicry of ancient earth manipulation spells cast from that weakling of a cultist to make a few dolls move for her to break down.
She was trembling in fear, it could sense it. She was gripping her handle so hard her gloves were almost burning. She was trembling in fear, just as the latest victims did as it cursed them to intense, unending agony.
She was afraid of its power and legacy; of the Mad King's Jester. It was sure of that.
If it was capable of being surprised, it would shriek in astonishment as Ruby's scythe passed through the darkness, cleaving its left bone mask in half. A wave of petals surrounded it as the globe of shadow vanished.
Before the last wisps of shadows faded away to reveal Blekklat's true form to the two humans, the bone mask adorning its left face broke on the floor, having been split in two pieces, smeared in thick black blood.
"How?" without turning around, it twisted its hand and shot a surge of red, pulsing tendrils at Ruby. She exhaled lightly and burst away, a trail of fear lingering in the air as she appeared on its blind side.
"Cower in fear!" it commanded. Its right head shone with power, a wave of magical energy; an explosion of fire dust engulfed its head, searing its bones and flesh. It dealt no significant damage, but interrupted its spell from being cast. It hissed, a slippery Y-shaped tongue lashing out.
Ruby rolled on the floor and jumped at its blind side again, acting in a purely instinctive way to try and avoid its two faces. She knew it could possibly detect her; she was practically oozing in fear and anxiety.
Alizar was either hiding or had taken advantage of the fight to escape. She had, only for a moment, believed he would decide to help her fight against it. Weiss and Blake would smack her head for thinking like that.
Malevolent red pierced her vision. Agony filled her skull, throbbing and pulsing with unbelievable intensity. Just like fear before, just like the waves of desperation Avyssos had attacked them with… a mental blast.
The Elders and their spawns were quite keen on eroding one's mind with their spells. Did they take pleasure from such a thing? She didn't know and quite possibly wouldn't realize it in any case. Ruby dashed.
Screaming in fury to brace her body and push through the crashing rips of agony, she shot forward towards the monstrosity. Its lean, doll-like body was filled in armored plating, but its head was a different story.
She hoped she would manage to decapitate it with her sudden attack, but its resilience was exceptionally higher than its stature would ever suggest. Still, she had managed to wound it and that was a win for her.
Her throat ached, as if her wounds synchronized with her heartbeat skyrocketing. Fear fought against adrenaline for a grip on her very soul.
That was right, she was afraid. She had been afraid from the very first moment she had faced an Elder- from the very moment Nyctos had bit her and tore her aura like it was a plastic bubble wrap for glass bottles.
No, that was wrong. Fear had gripped her since the moment she had woken up in her house a few years ago and realized her fairy tale had ended; a fairy tale drowned in Beacon's ashes and Pyrrha's blood.
Crescent Rose swung high as she burst away, trying to circle her enemy.
Fear was part of Ruby Rose's life. She had learned to live with it- and to see through its disgusting, inhuman layers.
-o—
"What is wrong with you?" Yang asked out. Her eyes filled in terror and disgust, darted between Safira's perfect soulless doll and the tortured man whose calm features suddenly seemed a lot more sinister to her.
She had asked the same question twice in her life. The first time was at her mother, when the woman had straightly admitted to her that living a life of happiness next to them was a mistake she shouldn't have tried.
The second time was towards Ozpin in Vacuo, when he told Ruby the truth of Summer Rose's demise; a failed suicidal mission he organized to rob Salem of her immortality by using the woman's silver eyes.
"Are you a complete idiot?" she tried her best to control her rapidly rising anger; especially as she felt her left palm throbbing with every rising heartbeat. "Why would you ever help them with such a thing?"
"I just wanted to die, Yang. I know you can't-" "Of course I can't!" she cut him off. "I can't understand how it is to have everything stolen from you! I can't understand how it feels to be tormented forever! I can't understand how it feels to want to rest and not being able to do so!"
Her heart danced between anger, desperation and sorrow. Red flickers dyed her lilac shining orbs but she pushed them back with all her might. It wasn't time to lose control; not in here and definitely not now.
"But most of all, I can't understand how all of you can so casually not give a damn shit about the world and the countless innocents you are going to kill with that crap!" she felt her body heat rise way too fast.
If Fergus felt insulted, he didn't show it. "I did my best during my life and the world repaid me with an excruciating torment" he told her. "I am not accusing anyone about my luck, but I am not going to play the hero, Miss." "Of course not, you are playing the villain!" she screamed.
"I am not going to try explaining, Yang" he covered the unsettling doll with the cloth again. "I don't want an explanation" she exhaled deeply "I want you to forget that Goldenrod guy and let me help you instead."
"What?" he turned to look at her. "You heard me; screw that maniac who wants to burn the world and raise his psychotic murderous bitch of a daughter from the ashes. You want to get out of this? I will help you."
"Can you?" his voice trailed off with a tinge of hope. "Can you really kill me? End this nightmare of an existence I have been reduced to?" She breathed out and forced a determined toothy grin on her tired face.
"I have great friends and support behind me" she told him. "It may take us some time, but I swear on my beloved Weiss' name; I will find a way to set you free from your torment, no matter what. All I ask of you is to not help this lunatic burn down Vacuo any more. Please" she implored.
Fergus Celain was taken aback by her offer. Clearly, this was something he hadn't been expecting from the blonde girl, especially after her late outburst. She held her breath, anticipating his response; hopefully, he-
The sound of stone scraping on stone made her turn around. The walls moved before her, revealing a secret passage. She took combat stance in anticipation of an ambush, but her late companion remained calm.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the dark, a tiny light moving towards them. A deep voice, carrying a strange tinge of respectful authority, sounded through the dimly-lit arch reaching the darkened workshop.
"I have to say I am impressed, Miss Xiao Long" the voice said. "To reach such a conclusion in your mind and eagerly offer it to someone you barely know, despite being in the dark of its implications… intriguing."
The man that stepped out of the dark was tall and quite muscular. He had a dark complexion that contrasted his white field work clothes and held a dust powered lamp in his hands. A staff protruded from his back.
His beard was long and dark, matching his equally black hair. A cultist's talisman resembling a Deathstalker made in greenish gold hanged from his neck. A large leather book was triply strapped around his waist.
For some reason Yang had decided she didn't like this guy even before his piercing, frighteningly familiar, yellow eyes fell upon her. "Ah, it's you Professor. It has been a while since you visited me" Fergus stated.
"There have been some rather strenuous complications" he replied to the man, his gaze still fixed on Yang. "Including this young lady and her attempt to coerce you into betraying our agreement" the man replied.
Agreement, huh? "That would make you Maize Goldenrod" Yang said. "Professor Maize Goldenrod, former member of Vacuo Archaeology Department" he exclaimed. "And Safira's father" Yang glared at him.
"That would be true, yes." Maize casually walked next to Fergus staying calm and collected, as if it wasn't his daughter's killer standing just next to him. "I am impressed by your decisiveness to undermine my contract with Mr. Celain here, Ms. Xiao Long. I expected you more hot-headed."
"I for sure didn't expect you that calm, to be honest" Yang kept glaring at him, hands curled into fists. She felt a tingle in her left palm and a primal bloodlust threatening to overwhelm her soul. She forced it back.
"You are talking about me wanting to get revenge on you for her?" he asked, as if she had mentioned something surprising. "I have better and most important things to do than wasting my time on such a thing."
Yang eyed the man in suspicion, gaze intensifying as soon as she heard his reply. "Things like selling your soul to the Mad King in order to bring her back, for example?" she spat out. Fergus seemed to be at a loss.
"Miss Xiao Long here is the one who killed my daughter, Mr. Celain" as if analyzing a theory inside classroom, Goldenrod explained. Yang didn't like this- it was unnerving. Is he truly that focused? Or is he pretending?
Nonetheless… "Safira had her chance at life- and threw it away. She did unspeakable atrocities during the war and killed as many people as the Grimm did if not more. She was a psychotic, laughing pyromaniac."
Fergus gulped, turning around to see Maize's response. There was none of it. He simply crossed his arms and waited for Yang to continue. "And now you are trying to revive her by helping- that?! Are you insane?"
She pointed towards the door where the barrier stood firm and proper. "How dead in the inside do you have to be in order to even think of doing such a thing? And" she cocked Ember Celica and armed it in dust.
"How stupid do you have to be in order to think I would stand by and not kick both your butts to kingdom come?" Fergus' face paled and he moved to the back, fearful for his workshop more than himself.
Maize on the other hand, stood firm. His eyes fixed on her in the same arrogant look he had displayed so far. Yet, behind that serious mask of his, Yang felt for the time a surge of anger rise.
So you don't care about me or what I did to you, but respond like that only when I threaten your plans? You are just like mom was damn it. "You angry pal?" she tried to provoke him "I can upset you even more."
"It would seem Miss Xiao Long has overstayed her welcome, Mr. Celain. Despite the intriguing body state, she seems to be way too much of a bother for us at the moment" he announced in a cold, menacing voice.
"Ok, bring it-" a snap of fingers was all it took and the workshop faded in the darkness. There was no gust of wind, surge of energy, nothing. It simply vanished, leaving its unwelcome guest behind to stand in the same dimly-lit, stone covered castle corridor she had arrived before.
Oh come on; this is such bull! Anger rose again and she had to try her best to contain it. I have to find Ruby and then find those guys! Or, find those guys kick their asses and then get Rubes out of here.
She stopped for a moment. Where do I begin? She tried to rub her head but then realized a detail she had missed; she was sweaty. She wiped it off with her metal arm but that alone helped her notice something.
Is it me or did this place turned really hot all of a sudden? As if replying to her, a pulse of energy shook the corridor. A mighty light appeared on the far end of the low-lit tunnel, fiery red and powerful as a searing fire.
She waited for a few moments until the shaking stopped. I guess that's as good a place to begin as I can get, huh. She checked her belongings were all in place and then began walking towards the mysterious light.
In her nostrils, she could barely discern the faint smell of ash.