Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all doing fine!

September is here and along with it, chapter 161. As always, I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much everyone for keeping up with the story. We are a bit after the final arc's midpoint and I am so grateful to everyone for tagging along! You are all awesome!

Without anything more to say, see you all on the 11th with chapter 162. Until then, be well and have fun!

The crisp night April air was messing her hair and drying her eyes. The usually dry soil was wet from tears and would henceforth be stained in horrifying cries of agony- the screams of Riverside victims' relatives.

In the silent graveyard, disrupted only by the light swaying of leaves, Ruby lowered her head before the massive memorial of Riverside's innocent victims to the eternal fight against darkness. "I am so sorry."

Yang was standing just behind her. Her expression was an unusually stoic mask of sorrow. She gently tapped her sister's shoulder with her left hand. "It was not your fault Ruby…" "Bullshit" the reply came.

"Who ignored all the warnings and decided to let a Grimm roam the streets of Vale?" She asked her. "You couldn't have known of it, baby sis. Nobody had ever recorded a Grimm capable to pass as a human."

"Bullshit; I knew something was amiss from the very first week" Ruby shoved Yang's arm away. The blonde waited for a moment and then placed it on the brunette's shoulder again. "But I did nothing; nothing!"

It was rare for Ruby to shout and swear. Yang had seen it in few select occasions and knew how much anger her sister had to bottle up for her to burst like this. Despite that, she felt surprisingly unsettled somehow.

"You had your attention-" "I slept with it; even tried to have sex with it! Can you even understand what it feels like? I brought this monster into the hospital and presented those poor people as a takeaway buffet!"

Yang's hand squeezed her shoulder "Rubes…" "They died for nothing; all for nothing! They died because the world's most carefree huntress ignored that her boyfriend was being possessed by an Elder Spawn!"

Yang's breath was becoming rasped. Ruby felt her shoulder hurt a bit more than usual, but she was so deep into her self-pity she ignored it. "Their blood… their agony… their beloved ones will never see them again… and it's all in my hands!" Yang gurgled in shock "Ruby, please!"

"SHUT UP!" She threw her sister's hand off her again "I am not like you! I can't just comply with 'it can't be helped' when I have dyed my hands with so much blood! I should be the one to pay the price and die-"

"You foolish, insignificant human!" Yang jumped on Ruby and pinned the surprised girl on the ground. Before the girl's silver eyes, a couple orbs of pure malicious red shone, accompanied by a third eye pulsing on her beloved sister's palm; the same palm currently strangling her.

"GAh!" she tried to free herself, but her sister's grip was like an iron vice. "Learn to respect death, you insignificant insect! You are too small to have the audacity to claim those deaths before my eyes" she hissed.

Tears fell on her pale face, caressing her cheeks as her lungs ran out of breath. She tried to fight; tried to struggle. She-

She stood up from the floor, feeling an overwhelming nausea. Before she could even get a grip of what was happening, Ruby jumped to the corner of the black stone room and loudly emptied her stomach.

Why did I think of this now? She didn't know if her nausea was getting worse due to her remembering of that hateful night. She couldn't try solving it now as well, being too preoccupied with trying to calm down.

After a few minutes, she finally managed to settle down and look at her surroundings. She was definitely in some interior area since the room's dark stone walls were illuminated by a set of dim scarlet torches.

A cauldron, no, an altar was in its middle. It was made of pure whitish gold, the same one she had come to so much despise. Accursed images were carved on its surface, a laughing Grimm mask primary among them. Its main body was formed of some volcanic shining black rock.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on the words and- a low, hushed whisper filled her ears. It was deep yet deafening as if a horde of ghosts was chanting over her, talking right inside her tormented earlobes.

Her eyes fell on the mask, the cursed image depicting Blekklat's hideous face. A sly, insidious laughter broke through the choir of madness. She was sure that for a moment the visage's eyes shone a bright red color.

"Don't… bother…" a voice, heavy and tormented despite the youthful outlines lacing it, exclaimed. Unsurprisingly, it belonged to Alizar who was lying on the floor, mouth and nose full of dried-up bile and blood.

"It's the protection spell for the Alta-" Ruby swung Crescent Rose and cut the embedded mask in half, leaving a trail of fluorescent blue color behind its blade as it split the runes like they were made of cheap paint.

The oppressive atmosphere slowly faded away and Alizar was finally able to raise his body from the cold, smeared floor. He looked at the blue-grazed slice Ruby had left on the Altar. "Is that Azure's potion?"

"Improved by the bright minds of SHU technical department, for the right use; an anti-Elder weapon" Ruby opened up her water flask and rinsed her mouth, before throwing a second one to the redhead.

Alizar grabbed it and quickly washed off the disgusting bile from him. "You are being way too kind for someone who kicked me in here" he commented. "I am simply being civil" she rolled her eyes at him.

"Or stupid" he countered, still staring at the tarnished glyphs. "You…" he sipped some more water "you have nothing to gain by helping me. I don't know much about this place, other than what Maize has told me."

She didn't reply. After taking a couple seconds to look around and make sure the only entrance to this floor was safe enough- or seemed to be- Ruby fixed her silver pools at the man "so what? Should I let you die?"

"I know I would" he spat. "We are not the same" Ruby commented. "I, for one, haven't sold my humanity to world-ending monsters for such a shallow thing as revenge." She lowered her gaze "I still have my pride."

"Isn't the same pride that allowed Avyssos to slip into Vale and act next to all of you completely unnoticed?" he snarled, making Ruby's eyes open wide in shock. "How did you know?" she asked in astonishment.

"Bistre informed us; I am surprised you took him down" Alizar replied. "Then again, you are the ones who killed Salem. It should be not that shocking. You are persistent, if not anything else, Rose."

"Why are you so hung up on killing me?" she finally asked. "You know I killed Cinder in combat, right? I had no desire to do so, but she left me no choice. She was-" "You think I don't know it?!" he raised his voice.

His outburst surprised even him. Amber stared inside silver for a split second. Ruby didn't avert her gaze, staring furiously inside his eyes, challenging him to continue. Alizar couldn't take that and looked away.

"I can't stop thinking of that night" he finally said. "Every morning I am waking up haunted by the same silver eyes staring at me. I can't stop thinking of our fight" he rubbed his chin "your punch was so powerful."

She didn't reply, silently urging him to continue. "I had everything in my disposal. Cherry's help, your friends away and your lover in my hands… you were chained, tortured and exhausted. I was prepared; and yet-"

His eyes shut, reminiscing of the painful memory. "You destroyed me. I lost to a woman who was fighting with handcuffs" he gritted his teeth.

"I dream of Elia every morning… she is there telling me how weak I am and how shameful my loss was. While I train, she is there, laughing at how weak I am. How stupid it was to drive Ruby Rose to her limits."

"Is this why you decided to face me head-on in the manor?" Ruby asked in a rather calm manner. He nodded "Maize insisted I left Blekklat deal with you and simply pick up your remains. I ignored him and…"

His voice dropped "you know the rest. This time you didn't even bother fighting me. You slaughtered two of that thing's faces while kicking me around. I couldn't even use my body as a wall to keep you trapped in."

He took a deep breath and clicked his tongue "you win, Rose. I failed to stop you. I failed to even measure up to you and make my sister's soul rest-" "Is that all your life is worth of?" she cut him off with a flat voice.

"Life is a gift; a gift given to you by those who loved and still love you. In your case, it's a gift Elia Red fought against the world itself to protect."

He stared at her in confusion. "I never had the chance to speak to Elia. I only met Cinder, the persona she created in order to fight. Cinder was, in all aspects of her existence, a monster wrapped in human skin."

"My sister wasn't like that! She was… she was!" "I know" Ruby solemnly nodded. "From what I had the chance to see, Elia Red was a passionate and kind person; much like my own sister" she smiled fondly.

"I have no doubt that, if you two were luckier in your life, Elia might have grown to be like Yang. Who knows, we may had even ended up as friends or comrades in arms" she exclaimed. "That is wishful thinking."

"I agree" she commented on his reply. "In truth, Elia Red died that night when those scum murdered your little brother in order to give birth to Cinder Fall; a being of pure vengeance whose sole purpose was burning the world to ashes. She killed, lied, usurped and stole; the list goes on."

"I…" he was speechless. Her words stung him like blades. He wanted to get up and grab Ruby; tell her how wrong she was. But…

"I will always be there for you; even if I have to burn the world down, I will always come to your side." Her words had been weighting on his mind for quite some time. If she had to burn the world, she would do it.

"And everything she did, was for you" Ruby voiced his thoughts. "Even in her darkest, she knew. She knew if she failed to kill Salem and Ozpin, you would be the next one. Woodrock might even have told her such."

He gasped and bit his lip. "You suspected as such, didn't you?" the red girl asked him. "I am not that clueless…" his voice trailed off. "I hate you and the world, yes. I hate all of you who destroyed by life and family."

"But most of all, you hate yourself for being used as leverage to make Elia comply with a suicidal mission, right?" There was no need for the boy to respond. His silence told Ruby everything she needed to know.

The brunette stood up and slowly stretched her arms. She checked her ammo and was happy to see most of her dust was in good condition. "I am going now" she announced "rest a bit and then leave this place."

"For what reason?" He asked out. The question seemed to be directed to himself rather than Ruby. "Find one" she replied. "Meet people and make friends. Fight, grow stronger and laugh alongside them. Seek the answers you desire on your own, as Elia would want to" she continued.

"And" Ruby turned her back, allowing Alizar to see her billowing red cloak as she moved away "should your answer be to fight me, feel free to seek me out. I will take you on, any time you desire, Alizar Red."

Without expecting an answer, Ruby moved out of the room. For a mere moment, the red-haired boy thought he saw a young black-haired girl in red patting her back as the huntress vanished into the dark corridor.

"There is a gate!" he shouted at her. "Hm?" Ruby asked from the half-lit tunnel. "Maize has a gate to Remnant in his study! If you fools who are into running to your deaths manage to survive, use it to return home!"

There was no answer, but he was sure the wind carried a 'thank you' along with the scent or strawberries as the girl's footsteps grew distant, leaving him alone next to the dark, split by her scythe, tarnished altar.

For some reason, his heart didn't feel as heavy as before. He closed his eyes and, for the first time in a while, felt like he could relax if only just a bit.

-o—

A bloodied metal palm left a smudge on the alien egg as Yang helped her body back on its feet. "Ah… gah…" she panted, trying to regain her breath before she reactivated her broken aura.

Man, I am in a pretty bad shape, being tossed around like a ragdoll. She turned to face the slithering monster, whose silhouette moved in circles around her, seizing her movements with a haunting feral intellect.

Then again, this is one tough customer. Just like before, Ichor slowly yet steadily dived into the floor. Like a crocodile submerging into dark and unfathomable waters its monstrous body melt into the volcanic stones.

Here we go again. A light ripple travelled across the floor, carefully and patiently waiting her move. She eyed the door once more; the chances of her fighting that thing in her state in its natural territory were slim.

All the previous times, however, it had demonstrated a feral intellect in forcing her away from the exit. With it being able to ambush her from literally everywhere, escaping that accursed nest was a tad impossible.

Let's use its instincts against it, in that case. She charged towards the opening, throwing glances at the ripple that swam straight towards her as she did. Got you! Yang curled her fists and pretended to speed up.

Ichor's open mouth burst right below her, but she jumped up high using her rockets as boost. She threw a couple missiles into its open mouth and then punched it hard, making the abomination squirm in pain as it-

Instead of crashing to the floor, it dived in again. Its tail grabbed her left leg and dragged her away, painfully dragging her on the floor. A scream of agony filled the dark room, as Yang's body left a bloody trail behind it before she managed to break free and roll till her back touched the egg.

You are kidding me! What is with its reflexes? Her back skin burned in unbearably agony. It had been horribly flayed, to the point of aching her with every breath she took. The hooks rattled again, angering her.

That strength and versatility is way too much. That thing could be an Elder Spawn for all I know. "Your assumption is correct, blasphemous mortal who bears the hateful mark of my sister in her arms."

The voice came out of nowhere. No, that was wrong. It actually came out of everywhere. It was deep and ancient, carrying an unmistakable air of sinister proportions and a malicious, intelligent authority.

"This is Ichor, created of my powers and of the human scholar's ritual. My Priest, Gnastaur, offered him the flesh and blood of the foolish mortals who brought arms to my domain under the glow of my star."

Her mind froze from shock. That could only mean the mercenary group. And the human scholar must have been Maize. He; that bastard fed the mercenaries to this? The voice spoke of their presence as if they were-

Wait, HIS star? HIS domain? Awakening from the shock, her brain made the connection. This voice, claiming to be Ichor's master, Lord of this land and Deity of whatever that evil sounding priest was…

"You are The Mad King!" her throat spat the words. As the wind carried the weight of her voice away, the ripples vanished into the ground. A harrowing, eerie silence accompanied her fading lamp's final red rays.

Ichor was somewhere inside there, but her mind couldn't focus. The shadows moved in the dark, casting unimaginable reflections on shining granite. Thin, skeletal hands danced in the dark. The iron chains rattled, corpses momentarily swaying in a frenzied macabre dance of death.

Something caressed her hair. She screamed and swung with all of her might. There was nothing behind her. Her hand itched; no, it hurt her like hell. Her left arm pulsed. A primal euphoria overwhelmed her soul.

"You shall refer to me as Tephrus, you cursed mortal who trespasses my tomb." His voice was quite low, in comparison to all other Elders or Spawns she had faced so far; low, and frighteningly humane in its ways.

"I am not one of your worshippers" she tried to act tough, but decided to press her back to the egg, just to be sure Ichor wouldn't burst out of her undefended rear. "No, you are not" the Elder voice replied.

"You are either a grave robber…" its voice sent shivers down her chest and spine "or a sacrifice." Her heart thumped hard in her chest, trying to contain her rapidly rising anxiety- and lustful anticipation of a fight.

She squeezed her left arm- it was burning like freshly used charcoal. I don't think I want to be a part of this, so- she squeezed her flesh and bones to the point her nerves jolted in pain- stay put for now, asshole!

"My sister's eyes, deeply engraved into your flesh, are waiting for our fight." Aren't you a perceptive one? She groaned in displeasure. "It is not the proper time yet" she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"You soul, will be offered to me before my throne when the ritual is over. Rejoice, foolish vessel of Grand Mother, for your body and soul will be given the ultimate honor; you shall be the one to awaken me!"

She gritted her teeth. Of course, it would come to this again. Since the very beginning, it always came to this; they were treated either as the sacrifice to be cultivated or the obstacles to be removed.

Needless to say, Yang had no desire to play her part in this. The eyes' gleeful stare burned her, but it was her very own soul that suddenly jolted from its late slumber, crying out its silent roar of fiery defiance.

"I will kill you" the words left her lips as naturally as her breath. "You sly and disgusting decrepit God, refusing to join your brethren in oblivion, I will end you with my own hands, both you and your accursed sister!"

There was no reply, no swaying of the shadows and no rattling of heavy chains. "Do you hear me?" she screamed, removing the bandages in her cursed arm "bring your slithering child out; I will mow it to the ground!"

"You are trying to provoke me, foolish acolyte?" his voice was filled in such a humane, dripping sarcasm that Yang felt her veins freeze. She was sure that, if not for Grand Mother's mark, she would be paralyzed.

"Are you so full of yourself that you think your empty threats are enough to goad me? I can't decide whether this is you or the one possessing you speaking." If she wanted to be honest, she had no concrete idea as well.

"Or is it something else?" the voice turned inquisitive. "Maybe you are simply trying to drive my attention away from the vermin that are now advancing through my gardens and making their way to my chambers."

Vermin? She blinked for a moment. "I am talking of the ones you hold so dear to your heart, cursed child; the same ones who are currently defiling my domain, hoping to defeat me in my very own world."

Her heart froze for real this time. She didn't even stop to think of its words and whether they were true of false. She had no energy to do so. All her might was focused on keeping her rapidly rising despair at bay.

The others are here! And this thing- this monster- is waiting for them!

"Truly, Yang Xiao Long… desperate human who came to my domain in hope of finding a cure for my sister's curse… I am waiting. For you, that is. Your strong blood, tainted by my kin, will be the final piece to my revival." A wisp gently caressed her cheek and she felt her body stiffen.

That thing intended to truly use her. Was this why Maize had brought her here? It was possible. She had no illusions of her power and, even in her mentally weakened state, was aware of how few people in the entire world were strong and awakened enough to qualify for this.

That line of thought immediately disturbed her. Was it truly her own? Or maybe- As she lowered her gaze to her pain wracked arm, Tephrus spoke again.

"As for the rest… they can still serve a higher purpose with their pointless lives. My court will make sure of it. Ichor and Alastor are already on the way to end this foolish attempt in defeating me."

She trembled. Her anger rapidly rose. Despair, excitement and raw, unbridled fury fought for dominion over her body. "You won't touch a finger of them or I will send you to hell where you belong, monster!"

"Watcher of both worlds…" his voice lowered again. "Child whose future is filled in death and horror…. You whose eyes will never close again…" there was a huge pause in his words, making her wait in anticipation of his verdict at her threats and furious insults.

"Hell is right where you are, oh Marked One."