Hello Everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all fine.
Chapter 163 is here. As always, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you all so much once more for following/ favoring/ reading the story! You are all awesome and I love you all!
See you all on October 1st with chapter 164. Until then, be well and have fun!
Ichor's shriek found Yang running down another flight of stairs. It came from below! She jumped, using Ember Celica as propeller, and landed on the floor below. Without spending as much as a second thought, she got up and started running to the forward, hoping it led further down.
She passed by sealed rooms decorated with ancient carvings of Grimm and religious patterns of their devoted. She cared no more than she did for a mosquito; The Mad King was after the others and she had to run.
Time seemed to stretch. Every one of her heartbeats seemed it lasted for a minute. Every breath came out dragged. Even her footsteps were far slower than normal. In her mind, crossing the distance took hours.
I am getting anxious, damn. She jumped down another staircase to find a large interior balcony waiting for her. It was decorated in ornamental carvings of mutated Ravagers and Deathstalkers made of white gold.
The balcony was surrounded in darkness. Only a few red lights and the continuous echoing of chains and dragging tombstones pierced through the absolute black of the sealed ancient castle.
She walked to the edge and grabbed the withered railing to peek below her. The residues of scarlet light dancing under the maniac rattle of iron chains and the cracking of black stone weren't ideal enough conditions.
Nonetheless, Yang was able to determine her position, if only by a few assumptions. She was standing on the wall of a massively tall room; the balcony was definitely placed tens of meters above the ground.
Flickering lights existed in many places but most of them were currently placed where she assumed the ground floor was. She also caught- or so she thought- feint sounds of people chatting, or arguing, from afar.
Someone's there, she felt a tinge of hope filling her heart. Even if they weren't her friends or Ruby, she could force them to help her navigate in this colossal decrepit palace to find her beloved ones before Tephrus.
She slightly bent forward. There was no visible path, but the walls were made of jagged stones. The continuous rattling was unnerving, but that meant there were numerous chambers she could reach with a jump-
Instincts were always a primary part of every trained warrior, even so in her case of being a war survivor. The moment the energy blast was shot at her, Yang had already evaded. She rolled on the railing away from it.
A couple more blasts came at her from the darkness of the stairs she had just used to reach this place. Growling in displeasure, she dived under the second and charged towards the place they originated from.
A sudden motion in the dim light was accompanied by the sound of iron hitting stone. Yang was hit by an invisible force and thrown backwards, skidding on the floor until her back hit the railing.
Holding her breath as a much unneeded fall was hanging behind her, the brawler jumped forward and landed on her feet away from the edge as her assailant, Maize Goldenrod, stepped out from the darkness.
"Had a change of heart?" she rubbed her chin. Her eyes went to his iron staff. It was covered in ancient writings and writhed in malicious power. She felt excitement and anger filling her heart and bit her lip to endure.
"You and your friends stirred the Mad King's forces. Now the Elder has his eyes upon you and desires your blood to awaken" he stated. "Again, it's nothing personal, Miss Xiao Long."
"That's the most confusing part, actually" she took a couple steps to her left, trying to slowly move to a favorable position. He countered by moving towards her and amassing power in his weapon.
So, he can actually understand the fundamentals of combat. The blonde stopped her advance and he mimicked her. "How can you look the one who killed your beloved daughter in the eye and be so calm, darn it?"
"Would you rather have me being angry at you?" he asked. "If someone had killed Ruby, Weiss or Blake, I would want to melt their skulls to the ground with my fists until my hands break; how can you be so calm?"
"Anger is for those who can't do anything on their own, like Alizar" he kept his calm. "I prefer to act instead of shouting like a kid. If I bring Safira back, nothing else matters. Neither you, nor your teammates."
"That's what I am talking about!" Yang raised her voice. "A normal response would be to charge at me, screaming! Fight me, maybe even throw me down this balcony, crying the moment you realize this will not bring her back! This cold surgical approach… is inhuman, pal."
"This is your opinion and matters not to me." "Oh, you want to hear me talk about something more objective? Fine!" she took a deep breath.
"You are a failure of a father, you self-centered bastard!" she let her anger seep out of her every word. "You raised your daughter into a pyromaniac psycho; an uncontrollable monster second only to Salem!"
She waited a couple seconds to check his reactions. He simply furrowed his brows. "You should have been there to stop her! If you had, many people would have survived; Safira included!" She clutched her hand.
"And now, to bring her back, you are assisting that world—ending piece of inhuman madness? What are you thinking? What are you going to do even if you succeed, when this thing starts moving in Remnant again?"
Maize frowned and sighed deeply. He closed his eyes, but his combat stance remained as vigilant as ever. He then opened them again and a surge of energy blast from his stalwart figure.
She jumped away, but the blast was faster than her. It hit her head-on- and passed through her body without hurting her at all. She landed on her feet, staring at the man in confusion. He shook his head.
"Nondetection; my semblance allows me to create areas undetected by the world. As long as we are inside, no one can hear us, read our minds or track us down by any means other than accidentally stepping in."
"Speak" she didn't even have to ask why he created such a place now, of all times. "What is it that your allies can't hear of?" Once more, he solemnly nodded in affirmation.
"Your assumptions are right, Miss Xiao Long. The Mad King is a Grimm, despite its superior power and intellect. I can't be sure it will hold its part of the deal and even if it does, as you stated, what good will it be if my girl's second chance at life is in a world ruled by such an entity?"
A tinge of hope sprouted in her heart, hearing that. She still was quite reluctant about it, of course, but it was a much welcomed response.
"Safira's effigy is needless; the ritual for her awakening requires me to procure all of her body mass in proper materials. The only thing I need is from Charon to bring her soul into the ritual site using their magic."
"Then why did you ask for Fergus' help?" "I had to make sure that both Gnastaur and Blekklat think I am getting ready for their King's return. In truth, the puppet is a trap I am carefully hiding in plain sight."
He stopped for a moment before he continued "I have subtly infused the puppet with sealing spells and arrays I studied in the Mad King's tomb. When the time comes, I will release the seals and activate it."
"And what will happen?" her curiosity was now genuine. The guy was talking of a plan and seemed to really know what he was doing.
"I will bring Safira back and use the magic to reform her body from scratch. While this happens, an array of runes I have carved upon my own body will activate and reverse the flow of energy in the circle.
The effect will be simple. The moment the Mad King reaches out for my daughter's soul, she will start leeching off its magic. I will pull her back and use my spells to trap Charon inside the Grimm-sealing puppet."
"Are you serious?" she blurted. "Can you actually pull something like that?" Once more, he nodded "Safira will rise with enough power to seal the weakened Mad King and his court back to their ancient tombs. That is my true plan; I will give my daughter a second chance in life."
They stood there for a few moments, staring at each other. Yang felt the warm and powerful devotion in the man's eyes. It reminded her of her mother's gaze- and she didn't feel quite at ease with that.
"Even if what you say is truth, why are you telling me this?" she asked in concern "what do you want from me? Is it my help? And if it's so, then why didn't you ask in the first place?" she still wasn't convinced.
"Simple; to breach the gate of the underworld I need to spill blood. And not just any blood, but one belonging to a powerful and fitting human sacrifice" he pointed his staff at her "such as one chosen by Mad King."
To say she was surprised to hear that would be an understatement. "I am astonished you can actually say to my face that you plan to sacrifice me in order to bring back Safira; you are brazen, if anything else."
She cracked her fingers and assumed a combat stance. That weird staff was concerning her, but if she could avoid its attacks, she had nothing to fear about. "There is no need for us to fight, Yang Xiao Long" he said.
She gave the man a scrutinizing look "are you even serious?" "You are all dead, Yang" he called her by name and that detail didn't pass by her- or what he was insinuating. "Explain; and make it fast" she grumbled.
"Do you think you stand a chance against an awakened Mad King?" he asked her. "Even with your weapons and skills, you can't defeat both it and its court. The ritual of awakening will only be accelerated like this."
She glared at the man who so casually spoke of her and her friends' deaths. "You were dead the moment you stepped into the Netherworld and decided to face it head-on. The Mad King will end you and use your life force to fuel its own power. There is no way out of this but one."
She tilted her head- and then realized what the man was trying to tell her. "There are only two paths from now on, Yang. One path is to help me awaken Safira and seal the Mad King in my trap. The other one…"
"Is to confront the monster, lose and get captured for its ritual, leaving you with no means to fight it; isn't that what you are telling me?" she completed his sentence. "Exactly that. I am glad you understand it."
She didn't reply or comment for a moment. It wasn't that she didn't want to, no way. Yang was just shocked by the sheer audacity of that man's words. She rubbed her cheeks, digging her nails deep within.
"Let me ask you something" she finally said "do you truly believe that I am going to go along with that plan?" "No" he admitted "but it would be for the best if you did." She nodded in approval at his honesty.
"In that case, let me propose something as well" the girl squeezed her palm. "How about you cut that crap and actually do something good to amend for your actions by giving us that doll and helping us using it?"
"There is no way I would trust you with such a thing" he stated "even if you agree to bring Safira back I would rather do it myself than betting all of my desires on your hands. It's not personal; I simply trust no one."
"Well, there you have your answer" she shook her shoulders. "I want to live but I am aware I may die at any given moment; or worse" her left fist clenched "if I have to sacrifice myself to end Charon then so be it."
She gulped and continued "but as you can't trust me, so do I. And even if you were not a partially obsessed crazy guy trying to reincarnate one of the worst people this world has ever seen, I have already placed my trust and life on the person I love above everyone else and that's it."
To her surprise, that seemed to slightly aggravate the man. His stance, if only a little, went off and his frown deepened. "I don't understand" he said "why would you do that? The world's fate is at stake and I have much better chances to reach the best and safest conclusion."
"Hah" she smirked "that's the exact same thing Ozpin told us in Vacuo during the war." Lilac eyes shone in recognition "I don't even want to bother explaining why I trust our way more than yours, Goldenrod. So I will simply ask you this; we are taking Charon down. Will you help us?"
She stretched her metal hand out, standing a good distance from the dark-skinned man. In continuation of his previous shocked reaction, his eyes opened if so slightly and he glared at the fair-haired tall woman.
"You…" his lips quivered in anger. "The fate of Remnant is at stake! You have no right to make that decision for yourselves!" the barrier cracked if so slightly, startling her before Maize regained his stoic composure.
"Then who does?" her eyes shone as Yang's demeanor suddenly grew serious and her brows narrowed at the man. "Bring them to me and let me ask them where they have been hiding those fucking six years my friends and I have spent fighting, bleeding and crying our hearts out."
"You-!" "Shut the fuck up, you asshole. Do you know who I am? I am Yang Xiao Long! I have boxed against hordes of rampaging Grimm" she didn't raise her voice at all.
"I fought face to face with Heizel Reinart and lived to tell the tale. I strangled Grand Mother's proxy Spawn covered in her guts just above her temple, as her filthy blood poured down my throat!"
He raised his staff as she took one single step forward. "While you hid in your wormhole plotting your perfect plan, I spent my nights trying to convince myself that I would manage to live and see another day while I washed the dirt form my friends' graves off my skin and clothes! So yes; bring me someone who can truly tell me what the right decision is after they explain where the fuck they have been all these damned years!"
"Are you done venting?" He asked. For a moment, anger flashed in her eyes but she instinctively repressed it as her left hand reacted almost at the same moment. "Yes, I am ready to take you on- and get that effigy."
"Even if you destroy me, such a thing is not happening" he raised the staff, red runes glowing in power. She bent her knees and waited for his upcoming attack. If she could time around his blast properly, then she-
The assault came from behind. Tendrils, no, spears of black energy took her by surprise lashing at her back. She barely managed to react in time and minimized the damage by shielding her body with her right arm.
Her aura rattled but firmly held. A sizzling sound from Maize's direction informed Yang it was time to dodge and she obeyed her instincts. She jumped on her left and immediately spun to face the dark-skinned man.
Waiting not for his reaction, Yang punched the air and shot two pairs of missiles at him. He didn't move, he only waved his staff and a magical barrier appeared in front of him, making all four projectiles explode in a cloud of smoke- exactly what she was aiming for to begin with.
Yang stretched her body and shot to her back. The recoil propelled the brawler's body and she ran towards the man with amazing speed. She jumped at him through the smoke cloud and punched- nothingness.
"You are too predictable" Maize landed a few feet to her left and sent another blast. "Am I?" she rolled on the floor until her feet found wall.
As the blast erupted in front of her, Yang pushed back and jumped at the man again. The distance this time was far smaller but the blonde huntress didn't doubt her enemy would be able to properly react again.
Maize didn't disappoint. Even before she had launched her counter, he had already started moving. He turned his weapon and aimed at her landing. Yang shot towards the void and repositioned mid-air as he did.
"Got you!" she landed a couple meters away from the man. Before he could attack again, she closed the distance and threw a punch at his left side with her metal arm.
He parried with his staff and waited for the follow-up punch. In a fit of surprise, he saw Yang literally wasting time in order to kick instead of punching his open right side. He whirled his weapon and easily blocked.
The woman spun and made a roundhouse kick on his abdomen. He did the same as before and slightly adjusted his footing, using a quick blast to send her away, albeit only a couple meters from his current position.
Yang dusted off her shoulders and raised her hands in a weird stance. Under the red light emanating out of the open area beyond the railing, Maize noticed her left hand was slightly lower than it should have been.
A quick thought passed through his mind and he slightly smirked "even after all these things you said, you are still afraid" he exclaimed. "You are so afraid of what lies dormant inside your soul that you aren't using your left hand at all. You don't want to stir what's inside it anymore."
She gritted her teeth. That guy wasn't there in the manor, where simply activating her semblance had caused her so much inhuman pain. Her mind still remembered the abhorrent sensation of the evil green flame.
Yang charged forward. She reached at the man with her metal arm and used her movement to make a faint with her left one, despite the sense of worry even rising it brought to her very being.
"Pointless" her fist slammed at the magical barrier the staff had already activated in advance. Maize didn't even bother with the faint. "You are so pitiful; how do you expect to defeat The Mad King in that state?"
Energy overwhelmed her. The black piece of wood and metal slammed on her head, dousing her in a cloud of unnatural power. She felt her body bend and move and she reached out to grab his neck in response.
Maize moved back and slammed her on the floor. "GAh!" she screamed out in agony, but he didn't stop. He raised his weapon and the carved spells dragged Yang across the floor. She cried in pain as her legs flared.
She had lost control of the fight at once. That thing he cradled was not simply magical; it was writhing in mystical power. She tried to muster her own might to resist. Her back slammed on the railing with force.
It's no use; I am so tired… She sat with her bleeding legs spread across the floor in a mocking sleeping pose. How can I defeat this guy without my semblance and one arm? She fixed her blurry eyes at the Professor.
Maize's body had regained its previous composure. He stood in full and unbridled attendance, his muscular hands grabbing the magical staff and pointing its glowing head at Yang in anticipation of her next move.
His yellow eyes shone in the dimly lit balcony. They looked so much like Safira's as she glared down at the groveling huntsmen beneath her feet.
There was something, though, the Maiden's father had in his gaze that his daughter lacked. Determination was evident in every single pulse of Maize Goldenrod's soul; he didn't flinch and didn't waver for a second.
Ah… another surge of power slammed her. She held her screams as her body was pressed on the railing. Her back flared in agony and her bones were rubbed on the jagged crafted stone. Her breath became rasped.
Right… he is trying to capture me, not kill me. He needs me for his plan. Even after all we said and done, he is still determined to go on with it.
She felt hunger. She felt a primal sensation of hunger suddenly rise up from the darkest pits of her soul. She knew exactly what it was. She felt the gaze of dozens of lingering eyes piercing her skin; ogling her soul.
"Damn, you are right" she fell with her face on the floor. "I am acting like a moron." Maize didn't reply. He just slammed another suppression blast at her- only this time Yang raised her left arm to block it.
A triumphant cry of pleasure bombarded her ears. Green miasma, alien and wicked like the endless tormented days and nights she had lived through in her later days, poured out and devoured the magical blast.
"In the face of your determination" she quickly removed the bindings and gloves. Her charred black skin, filled in gleaming red eyes and green holy marks up to her elbow, made the scholar open his eyes in shock.
"I have to at least be able to do that." She clenched her left fist. Her fingers felt free after so much time being bound. The voracious hunger was swelling rapidly. All eyes turned their gaze at the yellow-eyed man.
"Get ready Goldenrod" she breathed heavily to manage maintaining her composure. "I am getting you to help me even if I have to punch it out of you" she raised her arms as her semblance flared in green flame.