Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are doing fine!
Chapter 164 is here. As always, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you all so much for the continuous support of the story. You are all amazing and I can't, once more, express how grateful I am.
I will see you all on the 11th in chapter 165. Until then, be well and have fun!
The malignant angels' choir and Ichor's primordial cries gave Robert the push he needed to charge at Blake and Sun with his mace whirling high above his head. He roared, synchronizing with the shaking tombstones.
Sun manifested four clones- and they were all immediately shot down by soaring projectiles. He noticed they were quite stronger than the ones the invisible sniper had used before and so he dodged a fifth one.
Taking advantage of him jumping away, the bulky warthog faunus sped up and slammed his mace at Blake. The cat girl, eyes narrowed at the scene displayed in front of her, simply blinked to his right with ease.
"You are moving slow and sluggish" her voice sounded in his ears like a faint sweet poisonous needle. Blake's katana sliced his left leg, drawing blood out of his unprotected flesh. He knelt down groaning in pain.
Two bolts found the back of the cat girl's head, but she had already been anticipating Stella's attack. She blinked next to Sun, whirling her magma-colored sword to throw off the stains of Robert's blood.
"You are in way too bad a shape to even count as an enemy, Robert" the black-haired huntress spoke loudly. "Even with Stella's support, we can take you down with the next hit. This is unreasonable; pointless!"
"That's right" Sun whirled his weapons and got ready to intercept any attack. "His aura was sealed with the curse he used on Weis and Jaune earlier. He has nothing to protect him" he stared at the man's injuries.
"To you, maybe" he stood up, his leg trembling in agony. A syringe fell down from his hand and crashed on the floor. It was morphine, Blake was sure of it.
"To someone who spent her life covered in the shadows, standing just behind another one's hopes and ideals, fighting for your beliefs is going to be pointless." Sun glared at the tall faunus.
"Your father was first. Sienna and Adam followed. After that it was that Ozpin guy. And then what?" he hissed. "You are way too cowardly to call my fight pointless, you human hugger!" he roared, charging again.
"I got you!" even before Sun had finished talking, Blake shot forth. She thrust with her blade as Stella's assault soared through the air aiming at her seemingly unguarded face. That was until a golden blur jumped in.
Everything happened in an instant. Sun whirled and danced on his back with his nunchucks forming wheels of protective steel that absorbed the most of the faunus woman's snipes, while her partner ran at him.
Blake grabbed her fiancé's leg and swung him out of the way with her falcon blade. Gaining momentum by her motion, she spun on her lower position and thrust at Robert's unguarded belly. He didn't even bulge.
That was the moment Blake realized what a mistake she had done since the very beginning. Even after the hints had been given to her all so gracefully, she had failed to grasp the extent of the man's 'pointless' hatred. His blood showered her head, dripping down her wet strands.
The mace continued its descent. Sun had realized what was going to happen and jumped in between, reforming his staff and bracing for the unavoidable impact. She felt her heart sinking and the world blurring.
The image of her boyfriend's head cracking on the ground and splitting in half filled her vision. Time dilated as icons of Sun's pummeled corpse overwhelmed her, his blood running down the stones into the decrepit tombs feeding the imprisoned abominations that stirred from the dead.
The next moment, she had made her decision. She let go of her sword and tackled Sun away from his impending doom. Three bolts found way in her back, shaking her aura. She gritted her teeth and stifled the pain.
"Blake!" they both rolled on the floor and jumped up. "You-" "Stand up and get ready!" she hissed through her pain, taking Eidolon out just in time to deflect two more bolts coming for her. Robert charged again-
And Sun blocked his attack. The mace towered over the monkey faunus as Robert pressed him down. His muscles tensed and he felt the man's immense power as he used his bo staff as a makeshift parrying shield.
Blake didn't let this chance go to waste. Eidolon was still silent, but she could use it as a high-quality blade nonetheless. As the two men were locked in a stalemate, she passed by the bulky faunus and sliced-
At the very last moment she was able to dodge and blink away from the upcoming impact. The bolts soared past her clone and blew up on the floor in a fiery explosion that made Sun's back overheat from the blast.
"You aren't strong enough to be here" Robert gasped through his heavy breaths, trying to wear Sun down. Blue eyes moved between Nightfall's handle stuck on the man's dripping wound and his angry, marred face.
"Maybe yes" he spared a bit of energy to stare at Blake. She was doing her best to avoid Stella's projectiles as she danced around the volley of arrows. She wasn't doing badly but she couldn't run to his aid for now.
"You don't have much time left, yet you continue that attrition fight on your side by acting as bait" the blonde commented. "You don't plan on leaving this place alive, do you? You just want to drag us down as well."
"I -we- made a choice when we had Maize carve those talismans with the curses on our own blood" Robert tried to push Sun further down, but his own strength was rapidly leaving him. The pain from his open wound was something he couldn't ignore as well.
"Stella and I decided to die the moment we allowed that curse to act. Losing to you now, letting you live, would render our deaths pointless, as your bitch said before." Sun frowned and his eyes darkened.
"I don't know what sort of life you guys had until now" he whispered as another blast shook the ground. "But finding purpose in inflicting pain to others is one of the worst things I have seen in my life" he exclaimed.
"You wouldn't understand" Robert pressed even more, pivoting his left leg to pin Sun down with his body weight. "I don't want to, actually" the blonde boy shifted on his right to prevent the man's pressing motion.
"It doesn't matter; you are done for already" Robert raised his head and smashed it on Sun's forehead, moving diagonally so his tusks would slice the monkey faunus' flesh even if he could dodge.
The blonde was expecting that- no, he was more like instinctively aware of how dangerous those protruding tusks could be come in such close proximity- and dived under the attack, escaping with a few scratches.
Robert let go of his mace and the boy's staff threw it off with a metal clang. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest, the massive bandit fell on top of his enemy, body slamming him on the harsh stone floor.
"Sun!" Blake tried to run at him, but the volleys were increasing in their intensity and accuracy even more, if that was possible. She jumped off and found herself even more isolated than she had been moments ago.
Shit! Blake raised Envelop and tried shooting, but another bolt blasted the area in front of her, engulfing the cat girl in a cloud of smoke. They are so good at covering each other's weaknesses, I am almost jealous.
Still, she clearly had the advantage despite the current situation. Robert could barely fight other than squeezing his life out and Sun, despite her concerns, wasn't the person to go out easily. Losing here was unlikely.
What was Blake concerned about, however, was the rattling of tombs and the abhorrent scream that had accompanied that malevolent choir from before; the one that still lingered at the back of her mind.
She wasn't in any mood to fight whatever made that scream before she could rendezvous with Weiss and Jaune. Unfortunately, it would seem her enemies were intending to bring that exact thing upon them.
Anxious, are we? Stella, expertly hidden behind the shadow of a small balcony's railing, smiled at Blake's change of demeanor. She placed two more dust-infused bolts in her repeating crossbow and took aim again.
The battle was going well for them. Robert's spirit and stamina had held amazingly against Wukong and, as she expected, Belladonna was way too distracted by her lover's combat to try and snuff the sniper girl out.
Not to mention that no-detection hex Maize had crafted for her was a true blessing. Never before in her life had the owl faunus such a relaxed fight, sniping down at her opponents to her heart's desire. Who knows? I may even take out one of them before Ichor appears to finish things!
"Those spells will eat your life forces away" the professor had told both of them. "As long as we can finish the job" was the grumpy reply Robert had given him. Stella smiled and raised her weapon at the traitor.
Her semblance allowed her, as long as she had the target at her sights the moment she released her attack, to bypass all obstacles travelling towards them. She never missed; only destroying the projectile could save her prey. Finishing the job… was the only thing she had for her.
Robert was here for vengeance. He and Fenris were going way back; he was the oldest of the wolf man's company members and the only one he had confined his true plan into back then.
Blake might have called it pointless, but they were aware of their part; and they didn't care at all. The Warthog faunus never intended to leave this place alive- he just wanted to exact his revenge on Gray's killers.
And that was where she came in; she was good at these particular sorts of things. Chasing and killing was her bread and butter and she enjoyed the thrill of the hunt almost as she did with s-
The sound of footsteps came from the corridor behind her. Stella Taupe didn't even hesitate to turn and aim at the dark opening. Was it a Grimm ambushing her? She held her weapon high and kept her breath.
If she was going to die, she wanted to die hunting, not being hunted like some rabid dog. She remembered the chases in the streets back in her early days- there was no way she would go out like this!
"Shit she heard us! Go!" her shock at the sound of a melodious, calm voice was so big that it took her a moment to connect the dots and find out who the ones stalking her could possibly be.
It was enough time for her assailants to throw a hand grenade at her. The red dust, visible through the thin activation panel, reflected in her eyes moments before Stella jumped off the balcony to escape the blast.
-o—
The impact shook the pillar and managed, if only for a brief moment, to smother the horrifying songs of the malicious choir in Blake's ears. Just before she could see the balcony above them erupt in flames, her eyes caught the armored figure of Stella Taupe jumping down before her.
Smoke and rubble shot towards all directions. Robert felt the heat in his back, but didn't even think of giving Sun a mere inch to move freely. He could still win, if only his body could hold on for a few more minutes.
"Take this!" Jaune Arc's tall figure emerged from the smoke right after Stella's feet touched the ground. The boy, despite his lack of aura and visible exhaustion, managed to reach the fleeing faunus in an instant.
Without letting her to even think of defending, Jaune slammed his shield on her chest and sent her crashing on the floor. She tried to get up and counterattack, but-
"I don't think so" a thin blade belonging to the same melodious voice she had heard before the ambush touched her neck. She gasped and for a moment tried to think what she could do, but the blade was so close to ending her life that she failed to even consider a proper plan.
Blake didn't let this chance to go wasted. She instantly jumped forward and tackled Robert's massive bulk. The warthog faunus growled in pain and tried to repel her without letting Sun escape; an impossible feat.
As soon as the cat girl tackled Robert for a second time, Sun found the opening he needed. Four golden monkey faunus clones flanked the massive bandit's bleeding form and slammed him off the blonde boy.
Robert roared in pain, leaving a trail of blood behind him, but Jaune was there. He used his shield as a bludgeon and hit the faunus' head. As the warthog man tried to defend, Blake stepped in and removed her sword from his body. Unable to resist the flaring pain, he knelt forward.
Jaune and Sun were quick to restrain him. They took his weapon away and tied his arms and legs with thick rope. Blake did the exact same thing to Stella, allowing Weiss to removed Myrtenaster from her throat.
"Take this" the monkey faunus took a thick bandage out and pressed it on the bleeding man's wound. Begrudgingly, but unable to actually do anything about it, the bandit accepted the unwelcomed gift.
"Follow the path ahead, but pretend to take another one" Weiss' thin fingers raised the parchment towards Blake "that was a tall order, even coming from you." The cat girl nodded in acknowledgment.
"For a trap to be effective, it has to be as realistic as possible" the black-haired woman took a quick look at her friends as she replied.
Weiss and Jaune had a well-earned assortment of wounds, cuts and bruises, possibly from their hard efforts to follow her demanding plan, but other than that, they seemed to be as combat ready as possible.
"I won't dignify that with a response" the alabaster girl turned her gaze at the captured bandit. "Release the curse if you would be so kind" she demanded. "And what if I don't?" he growled, smiling through his pain.
"Will you kill me then, Schnee?" he chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time a Schnee kills some faunus, right?" Her eyes clouded and she saw Blake's face narrowing in anger at the man's words.
"You and the poor people my family wronged have nothing in common, no matter what you tell me" she stated. "Do you think I would hesitate to kill an enemy?" she took a step forward- and stopped at once.
Images flared in her mind; a group of tied up faunus inside a destroyed facility, trembling from the cold… her swords in her hands… a sickening, sweet voice beguiling her to take their lives… screams… curses… blood.
For a moment, she saw the figures of Fenris' men kneeling before Sofia Carmel's armed guards. The faces of the people she executed under the cruel woman's influence replaced Robert Ink's. Her body shook.
She saw Kendrick staring at her; waiting to see her act. She saw a young woman she knew she had killed. She was a goat faunus with clear blue eyes. Weiss had skewered her heart with Crown. She saw-
The alabaster girl closed her eyes and shook her head in denial. That bastard was right; she couldn't kill them. Killing an enemy in combat was one thing, but she could not execute a captive opponent like this.
"It's way different when your enemies are not Grimm, is it? Why do you hesitate now? You didn't have any trouble killing Gray or Carmel; what makes you stop, coward?" the owl woman snorted at her hesitation.
"That's enough" Sun gently patted the pale girl's shoulder, cutting off Stella's accusations with an angry glare. Simultaneously, Jaune grabbed Robert's hem and stuck his face next to the warthog man's.
"Do you think you are doing something important now?" he ominously whispered in his enemy's face. "I have news for you; you are not. This is not helping anyone, it just makes you look pathetic" he exclaimed.
"You don't scare me, Arc" he spat. "You will die a pointless death" the blonde added. "Remove the curse, so that we all leave this place alive."
"He can't" Stella, eyes fixed on the ceiling far above, replied in the tall man's stead. Weiss' eyes opened wide in shock "what did you say?" she asked. The feathered woman sighed in an exaggerated manner.
"The curse Robert put on his body can't be dispelled unless his heart stops beating. We asked Maize to do it that way" she smirked, fully and excitedly enjoying the shocked expression on the white girl's face.
"And that's it" the man added. "There is nothing you can force me to do, because I can't do anything about it" he grinned at Jaune's angered expression. "There is only one way to end this; kill me or let me die."
"Then again" Stella Taupe licked her lips, fully enjoying the shock in her adversaries' motions "you may not have the time to sit by and wait for him to die after all." Still glaring at the ceiling, she let out a low cackle.
"We won you fools." Not waiting to see their reactions, she broke into a gleeful, loud burst of laughter. Her shouts reached the walls and melted into the cacophony of rattling tombs and eerie choir "see you in hell."
-o—
The first thing they heard was a flap of giant wings. A large shadow was cast upon them, similar to the one that had attacked them in Clayhorn. It snuffed out all sources of light, save for the wicked funeral pyres.
The air grew deathly and stale. A creature appeared from the ceiling, as if it had manifested from the charnel pits of the endless abyss creeping in the malicious darkness of the vast royal mausoleum.
It slowly hovered towards the hapless mortals, its bright red eyes fixed on them. Its bulky human form eclipsed the trembling tombs, casting the embalmed Grimm back into their primal silence at its slow descend.
It was a Grimm, of course, and the mere sight of the unspeakable giant flying horror evoked a sense of despair and disgust into Weiss' soul.
Its massive body was made of black flesh and adorned three sets of thin long arms, decorated with bone plates across its shoulder, elbows and belly. Its dark legs were thick like trees and resembled avian talons.
The head was shaped like a crescent moon, with bone etchings running across its top. It had no eyes, but the growling motions of its shark-like mouth and teeth indicated it was able to detect them just as fine.
Alastor, the Chariot, flapped its wings once more. A long spear made of strange shining white metal was held in two of its six hands. Its blade was crescent, just like the monstrosity's head, and glowing with magic.
"We have to go!" Weiss turned around at Jaune, fully aware that such an enemy couldn't possibly be bested at their current state. "No, we don't" a flat, cold voice answered instead of the blonde's warm one.
Everyone turned around at Blake. "Wha-" Sun gasped in shock, seeing his girlfriend kneeling just behind the captive warthog faunus. A pool of deep scarlet blood had formed on her feet, dripping down his body.
Blake removed her hand from the dead man's mouth. Her eyes were at the verge of tears, but her expression was stone cold as she retracted Nightfall from his throat, letting his lifeless body crash on the hard rock.
"Blake…" Weiss whispered. "Leaders are the ones who must make the right decisions, nothing more and nothing less" she quoted Glynda's words, hoping they would suppress the disgust piling in her stomach.
"You- you did it!" Stella broke down in laughter. Her voice grew in a hysteric crescendo as the shadow turned larger, dawning upon them like a harbinger of demise. "You truly murdered him in cold blood!"
"How do you two feel?" She wiped the stain off her blade, her dark expression betraying she didn't want to discuss her actions at all. "I- I don't feel anything more-"
The magic on Robert's talisman withered away. Alastor turned its face at the vanishing curse, shining like a tiny beacon that resembled it of the old times when its master shone with unparalleled malicious hate.
Weiss and Jaune coughed. Their skin began to itch, their flesh suddenly being stitched together slowly and steadily as their aura violently did its work on their wounds. The sensation was too absurd to describe and they simply covered their mouths trying to hide the rising nausea away.
Stella kept laughing and reached forward to her own one. Robert was now dead, but Alastor had come. If what the professor had told them was truth, Ichor was on its way as well. They had done their part.
All that remained was for her to escape and start hunting again. Oh, she knew she wouldn't leave this place alive, but those morons would be able to provide her enough of a distraction to escape and join the fight.
As for whose side she would join… it actually didn't matter at all. As she saw Robert's blood vanishing through the floor, being drained by the massive ritual circle that had been carved in the forbidden chamber, Stella Taupe swore she could feel the Mad King stirring from below her.
Yup, they had won. All that remained was for her to go down like she wanted to- hunting her prey in the pointless macabre parody of her life.