Chapter 37 – The Oncoming Shadow
The Battle Begins
Darkness surrounded the keep, and Penny was stood by the gate, grasping at her hand, shaking erratically.
It was funny. After gaining an organic body, she had felt so many new and curious things, from temperature to taste to even the smallest things, like blood, when she cut herself. But this was a feeling that was not completely unfamiliar to her.
Fear.
She could barely contain herself, frigid breath leaving her lips, but she closed her eyes and found her composure, seeing all the soldiers marching past her to get in position outside with everyone else. She followed them, her hands still shaking, and she looked up to see an Airship with Ortega inside, headed up to the Drift of Wandering Star, which was already in position with the two other Dreadnaughts. The roar of fighter jets bellowed overhead, but because of the darkness, they could only see the thrusters glowing bright blue as they darted overhead. Gunships and many other military airships took off as well.
She walked outside with the soldiers and saw the massive army that stood at the ready, armed to the teeth with everything that they had. It was a historic sight to see so many people from different walks of life standing together against the common enemy.
The reformed Acolytes of Lien, now known as the Acolytes of the Rose.
The White Fang.
Silver Eyed Warriors.
Huntsmen and Huntresses.
Cordovin's Military Forces.
And speaking of the General, Penny turned and jumped when she saw the three huge Colossi walking forward as well. Cordovin walked to her people in their vehicles, who drove ahead to the wall that they would hold. Penny looked to the sky, and she gasped, seeing the glowing blue Hardlight Dust Dome forming overhead, projected from the Pylons protecting them. Penny turned and looked at the watchtowers, where Ruby was standing with Crescent Rose in its rifle form, alongside multiple other snipers.
Ruby wanted to be down there, but Kragen was right. They couldn't risk losing her so early in this battle. The same was said for most of the Silver Eyed Warriors, but many still stood with everyone.
At the head of the forces was the Vanguard of Atlesian Knights, probably the last ones left on Remnant. Luckily, Cordovin sent a few hundred of the ones she had in stock at Argus to Dragonspire Keep before the Shivering Dominion began.
Kragen stood at the head of the keep with the radio beside him, staring ahead at the darkness, knowing what was coming for them soon. Penny walked down the lines past the many brave warriors to where she was needed, and she found herself stood with Kassius, Sun and Oscar.
Yang stood beside Kassius, with Blake beside Sun, and Weiss with them as well. Ruby looked down at where they were, hating being up here, but she still had to follow along with the plan.
Team C.F.V.Y was here as well, but Coco was absent, as per the plan. Neo, Emerald and Hazel as well.
Mazen stood with Kaa and the rest of the White Fang forces. The Architect held his rifle in his hands, his glowing blue optics staring ahead at the darkness, and Glynda stood with Ozpin at the ready. Carmine floated her Sai around her hand, and despite being a Silver Eyed Warrior, Maria insisted on being on the front lines, her Grimm Reaper Skull Mask held in her hand, ready for whatever comes.
Junior stood with his fellow Acolytes of the Rose, and Team J.N.P.R stood together, without Pyrrha as well. Jaune held Crocea Mors tight, staring ahead with a focused glare in his blue eyes. Qrow suddenly appeared beside Penny, feathers flying past her, and spinning Harbinger through his fingers. Penny trembled, looking at him. "You scared?" Qrow asked her.
"Of course… aren't you?" Penny whimpered. He smirked, then stared ahead, exhaling shakily before glancing at Yang.
"Terrified." He answered. "But I'm ready for whatever happens." He promised.
The two looked to the sky as they heard the Four Maidens fly overhead, breaking the sound barrier with a sonic boom from how fast they were moving. Yenna, Pyrrha, Cinder and Coco all headed to the nearby peak to attack when the time is right. Penny stared ahead once more, listening to the silence, only being broken by the occasional whistling of the wind.
But…
… they knew they were coming.
The Four Maidens landed upon the peak, looking out at the darkness, but they could see nothing ahead. No sign of the red glow of the Grimm coming… and that? That was more terrifying than the former possibility. "I can't see anything." Pyrrha said.
"There's so many that they are creating a cloud of darkness around them…" Yenna stated.
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Coco asked.
"Once, but never on this scale. That was only in a cave that was heavily infested with them… it shouldn't be possible for that to happen out in the open… too much space…" Yenna explained.
"… why?" Pyrrha asked.
"Because the Grimm are trampling over each other, and the black smoke from their bodies is creating a cloud. That's how many are coming for us… where they can afford to crush their own under each other to remain undetected." Cinder answered. Coco and Pyrrha's eyes widened in fear, and they looked at each other, trembling.
The plains of snow were enormous… if there were enough Grimm coming for that to be possible… then Vir Nominis Umbra really was not bluffing.
He was sending… everything he has.
Back at the castle, Kragen kept staring ahead with a holographic map of the Keep and the plains on display, showing the different stages the Grimm had to get through before reaching them. He looked at the first, which had some sensors placed around the wall of trees and ice they put together to give them an early warning, and of course, to slow them down.
It hadn't been knocked down yet, but he knew it was coming. He looked back up at his forces, listening to the silence, before he furrowed his brow with surprise.
Hazel and Glynda looked ahead, and they both gasped as four figures emerged from the darkness together.
Three Women, and a tall abomination dragging a shovel.
"The Witches…" Hazel gasped.
The Sorceress, the Alchemist and the Enchantress, and with them was the Undertaker. The creature they created with their ancient magic. The two walked towards the three Arkhoni Witches who approached. "You're here…" Hazel gasped.
"I did say you would see us again, did I not?" The Sorceress asked him with a smile. Hazel couldn't help but smile back. Yang, Weiss and Sun saw them as well and smiles formed on their faces.
"If this truly is the End of Days, we do not intend to sit it out this time. Not like Arkhonex." The Alchemist stated.
The Enchantress cracked her neck. "Plus, you guys rubbed off on us with all your heroism." She admitted, making her two sisters scoff. "What? You know I'm right." She shrugged.
"We all appreciate it." Glynda agreed with a smile.
"Good… because we have a few tricks up our sleeve that may help buy us some time." The Sorceress said. The Undertaker walked past them and stood with their forces. Soldiers unfamiliar with the Witches stared up at the horrifying Undertaker with terror in their eyes, but the creature did not even look at them. It just stared back at the darkness with its massive sharpened shovel in its grip.
The Witches all crouched to the snowy floor and pressed their hands against it, closing their eyes as they began to speak in Ancient Arkhoni.
"Surgite, o fortes, vocemque advertite nostram, et pugnate contra tenebras ultima vice." The Witches chanted in unison, their tattoos on their arms and bodies glowing blue, green and red.
They repeated the phrase again.
"Surgite, o fortes, vocemque advertite nostram, et pugnate contra tenebras ultima vice."
And again.
"Surgite, o fortes, vocemque advertite nostram, et pugnate contra tenebras ultima vice!"
On the third they shouted, and a pulse of magical energy erupted beneath their palms and across the ground. They opened the eyes, still shining in their respective colours, staring ahead at the darkness. Suddenly the snow started moving, and everyone watched in awe as rock and roots burst from the ground, with glowing energy forming within these artificial shells, and constructing weapons from the rock in the ground.
The Golems stood tall, staring into the darkness, strengthening the automated Vanguard even more.
Mazen chuckled as he looked at their new reinforcements, and Ozpin could not help but smile, nodding his head. The three Witches stood tall, making quite the first impression on their forces. And all of them seemed to share some renewed hope of how this battle will go. The Witches walked together and entered the Fortress, finding their way up to Kragen Nox. "Well, well… good to see you three again. Glad to see your magical power is as impressive as ever."
"Aww, aren't you quite the charmer?" The Sorceress winked.
"We called upon Fallen Warriors of old who pledged their souls to us… that one day, they could all fight one last time. We can finally honour our promise to those brave warriors." The Alchemist stated.
"I thank you. Your reinforcements will help us buy more time for the Relics to be contained." Kragen assured.
"Where do you want us?" The Sorceress asked.
"For now on the walls, help provide as much support for my forces as you can against the Grimm. Whatever spells you have at your disposal." Kragen requested, and the three ladies smiled.
"No shortage there. We will fight until the end… not just for this world… but for Arkhonex." The Enchantress assured, and Kragen smiled. He nodded, and let the Witches all head to the calls where they could help as best they can. Kragen turned his eyes back to the front, until he heard the map start beeping, and his eyes widened.
The first barricade had been hit, and the Grimm had already passed it. "Here they come."
Cordovin stood at the front of the wall with her legion of vehicles, soldiers manning the wall on the machine guns. They still had the shield wall to face before the Grimm got through to them. She sat in the cockpit of her Colossus, staring at the shield wall with her forces waiting. They held the triggers of their weapons and mounted turrets, shaking with fear. And within seconds after the first barricade was destroyed, the Grimm made impact with the shields. Flashes of bright blue light ripped across the shield, sending waves across the dome overhead.
But then the Pylons were torn apart, and the shield was destroyed, deactivating all around them. The soldiers could feel the bricks rumbling beneath their feet, the icicles cracked and fell from where they hung. Even Cordovin could feel it from her Colossus. But she looked at her soldiers and raised her massive mechanical fist high.
"Today we fight for a cause greater for ourselves! And our efforts will be remembered in the world that comes next! We will fight together! And make these beasts feel fear, and suffer under the might of Argus!" She cheered, and her soldiers cheered with her. The vehicles roared forward with the Gunships overhead. And Cordovin charged with them towards the darkness.
The soldiers on the turrets opened fire, firing beams of bullets and energy towards the darkness over the heads of the soldiers below. Back at the Keep, Kragen raised his radio to his mouth. "Artillery teams! Air Force! Open fire on the Oncoming Shadow!" Kragen ordered.
Up top in the Drift of Wandering Star, Ortega stood on the bridge and lowered his radio. "You heard the man! Burn the fuckers to ash!" He ordered to his crew, and the Dreadnaughts all turned to the darkness, firing their Broadside Cannons into it. The shells whistled overhead, crashing down and exploding into the horde of Grimm that nobody could see. Fighter Jets soared overhead, firing their machine guns and missiles into the darkness.
From the Peaks, the Maidens watched with fearful eyes as the headlights of all those vehicles and Cordovin's Colossus charged towards the Oncoming Shadow. And from where they were standing?
That name was earned, for that was exactly what they looked like.
A massive shadow of darkness just creeping closer and closer.
The Artillery teams at Dragonspire Keep fired shells from the Hellfire Tanks set into Mortar Mode, launching powerful explosives arcing overhead of the Argus Military, and Trebuchets flinging fire dust bombs miles overhead as well to kill as many Grimm as they could. Ruby aimed through her scope, watching from a distance as the Argus Military got closer and closer, firing everything they had into the darkness.
Then…
… they vanished.
The Maidens watched, and in horror all they could hear now… were screams. The Oncoming Shadow had completely engulfed them all, and Ruby watched as the massive Colossus was toppled over by what could only be described as a Tsunami of Grimm. And then the wall disappeared as well, completely blown apart by the sheer number of Grimm that just collided into it.
Kragen raised his radio to his mouth. "Cordovin! Cordovin, do you copy?"
All he got in return… were blood-curdling screams. He swiftly turned the radio off at the sound and slammed it down, clenching his hand into a fist.
Everyone else below could only see the last outer wall, with nowhere near as many people on it, but just judging from their reactions? They knew what happened to the Argus Military because they were sprinting as fast as they could down the stairs to get away. But as they ran, the wall disappeared into the darkness as well. And one by one… the people who fled disappeared as well.
And all that could be heard were screams, and a mixture of Grimm roaring as they tore them to shreds with ease. And then…
… silence.
The hope that the Witches gave everyone vanished within the blink of an eye, and now they knew the Grimm were about to hit them all next. Blake's ear turned towards the sound of the Grimm getting closer and closer. And the darkness grew even closer towards them, creeping forward like something from a nightmare. Hearts hammered and fear was in the air, and the Grimm were probably salivating at the taste of their fear.
But many held their ground and hardened themselves. Kassius flicked his wrists upwards, Lash Equinox folding upwards, and cocking Vulcan Nox, eyes shimmering with Hyde's eyes in them. Yang smashed her fists together, Weiss spun Myrtenaster through her fingers and Blake held Gambol Shroud tight.
Sun spun Ruyi Jingu bang into his other hand, teeth gritted for them to hit, and Penny nervously deployed Floating Array behind her. Oscar aimed Traveller's Atrocity ahead with both hands, whilst Hazel pulled out a blood vial and drank it, snarling as his Blood Rage semblance activated, his veins pushing against his skin. Qrow cracked his neck, spinning Harbinger through his fingers before transforming it into Scythe mode.
Ozpin spun Mihi Vindicta and slammed it against the ground, forming his Knight Armour. The clockwork plates formed from thin air around him and his helmet closed over his head, eyes glowing green.
Maria stared into the darkness and she put her skull mask on, and drew her second Scythe, eyes glowing silver. She exhaled shakily, but never moved an inch as she waited for the monsters to arrive.
Emerald kept her fingers on her triggers and Neo was the only one with a smirk on her face, resting Hush on her shoulder.
Jaune, Nora, and Ren stood together, terrified of what was coming, as did Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi.
Ruby stared through her scope, shaking as she looked at everyone she loved down there… in the front line.
The ground was rumbling so much now that the walls were shaking and snow was falling between the cracks. The roaring of all the Grimm was so loud that it just sounded like a constant howl of a storm getting closer and closer. Then finally, the darkness surrounded them, and the Grimm were about to impact.
"PREPARE FOR IMPACT!" A Captain yelled. All the soldiers raised their Hardlight Shields and stood together. The Atlesian Knights and Fallen Warriors all did the same, Knights using their Hardlight Shields and metal bodies to tank the impact.
Yet all they saw in front of them now was darkness… until…
A wave of Grimm came towards them, towering above them all and crashing straight through the vanguard of machines and Golems, throwing the Grimm into the soldiers beneath them. Shrieking erupted as teeth and claws sank and slashed into them all. Soldiers were dragged away into the darkness to be torn apart by the Grimm. A man screeched as a Terror Bird Grimm clamped its jaws onto his skull and collapsed his head, splattering claret and brains all over it.
Ursae bit and tore them apart, roaring savagely as they smashed through their line.
Ozpin watched with disbelief as the Grimm smashed through their line. Jaune turned to see some soldiers fleeing in terror. "STAND YOUR GROUND!" Jaune roared, immediately being slammed into by an Ursa Major, digging his feet into the snow to hold it back. But then even more Grimm smashed into them all, breaking all their stances. Kassius yelled and slashed forward, cutting into the horde, but all of them were knocked to the ground.
Yang smashed her fist into a Sabyr's face as it jumped at her, breaking the jaw, and Penny slashed her swords at them all at once. Jaune crashed to the floor as a swarm of Grimm piled onto him as he screamed, biting at him. "JAUNE!" Nora screamed, smashing a Beowulf in the head with Magnhild to get them off him. He roared with rage and jumped up, beheading four Grimm with one swing.
Suddenly fire came crashing down from above, but it was not into their forces, but into the Grimm. They all looked up and cheered as the Four Maidens flew overhead, all using fire to push the horde of Grimm back. The monsters roared with fury and pain as the flames burned them one by one, then they burnt a line of flames across the ground, thinning their numbers.
Pyrrha flew with Cinder and they repeated this strategy, burning more lines of fire into the Grimm to weaken their numbers from the fire. From above, Pyrrha could see what was coming, and it was nightmarish. She could barely even see the snow anymore from all the Grimm sprinting towards them. But she focused her nerves, and glared at the monsters, and flew overhead, blasting columns of fire down upon the creatures of darkness, burning them to ashes.
Cinder flew overhead and drew her Obsidian Bow, launching a burning arrow into the chest of a Nevermore. The beast roared with agony as it fell from the sky and came crashing down into the sea of Grimm beneath them. Yenna suddenly slammed into Cinder and pushed her down, and only just darted away just in time, as Fighter Jets and Bombers roared overhead, firing missiles and dropping bombs into the Grimm ahead of them. The sound of explosions erupting was constant, as the Artillery Teams continued to fire everything they had into the Oncoming Shadow.
Down below, everyone was fighting together, but one by one people were being torn apart by the Grimm. Soldiers shrieked as they felt their bodies be torn apart or crushed under the clambering beasts.
The Architect thrusted his mechanical shoulder into the face of a Beowulf, knocking it back from a soldier, but only found the torn up bloody remains of her beneath them. He backed up, firing his rifle at the Grimm relentlessly, extending the blade and cutting three Thralls down in a single swing. Kassius fought nearby, jumping in the air and slicing straight through the chest of an Ursa, and as it fell forward, Yang spun around and uppercutted the creature as hard as she could with her cybernetic fist.
The jaw of the beast snapped and black blood oozed from its head as it toppled to the floor. Kassius pulled Yang back as more Grimm surged forward, only to be obliterated thanks to Coco as she flew overhead, casting as much fire down upon the creatures as she could. She flew high in the air and Yenna held out her hands, eyes glowing bright blue, and bringing down a colossal storm on the Oncoming Shadow.
Huge tornados laced with lightning and fire collided into the Grimm from the sky, tearing them to shreds, and hopefully thinning the numbers enough to give their ground forces some more time before retreating into the castle.
Yang turned back to see Kassius firing Vulcan Nox relentlessly, emptying clips from the weapons as he stood upon a mountain of Grimm Corpses, and slashing the two swords he held through the beasts, cutting them down one at a time. Suddenly a Manticore erupted through the darkness towards him, but Neo jumped high in the air thanks to Emerald throwing her towards the creature, driving Hush into the creature's throat and sending it crashing down.
She was swarmed by the monsters within seconds, but all they fed on were shards of illusionary glass. Neo swiftly jumped across the heads of Grimm and returned to the others, firing Hush's cannon into the head of a Beringel, blowing its head from its shoulders. Yang ejected the spent shells from Ember Celica, turning and ducking as a Spiker launched quills towards her, shrieking at her as it stood on the rocks. She spun around and dug her hand into the snow and ripped a chunk of rock from the ground, hurling it at the Grimm and killing the creature instantly.
Blake jumped overhead, casting a Shadow laced with Fire Dust, detonating it above the horde of Grimm and killing a high number of them. Black blood splattered everywhere, then she crossed her Katana and Sheath over, blocking the claws of a Beringel as it jumped at her. She jumped and flipped backwards, throwing her sword forward by the grappling ribbon and cleaved through its body, cutting it in half with ease.
She landed and deflected another Beowulf's claws, before spinning through the air and smashing her sheath down into its head, and elegantly spinning back up and driving the blade up the creature's chin, killing it instantly. She backed up but bumped into one of the soldiers behind her, who fired a rocket from his missile launcher. The sudden bang made everything start ringing and brought her down to her knees, grabbing at her ears. She strained as she tried to fight through the painful ringing in her eyes.
Everything was blurry as she looked around, seeing Grimm cutting through their people one by one, blood splattering against the snow. She shook her head, and the ringing went away, and she rolled out of the way as a Creep burst from the snow towards her. It crashed into the ground and roared at her until Oscar suddenly shot by and slashed across its throat.
Oscar sprinted through the Grimm, slowing time around him and cutting as many down as he could with Traveller's Atrocity, smothering himself in their blood, before dashing back to the soldiers and brave Hunters. The Grimm fell apart in his wave as time resumed, and he swiftly detached the two pieces of his weapon, and transformed them into their revolver formed, firing at the Grimm that were climbing over each other to get closer.
Ahead of them, the Artificial Vanguard continued to hold. They may have been knocked down and mostly smashed apart from the initial impact, but a lot of them were still fighting. The Atlesian Knights pushed back against the Grimm with their Hardlight Tower Shields. The beasts bit and clawed at the hardlight barriers to get through, even just slamming their bodies against them so hard that it was killing them, filling the air with more black smoke.
More fighters flew overhead, firing their machine guns into the Grimm, whilst dodging the Grimm flying in the sky, shooting fireballs and other projectiles at them. Yenna followed the Jets, throwing bolts of lightning at the Grimm to keep them away from them, and only narrowly dodging the incoming volleys of shells coming from the Drift of Wandering Star. The explosive rounds detonated as they collided against the surge of Grimm beneath her. She flew higher into the air, with Pyrrha catching up to her.
They flew far ahead of the battle and continued to blast more fire into the Grimm to weaken their numbers for a while, but as they flew ahead, they saw the ridge where that campfire was.
And could see Vir Nominis Umbra.
He stood with the Four Knights of Grimm riding Grimm Horses, alongside the Higher Demons. They were just standing on the ridge, waiting. They both gritted their teeth and flew directly at them, channelling as much magical power into their hands as they could to deal some damage to the leader. Vir Nominis Umbra stood, staring out at the battle with his hands held together, then he calmly turned his gaze to the two Maidens who were flying directly towards him.
Vir Nominis Umbra smirked, then they both looked up and gasped, as they saw a fleet of Monstra Whales emerging from the clouds behind them as a snowstorm swept in, and red lightning crackled in the sky as a Fleet of Tempests with the Monstras. The two Maidens swiftly abandoned their attack and flew back towards Dragonspire Keep as the storm swelled, and the massive Jellyfish Grimm advanced, preparing to bring death down upon the Castle with their tentacles.
Up in the Drift of Wandering Star, Ortega stared ahead at the massive fleet of monsters headed their way. "Sir… are you seeing this?" One operator asked.
"Damn right I do…" Ortega answered. "All air forces focus fire on the incoming Monstra and Tempest fleet. If they reach Dragonspire Keep, it's over. Our people won't stand a chance." He commanded.
"Copy that." One of the Pilots responded.
"But… Admiral… what about the ground forces? Without the air force…"
"Our job is to keep the sky focused on us… if we don't do that, then they will be picked off one by one." Ortega reminded. "The sky is not theirs to rule… not so long as we're around to fight for that right."
Down below, the two remaining Colossi stood at the walls, firing their powerful cannons at the Grimm, shooting thick beams of energy into the horde, vaporising the Grimm instantly from the sheer heat being unleashed from it. The explosion left massive clouds of steam and even carved fissures into the ground, like the traps that were slowing the Grimm down. This was also helping too, alongside firing Earth Dust that formed massive boulders and spiky rocks to block their attacks.
Gunships hovered overhead as well, firing their machine guns and missile batteries at the Grimm, as did the Hellfire Tanks, firing the gigantic cannons into the Grimm, alongside Swarmer Missiles and Mortars. Everything they had was being fired onto the Oncoming Shadow to slow their roll.
The thing that surprised them all was that it was working, in a sense. But they knew this was only going to be temporary. Soon they would run out of ammunition.
They just needed more time.
Ruby kept her eye down the scope of Crescent Rose, pulling the trigger constantly to keep the Grimm off them as best she could, nailing every single one of them in the head. She was shaking, but seeing so many targets helped cool her nerves. She turned to see the Witches providing as much support as they could, forming magical glyphs above them which constantly shot projectiles of purple magic down onto the Grimm, whilst also forming barriers of magic to help strengthen what remained of the Vanguard.
She could hear Hazel roaring with rage down below, going berserk from the Blood Rage, grabbing a Thrall and throwing it into the air and punching it just as it came back down. An Alpha Beowulf suddenly jumped from the crowd of Grimm towards him, but he pounded his fist into its head, so hard that the bony white armour cracked and crumbled off his hand. He then grabbed it by the shoulder so hard he felt the bone crunch under his hand, then viciously grabbed onto its mouth, and with all his might, he dragged the jaw all the way down his chest, spraying black blood all over his body.
He roared with fury as the beast crumbled into smoke in his hand, then turning to duck under the swing from a Knights' Bannerman. The Grimm Knight yelled, slashing its sword at him but he caught the sword in his hand and ripped it from the grasp of the Bannerman, ramming the entire sword through the mouth and forcing it down the torso of the entity, splitting it in half. The corpse collapsed into itself behind him as he turned to the rest of the monsters.
Sun watched as the berserk Hazel Rainart continued to rip the Grimm apart, then raised his Bo-Staff, stopping the jaws of a Sabyr that lunged towards him, but he spun the staff around, flipping the beast on its back and stamping on its jaw so hard that the sabre snapped from its mouth. As it flipped in the air, he caught it and rammed it through the creature's eye, before detaching his Gun-Chucks and firing them relentlessly as he spun them at a group of Thralls rushing towards him.
He gasped, eyes widening as a nightmarish sight, as a Geist appeared. Its body formed from the destroyed remains of the Argus Military, carrying burning vehicles, and the mangled body parts of the soldiers… blood swirling inside of its body. The Geist roared as it smashed its arm down into the Vanguard, destroying multiple Atlesian Knights. Until the Fallen Warriors started smashing their rocky arms against its legs, all fighting together and blasting lightning and fire from their bodies.
Together they all shot beams of magical energy from their chests into the face of the Geist, burning it away and killing the monster before it could do any more damage. The massive spectre came crashing down, crushing at least fifteen Grimm under all that wreckage. Sun backed up and connected his Gunchucks together once again and slammed his Bo-Staff down against the skull of a Creep, before spiralling it around his fingers and smashed it across the face of another Beowulf, killing it instantly. Just as the Creep lunged up towards him, Blake suddenly shot it in the side of the head.
The two stayed close together, back to back.
Time suddenly stopped, and Ozpin stood amongst the Grimm that converged on him, his eyes glowing green behind his clockwork helmet, and he spun around with his mace, smashing all of their heads apart, before transforming Mihi Vindicta back into cane form and slammed it down, creating a huge shockwave of energy, shattering the Grimm and knocking them all away. Some soldiers lost their footing from the blast, but it bought them some time. As the Grimm sprinted towards him once again, he extended the cane into its Sceptre form and fired a powerful beam of green magical energy from the tip, effortlessly cutting the creatures in half.
He looked ahead to see Maria, sprinting to the Grimm and slashing through them all with ease, covering herself in their black blood and blasting a beam of silver light from her eyes, carving hundreds of Grimm with the beam like a giant blade. She connected Life and Death together, and spun on the spot, ripping the Grimm to pieces with her scythes, then hooked it onto the neck of a Beringel, yanking it towards her so hard and fast that it beheaded the creature. As it fell forward, she jumped onto its head and spun through the air, driving the weapon straight through the spine of a Nightmare.
The creature howled in agony as she stood atop the living pustule of people trapped inside, suffering endlessly.
The Grimm Reaper unleashed once more…
Carmine rolled and sent her Sai through five Grimm in one attack, before roundhouse kicking an Apathy in the skull so hard that it fractured. The fragile Grimm stumbled and breathed in as it was about to screech, until Carmine called her Sai back and launched it straight through the Apathy's mouth, ending the freakish creature instantly. "Shut the fuck up." Carmine hissed.
Mazen roared with fury, driving his chainsword down the chest of an Ursa Major, covering his helmeted head with the black blood, and Junior fired another missile into the crowd of Grimm, transforming the missile launcher into its Bat Form, smashing it across the skull of a Knights' Bannerman.
Yatsuhashi nearby bellowed as he jumped into the air and cleaved a Beringel in half in one swing, with Velvet using a copied Gianduja, spraying bullets into the horde and shredding the creatures before they could advance any further. Fox swiftly cut any Grimm that got past her bullets down, sprinting into them and slashing his Tonfas so fast that he seemed to just pass straight through the creatures.
As he lunged froward, Beringel punched him in the chest, launching him backwards into Yatsuhashi. The huge Huntsman caught Fox and not fall over, then raised his sword. The Beringel sprinted towards him and he roared, catching its fist and driving Fulcrum down its throat, sawing the beast open. The Beringel's roars faded away as it faded into smoke before his eyes.
The caws of a crow echoed above, and Qrow flew towards the Grimm, slashing through seven creatures in one swing with Harbinger in its scythe form. He turned and kicked a Beowulf back, transforming back into sword form and firing the shotgun into the skull of a Thrall, shattering its skull with ease. Yang stood close to her Uncle, and Weiss launched herself high in the air, firing icicles from her glyphs, forming huge spikes of ice in the ground to impale more Grimm and hold them back.
Yang launched herself forward whilst Qrow jumped into his bird form, punching a small Deathstalker in the face before it could attack a soldier, only for that very soldier to be bitten in the head by a Pharaoh and flung away into the horde to be torn to shreds. Her eyes widened, but a Paladin suddenly fired its missiles into the face of the huge Two-Headed Cobra. The creature hissed aggressively, then a Juggernaut sprinted over to where Yang was, firing its many guns and missile launchers at the creature. All that combined firepower blew the two heads of the giant apart with ease.
Glad these guys are finally on our side.
She looked ahead to see Junior, now on his own, surrounded by Grimm. A Teryx landed in front of him and shot a fireball into his chest, shattering his aura. Yang launched herself towards the creature and punched it in the face. The Teryx stared at her, snarling with fury, and suddenly lunged towards her. But she caught its jaws and twisted its neck with all her might, snapping it with a bony crunch.
The monster collapsed and crumbled into smoke.
She turned to Junior and pulled him back up. "You okay?" She panted.
"Yeah… thanks…"
Suddenly, the stinger of a Deathstalker emerged from the darkness, impaling Junior through the chest and splattering his blood across Yang's face. She gasped, eyes widening. Junior wheezed and screamed as he was thrown into the Oncoming Shadow. "NO!" Yang screamed in horror.
She could not see him anymore… but she could hear his screams… and then just the roars of Grimm. Yang gritted her teeth with anger, eyes flushing red, and the Deathstalker's tail shot towards her, but she punched it so hard that the stinger broke off and then she grabbed onto the tail and yanked it from the darkness.
As it dragged forward, she picked up his Bazooka and fired it directly into the monster's face, killing it instantly.
Kragen watched the battle unfold, seeing the Maidens continue to unleash their magical might against the Grimm.
Waiting for the right moment to call a retreat.
Whilst Vir Nominis Umbra watched from the ridge, hands still held together, with a smirk on his face.
Waiting for them all to be torn apart… and the Relics to be his…
Author Note - God I've been waiting to do this chapter for so long.
Was pretty challenging too, since I always wanted to capture the chaos in the first chapter of this battle, to show just how fast and lethal the Oncoming Shadow are. And that was harder than I expected, I'm so used to structuring battles with cutting to specific characters. But since everyone is here in the same place, I wanted to have it just all be happening really fast.
Plus... it's terrifying.
I may have not enjoyed the final season of Game of Thrones, but the start of The Long Night is absolutely amazing and gave me tonnes of inspiration for this part.
R.I.P Cordovin and Junior.
The first of many... get your bets down on who is gonna die people. This is gonna get bloody.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter - The Battle of Dragonspire Keep (It will be called that this time, felt naming it after the story was fitting considering what they're up against)
- Matt