Ch. 46
Anise yawned as she awoke from her sleep. It was the middle of the afternoon on the weekend, and someone was knocking on the door. Anise was going to ask her brother to get it but he was asleep with his headphones on. Sakura was there as well but she was currently taking a shower. With a loud groan, Anise trudged up to the door and opened it whilst rubbing her eyes.
"Abaddon!"
"Wassup little girl!"
"Please come in."
Abaddon entered the room as Anise closed the door behind him.
"We were told you were missing in action after fighting some guy called Ferdiad," Anise told him.
"Yeah, well that situation has been taken care of. I'll explain in a bit."
The running water of the shower turned off and a few moments later, Sakura exited the bathroom wearing a dark blue robe.
"Hey Anise, who was at the door-?"
Sakura blinked twice, her mouth slightly agape.
"Your alive!" Sakura moved to hug Abaddon but then remembered that she was in her bathrobe and still kind of wet from her shower. She quickly recoiled and sat on her bed.
"Yeah, I managed to survive and make it back here," Abaddon told her.
"But what about Cuchulainn and Ferdiad?"
"Don't worry Sakura. Cuchulainn is dead. As for Ferdiad, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. So Anise how was the initiation for you and your brother? Run into any Ghouls?" Abaddon asked.
"No, we ran into some giant creature that was much stronger and smarter than your average Grimm. It was a humanoid with dark purple skin, small wings on its back, yellow eyes, and horns made a heart shape on its head. It also had this big orange sword," Anise told him. "It could fire these dark spheres at us and could turn invisible and make its sword fly around on its own."
"Ah, sounds like a very powerful Grimm," Abaddon said.
"That's the thing though. I don't think it was a Grimm. I could sense an aura coming from it, but it was dark and hungry. And it fed on some of the other students as well. Plus, without help from our teammates Raze and Erza, Riku and I may not have made it out of that battle alive."
Abaddon rubbed his chin. "I see. So how about we train for the next battle, whenever you're free that is?"
"All of us?" Anise asked.
Abaddon nodded. "You should share your experience with the others, that way none of them will be caught with their pants down. Whaddaya say Sakura? Wanna join?"
"I'm sorry," she answered. "I'm headed back to Atlas tonight."
"I understand. One moment you're headed into new territory as a huntress and the next your staring death in the face." Abaddon stood up. "Well, at least I got to see how you were doing before you left. Exchange numbers?"
Sakura smiled. "Sure!"
Sakura and Abaddon held their scrolls close together. There was a pulsating white ring on both their screens for a few seconds before the rings turned green, signifying that their contact had been saved.
"I'll text you sometime when I get home," Sakura told him.
"Alright. I'll see you later. Remember Anise, we can train whenever you and your brother have the time." Abaddon opened the dorm door to leave. "It would be nice to give you guys a headstart."
"Mkay Abbledon," Anise said with a smug smile.
"Don't let Darby's habits rub off on you, Anus," he said before closing the door behind him.
"Of course, some of the other voidsent would be present on this planet," Abaddon cursed. "I was hoping that Ferdiad and Odin had just gotten here. That may have been true for Odin, but with an Orcus on the planet, it's safe to say that Ferdiad brought a small army at some point in the past, and who knows how many have been coming in the meantime or are still making their way here. Kathleen has been here longer than I have. I need to talk to her."
As Abaddon walked down the hallway and turned a corner, he almost bumped right into Glynda.
"Oh, Mr. Rizer?!"
"Hey, Professor Goodwitch."
"Wha-How long have you been back? What happened during the initiation?"
"I've been back for a few days and it's a long story, but I was going to report to Ozpin after checking up on my friends. I'll go there now."
Glynda eyed him warily. "You look somewhat different Mr. Rizer. Did you have a growth spurt while you were gone? And the scarring over your eyes?"
"Do I look that different? I haven't even noticed any changes."
"Hmmm….Very well. Please be on your way. Professor Ozpin is on his lunch break right now but I'm sure he can make time for you. I'll let him know you're on the way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to break up a drinking party being held on the top floor."
Glynda then walked off and Abaddon went through Beacon and entered Beacon Tower. He went up the elevator and arrived to see Ozpin drinking out of his mug. He placed his cup down before addressing Abaddon's presence.
"Mr. Rizer, when did you make it back?"
"Just a few days ago. Apologies for not visiting you sooner, but I wanted to see my friends first."
"I completely understand young man. Although, I'd like to know what happened in the forest. What of the ones known as Ferdiad and Cuchulainn?"
"I killed the latter, but the former ran off. I took some time to recover from the battle and made my way here once I was ready."
"There was another creature in the forest, which Team ARES had engaged in combat. Is there a connection between that beast and the individuals you faced?"
"It may have been a coincidence, as far as I know. Anise told me about the encounter, and the beast is called an Orcus. I had seen one before, a few years ago when I was accompanying my grandfather on a mission. That one escaped us before we could destroy it."
"I see. My apologies Mr. Rizer. If I had known such creatures were in the vicinity, I would have never sent you, nor any student, out there."
"I know Professor. It's not your fault. No one knew what would happen, and I'm pretty sure you have lost students before to unexpected circumstances. This is the life of a huntsman, isn't it? You choose to fight for the people, knowing the unexpected could happen at any time."
"That is correct Mr. Rizer. But this is the worst tragedy to befall this academy so far, and one will never get used to calling the families of the deceased and telling them of such grave news. Yet I always carry the hope that I will not have to do this again for the remaining year and that my students will survive. There's always hope."
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Now, if you excuse me, professor, I've taken up enough of your time. It was nice seeing you."
"Have a good day, Abaddon."
Abaddon waved to Ozpin as he walked back into the elevator and descended out of sight. There was a ding as Ozpin turned on the screen of his scroll. A video played, showing Abaddon's fight with Cuchulainn.
"Is that who I think it is?" asked Ozpin's contact
"Yes, Abaddon Rizer," Ozpin answered.
"Hercules' grandkid. I met the kid before. He's brutal. Not surprised he came across one of those monsters. They make most Grimm look weak."
"It looks like he went through some kind of transformation."
"You think it's because of the Longinus fragments?"
"We can't be sure. But with recent developments, it is best to keep a close eye and keep watching."
