CHAPTER 19!
REVIEWS:
Zathol: Damn right man! Azure is the kind to overuse their semblance, despite its heavy Aura cost. And I admit, Jaune having that semblance would be sweet, but he has a limit, both physical and mental which is stated below. He is not good when it comes to taking semblances willy nilly. Pyrrha's semblance will be somewhat more developed here, to the point where she is bolder in using it, but that after she learns about Origin.
Wolfang: Damn right! Another thing RT gave him but left to gather dust and waste away. A shame, really. The reason Jaune is the most used character for RWBY fanfics is that, well, he is perfect MC material. Everything about him just screams of wasted potential which every writer uses in their own versions of him. Also, hang on, I am sending reinforcements soon to deal with the Doom Slayer.
Nerdy: Plasma Dragon 312 - Trust me, you don't wanna know lol. And his dad is just that worried and overprotective of his son, which caused him to do some quite frankly, stupid things. But that's just how parental love goes sometimes. And yup, no matter how much he tries telling himself to and no matter how mad he is, he will never be able to truly hate his father. And yeah, fuck the dumb silver eyes shit LOL. Pyrrha living FTW!
Panda K1ng: It may seem like we miss characterized him, but I am iffy about it. At the beginning of the series, Jaune was not that mature all in all for a 17-year-old, which I always assumed to be because of him being mostly sheltered by his parents. His acting like that, in the beginning, reflects that along with the swirl of emotions he feels when Beelzebub tells him there is a chance for him to follow his dream. He matured quickly as he went through Hell as means of a forced awakening when being met with the literal worst place in all of existence, which by the end of his journey helped put some hair on his chest.
246villi: We all know he got them.
HelpingHand: Apparently, Jaune's little sister, who followed him back once, told him where he lived and he thought about dropping in to say Merry Christmas. Also, a bit too late to make suggestions for the fight, but thanks anyway. Jaune and Pyrrha being more than friends are bound to irk Weiss, whom, I say now, he will not chase like the dorkish romantic he was in the first volumes in the cannon. He already has enough pussy to go around. Also, I do not know about changing the teams around, even if we do in a minor way. If anything, we can have Jaune and Pyrrha meet with Ren and Nora in the forest and go from there. Also, we will be spelling the teams' names with acronyms. But the way it is pronounced is how you said it. JNPR = Juniper.
Petyr Star: Bloody/Nerdy - Soon, mate!
After the final fight of the third round, everyone cleared the arena, the final fight being scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, giving both fighters the chance to rest and prepare. It was early evening by the time the first day was finished and Jaune was walking back to the inn with Beel, Judge, and Lucy. They had some talking to do regarding both Pyrrha and himself. Namely, he was thinking of calling Pyrrha on his scroll to talk about that Salieri guy. Azure's semblance was pretty powerful overall, but it burned through his Aura like none other. After five uses he noticed his Aura levels reached the yellow zone, meaning that if Pyrrha could last for that long, or better yet, force him to use it what Jaune assumed to be seven times, limit in which he'd be one hit away from the red, then that was another victory.
The question was how she would make him use his semblance that many times. He is bound to use it at least once or twice to disarm her, then maybe two times again to close the distance and strike a few times then retreat just as quickly, meaning he'd be using his semblance four times already. The rest would be mostly up to Pyrrha, really, to force him to use his semblance enough times to weaken his Aura to the point she can score an easier win.
From her words and his and the girls' observation, Azure liked to use his semblance a lot, having some pride in him to boot. But whether or not he was the type to let pride rule him was to be seen, but he didn't dare bet on it. Assuming someone has a certain trait just because of a few words, actions, or something similar is a weak way to judge someone, which can lead to fatal misjudgments. And Pyrrha cannot afford that at all. Lucky for her, he had a plan based on something he noticed about Salieri during the final moments of the fight.
He cannot teleport people with him, meaning he cannot manipulate Pyrrha's movement in any way and seems to need to blink away the entire item, even if it is locked around the user's arm as Beel told him when she saw a guy's claw vanish and appear on the ground instantly.
The ability to disarm someone like that was frightening but manageable. Pyrrha only had to hold on in unarmed combat and beat him there, maybe even disarm him of his spear. The girls didn't see anything particularly interesting about it, meaning he was using his semblance more than his weapon to fight, indicating that his weapon was more valuable to him than information regarding his semblance.
But it couldn't be that he knew about Pyrrha's semblance, else he'd have come with a more ancient weapon to counter her, which would've been a shot in his foot. No, there was something else. He was likely hiding its mechashift forms for the final battle. It is very possible that he brought modifications to it no one was aware of or he had certain Dust in it. That was a possible option, so he'd need to ask Pyrrha what he knew about Dust. Since both are students at Sanctum she is likely to know more.
"Jaune?"
He was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely registered Beelzebub calling out to him, simply walking with Beel and Lucy flanking him and Judgement standing next to Lucy with her arms behind her head while walking. He was trying to come with a plan for Pyrrha, but up until now, tanking Azure seemed like the best option. But also the worst one.
"Jaune!" Beel said, louder this time, which managed to snap him out of his thought process, giving her a confused look and seeing her own worried look. "Are you ok? You were spacing out pretty badly."
"Oh, no, I am fine." He replied, reassuring the girls. "I am just thinking of a strategy for Pyrrha, that is all."
"The human girl?" Judgement asked, placing her hands down and looking at him. "What for?"
"Her fight against that Azure guy. You all saw his semblance, he is a powerhouse in his own right." He said, to which Judgement and Beel nodded and muttered. "The only way I see this working is if Pyrrha tanks his strikes enough to make him use his semblance multiple times and drive himself into the red. Azure is likely to try to disarm her first, and she doesn't wish to use her semblance in an obvious manner during the fight."
"Really? Well, that is simply stupid" Judgement added, giving her own piece of mind to the matter. "If she used that polarity, she called it? Then she'd be able to recover her weapons since they are dropped nearby."
"Which is the issue." Lucifer pointed out. "If she did that then her semblance would be out in an instant."
"It is a dilemma," Jaune said, just as they arrived at the inn and went inside, going up to the room which he was sharing with Judgement, all four of them occupying two beds each to sit on. "I will try to call Pyrrha. You all keep your human disguises a bit longer, ok?"
The girls nodded, then Jaune got his scroll out, pressing on Pyrrha's icon and watching his scroll connect. Eventually, the image changed, showing Pyrrha with her tiara still on, yet she seemed to be wearing a red turtleneck sweater, similar to Modeus' and behind her looked to a wall decorated with various trophies. Damn, she had a bunch of victories under her belt. "Hi, Jaune" She greeted in a friendly manner, then she spotted Beel and Judge who were there as well. "Oh, hi there. Are those your other roommates, Jaune?"
Jaune, to keep up the lie, simply replied. "Not quite. Judge here is, but Beel here is actually the landlady." He said, making sure to use their nicknames since their actual names might be a bit strange. I mean, their names still sounded a bit strange, especially Judgement's, but he had a cover-up story for that as well.
"Hello there," Judge said, waving at her nonchalantly.
"A pleasure to meet you, sweetheart," Beel said politely, making sure not to forget her mannerism. "So, you are the little redhead who dared to steal our little Jaune's heart away while we weren't looking, huh? Sneaky move." And of course, she had to tease a bit.
"What?!" Pyrrha said, freaking out a bit. "No! I didn't! I swear I didn't want to do anything like that - I just went to the fountain and-"
"Relax, Pyrrha," Lucifer said, actually giggling a bit from her nervousness. "Beel here is just messing with you a little. She can be a tease at times."
"Aww. Why'd you need to tell her, Lucy?" Beel asked, then Lucifer turned her eyes towards her, giving her the coldest and deadliest glare she could muster. "On another note, how are you, sweetie? Doing well after that stressful day?" And just like that, Beel went straight to business.
"I am alright" She replied. "I am tougher than I look, so I am in good shape as far as post-tournament condition goes. I was a little bit surprised to see you call. I didn't expect you to call me this soon, Jaune"
Jaune, per his usual habit, just smiled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, well I thought I'd just say hi and see how you are. Also, I wanted to talk to you more about Azure Salieri so I can help you devise a plan against him." He offered, watching Pyrrha's eyes widen a bit in surprise.
"Really?" She asked, only getting a nod from him. "Wow. I don't know what to say, Jaune. But are you sure about this? Participants are not allowed to receive outside help during the tournament."
"Actually, outside interference during events is prohibited as well as any form of sabotage." Beel pointed out, catching their eyes. "I read the ruling book." She said.
"There is something like that available to the public?" Jaune asked in surprise.
"Well, yes, of course. Didn't you know?" She asked again, to which Jaune shook his head, same with Pyrrha. "Well, allow me to shed some light on the situation. You see, Pyrrha, you are not allowed to interfere with him before the fight and no one can interfere during the fight either to aid any of the participants, but that only count for the help offered during the fight."
"I see." Jaune said, catching on to the issue. "So even if I boosted her semblance, it'd still count as having received outside help since the effect might last until she starts."
"Precisely. However, no rule states you are not allowed to plan and prepare for your opponent or ask and receive the help of others for the matter as long as it keeps to the rules" Beel finished, turning to the two with curious eyes. "So pray tell, what do you have in mind?"
"Umm. I was thinking about tanking his strikes?" Pyrrha said sheepishly, the demons, and even Jaune, sighing.
"So we barely have a viable plan, is that right?" Lucifer pointed out, looking at Jaune for answers, but he had none from the way he shrugged at her. "Great. Isn't there something useful at least in the rule book? Surely, there is a clause that prevents such a semblance from throwing one's weapon out of the arena!"
"Actually…" Beel said, her mind's gears turning in her head. "There is!" She said aloud, catching everyone's attention.
"What? But he was doing it the entire time!" Judgement pointed out loudly.
"Yes, but he never threw the weapons out of the arena! It is actually a clause for people with semblances that can affect the weaponry of the opponent, stating they cannot throw the weapons out of bounds or into the crowd, meaning they need to stay in the arena!" She stated, then instantly watched Jaune perk up.
"So Pyrrha doesn't need to tank his strikes as much as she needs to react to him trying to strike her when he blinks!" Jaune said aloud, smiling largely. "While that happens she can run to get her weapon, and when she does, Azure might risk blinking that away as well!"
"That is a very good plan." Pyrrha pointed out. "I honestly never really thought about it myself, but then again, I never read the rule book for such specific rules. Still, my semblance counts towards that rule as well, meaning I cannot pay him back with his own coin."
"It is still better than nothing!" Jaune said, turning to Pyrrha. "Do you think you can hold on until then? I put two and two together and figured he can only use his semblance about seven times before his Aura gets dangerously low."
"Out of which he is bound to use at least four in the opening." Judgement added Jaune's earlier statement. "Add your skill in the mix and this guy is in trouble!"
"Indeed" Both Lucy and Beel said at the same time, the first generation demon girls giving each other strange looks because of that, but smiled at each other seeing that they were on the same page.
Pyrrha, on the other hand, looked to be deep in thought. All of this was precious information to have, and the plan sounded like it'd work, but she couldn't be so sure, so she was best keeping a leveled head. The victory was not assured yet, so she had to play it nice and slow, but with skill and efficiency.
"I think I can manage it. He seems to be limited to blinking stuff around his field of vision as well since I never saw him blink stuff behind himself" Pyrrha pointed out further, recalling some of the older sparring sessions from class. "If I am to win, however, I need to keep myself moving as well. Meaning I will need to sleep well tonight to have enough energy for tomorrow."
"In that case, off you go, sweetheart," Beel said. "You should make sure you are rested and I think we planned enough for now. I mean, not like any of us can help you during the fight."
"That is true," Jaune said, a bit sad to have to cut the talk a bit short, but he knew this was for the best. It wasn't his fight to fight either, so Pyrrha had to be ready. "But hey, at least we will be in the audience, cheering you on!"
Pyrrha smiled a bit hearing this, a blush over her face. "I will be looking forward to it." She said, then she closed the call. The girls dropped their humane disguises as soon as she did, Beel and Lucy smiling with malice and looking at Jaune.
"Jaune, dear, are you not satisfied with us?" Beel asked suddenly, catching Jaune off-guard.
"Say what?" He asked back in confusion, a state Judgement also found herself in right now.
"Beel does have a point," Lucifer said as well, looking at him with a coy smile on her face. "The way that girl was blushing might mean she finds you attractive, Jaune. Are you perhaps planning on adding her to our Harem as well?"
"What?!" Jaune said aloud, then started to wave his arms around. "No, no, no, no! Nothing of the sort! You girls are great and I'd never cheat on any of you - as much as Harem dynamics go - so why would I want to add more girls? Better question yet, how would I even add more? Polyamorous marriages are a thing around Remnant, but no one, and I mean NO ONE, ever had a dozen wives! No girl would agree to join us and she'd likely think I am some playboy or something!" He slowed down a bit. "besides...Pyrrha is too good for our little sinful games."
"Our games are anything but little, my blonde knight," Lucifer said, leaning onto him to add to the tease. "By our contract, we are all yours, but you can undo it at any time. Beel won't return to the Abyss since her contract never stated what happens if it happens."
"That is true. I am pretty sure I will still be free" Beelzebub replied. "A grand loophole designed by yours truly!"
"Shush, fly, we are talking," Lucifer said, causing the Great Fly to pout in mild annoyance.
"Says the big, bad lizard, right?" Beel retorted, causing Lucy to get a furious blush on her face.
"That was only when I was fighting both Ophirius and Michael at the same time and you know it!" Lucifer said back to her, but Beel's grin was not going away.
"And how it ended up as well!" She said, adding a bit of dramatic flair to it all. "Cast down from the skies, falling and falling, landing in the ditch that is now Hell! Becoming its Queen, ruling all demons, fighting your ex-teacher, then banishing me, and finally, here we are…" She finished, then she stood in front of Jaune, leaning onto him with her arms on his shoulders, putting her face mere centimeters away from his. "Bound by this mortal, his for him to claim - to bed and to bree-"
"Ok, stop right there!" Judgement said, stopping Beelzebub, much to Lucifer's and Jaune's relief. Especially Jaune since he felt like he'd die from embarrassment if she continued. "I get you two have some rich history, since you both are first-gen, but please...Keep certain topics on the low. Also, you should head on to the bed as well. It is getting late."
Beel scoffed a bit since she was interrupted, but she could see Judgement's reasoning. "Fair. Let's go, Lucy." the fly said, then Lucifer turned to Jaune for a bit.
"Sleep well, my knight" She whispered into his ear then planted a kiss on his cheek, making him blush. Granted, Beel did see this and slipped to his other side.
"Sweet dreams," Beel said before planting a kiss on his other cheek, reinforcing his blush. Jaune then looked at Judgement, the grey demon blushing herself.
"Don't look at me, I won't give you any goodnight kisses!" She declared, allowing him to feel relieved. After that the girls left his and Judgement's room, the door closing behind them. Jaune then began to change to his nightwear, but Judgement grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and smacked her lips against his, pulling him into a forceful kiss before letting him go. "Have a nice sleep, Jaune." She said, a blush on her face and her voice a bit shaky and breaking. She quickly retreated to her bed, turning her head to the wall away from him.
And Jaune? Well, he will sleep well tonight. The issue now is he needed a reboot since the poor boy had a crash again.
The next day came quickly for the boy and demonic trio, finding themselves in the stands once again, waiting for the final round to begin. Everyone was excited to see the grand finale of this great tournament and see who will come on top, even if many already bet on Pyrrha. No, seriously, actual bets have been placed on the competitors. Lucifer called it a foolish thing to do, especially if they put their money on Azure, seeing how Pyrrha had her favor in the matter.
Good thing Jaune had Lucifer's promise not to use any ability to aid Pyrrha in the battle. This ought to be a fair and clean game, without any demonic interference. And he knew that, as much as Lucifer would like to, she had to accept the humiliation of possibly losing money...Yeah, she put a bet on Pyrrha as well. Judgement and Beel were wiser, however, and decided not to in the slight chance of her loss, as much as Jaune wanted to dismiss the negativity and lack of trust towards her, he had to admit the fight ought to be close.
He couldn't assure Pyrrha's victory, so he maintained a neutral view on everything. He hoped she'd win, he was cheering for her, but he had to be realistic here. Pyrrha had a chance of losing, even with her semblance in play. And when that happens, he should be ready to support her.
"ALRIGHT, LADIES AND GENTS! THE TIME IS HERE! AZURE SALIERI, SANCTUM'S SECOND BEST STUDENT WILL FACE AGAINST PYRRHA NIKOS, THE PRIDE OF SANCTUM! THE FIGHT WILL BE A SIMPLE 1V1, WITH THE RULES BEING STANDARD TOURNAMENT ONES! EITHER KNOCK YOUR OPPONENT OUT OF BOUNDS OR DRIVE THEIR AURA IN THE RED TO WIN!" The announcer said as the two competitors took to the arena, Azure coming in with his weapon, a spear, in hand in a more compact form that made it look more like a short-sword. He was tall, roughly as tall as Jaune, if not a bit shorter with an inch with short black hair and cold blue eyes with a small scar across his chin. His body was not too bulky in any way, which from previous fights leads Jaune to believe he was not one to use brute force that much. His clothing consisted of a black top with a brown leather belt going from his hip to shoulder which had multiple pouches attached to it, then a light-blue jacket left open over that with an intrigued design of a spear stabbed in the ground on it. He was wearing black cargo pants as well, noticing the pouches on the left, but it seems he had none on the right. Lastly, he was wearing simple combat boots on his feet. As far as accessories went, however, he was wearing a silver ring with a blue stone on it and it seemed like he was also dotting some armor here and there, his shoulder and forearms being covered in armor.
The two went to the center of the arena where one of the staff at Sanctum was, standing between the two of them. "I would like to remind the two of you that on top of the rules, if you so try breaking them, if you attempt to strike your opponent after their Aura is in the red with the intent to cause harm, then I will have no choice but to disqualify you, THEN the guilty one will be placed under watch by staff with the promise of possible expulsion. Understood?" The two fighters nodded, then the staff member went back to the edge of the arena, turning around and holding his arm up. Pyrrha took Akuo and Milo from her back, placing the shield and sword in her hands and going into an offensive stance while Azure held his weapon out, letting it extend and reveal the spear that it was. Granted, now that he was seeing it, Jaune noticed a few details on it that he knows are not good for Pyrrha.
He made the connection to the pouches.
"Begin!" As soon as the staff member said that Pyrrha launched herself at Azure, the boy stood still and smirked as he watched her charge at him. Then, as Pyrrha tried to take a swing at him, her weapon vanished away. Azure took this chance to stab his spear into the ground and lift himself, delivering a double strike to Pyrrha which she attempted to block with her shield, only for it to vanish as well in that very second and then receive the double kick with her arm. She was sent back a bit, stumbling and looking for her weapons. She looked behind herself, seeing them there. Jaune was right, he couldn't blink them out of the arena because of the rules of the tournament.
But it wasn't the only thing he was right about. As soon as Pyrrha turned her head towards Azure again the boy was already in front of her, thrusting his spear at her and trying to land a good hit. Good thing she had a feeling he might try that thanks to Jaune and dodged the spear coming to her face by bending her back, then she pulled up her legs, delivering an upwards kick to Salieri's chin and stunning him for a bit. She did a few flips after that, going to recover her weapons which she grabbed successfully.
She then got on one knee, aiming her weapon at Azure as it turned into its rifle form. The boy saw her attempt and used his spear to deflect as many bullets as possible, but one still grazed his leg. He growled a bit because of this, even if his Aura prevented the damage and decided to go on the offensive, charging at Pyrrha without his semblance. Wise choice, seeing as he already used it three times. It seems he was aware of his draining semblance, which is why he was not using it any more right now.
The initial plan was meant to be a quick and powerful strike, then just whittle her down, but Azure's plan failed. No, that was not it. He was outsmarted by Jaune's own planning and foresight of the events, which allowed Pyrrha to expect him to do that and counter appropriately. As he charged at Pyrrha, she turned her weapon into its javelin form, putting her shield up and blocking Salieri's strike with it, but then she was knocked back, almost towards the edge of the arena.
And the purplish glow said it all; gravity dust. The tip of his spear had a purple line into it, meaning there was dust in it, likely in its more sand-like form. Because of that, upon impact, this caused Pyrrha to be slightly pushed by the impact. Jaune remembered then that he forgot to ask Pyrrha what Azure knew about Dust, but it seems like she knew about it already. She didn't let him close the distance again, so she started to run around the arena, turning her weapon back to rifle form and shooting him from afar. Azure dodged the bullets of her weapon well, even blocking some with his spear again, making sure to keep them from hitting him, then he blinked again, Pyrrha only having one moment to react before the tip of Azure's spear came for her from the side.
But at that moment she used her own semblance, without them noticing and moved the spear off-course again, only grazing her Aura. Azure's eyes widened in confusion at this, but it didn't, last for long as Pyrrha threw her shield into him, knocking him back towards the center of the arena, then rebounding back to her as she ran towards him, Akuo in xiphon form.
Azure opened his eyes just in time to see Pyrrha jumping to him from above, grabbing his spear and using it to block her xiphon's strike, noticing his Aura was already in the yellow and getting dangerously close to the red while Pyrrha was barely in the yellow herself. This made him click his tongue in frustration, but he still had an ace up his sleeve. He kicked her back, then jumped on his feet, reaching into his pouches and pulling out two Dust vials; a red one and light-blue one, then he activated a mechanism on his spear, ejecting the depleted vial that had gravity Dust in it, placing the two vials in and pushing them in different directions. Now, this had Jaune's attention.
Pyrrha launched herself towards him again, her javelin in hand and shield in the lead, ready to strike him for the final blow, but as she got close he blinked again, for the last time seeing his Aura levels, behind her. Pyrrha turned around, but at that moment Azure's spear split in two, the tip of the original head extending out, a red line going through the newly formed blade as another, slightly thinner blade erupted from the other side, a light-blue line going through it.
His spear could split itself and turn into two blades, although thin ones that are likely for quick strikes instead of direct encounters. And a quick attack he will have. He swung the light-blue blade first, sending a small wave of ice towards Pyrrha which she blocked with her shield. But now her defensive weapon was stuck in the ice, which allowed Azure to charge from the side, pulling his red-lined blade. That was likely to be fire-dust, so the impact would cause it to ignite and heat the weapon, or possibly explode. It was neither of those things. He swung the blade again, sending a wave of fire at Pyrrha which she was forced to block with her Aura, taking a heavy hit in the process that sent her in the middle of the yellow zone and back a few steps, losing her balance for just a moment.
But at that moment Azure took his blades and crossed them to deliver an X-shaped slash to Pyrrha, but she knew what to do. She used her semblance again, this time to make his ice-Dust blade slow down in the slash, allowing her to first block the fire-Dust blade with her javelin, pushing it back, then she turned it around, pressing the trigger and shooting Azure's stomach area as the hilt of her weapon struck him.
"Done!" The staff member announced, going towards them. "Azure Salieri's Aura has fallen into the red! Pyrrha Nikos is hereby declared the victor!"
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, EVERYONE! DESPITE HER OPPONENT DISARMING HER, PYRRHA NIKOS HAS HEREBY WON THE SANCTUM SELECTION!" The announcer said, then the crowd broke out cheering, Jaune and the girls also shouting from the side. Pyrrha stood proudly in the arena, panting a bit from the amount of effort she had to put into the fight. Behind her, Azure was getting up, having put his spear back together as one and using it to hold himself up. That last strike messed him up well.
He looked upon Pyrrha, the Invincible Girl looking at the crowd and receiving her so-called fated praise from everyone. He couldn't swallow it. He did everything in his power to win, even going as far as adding the last-minute alteration to his weapon. His mind told him he lost fair and square, that it was a good fight. But his pride? His pride told him he cannot let it end like this, so he gripped his spear, thinking about striking Pyrrha Nikos down right here while she was distracted. The staff member cannot stop him if he used his semblance to cause her harm and he didn't care if he got expelled.
Even before, he trained more with passing Huntsmen than here at Sanctum. And he did not come here to lose. He will prove to everyone, here and now, that Pyrrha Nikos is anything but invincible. He prepared to activate his semblance, ready to use the last bit of fire Dust in his spear to deliver a fatal blow, but then he felt pressure down upon him.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears as the sound of the crowd became distant, and even time seemed to slow down. Was this a semblance? Did someone read him and decided to stop him? He looked around, noticing how the surrounding environment looked blurred, but it all flowed towards one place. And there he saw a woman with white hair looking at him, her crimson eyes piercing his soul. Beside her was a blonde guy as well, slightly taller than him and having two swords on his back also looking at him, the woman's hand laid upon his. His blue eyes were looking straight at him as well, but with an even more intense furry. They were warning him not to do it.
Because if he did they would make sure it was the last thing he did.
He dropped his spear, then everything went back to normal, except for him panting and sweating a bit from the experience. What was that even? He didn't have time to ask himself that as Pyrrha went to him. "It was a good match, Azure." She told him, extending her hand for a casual shake.
"Yeah…" He replied, trying to hide the shake in his voice. He took her hand, shaking it, but his overall demeanor seemed odd to Pyrrha. "A good match. If you'd excuse me, I must go now. Have a good day, Pyrrha." He said, taking his weapon and going straight to the lockers, leaving a slightly confused Pyrrha behind.
Azure was always very prideful, refusing to acknowledge defeat easily and, when he did lose, he'd always make some snarky remark. Yet now he did none of those things. She decided not to linger on that, and instead focus on her new prize. With it, she was allowed to finish Sanctum early and have more time for herself. She looked over to Jaune's location, seeing him and the other girls. She remembered that he was going to Beacon from their talk that night…
If that was the case, she knew the academy where she was going to as well.
With the Selection finished everyone began to head home, the snow falling on the ground once again, softly, offering a beautiful image all around the place. Both Jaune and the girls had a grand time here, he was not about to lie about that. Granted, he was curious about something and slightly angry. "I cannot believe what he was about to do…" He muttered as he walked, Lucifer looking at him with the corner of her eye, then sighed.
"It is human nature, Jaune." She said, grabbing his attention. "The face he was making, I could practically see myself in Azure. His pride overshadowed his reason and turned itself into jealousy, anger, and clouded his mind, nearly pushing him to do something he would have regretted all of his life."
"And we stopped him, preventing that." Jaune said, recalling what they have done during those moments. Lucifer simply put her hand on his and the world just seemed to slow down around them, then he saw Azure ready his spear to strike Pyrrha, and followed his gaze as well until it landed on him and Lucifer. Lucifer's gaze alone scared him, but Jaune was angry as well...And he didn't bother to show it anymore. Ever since he went into Hell, whenever something angered him, he didn't hide it. He said it out front, confronted it, and settled it. He was more honest with himself and his own emotions. "We should keep quiet about it, however."
"Why so? We could easily go and beat him up, maybe finally have you use Origin" Judgement suggested, which was tempting; going and giving that guy a piece of their own mind for what he was about to do, but Jaune perished the thought.
"No." He replied sternly, yet calmly. "He might have tried to do something unforgivable, but we do not know his reasons. The way he was, as Lucifer showed, also showed jealousy, and seeing how much praise Pyrrha received I think Azure was not the only one who would've done that." True. When he looks back at it all, he sees someone trying to climb to the top, but are stopped by an unbeatable obstacle. Jaune felt sympathy with Azure, seeing the similarity between them. They both had different obstacles in their own paths, and both nearly regretted it when they had to go over them. Both needed to be stopped before they had done something they would regret, Azure killing Pyrrha out of jealousy and Jaune killing his own father out of sheer anger at what he's done to him. "besides...Just like Lucifer saw herself in him, I did as well. The old me, at least. I do not know the entire story, but I do not think he is a bad guy. So let's give him a chance."
"Are you sure, Jaune? This could finally be your chance to use Origin's true power." Beel asked, trying to once again bring up Origin. "You said it was acting up, correct? It is likely because of how long you have already had it and didn't take any semblance for your use. Other than that I fail to see any reasons for it doing something so weird."
"I don't get it, really...I mean, it didn't react like this near Mr. Colt or my family, and they can have semblances!" Jaune said.
"Maybe it has to do with the amount?" Judgement guessed. "Mr. Colt had a useful, but minor semblance, not to mention he was but one old geezer. Maybe Origin is acting up because there were a lot of people with semblances in there."
"Maybe," Jaune said, looking down at his own palm. "I just...I still fail to wrap it around my head that I have such a power, you know? I feel overwhelmed by it. In Artorious's journal, it has been mentioned how he had to prove himself - to be worthy. What if I am not good enough?"
"No!" Lucifer said, grabbing his attention. "Do not dare put yourself down, Jaune, understand that? You have gone through the literal Hell and gathered an entire harem of demon women to be your spouses, even if it was not by your own choice. That no Arc has ever done before - conquering Hell and even getting its very Queen to surrender. You, Jaune, are more worthy than any of your past ancestors of that power." She was trying to reassure him, to maybe get him to have more pride in himself. And judging from his smile, it worked.
"Thanks, Lucy." He said, then he pulled her into a hug, the girl blushing at the sudden contact. "I needed that."
"Oh, well, I guess...you are welcomed?" Lucifer replied a bit flustered, then she heard the giggles of Beelzebub next to them.
"Such a heartwarming scene the snow might melt!" The Great Fly said.
"I agree." Judgement said. "Still, you don't need to use that semblance as long as I can train your body into top condition."
"But he has to at some point, right? It'll be a shame to let it waste." Beel said once again, appealing to the demonic interest of power. Lucifer and Judgement also caught on to her words, same with Jaune. "Look, Jaune, I will not force you or anything, but know that Artorious gave you that power, and his own soul was destroyed because of it. You at least have that debt to your ancestor."
"Out of all tricks, you play that one, Beelzebub-"
"She is right, Lucifer," Jaune said, catching the demon Queen off-guard for once. "I do not mean to take sides, but Beel has a point. I need to choose someone and take their semblance. However, I do not want to do it without their consent. If I do this, I want to take the semblance of someone who offers it to me willingly."
The demon known as Beelzebub sighed but then smiled warmly at him. This was their man, a goodie two shoes to the end unable to do something against another's will. The total opposite of them, demons. He was as pure as he could be.
"Only you, Jaune Arc." Beel said, then she cleared her throat. "Anyway, with that out of the way, let us go back to the mansion. There is much to do to prepare Jaune for Beacon academy and-"
"Wait! Jaune!" Everyone turned around suddenly as they heard Pyrrha's voice shout from behind, seeing the redhead running to them with a knee-length jacket around her, her armor underneath. She caught up to them, barely even panting. "You are leaving? Why not stay a while longer, my parents are throwing a celebration to commemorate my victory in the Selection"
Jaune thought about her request, but then he looked at the girls, all of them not giving a sign of disapproval or approval on the matter. "Sorry, Pyrrha, but I cannot come." He replied to her, trying to be nice. "It's not that I do not want to come, but I cannot waste any more time if I want to get into Beacon, you know. I need to be prepared, and I already lost some time I could've used to train by attending in the audience. I do not regret it one bit, but I hope you can understand. After all, I doubt you got this good without training." He reasoned with her and Pyrrha seemed to understand what he was trying to say.
She was sad, yes, that he won't be there, especially since she wanted to have his company for a while longer, but there was nothing she could do. She looked around at the other girls, especially Lucifer who was staying the closest to him. "I understand. Can I at least know where you live so I can come spar with you sometimes?" The three demons there perked hearing this, this being the first they heard about it.
"Sure," Jaune replied, then he looked at Beel.
"Oh! Sure, of course, it is! For a matter of fact, sweetheart, we'd be delighted to have you over and help Jaune train." She said, going over to Pyrrha. "Outhouse is north of Ansel, in the woods. Believe me, you cannot miss it! And even if you do, just message Jaune here your location and I will be there in the wink of an eye."
"Huh?" Pyrrha seemed confused. "But how?"
"My semblance of course!" Beel replied and demonstrated by opening a portal to their home, the mansion visible on the other side. Pyrrha's eyes widened seeing the large wooden mansion and the large fenced-off backyard behind it, thinking that Beelzebub must have been very well off to afford such a place. "I can open portals to various locations across Remnant granted I was there before." She said, half-lying to Pyrrha about her ability.
"Amazing...So, if I went through this portal now, I'd be at your home instantly?" She asked, her marvel not going down.
"But of course!" Beel said. "Granted, there's a limit to how many times I can do this and keep them open, so if you'd excuse us, we need to hurry on back."
"Oh, of course! It's no issue. I guess I will see you again soon, Jaune." Pyrrha said, looking at the blonde knight before her who simply gave her a warm smile as he and the girls turned to the portal.
"Bye, Pyrrha! Hope to see you soon!" He said, then the human and demons passed through the portal which then closed behind them, leaving a patch of melted snow behind below where the portal was floating. Pyrrha simply stood there, confused, amazed, and a bit sad to see him go. But she knew they'd see each other again, all she had to do was visit.
Something she planned on doing sooner than expected.
Another chapter done guys and gals! Hope you enjoyed the finale of the Selection, for Beacon is drawing closer by the day!
Discord link: /YmpUNmFvxw
Nerdy: Would anyone like to try sending in fanart? That would be as Justice says "awesome"!
And it'd be cool to see some of the scenes in here brought to visual form, especially Jaune's new look with the two swords on his back.
