Chapter-9
Sigurd
"So, you're Sigurd, the dragon slayer?" Cú asked as he walked alongside Sigurd. "Yes, that is me."
"Neat. It sucks that it isn't a holy grail war, otherwise I would have loved to go up against the King of Warriors to see which among Scandinavia and Ireland had the stronger hero. But oh well, it'll still be fun fighting alongside you."
"What brings you here?" Sigurd asked in curiosity.
Cú shrugged. "Well, after I was summoned by the grail, I was bummed to find out this wasn't a holy grail war. Plus, it was a different world so I had no idea where to go. I ran into some of those phantasmals called grimm and then I fought this dragon lady who I guess was from the east. She was causing trouble in those towns so I took her down. After that, I've been travelling this kingdom's villages looking for any more servants causing trouble. So far, I've taken down two Assassins and a Berserker. While I was coming here, I spotted you fighting that Wendigo. You didn't seem like you were a troublemaker like those other servants so I decided to lend you a hand.
"Thank you for that." Sigurd spoke.
"Speaking of which, what's your story?"
"Well, after I…" Sigurd spoke, narrating his journey as Cú whistled. "Teacher, eh? Good thing my teacher isn't here right now. I'm scared to think what she would have done to those poor kids."
Sigurd could imagine Jaune on his knees begging Scáthach to spare his life while RWBY and the others sat brutalized and exhausted. They were lucky they got him.
"Anyways, let's go to the Arc house. We'll discuss what to do from there."
"So, you failed?" John spoke. While Sigurd wouldn't say it was a total loss, the fact that he couldn't kill the Wendigo then and there was a blow to his warrior's pride.
"I did. That creature had a lot more than simple petrification and caught me off-guard many times." Sigurd spoke. A Wendigo shouldn't have given him this much trouble, but like the Trölls, it had gained abnormal abilities that gave it a chance of killing him. If Cú had not arrived, then Sigurd didn't know if he would have survived.
"More than…did that grimm have more abilities?"
"It was not a grimm." Sigurd corrected. While the Wendigo did resemble a Grimm, it was ultimately not one.
"Then, it was…"
"No, it wasn't a human. It was a monster, but not grimm."
John looked at him with skepticism. "How can a monster not be a grimm? That word is pretty much another name for the grimm."
"It is complicated, but there are creatures who are monsters but not grimm."
John still had a doubtful look on his face but shrugged. "Alright, so it's not a grimm. Then what is it?"
"A creature called a Wendigo. It consumes human flesh and lures humans by mimicking their voices. It is extremely fast and strong but shouldn't have the ability to turn people to stone or even penetrate my armor." Sigurd spoke, not mentioning the fact that those claws looked a lot like dragon fangs that could pierce his armor.
"And then…this guy saved you, Saber." John spoke looking at Cú, who was absentmindedly twirling his spear.
"Yep. I'm Lancer." He drawled as John looked back at Sigurd.
"He may be a bit rough around the edges, but he is a skilled warrior." Sigurd spoke.
"You sound like you know him from before."
"Well…I killed some wandering grimm with him and saw his skill."
"…Alright then. John Arc." He spoke walking to Cú. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. Hey, do you have some booze lying around?"
"No. No one in my house drinks alcohol."
"Really? Man, that sucks."
"Yes, but…actually, no. I'm not introducing you to him." John spoke. "But back to topic. If you know this creature, then you must be knowing its weakness."
Sigurd nodded. "It's heart. If you can impale its heart, it won't be able to regenerate its wounds and die. Which makes Lancer the perfect person for the task."
Cú grinned. "Yep, when I throw my spear, then it will always hit its target's heart." He spoke as John brightened up. "And that's the first piece of good news I've heard in a while. But then, why didn't you do it earlier?"
Cú's grin faltered. "Uh, excuse me." He spoke walking to Sigurd. "Hey, Saber, you know of the weakening of our powers, don't you?"
"Yes, I…I see." Sigurd spoke, realizing Cú's problem. While Sigurd can use Gram's power due to his mana levels being so high that a bit of reduction wouldn't be a problem other than that Gram's power would be reduced, Cú doesn't have that luxury. He did notice that casting those runes had made Cú sweat because his mana levels weren't as high and with the reduction were bordering on the level of abysmal. Using his noble phantasm in his current state would be akin to Arash's stella. If he used it, the grail wouldn't be able to maintain his existence on this world.
"John, Lancer has a condition that prevents him from being able to do what you want from him."
John slumped. "Let me guess…Lancer has some sort of semblance that has him always hit his target but he can't use it because its side effects are too much for him to handle?"
Cú nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that."
John sighed. "Then we need another solution. Saber, does the Wendigo prefer living dense forests?"
"Yes. It is a Stealth hunter that lures its prey into spots where their mobility is restricted. So, dense forests are its preferred habitat because of their ideal hunting conditions."
"Then we'll just have to remove that." John spoke. "If it has the advantage in the forest, we'll bring it out into open ground where we can surround it and kill it."
Sigurd nodded at that. This was the first time he'd suffered defeat since coming to this world. Looking back on it, he could see the mistakes he'd made. It had been so long since he faced a challenging opponent that he had abandoned his tactical approach, merely walking into the forest and trying to fight the creature without a pre-existing plan.
Fafnir wasn't beaten by him displaying immense skill with Gram. No, he beat Fafnir by going in with a prepared plan and executing it with precision. Now, with the strange Wendigo, he had to return to that tactical approach once again.
"If that is the case, then we shall first send Lancer. He is quick and should be able to keep away from the Wendigo. Lancer will anger the Wendigo and lure it out of the forest and into the open fields, where you, Qrow, me and a few other townspeople who can fight will be waiting. Then, we all will finish it off then and there. I will be going with it head-to-head, giving you the chance to bind it with ropes. Once it is immobile, we'll finish it off."
John put a finger to his chin. "That sounds great. Can you do your part of the job, Lancer?"
Cú nodded. "Yep! That bastard's fast, but I can keep him off my tail enough to bring him to you guys."
"Good. Sigurd, do you want help?"
"No. It is very dangerous for you and the others if you get close. Me and Lancer are the only ones right now who can fight the Wendigo for a long time. And just warn your people not to have direct eye contact with it at any point of time or else it'll turn them to stone."
"Very well. I'll call the others."
In Sauvage's town hall, John, Sigurd, Cú and Qrow stood in a room full of all the former huntsmen and huntresses. Sigurd and Cú stood beside John on the podium while Qrow at the front.
"Good morning, everyone." John spoke up. "You all are aware of the tragic passing of Shamrock Oak, who died from the wounds he gained from fighting the grimm he and his team were assigned to eliminate. As you have seen, a new huntsman has come up to take up the mission named Saber."
"Are you sure he won't end up like Sham, Arc?" One of the huntsmen spoke up.
"No. Saber has, in fact, encountered this grimm and managed to survive it, although failing to kill it. But with that, he and I have formulated a plan to finally kill the creature."
John stepped back as Sigurd came up. "Greetings, people of Sauvage. This creature, called the Wendigo, can regenerate from its wounds to anywhere on its body except its heart. If you can pierce the Wendigo's heart, then it will die. That is the goal for this mission. Lancer here will go into the forest and lure the Wendigo out into open fields. Me, John and some of you will be waiting there. I will start fighting the Wendigo and while I'm doing that, your job is to bind it with rope and hold it down, giving enough time for us to kill it. Those who are not selected will guard the town in case the Wendigo tries to head there. You all and Lancer will then hold off the Wendigo till me, John and our group arrive. Any questions?"
"What about the people?" Qrow asked.
"We will escort them to bunkers below their houses right before Lancer heads out."
"Any more questions?" John asked.
"A-Are you sure this is going to work? I mean…Team SOLR was an A rank team and they got butchered by that thing."
John sighed. "We can't ignore the Wendigo. For now, its staying in the forests. What if it decides to come here for your families? What if it kills your children because you allowed it to live?"
The entire hall was silent.
"This Wendigo is perhaps the most dangerous thing that has ever come to Sauvage in its history since the Great War. But if we can work together, we can take it down. Saber and Lancer have given us the golden opportunity to avenge Team SOLR!"
Excited muttering erupted in the crowd.
"Sham and his team were huntsmen like us! They were our brothers and sisters as much as the people of this town are! We'll pay that bastard back for spilling the blood of huntsmen and huntresses!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's do it!"
"That thing must die!"
"So I ask you, DO YOU WANT TO AVENGE TEAM SOLR?!"
"YES!"
"DO YOU?!"
"YES!"
"Good response! Ready your weapons, because tomorrow we're going on a Wendigo hunt!"
The crowd erupted into cheers as Sigurd looked at John impressed. He could see why was John was the unofficial leader of Sauvage.
"Well damn, that was a pretty nice speech, buddy." Cú spoke. "I wished I had that kind of motivational speech from my teacher instead of a brutal beatdown."
Sigurd tuned out John's retort and looked at the cheering crowd. They were definitely ready for killing the Wendigo. If all things went well, then tomorrow his mission will be over.
"Show me those glowy things, mr. blue!" Sapphire exclaimed bouncing up and down. She'd come to see Cú and had fallen in love with his ability to inscribe runes.
"That's enough, lass." Cú spoke chuckling. "There's a limit to how much I can inscribe. You should go ask Saber over there. He can do those symbols as well, but not as good as me."
Sigurd raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you, an Irish demigod, can make better runes than me, a descendant of Odin?"
"Pah, just because you're related to the guy who made the Primordial runes doesn't mean you're the best at it."
"But you admitted that I was better some time back."
"What's a demigod, Saber? And who's Odeen?" Sapphire asked as Sigurd and Cú realized they were talking about this in front of her.
Sigurd looked at Cú who shrugged. "You created this mess by opening your big mouth. Now sort it out yourself."
Sigurd coughed. "Well, Sapphire, a demigod is a person with…superpowers. They can do all sorts of fantastic things with their powers."
"So they're like a huntsman?"
Cú chuckled. "Oh, demigods are even better than huntsmen. They don't need those fancy weapons to take on a grimm. They can do it with their bare hands."
"Ooh, can you do that?"
"Well, I can rip an ursa apart with my bare hands." Sigurd spoke. Even weakened, such a feat was not beyond him.
"Awesome! So how do I become one?"
Cú burst into laughter. "You can't, lassie. It's not possible for you to become a demigod."
Sapphire pouted. "Why not?"
"Well, because you must be born to special people to be able to be one. And as far as I'm concerned, there's no special person by the name of John."
"Hey! Daddy's the best huntsman there is! Except for me."
Sigurd raised an eyebrow. "You want to follow in your father's footsteps?"
"Of course! I want to beat up more grimm than daddy and Violet!"
"What about Jaune?"
"Jaune? He's good, but he'll never reach my level!" She boasted. "He'll be making amazing food for me to eat, because he's the best big brother ever!"
"Well, do you know he's in Beacon?"
Sapphire's jaw dropped. "…JAUNE IS IN BEACON?!" She screamed.
"Yes, and one of my students."
"But he's so skinny! How is he living among future huntsmen?"
"He's managing. He's skinny but smart and is making improvements."
Sapphire grinned. "I'm still small. But when I get big, I'll go to Beacon too."
"Yeah, but first you have to get to this rune here." Cú spoke inscribing another rune.
"It's the S! Come on!" Sapphire spoke jumping to try and catch the rune. Sigurd sat back. Hearing Sapphire's declaration further strengthened his resolve to bring down the Wendigo. If creatures like these threatened Remnant, then innocent children like Sapphire would never achieve their dreams. Hence, he was going to make sure that monster died tomorrow, no matter what.
That is what his duty is as a heroic spirit.
The next morning, John stood wishing his family goodbye as Sigurd, Qrow and Cú waited for him. He was wearing steel armor, a shield, a basic sword and a revolver to compensate for Jaune taking his equipment.
"Come back safely, Honey…" Carmine spoke as John nodded. "I will." He spoke before hugging his daughters.
"Be good girls while I'm gone and don't go out of the bunker." He ordered them. "Especially you, Violet."
Violet frowned but nodded. "Very well, father."
"Bye daddy! Good luck on the mission!" Sapphire spoke as John smiled. "Thanks, sweetie."
After that, the four headed to the gate where their group stood.
"Good luck, Mr. Arc." The guards told John as he nodded in acknowledgement before they headed to the open fields behind Sauvage.
One they reached the position, their group pulled out ropes and readied their weapons.
Sigurd nodded to Cú who exhaled.
"Alrighty. You better not mess it up after all the work I'm doing." Cú spoke before heading into the woods.
Cú ran through the woods, dodging beowolves that tried to pounce on him and skewering those that he couldn't get around.
"Now where is that bastard?" He spoke.
"Kenaz." He chanted to enhance his eyesight before standing still. Sooner or later, that Wendigo will come to get him. He even made no attempts to hide his aura.
Soon, a woman's scream sounded.
"There." He spoke running cautiously to the direction it came from. Continuing to run, his enhanced eyesight spotted the beast lurking in the bushes, waiting for him to come.
It shrieked in a woman's voice as Cú smirked before aiming Gáe Bolg at it. The beast sprang out of the bushes as Gáe Bolg sailed past it and started running towards Cú. Cú called his spear back and started running to where Sigurd had marked his location with a rune.
He heard a shriek behind him and dodged the Wendigo's claws swiping where his neck had been.
"Come on! You'll have to work harder to get me!" He taunted before jumping to dodge another swipe.
He looked back and noticed the Wendigo slowing its pace. He narrowed his eyes before stopping and thrusting his spear at it to land a cut. The Wendigo shrieked in rage before continuing the chase.
After minutes of being chased and landing minor cuts to keep the Wendigo on his tail, Cú noticed the telltale signs of the clearing approaching.
"Alright, Saber! It's all you now!" He yelled before bursting out of the forest.
Sigurd noticed a familiar blue Lancer come out of the forest with the Wendigo pursuing him.
"Get Ready! It's coming!" He yelled to John and the others who nodded. Once the Wendigo came close enough, Sigurd punched his daggers at it. The Daggers sank into the Wendigo's chest who stumbled back as Sigurd charged forward with Gram pointed at its heart. Sigurd saw the Wendigo's eyes glow and quickly looked away to avoid being petrified. Gram slammed against the Wendigo's claws and knocked them away. The Wendigo stepped back to avoid Sigurd's following attack which made a deep cut on its chest. Sigurd noticed the people had surrounded it. But right now wasn't the time.
The Wendigo screamed and leapt at him.
"Algiz!" It slammed into an invisible shield.
"Uruz!" Sigurd spoke as he reinforced his body before removing the shield and landing a devastating blow on the Wendigo's head.
"Now!" He yelled as the people threw ropes reinforced with a rune to bind the Wendigo. It struggled against its bindings, but there were enough people to keep it still.
Sigurd looked at Cú. "Well?"
Cú snorted. "Hey, you're the one who's supposed to take it down. I think you should do the honors."
Sigurd nodded before walking upto the screaming creature. He silently raised Gram to separate the Wendigo's head from its body.
But before he could bring it down, the Wendigo let out a scream that reverberated through the field. Sigurd noticed the temperature drop around him as his breath turned frosty. The sky darkened and he noticed storm clouds.
Sigurd's eyes widened. "RUN!" He yelled jumping back before lightning struck the field. The shockwave knocked all the people away with a few unlucky ones getting hit and sustaining severe burns.
"Shit!" John cursed as he got down to healing the ones who got hit while Sigurd looked at the Wendigo which stood with lightning crackling across its body while the air froze into snowflakes around it.
"What the?! What did it do?!" John yelled.
"I'm a fool." Sigurd spoke as his crystallized wisdom told him the situation.
If angered enough, a Wendigo can distort the weather and create a thunderstorm under freezing temperatures. Only Wendigos that have lived for a long time have this ability.
"It can control the weather." Sigurd spoke.
"Huh? Just what is this thing? It's smarter than a grimm, can kill experienced huntsman, and now has some sort of bullshit powers like the maidens from folklore?!"
"I-It's so cold…" One of the men shivered as frost started accumulating on their clothes.
"Kenaz!" Sigurd chanted as the rune produced a flame to warm the people before looking to where the Wendigo is…
…Or was, as the Wendigo was running towards a certain direction.
"Did it just…?" John spoke.
"If the prey puts up too much resistance, it will abandon it and search for weaker prey. It's most likely headed somewhere in that direction." Sigurd spoke as John stared at the fleeing beast before turning white as a ghost.
"Nonononono…" He spoke in panic as Sigurd put a hand on his shoulder. "John?"
"Let go of me! I need to go!" He yelled as Sigurd felt something was about to go horrible.
"Why?"
"My house is that way!" He snapped as Sigurd froze. If it was going to the Arc estate, then…
"It's going to kill my family!"
A/N: Sorry for not uploading on Sunday. My school has this system of conducting exams just after it reopens from the summer holidays and I did not have enough time to finish this chapter. I'll also not be uploading tomorrow and day after tomorrow because I have a shit ton of school work to do. I'll have a lot more freedom next weekend.
Anyways, next is the last chapter of this arc, after which I'll be starting the Black and White arc.
Also, to those wondering, Sauvage is described as a land between the human and faerie lands where Ector lived and raised Arthur. It's taken from T.H. White's 'The Once and Future King'. I chose the town to be named as such due to Jaune being inspired from King Arthur. My original plan was to put the name of Jaune's hometown as Domremy for obvious reasons, but I liked Sauvage more because of its interesting lore.
Response to reviews:
Maglad: I am very well aware of the FGO franchise and am an FGO player myself. I chose Cu because I like him a lot and wanted to give him some badass scenes he needed. Scathach is great, but I have other plans for her. As for more non-anime characters, that depends. I'm not going on the choice of using servants based on whether they're in a Fate anime or not. So it all depends whether the servants I pick would fit for the arc.
Primus1661: Oh, Jaune is primarily inspired from Joan of Arc. Someone with the name 'arc' who has extremely little experience with combat yet chooses to follow the path of a warrior. But his secondary inspiration is King Arthur. Jaune looking at the life of a huntsman to be like a knight's and striving to be the ideal knight and an ideal leader just like Arthur. About the Cu part, I'll not be divulging information about that. It will be explained in later chapters.