Chapter 57 - Dragon King Mode
Act VI - Kingdom of Lies
"So, another sister betrays her own kind to fight for humans, with a human?" Adam spat, drawing his attention to Amber, the White Fang keeping their distance. Upon being announced the girl turned to the vicious leader of the terrorist group
"And you think this is what it takes to change things? This horrid plan to make them work for us? Yeah, I know how you think, I've seen how you attacked Beacon that night, so what, you think that destroying another safe haven for humanity is going to change how they feel? You're all blind, that's just going to make everyone suffer, then all it will take is the Grimm to finish us off." Amber argued back, seeing some men look at each other
"She's right, I may be human, but I've been scorned the day I showed up, people refuse to trust me, have tried to kill and imprison me countless times, I should fight back, make them suffer the same as I but that won't change anything, the cycle of violence would never end," Albatross added. "You may be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong."
"Enough!" Adam snapped the moment a bullet flew past their vision. They rushed each other, Adam thrusting his katana towards Albatross' body, yet he effortlessly dodged it, as Adam continued the violent offensive, whilst Albatross ducked or side-stepped to avoid each consecutive strike he tried to land. One did come close, Albatross flew back, allowing Adam's to strike at his chest but the mere centimeter it got between the katana blade, and Albatross' chest, Adam watched as his midnight sword blocked it, shoving his scarlet blade away, his eyes lingering before Adam prodded again, only for the blade to fly past Alba's head, making Adam shoot past him.
Alba took that point to aim for Adam's side, but Adam immediately sprung backward, guarding against Alba's rotating assault, each strike sparkling purple and red with each failed strike from each other. When Adam regained his footing he brought his sword in a horizontal arc with a twist of his foot, shaving Alba's tailcoat during a backflip. Upon straightening himself, he jumped up and over, slashing twice beneath his feet then plunged forward to close the gap between them, their swords screeching off one another.
Tailing Adam, the Faunus spun around, drawing his katana high to clash with Alba's, throwing Adam backward, his feet digging through the tiles. Inverting his hold his body flashed crimson, dispersing several specters that intercepted Alba, he ducked under the first, dividing it by the waist, the second was punched in the chest into the third, both skewered by his sword. Alba spun around them, dragging his blade behind him for a wide swing, decapitating the last the second Adam's real sword connected with his.
Locked, Alba pushed forward, drawing their blades to the ground where he spun right, kicking Adam across the side followed by a downward, overhead strike that Adam drew but from the ground up, both shaving one another's auras.
"No... I refuse to lose..." Adam spat, seeing Albatross stare at him with his calm but attentive stare that forced Adam to change his stance, holding his blade low to his side, grinding his teeth together. "To lose to a human!"
"Technically I'm a cyborg so do I really count?" Albatross raised his hand, yet his gloating did little more than antagonize the bull Faunus greater
In a flash, they lashed out, Alba bringing his sword down on Adam's head, to which Adam inverted his grip, dragging the sword up as it clashed with Alba's blade, skating the onyx face. The sharp ring and air pressure even forced some Faunus to cup their ears, allowing Ember the chance to knock them down. Alba continued his retaliation, drawing down, then left and right, followed by several rapier-style thrusts to break Adam's stance.
Alba caught the sight of Adam's now illuminated katana, hair highlights dipped with the same glow that produced several large arcs of red energy to block his attacks, the waves of light alone keeping Alba steady as the force buzzed like a chainsaw. Through the black cloud came the dark sword to graze Adam's cheek, a hand locked to his wrist as Alba headbutted him directly, dazing the Faunus long enough for Alba to sweep his feet and slam the fanatic into the earth.
This moment of weakness faded, Alba missing his strike that broke a number of tiles, forced to block with his right forearm, aura shimmering brightly so he kicked Adam afar, drawing his longsword with both hands into an Ochs stance.
Adam then struck from diagonally, then inverting his grip and bringing upwards to the right, then down the opposite direction, before copying the first swing, only towards the top right, blasting Alba with a red 'W', the last strike grazing tearing down his aura while Alba managed to gaze his side. Both tumbling back from each other's blows. Despite the lack of an aura, Albatross wasn't phased at all.
The smoke dispersed and neither relented, clashing in their spin, throwing another away, Alba pressed both feet to the edge of a small monument in the center, propelling toward Adam once more. Adam acted on reflex, redirecting Alba with his blade, his other hand pressed against the flat end of the blade to shove Alba aside, and if Adam could see it, Albatross may have cracked a smile as he spun his body around again sharply. Alba's sword guard struck the Faunus' cheek.
The eruption of air sent them back, each of their strikes like a blast of hot and cold air between contact. Now came the break in the battle, Amber setting down next to the wayward traveler whose gaze hadn't left Adam despite his missing aura.
"For the record, your score is slipping." Amber challenged, changing her magazine to electrical rounds with Albatross tapping his blade to his shoulder
"I get bonus points for edge-lord over there so don't count your chickens just yet." Albatross declared, noting Adam's second assault inbound. "Man, this guy won't quit, I like his style."
Inside behind one of the now crumbling ice walls, Iota slammed into Weiss, the two tumbling to the ground before Raven's Maiden, Vernal. Her crescent-shaped blade returning to her left hand casually. "Okay, it's official, this woman's a bitch." Iota spat, pulling Weiss up to her feet as she rubbed her neck
"On that, I agree," The ice-duo faced their foe, in the background, Oscar fought with Leo, the two going head-to-head rather intensely despite Oscar being green to combat still. "These walls are going to disappear soon."
"Then it's time to stop thinking for once," Iota cracked his knuckles, his own weapons expanding around just his palms. Two white gloves with light-blue Dust inserted into the backs of his palms, highlighting a line down the middle of his fingers to the circle in his palm. Ice-Breaker he calls them, giving him a more hands-on approach to combat. "She's mocking you for your heritage, so then, show her what that means when facing you."
Weiss paused for a moment, Vernal approaching with both weapons primed. "You know I can hear you, not very smart." At that, she saw Weiss' smile as she and Iota stood together, his hands crackling with ice, and her rapier poised sharply
"We know," Iota shrugged
"We just don't care." Weiss finished, several glyphs coming to life, a gold one under their feet as the clock slowly ticked faster
Vernal wouldn't let them finish, firing a solid beam between the duo as Weiss took to her glyphs, her enhanced speed and spring from each sigil kept her almost impossible to strike with her attacks. With the right she kept Iota from advancing, himself ducking a weaving between lines of plasma, firing his own solid blasts of ice, creating a mist on contact with the beam, obscuring her view of the white and blue personality.
Weiss' rapier plunged from above, missing the bandit who swung in retaliation, parried by a sudden upward thrust of Weiss' blade as it soon dipped into the earth, trapping them in another sigil that turned black, pulling at Vernal's feet for the second it was active, her weapons ripping the floor apart, freeing her to strike Weiss with numerous bursts from her crescent guns, keeping the Schnee on her toes as her elegant moves were further increased by her time-dilation sigil, though the strain to her body was beginning to show.
"All you can do is dodge!" Vernal growled, finally landing at his on Weiss, shattering her aura, but the heiress merely smirked wickedly
"And all you can do is attack without thinking, what a shame," Weiss dived back the massive wave of frost caking the ground, jutting from the remains of the ice wall to their right as spikes and chaotic shapes materialized, ensnaring her feet even as her weapons fought to melt the ice away, she failed to see Iota slide in from a purposefully carved slope, his fist completely crystallized in blue ice as the solid left hook creased Vernal's cheek, throwing her through the ice wall in a heap as Iota stumbled to a halt beside Weiss
"Don't think we're going to let you take the easy way out." He chuffed, crossing his arms as the walls came down. "Here," He helped Weiss to her feet though she struggled given the thrashing the two of them took. "I preferred it better when I was just monologuing in Kai's head."
"You get used to it," Weiss replied with a smile, blissfully unaware of her surroundings
"Nooooo!"
[Ruby's POV]
A few minutes prior...
Everything was going according to plan, sorta, executing it was the issue and we were struggling with these endless illusions of Emerald's. With Sky and Jaune busy with Cinder. Oscar with Lionheart. Ren, and Nora in a stalemate against that big guy just ahead of us, and Weiss fighting that girl with Iota we were stretched thin.
"What's the matter? Feeling tired already, you were more fun when you were running around without a weapon." Really? Last I checked it was Sky who kicked his butt last time
"Does he ever shut up?" I grumbled, seeing his smirk fade as he spun around again, firing several slugs in my direction, so I backflipped, flying high as roses to evade him but he merely gave chase with a few kicks, forcing me to lower the sight and strike with a circular stroke that he effortlessly dodged. His legs connected to my back, throwing me toward Yang who finally disarmed one of Emerald's chains, firing a series of slugs that knocked her against one of the ice walls.
"Hey, sis, you okay?"
"No," I clutched Crescent Rose, eyeing the finger that I knew held onto a silver ring. "Now I'm angry. Yang, Dragon Rider!"
"Alright!"
"Emerald, do it!" Mercury barked while we prepared ourselves for our ultimate sisterly move
"I know, Merc, shut it!" She shoved him aside, focusing on us as a new manifestation took root, this time it was multiples of themselves, all copying the same actions as the original. I gave a half-smirk, this would be annoying if not for a weakness Emerald had
It was herself.
Yang and I nodded, then zigzagged through the horde of copies with Mercury firing another flurry of compressed slugs our way, but our pattern kept him on the defense, pinpointing where he was through the crowd. So Yang spun on her knees, skating under his spin-kick, before jumping back to avoid his axe kick, Yang landed atop the edge of Crescent Rose as I propelled us up, launching Yang down at Mercury with a both her hands clenched together for a massive blast of fire and splinters.
The force dispersed the copies, uncovering Emerald who's blade was mere inches from my neck as her attack failed to touch me through the roses, then my own kick struck her back, seeing her eye the barrel of Crescent Rose as I winked, the high-caliber round ringing off her forehead with a halo of silver, shattering her aura while Mercury lay disorientated on the ground.
"I'm not done!" Emerald's chain snagged to my waist, pulling me from Crescent Rose as I felt my back crash into one of the walls, then down onto the floor where Emerald pinned me, tightening her bindings as her foot struck my stomach, exciting a gasp from my lips. "You stupid brat, you should have died like that useless pile of scrap!"
That drew a sharp pang to my chest, my muscles tensed under the chain while Yang only now realized my predicament. "Don't you dare..." With a flurry of red, my body wiggled and spun within the confines of the chain, shredding through the metal as my fist connected to her bicep, and I heard something 'crack' as it did. "Say that about Penny!"
"Damn, nice hit, sis!" Yang blinked at me while I panted, having overused my Semblance but it felt good to shut them up, huh, so that's what being really mad is like. "Don't worry, Merc isn't going anywhere." She poked her thumb at the now writhing idiot, one of his legs completely snapped. "Sky was right, it was fun to figure out how much pressure they can take."
The realization hit me, "Oh, that's right..." I couldn't help but feel something was wrong, even as we ran to aid Ren and Nora with the larger guy, though the three of them had yet to so much a fire a shot, locked in a stalemate. "Sky, I hope you're okay..."
[Sky's POV]
"Duck!" I sent a flurry of ice shard to counter Cinder's constant attacks, it was almost impossible to press any advantage, she had gotten better than last time, and I won on sheer luck that I had some immunity to fire thanks to my Maiden blood, cheers for genetics. I brought my blades down, locking to hers as I saw the rips in her left arm's glove, a black skin clear as day. "Holy crap you've got a ghoul arm, blea." Cinder growled at my words, throwing me back with a fire aura
Jaune then took another kick to the stomach, tossing him before me as she poised her blade toward us with a callous chuckle. "I'm starting to remember you, you're the dense one that can't tell he's out of his league,"
"Coming from the bitch who steals power that's rich!" I was quick to jab, another several fireballs striking my body to protect Jaune as he stood up bitterly
"Tell me, are you going to let them all die too?" That gained a rise from Jaune, tears finally broken from his eyes
"Stop messing with me!" I put my hand on his shoulder and pushed him back
"She's right, stand back for a moment bud," My armor soon collapsed, revealing my smile and furious fire in my pupils. "Things are about to get heated."
"Be careful," Never a doubt about it
"So, I've had some experience myself since Beacon, with my fire that is," I began, opening and closing my hands. "Why I was so much strong when bathed in flames, how they kept me safe, felt warmer than most, turns out I got the blood of one of the first Maidens, who knew, right?" From Cinder's dumbfounded expression she did not
"Don't lie to-"
"-So," I interrupted; Heat building in my heart, rising and falling in tandem with my breath. "Let me show you what I've learned in all the fights I've had to win to get this far!"
"Hmph," Cinder's blade burst from its shell, fixing itself with a bright flames forged into the shape of a blade, from the tip a massive wall of flames stretched like an open maw, clamping down around me in a second despite Jaune's frozen face, his eyes unable to watch under the intensity of the fire
The agony across my body was only brief, I... couldn't feel anything as if the flames burning my whole being weren't there to begin with. Thinking back to that night, seeing Pyrrha, broken and defeated, now paralyzed from the waist down, Penny, shredded and forced to reclaim her memories from nothing, Yang losing her arm and her spirit, Blake running away out of guilt, Weiss forced to just conform to her family's wishes, Jaune's grief over failing to protect Pyrrha, Nora and Ren watching their friend torment himself, Erika having to endure watching me suffer without control, Eric... everything he did for me, it cost him so much. All of it made my skin crawl, my heartbeat race with so many emotions that I couldn't control them. This pain, I'll bear it all for them.
"I told you, I will decide when this ends, not you!" I snarled, smashing my fist into the floor, the flames ebbed and weaved to my skin, burning away the pain. Cinder was startled that I wasn't dead yet, good, about time she lost that grin.
I was now beginning to consume the flames now coating my body, acting as a fiery cloth, my eyes glowing from the sheen on my hands, my fingernails sharpened, whilst I felt my ears heightened to every creak around my body. Then I felt my canines grow longer, scales slowly took form across my arms, I could feel them across the sides of my face, even my now nearly exposed chest.
I now glared directly at Cinder, Jaune was smiling, ready with his sword as the flames rose and fell with every breath I took, the disdain in her eyes was sweet. I balled my fists uptight, flames circulating my right arm first like a dance. "Time to fight fire with fire, call this-"
-~Form VI - Dragon King Mode~-
Without delay, I felt the inhumane roar tear through my throat, rattling the air around us before I launched my body in a blinding flash of fire, my fist pulled back as I glared down at Cinder, who raised her curved blade to block me, her left hand trying to manipulate the flames in a struggle, but I didn't even shudder.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Without restraint, my fist dispersed the sword connecting my knuckle to the ridges of the witch's face, throwing her through into another hallway. "Come on, Jaune!" I gave chase, several knives slicing against my aura but I didn't relent, drawing my left hook to shatter the ceiling above with a torrent of flames
Cinder landed on her feet with a furious expression, another two curved blades forming in her hands, with one digging into the floor with bubbling fury. I propelled from a wall, knee bent as my leg connected with her swords, banishing me backward, then Jaune swept through the wall, grazing Cinder's hair then he hopped back before she could strike, my hand catching her sword.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" I belted out, lunging like a harpoon to her gut, the ground under her erupting into black glass to intercept my freight train attack that never eased, headbutting her down the hallway as I puffed out my cheeks, inhaling the roaring embers to a singular point.
"No, you - get lost you waste!" Cinder snarled, having lost her concentration due to Jaune's interference though his chestplate took a hit directly, searing the white paint once he was tossed down before me. "You think you actually have a chance against me!?" That flame around her eye intensified, shoving her foot against Jaune's chest. "You!? You're nothing but a failure with a death wish."
"No, but if being thrashed around means buying them time, it's worth it." Jaune... my flames grew hotter, reaching a breaking point in my gut, I had to aim this perfectly, he just has to keep her steady. Thankfully, his hand clasped to her ankle. "So go on, kill me, but you'll never win, and that'll be enough for me."
"Fire Dragon's-!" Finally, Cinder realized why I hadn't moved, her eye wide with horror. "ROAR!"
A whirlwind of hellfire spurt from my lips, incinerating the hallway and leaving Jaune intact as the condensed torrent slammed into the witch, blasting her through the wall and back into where the others continued to battle. It wouldn't kill her but I'll be damned if the force alone didn't leave her reeling. Coughing a little and seeing I had depleted a number of my Fire Dust crystals I quickly ran to Jaune, himself unscathed and holding up a hand.
"You okay?" I pulled him up, grabbing his blade for him as we approached the hole, seeing that the walls were almost gone and that Cinder was back up and holding... a spear? Okay, then, whatever floats her boat
"Yeah, t-thanks, Sky," He grinned, picking up his sword from me as he took the lead. "Let's go, we can't let her get the drop on the others."
"Right!" Without a moment to lose, we gave chase, but Cinder was already planning something but what?
"I did not spend millenniums planning just to have everything be corrected."
My heartbeat struck once, booming as I slowed my pursuit with Jaune, clutching my chest a moment later. N-no... it can't be, i-it was just my head, I'm-
"As they say, 'Eye for an eye'."
"Nooooo!" Jaune's voice traveled not a moment later
That hesitance cost me again. I approach just as the last of the ice disappeared, revealing what had Jaune stricken with horror.
"K-Kai...?" Iota eyes looked pained, even scared at my sight. "I... don't feel this is supposed to be here."
Iota grunted, ice smearing the flames on his side as blood seeped into the ice, just ahead of him, Weiss fell to the ground, herself having been pierced by the spear also through her right side. I could see it, the wound cremating slightly, the blood that fell staining their clothing.
"Iota, Weiss!" Jaune ran past the others, all viewing this horror as if it were a nightmare, he slid down next to them, Iota managing to keep himself stable with his ice but Weiss wasn't responding to Jaune, even as he tried to stop the bleeding
I completely zoned out, even as the others rushed to aid the two, with Yang and Nora keeping watch over Mercury and Emerald I just... blanked. It was happening again, I, I wasn't strong enough to... no... no-no-no...
"OZPIN!" The large man broke my silence, seeing him staring furiously down at Oscar, the boy slowing standing back with Ruby. Even Raven and Qrow, who appeared from their bird forms, clearly from fighting on the roof stood to see what happened. "You thought you could hide from me!?"
Then he... started to tear is trenchcoat off? But his hands stuffed themselves into his pitches, clutching large Earth Dust crystals, raising them high. "You'll pay for what you did! You'll die over and over again!" Then he injected them into his biceps, his muscle mass increasing with a Hulk-like roar.
"What the - where did Cinder go!?" Ruby gaped, the statue at the centerpiece of the staircase having turned into a large elevator shaft. The Relic, they-
"Mom's gone too, so is the Maiden!" Yang added, but I was slowly starting to lose control, something else bubbling alongside my flames, inky and distorted
"Oh, let's make this fair, shall we?"
His voice rattled in my head, further degrading my sense of control as the air thickened with a stench of etheral energy, dry and acrid. In the air above us, white cracks stretched, splitting the skyline with an unearthly presence. Then the sky bled, dark blobs splashing to the floor, manifesting into these dark, humanoid creatures, faces like jack o' lanterns, eyes, and maws glowing white as they let out feral screams.
"Dammit, they're blocking our way to the elevator!" Yang loaded Ember Celica, then Ruby took note of me, scratching my neck painfully
"Sky?" I'll make them pay, Cinder... Charron
"Graaaaah!" My body soared with a black flame overtaking the orange and yellow. My knee crashed into the first of these... Jackels, reducing it to dust as more swarmed me. "BlackDragon's Wing Attack!" The black flames encompassed my arms, fanning out to incinerate the horde as more clawed their way at my scales and another kicked me so I grabbed its leg, pulling it forward into my fist, shattering its skull
"Black Dragon's Claw!" I felt the right side of my face crawl with a cold, leathery skin but that didn't stop me from sinking my flaming digits through several of the Jackels, tearing them apart while my left backhanded another. More kept appearing, even as the cracks started to fade. "Black Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The blackish-purple mass pulled at the Jackels standing around me, but by then I cast the blast at my feet, consuming us in a nova of cursed flames, atomizing the swarm with a heavy breath
"S-Sky...?" My heart skipped a beat at the voice, making my gaze slowly turn behind me. My eyes slowly cooled a little at her frightened gaze, the black flames dying with the desire to lose all sense of control, that skin crumbling also. "Please... tell me that's you, that... you're ok?"
"*Inhale* *Exhale*..." I slowly let a smile creep onto my lips as I wiped a few stray tears from my dry eyes. "Yeah... I'm here, Rubes."
Holding out my fist I lightly tapped her shoulder, then the cries of the Jackels drew our gaze, Yang forced to keep guard over Cinder's duo even with them tied up. "Sorry, you've been kept on guard duty."
With a heavy breath, Yang waved. "It's... fine, gives me time to catch my breath, just keep the others safe." To emphasize her foot promptly kicked Mercury back onto his stomach with a groan. I nodded, looking to Ruby for confirmation
"Ruby, can you handle these guys while I help the others with big, tall, and bulky over there?" Upon seeing the guy tossing Qrow and Oscar like used tissues across the hall, then there was Nora who did her best to hold back the Jackels. Ruby glanced back at me with a stern expression
"Go," A smile. "Leave this to me and Nora," I wouldn't have it any other way
Prepping my body, I clutching some Dust crystals myself, crushing them in my hands to infuse it to my preexisting flames, the temperature rising with my heartbeat. Iota looked almost back on his own feet, and Jaune... whatever he was doing with Weiss looked to be working so right now defending them and taking down this brute is our top priority.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" As I drew closer my fist connected to the man's shoulder, causing him to stumble as Oscar rose to his feet
"Thank you, Mr. Zaffre," Ozpin's back? He didn't look happy. "I am sorry, both to you to Oscar as I had to forcibly take control and for my absence."
"Apologies later, Oz, right now... whoever this guy is, is our main concern," Said person looked to be fuming at the arrival of Ozpin himself
"Oooozzzzpppiiiinnnn!" Okay, he's crazy
"His name is Hazel, to be brief he blames me for the death of his sister who died when on a training mission, Oscar tried to reason with me about the situation but given all the malice Hazel carries for me I did not wish for him to be injured because of my failure to admit the truth to all of you, however painful it may be." Damn, he really was mulling over all this since I revealed the truth.
"Again, worry later," Hazel lunged at that second, fist causing the ground to tremble as I hopped back, drawing both fists back as Hazel lunged with his hands, trying to grab Ozpin, his third attempt he merely shattered the wooden support behind Oz while he swiveled around. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
The twin cyclones caught Hazel, blowing him back while I guarded against the punch soaring through the flames, slamming me into the ground before I rolled, evading the boot that indented the floor. I threw a few flames to blind him so I could scramble to my feet, the black cane snapping across Hazel's face a second later, disorientating him.
I nearly got taken out from behind but Qrow swept in, parrying the boulder sent by Leo. He gave me a look then ran to attack, keeping the Headmaster out of the fight for us. Hazel approached Ozpin, slamming his foot down while the cane swiped at his arm, Ozpin propelling back to strike at his nape, rolling and turning to evade a wide swing, then another with a backflip, both my hands gathering a large fiery blast pinned for Hazel's face, scorching his features.
Ozpin jumped, bouncing off his chest and over toward the steps while an arm backhanded me toward one of the pillars. I watched him give chase, Ozpin baiting a fist to the ground, then using the walls along the staircase as pivot points to lunge higher than Hazel's reach, flipping over a punch and onto the steps, performing a spinning strike then dozens of thrusts with the tip of the cane into the man's chest.
I swooped in from above, leg brought forward in a horizontal strike to the chin, forcing Hazel to stumble into a backswing from Oz to his knees, bringing the beast down for me. "Flame Elbow!" The solid bone seared his cheek, throwing him far enough away for us to catch out breaths, but that didn't so much as phase him at all. "Oz, duh fuck!?" I threw my hand toward Hazel
"He can nullify pain, it's how he's able to inject so much Dust into his body." That's just unfair- "Look out!"
I then gasped at the sudden impact across my side, Hazel having charged in, his enhanced body pumping with dust crystals as he grabbed my head, throwing another fist into my exposed chest before he threw me away. But as I tumbled, I dragged my claws through the ground, lunging back with Ren joining me, firing a hail or emerald rounds into Hazel's back, sliding between his legs to avoid his arms, slashing at the man's ankles
"Fire Dragon's Fist!" I then unleashed a flurry of blazing fists into his bare arms, nudging him back with every strike. "I heard about your sister! If she was at Beacon then she made a choice like anyone else, why are you blaming Oz for something he had no control over!?"
"You would do everything in your power to avenge your sister, no matter the reasons if there was a man with their blood on their hands you would hunt them down," Hazel explained evenly while snatching both my fists, pushing his weight atop me, my feet digging into the floor as I gulped painfully, pushing back with flames bursting from my elbows, even as Ren attempted to elevate the strain by firing at Hazel's legs. "I will do what I must to avenge her for what Ozpin had done!"
"So, you'd kill my sisters, my family to do that!?" I belted him across the face, leaping atop his belt to drive my elbows into his skull the second he punched me off and we locked again, breaking the floor under us. "You'd end innocent lives, take parents from children, brothers, and sisters... that won't bring her back, you'll only make others suffer just as you have!"
"If I lost Erika... or Weiss one day to someone, I'd want nothing more than to kill the bastard that did it, even if it won't make things right, but I won't drag others into it, kill innocence just to get closer to that person," My pupils dialed, finally holding my ground. "I'll keep moving forward, to a better future, not one where your fucking God destroys the human race!" I screamed, shoving him off with a headbutt, followed by a gut punch
"You can't win..." Hazel argued against me, towering over me in size. Then, I screamed at the top of my lungs, sounding almost like a dragon. "You lost."
"Fire Dragon's Secret Art-" I kept on the defense, evading his arms as mine swam in a sea of flames. "-Flame Lotus, Exploding, Flame Blade!" Within a few moments of him speaking, Hazel was consumed by my hurricane from hell, throwing him atop the circle the elevator vanished under, leaving him dazed for a while, my breath reeking of brimstone with each lungful. "And stay down, Ren, Oz, you good?"
"We've been better," Ren clutched his stomach, trying to stand straight with Ozpin resting his hands atop his cane, panting
"Hazel will not be down for long, thankfully, Miss Rose has those creatures of Charron's under control," That was true, she and Nora were clearing what remained, seems that rift of Charron's was temporary but it did serve in getting Raven and the others into the Vault of the Relic. "However, I fear the worst is yet to come."
"I feel it too, something has seemed off since that rift appeared." If Ren sensed it too then it was only a matter of 'when'-
We all dispersed at Hazel's impact, his hands grabbing me and Ren, smashing us together before blasting us both with a bolt of lightning, tossing us afar while Ozpin lunged in. We couldn't move, the paralyzing effects keeping us rooted whilst Ozpin was kept on the defense. Hazel struck right, forcing Ozpin left and into the waiting left cross, he threw himself back, evading two ground smashes then both hands rattling the earth, throwing him off balance, then came a fire blast from Leo, striking his left shoulder.
"Crap, come on..." I tried to move, but my fatigue was starting to become evident, my flames had died out from that initial strike, and Ren's aura was down, even as he attempted to raise his weapon. "Just rest, Ren, you can't... keep fighting."
"Neither... can you." He made a valid point
"Then allow me," Iota! "In the mental flesh, Penny's been keeping everyone's vital signs and aura on alert, we're winning but if this fight continues we'll lose due to fatigue." So not just me, "Take mine, I don't need it."
Just then, Qrow was put out of commission, taking a hit for Oz that sent him spiraling into the balconies above. With a shimmer of white energy, my stamina felt anew. Drawing one of my condensed canisters with a flick of my fingers, I hesitated, then crushed the tube, an almost unstable rush of Dust infusing into my body, increasing my flames tenfold.
Ozpin stumbled back, attempting to keep Leo's attacks at bay while narrowly evading Hazel with every inch closer the pair got until one fist finally connected, throwing Oz to the floor. "Hiding behind the face of a child, a monster like you must be stopped!" Kettle calling pot black anyone?
"Nora!" I saw her rush over, looking to me. "If he can't feel pain then let's see how long his threshold can last!" That manic grin stretched over her cheeks, buying time to channel my fire into my right arm only, black tattoos stretching across my skin, the flames turning a darker orange, a hint of red building within
I stood in silence as Nora took a hit, being pinned so that her Semblance sapped away at Hazel's own power, pink bolts snapping from her muscles. Hazel stumbled, her hands prying his off her hair, tossing him aside as she kicked her hammer into her waiting hands. "We don't need you to hurt..." Her head wobbled, eyes wide with irate anger over the damage he's caused, myself joining her from the side. "We just need him to. GO. DOWN!"
Nora's now exhausted state, she swung her hammer in a massive horizontal arc. I drew my fist forward, the flames flickering into the form of a dragon. "Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist!" An infusion of lightning and fire struck Hazel in the stomach, a halo of pink and dark orange erupting from Hazel as his body broke the sound barrier, demolishing a segment of the entrance, half the wall brought down top Hazel.
"Home Run!" I chanted, blowing out the flames on my fingers, then I fell to my knees, my Dragon King form having ran its course, leaving me utterly exhausted as Ruby caught me from face-planting. "Hehehe, I'm... fine, just a little winded."
If this wasn't the end, then we may very well pray to Luck itself because we were all exhausted, and with Hazel seemingly unharmed by Nora's attack, our luck was running on a thin wire that we had no control over how much longer it would last.
"A pleasant performance, your skills have improved since we last spoke." No way... I clutched Ruby tighter, herself pulling me to stand as a figure no one had seen before stood at the doorway, arms behind his back. The very sight made my insides turn, blood beginning to boil far more than witnessing Weiss' near-fatal injury
Lanky yet toned. The right-hand side complete black with webbings of purplish-white light emanated from the cracks, leading toward a blank face with a pair of green eyes. While the right was jagged, misshapen, the left was elegant, a faint radiance of gold over white skin. The hair meshed with both colors, short but wild, and with a perfect crack down the middle of the face.
"What is that?" Ruby practically trembled at her own words
"That's him..." I almost couldn't bear to say it. "That's Charron."
His eyes looked lazy, but twitched at the name, raising a hand over to us. "Let's settle this, Kai."
To Be Continued...
Bloody hell, there's still two more acts to this alone with all the content to fill in, hopefully just two more. Charron has arrived, sorta, and as for the fights I did my best to fix and or improve this part of Volume 5, sorry if it didn't turn out correctly. Still, hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Haven No More Act 3 - Rose At Midnight
Charron has appeared with some harrowing developments of his own, even with the White Fang now under control, the threats the team faces tonight are far from over.