I see that Watts' survival in the last chapter has gotten some attention there in the reviews. Same thing goes for how OP the antagonists are compared to the 'good' side. Well, not to worry, both issues will be addressed in good time within the fic itself.
That said, regarding how the latter half of the Watts/JNPR fight played out, the reason why Jaune being able to crack Watts' virtual space sort of ceased to be a thing is because by that point, Watts was keeping the size of his virtual space as small as he could afford to avoid giving Jaune that opportunity to crack it and harm him from afar whilst keeping it just large enough for him to be able to milk it for what it was worth at that time. A very delicate balance he was trying to keep and that is entirely my fault – I should've done a better job displaying that.
As for him escaping in and of itself, do keep in mind that as powerful as Jaune is still becoming, he's not a be-all/end-all OP character. He may be absurdly strong by this fic's standards, but he's not invincible and he's not exactly overcoming every obstacle in his path with effortless motions. He's still very much struggling to get things done and combined with trying to ensure his team stays alive and making sure any other problems that come up are dealt with, he can't just fully commit to one task. This may sound like an excuse, but still I thought it was worth mentioning as a way of explanation.
Now, for the main antagonists being as OP as they are, well, same as Jaune, they're certainly much more powerful than in canon but they're far from invincible and nowhere near powerful enough to effortlessly crush their opposition… well, except Hazel as he is now, really, but that is also something that'll be addressed in due time. In any case, they're as strong as they are because, being antagonists, playing fair in any form simply isn't in the cards plus from an overall perspective, they're heavily outnumbered by the manpower the likes of James and Ozpin can call upon, so this is honestly to try keeping things a bit balance in a way.
So… yeah. Hope that clears up any confusions/worries/etc.
Anyways, wow, hard to believe this is the 50th chapter! Doesn't feel like it was even that long ago since I started this fic, but time is always flying by at greater speeds, it feels like.
Now, without further ado, time for the chapter.
P.S. The new GG Strive trailer with Leo and Nagoriyuki is freakin' amazing!
Chapter 50
Salem hummed and shuddered from where she was. Just a moment ago, she'd sensed the birth of a great and terrible power – the rebirth of one Hazel Rainart.
She recalled when she'd first met the man, when he'd strolled out into her territories for seemingly no other reason than to bring his life to an end through constant combat against the innumerable Grimm that walked these lands. Even back then, she'd sensed his considerable power, which was truly abnormal by the standards of this second version of humanity and had known then and there he'd serve her well as a trump card of sorts. This had been a flash of intuition back then that had only been reinforced each and every time he'd ever injected Dust into himself and that feeling had been stronger than ever when she'd detected those changes about him not so long ago.
And now it would seem that, in his growing misanthropy, he'd decided to finally be done with humanity entirely and become something else entirely. It'd been quite a surprise for him to so swiftly cast aside his dwindling humanity like that, but it'd been a pleasant surprise.
The thing about magic is that, for all the limitations that existed on it, it was ultimately a more malleable type of power compared to aura in her opinion. One can only manipulate their own aura and in a very limited number of ways, with semblances manifesting and taking on a form that best expresses a person's mindset or beliefs, their truest selves. And while it was possible for semblances to grow stronger and even evolve, it was really only in minor ways. Even a person underwent some life-altering event that completely warps their previous values and morality, they'll still be stuck with the same semblance or whatever that they had before.
Magic on the other hand was a power that can always change in response to a person's will, no matter what that will may be. Control over the elements? Being able to cast illusions? Gaining the ability to teleport distances? Becoming capable of outright perceiving the near future in great clarity? These were but a few of the many applications magic has. It was just a matter of wanting it and working for it. All it took to get started was one's will.
Alas, the flexibility of magic was something lost to the ages, the result of magic being taken away by the Brother Gods themselves so long ago. She was the only true magic user left whilst Ozma lost more and more power with each life he led. Him granting a majority of his dwindling power to the four Maidens hadn't helped him either – not that she was complaining about that, of course. Nonetheless, to know that the once mighty power of magic had ultimately dwindled to the point where each and every Maiden that had ever been had only ever been capable of manipulating the basic elements was honestly hurtful.
But that had been where Hazel's 'ascension' of sorts had been a truly welcome surprise. With each and every usage of Dust, the magical power that those crystals had contained had taken to lingering within Hazel's seemingly unbreakable body, coalescing and growing over time albeit in a dormant state. It hadn't been until his second battle with the one known as Jaune Arc that the growing magic power within him had been roused from its dormancy… and just moments ago, that power had swelled up even more than ever before, to a level that easily rivalled and even slightly surpassed that of Ozma's power at his peak… and even now that power was still growing.
And in that moment of true awakening, all that magical power had responded to Hazel's will. No, to be more specific, all that power had been heavily influenced by his subconscious, where his growing misanthropy and barely suppressed rage had dwelled. In response to such feelings, that power had responded, having warped the man's very body and soul to such a degree that he could no longer be associated with humanity itself, his mind now filled with nothing but hatred and an all consuming need to destroy and trample.
It was truly beautiful, Salem thought, to be able to sense such changes so intimately through the connection she had with all Grimm and with Hazel by extension of him having initially been becoming something like him… she almost felt proud, really.
Still, for the changes to be so drastic… that had actually exceeded her expectations. Now that she took the time to think on it clinically… perhaps the reason why it seemed like the effects Hazel had been under had been so much more extreme than the ones she'd undergone long ago has to do with the differences between by the time they'd been exposed.
By the time she'd thrown herself into the pools of destruction, she'd already been cursed with immortality, a curse that had been imposed upon her directly by those pathetic so-called gods. Additionally, she came from a version of humanity where magic had been such an integral part of them, each and every person having essentially contained some of the gods' power. An absolutely miniscule sliver of their power, but their power nonetheless. Perhaps that had served as a buffer against the corruptive influences of the pools of destruction.
Hazel, on the other hand, for all his power, he was still very much a mortal man who was a part of a humanity that had not been influenced at all by the gods, thus he'd held no inherent resistance to such things. Additionally, for so many years, he'd been directly intaking the very essence of the God of Darkness, whose power was much more concentrated within Dust than it is within the pools of destruction. His own natural resiliency combined with his semblance and sheer willpower may have afforded him a certain level of resistance against the influences of magic, but in the end, he ended up far more affected than she'd ever been.
Of course, there was a chance her forming hypothesis here was wrong – perhaps there was another reason why Hazel had just ended up the way he has. Maybe once Vale is brought to ruin and Ozma in his current incarnation has been removed from the picture, she could try out some experiments to test her theory. She'd have plenty of subjects to use once the kingdom is dealt with.
But that can all wait until much later. For now, best just to focus on the matter at hand.
And so, a small smile appearing on her sharp and unnaturally white features, Salem held fast atop the massive whale Grimm flying gracefully through the air. All around her, she was being flanked by a veritable legion of Nevermoes, Griffons, and Beringels that she's personally added wings to.
It wouldn't be too long until she and her own forces of Grimm reach Vale. Until then… it'll be up to Hazel and the horde that had formed around him to truly soften the kingdom up.
The very instant Qrow and his sister locked eyes with the thing that had once been Hazel Rainart, a fear unlike anything he's felt before took hold… for maybe all of an instant. Alarm bells had gone off in his head and the sheer intensity of that all too familiar feeling had been enough to get him and Raven to move automatically.
Hazel – no, the monster – immediately charged their way and at a speed that something that big and buff had no right to move at. Thankfully, Qrow and his bitchy sister proved to be just a bit quicker as they avoided the monster's charge, jumping to either side to avoid being run over.
Immediately, Qrow pulled out Harbinger and opened fire on their new foe. He could've easily gone in for a swing to the monster's neck or something, but fuck that, no way he was going to get in close to that thing. Unfortunately, the few shots he fired did absolutely nothing as they impacted against the monster's face and upper shoulder.
Just about the only thing he accomplished was getting its attention.
It craned its head in his direction, peering at him with a malicious intensity that defied description. For all that hostility, though, Qrow could still make out a gleam of intelligence in those eyes the monster had, an intelligence that it clearly intended to put to use.
"Rrgh!" Qrow let out a little sound as he leapt further away and started moving in a zig-zag pattern, not wanting to make it easy for him to be followed. Alas, no sooner than when he began this maneuver, the monster took action, letting loose a bellow so powerful that it actually shook the whole area. The very shockwave was enough to nearly send Qrow tumbling even though his feet hadn't even been on the ground.
He was able to retain his balance, but he'd lost a step or two in the process… and that's exactly what the monster seemed to have intended, for its massive form shifted subtly before it suddenly threw a perfect straight punch that unleashed a torrent of seemingly concentrated power right at him.
It would've struck him head on, but thankfully just before it'd even fully swung its fist, Raven had taken action. His crazy sister, having hung back out of sight, had called upon the power of the Spring Maiden and used that power to shift the dirt itself, causing the monster to sink into the ground and skew its aim so that the attack missed. Even then, Qrow made sure to get as far away as he could to avoid any side effects like he and Raven had earlier.
Raven's action didn't have much effect on the monster, though. Not even a split second after its attack had failed, the monster simply freed itself from the ground and faced Raven, who was already backing off.
"Raven, get a damn portal open or something!" Qrow yelled out.
"With this thing on our tail?! As if!" Raven shot back as she levitated herself into the air – which proved to be a mistake.
An ominous light made itself known from the mass of spikes upon the monster's back. A massive amount of power gathered in those spikes before unceremoniously being let loose, veritable rays of dark light firing at Raven. These rays were so fast that Raven, though she'd seen it coming, was unable to fully do anything about it. She couldn't dodge, but she was able to form some kind of flame barrier around her.
Alas, that didn't stop the rays and they tore through the hastily created barrier like it wasn't even there. Only a few out of the numerous rays actually struck Raven, but the howl of pain she let out was a clear indicator of how much they hurt. The parts of her back struck… the clothes there ended up burned off, her aura pierced and her skin practically scorched away, leaving only ashes upon her sizzling muscle tissue now.
Qrow heard a voice scream out her name – his own, he belatedly realized. For all the grief Raven gives him and vice versa, for all the dumb, petty, and painful shit she's done to him or to Tai or others, they were still siblings and that was one bond that couldn't just be cast aside that easily, no matter how complicated the whole affair is.
He ran as fast as he could towards Raven's falling form – only to be intercepted by the monster, its intelligent eyes making it clear that it wasn't simply acting on instinctive malice alone, not like how the Grimm do. There was no mistaking the lust for destruction in those eyes, but it became painfully clear to Qrow that all the experience Hazel had gained over the course of his lifetime was still very much there.
The monster was close now, way too close for Qrow to try circling around him. For an instant, he considered turning into his bird form and fly right over him but then reconsidered; he has no desire to be plucked from the sky and crushed within the monster's palm or anything like that.
Unfortunately, this meant all he could do as the monster masterfully but viciously swung a fist at him was simply raise Harbinger to block the attack.
Fist struck steel and the latter lost hard. Against the ridiculous power the monster had, Harbinger stood no chance and his trusty blade of so many years shattered. He had no time to mourn, however, and immediately tried to leap away just before impact. He only marginally succeeded, his slightly greater speed just barely allowing him to outstrip the incoming fist. Even then, the monster's spiked knuckles just barely managed to graze him and even that proved powerful enough to drain most of his aura and nearly crush all his ribs in one go.
Qrow went tumbling along the ground for real, coughing and hacking and screaming in pain. But this pain gave him an odd sense of focus, the sheer danger sharpening his senses to whole new heights. If that blow had fully struck him, he'd be dead just like that… and that simple fact was enough to make him soldier through the pain and manage to roll so that he ended up back on his feet.
Off somewhere to his right, he heard Raven land hard but he couldn't afford to glance back, not when he had this thing to worry about. Instead, he kept his eyes focused on the monster and the general direction of the horde… a horde that hadn't even bothered to come this way despite their leader clearly being in the midst of a fight.
Was this thing commanding the horde to stay back? If so, well, he wasn't about to complain. Whether this thing was intelligent enough to be arrogant or whatever or not, he was all for it if it gave him a chance.
The monster locked eyes with him only to then look away suddenly, this action getting Qrow to quirk an eyebrow. Instead of glaring at him, it now looked to its open hands for some odd reason.
This lasted for just a second before it then placed both hands on the forest ground – and then pushed down.
The next thing Qrow knew, a damned earthquake occurred. The very ground split open wide, nearby trees being uprooted and breaking apart as a direct result.
Qrow's balance was nearly lost, but having expected some crazy shit to happen, he'd been marginally prepared for it. Not enough to gracefully avoid it or anything, but enough to keep himself steady and snatch up a large rock. With Harbinger pretty much destroyed, with only the hilt remaining, he didn't really have much in the ways of attack options here, so a rock was going to have to do for long range options.
He chucked that rock as hard as he could, aiming for the monster's right eye. A black and purple aura was spontaneously released from the monster's very form and the ground it stood upon along with the incoming rock was promptly vaporized from the looks of it, a result of the thing concentrating its absurd level of power that much or something.
Though the rock hadn't struck its mark, however, the brief harmless explosion it'd caused had still been enough to seemingly obscure the monster's vision and Qrow used that moment to book it towards Raven. He did so in the nick of time as the monster, roaring, started to run right after him, having clearly anticipated his actions. It kicked at the ground hard and practically launched itself across the ground towards him. It was only thanks to him getting something of a head start combined with the distance that had initially been between them that kept it from fully closing the distance between them.
But the monster wasn't done just yet.
After seeing that its little leap hadn't really worked, it opted to open its mouth now – and from its mouth suddenly spewed out a massive cloud of thick ash that quickly spread out and blanketed the entire area.
Qrow immediately ripped off a part of his cape and put it against his mouth and nose, but it was already too late for he'd involuntarily taken in some of the ash and he was practically choking on it. The ash was so hot too that it felt like someone had somehow adjusted the temperature in his throat by a solid thirty or so degrees upwards. Combined with his already bad injuries which he was focusing a good portion of his remaining aura on healing, he wasn't in a good position.
And all the while, the monster approached from behind.
It neared and neared some more. It was practically right on its ass and he could practically sense its hands reaching out to clasp and crush him into mulch-.
-Only for Raven to come to his rescue.
His sister appeared some odd meters ahead, her eyes glowing so brightly from the Maiden power that they were visible even through this thick fog of ash, which she then blew away with a powerful gust of wind. As soon as she did so, she motioned subtly for him to duck, which he obeyed right away, practically tripping as he did so.
Once he got clear, his sister held absolutely nothing back. It was as if mother nature herself was up and at it now and had one serious bone to pick with this unnatural abomination that had once been a man. A veritable tidal wave of fire and lightning spawned into existence via Raven's outstretched hands and they traveled right over Qrow's downed form and impacted right against the monster's frame.
So great was this display of power that literally anyone else would've died right then and there – but not this monster. In this creature's case, it merely roared and that simple action proved powerful enough to counter Raven's attack, canceling out the flames and most of the lightning.
Undeterred, Raven quickly called forth a storm and with it came an unforgiving hurricane. Lightning danced upon the whole area, striking at the forest and even at themselves with reckless abandon. Puddles were struck and rendered electrified. More trees got blown to complete smithereens and entire sections of the ground were being obliterated. The ensuing winds tore up boulders, roots and more and sent it flying around with such violent fury that Qrow couldn't help but wonder if maybe Raven had let herself get too caught up in the moment or something.
As things stood, it was taking all he had to hold onto the one bit of untouched ground there and keep himself from getting dragged off to his death. Once his grip was fully secured, he risked a glance back at the monster once known as Hazel and saw the creature seemingly unhurt – but not unfazed.
Though the monster didn't appear to be getting hurt in the slightest, the powerful winds and lightning bolts crashing against it along with the now sudden appearance of hail was enough to keep it from advancing, even force it to take a step or two back. It must not have anticipated an attack of that level to be unleashed so quickly.
But it was already regaining its footing, the monster's previous look of mild annoyance now being replaced with its original expression of murderous fury. It readied another attack, this one in the form of another blast of sheer power from the looks of it.
However, just as it even began to prepare the move, tree roots suddenly sprung up from the ground and wrapped themselves around the monster's arm and legs and immediately tugged back down, catching it off guard, getting it to snarl in surprise.
"Qrow, come on!" Raven called out to him, the winds abating now enough for him to get up. She'd placed a hand upon her blade, the Dust chamber switching out the current blade for one made out of gravity Dust. "Move your ass or I'm hitting you too!"
No need to tell him twice.
He practically crawled along the ground towards his sister at an angle as to not risk obstructing her field of vision. As he did so, the ground was getting increasingly softer and muddier, the Maiden power still very much at work. Risking another glance behind him, he could see the roots dragging the monster deeper into the ground, not because it was overpowering it but rather because the ground there had become so soft that brute strength was just no longer a deciding factor.
The monster seemed to realize this too, for it instead just lashed out with its other hand, firing a beam of frost of all things at them. It was so cold that the mud itself started to turn solid and whatever ash had still been lingering in the air after all this time was now visible.
This attack was aimed right at Qrow, but he managed to roll out of the way, though he still felt a deathly chill overtake his whole body. Despite this, he still managed to get back up so that he was now kneeling on his left knee. Still holding onto what remained of his weapon, he threw it hard at the monster's now unguarded face – and this time, his shitty semblance didn't seem to kick in, for his ruined hilt hit the monster just above its left eye.
It got the monster to actually wince, not because it hurt it but because such a response was just a natural thing for any living thing to do, this abomination included still.
This allowed Raven the chance to make her final move, drawing out her blade in a quick slash that tore through the clearing. It directly impacted the monster's massive upper body and even though it still did absolutely nothing to the monster, the effects of the gravity Dust itself still ended up kicking in.
Before Qrow's and Raven's very eyes, the increased gravity imposed upon the monster was enough to make it sink that much faster into the incredibly muddy ground. It must sank at least a solid dozen feet or so before Raven used her Maiden power to cease this activity and instead focus on now freezing the ground itself as solid as could be.
"Come on," she said all of a few seconds later as the glowing effect of the Maiden power practically fizzled out. Qrow couldn't recall a time his sister had ever looked this exhausted. "While it's buried, we're getting out of here!"
Not even halfway through her sentence, she'd already turned around and slashed at the open air with her still drawn blade, her will just barely holding together long enough for her to properly activate her semblance. The familiar portal she always uses opened up and she wasted no time heading through it.
Qrow sure as hell didn't waste time going through it either. But just before fully crossing through it and back to safety, he couldn't help but look back at where the now monstrous Hazel was currently buried.
Already the ground was shaking with an unbelievable fierceness. That monster was already about to bust out of its admittedly temporary prison.
A shudder so intense that his very soul seemed to feel it tore through Qrow as he now crossed the portal completely.
Whatever hopes he'd held of maybe delaying the Grimm horde had been a bust and in a way that no other screw up could ever compare to. Not only had the horde not been affected in any way, but he'd just lost his weapon and would be hurting for a long while even with the best care available. Raven herself, despite having only taken a few hits, wouldn't be going around with her usual pep either.
Yeah, in all honesty, he and his sister had come out of this a lot worse than they'd gone in feeling.
If it wasn't for this monster seemingly still getting used to its new form and power…
Another shudder tore through Qrow as he stumbled into Ozpin's office, where his longtime friend was wasted no time in approaching him with worry in those tired eyes of his.
"Qrow?!" Ozpin started, helping him stay standing. Nearby, Raven was haggardly sitting upon one of the office's few chairs. "Just what happened out there?!"
Qrow could only glance up at the ancient wizard. "Oz…" he began. "I sure as shit hope you have another wild card in place… because if not, we're screwed."
The being once known as Hazel roared from its makeshift prison under the ground. With a powerful flex of its muscles and a show of its now inherent power, the entire area erupted in a manner akin to a volcano. The ground ruptured and debris, coated in flames and crackling with unbridled energy, went flying for many meters everywhere.
From the now huge crater formed, the monster rose without a single scratch from what had just happened. But despite being completely uninjured, it still nearly doubled over – not from the efforts of those that had thought they could accomplish anything against it, but rather from something else entirely.
It hunched over and placed its hands on the ground as its balance was lost, if only for a moment. Though its physical changes were over and done with, its power has yet to fully blossom still. Only now did its power seem to truly reach its peak and the sudden rush of this energy was what caused its temporary sense of vertigo as it proved too much for the monster's currently delicate mental state to handle.
However, this lasted for only a moment at most before it stood tall and proud, letting out a growl that made it clear things would be different next time around, the haze it'd been under now lifted.
Because of said haze, it'd made it difficult for the monster to truly focus on the battle just now, instead having allowed its many years of training and experience prior guide it through battle. It'd been far from ideal considering its two escaped prey had been able to somewhat hold their own against it, but the next time around – if there was a next time – things wouldn't go so well for those two.
In any case, despite the haze it'd been under, it'd still retained a good portion of its previous self's intellect, which had allowed it to command the Grimm horde to stay put while it had dealt with this insignificant affair. This had been done with the express purpose of letting it acclimate a bit better to its new form and get a proper feel for what it could potentially do. Now that said goal had been accomplished and more of its previous self's intellect was returning, the monster canceled its previous order and in immediate response, the Grimm horde began to mildly roam about.
It was a true pity those two had escaped, no doubt back to one of its most desired prey, but it was ultimately of little consequence, the monster realized. Let that parasite know of its approach and of the horde. Let that pathetic human try to consolidate his forces much more. If anything, that would only make it easier for it and the horde to wipe them all out in fell swoop since all its prey would be in one relative place by then.
But before that could be done…
"Jaune… Arc…" the monster suddenly uttered out in a voice that no human could ever hope to replicate naturally. Speaking in and of itself wasn't something it was really capable of anymore despite retaining its full intellect now, but that too was of little consequence. After all, it had once been a man of few words so this wasn't much of a difference.
What mattered now, aside from crushing Vale and eradicating that so-called wizard… was its true prey now, the one whose name it had just uttered.
In their last battle, when it had still been human, that teen had undergone a noticeable shift and had gotten stronger as a direct result. Had their battle continued back then, the monster wouldn't have been surprised if it had ended up losing. But now… now, things were different. It had cast aside most of the qualities that had once let it be considered human in exchange for great power.
And it ruefully supposed it'd be most fitting for a 'hero' to test his mettle against an actual monster now as one final trial.
Yes, the time to see if that boy truly is a 'hero' was soon approaching… no point in delaying it any further.
With but a light leap that defied its massive frame, the monster immediately took its place at the front of the horde. Landing before the Grimm, it silently commanded them to form up, the normally chaotic monsters now exhibiting an almost human-like discipline now as they responded to its will.
Bellowing one final time, the monster strode forth and the horde, with many of its members roaring in unison, followed right after it.
Their march towards Vale now began in earnest.
Winter hacked and coughed from where she was upon the street, the air having been knocked completely out of her. She'd been far from the only one to end up in such a state, with one Blake Belladonna lying in a disoriented condition just some odd yards away.
Unfortunately, they were among the very few that could be considered lucky.
Forcing herself back up despite the pain she was feeling still, the very first sight that greeted Winter's eyes was one of absolute chaos.
Tyrian Callows stabbing himself with his own stinger had been completely unexpected. And as fate would have it, that turned out to be the last thing she should've allowed to happen. She'd known the venom the mad Faunus possessed was far from a pleasant sort, had had some idea of the terrible effects said venom could have on those unfortunate enough to be on its receiving end. She'd even known somewhat of Tyrian's own resistance to his own venom and thus the type of effect such a thing would have on him.
But knowing something intellectually was always a vastly different thing when actually witnessing it. In her military career, she's seen many things, done so many things in the name of security for her kingdom and many scenes had been far from pleasant. Why, even now, a select few memories would occasionally creep up on her to haunt her.
…Tyrian wasn't the first person to perform such a feat like that, but the difference between the killer and the few others she's seen perform something similar is that the latter did succeed in killing themselves… and those were sights not meant for anyone to see. Thus, when she'd seen Tyrian stab himself, well… she'd frozen up, the sight having brought back those horrid scenes. And naturally, it'd also stunned everyone else into a stupor since it was naturally an uncommon thing to actually see.
And now they were paying the price.
Immediately after the venom had taken effect on the man, Tyrian had blitzed team RWBY and herself, the now fully crazed scorpion Faunus moving with a speed that considerably outstripped his previous speed and with a level of savagery in his movements that had only ever been seen before in actual animals. In the span of seconds at most, the team of huntresses had been batted aside and just when the man had stepped in to try finishing one of them off, he'd suddenly changed course and had charged right at her just as she'd tried to move in. He'd ended up overwhelming her with ease due to how sudden his charge was and that was how she'd ended up in her current state.
Now that she was back up, the lunatic had already rushed over to the civilians and policemen and was now throwing himself with suicidal abandon into the crowd.
Thus, the sight that greeted her was the sight of him having already tore through at least two dozen people – civilians and policemen alike – with wild swings that she could just barely perceive. Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and now Weiss were already back on their feet and were heading straight for the man who was still in the midst of his obvious frenzy.
"YOU FUCKING-!" the Y of RWBY roared hatefully, her semblance activating and her blonde hair lighting up like the sun as a result of her overpowering rage.
"No, don't-!" Winter began to call out. She knew that such a sight would have quite the strong effect on them but giving into emotion was far from the best idea right now.
Sure enough, in direct response to the teen's cut short battle cry, Tyrian turned in her direction, his sclera a hideously dark purple, with venom outright dripping from the corners of his eyes. Just how much venom had he injected himself with?
In an instant, Tyrian kicked away a young boy that couldn't get away fast enough, said blow having more than enough to kill him on the spot. Even from here and with all the screaming and crying going on, Winter still heard the fatal crushing of the boy's sternum. Yet another sound that would haunt her dreams for years to come. Immediately after the killer did this, he lunged straight for Yang, throwing a wild punch that struck the girl hard in her stomach. Thanks to his blades being fully extended too, they clipped the girl's slender waist for some extra damage. This stopped the girl cold in her tracks, getting a wheeze out of her but that too was cut short as the killer started slashing away at her with maddening fury.
Winter activated her semblance, speeding herself up with a few glyphs that allowed her to cross the distance between them instantly. Forgoing her usual graceful style in favor of pure and brutal efficiency, she circled around and shoulder-tackled Tyrian as hard as she could. Her attack sent the maniacal man flying, but he just rolled across the ground, landed in a crouch and suddenly leapt towards a pack of civilians to her far left.
That was when a truly irate Ruby Rose, sporting a desperate expression not suited for such a young girl's face, opened fire with everything she had. Normally, the girl's shots would be incredibly precise, but this time she just favored shooting as many rounds as she could.
The hail of bullets practically tore through the street and an outdoors café nearby that was thankfully empty now, but this did little in stopping Tyrian, who just moved in between the rounds whilst still heading for the civilians.
"Weiss, slow him!" Winter yelled to her sister.
"Right!" her sister replied. Together both Schnee sisters activated their semblances, but for different purposes. Weiss formed a series of black glyphs that were meant to try and tug the crazy bastard in a multitude of directions simultaneously, an action that would hopefully slow him, maybe even outright halt if only for just a second or two.
As for Winter, her semblance's usage in this moment was twofold. First, she summoned forth three dozen Nevermores followed right by two knights. Secondly, as the birds rushed forth to further surround Tyrian, she activated the speed glyphs and used them on herself and the knights.
Together, the three of them charged right after Tyrian as the birds surrounded him and subsequently detonated, the multiple explosions overwhelming Tyrian and blasting him right off his feet and into the air.
The freak, in his clearly drugged out state, cackled in an almost distorted tone, as if he was some kind of entity merely masquerading as a Faunus. For just an instant, his gaze seemed unfocused, if only because there was no longer any prey in his immediate field of vision.
Until he saw her and her knights, at which point the madman twisted around in midair and let himself fall towards her. Even before he got near her, he was already slashing out rapidly at the air as if in anticipation of tearing her apart.
That was when her knights, still sped up, acted in unison. One knight brought up its massive greatsword and slammed its admittedly dull weapon right against Tyrian's stomach while the other one brought down its weapon in a downwards swing that hit the lunatic's upper back.
Such a maneuver should've honestly torn the man in two at that moment, but it didn't. Before her very eyes, just as the blades impacted against him, Tyrian did a forward flip, the awkward action not protecting him from the harm delivered, but it did prevent his death. Seems like even in his crazed state, there still existed some measure of cunning in there.
Winter grunted as she raised both of her blades to guard against Tyrian's following strike, but before she could do anything else, the man suddenly lashed out with his tail, jabbing her hard right in the stomach. On instinct, she'd managed to concentrate her aura to the limit in that specific spot right before impact, but that didn't lessen the terror of that instant any less.
Letting out a yell that was equal parts due to sheer desperation and pure rage, she pushed back against the man who was practically hanging onto her blades and managed to shake him loose. As soon as she did so, she leapt back to avoid a wild kick and activated her semblance on Tyrian, using a black glyph to pull him closer towards her knights which were coming up behind him.
She felt her stomach up, hoping that she hadn't suffered an actual injury. Thankfully, there was none and her panic subsided marginally, but nowhere near completely.
Tyrian cackled and cried and squealed shrilly as he danced around her knights, much to her consternation. At least he was being kept entertained by them for the moment.
"Winter!" Weiss called out.
"Stay back, just focus on providing support!" Winter immediately yelled back.
"Like hell we are!" Yang cried out, the blonde sounding like she was approaching.
"NO!" Winter roared now and with such anger that she could actually feel the blonde pause from surprise. "Focus on clearing out the area. Belladonna, I know you're up now, help your partner do that! Ruby Rose, provide assistance to me as needed! We cannot let things escalate anymore than this!"
It was honestly due to sheer dumb luck that none of them had died just yet. But dumb luck doesn't last forever. If they tried getting involved right now, one wrong move is all it would take for them to die. Not even she, an Atlas specialist, had a particularly high chance of surviving if this pace kept up.
The same couldn't be said of the civilians, sadly. Already, a few dozen were dead and the officers that had been around was down too. With all the protests and outright rioting that was occurring all over Vale right now, any and all other officers out in the field won't be able to come and provide assistance in clearing out the area any time soon. As for the Atlas fleet, whatever had happened earlier with their ships having been on collision courses was keeping them occupied.
They were effectively on their own and thus any losses absolutely can't be tolerated at all. Morals and ethics regarding letting trainees fight such a threat aside, if even one of them fell, that would make for a drastic drop in their overall effectiveness. One loss would lead to another and then another until only one of them would be able to hold the line against Tyrian and if things got to that point, holding this veritable monster back from attacking anyone else would be impossible.
That said…
Winter grimaced as Tyrian delivered a lightning fast cut across one knight's 'throat' before kicking off its dissipating form and ramming his arms right into the open sockets on the other one's helmet, effectively 'killing' it and bringing them both down.
No sooner than when he'd accomplished this, Winter used her semblance to create another black glyph that pulled Tyrian directly towards the ground while he was still in the air. To her annoyance, he managed to twist around and land in a crouching stance at the last possible moment. As soon as he landed, however, she was upon him, swinging her blades almost wildly, sacrificing accuracy for sheer speed. She couldn't afford to let up.
To her surprise, some of her hits landed, actually cutting into the man a bit as he dodged about. Looks like his aura was especially low, if not down entirely. That was good to know, though far from something truly exploitable due to his sheer speed and unpredictability.
Sure enough, the man's tail suddenly lashed out, wrapping around her leg and pulling her down. He suddenly pounced atop her, slamming his head right against her nose in the process. The back of her head then ended up bouncing hard off the asphalt, making a small crater and for an instant she saw nothing but stars.
Even so, his mad and shrill cries of delight filled her ears and served as something for her to focus on and so, even in the midst of a daze, she tried to fight him off. Unfortunately, she couldn't do so very effectively due to her weapons and so she had to let go of her blades for a second or two in order to rely purely on her fists and she pummeled his face and chest in as much as she could, twisting and turning her body as best as she could to try mitigating the craze man's vicious slices.
One particularly good blow got through to him, impacting against the side of his temple – and in landing, causing some of those dark tears to go flying from his face and towards hers.
"…!" Winter closed her eyes and mouth and turned her head. She had to make sure those drops, no doubt containing his venom, didn't find a way into her system. She felt them splatter against the side of her face and the mere sensation got her to shudder.
Frantically, she was able to deliver a knee strike to his crotch, which really didn't hurt him due to his crazed state, but it did make him leap off her nonetheless and she used her semblance to forcibly drag herself away just as the man attempted to pounce on her again. She made sure to grab her swords in the process too.
Gunfire suddenly erupted from somewhere behind her and one of the shots actually managed to strike Tyrian, clipping his right collarbone. The blood that fell from the new wound was dark and purplish and the very sight nearly made Winter gag. Just how much venom did he pump into himself?! Was there a limit to how well he can tolerate his own venom?
In any case, the sudden assist, courtesy of Ruby Rose, was most welcome for it got the madman's attention off her for a split second. Him focusing his wild gaze on the girl wasn't welcome, however, nor was the man's sudden blitz right towards the girl in question.
Tyrian raced right past her, but Winter wasn't about to let that happen without consequence. Immediately, she pivoted and swung one of her blades low, aiming for his legs. She missed for the most part but was able to land a strike along the very back of his left heel. It got the man to suddenly stumble and go tumbling, but it really only slowed him for a split second at most.
Looking up, Winter surveyed the area. Both Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long have gone off to do as she said, thankfully and it didn't seem like there was anyone else around anymore other than her, Weiss, Ruby, and those who've died so far in this brief time.
Good, that meant they could truly focus on this bastard then.
"Weiss, give me a glyph!" Ruby suddenly shouted to the girl who was some odd meters away as she cocked her weapon. Weiss responded right away and a single glyph appeared right before the R of RWBY's gun barrel. The girl wasted no time firing off several rounds, but not at Tyrian. Rather, she fired at the spots in between her and the incoming Faunus, and it would seem the girl had swapped out her previous ice Dust rounds for some fire Dust rounds because these shots proved most explosive.
Debris went flying everywhere, but particularly right at Tyrian, who seemed to just power through it… only for him to find no one there. Ruby had just used the debris as cover for her and Weiss to vacate their previous spots… and now Ruby had switched her weapon into its scythe form and was in the process of swinging it right at Tyrian's exposed back.
The man sensed it coming, no doubt due to those bestial instincts of his and prepared to dodge – but Winter and Weiss acted in unison, forming a large black glyph together with such a strong gravitational pull that it managed to keep the scorpion Faunus pinned in place.
With a cry, Ruby's blade cut right into Tyrian and lifted him off the ground and into the air. The girl then spun around nearly a dozen times, building up a great deal of momentum before suddenly retracting her weapon's blade, this sudden motion causing Tyrian to go flying like a human sized bullet towards a now empty book shop.
Tyrian went crashing right through the glass with tremendous force and seemed to travel all the way inside if the sounds of bookshelves being violently knocked over was anything to go by.
Feeling invigorated by this sight, Winter dashed towards the shop, summoning some more Nevermore that travelled ahead of her. They flew inside of the shop and upon her command, exploded with a great deal of force after spreading out. The result was the entire shop collapsing in on itself, with Tyrian still very much inside.
Nearing the shop, Winter headed right for the spot where Tyrian was likely at and eyed the newly formed rubble warily. With all the damage he'd taken up until now, that should've done it, right?
She waited a tense few seconds, looking for any signs of movement. There didn't seem to be any and in that moment, a sense of relief filled her. However, she didn't let herself truly relax just yet. She had to find the body, confirm his incapacitation or death.
And just as she thought that…
"Winter!"
Weiss called out to her just as a spot of rubble right next to her erupted. Said rubble ended up pelting her hard and throwing her off balance. One even ended up slamming right against her right eye and aura would only protect it so well.
She half-turned with her current one good eye widening in shock as Tyrian Callows emerged. He was surely out of aura now, for his whole body was littered with cuts and with glass shards clearly stuck in him while also sporting numerous bruises that his rough crash had brought upon him. Wouldn't surprise her if he had some fractured bones too.
But even with all these injuries adding up, the man was still very much under the effects of his venom, his crazed and animalistic expression having yet to abate. With a rasp, he struck out and landed a powerful cut that probably contained the remainder of his strength in it. It went right for her lower stomach, bordering on her waist and even though she'd started to shift back to avoid it, the blow still connected a little.
She hadn't exactly emerged unscathed so far from this whole affair and so, even with her having focused her aura to the limit yet again, Winter still ended up stumbling back, the hit having managed to outright cut her. It was by no means a fatal cut, but still deep. If left untreated, there was no telling what exactly could happen to her.
But this wound mattered little to her in this instant – for Tyrian was already fully back up now and looked to try finishing what he'd started just earlier. His tail reared itself up, ready to stab her now that her aura was so low and weakened.
Winter struggled to regain her balance, but the now shifting rubble, her new wound and bad right eye was taking its toll on her mighty quick. Forget any offense, she'd have to dedicate herself to defense here, hope to block or deflect his incoming strike.
And if she failed…
Tyrian took just one step forward before lashing out with his tail, the appendage uncoiling itself with insane speed and twisting in mid-motion. At first, it looked like it was going to stab her right in her slightly cut open stomach – but then just as she began to shift her blades into position, the tail suddenly switched tracks and the next thing she knew, the stinger was heading right for her face.
Her one good eye went wider and she tried to respond but knew instinctively she wasn't going to make it. Futilely, she tried to tilt her head to the side but even that wouldn't let her dodge the stinger entirely.
No, no, no nono…! This one word repeated itself rapidly in her mind as death approached-.
-Only for it to not come.
A single shot practically echoed throughout the area as Ruby Rose fired an explosive round right at the very base of Tyrian's tail. Thanks to the damage he'd accrued, he no longer had aura with which to protect himself – assuming he even could do so in his current mental state – and so, when the bullet exploded, it blew the tail right off. This sudden action caused it to go flying awkwardly right past Winter's face, the very tip of the stinger now missing her by mere centimeters, if that.
The proximity of the explosion ended up making Winter go mildly and temporarily deaf… but even so, she could still hear Weiss crying out for her.
More than that, she could hear her younger sister rapidly approaching.
Turning her head slightly, she looked just in time to see her sister rushing right towards them, Myrtenaster raised and with multiple speed glyphs allowing her to practically fly across the ground. From the looks of it, it seemed like she intended to dart right in between the two of them, maybe even clip Tyrian on the way in judging by the angle of Myrtenaster.
However, at that exact instant, Tyrian twisted around. The sudden loss of his tail had naturally grabbed his attention and he turned his bestial self in the shot's direction and instinctively pounce forward – and whether it was due to his injuries wearing down his mental state that much more or just due to a single bad judgement call, Tyrian had effectively leapt right into the path of Weiss' blade.
The entire world around them seemed to fall completely silent save for a single sound – the sound of a blade piercing right through flesh and bone. In this case, Myrtenaster ended up stabbing through Tyrian's left eye and beyond.
Death was damn near instantaneous and the madman's expression barely even shifted as his thin lips remained upwards in a permanent state of bloodlust. Only now, his sole remaining eye lost the gleam of viciousness it had before as his life left him.
For a long minute thereafter, none of them dared to move, too stunned by what had just happened. It wasn't until Weiss let out a little gasp and pulled away that Winter seemed to snap out of it. Alas, as Weiss pulled back, she ended up pulling Myrtenaster right out of the now dead Tyrian, whose body slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
The sound it made as it hit the pile of rubble hard was enough to nearly make Weiss jump and got Ruby to madly dash over.
As for Winter herself…
"Weiss…" she began softly, only to stop. She was unsure of what to say or do. It'd be easy to say that it had to be done, that this monster had had it coming… but it wasn't. Killing, no matter what the circumstances, wasn't always something people could just shrug off.
It was sadly a regular part of being a soldier or in her sister's case, a huntress, something that would often be confronted in one form or another and Weiss surely knew that too… but again, there's a difference between knowing something and experiencing it.
And the rather sudden, unintended and… messy… manner in which the man had finally been brought down, well…
"W-Winter, I…" the girl began as Ruby approached, the R of RWBY looking unsure of what to do either now that she was up close.
Seeing the expression on Weiss' face was enough to hurt Winter more than any of the attacks she'd taken up until now. For so long, she'd been especially hard on the girl, having wanted to ensure she'd have what it takes to strike out on her own if push came to shove, if she truly wished to leave the dark shadow their father had cast over them. Thus, the number of times she had ever been truly affectionate with her sister, well, it wasn't as if it was something truly rare… but those times were few and far in between.
Unsure of what else to do, Winter could only approach Weiss and gently hug her. This action seemed to take the girl by surprise, but before long, she was quickly returning the motion, Myrtenaster falling from her loose grip in the process.
"Ruby…" Winter now began softly, feeling more tired than ever before. "Could you go and check in with your other teammates? Once you do, come back then… but for now, just give us a minute."
The young girl nodded firmly and quietly took off, leaving the Schnee sister to themselves for the time being.
Doing her best to gently walk away from Tyrian's fallen body, Winter remained with Weiss practically in her arms.
And even with everything still going on, the Atlas specialist refused to just up and leave for anything else just yet. For better or for worse, Tyrian Callows was now dead; surely, it wouldn't hurt to take just a few minutes to wind down from this small victory.
With Weiss still holding onto her tightly, Winter let out a very quiet sigh.
She prayed – genuinely prayed – that whatever comes next won't be rearing its ugly head too soon.
Ozpin was massaged the spot between his eyes for the tenth time in just as many minutes. Not long ago, Qrow and Raven had suddenly returned looking terrible and having brought with them news that had led to a massive pit forming in his stomach.
Hazel had gone and turned himself into a literal monster, one whose power outstripped that of a Maiden by a fair margin. More than that, the Branwen siblings had been unable in doing anything to slow down the horde, a horde which was significantly larger than other hordes throughout history.
"When it rains, it pours as they say…" Ozpin muttered tiredly. This type of thing, where a series of small victories was offset by a few major and detrimental changes to circumstances, was hardly new to him… but never to this scale before.
Just what was even going on with this era anymore? Just why and how were things going so horribly? There have been plenty of times in the past where life itself seemed to conspire against him, stacking the odds horribly against him and his allies at the time, but now it seemed like all the stops were being pulled out for good.
It was bad enough as it is, with protests and actual riots occurring to further bolster the horde that was undoubtedly on its way now, but add in James' fleet nearly being forced to collide in Vale airspace and the implications that came with that in addition to Hazel's new form and Qrow's destroyed weapon… it was just becoming too much.
Just what other cards did he have to play? Ozpin could only bitterly admit to having none left. Mr. Arc, for all his vast potential, was still just a single person who was meant to serve as a counter against Hazel, but with the latter's newfound power, that may no longer be the case. And even with all of his and James' forces gathered here, the fact that the latter's ships could clearly be hijacked even now made for some truly terrible news. Add in the protests and riots and how best to deal with that without taking away from other things and you get a huge mess.
Damn it all, Ozpin thought, if only there could be just one other card to play, one other ally to make and rely on…!
As if by divine providence, his scroll beeped and immediately, his heart practically stopped. It was an alert from Amber's chamber.
Grabbing his scroll out and checking it, he nearly dropped it.
Amber was beginning to awaken.
Without any further preamble, the headmaster headed right for his elevator and took it all the way down to where he was keeping Amber.
Exiting it before the elevator doors even fully opened, he literally rushed on over to the pod Amber was being kept in.
As he neared, he eyed the equipment nearby keenly, making sure that his eyes weren't indeed deceiving him. His heart actually did a little backflip as the brain scanner did indeed show signs of Amber waking up right now, albeit slowly.
He didn't care how long it would take – he'll gladly wait here until the woman was able to open those eyes of hers.
Seconds ticked by, then minutes. He waited it out patiently and with a growing level of relief.
Sure enough, when Amber's fingers began to twitch and her whole body slowly shifted, he practically leapt at the controls and began the process of emptying the chamber she was in of the fluids contained in there.
As he did this and the chamber drained, he looked back at the woman just in time to see her open her eyes, eyes which looked his way hazily before focusing a moment after.
"Oz…pin…?" Amber croaked out through the apparatus upon her mouth, the young woman obviously confused and still very much fatigued.
Ozpin placed a hand gently upon her chamber. Though his smile was small, there was no mistaking the sheer level of joy it contained.
"Good evening, Amber," he began softly. "I hope you were able to have a good rest."
Jaune paced the room of RWBY's dorm quite slowly, if only because he didn't want to accidentally bump into anything just because he was too busy thinking. With everyone packed into here, there was even less space for him to do his pacing, though he still persisted in doing so nonetheless if only because sitting still wasn't in the cards for him right now.
Ah, but allow him to correct himself – not everyone was gathered in here, he thought sadly.
"Poor Weiss," Ruby mumbled from where she sat upon her dangerously unstable bunkbed.
"I know it wasn't intentional or anything, but I hope she's doing okay…" Pyrrha gently said.
It's been a few hours now since the crisis that had struck at Vale yet again. Following the battle aboard the Atlas ship, Jaune and his team had been picked up and sent straight back to Vale whilst the Atlas fleet itself dealt with trying to find the man JNPR had gone up against. After providing a description of the man – a description that interestingly enough seemed to match one Arthur Watts, a man who apparently had died years ago, much to their surprise – JNPR had reluctantly contented themselves with being told not to assist in the search for the man… up until they managed to get back in contact with RWBY and discovered what had happened with Tyrian Callows.
Once they'd learned of how that had gone down, they'd immediately headed to the specified location to link up with them and after some time spent checking them over, they'd all been sent back together towards Beacon.
Since then, they've all been cooped up in RWBY's dorm while Weiss went off with her sister, presumably to be comforted and brought to terms with what had happened. As much as they'd wished to be there with Weiss, Winter Schnee had gently but firmly made it clear she'll take things from here. As for all the protests going down in Vale right now, police and whatever men Atlas could spare were being sent out to deal with that in addition to numerous huntsmen that had also been mobilized to bring things back under control.
With both teams effectively placed back on standby, rather than rest up like they should be doing, they opted to instead talk about all that's happened in as much detail as possible and plan out what was to come next.
Now that both teams were caught up with what each of them have had to deal with, a certain lull had fallen upon them, a lull that was still ongoing.
"What a day," Yang mumbled.
"You said it…" Nora agreed from where she was near Ren, like always.
In all honesty, that was quite the understatement in Jaune's opinion. Within just this single day, a lot has happened, more so than ever before. The now deceased Tyrian had killed a solid few dozen people by the time he'd been killed and negativity had risen considerably as a result. Furthermore, Arthur Watts had demonstrated the truly terrifying ability to be able to take over Atlas' ships and had come so very close to causing a disaster on a scale that hasn't been seen in decades, hell even centuries here in Vale. Even with that crisis averted, however, the additional spike in negativity had done just as much damage in its own way. The entire populace was practically up in arms over this, their ability to adapt to the increasing spikes in danger being heavily overwhelmed now.
"Salem's forces have really stopped holding back this time," Ren quietly commented, effectively repeating what Jaune had just been about to think. "With all this negativity, a Grimm horde is now certain… and with the situation being what it is in Vale right now, I fear we won't be ready to do much to stop it when it does inevitably come."
At those words, everyone there tensed up. It was a terrible truth that few of them wished to confront but it had to be said.
For his part, Jaune could only nod. "And if we can't think of something to do, then all the efforts expended… the trouble Weiss is now dealing with… the deaths we've managed to prevent today… it'll all be for nothing." It hurt him having to be so blunt to his friends when they clearly just wanted to destress right now, but he felt this had to be done. He didn't want to continue speaking of all this either, but the sooner they think up something to do, the better. They can't afford to let any time go to waste.
"Think you can just head out to Vale's walls and fire off those aura slashes of yours?" Yang quipped sardonically, but there was also a hint of genuine seriousness there too. "You can fire those off alongside the guns the walls have and we can back you up. Wouldn't stop the whole horde, but it'd thin their numbers, yeah?"
Jaune chuckled a little at Yang's suggestion. Though a slight joke, it did have some merit, but he'd have to crush her hopes. "As fun as that'd be, it wouldn't work too well. Remember, there's Hazel. He'll likely be leading the horde and while there's only so much direction he could provide the Grimm, he'll still do what he can to make the most of their numbers."
From nearby, Pyrrha grimaced. "Right… I forgot about that man, in all honesty…"
Blake spoke next, looking him dead in the eyes. "With everything we now know, it's going to come down to you confronting him personally, isn't it?" she asked hesitantly. "…Do you think you can beat him for good this time?"
Had this been just earlier today or even before that time, he'd have been able to confidently say yes… but now? For some reason… he was just getting a bad feeling all of a sudden. An odd chill was racing down his spine, had been for the past several minutes or so, which is partly why he'd been pacing this whole time.
"I…I think so," he eventually answered, being earnest as usual. He raised both of his hands and clenched them into tight fists. "I'm definitely stronger than before… plus I have my modified blades now. That'll give me an edge."
"But…?"
Jaune sighed. "But I can't help but feel that Hazel had gotten stronger since our last fight too. Call it intuition on my part, but when we do clash again, I honestly can't say how good my odds of defeating him will be, especially since he definitely will be aiming to kill me as quickly as possible." He ceased his pacing for good and frowned. "That aside for the moment, there's still Salem too…"
This Watts was still out there. Hazel was no doubt even stronger than before and would be holding nothing back at all next time. And finally, there was still Salem lying in wait at the end of all this.
Taken out of context, it was just three individuals going up against not just him and his friends but an entire kingdom backed by a fleet from Atlas... and yet, when the context was considered, Jaune couldn't help but feel that those three individuals still held a massive advantage.
He and his friends may have won their respective battles today, but not without costs. Meanwhile, their enemies still very much have the means to win this shadow war that's been going on for so long.
Unless they can figure out a way to turn things around, Salem and her forces would effectively walk right over all of them. And now more than ever, they were on a serious time crunch. There was no way to know for sure just how much time remained until the Grimm truly started swarming Vale, but the blond leader sensed it wouldn't be that long at all.
Thus, the necessity of being able to make their next move as soon as possible.
"Well," Ruby began, his fellow leader thinking deeply about something. "We still haven't talked with the headmaster and uncle Qrow yet so maybe we should do that first. Who knows? Maybe they're already thinking up some super cool strategy right now too?"
"…Considering professor Goodwitch was the one who came to debrief us in private when we got back earlier and just how quickly she went about it too… I kind of doubt the others are handling this better than we are," Blake reluctantly said, crushing her leader's hopes just like that.
Even Jaune winced in response to those words, but it was good that the B of RWBY had made that clear before any of them truly got their hopes up. With how involved both teams now were in this war, the headmaster himself would've set aside the time to personally debrief them and brainstorm what to do. That he hadn't done so meant he had his hands full as it is. Understandable given the ongoing chaos in Vale – chaos that Jaune strongly felt he and his friends should be helping in calming down, but couldn't since his friends needed some rest – but still, it was far from an uplifting thing to dwell on.
Closing his eyes for moment, Jaune tried to go over as many options as he could think. Sadly, there weren't many at all.
To put things as simply as possible, they've hit something of an insurmountable wall. The Atlas fleet was currently in disarray, dealing with the fallout of their hack from earlier and the protests in Vale meant the kingdom's authorities and forces couldn't just go about bolstering their defenses like usual, not when there was a chance of collapsing from within first. With Arthur Watts out there somewhere too and with no current way of locating him, the chances of another cyberattack occurring were too damn high.
Vale was in a bad state, a really bad state here. Even if the headmaster just outright forwent formalities and called in all his other allies to help out, it wouldn't work. For one thing, it'd likely take too long for his other allies to join up and form a proper strategy here. For another thing, if Salem caught wind of such a thing, she'd just speed things up on her end even more.
As things stood, the only thing that could be done would be trying to delay the inevitable Grimm horde. But how?
…
…
Jaune opened his eyes just as he looked away from his friends, not wanting them to read his intentions in his expression.
With all the negativity being outputted right now, the Grimm horde coming their way wouldn't be small at all. Even if he had more than enough power to march out there and overwhelm any Grimm on his own, it'd still just be him against hundreds of thousands or even more at the bare minimum… and it went without saying that quantity was a quality all its own. Even if others came with him – his friends or just other capable warriors in general, armaments and all – it'd still be a relative few against an entire army.
But if dealing with the horde itself directly was seemingly impossible… then there was only one other way of slowing them down:
By confronting its leader – Hazel.
"…" Jaune grimaced while still having his back towards his friends. In all honesty, the idea of confronting Hazel didn't appeal to him. It'd be so easy for the man to just order the horde to go around them both while he dealt with him, making such an idea unbelievably risky. And again, he couldn't help but feel that the man had gotten stronger since last time too, strong enough for the blond to wonder just how good his odds were at beating him. Would he alone be enough to triumph over Hazel? Would his friends need to come with him to assist?
No, he thought, they can't come along on this wild idea of his.
At the risk of sounding arrogant if only to himself, his friends were simply not strong enough to go up against Hazel. Even if they simply came along to deal with any Grimm that would try to just overwhelm him, the Grimms' sheer numbers would swiftly crush any resistance they could put up.
He simply couldn't do it – he couldn't possibly ask his friends to come along on such a senseless and personal endeavor, though a part certainly did wish to ask. Alas, their abilities would be far better suited to something else rather than trying to take on the veritable monster known as Hazel.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Just trying to go through our options still," he replied quietly as he turned back around, schooling his expression and posture as to not give anything away.
With nothing else that could really be said, at least not anything that could lead to anything productive, both teams slowly fell silent before eventually making small talk.
The whole time, Jaune did his best to participate as usual in his cherished friends' conversations… but all the while, the idea that their – his – best bet to delaying the assault was to take the fight directly to Hazel was becoming ever more captivating in his thoughts.
…
…
…
Now more than ever, the blond prayed he wasn't about to make a terrible, unfixable mistake. So be it… looks like tomorrow, he's going to be out hunting for his greatest foe.
Whew, this proved to be a considerably longer chapter than usual. Hope it was still up to par for you guys!
So, couple of things here.
First, Hazel's new form. As stated in Salem's section, the former man is now roughly on par with Ozma in his prime, maybe even a bit stronger. But this is strictly in terms of pure power not overall ability. He may still be a versatile combatant thanks to his enhanced magical abilities plus the usage of his semblance which he still does retain, but his hazy mental state at the time aside, these abilities have yet to fully reach their peak. Additionally, it's up to him to be able to get creative and make the most of it. It is because of these few facts that both Qrow and Raven had even been able to survive and even then only barely. Now that he's fully regained his intellect whilst fully discarding any 'hindrances' that he'd once had, he'll be fighting much more effectively in the future.
Secondly, Tyrian. As I hope I made clear in his section in the previous chapter, he knew his odds of winning his battle and escaping were pretty low due to how low his aura had gotten by the time he'd injected himself with his venom. Thus, he figured he might as well go out in a blaze of glory and that's more or less what he did in this chapter, the abruptness of his death aside, what with all the people he'd managed to kill and the resulting negativity. Hope this makes sense.
Thirdly, Amber. It took me a long time to get around to it, but she's now up and will soon be running around, albeit in a lesser capacity compared to everyone else due to just how long she'd been kept in that chamber. Now, by now, I'm sure it seems like her awakening now of all times is hardly something to be super excited about given the antagonists' abilities, but every bit of extra firepower the MCs can get on their side, the better, so there's that. Plus, there may be a surprise or two in store regarding her…
Fourthly, Jaune and his decision. Again, not to make him sound arrogant or anything but from an objective standpoint, his friends are nowhere near ready to take on someone like Hazel even back when he had been human still. Now that he's an outright monster? Forget it. But don't think that things will go so simply on this front – there's still going to be a bit more to happen before Jaune gets his third battle with Hazel.
Now, that just about wraps up what I want to say, but if there's any confusion still about how things are playing out or if any of you guys are curious in general about something in this, don't hesitate to mention it in a review or even PM and I'll do my best to respond if possible.
Until next time, everyone. Stay safe!