Hey there, everyone. Though I did mention it in the last chapter's AN, sorry for the wait. To reiterate what was said last chapter, I'm now back at work and the new 5 to 1:30pm schedule is really beating down on me. While not unused to waking up earlier, my OCD is ensuring I'm waking up now around 2:30 in the morning now for no good reason and I'm having a hard time falling asleep before 10pm even though I go to bed roughly 2 hours prior to that. It's just really been wearing me down and so it wasn't until my days off that I was really able to hunker down and focus on writing since by then I'm better rested. I'll adjust though and my writing should pick up in pace again, though no idea when that'll be.

And honestly, this heat wave isn't really helping either. Speaking of which, sure hope all of you are staying safe out there. As has become the norm in these more recent years, August is experiencing a significant temperature spike as well as an increase in mugginess too, so it's really bearing down on me and everyone I know. Hell of a time to get called back to work, right? Heh. But seriously, you all stay safe out there. Drink all the water you can get and stay cool because knowing how the weather is like over here on the west coast, this heat is going to last a bare minimum of several weeks. Honestly can't imagine how bad it is and/or will get over in other parts of the country and the rest of the world.

Now, segueing to something completely different… Fate Grand Order. Specifically, the new opening for Cosmos in the Lostbelt part 2. I know it came out like two or three weeks ago, but damn, I just can't stop returning to the video every now and then still to watch it. So much to be hyped over! And Daybit… damn, I've liked him ever since he and the other Crypters were even first introduced, but with every super small tidbit of info we get about him and how much hype he's getting, I'm just getting that much more eager to see how the final Lostbelt will play out. Hope Delightworks doesn't disappoint!

Now then, onto the chapter!

Chapter 52

A few days go by. Though this was but a short interim, to everyone within Vale, it felt so much longer… and by no means was this in any way a good thing.

Protests have only intensified in this short amount of time as Tyrian Callow's brief but brutal rampage had reached the heart of the kingdom before it'd been abruptly ended. In the short time the crazed serial killer had been on the loose, dozens of people have lost their lives as a direct result of his actions. The authorities' response to this had been far from popular with the citizens either. That the authorities had tried to bring an end to his spree as quietly as possible to avoid increasing negativity was ultimately irrelevant as far as the people were concerned – to hell with huntsmen having been sent out to try and take him down quietly before any of them knew what was up, they wanted to be kept in the loop!

Additionally, the near fiasco with the Atlas fleet had been nothing more than a mountain's worth of fuel being poured onto an already fierce fire and many protests have devolved into outright riots, which had naturally required police, huntsmen, and Atlas soldiers to step in and stop, a response that only angered the masses all the more.

That the decisions of those in power, faulty as they were, had been with the intent of simply keeping negativity and thus Grimm presence down was something the populace seemed to not care for. Even though this was an intention the council had made as clear as possible during the live interview that had followed the very next day after Tyrian's death, the people were refusing to see reason for the most part.

This was enough to get Jaune to sigh, the teen feeling quite sad… but more than that, he just felt resigned.

He liked to think he was ultimately an optimist, someone who believed in mankind's potential for goodness. That said, even when his semblance's hold over him had been at its strongest, he knew better than to believe that humanity would just roll with the ever-changing tides that life likes to throw at them. It was in humanity's very nature to question things, to hunger to know more no matter the consequences. It was also in their nature to not exactly like being told what to do by others either and while not necessarily a bad trait to have provided it was kept to a certain extent, when allowed to fester and overflow in not just one person but in many, that's when things such as this tend to happen.

Alas, things always get worse before they get better. In the years to come, Jaune was certain that future generations will look back on this time and wonder just what the hell the people had been doing, acting so irate in the wake of others simply trying to do what they could to protect them. It was always how things played out, a key part of human history.

This was assuming, of course, there would even be future generations around to ponder such ridiculousness; if Salem and her remaining forces – Hazel and Arthur Watts – weren't stopped soon, the kingdom of Vale along with the rest of the kingdoms would soon be levelled to the very ground.

And by soon, he meant pretty much today, maybe tomorrow at the latest.

"Jaune, you ready?" Pyrrha asked from nearby just as he finished ensuring the Dust in his blades were fully topped off. Though his blades didn't burn through Dust anywhere near as fast as other weapons out there, the power within the Dust had been used up a lot in his earlier encounters, thus the need to replace the used Dust.

He nodded as he finished what he was doing. Currently, he was within his dorm, his team gathered around him, all of them armed as well. "As ready as I'll ever be."

His response apparently wasn't quite the one Pyrrha really wanted to hear because she looked more worried than she already was. "I know you'll have those two Maidens by your side, but…" she trailed off, rubbing her right elbow, a nervous little tick she had outside of combat situations.

Following the conversation he'd had with the headmaster and the others, he'd gone back to his dorm and had done as the headmaster had suggested – that is, he told his friends just what it is he'd planned to do that day.

Needless to say, his friends had been rightfully outraged, hurt too. Though they'd understood his reasoning, emotions rarely followed conventional logic and naturally he'd spent a good deal of time being chewed out for what had been a rushed and bullheaded decision. He'd obediently taken those verbal lumps in stride at the time and had done his best to reflect.

Alas, for all the lecturing they'd done, all the comments they'd made of how hurt his thoughts at the time had made them feel, there was really nothing that could actually be done here. The facts are that they simply weren't powerful enough to go up against Hazel and though they knew how to cohesively fight as a team, their support would do very little to help turn the tides in his favor against Hazel. There was simply no changing the additional fact that two Maidens made for far better teammates against such an unnatural foe now than anyone else, be it them or even professional huntsmen.

Speaking of which, not only had he told them about what he'd nearly gone and done, he'd also made sure to tell them of what he'd learned from the headmaster. He'd told them of Hazel's transformation into a literal monster, of the Fall Maiden finally awakening and readying herself to join the battle, of Raven Branwen, the Spring Maiden, also being requested to join the effort against Hazel, so on and so forth. This was why Pyrrha commented about said Maidens just now.

Incidentally, when they'd naturally told team RWBY about all this too, things had gotten… well, things had gotten quite intense. As soon as Jaune had mentioned Raven's name to the team, Yang had gone stock still for a split second before immediately stomping off. It'd taken the others to hold her back lest she go storming into the headmaster's office back then and it hadn't been until after she'd been forced to calm down that she'd revealed why she'd gotten so uppity.

Turns out that Raven Branwen was her mother. In all honesty, Jaune hadn't been too surprised when he and his team had learned of that fact the other day, what with how similar the two of them looked. And clearly, there were some serious issues there between those two. As much as he'd have liked to help out somehow, he'd known not of how to actually do so and had ultimately resigned himself to standing by alongside his friends whilst Yang sorted things out herself.

Whether or not Yang had somehow managed to get a hold of Raven and speak, he knew not – RWBY had been something of a collective ghost these past few days, having been busy doing all sorts of things while he'd also been kept busy trying to prepare as much as possible for when he had to go out into the field again.

And now, that time has come. Just earlier today, a scout ship that the Atlas fleet had managed to send out had reported what looked like a Grimm horde from afar, perhaps only a day or two away before they became visible from atop Vale's southern walls. It was worth noting that the ship, having not wanted to risk getting too close and be struck down, had had to play things very safe by remaining so far away and thus what they'd seen could've just been a trick of the eyes or their radars acting up…

…But of course, Jaune and all the others knew better. The Grimm horde was closing in and was for all intents and purposes at Vale's figurative doorstep. Something had to be done now.

And so, it was time for him and the two Maidens to begin their trip out there.

"…I know this is all happening really fast," he began softly as he stood up and looked at Pyrrha. "But try to at least rest knowing I'll be doing all I can to make it out alive. I know that I've a bone to pick with Hazel here… but I'm not going to just throw my life away to satisfy the issue I have with him."

"And we believe you there, Jaune," Ren spoke up, stepping forward as he did so. His fellow male was looking a bit apologetic. "But though we know you well enough now that we don't have to worry about that… we are worried you will throw your life away if it means it'll save others… and stopping Hazel and potentially the horde could be counted as doing just that." From right next to him, Nora nodded her head firmly.

Ren's words were enough to make Jaune wince a little because the R of JNPR did have a point.

Though he's made significant strides since his second battle with Hazel, Jaune knew he still wasn't fully 'free' just yet. There was still something holding him back, something that his friends seemed to be somewhat aware of, if only to the extent where they could recognize the fact that said 'something' even existed in the first place.

"Ren's right," Pyrrha said. She ceased rubbing her elbow and now practically glared at him. "Jaune… given the circumstances, do you trust us?"

Jaune recoiled as if physically struck. Just where had that suddenly come from? "Of course, I do."

"Then why did you not discuss with us your plan the other day?" Pyrrha pressed. "And before you repeat how Hazel is too great a threat for us to take on, we know that. We acknowledge that… no matter how much it hurts having to do so…" Her expression became quite bitter at that, her hands balling into fists. Ren and Nora weren't looking exceptionally pleased by her words either. "But even then, why did you not tell us? Did you not trust us enough to be able to figure out what could be done?"

"…" Jaune liked to think he had an answer to that, but really, he didn't. Not in the damn slightest.

Pyrrha must have seen something in his expression in that very moment, for her expression turned sad. She then sighed and then smiled forlornly. "…Ever since we first met, it was clear you held a good deal of faith in humanity," she began. "But now… now I see that perhaps your faith isn't quite as strong as you thought it was. Certainly, you've gladly welcomed our aid whenever we offered it and did your best to include us whenever we were there and ready to take on whatever new threat there was… but when you're on your own… when you're just by yourself and about to go off and confront some whatever is coming this way, just how often and how seriously do you consider asking us for help?"

Their dorm became so silent that a pin could easily be heard falling. In response to those sudden words, Jaune had absolutely no idea what to say. Normally, he could at least trust his instincts enough to guide him, effectively let him move and react on autopilot, but even his instincts could seemingly help him say anything here.

It was a long minute or two before he could finally utter anything at all. "Pyrrha… I…" He had no idea at all what it was he even wanted to say, much less even think.

His redhead partner then shook her head, looking apologetic. "No, please don't take this the wrong way," she said gently. "This isn't meant to attack you, to hurt you. We just… well, we just wanted to point this out to you. It's honestly been quite rare, us noticing this particular side of you, but it's just that it'd been especially noticeable this time around what with the new threat Hazel poses." She then grimaced, looking frustrated at herself now. "…We just want to make sure you knew of this before going off into battle. I know this may sound like a very bad time to point out such a thing… but considering it seems like you do your best thinking when in battle, well… we just took a leap of faith here."

"…I see," Jaune replied lamely. Feeling heavily uncertain of what to do or say, he hastily looked towards their room's sole clock. "It's about time I take off. I'm sure they're already waiting for me."

For the first time in a very, very long time, Jaune felt like making a run for it, his years of training and experience and growth failing him in this very moment.

In an instant, he headed for the door and opened it – only to pause just as his friends called out to him one last time.

"Jaune," Pyrrha called out. "Good luck out there, okay?"

He turned his head and looked back at his friends, all of whom were as ready for battle as they could be. With all the craziness going on, some Grimm that had already been within the general area were attacking Vale's walls again. They were to go and provide assistance and help prepare for when the horde itself actually arrived. It was an all-hands-on-deck type of situation and understandably so.

Though they may not be coming out with him to confront Hazel, they'd be in plenty of danger as it is. So much for wanting to keep the risks to them as minimized as possible.

"Thanks," he replied. "Best of luck to you too… be safe out there."

Pyrrha nodded, her expression growing strong and stern as she wielded her shield and blade. She looked like the very image of a warrior woman with how perfect and intense her stance and very demeanor were.

Nora hefted the compact Magnhild up dangerously, her usually mischievous eyes showcasing only uncompromising resolve now.

Ren, usually a quiet one, was now dead silent. His posture was very loose and limber… but there was no mistaking just how quick even the smallest of his movements were right now. He was more ready than he'd ever been before.

Indeed, his friends were ready for a battle of their own… and he owed it to them to at least do his part in lightening the burden to come.

With nothing else needing to be stated, Jaune took his leave.

It was time.

Groggily, Watts awoke and stretched.

Though he's had these past few days to return to Hazel's side, he's yet to do so, much to his own bemusement. However, it did make sense in hindsight that it would take this long. For one thing, he did have to circle around pretty much the entirety of Vale since he had departed from the kingdom's northwestern area whereas Hazel was approaching from the south. Additionally, for all his newfound strength, he still required some rest, if only for his mind, something that had necessitated he pause every so now and then to land somewhere safe and hidden and get some shut eye. Given that it was his power supplying this ship, he'd really rather not run the risk of it crashing should he doze off whilst it was in mid-flight.

But this didn't annoy him in the slightest. Again, in hindsight now, it was expected for him to have taken this long to get around to it and now it seemed like he'd be linking up with Hazel soon enough. He'd estimate it would take him a few more hours to reach the man and the horde, but that was while going on foot. While carrying on in his aircraft would cut this time down drastically, given how big the Grimm horde is – a horde that he can just barely make out even from here – there was no guarantee that Hazel would be able to spot him in time to make the airborne Grimm that would no doubt intercept him first to back off. At least if he's on foot, he could better traverse through the horde if it came down to it. Aerial combat was something he'd much rather avoid.

"A pity I still have to abandon this aircraft though," he murmured to himself as he ejected from said craft. Though his time with his hastily put together ship had been brief, it'd grown on him quite quickly. Oh well, he can always try his hand at making more things like this in the future, when he will have the time and ability to really go wild.

As he now abandoned the aircraft, Watts couldn't help but peer over his shoulder. Vale was well and truly behind him for the time being, residing so far away now that he can't even see the southern walls from here. A pity he wasn't able to just fly directly south earlier; would've certainly cut his travel time in half if not more if he'd really pushed the limits of his aircraft's speed. Alas, that was yet another thing he needn't bother dwelling on for now.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Watts looked forward and swiftly headed for the thick forestry nearby, an extra precaution against the Grimm. Though he has nothing to really fear from them at this point, there was just no guarantee they'll perceive him as prey or not. Best to just avoid any confrontation until Hazel can detect him and the big man can call them off.

"Hmm, on that note, I wonder just how Hazel is doing," he thought aloud. His ally had been more than a little unnerved over the changes he'd been undergoing recently… has that unease finally abated or had it only worsened since then? Watts would certainly hope it was the former – the last thing any of them needed was for Hazel to start faltering now of all times, when Salem's plan was to reach fruition.

Given Hazel's disposition though, the former Atlas scientist was confident that the man will pull through. It was just in the nature of men like Hazel to soldier on no matter what obstacles they may come across. That said 'obstacle' was more of an emotional hurdle than an actual physical obstacle was irrelevant.

"…" Watts made a little sound. His thoughts came to a sudden stop as he now realized something felt… off. Why this sensation of wrongness was hitting him here and now of all times was a question that had no immediately forthcoming answer nor did there appear to be any clues that would provide him enough information to make even a halfway decent guess as to the cause of this wrongness.

He just simply knew that something was wrong and majorly so.

Quietly, he activated his virtual space and expanded it only slightly, just enough to cover everything within several meters of himself. Upon doing so, he raised his hands marginally and in direct response to this little gesture, the very ground beneath him suddenly shifted and silently rolled about. The very sight of this oddity he'd created was akin to how in cartoons, a character would be travelling under a rug and creating a significant bulge as they seamlessly crawled along, only in this case, there was no such thing causing it. It was just his will doing so within this virtual space of his.

Ceasing to walk, Watts allowed himself to be carried forth by this shifting ground, which gradually picked up speed as he concentrated more and more. All around him, trees and bushes and additional haphazard shrubbery would part as soon as they were enveloped by his virtual space, the man making it a point to make himself a travel path that was as straightforward as could be.

Despite how quickly he was now moving, however, it felt to him as if time was passing by at a much slower rate than before. He did his best to keep track of said time, but as the wrongness grew greater and greater in intensity, Watts had to forgo his timekeeping in favor of just focusing on covering more ground.

Only vaguely did he become aware of the sounds of Grimm off in the now near distance after traveling for about an hour and a half now, which is about when said loss of timekeeping had occurred for him.

And the Grimm… they sounded close now, very close.

He came to a halt and deactivated his virtual space. This whole time, he'd been travelling further south and his path had taken him deeper and deeper into the forests that naturally populated this particular area. With his virtual space no longer active, he had no choice but to physically brush past the thick shrubbery and kick over some large rocks that barred his way, but the man paid these measly obstacles very little mind, instead being more focused on getting to the nearest clearing as soon as possible.

Despite said desire to reach his destination quickly, however, he kept his virtual space deactivated, Watts not wanting the Grimm to somehow spot its obvious glow from afar. He'd much rather keep it as a surprise just in case.

About ten minutes later, it finally seemed as if he was about to reach a clearing. As this happened, the wrongness felt greater than ever before, making the man actually grimace now. Perhaps it was due to the nature of his virtual space and the changes wrought by his Eternal Motor, but he now possessed a steadily developing extrasensory perception when it concerns the fabric of reality… and right now, he was sensing something really amiss about reality, as if there was some perverse force at work here.

But just what could even be-?

He didn't get the chance to fully finish that thought as suddenly, just as he was about to reach the clearing, three Beowulves flung themselves from where they'd hidden between some trees right at him.

"…!" Watts immediately backpedaled and instinctively lashed out with a sloppy backhand. Had this been before his operation, taking down even a single Beowulf with his bare hands would've been suicidal on his part but now his strike carried more than enough power to kill the three attacking Grimm, all of whom had practically converged upon him in a straightforward fashion.

However, that had been but a mere prelude apparently, for several more Grimm now appeared from behind. Two Ursas, one Alpha Beowulf, and two normal Beowulves… they must have circled around him somehow just a moment ago, he realized and they now attacked him in unison now that the first three Grimm had taken him off guard.

Because of his backpedaling, he was pretty much already within their attack range and sure enough, the Alpha Beowulf, being the fastest out of the bunch, was able to get in close and actually claw at his exposed back violently. It was only thanks to his greatly enhanced toughness and his aura that the attack didn't gouge him then and there, but it still hurt a good deal.

Shocked and now infuriated, Watts activated his virtual space as he stumbled forward from the attack. Just as the Alpha Beowulf sought to follow up with a second strike while the other Grimm continued to fan out and close in, he unleashed an area of effect strike, the very ground around him growing spikes that instantly impaled the Grimm in mid-action.

Their forms dissipated instantly, but he was far from out of the clear just yet, for the ground visibly shake as many more Grimm were now apparently heading his way. Hell, not even a split second later, he could actually see the Grimm incoming and they were far from small, with a Deathstalker and two Goliaths now heading his way.

"What the devil?!" Watts uttered in surprise. He could've sworn he'd been going undetected by the Grimm this entire time… so just why was he now being assault like this?!

Confused and angry, Watts leapt into action. He expanded his virtual space to about half of its new size, thereby enveloping the massive incoming Grimm. As soon as their forms were enveloped, Watts made the very ground beneath them give out and the two Goliaths and the Deathstalker could only let out cries as they fell deep within the earth, at least a solid thirty feet. Once they fell, Watts closed up the ground right away, those Grimm now effectively trapped and with no way of getting out.

However, more Grimm were now appearing, this time being a wave of Beowulves dashing along the ground and rushing right over the spots their larger brethren had just occupied. Above him, Nevermores of varying sizes and just a few Griffons were now flying all around the area.

Growling, Watts tensed up. "I've no time nor patience for this!" he yelled as he just made the very space around him spontaneously combust before any of the Grimm could pull off any maneuvers. The resulting explosion proved more than powerful enough to wipe out all the gathered Grimm and would've enveloped even himself had he not also ensured the explosion would only travel outwards and not spread inwards. Even then, the sheer power of said combustion was such that his bones rattled from the mere vibrations.

Standing his ground as the explosion gradually dissipated, Watts tried to take in the situation.

Just what in the hell is going on? Just how had the Grimm detected him? But more than that… just what was Hazel even thinking?!

This last question that ran through his mind just now was one born from the observations he'd just made in this past moment alone. The Grimm, despite their straightforward attacks, had attempted to flank him and make proper use of basic tactics, something that they wouldn't be capable of doing by themselves. Had they been left to their own devices, then all those Grimm would've simply bum-rushed him without any further consideration. And the Goliaths definitely wouldn't have taken direct action like that unless all the 'lesser' Grimm in their immediate vicinity had been dealt with first. That they'd done so despite there being all those other Grimm around can only mean one thing-.

-Someone had ordered them to.

Hazel.

"Hazel!" Watts called out as his combustion was now almost fully gone. "What is going on?!"

How he'd been detected was a question that could honestly wait until later – what mattered now is that, for reasons unknown to him, Hazel had for all intents and purposes just sent some Grimm after him. There better be a damn good reason for such an action, Watts thought darkly.

The wrongness from before suddenly grew even more intense, effectively forcing all his thoughts to come to a grinding halt and for his eyes to widen as the explosion now fully disappeared – just in time for him to make out a massive fist coming right his way.

Only barely was he able to dodge, instinctively leaping back just before the fist could crush him. He managed to move back at least several yards – but this proved to be not enough, for as soon as the fist struck the spot he'd just occupied, the ground practically erupted with the force of an actual eruption.

Watts got blown back hard and was rendered so intensely disoriented during said blowback that he was unable to utilize his virtual space to aid him. He must have ended up flying back a solid two dozen meters before finally hitting the ground and hard at that too. He damn near skipped like a human-sized stone, the pain helping him shake off his disorientation, but that was hardly much consolation to the man.

As he hit the ground one final time, Watts groaned and grunted as he hastily forced himself to stand up. In the process of doing so, he was able to get a good, long look at who – what – had nearly struck him.

And as he stared, he couldn't help but gape like a fool.

There stood a bonafide monster, humanoid in appearance if only in terms of how its general physique is built. Its armor-like skin did little to hide the mountain of muscles that it clearly possessed, its stark white 'color' allowing its sickening purple veins to really stand out. Spikes covered parts of its body and were especially prevalent upon its back from the looks of it.

However, it was the monster's smooth skull-like head that drew Watts' attention the most, its vibrant purple irises grabbing his attention right away.

Off in the distance, numerous Grimm could be seen – the horde that Hazel had been gathering up until now, he realized.

And it was with that particular realization that Watts knew what and formerly who was glaring right his way right now.

"H-Hazel…?"

The monster glared hatefully at the human – Watts – before him, studying him for what felt like the first time.

Though especially attuned to negativity, the monster was able to sense a human's very soul now and it was thanks to this ability that it'd been able to locate this fool in the first place despite his obvious attempts to stay hidden among the forest out here. And it'd been upon sensing the man that it had sent those Grimm after him. It'd known it wouldn't have really succeeded at actually killing the man, but it'd still served the purpose of distracting the man almost long enough for it to get in close undetected and attack.

It'd only been thanks to the man spotting him at the last possible instant that his death had only narrowly been avoided, much to the monster's annoyance.

"H-Hazel…?" the man, Watts, called out. His tone was one of complete shock, his posture as slack as could be. But even so, this virtual space of the man's still remained, showing that his concentration hadn't fully broken just yet.

"I…" the man began as he took a shaky step forward. "Just what happened to you? No, more than that… why did you just attack me?"

As he asked that second question, the man's expression shifted. Though confusion was still clearly evident in his features, anger was now the dominating emotion. The monster could practically taste said anger too in the air around it. Whether this was due to its own senses being that developed now or perhaps due to this virtual space ultimately being an expansion of Watts' aura was unknown.

In any case, the monster saw no reason to answer, instead choosing to just take a deceptively quiet step forward. This didn't go unnoticed by Watts, however, and the man tensed up, his anger only growing stronger in addition to his confusion. "Hazel, damn it, answer me! What's the meaning of this?!"

The monster had been about to take another step forward, but as the man practically roared out those words, the monster reconsidered. It paused in mid-motion and simply continued to stare at the man.

And then, after a second of contemplation, if finally bothered to respond.

"You're… human. I… I am not… not anymore," the monster ultimately answered, its tone as hateful as could be.

Indeed. The one once known as Hazel Rainart had discarded his humanity in practically its entirety, the result of it having long since fully tired of humanity and its pettiness, its spitefulness and self-destructive faults. Though the parasite currently named Ozpin and Jaune Arc were its primary targets right now, the monster vowed to wipe out all humanity eventually, bring about a blank slate for the world. And Watts, being a human, was naturally just another target for it to crush now.

It didn't matter any longer that they'd once been allies – Watts was human and that was good enough for the monster to drastically reevaluate the insufferably smug bastard's existence.

Here and now, the monster shall fulfill its new purpose and end this human.

In response to its reaffirmed resolve, power began to gather rapidly within the spikes upon its back, a power far greater than anything that had come before.

Back when it'd still been human, it had held certain values, certain principles. Despite how pragmatic Hazel Rainart may have been, he'd ultimately been a man of some honor.

But not anymore. Now, the monster would simply do whatever it must to exterminate anyone and anything that dared to stand in its path.

And it would seem Watts realized that too, for his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets from shock as lightning and flames and just pure power coalesced into one massive ball that its back spikes were now generating just above its tips.

Immediately, the man sought to make a move of his own – but it was far too late. The monster let loose the ball as it leaned forward a bit, said ball of power shooting forth with blinding speed.

It struck the very spot Watts occupied and exploded with such intensity that it was like a miniature sun had just been born, the resulting explosion enveloping everything for miles on end.

However, the monster remained unsatisfied. In fact, it was quite angry.

The virtual space still remained, severely cracked from the sheer force of its attack just now, but still very much present.

That could only mean one thing.

And sure enough, an instant later, it could hear coughing and hacking and grunting. The smoke generated from the explosion just now immediately disappeared and there stood Watts, right where he'd just been standing before with his hands now raised defensively.

The monster growled, understanding what had just happened.

At the last possible instant, Watts had used the practically innumerable functions of his virtual space to protect himself… but only barely, it would seem, if the state of said virtual space was anything to go by.

No matter.

Suddenly, the monster roared and threw a punch that was aimed at the space before it. And as soon as its massive arm fully extended, a terrible cracking sound rang out throughout the area as it had directly attacked the virtual space itself.

Watts ended up letting out a sudden and all too sharp cry of agony as its attack cracked the virtual space… and then, just a split second later, it ended up shattering into complete nothingness.

The human the monster had once called an ally ended up staggering and falling onto his butt unceremoniously, gasping heavily from the strain of his virtual space being destroyed so suddenly like that.

The monster growled again, this time with a marginal sense of satisfaction. But it wasn't done just yet.

Having told the rest of the horde to remain on standby until now – Watts' virtual space and its considerable range made the man an unfortunate counter to the Grimms' numbers – the monster now rescinded that order.

Off in the near distance, a fair number of the Grimm snarled and howled hatefully, many of them responding.

A second later, many Beowulves, Ursas and Griffons quickly began to head out and converge all around the area.

And all the while, the monster closed in on Watts, who struggled to get back up. Even with a fair bit of distance between them still, the monster literally towered over the ailing man.

Watts looked up at him in shock and growing fright, said fright rapidly reaching new heights as he also took in all the Grimm now surrounding the entire area, realizing that he was well and truly surrounded.

Good, the monster thought, look all around you and tremble in despair.

Practically lapping up the feeble human's emotions for the moment, the monster finally made its next – and final – move.

Both fists came down upon Watts just as it looked as if the man had been about to say something – only for those words to never be spoken at all.

Alas, the monster ended up grimacing immediately after its fists struck the ground – and nothing else. Its now former ally had managed to escape at the last possible instant. No doubt, Watts had used that virtual space of his just before impact to do something.

No matter, it could sense the man's wild emotions and pinpointed his location a second thereafter… and the source of these emotions was now coming from behind it.

Rather than spin around and waste time, it instead generated immense bursts of lightning and flames from the spikes upon its back, the flaming bolts arcing downwards to accommodate for the now vast difference in height between the two of them.

Only after firing did the monster bother actually turning around. As it did so, it was met with quite the surprise. That is, for Watts' virtual space to manifest only marginally and as it did so and its bolts entered Watts' territory, something truly amazing happened.

With just a bit of a shout, a battlecry really, Watts caused the bolts to disperse around him. The result was numerous smaller but still powerful bolts of lightning and balls of fire to end up shotgunning all over the area behind him. Many of the Grimm the monster had commanded to surround the area ended up being slain by its own attack of all things.

The monster growled as it recalled its 'past life,' of when it had once spent time with Watts, specifically when the man had been practicing with this damnable virtual space. It would seem that even if magical in origin, any natural phenomena can be manipulated by the man, as this case has just demonstrated.

In which case…

The monster formerly known as Hazel bellowed loudly, commanding the remaining Grimm to back off and rejoin the horde. Now that it understood this previous slaughter was now to be an actual battle, losing Grimm would be a hindrance, especially since Watts' virtual space afforded him the means to take out large numbers of Grimm in a single moment.

It would strictly be a battle between it and him then.

Its bellow did more than just get the Grimm to back off, however – it also served as an attack unto itself, the very air practically tearing apart from how powerful the bellow was. It was enough to actually blast Watts off his feet and send him flying, but the man merely expanded his virtual space some more and seemed to teleport himself safely to the now ruined ground.

The monster had expected as much and had charged at where the man had been likely to be, a fist raised. Its prediction had been spot on and it had already started to swing its fist before Watts had even fully manifested in his new spot.

By all rights, his attack should've landed and slain the man then and there, but just like before, Watts had ways of defending himself. With a sudden wave of the hand, Watts generated some kind of spatial quake within his virtual space that quickly expanded outwards and slammed against the monster with incredible force – not enough to damage it, but just enough to halt its attack awkwardly and force it to lose a step and a half.

"Damn it all, Hazel!" Watts yelled as he followed up his counter with another attack, making the ground ripple like water with just a single step on his part. As was the case with the spatial quake just now, since the origin point of this ripple effect had occurred within his virtual space, the rippling was able to move far out of range of said virtual space.

The very ground itself seemed to turn to complete mush and the monster ended up falling through it. However, it'd already encountered a similar tactic in its previous fight and so it didn't catch it off guard anywhere near as much. In the span of just a split second at most, the monster fired out intense flames from its open hands that acted as afterburners. Despite how huge and heavy its body now is, the monster was able to propel itself out of the watery ground in a microsecond and high into the sky.

As it swiftly reached the apex of its sudden flight, the monster looked down upon a surprised Watts and opened its mouth, power gathering from within its massive body.

If utilizing the power of nature itself wasn't going to be an option then it's time to see just how well the pathetic human can hold up to pure magical power instead.

The monster charged and fired its attack almost instantaneously, the beam itself even faster than lightning.

Let's see just how well Watts can handle this, it darkly thought.

Upon seeing the massive beam heading his way, Watts almost froze up – a costly mistake. Even so, he was able to regain his wits hastily enough and managed to shift his position within his virtual space, now airborne and in a spot just a bit more than five meters away from his previous spot.

Alas, it proved to not be far enough; the beam struck his original spot and exploded on impact, a blinding light enveloping him and causing his very flesh to sizzle and parts of his clothes to practically disintegrate. All he could do was scream soundlessly in pain as he got sent flying, eventually hitting the ground like a human comet.

Groaning, Watts managed to get back up just in time to see his former ally now turned monster practically flying his way. The monster once known as Hazel suddenly ceased its impromptu afterburners and allowed itself to fall upon his current position, swiftly spinning in place in order to presumably deliver an axe-kick.

Naturally not wanting to take such an attack head on, Watts forced himself to physically move, leaping back with all the strength he could muster whilst using his virtual space to transform some nearby trees into steel javelins that were then hurled at the monster with pin-point accuracy. Unfortunately, the hastily made javelins did absolutely nothing against the monster's ridiculous musculature and it proceeded to hit the ground with unbelievable force, cracking open the very ground for a solid mile on end. If not for him having leapt a second time to his right, he could've ended up falling down the newly formed abyss and recovering from that would've taken up precious time.

Not like he wasn't already pressed for time as it is – the monster was charging right at him again, moving with a speed that no creature of that size had any right to. It neared him quickly and it clearly looked ready for whatever tactics he could employ with his virtual space, which definitely wasn't a good sign at all.

Watts shuddered internally as he recalled just how the monster had outright broken his virtual space so easily just a moment ago. Its power was truly in a league all its own now compared to its previously human self. Even now, with all the adrenaline rushing through him, Watts could still feel the aftereffects of having his virtual space crushed so easily. Looks like adrenaline couldn't simply block out pain on a literally spiritual level. At least he was still able to remain alert.

In any case though, with his former comrade having demonstrated the capability of destroying his virtual space with just a single attack, expanding said space beyond a certain size would be outright suicidal on his part. Watts had no doubt in his mind that a second such event would put too big a strain on him for him to recover from in time. That meant he'd have to keep his virtual space as small as he possibly can depending on the circumstances.

And now was one of those times as his former ally was practically upon him.

He definitely had no chance of physically stopping the monster either, meaning his options were even more limited than they already were.

But even so-!

Taking a massive risk here, he expanded his virtual space until it enveloped the former Hazel's entire form in mid-charge. Upon doing so, he instantly crushed the immediate space the monster occupied – followed immediately by crushing the space directly around that spot and then the space around that second layer and so on and so forth, eventually collapsing everything within several yards of the monster into what was essentially a small pseudo-black hole with the monster at the very epicenter.

It roared in what appeared to be shock, but it was already fighting its way out of the black hole with terrifying ease. It didn't appear to be physically damaged by the attack at all. Had whatever transformation Hazel had undergone also improve his already ridiculous semblance? If so, then his former ally was a monster among monsters.

In any case, this gave Watts plenty of time to teleport away, moving many meters away and retracting his virtual space just in time as the monster broke free of its sudden prison and lashed out with an explosion of pure power that rocketed upwards with enough fury to tear apart more of their surroundings. Even though he was just far enough away to avoid being blown off his feet again, Watts still had to make an effort to retain his footing.

Watts ended up snarling as he had to cover his eyes lest the brightness of the explosion render him blind. Just what absurdity was all this? How could things have come to this?

Oh, he may be able to ascertain what had happened to an extent, but the reality before him was still truly absurd! Even with the versatility afforded to him by his virtual space, he was going up against such a naked display of sheer power that even the smallest mistake on his part could lead to death.

And if that happens, no more research on his part. No more enjoying the finer aspects of life… no more getting revenge on James and the rest of the idiots that inhabit Atlas.

He couldn't afford to fall now-!

Unfortunately, he very highly doubted his odds of triumphing over this monster. Hell, even his odds of escaping unscathed were insanely low. That meant all he could do was hold out until some sort of opportunity came along… but just what kind of opportunity would that even be…?

"-!" He made a sound of terror as he realized something. The light of the explosion just now was clearly dimming… but the brightness itself hadn't actually gone away – it was just coming now from elsewhere-.

-From above him.

Watts looked up – just in time to see a blinding flash from the heavens about to envelop him.

"Just what in the hell…?!" Amber murmured from where she sat in the bullhead. The young woman was looking out of the nearest window, clearly gaping as she did so.

And Jaune, sitting just a bit across the ways from her, couldn't blame her one bit; he could see what held her attention too.

Though only slightly, there was clearly a massive beam of light – no, of pure, unfettered power – shooting up into the sky and seemingly beyond only to suddenly make a U-turn and dive back down just a small distance away from its point of origin.

As the beam hit the earth, a massive explosion ended up occurring that even from this distance forced him and Amber to avert their eyes for a second. A shockwave could even be felt all the way from here despite just how far away they still are from what's supposed to be their drop off location.

"Do you see that?" Raven Branwen drawled out in obvious sarcasm. Of course they could see that. "That right there is no doubt our target… so, with that officially said, still feel we actually have a chance at doing this?"

Amber turned around in her spot to glare at her fellow Maiden while Jaune stayed silent for now. "You always this much of a downer?"

Raven scoffed. "As if. I'm just a realist. I am strong… but not that strong," she replied, motioning to where the beam of light was now fading. "And neither are you two."

Amber's glare intensified. "We won't know until we've tried."

"You really think so? Then you're even more naïve than I'd thought." Raven returned Amber's glare with one of her own, the woman leaning forward in her seat. "My idiot brother and I went up against that force and it was only thanks to damn good timing on our part that we even managed to get away. And now that thing seems to be even more powerful than before, believe it or not. You may be a Maiden like me, but you're nowhere near as strong and grit will only get you so far." She then looked to him. "And as for you… I can tell now that you do possess some level of strength, but you being Ozpin's new trump card or whatever? I highly doubt it."

Unlike Amber who was getting plenty upset with how Raven was acting, Jaune merely sat there and calmly looked the bandit leader in the eyes. "…You've a point there," he admitted after a few seconds of contemplation. "I can tell now – Hazel is definitely stronger than me now, much stronger. Had I done this on my own, there's no telling how badly things could've gone."

Raven seemed a little surprised by his admittance. So did Amber and for once the two Maidens seemed to be in agreement on at least one thing.

However, Jaune wasn't done speaking just yet. "Even so, we all must try… and I don't think our odds are as bad you think they are. Sure, in terms of pure power, we seem pretty outmatched… but there's more to strength than just pure brute force. There are other factors to 'strength' at work all the time… and it's in those factors that we've a chance on doing this."

Amber seemed appreciative of his words. Raven, however…

"Are you really lecturing me of all people on battle?" The bandit leader sounded insulted.

"No, merely reminding you of something you'd likely forgotten over the years," he responded honestly. He then paused and decided to say just a bit more. "After all, attacking settlements where there's no resistance to be had may have dulled your battle senses somewhat."

Amber looked like her birthday just came early. Raven seethed. "Great, you're almost exactly like my brother in that regard… at least you're nowhere near of a slob as he is."

Jaune could only smile sheepishly and shrug, unsure of what else to say.

At that moment, the very brief and fragile good mood he'd just instilled was evaporated as it felt like the entire area shook yet again, followed by additional flashes of light. Their pilot, a professional among professionals, made absolutely zero comment about what was going on and simply pressed onwards without seeming even slightly unnerved. Nonetheless, the pilot did make sure to make some adjustments to their flight course just in case anything suddenly came their way.

Needless to say, this got the three combatants' attention right away and this time Jaune couldn't help but stand up and move in for a closer look. Politely nudging his way past Amber so that he could look out through the window for a better view, he observed what was going on.

Even from here and even with the flashes of light illuminating the area, the Grimm horde still couldn't be seen, indicating just how far away they still are from their destination. Nonetheless, for those explosions and flashes to be so intense…

"Just who is he battling?" Jaune murmured. He looked to Raven. "Was anyone else aware of Hazel's approach?"

The woman's bitter mood from just a moment ago was gone and now a serious and borderline vicious expression was on her face. For all her complaining, she was definitely a warrior through and through, just a rather twisted one. "Not that Qrow and I saw, no. But things can change a lot in just a couple of days, so who knows anymore. In any case, doesn't seem like our two oh so reliable allies know of this either or else they'd have told us by now."

She was referring to the headmaster and general Ironwood. Both of them have done their best to really expand their network of sources and even had managed to get in contact with Tukson thanks to Blake's help due to his own impressive skills in intel-gathering. Alas, not much had really turned up.

"Well, doesn't change what we have to do," Amber spoke up, her eyes burning with resolve, so much so that the Maiden power almost seemed to glow out from her facial scarring too, albeit marginally. "Whether it's an ally or another foe, that they're combatting this Hazel guy means they won't be hostile to us for now at least."

"Until afterwards, that is… assuming again that we all even survive," Raven added in a testy tone of voice.

Amber looked ready to try and brain Raven with her staff, the weapon having been recovered alongside her back then. Jaune did his best to ignore the looks the two Maidens were shooting one another and merely narrowed his eyes as his mind processed what was going on.

At the risk of sounding arrogant, he doubted just about anyone would suddenly find themselves all the way out here of all places, much less be able to put up a fight against someone of Hazel's caliber. Aside from himself, his two allies on this mission and the strongest of huntsmen such as the headmaster and most of the staff at Beacon, there really weren't that many people he could think with the capabilities needed to survive against Hazel, especially in light of the transformation he'd undergone.

…Was it perhaps another Maiden somehow? No, from what he's learned from the headmaster, the Winter Maiden was in no shape to do any sort of combat and the Summer Maiden, last anyone knew of, was still somewhere well within the kingdom of Vacuo. And even if somehow one of them had shown up, there would've been some heads-up on the headmaster's part.

So, with that in mind…

…Arthur Watts? He was the only other person Jaune could think of that possesses the capabilities needed to even stand against Hazel, what with that odd space of his and the things he could perform with it.

But aren't they allies? Could something have happened to cause a breakdown of whatever working relationship they had, a breakdown great enough to make them come to blows?

Jaune shook his head, suddenly feeling stupid. Given Hazel's transformation and his apparent attitude from Qrow's and Raven's oral reports, the man-turned-monster seemed far more unhinged and violent than ever before, so the likelihood was high that the transformed man was just attacking his own ally for the hell of it now.

And if that's the case…

Jaune managed to resist the urge to grip one of his blades, lest he accidentally cause his two now arguing allies to believe something was about to happen.

It was hard feeling to ignore, however. Because if it was Arthur Watts that Hazel was now fighting… would they continue to fight even when he, Amber, and Raven showed up? Or would those two somehow find it within themselves still to team up against the trio?

The monstrous might of Hazel and the sheer versatility and creativity of Arthur Watts… that would definitely be a bad combo to face off against.

Reaching for a nearby intercom, Jaune spoke to the pilot. This action once again grabbed his allies' attention and they silently stared at what he was doing. "Excuse me, but when you get close enough to see the horde, can you go as high up as you possibly can? We'll airdrop into the field instead."

The pilot, once again a professional, didn't really ask any question at all and merely responded. "That's doable. Turbulence will get rough though, what with all this chaos going on over there. Can't account for any Nevermore or Griffons getting involved too."

"Not a problem, just get as high up as you can and we'll bail out right away. After that, just take off before any Grimm can get too close. We'll call you for a pick-up when ready."

"Roger that."

Originally, the plan was just to be dropped off as close to the ground as possible, but if that meant getting the bullhead too close to the horde and ongoing battle, then that would be to risk their pilot's life and their trip back to Vale, which wouldn't do if anything were to happen while they were out here. At least this way, the pilot would have plenty of room to maneuver and dropping from so high up could potentially allow them the benefit of surprise; few if any people ever bothered looking up most times, after all, not unless it was something very noticeable.

It was telling that neither Amber nor Raven questioned his sudden change of the plan. They no doubt understood his reasoning and it showed as they readied themselves for whatever surprises were in store.

As they continued their journey towards the ongoing battle, Jaune slowly selected the blades he wished to start the battle with whilst Amber limbered up and Raven steadily moved her hand ever closer to her own blade, the Dust compartment shifting about as she too considered which Dust blade to use.

Slowly yet surely, even as the battle waged on ever more fiercely, the Grimm horde started to come into view.

The bullhead, having been travelling upwards at a steady pace ever since the intercom exchange, now made a sharp incline upwards as it looked as if some Griffons were now straying away from the horde and towards them.

Jaune's eyes narrowed as he and his allies got into position.

His battle with Hazel approaches.

Salem smirked as the Grimm she rode upon along with her own horde continued their journey towards Vale. Through her prophetic sight, bolstered by her inherent connection with all the Grimm and with the now fully transformed Hazel, she was able to discern what was going on.

A pity that Hazel and Watts were now coming to blows, but the latter had served his part well so his inevitable loss will ultimately be of no consequence. And though Hazel's march towards Vale may be delayed, it would only be marginally so, meaning there was also little consequence there on that front too.

And even if Hazel and his horde does end up being delayed enough for her to reach Vale first, well, that too was of no real concern – with how concentrated Grimm attacks had been from Vale's southern front, many of the kingdom's forces had ended up being specifically geared in that general direction. Even with Ozma and his allies no doubt setting up means to monitor for attacks from other directions, it still wouldn't be enough to cover everything.

Meaning that even if her forces reached Vale from the west first, well, she'd still be more than able to catch them all off guard, Ozma most of all. After all, she highly doubt her former husband would anticipate her taking such a direct approach in all this.

She envisioned the look of shock he'd likely have on his face once her forces arrived – it was an expression she once cherished during their time together so terribly long ago, when flustering him had been so fun to do… now, such memories just brought about a dull pain in her eternal heart, but only for a moment.

Crushing that brief spike of weakness for good, Salem's smirk grew truly vicious indeed. Vale's destruction and the first of her many victories was but a mere day away now.

Here it is, folks, the beginning of the end. Perhaps a bit abrupt, but to be honest there really wasn't much else that could be done in between the previous incident and this upcoming showdown. I did consider just making a filler chapter focusing on what the characters were doing, build up their depth some more – but ultimately decided against it, feeling it'd be better to show gradual growth in mid-crisis rather than just dump it all out into a filler chapter.

And as you can all see, this especially applies to Jaune. During his upcoming battle with Hazel, he's going to have to confront one final part of himself before he fully 'matures' so to speak. Do look forward to it.

Now, as to why Watts and Hazel are fighting, well, as explained in the chapter itself, Hazel no longer identifies himself as being human for obvious reasons and views all of humanity to be something to be wiped out. And Watts, being human albeit an enhanced one, is naturally among those he wishes to crush. And Watts isn't one to just roll over and die just because someone wants him to.

As to why he's able to do so well against Hazel despite the power gap, again, his virtual space is a very versatile thing. Aside from range – which is a non-issue in this fight due to him having to keep it small in size – its only real limitation is the limit of his imagination. And he's going to have to be especially creative and over the top in this fight in order to really maximize his chances so that is yet another thing I hope you all will look forward to.

Alright, all talked out now, heh. Until next time, everyone. Stay safe!