The Mandatory Training Arc, Part 6!

A/N: Welcome, one and all, to the latest chapter of Weiss Reacts! Well, everything more or less started going to pot last chapter. First, Pyrrha got sick, and then the rain came, and the poachers and now….well…. now you get to see everything go to Hell in a handbasket.

Exquisite. Let the madness begin.

DISCLAIMER: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise there would be more things drawn from the Warring States or the Sengoku Jidai periods. (They have Jaune and Cardin, why no other characters based on historical figures?)

All mentioned franchises and characters belong to their respective owners.

The sound of thunder rolled across the sky as heavy rain bore down upon the camp, the grey storm clouds rolling in the skies over the mountain. Lightning struck in the forest across a distance, causing Weiss to shudder instinctively.

"…..good Dust." The heiress ducked as she huddled in her clothes, the rain whipping at her and the winds biting at her pale skin. "The storm hit earlier than expected….."

Qrow growled as he started packing his things away hurriedly, looking to the rest.

"All of you, start packing the tents up!" He barked out hurriedly. "We need to move quickly! The ground here'll turn muddy and sweep the tents down the side of the mountain!"

"What about Pyrrha?" Jaune inquired concernedly. "She's sick! We can't just move her in a hurry!" The seasoned Hunter sighed irritably. "Your tent'll have to be last and she'll need to move! The transport's not going to get here for another two hours!"

"This is ridiculous!" Roman protested, pulling his hat down over his head as he trudged to his tent, the ground under his feet already turning to mud. "First getting pressganged onto this damn trip, then having the tents fall on me, then falling into that nest and now this?!

I must've pissed off some god or something…."

Norn held up an umbrella over Blake's head as the catgirl began undoing the pegs keeping the tent down. "The chances of a similar storm hitting at this time of year, at this location, are at zero-point-zero-zero-six percent. This is what you refer to as a remarkable coincidence, correct?"
"Put on your coat, Norn. You'll get rusted and your systems'll be damaged." Blake pointed out. "Don't worry about me, alright?"
"It is my prerogative to be concerned about your well-being. I am only a robot, Blake." Norn reassured her. "I can be repaired later on. Please, do not be concerned about me."

Suddenly, a deep rumble sounded from the side of the mountain, up nearer where the Grimm nest was.

To make matters worse, the sounds of roaring, clawing and snapping followed; the sound of the Grimm that lived in the nest.

At that, Yang looked over at the rest concernedly. "That's…..that's not supposed to happen, right?"
"…the Grimm." Qrow uttered. "They're coming."

"What?!" Weiss snapped. "But…..that's…."

"The storm must've woken the critters." Rook sighed, taking out the Magpie and checking how many bullets he had loaded. "They've got us in a bad way."

"Oh my." Winter frowned, pulling her spear up to get ready for a fight. "This is…..hardly what I had envisioned for a training camp."

The seasoned Hunter sighed, taking a drink from his flask. "We can't keep packing up…..but we can't…..alright. We have to fight.

All of you, pair up! Teams of two each, don't lose sight of each other and form a perimeter around the camp! Don't do anything fancy, just kill the Grimm so we can dismantle the camp and get out of here!"

"I-I'll stay here with Pyrrha!" Jaune declared, before Qrow shook his head.

"I have the camp covered. You and Roman, head up towards the mountain path and hold off any Grimm that head down there."

'Dammit, Qrow!' Jaune fumed internally. '...fine. Just…don't let her get hurt.'

He nodded, as Roman sighed. "You're kidding me, right? You get tired of me, Qrow?"
"Just shut up and do as I say." The seasoned Hunter grumbled. "This is bad enough as it is without you whining."

"Will you and Miss Xiao Long go together, then?" Norn inquired to Blake. The catgirl nodded.

"I….yeah. Hey, Yang, I-" Blake reached towards her, but Yang had already left with Velvet. "…..huh. Okay….Norn?"
"….we will have to discuss this later, Blake. I sense this may be a problem with team cohesion." The robot maid noted, but she drew her knives Verthandi and Skuld, heading towards the forest. Blake released a heavy sigh, drawing Gambol Shroud and following behind her.

Jaune, meanwhile, gave one last look towards his team's tent, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "….sorry. I'll be as quick as I can, Pyrrha." The knight promised, before heading off to follow Roman, who had already gone up the path.

Meanwhile….

"Hey, boss. The kids are scattering." Rumps, the short poacher called over. "They're going off alone and….they've left one tent up."

"Hmph." The stag Faunus mused. "We…..may have to change our plans.

Of course…..we should sneak in there and see if anyone's in that tent. If most of them are gone, it means whoever's in that tent's not going to be well-guarded. If not…..well…..they're divided…..and all we need to do is bag them.

Either way, we'll have our leverage."

"You sure we should still be doing this?" Koschei, the tall smuggler with the skull mask, frowned. "This is…..kinda risky."

"They're Hunters. They could drop us in a heartbeat, even with our weapons….." The stag Faunus pointed out. "They may be children, but we can't take them lightly.

Let's move. Careful. We need to sneak past them. And quickly, before the Grimm get here."

….

Ruby and Weiss waited calmly, the rain drenching the two Huntresses and clattering onto the leaves beside and above them. The heiress calmly wiped Myrtenaster's blade dry, while Ruby clutched the folded Crescent Rose in her hands, aiming carefully.

"You okay, Weiss?" The reaper inquired worriedly. "You seemed kinda cold, earlier."
"…..it's fine." The heiress shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just….the rain and the wind…..I'm not dressed for it.

A combat skirt and exposed legs do not rainwear make."
Ruby chuckled. "Fair enough, Weiss. Just…..if you're feeling bad, just tell me, alright?"

"What's with you?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "…..you're acting all concerned about me."
"It's just…I don't know. Maybe…seeing Jaune get all worried about Pyrrha….it made me think about how you're…the most important person in the world to me." Ruby mused, sighing. "How I don't want to lose you either, Weiss.

I….you're not just my friend, or my girlfriend, but my partner. I want you to know that, okay? I'll always watch out for you."

"Don't start getting philosophical on me, Rose." The heiress smiled at her. "Don't worry about me, and don't start acting like that.

It's just not you. You're Ruby, the best girlfriend ever, always happy and sure things will turn out okay! Acting like this, it's not like you. Don't worry about me, alright?"

"….t-thanks." The reaper smiled back. "….let's do this." She hefted Crescent Rose as Weiss pointed Myrtenaster in front of her.

Just in time. A herd of Beowolves and Ursae were coming down towards them.

…..

"One hell of a trip, huh?" Rook noted as he flicked Mustang in his right hand, holding Magpie with his left. Winter behind him, pointing Frauenmantel outwards.

"This almost seems like it's out of a movie, with the rain, countless odds against us and fighting back to back with someone important to you." The lady mused, bracing herself. Rook's cheeks reddened.

"…..important to you, Miss Schnee?"
"Of course, Mister Rook." She nodded. "Important to me. Now…shall we begin?"
"...yeah." Rook cocked back the hammer of his revolver. "Let's do this."

The two were already encircled by Grimm, with Griffons, Beowolves and Ursae staring at them hungrily, circling the pair and waiting for them to leave but one gap open. Rook flicked his whip at one Ursa foolish enough to get too close, cracking its mask with the strike as it retreated backwards and clutched at its head, roaring in agony. It fell backwards into its peers, leaving a gap in the circle.

"Miss Winter!"
"On it." The lady nodded curtly before twisting around and leaping forwards with her spear, stabbing the stricken Ursa in the gut and twisting and firing a single shot of ice Dust into it, freezing it and shattering it into tiny pieces with one swift manoeuvre.

The circle broke, as the Grimm rushed at them to begin the onslaught.

Rook growled as he flicked Mustang around, coiling it around the neck of a Griffon that had attempted to slash at him, yanking it into the ground with a sickening crack signalling the snapping of the beast's neck. Turning around, the cowboy deftly fired a shot into the eye of a Beowolf that had attempted to ambush him from behind, causing it to slump to the ground past him, dead before it hit the ground.

Behind him, Winter slammed the butt of Frauenmantel into the skull of a Beowolf and pulled the trigger, causing an agonised yelp as the recoil shattered the Grimm's skull. Not losing momentum, the lady used the recoil to impale an Ursa that was attempting to charge at Rook through the chest, before yanking it aside, throwing it onto the mass of shadow creatures swarming her, knocking them aside with the rapidly fading corpse.

Of course, this distracted her from one of the Griffons that had broken from the swarm, as it soared up and dove towards her. Winter gasped as she pulled her lance up and braced herself, but it was too quick, too soon-

"Not if I got somethin' to say about that!" The cowboy snapped as he stepped backwards, snapping the back of Mustang onto the barrel of Magpie, flicking the barrel out and loading an electric Dust bullet into it. Whirling around, Rook flicked his whip at the Griffon, pulling the trigger and sending electricity coursing through the whip. It coiled around one of the Griffon's wings, causing it to spasm uncontrollably as the smell of burnt Grimm flesh filled the air, sliding to a stop in front of Winter. The Griffon released one last feeble cry of pain before beginning to fade.

Winter looked over at him, surprised. "….t-thank you!"
"Don' thank me, just keep fightin'!" Rook replied with an audacious smirk as he turned around to face more of the Grimm.

Meanwhile…..

Qrow waited patiently, his back to team JNPR's tent as he gazed up to the path towards the mountain. He closed his eyes, taking a drink from his flask, before drawing his sword.

"Can't even go to a camp to teach some kids as a favour to my niece without things going wrong." The seasoned Hunter mused. "Ah. Well. That's just the story of my life."

He hefted the sword in his hands, standing sentinel over the camp. His eyes searched the trees, waiting for any sign of the Grimm approaching their camp. The sounds of gunfire and fighting nearby told him that the students were doing well for themselves. Qrow smirked.

"Training, huh? These kids are a lot better than I thought. Still bad, but-"

Then someone screamed. No, Jaune screamed. Qrow's grip on his sword tightened.

"…..tch. What did that Arc boy get himself into? And what's that idiot Torchwick doing?" He gritted his teeth as he feared the worst. "This had better be-"

He paused, as several Nevermores swooped towards him, talons extended. He was far too skilled to be easily taken down by a mere bunch of Grimm, as he swiftly rolled out of the way, dismembering the closest one with a single swift slash. He grunted, as the raven Grimm circled over him and their fallen comrade, which was already rapidly fading away. Qrow growled as he hefted his sword, waiting for them to fly at him.

"….Arc, Torchwick, you two are going to have to wait." He grumbled. "If I don't kill these things…."
He spared a look towards the tent behind him, shaking his head.

The Nevermores swooped. Qrow jumped up at them, sword at the ready.

…..

Pyrrha closed her eyes, ignoring the pain wracking her gut and the fever raging in her head. The sounds of gunfire, yells and growls echoed from all around her, telling the spearmaiden that her friends were fighting out there.

"This i-isn't r-right…." Pyrrha uttered weakly to nobody in particular as she wrenched herself upright, rubbing her stomach. "…I-I shouldn't just sit here. Not while everyone else is risking their lives-"

Then, the scream sounded. Pyrrha's blood ran cold as feelings of terror filled her mind.

'Jaune. Jaune.'

She closed her eyes, trying to banish the images of whatever horrible fate was befalling her partner. This wasn't the time.

If she was going to make sure they weren't real, she needed to move. Now.

Summoning up her reserves of strength, the spearmaiden pulled herself up, peeling off her sleeping bag as she crawled towards Milo and Akouo, leaning against the side of the tent. She winced, shaking her head.

"This isn't good- I-I can't fight, not like this….I can't sit here, n-not after that! He needs my help!" She uttered, this time to herself, to steel her will. "I-I can't….I won't just sit here."

It didn't matter to her if she was sick. It didn't matter to her at all.

Pyrrha refused to sit here and let Jaune get hurt. She loved him too much for that. There was only one thing to be done.

Even if it killed her.

It had already done in another life, in another world. Even with the knowledge she had of this, even with the knowledge she had of that damned prophecy, her mind was still made up.

'…..I don't care if that prophecy says I'll die in battle. I just…..I won't die, for his sake. That, I'll make sure of.' She thought to herself. '…..but…..I need something that'll protect me better than…this…if I'm going to fight…'

She looked down at her leather armor, shaking her head. Especially in this condition, if she took a gut shot, she'd be doubled over too easily and fall over. Not a good position to be in.

'Unless…'

Her eyes were drawn towards the hard, black case next to her weapons, containing Professor Cassandra's cuirass, made just for her.

Ruby thrust her boot through a nearby Grimm's head, throwing it aside with the force of her weight. Unfolding Crescent Rose, the reaper flicked her scythe into the neck of a Griffon, slicing cleanly through the beast's neck. Wrenching her scythe out of the ground, Ruby ducked and swung Crescent Rose behind her to strike at a Beowolf behind her, bisecting the Grimm and sending its pieces sliding towards Weiss. All around the reaper's feet, the remains of fallen Grimm fading into nothing sat, the sole evidence that Ruby had absolutely decimated the beasts before her.

The heiress' blade could scarcely be seen but for a few flashes of silver and white, as Grimm after Grimm fell apart before Myrtenaster. A Beowolf attempted to pounce onto Weiss, but Weiss scarcely paid it attention as a black glyph appeared underneath it, stopping it in mid-air. Channeling fire Dust into her weapon, she stabbed the Grimm, setting it ablaze and causing it to vanish into embers. Weiss scoffed.

"….and they said we needed training." The heiress remarked. "Hmph."

"Don't get too cocky~" The reaper pointed out with a chuckle.

At that exact moment, a Nevermore descended upon her, knocking Ruby aside with a piercing screech. The raven Grimm extended its wings, screeching at the reaper as if challenging her to battle. The reaper pulled herself up, hefting her scythe with both hands as she glared at it.

Weiss reached towards her instinctively.

"RUBY!" The heiress cried in shock. Before the heiress could assist her, she was swatted aside by an Ursa, smashing into a nearby tree.

"Ugh….." Weiss moaned as she pulled herself up, her Aura having cushioned the blow. It still stung, mind, but she'd live. She grabbed Myrtenaster- it having skittered out of her hand when she was thrown- and rolled away from the slash over her head. The heiress thrust her blade at the Ursa, fire Dust searing the Grimm's innards as it fell backwards. She spawned several glyphs underneath her feet, allowing her to slide underneath the paws of the approaching Grimm with ease. With a yell, she stabbed her blade into the ground as a white glyph appeared, an armored knight's arm delivering a slash across the Grimm surrounding Weiss. The sound of metallic clanking preceded the knight pulling itself into the material realm, rising up with a sword in its hand and standing over Weiss, blade at the ready.

Meanwhile, Ruby rolled aside to avoid the searching beak of the Nevermore, Crescent Rose's blade clashing with its beak. The reaper grunted as she attempted to force the blade through, but the Grimm screeched and pushed her aside, forcing Ruby to roll aside. The Nevermore attempted to follow up with a diving peck at Ruby, but she was gone in a flutter of rose petals, already clambering on its back. She raised her scythe up and deftly forced the blade into the back of the Nevermore's head, causing it to release a choking screech before slumping. Ruby then kicked off the back of the disintegrating Grimm and boosted her jump with a single shot, landing on her feet as the momentum carried on forward to slash the heads off of several Beowolves, akin to a lawnmower cutting grass.

"Weiss!" The reaper cried, looking around for her partner. She found her almost instantaneously, the ethereal knight her glyphs had summoned hacking a nearby Nevermore to pieces. Ruby sighed in relief, as she began running towards her, her Semblance boosting her.

In her rush, she realised she'd missed one thing. A Griffon descending on Weiss from behind.

"WEISS!"

"Huh-ACK!" The heiress screamed as the claws of the Griffon slashed into her back before picking her up and smashing her into a nearby tree. The knight got its blade halfway through the side of the offending beast, but it flickered away as Weiss' Aura faded, blood emerging from the cuts on the heiress' back. She moaned, pulling herself up as the Grimm swarmed upon her.

They were closer to her than Ruby was, even with her running.

The Grimm were upon Weiss in seconds. The heiress' eyes widened with fear as she pulled up Myrtenaster, but a ripple of pain shot through her as her wounds took their toll, a wave of tears brought to her fearful eyes as claws and beaks descended upon her.

She could swear she see Weiss mouth 'Help me, Ruby' for the briefest of moments.

And then Ruby couldn't see Weiss any more.

'No. Not Weiss. Not now. No. No!'

"NO!" Her silver eyes welled with tears of their own. She turned away, closing her eyes.

Weiss was too important to her to lose. She was her friend, her lover and her partner.

Ruby quivered as she saw it happen- quivered with anxiety, with sadness…..and with rage.

Her eyes flicked open, welling with tears of anger. Ruby breathed in deeply, before she released a bloodcurdling yell and ran towards the Grimm, Crescent Rose trailing behind her.

Meanwhile….

Pyrrha staggered out of the tent, raindrops trickling down the front of her new cuirass. She used Milo to prop herself up, looking around the camp hurriedly, looking for any sign of Jaune.

"Come on, come on….." The spearmaiden muttered to herself desperately, breathing heavily to keep down the feeling of nausea. "…..and this cuirass really is fitting. I'm surprised she knew enough about my measurements to….why am I even talking about this?!

Jaune….."

Her grip tightened around her weapon. Her will hardened.

"Hey, boss!"

"…..ah. Now I remember you."

"It's that girl!"

She turned to see three men; a short, spindly one, a tall muscular man with a skull mask and a stag Faunus. It took a second for her for it to hit her.

'N-no way. I….I….'

These were the men Pyrrha had helped to put away a week ago.

The stag Faunus grinned at her. Clearly Pyrrha wasn't the only one who remembered their last meeting, too. His grin was full of malice as he remembered the injury she'd done him.

"So. I knew I remembered you from somewhere." He folded his arms confidently. "The great Pyrrha Nikos herself. The champion. The so-called 'Invincible Girl'. Well, it's not a surprise they'd hire you to help take us down. Our last meeting was rather…..unfortunate.

But my coworkers and I…need your assistance, I'm afraid."

"What, that champion girl? Oh boy." The short man chuckled, pulling up a net. "If we nab her, the others'll have to give in!"
"Boss…." The tall one uttered. "This ain't a good idea. This girl could drop us all-"
"No, no she won't." The stag Faunus retorted as he advanced upon her, drawing his whipsword. "I could smell the vomit on her breath from here. She's sick and there's three of us. We have the advantage."

The small man laughed as he advanced upon the spearmaiden, who braced herself placing her shield in front of her and her spear to her side. "Oh boy. This'll be-"

"WEISS!"

Ruby's cry of terror from deeper in the forest pierced the raging storm, distracting the poachers.

'I have to get rid of these guys or I'll never get to Jaune before….n-no. Don't think that, Pyrrha. He's okay. He'll be fine.

Dust, I can't imagine what it'd be if he wasn't…..

Just think about what you need to do right now.'

Pyrrha took her opportunity.

With her usual quickness, she transformed Milo into its sword from and slashed the net in half, kicking the small man backwards with a sharp kick to the stomach. His grunt of pain distracted his allies from their fugue, causing them to turn towards her.

Of course, even sick, her skills were too practiced, her reflexes too quick. Her shield flew in the air, smashing the tall masked man in the face and knocking him back before flying back onto the spearmaiden's hand with a black glow around it. She followed it up with a thrust from Milo's spear form, a practiced manoeuvre done time and time again, before-

"Not so fast."

A metal whip coiled itself around the shaft of her spear before Pyrrha took a kick to her stomach, throwing her aside and wrenching Milo from her hand. Thrown backwards into the mud, the spearmaiden yelped and pushed her shield up to counter the stag Faunus' whipsword, pulling Milo to her hand with her Semblance and scything her foot underneath his, throwing him onto the mud.

She wrenched herself to her feet, using her spear as a crutch and clutching her head with her shield hand, groaning. Her forehead burned fiercely against her cold muddy hand as a fresh wave of nausea wracked her mouth, forcing her to hold her mouth closed, feeling the burning of acrid vomit in her throat.

'I can't keep fighting like this….' The spearmaiden realised. 'Not like this….'

The sound of a gunshot reached her ears. Pyrrha immediately ducked under her shield as a large shell smashed into it.

She was thrown aside by the force of the blow, coating her hair and back with more mud. The spearmaiden shivered with the wetness of the mud on her skin, as she pulled herself up, wringing her arm to get rid of the pain from the burst.

Suddenly, a knee soared into her head, spiking her. With a loud yelp, Pyrrha's head was pushed backward onto the ground, a spark of pain coursing through the spot where she'd been struck, her Aura barely cushioning it. However, she managed to recover in time to slide out underneath the short man's legs, avoiding the two sickles slashing down at her head. Standing up behind him, Pyrrha delivered a sharp kick once more to the man's back, forcing him down with a scream.

The stag Faunus flicked his whip-blade at her, but this time, Pyrrha could see it coming. Extending her hand, she flicked the blade aside, forcing his hand along with it as the familiar glow of her Semblance enshrouded his weapon. He grunted, unable to defend himself as Pyrrha charged into him with her shield, throwing him to the ground. The spearmaiden whirled around immediately, ducking underneath the second shot as the tall masked man ran at her, roaring. He pulled a knife out from a holster on his hip, running at Pyrrha while slashing in front of him.

She suppressed a gasp before ducking underneath his waist, holding Akouo up to deflect the knife stab and push it aside with her Semblance, before delivering a swift stab to his gut with Milo, pushing him back. She swiftly followed with a strong kick in the same spot, causing him to grunt in pain. However-

"Stay down you little brat!"

The short man jumped up onto her back, hacking at her with his sickles and forcing Pyrrha to the ground. The spearmaiden grunted as she was forced to the ground, instinctively using her Semblance to force her attacker's sickles aside and into the ground. While he yanked at them, the spearmaiden slammed her shield into his hip, causing him to weaken his grip on her as he clutched his stricken leg.

She rolled onto him, forcing herself on top of his body and slammed Akouo down at his head edge-first with a fierce yell.

His green Aura flickered away and the force of Pyrrha's blow knocked him unconscious. The spearmaiden took a brief moment to release a held breath, before another wave of nausea rippled through her gut, forcing her down as the pain she'd ignored continued to rage.

'I-If I keep fighting like this-'

She didn't get to finish the thought, as an explosion behind her knocked her flat on her stomach, the force knocking her weapons from her hands.

…..

The noise rang in her ears as Pyrrha regained consciousness, shaking her head.

"Ugh…..what…..oh no." The spearmaiden uttered as she remembered where she was. Seeing Milo lying aside, discarded, she reached towards it, willing her Semblance to bring it towards her.

It wouldn't move.

'W-what?'

She tried once more. Her spear refused to budge.

'M-My Semblance…that means….my Aura….'

Pyrrha pulled herself to her feet to see her assailant, the tall masked man, with the large gun in his hands, aimed at her. She barely turned to face him before he fired.

The shot hit her dead in the chest.

Had Pyrrha been wearing her old armor, she would almost certainly have been killed by the shot. It hit dead on where her old leather halter was exposed.

Fortunately for the spearmaiden, this cuirass was hardier and covered more.

Instead, the spearmaiden was merely thrown backwards.

She groaned as pain blossomed from the spot where her armor had saved her. Judging from how tender it felt right now, she judged she'd broken a few ribs and taken some bruises…..but she wasn't dead.

'…..Professor Cassandra….I owe her a thanks….if I get out of this alive…..' Pyrrha groaned as she pulled herself to her knees, coughing. A fist smashed into her cheek, turning her to face away.

When she looked back, it was the stag Faunus. He was smirking.

"I guess the Invincible Girl isn't as invincible as she thought." He taunted her with a grin. "Anti-Goliath shells. Designed to kill one of those Grimm in one shot if they hit them dead on in the head. Its effect on people is…a lot messier.

You're lucky. Your Aura cushioned most of the blow. However….you're all out."

Someone grabbed her hair from behind, yanking her head up. Pyrrha cried out in pain, squeezing her eyes shut to hold the tears back.

The stag Faunus stepped back as he pulled out a short, plain sword with a red blade. The spearmaiden stared at the blade, knowing exactly what it was.

"This sword is made from one of the sharpest materials known to man." He explained, wiping the raindrops off of the blade. "Most ordinary Auras can't take it, and your armor almost certainly won't.

I was planning on taking you hostage, but clearly, that's too difficult."

'N-no…..I…..not yet….' The spearmaiden thought. 'I haven't….I haven't…..I need to get to Jaune…..

Jaune…I-I'm sorry. I….I should've stayed in the tent….I...'

She breathed heavily.

Outnumbered, wracked with illness, damp, cold and terrified, killed at the hands of opponents far inferior to her. This was how Pyrrha Nikos would die.

Most importantly, she would die alone.

She refused to let any of her feelings show.

'Even if this is how it ends…..I refuse to let you beat me.'

Mustering up the last dredges of her will, Pyrrha shot her attacker a defiant glare, clenching her fists.

"Yes. It was, wasn't it?" She spat at him. "Even if you beat me here…the others will find you.

And then you'll regret this ever happened."

The stag Faunus scoffed dismissively.

"Tough talk. From a dead girl."

With a yell, he thrust his blade forwards at her heart.

To be continued…..