Cinder fall took pride in her adaptability, she has the powers of an age long dead, and she served an immortal magical queen from said age along with a disgraced scientist, an insane serial killer, and a vengeful hunter. But the current situation left her speechless. Being summoned by a god, and being told to watch other worlds was by far the oddest thing that had ever happened to her. Mercury took the situation with the same devil may care attitude that he approached everything with, while Emerald followed Cinder's lead like a puppy as always.
After the explanation was complete, the audience turned their attention back to the screen.
The magic-producing device installed west of town had been placed atop a hill with a good view of the highway leading out. Unlike the other teams they had seen, these knights were clearly relaxed.
This caused Ironwood to scowl, the longer the vision went on the worse these church knights looked.
A black haired teen approached a group of soldiers and called out, "hey hasn't anyone fled yet?" Panic flashed over the soldier's face but he quickly quelled it and responded.
"Oh, er Shogo! No enemies sighted today either, sir"
Ruby frowned. "Why would they be so scared of their allies?"
"It's because that guy's psychotic." Yang muttered, causing most to look at her in shock, although the more experienced only nodded at her assessment of the boy. "What? It's obvious, nobody sane looks forward to being attacked."
Those who knew her blinked, surprised that out of all the people there, Yang was the one to say something like that.
"W-well you're not wrong. We just didn't expect that insite." Weis stuttered to her teammate, the from you left unsaid.
"Hey I can be perceptive when I want to." Yang snapped.
"Well regardless," Jaune began, "This is a weakness that will almost certainly be exploited by the monsters."
Cinder nodded, while she might enjoy being feared, serving under Salem taught her how vulnerable division made you. It was why she never responded to any of her comrades' provocations, no matter how much she wanted to. And considering what she had heard about the competence of this Rimuru she knew that he was more than clever enough to take advantage of it.
Shogo huffed, putting his hands behind his head as a look of annoyance crossed his face. "Phht, how many days are they going to waste planning their escape? Or do the merchants and their adventure bodyguards plan to share their fate with the town?"
A look of horror crossed over RWBY and JNPR faces as they realized what that meant, and with that realization came a rush of bile in all of their mouths.
"The-they're planning on killing civilians?!" Jaune sputtered out. The idea of attacking defenseless civilians left most of the younger group on the verge of throwing up. The few that were stable enough to think remembered the reason for this war and were consumed by an even greater wave of disgust. Not only were they killing civilians, and enjoying it, they were doing it for no other reason than money and blind hate.
The only ones in the younger group left unfazed were Cinder's group, although even they felt a bit of distaste. Killers they may be, but this boy was like a wild dog pulling against its chain.
The sound of cracking plastic reached everyone as Ironwood's grip splintered his armrest with his grip. The casual way Shogo talked about killing innocents invoked a fiery rage in him that made him want to reach through the screen and beat the psychotic boy to death with his metal arm.
"Ha-ha-ha! Oh, I wouldn't be so impatient," A brown haired boy appeared behind Shogo. He was lanky, with his eyes appearing closed and an out of place smile on his unnaturally sharm face.
Yang almost burst out laughing. "Oh geez, this trope."
While most of them who watched TV instantly understood what she meant, Wies to yang turned in confusion, "what do you mean?"
Bareilly holding in her laughter, the blonde beauty responded in an overly serious tone. "You see in Television, especially anime, there's this trope of one character who never opens their eyes."
Weis tilted her head, her confusion was reasonable when you remembered her strict upbringing under her father. "Why would an animator do that?"
This time Blake responded, "there are several reasons," Blake had a half smile on her face as she began counting on her fingers, "cutting costs, drawing attention away from the face, adding to their design. There's no one explanation."
Once Blake finished, Yang jumped in almost instantly, "But what's almost always true is that the character thinks they are an absolute badass, which normally results in them getting absolutely owned."
All the people who watched shows like that, Ruby, Blake, Nora, Jaune, Qrow, and surprisingly, Emerald, nodded their heads at the blonde's statement while everyone else just watched on impassively.
On screen the brown haired boy continued trying to soothe Shogo. "The other positions didn't have any news, either. If they're running, they'll have to go down this road. It's the only option."
Mercury smirked, "Won't they be surprised when they realise that there are no other positions anymore." Kyoya reminded him way too much of his father. Both were prideful, sadistic, and most of all both made Mercury want to beat them to death.
At this Emerald concealed a chuckle. They might not have seen it in person, but the events at the other sites were explained to the newcomers before the vision began. Filling the assassins with anticipation for what was going to happen to the onscreen duo.
"Huh. Yeah, I hope," Shogo resentfully replied. It had been three whole days, and nobody had fled town. It made him suspicious. He was here because of the merchants and adventurers who were supposed to be skipping town. Kyoya seemed content with just shutting down this highway, as ordered, but Shogo had other ideas. Razen, the head sorcerer of the Farmus court, had personally told him that he had free rein to massacre anyone on the highway.
RWBY and JNPR felt like they might be sick once more, even knowing the type of people they were watching, the sheer horror that someone like that could exist disgusted them to no end.
Penny barely managed to hold back tears. She might be combat ready physically, but that didn't mean she was ready to witness such a twisted group of people. She started when a hand began stroking her hair. Her look of confusion was met with Ironwood's awkward attempt at a comforting smile.
Just as Rimuru thought, the Kingdom of Farmus had decided that anyone from Blumund trying to flee the region should be killed.
"So Rimuru saw right through his opponent's plan, good." Ozpin muttered, drawing nods from the rest of his group.
Cinder smirked, while none of them had seen the lord of the monster nation physically, his prowess as a schemer was evident everywhere you looked in this vision. She was reminded of her own mistress in a way, achieving victory without having to set a single foot on the battlefield. What would Salem say if she was there to see? She couldn't even begin to guess.
Shogo was no homicidal maniac, but the order filled him with glee nonetheless.
Mercury rolled his eyes, "he's not homicidal but ordering him to kill fills him with glee, ssuurrrre."
That one statement summed up the entire audience's opinion on the black haired murderer.
As he discovered in a training match where he slipped up in his control and accidentally killed his training partner. His ability, berserker, got stronger the more people he killed.
That didn't apply to monsters however, so when he learned that he would have free reign to kill as he pleases. Well, it excited him to say the least. But the people he wanted to see refused to show, for someone as impulsive as Shogo it was enough to have him at wits end.
The younger hunter's faces twisted up in surprise and disgust.
"So all this killing, just to gain power?" Ruby muttered in disbelief, the only person she had ever met that even came close to this bad was Torchwick, and even the so called master thief hardly compared to the two on screen.
That thought left the two teams speechless as Ozpin's group just sighed. They were more than experienced with such people.
For the first time since the viewing began, Cinder's group was uncomfortable. The majority of Salem's pawns had the same motive, after all.
Mercury was hit the hardest, to have anything in common with someone he hated so much caused no end of irritation.
It's nothing. Just a coincidence. Mercury denied, his clenched fists nearly drawing blood. Anyone with sense would come to that conclusion. It doesn't mean anything.
Kyoya tried to calm Shogo as he barely restrained his own murderous impulses. While Shogo justified his murders with his twisted logic, Kyoya fully embraced his sadistic urges. In his mind, everyone enjoyed killing just as much as him but they were just too weak to admit it. To him admitting his sadism meant surpassed all others. That thought dragged his mind back to the old monster he cut up in the village. Man that felt amazing. That surprised face, the way it was so confident in his own power. He unconsciously ran his sharp tongue across his lips.
The audience cringed. It was even worse than Shogos' reason. Even Cinder looked disgusted, in her mind killing was a means to an end, someone like her would never understand those who killed only for the sake of killing, it reminded her far too much of Tyrian.
Then a messenger ran up two the pair. "Enemies up ahead! They number…four?!"
"Normally I would call sending so few soldiers reckless, but considering what Rimurus forces have accomplished so far, it might even be excessive." Ironwood said, getting nods from everyone.
"It is difficult to come to a concert conclusion without knowing the church's strength, but considering that everything up to this point has gone exactly as this Rimuru planned it seems statistically improbable he would falter here." Penny chimed in, having finally calmed down enough to leave Ironwood's side.
Tension returned to the church knights as they quickly moved into a combat position. They immediately cast spells to increase their defense as they wearily watch the approaching group.
Ironwood and Winter felt indescribably conflicted. On one hand they hated everything the church was fighting for. On the other, they had to respect how quickly they went from relaxed to combat ready.
Not unlike how we handle grim hordes. Ozpin mused absently.
The attacking force was made up of two individuals who looked like stereotypical hobgoblins riding wolves, one of which had a comically sized nose, the old man they saw in the last vision and somebody who looked like a walking boar, which the ones familiar with fantasy recognised as an orc.
"Let's give 'em a show." shouted the large nosed hobgoblin as he drew his dagger and pointed the sheath at the enemy.
Before anyone could ask why he would do that, the reason became obvious as a loud crack rang out.
"They have guns?!" Ruby squealed, her love for weapons momentarily blocking out the horror that was occurring.
Glynda blinked in surprise, she, along with the rest of the audience, hadn't expected firearms in a fantasy world.
"Judging by the sound, the bullet appears to be launched by some kind of railgun-esque mechanism." Penny stated while inwardly running calculations, "I estimate it moves at about mach 4."
"To make something so powerful so small, And it doesn't even knock him back?!" Ironwood was amazed. The more he saw Tempest's military, the greater his desire became. Not only were their fighters exceptional, but their technology even surpassed atlas in certain areas. It was truly unfortunate that Tempest didn't exist in their world. No use lamenting the impossible, I suppose. If they couldn't bring the nation to remnant, they could at least bring back the technology. He knew, however, that Broker wouldn't explain how it worked, so as subtly as he could ironwood gestured for Winter to take notes. An idea he unknowingly shared with Cinder, who had been taking notes since before the vision even began.
The single bullet took down three church soldiers, piercing through their barriers like they didn't exist. The church knights screamed in confusion as the big nosed goblin admired his work.
"Enemy of God, what sorcery is this?"
The more sadistic of the crowd had to hold back snickers at the idiotic panic that the supposed knights fell into the second they encountered real resistance.
Despite their shock the company still fanned out to surround the monsters. Unfortunately that was exactly what they wanted. The burly goblin turned toward the big nose.
"Nice work Gobta, you always were a great shot."
"Aw thanks, Rigur." Gobta scratched his head with a goofy smile on his face.
"Don't let your guard down you fool!" Rigur shouted as he and Gobta struck down the church knights in front of them.
The audience was once more reminded how organized the monsters were. The church knights were by no means inexperienced. They were utter scum, but the leaders had to admit their teamwork was exceptional. When compared to the monsters however, they were absolutely helpless, not even able to scratch them.
"I said it before, but I really hope there are no Grim that are this smart."
Ruby's statement drew nods from everyone, except Cinders group for obvious reasons. It was difficult to imagine a scenario where they would come out on top against such an organized power, and the two in the back hadn't even done anything yet.
Shogo approached the goblins with a smile of pure ecstasy on his face. He was drunk on the blood around him.
"Nice going, but now you have to go through me."
Gobtas face contorted in fury but he quickly forced it down. Shogo had killed his friend Gonzo in the first attack, but Gobta knew the difference in power between them. As much as he wanted to strike Shogo down with his own hand he had to yield to the plan.
"It won't be us you're fighting."
The audience couldn't help but respect the control present in Gobta. Ironwood especially knew how painful it was to lose a comrade only to have to retreat. He had experienced that agony several times when fighting off the grim.
"Being able to control their emotions even after losing friends, they might not be human but they certainly are good soldiers."
Qrow was conflicted about Ironwood's words. He wasn't a big fan of the military, no surprise there, but he recognised that they did go through no small amount of hardships in their own right.
With that statement the armored Orc stepped up to shogo with a black shield in hand.
"Do not worry, Sir Gobta," the orc king declared. "It's time to deliver the iron hammer of justice!"
"Hee-hee! Just Gobta is fine, Geld!"
"Understood. Allow me to handle the rest, Gobta!"
"I hope you do, Sir Geld," Rigur said as he nodded. "Gonzo had his faults, but he was a good man to all of us."
In another moment, Geld and Shogo were locked in battle.
Most of the audience couldn't help but smile sadly at the conversation, but it hit three people especially hard.
Qrow thought back to his days with team STRQ, when they would encounter ever increasingly powerful grim. No matter how bad his luck got, the team always managed to turn it into a boon.
Ironwood remembered the many groups he had fought with over the years, and Ozpin reminisced about the days before Salem's fall. When they would go on wild adventures, slaying the creatures of grim one after another. Toppling entire armies, there was nothing that could stand in their way. At least not until he fell ill.
Cinder rolled her eyes. For someone like her, such a show was utterly ridiculous, and if she didn't have to remain under cover, she would have spoken her mind along with her two pawns. Comradery, what a sham. All it would take is a moment of weakness and all of their so-called bonds would fall apart. Then she remembered about the individual leading these forces. Rimuru Tempest, the entity behind all the plans being executed on screen. If his power matched his wit, he might be able to keep the monsters in line, just as Salem did with her supporters.
This was the thought process of someone who knew only hate. To Cinder the idea of serving someone out of anything other than fear was so foreign as to not even enter her mind.
Broker smiled as he observed his audience. While he didn't put his enjoyment ahead of his work like a certain sadistic goddess, that didn't mean he wouldn't try to make it fun. As long as his job got done the method didn't really matter. After all, when you are basically immortal you have to entertain yourself somehow, right? Of course, he didn't take his fun nearly as far as D. He might enjoy screwing with people, but he wasn't going to, say, throw an innocent person into an underground hell, just to see what would happen.
Amid this fury another confrontation was taking place. between Hakuro and Kyoya.
"Wow, old man, you survived? If you were lucky enough to live, you should've tucked your tail and fled when you could. It woulda been easy for someone as strong as you to make it out."
"Ho-ho-ho! I may not look it, but I happen to be a very sore loser. Besides, something about some youngster getting a swollen head with me when I haven't even revealed my full strength just doesn't seem right."
Cinder could barely hide her sadistic smile. There was very little she enjoyed more than crushing her opponents pride, even without meeting the boy once she held an immeasurably hatred for the psychopath. Such prideful words brought back far too many memories of a certain place Cinder wanted to leave well in the past.
"Oh? You aren't talking about me, are you?"
"Does it not seem that way to you? Well, my apologies. I suppose your brain's just as empty as your morals."
Yang, along with Nora, Mercury, and Qrow burst out laughing, the looks of annoyance from other audience members, Weiss, Winter, and Emerald, did nothing to stop their uberous laughter. If anything it just made them chuckle all the harder.
While they weren't as vocal with their amusement, small smiles did cross Blake's, Ruby's, Cinder's, and Ren's faces.
"Ha-ha! So getting slashed once didn't bring the message across, huh? Or are you growing feeble in the head?"
Just then, a sharp ting! echoed across the field. It was the sound of Hakuro's hidden sword deflecting the blow Kyoya unleashed in the blink of an eye. The otherworlder had lunged upon Hakuro in the middle of their chat. Anticipating the strike, he drew his sword against it as if he had all the time in the world.
"That was dirty." Ruby erupted, only receiving blank looks from the rest of the audience.
"That's how fighting works, runt." Qrow said, rufuling Ruby's hair as he did so, much to her annoyance.
Ignoring the commotion taking place, several members of the audience were amazed at the ogres skill. Only the more experienced hunters could follow the youths movement yet his opponent didn't even bat an eye.
Blake raised her hand, "If you don't mind, Mr. Brocker, what style does Hakuro use?"
"First, don't call me mister, it makes me feel old, and second It is actually a combination of many different sword styles." The chaos god twirled his staff in his hand as he spoke. "You see Hakuro has lived for well over 300 years, and used that time to hone his skill to inhuman heights. In terms of pure skill with a blade he even surpasses his master."
This answer left the audience utterly speechless, even the laughter that had previously filled the theater came to a halt. Although not all of them were silent for the same reason. Most of them were focused on the incredible skill Hakuro possessed, but Ozpin, along with Cinder to a lesser degree, picked up a different message, if Hakuro was this strong yet only surpassed Rimuru in terms of skill, just how powerful did that make the lord of tempest. Neither were certain whether to regret not having Him on their side, or be grateful that their opponent didn't have him.
"Impatient, I see. But I suppose we both are. I can hardly contain my anger any longer."
Kyoya suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He took a step back. Hakuro's ghastly visage mentally overwhelmed him, as much as he didn't want to admit it. "Don't make me laugh," he spat back, eyes squinted and blurred with the desire to kill. "Quit acting like my boss, old man! You couldn't do a damn thing against my sword!"
"Not your sword. Your power, yes. As Rimuru put it, your force is based on the spatial element. Not even I had an answer for it—but now that I know the trick, I can avoid it."
Ruby tentatively raised a hand. "Mr Brocker, what does that mean?"
"Again don't call me mister, but to answer your question, little rose, It means that Kyoya's sword cuts space along with what inhabits it."
The ones who understood his statement paled but most of them didn't quite get it. A fact that Brocker quickly picked up on and explained.
"As an example, a normal sword would get different results when cutting metal than when cutting wood, but Kyoya's blade is cutting the space that the object in habits so to him there would be no difference because it cuts the same thing, space. This effectively allows it to cut damn near anything because durability doesn't mean much if it isn't the thing being cut."
Understanding dawned on Ruby's face, along with several others, all of whom quickly palled. A sword that can't be blocked being used by a psychopath who loves murder, truly it was a horrible combination.
Blake spoke up, "If it cuts everything, how did Hakuro stop it?"
"Simple, he deflected the blade instead of taking it head on. Even if the edge can cut anything, that doesn't mean much if the flat of the blade is hit to make it go off course."
The response drew noises of understanding from the crowd.
"Yeah? Well, great. So let's have a sword fight, all right? Fair and square." Kyoya brought his sword before his eyes—the sadistic light causing shivers throughout the audience. Shivers that only increased once the screen revealed his twisted smile.
"Everything about him screams liar." Ruby shouted, only to bush furiously once she noticed the crowds united look of 'well duh'. She quickly shrunk into her seat, fidgeting the whole time.
"Very well. Allow me to show you the true essence of swordplay." Hakuro held his own blade down low.
Kyoya's grin widened. "You ready?" The otherworlder lifted his sword higher and then swung it down. He was far too out of range to hit Hakuro with it, Much to the audience's confusion. But the reason for the seemingly pointless attack quickly revealed itself.
The blade launched out, away from the sword's grip, transforming into millions of tiny shards that they could only see thanks to Broker enhancing the video, each shard packing lethal force as they hurtled toward Hakuro. Text on the screen explained that Kyoya's sword was a fake, a dummy created by his Severer unique skill. Switching between it and his actual sword allowed him to trick his enemy, stymieing them in battle.
"WHAT, that's totally unfair, how is anyone supposed to deal with an attack they can't see?!" Ruby's Statement drew exasperated sighs from the adults of the group. It took everything Cinder had to not go off on the naive girl, she couldn't blow her cover. Despite knowing that, she still wanted to burst out laughing at the ridiculous ideals that Ruby held.
"They aren't, squirt. People fight like that because they're weak. They can't win in a fair fight so they use cheap tricks to overcome that weakness." Qrow stated, softly chastising the red hooded huntress in training.
His words drew slight irritation from cinder, though she couldn't truly find anything to deny them. Despite that she had to bite her tongue to prevent her from erupting at the way he labeled her as weak by association.
"Ha-ha-ha! That fool got tricked again!" Kyoya held his stomach as he laughed - the audience scowled at the sadistic boy, truly even the worst among them hated kyoya with a burning passion, in Cinder's case quite literally as she imagined what it would feel like to reduce him to ash.—but a cold, penetrating voice stopped his laughter, along with any comments the spectators were about to make.
"Hmm. So such tiresome little deceits are part of your arsenal, eh? It seems I overestimated you."
"No way?!" Kyoya looked around, searching for Hakuro's frigid, lecturing voice. He found the ogre exactly where he had been standing, completely unhurt, now with his monstrous third eye completely open in the center of his forehead. The dark purple slit left everyone in the theater paralysed in fear.
No one was immune to the sheer terror that the ogre's face induced. Not Cinder with her interactions with Salem. Not Ironwood with his experience against the grim. Even Ozpin's centuries of experience, couldn't completely shake the fear of certain death that smothered the audience.
The younger members were on the verge of passing out, desperately gasping for air that never entered their lungs.
"What- what the hell is that?!"
That was the only thing Qrow could get out of his shaking mouth. He was plenty accustomed to the pressure a person could produce. The black bird knew of many types, a quiet controlled power like Ozpin's, Ironwood's firm strength, the subtle weight of Glynda's fury, and of course his sister's twisted presence. But none of that compared to the prue, distilled hatred that coursed off the swordsman onscreen like a river of malice.
Brocker looked around, a flash of confusion appearing on his face at the guests' state, quickly replaced by one of realization. "Oh right! I forgot to create a barrier. My bad, let me fix that." Brocker snapped and the pressure lightened, allowing the audience to breathe normally once more.
"I must apologize. I'm so used to watching these worlds alone that I forgot the effects it could have on mortals if the proper steps aren't taken." Brocker awkwardly scratched his head.
Nobody bothered to complain. Most of them were far too busy recovering from what they just experienced, and those who weren't had to take care of the former.
While reckless, he does seem to care about us. Needs further investigation to discover the reasoning. Check with Ozpin later on what to do. Back in control of his wits, Ironwood nervously added to his file. All the time, his eyes never left the screen, as if looking away could let the figure cross into the theater.
"To answer your question, that is Hakuro's extra skill: heavens sight. As for what it does, you'll have to wait and see."
The crowd was about to respond but Brocker started the scene before they could.
"What… What did you just do, old man?!"
"Hmm. Interesting. You weren't able to see it? Then I suppose you're just a second-rate fighter or worse."
"…What?"
"'Second-rate or worse' is what I said. I can fully keep up with your sword style, and frankly, I couldn't find it more childish."
"Hakuros goading him,"Glynda analyzed, "trying to get him to lash out." Without the oppressive presence, she could easily see what the old ogre wanted.
"It's working," ironwood sighed. The diligence and efficiency displayed by the church had earned his reluctant respect, but now one of that army's elites was revealed to be a spoiled sadistic brat.
"Don't mess with me, you senile piece of shit!" Kyoya lost his cool, eyes wide open. That was why he couldn't notice. His Severer blade, capable of ripping through anything, had been fully deflected by Hakuro—and now, he had to accept that. He hadn't even noticed that the third eye on Hakuro's head was now open.
Aura, all-powerful and overwhelming, flowed from him. It was hard to tell which of them was really a monster.
Even with the majority of it being filtered out, Hakuros aura still sent shivers throughout the crowd.
Despite that, Qrow and Mercury both held smiles of certain glee, Kyoya had taken the bait and it was time that the spoiled psychotic brat got put in his place.
"Right. I said I would show you the true essence of swordplay. Pay close attention to this!"
"Shut up! Shitty little monsters, acting all tough and crap…!"
Blake couldn't stop herself from flinching at his words. They were far too similar to the hateful rants she had been subjected to before she put on her bow.
The sudden gentle pressure on her shoulders drew her eyes back from the floor, to her surprise Yang's violet eyes greeted her with soft comfort.
Kyoya, still enraged, created a new blade and slashed at Hakuro. Hakuro paid it no mind. He just stood there, quietly transforming the intense rage inside him into power. Not even the sight of Kyoya bringing down his sword at point-blank range fazed him. He just kept his third eye open and dodged his opponent's unseeable blade with a hairbreadth.
"You talk big," Kyoya shouted as he laughed loudly, "but you can't do a thing against me! Can you?! There's nothing you can do! Just sit there and watch my invisible blade rip you apart!"
Mercury bounced up and down excitedly. He could feel the brat's time running out and he loved it.
Cinder, Emerald, and even Ozpin surprisingly, all shared in his joy.
"The time has come, I see. Perhaps your 'eye' is not so all-seeing after all…"
"Huh? What did you—?"
"What does young Kyoya mean by that, Brocker?" Ozpin inquired after a quick sip of his Hot chocolate.
Brocker leapt up from his seat and appeared before the screen. "You see my dear headmaster, Kyoya possesses an ability called 'all seeing eye', which allows him to perceive almost any attack. He also can speed his mind up to one thousand times. This combination allows him to block most sword attacks."
The audience were completely flabbergasted, not all for the same reason though. Most were stunned by the power explained but the more attentive among took greater notice of the way Brocker explained it. His tone was a far cry from when he needed to explain things previously.
"That's such Bullshit!" Nora cried, with yang and mercury nodding in agreement, but despite their outburst Broker gave no reply beyond resuming the scene.
Kyoya didn't understand. But he could tell it meant trouble. He took a step back, but it was already too late. —A flash. The resulting sword move— which the screen named Crestwater Slash— was clearly visible to Kyoya's All-Seeing Eye…and then Kyoya realized something was wrong. He was frozen. Not "frozen," exactly, but moving at an impossibly slow speed. The sword flowed its way toward him. His All-Seeing Eye picked up on that; it should have been evading enough. But the sword kept coming. It touched against his neck. And then it went all the way down into his torso. "…Uh?" Then the sword came back out, gouging Kyoya's heart along the way, as Hakuro just barely grabbed his head before his body hit the ground. In less than a second, it was all over.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Well that was terrifying." Yang stated what everyone was thinking with forced nonchalance, wiping the sweat off her brow. Everyone made their own noises of agreement, not a single one of them had managed to escape the sheer unadulterated terror that had been inflicted on them by the Sword ogre's effortless kill.
While most were petrified by the kill itself, Ozpin instead took note of how casual it was. The way Hakuno simply did it, not bothering with any sort of fanfare or dramatics sent chills down his spine. Comparing himself at the height of his power to this man, well perhaps he would stand a chance with his magic but in terms of pure swordplay? He would be dead before he even drew his blade.
"…And there we go. I hope you will use the remaining time you've extended a thousandfold for yourself to figure out where you went wrong." Those words, via Thought Communication, were the last thing Kyoya ever heard. Hakuro could have killed Kyoya at any time. Even in town, he wouldn't have fallen behind if he had any intention of killing him then. It was a loss with its cause squarely upon Rimuru and his order to drive away their foes alive. Now, though, his good name was restored. He had waited for the moment when Kyoya's All-Seeing Eye was at its maximum level of activation. Then he showed his own skills—and the sheer difference in talent between them. It would be just a few seconds before Kyoya's oxygen-starved brain would expire, and even less than that before his consciousness grew cloudy.
Hearing the supposed orders of Rimuru made Cinder scoff under her breath. The leader had crippled his own forces and for what? Some idiotic sense of morality? Well at the very least it seemed to her that the king of monsters had seen fit to throw the useless notion out after the attack.
But thanks to Mind Accelerate, he had extended his perception speed to a thousand times normal. Hakuro's taunting goaded him into it, although Kyoya had no idea. Now, all he could do was taste the pain, the bitterness, for a small eternity until the moment he finally, mercifully passed. Such was the end of Kyoya Tachibana, the otherworlder who attempted to con his way through life and met his doom over it.