Here we are at Chapter 68. Time for one more battle before this volume ends. I watched this past episode of RWBY, and that was messed up (I won't say much to spoil anyone). I just think they walked right into some kind of trap. Anyway, I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 68. Enjoy.
Chapter 68: Another Test
Ruby and her friends prepare their weapons as the Nuckelavee Grimm twitches its body around before roaring into the air, commanding the other Grimm to attack.
"We'll handle the Beowolves!" Jaune says, motioning to his teammates.
"I'll take the Beringel. Magilou, back me up!" Ruby adds.
"That leaves the other Beringel and the Nuckelavee for us. Ready claw girl?" Qrow asks as he readies his sword.
"Don't call me claw girl," Velvet says before they run at their opponents.
The first attack comes from one of the Beringels which jumps into the air to smash its fists down on Ruby. Ruby uses her semblance to evade it, followed up by Magilou extending one of her cards to smack the Grimm in the face. This distracts it long enough for Ruby to come around and slash at its side with her scythe before jumping away. Meanwhile, Jaune uses his shield to block a strike from a Beowolf. Nora come in and jumps over him, swinging her hammer into its skull, sending it flying back. A second Beowolf attacks from the left flank, but Ren joins in by firing his pistols to stop its advance. He then switches places with Jaune, who thrusts his sword through its skull, taking one Grimm down before they regroup to take on the rest. Off to the side, Qrow is firing off a few shots from his weapon at a charging Beringel, who blocks the shots with its left arm. When it gets close, the Beringel swings its arm around to smack him away, only for Qrow to duck under the strike, and then backflip away when the Grimm tries to grab him with his right arm. Qrow then goes on the attack, spinning in the air with his blade out to make a few strikes. The Beringel shrugs them off mostly and attacks again, only for Qrow to jump onto its left arm and stab its shoulder with his sword, followed by firing off a shot to propel him to safety. He then glances around to see how Velvet's holding up.
With the main attraction, Velvet is running around the Nuckelavee as it thrusts its arms at her from a distance, using the buildings to help her avoid them by jumping up the damaged rooftops. She fires off a few shots from her gauntlet, but the Grimm blocks them with its right arm, getting agitated. It then swings its arms out wide, forcing Velvet to jump back down to ground level as the Grimm charges at her. Activating her Maiden power, Velvet coast her arm blade in fire and runs at it as well. She then slides across the ground as it tries to hit her, making a quick swing at two of its legs. She then jumps onto its back, only for the human half to spin around, throwing her off its body. It then thrusts its right arm at her, but she evades it and engages her foot blades. Jumping along its side, she swings all her blades around, dealing several strikes that cause it roar in pain. Velvet jumps back to prepare for its next move.
"This thing is tougher than it looks," Velvet mutters.
Back with the others, Ren takes a quick look at Velvet's battle, focusing more on her opponent, the Nuckelavee. Just looking at that monster brings back so many painful memories, and the rage that comes with them. However, he has to keep his focus on the few remaining Beowolves still standing, including the one swinging its claws at him. Ren weaves around each strike before making a counterattack by thrusting his pistols into its open mouth and pulls the triggers, shredding through the Grimm's skull and killing it. He then sees Nora smash her hammer down on another Beowolf, crushing it. The two go to help Jaune, who pushes back the last Beowolf with his shield.
"Nora, now!" Ren yells.
"You got it!" Nora replies.
The two come at the Grimm's flanks, with Ren slashing at its left arm, followed by Nora smashing her hammer on its back. With the Grimm disoriented, Jaune takes this chance to swing his sword at its neck, beheading the beast.
"Thanks guys, now let's-Ren! Where are you going?!" Jaune yells as he sees Ren rush off towards Velvet's battle. "Argh, Nora, we have to help the others, then we help Ren!" Jaune says.
"Right!" Nora says before they run off.
Back with Ruby and Magilou, the witch conjures up an arte to create a surge of electricity, shocking the Beringel. Ruby then comes in low, swinging her scythe at its legs, tripping it up.
"Oh yeah, let the magic show continue!" Magilou cheers as she conjures up another arte.
This time, she sends out several of her cards to fly and surround the Beringel as it rises back onto its feet. The cards then spin around the Grimm, moving faster with each second. However, they eventually stop as plumes of fire erupt from beneath them, consuming the Grimm in flames. After the flames die down, the Grimm is weakened and severely burned. This allows Ruby the chance to attack from up high, swinging her scythe down to slice off its head.
"Another one down!" Ruby notes.
With the other Beringel, Qrow dodges a few attacks from the Grimm's fists as it tries to crush him like a bug. However, Qrow smirks and waits for the next attack. The Beringel roars and tries to crush him one more time, only for Qrow to narrowly evade the attack, and counters by swinging his sword to slice off the Grimm's left arm at its elbow. The Grimm roars in pain, but Qrow changes his sword into its scythe form, and jumps up. He then impales his scythe blade into the Grimm's skull, flips over it, and then pulls out the blade, cutting the head in half as the body falls to the ground and disintegrates.
Qrow smirks, "Too easy," he notes.
"Ren!" he hears and looks to see Ren run past Velvet in a blind rage at the Nuckelavee.
Ren fires off his pistols at the Grimm, only for his opponent to start spinning around, swinging its arms around and knocking him up against a large dead tree.
"That idiot," Velvet mutters before she activates her demon claw.
Tossing up and absorbing a fire Dust crystal, Velvet launches an attack by first swinging her arm blade, sending out a wave of fire, followed by a fireball from her claw. The two attacks damage the Nuckelavee and get it to focus on her again. Velvet gets ready to move, only to see a few shots fly over her and nail the Grimm. Velvet look back to see Ruby and Nora with their weapons aimed at the Grimm.
"We got your back, Velvet!" Ruby yells.
Velvet nods and turns back to the Grimm. She runs at it, followed by Qrow and Jaune. The Nuckelavee thrusts its arms at them, making them scatter to evade the attack. Qrow comes around and swings his scythe back, with Velvet landing on the blade. He swings hard, sending her flying at the Grimm. Velvet swings her claw at its face, knocking it back. Next, Jaune adds to her assault with a swing at one of the horse half's legs. The horse screams a bit before it kicks Jaune away. Luckily, Jaune blocks the attack with his shield, but still gets sent flying from the force of the kick. Ruby and Nora join the brawl, with Nora changing her weapon into its hammer form. She swings it around, with Ruby landing on the hammer, and swings it high. Ruby flies into the air and then fires off her scythe behind her, attacking from above while Nora attacks from below. The two come close to attacking the Grimm, but the Nuckelavee thrusts its arms at both of them, catching the two and swinging them around and smashing them onto the ground. Getting back on his feet, Ren growls as he eyes the Grimm. Screaming like a mad man, Ren charges at the Grimm once more. He fires off his pistols at its face, making the Grimm pull back its arms to protect itself. The Grimm thrusts its arms at Ren, who manages to evade the first strike, but can't evade the second as he gets caught in their clutches. The Grimm throws Ren into the side of a building, his aura dropping low. The Nuckelavee Grimm then curls its body inward, its spines growing longer, and its mouth opening even wider than before as it roars in rage.
Ren staggers back to his feet, seeing his friends getting hurt. He gets ready to attack again, only for Velvet to get in his way and slap him across the face.
"What are you doing?! We have to help the-," Ren begins, only for Velvet to punch him in the face this time.
"The only way you're gonna help them is if you cool it," Velvet stops him and then looks back to see Jaune, Ruby, and Qrow keeping the Grimm busy. Velvet turns back to Ren, "You want revenge because that thing killed your parents, right? Are you willing to put your friends' lives in jeopardy just to get your revenge?" she asks, stopping Ren in his tracks. "Look, I have no right to tell you to stop. I know exactly what it's like to lose the people you love and want revenge. After I lost my little brother, all I could think about was getting revenge against Artorius for what he did. The first time I met him on that quest, he defeated me and everyone else with ease. We almost died because he was too strong, but more importantly because I was being too stupid and too selfish at the time. Now look at them," Velvet says, pointing to the others. Ren watches as Ruby and Qrow fire off their weapons, shooting them at the Nuckelavee from opposite directions, slicing at its arms, followed up by Jaune, who fuses his sword and shield into a two-handed sword and goes for the horse's legs. Lastly, he sees Magilou fly over the Grimm on one of her cards, sending out a few others that collide with the Grimm and explode. "You want revenge, then I won't stop you, but don't put your friends' lives in danger because of it. Trust me, I know that better than anyone," Velvet says.
Ren then feels a hand on his shoulder and looks to see Nora standing next to him, "We can do this, Ren. Together, just as we've always done," she says.
Ren takes a breath to calm down, realizing they're right. He kneels down and pulls out a curved dagger from his right leg, an old memento from his late father.
"We'll take care of the Grimm and bring him down. When that happens, you'll be the one to finish the rest. Good for you?" Velvet asks.
Ren nods, "That's fine with me. Let's go," he says.
Velvet and Nora nod before they go to rejoin the battle. In the fight, The Nuckelavee swings its arms around in a frenzy aimed at everyone around it. The group jump back to evade the attack and regroup. When Velvet and Nora rejoin them, the former and Qrow are the first to attack. The Nuckelavee thrusts its arms at them. Qrow slides under the right arm, while Velvet activates her demon claw and grabs the left arm, holding it down.
"Now!" Velvet yells.
Qrow comes in, with his sword in its scythe mode, and slices the left arm off. The Nuckelavee roars in pain and thrusts its right arm out in rage. This time, Jaune comes in and swings his sword to deflect the strike. This gives Ruby the chance to shoot high into the air, and then fire off in the sky to propel her back to the ground. She impales her scythe into the arm and clamps it down on the ground. This gives Velvet the chance to charge in and slice off the right arm with her arm blade. With the Grimm disarmed (damn it Yang), the horse half roars before charges at them, attempting to run them over. However, during the whole action, Magilou has been conjuring up an arte. She then activates it and sends out a ball of electricity at the Grimm, shocking it into submission. Nora comes in, using the arte to power herself up and jumps into the air to smash her hammer down on the horse's head. The Nuckelavee falls onto the ground, and the group move in and use their weapons to pin it down, with Velvet using her demon claw to hold the Nuckelavee's human head up so it can see Ren walking towards it. The Nuckelavee roars, only for Velvet to punch it in the jaw.
"Oh shut up," Velvet says.
Ren stands in front of the Grimm, "Remember me? Well, I remember you. I remember you leading the Grimm that destroyed this village, my home. I remember you killing my parents. I remember you taking so many lives and causing so much suffering. I remember your face, and the darkness you bring. Well…that ends now," Ren says as he slowly raises his knife. The Nuckelavee roars again, but Ren remains unfazed. "For my mother, my father, for all the innocents that you've harmed…and for myself. You're history," Ren says and swings his dagger, taking the Grimm's head off its body as Velvet lets go.
With that, the others step back as the dead Grimm's body disintegrates into thin air. Ren takes a calming breath and sheathes his dagger. Velvet deactivates her demon claw and walks up to him.
"Feel better now?" she asks.
"Yeah, but not in the way you think. I'm just glad that nightmare is over, and that my parents and everyone else can finally rest in peace," Ren says.
Nora suddenly jumps on Ren, giving him a big hug that he happily returns while the rest of the group watch on and let them have their moment. Ruby wraps her arms around Velvet's right arm, the pair having their own smiles.
"Nice job, kiddo," Qrow notes as he walks past them.
"Now that was a good show. So when's the encore?" Magilou asks.
"I think it would be better if we didn't have anymore 'good shows' for a while. It's still going to be a while before we finally reach Mistral. We have a long walk ahead of us," Jaune says.
The group then start to hear some faint beeping, only to notice it getting louder and closer.
Qrow looks up into the sky and smirks, "Well, who said anything about walking the rest of the way?" he notes.
They look up to see a pair of Mistral airships approaching the old village. They circle around the village once before landing in the center of town. A second later, one of the pilots exits the airship and approaches the group.
"Is everyone alright? We were patrolling the area and saw some smoke coming from here. No one's been out here for ages," the pilot asks.
"We were heading to Mistral, but got sidetracked. Listen, I think it would be better to have this conversation on our way back to the kingdom if you don't mind," Qrow replies.
"Understood. Well, climb aboard," the pilot waves them to the airship.
The group board the airships and then take off into the sky. On one ship, Ren and Nora hold hands and snuggle closer to one another, both happy to have settled a ghost from their past. Jaune and Magilou stand by, watching the scenery fly by as they get closer to the kingdom. Meanwhile, on the other airship, Qrow has a quick swig, while Ruby and Velvet sit on the edge of the airship like Ren and Nora, finally getting a chance to catch their breaths.
"For a while, I was worried there. We had been through so much. I didn't know how much longer it was going to take us to reach Mistral, or if we would all get there together," Ruby notes.
Velvet pulls her closer so Ruby can lean her head on her shoulder, "We all made it out of there safe and sound, and that's all that matters…And I got to see you again after so long. I'd call that a success," she says.
Ruby smiles and kisses Velvet on the cheek, "I miss you too Velvet. I'm glad we're back together and that you're safe," she says.
Velvet is about to reply until something catches her eye, "Ruby, look," she points ahead of them. They, and the others, look to see a large mountain with buildings built all around it. They have finally reached the kingdom of Mistral. "We made it," she says.
Ruby tears up a bit but quickly wipes them away, "Yeah, we did. Now we just have to go see the headmaster of Haven Academy. I think things are finally looking up now," she adds.
Velvet leans her head on top of Ruby's, "I couldn't agree more," she mutters.
…
On a ship heading for Anima, Yang leans against the railing, wearing a new combat outfit, looking at a picture of Team STRQ, with her motorcycle sitting behind her. A moment later, Weiss walks up to her and places her hand on Yang's right hand, the two smiling at each other as they look out into the sea.
"So, you think your mother will really help us?" Weiss asks.
"Probably not, but it's worth a shot. If it gets us closer to Ruby, then I'll do what I have to," Yang says.
Weiss wraps her arms around Yang's arm, "Well, just remember that you won't have to do it alone," she says.
"Exactly," they look to Weiss' right to see Eizen and Eleanor, with Eizen's motorcycle sitting behind them. "Don't forget about us now. We want a piece of the action too," Eizen says, taking his coin out and flipping it, while Eleanor nods.
Wind blows by and Zaveid appears, "Yeah, I've been itching for a brawl around here," he notes.
Weiss looks back to Yang, "Maybe we'll even find some clues about Velvet," she states.
Yang just looks out into the ocean, "Yeah, I hope so too. For Ruby's sake," she mutters.
…
Meanwhile, in Menagerie, Blake is sitting in her father's study, looking at two different flags of the White Fang. One is the more recent red one, when they became violent, the other is the white one from when they were more peaceful.
"You ready for this?" she hears and looks up to see Rokurou and Sun walk up to stand behind her on the couch.
Blake takes a breath and nods, "I'm done running from my past. I need to face it, hear and now, or else things will get worse. I realize that now, thanks to you two," she says.
Rokurou crosses his arms, "Took you long enough. But enough about that; it's time to go to work," he says.
"Yeah, we got your back Blake," Sun adds.
Blake smiles, "Thanks you guys," she replies.
…
In Mistral, Ruby enters a room in one house that she and her friends are staying at for the time being. She puts her scythe away in one corner and goes to rest on the bed closest to the window. They have finally made it to Mistral, and can now rest easy knowing that they are one step closer to fixing the mess they find themselves in after the Fall of Beacon. Soon enough, Velvet enters the room and joins Ruby on the bed, holding her hand. The two stare at each other for a moment before they stare a loving kiss. After a few more seconds of kissing, the two separate and look out the window one more time.
"Alright, next stop: Haven Academy," Velvet thinks.
And that's the chapter, and the end of volume 4. Next chapter we'll be getting into Volume 5. Ruby, Velvet, and their group have made it to Mistral, while the others are on their way to the same place. More surprises and challenges await Team RVWBY in the future, but will they be ready for them? Until then, please Read and Review.
