Chapter-52
Team RWBY, Ozpin, Sigurd, Cú
With Prometheus carrying away Ozpin and Yang suddenly grabbing Cinder to fly away with her, Blake and Weiss found themselves alone in the throne room, facing Adam Taurus.
Adam Taurus. Weiss had heard about him from Winter whenever she occasionally visited. She could remember Winter's ranting whenever she talked about Adam managing to ambush an SDC convoy.
From that, along with Weiss' hatred for the faunus, she'd thought of him as a terrible monster at that time.
And looking at him now, Weiss still did not feel anything that seemed to contradict her earlier beliefs.
Adam towered over both of them, with red hair that was brighter than Ruby's, along with two bull horns coming out of them. His clothing was black with red designs, and his infamous weapons, Wilt and Blush, were on his waist.
For some terrifying reason, he sort of reminds me of Ruby. Weiss thought. She didn't even know how her bubbly team leader could be compared to this terrorist who'd massacred so many of her father's company officials and Winter's comrades.
"After years of dealing with Winter…the younger Schnee sister comes up." Adam spoke as Blake looked at Weiss worriedly.
Weiss scowled at Adam. She could feel the anger rise up within her, anger at the damage Adam has done to the SDC and hence the Schnee Family.
Weiss could start remembering the scar she received on the Night of the Fangs. She could remember Whitely being tossed to her death.
She could remember the smiles on the faces of the White Fang terrorists.
She could remember all of it.
All her thoughts of wonder were slowly replaced by anger, as she pointed Myrtenaster at him.
"Weiss…" She heard Blake speak worriedly.
But Weiss kept glaring at Adam.
Adam merely scratched his head. "Oh, how adorable. The little ice princess is trying to be like her big sister. What a loving moment of familial bond." He spoke sarcastically.
"..."
"Only difference between you and Winter was that she had started spouting off all sort of things about putting me down for Atlas and the House of Schnee, blah, blah, blah, when we first met. Of course, it looks like you're much less interested in any of those things."
"Weiss…" Blake tried to speak up again.
"What's the matter, Schnee? Are you that disgusted by this lowly faunus even daring to talk in your oh so esteemed presence?"
Weiss stepped back.
"Are you so stubborn that even after spending almost a year with a faunus, you still have only hatred to provide someone she was once close to?"
Weiss' grip tightened on Myrtenaster.
"Or perhaps…you simply aren't seeing me anymore. Perhaps, you just want to put down a member of the White Fang after we managed to relive one Schnee of their worldy body."
Weiss' eyes widened in hatred at the mention of Whitely, before she dashed straight at Adam.
"Weiss, no!" Blake exclaimed as Weiss launched a series of thrusts at Adam, who dodged the strikes before countering with slashes of his own that Weiss also blocked quickly.
Weiss put down a gravity glyph to stick Adam's feet to the ground and went to attack him, but Adam turned blush back and fired it, with Weiss gasping as she was blasted back by the shot and Adam broke free of the glyph.
Weiss stepped to the side as Adam rushed towards her, blade slicing through where she was standing, before dancing around to slash at him.
Adam hopped away from the slashes before Weiss dashed towards him with a slash, creating a path of glyphs to move around Adam, trying to stab at him.
Adam blocked most of the blows, merely grunting when a few managed to stab at his aura, before carefully watching Weiss' movements and lashing out with his leg, kicking Weiss in the side and sending her tumbling.
Weiss went to get up, only to noticed Adam swinging wilt down upon her, and blocked it with Myrtenaster. However, Adam kept swinging Wilt aggressively as Weiss crawled back, barely blocking the blows before pushing Adam away with a gravity glyph.
"Such skill with that blade, even when it does not even belong to you." Adam spoke before rushing towards Weiss again.
Weiss parried one of Adam's swings and slashed at him, only for Adam to duck under it and quickly stab his blade towards Weiss, who blocked it with a hard-light shield.
"Funny, isn't it? Myrtenaster was touted by Winter to be a symbol of the Schnees, and rightfully so. It originally belonged to a different family, and you taking it simply shows that the Schnees are thieves by nature who steal and ruin others lives." Adam spoke before shattering the shield, sending Weiss stumbling to the ground.
"The Schnee family's honor - MY honor - is not something to be made light of, faunus!" She spat back, but Adam was unperturbed.
"And even after that, you are still so weak." Adam spoke, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Perhaps losing another family member should make you a better opponent for us."
Weiss stared at him in shocked anger.
W-What did he just say? Weiss thought as her fists clenched.
Whitely wasn't enough for them.
They'd killed an infant, and they still hungered for more blood.
Now, Weiss was no longer angry, no.
All her anger now turned into burning hatred. All directed towards the man in front of her.
"GRAH!" Weiss suddenly yelled as she ignited Myrtenaster's blade to send a wave of fire at Adam.
"Don't you dare go near my family, you filthy animal!" Weiss yelled in anger as Adam grunted with the flames washing over him before smiling.
"Ooh, would you look at that, Blake? Even after spending so much time with you, she remains a racist. Shows you how effective your 'methods' are." Adam spoke mockingly.
"Adam, stop!" Blake spoke as she pointed her gun.
"Blake, you've known me for a long time. I won't stop. And I know you well enough that you don't have the guts to try to reason with me." He spoke as he blocked Myrtenaster's flaming blade.
Adam craned his neck back to look at Weiss' eyes, the heiress staring back at him with nothing but an intention to stick Myrtenaster straight through his mouth.
"My, my…now that is interesting." Adam spoke as Weiss put down a time dilation glyph to enhance her speed before stabbing at Adam wildly, abandoning any sort of strategy as she simply wanted to pierce straight through Adam's aura and through his heart.
Adam simply stared as Myrtenaster swung towards him like an arc of fire as Weiss Schnee had completely lost herself to her hatred for the faunus, wanting nothing more than to put him down.
Adam responded with his own strikes, as the both fighters' hatred for each other's groups clashed with their blades.
However, Adam was slowly getting the upper hand as he got in more slashes, stunning Weiss with backhands and punches before slashing her aura with Wilt, while Weiss' speed started slowing down and one particularly nasty bash from Adam's hilt to her ear severely disoriented her.
Soon, Weiss and Adam held each other in a deadlock.
"You know, I strangely see potential in you." Adam spoke casually.
"You don't have any sort of petty, pathetic loathing that comes from no reason like your father, nor do you have some sort of misguided loyalty and sense of righteousness like your sister. Weiss Schnee, what I see is something personal. Something that I carry within myself. It is the sort of righteous hatred that people like you shouldn't be having." He spoke as he slowly pushed Weiss towards the wall.
Weiss simply sent a scorching glare at him. "Don't even compare me to the likes of you."
Adam chuckled at the racist connotations behind that statement.
"Why, we both come from a group of killers. Does that not make us similar?" He asked as he kicked her in the stomach to send her up against the wall.
Blake went up to Weiss. "Weiss, just calm down, damn it!" She spoke, staring at Weiss with terror in her eyes.
But Adam's statement struck a chord within Weiss.
"Killers?! What has my family even done that brands us as killers?!" She spoke as Adam suddenly went silent.
What is this monster even trying to say? That whatever my family done is worse than killing an infant.
Adam's body stiffened up as he marched towards her.
Blake looked at Weiss with wide eyes before she brought out gambol shroud.
"Adam, please…" She spoke before trying to fire bullets from Gambol Shroud, only for Adam to block them.
"...You did not just say that." He spoke.
"I know what I said! Whatever you're saying is your own delusions!"
Blake threw Gambol Shroud at Adam's feet to stop him, but Adam simply moved his leg away, before he kicked Blake away with a sidekick.
Adam marched up to Weiss, who brought up Myrtenaster's flaming blade, ready to keep fighting.
Adam continued to stare at Weiss, before he start laughing.
"Khehehehehe…" He spoke as Weiss stared at him.
"..."
"What is so funny about it?"
But Adam continued laughing as Weiss lost her patience, and pointing Myrtenaster at Adam's throat.
"Just answer me, damn it?!" Weiss yelled as Adam stared at her.
"Oh my goodness, you actually don't know. No wonder you are able to feel that righteous hatred against me. You don't even know the extent your family's crimes, and feel you have any right to place yourself on some moral high ground."
"You killed…an infant!" Weiss snapped.
"At least that infant won't have a miserable life in the Schnee household, unlike some of us." Adam spoke.
"Weiss, Adam…" Blake tried to speak in alarm.
"Don't spoil it, Blake. I want to watch the Schnee's world come crashing down upon her." He spoke raising his hand to his mask.
Weiss looked at Blake. Never had she seen Blake so horrified before…
…Until she saw Adam remove his mask.
"..." Weiss' eyes widened as she stared at Adam's eyes, one a deep ocean blue, while the other being a dull red with burnt skin around his left eye.
That being caused by a brand reading 'SDC'.
Cinder sent a bunch of spikes at Pyrrha and Yang, who dodged to the side.
Yang blasted forward with ember celica, launching a haymaker from her right hand, but Cinder merely flew over her and shot a ball of fire at her.
Pyrrha came up in front of Yang and brought up her shield, blocking the fire as the flames went past the two girls.
Yang fired rounds from Ember celica to which Cinder responded by raising her hand. The rounds exploded and Cinder moved the flames around before sending them straight back at Yang.
Yang and Pyrrha moved away from the fire as Cinder formed a bow and sent arrows towards Pyrrha, who started blocking the arrows with her shield.
Pyrrha then tossed her shield at Cinder, who caught it before Yang launched herself upwards and sent her fist at Cinder, who raised Pyrrha's shield to block it.
However, the force of the strike sent Cinder back to the ground.
Cinder tried to get up but Pyrrha clenched her fist and had her shield drag Cinder down again.
Cinder rolled away as Yang came down with another punch, before slamming her hand to the ground.
Yang noticed the ground underneath her suddenly light up, before she got caught in an explosion, grunting as she tumbled away from the explosion as Cinder emerged out of the smoke, heading straight towards Yang.
Yang's eyes turned crimson as she quickly grabbed Cinder's hands, flipped her over before slamming her to the ground, followed up by Pyrrha slamming her shield against Pyrrha's back.
"Agh!" Cinder grunted as she kicked one of her legs at Pyrrha, sending a blast of fire at Pyrrha who quickly moved back and blocked the flames with her shield.
Cinder kicked her legs to launch herself up again, shooting explosive arrows that exploded against Pyrrha's shield and sent the girl flying back.
"Pyrrha!" Yang exclaimed before she rolled away from more arrows hitting her position and then responded with rounds from ember celica.
Cinder darted from side to side to avoid the rounds, before a ball of fire formed in her hands and she threw it down.
Flames exploded outward as Yang blasted ember celica to launch herself away from the flames while Pyrrha covered herself with her shield.
Yang noticed Cinder glare at her before Pyrrha threw her shield, hitting Cinder as the woman fell back to the ground.
Yang and Pyrrha rushed forward as Cinder sent another ball of fire. Pyrrha came forward to block it with her shield before Yang came in from the side and swung her right hand towards Cinder.
The hit connected against Cinder's temple as her head snapped back to the ground before Pyrrha swung her blade
A blade formed in Cinder's hands, which took the blow on its flat side before Cinder hopped away and clasped her hands together, and brought out a fire whip.
Cinder cracked the whip towards Yang and Pyrrha who rolled away from the attacks.
Pyrrha shot at Cinder with Milo, but she simply deflected the bullets with her hands while the whip managed to snag Yang's feet.
Cinder smirked and yanked it, pulling Yang towards her.
Woah, a little help, Pyrrha! Yang thought as she found herself getting dragged across the ground.
Cinder sent a stream of fire at Pyrrha, who again blocked it with her shield as she rushed forward. Cinder merely lifted into the air, dragging Yang along with her.
"Shoot me!" Yang spoke as Pyrrha stared at her before shooting, allowing Yang to build up energy for her semblance.
Yang tugged with her leg, and this time Cinder jerked, allowing Pyrrha to land a few shots on her along with Yang.
Cinder grit her teeth and shot arrows at Yang, but she managed to untangle herself from the whip and moved away from the arrows.
Yang could spot Cinder starting to breath heavily.
I guess using the powers must be exhausting. Or maybe she isn't that used to it. Yang thought. That meant that she and Pyrrha just had to tire her out to force her into using her blades, and then overcome her with their combined assault.
"I'll distract her, get her down again." Yang whispered to Pyrrha as they ran away, with a trail of arrows landing at spots where she just was. Yang shot a few more rounds to distract Cinder, before firing up her semblance.
"Alright, P-money! Time to launch!" Yang spoke as Pyrrha looked at her in confusion before Yang's arm wrapped around her waist and other arm under her feet. With a grunt, Yang lifted up Pyrrha and threw her at Cinder.
"Woah!" Pyrrha exclaimed as Cinder's eyes widened. Pyrrha raised her shield as she slammed into Cinder, the woman being forced back before Pyrrha spun around to kick Cinder in the head and send her crashing to the ground again.
Pyrrha came down with a stab from Milo, but Cinder rolled away, only to receive a kick to the face from Yang.
The two then fell upon Cinder, with Pyrrha slashing with milo from Cinder's left and Yang sending her punches from her right.
Cinder send fireballs, but either Pyrrha or Yang would slam their shield or fists against her arm to prevent her from doing so.
Soon, Cinder attempted to grab Milo and heat it, but Pyrrha bashed her shield against Cinder's face, which snapped back.
Cinder stumbled back, but Yang grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back in with a punch to the stomach.
Cinder grunted before Yang sent a hook to her face, sending her in a hunched position before Pyrrha kneed her in the stomach.
Yang kicked her leg to bring Cinder down to one knee before Pyrrha slammed her shield against Cinder's chin and sent her down with her back to the ground.
"Grr…" Cinder growled before flames exploded outwards from her body in one single yell, blasting both Yang and Pyrrha back.
"I've had enough of the both of you!" Cinder spoke panting before another ball of fire formed in her arms.
Yang and Pyrrha were just getting up before Cinder sent a beam of fire at their feet, resulting in an explosion.
"Gah!" Yang grunted as she heard Pyrrha scream, the both of them hearing the sound of their auras shattering before they tumbled back.
"You alright, P-Money?" Yang spoke as Pyrrha propped herself up with Milo.
"Yes…what even is her semblance?" Pyrrha asked looking at an approaching Cinder.
"That's…not a semblance, actually."
"It's not?"
"No. But whatever it is, Cinder's tired from using it." Yang spoke as she stared at Cinder.
"We don't have our auras, Yang." Pyrrha spoke worriedly.
"And Cinder's tired, she's going to be sloppy, and probably can't use her powers right now. We just have to break her aura as well." Yang spoke.
"We're the best among our year, after all."
Pyrrha exhaled and nodded as Cinder stared at them, panting heavily.
Oh, she's pissed. Yang thought, looking at Cinder's rage-filled eyes. She probably wasn't expecting the fight to be this difficult for her.
Although, things weren't looking too good for Yang and Pyrrha either. Both of their auras were gone, and despite Cinder being tired, one good hit was all it would take.
But I can't let her get away. Oz is preoccupied, and I should at least make sure Amber's death wasn't in vain. Yang thought.
"You…actually tired me out…" Cinder spoke before two blades formed in her hands.
"...Then I'll…finish you off without the Maiden…"
Prometheus immediately began his with a beam of fire from his fingers, which Ozpin blocked with a shield.
Ozpin projected two clones of himself, which rushed forward at Prometheus.
"My, my, shell projections to such efficiency? You are certainly a cut above most modern magi." Prometheus remarked as Ozpin's projections jabbed their canes at him, only for a fiery pulse to vaporize them.
Prometheus then launched himself towards Ozpin, who slammed his hand against his chest as Prometheus passed right through him.
Prometheus merely turned around and blasted Ozpin with another beam of fire, ignoring Ozpin's spell as the headmaster was blasted back.
How did he…? Ozpin thought.
Prometheus, being the Titan of Progress, has the ability to tear down Mystery. By merely exercising his authority, Prometheus can nullify most forms of Magecraft…unless those come from a being of an equivalent existence. Odin supplied.
"By that, you?" Ozpin thought as he dodged another beam from Prometheus and rushed towards him.
Well, yes. If my entire existence were here, my magical power would easily hold up against Prometheus' anti-mystery attacks. But unfortunately, that is not the case.
No matter, just give me your mana. Ozpin thought as he immediately heightened his perception of time around him, his blue eye glowing.
Ozpin rushed with a number of thrusts, leaving afterimages as they struck Prometheus. However, Prometheus did not even budge before he grabbed Ozpin's cane and swung his fist at him.
Ozpin shapeshifted into a hawk and flew away from Prometheus' punch, before appearing behind him in his humanoid form.
Prometheus' leg shot out behind him, which Ozpin blocked with his cane, but the sheer force of the kick sent him sprawling.
"Those projections were certainly interesting. Perhaps I should demonstrate something of my own." Prometheus spoke.
Ozpin looked up to see Prometheus clasp his hands together, separating them to reveal some sort of molten liquid that shot out from his hand.
The liquid went to the ground and took the shape of a bunch of armored warriors with golden skin holding a spear and a shield.
The warriors rushed at Ozpin at speeds comparable to that of the servants.
Ozpin's eyes widened as he swung his cane to block their attacks, before erecting a shield to block Prometheus' flames. The warriors rapidly stabbed their spears at Ozpin's shield and broke in a matter of seconds.
Prometheus' hand glowed orange and one of the warriors suddenly pulled out a rocket launcher.
"...!" Ozpin immediately used Time dilation on himself and moved past the rocket that the warrior shot, appearing behind it, reinforcing Long Memory and driving it into the warrior's back…
…However, the other warrior blocked the blow and attempted to bash Ozpin with his shield. Ozpin took a deep breath as his eyes slightly glowed and breathed cold air that froze the warriors, before Ozpin put them down by shattering the ice.
Prometheus then shot out more of the molten liquid, which morphed into more warriors, except they now rode bulls which had grass over their body and wooden horns.
The bulls bellowed and charged at Ozpin, whose body shapeshifted into a massive werewolf with bony protrusions coming out of his body and his mouth bloody.
"A Wulver?" Prometheus spoke, confused for the first time.
Huh, I was going for some other canine? What is this? Ozpin thought as Odin was suspiciously silent.
Ozpin slashed through one of the bulls before the others stomped their hooves as vines erupted from the ground to wrap around Ozpin.
Ozpin growled and let out flames from his body, burning away the vines before Long Memory turned into a long wooden staff as Ozpin spun it around. Lightning came down from the skies and blasted the bulls to ashes.
Ozpin directed more lightning bolts at Prometheus, who batted them away with his hand.
Ozpin then bounded towards Prometheus, who stood with his arms crossed before leaping up, extending his claws towards Prometheus.
Prometheus grabbed the claws before twisting around and tossing Ozpin away, who shapeshifted back to his human form and sent projections of spikes at Prometheus, who blocked with his forearm.
Ozpin landed on his feet as Prometheus sent a number of fireballs, only for Ozpin to deflect them with his cane.
Prometheus created more bulls, but Ozpin slammed his cane against the ground, intending to summon some more Perkwunos knights…
…Only for some strange warriors with pale blue skin and limited armor emerging out and rushing at the bulls, wielding axes as they cut them down in seconds.
Again, I did not want those. Ozpin thought as Odin was silent.
Odin?
Yes?
Is this you?
…I believe you using my power is causing you to use magecraft and phantasmals from the Scandinavian Age of Gods.
Ozpin frowned at that, but didn't push the matter.
"Again, with the strange creatures…" Prometheus spoke before vaporizing the warriors with his fire.
Prometheus dodged a blow from Ozpin and lashed out with a kick towards him.
Ozpin vaulted upwards with his cane and came down to stab at Prometheus.
Prometheus went to grab the cane, but Ozpin shapeshifted into a Wulver, sinking its Fangs into Prometheus' shoulder. Ozpin then noticed his mana leak into the body, before Prometheus' body started convulsing for a moment.
Prometheus shook Ozpin off who tried to attack again, only for a wall of flames to erupt in front of them.
"This is not something I imagined." Prometheus muttered. "They resemble Phantasmal Beasts, but at the same time, they are not."
Meanwhile, Ozpin exhaled. He'd seen that Prometheus' skin was very tough, but his wolven form managed to create a gap.
Odin, did you notice?
Hm, I see. Your mana is saturated with my essence. Prometheus had already injected his brother's blood into himself, and taking upon the essence of a god such as myself would cause his body to malfunction.
"It seems there are things I still have to learn." Prometheus spoke looking at Ozpin. "You have Odin connected to you, but that is producing extremely anomalous results."
Ozpin tensed.
"If that is the case, then I'm in much bigger trouble than I thought." Prometheus spoke before the veins on his body glowed.
It seems he is going to be much more serious now. Ozpin thought. In that case…
Ozpin focussed on his mana core, and drew upon the magical circuit he'd constructed. Within moments, all the mana flowed from the circuit and onto his body, inscribing thousands of runes onto him, severely boosting his speed and strength.
Glowing green circuit lines appeared on Ozpin's neck.
It was risky, considering it could tear his body apart if he kept it on for too long.
But as long as I can put down Prometheus, I should be fine. Ozpin thought, before Prometheus blasted towards him, grabbing him and flying up into the stormy sky.
Jaune looked at the woman in front of them.
Honestly, he really did not have much of an idea of what were they exactly facing. When Yang said Oz had called her for something important, Jaune didn't really realize what it was.
He was surprised to see a bunch of people trying to obstruct their way, even though their entire city was under attack by the grimm, before two people came and chased them off.
Weiss, Blake and Yang went in before Yang came out fighting with another woman and Pyrrha ran after them.
And of course, Jaune, Nora and Ren found themselves facing a woman with pointy ears and slit pupils.
Is she…some kind of faunus? Jaune thought. The woman's ears were unnaturally pointy, which along with her reptilian eyes, made Jaune think he was looking at some snake faunus.
"What happened, boy? Confused by my appearance?" The woman spoke, winking at him that sent a shiver down Jaune's spine.
She didn't look like she could fight, yet Jaune couldn't help but feel nervous. The woman felt…dangerous regardless of her clearly impractical robes.
The woman sighed. "Alright then, let's see how long you can entertain me." She spoke before chains shot towards the three teenagers.
Jaune yelped as he barely blocked the chain heading for him with his shield, while Nora and Ren dodged their chains and ran at the woman.
Ren shot at the woman, who simply materialized some sort of wall of scales to block Ren's bullet as well as Nora's grenades.
The woman then materialized a bunch of glyphs that shot energy beams at the two of them, forcing them to retreat.
Wait, Glyphs? Jaune thought. Shouldn't only the Schnee family have that ability? Not to mention the woman could also summon chains and a wall of scales.
"She's got like three different semblances?!" Nora exclaimed as they continued to dodge the woman's beams.
The woman then looked towards Jaune with interest before chains shot towards him.
Jaune tried to block them, but the chains darted around him and wrapped around his ankles, dragging him towards the woman.
"Ren, hit me!" Nora spoke as Ren shot her with some lightning dust bullets. Nora then fired up her semblance and swung down Magnihild towards the chains, breaking them.
"Oh? Perhaps semblances are a tad bit more impressive than I thought." The woman spoke before Nora shot more grenades at her.
The woman again put up a wall of scales, before Ren came up behind her to stab at her with Storm flower…
Only for it to bounce off her back, which now had scales covering it.
"Oh…so sad. You thought I can only bring in the scales of Attar'atta from the ground." The woman spoke with a pout before sending Ren back with a beam.
The woman then sent more chains towards Jaune, which he managed to block, as well as barely dodge whenever they tried to wrap around his legs.
All those times trying to react to Tristan really helped. Jaune thought.
"Come on now, boy. You're the most interesting toy out of the bunch. Why don't you let me enjoy myself?" Semiramis spoke as a chain zipped by Jaune's cheek.
Jaune gulped. "N-No thanks!" He replied.
Seriously, I don't even want to know why I'm the 'favourite'! Jaune thought in frustration before something struck his mind.
The woman was more focussed on getting him than Nora and Ren.
Maybe I could use that to my advantage. Jaune thought.
"Nora…" Jaune whispered. "Wait for her to get distracted."
Nora looked at him. "Uh, what are you…?"
Jaune, at that moment, let the chain wrap around his ankle, sending a look towards Nora before she could help.
Jaune let himself be dragged towards the woman, who looked down at him.
"Odd. You were much less willing to get caught earlier." Semiramis muttered as she blocked Ren's bullets and fired off more beams to keep Nora of her.
"Nora, Ren, help!" Jaune spoke, as Nora and Ren understood his plan and shot at her.
"Oh, again with the guns. Are all of you huntsmen just that hard-headed?" Semiramis spoke as she blocked those bullets again.
"W-Who are you?" Jaune asked.
"I did say that, didn't I? But oh well, I am Semiramis, brat." Semiramis spoke before raising Jaune to look straight into his eyes.
Jaune again whimpered as Semiramis' slit pupils stared right into him.
"You are a knight, are you not?" Semiramis spoke with a grin.
"W-Why, what's wrong with that?"
Semiramis snorted. "...Nothing. Just…"
At that moment, Nora had managed to reach very close to Semiramis, having been boosted by Ren.
"YAAAHH!" Nora screamed as she swung her hammer at Semiramis…
Only for another glyph to spawn and blast Nora back.
"Nora!" Ren yelled in concern as Semiramis shook her head.
"Nice try, boy. Trying to distract me with a conversation. Unfortunately, I once tried trickery as well. Went to war with the Ikshvaku dynasty in India, but the ruler saw through it and completely decimated my army. Even my magecraft was no match for that king's so-called 'astras'." Semiramis spoke with a sigh.
What are you talking about? Jaune thought in confusion before a number of chains stabbed at him rapidly.
"Uwah!" Jaune screamed as he noticed his usually large reserves of aura get depleted within seconds and broke.
"Jaune!" Nora exclaimed but Semiramis placed more chains around Jaune's head.
"One step closer, and I'll cut his face out." Semiramis spoke as Jaune shivered.
Nora stared at Jaune, but Jaune was frankly not liking this.
He'd been hoping his little trick would work, and had played a huge gamble with it. Now that that had failed, Jaune couldn't see a way out of this.
Damn it, If I just had been stronger. Jaune thought.
He didn't have a semblance.
He wasn't a great fighter.
He had no way of getting out of this situation.
Ren noticed the panic in Jaune's eyes and continued facing Semiramis. All was silent as Jaune could feel the dagger tips of the chain on his neck…
Before arrows appeared and shot them off him.
"Hm?" Semiramis spoke before another bunch of arrows broke the chains and cut Jaune out.
Semiramis looked down at Jaune and went to attack, but was forced to retreat by the arrows heading towards her.
Jaune then looked at the direction where the arrows came from to see his saviour.
"Tristan!" Jaune exclaimed as Tristan stood there with his bow pointed.
"Queen of Assyria." He intoned. "First you poisoned me numerous times, now you try to kill my pupil. Tell me, does my existence seem that much of a joke to you?"
Semiramis chuckled. "Well, I just like the fact of facing someone who's specifically weak against poison. It simply makes it less of a fight."
Tristan was silent before he looked at Jaune.
"Be careful."
"Tristan, she's…"
"I know. I've faced her before, and lost. But that was because of a specific weakness. Trust me, this time I'm prepared for her." He spoke.
Jaune looked at Nora and Ren.
"I'll keep her pressured. Try to find any gaps if you can." He spoke as Jaune nodded.
"Yes, sir."
The SDC Brand.
The same one she'd seen on Banesaw's back.
Weiss started remembering that sight again, which had been so horrifying that Weiss had convinced herself that it was an illusion.
But…Adam had it as well…
That meant…
Weiss blinked rapidly as her hand trembled. Weiss' mind was thrown into complete chaos as she could see nothing but 'SDC'.
The brand was carved into her mind like it was on Adam's left eye.
"You see? The proof of our hatred for your family is literally on my face." He spoke.
"I-Impossible…"
"I was born in an SDC mine, after my mother fell in love with another miner and had a night of pleasure to take her mind off the torture she is put through. For years, those cold, dark caves were my home. For years, the sounds of pickaxes striking against rock were the songs that would lull me to sleep at night…"
"And of course, the screams of those who received this brand haunted my dreams at night. I used to be an obedient little slave, taking whatever abuse and insults were thrown at me. All because of…this." Adam spoke tapping the brand.
"And then one day, I snapped. I tried to be my mother's child, and what did I get for the reward?" Adam asked as Weiss tried to open her mouth to speak, but all that came out was horrified squeaks.
N-No, Grandmother Sophia…she…
"You must be thinking of the ban imposed on branding by Sophia Schnee, aren't you?" Adam asked before letting out a laugh.
"Well, I'm sorry, but it seems your dear father doesn't care for the law. How shocking for the 'noble' Schnee family."
"Adam, put your mask back on!" Blake pleaded.
"Shut your damn mouth, Blake!" Adam snapped back before looking back at Weiss.
"This self-righteous brat thought she had some kind of right to hate us. Loathe us for taking away a family member…when she doesn't even know how many families her own family has DESTROYED!"
Weiss stumbled away from Adam, who swung his blade at her. Weiss barely blocked it as her arm flew back, while Weiss tried her best not to look at the branding on Adam's face.
"What happened, Schnee? Scared of a 'beastly' faunus!" Adam bellowed as he swung again, with Weiss barely blocking.
"What happened to all that rage and hatred you showed earlier?!" Adam yelled as he struck again.
CLANG!
"What happened to avenging your brother?!"
CLANG!
"What happened to protecting the rest of your family?!"
CLANG!
"WHAT HAPPENED…TO PROTECTING YOUR HONOUR?!"
Myrtenaster flew out of Weiss' grip, before Adam's blade sheared through her aura, shattering it.
"WEISS!" Blake screamed as Adam backhand Weiss, sending her crashing into the wall.
Weiss' snowflake tiara shattered and fell to the ground as her hair came loose.
Adam kicked Myrtenaster towards Weiss.
"Pick it up."
"..."
"Pick it up."
"..."
"...Alright, then."
Blake stared in horror as Weiss looked up at Adam, tears streaming down her face as blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.
"P-Please…S-Stop…" She begged as Adam walked up to her…
Before grabbing her by the throat and raising her up.
"Stop? Are you actually thinking I will show you mercy?" Adam asked. "Have you ever heard of the 'Silencing' days?"
Weiss gagged and gasped for air as Adam's grip tightened.
"One specific day, your father would have all faunuses with this brand rounded up, and executed by the SDC private guards. All to make sure no one ever spilled his secrets."
"If he did not show them mercy, why should…"
"Get away from her!" Blake yelled as she swung Gambol Shroud at Adam. Adam blocked it with Wilt as Blake placed a Shadow clone to attack from another side, but Adam again blocked the hit and focussed on Blake, while Weiss fell to the floor clutching her throat.
"...And you still chose her over me." Adam spoke.
"She isn't like her father, Adam!" Blake snapped back.
"Isn't? Tell me, did all of those clear attempts to kill me show that she 'isn't' like Jacques?"
"You were bringing up her dead brother and her family to her face, especially after what happened!"
"Oh, cut me the blame game, Blake!" Adam spoke before pushing her back.
"What makes you think you have any say in this matter?! You decided to abandon the dream we shared. The same dream for which you ruined your relationship with your parents and ran away!"
"Weiss is my friend! I too hated her when we first met, but she has shown that she has the ability to improve!"
"Oh really? Do you really think yourself to be that conceited that just because the Schnee started being nice to you means she'll do the same with every faunus?"
At that moment, Blake lost it.
"Weiss had stopped being rude to faunuses until YOU decided to rile her up, with your stubborn hatred for all humans!"
"..."
"That's why I left! Because you have gotten delusional in your hatred. You only want revenge, and to that point, you're prepared to even attack HUNTSMEN because of it!"
"..."
"Tell me Adam, what was the point of the Breach? You decided to lend your support to people who were going to DESTROY BEACON, all because of your personal vendetta?" Blake raged on, letting out all her frustration since she'd run away from Adam at Forever Fall.
She didn't see that Adam had gone awfully quiet.
"...I was not aware of what happened to Beacon." He spoke as Blake's eyes widened.
All her rage was suddenly replaced by confusion.
"...What? What do you mean you're not aware?!"
"I didn't know they were going to go that far to attack Beacon, okay?!" Adam snapped as Blake noticed his eyes, once filled with rage, now fill up with sadness.
Adam then looked down. "...It was a Huntress who saved me."
Blake tilted her head.
"I probably would have ended up a victim on a 'Silencing' day, if not for a Huntress." Adam spoke.
"Our convoy was set for the Schnee mansion, before it was set upon by grimm. In the resulting chaos, a passing Huntress found me, and took me in."
Adam's voice grew unusually soft.
"That Huntress treated me like her own son. It was the first time a human had ever looked at me with love instead of hate. She was the one who inspired me to join the cause for faunus equality. She was the one who is the reason I stand before you today." Adam spoke.
"That Huntress is now dead." He spoke with a scowl as Blake stared at him.
"But…if a huntress saved you…then why did you…"
"Fight against huntsmen? Well, huntsmen are not really inhuman beings, are they? They're just like us. And like us, they have the same flaws. That one Huntress was a rare one among her peers, but most were just like the racist humans." Adam spoke.
"Beacon was where that Huntress graduated from. Atlas simply raised mindless soldiers, Haven did nothing but teach their students how to fight, and Shade bloated their students with an ego about their strength as Vacuans…"
"But Beacon? Beacon was the only academy in which I had faith. Beacon was the only academy where I truly believed people like that Huntress were trained…"
"...Which is why I feel saddened by what happened."
"..."
"Tell me Blake, what are you doing?"
"What?"
"You abandoned your father's beliefs to join me. Then you abandoned me and went to Beacon…what have you been doing?"
"..."
"...That Huntress had once told me that sometimes we must fight to receive our justice, and I am doing just that. It may be violent, but after repeated failures, it's the only choice that we have left. Many of those who joined us truly believe in our dream becoming reality, and thus pledge their loyalty" Adam spoke.
"Criticize me as much as you want, Blake, but at least I have some plan. You? You have done…absolutely nothing but stop me."
Blake opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't find any arguments.
"All that you've done is stop us from trying to achieve our dreams…and befriending our enemies." Adam spoke, looking at Weiss.
"Tell me Blake, do you find yourself happy with betraying all of us for this?"
Blake looked down. What Adam listed was…correct. She really realized she'd done nothing but obstruct the White Fang, while doing nothing to further faunus equality.
But…Adam is wrong about one thing…
"I have not simply befriended our 'enemies', as you call Weiss." Blake spoke as Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Do tell." He spoke sarcastically.
"It's like you said. Beacon had the capability to train people like that huntress. And I've befriended one of them."
"..."
"My Team Leader." Blake spoke, as Ruby came to her mind.
"I once thought of her as a naive girl with no idea of the world's darker aspects. Someone who treated Remnant like a fairytale…"
"But she proved me wrong. She had experienced her burdens, her own traumas, and often had broken down from her guilt. For nights, I would find her weeping on the roof because of guilt…"
"...But she still remains a good person inspite of that. She continues to do what she wanted to do, and that is protecting the people."
"She was a lot of inspiration to me, striving to keep her ideals intact, even when the world tried to break them down. From what you told me, she is every bit like that Huntress…"
Adam was silent, before he began walking towards Weiss.
"...And her name is Ruby."
Adam suddenly froze and turned back to Blake, who blinked in surprise as she noticed a rare emotion on Adam's face.
Utter Shock.
"...What was her name again?"
"Ruby. Ruby Rose." Blake spoke as Adam's eyes bulged out.
Okay, Adam definitely recognises that name. Blake thought. Now that she thought about it, she did once think of a coincidence that both Adam and Ruby had a rose in their emblems.
Adam stared back at Weiss and then at Blake.
"..."
"..."
"...We'll meet again." He spoke before sheathing his blade.
"Huh? What, what happened to you all of a sudden?" Blake spoke, but Adam simply put on his mask and briskly walked away.
Blake stared at Adam's hasty exit. What was all of that?"
"Blake…" Blake then heard Weiss as she rushed up to her.
"Weiss, it's okay. He's gone." Blake assured her as Weiss blankly stared at the shattered tiara.
"...They were right…" She spoke as tears started falling down her face.
"Weiss…" Blake spoke before pressing Weiss' head against her shoulder as her teammate sobbed.
"...They were right to hate us."
Cú immediately skewered three faoladhs, quickly shaking them off before dodging a club from a Tröll, and jumped up to stab Gáe Bolg through its head.
Cú then jumped off the Tröll's falling corpse and stabbed Gáe Bolg to the ground, sending out a wave of fire that vaporize a group of monsters.
Cú then deflected a number of arrows from a group of Faoladh archers before blasting a beam of light at them to put them down, before running towards another faoladh group to draw fire from Cyclopes.
Cú dashed away as the Cyclopes' missiles hit the faoladh, obliterating them before Cú swept his spear to send a wave of light that cut the Cyclopes in half.
A bunch of knockers wrapped around his legs and pressed their flaming hands against Cú's legs, only for the warrior to remain unharmed.
I have Lugh's power flowing through me. It will take a lot more than that to actually burn me! Cú thought before flames erupted from his body, burning away the knockers.
Cú suddenly noticed a bunch of phantasmals trying to move around him and go towards the wall, before he raised his hand.
A wall of flames suddenly appeared, as any phantasmals that tried to pass through it were turned to ash.
More phantasmals attempted to cross, but the fire was clearly too much for them.
Many of the Faoladh then growled at Cú before rushing towards him.
Cú stabbed his spear at one Faoladh, which raised its enchanted oak shield to block, only for Gáe Bolg to pierce through it and impale the Faoladh in the heart.
Cú shook the faoladh off his spear before ducking under the blade of another and stabbing it through the mouth.
Cú then found himself getting surrounded, as he continued to cut down more and more Faoladh that came up, before a Tröll breathed its frosty breath onto him.
However, the breath was merely a little chill to Cú instead of freezing and he laughed, continuing to cut down more Faoladh.
The Tröll raised its hand and vines erupted from the ground, allowing a few faoladh to land some gashes on Cú's shoulders but the servant just laughed.
"This won't be enough!" Cú spoke laughing before sending another pulse of fire that burned away the vines as well as the near by Faoladh before raising his hand that erupted in a flash of light.
The phantasmals were blinded as Cú rushed towards the Tröll, cutting off its legs before skewering its head.
Cú continued cutting down more and more phantasmals as the battle raged on for a long time, receiving gashes to his body whenever a Faoladh Druid or a Tröll manage to get him stuck in their vines and allowing him to get hit.
But despite that, Cú merely laughed manaically as he relentlessly fought through the phantasmals, slaughtering them by the hundreds despite the number of wounds piling up on his body.
Damn this servant form. If I just had my ríastrad, I would have finished these bastards off a lot quicker. Cú thought as he killed 20 knockers with a number of slashes.
But that didn't matter. He didn't have to worry about anything else other than making sure they did not reach the wall. He could let himself loose as much as he wanted, because he was surrounded by no one but enemies.
He had faith in Sigurd to kill the Wyvern, and the huntsmen in fending off the grimm. As long as he and Sigurd did their part of the job, the huntsmen should be able to drive off the grimm.
So, nothing to hold back! Cú thought as he lost himself in the battle, walking upon the corpses of Faoladh as he cut more down, smelling nothing but the blood and rotting corpses of phantasmals as he continued to massacre them.
The environment only served to increase Cú's ecstasy, as he could no longer feel the pain of his wounds, not caring as he kept on fighting, with more and more phantasmals falling to Gáe Bolg's spear.
Soon, Cú noticed the phantasmals starting to back off.
"What? What are you all running off to?! Face me!" Cú yelled before he heard something come up behind him.
Cú stabbed Gáe Bolg backwards to stab at his mysterious assailant, only to hit thin air.
Hm, they vanished? Cú though before looking back to see a different phantasmal come up.
They were the size of a beowolf, except they were ghostly white with a little bit of transparence, and shaped like a dog.
The dog, instead of eyes, had bottomless sockets with red dots shining inside them, with extremely sharp fangs. But the most striking feature of the dog was its pair of red ears, which immediately told Cú its identity.
"Cwn Annwn." Cú muttered. He knew these mutts very well. They were pretty much the death bringers that come from the otherworld to hunt down people.
Cú noticed two others come up, all growling at him…
Wait. Cú thought. Growling?
He just heard them growl…
Oh. Cú thought as realisation struck him before smirking.
"Really, it's that time already?" Cú spoke as one of them lunged at him.
Cú stabbed Gáe Bolg at it but the Cwn Annwn vanished before suddenly appearing from the ground to snap at Cú, who sidestepped the blow before launching a beam of light at another Cwn Annwn.
The hound dodged the beam and lunged at Cú, knocking him down and attempting to bite his head off.
He had to admit, he wanted to know how Prometheus managed to get some Divine Beasts into the mix.
That too, ones that were specifically engineered towards killing.
Cú stabbed his spear rapidly at another Cwn Annwn, which simply vanished before appearing behind Cú.
Cú jumped away from it, before sweeping his spear to send another wave of fire at the Cwn Annwn.
At that moment, the Faoladhs also joined the fray.
Oh, now that's annoying. Cú thought as he was forced to divert attention to the Faoladh. Now, as he fought the other phantasmals, Cú could see the Cwn Annwn appear out of nowhere and attempt to take a bite out of him, which caused him to develop more wounds.
Soon, Cú found himself getting a little irritated. It's highly unlikely Gáe Bolg's death curse will work on the Cwn Annwn because of their nature as the hounds of death…
Cú focussed back onto the Cwn Annwn's before noticing something.
Wait a minute…are they…weaker? Cú thought. Was it because them being so far away from the otherworld as well as not being used by their owner Arawn that their divine protection is…
Cú smiled. Never mind, Gáe Bolg could definitely put them down.
Cú continued cutting down more phantasmals, memorizing the movements of the Cwn Annwn before…
And…now! Cú thought as he cut down another faoladh and quickly blinded the other phantasmals, forcing them back, and completely explosing the Cwn Annwn that lunged at him.
Cú grabbed hold of the hound's jaws, before forcing it to the ground.
Damn, this thing's a lot stronger than Culann's hound! Cú thought as he struggled to put down the divine beast which thrashed around.
Even when arrows from Faoladh archers pierced his back, Cú did not let up as he drove Gáe Bolg's tip into the Cwn Annwn's throat, the dog thrashing around before falling limp and dissipating immediately.
Cú then noticed another Cwn Annwn come up and sink his fangs into his shoulder. Cú grit his teeth and quickly drove Gáe Bolg through its head, killing it as well.
The last Cwn Annwn continued to be cautious, allowing the phantasmals to attack Cú, who continued to fight.
At one moment, a Faoladh druid managed to trap Cú in vines once again and the Cwn Annwn seized that opportunity.
It lunged at Cú and bit into his left arm.
"Gah!" Cú grunted as he attempted to shake it off, but the Cwn Annwn held on.
As Cú tugged against it, he suddenly found himself falling back as the Cwn Annwn let go. Cú quickly rushed towards it and stabbed it in the throat, killing it as well, before deflecting arrows coming at him from the side.
Cú bellowed before sending another pulse of light that drove back the phantasmals before taking a look at his body.
His body was mangled in multiple spots because of the wounds he'd suffered, and where his left arm was, there was only a stump.
Hoo, this is even worse than what I had with the Medb's fighters. Cú thought as he looked back at the phantasmal army.
He could feel his wounds finally catch up to his body, and he found himself moving more sluggishly.
On the other hand, Cú could still spot a considerable number of phantasmals remaining.
Shit! If those Cwn Annwn hadn't appeared… Cú thought.
He could not retreat, or else the phantasmals would fall upon Vale.
But if he kept on fighting, then there was no way he was going to live.
He'd been already marked for death ever since he heard the Cwn Annwn.
His fate was sealed.
But Cú simply grinned.
So what if I'm going to die? I already died once, what's so big about dying a second time? He thought.
As he'd said, he couldn't retreat. His entire job was ensuring the phantasmals don't reach Vale's great wall.
To hell with fate. If I'm going to go down, I'll go down fighting! Cú thought before laughing.
A bunch of scratches weren't going to stop him from doing his duty. He was going to fight till the bitter end.
Cú could hear the Wyvern roaring in pain in the distance.
Come on, Sigurd. I'm not doing this only for you to lose against that repitilian bastard.
The wyvern immediately flapped its wings as Sigurd's surroundings frosted over, but he kept moving forward thanks to the kenaz rune.
The wyvern's eyes glowed before Sigurd noticed more grimm grow out of the Wyvern's body and drop down. A bunch of bladeswipes, now crackling with lightning.
Sigurd immediately reinforced his body as the grimm came closer, before the bladeswipes dashed at him at blazing speeds.
"Thurisaz." Sigurd spoke inscribing the rune on Ridill and Hrotti before he fell upon the bladeswipes.
The bladeswipes moved much faster than their usual speeds at Sigurd, but he merely dodged one Bladeswipe and slashed at it with Ridill.
It was a minor cut, but the Thurisaz rune immediately began its work as the grimm immediately dissolved upon receiving the cut.
Another bladeswipe stabbed at Sigurd, but the strikes bounced off his armor as Sigurd destroyed the bladeswipe with another swing as well.
Sigurd continued decimating the bladeswipes, as he got closer and closer to the Wyvern.
Sigurd then noticed a bunch of bladehounds along with a king taijitu come up. One of the bloodhounds lunged at him, but Sigurd blocked its swipe and lifted it off its feet, stabbing Hrotti into its throat and dissolving it.
Another bloodhound slashed at Sigurd, landing a gash on his arm, only for Sigurd to punch his daggers to bring it down, before stabbing Gram into the ground and sending a wave of fire to vaporize the bloodhounds.
The King Taijitu's heads snapped towards him, but Sigurd simply danced out of the blows before using a mana burst from his core to launch himself into the air.
"Kenaz." Sigurd spoke before punching his two daggers at each of the grimm's heads, which exploded on impact and blew them off.
Sigurd then looked up at the grimm, raindrops splattering his mask as the thunderstorm raged in the sky.
The wyvern roared and opened its mouth before hundreds of balls of plasma descended upon the plain.
"Algiz." Sigurd spoke as a shield materialized in front of him, absorbing the Wyvern's hits.
"Perthro." Sigurd spoke inscribing another rune before he disappeared.
That should give me some respite. Sigurd thought.
The wyvern suddenly roared again as Sigurd noticed the thunder get louder than usual.
"...!" Sigurd immediately tensed up before a bunch of lightning bolts crashed around him, with Sigurd even having to deflect one with gram
Sigurd noticed Gram still sparking, which exposed his position. The wyvern looked straight at Gram's sparking blade before flapping its wings, before sending a large number of ice spikes down towards Sigurd.
Sigurd again blocked the spikes with an Algiz shield.
I need to get up there. Sigurd thought before stabbing Ridill and Hrotti to the ground.
"Berkana." Sigurd spoke inscribing the rune as a green projection of a nevermore emerged from the ground.
Sigurd got up on the nevermore and flew up into the sky, heading towards the Wyvern.
If he needed to damage the wyvern, he first needed to get past its armor.
"Ansuz." Sigurd spoke, inscribing the rune into the air, which turned into four blue rings of light.
"Kenaz." He then inscribed the next rune to complete the chain, as the kenaz rune blazed into existence in the middle of the rings.
The wyvern roared at Sigurd, who flew towards it. At a single thought, the Kenaz runes began firing fireballs at the wyvern, which crashed against its icy armor.
It wasn't enough to penetrate it, but the wyvern roared in pain as it flew straight towards Sigurd.
Sigurd beckoned his mount to fly to the side as the wyvern's mouth opened, intending to swallow him whole, but Sigurd passed to his side, barely missing the rows of spikes that were on the wyvern's body.
Sigurd dodged the wyvern's tail moving from side to side before noticing more nevermores come out of the Wyvern's body and pursue him.
Sigurd turned the kenaz runes back and began firing at the nevermores, bringing each down with five fireballs.
Some of the nevermores managed to dodge the fireballs before sending out feathers to destroy Sigurd's projection, only for an algiz shield to appear and deflect the feathers.
Sigurd continued warding off the nevermores before noticing something come up to his right…
The wyvern! Sigurd thought as the wyvern came up to his side, its mouth gaping wide open.
Sigurd immediately jumped up with a mana burst as the wyvern consumed his projection, before landing on the Wyvern's back.
Suddenly, ice-cold winds whipped around Sigurd as his mask and armor started frosting.
I need to get past its armor. Sigurd thought before raising Gram and slamming it onto the ice.
CLANG!
Gram bounced off, but Sigurd could see a slight warm glow once Gram impacted the ice.
The winds got even stronger as Sigurd suddenly lost his footing and was blown back, however he managed to stay on and struggled as he started walking up to that specific spot.
Sigurd noticed more grimm spawn and run towards him, but Sigurd merely cut them down before moving on.
Soon, Sigurd was back upon the spot, and began ramming gram once again, as snow started falling with the air freezing around Sigurd.
The Wyvern suddenly twisted, turning upside down to knock Sigurd off.
Sigurd, however, stabbed Ridill through one off its gaps and hung from there. The wyvern then flew up further into the stormy sky as Sigurd tightened his grip around Ridill, before continuing to slam Gram at the icy armor.
The wyvern continued getting higher and higher as more frost formed on Sigurd's armor, but the warrior continued hitting at the ice, which had started showing cracks.
Wyvern then spun around rapidly as Ridill came off, sending Sigurd falling down. Sigurd noticed the wyvern's left wing come up, and stabbed Gram into, sliding down as he tore a gap into it.
The wyvern roared again as it straightened up, allowing Sigurd to get up and start running back to its body once more.
The wyvern attempted to shake him off with another roll, but Sigurd merely jumped off, heading towards the wyvern's left arm and stabbing Ridill and Hrotti into it.
Sigurd then used the daggers to pull himself up, moving slowly towards the wyvern's body, before resuming his work.
The wyvern shot up into the sky again, as Sigurd hung vertically and stabbed Gram into the spots where the cracks where showing.
Come on! Sigurd thought as he and the wyvern reached the upper parts of remnant's atmosphere, with Sigurd sending waves of fire to melt the ice.
Soon, the wyvern flew down back into the thunder storm, as Sigurd continued sending the waves of fire.
As the wyvern straightened up, Sigurd raised Gram, with the ice now being on the verge of breaking.
"HRAAAHH!" He bellowed, bringing down Gram's flaming blade.
BOOM!
Chunks of ice flew off as the wyvern's armor shattered at that spot.
Hm, this Wyvern's being controlled by a Wraith. Sigurd thought as he noticed the telltale signs within the wyvern's grimm ether.
In that case…
"Eihwaz." Sigurd spoke as he inscribed the Rune of Death onto Gram.
This should do it. Sigurd thought before stabbing Gram into the exposed spot.
Sigurd immediately noticed something trying to interfere with the rune's work, but he could tell that that object won't be able to hold back the Eihwaz Rune for long…
"GAH!" Sigurd grunted as electricity suddenly coursed through his body, forcing him to pull out Gram as his body spasmed.
No, I'm not letting this thing get away with it! Sigurd thought as he grit his teeth as he forced his arms to raise Gram again.
Suddenly, a beowolf appeared beside Sigurd and swung its paw at him, slamming into his side and sending him falling off the wyvern.
Sigurd fell from the sky, crashing into the ground and sending dirt flying about as he scraped against it.
Sigurd shook his head as his head was ringing from that fall.
Sigurd propped himself up with Gram, before his mask fell back as he noticed his head bleeding.
Sigurd looked up at the wyvern flying at the sky. He could hear the howls of other grimm, a telltale sign that the wyvern had spawned more grimm to defend its exposed spot
One major hit wasn't going to stop him.
He didn't need to remind himself what would happen if he conceded defeat right now.
Sigurd created another nevermore projection and flew up into the sky, ready to face the wyvern.
"Hm, who is inside you?" Prometheus spoke as he and Ozpin rose through the air. Prometheus' fingers glowed orange.
"It seems I have to cut you open to figure out the case of this 'mysterious' Odin." Prometheus spoke, but Ozpin merely disappeared from his grasp.
"Spatial displacement? So Odin won't let me get in that easily?" Prometheus mused as Ozpin floated in the air, before raising Long memory.
Immediately, a number of glyphs materialized that shot beams towards Prometheus.
Prometheus flew to the side, only to see the mana beams change directions as well.
Prometheus flew away further, but the mana beams honed in on him, until Prometheus erected a shield of fire which the mana beams exploded against.
Prometheus flew towards Ozpin and fired off his beams, missing Ozpin by a hair's breadth as he went to cast another spell.
Prometheus' arm suddenly extended forward and grabbed Ozpin by the throat and pulled him towards him, with his arm raised.
That can't be good. Ozpin thought as he created another projection and split away from it, flying away at the right moment as Prometheus sliced the clone in half with his arm.
Prometheus immediately sent another fire beam that Ozpin blocked a shield before flying into the storm, with Prometheus pursuing him.
"You can't keep running, False God." Prometheus spoke as he continued shooting beams at Ozpin, who dodged them.
Ozpin then teleported from multiple sides, jabbing at faster speeds which hit Prometheus' body at multiple points, before sending a small burst of mana that sent him flying back.
"...! That put in some damage." Prometheus spoke.
Prometheus then sent another beam of fire at Ozpin, who responded by gathering a large amount of mana and unleashing it in one energy beam form Long memory.
Ozpin's and Prometheus' beams crashed in the middle, struggling against each other before Ozpin's beam started pushing Prometheus back.
Prometheus then suddenly disengaged and flew off as Ozpin's beam tore past him, before Ozpin clenched his fist as clouds froze into massive ice spikes which Ozpin sent towards Prometheus.
Prometheus dodged some of them, but Ozpin simply made them exploded, sending shards onto Prometheus body.
Ozpin then waved Long memory, channeling lightning onto it before shooting it at Prometheus, expecting him to block.
But Prometheus did something different. His body was completely sucked into the lightning bolt before suddenly emerging from it right in front of Ozpin.
"What?!" Ozpin exclaimed before Prometheus' fist crashed against his temple, sending him flying before Prometheus grabbed his arm.
Ozpin suddenly felt something attempt to shut down his mana core, most likely Prometheus' ether.
However, Ozpin immediately felt Odin's essence lash out from within his body and ward away Prometheus', making his arms glow purple for a second.
"Grr!" Prometheus grunted in surprise as he let go of Ozpin.
"Now that is definitely something I do not recognize." Prometheus spoke inspecting his arm.
"It has a cosmic attribute, certainly not connected to Gaia. Hm, this energy is capable of annihilating a divine spirit if used in sufficient amounts." Prometheus mused before looking at Ozpin.
"You could make some devastating weapons out of this energy." He spoke. "You get more and more interesting with each passing second, Ozpin." He spoke.
But Ozpin did not pay any heed, instead channeling a bunch of lightning bolts and shooting them at Prometheus once again.
However, Prometheus extended both of his hands as the lightning bolts froze.
Prometheus brought his hands closer, as the lightning bolts converged into one single ball of plasma.
Prometheus twisted his hands, as the plasma ball converted into a ball of fire.
There's a huge amount of energy coming from that. Ozpin thought in alarm as Prometheus spread his arms wide.
The ball of fire exploded outwards into a sphere of fire, rapidly expanding within moments.
I can't dodge this. Ozpin thought as he erected another shield, with the flames washing over it. Ozpin grit his teeth as he tried to maintain the shield, but the shield cracked.
"Gah!" Ozpin grunted as the explosion sent him plummeting down towards the royal palace, which his clothes burning from the flames of Prometheus' last attack.
Ozpin quickly erected another shield as he crashed through the roof, falling onto a hallway.
Ozpin put away his shield and quickly ripped off his charred coat and shirt, looking at his body which was covered in bruises and burns.
"It's quite easy to predict your attacks." He heard Prometheus speak as he hovered above the hole Ozpin crashed through.
"But I must admit…you have quite a good head on your shoulders. My anti-mystery attacks would make elemental magecraft the most viable for of attack. And your body is no longer at peak condition for a complete melee-based battle. That mana beam that overpowered me, mere servants would not be able to match quite that kind of feat. In fact, if most of my abilities weren't extreme counters to yours, I don't think I would have had such an easy time." Prometheus spoke.
"Quite Commendable, Ozpin."
"You haven't won yet…" Ozpin spoke standing up, only for flaming ropes to hold him down.
"Hm? Because of the huntsmen holding back the grimm? Because of Cú Chulainn holding off the Phantasmals? Sigurd facing the Wyvern."
Prometheus waved his hands.
"Heroes can be often foolish at the moment of emotional thinking. Cú cannot kill the entire phantasmal army before he perishes, and I've made special arrangements to make sure Sigurd's runes cannot kill the wyvern quick enough before it shakes him off. As long as even one phantasmal remains, I can create another army of them in this form." Prometheus spoke.
"In all honesty, I can completely undo all your work within moments. It's only because of Cinder's stupidity that I decided to face you." Prometheus spoke before raising his arm, as another ball of fire materialized in his hands.
"Even now, that fool allowed herself to let her anger and pride get the better of her and is wasting her time with Yang Xiao-Long and Pyrrha Nikos. So, there are a lot of things that could still go wrong if I keep spending more time." Prometheus spoke.
"I'll simply
"Goodbye, Ozpin. I have one last experiment to perform before I tie up the loose ends and bring Vale's story to an end." Prometheus spoke before shooting the ball at him.
Damn it, I can't get out! Ozpin thought as he attempted to break out of his binds, as the ball of fire shot towards him.
As it landed, the entire section of the Royal Palace collapsed, and Prometheus flew off towards Cinder's location.
Ruby panted as she dropped off another civilian to the shelter.
"That's everyone…in this neighbourhood…" She spoke as the Atlesian guard brought them in.
"Look, kid. You've done a great job. But you should really come in as well." The guard spoke, looking at Ruby's condition.
In her single-minded pursuit to rescue the people, Ruby had ignored the grimm there, only killing them before she picked up the civilians. Otherwise, Ruby did not pay attention, with her mind only focussed on the people.
As a result of that, Ruby's aura had been shattered a long time ago, and Ruby had a cut on her cheek as well as several other parts of her body because of the grimm.
But despite all that, Ruby felt satisfied. For so long, she'd hated herself for causing so much damage with all her plans with her team to fight against the white fang.
Nepotain Harbor.
Operation Night Raid.
Cysgod Village.
The Breach.
Ruby had hated herself for all the people that had died. Here, even if it was much less compared to others, Ruby had at least saved people.
That satisfied her more than anything.
Ruby nodded and turned around, before she heard one last scream. A Familiar one.
Ruby's eyes suddenly widened in abject horror.
"YANG!" She screamed.
Yang's in danger! Ruby thought, as her thoughts were suddenly filled with panic.
Somehow, Yang was no longer at their position.
"Kid, you alright?" The guard spoke but Ruby was already running.
"Hey, wait!" The guard exclaimed but Ruby had already fired up her semblance and dashed off…
…In the direction of the Royal Palace.
Cinder swung her left blade at Yang's neck, that Yang ducked under, but Cinder merely followed it up with a slash that would have cut through Yang if Pyrrha hadn't blocked with her shield.
Cinder tried to sweep Pyrrha's legs out under her, but Pyrrha hopped over her leg and flipped Cinder onto the ground as she passed over her.
Cinder grunted and flipped back onto her feet before grunting as Pyrrha managed to slash her back a few times.
Cinder blocked the strikes with one of her blades before blocking a number of punches from Yang with her other one.
"GRAH!" Cinder screamed as she suddenly spun around with her blades in a deadly arc, forcing Yang and Pyrrha to disengage.
"You've lost you aura, so die already!" Cinder yelled as she zeroed onto Yang, swinging her blades as Yang continued to step back.
Pyrrha shot more bullets that Pyrrha's aura blocked, before she sent a bunch of spikes behind her that Pyrrha was forced to block, grunting as a number of spikes manage to graze her legs and create a number of wounds..
Meanwhile, Yang crossed her fists as Cinder's blade crashed into them, before she quickly grabbed onto Cinder's blade and kicked her in the stomach.
Cinder, despite the pain of the kick, slashed down with her other blade and cut a gash on Yang's thigh.
"Gah!" Yang grunted before sending Cinder back with a punch.
Cinder stumbled towards Pyrrha, who jabbed at her with Milo in its spear form.
Cinder again ignored the hits on her aura and rushed in, relentlessly swinging at Pyrrha, who blocked with her shield before sending out a kick towards Cinder.
Cinder batted aside Pyrrha's leg with her own and sent her falling down, before stabbing her sword towards Pyrrha's chest.
Pyrrha blocked with Milo before kicking Cinder back, just as Yang hit her with a few rounds from Ember Celica.
Yang rushed in as Pyrrha got up, before the two of them again attacked Cinder together.
Cinder blocked Pyrrha's stabs with Milo before pivoting around Yang's punches and bashing Yang with her hilt,
Yang stumbled back as Pyrrha got one slash in before blocking as Cinder continued to slash at her.
Cinder relentlessly swung at Pyrrha's shield as Pyrrha soon found herself caving under the pressure.
Cinder brought Pyrrha to one knee, before she fired a round from milo. Cinder did not let up and kicked at Pyrrha's shield, sending her sprawling.
"All you huntsmen are the same!" Cinder snapped as she swung at Pyrrha, who crawled back while deflecting Cinder's blades.
"Always rushing off to fight the grimm without even paying any sort of attention to the monsters among us!" Cinder ranted on as she did not let Pyrrha get up.
"You all have the power to put down the scum that hide in the curtains of society! But no, all you want to do is fight mindless beasts! All that power is wasted in all of that!" Cinder spoke before finally knocking away Pyrrha's shield.
"When I get the Maiden's power, I'll burn down this kingdom! This rotten kingdom that tries to project itself as a 'symbol of prosperity' while hiding its viles!" Cinder exclaimed raising her blades.
"HRAAAHH!" She suddenly heard a scream come up behind her and turned around to see Yang tackle her to the ground.
"WHAT did you just say?!" Yang screamed as her hair ignited and her crimson eyes stared at Cinder, who swung her blade only, for Yang to break it in half as Yang started pummeling her face with her fists.
"You think the grimm are 'mindless beasts'?!" Yang spoke in outrage.
"Do YOU have any idea what it's like to grow up in a place that is constantly attacked by grimm?!" Yang spoke as she continued bashing Cinder's face with punches.
Patch may have been a retirement spot for many huntsmen, but that did not mean it was completely peaceful. There were many, many grimm attacks that Yang witnessed in her childhood.
She'd lost Summer to the grimm.
Ruby lost her best friend to the grimm.
Ruby was now off somewhere alone, trying to rescue citizens with the danger of the grimm.
All of Yang's frustration and worry for Ruby's safety boiled over in anger. She wanted to know if Ruby was alright, but no! She had to fight Cinder to prevent the Fall Maiden from falling to the hands of the enemy.
She couldn't get to her sister as much as she wanted to.
Ruby could very well be hurt.
And that only served to heighten Yang's frustration.
"Don't you even dare to lecture that the grimm are NOT that bad! Because everybody outside the kingdoms would like to fight with you on that!" Yang snapped as she picked up Cinder and tossed her away before she and Pyrrha rushed at Cinder.
"I hate that look of yours! Trying to be so smug when you pretty much helped in bringing down our school!" Yang spoke as Cinder hit her with a number of slashes, but Yang did not care at all.
"You just don't care about anything, do you?!" Yang bellowed as Pyrrha was able to land a considerable amount of damage on Cinder, who couldn't get Yang off her as she continued slamming her fists against Cinder's body.
Cinder's aura whittled down as Pyrrha started shooting at her while Yang kept raining punches down on her.
"They were weak…" Cinder growled back, which was the final straw for Yang.
"SHUT UP!" Yang yelled as her fist connected against Cinder's cheek, sending her into the ground and creating a small crater.
Yang could hear the sound of aura shattering as she removed her fist from Cinder's face…
Cinder suddenly shouted, and another wave of flames blasted Yang and Pyrrha back, both screaming in pain from the fire as they stumbled back.
Cinder then sent in more shards that pierced through numerous points in Pyrrha's skin, causing her to cry out in pain before Cinder kicked her away, sending Pyrrha tumbling as Milo fell out of her grasp.
Ow…Yang thought as she groaned, getting up before raising her fists towards Cinder, as her hair lost its glow.
Cinder's face was calm, but held a look of angry desperation as she walked over to Yang, all her aura depleted.
"Yang!" Yang heard Ruby's voice as she noticed Ruby run up.
Yang's eyes widened.
Ruby, no! She thought in panic.
Ruby swung Crescent Rose towards Cinder, who grit her teeth as the blow pushed her back.
But Ruby was too tired to use her semblance, and Cinder was able to push Crescent Rose away before moving in and landing a kick to Ruby's side, sending her tumbling towards Pyrrha
She's too tired… Yang thought as she tried to ignore the pain and move towards Cinder, before burning pain erupted in her shoulder.
"AAH!" Yang screamed as her right leg lost all sense of motion as she fell to one knee.
Yang looked up to see Cinder standing with a bow and arrow.
N-No…I'm not going down like this… Yang thought as she tried to walk, only to stumble down again.
"That rage…" Yang heard Cinder speak as she looked up to glare at her, all of Cinder's frustration now being replaced by that same smug look that irritated Yang.
"It's terrifying, but not enough to ignore an injury like that." Cinder spoke as she kept her bow pointed at Yang.
"This ends here." Cinder spoke as Yang continued glaring at her.
"But before I kill you…a question…Do you believe in destiny?" Cinder asked as she stared at Yang's angry eyes.
"..."
"By that, I mean…do you believe we all have a predetermined goal that serves as our purpose. That everything that happens in our life is simply building up to that 'destiny'?"
Yang scrunched her eyebrows. "...Of course not." She spoke.
She didn't really pay much attention to all the big fancy talk like that of 'fate' and 'destiny' and all that stuff, but she clearly remembered something Summer taught her which she absolutely agreed with.
"All that about 'Destiny being set in stone' is utter bullshit." She spoke looking down.
"I believe that we have different destinies in our life. Each with a different path leading to it."
"And those paths?" She spoke looking up at Cinder.
"Those paths are determined by our own choices. One single choice could drastically shift a person's destiny. One single choice could decide the future of many, and that the destinies we receive is a result of the choices we make along the way. In the end, WE are the ones who choose our destiny." Yang spoke before remembering something else Summer told her.
"Destinies are not the chains that bind us, but the wings that set us free."
It all clicked with Yang so well. She didn't like rules a lot, and the idea that she had the freedom to choose how her future was going be like…
…It was something she would always believe in.
"That was what Summer Rose taught me about destiny."
Cinder smirked. "Hm, but my destiny was always laid out from the start. Me, who was once a powerless weakling who could do nothing, would be granted the power of the Fall Maiden and make others kneel before her…"
"...And it seems yours is laid out as well. To be given such strength, only for that strength to fail you and for you to fall at my hands."
Shit, she's going to kill me. Yang thought as she heard Ruby scream her name out. But Ruby was too far away to help, and Pyrrha herself was too wounded to reach her in time.
This isn't my destiny, right? Yang thought as Cinder pulled her arrow back. It didn't seem like anything was going to stop Cinder from killing her.
Does that mean…I won't be able to get the answers I wanted? Yang thought before clenching her jaw. If she died, then Ruby…
…Ruby would be all alone.
I-I'm sorry, Ruby… Yang thought as a tear went down her face.
…I guess I wasn't strong enough. She thought, staring at Cinder's arrow, before the shot was made.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…But it wasn't Cinder that shot.
The sound of a gunshot rang out as a splash of blood erupted from Cinder's chest.
Yang's and Cinder's eyes widened as Cinder's bow and arrow fell from her grasp.
Cinder looked down to see her chest bleeding.
What just… Yang thought before two more shots rang out, followed by two more splashes of blood as Cinder was shot two more times.
"..." Cinder opened her mouth to say a word, but nothing but gasping and blood came out as she fell down to her knees.
Yang stared at Cinder, who glared at her with terror.
"No…" She spoke as her hand clawed towards Yang's throat, before Yang caught it.
"Don't leave me…" Cinder spoke before her arm fell limp from Yang's gasp as Cinder fell to the ground on her side.
Cinder's eyes flickered for a moment, before her eyes turned lifeless and a pool of blood flowed out from her body.
What…Happened? Yang thought before her mouth fell open in silent shock as she noticed the scene behind Cinder.
Ruby was standing, holding up Milo's smoking barrel with trembling arms.
Yang's mind fell into utter chaos.
Cinder didn't shoot her.
Ruby shot Cinder.
Ruby killed Cinder.
Ruby killed someone.
Yang knew of Ruby's guilt for the people dying in the breach, but those were accidents because of Ruby's mistakes.
Never before had Ruby deliberately taken someone's life.
The idea that her sister, a ball of sunshine, had killed a person completely overloaded Yang.
And before she could even process the sight to speak, Yang fell something enter her, as her eyes lit up with lilac flames.
Ruby lowered Milo, staring at Cinder's corpse before looking at Yang.
She'd seen it. She'd seen Cinder point that bow right towards Yang's heart. She'd seen the intent in Cinder's eyes.
The intent to kill.
Ruby had tried to protect Yang from Cinder, but had been brushed aside as Cinder kicked her away.
The next few moments, Ruby was gripped with nothing but terror as she watched Cinder point her bow at her sister, ready to shoot at any moment, while Ruby struggled with the pain from Cinder's kick to her gut as she tried to get up.
And when Cinder nocked her arrow back, Ruby knew.
Ruby knew she was going to lose her big sister.
The sister who'd been there for her after mom died.
The sister who'd been willing to stay with her and talk after Tulip's death.
She was going to lose her sister, just like she lost her mother.
Ruby was too far away to get to Yang, even with sprinting. She would be helpless as her sister died in front of her eyes…
…But only when that arrow was released. If that arrow was released, Yang would die.
At that moment, Ruby's body moved on its own.
She picked up Milo, which was still in its rifle form, and pointed it towards Cinder's back.
Ruby Rose was always averse to killing. She felt that the only things who should be killed are the Grimm. Humans shouldn't deserve to have their lives taken when there are bigger problems in the form of the grimm.
…But that moment, Ruby stopped thinking about all of that.
All that mattered to her…was to save her sister.
And the only way to do that…was to stop that arrow.
Ruby did not feel any hesitation when the first shot rang out, the bullet sinking into Cinder's back as she dropped her bow and arrow.
Ruby even put in two more rounds in case Cinder still had the strength to remain standing.
And it was only when she stared at Cinder's corpse, that Ruby finally realized what she'd done.
I…did it. Ruby thought as Milo fell from her hands.
I actually took a person's life. She thought.
"Ruby…?" Pyrrha spoke in horror, but Ruby simply stared at Cinder's corpse.
Ruby then looked back to the reason she'd even committed the act.
Yang was on her knees, staring at her in silent shock with tears coming out of her eyes as well as flames.
The sign of a Maiden.
But that didn't matter to Ruby. It didn't matter to her that Yang had become the Fall Maiden, that Yang was so injured…
No.
All that mattered to her was that Yang was alive.
"YANG!" Ruby screamed as she ran towards her sister, tackling her in a tight hug.
"I was so scared…" Ruby whimpered.
Yang didn't say anything as Ruby started sobbing into her sister's shoulder.
Ruby didn't care how long time went by, but she simply took in the moment, of being able to hug and cry for her sister instead of her corpse.
All was silent as Ruby cried before removing her face to look up at Yang.
"D-Don't ever scare m-me like that again…" Ruby spoke as Yang stared at her.
"You…You killed someone…" Yang spoke as Ruby bit her lip, trying to ignore the disgust welling up inside her for what she'd just done.
"...I know."
"...Why?" Yang spoke as Ruby looked at Yang.
"Why? I did it for you, Yang!" Ruby exclaimed in surprise.
"She was going to kill you Yang!" Ruby spoke.
"..."
"I-If I didn't stop her…" Ruby spoke before covering her mouth.
"I-I couldn't lose you too…" Ruby spoke before covering her hands.
"S-So I did it!" Ruby spoke as she burst into tears, continuing to cry before she felt Yang's arms wrap around her.
"Y-You actually did it for me…" Yang spoke in shock as she removed Ruby's hands and looked at her face.
"...You killed someone…to save my life." Yang spoke before her eyes filled with tears as well and she fully embraced Ruby.
"Oh, Ruby. You didn't have to…" Yang spoke, her voice choking with tears.
"You're my family, Yang…Of course I had to…" Ruby spoke, before wiping the tears off Yang's face.
"I'm just happy you're okay…" Ruby spoke as the sisters melted into each other's hug.
"So…I was too late." An unfamiliar robotic voice spoke as Ruby heard something land behind her.
Yang gasped as Ruby turned around to see the Carrier…except he wasn't human, but a 10 foot robot with metal skin and glowing orange eyes.
"Yang…?" Ruby spoke as Yang immediately put her behind her.
"One of my Forethought's flaws is that they cannot show me unpredictable events…such as Ruby Rose killing Cinder Fall. A shame…I was hoping that idiot had had her fun, killed Yang Xiao-Long, and escaped."
"Don't get near her, bastard…" Yang growled, her eyes igniting with the power of the maiden.
"Don't waste your energy, Fall Maiden." The Carrier replied.
"Even if you fought me with your full power, you would not be able to lay a scratch. While I would kill you within seconds." The Carrier replied.
"W-What happened to you…?" Ruby spoke as the Carrier shook his head.
"Apologies. Good Evening, Ruby Rose. I am Prometheus, Titan of Fire, Forethought and Progress…Former Engineering and Logistics terminal of the Titanes Fleet that descended upon the celestial body of Gaia under the leadership of Chronal Lens terminal and Biotic-class Flagship, Designation : Cronus."
"I am…in simple terms, a god from Earth."
Ruby froze.
"As in…Sigurd's world?" She spoke as Prometheus nodded.
"Indeed. I am but a member of the group that you are fighting against. However, that is not why I'm here." Prometheus spoke.
"After the Breach, I learnt of the Silver Eyes, the so-called mystic eyes that could flood their surroundings with the concept of Life, clashing the the Ether of the Grimm which had the concept of Death, and have them neutralize each other to create Remnant's texture." Prometheus spoke.
"I must admit, my curiosity reared its head, and I wanted to see these mystic eyes for myself. So, I decided to drop in for a little observation before I go about sealing this Kingdom's fate."
"Ruby hasn't unlocked her eyes." Yang growled.
"She hasn't? Oh, that's not a problem. I'll unlock them for you."
Ruby's eyes widened.
"Raven Branwen and Qrow Branwen are currently occupied dealing with one of our servants, your servants are occupied with their own problems…and your Headmaster is dead."
It took Ruby a moment to process that.
W-What? She thought.
"No…" Yang spoke.
"Sent a powerful ball of fire enough to collapse a building. With his reserves depleted and me binding him, poor Ozpin had no way out."
"Y-You monster…" Yang spoke in shock. "You killed Ozpin…"
Ruby had gone silent, memories of her first meeting with the Headmaster in Vale's police station going through her mind.
Ozpin had been warm to her, even after she'd been arrested…not even expressing any sort of anger at her, before he offered her to go to the school of her dreams two years early.
He'd always been patient with her, always comforting her whenever she came to him in an unstable emotional state, and his words had always soothed her.
He'd trusted her with such a big secret, something very few people got to have.
He had done all of that.
And now…
Ozpin was dead…
O̸͈̫̎ż̷̨͈p̶͉̔̎͝ḯ̴̡̻n̵̺̄ ̴̨̀͠w̶͙̯̔ͅẵ̷̧̤̮͌s̷͕̱͋̂ ̷͒͜d̶͖͈͆̎̌e̴̬̙͖̒ḁ̵̛̿d̵͓̜͙͐…̶͙̈̔
O̸͈̫̎ż̷̨͈p̶͉̔̎͝ḯ̴̡̻n̵̺̄ ̴̨̀͠w̶͙̯̔ͅẵ̷̧̤̮͌s̷͕̱͋̂ ̷͒͜d̶͖͈͆̎̌e̴̬̙͖̒ḁ̵̛̿d̵͓̜͙͐…̶͙̈̔
H̴͉́ͅe̶̙̹̭͘'̸̘̣̅̈d̶̟̯̏̐ ̵̲̏ḱ̸͇̱̪͋i̴̭̦͆ḻ̷̌̚l̷̛͍̗͈e̷̬͈͛d̴͙͌̋͠ ̷̦̂̒O̸̬̞̓͜z̸̜̗͍͐̀p̸̫̝̭̑i̷̬͇͆̒̕n̵̦̼̉͒
Ruby clutched her head and looked down, her silver eyes flickering as voices started screaming inside of her.
"Ozpin tried to stop me and perished, and so did another." Prometheus spoke as Ruby could see the same ghosts again, the same ones for which everyone called her crazy.
Prometheus then materialized something in his hands and threw it towards Ruby.
"Oh my gods…" Yang muttered in shock as something rolled into Ruby's vision…
Penny's head.
Penny's ripped off head, staring at Ruby with a bright smile.
Not only had he killed Ozpin…
He'd killed Penny as well.
Ruby's vision shifted as she suddenly found herself back in Patch's docks, staring at Tuliip's mangled corpse.
"Thank you…silly Rose…"
It shifted, and Ruby found herself staring through the windows of the airship as Shirou fought through the grimm.
"Lord, you who are loving and just, show compassion upon me, shower me with your mercy."
Ruby then found herself looking back at Penny's head, her mind flooded with nothing but voices, all screaming to be let out.
"Do you want me to stay?"
Ruby started blinking rapidly, before…
"PEEENNNNYYYYY!" She let out a blood-curdling scream, as massive wings made of silver light erupted out of her eyes.
The wings flapped once, before exploding outwards in a blinding light that engulfed Prometheus.
Huntsmen all over Vale covered their eyes as the light expanded outwards, covering the entire city and vaporizing grimm as it went past them.
The light continued expanding right into the army of grimm at the, vaporizing all of them and leaving nothing behind.
The light then died out, leaving behind Prometheus, Yang, Pyrrha…and a shivering Ruby.
"Ruby?" Yang spoke but Ruby did not respond, convulsing and whimpering.
"RUBY?!" Yang spoke shaking her sister but Ruby did not respond, before her semblance came up and Ruby dashed towards Crescent Rose in short bursts.
"A seizure and severe degradation in sanity? That's a lot more extreme than I'd heard…" Prometheus mused.
The light obviously did not affect him, but he could clearly see its potency.
Goodness, a Mystery of this type being applied to most lifeforms would on the level of an anti-army noble phantasm with a conceptual strength that would break through most forms of protection… Prometheus thought.
Not to mention he'd felt something very powerful within the light coming from Ruby's silver eyes.
The data is sound. Perhaps collecting her for further research would be…GAH! Prometheus' thoughts were interrupted by a glowing purple cane piercing through the gap in his shoulder.
"...Away from my students." Ozpin spoke with a cold voice in Prometheus' ear before lifting him off his feet and tossing him away.
"Headmaster!" Yang spoke as Ozpin glared at Prometheus with hatred.
"You have no shame, do you?" Ozpin spoke as Prometheus got up and raised his hand, only for the veins on his body to glow purple and his body parts started moving wildly.
"Systems malfunction…strange energy interfering with functioning." Prometheus spoke.
"Ejecting energy…"
"..."
"...Ejection Failed." Prometheus spoke.
"How…?"
"Odin managed to create another shield to protect me." Ozpin replied.
"And that energy that came earlier…It is quite effective against you, is it not?"
"Applying Human Progress Protocol…Attempting to remove Mystery…"
"..."
"Protocol failed. Mystery has rejected the Human Order. Conclusion: Mystery originating from a world where Humanity has no future." Prometheus spoke as he tried to right himself.
"A lostbelt…you managed to contract to a being from a Lostbelt?!" Prometheus spoke.
Odin?
A Lostbelt…hm, I don't believe I prefer 'lostbelt'. But anyways, attack him while the Bïfrost energy is within his body. NOW!
Ozpin sent an ice spike as Prometheus, who couldn't block it in time.
Prometheus flew back as his body's outer cover blew up in many places, with wires spreading out as Prometheus fell back, his body smoking from many spots.
"What kind of magecraft is this…When did the Scandinavian gods develop Mysteries to counteract the concept of Human Progress?" Prometheus spoke, showing emotion for the first time.
Prometheus then shakily raised his right arm towards Ozpin…
Before a scythe slashed against it.
Ruby Rose's eyes darted from left to right as Prometheus' right shoulder exploded.
"CRITICAL DAMAGE!" He yelled as his right arm went flying, separated by Ruby as she stood with Crescent Rose.
Ruby… Ozpin thought. Ruby was not in a good mental state. He needed to take care of…
"Y-You still cannot stop my army…" Prometheus spoke getting up.
"Sorry, but we don't even need to." Ozpin suddenly spoke in a deeper voice.
"O-Odin?"
"You underestimated Ruby's silver eyes. Every single grimm attacking Vale is now gone."
"WHAT?! But no silver-eyed warrior has ever covered an area as big as what you suggest…"
"Well, it seems Ruby's a special girl."
"B-But your servants…The Will has blocked their power…"
"Had, Prometheus. The Will Had blocked their power." Odin spoke.
"Grk!" The Will suddenly stumbled as their head suddenly stung. Something extremely powerful had been unleashed upon Vale.
What is…Wait. The Will thought before checking the ley lines.
"The ley lines…" The Will muttered.
"My spells have been undone?"
Jaune blocked some more chains from Semiramis, as Tristan continued shooting, before a blinding light shone that forced Jaune to cover his eyes.
When he removed his arm, he noticed Tristan and Semiramis had frozen up.
"What the…how am I…?" Semiramis spoke in confusion before her eyes widened.
Jaune looked at Tristan to see an angry scowl.
"Oh…now this is interesting." He spoke before Semiramis quickly made poison erupt from the ground, forcing Tristan to cough violently and fall to his knees.
"Tristan!" Jaune exclaimed as Semiramis sighed.
"No matter…you're still weak against poison. There's no way you can…huh?!" Semiramis as Tristan started standing up, defying all logic as he continued moving despite the effects of the poison on his body.
"What is this nonsense?!" Semiramis exclaimed.
"Thank Serenity for that…" Tristan spoke before strumming Failnaught. Semiramis, who was so shocked at Tristan being able to move from the poison, found herself pierced by multiple arrows.
"AAH!" Semiramis screamed. "How are you standing?! Poison is the very thing that killed you!"
"...It is a Knight's solemn duty to protect. To serve as a wall to the weak and protect them from all forms of harm…" Tristan spoke.
"...And a knight's greatest victory is when they are able to stand up against anything…even their own weakness."
"Jaune…"
Jaune perked up.
"You have been a good student. So remember this as well."
"...Of course."
Tristan nodded before looking back at Semiramis.
"Now then…" He spoke as Jaune felt his shoulders tense.
What's going on? Jaune thought as Tristan brought Failnaught from his side and pointed it at Semiramis. Strings wrapped around Semiramis body, lifting her up into the air.
"Redemption Through Death…"
"Convergence through Carnage…"
"I will now have you pay the price for the sin of arrogance!" Tristan spoke as another arrow appeared on Failnaught, before opening his eyes.
Even if Tristan was not looking at him, Jaune felt a pit in his stomach.
Jaune had once thought Tristan had bright-coloured eyes that shone in sunlight, as he seemed like the perfect knight to him.
But now…
They're…They're so dull…Jaune thought. Tristan had yellow eyes, but they were so dull they were bordering on the level of turning grey.
"His emotions…it's just sadness…" Jaune heard Ren speak but he just kept staring at Tristan's dull, broken eyes.
"All of you…" Tristan spoke.
"Close your eyes."
Jaune, Nora and Ren immediately did so, before…
"Failnaught." Jaune heard Tristan declared in a stone cold voice before Semiramis' scream sounded out as well as the sound of something getting cut apart.
Jaune gagged as he was afraid of opening his eyes. Whatever it was, Something Brutal had just happened.
Jaune then heard the sound of fire burning, and stood like that for a few minutes.
"You can open your eyes now." Tristan spoke, but Jaune kept his eyes shut.
"...I'm scared to see what happened…" He spoke as Tristan sighed.
"...Now you can see why I choose to be blind."
As Cú fought the phantasmals, a bright light suddenly appeared, blinding the phantasmals as Cú blinked.
This light…it's definitely not like the sun. Cú thought before he noticed Gáe Bolg freezing the mana around its tip.
Cú eyes widened as he felt the virtual chains holding him down slip off his back.
Wait a minute…does that mean…?
Cú smiled. He'd tried his best, but it didn't seem he would be able to bring down the rest of them.
I can't believe it! Thanks, weird light! Cú thought before running back, grinning at his normal speed coming back to him as he created some distance between him and the phantasmals.
Cú then crouched down, baring his fangs in a toothy grin before taking a sprint towards the army.
The phantasmals growled as Cú suddenly stopped before jumping into the air.
I've come this far, now it's time to deal the finishing blow! Cú thought as red lightning sparked out of Gáe Bolg, whose tip now glowed red with light, as all of Cú's magical energy flowed into it.
"GÁE…" Cú spoke before bringing his spear back.
The phantasmals again growled at Cú in the air, with Faoladh archers and druids raising their staffs and bows.
But nothing would stop him now.
"BOLG!" Cú bellowed as he threw his noble phantasm right at the middle of the Phantasmal army.
"The Phantasmals…they're all…" Prometheus spoke.
"That's right. Looks like the servants got back their noble phantasms at the worst possible moment." Odin spoke.
"And if that's the case…"
"The wyvern…"
After multiple failed attempts, Sigurd found himself back on the ground again as he dodged the Wyvern's ice spikes, before a blinding light forced him to close his eyes for a moment.
Sigurd opened them to see the wyvern, now petrified, falling from the sky.
…Silver eyes? Sigurd thought, seeing as that was the only explanation.
Sigurd then felt his body be liberated from the weight that had compromised his strength and speed since he landed on Remnant.
Sigurd raised his eyebrows as he suddenly noticed Gram glowing very brightly, with the same light it had glown when he had used it on Fafnir.
That could only mean one thing…
Sigurd smiled.
Ruby's done it. He thought. He didn't know how, but he had his noble phantasm now.
So there was only one thing left to do.
"Activating Noble Phantasm…" Sigurd chanted as his daggers glowed and floated out of his pockets, levitating and spinning in front of him.
"O Demonic Sword of the sun…" Sigurd began as blue lightning sparked around the daggers.
"With that blade…" Sigurd spoke as he punched the daggers, which shot through the air and pierced the Wyvern's petrified body, causing cracks which started glowing.
"Bring in the Dawn of Destruction!" Sigurd spoke before cocking his fist back.
"...BÖLVERKR GRAM!" Sigurd bellowed before punching at Gram's hilt with all his might.
Gram shot up like a blue missile, tearing through the air towards the wyvern, before exploding against its body…
…And lighting up the night sky a fluorescent blue.
A/N: Holy shit, this chapter was torture. First of all, this was the first time I had to actually seriously plan out the chapter because of all the multiple clashes that would be divided into segments. Then, I got a mild fever and then decided to keep on writing like a madman. I am so happy I did not try to grind out this chapter in a single day because 16,000+ is almost the size of the previous longest chapter (Chapter-24) Without the A/N. So, this is my longest chapter ever written so far.
And now, I'll be discussing each clash:
(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD, IN CASE YOU'VE DECIDED TO READ THE A/N BEFORE THE CHAPTER ITSELF)
1. Weiss VS Adam: Yes, it was less of Weiss and Blake VS Adam and more of Weiss VS Adam, because considering how hesitant I made Blake in attacking even the lower grunts of the White Fang, and looking at how much of a fight she put against Adam in Canon V3, I honestly don't think Blake would try and go for an attack.
Besides, it is a crime that Adam never interacted with Weiss in the show. Adam is the direct contradiction of Weiss' beliefs in the dignity of her family. With the reveal of the SDC brand in V6, I wonder why Adam had not interacted with Weiss earlier. Adam would have been a slap in the face to Weiss' dreams of trying to reform the company, an obstacle literally laughing in her face saying 'Oh, you want to improve your family's image. Good luck with that when I have this!'
Anyways, I also put Weiss as a bit of a racist here, because I did show that Weiss has only warmed up to Blake. If I really wanted Weiss to let go of her apprehension towards faunuses, I would have to do that much later in the story, because there are fics that have shown me that that avenue has still some content to be harvested.
It's pretty clear that in a crossover set in the world of RWBY, it's much easier to write the RWBY characters than the other characters, especially fate servants because it's sort of difficult to set up servants with a connection that could help build up a story. While RWBY, despite its decent storyline, has several interesting details in its characters that could make for connections, relationships and interactions that would actually make sense when you think about it.
Finally, we also get a little glimpse Adam's backstory. I may have made it a bit obvious as who the 'Huntress' who saved Adam might be, but no biggie. It wasn't going to be some grand twist anyways.
2. JNR and Tristan VS Semiramis: The weakest clash in my opinion. This entire fight happened for Tristan to shine, finally being able to resist poison long enough to keep on fighting. I have not much to talk about this, since JNPR has remained a minor focus in this story. As nice of characters they are, I cannot afford to focus on them in a crossover with multiple protagonists and their groups.
3. Ozpin VS Prometheus: Now, this is an interesting part. Probably could have put in a bit more of a fight, but to be fair, I wrote Prometheus as a hard counter to Ozpin. There is a reason he's the one who was given the responsibility of bringing Ozpin down. Of course, he failed...but how did he? You all can see something is going on with Odin that Prometheus is pointing it out. That is going to remain a secret for a long time.
4. Yang and Pyrrha VS Cinder: Lots of twists and turns in this round. I seriously think Cinder got way too cocky once she got the maiden powers and stopped paying attention to her skills because she relied more on the Maiden power. The power got to her head once she killed Ozpin and then Pyrrha, before her fight with Raven told her that she had to actually learn branch out with her attacks. And in the Atlas Arc, she's a lot more skilled with her powers.
Pretty sad that Cinder's character didn't get as much of a good development as her power levels did.
Besides, I think fighting in an open field is a double-edged sword for a Maiden. There's lots of space for their opponents to move for, and if they lack the imagination to use the entire environment around them (Like Cinder), they're going to be in big trouble too.
Plus, I just wanted Cinder to get her ass handed to her by Yang and Pyrrha in an open field after she took down Amber in a similar location. Even then, I still had her win, for the best part.
5. Ruby Killing Cinder: This...is my favourite moment in the entire Vale arc. I have been waiting since the Chapter-13 to write this moment. Ruby, the heroic character, deliberately takes someone's life.
After I saw Ruby cut off Tyrian's tail, after the man poisoned Qrow, in V4, I realized that there could be another dimension to Ruby's character stemming from her mother's death. Just like how Summer Rose's life and her eventual death contributed to Ruby's heroic complex and romanticized view of huntsmen, I also like to think her death also created a sort of fear in Ruby about losing a family member, causing her to take drastic measures whenever her family was in danger. Yang may openly show her concern for her family more than Ruby, but I honestly think Ruby could go to extreme ends to make sure her family is safe, and that she doesn't lose Yang, Tai or Qrow like she lost Summer.
I like to think in V4, when Qrow got poisoned, that same fear and desire to protect her family caused Ruby to cut off Tyrian's tail. So, I wanted to play upon Ruby's fears and make it clash against her idealistic persona in the form of fear.
And what better way to start that than putting Ruby in a situation of losing another family member (Yang in this case)? She would either have to kill Cinder, or watch Cinder kill Yang. She would have to choose between her selfless ideals and her selfish love, all coming after Ruby decided to focus on saving people instead of going with another reckless plan.
What makes me love this scene even more is the 'destiny' talk I wrote between Cinder and Yang before Ruby kills Cinder. Again, this is also to expand Yang's character and compare her views with Cinder's. At first, Cinder's view of destiny is prevailing when she is standing before a defeated Yang, about to kill her.
But because of one single choice (Ruby deciding to shoot Cinder), their destinies were swapped.
So, Cinder Fall is dead. I was considering to make Cinder a foil to Yang, but then decided against it. Cinder is a character in whom I never found any interest. I always found the other villains like Tyrian, Hazel and Watts way more interesting, and I was planning to kill Cinder no matter how many times I changed my plans for this story. Besides, the main antagonist around whom Yang's character arc will revolve is Raven, so Cinder would just take up space. I'll keep her alive in some other RWBY fic that I might right.
Anyways, As I said before, I wanted to introduce more dimensions to Ruby's character than simply an idealistic huntress. So far, I've introduced the dimension of 'A paranoid girl afraid of losing her family'. More will come in the future.
And that's the final battle done. 8 chapters. More than 71,000 words. My gods, this entire arc is longer than the entire plot of this story's Volume-1 (Which is at only 50,000 words).
Now, one last chapter before I can bring Vale to a close.
Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!
Foot Notes:
Ríastrad: In Cú's legends, he is mentioned to be having a special rage ability known as Ríastrad, or Warp Spasm, where he is described to close one of his eyes and open the other to the point its bulging out while baring his fangs. At that moment, Cú turns into a monster who doesn't give a shit about friend or for. He's just going kill everything in his sight. As one person on youtube nicely describes it, 'Cú basically turns into the Hulk in that form'.
This makes me wonder whether this was what influenced Nasu to introduce the 'Madness Enhancement' skill for the Berserker. They are pretty similar.
Berkana: Rune of Creation, pretty self-explanatory. When Sigurd uses it, it creates a projection of whatever Sigurd is imagining in his mind.
Ansuz, Kenaz: Ansuz, being the Rune of communication, could possible serve as a means of creating a runic chain connecting to Sigurd's core. Inscribing Kenaz Runes, could possibly create a sort of magical machine gun that fires of fireballs.
First of all, I don't want to know why is Ansuz the rune used by Cú for fire, when Fehu and Kenaz are much more appropriate. In the UBW anime, Cú uses the right rune (Fehu) to burn down the place where Rin was being kept prisoner. When I saw that, after having heard Cú yell out 'Ansuz' while casting fireballs in FGO, I breathed a sigh of relief at Nasu getting it right.
Not going to lie, I did grin when I saw the youtube comments joking about Cú using the Fehu Rune being 'Press F to pay respects', since Fehu is the Futhark equivalent of 'F'.
Response to Reviews:
ZoukuYuujinChou: Good to hear that.
longbowchris50: I pretty much went off the rails off the canon storyline after Chapter-5. I'm pretty much writing my own storyline at this point, so there will be lots of 'twists' and 'deviations' from canon.
Shadowhunter2077: Hey, man! I wasn't expecting you to drop a review, since you're more active in the PJO fanfics. Yeah, Yang lost her character after Volume-5, because her main conflict was resolved and Bumblebee was the only way the writers were going to take her forward. It is for that reason I'm making Yang the fall maiden.
Anon: Yeah, I know about the Apathy. I consider them to be the best part of Volume-6, because of the new dimension of grimm abilities they bring to the table. Since this story is covering all four kingdoms, I'll be exploring lots and lots of grimm species and making up my own alongside the mixed mythological beasts from the Nasuverse elements.
Stickmanreader: Been a while since I saw your review. Glad to see you're liking it.
