Qrow was no stranger to reconnaissance. He'd been doing it since young as a bandit, and knew to employ a degree of caution in all things. This point was further enforced due to the uncontrolled nature of his own Semblance biting him in the ass at the worse of times.

Now though? Now he was just a little bit less prudent to detail than he'd normally be.

His bad luck would no longer affect him as long he didn't consciously will it too, meaning that he'd been having the luckiest days of his life since Mt. Glenn. He wasn't going to let himself fall victim to complacency though.

Circling in the skies in the form of a crow, he focused his gaze back on the valley ahead of him. On the first pass, he'd been too high to make out any distinct details in the bedrock by the mountain hillside, so on the second he'd decided to swoop lower. He still couldn't make anything out, and was now moving into his third swoop at an even lower elevation.

This time, he was able to make out the silhouette of something that clearly wasn't made by nature.

Beating his wings to slow into a glide, Qrow drifted on the wind, using his feathers to slowly brace himself for landing. Once he was low enough, he perched on the branch of a distant tree, and then peered into what was clearly a ruin in the middle of nowhere.

Wherever Archer had gotten his information from, the guy hadn't been lying.

Glancing to make sure no one was around, Qrow leisurely hopped off the tree and polymorphed back into his human form. His feet crunched into the dirt, knees buckling on impact before relaxing as Qrow stood up to his full height.

It was only now that he wasn't in his bird form that he felt something foreign prickling at his skin.

There was just something off with this place…

Qrow furrowed his brows and then gingerly began to step forward with a raised guard. His mind worked fast, experience the major player in it all.

Why were there no Grimm?

Flying in the sky, it had been fine not to see any Grimm if they were hiding in the forest underbrush, meaning he'd only have to look out for Nevermores or other avian types. However, now that he was on the ground, the place should have been crawling with them. It was for this reason why no one ventured outside the existing kingdoms. Grimm would tear them apart.

Yet there were none here. Absolutely none.

Were they purposely staying away, and if so, why? Most Grimm did not have the state of mind to consciously identify danger, and then avoid it. Rather, what they had was instinctual.

Then, was it instinct that drove them away from this place?

Only the sound of Qrow's own feet seemed to echo in this isolated area as if it had always been that way.

The feeling of tension Qrow had on every sketchy mission was always the same, but not quite like this.

Qrow was not a fool, and neither was Ozpin.

This arose a simple doubt about why Archer had not gone himself to retrieve this artifact despite all his information he had on it. A magic weapon that could slay immortals seemed like the kind of thing a magic artifact collector like Archer would have jumped at.

Ozpin had inquired why, and Archer had answered.

'A bad feeling.'

Yeah, Qrow had to agree with that sentiment.

Sudden chills caused Qrow to shudder, goosebumps running down his skin as he approached the ruin before him, and then entered its vicinity. In no way did he interpret the sensation as an actual one despite it being so. Markers spread around the ruin that Qrow did not know to recognize lay the basis of what was known as a Bounded Field.

An onset of cold wind began to blow, Qrow grunting as he unceremoniously buttoned up his open top. Something about this place warned him not to go about with a careless attitude, and it was showing.

His eyes kept scanning every minute detail while making his way to the largest structure that was fairly in tact, a temple of some kind. Large slabs of cracked tile led up to the beginning of a low stairway up to the entrance. It looked like formerly paved road, but now all that was left were remains. On the sides, crumbled pillars and broken candle holders made of gold and silver of all things lay strewn.

Qrow would have whistled, knowing full well that the Branwen tribe would have looted and had a field day with this find, but to him, it made everything more eerie.

Everything he was looking at…it looked systematically destroyed from some sort of brutal battle.

Large grooves were carved into the earth, and several rock-faces were whitened from being cut at by sharp edges or claws.

If this place was truly untouched, and if a battle had occurred here, then where were the bodies? Qrow knew that they wouldn't have just gotten up and left. In a battle of this intensity, there were bound to be casualties, but again, no bodies.

Were they just eaten? But even animals or Grimm leave bones or evidence behind.

Qrow shook his head. This growing paranoia and unease were Raven's thing and not his. He'd always been more reckless than his sister any day, and that's why he wasn't a coward.

Still, he hesitated when he finally reached the foot of the ruined temple.

The way in was blocked rather thoroughly, looking like it had been collapsed from the inside rather than from the outside.

The entrance to the temple was heavily blocked by collapsed debris, angled in such a way that it seemed as if they were intended to trap something within, Qrow mused.

Based on the tint and erosion on the stone- ugh who was he kidding? He wasn't Bart.

As far as Qrow could tell, everything looked old which was expected of a ruin, meaning nothing had touched or left this place since its destruction.

Once again, Qrow was reminded of what Archer had said about this place.

'A Bad Feeling,' no longer seemed enough to sum up the reservations Qrow was now having.

Archer was certain that a weapon that could kill an immortal was housed inside, but all the signs pointed that there could be more than just said weapon sealed in the temple.

What else were temples other than holy sites of worship? Thinking deeper, if this place was indeed as archaic as it looked, then it was likely that this temple belonged to one of the Brother Gods.

He wasn't his weapon-loving niece, but Qrow had also seen his fair share of horror movies about unleashing an ancient evil…

Nevertheless, if a weapon that could instantly turn the tide in the current shadow war between Ozpin and Salem was within, this could really be the only chance for victory.

Archer was not motivated to take a risk, but Qrow and Ozpin were different.

The weapon Archer had described was their only hope after decades of silent war.

Hefting his weapon over his shoulders and into his hands, he tapped it over the debris in the way made from crumbled pillars and slabs of stone. The dull echo that clinked from the steel of his weapon against the rock made it clear that the task would be more suited for miner's pickaxe than anything else.

Breaking through all this would have been difficult with just ordinary equipment and Aura alone, but Qrow still carried what was arguable the most valuable spoil of the Mt. Glenn incident.

Qrow put away Harbinger, and unsheathed Durendal from a strap he had hanging over his waist. Then he channeled his Aura through it. A brilliant white light emerged, expanding several feet out and exuding a holy presence that could cut through most things without exception. The blade would never even chip, let alone bend or break.

Qrow honestly liked to think it was a lightsaber, and it didn't help that he practically went around using it as one. Raven could scoff at him all she liked, but he knew she just jealous.

Lifting Durendal back, Qrow began eating away at the debris blocking the entrance. He stabbed the sword forward, and watched as the light of his channeled Aura melted through the stone. His routine was simple. He carved a manageable square, and then pulled it out, then repeated the process until he made a man-sized tunnel to the other side.

The endeavor took at least half-an-hour before the rubble in front of him broke away to grant him access to the interior of the temple. When he peered into the darkness and saw strangle blue light reflected from glowing gems, he took a moment to collect himself before proceeding in.

Now then, time to see what was behind this pandora's box- well, temple.

Qrow stepped forward.

He was looking for a scythe Archer had said was named Hárpē. It resembled a sickle attached to a long cane by Archer's description and should have been kept somewhere within this ruined temple.

In actuality, the item in question was rather easy to find.

Inside the temple, and beyond the gold ornaments and furniture left strewn and abandoned, only the seated altar at the center stood out.

There and behold was Qrow's objective. Right there. Right in front of him.

He found it, but unfortunately, Qrow did not move to retrieve it.

After all…there was a shadowed hand holding onto the scythe's shaft. Slowly, Qrow's gaze shifted up, following the hand up to the arm, then up to the body.

Qrow took one hard look, and then froze as flashbacks of one of Archer's recent lectures came to the front of his mind.

A skull-faced mask, and a figure entirely shrouded in black shadows. Further behind it, a large Grimm that resembled a curtain ghost.

What Qrow was seeing was identical to what his supposed ancestor, one who seemed notably stronger than him with that red spear of his, had faced and still lost against.

After that victory, it was clear that the Dark Champion had been locked away in this temple for who knows how long. It didn't matter how something so ancient had survived for so long, but this little venture had undoubtedly set this bastard free.

The instinct to fight immediately heightened Qrow's senses, but at the same time, rationality was like a bucket of ice water splashed all over him. How would he be able to counter a curse that would kill him instantly in battle?

Archer stood a better chance at this than him.

Shivers travelled down Qrow's back at the realization.

Mistakes were made. Mistakes had been made.

The damn temple really was trying to keep something in!

In a split-second decision, Qrow abandoned any thoughts of wrestling the scythe out of the enemy's hands and quickly prioritized escape. Reporting this was more important right now.

With the speed this Dark Champion had, running away would be fruitless. But a method still existed.

Sensing an ominous feeling of growing crisis, Qrow subtly turned on his communicator with a subtle click of his scroll, no thoughts of staying to fight in his mind.

If this bastard was who he thought it was, then Qrow was a dead man walking without any preperation.

"Raven, I know you can hear me." He whispered to his communicator to no avail.

Eyes growing bloodshot at how Raven could be annoying at the worst of times, Qrow nearly stumbled backward when the Dark Champion began to move.

"Raven!" Still no answer.

Qrow watched as the Dark Champion raised an arm, open palm facing upward before the shadows began to coalesce in swaths of red tinted magic energy.

The outline of a beating heart began to form, and it could have just been Qrow, but there was a building pressure in his chest that elevated the tension he was already feeling.

'Curses rely on concepts. This one was 'Death.''

Qrow instantly recalled part of the words Archer had used before.

Staring mutedly as the hand's fingers began to grip over the heart, the feeling in Qrow's chest only got more and more uncomfortable.

How was he even supposed to fight this?! Curses are bullshit!

"Fuck, Raven! I need a portal right now or I'm going to die!"

"…What?"

Oh, now the bitch responds.

"Raven!"

She must have sensed the genuine panic in his tone because a portal instantly appeared directly next to Qrow from which Raven curiously peeked her head through and then froze. She too had also been spying on Archer's latest lecture and was arguably in talks with Ozpin about facilitating the return of what was clearly a Branwen heirloom- that red spear. There was no way she wouldn't recognize who Qrow was facing right now, nor the implication of the beating heart forming in the Dark Champion's grip.

Belatedly, Raven's eyes grew sharp, moving from the heart, then to Qrow who was subconsciously clutching at his chest.

"Ah," she let out unintelligible jibber.

Yeah. That was his heart that their ancestor's killer was intending on crushing! Vindictive bastard must have wanted to him suffer!

Recalling what he'd learned from spying on Archer's class, Qrow knew that the only way to escape this Dark Champion's curse was to quickly get out of range.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Qrow jumped into the portal, feeling the colour drain from his face as he entered the portal barely seconds before he judged the enemy to have mashed his heart.

Whether the abnormal pressure in his chest was a work of his own panic or a genuine article, it didn't stop Qrow from squirming and blankly staring at Raven in blame for being any slower.

If he died, he was going to haunt her.

Staring at where Qrow had hastily escaped with Raven, Archer dismissed the fake heart and snorted, the tension in the air vanishing in an instant.

He wasn't actually the Cursed Arm Assassin; the perceived Noble Phantasm wasn't even real. Rather, it was more a play on Qrow's on senses, and weaving Projection into that. On closer glance, the heart he'd projected was rather obscure and lacking in detail as compared to the real thing, but the dimness of the area, and other external factors aided in its perceived authenticity.

The Bounded Field he'd activated around the prepared ruin had a lot to do with everything.

Usually used to effect a given area around a magi's workshop or a given area, they had various functions dependent on the user.

In his case, he'd never been keen on creating Bounded Fields to ward off his workshop with lethal effects. Instead, he'd opted for weaker disruption types he'd learned from Rin.

This often involved influencing or veering others away through mental self-suggestion. Barring that, the field acted as a simple alert system.

Rin had never been too enthused that any magus would favour the outcome of invaders to their own research, but she understood that Shirou was well, Shirou…common sense may not apply.

In any case, Archer was thankful that Rin had indulged him anyway.

To insert a self-suggestion into his Bounded Field was to needle its influence into the mind. Rin called it basic auditory, tactile, and visual deception that pushed the mind to its own conclusions. Often, the mind already takes preconceived short-cuts from memory channels that draw from prior experiences. Things such as 'feeling something that isn't even there' can be tricked by the brain.

Making sure that everything had gone smoothly, it was only then that Archer separated from the unique Seer Grimm and began to make his way back to Beacon.

Based on Qrow's urgency, it wouldn't be long before he informed Ozpin of what occurred here.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to my newest patron: Ichigo K!

Sorry for smaller update, something unexpected turned up that I had to deal with, and cut it short here.

Next update: To be Announced

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