Sound vanished into a muted lull, echoed by the sound of glass shattering within the mind.
Emerald swallowed, staring at everything with morbid resignation. She was barely able to stop her teeth from chattering, and was madly cursing herself. Beacon was supposed to be a walk in the park with her capabilities, and this was just a field trip to gather tree sap!
In the end, Emerald was grief stricken at her complacency. She'd left behind the artifact Archer had given her in the case of an emergency because the trip had three professors going on it, and normal Grimm weren't enough to make her nervous.
Regret. That was all Emerald had at this moment, but a part of her was also petty enough to glare at Neo.
Neo, like Emerald, was also given an artifact to use in an emergency.
So where was it?!
Emerald and Neo had been able to get along well with each other because they at times, shared similar mindsets. Both had been crooks before the Rose Mercenaries, but their egos were large. Neither of them prepared for a life and death situation at Forever Fall, a trip that was whispered to be more of a vacation spot for First-Years than a live-combat field-trip.
A shudder travelled down Emerald's back.
There was nothing to be had dwelling over mistakes already made.
Her life was flashing before her eyes.
Everyone else was no better.
The moment they saw the heart crushed, it felt as if their breaths were taken away. In the prior joint combat tournament held by Archer and Glynda, Emerald and her peers got to experience the novelty and terror of magic. Those that had ran into Cardin's group were even more aware of the effectiveness of a curse.
The silence stretched, the pitter patter of blood spilling over the ground echoing in the ears.
Colour faded from Glynda's eyes, her expression growing vacant, her body lurching forward as if a ragdoll with its strings severed. For a moment, she staggered, but that too was short lived.
She slumped forward and onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Strips of shadows quickly wound around Glynda before pulling her into the darkness, leaving nothing left.
Cursed Arm stood still, flicking his hand of the residual traces of an illusory heart before turning his attention onto everyone else.
"W-We're going die," Dove's teeth chattered as his complexion rapidly paled.
The mood plummeted.
Ector glanced at his hands and realized that they were shaking. His only solace was that Pyrrha was no better. Her silence rather than reassurance spoke volumes.
"Shut up, Dove!" Sky yelled at his teammate; eyes bloodshot while staring anywhere else but Cursed Arm.
"The professors and almost half of the class are gone!" Dove fired back.
"Is it ready?!" Cardin butted into the bickering, his body trembling from anxiety.
"W-We have to get closer," Russel stammered, holding onto the magic artifact they'd won from the competition.
Cardin went silent, much like everyone else.
Get closer?
None of them dared try and leave the boundary of the Saint's Banner, let alone draw closer to Cursed Arm.
'Any luck?'
Emerald glanced at Neo who flashed her scroll's screen at her.
Pursing her lips, Emerald shook her head.
The illusion she'd conjured gave the false impression that everyone had fled, and that Cursed Arm should chase after them. She'd tried to cast her Semblance on Cursed Arm multiple times, but up until now, Cursed Arm was still staring directly at them.
"None," Emerald began nervously biting on the nail of her thumb. "I think if we could just-"
"He's coming!"
A panicked shout cut off Emerald's thoughts.
Cursed Arm was on the move.
Approaching the boundary of the barrier of light, Cursed Arm paused, assessing it with an air of indifference before testily raising an arm forward. He was meticulous if nothing else.
The barrier of light singed the tips of Cursed Arm's outstretched hand, the radiance searing the shadows with a sound like sizzling water on hot metal.
For a moment, hope abounded at the prospect of the light warding Cursed Arm away, but Cursed Arm pushed on. Shadows coalesced heavily around him to mitigate the effects of the light, but progress was evidently slow.
Or rather, was the bastard just toying with them?
Stomachs dropping, everyone began to back away, dragging Jaune as the center point of the light barrier, but Jaune wouldn't budge. Even now, the memories of those he could have saved kept replying in his mind if only he had more courage and heart.
"Why?"
Jaune eventually snapped from the guilt.
"What do you want?! Why did you do this?!"
"Jaune," Blake wet her lips, flinching at the thought of provoking Cursed Arm and she wasn't the only one.
Everyone was tense, bunching together as if it would make any difference. None readied their weapons, or even if they did, their hands were too shaky to properly aim or fight. They'd lost almost half of their numbers, and saw Cursed Arm eliminate their professors.
Glynda could have incapacitated most of the students, let alone with professor Port and Oobleck to support her.
Cursed Arm handled all three simultaneously.
Pyrrha, knew it. Emerald knew it. Ector knew it. Blake knew it. Everyone knew it.
They were hopelessly outmatched.
"Why?!" Jaune was the only one still shouting, more from impulse than bravery.
Cursed Arm did not answer, rather, much to the surprise of everyone, he stopped in his tracks.
Emboldened, Jaune took in a breath, but Pyrrha and Ector shut his mouth before he could draw anymore attention to himself. The Mistral champion and the runner up, both nudged at Jaune's side.
Pyrrha saw it first. Cursed Arm's attention was no longer on them. Then where?
The answer had Pyrrha desperately searching until-
Clang!
Cursed Arm drew in the shadow of the Grimm who followed him, and quickly parried a thrown sword with narrowed eyes.
A second sword came swiftly after the first, then another, and another. Each strike had Cursed Arm back pedaling until he was entirely out of the light of the Saint's Banner.
"You…" Cursed Arm rasped while nimbly evading a flurry of projectiles. "You would stand on the other side?"
Who Cursed Arm was talking to was anyone's guess, but the answer would quickly be revealed as the sound of footsteps echoed.
A billowing red mantle came within view.
It was the Huntsman of Red, and with him, hundreds of floating swords still shooting rapidly at Cursed Arm.
"I see." Cursed Arm glared before easing his stance. "Unfortunate, but you too will understand in time how quickly those protected turn on their protectors."
The Huntsman of Red paused at the words, a hand subconsciously tracing a location on his chest where a bullet wound had pierced through him.
Cursed Arm was not the only one who noticed the subconscious gesture, but Cursed Arm seemed to draw his own conclusion from it.
"Was it from the back?" The question sounded all too knowing.
"…"
Nervousness permeated through the air at the Huntsman of Red's silence, none wanting to rebut Cursed Arm's words more than Jaune and Ector who had been at Mt. Glenn. However, the stifling magic pressure and tension in the air numbed their mouths, making them incoherent or unable to formulate a valid point.
"W-Wait don't listen to him, that's not…"
The words already sounded like an excuse.
Even the others felt that there was something wrong, but none knew what to say nor would they get the chance.
Grunting, Cursed Arm suddenly took off in retreat, prompting the Huntsman of Red to give chase.
"D-Damn it!" Jaune fell to his knees as the tension eased and his legs gave out.
He couldn't even speak up for the hero he idolized.
If not for the support of the banner in his hands, Jaune would have fallen.
Nevertheless, his exclamation wasn't solely made out of the helplessness eating away at him, but also his own grief.
His Semblance, w-why couldn't it have activated when he needed it...no. It was just another excuse. The banner in his hands had been enough to ward away the shadows but he'd only been able to save so few!
It was his fault.
Nora looked uneasily at Jaune, realizing that he was blaming himself.
She pursed her lips, head downcast.
/-/
Moments after the Huntsman of Red gave chase, Qrow anxiously burst into the scene to be met with wary gazes and slumped shoulders.
For a fraction of a second, he froze while taking everything in.
The battlefield was a wreck of toppled trees, pulverized boulders, and crater-like depressions strewn across the forest.
Glynda's work no doubt. Only she could lift such massive objects with a single thought in the midst of combat.
Qrow had been hit by Glynda's Semblance too many times not to be able to distinguish the telltale signs. However, this time was different.
The control Glynda ordinarily championed in her fighting style was nowhere to be seen. Rather than calm and focused, her use of her Semblance appeared panicked and messy. Proof of this were the trees and boulders scattered throughout the area.
She'd lost her composure.
That much was clear.
Qrow glanced at the students who stared back at him, and then into the distance where the sounds of battle could be heard.
Veins popped over Qrow's temples, his breaths growing ragged. He wasn't stupid, and was able to draw his own conclusions even without words or interrogation.
He couldn't see Glynda.
He couldn't see Port or Oobleck either.
The group of students was a fraction of what it once was.
No, more than that, this was personal.
W-Where was Ruby?
Qrow felt his chest tighten with apprehension.
"Where are the rest of you? Glynda? Port? Oobleck?" Qrow questioned softly.
No one dared answer. Many even glancing away while the Arc boy only grew more distressed no matter how those around him tried to console him.
"…So that's how it is." Qrow whispered, hands balling into fists. At this point, he didn't even know what face he was making, but he could care less.
How was he going to face Summer?
How was he going to face Tai?
"You fucker."
Anger was all that remained. There wasn't even time to grieve.
Qrow growled, seething, before sprinting out of sight.
Archer in his guise of Cursed Arm took stock of the situation.
He was never the most meticulous of people, but he found that when it mattered, he could pull through without a second of hesitation to execute what needed to be done.
In the end, he was just a fake through and through, both in his means and now even in his actions.
A part of him didn't even have the motivation to smile considering he weighed lives and mental health on a scale, and chose the former. The mind could be healed with time, if not muted or sealed away, but lives once lost could never be returned.
He reminded himself of what his objective was.
All of this. All of it.
It was to put an end to a grudge and a mistake that perpetuated Remnant since the departure of the Brother Gods. He couldn't risk a patch job, nor put the matter on hold at the discretion of an arbitrary return of the Gods hanging as a sword of Damocles over Remnant's neck.
Inevitably, he found a role to play in this world where only he was summoned as a Heroic Spirit. Something that only he could do in his capacity to instil change after years of no progress.
What he needed was instil a sense of urgency and panic that would focus Remnant's priorities on a single entity. He would orchestrate and mobilize the world's forces whether they liked it or not for that cause.
Unfortunately, that meant sacrifice.
Tragedy was the best motivator, and Archer comforted himself with the fact that through his means, no one was dying. Instead, the impression and setting were all that mattered.
No hero born in peace has ever achieved their potential.
The hero's journey was one tried and true, and what Remnant needed was a hero to redeem it.
Salem said the God of Light championed Ozpin to be that hero, but even till now, nothing had been achieved. Therefore, if the champion chosen by the God of Light could not achieve the goal, then what about a champion of the God of Darkness?
It was this trail of thought after Archer had heard the story from Salem that spurred the current developments.
Professor Port, Oobleck, and Glynda were eliminated along with half of the First-Year Forever Fall class.
In Glynda's case, the crushed heart was nothing close to the true Noble Phantasm possessed by the Cursed Arm Hassan. Rather, it made use of more conventional methods.
What Archer had crushed was the real image of a life-like heart created through Salem's magic, but what had incapacitated Glynda was a Mystic Code he'd pricked Glynda with from the moment he'd managed to touch her directly.
It was a curse of fatigue and mental shock that was imbued in the Mystic Code that knocked Glynda out cold.
He merely activated it the moment he destroyed the fake heart, and sent the feeler Grimm to collect Glynda an instant later. Of course, her panic and fear would have contributed to the mental effect. The situation was different for Port and Oobleck since he just knocked them out, but regardless, it was still the same result. They were stored without fail into the magic subspace Salem had created.
The ruse would have been blown the moment it was discovered that any of them were still breathing.
To others, death was the only outcome allowed for them to consider.
"Why?!" Jaune, arguably the one most effected by the situation looked terrible.
Archer inwardly flinched from a feeling of guilt. There was no sugar-coating his actions.
Still, the look in the eyes of the students before him had noticeably changed. Blake had lost whatever selfish desires she'd had for attending Beacon, while Emerald and Neo would never take things for granted again. Then there was Pyrrha who looked like she was facing a wall for the first time in her life, followed by Vernal who was following her survival instincts and keeping discreet. Ector hesitation about what to pursue after Mt. Glenn seemed to have solidified, and team CRDL had lost much of their arrogance.
It was natural.
To them, the world was no longer coloured by far out expectations, but now dyed in a shade of gray.
It was the difference between the eyes of a man, and that of a warrior upon a battlefield.
"Why did you do this?!"
Archer did not answer.
For now, it was enough. The sparks should have created the embers to light a fire.
'Just in time.'
Archer began to beat a retreat when Shirou arrived on scene as the Huntsman of Red to drive him back in a mad pursuit through Forever Fall.
/-/
The earth shuddered, as Archer weaved between a hailstorm of steel. Each strike peppered the ground with holes that bore into the dirt before detonating and spreading shrapnel in their wake.
Not even one managed to strike Archer, and that was practically a given when the entire scene was a show orchestrated by one man.
Shirou lunged forward, raising his swords in a bid to cut Archer down, but with a mere flick of his wrists, Archer sent numerous dirks out to force Shirou to dodge.
Undeterred, Shirou continued forward by deflecting each thrown dagger before swinging a decisive blow at Archer.
Catching Shirou's strike with another set of dirks, the clang of steel echoed as sparks showered over the ground.
The impact generated winds that gusted outward and uprooted nearby shrubbery and trees. The sheer movement of the two was beyond anything an ordinary human could hope to compete with.
Their feet trampled the ground, a field of grass reduced into upturned dirt in seconds.
Both sensed it during their 'clash.'
A bird swooped in low from Archer's back before a tuft of feathers revealed Qrow with Harbinger sheathed over his hip, and Durendal cleaving over head.
Archer immediately chose to disengage from Shirou, shoving off him and belatedly swerving out of Qrow's attack trajectory by a hair's breadth.
Archer didn't so much as flinch, nor react, only serving to aggravate Qrow further.
The attack missed, and the strike cleaved clean through the ground like a knife cutting butter. The sides of the ground were superheated and formed tiny granules of glass on the ends.
Qrow's Aura was surging, a snake of purple clouds swirling around him as his Semblance reacted with his will.
Not a single word was exchanged between Qrow and Archer even as Shirou continued to the attack.
Archer retaliated against Qrow with a flurry of daggers and creeping shadows, but Shirou covered for his ally with a rain of swords that countered each dirk.
The silent fury lacing Qrow's expression was enough to display his intent; the seamless way he backed off and allowed Shirou to pressure Archer was uncharacteristic of Qrow.
In this case, Qrow bided his time for an opening, a decision made from cold rationality.
Shirou and Archer were too fast and too strong to directly handle, but Durendal would surely harm Cursed Arm. That much was clear by how Cursed Arm had dodged rather than block or defend.
Qrow's current behaviour was more in line with how he had acted in the past as a bandit.
Given the chance, Qrow was fully intent on murder.
No banter. No discussions. His eyes said it all.
They were good eyes. Eyes that Raven would have complimented after not seeing them in years.
"Do you have a way to kill him?" Qrow asked flatly while Shirou engaged Archer.
Shirou considered it how he should work with this, Archer likely doing the same. With a subtle nod from Archer, Shirou shattered a nameless sword and sent the fragments exploding in Archer's direction.
Archer retreated without hesitation, giving Shirou 'room' to breath.
"Can you keep him still without dying?" Shirou asked Qrow.
"Hn."
Qrow's answer was instantaneous.
He charged at Cursed Arm, holding Durendal with his right hand while pointing Harbinger's gun form in his left. Several Dust shots were fired, all cut apart by Cursed Arm.
Qrow clicked his tongue, but he boldly continued forward in his rage.
He knew damn well that his speed wouldn't cut it against Cursed Arm, so what he needed to do was close the distance.
Shifting Durendal into a reverse grip, he flooded it with his Aura. Immediately, his Aura was expelled out into an Aura sword whose sudden extension thrust him forward in an instant.
Cursed Arm could only blink as Qrow appeared right in front of him, but to what end?
Harbinger was still in gun form, and Durendal wasn't in position to attack.
Wasn't this just delivering himself to death?
It was utterly reckless.
Cursed Arm stretched his cursed right arm towards Qrow's chest, Qrow's pupils dilating in a sudden bout of realization. Anger had clouded his judgment, but not all of it.
There was a reason he needed to get close.
Who said he was alone?
From behind Archer's back and within Qrow's vicinity, a portal opened with a blade thrusting through it.
"Die you bastard!"
Raven appeared, her crimson eyes glinting with bloodlust as the tip of her sword practically brushed against Cursed Arm's heart.
For a moment, time stopped as expectation filled the air, but in the next second, that expectation was crushed and ground into the dirt.
Archer directly grabbed Raven's sword with his free hand, using Reinforcement to harden his skin to be as durable as metal.
With a single hand, he put a stop to the sudden ambush, planting another impression into Qrow and Raven's minds.
Conventional weapons were useless.
Raven clicked her tongue, and tried to retrieve her sword, but to no avail. She couldn't break it free from Cursed Arm's grip, and had a mini panic attack when a red hand was suddenly inches away from her heart.
She knew just as Qrow knew.
If that hand made contact, she was dead.
"Aaaaahh!" Raven screamed, forcibly jerking herself to the side in a way that the body should not contort.
The sound of a painful pop revealed that Raven had used her Aura and twisted an ankle to maneuver and pivot out of the way.
The finger tips barely brushed past Raven, but it did little good when the hand began to curl and switch directions.
Qrow immediately abandoned the opportunity to attack and chose to pull Raven to a safe distance instead.
He roughly succeeded by kicking her in the stomach and sending her flying.
"D-Damn it," Raven cursed hobbling while trying to remain on her legs. She glared at Qrow, equal parts thankful and annoyed, but that glare quickly drained from her face.
Raven stared at Qrow, stared at the beads of sweat forming over his brow, and then finally noticed Qrow gripping a hand over his chest.
"From the mountains I come,"
No.
Raven's mind went blank in realization. Originally, Summer had said something about Qrow dying to Cursed Arm if he wasn't careful.
At first, Raven didn't believe in that bullshit about premonition and future sight.
"For judgement I reap,"
Please no. This was her fault.
The dull echo of a rapid heartbeat sounded, Qrow freezing in place.
"Run you idiot! Get out of range!" Raven screamed.
A heart formed, hovering ominously above Cursed Arm's hand. Those fingers gradually encompassed the heart, the pressure building as Qrow's complexion grew paler and paler.
"You bastard let go of it! LET GO OF IT!" Raven's eyes grew bloodshot, veins popping over her neck as she hobbled forward.
"Only death do I bring."
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I swear it!"
-Bang!
Raven and Qrow froze as Ozpin appeared beside Cursed Arm and thrust his cane over Cursed Arm's wrist, freeing the heart that sailed through the air and vanished in motes of black light.
Simultaneously, Qrow's complexion grew flushed, his condition rapidly improving.
"Ozpin…You're late," Qrow wheezed.
"Better late than never," Ozpin narrowed his eyes and flooded the area with his magic.
The dull verdant green of Ozpin's energy settled over Cursed Arm alone, but in response, Cursed Arm released his own magic energy to counter.
"This is where you will rest," Ozpin brooked no room for discussion.
"I see. So, another existed. You must be Ozpin." Cursed Arm muttered, Ozpin's expression turning grim. "But unfortunately, I know what you're trying to do."
Cursed Arm glanced past his current adversaries to stare solely on one.
From behind Qrow, Ozpin, and Raven, a tower of magic energy condensed upon the tip of a sword Shirou was holding.
"Stop him!" Ozpin grimaced while utilizing his magic to no avail.
Cursed Arm was as slippery as an eel. His agile movement and dexterity were a work of art not so easy to match.
He swerved past Ozpin and his magic, and made fools of the Branwens who couldn't match his speed.
In the blink of an eye, his figure could already be seen retreating into the distance. None but the Huntsman of Red had any hope of catching up.
Qrow cursed, dashing ahead in a bid to chase, but even that was hopeless.
Shirou powering down his attack and dissipating it entirely was the final straw that marked the day's failure.
"That's enough." Shirou said while approaching Ozpin, Qrow, and Raven. "We can't catch him. He's gone."
"We're giving up?!" Qrow couldn't stop thinking about what he'd seen regarding Glynda and the others. "Against that fucker?!"
"You nearly died, Qrow," Raven knitted her brows, her arms crossing while she ground her teeth.
"Well, I didn't."
"You would have," Ozpin admitted. "Had we had no foreknowledge, I would not have been here."
Qrow went silent, but at the very least, him being alive showed that the future Summer had spoken of could change. But what he couldn't accept was Ruby. The bastard killed Ruby.
Qrow fell into a daze. It would only be later when he heard that Ruby had snuck off that he'd give her the first spanking in her life. Her father and mother never had the backbone to do it. It's called discipline.
"The planned ambush is a failure." Ozpin sighed before turning his attention to Shirou. He too was a variable that appeared outside of Summer's prediction. "Besides, I doubt our friend here would say we can't catch him without reason?"
Shirou nodded as all eyes fell on him.
"An Old Man of the Mountain, an ancient assassin of Nizari Ismaili famed for its assassination of the corrupt," he said. "Cursed Arm is likely the last remaining member in Remnant. Trained in Presence Concealment and subterfuge, if that man's focused on escape, there's no chance of catching up. You're more likely to fall prey to ambush. All he needs is one touch."
"You sound like you know him?" Raven murmured.
"Not personally." Shirou nodded. "What I know is a history depicted through oral tradition by virtue of my own duties in Remnant. He'll stop at nothing to complete his objective."
"Which is?" Qrow asked darkly.
"An alternate solution of the task given by the Gods to redeem humanity by culling it." Shirou said, Ozpin glowering in contempt.
"A murderer is no redeemer!" Ozpin seethed before clicking his tongue. It was an answer he just couldn't accept, yet Shirou wasn't done.
"All is equal in death." Shirou said solemnly. "The God of Darkness cares not, and Cursed Arm has long since lost his light."
Shirou turned to address everyone with an air of someone who understood the current dynamics of the world.
"Protect the Relics well. He will surely be after them since it'll all be the same if the Gods do the work for him. Then…Until next time."
Shirou turned to leave, but was stopped by Ozpin.
"Wait," Ozpin said in the heavy atmosphere. "What is your purpose?"
'Are you like me?' Was left unsaid.
Shirou's answer would be ambiguous.
"It's never wrong to save others."
And with that, the Huntsman of Red vanished into motes of golden light.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to my newest patrons: Ricardo B, Trevor P, Natasha135, and Nazy Zero!
Next update: Grand Dungeon
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious
Book links:
Fatedlegacydark. ca
The Lonely Peak
New Book: Out on Amazon (Remove dash on link)
Survivor's Log Reflection: Amazon.c-om/dp/B08VDDGN7Z?