Again, wow, I'm surprised at how quickly this fic's been picking up steam. Also, thank you to Ree for pointing out Argel's actual height! I was aware that he was primarch-size in his fully-transformed state, but I had no idea that he was basically already Primaris-size, so as such I'll be going with 8'6 from here on out. Thanks again for the support and let's get right back into it!
Remnant's Serrated Sun
Chapter 3
Being assigned to Glynda was something of a blessing, Argel thought. With the school-year of Beacon officially beginning, she was extremely efficient at relaying the rules, regulations and overall operation of the Academy. Granted, his brain was capable of absorbing and storing incredible amounts of information in extremely short periods of time, but that was besides the point. Yesterday in particular was especially enlightening; Beacon's entrance exam showed him the potential of the world's combatants, each and every one of them unique and shockingly competent despite their young age. Some particularly stood out to him: a girl with crimson hair with weapons styled like a Nucerian gladiatrix's, another with flowing blonde locks, and a shockingly young girl wielding a massive scythe and silver eyes.
Their tactics however were… unorthodox. Almost overly flashy. He couldn't help but raise a brow as the silver-eyed girl's squad slung her through the air before she forcibly dragged up and decapitated a massive avian daemon. The gladiatrix's own team used one of their members as living ordnance, hammering a scorpion-like daemon's own stinger through its bone carapace and sending it plummeting into a ravine. Raum couldn't help but shriek with delighted laughter at their creativity, but what concerned Argel above all else was how unserious these children were about their occupation. To fight a daemon was no joke, and it was something that he immediately brought up with Glynda the night after the exam.
"That's the case with all newcomers," Glynda sighed, "They take on the exam, win and feel invincible. You're not wrong to bring it up, nor are you alone, but it's just a mindset that they either slowly grow out of or are forced to learn the hard way."
"… it doesn't have to be that way," Argel said after a moment. "You and Ozpin said that it's our duty to ensure that our charges are properly prepared for the battles to come. I understand not holding their hand, but failing to teach them a fundamental aspect of combat is a good way for them to die needless deaths."
Glynda put her scroll away and folded her hands on her lap, eyes down and lips pursed as she considered Argel's words. What he was saying was common sense really, but there wasn't really any way to properly teach a lesson that was normally learned on the job. But given that Argel was bringing this up…
"I guess you have something in mind then?" Glynda summarized, curiosity worming its way through her as she saw his little smile.
"Well… I never did demonstrate my combat ability in a more formal setting, did I?"
}-…-{
Ruby Rose, along with the rest of her team, were idly chatting as they made their way to the first combat-class. All things considered, she was in quite a good mood, being able to sort out the issues between Weiss and herself, having her reliable sister on her team, and Blake being… Blake.
'Okay, so maybe she's a work in progress,' Ruby admitted to herself, 'But I managed to sort things out with Weiss! Baby steps.'
"You excited to finally show Crescent Rose off in sparring?" Yang's question cut through her thoughts, Ruby already beaming.
"No duh! I made sure to triple-check her mechanisms, load up on Grav-ammo and even managed to speed up her shift-function by half-a-second! My baby's as ready as she can be, and so am I!"
"I should hope we're all ready," Weiss pointed out with a sardonic smirk, "I certainly plan to show off the full range of my abilities on a human target."
Blake scoffed under her breath at that, Weiss glancing at her with furrowed brows.
"I think we should all just go out there and do our best," Ruby quickly stepped in before something could happen, sticking out a fist at chest-level. "What do you say girls? Hands in!"
Yang was the first to bump knuckles with her sister, Weiss and Blake following a moment later.
"Goooo, Team RWBY!" Ruby and Yang cheered.
"How childish," Weiss rolled her eyes, though the smile on her face took the bite away from the comment. Blake had opted to remain silent, though her amused smile comforted Ruby. "Let's do our best."
When they walked into the amphitheatre, they hadn't expected to see a man over eight feet tall standing as still as a statue in the middle of the arena, wearing a maroon long-sleeved shirt that fitted to his powerful form and black long pants with sandals. Any trace of excitement and eagerness died the moment he locked eyes with them, their mouths going dry at the way his blue irises seemed to pierce right through them. Silently, he nodded a greeting and pointed to the seats, his meaning clear as they silently shuffled to where he'd pointed.
"Feel free to talk amongst yourselves," He said, his voice soft yet well-projected, "You're early and I will not begin this session until the appropriate time is reached."
The four nodded but remained silent, at a loss for words. They'd heard rumours that there was a new staff-member who was supposedly a giant, but they hadn't expected it to be true. He stood there, arms crossed and eyes closed, his face oddly serene as he simply waited.
"…guess those rumours were true," Yang chuckled weakly, trying to lighten the tension.
"Why is Miss Goodwitch over there?" Ruby noticed, the aforementioned headmistress standing off to the side with an open scroll. She looked nervous, yet at the same time curious.
"It sort of seems like she's… evaluating him?" Blake spoke, the team looking between her and the man.
"On what?" Yang asked with a raised brow, "He looks like he can bench a car. And actually do it without having it slip and land on his ribs, unable to call for help while you're being crushed by the weight of your own ego."
"That was oddly specific," Weiss mused.
"Don't ask," Yang deadpanned.
It didn't take much longer until the other first-years filed in, every single one of them subdued by his presence. JNPR sat by them, as nervous as everyone else, almost all except Pyrrha. She seemed almost fixated on the man, leaning forward in her seat as she seemed to eagerly study him, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Hey," Nora spoke up, appearing to be just as intrigued as Pyrrha, "Do you think he's proportionally large… everywhere?"
"Nora," Ren chided absentmindedly, though even his usually implacable expression seemed mildly uncomfortable.
It was around seven seconds later that the man opened his eyes, a wave of that same uncomfortable sensation washing over everyone and silencing the murmurs.
"I am Argel Tal," He spoke, his voice easily projected, "Assistant combat-instructor, at least until I can find a more permanent position. I am aware that this is everyone's first combat session as of this year. For this session, I have one simple goal in mind: I will fight everyone here. All you need to do is step into the ring whenever you're ready. I do not care if you decide to do so as a single person or an entire team."
There was silence for a few moments before Jaune shakily raised his hand.
"…u-um, what if we… don't step in the ring and the time runs out?" He asked.
Argel looked at every single student in the room, stretching the silence out.
"Then I will leave the arena and take the fight to all of you," He replied simply.
People squirmed in their seats, sweat forming on their skin. They somehow knew that he wasn't bluffing, especially given that Goodwitch hadn't objected to anything he'd said.
"Time is ticking," He called out, "You all have two hours."
The muttering between students was louder and more panicked, ranging from 'is this guy serious' to 'he looks like he could rip us in half' among others.
"Isn't he basically threatening us?!" Weiss whisper-shouted, "That's got to be a violation of some kind of rule!"
"It's not actually," Ruby said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, "The Big Four Academies are essentially their own governing educational bodies and can make up rules and regulations for teaching and classes on the fly, so long as a majority of the staff-members can diplomatically agree on plans, new rules, rule-changes and even the removal of old, impractical or harmful rules."
"Oh wow, I didn't know that," Weiss said, eyebrows raised.
"Which means that HE CAN KICK OUR ASSES LEGALLY!" Ruby proceeded to wail before she smacked her cheeks with her palms, "O-okay, um… we're definitely going to fight him all at once. He's only one guy, so the best we can do is have Yang as the tank, Blake as the damage-dealer, Weiss as the Sub-damage dealer and mid-range support, and I'll switch between long-range support and burst-damage."
"Sounds like a plan," Yang said, any trace of humour gone from her voice as she cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders.
"A sound plan too," Argel congratulated them.
[Music: Keygen Church – Tenebre Rosso Sangue]
They all froze and their stomachs dropped as Argel loomed right behind Yang, the latter's mouth going dry and everyone around them blinking. Nobody had seen him move, though the reality was he simply used everyone's panicked discussions among each other to walk around and observe.
"U-um…" Ruby squeaked, "Hello?"
"Greetings," Argel nodded.
"…Aren't you… supposed to be… down there?" She asked shakily.
"Indeed, that is what I said I would be doing," He nodded, almost solemnly.
"…So, um… didn't you say that you'd wait for us?" Ruby asked.
"Oh. That would be because I was lying."
Yang was already spinning around and lashing out with her right hook, only for Argel's hand to wrap around her face before he blasted her into the floor head-first, lifting her up and doing it three more times as the floor heaved underneath them. He stood up after the third slam, Yang's eyes insensate as she twitched in her crater before he looked directly at Ruby.
"Your lesson begins now."
"EVERYONE JUMP HIM!"
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes burning blue and rooting everyone to the spot right as they stood and drew their weapons, a horrible, gut-wrenching sensation almost physically weighing them down before he spun and whipped his shin into the head of a nearby boy with a sickening *CRACK*, his body limply flung through the air and crashing into the arena. Everyone screamed in adrenalin-fuelled fear as they mindlessly charged forward, swinging and firing their weapons.
"Raum," Argel muttered.
'Already done,' The daemon chuckled.
Argel's already superhuman senses, previously capable of simulating combat outcomes based on real-time information in a nanosecond were kicked into overdrive, his perception of time slowing even further while his awareness was heightened to almost overwhelming levels. A neat little mutation he'd picked up from the Rajang's enraged form, his body's ability to react to his increased perception was also raised, yet despite all that, he was still surprised at how relatively fast these children still were.
'Their own soul is empowering their physical abilities,' Raum mused, 'Though they are not at the level of our physical might.'
"Then we'll just have to show them the difference in ability," Argel said simply.
He bonelessly weaved to the side as a spray of bullets zipped past his head, ducking under the swing of a smouldering mace and closing the distance on the shooter in a single dash to cannon his heel into the poor boy's chest. Someone tried to restrain him with a well-formed rear-naked choke, only for the attacker to scream as Argel's fingers began to crush the offending arm, their retreat too slow as Argel spun and grabbed them by the throat. He used the boy as a shield to soak up a hail of gunfire for a split second, the three students who had accidentally committed friendly-fire on their classmate panicking and stopping their gunfire, a big mistake as Argel wound up and pitched the boy across the room, his body blasting into the three who were perfectly lined up and struck down like pins before a bowling ball.
The hair on the back of his neck stood as the mace-wieldier tried to brain him from behind again, a stupid move considering he'd struggle to aim such a heavy weapon to such a high target. Argel ducked and spun, sweeping the mace-wielder off his feet and rocketing an uppercut into his ribs as he fell sideways. Cardin, he would later learn was the boy's name, vomited on impact before he was launched right into the ceiling. Those who had looked up in horror, he targeted next. Mouthing a quick apology to Glynda, he ripped an entire bench out of the ground and used it as a greatmace of his own, swinging it with a skill and efficiency that was almost comical, if it weren't for how easily he was bashing in the heads of every single student there. A blonde, lanky boy that honestly looked a little too green to be here tried to charge directly at him only for Argel to smash his blade aside and send him crashing through another bench in a hail of splinters.
"LEAVE MY LEADER ALONE!" Nora screamed as she blasted into his side with her greathammer, Argel solidly blocking the strike with his forearm and bicep. His eyebrows rose slightly when he felt his forearm's ulna creak in protest and his body being pushed back just half a step.
"It's a bit too late to be screaming that," He chided as he flung his arm out to the side to shove the hammer away, Nora's teeth clenching in pain as her arm almost dislocated from the sheer force behind his casual fling. The distraction cost her as he closed the distance in a single step and ripped into her with a quick but devastating combination, a right uppercut into her solar-plexus, left hook to the temple and sweeping right elbow, all three strikes taking place in the blink of an eye and the final blow literally spinning her upside down. He grabbed her by the leg before she could fall and spun, using her as a shield before Weiss could impale him through the chest with her airborne thrust, the heiress frantically halting her charge before she could accidentally run her ally through and paying for her indecision as he bludgeoned her with Nora, their heads smashing against each other like a hammer on an anvil. Her eyes watered as she felt her nose break and white noise blare through her ears, leaving her unprepared as he backhanded her in the face hard enough to send her airborne and smashing into Blake.
Glynda watched silently, every second of the past minute and-a-half ingrained deep in her mind. Argel Tal was, to be frank, horrifyingly efficient and terrifyingly competent. She wanted to scream and call it off when she saw him brutally smash Yang into the floor, but her eyes reflexively flicked to the scroll in her hands: Yang's aura had not broken. Even as he appeared to rampage through the crowd of students, he was specifically doing just enough damage to severely debilitate and discombobulate them without causing any serious harm by leaving them with enough aura to heal any deeper wounds. Even then, there didn't seem to be many. Yes, his attacks were brutal, precise and sharp, but she realized with a hint of awe that for the most part, he seemed to be holding back.
'He's not just holding back,' She corrected herself, 'It's almost like he's… testing himself.'
He wasn't moving with the same frantic speed or hitting with the same frightening strength that he used on the Rajang. Looking closer, she could see that he was carefully planning out each and every move in advance, transitioning smoothly from an assault on a student who (for some reason) thought they could try to tackle him into a throw that disabled backline shooters who were aiming at him, preventing them from getting their shots off and scattering them enough to create an opening. He dealt with them one by one, a roundhouse knocking one out and sending them crashing into someone who was trying to get into melee range and thus tripping up the other ranged students behind them.
'Fighting hordes of lesser Grimm is one thing, but against multiple aura-wielders using High-Rank weaponry?'
Glynda felt herself slowly relax. Argel knew what he was doing. Not only that, but he was excellent at it. She started to notice that despite the relative simplicity of his fighting-style, the way he went about combat was oddly… awe-inspiring. She found that she was taking mental notes on the certain ways he dealt with specific weapons, or how he used his unnatural intimidation to unnerve someone and create an opening that put him in an advantageous position. At this rate, it would be a miracle if anyone could harm him.
*BANG*
Argel suddenly stumbled back slightly and Glynda's blood ran cold. He was just shot by Ruby Rose and he didn't have aura. The entire hall froze as they watched blood spurt from the wound in his shoulder. Having been busy with five students momentarily surrounding him, he reacted to the shot from behind a moment too late, though he'd managed to get any vitals out of the way. There was pain, of course, but it wasn't so bad. Come to think of it, he and Raum had been shot, stabbed, sliced up, literally killed and suffered the entropy of death attempting to tear them apart at the metaphysical level. He'd technically been killed once before he was possessed by Raum, he realized. This really wasn't anything concerning in the slightest.
"C-CEASEFIRE! CEASEFIRE! AURA BROKEN!" Ruby called out, her stomach flipping in horror as she and everyone else realized that she could have just killed a Professor.
"It's all right," Argel signalled to both Ruby and Glynda, the latter slightly calming down as Argel casually squeezed the bullet from his shoulder, the bleeding having already ceased entirely. "Let's continue."
Just about everyone bar Glynda was dumbfounded.
"But your aura's broken!" Blake cried out.
"I do not have aura," He replied simply.
If everyone was dumbfounded before, they were utterly terrified of this man now. Again, they somehow knew that he wasn't lying (being successfully shot was probably the most sure-fire indicator), and that somehow this made him even more dangerous. He took off like a bullet, the ground under his feet caving in as he tore through the air and aimed a stomp at Ruby, the latter shrieking as she used her semblance to zip out of the way before his foot shattered the bench she was using as a stand for her rifle. She was screaming as he seemed to zero in on her and sprint like a madman with the full intent to squash her like a bug, barely managing to dodge out of the way of an onslaught of terrifying punches and kicks. It took a few moments of her fear-fuelled sprint to realize not only was he easily throwing out bare-handed attacks while sprinting, but every blow she dodged simply crashed into another unfortunate soul.
Something clicked with her in that moment. She grit her teeth, swallowed her fear and ignored the sting in her eyes. Running away from him was just going to get people hurt, and she didn't come to Beacon to run away from a fight nor would she allow her inaction to get people hurt, so she dug her boots into the floor, roughly halting her momentum and swung Crescent Rose straight at his neck. His eyebrows went up in surprise before he sharply weaved under the slice, his leg lashing out low as he aimed at her shin only for her to blur straight up with the scythe's barrel pointed right at his chest. He sprung up from his crouched position, reversing the momentum of his sweeping-leg and hammering his heel into the barrel of her gun, batting it aside right before she fired, the bullet grazing his bicep. She spun back through the air, shifting Crescent Rose into its compact short-range form and quickly locked back onto Argel again, not hesitating as she opened fire, two shots right at where she thought his heart would be.
*BANG, BANG*
Argel sharply threw a left and right hook, literally punching the bullets out of the air. Again, everyone else (those who were conscious) stood still: Ruby had just shot at a man without Aura, and that man nodded and smiled.
"Very good."
"HOW'S THIS FOR GOOD!?"
Argel calmly stepped aside as a flaming comet screamed through the air, a burning fist punching through where his head once was as Yang landed rather messily but scrambled to her feet surprisingly quickly. Her bloody teeth were bared, her hair literally on fire, eyes glowing crimson with rage and indignation but tempered by caution towards the enemy who'd so easily downed her.
"Mm," Argel hummed, taking a moment to evaluate her, "…Not bad either."
Weiss shakily came to stand next to Ruby, her body aching as she bit her lip and stood up as straight as she could, gripping Myrtenaster tightly as she pointed it at him. She'd felled an actual giant clad in armour, and she would not give in so long as she could breathe. Raum nodded at her too. A final girl formed a full squad, one he had not fought yet but was very well aware that she had been watching every movement of his like a hawk, the girl with crimson hair and armour styled like a gladiatrix.
"Alright then," He nodded, easily leaping backwards and back into the centre of the arena, "Show me what you're capable of."
Yang threw herself at him, actually managing to weaken his guard as her fist exploded against it. She sent him sliding backwards, right into the path of a black Glyph that wrapped around his waist and rooted him to the spot before Pyrrha and Ruby raced in from both sides, the former stabbing down with her sword and the latter sweeping at his legs with her scythe. A good tactical move, even if their fighting-styles and weapons were unorthodox. He grunted and shattered the Glyph as he violently yanked it off, jumping and twisting his body to be parallel to the floor before shooting his fist and heel out at Pyrrha and Ruby respectively. They both managed to block, Pyrrha with her shield and Ruby with the shaft of her scythe, yet they were both blown off their feet by his raw strength. Weiss and Yang came at him head on, the former's speed allowing her to reach him first and lash out with a flurry of stabs, all aimed at vital organs.
She was fast, and so was Ruby Rose, Argel and Raum had mused, but Argel had been sparring on par with Custodes before he was possessed, not to mention the likes of the blurring Aeldari. He'd once heard that an Ultramarine had managed to singlehandedly best twelve of the aforementioned xenos in a single bout. Compared to that, this was more like being in the fighting-pits, chained to Kharn… if the pits were clean, safe, and weren't filled with people ready to kill each other regardless of the rules. Compared even to that…
He parried her stabs with the palm and back of his hand, fully grabbing the blade on her finishing thrust and yanking her in front of him as she shrieked. Yang was forced to halt her charge, skidding to a stop and almost punching the lights out of Weiss until Argel shoved Weiss right into her. They almost fell onto the floor, Argel letting out an amused grin for a moment before his brows went up. He was having fun. Not the inhuman sense of perverse pleasure that he felt when going for the kill, nor the hotblooded rush of dancing on a knife edge, he was honest-to-gods finding genuine human enjoyment in showing these kids just how combat was done.
When Pyrrha came at him from behind, he sharply pivoted to meet her charge and was met with a flurry of perfectly executed attacks. A thrust from her spear grazed his cheek before to morphed into a rifle and fired at his leg, Pyrrha spinning and slashing high for his chin with her sword, Argel dodging the first thrust, dancing out of the way of the second and… he blinked. He could feel Raum's surprise, and saw Pyrrha gape, all for good reason: her sword was in his grasp. His body had moved on its own, stepping back, palming and guiding the blade from his face with one hand while the other twisted the handle out of Pyrrha's grip. He never stopped moving, her blade held in a reverse-grip as he weaved and slashed at her neck. Pyrrha was barely able to bring her shield up in time before he counter shrieked across her defence, easily throwing her across the arena so hard that her head was yanked forward and smacked against her own shield. He didn't stop there, quickly finding the mechanical trigger for her weapon's morphing capabilities and transformed it into a spear to blast at her shield like ammo from a railgun, the spear tip piercing right through the shield and pinning her to the wall.
'I haven't used that Sharusahk technique since…' He almost smiled, 'Since boyhood in the training-grounds of Colchis.'
Yang was on him next, roaring like a beast as she let loose with a flurry of random but well-chained blows. Right-cross, left-hook, right-uppercut, left-uppercut, flying knee, all of them deflected with subtle redirection, Argel sometimes stepping in and pressing his more powerful leg against Yang's knee to disrupt her balance. Beyond being among the greatest swordsmen of the Word Bearers, he also had the best bare-handed martial ability within the legion, his skill granting him the honour of wielding lightning-claws. It was with his experience and technique that he not only matched Yang but began to easily outpace her. He palmed her straight-right aside and pushed his forearm into her face to completely block her vision. Yang snarled and yanked her head out of the way only to freeze as massive knuckles tapped her cheekbone under her left eye.
"Too impulsive," He said to her, "Too reactionary… but good spirit."
She ground her teeth and drew back a clenched fist, only managing the throw it halfway before she let out a strangled cry of pain as he shot a spearhand at her bicep, middle-finger stabbing into her muscle with a bolt of pain that made her stumble back, a slap to her ear sending a wall of white blasting across her vision. She lashed out blindly with a left hook, Argel stepping in to grab her wrist and pivot, easily throwing her clean over his shoulder in putting her right in the path of Ruby's oncoming scythe. Ruby yelped and barely managed to stop herself, Argel taking the opportunity to pelt Yang right into her little sister, the two of them crashing into each other and Crescent Rose flying out of Ruby's grip. Argel snatched it out of the air and looked at the weapon with a raised brow. For such a small girl to use a comically large weapon even in comparison to him was impressive, even if he'd seen Manreapers that were naturally larger to accommodate an Astartes' size.
'Time to wrap this up,' Argel thought.
His skin buzzed and he yanked his head out of the way from Weiss' diving stab, hooking the heiress's neck with Ruby's scythe to clothesline her before he swung her around and pinned her to the floor with said scythe. Only partially stunned, Weiss prepared to make a Glyph to escape only to gasp as Argel dove at her: faster than she could track, his index finger punched into her solar-plexus like a bullet, pain exploding from the point of impact, her aura almost shattering and her diaphragm spasming as she tried and failed to breathe.
"WEISS!" Yang screamed before Argel was on her, her throat going dry as she saw the serene glare he was levelling at her before she screamed and fired off a straight-right at his mouth, expecting him to parry only for him to set his feet and punch right back. The sheer speed of his punch was so much faster that his fist smashed against hers before she could fully extend her arm, her scream of adrenaline twisting into one of pain as his punch blasted Yang's arm back so hard that it dislocated instantly, the sound echoing like a meaty pop right after the shotgun-like bang of their clash. He absolutely dismantled her with a blistering combination, left-hook to the liver, straight-right elbow to the jaw, hooking left elbow to the temple and a spinning back-kick that caught her full in the stomach, the last blow almost making her vomit on the spot as her aura shattered in a burst of sputtering gold flame, her body rolling to a twitching heap outside the arena.
Pyrrha had charged him again, leading with her excellent fundamentals, but he knew exactly how to unbalance those types of warriors. Taking a page from Kharn's book, he stepped in hard and allowed the edge of the spear to slice across his ribs before he smashed his forehead into her circlet with a sharp *CRACK*, sending her stumbling back before his hand shot forward to grab her by the throat. Even then she moved with surprising dexterity, weaving and crouching to slash at his knee. A good technical move but too slow, his knee shooting forward into her chin to forcibly stand her straight up. Still she continued to fight, and he could see the smouldering passion in her eyes as she set her feet and lashed out with three stabs at his chest, all parried by hand palms before she slashed out at his chin again, this time using her shield to cover her wrist from a potential disarm and making him sway back a single step. Again, he noted her solid technical ability, and despite the excitement and passion in her eyes, he couldn't help but feel that something was restraining her movements. It didn't take long for him to understand what was happening as she hesitated for only a split second as she motioned to slash at his neck, her face twisting into a grimace before she changed to a cut at his chest. He disarmed her again, her hesitation making it too easy, and caught her shield as she punched it at his chin, holding her fast and looking her in the eyes.
"It's no sin to feel alive in the face of death," he said. "Holding back on an emotion that can aid you in combat is foolish."
Her eyes went wide he could see the understanding dawning in her eyes before he promptly hooked his middle-knuckle into her temple, her head snapping to the side and her body going limp as he gently put her down. He turned and stared down Ruby Rose, who had retrieved her weapon and was about to throw herself at him, only to freeze on the spot. She swore that the whites of his eyes were now pitch black, blue irises glowing with baleful, maddening light as a shadow erupted from his back and seemed to engulf the world around them, his body soon swallowed by the inky blackness until nothing but his eyes were left. Her teeth were chattering, legs shaking as the weight of something unnatural pressed down on her soul and fear crept up her throat.
She was staring into the abyss, it was staring back… and she'd be damned if she blinked first.
[Music End]
Her eyes burned as she gnashed her teeth and took a single step forward, that weight growing heavier and a pressure on her skull making her feel as if her ears were about to burst. She felt something pop in her nose but ignored it, taking another step forward and gripping her scythe even tighter. Her body spasming now, she slowly raised Crescent Rose, her body moving on its own as she prepared to take his head from his shoulders, only for her eyes to roll into her head and her body to begin falling limply to the floor. Argel caught her before she could hit the floor, gently holding her and giving her a once over. Those eyes of hers, almost felt like…
'It's… similar.' Raum agreed. 'Not as strong, nowhere near HIM, but similar.'
Thankfully, she didn't seem badly hurt, only exhausted from the strain of his transhuman dread boosted to unnatural heights with Raum's daemonic influence. A neat little party-trick, but only really useful as an opening surprise against other Astartes who had not encountered daemons of similar strength. Against baseline humans though, it served him well. He laid her down as gently as he did Pyrrha and turned to look at the awed students, his gaze passing over each of them. He wasn't the greatest fan of speeches, but he was a Word Bearer: oration was an occupational hazard.
"You have passed the Initiation Exams," He spoke, "But passing alone is not enough. In this line of duty, you will face death sooner or later. Do not think that because you have made it to the starting line that you've guaranteed your success. Let today be proof enough that all of you are not prepared to face death… though some among you have already begun to understand the gravity of your duty."
His eyes swept over Ruby, Pyrrha, Yang and Weiss.
"…Let today be a lesson to take all your disciplines seriously. At any point in time, what may seem like a routine deployment can turn into a fight for not just your life, but also for the lives of others. So I ask: will you be prepared when that time comes?"
He promptly turned around, walked to and stood beside Glynda, arms crossed over his chest.
"I'm quite sure that all of you have had your fill of combat for today," Glynda said after a moment, "So I think we'll call that the end of class for today. Dismissed."
Everyone visibly slackened with relief, Glynda moving to the unconscious students only to see them slowly pick themselves up, even Ruby, Yang and Pyrrha. Argel, to her surprise, was quick to move to Yang, firmly popping her arm back in her socket before she even understood what was happening and making her bark a cry of surprise and pain. Her eyes cleared quickly and she shakily stood on her feet, rolling her relocated shoulder and nodding.
"Th-thanks," She said lowly.
"No need," he shook his head, "Please make your way to the apothecary to have it properly examined."
She nodded, both of them silently making their way to her sister who was also getting to her feet (however wobbly they were).
"Owww…" Ruby whined, massaging her temples.
"Are you all right?" Argel asked. Given that he'd literally terrified her into unconsciousness a few moments ago (not to mention beating the stuffing out of the entirety of First-Year), she was surprised that she wasn't screaming and running away. Still, she could see the genuine concern in his furrowed brows and softened voice.
"I-I just have a headache…" Ruby said.
"Mm," Argel hummed, "Go to the infirmary as well. You should be all right, but I want to ensure that you are well. "
"O-okay," She nodded, "Thank you… Professor Tal."
"Think nothing of it," He held up a hand. "Go on now and accompany Xiao Long."
'Professor Tal,' Raum snickered. 'That has a rather nice ring to it.'
Glynda silently watched all of this go down, having stopped taking notes. Her worries that he was going to seriously wound a student were completely unfounded, his control over his own strength not merely efficient, but excellent. Every move of his had a purpose, every technique honed by years of experience. And the way he spoke, the weight behind his words, the challenge that he'd put forward… she had to admit, they weren't just fine words, she saw that momentary flash of understanding in everyone's eyes, the words getting even her blood pumping. But it was the little actions at the very end that cemented his place here: he cared. What made her heart ache was the look of confusion on his face. He cared, but he didn't understand why. When all the students had left, he'd turned to face her and she was surprised by the sheepish, almost frustrated look on his face.
"I apologize for going overboard," He said lowly, "You were right."
"…It was a little much," She said after a moment, not bothering to supress a smile, "But I think you got the point across well."
"You really think so?" He asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
"We'll have to wait until the next time a combat situation arises of course," Glynda said as she folder her scroll and put it in her pocket, "But I believe that we may just see the results sooner than you'd think."
Glynda decided that Argel had a rather nice smile. That, and she believed that she had a few ideas for potential occupations he could inhabit.
...TWBY Continued...
I hope I managed to do characters from RWBY AND Argel some justice here. I'm personally still a bit iffy on him being able to spar with the likes of Aquillon and other custodes in his base-form at the early stages of 'The First Heretic' (at least according to what Argel himself was saying), but what can be inferred throughout the HH novels is that he was definitely bonding with Raum as time went on, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was making him stronger and faster than other Astartes when we compare base-to-base. There's always the inconsistencies that Custodian power-levels suffered in the early stages of their lore, but I digress.
As such, I see Argel in his base as roughly around Custodes level (both in my fic and in the novels), while in his transformed state (in the novels, not necessarily here because he doesn't have access to it) I'd put him CONSIDERABLY above a Custodes: as Ree from the reviews pointed out, punching through auroramite butt-booty-naked isn't a small feat (thanks again for the help dude!) That said, hope you all enjoyed, and peace!