Chapter 55 – Clash For The Truth – Pt. 2
Starla
With the giant wall of fire roaring behind him, Vir Nominis Umbra hovered before Starla, his massive black wings splayed out and his eyes glowing bright red as he stared down at her. Starla felt no fear at all anymore, felt no guilt or sadness in her heart. She was completely in control of her every move.
And after two thousand years of servitude to the False God?
She had some catching up to do.
Vir Nominis Umbra suddenly launched towards her, blasting a beam of red flames from his jaws towards her, only for Starla to dart to the side at the last second, and bouncing off a glyph into Umbra's side. She drove both Tonfas into the side of his neck as they both crashed through one of the towers, sending chunks of debris plummeting around them. Her beautiful white Nevermore Wings trailed white embers as she held onto him, Umbra spinning through the air and colliding his wings through the buildings beneath them, shattering them into thousands of immense pieces.
They came crashing towards the ground together, and Starla bolted away from Umbra, skating across her glyphs towards him as she approached. Umbra spun around and formed a huge spear, throwing it towards her. She darted aside, and the spear detonated in a fiery explosion behind her, then she flew high above Umbra, swinging her wings forward, the recoil of the movement throwing her higher into the sky, and shooting multiple white Fatal Feathers towards Vir Nominis Umbra.
The glowing feathers tore through his black flesh, making him snarl as they punctured his enormous body in multiple places. Starla hovered above, then dove towards him, folding her wings behind her back as she approached him. Umbra gritted his teeth as he stared up at her, suddenly tearing his arm free from the building that one of the feathers pinned him to, and reached up towards her, grabbing onto Starla and tossing her through one of the towers. She crashed through the window, grunting as she bounced across the overgrown floor, then flying out the other side.
She opened her wings once more, a bit dazed from the sudden blunt damage, and now finding herself right up against the wall of fire. As she stared back at that tower that Umbra launched her through, Umbra suddenly launched straight through it in a huge red bolt of lightning. The entire building exploded, split in two and coming crashing down onto Old Town beneath them, and on top of Ozpin, Glynda and Maria battling against the Higher Demons below.
Umbra flew directly towards Starla, but she dove out of the way, soaring over the destroyed ruins of Old Town as Umbra passed through the rising flames of his Wall of Fire. And pretty soon after, he flew through the flames once again; the fire trailing off his body as he pursued his Former Knight. He landed, dragging his clawed toes through the ground, forming a huge hammer on his shoulder before bringing it crashing down in front of Starla. The blow of the shockwave knocked Starla out of the air, but she effortlessly stuck the landing.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Oh Starla Schnee. Do you really think you can stop me?" Vir Nominis Umbra asked her.
"No, but I can slow you down!" Starla yelled, blasting towards him and slashing her Tonfas through the side of his face, then jamming the blade into his eye and slamming him into the ground with all her might. Umbra roared with fury as she held him there, only being forced to move when fire erupted from the ground all around her. The flames spread, and she jumped towards one of the buildings, using her tonfas like ice picks to climb up to the top, conserving her aura. She connected her Tonfas together, transforming them into her bow, drawing three arrows and firing them at Umbra.
They impacted, then exploded into large chunks of ice, pinning one of his arms to the ground as he tried to get back up. Starla then took her bow and slammed it into the floor, staring down at him, and activating her semblance, her blue eyes glowing bright. Her hair also seemed to glow as an enormous glyph conjured above her, summoning a King Wyvern. The beast roared with fury, then flew directly towards Vir Nominis Umbra.
Umbra's red eyes widened as the Wyvern bit down onto his neck and forced him to the ground. It dug it's long curved talons into his shoulders to hold him down, tearing chunks of black flesh from his throat before blasting an enormous cloud of flames into his face. Umbra roared with anger as the flames seared his flesh, cooking him alive as he howled. Starla smirked with great satisfaction as she heard that sound.
Until Vir Nominis Umbra's long tail suddenly skewered her summon through the heart. Then he freed himself, grabbing it by the shoulder and digging his claws into its punctured chest, and tore the beast clean in two. He roared like the monster he was up at Starla, before forming a cloud of swords above his shoulder and fired them all towards Starla and the building she was standing on top of. She sprouted her wings and flew away, firing more arrows back at him, and the blades he launched tore through the building, ripping its structure apart and throwing chunks of debris miles into the air, and crashing into the ground below.
One of the blades cut across her chest and she cried out in pain, knocked out of the air and causing her white wings to crumble away. Umbra scrambled across the broken terrain on all fours, leaping forward and then jumping off the collapsing structure, catching Starla and, as they came crashing down, he slammed her against the floor. He glared at her as magma drooled from his gritted teeth, snarling.
Starla winced as she stared up at him.
"So defiant! And for what? Fighting for a world you know is only temporary?" Vir Nominis Umbra questioned with a scoff in his voice. "No matter how hard you fight, you cannot save this world from its fate, either from me or from a meteor or from Humanity itself! This world. Will. End." Vir Nominis Umbra stated, but Starla just scowled back at him.
"It's my duty… as a Vanguard… and their duty as Hunters… to fight for this world… for as long as we can!" Starla yelled, forming a multiple large black glyphs in the air above him which yanked him away from her, pinning him to the sky against his will. "BUT THAT ISN'T SOMETHING I COULD EXPECT YOU TO EVER UNDERSTAND!" she yelled, forming a gigantic sword in her hand and flying up towards him, cutting him up across his chest and through the side of his head. Umbra roared in pain as he was sent flying straight through her glyphs.
As he crashed to the ground, his False God form broke apart, and he tumbled back into his Soothsayer body. He growled, then turned to see Starla leaping towards him and driving one of her Tonfas down at where his head was just hunched forward. He rolled aside and launched a couple of blades at her, then called a bolt of red lightning from the Charred Forest, slamming it into the ground.
He jumped backwards and slashed a long blade of fire at her, but she crossed her Tonfas together, deflecting them. She raised them and stood her ground as Umbra hovered above her.
"First Ozymandias… now you…" Vir Nominis Umbra said as he looked around, still unable to spot where Fury was located.
"You have no idea how good it is to see that look in your eyes." She chuckled, staring up at him with a smirk. "You're scared… really? You're really afraid of dying? After everything you've done to us?"
"It's not death I fear." He stated, blasting towards her and slamming his fist into the ground, forming a long tendril of black tar from his arm and spinning around, forming long bony spikes from it. Starla leant all the way back, slicing it off with ease, then darting out of the way when Umbra channelled dark energy through his arm and launching black and red lightning in her direction.
Starla skated over the ruins with her glyphs, then she performed a graceful flip as she jumped across a chasm, and Vir Nominis Umbra was right behind her, forming a bow and firing multiple arrows at her. But she twirled through the air, elegantly dodging each arrow, and aiming her bow directly at his face, firing an arrow through his eye. Umbra grunted, grabbing onto the arrow and falling into the chasm created by the Reaper.
He bounced off the walls, then drove his arm into the wall, dragging his claws through it. She stared down at the darkness to try to spot him, until flames erupted from it, and he erupted from the shadows, returning to his False God body. He grabbed onto Starla as he flew into the sky high above everyone else, and Starla cut her Tonfas across his wrists to free herself, opening her beautiful white wings to stay in the clouds with him.
She fired arrow after arrow at him, but Umbra suddenly launched towards her, forming an enormous burning claymore in one hand and slashing at her, cutting through the clouds. She flew backwards, then split her bow once more as she darted towards him. She launched more Fatal Feathers at him but he smashed them out of the air with his massive wing, then he unleashed a cloud of pyroclastic ash from his jaws at her. She dropped, wrapping her white wings around her body before jumping off a glyph she conjured underneath him, and slashed her Tonfas through his side.
Once she was above him, she closed her eyes, forming twenty glyphs around him, and a large one beneath her with the spinning hands of a clock. They all rotated, and time suddenly slowed down for her. Umbra looked around and she shot into him relentlessly, using Time Dilation to her advantage, slicing him to ribbons with her blades. She then darted up above him and drove them both into his chest.
They both plummeted back through the clouds together, and she smashed the side of his head against the tallest of the towers, using the broken structure to rip his face apart, dragging him through chunks of concrete, broken glass and rusted rebar. She roared with fury as she gained speed with her wings, then she flew upwards at the last second after releasing him. She flew away as he crashed into the ground with significant force, leaving the Spire extremely damaged. He snarled in anger as he looked up at the Archangel hovering above him, truly mastering the accursed power he gave her, and turning it into something angelic.
But Vir Nominis Umbra still had plenty of tricks up his sleeves.
He suddenly stood up and blasted a bolt of red lightning towards her. She dodged the first but could not avoid the second, which knocked her further away. Suddenly he turned to the same building that she just smashed him into, and held out his hand. He growled with fury, gritting his razor-sharp teeth, and Starla's blue eyes widened with shock as she watched the building break apart from his telekinetic force. He tore it from the very base, lifting the entire skyscraper into the air, and then he bellowed with fury, throwing the entire building towards her and Old Town itself.
The Skyscraper broke apart and Starla was forced to retreat towards the Embered Grove as enormous chunks of building came crashing down all around her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Vir Nominis Umbra smirk as he vanished into the coming darkness. Enormous chunks of building collided into the ground all around her, and she darted past Ozpin, Glynda and Maria. The three all gathered around Ozpin, who slammed his Sceptre into the ground to shield them from the falling debris, whilst the Higher Demons retreated as best as they could.
She kept moving, dodging the debris, using the growing shadows to her advantage, turning to her left and seeing an utterly enormous part crash into the ground close by, causing the ground to shake. She flew forward just as another landed right where she was just stood, only narrowly missing her. She stumbled as she ran, tripping on chunks of rubble that covered the landscape.
Suddenly Vir Nominis Umbra blasted into her from the side, grabbing her by the throat and smashing her face into the ground relentlessly as he flew across the remnants of Arkhonex, before throwing her ahead, sending her crashing through a building, and now reunited with Weiss and the others.
They all turned to see Vir Nominis Umbra walking across the destruction he just caused, eyes glowing bright red. She stood tall, turning to see Team R.W.B.Y staring at her in awe, and Weiss couldn't help but smile proudly at Starla. The Schnee Vanguard stood tall and stared Umbra down as he glared right back.
But at the very least, her fight against her nemesis allowed her friends to get a little bit closer to the Embered Grove.
They just needed to get a bit closer.
Ruby
She sprints to Starla's aid, alongside Oscar, Kassius and Team J.N.P.R, spinning Crescent Rose above her head and firing herself towards him. Starla slid across the floor, firing an arrow into Umbra's leg which forced him to the ground, but as he fell, he formed another huge hammer and swung around, smashing it into Starla's side, but Ruby swirled around the head of the Hammer, then she cut across Umbra's eyes. He roared with rage as he staggered back, blood bursting from them.
In that moment, he had flashing images of Qrow doing the exact same thing, and he gritted his teeth. "Not this time." He snarled, spinning around and swiping his enormous tail through the landscape, breaking the chunks of debris apart, then jumping into the air and calling a bolt of lightning into the palm of his clawed hand. He smashed the bolt into the ground, knocking Ruby out of the air as she went for a second attack, sending her tumbling across the ruins. Kassius charged forward, jumping onto Jaune's shield.
Jaune clicked the trigger on the shield, activating the Gravity Dust, which blasted Kassius into the air. He launched one of his swords into Umbra's face, then descended and grappled onto the blade, pulling his head to the ground. Umbra grunted as his chin smashed across the ground, then he fired Vulcan Nox multiple times up at him, sending explosive shells up into Umbra's chest, blowing holes in his body. Flames channelled across the False God's fist and he slashed his now burning claws at him, Kassius kept backing up but just as the next swing came towards him, Oscar slowed time and grabbed his friend, pulling him out of the way at the last second.
Team J.N.P.R attacked together as a unit, Nora running around Umbra with Ren, firing Magnhild's grenades into his large body, but he used his folded wing like a shield, and Ren did the same on the opposite side of the entity, spraying green bullets at him. Pyrrha flew up into the air and she darkened the skies, her eyes glowing bright green as the wildfire flames ignited over them. She called down multiple bolts of lightning onto Vir Nominis Umbra, shattering the surrounding landscape, throwing chunks of sharp shards of rubble all around them and into his body.
But nothing they did made a real dent in him, not enough to seem to make him be in pain, just annoyed. Like someone fighting ants crawling on their skin.
Umbra flew into the air, and he cut through reality itself, revealing the hellish plains of the Charred Forest, and he reached into the tear, and pulled dark red flames from the sky, letting them course across his body. Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror, immediately recognising those flames. He unleashed them, and the flames started burning everything to embers, leaving nothing behind. Kassius only narrowly avoided it, so close that it set his coat ablaze, forcing him to cast it aside and let it burn.
He spun Lash Equinox through his fingers, and he rushed towards Umbra with Oscar. "Hey! Ugly!" He yelled, connecting both blades together and stabbing through Umbra's heel, making him growl with annoyance. He spun around and punched down at the floor where Kassius was, until he rolled back and reached into his very aura, tearing Hyde from himself and throwing him towards Vir Nominis Umbra.
Hyde roared as he flew towards him and smashed his cane across Umbra's face, knocking him backwards. His body snapped into horrific shapes, using his creepy Crooked Man appearance to his full advantage, sprinting on all fours like a humanoid dog. He blasted fire from his jaws at Umbra's legs, before jumping once more and smashing his cane down on the top of Umbra's head. As Umbra dropped, Jaune jumped up and rammed Crocea Mors straight through his jaw and out the other side.
Vir Nominis Umbra howled in fury as the sword coated in glowing blue energy burned through his flesh. Jaune gritting his teeth as he stared into Umbra's devilish red eyes. Nora jumped and slammed her enormous hammer into the back of Umbra's knee. Then Ren fired his grappling hooks and wrapped them around his arm, holding him down with all his might. Oscar and Kassius both drove their blades into Umbra's other arm to hold him down.
Vir Nominis Umbra roared with immense rage as his huge wings splayed out, trying to free himself, until Starla froze them solid with her glyphs, making him roar even louder. He stared ahead to see Ruby staring at him, her one silver eye glimmering for a brief second. "RUBY! NOW!" Jaune yelled as he held Umbra in place, and Pyrrha nodded at her, tearing the ground apart with roots to give Ruby a good clean shot at Umbra's head.
Ruby exhaled calmly, then glared at Umbra, firing Crescent Rose behind her, and launching herself towards him even faster with her semblance. Ruby burst through the petals, yelling with defiant fury, and her eyes erupted with brilliant white light. Umbra's roars echoed as he felt the silver light burn his flesh and force him back to a vulnerable state, and Ruby swung towards his throat.
Until his tail suddenly swung up in between Crescent Rose and his neck, batting her aside. Ruby tumbled away, and Vir Nominis Umbra tore himself free with a horrifying roar, pulling Ren first, throwing him far away from them and ripping his hand from the ground where Kassius and Oscar held him in place.
Jaune dropped, and raised his shield as Vir Nominis Umbra blasted a beam of fire at him, the flames flowing around him like he was a rock in a river. Starla launched herself towards him from the side, but Umbra turned and leapt into the air, reconstructing the wings she shattered, and he ignited his fists, and when he came crashing down, he buried those fists into the ground. He bellowed with anger, and ripped the entire base of Arcturus Base from the soil, causing all the land to explode from underneath them.
Fire erupted from every inch of the land that used to be Arcturus Base, hurling tonnes of flaming chunks of earth and debris above them. His nightmarish howl echoed across the ruins of Arkhonex, and Ruby stared ahead with a shocked eye, seeing him stood there with flaming ruins falling all around him, glaring directly at her.
Amidst the destruction, Kannix grunted as he got back up, surrounded by flames. His broken bones in his body crunched as they reset themselves. He held his side and looked ahead, seeing Umbra continuing his battle against them, and everyone else fighting the two Knights of Grimm and the Hound.
But he smirked sinisterly and retreated into the smoke.
Blake swung Yang around with Gambol Shroud, launching her towards the Knight of Death, whilst she ran with Weiss towards the Hound. The beast roared as it pushed the burning rubble off its body, suddenly leaping out towards Blake, until Penny blasted into its side, tackling it out of her way and sending it crashing into the ground. She jumped away from the Hound, blasting her thrusters and landing on her feet, sliding across the terrain with Floating Array orbiting her back.
The Hound snarled, its long black tongue licking its lips before it jumped towards Penny, slashing its razor-sharp claws at her relentlessly. Penny used her swords to deflect the claws before they could hit her, moving her arms in the same motion to direct them all, like she was dancing. She then pointed at the Hound, and all the blades impaled it, pinning it to the wall. Sun sprinted past her and he smashed Ruyi Jingu Bang across the side of its face, then transformed his staff, firing multiple volleys of Gunchuck Shells into the Hound's body.
Suddenly the Hound blasted fire from its mouth, forcing Sun and Penny to get back. Then it focused the flames into a beam, and it swung its head horizontally, burning them across their chests. Sun grunted, his aura flickering more and more, that hit dropped his aura into the red. He groaned, but still stared ahead to see Blake and Weiss rushing the beast. Weiss stayed back, using her glyphs exactly as Starla suggested, primarily to cover them all. She formed multiple glyphs to block the Hound's flames, but then the beast sprouted wings from its back and took off into the air.
It grew a long blade of bony armour, and swooped towards Blake, slashing across her gut and cutting the illusion in two. She flipped away, throwing Gambol Shroud into its leg, and she yanked it to the ground. Penny dashed towards it and slashed across its arms, cutting them clean off, then driving the blades into its chest, trying to pry it open so they could get to Raven. Her screams of immense, unending agony emerged the more Penny opened the creature's chest, desperately trying to end them both for good.
But the Hound's arms suddenly regenerated, sprouting out, and it grabbed Penny by her face and used her as a shield, blocking Sun from firing any further shots at it. The Hound held its clawed finger at her throat, but she gritted her teeth, and levitated one of her swords behind the back of its head, transforming it into a cannon, firing a beam of green energy into the back of the Hound's head. The beast roared with anger, staggering forward and releasing Penny, allowing Sun to slam his Bo-Staff across the side of its face.
Whilst they clashed; Yang, the Architect, Cinder, Neo and Emerald faced the Knights of Death and Fear at the same time. Death deflected Cinder's swords as she swung relentlessly at him, yelling with her eyes burning unyieldingly, but Death remained silent, then suddenly punched straight through one of her Obsidian Falchions, and then swung around with Ferrum Arctus towards her throat. She ducked all the way back, nearly falling on her back, but Death jumped backwards and aimed his sword at her, his huge black wings forming behind him. He launched himself towards her with a sudden thrust, but just as he did that, Yang stamped on Ferrum Arctus and performed a perfect uppercut, knocking him back.
She shook her metal fest, seeing that hit actually dented a few pieces of metal in her knuckles. Cinder stood beside her and nodded. "I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up." Yang panted, wiping the sweat from her brow and checking her aura. Ahead of them, Neo and Emerald continued to clash against Fear, but Death got back up after Yang nailed him. They both turned to see the Architect walking over to them, his body still sparking and damaged from the fight.
"We have to try." The Architect stated, transforming his rifle into sword mode. Death spun Ferrum Arctus through his fingers as he walked towards them, then jumping into the air and throwing the sword towards the Architect. He blocked the incoming sword, backing up as Death came crashing down to claim it, spinning around and slashing across their chests.
As they tumbled back, Emerald was thrown past Cinder, and Fear flew towards them, kicking Cinder in the side. He ducked as Death fired a beam of lightning from his sword, then launching Fatal Feathers at Yang, who dodged out of the way of them, then firing herself towards them. She punched Fear in the face, then blasted herself to the left, dodging Death's blade and then launching back at him, throwing multiple punches into his chest, then firing up, sliding underneath his legs and punching him in the back of the leg. She jumped and kicked off the back of his head with both feet, until Fear hooked Formido Falcem onto the back of her neck, slamming her against the floor.
Cinder blasted into the sky, slamming two forks of lightning into the ground between Death and Fear. The former was launched away, whilst Fear spun his huge scythe across his shoulders, catching it in his hand and bringing it down in front of her. He jumped and opened his wings as Death kicked a busted Acolytes of Lien truck towards the Fall Maiden. Cinder thrusted back, but Emerald ran around the two Knights, firing Silent Judgement relentlessly at the pair.
Neo whistled and got Death's attention. He snarled and punched at her head, only for her to shatter, and she appeared behind him, bowing playfully, taking off her hat. She flipped backwards, effortlessly dodging his fast, aggressive swings. He thrusted towards her, but she jumped onto her blade with a playful smile, sticking her tongue out and popping her leg. He tossed her into the air then formed his Obsidian Bow, aiming it at her, only for Emerald to wrap her chained scythes around his arm, and yanking his aim down to the floor.
Suddenly explosive shells came raining from above as Neo dove towards the Knights. With their position weakened, the Architect jumped towards Death, driving his sword down with all his might, leaving a deep cut across Death's body. He aimed the sword at Death's head, firing a bolt of electricity into his head. Behind the Architect, Yang rushed Fear, sliding underneath his Scythe, but he stamped down on her throat, glaring at her with his unnerving glowing gold eyes.
But Cinder had her back, slinging a pair of fireballs into Fear, the tremendous explosions blowing chunks of rotten flesh off his body. His body set alight, and he snarled, glaring through the smoke and embers at the Fall Maiden. She suddenly threw an Obsidian Spear through his chest, and Yang reached up, ripping it through the Knight's side, spilling rotten guts across the floor. She then skewered him through the leg with it, and Cinder detonated it once Yang was a safe distance from it.
Fear roared in pain as his leg was blown apart, then his eyes glowed bright gold, and his wings erupted from his body, activating his Ultimate Form. His body transformed, becoming even taller, and his severed leg continued to bleed stale blood, however he no longer needed it. His body became that disturbing Man-Bat hybrid, flying above them as he cackled unnaturally at them.
He cast a cloud of fear toxin onto the ground, forcing them away, and then he flew straight through it, slashing at them both with his scythe. He remained in the air with his wings, growling as he stared at them.
Ozpin
Ozpin let his shield explode, blowing the chunks of rubble off them, surrounded by flames. Old Town was already decimated by the Reaper, which was buried underneath it, but now? It was completely unrecognisable. The flames from the Wall of Fire were spreading across the entire city by the looks of it, using the vegetation to move even faster. Ozpin panted as he looked around, helping Glynda up, who was the weakest of them right now after her battle against the Lord of the Wood.
"Are you both okay?" Ozpin asked with concern in his voice.
"I'm still breathing, right?" Maria chuckled as she looked at the destruction. "Note to self: don't piss that bastard off."
"I wasn't imagining that, right? That was Starla fighting Umbra?" Glynda asked, and Ozpin nodded with a proud smile.
"It was… she's beaten the curse and fights for us now." Ozpin said with relief in his voice.
"Hopefully Belladonna and Xiao Long's plan worked with Fury too…" Maria said as she got back up, coughing through the smoke and dust in the air. All their eyes turned to the burning rubble, seeing it moving in three places. The three of them sighed in disbelief. "Oh, come on…"
The Lord of the Wood pushed the rubble off first, snarling with burning embers trailing from its charred body. The Whisperer and the Onyx Phantom rose first. It seemed that the tower had damaged the Higher Demons a great degree as well, but somehow… even without a force-field to protect them, they were still standing. Ozpin clenched his armoured hand into a fist, and the three of them got ready to fight.
The Savage Lord of the Wood roared, sprinting on all fours towards them, jumping directly at Ozpin, but Glynda launched a chunk of burning debris into the side of the Leshen, sending it crashing to the left, but the two other Demons rushed them as well. The Onyx Phantom tried to fly into the air, but it was too weak to make any real attack, dropping to its knee with laboured breaths. But the Whisperer shifted into Qrow's body, and it launched towards them, kicking Glynda in the gut and deflecting Maria's blades, before immediately swinging towards Ozpin's throat.
He held the Whisperer back with his Sceptre, glaring back at the red eyes of his old friend, but he saw through the familiar face, and gritted his teeth. He forced the Whisperer back, and channelled magical energy into the head of Mihi Vindicta, slamming it into the ground, and sending multiple green explosions tunnelling through the ground towards the Whisperer. They detonated and tossed the demon backwards.
Glynda got back up and she picked up her crop, her aura now broken from the constant fighting. "Stay back, Glynda!" Maria said, launching forward towards the Onyx Phantom, who was waiting for her, mirroring her every move, blocking and deflecting her scythes with terrifying speed. The Phantom bounced backwards on its toes, then hooked the scythe under Maria's leg, tripping her up, then jumped and spun through the air, slamming its heel down into her stomach.
She bounced off the ground, causing her teal aura to flicker, although she was not out of the fight just yet. She rolled aside as the Phantom drove its replicas of Life and Death into the floor where she was just standing. She connected her scythes together, spinning it through her fingers, then jumped forward. She sliced it across the jaw of the Phantom, then smashed the handle into the Demon's nose, then twirling around and cutting across its neck. The head of the Phantom nearly came off, hanging by loose sinew, but the entity set its head back on its shoulders.
Then it blasted flames from its jaws, the dark face crumbling into embers split open, revealing jagged molten teeth instead, and the flames came pouring out of its mouth. Suddenly, a large piece of rebar flew past Maria's head and skewered through the Phantom's mouth, pinning it in place for now. Maria looked back and saw Glynda weakly leaning against the rubble.
"Glynda!" Maria yelled.
"I… can still fight." Glynda promised, straining her voice. But Glynda's eyes widened when she could faintly see Maria not looking at her.
"LOOK OUT!" Maria screamed. Glynda gasped and turned, rolling out of the way at the last second as the berserk Lord of the Wood jumped at her, slicing its searing hot claws across the rubble where she was just standing. It slashed relentlessly at her, and cut her across the thigh, making her scream in pain.
Maria rushed to her aid, only for the scythe of her own blade to hook her by the throat and throw her into the wall of a destroyed building. The Onyx Phantom melted the rebar in its mouth, clamping them shut, grinning as he held her down, staring right into her eyes.
Ozpin smashed the Whisperer across the face with his mace and turned to see the Lord of the Wood stalking after Glynda, who was now completely out of aura and dust, helpless to use her crop now. He rushed to her aid, but the Whisperer tripped him up and pinned him to the floor. "GET OFF ME!" Ozpin screamed.
"How many more friends have to die in pain before you accept that you've lost?" The Whisperer asked in his ear.
He watched helplessly as the Lord of the Wood swung its claws across Glynda's chest, burning her and making her cry out… and then it drove its claws through her stomach, lifting her off the floor. Glynda's eyes widened as she gasped, and Ozpin stared in horror as the Lord of the Wood stared at him with her dying body impaled on its claws. It tilted its head creepily at him.
It slowly pushed her from the claws as it turned to face him.
The Onyx Phantom took Maria and smashed her into the ground, breaking her aura in the sudden strike. As Maria tried to get up, she slashed her blade towards it, but the Phantom bit straight through the handle. Her eyes widened, and it took its scythes and relentlessly slashed her repeatedly across her body, and then driving it through her chest. Maria dropped to her knees, coughing up blood as she collapsed.
"You have lost, Ozpin. One by one they will fall… dying slow… pitiful deaths. All believing you could save them. How sad that you were wrong, like all the others." The Whisperer snarled. Ozpin gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his eyes as he stared at Glynda who was bleeding out on the floor, then at Maria who was still reaching for one of her scythes with feral gritted teeth.
"You. Have. Lost." The Whisperer snarled, until Ozpin's eyes suddenly glowed bright green, and lightning coursed across his body. He roared, his voice sounding just like how he did when he was once the Knight of Vengeance, channelling the power he once forbade. A massive shockwave of electricity exploded off his body, launching the Whisperer away from him, and burning across the Onyx Phantom's face, breaking it apart and knocking it away. The Lord of the Wood growled like a wild animal, glaring at Ozpin as he got back up. He cast protective barriers around Glynda and Maria, then took Mihi Vindicta in both hands.
The Lord of the Wood sprinted on all fours towards him, then jumped, roaring with fury as it reached its arms towards him.
"NO. MORE!" Ozpin bellowed, slamming his cane into the ground, setting off the exact same near-nuclear blast that he created at Argus, the enormous explosion completely vaporising the Lord of the Wood, destroying it and sending it back to the Charred Forest. The Onyx Phantom howled in agony as it was burned into ashes, and the Whisperer stared with wide eyes, being shattered by the blast, wiping out everything around him.
The Nameless Titan
The Nameless Titan roared with fury as it continued to try to free itself from its predicament, forcing its body against the building which it was trapped beneath. Until its glowing red eyes spotted the long piece of metal which was skewered through it, and it growled with realisation. Its long tentacle slowly coiled around the rod of metal, and it howled as it tightened its grip, until a horrible metallic bang erupted.
Snapping the piece of metal in two.
The Nameless Titan howled, rising and shattering the building around it. Now it was no longer nailed to the ground. Chunks of building crumbled off its heavily armoured body, growling as smoke trailed from its healing wound. It slowly turned, hearing the enormous explosion which Ozpin just set off, sensing the energy of a Relic being responsible.
The Titan roared and began its march towards Old Town and the Embered Grove.
Time was running out… if they don't get in the Embered Grove before the Nameless Titan arrives?
It's over…
Author Note - Time's running out... Big Boy is comin' XD
Okay. Writing Starla Vs Vir Nominis Umbra? I THINK I GAINED YEARS WRITING THAT BECAUSE HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SATISFYING TO WRITE HER KICKING HIS ASS AFTER EVERYTHING HE HAS DONE TO HER.
If you couldn't tell, I adore Starla Schnee XD
But Glynda and Maria... things aren't looking good beyond the fire, but at least Ozpin finally was able to get rid of those damn Demons for now. You know it's desperate when he is forced to use THAT spell.
Also um... I'll admit it, I originally planned to have Kannix kill Emerald there, but honestly? I really think that'd be an insulting death for Emerald, since it would have just been a shock and awe death. Which. Nah. I don't like that, death has meaning lol. So there's some fun behind the scenes for you there XD
Can't wait for next chapter. Y'all ain't prepared for the following few chapters. Honestly I think we may be 3 chapters out now? At most? I'm glad I shortened this final fight to make it more intense.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
- Matt