"This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hands over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be your guardian, but are in reality, nothing more than men."
This was the signal, all those months of preparation, all for this. If the choice had been granted to him, Kieffner would have preferred to be anywhere but here. But this was quite literally a matter of life or death for him, just as it was for all those who were unlucky enough to find themselves on his path. He had to play his part.
"Ignite the dust ! Kill them all !" This vocal command to his undeads was effectively useless, as he could order them with his mind alone. However Grimms were near, and their master had to believe that he was fully dedicated to this slaughter.
"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students ? First it is dismemberment and now this ? Huntsmen and huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither."
A powerful explosion shook the entire city. Massive chunks of stone were sent racing in the air, to crash into the buildings below and add to the rising panic and confusion. Waves of Grimms escaped the tunnels and spread into Vale, leaving the necromancer alone.
He had to get to a central location for his ritual, and only one place would fit. With some luck Cinder would already have taken care of everyone in Beacon by the time he got there. But just in case he decided to bring a few skeletons with him.
Those undeads were his best. They were all armored to some extent. Most used a rifle of his own conception. Simple enough to be mass produced, they were still semi-automatic. Originally made with the possibility of a bayonet in mind, he had soon realized that they were far too weak to be used against armored Grimms or Huntsmen. For this reason they were instead equipped with a thick blade under the barrel, allowing the gun to be used as a two handed axe.
"So I ask you. When the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust ?"
He would have to find a way to get up there now. Climbing would take too long. But thankfully he still had an ace up his sleeve.
The city's main defenses had been destroyed, and Grimms were now pouring into Vale like a bloodthirsty flood.
With his bodyguards he engaged into an nearby alley, which led them to a small park. It was completely empty but for an abandoned bowler hat.
"The Beowolf is in the prairie. The Ursa is on his scroll." Kieffner said to visibly no one.
For a few seconds nothing happened, and Kieffner began to feel very stupid. However his worries were dismissed when a bullhead appeared from nowhere right in front of him.
Without hesitation the necromancer got into the aircraft. He immediately noticed a certain thief in the driving seat who was really struggling to hold his laughter.
"I knew this password was dumb. I suppose no one was able to guess it at least."
"Don't worry, you're the only one who looked stupid." Replied Roman.
Kieffner tried to defend himself, but was interrupted by Roman's acolyte. She didn't say a word yet her serious look was enough to make them understand that she wanted.
"Yeah... We don't have much time. Let's get this over with. By the way that's Neo, and you're Kieffner." Said Roman, his voice having lost its cheerful tone as he started the engines.
They almost died multiple times in the following minutes. The sky was filled with Grimms, that thankfully weren't actively trying to kill them. Despite this their numbers were so important that avoiding a deadly collision proved harder than anticipated. In addition to this, what sky wasn't filled by Grimms was by Atlas' war machines. Bolts of red energy pierced the darkness at an impressive rate, and they could witness casualties mounting on both sides.
In the end they still managed to land in Beacon's yard, but not without losing many precious minutes. They were behind schedule now. The initial plan of using the Headmaster to weaken or even defeat Cinder may very well be useless now.
Kieffner checked the magical energy around him. Many were already dead, but not enough. It was being too slow.
"I need to get in the tower." Kieffner said to Roman, who responded with a swift nod.
"Stop right there criminal scum !" A girl's voice suddenly boomed.
Surely enough, between them and the academy stood a familiar faunus.
"I knew you couldn't be trusted ! So it was all lies ? The excuses, the sobby story about your past, was any of that true ?"
The necromancer let out a sigh. This was definitely not a conversation he wanted to have.
"The situation is complicated. It's beyond you and me. I can't pretend that I'm doing the right thing or anything like that, but you won't stop me without using force."
"Looks like it always ends like that. So be it." Answered Velvet
Even while he was getting ready to fight, a part of him secretly hoped that he would lose this fight. That he would have an excuse not to put his plan into practice.
If he switched side now, the tide could still be turned. He wouldn't be seen as a pariah by everyone anymore. But if he continued, there would be no going back.
Kieffner took a look at Roman waiting next to him. Yes, he wouldn't be alone. His partners in crime would be there to share this burden. He will continue going forward, like he always did.
As he began to approach Velvet a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder and stopped him from engaging the fight immediately.
"Go, I will deal with her. I know you can't afford to waste anymore time." Said Roman.
"Alone ? What about N.." And then Kieffner noticed that Neo had completely disappeared. Understanding what was going on he gestured to his eyes and then Roman's.
"Don't do anything stupid. See you later." Was the only thing Kieffner said before leaving. This problem would be solved one day, but not today.
Now alone except for his lifeless bodyguards, the Necromancer jogged as fast as his weak physique would allow him. When he finally reached the tower's floor, his frustration grew even larger as the small screen next to the elevator's door told him that the elevator in question was stuck somewhere bellow ground level.
It took him almost ten minutes to reach the building's top floor. Enough time had probably passed for Salem to start doubting his loyalty. Adam was also nowhere to be seen, he should have joined forces with them a while ago. The clock was ticking, quite literally so when one considered the massive clock hanging over him.
Something was definitely wrong, but it wasn't like he had anything to lose by pressing on now. So he put his manuscript down on the Headmaster's desk, and began the ritual.
It was a very ancient ritual, and as such possessed many steps that would look archaic or obsolete to your modern Necromancer. For example that he had to draw a pentagram with his own blood or recite an obscure prayer at every line. However as he didn't understand half of what he was doing, Kieffner didn't dare to stray away from the charted path.
The preparations were mostly done now. Only two things were left. Firstly the amount of dead souls hadn't reached a sufficient level yet. Secondly he still needed a catalyst, something to serve as an anchor to his soul and allow it to amass the magical power necessary to control his own body from afar.
He had no precious jewel, nor any ancient artifact. He had no personal belongings to speak of beside his staff. As such there was only one option left, an option that could very well be madness, or genius. He would store his soul into that which would allow him to save it. His phylactery would be his spell book.
There was of course a poetic side to this, as what gave him hope to live would end up safeguarding his life. But there was also a practical reason for this. You see it wasn't rare for a magical book this old and this used to have been impregnated with enough mana to gain something that could almost be considered as sentience.
How was this relevant with the current situation ? It was because if a spell like this failed the sorcerer's soul would almost always be destroyed, along with the future phylactery. Can you see the link now ?
By liking his fate with the book he had not only guaranteed that he wouldn't recieve false instructions, but also that the tome would do its best to accommodate his soul.
Of course this was something of a stretch. It required the book to not only have developed sentience, but also for it to have some self-preservation instinct, which was far from guaranteed with those. Worst case scenario the manuscript was enchanted to trap the soul of anyone trying such a maneuver. What would then await him was a fate worst than death.
But he had made his choice, and decided that he needed every chance on his side for such an hazardous ritual to ever succeed. Everything was ready now, he only had to wait for enough people to die.
The circles on the ground began glowing in a dark red light. He could feel magic pulsing through the system like the blood inside his veins. It radiated so much power that anyone in Vale with even the slightest sensitivity to magic would sense it. This included Cinder, who brutally broke though the floor propelled by scorching hot flames.
A millisecond was all his bodyguards needed to start opening fire. No round hit the witch, but half of them dying managed to buy enough time for Kieffner to react on time to dodge Cinder's first blast.
Her next attack however was interrupted when a terrific crash resonated. A second later the tower began to shake. Gears from the clock fell down and easily broke through the already damaged floor. The right half of Ozpin's desk got crushed by another gear. Two undeads were destroyed after falling down the tower. Three others got crushed by the falling gears. So much for elite soldiers. It was like this world had a kink for superhuman warriors fighting on their own and hated everything else.
After a relatively short moment everything calmed down. Whatever caused this earthquake had killed a lot of people, almost enough for the ritual to begin. By Kieffner's estimates a little more than a hundred deaths would be enough now. At this rate it wouldn't even take five minutes.
"I don't know what you're doing..." Stated Cinder while pointing to the bloody pentagram
"...but it looks suspicious enough to kill you for it."
Unexpectedly she didn't use her flaming powers, and instead choose to attack him in melee with her bare hands. Despite this the Necromancer quickly found himself on the defensive. He lacked both the physical strength and the martial expertise to match his opponent, and this was unable to stops many kicks and punches from going past his defense.
"Your weakness disgust me. Just let me end your miserable existence will you."
Those words were accompanied by a particularly powerful kick, which Kieffner tried to block with his staff by using his left knee to hold it still. This decision proved disastrous as the kick simply broke through the magical staff without a care in the world.
The staff had however managed to weaken the strike enough for it to not crush Kieffner's ribcage, instead throwing him on the other side of the room with only a few bruises.
Apparently bored with how the fight was going, the maiden choose to finally start taking it seriously by using her powers to unleash a literal wall of fire over the entire room.
Kieffner leaped behind what was left of the desk and turned it over to act as a shield. The wall of fire passed past the desk's edge without harm, all while he pulled out his axe pistol hybrid.
He was alone, aura less, with no corpse nearby. And he had to deal with some kind of overpowered witch with a mastery of fire as well as hand to hand combat. His odds of victory were slim, that at least was sure.
Or that's what he thought before he saw a tiny speck of black appear on the horizon. A tiny speck that was quickly growing in size. And soon he could hear the roaring sound of a bullhead's engines.
Cinder and Kieffner exchanged a glance, however both were equally confused. They then noticed that the bullhead was aimed straight at them, and wasn't slowing down at all !
The aircraft violently crashed into the tower, tearing what was left of the ceiling to shred. Then someone jumped out of it and landed next to Kieffner.
"You're late." Said Kieffner once he recovered from his initial stupor.
"I'm never late, nor am I early. I arrive precisely when I'm meant to."
"You too Adam ?" Asked a bewildered Cinder.
"Yes, me too. Who could have guessed that forcing people to obey you at gunpoint would end like this ?"
"You fool ! The weak should fear the strong ! Such is the law of nature. And I have to punish those who disobey it."
Adam clasped his tongue with annoyance and pulled out his sword.
"Kieffner, let's kill this bitch."
"With pleasure."
Cinder immediately focused on this new threat. She tried to launch a burst of flame at Adam. However was interrupted when a bullet hit her neck. It didn't go through her aura, but managed to interrupt her attack long enough for Adam to get into range.
Adam's blade became red as he raised it for a sidewards swing. It was too close, too late. Cinder was unable to dodge the attack, and instead instinctively raised her left arm in a pointless effort to block the blade.
The katana struck the raised arm, yet the expected sound of flesh being torn apart and bones breaking was nowhere to be found. Instead the clinging sound of metal scratching on metal was heard for a fraction of second. Adam's swipe was deflected downwards, leaving a large gash in the floor between him and Cinder.
It was only then he noticed that a sword's handle rested in his opponent's left hand. With a swift arm gesture the blade left Cinder's sleeve and landed into her readied right hand.
Adam was the one on the defensive now. Each successive blow pushed him further and further back. Kieffner once again tried to shoot at Cinder to give some breathing room to his ally. However he barely raised his arm before a powerful fireball was sent his way.
The necromancer got back behind cover, but just a second too late for his weapon. The barrel had barely brushed against the fire, yet it had been enough to melt it closed. He couldn't use it as a pistol anymore without risking it blowing up to his face.
Kieffner took a look around him and evaluated his situation. Adam would soon be done for, and he himself was being kept safe by a fragile piece of metal that wouldn't protect him for long. He couldn't remain here if he was to stay alive.
His book was thankfully still in one piece, albeit laying on the other side of his barricade. The pentagram however had seen some of his parts being moved to the first floor, and a small clock gear had fallen onto it. This gave him an idea for a plan. A very reckless plan, but a plan nonetheless.
Kieffner hanged his weapon on his hip, and he began crawling towards the gear. Thankfully Cinder's attention was on Adam for the moment. This allowed the necromancer to grab the metal part without being noticed.
He got up as discreetly as he could. Focused on his target, Kieffner began moving towards Cinder. Slowly at first, barely faster than walking speed, but soon he started to run. He then used his only hand to throw the gear at Cinder.
A solid bonk was heard as metal clashed against aura. The aura in question flickered for a second as it's owner lost her balance and almost fell down. She got up just in time to block the incoming attack from Kieffner's axe-pistol. This proved to be a fatal mistake as Adam exploited this momentary lapse to strike at Cinder's guts with the edge of his sword. The attack broke what aura she had left and almost completely from side to side through her torso, just above her hips.
"Argh..." Cinder gasped as her already red dress began darkening.
The witch fell on her knees, her eyes staring into nothingness. Against a visibly dying opponent, Adam and Kieffner lowered their weapon and took a step back.
A lone sob escaped Cinder's lips before she clenched her teeth.
"How..."
She was now struggling to breathe.
"This... cannot be real..."
Flames slowly appeared over her hands.
"I refuse... to be beaten... by the likes of them."
She suddenly jerked her head upward, showing her enemies a face aflame and full of unadulterated rage.
"I refuse !" Yelled Cinder before putting her flaming hand on her open wound.
The acrid smell of burned flesh spread in an instant all over the room. The maiden then bolted up to stand tall, or at least try to. Pain was still apparent on her hateful face, and she couldn't hide her serious limping while walking.
Adam and Kieffner prepared for the last struggle against their weakened opponent, yet what happened next took them by surprise.
After a scowl both of anger and pain, Cinder visibly abandoned trying to use her legs and instead stretched her arms behind her back. She then summoned a particularly powerful stream of fire to propel herself right towards her opponent.
This unmatched speed took the opposing duo by surprise. However they still managed to bring together a frontal defense before contact. Yet this contact didn't happen as at the last moment Cinder redirected her fire downwards.
When Adam finally noticed what had happened, it was already too late. A burst of fire in the back was all it took for Cinder to finally get rid of this troublesome opponent. The faunus' aura barely held out against the flames, yet what allowed Cinder to propel herself around the room also worked the other way. Adam could do nothing to avoid being thrown out of the tower and falling face first on the hard ground below. The last shards of his aura broke on the contact, and everything became black for him.
Back to the Headmaster's office, Cinder was currently circling Kieffner like a cat played with a mouse. It hadn't taken more than three seconds for him to end up without his weapon. Only a miracle could save him at this point.
"What a shame, what a shame." Began monologuing Cinder.
"From where you're standing it must look like a big stroke of bad luck. Truth is... the game was rigged from the start."
Cinder pointed her hand at him and held it open before her as if she was holding a ball. The maiden then closed her hand, and Kieffner's heart stopped beating.
His body hit the ground before he could understand what had happened. His vision was blurry, his mind felt slow. As everything faded away, he tried to hold onto something, anything.
The necromancer's hand landed on something unexpected. It was something smooth, and yet somehow rough at the same time. His dying brain recalled this as being leather.
Unable to hold it anymore, his hand fell lower. It was then that he noticed to feeling of old paper on his skin. Unable to hold any conscious thought at this point, his fingers nonetheless closed upon the book he had been touching.
And when the last trace of life left his body, it slowly flowed into the grimoire. Slowly, his thoughts came back to him. But not his vision, nor his touch, smell or hearing. The only thing that he could feel was magic.
It was twirling all around him, with more power in it than he had ever felt before. For a time nothing happened, but eventually the magic concentrated on a single point. Kieffner felt drawn by it. There was an irresistible urge for him to just touch it.
He tried to resist at first, but it was difficult not to be curious about the only thing he could see in this sea of darkness.
He stretched his mind towards the ball of magical energy. With some caution Kieffner gazed into what laid inside. His mind was transfixed by what he saw, and after some time he noticed something. It was gazing back at him.
But only had he noticed this, that his entire being was suddenly and forcefully absorbed into the abyss.
He blacked out, and when he regained consciousness the first thing he noticed was that he could feel the cold floor under him. Opening his eyelids he observed that he could see once again. Judging from the massive clock stuck in the ground next to him, he was probably back in the tower.
If he was still alive it must have meant that the ritual succeed. He could feel a newfound strength flowing through his body. It was only when he got up that he noticed that something was missing. And indeed there was currently a gaping hole in his chest, right where his heart used to be.
Kieffner checked his pulse, and it was appropriately missing. His body was, for all intent and purpose, dead. Yet here he stood. Like nothing was wrong, in fact he even felt better than ever before.
He did it ! He had accomplished the ultimate dream of all necromancers ! He was now effectively immortal, and nothing would be able to stop him anymore. However something interrupted his internal rant.
"What ?! You fucking freak ! Why won't you just die !" Screamed a very, very angry Cinder.
"Ke ke ke..." Kieffner cackled.
"Finally..."
"After all this time..."
"I am free to choose my own fate !"
"And no one, especially you, will stop me !"
Long repressed feelings were now surfacing. For many months he had been humiliated, held in leash, forced to obey the whims of this pathetic woman.
Now... now he was free... and she would pay... for everything.
"I have a better idea my friend. We should exchange roles. Why won't you die for once ?"
In a quite ironic mimicking of how Cinder acted before killing him, Kieffner raised his arm towards the maiden. He than opened his hand, and unleashed his power.
In an instant red strings of energy appeared in the space between the two of them. Cinder soon fell to her knees while her energy flowed through the red lines. Without stopping his magic
Kieffner began approaching his opponent. He shall enjoy this.
"What a pathetic sight..."
"Just five minutes ago you were standing tall and proud. Now look how far you have fallen."
"Is this all ? All your magic can do ?"
This managed to get a reaction out of Cinder, who managed to gather enough strength to throw a small fireball. The fireball hit Kieffner left cheek, yet he felt no pain.
A watched his burning skin with a morbid curiosity, feeling no need to react. After a few seconds the weak fire died out on its own, only leaving a scorch mark behind.
Kieffner stopped his life drain spell. Cinder was barely conscious now, and he wanted to end this with his own hands.
One of the maiden's sword was laying on the ground. The necromancer seized it and got right next to his fiend. The time had come to end all of this, once and for all.
"Any last words ?"
"Fuck... you."
Kieffner cut the woman's head off, killing her instantly.
He didn't got time to rejoice in his success before the tower began to shake dangerously. The source of this tremor soon made itself know when a gigantic mass of darkness appeared through the broken window.
The biggest Grimm he had ever seen was staring at him, yet Kieffner felt no fear. Instead he held the maiden's decapitated head high, showing it off for everyone to see.
The wyvern before him stood silent and unmoving, like it struggled to assimilate what he was witnessing. This lasted for approximately ten long seconds, before the beast broke the silence with a powerful roar.
With a long swing of its right arm/wing the Grimm tore through what was left of the tower's walls and caused it to start collapsing.
With his newfound vigor Kieffner began to dash on the rapidly collapsing ground. Just as he was nearing his target the tower started to fall sidewards. He barely managed to jump on his opponent before the Headmaster's tower collapsed completely.
The beast reacted quickly and tried to swat him like an insect. However Kieffner managed to avoid getting crushed. Instead the wyvern instead lost its balance and almost fell off the cliff that surrounded Beacon Academy.
It now tried to ram its head against the cliff in question in an attempt to get rid of this annoying necromancer. This process was soon interrupted by a sharp pain in the creature's left eye, soon followed by the same thing with the other eye.
Kieffner was granted no time to think after gouging the beast's eyes out, as it immediately entered a blind frenzy and launched itself into the air. The necromancer held on for dear life as the wyvern flew higher and higher to the point of quickly piercing the clouds.
The Grimm then suddenly stopped its ascension. Kieffner meanwhile stood still as the former probably thought that he had fallen off.
His current position granted him a magnificent view of the city below. It could almost have been described as calm, were it not for the rising columns of smoke breaking through the mass of small airborne Grimms still fighting against the few remaining Atlesian airships.
One those airships noticed the giant wyvern. In an instant his powerful lasers were aimed at it. The storm of burning energy that was then unleashed managed to completely obliterate the wyvern's left wing.
This of course caused the wyvern the start spiralling towards the ground. Judging from the rising black smoke on the edge of the creature, it was already dying.
The situation was once again looking grim for Kieffner. Sure his body was now stronger than ever before, but not to the point of surviving such a fall. More importantly he still had the book on his person, and it probably wouldn't survive this either.
For once Kieffner couldn't think of any incredibly reckless and hazardous way to get out of this. Just when it looked like this would be the end of him, a bullhead materialized next to him.
"Come on ! Jump !" Yelled a panicking Roman holding his hand out to Kieffner from the edge of the vehicle. Kieffner took a deep breath, and jumped.
For a moment it was as if he was simply floating in the air. Roman's hand was despairingly far away, and it felt like he wasn't moving at all. The distance was too great, he wouldn't make it.
Roman grabbed his cane with his other hand and, for some reason, aimed it right at the necromancer. He then fired a blinding red flare. Kieffner would meet his end at the hands of someone he almost considered a friend.
But then all became clear. The projectile barely missed him and instead hit the wyvern's carcass behind him. The ensuing blast propelled Kieffner just far away enough for him to finally grab Roman's hand.
He barely had time to pull himself aboard that the Bullhead brutally redressed its trajectory to avoid crashing on the ground.
The vehicle eventually stabilized and began to head out of the city under the cover of Neo's semblance. However Kieffner just then noticed that something was missing, or rather someone.
"Wait, where's Adam ?"
Roman dropped his eyes at the ground for a few seconds before answering.
"He's nowhere to be found and he's not answering on his scroll. And no one in the White Fang has heard of him since a few hours."
"No..." Stuttered Kieffner.
"He couldn't make it."
"It can't be... He still had some aura left. He should still be alive somewhere !"
"You're in denial dude."
"I'm not ! He's still alive !"
"Listen, Neo doesn't have enough aura left to cover us if we decide to check. We shouldn't put ourselves at risk for the thin chance that Adam might miraculously still be alive."
"This isn't what we signed up for." Continued Roman.
"The deal was to help everyone out. We have an obligation to see it to the end." Retorted Kieffner.
"And I know he's not dead."
"And how do you know this ? Is this the famous 'trust in your heart' bullshit ?" Roman was starting to really get angry.
"Did you forget what I am ? I would have noticed someone dying so close to me." Tension was mounting between them.
"Pff ! What's the difference ? I don't care if it comes from your heart or your magic, I'm not coming with you, and neither is Neo."
Kieffner was visibly fuming now, and he had no patience left for those games.
"Where do you think you are going ? At my place !"
Kieffner aggressively approached Roman, to the point the later took a few steps back to avoid contact.
"I don't care about what you think. I don't care about what you want. Just know that if you don't do what I want, I won't be content with keeping you out of my protection. I will hunt you, I will find you, and I will kill you." Threatened the necromancer, punctuating each of his points with a push of his index on Roman's torso.
"So are we at an understanding?"
The thief remained silent for a distraughtingly long time. His mind was racing at full speed, trying to find which choice was the best. Eventually he turned around to face his even more silent companion.
"Neo, looks like we're in it for some time more."
The girl raised an eyebrow at him while slowly caressing her parasol.
"Just do as I say Neo, it's not like we've got a choice." Replied Roman with a sigh of resignation.
Barely hiding her frustration, Neo neverless complied and flew the Bullhead to what was left of Beacon Academy.
No sign of life could be seen when they arrived. Everyone had probably already evacuated to somewhere relatively safer. However the apparent lack of life didn't deter the necromancer in the slightest. After all his magical senses had already proven to be more trustworthy for this kind of task than his more earthly ones.
Surely enough, he soon detected a presence nearby. An incredibly weak one to be sure, but a living presence nonetheless.
After a short dash Kieffner found himself face to face with the person he was looking for. However Adam barely noticed his arrival, probably because of the fact that his left leg had been crushed by a debris and he was slowly bleeding out.
"Adam !" Let out Kieffner while rushing next to him.
"Can you hear me ? Are you okay ?"
The faunus coughed out some blood and struggled for a moment before managing to answer.
"As...As you can see... I'm perfectly fine."
"Dude... You're a dumbass." Said Kieffner.
"Come on, we have to get him out of there." Interjected Roman, who had remained quiet until now.
"Aww... You're here too. Am I not popular ?"
"Sure, whatever." Replied Roman before changing the subject. "Take this side." He instructed Kieffner while pointing at the massive rock on Adam's leg.
Moving the debris away was child's play for an aura user and a super human undead. This however revealed the full extent of Adam's wound.
Muscles were splattered on the ground amidst a growing pool blood. Bones poked out of what flesh was left. Despite this the faunus did a very good job at hiding his pain, and only his clenched teeth betrayed this facade. He probably wouldn't ever recover the full use of that leg.
But they had to get moving, so Kieffner cautiously put Adam's right arm on his shoulders. Roman did the same with the other arm and they began gently carrying him towards the Bullhead.
"Come on, you can be rougher. This ain't my first time." Complained the faunus at their excruciatingly slow speed.
"Well I guess it really isn't so bad if you find the strength to say this shit." Retorted Roman, but they still accelerated their pace.
Barely a minute passed before something else interrupted their procession. A deep howl suddenly echoed thorough the Academy, quickly followed by many others.
"Shit ! She found us." Cursed Kieffner.
"Go first, I'll hold them back." He continued.
A flash of hesitation passed through Roman, but he eventually complied, trusting in his comrade's abilities. However just before they left the Necromancer on his own, he handed Roman something. An old and decrepit book.
"Take care of this. I'll be fine." Said Kieffner before pulling out his weapon and turning around to face the first wave of Grimms.
It only took a few seconds for one them to dare to attack, yet his bravery was simply rewarded with a bullet in his head. Of course this didn't deter his soulless breathens and they immediately began charging him while he was still reloading his pistol.
The ensuing fight proved itself to be particularly difficult. This mainly because Kieffner not only had to protect himself like in a normal fight, but he also had to prevent any beast from getting past him to attack Adam or Roman.
Because of this he gradually began to lose ground, as each time a Grimm got past him he had to shortly chase it down, making him lose precious terrain every time.
There was no particularly powerful enemy, however their numbers seemed to be endless. Each Beowulf killed was replaced by two others. Soon the whole street was filled to the brim with all kind of Grimms, and a few even started to flank him through adjacent streets.
And eventually what was bound to happen happened. A Grimm slip past Kieffner's defense to quick for him to react in time. He watched powerless as the beast lunged at a surprised Roman.
At the very last moment however the Beowulf brusquely stopped right in its tracks. It then fell to the side lifeless, revealing at the same time the presence of a certain bi-colored mute.
Neo stared at the necromancer, ostensibly displeased of the current state of affairs. After it was because of his pretty forceful insistance that they were still here risking their life.
Despite this the mute still used her weapon to start shooting Grimms at a distance, be it only to protect her partner.
But now the Bullhead was finally in sight. They only had to engage in a fighting retreat until everyone got there. Roman practically threw Adam into the vehicle, then entered it himself. Neo soon followed, taking her usual position in the driving seat.
Kieffner was the only one left now. The Bullhead's engines turned on. The airship slowly began to ascend into the air. This made Kieffner brusquely turn around from fear of being left behind. He noticed the ice cold way Neo was staring at him. He was now seriously doubting that she would wait for him, be it only out of spite.
Yet without the slightest change in the mute's expression, the Bullhead stopped moving. Kieffner seized this opportunity to wildly rush to the transport. Not even a second passed after he got in it, the airship's engines suddenly exploded with power.
They rose into the air at an incredible speed, yet still not fast enough to stop a few Grimms from trying to latch onto the metallic structure. Thankfully the structure in question proved unfit for such climbing, and all the dark beasts slipped down to fall on their brethren below.
A flock of Nevermores quickly made itself known as the next obstacle to their escape. This problem however was solved as fast as it had appeared when Neo once again used her semblance to make them blend with their surroundings.
They flew past the flock without any difficulty, yet when they got past it a problem suddenly started to appear. The Bullhead's invisibility suddenly flickered on and off for a few seconds, before going back to being invisible.
Every head on the airship immediately turned towards Neo. Her face was contorted in painful focus. Her brows furrowed and a string of sweat adorning her face, it was obvious that something was wrong.
"Shit ! I told you she was low on aura !" Roman yelled at Kieffner.
"So you're saying we should have just left him behind ? I mean you can see now that he's alive." Said the necromancer to defend himself.
"What the fuck is happening ? I feel like I'm missing something." Interjected Adam with a weak voice.
This argument was interrupted when Neo's semblance once again flickered, except this time it didn't get back on. As if that wasn't enough, the Bullhead's nose suddenly began to lean downwards. It was only then that Roman and Kieffner noticed that their pilot had fallen unconscious.
"Neo !" Screamed Roman before rushing to her side and taking her in his arms. However he didn't got time to properly check on her status, as the Bullhead was still speeding towards the ground at an alarming rate.
With a sharp pull of the handle he managed to redress the Airship and somewhat stabilize its trajectory.
"Well, at least it can't get any worse." Muttered Roman while sighing.
He was immediately proved wrong when something big and feathery brutally crashed against the Bullhead's left wing, tearing most of it off in the process.
Despite Roman's efforts there was simply nothing that could keep the vehicle flying at this point. The only thing he could do was try to slow down their fall.
The team's odds didn't seem very good as they quickly headed towards the no man's land below. Only time would tell if they once again managed to cheat the odds.
Hi everyone !
Like usual it's been longer than I would like, but at least this chapter is relatively big to make up for it. I believe it's the biggest of this story yet, even if I've already written bigger and I know it's nothing compared to other authors.
Of course a lot of things happened in it. I almost forgot a dozen of more or less important things, and probably actually forgot as many. Still I'm quite satisfied with how this turned out.
Despite this, if you have any suggestion or noticed something I missed, don't hesitate to tell me.
Maybe some clarification are in order. Cinder did actually die, and as her last thoughts were on Kieffner, someone random will inherit her powers. Which of course mean I get to choose.
Kieffner's outburst about saving Adam is partly due to the fact that he don't fear for his own life nearly as much as before, and partly because he has kinda grown to like him. (As a friend of course, this fic won't actually turn into a gay romcom.)
Also the big crash that interrupted the duel and killed a lot of people including those pretty useless bodyguards was caused by Amity. Yeah this story is definitely not following Canon.
On this subject, Salem's forces managed to invade through the tunnel because Ozpin thought that the unusual things happening at Mountain Glenn were simply Kieffner doing his thing.
Ozpin and Amber still died like in Canon, but not Pyrrha or any other main character.
Well this author note is already getting long enough so I'm gonna stop. Please leave a comment. You can also favorite and subscribe if you want.
Have a good whatever time in the day it is when you're reading this, and until next time.