Greetings readers! It has been a while hasn't it! But do not worry, college and writers block are the excuse this time. So please, enjoy this chapter. It will leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Chapter 4
Jason could see his breath illuminated by the pale bloodmoon. He could feel the cold seeping through his skin, chilling his bones. It was a familiar feeling. A feeling he had become acquainted with in Yharnam. He looked to his left and could see a friendly face. The Doll. She stood and spoke to him.
"Good Hunter, your hunt will begin once again, the dream is now your reality. Please be careful. Some great evil seeks to eradicate your existence. Be cautious on your journey. Goodbye Jason, I will miss you." The Doll said as everything around him crumbled.
—
"Ah!" Jason yelled as he jolted out of bed.
He took a peek at his pocket watch and observed that it was 4:30 A.M. He knew he wouldn't be able to get any sleep after that. So, he decided to go out for a walk. Jason strolled outside and noticed a cold stillness in the air. Something that was all too familiar to him. He still wondered why he didn't crave bloodshed. However, he remembered becoming a Great One, which might be the reason why. But Jason was concerned. He didn't remember anything after the Doll's last words. He wanted to know what had happened to him as a Great One. Such as how he became a human again, or how he retains his morality and no longer craves battle. It was indeed concerning. Jason halted when he heard talking far off to the right. He approached the voices and listened.
"Ozpin has a tight grip on Vale, what is your plan, Cinder?" a female voice asked.
"My plan is to follow my master's advice." Another female voice replied.
"Are you sure her plans will work?" A male voice asked.
"Her plans are flawless, no one can comprehend them." The one that seemed to be called Cinder responded.
"Alright, I'll trust you, but please tell us when we get to have some fun." The male voice said.
Jason had heard enough and walked around the corner and spoke to them.
"Excuse me ladies, gentleman. I would like to point out that it is 4:41 in the morning, please make your way back to your dormitory." Jason said in a kind, yet firm voice.
The three of them were startled and stared at him. Jason approached them and eyed each of them.
"I do not condone late night shenanigans and 'other' activities. Please retire, or I will have to report you to the Headmaster." Jason said with a small smile.
"How much did he hear?" Cinder thought.
They stared at Jason a little longer before walking past him towards the dormitory. As they were walking, Cinder whispered to her companions.
"Posting a late-night watchman, Ozpin is smarter than I thought." She said.
Jason heard this of course. And if he wasn't already suspicious of the three. He would definitely be now. Jason decided to continue his stroll until it was time to eat breakfast.
—
Jason opened the door to his new classroom. As he did this, all the students who had been having conversations with each other stopped and then returned to their seats. Jason placed his scroll on the desk in front of him. He then opened his palm and a blue; misty light took the shape of a book. He then opened the book to a marked page. The students noticed that the book was called A Hunter's Dream. While he scanned over the page, a certain blonde-haired student stood up and asked a question.
"Excuse me teach, could you please introduce yourself to us?" She asked.
"Miss Yang Xiao Long, am I correct? May I ask why you want me to introduce myself to my own class? You already know my name, yes?" Jason replied with a question.
"Well…every other teacher does." Yang said as she sweat dropped.
Jason shut the book and looked up with a smile.
"Very well then. My name is Jason Barthalamuel, I will be your advanced combat and tactics teacher. I am a veteran hunter, and I hope you will learn much from our time together." He said with a slight bow of his head.
"Tactics? Why would we need to know tactics when we fight Grimm." A voice said.
"Mr. Cardin, please be reasonable. Beowolves have alphas, yes? So, what makes you think that there isn't something or someone controlling all the Grimm? Either way, if you do not properly strategize, death awaits right around the corner." Jason said.
"But we have Aura!" Cardin shouted as he slammed his desk.
"And in all my years of hunting beasts, I have never used it or even unlocked it." Jason responded with a smirk.
"Wait…what?" The class said in unison.
"You haven't unlocked your Aura!?" A silver haired girl exclaimed.
"Indeed, I have not, Ms. Schnee." Jason replied.
The class whispered to one another about their new teacher. Jason snapped his fingers once and all gazes were upon him once again.
"I am going to teach you the truth of the body all of you inhabit, human or faunus. I will show all of you that Aura and Semblances are not needed in a real fight." Jason said as he smiled.
A black-haired girl glared at him from behind everyone. Something was seriously wrong with this man. He wasn't human. That she could tell. He couldn't be a faunus, she would know if he was. If he wasn't either of these, then, what was he? Her blood ran cold for a second. Every instinct told her to run from this thing in front of her. Something about Jason was just utterly terrifying. Her eyes became heavy as her body went limp.
"Blake!" A girl in a red cape yelled as she caught her unconscious teammate.
"It seems Ms. Belladonna is unwell, please take her to the infirmary at once. Ms. Rose, you and Ms. Belladonna are dismissed from class for the rest of the day." Jason said as he opened the door for Ruby.
As the two of them left, Jason frowned.
"All I did was look at her." He thought.
—
Blake jolted awake and quickly observed her surroundings. She was in an old wooden room and had been lying on some kind of table. She was about to walk out of the room when she smelled it. Blood. So much of it. She also smelled something else, a stench. One she had never smelled before. However, her senses did tell her one thing about the infernal smell. It reeked of death. Her ears heard a growl behind her. She turned, expecting something akin to a Beowolf. Yet her eyes saw something horrid. A monster. One she had never seen before. It crawled out of a pool of blood and tried to attack her.
The cat faunus reached for her weapon, only to find that it was missing. She looked at the monster ready to fight it with her Aura. But before she could even comprehend it, the massive beast lunged at her and smacked her against the wall. Her Aura was broken by this thing, in one hit.
"T-that cough…that shouldn't even be possible." The girl said as she watched the bloody beast approach her with hungry eyes.
It got close enough to touch her. It opened its mouth to consume its prey, but the beast was impaled by something. It howled in pain, but the monster soon succumbed to death. Blake looked up to see familiar clothing that was bathed in blood. He leaned on his cane and looked at her with a smile. A friendly voice then spoke to her.
"Wake up, Blake Belladonna."
—
The sun was a deep orange as it sunk behind the horizon. A certain faunus opened her eyes to see the sun casting a shadow on her. Her mind was in a deep fog. She wondered, what had she just experienced? Shook her head and tried to focus. She looked to her left and saw her team looking at her.
"So? What happened?" Weiss demanded.
"Wait, when did I…" Blake asked.
"You fainted in the middle of class." Ruby said.
Blake's body began to sweat as her memory came back to her. She remembered the horrific terror that she had felt and the oppressive feeling of power.
"Hey…p-please, none of you go near Mr. Barthalamuel. He…H-he is…terrifying." She spoke to her team in a trembling voice.
"Hey! What happened to you?" Yang said as she shook her friend's shoulder.
"Mr. Barthalamuel…that man is…he is a monster! I have never felt so much dread and…" She trailed off as she shivered.
"And what?" Weiss asked, waiting for Blake to continue.
"...power." The faunus spoke with fear obvious in her voice.
"Yang, Ruby? Why don't we go and talk to our new instructor?" Weiss asked.
"There is also one last thing that you must be careful of." Blake said.
"Yes?" Ruby asked.
"I can smell blood on him, so much blood. And it isn't human or faunus." She said this and it confused and disturbed her teammates thoroughly.
—
Jason sat alone while ate. Alone in a large cafeteria. He looked up out a window. The fractured moon filled the sky with its white hue. Jason reached his mind out across the planet. He could feel it. Darkness. Evil. A Great One lived. He didn't know how or where. But somewhere on this planet. A powerful Great One resided, biding his time. The two felt each other's presence and smiled. The game had begun. The hunt was on.
Jason heard footsteps behind him and he glanced back. He smiled and turned to them.
"Ah, how is Ms. Belladonna?" Jason asked.
"No good thanks to you!" Weiss shouted.
"She's right, what did you do to Blake!?" Yang exclaimed.
"I did nothing. Your friend is simply a faunus. She got overly suspicious and sensed something unpleasant." The Hunter replied.
"Blake is a faunus!?" The three girls shouted in unison.
"What? You never wondered why she always wore that bow on her head, or why she always seemed to have keen senses beyond that of a human's?" Jason asked with a cocked brow.
"No, we haven't." Ruby said.
"I recommend that Ms. Belladonna gets her rest, and that she should try to not think about what happened. Remember, Nightmares can get the better of her." Jason said as he smiled at the girls.
Weiss and Ruby walked out of the room to go and speak with Blake. However, Yang stayed behind a little longer.
"Hey, if I find out you did anything to my friend, I'll kill you. That is a promise." Yang said with an angry expression.
"Ms. Xiao Long, I recommend that you refrain from making promises you cannot keep. However, in return let me give you a piece of advice. There is a lot about this world you do not know, dark and light fight while innocents are trapped in between." Jason said.
"Which means?" Yang asked as she cracked her neck.
"In the end, neither side cares about a singular life. They make declarations of why and how it is for the collective good of their cause, but it is nothing but a ruse to complete their ambitions. There is no good side in this world, Yang Xiao Long. It is a gray world, on one side, the witch plays, on the other, the wizard. Both are at fault for this world's current state. But behind all this evil, the hunt continues. A true hunter seeks out their prey. Tell me Yang Xiao Long, are you ready to become a true huntress?" Jason finished his conversation and left the blonde standing there.
Yang looked up at the moon and clenched her fist.
"If both are evil, then what side am I on?" She said with a sigh.
—
As Jason walked through the halls he ran into a black haired woman. One whose eyes gave her away. It was Cinder Fall. And she seemed quite displeased at his presence. Jason smiled at her as he walked up to her.
"And how is Ms. Schemer this wonderful night?" He asked.
Her left eye twitched as she replied.
"I do not understand."
"Oh I am sure you do, what was your name again? Shame, I forgot it." Jason said as he mocked her.
Cinder was clearly angry at him, but she was good at keeping it in.
"I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about." She said.
"I know when I see a liar. Especially one such as yourself. However, I will let you off the hook…for now." Jason said as he walked away.
Cinder scowled as he left and whispered.
"When this is all over, you will be the first one to die." She seethed.
—
The next day, Jason walked to his classroom early. And standing by the doorway to it was Glynda Goodwitch.
"A very good morning to you Professor Goodwitch!" Jason spoke with a smile.
"Likewise, Mr. Barthalmuel. I am sorry to bother you before your classes, but Headmaster Ozpin would like a word with you." The blonde witch said as walked closer to him.
"I do not mind in the slightest ma'am." Jason said.
"Very good, now please follow me." She said as she turned on her heels.
After the pair had made the walk to the elevator, they got inside, and Jason asked Glynda a question.
"Pardon me for asking, but do you know what the Headmaster wants to talk to me about?"
"No, it was on such short notice that I wasn't privy to any information." The witch replied.
The elevator door opened and the two walked out. They saw that the windows were darkened, and that Ironwood was also present.
"Tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" Jason asked.
"Mr. Barthalmuel, we caught your camera talking to Ms. Xiao Long about a witch and a wizard. Please tell me what you know about the subject." Ozpin asked.
Jason smiled. The reason he knew this information is because when he took a nap the previous day, he remembered being back in the Hunter's Dream. His mind had then learned about a fight between two forces. A witch and a wizard. Two names for them, Salem and…
"Everything that you know, Ozuma. Including more knowledge that even you do not possess." Jason replied with a smile.
The three were visibly shocked. The man standing before them was calm and did not hesitate. He was also confident. Too confident. That meant that his strength was equal to, if not more than theirs. They were now on guard.
"May I ask how you obtained such knowledge?" Ozpin asked.
"Ozuma, there are things about this world that your 'gods' feared. Tell me, do you think they just up and abandoned this world without a reason?" Jason said.
Ozpin's brow cocked.
"You have piqued my interest Mr. Barthalamuel, please continue." Ozpin responded.
Jason smiled as he extended hand towards them.
"Why go through the trouble of explaining, when you can just see it for yourself." Nathan said with a grin.
Before they could respond, the three huntsmen were asleep.
"When you wake up, you will understand the truth behind this world. The truth of how we are borne from blood, made whole by it, and undone by it. Such is the cycle of life." He said.
Chapter End
So, what did you think? Do you like how it turned out? I hope you do, by the way, if you have suggestions on how I can make the story smoother, please leave a review. Anyways, until next time! The Elder Sprite Knight.