Volume 1 Chapter 6

Life is all about overcoming difficulties and making the most of a hard existence. You can never give up, not just for yourself but for those who care about you.

For Taiyang Xiao Long, that sentence encapsulates the methodology he has taken to combat the many hardships he has faced in life.

From losing his village and parents at a young age, to losing his mentor and guardian, to losing the loves of his life both emotionally and physically,.

But he could never give up on living, not because he didn't want to. Gods know, at many points he wanted to just give up and be done with it all, yet every time that thought came up, he always had something or someone to force him to move forward.

First, it was his mentor who took him in after he lost his parents when he was a kid; then, it was his mentor's will of wanting him to become a great huntsman; then, it was Summer and Yang that helped pick him up from the devastated state he was in after Raven; and finally, it was Qrow, Yang, and Ruby that saved him from the abyss of despair he fell into after losing Summer.

One can't say he had a great life, but Tai was grateful for what he has; lose was just another part of life; dwindling on it would rob one of all the light that remains within their lives.

'Thinking about all this philosophical stuff is definitely a sign that I'm getting old.'

Tai thought with a wry smile on his face, but his smile soon turned into a wormy one when he looked at the scene in front of him.

His daughters were playing with Zwei in the front garden of the house. Tai decided to have a cookout to celebrate Ruby's admission into Signal and the end of her private training.

The next step a huntsman or huntress takes in training after reaching a certain level of primary education is to apply to a combat school. After taking a simple entrance exam, which is more of a spar with a teacher at said school, The applicant will be informed of the results immediately by a group of teachers that were watching the spar.

Tai didn't have any doubt that Ruby would be accepted into the school; both he and Qrow had been training her since before she had her aura unlocked. And as a teacher at Signal, he had a lot of experience teaching students.

Ruby had accumulated impressive proficiency with the scythe, especially for a 14-year-old kid. He was sure that after she finishes her 4 years at Signal, she will be ready for the curriculum at Beacon.

'Just like me. Just like her mother.'

A sad smile crept its way to his face, but he took hold of his emotions and didn't let it show. Today they are celebrating a happy occasion, and he can't let the mood sour. And yet, he couldn't help but think of his late wife.

'You would have been proud of them, Summer.'

Seeing that he couldn't help but think of her, he decided to focus on the grill in front of him; that would help take his mind off his thoughts about her.

Oddly enough, when Tai remembered his late wife, he no longer felt the overwhelming sadness he experienced the first couple of months it happened. No, he did somewhat feel some sadness, but he also felt a sense of comfort when he remembered her.

When he recalled their time together.

He couldn't really understand it; perhaps he had come to terms with the reality that she was gone; perhaps it was a safety mechanism that his mind developed to help him deal with the sadness.

'I think I read about that somewhere: how our minds tend to rewire some sad memories about a lost loved one and lead the mind to happy memories about said person. Apparently, it is a safety mechanism within that exists within the brain made to regulate the amount of negative emotions a person feels so as to not attract the Grimm'

Tai wasn't sure about that, as sometimes he could still feel some discomfort from remembering the dead. And sometimes a good memory doesn't help that much; in such a situation, he always remembers what he still has and the many people that care for him.

Reaching that thought, Tai brought his mind back to the present. When he looked up from the grill, he saw Zwei dragging Ruby by her cape while Yang was running after them in a panic.

He couldn't help but smile at that.

'This life is truly a blessing.'

Tai couldn't think of anything short of a wide-scale Grimm attack that could ruin such a wholesome atmosphere.

And just as this thought came to him, a dark red portal opened from behind him. He immediately looked behind him to see the portal.

'I jinxed it didn't I?'

He knew what that portal meant. But he couldn't, for the life of him, know why it would be opened now.

'Could she have wanted to meet me now? No, if she wanted to, she would have just spied on us from afar to avoid meeting Yang just yet. Is she ready to meet her? Why now of all times? '

Many thoughts and questions went through Tai's mind the moment he saw the portal, but he didn't reach any conclusion in time as a figure came out of the portal.

He knew who was coming out of the portal; it could only be her.

He just couldn't imagine what could have driven her to come to them right now. A part of him had hoped that she would have wanted to come back to be a part of their family again, but the rational part of him told him that there was little hope of that being the case.

Tai knew Raven better than many, even better than her own brother Qrow. Not that it's saying much, but it was enough for him to know that Raven's actions always fall within certain limits that she allows for herself. All in hopes of maintaining her pride.

Pride was one of the few things that held importance to Raven. He knows well enough how proud she can be; he still remembers the times when he beat her in a spar and how she got annoyed by it to the point she wouldn't let him touch her or even get close to her. He wasn't bothered that much by it at the time, as after she had regained her honor, By beating him in another spar, she would calm down and help them make up for the lost time.

Had Tai thought deeply about those moments of the past, he would have noticed how significant some of those moments were for them, as one of them had led to the birth of Yang, but that wasn't here nor there.

It is because he knows all that much about Raven that Tai doesn't understand what could have led her to come here.

She couldn't have come to see Yang, who just isn't like her. For all her bravado, Tai knew that Raven was somewhat afraid to meet her daughter after so long. The other possibility is that she opened the portal to run away from a powerful enemy, but that wouldn't make any sense as she could have opened a portal to Qrow instead of him.

Tai couldn't come up with a logical reason as to why Raven would come to them now in this way. The only thing he could do was ask the person herself.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to do that just yet.

"Raven?"

He said this as he could finally see her fully exiting the portal. However, he was shocked to see her condition.

Tai could say with confidence that he saw Raven in many conditions, some of which no one could say they could even imagine her in; he saw her when she was at her strongest moments and when she was in her most vulnerable moments, but never before had he seen her as she is now.

"Defeated" was the best word that could describe Raven's current appearance right now.

Her clothes were in a devastating state. From the exposed skin, Tai could see Raven's body covered in blood from cuts and bruises, some extended from one piece of clothing to reach another. Some of the wounds on her body were still bleeding, with her aura barely keeping the blood inside her body. Other cuts had already been closed by the coagulated blood. Her weapon was shattered, a testament to the devastating fight she had been part of.

Raven's gait was similar to that of a corpse; her feet looked as if they were about to give up moving at any moment. Her eyes were empty, seemingly without light, as if their owner had already given up on living long ago.

It was only after she had registered his voice that some light reached her eyes. She raised her face to meet his eyes.

"T…Tai…"

And in that moment, she collapsed onto the ground.

Or she would have. Had he not moved in to hold her before she dropped to the ground?

"Raven! Raven! Can you hear me?"

He wanted to keep her consciousness at all costs; otherwise, she might not wake up from her rest.

He hefted her up and immediately looked behind him.

"Ruby! Get the first-aid kit! Yang! Contact Doctor Nave and tell her to come as soon as possible."

He knew from the look Yang was giving him that she understood who he was holding, but he couldn't waste any more time; he had to move.

"Y..Yes! I'm on it!"

Ruby was startled for only a moment as she immediately used her semblance to get the first aid kit. Yang was a bit slower, but she took her scroll and dialed the doctor.

Tai didn't waste any more time and took Raven to the closest bedroom in the house to see what he could do to heal her.

Thankfully, he was proficient with aura manipulation, so he could control Raven's aura to only focus on healing the deadliest of wounds.

He got to the bedroom, laid Raven down on the bed, and started manipulating her aura.

"Come on, Raven, you can't die now! You have no right to die now!"

POV Change

Glynda's mood could be summarized in three words.

Annoyed, nervous, and hopeful.

She was annoyed at Ozpin's antics.

He just had to bring that incident up. He couldn't change the subject in a natural way; he had to make her remember what happened after the entrance ceremony this year.

She understood what he was doing; she just hoped he did it in a much more professional way.

'Then again, the fact that he had to use such a method to help calm my nerves is itself a failure on my part.'

Truthfully, it isn't really her fault, as one can't control their fears, and that phenomenon had put her on edge, so she could appreciate some work to take her mind away from those uncomfortable memories. However, the purpose of the mission they were on was something she never wanted to deal with.

There is a possibility of a traitor among them.

Which is the reason she is nervous.

She didn't want to acknowledge the possibility that Leo had betrayed them. All of them had been through too much and lost too much to ever think of joining the queen's side.

'Maybe that is why someone would join her side, losing hope of beating her and wanting to take the easy path.'

Although Glynda didn't want to acknowledge the possibility, she was forced to do so. Personal feelings are not meant to blind the judgment of those in positions of power like her.

And yet she really hoped that Ozpin was just overthinking it this time.

She really didn't want to think of the ramifications of a traitor being part of their inner circle. The amount of leaked information, their secret projects and operations for the next decade, the locations of the vaults, and the identities of the maidens.

The last point was the most important; she didn't know the amount of information Ozpin had entrusted to Leo, but if he was informed as much as she was, then the consequences of his betrayal would be catastrophic.

The fact that no big movements from the queen were spotted as of late could lend credence to his innocence, but she knows better than to let that be the end of their investigations. It could be a long-term operation conducted by the queen. So, any emotional turmoil she might be dealing with regarding their revelation must be kept to herself; she has a job to do, and she plans on completing it. Whatever the results of this operation are, she will withstand it like she always has.

'But seriously, is there really a need for you to come here to Ozpin? Me coming here on my own would have been sufficient, wouldn't it? And to think you're going this far for some guy that showed up out of nowhere would be a miracle of theirs more to this operation than just some big coincidence.'

She thought as she analyzed the events that led them to this point.

First, an attack occurred on a village within the Branwen tribe territory, and it was conducted by the bandit tribe itself. Second, coincidentally or not, someone had interfered with the attack and saved the villagers along with the current head of the Laps corporation with the help of his powerful summoning semblance. After that, the savior instructed the head to take the survivors and go to the nearest city and not to the capital to report this attack, not to the headmaster of Heaven Academy but to the headmaster of Beacon Academy. The survivors got into a city that just so happens to have the only individual other than Leo capable of contacting Ozpin. And finally, after hearing the entire story, Ozpin came to the conclusion that the individual who saved the village knew about them and their secret war.

Did she miss anything? Oh yes, that person also hinted at the possibility of Lionheart being a traitor.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that there's a lot of details she's missing from the story, but that's all she has right now, and she has to work with it until all has been decided. She needs to know more.

'Honestly, how do you expect me to work under these conditions?'

All those thoughts summarize the reason for Glynda's nervousness.

As to why she is hopeful, That could be understood when taking a look at the situation from a logical standpoint.

The new element they're supposed to make contact with has shown a remarkable level of intrigue and adds personal power in the form of a powerful semblance. At least from what Ozpin had told her.

This could be a great opportunity for them if they managed to convince him to join them; they would have another asset to combat the queen, and if by chance the entire matter with Leo is nothing more than a misunderstanding or Ozpin overthinking, then it could be said that they have lost nothing in this venture.

Only leave the investigation of the incident for them; it is not a simple matter but still better than the possibility of a traitor on their side.

Of course, all of that is just her wishful thinking.

Glynda had operated with Ozpin for a long time longer than she had been a huntress, so it could be said that she trusts him more than she could trust her own instincts, and she could number the times that he had made a mistake on one hand, so it could be said that him making a mistake is a rare occurrence given the number of operations and missions he had either partaken or operated. Of course, he had the tendency of always hammering down the point that he had made many mistakes throughout his life, but she begs to differ.

'I never thought that I would think this , but I honestly hope that you are wrong this time, Ozpin.'

Glynda had questioned Ozpin's judgment and many times throughout their time working together, be it his choice to inform her and some within the inner circle about Salem's immortality, or other smaller things, but it was the former that was of most importance.

She understood where he was coming from; she just couldn't help but believe that keeping that information secret would have had much more merit than letting them know. Such revelations could drive many to despair. On the off chance that Leo had really betrayed them, the revelation could have been a huge factor that drove him to do so.

'In the worst-case scenario, the silver lining of this would be for Ozpin to be more selective about whom to reveal this information to in the future, hopefully none.'

Reaching that conclusion, she turned to look at her companion, only to be shocked by the movement he made shortly after.

Opzin, who a moment ago was sitting peacefully looking outside the window at the horizon, now stood earthly attention with a shocked look on his face.

Glynda was stunned for a moment before regaining her composure and asking him.

"Professor, is something the matter?"

Ozpin didn't immediately answer her, as the expression on his face continued to change from shock to anger, from anger to reluctance, and finally it took on a serious look.

"The relic is gone."

That was all he said, but the words were enough to send her mind into another mayhem of thought.

"What did you say?"

She asked to clarify, hoping that she had misheard him.

"The relic is gone, which could only mean someone took it out of the vault. Contact someone other than Leo and Qrow within Mistral and ask them about any strange activity regarding the grim and the last 5 minutes."

Glynda didn't waste any more time and immediately made contact.

And after getting the information and terminating the connection, she looked up to Ozpin.

He had just heard that nothing strange had occurred in the last five minutes—no sudden attacks or raids on the capital.

She didn't know what this information meant, but from the expression on Ozpin's face, it couldn't be anything good.

"He betrayed us."

That was all he said, but she understood what he implied; she didn't know how he got to that conclusion, but from the expression on his face, he was adamant about it.

As she absorbed the information she just heard, one thought coursed through her mind.

'One way or another, the queen had taken another comrade.'

POV Change

Ainz couldn't help but pat himself on the back after he had come up with that great plan. Honestly, he's surprised he could think of something like that.

The plan had practically solved all his problems.

He was afraid of getting any information about him getting the relic leaked by letting that woman go, so all he had to do was change her memories. However, what should he change those memories to?

Make it so that the woman doesn't remember meeting him at all. No, that wouldn't work, as Jade and the other survivors had already informed everyone that he was going to the camp to deal with the bandits.

Then should he just make it so that the woman doesn't remember being controlled by him and forced to open the vault for him? No, that wouldn't work either, because the only way to open the vault is with the help of a maiden, and the fact that the vault was open and the relic was taken could have been known by someone, which would make it possible for that person to trace back the theft of the relic to him by simply finding out that the woman he had supposedly dealt with was a maiden.

Then should he simply kill the woman to guarantee no information leak would occur? No, that wouldn't work because the last person the woman thought of would obtain the powers of the maiden, and if someone close to her finds out about her death and the fact that her powers were inherited by someone she knew, that would trace everything back to him.

Then how about simply wiping her memory clean of anything guaranteeing that the powers would be sent to someone random? Ainz had thought about doing this but decided against it as he couldn't guarantee that the maiden's powers would even register the fake memories he implanted, and for all he knows, the powers only register genuine ones.

It was while thinking about all those problems that Ainz came to an epiphany. All this problem came down to the fact that he couldn't guarantee that the woman wouldn't tell anyone that she's a maiden, which would tie everything back to him, but what if she herself didn't know that she's a maiden or simply didn't think that she was one at the time of the incident?

Wouldn't that mean he wouldn't be suspected?

So if we were to assume that after investigating the incident someone had somehow reached the point where they had managed to interrogate that woman, they would find out that she either isn't a maiden or is a meeting but is unaware that she is, which would indicate that she had only recently become a maiden as she doesn't have any memories of being one before this whole incident occurred.

And after further investigation, they would find out that the "real maiden" had actually been a member of the tribe, a member that was sent to the capital of Mistral by Raven to do some reconnaissance; all of that would take any suspicion away from Ainz as he was fighting the tribe when that woman was in the capital opening that vault.

As to who that woman is, well, she doesn't exist. Ainz planted that memory within Raven; however, the investigators wouldn't know that all they would know is that the "real maiden" had participated in the theft of the relic for some reason and was killed most likely to keep the identity of the thief from being exposed, but before she died, her last thoughts were of her tribe leader, which led to said tribe leader gaining the powers of the maiden.

And to solve the whole act together, Ainz, her teleported outside, had teleported a distance away from the capital in order to enter it legally and inform the authorities that he had come to the capital to capture the runaway bandit. After he had been informed by a bandit, he interrogated that the tribe leader ran away to the capital to meet with a member of the tribe stationed in it with the help of her semblance.

'Honestly, the whole plan is just perfect; I'm surprised they even came up with it; I didn't think I was that smart.'

Ainz was walking in a relaxed way, as if he were walking through a park and not a Grimm-infested forest.

Anyone looking at him would be surprised that he didn't have a weapon on him, as that would be suicidal for a normal person.

Perhaps if one saw the staff he was carrying, they would have found it more acceptable.

However, this wasn't the real one.

Ainz had decided to put the real one in his inventory for safekeeping; back in Yggdrasill, that would have been a stupid thing to do, as anyone with a thief-type class would have stolen it from him, but as he has yet to meet any players so far, the chances of that being the case were low.

'The presence of players is still a possibility; anyone who saw the staff would think it was the real deal, but it would take an appraisal spell to find out the truth, and I would detect the cast of such a spell immediately and act accordingly.'

The staff he was currently holding didn't hold any magic; it was just an adamantine staff with the cosmetic skin of the real staff.

Ainz had decided to keep a staff on him because Jade had seen him with one, so to avoid any question about its absence, he decided to do this.

'I have a lot to do after I inform the authorities of my fake story; let's hope it gets done quickly. Well, that headmaster Leo seemed busy, so I doubt it would take too much time.'

It was then that Ainz's mind came to a stop.

'Wait! I can't tell that guy about the fake story; he is directly involved with the theft. Even if he doesn't know that, he must have figured out that the relic was stolen. On the off chance he suspects me of the theft, I would be forced to act. Why didn't I think of this until now?'

Ainz was panicking, but the emotional suppressor kicked in, calming him down.

'Well, I don't have to inform him directly; I could tell someone else, but if I was asked why I didn't go to him directly, what should I say? Should I use the same excuse I used with Jade? No, that wouldn't work; those guys aren't children; they would call out my bluff! That's what I get for thinking I'm smart.'

With his mind filled with self-deprecating thoughts, he didn't notice that he had already reached the gates of the capital.

It was only after one of the guards called out to him that he came back to reality with one thought on his mind.

'Great, could the situation get any worse than this?'

End of the chapter

AN: Well, editing this chapter took longer than I thought it would. Sorry for the delay, but honestly, this has been a very long week for me. I'm really thankful for all the support and encouragement all of you have given me. This chapter was bigger than I had intended it to be, so I decided to split it into two chapters. I hope no one is going to call me out on being lazy or anything, but I just didn't want to oversaturate. Okay, maybe I'm just being lazy, but hey, I have to live my life too, right? JK I have no right to live my life; I'm just supposed to write and entertain many random people on the Internet, for that is my destiny.

Jokes aside, I'm really grateful for the support and feedback all of you have given me. By the way, I'm planning to answer any questions regarding anything ambiguous about this story, and as always, I'm always welcoming any feedback and advice regarding my writing and storytelling.

Finally, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.