Chapter 67 - How the Devil Presents Himself

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. - Revelations, 12: 7-9

The peak of the mountain was a great field of silver flowers, which bobbed and fluttered in the calm night breeze. The sky was blacker than black. Cloudless and still. The full moon peered down like a naked eyeball, casting multiple columns of illuminating rays on the world like a fleet of helicopter searchlights, bathing the land in patches of light and shadow. Motes of silvery dust floated amongst the flowers, seeming like lost souls wandering the mortal plane, unable to pass on. It went without saying, but Jaune did not intend to end up like them.

The atmosphere had grown heavy with Despair. Jaune could feel the pressure of it weighing on his shoulders, creeping into his flesh, squeezing at his bones. It took hold of his senses, trying to draw him deeper into the field, toward the beast waiting at the end. Once you crossed the proverbial event horizon, there was no option to turn back. Jaune knew that the moment he stepped from the safest of the mountain path and into that meadow, the demon would know he was here. And you don't knowingly trespass the territory of a beast if you are not prepared to meet its wrath.

Jaune turned to his teammates. Neptune stared back with a resolute frown, while Ruby settled Alter-Blake beneath a tree. "Well, this is it," Jaune breathed. "He's ahead, I can feel it. You guys ready?"

Neptune nodded. "As ever."

Alter-Blake still offered no sign of awareness. But Ruby had managed to sit her down beneath a tree branch, and the shadows fell over her like they intended to hide her from whatever beast happened along. Thankfully, all the Grimm they'd encountered had been slain, so she'd be perfectly safe. And in any case, Jaune was hoping to end this fight quickly. Logically though, it wasn't likely that things would go his way. When did they ever?

Ruby stood up, patted herself down, then summoned her scythe and slung it over one shoulder. She had a kind of tranquil confidence now. An assurance of self that he'd noticed in the fight against the Headless Ape, but hadn't given much thought. A fearlessness even in long odds. It reminded him of the princess. Ruby gave him a single, sure nod. "I'm good to go. What's the plan?"

Jaune took a moment to think. "We don't know how he fights. His semblance or his element type. Adam trained with eastern swords so that's likely. Otherwise, the plan is simple." and Jaune shrugged, "We kick his ass before he can kick ours."

Neptune and Ruby allowed themselves a chuckle at that, and Jaune couldn't help but feel a bit of the tension slip away. It wouldn't be long before it came back though. He looked at Alter-Blake again, stared at her empty gray eyes. "You two scout ahead. I need a moment with her. Don't start anything until I get there, alright?"

They did so, leaving Jaune to sit beside Alter-Blake at the edge of the mountain forest. He had a lot to say, which was rare enough for him, but with so much ahead, all he wanted was someone who didn't care enough to pass judgment. He tried to imagine he was back at the pool with the real Blake, just talking about nothing. "So, I have to fight Adam's Alter and save him from being consumed by Despair. Hard enough, right? Well, after that I have to go into the Public Domain, find my Aunt Peach and that rebel leader Hazel and convince them both to stop fighting a battle that they have a good chance of winning." Jaune shook his head. Not because the task sounded stupid, but because it objectively was stupid. "I keep asking myself why. Shouldn't I just stay out of it? I could let Hazel kill the Superior and destroy the whole organization. I mean, why fight a war if you don't think you can win? But even if he does win, the Superior will probably have my aunt killed before he's taken down. My family, too. Ruby and Neptune. Cinder. Everyone close to me. Everyone I care about. Isn't that crazy?"

Of course, Alter-Blake said nothing. The only response he got was a distant rumble from above. He looked up to see that clouds were beginning to form, edges colored by pale moonlight. He wondered how the real Blake was doing back home. Had she called her parents yet? Was she now home, telling them everything that had happened? Somehow, he doubted it. The girl was too stubborn to do what was in her best interest. And he knew that because he was just like her. They were both just a pair of angry, arrogant, selfish brats that never learned to stop making problems for everyone.

"Something's wrong with me," Jaune admitted. " It's funny. Ruby's told me twice that I can't save the world. Then the Superior just fucking orders me to save the world anyway! What the hell? I'm supposed to be doing better than this. But every time I think I've improved, I backslide immediately. I do what everyone tells me to do, then I get punished for it. Is that what being a mature adult is supposed to be like? Getting kicked in the nuts for doing the right thing? That's a scam if I've ever seen one."

No response. The clouds were getting bigger now. Another soft ripple of thunder.

"I haven't been the same since the Superior taught me a lesson. I guess I learned to just shut the hell up when the grown-ups are talking. Is that what good kids do?" Jaune shrugged. "Whatever I am now, it's pathetic. Can't even look at myself in the mirror. I should have punched the Superior the moment I saw him. I should have cut him in half. I should have done everything I could to kill him. But I didn't. Why didn't I?"

Because the Superior had torn out his guts. He had crippled his confidence. Had stripped Jaune of his manhood and now dangled it just out of reach, taunting him. But hell, it wasn't even solely the Superior's fault. Jaune had bent the knee to everyone. His aunt had ignored his needs for weeks and he responded by obeying her every command and fearing the next instance in which he'd upset her. Ruby didn't want him to be friends with Blake and Jaune had folded with very little resistance. Maybe he had always been a push-over. His father had made him pack up and leave his only home and go to stay with an aunt he barely knew. Jaune had argued and fought and begged, but he had obeyed in the end.

And Mystery. God, when was the last time he had thought of her? As he saw it now, that relationship hadn't been any different. The best and worst days of his life had hinged almost entirely on whether he'd talked to her that day. He'd lived for her attention, her affection. He'd promised undying loyalty without ever knowing what she looked like, or hearing her voice, or even knowing if she was a real girl. That was how insanely pathetic he was. And then, as soon as another girl had given him sufficient attention, he'd dropped her like a book he was bored of reading. She had probably moved on and found someone better, while Jaune's heart still ached at the fact that she had not talked to him in over two months.

The clouds were clumping together now. The sky was a great mess of them, and the thunder was only continuing to grow. Bright flashes ignited behind the clouds. Streaks of lightning danced about, carving shapes in the clusters.

"It feels like I'm being struck by lightning again and again. Too fast to dodge. Too powerful to block. All I can do is take it and hope I'm strong enough to stand when it's over. There's nothing I can do." Jaune swallowed a well of emotion and stood up. "I'd better go. Can't keep them waiting for long. I know you can't hear me, but for what it's worth, thanks for listening." And he turned and took a few steps into the field before something stopped him.

"Abandon the ground…"

He paused. Turned around. "What?"

Alter-Blake had not moved an inch. Face still cast downward, eyes unseeing. But now, her lips moved slightly. Mumbling. Whispering. "Leave the ground…" she said, "reject the wrath of the gods and the heavens. Reverse the lightning."

There was a sudden burst of light. Followed seconds later by a crash of thunder that made Jaune jolt. The clouds were boiling now, bubbles on water. The thunder cracked and cried like a distant monster calling for a challenge, while the lightning clawed at the sky, reaching for victims far out of sight. Jaune couldn't help but stare at it as Alter-Blake's strange words echoed in his mind like a scheming snake telling seductive lies.

"Abandon the earth…" she repeated, "reject the wrath of the Gods and the heavens… reverse the lightning…"

A long streak of lightning cut across the black sky like a great finger pointing toward the edge of the meadow.

Alter-Blake's voice was soft as silk. Practically in his ear. "Reverse the lightning…"

A figure stood alone at the edge of the plain of silver flowers. Who else could it be but the Sword Demon Adam?

He certainly evoked the raw mysteriousness of his father. The sleeves of his red haori, the belt and pants of his dark hakama trousers, and even the long red ribbon on his horned helm, all billowed in the harsh wind. But his body was unmoved. He did not bristle at the cold, or flinch at lightning, or jump at the thunder. The tantrums of nature did not, could not, phase him. A mountain against the gale. He wore no armor that Jaune could tell, yet carried that look of a soldier who'd returned home after years on the battlefield, but could not adjust to a normal life. Who was he, without the constant tension of war, the bloody battlefield? Perhaps, in conflict, the Sword Demon had known himself. So when the fighting had ended, he was forced to contend with the same mystery he likely conveyed to all who gazed upon him. Who is Adam Taurus?

Jaune hoped he would find his answer by the end of this fight. He met up with Ruby and Neptune, who stood far enough away to not draw Alter-Adam's attention, even if he probably was still aware of them. Like the Superior, he was probably never caught by surprise. He certainly seemed that way back in the real world. Unknowable, unreadable, invincible. Almost an idea more than a man. Him being the Superior's son, in hindsight, seemed obvious, even if he still never would have guessed it.

Jaune took his place ahead of Neptune and Ruby. "He say anything?"

"Nope," said Neptune. "Dude hasn't moved in like ten minutes."

Ruby was trying to withhold a giggle and failing. "He looks like the boss at the end of a level that waits for your character to approach before destroying you."

Neptune took a moment to think about that. "That's… encouraging?"

"I try," Ruby preened.

"Let's save the witty banter for later." said Jaune, urging them back on task. "Neptune, stay at range. Pressure him with your lightning spears so we can get an idea of how fast he is. Ruby, you do hit-and-run. Don't worry about actually landing anything. Just read his movements. I'll try to keep most of his attention. I'll stay in his face and keep the pressure up. If he escapes our vortex, then we reset. Don't let him breathe. Got it?" They nodded readily, and so Jaune had nothing else to say. Except, perhaps, to the Sword Demon himself. "Give me a moment. Stay here."

And Jaune strode on ahead, boots sifting through the cluster of flowers, their sweet aroma filling his nose. He stopped just far enough to reasonably react to anything, should it happen. He let a long, uncomfortable moment pass. Another flash of lightning was followed by a crack of thunder.

Jaune didn't know what to lead with, so he decided to trust the first thing that entered his mind. "I guess you're the Sword Demon?" he asked.

Alter-Adam's voice came out a strange combination of deep, yet serene. Like he was trying to both intimidate and seduce him. The fact that Jaune couldn't discern which made him anxious for more than one reason. "None other." said the Alter. "I sensed you three as you ascended my mountain. Your aura is that of vanity.." Alter-Adam lifted his arm, and the hanging sleeve of his jacket revealed the sheathed katana hanging on his hip. An exact replica of Adam's sword back home. Wilt, Jaune remembered it was called. Alter-Adam settled a hand on the end of the handle. "You approach me with your heads so high? There are few even half so bold. Except, of course, for those who desire my head."

Jaune felt the wind ripple. He acted on instinct.

The invisible cut clashed against his shield with such force that it made the Headless Ape's monstrous strength seem like a child's. Jaune had widened his stance, rooted his feet to the ground, tightened his muscles to resist the blow, and still he was pushed back. His heels dragged in the dirt, ankles felt like they might break as he slid all the way back to where Neptune and Ruby were, and there he fell to his knees, arms aching, nerves rattled. What raw power. And only from the wave his sword had produced, not even the blade itself. At that, he'd hardly remembered seeing the blade move.

Proof indeed, because when he looked up, Alter-Adam's hand wasn't even on the pommel anymore. And he had turned completely around. His frown was set deep and rigid, carved from stone. His eyes were that of a jaguar in wait, murderous and unyielding, refusing to lose his prey. The full picture of his bull-head shaped helm showed now, made in a permanent roar as if to present all challengers with a final warning. Turn back or be devoured. Alter-Adam said quite curtly, "Don't mistake your place, fool. Identify yourself."

Ruby set her hands on his shoulders to steady him. Admittedly, he'd needed it. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Jaune said, standing up. But he chose to stand where he was for now. At least to give himself a better chance at dodging Alter-Adam's next attack. "We're… vassals, I suppose. Warriors sworn to the Beauty of Sakura Village."

Alter-Adam stared at them for a long moment, refusing even to blink. "Who?"

Jaune was taken aback. "The girl you took for a wife. Whose village you saved, if only to reap their spoils."

"There's no number made to count the lands sworn to me. Countless maidens have thrown themselves at my feet, begging to bear my children."

Jaune felt his fingers curl into a fist. "You don't remember her? Do you remember anyone you've hurt?"

"When you take fish from the river, do you ask their names? Do you inquire of their dreams? No, you do not. They are a means to an end." And Alter-Adam's eyes slid over to Ruby, watching her for a long, discomforting moment. "A resource you take at your discretion, that you may satisfy your hunger."

"So that's what they were to you? All those people you conquered? Lower than fish?"

"All creatures are equal beneath me. My birth was foretold and anticipated by the gods. I, and I alone, command the power, the honor, the right to rule over all things," And he raised one hand to the sky and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a violent crash of thunder shook the air. "Do you see? Even the heavens bend to my whim."

Jaune heard Neptune mutter, "I thought my Alter was a narcissist…"

Jaune found himself agreeing. At least all the Alter's he'd seen were plausible exaggerations of traits he'd seen in the hosts. Neptune's had been vain and self-indulgent to the point of comedic, while Ruby's had been so noble and pure that she seemed immune to all forms of corruption. But this bitter, overcompensating, vainglorious creep? The wool was over Jaune's eyes still, because he could not equate its behavior to Adam's, even after all he'd learned. And yet, what could be more honest than the manifestation of one's heart? If Jaune had managed to deny it even up to this point, then now it was inarguable. This was the kind of man his hero truly was.

Jaune was forced to concede that the Adam he had known was a lie. The older brother he'd admired and fawned over just like everyone else, who he'd aspired to be more like, and tried every day to emulate, was not this paragon of perfection. Perhaps that had been Jaune's mistake. After all, what man did not have demons? Adam clearly was shaped by his and it had sent him down a dark path.

What could Jaune do now, except try to save his soul?

Jaune set his hand on the handle of Crocea Mors and immediately felt her power seep into his bones. That, and her unquenchable bloodlust, which had so easily seduced him in every fight since the Headless Ape. Even now, her twisted spirit made his fingers quiver with a desire - a need - to draw her. He managed to control himself this time and pulled his hand away, though it had taken considerable effort. The devil she was, his resistance seemed only to entice her humor. Do you reject me? Do not fool yourself. Deny it all you wish, but you want me. You want to use me for your every filthy desire. I know it and you know it. You cannot deny your nature. There is more than one demon here…

With a frown, Jaune forced himself to conjure a sword of light, doing his best to ignore that sequence of disturbing thoughts. This was not the kind of fight he could afford to be reckless in. He had to stay focused and Crocea Mors would get in the way of that.

Alter-Adam set a hand on his sword pommel, while raising his other hand and materializing a strange curved halberd-esque weapon. A glaive attached to a long crimson staff, Jaune believed it was called a naginata. There was a white plume between the shaft and blade, and it flapped wildly in the raving wind. Behind Alter-Adam, lightning dashed across the sky. A raging tiger roared from above.

The Demon slowly unsheathed a foot length of his katana, unveiling crisp red steel, edge touched by a moonlight strand. Then, he ripped the blade free and held it out to his side, flat facing forward like he wanted them to behold its majesty. An eerie red mist oozed off the blade, like the frost liquid nitrogen emitted. It was as if the sword was drooling in anticipation of its next meal. A call that Crocea Mors was keen to answer. She was like a dog trying to pull free from its leash. Jaune simply raised his shield and ignored her barking.

Alter-Adam pointed his sword at Jaune, and the air around them grew heavier, making a bead of sweat trickle down Jaune's temple. The demon shook his head as if he had been served a meal he already knew would not satiate his appetite. "The gods send such as these for a challenge? How disappointing."

The plan fell apart almost instantly. Not only was the Sword Demon faster than Ruby, not only was he physically stronger than Jaune, but he also completely nullified Neptune's lightning attacks. How? By wielding lightning himself.

Alter-Adam floated away from Jaune's sword cut. No, it was as if the wind had carried him out of the way. Nature itself saw to his protection. A lightning spear came shooting toward his face, but he needed only to raise his naginata above his head. Like a metal rod, it drew the lightning toward the blade, and the steel absorbed it in full. Once he saw that, Jaune knew it was time to move. Alter-Adam jumped back as the lightning, cracked like fire, and in one mighty stroke, a great wave fanned out behind him, spreading fast as death on a battlefield. Jaune just barely cleared the impact, rock exploding everywhere as he skidded in the grass and cursed how he'd once again surrendered the advantage. And as Jaune had quickly learned, the Sword Demon was not one to waste an opening.

He flashed toward Ruby, crossing ten strides in a blink. Ruby had already set a charge toward him, and that got Jaune scrambling to his feet, knowing very well that she'd be demolished in seconds. The Demon cut a wide swath in front of him, and with Ruby closing in, all she had time to do was block. Steel shrieked as they made contact. Ruby with the larger weapon and using both hands being easily pushed down by Adam's single handed sword. Ruby gave in and let herself be pushed by Alter-Adam's strength, twisting on her heel and spinning backward, leveling her scythe so it cut a defensive circle around her. But Alter-Adam simply strode up to her, not needing even to run as he slashed at Ruby once, twice, thrice, and counting, pressuring Ruby to keep twirling backward, locking her into the maneuver.

So fast that Jaune barely saw it, Alter-Adam smacked the head of Ruby's scythe so hard it flung her arm back, leaving her chest wide open. The naginata came striking a moment later, plunging toward Ruby's chest like a cobra about to sink its teeth into its prey. Jaune was too slow to stop it, but thankfully Neptune wasn't. He came from above like a bolt of lightning, pinning the naginata to the ground between the prongs of his trident. Alter-Adam didn't even seem surprised, he just stabbed his katana at Neptune's neck, only taking a shred of blood as his target managed to throw his head to the side.

Jaune flung his holy sword, not at all expecting it to hit, and conjuring the Roundtable for a follow-up. Alter-Adam simply walked away from the flying sword, not even watching as it flew past the back of his head. Jaune tried not to let that annoy him and set on his assault. He went at the sword Demon with calm aggression, moving fast and pressing hard. The Roundtable blades danced around him and struck at his every command. Between every swing of his main sword, three would stab in a column. With every swing of his shield, three would slash in a row. Jaune did not allow the Alter even a second to counterattack, ensuring himself always in his face, always attacking.

Certainly he would never escape this vortex. Not without taking a hit.

And yet, he did.

Alter-Adam parried Jaune's swords with expert finesse, danced through the flying swords like they were junebugs in the summer, zipping around blind and stupid. He spun his naginata around his neck and parried four swords that had surrounded him. He then took the shaft, reversed his momentum, then stabbed at Jaune's heart, so fast it seemed to part the air. The blade scraped against Jaune's shield, sparks spitting. Jaune pushed himself into the demon's guard, driving a knee into his gut. If only it had landed.

In a panic, Jaune backpedaled as Alter-Adam swerved away and returned a flurry of thrusts. He ducked and weaved for his life, trying to keep track of the spear's movements. He managed to block one - a second of respite - and lunged at the Alter, only to have to throw himself aside so the edge of the katana grazed his cheek.

Jaune felt his guts churn as he was kicked like a damn soccer ball, bouncing and skittering across the flower field. He clutched his stomach, eyes wide, heaving for air, feeling he might cough up a lung. His strength is insane! It's never hurt this much before, not even from Grimm. I can barely take a hit. It was a disturbing dilemma, facing an opponent with enough raw strength to completely bypass his natural durability. Even being stabbed by Alter-Neptune's trident hadn't hurt this bad and that was the far more life-threatening wound. Jaune looked up to see Ruby and Neptune harassing the Sword Demon together, making about as much progress together as Jaune did alone. And if I can barely stand after taking a few hits, it won't take much for them to go down. We have to finish this quickly.

Jaune joined the fray. He summoned his ax and the Roundtable once again as he and his teammates rushed Alter-Adam as one. Ruby slashed at his midsection, Neptune stabbed at his head, Jaune chopped at his ankle. Nothing connected. All their weapons were blocked by the naginata, then were swatted away like children being smacked on the hands for trying to touch the hot stove.

The Sword Demon loosed another vacuum blade toward Ruby, who just barely dived out of the way, and lost a shred of her cape. Two lightning spears came down, but Alter-Adam simply stepped out of the way of one, then dispelled the other with a smack of his hand. Jaune had dug his ax into the ground, then dragged it through and put to release pursuing columns of ice stalagmites. Alter-Adam floated smoothly over it, then loosed a lightning wave toward him. All Jaune had time to do was raise his shield. It took most of the blow, but he still ended up on his knees, muscles convulsing as electricity burned through his body. God damn it, if only I could use Reflect.

The shock wore off just as Ruby caught a savage backhand that flipped her in the air. Jaune called to Neptune as he dashed to her rescue, "Neptune, maneuver three."

Jaune cast Glacier and a massive ice spire burst from the ground in a shower of shredded flowers, shards of ice sparkling in the moonlight. Alter-Adam had skipped back, a sour look on his face as he ripped off a piece of his sleeve which had been caught by the ice, revealing a part of his shoulder that looked painful red, like it was frostbitten. It was a small reward to see he'd at least been touched by the ice, but all this fighting just to earn a glancing blow? That did not improve their chances at victory or survival.

No time to give that more thought. Neptune had taken Jaune's cue and thrown his lightning-infused trident down into the ice spire. It pierced with ease, stuck into the ground at the bottom, strands of lightning snaking out everywhere. The ice structure began to crack. It popped and cracked, screeched and shuddered, the cracks spreading out in a massive web.

The explosion rattled Jaune's hearing..

The blast blew back the air, even making Jaune cover his eyes for a moment. The impact even upset the Alter's footing, flinging him off his graceful feet. He righted himself before he could hit the ground though, so in the end, all their combination attack had done was make him stumble.

Still, if gods could stumble, they could fall.

"Jaune!" called Ruby.

He was already on it. Jaune raised his shield as Ruby sped toward him, held strong as her feet touched his shield, then she sprang off it, flying like a bullet toward the Sword Demon. He stabbed at her, but she'd aimed herself low, curling into a ball and rolling between his legs, then springing up behind him to—

Alter-Adam thrust his sword behind him without looking, catching Ruby in the eye. Jaune's heart jumped into his throat.

Only for Ruby to burst into a spray of red rose petals. He'd never seen her use such an ability before. It reminded him of Blake's doppelganger technique.

She reappeared slashing at Adam's side. His sword caught her through the head, but again she disappeared in a bushel of petals.

The real Ruby was above, scythe raised high, wind swirling into the blade. With a downward stroke that had all her weight and momentum behind it, Ruby unleashed a blade of wind that was incredibly similar to the one Alter-Adam had used. Even if it's not the exact same technique, she couldn't have seen it more than twice but she copied it perfectly. Impressive as it was, Alter-Adam saw it coming. He chose to dodge, though, which Jaune found strange since he'd blocked far stronger attacks. There shouldn't have been any reason he didn't use his own vacuum slice to dispel it, especially since he'd beat hers and land a killing blow. Why, then? There was no time to find out, Jaune made himself focus on keeping up the pressure.

Jaune dismissed both weapons, as he would need both hands to make this technique work. He tightened his muscles, widened his stance, then threw his arms into the air like he was lifting something heavy. All at once, the Roundtable blades rose high above his head, pulsing with holy energy.

Now, divide.

One sword shimmered, then a copy of itself appeared beside it. Then its neighbor did the same. Then those copies made clones of themselves. Multiplying two, three, four at a time… until the army was assembled.

Jaune had wondered once, if the blades he conjured had once belonged to other warriors. Didn't take much thought to conclude that the idea was nonsense, but it was a fascinating thought all the same. That a great many warriors had fallen in the heat of battle, swords falling from their hands. Yet their souls never let go. Possessing the swords, imbuing them with their spirit. Waiting for a new warrior to come along and use their old partners once again in glorious battle. Or maybe he was watching too much anime.

Either way, with a hundred holy blades floating above his head, and Jaune straining to control them all, he could only think of one name suitable for this technique. Graveyard of a Hundred Knights.

He cast them down. A hundred streaks of light, sharp as steel, chasing down on his target like bloodhounds that caught a scent.

Neptune had cleared the way by now, and Ruby zipped away while chucking her scythe spinning after Alter-Adam's head. He smacked it away with his hand and Jaune grinned. If he thought Ruby had meant to hit him, he was wrong. She had only meant to keep him still so the hundred blades could get close enough that he wouldn't be able to dodge. The Demon only just now saw them, but it was far too late. They were on him and with no escape route in sight. Finally, we got him!

Jaune's heart sank.

Despite a hundred swords converging on him with the same force and speed, Alter-Adam parried, dodged, ducked, and spun away as though they'd been moving in slow motion. None touched him, and those he blocked lost their energy and were dispelled.

Jaune ground his teeth together. Fine, he was far from finished anyway.

He moved his hands in circular motions, weaving the remaining hundred to his command. He sent them darting at the Demon in a spinning column, not even surprised that it missed, and so he had to redirect again. Alter-Adam chose to dodge rather than block, which was standing out to Jaune more and more. He split the sword storm in two and hurled them one after the other, ethereal blades splashing off the ground where they missed, sweat beading off Jaune's forehead from the extreme effort. He was not one for such long-winded sorcery-style attacks, despite learning a bit from Neptune.

Eventually, his arms grew too tired, and the holy blades faded. All that effort, but Jaune still did not see a wound on the Alter. He had avoided everything flawlessly, and that was grating at Jaune's nerves. It feels like fighting Aunt Peach. We can't touch him. Ruby is the only one who's speed is comparable, but that barely matters since he has enough attack power to hurt me. And that's without factoring in the lightning attacks. Dude is a literal lightning bruiser. He can dodge our strongest attacks and dish it back harder. How the hell do you beat something like that?

Jaune thought of his Glacier spell and how Alter-Adam had been grazed by it, despite being fast enough to dodge. I have to admit that was probably pure luck. Dodging things with huge areas of effect would be hard for anyone. My attack was still nowhere close to touching him. Then he thought of Ruby's makeshift vacuum blade, and how Alter-Adam had chosen to dodge it, when he had dispelled not only Jaune's holy swords, but Neptune's lightning spears with frustrating ease. In that position, there probably wasn't time to dispel it. Ruby can keep up with him, but her weapon is huge, hard to swing, and predictable. If she had a lighter weapon, she'd probably have an easier time getting a hit. I guess that's his luck. He dodged everything like he can't afford to take a wound, despite how easy he makes it look.

Jaune paused. He ventured that last thought again. Replayed some scenarios in his head. Could that be it? It was a hell of a guess, but why else would someone with that speed and power need to be so slippery? It was a hell of a gamble, but if it worked… then Jaune would know exactly how to bring Alter-Adam down.

The only problem is I don't have anything stronger than Glacier. Neptune does, but it's all lightning attacks. He'd just give the guy more ammo. I need to make something more powerful. Something that can cover a lot of space and that can't be dodged. But what? Then, it came to him. He recalled an attack he'd seen before. One he'd been easily defeated by. Had seen cause insane damage to a wide area. Both impossible to dodge and impossible to block. But could he pull such a thing off? What else could he do but try and find out?

"Guys, buy me some time!" Jaune shouted.

"On it!" called Neptune as he and Ruby laid on their assault, pressing back the Sword Demon. Jaune knew they wouldn't last long. He had to do this quickly.

Jaune dismissed his weapons and began to mold a shape in his palms like he was forming clay. Cold air began to swirl between his hands- just like when he prepared Glacier - gathering into clumps of ice, mashing violently together like a tiny black hole absorbing everything around it. He tried a picture of a combination of Glacier and the damage-reversal effect of High Reflect. Maybe it would seriously hurt the Alter, maybe it would only graze him. Jaune didn't care. All that mattered was if the attack landed. Here's to hoping it would.

"Ready!" Jaune called, "Get as far away as you can!"

Ruby was first to act, immediately springing away from a sword cut, then zipping toward the forest. Neptune dodged Alter-Adam's spear stab, then squatted down, sparks coursing around his body, before shooting into the sky like a lightning bolt and vanishing into the clouds. Alter-Adam, no doubt having heard Jaune's command, sprinted straight at him. A fish who'd seen the worm on the hook.

Jaune raised his hand high. Had to lift one leg to lift himself a tiny bit more, because all the space between the impact would be needed. Alter-Adam was a blur. He thought of his battle with the Wolf - it seemed an age ago now - and that command he wielded over winter itself. He doubted his version could ever be so powerful, but it was worth a try regardless. So, Jaune stamped his foot down with all his strength and drove the crystal mass in the ground like it was a warhead dropped from above. Here's to hoping it had the same effect.

Jaune closed his eyes and released the bonds of his new creation. A gift to the world, or a curse, and he intoned, "Nuclear Winter…"

If there'd been an explosion, then it had been so loud that Jaune had gone deaf instantly. The world was hazy. His head was full of numb ringing. He thought he heard some laughter. That kind of laughter which was like witnessing something unexpected and your only reaction was entertained mirth. Humor and applause.

Then, he opened his eyes.

A thick white fog had consumed the area, and motes of floating ice shards twinkled like fireflies in the night. For a moment, it almost appeared like Jaune had been transported to another planet. As it began to clear, Jaune stared at the results. Ice had spread like smoke on the wind, covering every inch of the mountain meadow for several dozen feet. Flowers were turned to transparent crystals, spikes jutted out of tree trunks, boulders were coated with icy shells, stalagmites poking out their back ends. There wasn't much of a way to compare it to the scale of the Wolf's damage, but it had indeed covered everything in sight. Absolutely nothing escaped, and that included the Sword Demon.

He wasn't completely frozen. A single eye had survived the blast, wide with disbelief. The rest of him had been frozen mid-stride, sword raised above his head, making him look like a video game character that lagged half-way through an attack animation. Jaune couldn't help a weak chuckle at it, even while he started to feel the effects of this new and powerful technique.

Logically, for a first time use, it was dangerously unrefined. As he could attest, since he, the caster, had not escaped the effect. A mound of ice had pinned Jaune's hand to the ground and scaled all the way up to his elbow, its grip so strong that he actually couldn't pull free. The same happened to the foot he'd stomped down, leaving Jaune in an awkward kneeling position, due only to not having a strong enough foundation to free himself. On top of that, Jaune felt like a wrung-out towel, as if he'd put all his body heat in that attack and had to wait to get it back. The recoil left him weakened, like Glacier once had, only Jaune had a feeling this might last longer.

"Jaune!" Ruby rushed up to his side, put her hand on his face. "What was that? Are you okay?"

Jaune's voice quivered, now feeling the dramatic reduction in temperature. "Is… is she…?"

"She's safe. I might've taken her a little far, but she'll be okay." She summoned her scythe. "Let's get you out of that ice."

Ruby had already started chipping at the ice binding Jaune's hand, which for all her strength, only ripped away small chunks. The ice was fresh, nowhere close to melting. It was as hard as it could possibly be. He looked at Alter-Adam, saw that he hadn't budged at all. His ice prison was so solid that it hadn't cracked even a little. Good, so it's over. Now I can get Ruby and Neptune out of here and—

Jaune stiffened as lightning began to fall around them. Random bolts struck the ground without pattern or purpose, hissing like fire sprayed with oil. It was like the angels were throwing a collective tantrum because their favorite wasn't winning. Or because the fight had ended too fast.

So they'd decided to intervene. The angels wanted a round two, and by God they would have it.

Dozens of bolts had struck Alter-Adam's ice capsule and maintained themselves. Seventy-thousand degrees of pure atmospheric discharge chewed at their commander's prison. Were it normal ice, it would have shattered instantly. Instead, it was only cracking at a disturbingly fast pace.

"Shit!" Jaune summoned his ax and began to chop at the ice around his foot. Ruby was chipping away as quickly as she could, but Jaune knew it would still take time.

With a horrific shattering, Alter-Adam burst free from the ice… and he looked significantly less untouchable than he had before. His helmet was completely destroyed and long red hair hung limply in his face, running wet from melted ice. The top half of his haori had been torn away, unveiling his toned and scarred chest. He was covered in wounds now. Patches of skin had turned a painful red, splotches of blood were lashed across his bare arm and chest, as if an army of cats had used him like a scratching post. The Demon was trying to appear unfazed, but the cold had overcome him. He kept a firm grip on his weapons, but his arms trembled all the same, muscles bulging with the effort of trying to take control of his body, eye twitching with barely restricted fury.

"You… you ants!" Sword Demon Adam's face was twisted with unbridled rage. His bright eyes burst wide with malice, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. "You dare to mark my flesh? You dare draw the blood of a god? Don't mistake yourselves. You are nothing! Nothing before me!"

At this point, Jaune was getting annoyed with his self-superior rhetoric, but he was far more concerned that he and Ruby could be killed in seconds if he didn't fucking break free. He pounded at his bindings, had started scraping the ice away with his hand, foolishly thinking that might somehow be faster.

Alter-Adam tossed away his naginata and took the katana in both hands. He raised it to the sky, where the boiling clouds belched lightning for him. A thousand strands bent and coiled together at a single point, and like a steel rod during a storm, flocked to Alter-Adam's sword like demons to the gates of hell. The sound of it was terrifying all by itself. The voltage in the air made the hairs on Jaune's skin stand up, yanking at his pores like they were trying to escape certain death. They were not wrong to.

Ruby was breathing heavily now, kicking and stomping on Jaune's trapped hand. Hurting him now, but Jaune didn't complain in the slightest. Not while the idea of being burned alive was a very real, very terrifying possibility.

"Be erased." The Sword Demon jumped toward them, his sword glowing with golden lightning that turned the air hotter the closer he came. He descended on them like a hawk that saw a hare hundreds of miles below. "Inazuma!" he roared.

To Jaune's horror, Ruby threw herself in front of him, arms wide as if she intended to take every single bolt. Jaune shouted for her to run, but she refused, or didn't hear him over the noise. All they could do was watch the giant blade of lightning descend on them.

That was, if Neptune hadn't caught it.

He flashed down from above, landing in front of Ruby and catching the surely fatal blow in between the prongs of his trident, which he'd already coated in his own lightning. Matching elements they might have been, but their energies were different as night and day, and so their elements clashed. Like a chorus of wrathful birds warring for dominance, lightning flailed and lashed all around as they pushed against each other. Jaune winced from the intense heat, flinched as stray electric strands hit him.

Neptune was roaring like a beast as he fought against Alter-Adam's strength, but it was a contest he couldn't win and he knew it. So Jaune hurried to break free of the ice, in desperate need to help. Hold on, where had Ruby gone?

He saw her descending from above, scythe reared back, looking like she was about to drive it through the Demon's head. Again he shouted for her to stop, but the screeching lightning was too loud and it was too late anyway. Alter-Adam skirted out of the way, but not before redirecting Neptune's trident slightly, saving him from damage… and cursing it upon Ruby.

It was a new kind of horror, seeing someone you love be electrocuted. Her scream was so loud it even overcame the raging thunder. Her body flailed as the lightning effectively suspended her in the air, drilling an estimate of fifty million volts of raw plasma into her body. It only lasted a second, but to Jaune, it was a lifetime. With a fizzling crack, the lightning vanished, and Ruby crumbled to the ground in a smoking heap.

"No…" Jaune choked.

Neptune got to her first, whimpering, "Oh god, oh god" as he pulled her into his arms. He had to get Ruby off the mountain and somewhere safe. If she wasn't dead already. Jaune was just about to tell him to do it.

If it hadn't been for a red sword bursting through Neptune's stomach.

Neptune seemed not to notice it, for he'd taken a couple of running strides forward and slipped free of the blade, only to come to a sudden halt.

In the haunting silence, Jaune stared at the back of his friend's head, words stuck in his mouth. Run. Please, get away. You have to escape. Run, Neptune! These were the things Jaune desperately wanted to say, but the words did not come.

Instead, Neptune took a few more wobbling steps forward, fighting to stay upright, then he collapsed onto his face like a door off its hinges. Ruby flopped out of his arms, and to Jaune's terror, he saw her face. She looked sound asleep. Eyes closed, face relaxed, hair frazzled. Blood had trickled out of her nose, and most importantly, she showed no sign of breathing.

"Pathetic," said the Sword Demon, drawing Jaune's attention. He flicked his sword at Jaune, splattering blood - Neptune's blood - across his face. "You brought it upon yourselves. Did you truly expect to overcome me? You haughty insects."

The streets were dark in the city of sin. A single streetlamp ignited a lone corner. A bonfire in the darkness. Beneath it, a beautiful woman. She gave him a wry smirk, beckoned him with a finger. Jaune admonished himself. How could he have resisted a woman so fine?

"But rejoice," Alter-Adam said, leveling his hungry blade above Jaune's head. "The heavens will welcome even fools such as you."

She took his hand. No, he took hers. She had seduced him, yes, and he could not resist her. But make no mistake, he was the one in control. Why had he believed he would somehow lose focus? Weren't you more likely to succeed at a task if you enjoyed it? He should have allowed himself to enjoy this horror from the get-go.

Jaune Arc had no more reservations. No more delusions. This was his nature.

So he smiled as Alter-Adam raised his sword.

Hesitation is defeat. That was the ethos Sword Demon Adam lived by, taught to him by his Lord Father. A true warrior, a true conqueror, could not let his heart be swayed by anything but his own ambitions. Cut down every enemy, seize every spoil, commit every heresy in the name of power, glory, and triumph. Never once had Adam repented. Indeed, why would he? With his cursed blade, he had slain a thousand men. With the heretical lightning, he had razed villages to the ground. Many long years he had dedicated to taking the Land of Sakura Trees for himself. To escape the shadow of his withered and weak Lord Father and become the strongest beneath the heavens. To do so, one had to have an indomitable will. An unbreakable spirit. And the constant, desperate hunger for power. If a man must become a demon to achieve his goal, then he must do it without backward glances. For hesitation, in any manner, spelled defeat.

But this time, when he raised his sword to take off this last ant's head… he hesitated. Why? Because the fool had started laughing.

The boy kneeled there, wet hair stuck to his face, chuckling like he'd heard a joke but was trying not to admit to enjoying it. Adam could only pause and look upon him with confusion. Certainly it wasn't the first time he'd seen men laugh on the verge of death. Most cried, begged, changed allegiances, even offered their allies in exchange for their own lives. The few that laughed had merely succumbed to the inevitability of their deaths, their minds broken as their last moments were that of regret for ever thinking themselves worthy enough to challenge a god. Those examples he understood. But this boy's laughter did not feel like that.

He burst into a raucous peal of joy. No longer did he resist the humor of the joke. Now he embraced it. He looked like a man who'd finally been freed from prison, who walked out of the dungeons with head held high, looking towards a bright future with ceaseless optimism. Adam could not understand it. Couldn't fathom such a laugh this close to death. As though there was nothing to fear. There was no dignity in it, no attempt to maintain his honor, no pretense of arrogance. He was that of a wild mutt finally freed of the leash. Such a crazy laugh might have indicated that the boy had gone mad.

No. This child had been mad already.

"Go quietly," Adam commanded as he swung the blade down.

The tip of his sword bit the wet ground. He blinked. Stared at the empty patch of wet grass. The ice had melted away due to the power of his lightning, but something about this picture was wrong. Something was missing.

A chill went up his spine as a deep voice whispered in his ear. "Behind you."

He jumped back, clearing several strides and cutting in front of him to discourage the boy's attack. He had simply ducked the swing, but was looking up at Adam with a crooked smile on his face. His aura was different somehow. Nothing had changed about him, but Adam couldn't help but think he was looking at a different person. He sucked his teeth. What did it matter? The boy was a worthless little nothing. Once Adam landed, he'd send the boy the gods in a single clean stroke.

Wait. When had the boy gotten so close?

In the blink of an eye, and midair no less, the boy had vanished and reappeared in front of him. He had his longsword poised to puncture Adam's chest while his free hand waited behind the pommel, prepared to drive the blade in deep.

Adam brought up his katana just as the boy committed to the stab, just barely managing to divert it. A moment's relief. Then he felt the boy's boot dig into his stomach and send him plummeting to the ground, only just managing to land on his feet. Before he could even think to counterattack, Adam felt his shin be kicked out from under him, felling him to one knee. Before he could look up, he felt the edge of the longsword touch the side of his neck. It's edge was colder even than the ice he'd been encased in.

And the Sword Demon felt his guts knot.

He looked up at the boy. Shadows fell over his face, obscuring everything but eerie blue dots for eyes and that twisted all-teeth smile. "What are you doing?" he said, "Aren't you a god? Why do you kneel before an ant?"

How dare this filthy villain speak to him so callously? He was a god. The god of Sakura Country. All kneeled to him. He stood above all things. It seemed he would have to remind this brat of that. So he slashed at him and the boy skipped backward, a glint in his eye like he was impressed by the attempt. If he was, then he was blessed indeed, for Adam would give him even more. He came at the boy with the legendary speed that he was known for. Faster than the wind, quicker than an arrow, lightning made flesh. He cut a long downward stroke, which the boy caught on his shield. He scraped away, sliding away on the ice, and Adam gave chase.

It was completely different than it had been before. The boy had not grown more skilled. Even a blind man would see that while his swordplay was impressive, it was nothing to the bladework of the man people called the Sword Demon. Rather, the boy had simply changed the way he fought, and it made a substantial difference. There was no more hesitation, not a thought in his head. He simply challenges Adam's approach with constant aggression, staying in his face like he was desperate to be close to him. The boy twirled his sword before parrying Adam's sidelong slash, he rushed in with his shield up, and Adam was forced to pedal back, but the boy sprang at him with a crazy smile, bringing his sword down like a brute would use an ax. It bit the ground rather than Adam himself, for he'd skipped backward and reset his position.

There was a hand inches from his face. Adam only had time to gasp.

His grip was a vice. Hand colder than ice. Nails digging into his skin. Adam felt himself be lifted, then slammed on the ground, ice shattered beneath him. But that wasn't all, the boy dragged him like a sack of potatoes across the ground, then hurled him through the air like a child throwing a ball. Adam hurtled toward a frozen tree, but just managed to twist around and land feet-first against the trunk. He made ready to spring back at the boy, but he had already closed the distance. Adam dived to the ground as the boy came with a two-handed slash, ending up cutting the tree in half in one swing, one end to the other.

What in the name of the gods was going on?

The boy let go a mad laugh as he dashed toward Adam, the joy of battle apparent in his eyes. His sword had taken on a strange glow, like a blue fire, and it hissed with every swing cutting beautiful blue arcs around him. Adam blocked and parried as always, but the boy was faster than before, and growing faster by the minute. He had to kill him now.

Adam sheathed his sword as the boy rushed at him, but kept his hand hovering over the handle. He dodged the boy's slash, then the next, and the next. The boy moved like a serpent. Smooth and elusive, striking fast and hard, his blade drooling fire like venom. Adam tightened his muscles as the boy threw another savage cut, ripped the sword free of its sheath and served two slashes faster than the eye could track. The first one countered the boy's swing, while the second connected with his breastplate. Adam smirked as the metal split and fell apart, only to frown when the boy showed not an ounce of care.

With a frustrated growl, Adam backhanded the boy's shield to open him up once again, stabbed at him to force a dodge, then launched forward to pierce him through the shoulder. Just as planned, the blade pieced clean through, warm blood splashed his fingers. Now it was over. He'd gut the boy from shoulder to waist, then leave the carrion to pick him clean. The foolish brat. He could never have—

The boy smashed his forehead into Adam's face. His nose cracked, gushed. The world span for a long time. How?

He was bashed in the face once again, this time by the shield, and only on instinct did he press his hands on the ground and push back to his feet. He brought his katana up to block the boy's sword and he felt himself be pushed back a little from the boy's raw strength. Again, not enough to surpass his own, by far closer than it had been before. The longsword was blazing with that blue fire, and the air around it felt absurdly cold.

The boy pushed harder, getting into Adam's face with a coy smirk. Even bleeding from one shoulder, the boy bore down with his monster strength as if he'd never taken a wound at all. "Come on, man. This is boring. Gimme something more fun!"

They parted. Adam flashed toward the boy, katana ignited with the lightning of heaven, the power of the gods themselves. The boy met his challenge, truly proving he feared nothing now that he had no one to support him. The blue flame rose to greater heights, twisting around the blade like a small tornado. Adam did not fear such a weak trick. There was no power greater than lightning. And so he sent the wave coursing down, a heavy golden blade. The boy flipped backward and the lightning sliced through the ground as easily as hot steel through flesh, shattering the ice and causing the earth to split.

Adam landed safely, but saw now that they'd been on the edge of the mountain, and the chunk of earth he'd cut now slid off the edge, and began toppling down the steep cliff. Such was his power, after all. A power no one else could match.

"Good idea! Let me try!"

Adam felt a couple of teeth crack as the boy punched him full in the side of his face. He'd never been punched before. Not by anyone. No peasants hands were worthy enough to touch him! And yet this boy defied this ironclad law without an ounce of shame. Adam just barely managed to adjust himself in the air as he flew off the edge of the mountain and began to plummet. The boy followed moments later.

He dived toward Adam like a falcon, arms tucked to his sides, feet pressed together. His two friends were with him. Unconscious or dead, he'd fastened them to his back with strange white chains, as if diving off the mountain was the point of no return. If there was fear in him, it didn't show. He grinned like it was his name day and everyone was celebrating. Disturbing enough, Adam found.

But that sword technique. The one that surrounded him with a dozen swords was in play again.

Adam was forced to twist away as the blades came flying at him, like that of arrows raining on helpless foot soldiers. Then, by suspending the many swords' momentum, the boy leapt from one to the other like a grasshopper bouncing from strands of grass. Adam met him in another sword clash, but with the boy's momentum, it was enough to overcome him, and he was sent hurtling toward a patch of rocky land below. Adam landed on his feet, but… he felt… fatigued?

"Impossible…" he gasped, unable to believe it. When was the last time he'd felt fatigue? He couldn't remember. Had it ever happened before? How had this weakling somehow become capable of pushing him this hard?

Adam looked at him. The boy had stabbed one of his swords into the side of the mountain summit, standing on top of the blade while looking down at Adam with a smirk. What was he planning to do? Any ranged attacks he had would be useless from this distance.

The boy cast Adam a friendly wave before taking his sword in two hands. The flames burned bright, looking like a star from so high up. Then the boy winded the sword over his shoulder, toothy grin and all, and Adam's stomach sank with realization at what the boy was attempting to do. Impossible, surely. Not even he would be able to do it with his lightning. This nothing couldn't possibly wield such power.

But with an ear-shattering crack, the blade struck the side of the mountain with immeasurable strength, and the resulting impact sent the cold flames bursting through the cracks. Ice burst from the fissure, spreading like a disease, tearing chunks of earth away from one end to the other, until there was nothing left to ruin.

And so, what Adam estimated was over a thousand feet of solid rock, began to lean off its once solid foundation, tipping over so slowly that Adam had a hard time believing it was happening. Its titanic shadow creeped over Adam, growing, getting darker by the second, swallowing him up. The peak fell in front of the brilliant moon and banished the light. A celestial horror. A lunar eclipse. By the gods, how could one contest such a monument? There was only one answer. You couldn't.

The boy came rocketing down, laughing like a madman, and had Adam not dodged, he was sure his head would have been split open. He was breathing hard. Why?

"Come on!" the boy laughed, harassing Adam with a flurry of strikes. His breath was gone, he could barely read the boy anymore. So completely different than before. His heart was pounding furiously in his chest. Why?

Adam got some space, called upon his lightning wave once more. He lashed it at the boy, and he jumped over it like it was a harmless obstacle. Again Adam summoned the lightning and again he hurled it and again he missed. Every miss tore apart the ground, left fissures in the cliffside, and all the while the mountaintop was plunging toward them. Adam's breath was ragged, burning. His eyes felt wet. Why? Why? Why?

"Pathetic!" the boy drove his elbow into Adam's throat, earning some spittle. Adam stumbled back, barely parried a sword cut. He had to kill this boy now! Had to kill him!

Adam let go a lion's roar as he jumped into the air, coalescing as much lightning as he could into his katana. His body grew hot from the overindulgence of such incredible heavenly power, and even at his limit he called upon more. He would erase this animal from existence. He would wipe away his very name. Sword Demon Adam was the god of this world. Absolutely no one could contest him! He was undeniable! Unbreakable! Unbeatable!

He unleashed a massive blade of raging lightning down towards his target. So bright it challenges the shadow of the crumbling mountaintop. The lightning in the clouds followed like they were drawn by Adam's will, making it seem like the very gods had blessed this final blow. Adam stabbed his sword into the side of the cliff to keep from falling, and watched on with a victorious smirk, despite how he was aching everywhere. "Did I not tell you, boy? I alone am graced by…"

The boy was sailing over the lightning wave.

He was upside down in the air, eyes closed, a calm grin on his side. Looked like he was taking a nap. He had his sword raised above his head, the flames absent, letting steel kiss the edge of the wave.

It happened so fast. The lightning was drawn to the boy's blade like a flock of birds drawn to seed. It swirled and crackled, twisted and shrank, pulsed and cried like it was desperate not to be taken under the boy's control. But his command was absolute. In seconds, it was fully absorbed into the steel, turning the boy's blade golder than gold. Only then did he open his eyes.

The boy pointed at Adam as the mountainhead fell behind him. Huge boulders rained , but none touched him. Nature feared to even get close. The shadows swallowed the bot until only his blue eyes and a glowing sword broke the darkness. The world moved slowly.

Adam asked himself, what had everything he'd done been for?

Everything in him was weak. He was drained, cold, shaking, and could barely stay upright. He certainly didn't have the strength to dodge anymore. And even if he did, where was there to go? He was trapped. A rat cornered by a tiger. Prey before the predator. Why? What was this feeling?

Fear. That's what it was. But what did a god truly have to fear? The answer was plain.

A god killer.

The last thing Adam saw before closing his eyes was the swing of the sword. His ears were filled with the violent chirping of heaven's lightning, reversed and returned to their owner, and more ruthless than ever. He felt a strange measure of relief. It suddenly didn't matter if he was a god anymore. Nothing mattered, here at the end.

As the approaching light ignited his eyes, and as the intense heat made his flesh boil, the Sword Demon Adam could only wonder what awaited him beyond the mortal coil. Would the gods see him fit for reincarnation? Would he be given a chance to do things differently? Or had all of his sins damned him past redemption?

Adam supposed he would find out shortly.

Jaune's nails dug into the new summit of the mountain and he pulled himself up, along with Ruby, Neptune, and the unconscious Alter-Adam onto stable ground.

His vision was hazy, as he got steadily to his feet. The ground was poked with thick ice spikes, jutting out from the ground like a sea of stalagmites. He'd never done a thing like that before, never even knew he could, yet he trudged on through like he'd done it a million times before. Eventually, he found the section of the beheaded summit that led into the forest, and he made his way along, over tree roots, around the foliage, around the trees.

He found the small clearing, and was relieved to find Alter-Blake, sitting against a tree like a discarded puppet, dead eyed as always. The idea that she would somehow awaken after Alter-Adam's defeat was a dead hope now, and Jaune had to wonder if there'd been a point to this whole damn adventure. Fighting Adam's Alter, defeating him. It didn't feel like enough. Certainly not for Adam and Blake, the couple that never should have been. And for more reasons than what was blatantly obvious.

He laid Alter-Adam down on the grass, stared at his face in sad contemplation. There was nothing he could do for them now. Soon the Despair would try to consume them in one last effort, and only the strength of their souls could wrestle them free. Jaune's job was done.

"Ugh…" groaned a tiny voice. Jaune looked over his shoulder to see Ruby cracking her eyes open. He'd felt his heartbeat when he'd picked her up, which had been reassuring, but he still felt a surge of relief at seeing her move. She cracked her tired eyes open. "Muffin?"

Jaune released the chains binding her and Neptune to his back, then caught them as they fell. Gently, he set Neptune down, checked to see if he was breathing, and felt another wave of relief. He turned to Ruby, touched her face. "Are you hurt? How bad?"

Ruby offered a weak smile. "I can't really move my legs right now. They feel numb. But I'm not in any pain." She looked down at Neptune with sudden concern. "What happened?"

"Don't worry," Jaune tried to reassure her. And himself, honestly. He lifted Neptune's shirt to find the piece of cloth he'd fastened to the wound. Thankfully, the blade hadn't seemed to pierce anything important. Neptune's natural accelerated healing had stopped the blood loss. "He'll pull through... he has to."

"But can't you heal him?" Ruby asked.

Jaune recalled seeing Aunt Peach dying in front of him back in Qrow's heart. He remembered doing something that closed the terrible wounds all over her body. She had been in significantly worse shape then and whatever he'd done had saved her. The problem was, he wasn't sure how to do that again. Or if he even could. But as he watched Neptune's labored breathing, he decided he had to try. What was one more miracle?

So he took Neptune's hand and gripped it tight, just as he had with Aunt Peach. "Come on…" he whispered. "Come on." He couldn't feel anything yet. Nor did it seem like Neptune's wound was healing.

Jaune tried to recall how he'd felt. Desperate, panicked, confused… but not unsure. At the time, he had only been able to think about how the loss of his aunt would have been too much to bear. That he loved her so much, despite barely being able to say it. How the very idea of losing her might ruin him for good. Jaune put those feelings to the front of his mind. Focused on them.

He pressed his forehead to Neptune's, lifted the bandage, then placed one hand on his wound and attempted to block out everything around him. He thought only of Neptune, one of the closest friends he'd had in years. He needed him too. He couldn't lose him now. No longer did he feel ashamed for wanting a friend.

No longer was he ashamed to need someone to love.

Ruby gasped. "Jaune…"

He opened his eyes to see that Neptune's wound was changing. As if set in reverse, the light burns evaporated and the wound opened up again. The blood around the opening slipped back inside as the skin grew back, swirling in on itself until the wound was a leathery patch, then flattening out smooth. Anxiously, Jaune stared at the final result, hoping that the effects wouldn't somehow reverse in a moment. But a minute passed and with it came relief.

"So you beat him." stated Ruby, glancing at Alter-Adam. "How?"

Jaune wanted to say he didn't know how. That he'd lost his mind and become a different person. That he'd blacked out and couldn't remember anything. But that would have been the worst lie he'd ever told anyone or himself. He remembered it all. Every action was intentional, every attack, every word, every crazy thing he did and said. They were all his choice. The fact was, he'd have never won that fight if he hadn't completely surrendered to this strange excitement he felt every time he was in a fight. Most of the time, he could control himself, focus on the stakes of the battle and take it seriously. But more and more, as his power grew, the thrill became harder to resist.

Crocea Mors didn't really have sentience and he'd known it from the beginning. She hadn't really seduced him to act on pure instinct and a desire to fight. She was not some demon that had taken control of his body, and as such absolving him of real blame. No. That desire had always been there, buried under years of therapy, under his father's lessons on controlling his anger and not getting into senseless fights. When he'd drawn Crocea Mors, it wasn't because she had convinced him to do it.

He had drawn her because he'd finally decided to stop holding back.

Jaune sighed. "Got lucky, I guess. What's it matter?"

Ruby patted down her thigh, cringing like she was having a charlie horse. She wobbled one foot, then the other. "Okay, I think I can walk. What do we do now?"

Jaune helped Neptune to his feet, then passed him to Ruby, making sure to sling his arm over her shoulder. "MIssion complete, right? You two should make the jump first, considering I'm the key and all. We should get him to a hospital. Get home and call that emergency number and use Aunt Peach's name. Some agents will come with an ambulance." Supposing they aren't also occupied with the war.

Ruby nodded and adjusted Neptune over her shoulder. "Okay, ready."

"Babe?"

"Yeah?"

Jaune thought to tell her goodbye. That he loved her just as much as anyone else, if not more. He never said he loved her first, he realized awkwardly. Would this be the last time he saw her? Would he die in this war he was foolishly about to join? He didn't know. And in any case, he couldn't tell her under any circumstance. If he was going to die, he wouldn't burden her with the foreknowledge. Maybe that was selfish of him, maybe he was being unfair, but he didn't see another way.

So Jaune did something he never made himself do. He smiled for her. Not a trace of one or half of one. But a full, uncompromising smile. It must have surprised her, because she stared at him like he'd suddenly grown two heads. Almost bewitched. "Go ahead," Jaune said, "I'm right behind you."

Ruby broke into a big, blushing smile herself. "Yeah, see you there."

Ruby and Neptune vanished. At last, they were out of harm's way. Jaune let out a breath, lowered his head, took in a breath, raised his head. He scrubbed tears out of his eyes and let the breath go. "Alright, here we go."

"My love…" came a soft voice.

He looked to see that Alter-Blake was no longer under the tree. Now, she lay at Alter-Adam's side, face pressed against his cheek, tears spilling out of her soulless eyes. "My love…" she whispered again.

Tendrils of Despair were starting to form beneath them. Writhing and twisting like a slowly expanding pool of worms. There was nothing more for him to do. It was up to Adam and Blake to pull themselves from Despair. Despite everything, only they could save themselves. Jaune sincerely wished them luck… And said goodbye.

If he returned home, neither of them could be part of his life ever again.

Jaune settled his quivering lip. Steeled his emotions. There would be time to think on all of this later. Right now, there was a war which needed to end.

Jaune felt his energy had returned, and it surged through his body, getting his heart working double time, blood boiling. The aches and wounds were gone now after a short rest, so he sprinted toward the edge of the mountain and set an image to his mind. The Superior's head detached from his body. Morbid, but undeniable.

Jaune dived into the open air, wind rushing around him. There was the sound of shattering glass as he fell headfirst into the Public Domain.

Ruby fell to her knees, Neptune held in her arms, as she stared in shock at everything around her. "This isn't home…" she uttered.

The path ahead was a short expanse of clouds, all whiter than white, purer than fresh snow. They moved entirely on their own, not pushed by any wind or psychic force. They formed, clumped, sifted, and flowed about a surface that Ruby couldn't see, though she greatly suspected that there was nothing beneath them.

Ahead was a wide golden staircase, so clean and pearly that they reflected the clouds below. And at the end of them stood a tall marble archway. White and gold. Engraved with runic lettering that Ruby could not recognize. It was stood on both sides by massive statues that dwarfed the gates with their height and splendor. On the left side, it was a woman in a long flowing dress, clutching a sword to her one exposed breast, while her other arm was raised to the sky, palm up as if calling upon a god. The second statue was a man in a long tunic. He held a harp in one hand and strummed the strings with the other, wearing a serene smile as if nothing in the world could upset him. Both sported massive angel wings, the woman with three on her right side, the man with three on his left. They were bathed in a soft golden light, the origin of which Ruby couldn't tell. It seemed to come from everywhere. But it gave the place a look of divinity. As if this was a place only gods could enter. And even then, only the most regal of them.

Ruby could only stare at it all, completely wordless. Once she managed to shake from her entrancement, she uttered, "What is this place?"

"What do you think it is?"

Ruby snapped her head around. Squatted down beside her - and staring straight into her face with his nose centimeters from hers -was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. But that was a tame surprise, since he also looked exactly like Jaune.

He was wearing a long tunic just like the man statue. One sleeve across his shoulder, allowing a rather generous look at his perfect physique. Lean, strong, broad-shouldered, skin almost golden. Ruby wondered if you threw water on him, if it would just slip right off, refusing to tarnish his fair looks. This Jaune look-a-like seemed to have been carved from fine gemstone, then given life as something far more than merely human. Ruby's body heated up just from looking at him. She didn't want to look away from him, and yet desperately wanted to escape. It seemed like he could tell what she was thinking.

For his pretty lips stretched into a warm smile, and Ruby could not help but notice four sharp fangs.

This imposter Jaune leaned closer to her. His smile widening like he was enticed by her presence. Intrigued by her existence. "What's wrong with you? Are you ill?"

"I-I…" Ruby stammered.

He came even closer. Getting on his hands and knees, pressing his nose against hers, deep blue eyes staring into her very soul. His hot breath washed over her mouth. Scentless. His deep voice was like melted chocolate. Intoxicating. "Perhaps a kiss would soothe you?" he suggested.

Ruby gaped as he closed his eyes and puckered his juicy-looking pink lips at her. Similar lips to Jaune, no doubt. Lips she'd kissed before. The taste of which she could never get enough of…

Ruby slapped the imposter Jaune across the face so hard it left her hand hurting.

Then, she realized her mistake. She had no idea who or what this guy was, and now had slapped him like he was a pervert looking up her skirt. Ruby had no fight left in her so if he attacked, then Neptune and she would not be returning home. In a panic, she sought to correct herself before it was too late. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I—"

The imposter Jaune burst into laughter. Ruby already had a guess, but now she knew this wasn't her Jaune. She had never seen him laugh so heartily, so carelessly. But here was this guy, rolling on the cloud floor like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. Ruby just stared at him as he went on for a couple of minutes, before finally wiping the tears out of his eyes and standing up. "Well, now I know you are truly without fear! And tougher than you appear. You took that pathetic lightning attack and managed to survive! Impressive." He shrugged at her. "Well, for you."

Ruby paused. She had no idea how to respond to that. He knew she had been hit by lightning? How? "Er, thanks. Um… where am I?"

Imposter Jaune raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you hard of hearing? I asked you what you think it is."

"Like, you want me to guess?"

He put one hand on his hip and smirked down on her.

Ruby swallowed. "Really?"

He urged her on with a twirl of his finger.

"Okay…" and Ruby looked around one more time, just to be sure this wasn't some mirage. It certainly looked real, despite how otherworldly it was. "I dunno. Is it… heaven?"

Imposter Jaune curled a finger beneath his chin and nodded in thought. "Perhaps, but I don't believe you died. The lightning that struck you belonged to that friend of yours," and he pointed at Neptune to specify, "Lucky you. Had the other one hit you instead, well… let's be glad it didn't."

That was the second time he brought up her getting nearly killed. Moreover, he said it so matter-of-factly, like it was an everyday occurrence. Ruby wasn't even trying to think about it. "So you saw all of that?"

"I did! And quite a showing, I have to admit. Not so much you and your half-dead friend, though you put up a respectable effort." And he tossed her a thumbs up as if his approval was a difficult thing to earn. She could tell he barely meant it. "But your other friend? The one who bears my face?" He pulled a chef's kiss. "A true marvel! I was completely captivated. The aggression, the speed, the creativity! He even called upon Crocea Mors - that cheeky harlot - and wielded her with such finesse? To tear through that mountain like that? Genius! Only to be expected from one cut of my cloth. He could never be defeated by a thing so weak as that self-styled God!"

Ruby's mind was whirling with how fast and excited he was talking. She just managed to think of a couple of questions to ask, but the Imposter had started pacing the floor, hands clawing at his face like he'd made some horrible blunder. "Oh, but he should have called me! It was over far too quickly for my liking. He does not play with his food, damn him! I'd have toyed with that puny fool until he could no longer stand it, then with a flick of my finger-like this, see?" and he flicked his middle finger, like one might do to punish a child. "I'd have sent his head into orbit! Ha! It would have been quite a sight!"

He waited on her answer, strangely, and Ruby suddenly felt put upon. "I don't—"

"I know!" he sighed, hands on his lips with a shake of his head. "The choir told me it'd be far too boring to see me fight that maggot. They meant to see you three struggle, so they blessed the maggot's lightning, hoping it would make things more interesting. I have to admit they were right. Watching the weak struggle against the strong? It is an entertainment like nothing else! I find myself appreciating the weak lately, and that's quite unlike me!"

Ruby did not understand a single thing this weirdo was talking about. So much information to take in at once, when she was still reeling on the possibility that this new place could be heaven. It certainly looked like it. But as the Imposter-Jaune continued to babble on like a lunatic, she realized that this place couldn't be the real heaven to have a guy like this raving about. So then, what was this place, really?

After an eternity, the Imposter calmed down. By this point he had whipped around so much that his sea of hair was hanging wildly in his face, making him have to part it like one does a heavy curtain. "Apologies, I lost myself for a moment. I'm sure you're confused. I'll explain on the way."

What? On the way to where? But Ruby, once again, didn't get a chance to ask a question, for he gestured for her to follow as he made his way towards the great archway.

Ruby was more confused than ever. But she didn't see a reason not to follow, however uncomfortable this guy made her. So she got to her feet, and hauled Neptune along as they climbed the steps. "Where are you taking us?" Ruby called.

But the Imposter simply headed on up to the golden archway. Stopping only to wave them on.

She fell in pace behind Imposter-Jaune, staring at the back of his head while the sounds of their footsteps filled the empty hall beyond the archway, again Ruby asked, "Where are we going?"

The Imposter turned his head sideways to look at her. That single blue eye shined with purity and his smile was the very picture of innocence. Anyone would look at him and think he had not a single mean bone in his body. That his man was utterly incapable of doing wrong. Perhaps he did not even know what it meant to do wrong. Yes, this man appeared to be an angel in every single way.

Ruby's religious grandma had told her something once. Every demon had once lived in heaven. Every demon had once been an angel. They were the same creature. Creations of divine ingenuity. Her grandma had asked her once, how do you tell the difference between a demon and an angel? Ruby had answered like anyone else would. A demon has horns and black bat wings. Angels have halos and white bird wings. Obviously. Then Ruby's grandma told her something she'd never forget.

How does a demon present himself to you? Does he take the shape of a wolf and make his intentions known that he means to consume you? Or does he present as a sheep, harmless and frail, that he might catch you unawares? It had taken Ruby many years to understand her wisdom.

The disturbing truth was that there was no physical difference between angels and demons. They all looked the same. So how do you tell them apart at a glance?

You can't.

A demon, in its attempt to steer you wrong, would not appear as some terrifying monster with two big horns.

He would present himself as… well, an angel.

"Oh I won't spoil the surprise. That's no fun at all," said the Imposter, facing forward and striding on without a care. His chuckle made her shiver. "You had better keep up. Trust me, you do not want to miss whats coming up next."

What else is there to say? We've been off the rails for a few chapters now, but this ride has far from reached its peak. Stay tuned, folks.

ISA