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Chapter 38: Divine Destructive Finish

[Holy fuck, it worked.] Ddraig cheered. [Bwha-ha-ha-ha! Motherfucker, it worked!]

That was the thought shared by Ruby as soon as she managed to get through the high at the unfathomable power coursing every pore of her being. It felt like every part of her body was vibrating, refusing to stay still. She felt like she could split the oceans with a single swipe of her tail, or shake the whole world with a roar. Ruby felt like she could fly to the moon, the sun, and then back to Earth in a heartbeat. There was so much power in her body, that it was hard to put into words.

As power trips went, this one took the cake.

[Natural energy feels good.] Ddraig noted. [But it's still finite. It's our first time and despite all the power gathered we have five minutes at most.]

Ruby grinned. That sounded like plenty of time.

"Let's go!" Ruby growled.

"The hell are you thinking?" Kurama commented.

Ruby roared as her bulk sprinted toward Kurama instead of taking flight. Each stomp of her legs made the earth shake, kicking up tons of earth in her wake. The dragon was wreathed in a spectral green glow and constant [BOOSTS] further accelerated the pace.

Kurama didn't stand idle. He took the opportunity to make clones of himself that threw out a multitude of Spirling Rings or Beast Bombs. The air between them was riddled with explosions, yet Ruby charged through it all. Soon the strongest kitsune braced himself against an open maw jumping at him to take a bite. His arms gripped her neck and shoulder while his tails were used to restrain her arms.

His strength did not overwhelm Ruby, enhanced by the unrestrained might of Ddraig from his prime. His foot dug through the earth as Ruby pushed him back. Kurama's arm holding her neck strained painfully. The dragon's mouth was close enough that he could spot the glint in her sharp teeth.

But with Ruby so close, it allowed her other avenues of attack. Kurama saw the red-hot glow from Ruby's throat and knew what it meant. Kurama tried to pull back, but her tail snaked forward to wrap Kurama close. The heat grew more intense when Kurama stared back at raw plasma about to be ejected at his face.

His clones came to his rescue. Each one of them jumped into the air and slammed down upon Ruby each with Rasengan of a different element. Kurama instantly leaped back once he felt Ruby's hold on him loosen. The result of too many elemental chakra types exploding all at once created a bright dome of light that made his eyes squint from it.

His eyes picked up the storm of rose petals springing from the explosions.

'She's finally using her Semblance,' Kurama frowned.

Out of all of Ruby's abilities, her Semblance had to be the most annoying. With the way her Semblance worked, none of his sensory skills could pinpoint where Ruby was because every rose petal was her. He could only react once Ruby reformed. It was also annoying how Ruby could seamlessly do this yet not realize that was how her Semblance worked.

The rose petals soon condensed at his side, forming into Ruby in all her draconic glory. She lunged at Kurama with a swipe of her long claws. Kurama formed more Truth-Seeking Orbs and mentally morphed them into spears shooting forth into her shoulders. They pierced through scales but found themselves stopped by the muscle beneath. The kitsune backed away from the initial swipe but found himself on his back with Ruby looming over him with a raised hand.

That was fine for Kurama. He needed to be close anyway. His eyes glowed purple and the rods stabbing Ruby glowed in the same hue. The Dragon Empress found her body suddenly immobilized before she could deal the blow. Foreign chakra was seeping through her body to take control forcefully. Chakra that was being sent into the black rods from Kurama.

'How will you get out of this?' Kurama thought.

Her body shook as Ruby fought against the invisible strings trying to puppet her. It was impressive how Ruby could make a resistance, but his chakra was already latched onto her rows of the spine and the second pair of wings brightened in a green glow. It was a telltale sign of Ddraig's signature power.

[BOOST-]

Kurama felt his skin tingle feeling Ruby's power multiply. In response, he poured more chakra into the rods to hold her back. He was betting on immobilising her so the Juggernaut Drive runs out. This was where he made his mistake.

He had assumed the Juggernaut Drive was simply a powerup further from Balance Breaker. That is not the complete truth, and very few would know it. Juggernaut Drive was the complete unsealing of Ddraig's power dictated by the Abrahamic God. Every iteration of the Boosted Gear was a sliver of Ddraig's full might. At first, there is the gauntlet that gifts a doubling power every ten seconds. Unlocking Balance Breaker removes the time limit, allowing the possessor to double their power depending on their stamina limit. There are outliers such as wielders unlocking a sub-species or deepening their connection to the Boosted Gear enough to summon Ddraig's trademark flames. This form of the Boosted Gear is considered a Longinus, a weapon with the potential of killing a god.

Ddraig at his prime can kill gods.

The unsealing of all of Ddraig's power meant more than a simple power-up. It was the freedom of every skill to use the power he possessed. Most would not know it, especially Kurama. The kitsune was ancient, but he never faced Ddraig when he still flew over Earth's skies. His breath burned like the Samadhi fire and his claws shredded through heaven's walls like warm butter. In the times Ddraig used his signature [BOOST], he didn't double his power.

Why would Ddraig Y Goch ever be limited to just doubling his power? He willed his power to go as high as he wished in an instant!

[X 5!]

Kurama's surprise cost him control over his chakra, cutting the feed into the rods. He vividly felt how his chakra was burned throughout Ruby's body and he yelped in pain. Ruby was wreathed in an emerald glow flickering like a skin made of fire. She unleashed a breath of crimson plasma in a deafening boom. It struck Kurama backed by Ddraig's power amped five times over. Even in his golden form, Kurama felt the lightning scorching his skin and muscles beneath. His chakra barely kept up in healing the damage at the same rate he received it.

The blast died down and Kurama collapsed onto the ground. He didn't immediately get up as his body succumbed to a wave of fatigue. His chakra suffered a massive dip in its expenditure on reinforcing and healing his body to tank the plasma breath. Even his golden form started to flicker, taking more of Kurama's will to keep it going. Labored breaths escaped his mouth, and his throat felt terribly dry.

'It's been a long time since I've been this exhausted in a battle,' Kurama thought. 'That or dealing with Yasaka's libido when pregnant.'

Ruby wasn't feeling that much better herself. Her breath came out in long huffs and her lungs ached for air. She knew the Juggernaut Drive was a huge risk just trying to attain it. The Red Dragon Empress was caught off guard by how excruciating using an unrestrained [BOOST] was on her body. It was far more taxing than reaching her limit in Balance Breaker. Every bone buckled under the weight of her power and her muscles ached with every flex.

She didn't need Ddraig to tell her that the [BOOSTS] had cut her time limit. There was only one minute left before her body gave out.

'C'mon, Ruby,' the Red Dragon Empress hyped for herself. 'Grit your teeth, and floor it!'

[BOOST X 7!]

Ddraig's announcement followed a rush of power and she made a mad dash to Kurama to tackle him with pure brute force. Kurama responded by launching his most powerful Almighty Push to counter. Despite gravity thrown against her, Ruby powered through it and smashed her entire weight into Kurama's diaphragm. The two giants tumbled across the earth, kicking up whole cities worth of rock and dirt. Kurama was the first to recover and used his tumble to wind up a haymaker down on Ruby's snout.

Her spines lit up, signaling the charge of another breath attack. He did not let Ruby take the chance as he wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck. He kept her grappled to prevent a direct line of sight. Behind him, Ruby exhaled accidental blasts of plasma, continuously disoriented from Kurama swinging her around.

He let go and made Ruby crash into a mountain. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs. She didn't get the chance to get rid of the daze over her vision before a Tailed Beast Bomb blasted her farther away. In desperation and no small amount of rage, Ruby breathed out fire blindly hopefully managing to hit Kurama.

She did so as her head was flailing around, causing the ray of unrelenting fire to zip across land and sky with no apparent pattern. Kurama dodged nimbly out of the way, gaining more distance between him and Ddraig's cringed from a sudden weakness inflicting his body, and his golden shroud flickered. His will kept its splendor from fading, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Kurama was taking more labored breaths.

This battle needed to end now!

Ruby was having a similar problem as Ddraig had informed her. [You have thirty seconds remaining.]

'Well, it was fun while it lasted,' Ruby thought. 'Let's end this with a bang.'

[Gladly!] Ddraig roared.

(Naoki Sato - Godzilla-1.0 Divine Godzilla Minus One)

Ruby braced herself on all four legs and summoned the power move that came with Juggernaut Drive. The Longinus Smasher, only this one was with her flavor. Power erupted from her body like a volcano blowing away the earth and splitting the sky. Every muscle in her body tensed to handle the energy that shall course through her being. Each of her spines glowed between lights of red and green before dimming as the energy coursed down to one single point of her body.

Then the first of her dorsal spines on the end of her tail popped out glowing in vivid red tinged with green. Ddraig called a single, normal [BOOST] as soon as it rose. A red light slowly rose from the tip of her tail and up her spine. The light would gather underneath the next one, suffusing the dorsal spine in energy until it rose up like the previous. Ddraig's voice announced again, but it was a [BOOST X 4!].

The glow accelerated with each spine that popped up, speeding up the process. One by one the dorsal plates primed themselves with Ddraig calling out a [BOOST] each time, each one twice as powerful as the previous. As more spines became 'primed', the gathered power made electricity crackle between the dorsal plates. Ruby was soon covered in a sheen of red lightning and the skies above darkened till they growled.

Kurama was not idle and was already preparing countermeasures. He willed three Truth Seeking Orbs in front of an outstretched palm and molded them together into the shape of a drill. From his free hand and tails, he poured in various elements to create a shell. Lightning became the tip of the drill, wind for the flutes, and earth for structure. To prevent catastrophic reactions, sub-elements like lava and ice were added into the mix using perfectly manipulated water.

He had finished putting the final touches when the last spine popped up from the back of Ruby's nape. Ddraig announced his most powerful [BOOST] as of yet, filling his successor with power hundreds of times over. Ruby leaned her head back, taking in as much air as her lungs could. A crimson glow at the back of her throat intensifies by the second. Everything seemed to reach its peak, and that's when every primed dorsal plate slammed back down on her spine.

[What name should I - aw fuck it.] Ddraig said. [LONGINUS SMASHER!]

Earth and sky gave way to the blast Ruby exhaled. It enlarged to a size where Ruby herself was but a pinprick to it as she expelled all the power her body had gathered. The entire continent was forever ruined in the Mirror World. In response, Kurama braced himself against the most powerful attack the Red Dragon Empress unleashed. He stood his ground and met the Longinus Smasher with his improvised drill. The pure draconic energy met the drill of chakra-made elements in a dazzling clash of might, splitting the world-ending tsunami of destruction around him.

Every muscle in his body was strained to not fall from the power bearing down on him, especially his right arm when using the drill. He fought against the wailing ache of his body. No way was he going to be out like this.

He was the teacher here!

With a roar, Kurama started to advance by forcing his body into a run. His golden shroud flickered off most of his body as he put most of his power in his limbs. In his left hand, he gathered the rest of the Truth-Seeking Orbs and molded them into a different shape together. Their pitch-black form lengthened and twisted till they resembled a double-helix similar to a DNA strand with the sharpened edges of a sword and a handle fit for Kurama's hand. Unlike the drill which was made on the spot, this strange weapon had more meaning in it than just a shape. This was Kurama's successful attempt at mimicking conceptual manipulations with chakra by making a weapon of power proportionate to his will.

Its name was...

"Nunoboko!" Kurama bellowed.

He threw the 'sword' at the draconic wave around him. It took all of his strength to swing it and meet it head-on. There was a great bang as the Nunoboko clashed against the Longinus Smasher in hopes of canceling each other out. Instead, pain laced up his arm and Kurama saw the chakra construct shatter in his head. He would have felt frustration at his failed gamble if he didn't see the Longinus Smasher deflected to the side and into the sky.

And left a completely vulnerable Ruby Rose wide open.

Kurama pushed his legs to the limit, almost flying by the speed he was going. Ruby was left completely exhausted of all of her might, so was never able to defend herself. To prevent a fatal blow, Kurama morphed his drill construct into a ball. He dismissed the black matter of the Truth-Seeking Orbs and had the elements he summoned cover his arm instead. In the drill's place, Kurama poured in equal measures of lightning and earth chakra natures. These elements combined into the sub-element of pure explosive power, and it was only stable by Kurama's will. It appeared as a bright bronze orb before it took the form of a grinding sphere it was manipulated into a Rasengan.

"Now," Kurama growled as he thrust the explosive Rasengan into Ruby's chest, digging her into the ground. "Sit. The. Fuck. DOWN!"

The orb exploded in a great concussive blast, burying Ruby in the dirt at the bottom of a grand crater big enough to swallow both titans. Kurama managed to jump away from the blast radius to avoid most of the damage. His body was tense as he stared at the cloud of dust, half-expecting a stubborn red dragon. There was none to be found, but Kurama didn't let his guard down. He cautiously approached the edge of the crater and peered down towards the bottom.

Buried under soot, ash, and rubble was an unconscious Ruby Rose returned to her human form. Her clothes reflected the damage their battle had caused with rips and tears letting peeks at her sides where he saw black bruises from broken ribs. Miraculously, Ruby's signature red cloak was the only thing left untouched on her person. Yet there was a shit-eating grin plastered on Ruby's face.

(Real World)

Kurahime sighed. "Guess that settles it."

Her reaction was much the same as that of the rest of the kitsune family, except Kunou sporting a frowning pout. In the end, there was little doubt Kurama would come out on top. Yet even Yasaka and Kurama's children had to admit this was the hardest Ruby had ever fought against the strongest Yokai. Pulling out Juggernaut Drive was enough to make them consider Kurama might lose.

But he was not considered one of the strongest on the planet for nothing.

"Hey, at least she gave Tou-san quite the smacking," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "Damn, I have a lot of catching up to do."

The reactions from the Remnant natives were much more varied. Yang, 'sister' of Ruby, was the most vocal.

"Dammit, Ruby lost!?" Yang booed. "Boo!"

"Isn't it enough she completely trashes us back home?" Jaune inquired.

"It's my sister, so it's different!" Yang argued.

Weiss and Blake looked blankly at the orb showcasing the battle between Ruby and Kurama. Many times their worldview was shattered simply because of Ruby's existence. She continuously showed them power that should not be possible and dragged them into a world much greater than before.

(Mirror World)

Kurama finally let himself relax with a sigh and collapsed on one knee. His golden shroud flickered away for a final time, leaving Kurama in his orange-crimson majesty. He constructed a chakra into a black staff to keep himself steady. He took a moment to catch his breath and lamented his perceived failings.

'Immortal be damned, I might be getting too rusty if this brat managed to push me this far,' Kurama thought. 'Might've gone differently if I went for killing blows. This is what I get trying to train a dragon. They always go one hundred percent, even in a spar. But as it goes - Ruby 0; me who knows the fuck the number is.'

His body shrunk until Kurama emerged in his human-like form, briefly cringing in discomfort. When using a human form, Kurama felt he was wearing a suit that was too snug. Kurama leaped to the very bottom of the crater and picked up Ruby in a sack carry.

His eyes looked to the skies of the Mirror World, knowing he had an audience. "Hope you enjoyed the show. Now, if you could please bring us back, Yasaka dear, I want to sleep through an ache in my shoulder."

(Real World)

"That's my cue," Yasaka announced.

She approached the glass orb and hovered her hands an inch from it. She muttered an incantation under her breath and the orb sprang with pure light. Most averted their eyes from the light show, but some managed to squint their eyes through to see the myriad of mystical circles flickering into the air. There was the sound of cracked glass before finally shattering. The light finally died down and they blinked their eyes to see the strongest Yokai standing before them with Ruby on his shoulder.

"How do you feel, Ku-kun?" Yasaka asked.

Kurama sighed. "Like if I ever have to train another dragon again, it'd be too really."

Then unceremoniously chucked the girl towards the natives of Remnant, making the thunder of dragons scramble to catch their leader. Fortunately, Yang managed to catch Ruby in her arms.

"That's that," Kurama said. "Now can you kindly fly off back to your 'Remnant'? Stupid name for a world by the way."

"Oi, what about my sister!?" Yang argued. "Aren't you going to wake her at least up? What kind of half-assed training is this?"

"It's called breaking every bone I can and beating into the dirt till she stops," Kurama replied. "Seriously, trust the process. Win or lose, dragons get stronger from intense combat. When Ruby wakes up, she'll know what to improve on."

Kurama twisted his back, grunting as his spine released a few cracks for everyone to hear. "Damn girl packs a wallop. You must be proud of your host, Ddraig."

[Of course I am.] Ddraig answered as the back of Ruby's palm glowed green. [There's a little issue to address.]

"Pardon?" Kurama responded with a raised brow.

[None of these greenhorns know how to get back.] Ddraig informed.

Kurama smacked a palm to his face, sighing exasperately. "Right. Forgot how weird your world is; you don't even recognize that your dimensional barriers are thinning by the day."

"T-Thinning?" Blake wondered. "What do you mean we should know?"

"Even the mundane world would be affected," Kurama elaborated. "Think of your world and Earth as two bubbles slowly coming together. As that happens, both worlds will experience unusual phenomena: geostorms, longer seasons, and weather in places that shouldn't be possible."

A look of recognition dawned over Weiss' face. "There was an odd heatwave seven years ago that hit Atlas. I could walk outside without needing a coat for months. And then there was that freak hurricane over Vacuo."

"And they will progressively get worse until our dimensions are connected," Kurama said with a frown. "Once that happens, it will be unrest. It will be the New World all over again with pantheons and supernatural factions scrambling for a piece of your world and its untouched resources. Already, there are hotspots where anyone from both worlds can cross over. Vale connects here to Kyoto while I've heard of something similar in Rome. Yasaka, if you would? You're the one with the mystical know-how."

"...Hmm, nope." Yasaka piped.

"Eh?" Came Kurama's eloquent response.

Yasaka looked at her husband, smug. "I think it's rude you're sending them home without some gifts. After all, Ruby managed to push you into a corner. She needs a reward."

"What would I even-?" Kurama exclaimed before relenting with a sigh. "Fine. I think I have something for the tyke. I need her awake."

Kurama approached Ruby, who was still held in Yang's arms. The blonde tensed at the approaching kitsune, instinctively protecting Ruby before her logical thoughts caught up to her. The kitsune gently placed an open palm over Ruby's head and channeled a small burst of pure Senjutsu chakra into her. Immediately, Ruby's eyes snapped open to full wakeness.

The Red Dragon Empress uttered a soundless scream as her body flailed at the sudden awakening, only to convulse under the extreme sore pain. She, the strongest of Remnant, was reduced to a twitching wreck held up only by her sister.

"Gah," Ruby groaned. "Can someone get the number of the mountain that drove by?"

"Is she alright?" Jeanne asked with a tilt of her head.

Kurama shrugged. "Just needed her awake. Despite how damaged Ruby is, I'd bet she'll be fine. Maybe take it easy for a few days, but not a problem considering how weak your world is."

"...We're not weak."

While Kurama's comments about their world may have drawn no reactions from most of the natives of Remnant, it could not be said for Pyrrha Nikos. She has been called one of the strongest for most of her teenage life. It was the result of years of blood, sweat, and tears in training that gave the redhead fame as Mistral's champion. She never let it get to her head but acknowledged the accomplishment as the epitome of her generation's strength against the hordes of Grimm.

That all changed at Beacon when Ruby revealed herself as the Red Dragon Empress and the greater world around them. Pyrrha found herself completely helpless and was completely fine with it. When she became a champion, she was on an empty road with no goal. Ruby and the supernatural was a wall that stretched over the horizon and into the heavens.

Pyrrha wanted to surpass it or die trying.

However, constantly hearing how weak Remnant was didn't sit right with Pyrrha. She held in these thoughts when Ruby spoke about it. At least she had told them in a cautionary manner, and she had prepared them for an inevitable confrontation. But for Kurama to say it so casually irked her. It didn't sit right to say that the efforts of generations of Huntsmen and Huntresses who have trained their whole lives to risk it to save their families and homes.

To call them weak was an injustice for everything they put on the line in the hopes of making a difference.

Everyone stared at Pyrrha in surprise, even Ruby. Her words came out of nowhere and were sharp despite how little the redhead raised her voice.

Kurama raised a brow. "Oh? Care to elaborate, you... What is your name?"

"Pyrrha Nikos," Pyrrha answered.

"Uhm, Pyrrha?" Jaune spoke in concern, but Pyrrha ignored him.

"Pyrrha," Kurama said, testing out the name. "Strange. That's Greek—another oddity with your world. But I digress. Tell me, how is Remnant not weak? Magic is gone from your world, your gods have seemingly abandoned you, and your entire civilization is reduced to four meager nations while the rest of the world is untamed infested with beasts intent on killing you all?"

A muscle jumped in Pyrrha's cheek when she didn't immediately meet Kurama's hard questions. Her eyes flickered to the ground as she

"...Because we know what it means to lose it all," Pyrrha answered. "People like us spend most of our lives training and fighting for the days we have to be the bulwark to defend the last bit of safety and peace we have. Here, where humanity numbers in the billions, there is no shortage of families never worrying about impending doom destroying all they love and care about. We don't have that luxury. We can't look outside the boundaries of our cities without thinking about whatever horde of Grimm will jump at us.

So we will fight with every bit of our lives for the last bits of peace and prosperity that remain. We have trained our whole lives for that purpose and maybe even in the hopes of making a better future. Don't call us weak because we have no magic or gods at our beck and call. Remnant's humanity - our humanity - is backed into a corner, and giving up isn't an option. If our homes are on the line, we will fight tooth, nail, and soul to ensure not a single inch is lost."

Pyrrha went silent as her speech ended. Her defiant stance wilted to a bashful attitude, and the Mistral champion's face turned red in embarrassment. It was worse when Pyrrha noticed everyone staring at her with wide expressions, including Ruby.

'I didn't mean to get so heated,' Pyrrha lamented, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a tiny hole.

The clapping drew attention to Kurama, who gave Pyrrha a slow applause. An amused smile stretched his face.

"You have spunk," Kurama complimented. "Such passion in your words. You meant every single one of them. Hmm, perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on your world. Your world admittedly has impressive technology. Sure, you'd lose against any supernatural force on conquest, but you'll make them pay in blood. You lot are like an animal stuck in a corner. There is danger in desperation. And perhaps as time passes, your world may become a power worth hesitance. With the converging of our realms, Sacred Gears can manifest amongst your populous instead of Earth's. You already have a deterrent in Ruby as this generation's Red Dragon Emperor. Who knows? Perhaps another Longinus is hiding in your world. Yes, you are 'weak' now, but you have zeal. Take pride in that."

Pyrrha met Kuram's look for a second before she gave a little nod. The kitsune turned his attention back to Ruby, holding an open hand.

"Now then," Kurama said, "give me your sword and hold your hands."

Ruby narrowed her eyes but didn't voice any complaint. She manifested the Boosted Gear and withdrew Anduril from her left arm gauntlet. Kurama accepted the offered sword and turned it around so he was looking at the handle.

"Brush," Kurama called.

"Here, Tou-san," Kurahime answered as she pulled out an ink block and brush from her sleeves.

Kurama took the brush while Kurahime held the ink block out. The kitsune began to write tiny seal marks over the handle and pommel of the holy sword. Each stroke was without error and highly detailed, making it a work of art of its own. Once he was finished, Kurama made a one-handed seal, and the markings flashed a vivid blue. The glow died down, and the markings seemed to shimmer away out of plain sight.

"Fuinjutsu," Ruby mumbled.

"Dismiss the Booster Gear so I can work on the back of your palms," Kurama told Ruby.

With a flash of light, Ruby left her hands bare and turned her hands around so the back of them faced upwards. Kurama began to work a different Fuinjutsu matrix on her hands. Her arms shivered at the ticklish touch of the brush over her skin. Like before, Kurama activated the matrix with chakra, and the markings disappeared after glowing.

"There, now snap your fingers and see your new prize," Kurama said.

Ruby exchanged looks between Kurama and her blade before snapping fingers with her left hand. Her eyes widened when an alien force possessed Anduril and made it fly toward her. She almost squinted her eyes from impact, but her sword flew to her left hand, where her fingers latched onto the hilt tightly.

Kurama gave Ruby a smug. "Pretty neat, right? Took inspiration from Thor's hammer and is similar to the runes you have inscribed on your precious scythes. But recalling it is scratching the surface. I'll leave it to you to figure out the rest."

"Thanks," Ruby said, looking at the sword with a gleam. "I mean it. I really do."

"It's the least we could do," Yasaka said. "It was already hectic enough with Fatalis making an entrance. This was supposed to be a regular celebration for my daughter's birthday."

"It wasn't so bad," Kunou commented.

"As fun as it has been, it's time for you to go," Kurama announced, turning to his wife. "Can you open the way home for them, Yasaka? You're better at the mystical stuff than I am."

Yasaka nodded and her hands glowed with eastern script glowing gold. Beyond normal eyesight, Yasaka was taking hold of the weakening barriers between worlds prevalent over Japan. A flex of her fingers and space distorted as a connection was formed. Before the golden kitsune, the air warped into a portal bordered by a corona in a spectrum of colors. It led into the familiar twisting realm of the Dimensional Gap, but its distortional nature was kept at bay. A similar portal was opened a few paces away within the Dimensional Gap where the natives of Remnant could see the courtyard of Beacon Academy under a night sky.

"It's been fun catching up, brat," Kurama said.

Ruby, who had regained strength to stand on her two feet, smiled back. "You too."

"Thank you for coming, nee-chan!" Kunou chirped, glomping Ruby in a wide hug. "I can't wait to open all those presents you got me!"

"It was a pleasure meeting you," Shirou said with a bow.

"And it was a wonder tasting your cooking," Ruby replied.

"I will never have shrimp the same again," Blake bemoaned with a yard-long stare.

"Thank you for having us," Jeanne praised with Sieg beside her nodding.

"It was super cool seeing you fight," Jaune said to Ruby. "You were holding out on us."

"I don't make it a habit to turn my friends into red smears," Ruby quipped.

As goodbyes were exchanged, Ruby's thunder walked through the portal. She was the first to go through, having become used to the Dimensional Gap. Finding no harm in the 'tunnel' between worlds, Ruby motioned everyone else to follow. Ruby stood within the Dimensional Gap while ushering everyone else through till her thunder was standing in the courtyard.

The Red Dragon Empress was about to step through when Kurama called her. "Ruby, one more thing. The merging of our realities is accelerating. Soon, it'll be almost impossible to hide what's happening from the rest of the world. And then, all of Remnant is going to know it has become a whole lot bigger."

"..Yeah," Ruby agreed.

Once Ruby stepped onto the familiar stone path of Beacon's courtyard, the portal closed behind her. She breathed in Remnant's rich air. It was a slight difference, but Ruby could taste the freshness in her world's atmosphere compared to Earth's. She looked to her thunder, who were getting their bearings from their new experiences of visiting a whole new world.

"We just visited a whole new world," Jaune said in awe. "And it was more amazing than I could ever imagine. It was just one part of a whole other world, and it blew my mind. That place was more Mistral than Mistral."

"Kyoto certainly had aspects similar to Mistral," Pyrrha added. "And the people there. I knew that Ruby said that there was a greater variety of them, but I never could really grasp it all."

"I know what you mean," Nora piped in. "Remember that guy in all that golden armor? He looked like a hero from an old storybook. Too bad he got one shot by that white dragon thing."

"I got to fight one of them," Yang said. "He had such cute ears, like Zwei. But man, the guy was tough. Maybe tougher than the usual Huntsmen."

"Considering we're no longer human and have been through torment from Ruby," Weiss said, flexing her arm as it grew scales, "we may be the most powerful people on the planet."

"And still a long way to contend with me," Ruby piped in with a smirk. "Maybe in a few years, you can get me to use the Boosted Gear, but I have years of raw training you all to catch up to. And remember that girl I freed during initiation? You know, the one with the golden portals. Her name's Angelica and she possesses a Longinus. If I were to give an estimate, I'd say she's the third strongest on Remnant right now."

Yang pouted. "Dang. Who's second?"

"Vali, of course," Ruby answered. "But, uhm..."

Yang saw weakness in Ruby and capitalized on it with a smug grin. "Oh ho. Is my little sister feeling a little anxious that she might be knocked off her high pedestal?"

"Can it," Ruby barked. "We still have yet to fight. We'll settle the matter during the Vytal festival."

"Why?" Weiss exclaimed. "Why the Vytal festival? Why can't you and Vali just fly to some uninhabited spot of land and fight?"

The question itself had been bothering Weiss ever since the incident at the docks. It was the first time she saw her leader getting as close as something as a thrashing. Ruby herself was willing to duke it out at that moment, but the White Dragon Emperor delayed their inevitable clash. Instead, he wanted their fight to be a spectacle via the Vytal festival. It also irked Weiss how easily Vali managed to fake his team in as one of Beacon's transfers from Mistral as Team KABL. It's like a mockery of her country's security technology.

'Magic is such bullshit!' Weiss thought.

"Spectacle," Ruby noted. "Pride. The point is that he wants a show when he throws down what he considers a worthy rival. Being the White Dragon Emperor, that would be me as the Red Dragon Empress. It's something users of our Sacred Gears are hyped up for most of our lives. I have to admit, I get him."

'You get him with a lot of things,' Yang mentally noted.

"But about that fight with Fatalis?" Yang asked. "You weren't exactly hyped to fight him. You even lost."

"It's... just different," Ruby said.

She tried to sigh, but it ended up growing in a yawn. The realm of Morpheus was calling to her. It was the weekend, and they had left early in the afternoon. Night had fallen by the time they had returned. Ruby no longer had the energy for a verbal confrontation.

"C'mon, let's go to bed," Ruby said, stretching her arms out. "I need to sleep through this ache.

The rest agreed with Ruby as they displayed their fatigue and went to the dormitories. Jeanne and Sieg disappeared quickly, heading to their apartment buildings in Vale. Soon, the only ones left were Team RWBY and two of its members were already halfway to the dorms. Yang stayed back as she looked back at Ruby with a sour look.

"Ruby," Yang asked in an uncertain tone. "You're okay, right? You took a lot of damage today."

Ruby didn't say anything and instead studied her left limb. She flexed her hand and twisted the arm, feeling the ache from her muscles. The pain was going to last up to the morning. Yet underneath it all, Ruby felt something had changed. Like a hammer striking the impurities from a steel blade during forging.

Strange as it was, Ruby felt something within her had become stronger since fighting Kurama and Fatalis. Much stronger.

Ruby smirked. "I feel great."

A/n: Will add Omake later; late night too tired :(

It's been a year.

Yeah, I hate myself too. I don't know, it all just kept on piling up. A bunch happened since a later year. I've been dabbling in some ideas that my mind cooks up. Fanfiction suddenly starts acting weird for no fucking reason. The world's going to shit certainly doesn't help. Renovations are being done for my house. My family going nuts for a very upcoming wedding (not my wedding!).

I really wanted to do these months earlier, but then Akira Toriyama died! The legend of Shounen himself is gone! That put me in a real bummer mood for a long while before I got my funk back. I just couldn't believe that Toriyama flippin' died. And the age he died makes me nervous because some of my family is around that age, so cue mortality crisis.

So yeah, I hope at least you enjoyed the latest chapter. Personally, I think I might have rushed too much and some parts are not as fleshed out as I hoped.

Stay in touch. Please, please, leave a review.