Oh boy, this took long.
I generally tend to update once every two weeks, that's the pace I can maintain. 6k-8k words twice a month, for now, is the pace that feels natural to me, so when this chapter started to exceed even 10k words, I had to take some extra time.
The original draft of this chapter was closer to 18k words than 14k words. The second fight was supposed to be twice as long but after reading it twice, I realized just how dry it was to read two guys punch each other into oblivion.
This is the final version of the chapter. It's the end of the first arc, and the next arc onwards will be more character-oriented. I plan to delve more into the intricacies of the Arc family, as well as the political sphere of Atlas before moving into the next big adventure. I hope some low-action chapters that follow this will be received as well as these are.
With that said, enjoy this double-chapter arc end special!
LAU POV
The frontier was a cold, cold place.
When he came here the first time around, a Grimm-infested coniferous forest stretched out as far as the eye could see. He was leading a group of newbies, all hired by the SDC. Following them was the original prospector team, led by Nicholas Schnee himself. Lau didn't like to trouble himself with names and faces, but that man was unforgettable. The way he commanded the group's respect and awe was incredible, and Lau couldn't help but envy the man a little.
The Schnee company was little more than a ragtag set of journeymen at that point. War-battered veterans, Faunus looking for a better life, and misfits looking for a second chance. They found success on the Northern frontier. Dust deposits that could make the Schnee Dust Company one of the richest companies in the world, had they had the foresight and resources.
And they did become rich. Rich beyond measure, but before they went all in on the North Atlesian deposits, the great prospector wave found a Dust deposit further to the West. They came back with prime crystals, with promises of many, many more filling the deposit.
Considering the Northern deposit was of lower quality than the tapped-out mine system in the East, the allure of a Western deposit larger than any they'd found yet filled with prime crystals was too strong to resist. It would guarantee the company's future and would put them on a level of competition with the great Dust companies of Vale and Vacuo. It would cement the company's status as a leading figure in the global economy, and allow for unprecedented levels of comfort for its employees.
The foray found funding fast. Mantle was rebuilding, and with the newfound peace, the other nations were more than willing to chip in as long as they got a cut of it all in the end. Nicholas and Lau were to lead the expedition, along with other former Mantle soldiers, many of whom became some of Nicholas' closest friends.
Lau chuckled. Every time he remembered Nicholas, he couldn't help but smile.
Nicholas was a man's man. A veteran of the War, and an inspiration to everyone he came across. Lau wasn't as close to Nicholas as the man was with some others, but they got on well and got into a rhythm with how they worked together. They were like-minded. When the war was raging and all seemed hopeless, it was the likes of Nicholas and a select few others that inspired hope.
He was the leader. The one to follow. The man to turn to. The man who promised hope for all. Once the war ended, it was much the same. He would be the man to lead Mantle out of its darkest days.
He was lucky that Lau was with him on the expedition, or else Nicholas Schnee, the founder of the Schee Dust Company, would be just another corpse littering the northwestern mountain range. A corpse unable to decompose in the frigid mountains, a reminder of the fragility of humanity, and the tenuous hope they inspire.
The expedition team was confident. They had experience, they had strength, and they had leadership. They cut through the conifers, building miles and miles of road as they charted their way deeper and deeper into the West. What started as a forest slowly faded into a vast, featureless, tundra. A landscape made barren by the endless toil of men sold a dream. The group carried on with their duty.
They slew Grimm by the thousands, and with every mile charted, their confidence grew. They took down Grimm so old they were more bone armor than flesh. All the while, their numbers never dwindled meaningfully. Those they lost were lost to the pursuit of a better future. Noble sacrifices, the lot of them.
They set up the base camp that would one day serve as the Legion's main base. Even if the expedition ended here, it would be called a success. Hundreds of miles of land were charted, the route was paved, and the first camp was built. The number of settlements that could be set up in this land was exponential, and the untapped potential of Dust and other resources in this region would give Atlas the edge they needed in the new era.
With their confidence growing, the expedition charted a path into the mountains. Resources and men were gathered, both to combat the likely army of Grimm they would find in the mountains and to study the deposit and make plans to set up a mining facility.
Nicholas was the head of the spear that would breach the north, while Lau would help them secure their second base in a suitable place between the mountains. Then, he would gather his men and help clear out any Grimm they could find for miles.
They never made it that far.
it was Lau's group that encountered the creature. At first, Lau thought something had gone wrong with the mining team, that they had somehow set fire to an open-air fire dust deposit. The side of a mountain burned. Even miles away, he could see it clear as day.
His second-in-command was the one who pointed out that there was no conceivable way the mining team had already made it this far, nor did the fire have a single point of origin. There was no dust around it, nothing to feed it.
It was not fire.
It was something far worse, and when it moved, for the first time since he was a teenager, Lau felt fear.
The feeling felt unnatural. He'd spent the majority of his life on the field of battle. Fear had long since ceased being a feeling he could still relate to.
It got worse when he realised the creature was looking right at him.
There was no conceivable way it could have spotted his group. They were miles away, their white clothing camoing them in with the snow and rocks around them.
Then, it moved. It had wings, wings so large they could infantise an alpha Nevermore. A single flap was enough to send hot wind back to them, miles away. The snow on all the mountains surrounding it started to melt, and Lau knew there was nothing he could do but run.
There were no more discussions of how or why it saw them. Lau ran for his life, leading his men further and further back. he couldn't tell if the monster followed, he didn't dare to look back. His legs didn't stop moving till he found himself at the forward base.
He told Nicholas of what they found. His men backed up the story. All of them were terrified beyond measure.
They packed their bags and retreated the next day. The creature had not followed, and Nicholas and his workers would never know of the doom they had just avoided.
The Schnee Dust company would not make a move back to the northwestern tundra ever again. The whole plan was labelled a failure, and Lau and his men were called liars and fools. It was due to their cowardice that the most promising expedition of their era was called off, and for their cowardice, they were banished to the cold frontier, never to set foot in Atlas again.
But there were others. Many of his former comrades, some of whom were even part of the company. They too saw the monster in the West. These were the men that made up the original Legion.
A hundred strong they returned to the abandoned SDC bases. A hundred strong they held back the hordes of Grimm that roamed the lands, and with these hundred he created the legend of the Legion, a haven for those who found themselves abandoned by the world. A haven in a Grimm-infested frontier. A haven for outcasts and rejects.
And yet, those who joined never failed to find themselves drawn into the fold. It was easy to fall in line with Lau as their leader, he'd even started to consider them family.
Some a bit more than others, of course.
He still felt her arms around his neck. It was a byproduct of his semblance, after all. People always thought that he absorbed the souls of anyone who died near him. This was not the case. How much of their soul he took was based on how dear they were to him. To date, he'd only been able to completely absorb one soul.
"We find ourselves here again, Kyra." He spoke, his calloused hands passing right through her ethereal arms, draped around his neck. "I shouldn't be back here, not after last time. Yet here I am again, trying to fight a battle I cannot win alone."
The souls he stole couldn't speak. He knew that, but they could listen. Her ethereal arms held him closer, without holding at all. There was no true warmth there, but her feelings, even after her death, held a warmth of their own. Still, he couldn't look back. Since her death, he had never been able to look at her face. Out of fear that she would blame him for it, or worse, that she wouldn't.
He didn't know which would break him worse.
He couldn't let his mind wander to that day. He couldn't afford it, not today.
"Yet, I'm not alone. You're always with me. They're all with me." He spoke, distracting himself, watching as hundreds of tiny ethereal wisps slowly descended around him. He knew the identity of every one of these wisps. How could he not? These were men who fought and died for him. His Legion, his soldiers, all dead.
Which meant their killer would soon arrive.
"I'd hoped for a better outcome, but hope has never saved men from their doom," Lau whispered as the soul orbs started assimilating themselves with his aura. They weren't substantial gains alone, but together, they could mean the difference between victory and death. "This is just another trying day, and today, my Legion, we are not alone."
As he stood up, he felt something approaching at speeds that would even give him pause. Before he could turn to face him, Jaune Arc hovered behind him. His satellite blades stretched out, attached to his back like the metal wings of a vengeful archangel. The light of the soul orbs reflected on the blades. The man of the hour had arrived, and his pale blade was already drawn.
Another byproduct of his semblance was the ability to see a man's soul. While the Aura of a huntsman was often visible, he could see more. It was what allowed him to size up his opponents well on the field of battle.
The greatest huntsmen of his time had Auras so intense they burnt like wildfire around them. A controlled flame, forever burning, was the mark of a great huntsman. Legends like Julius had souls so extreme you could barely see them through the haze. He could count warriors like those on one hand and still have fingers left. It was not often that the fire of one's soul grew. He was the only exception to this.
Till today. The wildfire that was Jaune's soul the last time they met, was now burning like a furnace. Larger, but better controlled.
It gave him pause. He had taken Jaune's best attack and made the effort to show that it hadn't affected him in the slightest. It was a tactic he'd found success in all his life. If your opponent takes their best shot and fails, you break their spirit. At that point, your victory is a simple matter of time. Even though absorbing Jaune's attack had cost him more aura than he was comfortable with, it would have been a fair trade had he broken the boy's spirit.
Jaune didn't break, because, unlike the common rabble, he could grow. He could grow at a pace that not even Lau could match. The mechanics of his growth were unknown to Lau, but the promise it hinted at… was terrifying.
It both helped and hindered Lau's plan. How much would it hinder him? He'd have to see. The Arc lineage's greatest monster had yet to come into his prime, and if he had anything to say about it, he never would.
The world didn't need monsters like them anymore.
"It's about time you showed up, scion of Arc."
There were a lot of emotions running rampant in Jaune's head.
Over the last week, he'd lost his mentor. He'd then been forced to choose between taking the lives of over two hundred people or allowing a new war to blossom on Atlas's terra firma. The ashes of the bodies he had to cremate still hadn't cooled, yet, the root cause of it all was just... sitting alone on a featureless mountaintop in the middle of nowhere, with an ethereal woman clinging to his back, unbothered by the blizzard raging around them.
And he had the gall to chastise Jaune for showing up late.
"You're a fucking monster." Jaune breathed, the contempt in his voice clear as day.
"That's rich, coming from someone who's killed over two hundred people." Lau didn't miss a beat. "I'm not the one who gave you a blade and told you to go take their lives."
"I didn't do it because I wanted to!" Jaune yelled. "If there were another way, I'd have taken it a hundred times over! You left me with no choice!"
Lau scoffed. "Spoken like a true coward. We've got all the choices in this world, all the choices, yet we don't take the hard ones. We run from them." The ghost of a woman clung to his back, and his expression grew cold, filled with contempt. "I'd know. I'm a coward too. I agreed to their plan, after all."
"The fuck do you mean 'their plan'? Jaune asked.
"Think about it, Jaune Arc. If my men couldn't even scratch you, what chance would they have against the beast that roosts on this mountain?" He asked, his face was emotionless, "They were all good men and women. They believed in the cause. You know Ramos, you know how my semblance works. They knew they would be deadweight in this fight if they lived, so they gave me an ultimatum. Either I kill them and take their souls, or they kill themselves and take the decision out of my hands. Whatever allowed for the creation of their 'promised land'."
"What promised land? You stupid nation for huntsmen? Do you think Atlas would simply allow you to take over the most valuable dust deposit on their own continent?" Jaune shouted, and to his shock, Lau laughed.
"Kid, the law of conquest has been around since humanity learned to fight back against the Grimm. Any violation of it would mean all four kingdoms would get involved. I'd have a harder time avoiding the SDC's attempts to buy the land off me than worrying about a war." Lau countered.
"So your entire plan about starting a war with Atlas was a lie?" Jaune asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Not really. It's still a war, just one fought over conference tables rather than over a battlefield. The goal stays the same, the formation of a new nation for people like me and the new Legion." Lau finished.
"That's... you sacrificed hundreds of people for that?" Jaune spoke, his tone wavering between genuine fear and shock. "You're mad!"
Lau laughed, It was a deep-throated, free laugh, something that felt oh-so-terribly wrong coming from him. "Kid, if it were in my hands, I would have made any other choice possible. Just like you would have. Yet, I didn't, because as I told you, I'm a fucking coward, just like you. I can't save them all. They had to die so I could save so many more, it was their own choice."
"And what if you can't beat the monster in the mountains? What if their sacrifice amounts to nothing?" Jaune asked, his frown hidden by his mask.
"Oh little Arc, do you think this is a spur-of-the-moment plan? We've monitored the beast for decades. We learned its patterns. We learned everything we could about it. Why do you think I'd brave the mountains in the peak of winter when I could have fought it when Mother Nature wasn't intent on freezing me to death?" he asked, and before Jaune could answer, he turned around, staring off into the distance.
"It is the weakest in winter. Its fires dim, it sleeps for days on end, and it barely moves when it does wake up. I do enough damage before it can respond and maybe - just maybe - it can be put down before it becomes a true menace."
He moved back over to Jaune, staring him right in the eyes. "That is why we stole as much fire dust as we could. It may be a creature of fire, but it isn't immune to a one-tonne dust bomb, nothing is." He shrugged.
Jaune allowed himself to land, matching Lau's gaze. "And what if this bomb of yours doesn't kill it? What then?"
Lau sighed. "Sure, it would destroy the monster's perch. Our research suggested that once woken up so violently, it would rid itself of any annoyances before it flew off to look for a new home. It would still be in pain, and considering it only roosts in areas of high elevation, we believed it would go straight for Atlas, what with it being a flying city and all."
"So what you're telling me is that if the bomb doesn't kill it, and you can't kill it right after, it will fly over to Atlas, burn down the city, and make it its next roost?" Jaune asked, his voice unnaturally calm.
"That's pretty much the gist of it. Considering the Amity Arena hasn't yet returned from Vale, Atlas is its only option." he chuckled. "But that's where my second trump card comes in. You! After all, why would I paint a target on my back if not to lead you here?"
"Beg pardon?" Jaune asked, "Do you think I'll step in and help you fight whatever monster is out here after all you've done? I'd rather just wait and let it kill you instead."
"Sure, you can do that, and then the only thing standing between the beast and Atlas would be you. If I can't kill it, do you really think you can?" he asked, and Jaune couldn't give him an answer.
"So this was your plan all along? Blow up its nest and then force me to help you kill it by holding all of Atlas hostage?" Jaune asked, raising his sword. "How about instead I kill you right here before you can even get to it?"
Lau laughed again, harder. It took him a second to regain enough breath to talk. "Oh, you poor, naive little child. What do you think you're standing on?"
It was only then that Jaune got a good look at what was beneath him. He wasn't standing on a rock. It was sturdy enough that he didn't think about it when he landed, but as he moved some snow away with his boot, he saw that whatever he was standing on was bone-like in texture. It wasn't the same white bone that he'd become accustomed to seeing on Grimm. It was light brown and curved.
"W-what the fuck is this?" Jaune asked, taking to the sky with Dies Iraes.
"Oh, that? That's the beast of the mountain, and you were just standing on its beak." Lau spoke, pulling out what looked like a detonator from his pocket. "And as for the bomb..."
"I wouldn't tell you about it had you any chance of stopping it, would I now?" He finished, pressing the button on the detonator as he did.
And the world erupted in noise and light.
Clover POV
Clover had seen shit in his life.
He'd been there for the first culling of the White Fang, he'd been there for the carpet bombing of the eastern grimmlands. He'd been part of the assassination missions that went down after the end of the Faunus rights revolution.
He'd been around the block enough to have seen the worst Remnant had to offer. Yet, what he saw ascending over the mountains today was by far the most terrifying thing he had ever seen.
Wings of fire half a mile across beat slowly, keeping aloft the largest bird he had ever seen. Its feathers were radiant gold, with plumes so red he couldn't tell where they ended, and where the fire coating it began. Its tailfeathers were twice as long as its body, with peacock-like patterns imprinted on them. It was undeniably beautiful.
It was also - bar none - the most terrifying creature he'd ever seen.
Its radiance outshone the light coming from the dust explosion they'd seen seconds ago, one that came from exactly where Jaune had disappeared. The only reason they knew he wasn't dead was because they'd seen him get sent flying by said explosion.
Plus even in skies dominated by the radiance of the firebird, Jaune, surrounded by the winglike blades of Dies Iraes, cut an imposing figure.
Not as imposing as Lau, though, who stood atop the mountain that the Dust explosion had leveled. Surrounding him were four massive arms, Aura constructs that - as Ramos briefed them - were part of his great technique, Mandala.
"We…we should do something." Winter's voice was weak. Uncertain, even. Her already pale face had lost what little color it had. He couldn't blame her. He too had never been in a situation like this, a situation where he was so… powerless.
"What can we do? There's gotta be something! We're the ace ops for fuck's sake! We're supposed to be the best in the business!" Harriet exclaimed. No gazes met hers, and for good reason.
"Nothing. We can do nothing." It was Jade who spoke up.
Clover looked over to see her perched next to a large rock, her sniper was aimed straight at the beast, yet, all she was doing was using its scope to track the action. It shocked Clover that this child, barely a teenager, was taking this situation better than his squad of elite soldiers.
"She's right. At this point, this fight is far beyond us." Marrow chimed in. In his right hand, he held his scroll, also aimed at the fight, recording the whole ordeal. "As far as we're concerned, this is a fight between three gods."
"Don't be facetious. That's a kid and an old man taking on… is that even a Grimm?" Elm snarled. Clover knew that Elm felt emasculated by the fact that Marrow was correct. He felt the same way.
That didn't mean Marrow was wrong.
"That 'kid' is our best bet. He's been our ace since we arrived here. We've been powerless ever since we arrived in Ingress." Vine, ever the voice of reason, chimed in. "I do not know how things got to this, but I can assume that this faceoff against…whatever that creature is, was Lau's plan all along."
"How far ahead did that bastard plan?" Again, there was no easy answer to Harriet's question, but Marrow, who at this point was beyond caring, gave her the most dead stare he could muster.
"He's an old-ass dude. He's been around since the fucking war. Convoluted plans like this are his bread and butter." He spoke. Somehow, he'd procured a tripod, on which he'd set up his scroll in recording mode. "As far as I'm concerned, everything from us arriving in Ingress to Jaune ending up in a Dust explosion that awakened a fucking Kaiju was planned years in advance. It doesn't change the fact that there's shit we can do."
"We could run, get away and warn Atlas." Winter offered.
"If Jaune dies here, there's no telling what that creature would do. Its roost is destroyed. What's stopping it from leaving the mountains?" Clover countered. "Worse, if both the creature and Jaune die, Lau gets to claim the largest prime Dust deposit on the continent."
"Can't Atlas simply take the lands from him? He may be strong, but he is just one man." Elm asked.
"Under the law of conquest, the lands liberated by the conqueror belong solely to him. If Atlas decides to fight him, it would be like declaring war on a country. A country of a single man who holds mines so valuable that they could drive the SDC out of business. How hard would it be for a person with that much capital to ally himself with the other three nations?" Vine answered with a question, but the ramifications of his answer were not lost on anyone.
"You're telling me that if Lau gets that land, he could be the catalyst for a second great war?" Elm asked.
"Not 'could' be, 'will' be," Marrow replied. "Do you think any one nation could afford to buy a Dust deposit that large? Would they stand aside if one country tries to monopolise a resource of that value? Don't kid yourself. If Lau gets that deposit, there's going to be war."
"And what if Jaune gets it?" Jade asked.
Silence.
They'd been so lost wondering what would happen if Jaune died, or what would happen if Lau won, that they hadn't even given a thought to what Jaune would do with the land if he emerged victorious.
Their thoughts were derailed as a plume of fire lit up the sky. The firebird was attacking Lau as Jaune flew around it, peppering it with bolts from his weapons.
"That's a thought for later. For now, ladies and gentlemen, we're witnessing history in the making." Marrow spoke, spreading wide his arms.
"Whether we live to tell this tale though, depends on Jaune."
The monster had a name, and the system was more than willing to let him know that.
Scion of the Light
Phoenix
It was a black nametag. To date, he had never seen a black nametag. The toughest Grimm he'd encountered, the behemoth, had a red nametag.
Plus, the monster had a title, no Grimm he'd ever faced had one. Then again, this was no Grimm.
It wasn't made of the same substance as them. There was no bone-like armor, and more than anything else, it was using magic, another thing the system was happy with him knowing.
Phoenix is casting - Firelight
Wisps of fire coalesced around it, revolving around its body like electrons around an atom. Jaune didn't even get to wonder what the wisps were for before Lau jumped at the monster. Gigantic arms made of glowing white Aura appeared around Lau, each pulled back, ready to throw at any moment.
Before he could even get within punching distance, the wisps flew off towards him, all at once. Jaune saw Lau's eyes widen as the arms covered his body, defending him from the assault of firelights.
Just in time as well, because as the firelights contacted the aura arms, they exploded, violently.
Jaune took this chance to zip past the Phoenix, slashing at its body with the blades of Dies Iraes and Goliath's Ivory as he crossed. The blades found purchase, but barely, as Jaune had to use all his strength to drag them through the creature's steel-hard feathers.
It bled blood.
Jaune only saw it a second before the heat from the creature's flames evaporated it, but unlike the Grimm, the blood was red.
Jaune landed on a ledge near where Lau landed. Other than slight crisping on his clothes, he looked fine.
"It's no Grimm," Jaune commented. "And your bomb had much less effect than expected."
Lau shook the right side of its head. It only has one good eye left. Plus, its aura is gone." Lau responded.
"Aura? You're telling me that thing has a soul?" Jaune exclaimed, prompting a chuckle from Lau.
"You're the one who said it's no Grimm. What do you think?" Lau spoke, jumping off towards the creature again. This time, he was able to land a hit a strong hit into the Phoenix's side. Belying its massive size, the Phoenix moved fast, its sharp talons striking out at Lau.
Jaune intercepted, blinking in and striking at its talons with the combined might of all his blades. He barely broke even, but Lau made full use of the opening, jumping off Jaune's shoulder and launching a flurry of blows into the Phoenix's good eye.
The phoenix flapped its wings hard, throwing them back with a gust of scalding hot air while climbing higher into the sky. Jaune quickly regained balance in the air with an application of domination. Lau landed hard, but used the four extra limbs of his Mandala to stabilize.
Just in time too, as the Phoenix was casting again.
Phoenix is channeling - Rising Flames
Red spots appeared on the ground below Lau.
"Lau! Move!" Jaune shouted. Decades of combat experience made sure that Lau moved on command, and just in time too, as the ground underneath him exploded in plumes of lava.
Lau dodged every red circle he could as they kept spawning under him, leaving Jaune alone facing the Phoenix, who was still channeling its spell.
Jaune took this chance to dump around a thousand mana into Fulmination.
Mana Used: 1000
Levinstrike
It was the same attack he'd used to destroy a herd of Megoliath a day ago. The majority of his mana bar was sacrificed to enable one attack that could strip a mile of land of all life.
As the beam of lightning shot out from his outstretched left arm, the word was momentarily engulfed in golden light. Within it, Jaune was able to make out two lines of text.
And it terrified him.
Phoenix used Speed Soul
Phoenix Instacast Flames of Rebirth
When the light cleared, the phoenix was still there. Its body was burned by lightning, its feathers did not look as pristine as before. These would have inspired hope, had the wounds that littered the Phoenix's body not been healing in front of his eyes.
The deep red flames that once covered the Phoenix's body were nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by a colour-shifting, iridescent flame that healed everything it danced over.
Three seconds, that's all it took for the Phoenix to heal itself completely. With both its eyes fixed, it levelled its gaze at Jaune. While Lau's fists had done some damage, he was no longer this mythical monster's main target.
Not giving it any time to gain its bearings, Jaune opened with a barrage of low-mana Fulmination casts from both his hands and the blades of Dies Iraes.
Phoenix is casting - Heatwave
A burst of heat spread out from the phoenix, like a dome, and as the Fulmination bolts passed through it, they fizzled out.
What didn't fizzle out was the massive boulder that Lau threw. It made contact with the Phoenix's face right before the Heatwave could hit Jaune.
Phoenix has been interrupted
"Get it, kid!" Lau shouted, throwing more boulders at it with his massive aura arms. Jaune needed no further provocation.
He blinked in close, hiding himself behind one of the boulders that Lau had thrown. The Phoenix moved to dodge it, but by the time it saw Jaune emerge from behind the boulder, it was too late.
Vorpal Blade
Jaune could feel time slow as his sword lashed out, coated in silver energy that drew from his aura. It parted through the Phoenix's feathers and skin like a hot knife through butter, and for a second, Jaune thought he won.
Until Goliath's ivory hit something hard, and with a sickening snap, it shattered into dozens of shards inside the Phoenix's body.
The slash had cleaved deep, and through the haze of evaporating blood, Jaune got a good look at what it was that destroyed his blade.
It was a purple gem, made of a material unlike anything he'd ever seen. It was also full of mana. There was so much in there that Jaune's full capacity felt like a drop in the ocean next to it.
Phoenix is casting - Scarlet Cyclone
So distracted was Jaune by his weapon breaking that he completely missed the Phoenix's next cast. It was the burning light that appeared in the bird's eyes as it glared down at him that made him blink out of range.
A tornado of fire burst into existence around the Phoenix. Had he been hovering next to it, he would have been immolated.
The same was not true for Lau, who jumped into the tornado, his immense aura tanking the fire easily. The four arms of aura interlocked over his head in twos, and as he fell into the eye of the tornado, the arms struck down, landing two two-handed blows on the bird's head.
The force behind the blow was strong enough to send it straight into the ground. The tornado fizzled out, and Lau landed next to Jaune.
"That ought to hurt," Lau spoke, panting for breath. "Even if it can heal, there's no way it can heal forever."
Phoenix is channeling - Flames of Rebirth
"You… may be partially correct," Jaune spoke, as he looked at the Phoenix started to heal in front of them, slowly getting up from the ground. "We can't kill it in one hit but look at it. It's not healing instantly anymore."
"Hmm," Lau grunted, getting into a combat position. The four aura arms all stretched out behind him at different angles, all prepared to attack. "That lightning attack you hit it with… that was magic, wasn't it?"
Jaune nodded. "Yeah. You look like you've seen something similar before."
Lau chuckled. "You know the story about the four maidens, yeah?" He asked, and Jaune nodded. "Well, long story short, they're real. Hell, the Winter Maiden was my superior in the military. They threw around magic like it was going out of fashion."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Jaune asked, still preoccupied by the hypnotic movement of Lau's aura fists.
"Well, you said that we can't kill it in one hit, and your basis for saying that was the failure of your strongest spell." He spoke, his eyes closing. "A magicless old bastard like me? I want to put that to the test."
"Here's the attack that allowed me to overpower a maiden." He finished, as all four of his aura arms stopped moving, each reared back to strike.
Mandala - Fists of the Arhat
The fists shot forward so fast they broke the sound barrier. So fast that they ignited the air in front of Lau. Jaune had to dig his feet into the rocks underneath him to hold on. All he could do was marvel in awe as the shockwave of the four fists exploding the very air travelled towards the Phoenix, who was still trying to take flight.
The effect was devastating.
The massive creature's body was shredded. Its wings shattered, and its body was thrown into the prominence of the mountain behind it. The mountain crumbled under its weight, causing a landslide, and the Phoenix was buried alive.
"...how's that for a one-hit-kill huh?" Lau panted, his strength close to spent.
As if to prove him wrong, the rocks that entombed the Phoenix started to glow red-hot. Like slag, they melted off, and the Phoenix shot out of its tomb on broken wings, propelled by the thrusting force of its fire.
It reached the apex of its ascent, and fire began to take shape as an orb in front of its beak. It screeched as the ball of fire grew larger, until it lit the sky like a fake sun.
The Phoenix is using an ultimate skill!
Phoenix is casting - Revelation
"Lau… run." Jaune spoke, Taking to the sky in a desperate attempt to try and interrupt the spell before it was fully cast.
He was too late, as the Phoenix shot the humungous ball of fire at the mountain it once called its roost. Jaune blinked away, trying to create as much distance as possible between himself and the orb.
It was a pointless gesture. As the orb touched the rock, it exploded with the power of a thousand dust megabombs. He'd cleared the initial explosion, but the heatwave hit him like a freight truck.
And he blacked out.
He came to his senses in a cave filled with dust deposits.
Jaune shot to his feet. He couldn't have been out long. His jacket was charred, and his body was still cooling from the heatwave from the Phoenix's attack. He's been flung through a mountain, then another, and finally deposited in a cave.
As the world came into focus, Jaune's attention was drawn to tiny motes of light surrounding him. He blinked twice, clearing out the blurriness from the impact, only to find himself surrounded by dust deposits.
He'd never seen any in his life, few ever had. Being in this cave felt surreal. Complete darkness, broken only by the multitudes of colors… and the ominous red light coming from the hole created by his body. He wondered if this was how space felt, surrounded by stars.
He didn't have the luxury to sit and think, though. He could hear the Phoenix's earthshaking screech reverberate through the entire cave. He knew that attack was not enough to take Lau down. He felt it in his soul, even. Legends like him were not easy to kill.
He got up, feeling The Behemoth's Regalia, his trustworthy and - quite frankly - overpowered jacket break apart as he did. The majority of the gear piece was reduced to ash. What little remained was slowly breaking apart. Just like his sword, he'd now lost his armor.
He ripped the last shreds of it away, already missing the extra stats and benefits that came with it. He took a second to look at his status.
His condition was… not ideal.
His mana was mostly spent between repeated uses of Blink, Domination, and the single overcharged Levinstrike. His Aura was down to triple digits, but slowly refilling. Under ideal circumstances, he'd be able to muster up one use of Vorpal Blade in a minute or so.
His health was untouched, though. Aura truly was the greatest defense of mankind. His stamina wasn't too far gone either.
"Full bar of health, Practically no Mana, some Aura, and a beast out there that has no doubt already recovered. Fan-fucking-tastic." Jaune hissed. As if to confirm his theory, the Phoenix flew above the cave hole. Its wings were fully healed. All the damage Lau and he had so painstakingly inflicted on the monster was rendered useless.
He heard the unmistakable sonic boom that came from Lau using Fist the Arhat again. Followed by a massive impact. Still, the Phoenix continued to screech. Even an attack that strong was not enough to kill an enemy that could heal so fast.
Then… was there an attack in his repertoire that could hit the Phoenix hard enough to one-shot it?
His only option was Fulmination. If a thousand mana was enough to transform that spell into Levinstrike, there was a possibility that with his entire mana pool, he could use the next tier of the spell.
The description had said the full power of Fulmination could destroy a city in one cast. He only needed a fraction of that power.
The problem was the mana. It would take far too long for his Mana to recharge, and if the Phoenix's mana core followed the same laws as his mana regeneration, this was a battle of attrition that would not favour him.
But the problem of mana could be solved… for a price.
He pried out a crystal from a red dust deposit next to him. It broke off easily enough. Once he held it in his hand, the system activated.
Mana Source Detected
Absorb?: Yes:No
He'd tried this before. He'd held a dust crystal at Diamante's house. Later, after collecting the bounty from all the missions they'd completed, Diamante had given him one. 'Just in case', he'd said, forcing him to take the crystal before he left to hunt down the Alpha Sphinx.
They were the last words he'd ever said to Jaune.
Jaune sighed and braced himself, allowing the system to start extracting mana from the Dust crystal.
A searing pain shot up his arm, and as his mana points started to rise, his HP started to fall.
Purifying Mana Source
The pain was excruciating. Last time he did this, his soul was the conduit to purifying the Dust into mana. This time, he couldn't afford to lose what little Aura he had left, so his body took the brunt of it.
It wasn't till the pain passed the threshold from stress to injury that he realized that since that fateful day when he gained the System, he hadn't been hurt in any meaningful way. Sure, before he got his initial levels he'd taken a scrape or two from a Beowolf, but nothing of substance had ever made it through his Aura.
He was so unused to pain that it felt almost foreign to him.
Still, he held. He bore it all. It felt like heat, boiling his blood, his very soul itself. The whole process lasted scarcely a few seconds, but to him, it felt like an eternity.
Thirty percent of his health was sacrificed for a full bar of mana. A fair trade, but one that left him mentally drained.
He grabbed two more of the largest crystals he could find, ripping them out of their crystalline deposits with ease, before he jumped out of the hole to find a world that was far different than what he remembered.
The Phoenix's ultimate attack had melted down the mountain that it once claimed as a perch, creating a pseudo-volcano, streaming superheated rock down its face. The heat was so intense it had turned the raging blizzard into rain.
And then there was the slowly rising steam, a testament to the war between the cold world and the radiance of the monster that called it home.
The monster in question, meanwhile, was fighting Lau. Unlike before, where it was happy enough flapping in place, launching spells, it was now moving. It had taken Lau's greatest attack and now understood that - if given an opportune moment to set up - Lau was the greater threat out of the two of them.
Therein lay his advantage. He had one shot, and it was time to make it count.
Time too was of the essence. Lau was acting as both a diversion and a tank. He was missing one of his four Aura arms - likely sacrificed to protect him from the Phoenix's revelation - and right now, Jaune needed him to excel at that role.
Bracing himself yet again, Jaune deactivated his Aura and started the Mana extraction from the two stones, with a tiny gap between them. The pain, as he had predicted, was twice as bad. The wind crystal in his left hand felt like it was shredding his arm, while the ice crystal in his right hand served as a reminder that ice burned just as badly as fire.
He held, he had no option, and before the mana extraction could commence in full, he dumped all three and a half thousand points of mana into Fulmination.
He had hoped that it would be enough to get him to the next tier, yet he was proven wrong. The system refused to grant him any respite, so as soon as the mana from the wind crystal refilled his mana bar, he dumped it again. Once again, no luck.
It wasn't till the third stone disappeared from his grasp and ninety percent of his total HP was gone that he gained the necessary amount of mana to launch a spell that he himself was terrified of.
Mana Used : 10000
Grand Levin
It happened in an instant.
The heavens themselves parted for a second as over a dozen massive bolts of lightning rained from the sky, striking the Phoenix at the exact same time. The light from the bolts flashbanged both Jaune and Lau, forcing them to cover their eyes as the world was lit up white for one painstakingly long moment.
Then came the thunder.
It was the loudest noise Jaune had ever heard, but to him, it was like a victory cry. It was so loud that he could barely hear the pained screech of the Phoenix under it. Yet, as the thunder rumbled to an end, the screech remained.
It was no longer the triumphant screech of an animal defending its territory, but instead the cacophony of a creature that was hurt and bewildered beyond measure.
As Jaune's vision cleared, he got a good look at what his spell had caused.
The monster was still flying, but most of its once radiant plumage had been reduced to ash, revealing skin that was severely burnt. Jaune's spell had reduced the once-majestic creature to a destroyed facsimile of what it once was.
Yet, it was not dead.
All that, and it still fucking lived.
He had failed.
"Brothers preserve…"
It was Lau's voice that broke Jaune out of his reverie. No, while the monster still lived, it was hurt, and more importantly, it wasn't healing.
Instead, it tried to flee upwards.
Grand Levin had caused damage that ran far deeper than its thick skin. Its flapping was erratic like its nerves had been fried. The only reason it was gaining elevation was because it was channeling its fire like an afterburner.
"We can't let it escape!" Jaune shouted at Lau.
"Well, you're the only one here who can fly!" Lau shot back. Jaune looked up at the beast again, it was already moving at a pace much faster than Jaune could follow.
That's when another idea came to him.
"Lau, I need you to throw me." Jaune yelled, pointing upwards at the rapidly fleeing Phoenix.
"Beg pardon?" Lau shot back, a baffled look on his face.
"You have those massive Aura arms. I saw you throw those rocks earlier. If you throw me, there's a possibility I can reach it and land a killing blow before it goes too high." Jaune stated, and a look of understanding dawned on Lau's face. "If it gets high enough, it can just heal endlessly outside of our range, if that happens, we're as good as dead."
One of Lau's arms grabbed him, and he noticed it start growing as the other two started to fade.
"Thank you for flying Lau airlines, Mr. Arc." He spoke, and for a second, Jaune doubted the very validity of his plan.
"May your journey be safe and filled with enjoyment!" He yelled as - with all his strength - he yeeted Jaune into the sky.
Jaune had the presence of mind to apply Domination to both cancel his spin and add some extra speed to his ascent. Still, it was not enough. While initially he was catching up, the Phoenix's constant propulsion was outpacing him.
He needed another push.
He un-inventoried Dies Iraes. One use of Domination and the petals of his weapon combined under him like a petaled shield. His impromptu plan would get them destroyed. Diamante's last gift would be lost to him, but it was his only option.
Thankfully, Lau was quick to catch on.
Mandala - Fists of the Arhat
The sheer force of Lau's attack shattered the blades of Dies Iraes, but it was enough kinetic energy to propel Jaune right into the trajectory of the Phoenix. For a second, their eyes met, and Jaune could swear that he saw fear in its eyes.
Vorpal Blade
He had to cast it with his hand. He had no weapons anymore, but Vorpal Blade did not - in fact - need a weapon to be used. With the steel-hard feathers around its head gone, his attack found no resistance, as it cut straight into the Phoenix's brain.
And with one final screech, the creature's flames disappeared, and it began to plummet to the ground.
You have levelled up!
+1 to all stats!
Your health, mana, stamina and Aura have been replenished!
It wasn't until Jaune saw that popup that he breathed a sigh of relief. After all, in his haste to make his plan, he'd completely forgotten that he didn't have enough mana or Aura to allow him to land safely.
As he fell, he saw a glowing stone falling beside the Phoenix's corpse. One quick domination later, it was in his hand. The system gave him a prompt to observe it, and as he read it, a smile emerged on his face.
Ability stone - Rebirth and Destruction
Break this rune stone to learn the skill: Rebirth and Destruction
Lau POV
As the beast's body crashed into the molten rock below, Lau realized he'd lost.
His entire plan hinged on him being the one to kill the damned bird. He'd kill it, and the law of conquest would be ruled in his favor. He'd fight off Jaune Arc, perhaps kill those pesky Atlesian mooks that were hiding on the other side of the mountain ring, and then set about making his kingdom.
Yet, where his strongest attack had failed, Jaune's had succeeded. He knew Jaune was strong, or else he would have dealt with the teenager before ever coming to fight the damned bird.
He had heavily underestimated just how strong.
As he stood in the magma-filled pseudo-volcano that was once the bird's roost, pelted by lukewarm rain that was once a blizzard, he realized that he'd pit one force of nature against another, and now, he had to fight the stronger of the two. The chances of his survival were slim to none.
Yet, the thought only excited him further.
He felt her arms around him again. Kyra only appeared when he needed her the most. And now, as his mind was stuck between victory and death, her presence was heavy on his shoulders.
"Kyra, this will be the last time we see each other." He spoke, If he was to fight Jaune, he had to be at his best, he had to use all his ability, and that meant burning her soul, just as he had done to countless others.
"I wish I could see your face one more time, but we both know I cannot do that." he whispered, as her arms faded away, leaving him cold.
"Wait for me where you go, and I'll find you there one day. Then, maybe I'll see your face once again." He finished, looking up.
Jaune was burning.
It was the same ethereal fire that surrounded the beast. The flames ran through his hair, over his cracked mask. They danced over his shirtless form. Yet, the golden glow of his eyes outshone them all, even the massive wings of fire that bore him slowly downward.
The image invoked comparisons to divinity. Religions had been formed over less… over lesser monsters.
The flames of his soul that had diminished as he fought the beast were roaring at full strength, stronger even. Somehow, killing the monster had made him stronger.
"What the fuck are you…" he whispered to himself. Jaune's semblance was closer to his own than Julius', there was irony in that.
Death made them both stronger, but the levels were different.
"Guess your progeny has surpassed you, Julius." He commented as Jaune landed. The flames surrounding him blinked out of existence as if snuffed out forcefully.
"That's high praise coming from you, Lau," Jaune spoke, walking closer. He made sure to keep at enough distance that any sudden attack wouldn't catch him, but it was more our of weariness than fear. "I still can't split a mountain with a blow, you know?"
"That spell you used against the monster? You could cripple this world's military with that. You could bring down a horde of Grimm with it. Julius couldn't do that. Plus, Julius wasn't the greatest of fighters outside his strongest attacks." Lau commented as the three remaining Aura arms behind his back faded away.
He needed speed for this fight. He'd seen Jaune move, he'd seen him use that teleportation trick of his as well. There was no way that the tricks that worked against the beast would work against him.
"We're beyond words, aren't we, Lau?" Jaune asked. His expression was invisible, obscured by his mask, but Lau could imagine the frown.
"Not really. We could stop this right now if you join me." Lau shrugged. "But we both know that won't happen. Still, I'm curious. You're a huntsman who is out here, so far from civilization. You aren't here by choice. The dream of having somewhere you can call home, a nation for huntsmen should appeal to you too. So why doesn't it?"
Jaune was silent for a moment. "You know how you once called your pursuit a foolish dream?"
Lau chuckled. "Yeah, a foolish dream that hundreds have sacrificed themselves to achieve, one that is almost in my grasp right now, what about it?"
"I have one of my own, you see." Jaune countered, his stance firming up. "I want to create a world where huntsmen aren't needed."
There was a moment of silence between the two. The rain fell, the magma sizzled, yet neither spoke. This moment was broken by Lau breaking down into a mad, uncontrolled laugh.
"Fuck! By the brothers! You're an even bigger idiot than me!" He spoke, holding his head as he continued to laugh.
"An old man once told me that a real man ought to be a bit foolish, you know?" Jaune quipped back. "And it seems we're the biggest fools of them all."
"That we are, Jaune." Lau's laughter slowly petered away. "To be honest, I'm glad we don't think alike." With that, he raised his arms, entering the stance he'd used all his life.
"Ever since I saw you, I've wanted to fight you. Call it a warrior's intuition, but I knew when I first saw you that one of us would kill the other." He spoke, his Aura receding, internalizing, preparing for his ultimate anti-human technique.
"So let's see, Jaune Arc, whether this will be your defining moment… or your last stand."
Reverse Mandala
When Lau moved, he moved.
It was so fast that had Jaune not been prepared or had his sense stat been lacking, he'd have taken considerable damage.
That said, even getting a rudimentary block up in time didn't stop his Aura from falling a good ten percent. He ducked and weaved through the next few attacks, his experience from watching Yang came into play.
While her style was clumsy, sloppy, and too reliant on the inherent power that came from her large frame, Lau was precise beyond measure. Even though he had strength that could absolutely dumpster Yang, he knew how to control it.
Plus, he was fighting without Aura, or at least the defensive aspect of it. Jaune could tell. The punch that he'd blocked earlier didn't have the steely feel of Aura behind it, just good 'ol skin and bone.
The moment he'd activated his Reverse Mandala, he'd entered a realm of speed that even Jaune couldn't currently reach. It wasn't any fancy technique, hell, the moment Lau'd used it, the system had given it to Jaune.
Reverse Mandala
Allows the user to reverse the defensive attributes of their aura into offensive power by internalizing it.
Attack Damage + 49%
Speed + 49%
Aura cost - 50 AP/s
HP cost - 100 HP/s
Deactivates Passive Skill - Aura Shield
And he could see the HP damage being done to Lau. He didn't have the system to streamline the process for him, and his Aura dwarfed Jaune's own.
Aura was humanity's greatest shield, and it did not like being turned into a sword. The body itself rebelled, unable to contain so much energy, and it was a very visible and painful-looking process.
Every time Lau moved, Jaune could see the tearing of his muscles. Spots of blood bloomed under his skin, slowly giving his body a red-tinged hue. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain which Lau was going through to fight him
Yet, his body was healing rapidly. A constant cycle of tearing muscles, and then repairing them instantly, and Jaune couldn't figure out why.
Until they ended up in a clinch, their arms holding each other's back, unwilling to concede the right distance to land a punch. He finally saw the lines on Lau's face, the signs of aging that - minutes ago - had not been there.
A headbutt broke the clinch. Jaune's Aura took a little damage, while a large gash appeared on Lau's forehead, only to instantly close up.
He was aging, and Jaune had a sneaking suspicion it was because he was burning away accumulated souls to continuously fuel his healing.
Could… he not do something similar?
Rebirth and Destruction - Level 1
The ancient flame of the phoenix that knows no spark, nor ever fades. Some say that as long as even a single fire burns in this world, a phoenix can be born from it. Can cleanse and heal even the most corrupted of souls.
While the flames are known primarily for their healing, fire is inherently dangerous, and can be wielded as such to terrible effect.
Active - Fire's Embrace - Coats your body with the fires of rebirth, healing both your body and soul.
Aura Regeneration - 2% Per Second
HP Regeneration - 2% per second
MP Cost - 100 MP/S
Spell - Ignition - A Variable spell that becomes more powerful the more mana the user expends
MP cost: Variable
While he didn't have thousands of stored-up souls like Lau, he could maintain Reverse Mandala for at least a minute without taking any damage. If he used it more economically, it could even last up to five minutes.
But a fight like this barely gave him the time to think.
He was forced to duck a jab, then realize it was a feint. Blink was good enough to get him out of the way of the follow-up hook, but Lau had almost a century of experience over him. Lau closed the gap before Jaune could even formulate an offensive, pushing him back to defense again.
But these exchanges were changing something in him.
Due to facing a Grandmaster, Unarmed Combat is growing!
Passive: increase damage of all unarmed attacks by 80%
Lau was the poster child of a 'Grandmaster'. It was his style they were both using, after all. Jaune - who originally was just mimicking what he saw Yang use at Beacon - could say with certainty that between the system and facing Lau, he was now better at using the style than Yang would ever be.
If he looked at this moment in a vacuum, completely disregarding the fact that Lau and he wanted each other dead, it almost felt like a master teaching a student how to be better.
And he felt like he was on the cusp of an evolution. Another strike was blocked, a heavy kick, this time. It sent Jaune skidding a few meters to the side, but right as he landed, he saw the popup he'd been waiting for.
Lau was not willing to let him read it, pressing his advantage to get into Jaune's guard. Lau knew his style better than anyone alive, he knew no move in his repertoire could threaten someone at this range, and Jaune's footing wasn't stable enough to clinch.
Which was too bad, as he didn't see a head kick - delivered at such an oblique angle that it would never fit his style - connect with his temple. His fist only grazed the edge of Jaune's mask, not enough to cause any damage to his face behind it.
Staggered, he was sent scrambling to the floor. He regained his balance fast, creating distance. He probably expected a counterattack, considering his style relied on them, yet, Jaune hadn't moved, why would he?
He wasn't following the same style anymore, and his stance change would be enough to clue Lau in.
"... and here I was thinking I had a chance just because you are a swordsman," Lau spoke through labored breaths. "And you pull out a stance I've never seen in this long, long life of mine. Truly, you give me the best of gifts."
Jaune was panting too. The constant movement needed to dodge and move against Lau was taking a toll on his stamina. He shook his head, which finally forced his cracked mask to fall off his face, leaving his smile visible for all to see.
Jaune knew he couldn't win this as a battle of attrition. His aura was fading faster than Lau was aging. He had to be overwhelming.
And between Reverse Mandala, Fire's Embrace, and his new skill, he finally had all the tools.
Through unending practice and a master's tutelage, the skill, Unarmed Combat, had evolved into Issen (Flash).
Issen (Flash)
A style created by the owner of the Judge Eyes, a completely offensive style of battle that was created to provide unarmed combat supremacy to a man amongst men, in a world without aura.
Passive: increase the damage of all unarmed attacks by 50%
Passive: Increase the speed of all unarmed strikes by 50%
While his offensive damage output had been cut in half, the fact that the style was far better than Lau's style, and was built around man-to-man combat, was enough of a benefit for the upgrade to be a boon.
The upgrade in speed was just the cherry on top.
"I hope you like gifts, Lau, because that wasn't the only gift got for you." Jaune spoke, and flames started to lick his body, sizzling against the rain that fell in torrents around them. His Aura deactivated, and a frown of concern - and maybe even fear - appeared on Lau's face.
Reverse Mandala
Lau POV
His blood was boiling.
It had taken him fifty years to create that technique. Every failure left him with internal injuries, with days of recovery needed, with hundreds of souls wasted.
This kid… he'd copied it in mere minutes.
That wasn't even the most incredulous part. The kid's stance had changed. Lau could no longer predict his next move. The benefit he had of being superior in their shared martial art was now gone, just like the benefit of fighting a disarmed swordsman.
Just… what kind of monster was this kid?
Yet, he couldn't help but be hyped. It had been over half a century since he'd fought someone who could give him a true challenge, another chance to defy death. Yet here he was, with every advantage possible, facing someone who kept growing every minute he lived.
It was exhilarating.
"I feel like a broken record but kid, you're a fucking monster." He spoke, getting back into stance. Across him, Jaune did the same.
"Only a monster can fight a monster, isn't that right? All I've done is even this playing field." Jaune countered.
He was right. Jaune's version of Mandala didn't have the same level of power Lau had, mostly because of the sheer difference in their aura capacities. Still, Jaune wasn't sacrificing souls to feed it.
Magic. He'd been around it before. Anyone who was in the Atlesian inner circle at some point knew about it. He'd known Fria, after all. He knew it was a potent force, he'd faced it in combat and lived to tell the tale.
Before today, he didn't know how versatile Magic could be.
Jaune had somehow stolen the fire from the beast, and just like it, he too was healing just as he was being hurt by the Reverse Mandala. The wince on Jaune's face told him that Jaune felt the same pain he did, but unlike him, he didn't have to sacrifice his very lifespan to keep it active.
This was still a battle of stamina, who could outlast the other, but now, they were on equal footing.
Jaune opened the fight. Lau predicted as much. The boy used his short-distance teleport to appear right in front of him. Lau reacted fast, a hook was launched, trying to quell the boy's momentum, but all it found was air. Jaune had ducked, and from that position, sprung up to land a heel kick on his chin. Staggered, he found himself taking more hits.
His experience made sure he gave as good as he got.
The ebb and flow of the fight was a dance of brutality, each strike landing with bone-jarring force, the sound reverberating through the area like the crack of a whip. Blood sprayed into the air, a crimson testament to the ferocity of the combatants as they traded blow for blow, neither willing to yield an inch.
The lack of a defensive Aura field didn't stop either of them. A strong haymaker from Lau served to throw Jaune into a rock, but when Jaune kicked off it and landed a flying knee on his face, all he could do was grin.
"Now this is a fight!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as Jaune was forced to catch his breath, Victory may yet be his, even though he had to burn through the majority of his lifespan to get it.
He closed in again, clotheslining Jaune to the ground. Sitting on his chest, he rained down blows that Jaune tried his best to block or avoid. He was still doing damage, till Jaune was able to grip his arm and force them to switch positions. Now on the defensive on the ground, Lau realized he'd underestimated the offensive capabilities of Jaune's new style. The way he rained down elbows was something Lau wasn't ready for.
Forcing every bit of Aura he could into his body, he was able to push Jaune off him and regain his footing. He panted for breath, but Jaune was much worse off than him.
The flames that healed him were now extinguished. The damage done by Reverse Mandala was now clear and visible, not healing nearly as fast as it was before.
"You're at the end of your tether, ain't ya boy?" He asked, and Jaune huffed.
"You're one to talk, finally showing your age huh?" Jaune shot back, a valid response, considering he had less than ten percent of his souls left.
Still, he was in far better shape than Jaune. As they ran at each other for one final exchange, they both decided to push to their very limits.
With a sudden burst of energy, Lau lunged forward, fists a blur as a series of punches were aimed. Jaune dodged and weaved, movements fluid yet calculated. Each blow exchanged echoed through the valley, a testament to their unwavering resolve. Neither would give in so easily.
Plus, Lau was winning. He could see it in Jaune's eyes. There was doubt there. He was running out of steam faster than Lau was.
Lau confirmed this when his Jab - which Jaune had been masterfully avoiding all this while - finally connected. The cross and hook that followed were textbook perfect, sending Jaune down to the ground. He saw the fire of Jaune's soul start to flicker, his Reverse Mandala fading as he ran out of steam.
He had won.
Till he felt a sharp pain in his chest, as the sound of a firearm echoed from the mountains around them.
Diamante's granddaughter got her revenge.
He looked down to see a large hole in his chest, His Reverse Mandala dropped, allowing what little Aura he had to burn itself and heal his wound. It wasn't till most of it healed that he realized just how much he had pushed himself in the fight.
His hands were decrepit, his muscles atrophied, and his strength diminished by the one enemy he thought he had conquered, time itself.
"Guess this is what I get for my hubris." He whispered, finally noticing Jaune standing over him. His Aura was gone too, and his body was littered with a combination of injuries, both from the mandala and their fight. His arms were raised over his head, interlocked together.
"No one lives forever, Lau." He spoke back, his voice a hoarse whisper, as he brought down his hands, delivering a powerful double-handed strike to the back of his head. Lau tried to move out of the way, but his legs wouldn't move.
The impact was enough to knock him to the ground. There was no way he didn't have a concussion, but that was the least of his worries, as Jaune's raised foot was fight above his head.
"And you… You've lived long enough." He spoke, bringing down his foot.
And Lau knew oblivion.
Jaune still drew breath.
He breathed so hard that it felt like he would suck dry the sky itself.
The blood from Lau's cracked skull smeared his shoes. The rain diluted the blood leaking from his body, painting the ground a dull crimson.
His stamina bar had been maxed out, his mana was all gone, his Aura was in double digits, and his HP was in its last tenth percent, yet, he'd won.
A massive part of it was Jade's shot. The moment Reverse Mandala dropped, he should have been dead, but Jade had intervened.
She'd saved his life.
The system was quick to reward him as well.
Promotion Quest Complete!
To Fell A King
The Legion has evolved from a fringe militant group into a threat to world peace. They must be eliminated before they become a threat to you and yours
-Eliminate Legion members - 221/221
-Eliminate Lau Ka Long - 1/1
-Eliminate The Phoenix - 1/1
Rewards - 250,000 XP
Legendary Weapon - Flameseeker
Class Promotion - Empyrean
Four levels, finally getting him to sixty. More importantly, they had restored his body. Seconds ago, he'd been unable to stand without concentrated effort. Now, he was it top shape again.
He took one look at the weapon he'd gotten from the fight. It was a beautiful flamberge, longer even than Goliath's Ivory. It was made of a crimson metal that even at a glance was not of this world.
He gave it an experimental swing, marveling at how natural it felt to wield. It would serve him well. Finally, he looked at its description.
Flamberge - Flameseeker - Legendary
+800 damage
+50 dex
+80 strength
Passive - He who seeketh flame: when used in conjunction with Fire's Embrace, gains the buff 'Purifying Flames'
Purifying Flames - Active: Flame removes impurity, and coated in flames, so will this weapon.
"Ominous…" Jaune spoke, as he let the weapon slide into his inventory. It was great to have a weapon, considering the fight had destroyed every bit of weaponry and armor on his person.
Goliath's Ivory and Behemoth's regalia were great, broken even. Their loss hit hard, but not as hard as the loss of Dies Iraes. That was the last gift Diamante ever gave him. A weapon crafted by the master for the student, now reduced to tiny fragments of metal.
He hated it.
Finally, he looked at the class popup.
Class Promotion Available!
Unique Class Available!
Empyrean
He who will one day become king. The Empyrean is a battlemage who has mastered the mysteries of the soul.
Wil you accept?
Yes:No
He took one cursory glance at it. Sure, it sounded good. His build was a balanced one, and a class that could use both melee weaponry and magic appealed to him. He was too tired, too exhausted to think about it much, so he hit the yes button.
Class: Empyrean has been chosen
The system will now reboot.
Est. Time: 120 hours
"Wait what the fu-" Were the last words he could speak before his body crumpled like a sack of potatoes, and his consciousness drifted into a deep sleep.
Jade POV
Jaune hadn't woken up.
When they'd extracted him from that destroyed mountain, he didn't look injured. The Aceops team had called it a case of Aura exhaustion, but that didn't explain how his Aura was very much intact and still protecting his unconscious form.
Another one of the mysteries that revolved around Jaune.
Atlas had acted fast after the Aceops team checked in. Within a day, three military crafts with supplies, soldiers, and automated mechs had landed in the frontier village. They were given dust, promised help, and even support for further growth.
All this just because Clover had leaked that Jaune considered this place like a second home in his report.
The amount of politicking Atlas was trying to do to get on Jaune's good side was quite honestly ridiculous. Then again, Jaune was now the lawful owner of the world's largest known Dust deposit. That, plus he was strong enough to kill a monster of legend, and a war legend.
A legend she had a part in killing.
She wished she could say that she did it because of her revenge, because she wanted to be the one to kill the man who had taken everything for her, but that wasn't true. The entire time Jaune and Lau fought, she was frozen. Her finger was on the trigger from when the first punch was thrown. She saw them trade blood through her scope, she knew neither had any aura.
Yet, it wasn't till Jaune faltered that she finally mustered the courage to take the shot.
It was a shot of desperation. As Vine later told her, she had made a two-mile shot with varied elevation, in torrential rain, through the haze of steam. He told her that she had probably broken a record of some sort.
The only reason she'd been able to do it was because she didn't want to lose Jaune.
"Knew I'd find you here, kiddo," Ramos spoke, taking a seat on the crate next to her. The wood creaked a little under his weight, but it held. "Shouldn't you be packing to leave for Atlas?"
Jade was silent. She hadn't yet made up her mind to go to Atlas. Jaune was the one who had pushed for it, he was the one who had made her promise to go with him. Yet with him in a coma and Atlas slowly encroaching on their village, she felt like she had to stay.
"Before you say some crap about how you'd be better off staying here, let me ask you one thing," Ramos spoke, pulling out a tobacco pipe from his pocket.
"Do we adults look so useless to you?"
She had no words to give him, so he continued. "What's happening here isn't something you can help with. It's politics. You're a prodigy with a gun, a huntress with years of experience younger even than most academy students, and also absolutely useless on the big boys' table."
"But what about the Grimm?" She asked, and Ramos laughed in her face.
"Kid, between you, the legion, Jaune, and Diamante, you guys cleared out every single Grimm between here and the western forest. Outside of a mass outbreak or the Grimm learning to divide themselves into two, it's unlikely we'll face something the guns on the walls can't handle." He spoke, taking a puff from his pipe. "Plus, we have the Atlasbots now. While they can't hold a candle to someone like you, and they burn through lightning dust at a pace that boggles my mind, they'll be enough."
"But what if they are not? What if an outbreak does happen!" She yelled. Ramos surprised her, putting a hand on her head.
"If that does happen, then we'll deal with it. It shouldn't worry you." He spoke, putting his pipe away. "Ingress… it isn't a place that can contain someone like you. You're too skilled, too young. You need to meet others like yourself, and then dazzle them with your brilliance."
"Plus, you'd get to meet Jaune's family." He spoke with a light chuckle.
"He thinks his family has disowned him. Winter even said his sisters and mothers are hunting for him right now." Jade spoke, allowing Ramos to ruffle her hair. It felt familiar, like when da used to do it.
It made her feel safe.
"Hah 'hunting' for someone they've disowned? It seems Jaune's got some complicated history with his family too. Don't you want front-row seats to your new family's drama?" Ramos commented.
"They're not my family…" Jade answered, yet, in her heart of hearts, she knew that to her, Jaune was the brother she never had. He was the only reason she'd even recovered from da's death. By all accounts, he'd fight tooth and nail to keep her safe.
He already had, after all.
"You'll find that your heart disagrees with that, kid. Plus, someone has to make sure that idiot doesn't get into more trouble." Diamante laughed. "Now get going. You have to pack. They're already loading Jaune into one of the ships. Gotta make sure they don't do any experiments on him in the meanwhile."
Jade chuckled at that. "There's no way they'd do that…right?" Her smile slowly drained as she realized that Clover had repeatedly reported just how crazy Jaune's abilities were.
"The only way to know is to be there, isn't it?" Ramos smiled at her. She nodded once and ran off to pack.
There was no way she was going to let Jaune be experimented on!
Ozpin POV
"So, the fearsome Lau Ka Long is dead." Ozpin sipped his coffee. He wasn't expecting good news first thing in the morning, yet, he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"As well as the beast in the north. The 'Phoenix' as you called it." Ironwood's hologram spoke, and Ozpin stopped mid-sip.
"The immortal beast of the North? You're trying to tell me that both Lau Ka Lung and his white whale died on the same day?" He spoke, his words calm and measured. While the news itself was good, the ramifications of such an event were not easy to measure. "Did they take each other out?"
Ironwood shook his head. "No, they were both taken out by the same person. According to sources in the settlement of Ingress, someone named Jaune Arc. I'm sure you're familiar with the name?"
Ozpin scoffed. "Jaune was someone I saw potential in, but let's be honest, he's a child less than two decades old. Till before the Vytal festival, he could barely swing a sword. While I have no doubts he has what it takes to become a great huntsman, you can't expect me to believe he was the one who did it."
In response, A video file was sent over by Ironwood. Ozpin, still unbelieving of his claims, played the video.
It was shot on a scroll camera, visibility wasn't the best what with the blizzard and all, but it was still enough for him to see exactly why Ironwood wanted him to see the video.
The blonde avenger in the video barely resembled Jaune. He was masked too, adding to the doubts in Ozpin's head. It wasn't until - in a feat of superheroes that defied his very belief - he killed the Phoenix and his mask broke while fighting Lau that Ozpin got a good look at his face.
Something had to be said about the power of modern scrolls that even with a distance of that scale, they could still capture the face of someone that was unmistakable Jaune Arc but improved in every single way possible.
Most importantly. He used spells. Spells that Ozpin didn't recognize. In his long, long life, he'd never once met someone who could use a spell like the one he used to damage the Phoenix. The elements were not that easy to control, not even for the greatest mages of his time.
"You believe me now, Ozpin?" Ironwood asked, letting the silence that settled on the room be his answer.
Ozpin already had his suspicions. The last he'd heard of Jaune was when his paths crossed with Glynda a few months ago. He'd already been showing signs of growth back then, but compared to the man he saw in the video? It was day and night.
Ozpin sipped his coffee again. "I assume you plan to release this video as propaganda? To see such threats be eliminated by a huntsman of his caliber would be a morale boost the entire world could use, especially after how close we got to Beacon falling."
"If he allows. Ozpin, you don't understand. With the law of conquest and his own power, we might be looking at the most influential person in the world right now." Ironwood answered, getting a nod from Ozpin.
"And we should be happy all that power is in the hands of someone as pure as Mr. Arc," Ozpin spoke, putting down his trusty mug. "From my interactions with the boy, he's someone who will not be so easily coerced by Salem."
Ironwood chuckled dryly. "Why would he? Even for someone like Lau, the only reason we were so convinced that he'd never join Salem was because his strength eclipsed her own."
Ozpin nodded. "'Unkillable weak nuisance' was what he called her, if I'm not forgetting, phrasing aside." He said, knowing full well that there was a string of expletives he was concatenating from the quote.
"I need to know, Ozpin. How do I handle this? We've had monsters here before, legends that wanted nothing to do with our war. It's the first time we've met one that not only is linked to us but also willing to be active as a huntsman." Ironwood asked, completely omitting the fact that other than that, Jaune also had complete ownership of a dust deposit so large it could completely remove the SDC from its position at the apex of dust production.
"We keep a cordial relationship and get out of his way." Ozpin repeated to Ironwood the same words he'd said to Glynda, back when he simply hoped Jaune would mature into a useful piece for him. This was far beyond that. With the pieces in his repertoire, he could upend the very board itself.
It was in their best interest to make sure that didn't happen, and if he could be convinced to work with them, then that significantly reduced the chances.
"And what about the Dust deposit?" Ironwood asked, and Ozpin could tell that he was trying to hide his excitement. Long had the SDC been a bedfellow Ironwood wanted to get rid of, and suddenly, a chance to do exactly that had appeared in front of him. He wouldn't just let it go, he wasn't that kind of man.
"Go ahead and do what you will, as long as you do not antagonize or in any way jeopardize our cordiality with Jaune. Appeal to his reason and his willingness to do the right thing, and I believe you'll see good results." He answered, his piece said.
"And what if he doesn't cooperate?" Ironwood asked. There was an edge to his voice, one that was best kept hidden, especially when speaking to his betters.
"For your sake, James, I hope things do not get to that, else this may be the last time we ever speak."
ARC 1 - To Become A Legend - End
Okay! That was... a lot longer than I ever expected ehe...
The next chapter will be an epilogue for this arc and a setup for the next arc. Consider it an in-between chapter of sorts. From now on, 90% of all of Jaune's interactions will only be with canon characters. As such, because this is a world in which Beacon never fell, expect these characters to also be very different from their canon counterparts.
Because RT put about as much work into RWBY worldbuilding as Russia does into maintaining world peace, I'm going to be taking a lot of liberties. The monsters are one of them. As always, the source will be a mystery, but I'll preface this by saying that no, they are not a creation of the system, but instead will have an origin rooted in RWBY itself.
Also, we're going to be starting with Jaune's Knights. I've currently shortlisted two names, Adam Taurus and Cardin Winchester. Due to the way this story is written, I can put them in either order. The stories of the Knights will be their own thing, being added to the end of each upcoming chapter. When Jaune meets them in the story is the only part that I have to change in case I change who the Knights will be.
That said, there are openings for two more knights. It can be anyone, and I need YOUR input to decide who the remaining two knights will be. Tell me who you'd like to see and give me a compelling reason, and I'll make it happen!
Also, I'll be uploading once in the coming week, but not for this story. I'm going to be starting a second story, a DxD one at that, with a new system I've been meaning to try out. This one is not level based, and I hope some of you will give it a try once it's out!
Signing Out!
- Cold Daylight