A/N: Thanks as always to qazse for help with reaction ideas and my brother Sai for making the video, "The Dhampir Dragon! Malzeno Lore" by Sai Blade. Go check it out as you read along.
Haunting organ music belted out while thunder rumbled as Sai laughed, dressed in fancy, yet menacing attire. "Behold, mortals! I have gained the powers of a vampire! " He declared, laughing again as bats swarmed all around him.
Ruby gasped at this. "Awesome! Vampires!" She said, clapping excitedly, along with a few other fans of the night creatures.
"Yes! I am so here for this!" Blake agreed eagerly.
"They are always quite... interesting." Glynda said, secretly a closet fan of romance novels the creatures appear in.
"Y-yes. VERY interesting." Summer said, having shared a few of those romance novels with Glynda.
"I like that a lot of them are shapeshifters." Neo added.
"I'm a fan, myself. I love the raw power they have as true apex predators. That's how they should be known instead of the oversexualized versions in media." Adam declared, Hazel nodding in agreement.
"I'm quite intrigued at the mystery behind them. I wouldn't mind learning the science behind them." Penny admitted.
"There is no real science behind the supernatural, Penny. Sorry to burst your bubble." Blake told her.
"So, Sai's a vampire, now, huh? That's cool." Yang said.
"But how did he manage to turn himself into one!? He should be immune to becoming one via bite transmission, since he's a demon immune to disease or infection." Weiss analyzed. Katana gave them a basic crash course on demons to understand the abilities of herself and her family.
"Honestly, there's so many different ways throughout different mediums, who knows?" Cinder asked, a bit of a vampire nerd herself.
Reggie looked on in shock atop his stack of books. "Sai, what's going on here?! What on Earth happened to you!" The Wyverian scholar questioned in shock at the Sapphire Star's sudden transformation.
Sai laughed once again at the scholar's question. "Is it not obvious, Reggie? I have rejected my humanity and become a night creature that feeds on blood!" The host declared yet again as thunder clapped yet again.
However, for some reason, Reggie didn't seem all that impressed. "You're a demon, you had no humanity to reject in the first place. And aren't demons already stronger than vampires? This can only be a minor boost in power for you if anything. In fact, it may even be a detriment." The scholar pointed out as he began looking through his books as if there WASN'T a blood-sucking monster in front of him.
"Well... He's not wrong. You can't reject your humanity if you're not human." Glynda agreed with the elderly scholar.
"Not to mention, like he said, demons are usually stronger than vampires. The bloodsuckers honestly aren't usually THAT much stronger than humans and aren't THAT much harder to kill, whereas demons usually require building-busters to bring down." Hazel added.
"Which really makes you wonder why Sai thought this was a good idea in the first place." Adam questioned.
"The Fatalis armor is probably finally getting to his brain." Razara called her uncle's sanity into question.
Sai scoffed at the audacity of the elderly Wyverian before him. "Foolish mortal! What POSSIBLE disadvantages could come from being a vampire!?" The host questioned as the bats finally stopped swarming.
Reggie seemed to shake his head as he muttered something under his breath. "Well, for one thing, all the weaknesses vampires have that demons don't have. Like, how are you even out in the sunlight right now?" The elderly wyverian questioned without even looking up from his books.
The sound of a record scratching and crickets chirping could be heard, before the host spontaneously combusted. "Perhaps this wasn't the best idea..." Sai admitted, but didn't seem all that concerned about the fact he was on fire.
"Oh, yeah. That might put a pretty big damper on things when he bursts into-" Yang began before, as if on cue, the host soon ignited into flames.
Many were worried for the Sapphire Star, but then found themselves surprised when he barely reacted to bursting into flames, even getting a chuckle out of some of them. "Oh. Man, if I knew being on fire was just an inconvenience, I wouldn't worry nearly as much when dodging fireballs from manticores and sphinxes." Coco said with a smirk.
"He probably just has a higher pain tolerance. Still, this is a good lesson for why being a vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be." Ren said.
"I don't know, I'd still like to be one." Ruby said.
"I don't think that'd be a good idea, Ruby. There's WAY more cons to being a vampire than pros." Katana told her, Blake nodding along.
"Whaaaaat? What'chu talkin' 'bout?" Ruby asked skeptically.
Blake then took a deep breath. "Sunlight, silver, garlic, not showing up in mirrors, wooden stakes, holy objects and they can't cross running water. Vampires have a pretty big list of weaknesses, Ruby." She informed her team leader, making the younger girl pout and mumble that vampires are still cool.
Sai was seen in combat against a Nergigante. "Perhaps one of the biggest flaws of humanity is to judge something before we truly understand it and our tendency to jump to conclusions before we have the full story. And a common victim of these judgements are animals, such as how for decades, we believe pigeons to be disease carrying rats with wings, or for CENTURIES we believed rats to have been the cause of the black plague. We know better now, of course, but the damage to the public image of these animals has already been done. And the same sadly happens to monsters as well, such as how Nergigante was seen as a ruinous beast instead of a force of balance in nature, or our monster for today's discussion. Until recently, it has been a source of much mystery, but even more hatred. And so, it's time to shed some light on the Silver Duke Dragon, Malzeno." Sai declared as a very regal, yet menacing Elder Dragon ran up the side of a ruined tower, before standing tall at the peak of said tower.
Ozpin couldn't help but lower his head as Sai spoke of humanity's poor judgment and unfair accusations. "Unfortunately, he's not wrong. I'd have to say this fits the people of Remnant to a T." He said in shame.
And Ironwood wasn't much better. "I know I've certainly fallen under that category. I can't count how many rash decisions I've made throughout my career that had serious consequences. And I'd only continue to do so without Katana's interference." He said, equally guilty.
But surprisingly, Qrow, of all people, was the one to place a consoling hand on both men's shoulders. "Hey, take it easy guys. James, you're learning from your mistakes and being better for it and Oz, there's always a chance for people to grow and be better." He said, both men giving small smiles and appreciative nods.
Then, many gave a nod of approval at the creature's title. "Silver Duke Dragon? I quite like that. It gives it it a majestic sound, almost like royalty." Weiss praised.
And then, they finally got a good look at the monster, the crowd being divisively split between being awed and intimidated by the beast. "Those wings are so red, they look like they've been dipped in blood!" Jaune said nervously.
"And between Sai's intro and how it looks, I think this dragon might be a vampire! Why is a dragon vampire a thing!?" Velvet said in terror.
"A better question is: WHY NOT?! Look at it! It looks so awesome!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I actually have to agree with you, Ruby. It is quite regal specimen. Look at how proudly and boldly it's standing. Like if it's a ruler looking down over its kingdom." Weiss agreed.
"And just LOOK at that fluffy chest! It looks so soft and puffy! I bet it'd be a great pillow to sleep on~" Ruby cooed.
Katana's daughters, however, looked horrified at that statement, as they knew what that "chest fluff" actually was. "Uh, Ruby...?" Razara was about to tell her, but Tekko stopped her.
"Let's let her figure it out on her own. It'll be a nice little surprise." The younger sister said, devil-like horns of ice sprouting from her head.
Cyra and Fiorayne were seen facing off against a Malzeno. "Now, Malzeno is a very interesting monster, but before we talk about him, we must talk about his greatest enemy, Gaismagorm and his greatest allies, the Qurio." The Sapphire Star began, the familiar illustration of Gaismagorm being shown, before switching to the flying lamprey.
A dark-skinned man was shown looking at something in horror. "Oh, hell no!" He declared, quickly turning to run away.
Many were horrified at seeing the flying leeches once more. "Oh, please, no!" Weiss, Velvet, Pyrrha and even Ironwood said, filled with dread at the memory of the creatures.
"It's alright, Weiss. Sir. They're only on the screen. And they're NOT coming to Remnant. You can rest easy." Penny assured her girlfriend and her superior, holding Weiss closely.
"Ugh. But even just SEEING them and remember all the havoc they caused is enough to cause one a panic attack." Pyrrha said, holding onto Jaune's arm tightly.
"It's okay, Pyrrha. Even if they WERE coming to Remnant- Which they're not, again! Don't worry- I wouldn't let them get you." Jaune assured her, to which she smiled.
The focus returned to the illustration of Gaismagorm. "Now, we briefly went over Gaismagorm before, but let's recap. One hundred years ago, a massive crater opened up in the Kingdom that controls the Elgado outpost." Sai began as the crater was shown. "During such time, monsters began to become unnaturally violent and aggressive and a huge plague spread throughout the Kingdom, thanks to the Qurio. And all of this disturbed the surrounding ecosystem, which was the territory of Malzeno, so understandably, our boy was not too happy about this and faced off against the threat. And Malzeno was actually victorious in driving Gaismagorm away, but in the fight, Gaismagorm managed to afflict Malzeno with the Qurio virus and the flying leeches tried to feast on Malzeno, but the Elder Dragon was able to resist their attempts and instead managed to form a symbiosis with the little abominations, becoming their new host." The host explained as several Qurio-related horrors were seen, such as Fiorayne fainting from their Virus, or the Afflicted Arzuros.
"So, Malzeno was protecting the kingdom from Gaismagorm? Awesome! It's a hero dragon!" Nora cheered.
"From the sound of things, it was only defending it's territory. The kingdom just happened to be close to its territory. But it DID still save the kingdom, even if that was inadvertent. So, yeah. It still has my approval." Summer said, approving of Malzeno's actions... especially since there was something strange about Gaismagorm that was unnerving to her based on the illustration, especially around its mouth, but without better details or an actual look at the creature, she couldn't QUITE put her finger on it.
Once again, Cyra and Fioryane stood before Malzeno, holding the beast back from their allies. "Then, 50 years later, the event happened again, a crater destroying a settlement located in a grand Citadel, monsters going crazy and people getting sick. But Gaismagorm is a SUBTERRANEAN Elder Dragon, meaning it was underground where people couldn't see it. Meanwhile, several eyewitnesses saw Malzeno flying above and around the crater, thus all of the blame for these two separate events were placed on the Silver Duke Dragon's shoulders, making it public enemy number one of the kingdom and earning it the menacing title of 'The Embodiment of Darkness'... Yes, because a dragon that MAXES OUT at 81 feet is making craters in the ground the size of football fields, that totally adds up..." The Sapphire Star said skeptically as the crater was shown once again.
A good chunk of the cast couldn't help but laugh at Sai's snarkiness. "I mean, he's not wrong. That crater's WAY too big for anything smaller than Gogmazios to have done that." Ilia admitted.
"Right? That's like saying I could put a hole in the ground big enough for a Megaliath to fit into." Neo said, rolling her eyes.
"Man, first people building a city right in Lao Shan Lung's path and now this travesty of a scaling issue. I'm REALLY starting to get concerned about the IQ levels of these people." Roman said with a chuckle.
Cyra and Fiorayne stood above a slain Malzeno as the Qurio abandoned their deceased host. "So, a research team was formed and built the Elgado outpost, studying the effects Malzeno SUPPOSEDLY had on the wildlife around it, dealing with any issues that popped up and attempting to track down the Elder Dragon itself. And eventually, they succeeded and slayed the Scarlet Feast. But this simply caused the Qurio to go into overdrive, gathering up as much blood and Bio-Energy as they could, returning to and revitalizing Gaismagorm, who returned to cause more havoc, revealing itself as the root of the problem and Malzeno as the thing actively stopping the problem... Which makes me realize we hunters have a REALLY bad track record of solving our problems: Moga Village was sinking, we thought it was Lagiacrus, it was Ceadeus. Elder Dragons going crazy, we thought it was Nergigante, it was Xeno'Jiiva and now this. We need to rethink our strategies." Sai noted as Akasha fought a Lagiacrus, Sai himself fought a Nergigante and Cyra fought Malzeno.
Quite a few groans and facepalms were heard after Sai pointed out the consistent failure of hunters to get the right target. "Three times? How do you mess up THREE times to get the right target? What is wrong with these people?!" Winter demanded in irritation.
"Yeah, when you put it like that... That's a pretty big L on the hunter's part." Emerald said, laughing along with a few other students.
The cinnamon, trio, on the other hand, were horrified at this revelation. "So that just means some poor, innocent monsters were slain for problems they didn't cause." Velvet said sadly.
"Do you hunters not do crucial information gathering BEFORE going out and killing monsters to make sure you're not taking out the wrong thing?" Pyrrha questioned.
Katana sweatdropped at this. "W-well, we have to make educated guesses sometimes. Things like this happen, we don't find out crucial information until we've dealt with monsters that SEEM to be causing the problem first. Don't blame us, blame the people who aren't giving us the right information. We hunters are like guns, we're just pointed at something to try and kill it, it's not our fault if it's the wrong thing..." The hostess said awkwardly.
Cyra now crouched down stealthily as she followed and observed the Elder Dragon. "Now, finally, onto the Elder Dragon itself. A member of the group of Kingdom monsters known as the Three Lords, alongside Garangolm and Lunagaron," The host began, briefly showing the other two monsters, "It is as majestic as it is dangerous. A similar frame to Velkhana, much more slender that most other winged quadrupedal Elder Dragons, with gorgeous, yet sinisterly dark silver scales. The back of its wings are a dull grey, but a vibrant red on the underside, the same with the fins on its tail, leading up to a golden hooked talon, very similar to its twisted golden horns, giant curved claws on three fingers of its front legs and a three-pronged tail. But interestingly, Malzeno looks like a victorian aristocrat, its wings able to fold around its body like a cape, the frills on the sides of its necks looking like they form a cowl and even the Qurio on its neck and chest look like a cravat and the ones on its arms looking like ruffled wrist cuffs." Sai listed as each feature was focused on.
Thankfully, the mood was brought back up with the introduction of the trio. "The Three Lords?! That's one of the most epic group titles I've ever heard!" Yang said.
"Right? Like that sounds like a group that should be ruling the world!" Neo agreed.
"Lunagaron looks so amazing! He looks like the goodest boy~!" Weiss cooed, adoring the icy wolf.
"Indeed. I dearly hope we learn about it soon. Perhaps if they are safe enough for Remnant, they could even be domesticated!" Winter cooed alongside her sister, imagining herself laying in bed with the frigid Fanged Wyvern at night and in the morning showing what a good boy it was with all the tricks she would teach it. [1]
"I thought Garangolm was the more epic one! It was like a Rajang on steroids!" Yang exclaimed.
"Yeah! And look at it! It comes with its own rock armor! That's amazing!" Nora cheered as well.
"So it's big and covered in rocks, so it's heavy. Which means it has to be strong to hold up all that weight. So it'd probably be a strong opponent." Hazel pieced together, now eager to test the beast's strength against his own.
And Ruby was practically bouncing in place. "Oh, man! A giant rock gorilla! What could be more amazing than that!? And The Three Lords is the best title ever! OH! I want to see more of them NOW!" Ruby insisted.
"Patience is a virtue, Ruby." Katana assured her.
The group then mostly nodded along with most of what Sai said... until they reached the portion of the chest and wrist fluff. "Wait... That's not like fur or feathers, that's the Qurio!?" Weiss, Pyrrha, Velvet and Neo all cried out in fear at this.
"Um... I think I retract my previous statement about wanting to use the chest fluff as a pillow." Ruby said fearfully, not wanting to lay her head upon a collection of plague-spreading leeches.
But they quickly shook their heads to rid that thought from their minds and focus back on the dragon itself. "Still, it is a pretty sweet-looking monster. I'm looking forward to seeing its armor." Coco praised.
"I... I guess it does have its own kind of beauty to it. I like the bits of gold on it. And the red pops pretty nice." Velvet admitted.
"And Sai's description really does fit well and do it justice. This is easily one of the most regal monsters we've ever seen. I could easily see a noble or a duke dressing similarly to how Malzeno looks." Weiss agreed.
Cyra was now seen in combat against the Elder Dragon. "Most typically found in the ruins of the Citadel, but also occasionally spotted in the Shrine Ruins and Lava Caverns of Kamura, Malzeno is one of the last monsters you would want to run into. They are incredibly aggressive and will attack pretty much anything they see so the Qurio can drain their blood and Bio-Energy, further empowering the beast. This, along with its title of 'The Embodiment of Darkness' has even led to some people seeing the dragon as a vampire. Which is strangely fitting and poetic in a way, as Malzeno gained these powers by inheriting the Qurio from Gaismagorm, the Archdemon of the Abyss, much like how Dracula gained his powers and became a vampire from a deal with the Devil." The Sapphire Star explained as his daughter did her best to avoid the beast's attacks.
A few felt a shiver up their spines at Gaismagorm's title. "The Archdemon of the Abyss. That's definitely not doing my concerns about this guy any favors." Summer said, feeling a heavy sense of foreboding.
"Indeed. Anything that has 'demon' in the title is probably not something to mess with." Ren agreed.
And hearing how Malzeno attacks everything for the Qurio's to get him more blood and power made almost everyone shiver. "Okay, yeah. I'd definitely say it's fair to call this guy a vampire. We better get plenty of garlic if this thing shows up on Remnant." Jaune said nervously.
"Somehow, I highly doubt that will work." Penny said in concern.
"So, since he's comparing Malzeno to this Dracula, I'm guessing he's a vampire, too. Maybe even their first vampire, since he got his powers from the devil, not by being bitten by another vampire." Cinder pieced together.
"Then he must be Earth's version of Count Vladimir." Blake said, referencing Remnant's most famous vampire. "That's a pretty neat comparison, then. I like it." She added, the other vampire lovers nodding.
Cyra continued to dodge attacks from the Elder Dragon while pelting it with arrows. "So, it's aggressive and attacks as soon as it sees something, so what exactly can you expect an attack from a Malzeno to look like? Well, it has the standard moves one might expect from Elder Dragons of that frame, the standard bites and claw swipes, but it is also a surprisingly elegant fighter, almost like a fencer, using its tail for swift and deadly thrusts. And the fingers of its wings aren't connected in the same way as most other dragons of their frame, giving them a much wider range of motion, similar to Namielle, allowing it to use them in combat to stab down directly with the hooks or sink them into the ground and drag them across in large sweeping motions, tearing up the ground as it goes in case it JUST misses a hunter. And its highly agile in the air, allowing it to charge through the air while spiraling like Legiana, or do a front flip to slam its tail down on you, then thrust it forward at speeds almost too fast to react to." Sai warned as all of the attacks he listed were shown.
"Pretty smart, using its wings like that. Color me impressed." Qrow said.
"But that just means it's one more set of dangerous limbs to watch out for in a fight." Ironwood pointed out in concern.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Qrow countered with a smirk.
"I must admit, I'm quite impressed with its movement. Everything is so precise. No effort wasted. Take note students, this is something you should all strive towards." Glynda told them, to which they either nodded, or groaned.
"Not to mention so elegant Such graceful technique! It might even be as noble and honorable of a fighter as me!" Weiss said, to which the rest of her team rolled their eyes.
Then, many of their jaws dropped when they saw it's flipping tail slam. "Whoa! That was like 0 to 100 in half a second! That's insane! It might even be faster than your Moonslice, Adam!" Ilia told him.
"Well, if they're brought to Remnant, we'll have to test that theory." Adam accepted the challenge... even if there wasn't really a challenge actually posed.
Malzeno's attacks then started to become more vicious and underhanded. "But despite what I just said about Malzeno being an elegant fencer, it's not afraid to fight dirty, spinning with its tail extended for massive sweeping attacks with huge range, or stabbing its wing spikes into the ground and ripping them forward to tear through the ground in a wave towards its target. In addition, it's also a practitioner of the Dragon Element, able to send vertical blades of black energy towards its target, a beam sent into the ground that causes shockwaves or even infuse the energy into its Qurio companions and launch small groups of them at you as giant balls of Dragon Energy. And I mentioned before that its tail is dexterous, to the point it can grab things with it, including you. He also has an attack where he pins you to the ground, then grab you in its hand and... Well, I did call it a vampire..." The host said ominously as the dragon grabbed Cyra in its hand and brought her to its face, closing its wings around them, at which a sound was heard like someone slurping through a straw.
Many were surprised by this sudden heel-turn, going from honorable fencer to dirty street brawler at the drop of a hat. But some found this quite amusing. "As much of an honorable and noble fighter as you, huh? I didn't know you could be so devious in combat, Schnee." Emerald said with a smirk.
"Quiet, you!" Weiss huffed.
"Hey, it's doing what it has to in order to win the fight. No rules in nature, only survival. Gotta respect that." Roman said with a nod of approval.
"No you don't." Weiss and the cinnamon trio all complained.
Then, they saw the monster's use of Dragon Energy, particularly the attacks involving the Qurio. "Well, that is quite a creative use of its element. I doubt many other creatures would expect such an attack." Ozpin admitted.
"And the energy blades are pretty cool." Jaune admitted.
Then, they saw the grabbing attack and quickly pieced together the dragon was sucking blood right out of Cyra's veins. And for once, the audience came to a complete agreement. "NOPE!" They all said, none of them fancying having their blood drained by a dragon.
Malzeno then struck Fiorayne with its flipping tail stab, before the scene switched to her falling unconscious later on. "In addition, Malzeno also can inflict you with the same deathly Virus carried by the Qurio. But you can also be inflicted with a condition known as Bloodblight, which slowly drains your health. But strangely enough, attacking your enemy and drawing blood while inflicted with Bloodblight has been reported to restore your vitality as you absorb the blood you have drawn. So, in a way, you become the vampire. But still, unless you're constantly on the attack, this is a serious detriment, so it's a good idea to get rid of it quickly, for which you will need an Antidobra, a cobra that doesn't spit venom, but instead a green mist that cures just about any ailment." Sai informed as Cyra stood in front of a cobra that its back turned to her, trying to scare her off with the scary face on the back of its hood.
Many of them had to do a double take at this. "A cobra... That CURES ailments? Not causes them? Did I hear that right?" Weiss asked, struggling to process the information.
"You definitely heard that right. I'm having a hard time believing it, too. But that's what he said." Ren said, equally stunned.
"Well... That's EASILY the coolest thing ever. Dig the scary face, too." Yang said.
Suddenly, Malzeno released a burst of energy, before starting to glow red. "And after the Qurio have gathered and given him enough Bio-Energy, Malzeno enters a state known as... THE BLOODENING." The Sapphire Star demonic with an ominous echo to his voice as the dragon roared. "During this state, Malzeno doubles up his efforts to kill his foe... no, literally, he doubles up almost all his attack, two flipping tail slam stabs, two bites, two Dragon Energy waves, etc. And his Dragon Element attacks become much more devastating, especially his ultimate move, where he breathes a beam of Dragon Energy around him in a beam, before breathing it straight down into a giant energy ball, which then explodes and sends blades of Dragon Energy everywhere. Oh- and did I forget to mention in this mode... He can TELEPORT." Sai questioned as, indeed, the dragon appeared to teleport in a flash of black Dragon mist.
A familiar bearded man on his couch looked shocked at this. "Excuse me, the fuck just say?!" He asked in pure disbelief, struggling to register what he was just told.
Many were left in shock or awe from this new form, either amazed or highly unnerved by the transformation. Or, absolutely horrified in the case of Velvet, Ilia and Blake, all three Faunus girls leaping behind the couch. "My prey instincts are going haywire!" Velvet cried out.
"I know! My instincts are screaming at me to run, but I know there's nowhere TO run here!" Ilia shrieked as well.
"This things a demon!" Blake whimpered fearfully.
"No... IT'S AWESOME!" Ruby cried out in amazement.
"Yeah, it looks like it was done playing like YESTERDAY!" Yang said in awe.
"And now, this is where the real fight begins. And I can't wait to see what this new form does for it." Adam said eagerly, wanting to fight the beast along with the other thrillseekers.
"So, Ruby? Do you remember back with Baruragaru, I told you that you'd love Malzeno? Well, this is why." She told the young reaper.
Ruby had stars in her eyes upon seeing this. But then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone in a burst of rose petals. And then a "tink!" sound was heard. Looking to the source of the sound, everyone saw Ruby pressing her body into the screen like she was trying to hug Malzeno through the screen. She looked up at the beast on screen with tears of awe and wonder in her eyes. "You were right, Katana!" She said with a sniff. "I think I'm in love!" She said, pressing her face against the screen again.
Most of the crowd facepalmed at this as the rest of the Rose/Xiao Long/Branwen family could only wonder what was wrong with that girl. While Cinder was glaring dagger past Ruby and on the monster on-screen. "If those things DO wind up on Remnant, I'm making them extinct." She growled with fire in her hands.
Ruby, however, rolled her eyes at Cinder and turned to her girlfriend with her own smaller glare. "Oh get over yourself! It's not like I can make out with a monster?" She snapped.
"Wouldn't put it past you if you tried..." Weiss muttered to herself.
"But, wait- I'm sorry... Did he say this thing can TELEPORT?! PLEASE tell me I heard that wrong!" Jaune pleaded.
"I genuinely wish I could tell you that, son. But that's exactly what he said." Ironwood said in horror.
The dragon was shown teleporting once again. "Okay, I am being a bit disingenuous here, it's not ACTUAL teleportation, he's just using the smoke of Dragon Energy to make a smoke bomb, then move from point A to point B incredibly fast. But, honestly, that might ACTUALLY be more scary then teleporting, because if he can MOVE that fast, what's stopping him from ATTACKING that fast?" The host questioned as footage slowed down to X10 revealed the dragon was actually moving from one place to another instead of teleporting. "Also, just because he has a thinner frame, don't mistake him for being weaker, because he has more than enough brute force to throw Lunagaron around like a ragdoll with its tail and contend with top level threats like Velkhana and even Scorned Magnamalo." Sai warned as Malzeno was seen in combat against the three aforementioned monsters.
"Oh, okay. It's just really fast, that's a bit bet..." Winter sighed in relief, before Sai brought up that crucial question. "Then again, maybe not." She said nervously.
"Indeed. With how powerful they are, combined with that speed, they could quite literally finish someone in the blink of an eye." Ozpin said in concern.
"Unless they had a speed semblance, how could ANY huntsman possibly combat such speed!?" Glynda asked, almost panicking.
"But holy crap! Did you guys see that!? Even at 10x slower, it was STILL in front of him in like half a second! That was amazing!" Neo said in awe.
"So fast... I can DEFINITELY see why people thought it was teleporting." Pyrrha admitted, a bit unnerved.
"Okay, when monsters come to Remnant, we need to set up something like a dog track and then I need one of these things!" Roman declared.
"That's so cool! It looks like me when I use my semblance!" Ruby said in amazement, before gasping. "Now I HAVE to fight one of these things and find out who's faster!" She declared.
"No, you don't!" Summer cried out, grabbing and holding Ruby tightly as if she'd never let go so she couldn't face the monster.
But then, they saw the turf wars. "Lunagaron, no!" Both Schnees cried out in despair.
"It is able to take on Velkhana... Then, perhaps that theory of it making the craters isn't too farfetched, considering Velkhana supposedly have the power to freeze over the New World." Penny noted.
"But that was probably a gradual process, those pits happened all at once. I'm more impressed it can contend with SCORNED Magnamalo. Then how well would I be able to do against it, I wonder?" Hazel asked, more eager to fight the Elder Dragon than ever.
Cyra was now riding an Espinas to combat the Elder Dragon. "Now, all of that MIGHT sound horrifying and make you believe Malzeno is invincible, but you'll be happy to know that is not the case. In fact, Malzeno actually has a surprising number of weaknesses, being vulnerable to THREE of the five elements, Dragon being its greatest weakness, with fire being slightly less effective and ice still being a decent choice against him. So, as long as you don't bring water or thunder weapons, you'll have a solid chance. In addition, Iceblight is also great for quickly tiring the beast out and Blast also does some decent damage. Also, much like an Afflicted Monster, if you attack the glowing parts of its body the Qurio are on, you can knock it out of its Bloodening State. And, you know, take out some Qurio, too. That's always nice." The Sapphire Star advised as the Espinas toppled Malzeno, allowing Cyra to jump down and fill it with arrows.
"Agreed! Taking out the Qurio should ALWAYS be top priority!" Weiss agreed.
"Exactly! In fact, I'd ONLY be targeting the Qurio and not Malzeno itself!" Pyrrha added.
This got the two some skeptical looks. "Jeez, kids. I know they're creepy and everything, but chill out. You're ALMOST sounding as bad as Jimmy and Oz with spiders." Qrow told them.
"We are not that bad." Ozpin said.
"Sir, you ordered all of Beacon to be evacuated for two days to be bug bombed because you saw a spider... IN THE COURTYARD!" Glynda reminded him.
"Where there's one there's always more! And the courtyard is still part of Beacon, meaning they were on the premises, likely hiding inside the school!" Ozpin defended himself.
"Exactly! I'd do the same with Atlas!" Ironwood agreed with his fellow headmaster.
"You HAVE done that before, sir." Winter told him.
"Still, it's crazy to think such a powerful monster has so many weaknesses." Jaune said.
"Just goes to show, no one is really invincible." Emerald told him.
"Just one more thing they have in common with vampires~" Blake said, looking to Ruby with a smirk.
"Alright, I get it!" She pouted.
Cyra was then seen standing around in armor that resembled Malzeno with a Malzeno bow drawn and ready. "And, of course, the armor is amazing, exactly what you'd expect from such a gorgeous Dragon and it gives you an ability known as Blood Awakening, basically making you a vampire that steals a monster's vitality for yourself as you attack." The host praised the armor as the male version and Dual Blades were then shown.
Everyone was in awe at both gender versions of the armor. "It's beautiful." Nora said in awe.
"It definitely looks suited for combat, but also for ceremony or just worn as a show of status, like this is armor a noble like a duke, or even a king would wear!" Weiss said, infatuated with the armor.
"And yet, it still has some darker undertones as a reminder of the menacing creature it came from. "Adam praised.
"But that's not all!" Tekko told them. "What if we were to tell you there's another SPECIAL version of Malzeno armor?" She asked, IMMEDIATELY getting everyone's attention. "Feast your eyes!" She declared, showing them the amiibo DLC armor, which looked like the clothes of an aristocrat, exactly what one would expect a classic vampire to wear.
Many were in awe of this armor, but none more so than Ruby and Coco. "So... Beautiful..." They both said, before feinting as they're brains were overloaded by the armor's glory.
"Whoa! I expected that from Ruby, but I never thought that would happen to Coco!" Yang said in disbelief along with the rest of the students that the coolest girl in the entire school fangirled so hard she fainted.
"Well, you know, she loves fashion so much, she sometimes faints if clothes are 'too fabulous'." Velvet explained as she and Cinder used smelling salts to revive their girlfriends.
"IT'S A VAMPIRE SUIT!" Ruby cried out in amazement with stars in her eyes. "Oh, man, I need that armor for Halloween!" She said, having a daydream wearing the armor to Beacon's Halloween Party.
Daydream...
Beacon was throwing its annual Halloween party, with everyone in the ballroom, appreciating each other's costumes and making small talk amongst themselves. When suddenly, the doors BURST open, revealing Ruby walking in dressed in the vampiric armor, her hair grown out to make her look more mature and intimidating. Everyone's eyes were on her, marveling at her outfit... before she flashed a toothy smiled with vampire fangs, causing everyone to scream and freak out in amazement over the armor.
"Oh, my gods! Ruby has the greatest Halloween costume of all time!" One male student cried out.
"She's like a REAL vampire! And a celebrity! A celebrity vampire!" A female student shrieked.
The male student's eyes suddenly burst into flames, causing him to scream "Her costume is too awesome for mere mortal eyes!" Another male student said while pointing at her, before screaming as his eyes burst into flames as well.
And in all this chaos, Ruby laid down on a lounge chair- made of team CDRL groveling on all fours to her- while Cinder fed her candy.
End of Daydream...
"Halloween!? Girl, that outfit deserves to be on a catwalk!" Coco declared, before having her own little fantasy.
Daydream...
A modeling show of the most famous designer in Atlas was happening, with Coco being up next as she strutted down the catwalk in the armor. And almost immediately, all of the spectators began freaking out in awe as the photographers were taking so many pictures so fast, their flash bulbs looked like they were permanently lit up. "She's a fashion goddess!" One female spector cried out.
"Mary me, please!" Yet another female spectator pleaded, trying to climb up on-stage with the fashionista.
Then, several spectators started feinting. "She's too fabulous to comprehend!" One male spectator said, before passing out as well. Velvet then climbed onto the stage and kissed Coco as her team leader held her close, yet still managed to catch a bouquet of roses someone threw to her before passing out.
End of Daydream...
Both girls were frozen with starry-eyed at their own fantasies, even drooling a little bit. "Well, I think we lost them..." Yang said.
But then, sad music began to play as the Malzeno was slain, slowly collapsing to the ground as the last of its strength left it. "But ultimately, Malzeno's tale is a tragic one. For the Malzeno we know now only came about thanks to the Qurio. It used to be a peaceful monster that, while yes, was still a wild animal and defend its territory, it mostly lived in harmony with the people of the kingdom and defended the area around the kingdom that was its territory from threats, inadvertently protecting the kingdom as well, leading some to even revere it as a guardian of the kingdom and it was believed to be a monster that kept balance in nature similarly to Nergigante. But because of the fight with Gaismagorm, it was afflicted and forced into symbiosis with the Qurio, its behavior darkening as it became more sly and vicious and even its appearance changing, its horns twisting along with its mind. It saved the kingdom, but lost its soul in the process." Sai explained sadly, even sounding like he was starting to sob as Cyra even fell to all fours in remorse for slaying the Elder Dragon.
A dark-skinned young man was seen in hysterics. "I need a moment!" He declared as he tried to regain some of his composure.
"That's... so sad..." Jaune said as many of them started feeling sorry for the Elder Dragon.
A few of them even started sobbing along with the host. "It was protecting the kingdom... but those stupid flying leeches drove them insane!" Ruby said angrily as she cried along with her mother, Velvet and Glynda.
"It's not fair. It just wanted to live in peace in its territory and Gaismagorm and the Qurio turned them into some warped predator! Why would nature ever let them happen!?" Velvet cried as she hugged Coco tightly.
"Sometimes, animals get too out of control even for mother nature to fix, kids." Summer told them, pulling her hood over her eyes as she cried.
"It's a sad truth, mishaps like these DO happen, as we learned with Deviljho and we can only hope nature creates something to counter these mishaps and restore balance, like Bazelgeuse." Glynda said hopefully, dabbing tears away with a tissue.
A/N: Yeah, this ran on WAY longer than I expected, I had to break it into two chapters.
[1] Look up "Fullmetal Alchemist anime Lt. Hawkeye & Black Hayate morning routine - too cute!" by digital_ritual