Let's go!
Arc 2: Chapter 20
Ruby ran. All around her was death. People screamed as they were butchered by Shion's thugs and Grimm.
Hunters started to appear, alongside the regular city guards, as they tried desperately to combat the violence.
All it did was cause it to spread.
The way she came with Shion was blocked by Hunters as they tried to establish a perimeter and box the city's assailants in. A task that was proving increasingly difficult as the fighting and murdering took to the alleys behind stalls, the streets dividing buildings, and the roads leading to different blocks.
The only way to escape the violence was to push forward further down the road.
Her heart pounded as she took several steps forward, flinching as the sounds of violence echoed all around her.
The street she was on was mostly deserted of the living.
Shion had seen to that.
She shuddered as she recalled what he did when the Grimm, her summons, all pounced on him.
With a flourish of his arm, he somehow turned those very Grimm docile and under his command. And then he set them loose on the nearby Hunters, before joining the fray and butchering them with an explosive blast of magic. It was magic, right? Hei had mentioned something about Arcane, but she had no clue, and he admitted he didn't either.
The result didn't change. One of the buildings nearby and adjacent the hunters exploded in a massive ball of fire, and between being caught off guard and the onslaught of Grimm, they stood no chance.
Even she stood no chance, her ears still ringing from the blast.
By the time she could regain her focus, the Grimm and Shion were nowhere to be seen. All that was left was the charred and mangled corpses of the Hunters who had been unfortunate to try and stop him.
A building turned to rubble with scattered flames and debris. Smoke rising in ugly plumes like a malformed hand reaching to the sky, all while glowing embers and ash floated down.
The only way out was forward, and so with some wobbly steps, she started to push forward.
Where she was going, she had no idea. In all honesty, she had no real ideas of what to do to begin with, and that was doubly so now that her head was most certainly concussed.
She could feel something warm trickle down her face, but there wasn't really any pain.
She wouldn't know it, but the sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through her veins at that moment was the sole reason she was even awake and walking to begin with.
As she pushed up the winding road, closer to the walls, her eyes searched for any signs of life.
There was nothing.
A trail of chopped up bodies, guardsman and civilian alike, littered the road. Unfortunate victims of Shion and his henchmen most likely.
She wanted to make him pay. Yet, at the same time, she just wanted to leave.
Where to, she had no idea. Her growing brain didn't really have any clues at this point.
So she walked.
Until she came around the last bend, and the sound of fighting roared before her.
The sight she saw was one that would be forever etched into her mind.
Shion was in no rush to meet his opponents.
"Get them," he said, almost playfully.
The retinue of skull-masked followers rushed forward to the wall. They were instantly greeted with a hail of bolts and arrows raining down upon them from the city guardsmen.
Some of the arrows sank into the flesh of arms and legs, others bounced off as if deflected by some invisible force-field.
They kept surging forward, barely stumbling in pain.
Some of the more junior of the guardsmen panicked as they struggled to reload their chosen archery implement.
The more senior of them were ready to fire again within seconds.
An officer from atop the wall shouted out orders to his crossbowmen, while the thin line of Guardsmen and Hunters readied their weapons and stood to shield their more vulnerable ranged fighters.
The guardsmen brandished spears and pikes, while the Hunters favoured various swords ranging from shortswords to full claymores.
"Hold the line!" One shouted.
The Westenders collided with them in a flurry of blades and grunts.
The guardsmen tried to keep them at bay, but they lacked the aura that the Hunters had.
One of the guardsmen thrust his pike with a war-like scream, and the blade was certain to impale the exposed attacker's stomach.
Only, the stabbing didn't work, and the blade instead pushed its intended target back with a mighty shove instead.
The guardsmen didn't feel the natural resistance of steel, nor even chainmail under what was simply flowing black robes and bandages.
His eyes widened in realisation.
"THEY'RE HUNTSMEN! HUNTSMEN!"
A senior officer could sense the rising panic of his guardsmen, and instantly tried to shut down their fears.
"Hold the lines! We have our own Huntsmen! STAY YOUR GROUND DAMMIT!"
Meanwhile, the Hunters leapt into action with their own swords, rushing the cloaked Westenders.
While armoured similarly to their guardsmen allies, they had the advantage of Aura.
Blades clashed, and men screamed as they were gored.
The Hunters held strong, but so did the Westenders.
Meanwhile, Shion dodged the downwards blow of the war-hammer, before swinging his khopesh around in the hopes of cutting its wielder down.
No such thing would happen as Artemis leapt in to parry the strike with his greatsword in a show of strength and swordsmanship that would have left many warriors envious.
Shion barely had time to disengage as a battleaxe swung to decapitate him.
"Hold still, you son of a bitch!" Growled Gordon as he hoisted his warhammer up with frightening ease.
Shion in fact did not hold still, and with flexibility that would have made any fair maiden blush, he lurched back and underneath the whirlwind of weapons intended to bisect and or crush him.
The second he was out of their reach he brought his free hand up, clenching his fist tightly, before throwing it in the three brother's general direction.
His hand glowed for the briefest of moments, the black bandages beginning to smoulder briefly as flames spewed forth like a wave of projectile vomit. Only instead of a brief burst, it was a continuous stream of fire.
Artemis rolled out of the way while Gordon jumped back a safe distance.
Jack was not as fortunate, and his good eye scrunched shut as he bore the full brunt of the fire, his entire body encapsulated in flame as he was seemingly immolated alive in front of everyone.
Only, he didn't scream or falter. If anything, he kept pushing forward, bringing his axe to bear on Shion.
Either through fatigue or realising it wasn't doing anything, Shion cut the flames off entirely and began to backpedal in an attempt to avid Jack's battleaxe.
Jack swung the axe full force with one meaty arm, the flames bathing his body immediately simmering down and dying off.
His armour was charred and sizzling, but the exposed flesh of his face was left immaculate and untouched. Though his furious expression begged to differ.
Shion let a gasp of surprise as he had no choice but to weakly parry his strike with an ill-placed khopesh. The result was him being sent back flying as if he were a ball being swatted by a batter in a sports game.
"It's going to take a hell of a lot more to hurt me than what you're capable of, Arcanist," spat Jack menacingly.
By now, the other two Winchesters had rejoined the fray, weapons spinning as they started to overwhelm Shion again.
"Hrngh. Well… I must admit. You're more resilient than I first anticipated," grunted Shion as he jumped back from the trio's onslaught.
"Shut the fuck up and just die already," spat Gordon, swinging his hammer horizontally with full force.
Shion was too busy trying to avoid getting skewered by Artemis that he had no time to react to Jack's strike.
The hammer collided full force into his back and sent him flying with a pained scream.
He hit the ground on his side and rolled several metres away.
Aura-enhanced strikes sure were painful.
"God damn!" exclaimed Jack, his voice dripping with disappointment.
"You're pathetic! Is that all you've got?"
He didn't even bother running towards his downed opponent, confident in his victory.
The other two were no better in their dismissive attitude as they all stalked towards Shion who was struggling onto all fours, his sword sent flying far out of reach.
All around them, the sounds of fighting echoed.
So far, neither side had made significant headway on killing each other. The Hunters were locked in vicious battle with the Westenders, and despite any injuries they suffered, the black-cloaked foreigners pushed through it all and kept up their vicious assault. It was as if they were in a trance and compelled to fight.
Shion coughed, his mask making it sound more akin to a grating hack.
"You don't fight fair… erngh."
Gordon scoffed.
"And you don't fight at all."
"He's like a little bitch, isn't he," added Artemis.
All three Huntsmen jeered as they got nearer and nearer.
Shion clenched his fist as he trembled with anger.
Gordon must have seen him tremble, as he shot out again.
"What? It's the truth."
Any anger Shion seemingly felt vanished just as quickly as it appeared, and he willed himself to be calm.
"Guess I… hngh… should even the… ah… playing field."
Jack was right on top of him, battleaxe resting in his hands.
"Oh yeah? How are you gonna do that?"
Shion let himself smile underneath his mask. Such a question didn't warrant a retort. Actions spoke louder after all.
The Grimm appeared.
They raced through the alleys and around the buildings in a mad dash towards the Huntsmen.
"Smile," grinned Shion from behind his mask, relishing in the look of surprise on all three brother's faces.
Over a dozen Grimm summons collided with them, forcing them to go on the defensive and try and cut down their enemies.
Their skill as Huntsmen was no joke.
The second the Grimm got near enough, the three brothers went straight to work and started crushing and carving up the Grimm with practiced ease.
Unfortunately, that meant Jack had to take his focus off of Shion, even if it was for just a moment.
That moment was all he needed.
Shion shot a hand up under Jack's guard, grasping the surprised man's face with a vice-like grip, before letting his Arcane magic free.
The Huntsman went wide-eyed and briefly convulsed as Shion did something to him.
"JACK!" Screamed Artemis with worry, batting aside one Grimm and bisecting another with an Aura-enhanced swing.
Shion withdrew his hand, fatigue washing over him like a tsunami.
Jack stumbled back stiffly, his Aura briefly flaring with a faint flash of blue light.
"JACK!"
Jack was unresponsive. Just standing there, his battleaxe hanging limply by his side.
"What did you do!" snarled Artemis as he pushed of another Grimm.
Shion stood up, dusting himself off.
"Evened the playing field. Two versus two is a lot more fair, don't you agree?"
Artemis didn't know what to think, but instinct suddenly kicked in and he was now forced to contend with Jack's battleaxe swinging towards him with fully lethal intent.
"Jack? What the fuck are you doing?! JACK!"
Jack was unresponsive. His eyes were turned black, sclera and all.
There was no real technique or impressive feats of skill. Just raw strength and animalistic aggression.
"Shit," cursed Gordon as he disengaged from the Grimm assailing him to help one of his brother's fend off his other.
"Disengage from him!" ordered Artemis.
"Too late," came Shion's voice as he slipped around the Grimm to flank Gordon who was by now preoccupied with trying to pull his other brother out of Jack's violent rampage.
He slipped an Aura-enhanced kick into the back of Gordons knee, right in the soft spot in between the armoured boot and thigh plate.
Gordon stumbled, and a Beowolf leapt onto his shoulder, suddenly causing his stumble to turn into a fall.
He landed on his knees and tried to push the beast off as it gnawed into neck, his Aura being the only thing keeping it from goring him.
Unfortunately, that meant Jack's battleaxe had time to find his throat.
It didn't tear through his flesh, but it did knock him onto his back and send him choking.
Artemis tried to go to his brothers aid, but between Jack's crazy axe swinging and the accumulating Grimm, which were now pushing two dozen, he was forced to back off.
Holding his sword defensively, it was then that Artemis noticed the silver accents on the Grimm.
His eyes widened in shock and horror.
"Impossible," he breathed.
He sent a worried look to Shion as he realised the Grimm weren't attacking him.
"You're a… Grimm Whisperer?"
Shion chuckled as reached for his khopesh.
"No. I'm just a person. Kind of like you."
He stood up, briefly twirling his weapon experimentally.
The Grimm didn't pursue Artemis any further, opting to stay back.
"What are you?"
Shion tilted his head as he pondered that audibly.
"Hmm. I guess you could call me an Arcanist. That's what you folks seem to believe. But the truth is, I'm much more knowledgeable and skilled than those cheap imitating abominations."
Artemis let loose a small laugh.
"Hehehehehe. You control Grimm, yet you call us abominations?"
Shion didn't answer. He simply charged forwards towards the armoured Huntsman, khopesh extended as he swept from low to high in an upwards arc.
At the last possible microsecond, right as Artemis was readying his sword to parry the strike, he adjusted his wrist to change the angle and direction of the blow.
Artemis wasn't ready for the khopesh to suddenly change its arc and orientation, the curved spine of the blade looping under his gauntlets before being thrust up in a sudden jerking motion.
He was caught off-guard as his sword was lifted over his head.
The knopesh disengaged and immediately came around in another circular arc, this time its intent aimed for his jugular.
The blade crashed into his skin with such force that he was knocked over onto his hips.
Blood dripped from Shion's weapon.
Artemis clutched his bleeding neck, surprise evident on his face.
"…Impossible?"
"You have to remember to concentrate on your Aura to keep it up. Or have you forgotten?"
Artemis snarled, blood pumping through his fingers.
The khopesh came down like an axe onto his face, cracking his skull onto the road.
The last thing he heard before his vision went black was Gordon screaming his name.
Shion spun to deflect a charging Gordon, axe raised high.
He barrelled through the Grimm, his muscles screaming and tearing from the strain.
He didn't reach Shion. A possessed Jack crashed into him with a sloppy lunge.
They both hit the ground with an explosion of dust and snow, and the two fought and tumbled until Jack was on top of Gordon, his hands squeezing his brothers throat.
Gordon felt his Aura draining as it tried to repel his brothers choke.
Shion laughed in the background. The Grimm nearby entered the fray against the Hunters and Guardsmen, and the battle suddenly became a fight for survival.
"Don't… do this!" pleaded Gordon as Jack squeezed harder and harder, his gauntlets creaking.
There was no response, and Jack's breath misted over his face, eyes black and soulless.
"BROTHER!" screamed Gordon as he tried to push Jack off of his with all his strength. It wasn't working, and he was going to die.
The realisation set in, and for the first time, Gordon shed a single tear.
"Brother, please…"
Ruby couldn't watch anymore.
Pushing out from the wall she was leaning behind, she raced out towards Shion with a cry.
She had no idea what she was doing. She just knew, deep down, she had to do something.
Shion's back was turned to her, his hands outstretching towards the wall.
What was he doing?
The answer became apparent as a perfectly spherical ball of fire materialised in his hands, growing in size until it eclipsed him in height.
The panicked screams of Guardsmen could be heard on the walls, and arrows started to fly towards him in a panic.
It was too late.
The molten ball of fire shot towards the wall and impacted with a loud explosion, sending chunks of wall and mortar flying.
The poor men atop the wall screamed as they were sent flying into the air, only to fall to their deaths.
Many of the hapless archers in the way weren't as fortunate, and were instantly set ablaze.
Their screams joined the rest as their section of the wall crumbled to the ground in a cloud of dust and smoke.
Hei's horse bucked wildly as the inner wall looming on the hill suddenly exploded, a second plume of smoke joining the first.
The sound was almost deafening.
"I think we're close," called Roman over the cries of nearby people running away.
His horse had come to a gentle canter, nowhere near as winded as he still felt.
Neo looked positively nauseous as she practically wrapped herself tightly around Roman's waist, refusing to entertain opening her eyes.
The jostle of armour could barely be heard of the rushed footfalls of people fleeing in the direction of the smoke and inner wall.
"Are we sure we're headed in the right way?" called Roman, feeling uncertain.
"I hope so!" called back Hei, urging his stolen horse to continue up the road. Only, it started to thrash, neighing like crazy and refusing to proceed any further.
"Argh! You stupid beast. Move!"
Hei's verbal abuse did nothing to get the animal to move.
Roman was about to tell Hei to calm down when his own horse started to neigh and pace agitatedly.
"Woah, easy girl!" called Roman. The horse was having none of that.
Hei suddenly screamed as his horse bucked and threw him off its back before bolting.
He hit the hard ground on his back and let out a pained cry.
"Hei!" called out Roman in worry, only for his horse to attempt the same manoeuvre.
Unlike Hei, he held on much more tightly. Neo would contend that as her grip squeezed his guts painfully.
"Shit! Neo! Argh!"
The horse finally succeeded, and before he knew it, he was joining Hei on the ground.
Fortunately, his horse didn't immediately bolt.
"Ow," he groaned.
Hei stood up painfully, nursing his back, when a voice called out.
"Hey! What are you doing here?! This area's closed off! Leave!"
A trio of Hunters had appeared, sporting polished armour over leather gambisons and pants.
Hei looked up, silently cursing his luck.
"You need to leave. Now," called a second Hunter, this time more gently.
"It's not safe here right now."
"I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a small girl with black hair around here?"
It was risking to be asking the Hunters, but he was too worried to care right now.
Roman and Neo both stood up.
"Not really. Look, you need to leave now." Urged the first guard, his open face sporting a slight beard and wavy blond hair.
"If there is a girl in that direction, we'll try and find her. But right now, we don't know what's going on. Please leave."
With that, the three Hunters ran past them and followed the winding S-shaped road to where the smoke and wall were.
Only for a blur of black to come rushing out and smash through the leader and carry him out of sight behind one of the nearby buildings.
"SHIT!" cried out one of the Hunters, drawing his sword while the other called out a warning.
Hei faltered and Roman froze, Neo still clutching his side.
A bestial roar could be heard, followed by a bloodcurdling scream.
The sudden crunching of snow behind them was the only warning Neo needed to wheel around and yank Roman to the ground as a serrated sword swung over them.
"…!" Roman felt his breath get knocked out from him as he hit the ground.
Hei spun around at the commotion to witness a figure dressed in a black cloak swinging an ugly abomination for a sword where the two had been standing nought but a fraction of a second ago.
Hei reached for his club under his jacket and raced to confront their new enemy.
Neo reached for her stilettoes as she bounced back to her feet.
She brought them up to parry a downwards slash. That was a mistake, as the force of the blow was much stronger than she anticipated nor had the energy for.
It knocked both blades from her hands, and before she could react, the attacker whirled around and slashed horizontally at her neck.
Her eyes widened in horror as she realised she had no time to dodge the blow.
Hei screamed her name as the blade made contact and sent her flying to the side.
She had just enough latent aura enough to push outwards and shield her from an otherwise fatal blow.
It still hurt tremendously and she winced as she tumbled to the side.
Roman grabbed one of her dropped stilettoes and thrust it upwards into the assailant's belly.
Only, the blade didn't penetrate flesh, and was instead deflected as a glancing blow.
Roman's eyes widened in panic.
"Oh shit."
The cloaked assailant brought their sword up overhead to skewer Roman in a downwards thrust.
Hei roared in anger as he let go of the club and instead reached for the flintlock underneath.
He barely aimed it at their back before squeezing the trigger.
Smoke blew into his face so he couldn't see if his shot landed.
He surged forward anyways, produced his club with the other hand.
It wasn't needed as the figure was slumped over Roman who was struggling to push him off. Blood decorated his face and the nearby ground while the sword lay on the road, indenting some of the exposed snow.
"Fucking hell, Hei! Cutting it a little close!"
Hei ignored him.
"Is he dead?" he asked in worry as he raced over.
"I think so," nodded Roman, bringing a sleeve to wipe the blood off his face and eyes.
Hei pulled the body off of him before extending hand to help him up.
Roman accepted and stood up.
"You're going to have to tell me what the hell that thing is one of these days, Hei."
"Later," he nodded.
"I thought I was dead Hei! Fucker was wearing armour underneath when I went to stab him!"
Neo tackled into Roman with worry, and Roman reciprocated.
Hei finally got a look at the body.
Black cloak and robes covered the figure from head to toe, and the only thing sticking out was the animal skull of some bovine-esque beast.
Hei's eyes narrowed.
"I think we're on the right track," he voiced aloud.
"U-um. No shit Hei!"
Hei's eyes glanced at Roman, only to take note of the panicked expression her wore as he looked past him.
He quickly followed his gaze and was met by the sight of a massive Grimm Ursa chewing on Hunter's head, the rest of his body being dragged underneath its body as it walked in their general direction.
All over its bone plated body, silver accents glowed.
Roman let out a whimper and curse, and almost instantly, the beast snapped its head up to them, tearing the head of the deceased Hunter clean off with a bloody splat.
"Remind me why Ruby is worth it again, boss?"
Hei backed up slowly. He didn't have time to reload his flintlock, and none of them were in the best shape to fight right now, let alone a hulking Grimm.
It had been a shitshow the last time in the forest when the three of them took Ruby, and they had been fully rested up.
Not to mention, this Grimm was significantly bigger than them.
"Run?" suggested Roman.
Hei was of a similar mindset. Fuck fighting that thing.
Fortunately, he wouldn't have to as the two Hunters from before came charging at it from behind, one brandishing a spear, while the other swung his sword with full might in an overhead blow.
The beast roared and wheeled around to confront them.
"Go. Now!" ordered Hei as he ushered Roman and Neo down a nearby alley and out of sight of the Grimm.
The sounds of battle faded as they broke the line of sight.
"We can't do this Hei! It's too dangerous," hissed Roman as they ducked behind a building.
"She's nearby. I know it," argued Hei.
"How do you know?!"
"I'm certain that was one of these Westenders Carter mentioned."
"What?" Roman furrowed his face in confusion. Hei continued.
"Carter talked about selling Ruby to the Westenders. We know that. We found the bodies near the sewers. I'd reckon that guy was one of them."
"And?! How can you be certain Ruby's with them still?"
Hei leaned forward with gritted teeth.
"Because that looked a helluva lot like one of her Grimm. She's nearby."
"And?! What load of good is that if we get killed in the process?!"
"We're not going to!" Hei placed a firm hand on Roman's shoulder as he hyperventilated.
"She has to be nearby, right? We just need to narrow it down."
Roman glanced over Hei's shoulder at the plume of smoke.
Hei grimaced.
"Yeah, I'd say that'd be our best bet right now."
Roman closed his eyes.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck."
The sound of Grimm prowling the nearby streets echoed out, and everyone flinched.
Roman glanced back at Hei worriedly.
"And if she's not on our side?"
Hei stood up.
"She is. She's got a good head on her shoulders. She's just scared is all. Probably," he added as more Grimm roared in the distance.
Neo shot Hei a look that screamed her disbelief.
"Maybe we should just take the side streets for now, though," Roman suggested nervously.
"We're not exactly fighting material right now."
Hei couldn't refute that, so he reached for his flintlock to reload it.
Roman felt his heart drop.
"Please tell me we aren't going to be fighting our way in. Or out?!"
"What? No. Just... better safe than sorry," reassured Hei.
Roman let out a breath of relief.
"Good. You had me worried there for a second."
The door behind Roman exploded into splinters as a bloodied city Guardsman was thrown through it, a smaller Grimm Beowolf rushing out of it. Silver accents and vessels glowed on its body as it snarled and pounced on the Guardsman.
"FUCK OFF!" screamed Roman in fright as he jolted upright.
"Run!" ordered Hei.
He didn't need to be told twice.
The Guardsman screamed as he was gored alive by the beast. The three ran down the streets towards the walls where the smoke was coming from.
Shion felt himself wobble before crashing to his knees in exhaustion.
It was taxing to exert so much of his Aura to use the Arcane so aggressively. And fight three Huntsmen with his sword. All while trying to keep his connection to the Grimm tethered.
The girl was still alive, and she hadn't figured out how to kick him out of control. Which was good as it meant he could keep using them to inflict damage and buy more time. She had no control over her summons. She must have been new to using them, and never been taught finesse clearly.
The Grimm weren't strong. Not like real Grimm.
They were like angry splashes of water in a creek. Not tsunami-like waves in an ocean storm.
To the untrained and those without Aura, they were like rabid animals. Dangerous, and unpredictable. But to the Hunters who had Aura, they were manageable. Or at least, they should be. So far, the Hunters he had encountered were disappointing. They died rather easily to his blade.
Then again, that wasn't exactly fair since his weapon was special.
The city Guardsmen and Hunters lost interest in him, too busy trying to fend off the Grimm and his subordinates. And now, they had to contend with a hole in their wall.
If there was a message to be sent, he was sending it in bold fucking letters.
"RARGH!"
He turned his head slightly to the side to hear Gordon trying to push his brother off of him.
Such a shame, really. They both exhibited some skill for Huntsmen. Not the greatest to contend with, but certainly worthy enough to be acknowledged as nuisances. They had worked in unison to try and take him down, and it might have succeeded if he didn't employ his Arcane in such a way.
But now, after so much fighting and expending so much Aura, it was hard to keep up the connections.
He would have to let them go. The question was which one first.
His manipulation of the Grimm? Or his manipulation of the Huntsman?
Picking up his khopesh, he made his choice and stalked over to the two Huntsmen struggling.
He felt weak and tired right now, but he did everything he could to maintain the façade of being strong. Appearances were important. After all, if your enemy suspected weakness, they would strike. Better to not give them any ideas, even if they were incapacitated.
As he turned, he saw the child Grimm-Whisperer come to a stop in shock. Had she been running towards him? His analytical mind tried to find what weapon she had, but couldn't see anything.
Weak, he thought with disgust. And stupid to boot.
He ignored her. She was no threat right now, and he needed her alive right now while he was tethered to her Grimm.
He loomed over the two Huntsmen choking each-other out, bringing the khopesh overhead and poised to come down on both of their necks.
"Farewell. Huntsman."
He eased his control of the Huntsman off at the last second, and Gordon watched as Jack's eyes faded to normal, the inky black expanse retreating. All it left was a confused Jack whose grip loosened on his brother.
"Gordon…?"
He would be merciful and let the Huntsman have his own mind before he killed him. Even if it was only for a second. Though maybe that was more cruel?
Gordon screamed out a warning. "Jack! Look out!"
Shion swung the blade down.
It passed through Jack's neck and passed through Gordon's mouth, decapitating both and burying into the ground.
Their Aura's were bypassed as if they didn't exist in the first place.
"Nooo!" cried out Ruby weakly.
"Stop it! Please!"
Shion pulled the blade out from the ground, its surface slick with fresh blood.
"Hello child. Are you here to stop me?" he goaded giddily.
Ruby's fists curled into tight little balls as she trembled.
Letting out a scream, she ran towards Shion.
She had no plan. She just wanted to make him hurt.
Her Grimm weren't responding to her. She could feel them there, but it was like they couldn't hear her.
She collided into his leg, hammering her tiny fists into him repeatedly as she wailed in anger.
He didn't even flinch. He just let her try and beat him.
"Is that all you can do?" he finally asked, his voice laced with boredom.
"You disappoint me."
The back of his open hand caught her across the cheek and knocked her to the ground.
She felt tears bubble in her eyes as her face stung.
The old adrenaline was wearing off, but new adrenaline kept getting pumped in.
"If you're going to cry, then you are weak. And you will never stop me if you are weak."
Ruby glared up at him, a hand nursing her reddened cheek as blood slowly dribbled from the top her head, matting up her hair with the dust and ash in the air.
"Stand up, and fight me. Otherwise, sit down and wait for me to return."
When Ruby finally made to stand up, he brought his knee up into her chin. Hard.
Her head jolted as she was sent sprawling onto her rear.
"As I thought," he chuckled.
With that he turned his attention back to the gaping hole in the wall. The guards and Hunters were panicking as he encouraged the Grimm to circle to the opening and push through.
The Hunters on the ground were pushed back to the sealed gate, and their backs were to the breach.
The shuffle of something small standing up and moving towards him alerted him to the girl wanting to fight him.
He swung his free fist lazily towards her in an easily telegraphed throw, but to a child who was new to fighting not but an hour ago, might as well have been from a grand-master.
She had no hope of dodging it, he thought.
She dodged the strike by dropping to the ground clumsily.
Oh? Maybe there was some potential, he acknowledged.
Unfortunately, she left herself way too vulnerable by dropping onto her belly, picking herself up to continue charging him.
That wouldn't do.
So he grabbed her by the hair on the back of her head and brought his knee up again.
Her face was thrown into a rapidly rising knee again, and her head exploded with pain as blood and snot went flying.
He let go, and she fell to the ground face first with a groan.
Still weak, he sighed. It wasn't like he hit her that hard. He liked to think he wasn't cruel?
His shoulder exploded in a shower of blood as pain surged forth like a tidal wave. His eyes went wide behind the mask as he lurched forwards with the momentum.
Meanwhile, the sound of something exploding rang out across the road. It wasn't loud enough to distract from the din of battle, however.
As he stumbled, he heard the sound of rapid footfalls closing the distance towards him the scream of two men getting closer and closer.
He tried to spin around in their direction and bring his khopesh up to bear, only to realise it had been sent flying. That, and his arm wasn't responding the way he wanted it to.
Roman collided into full force, and while he might have been a light-weight, on an already unbalanced Shion it was more than enough to send him crashing onto his back.
"DON'T. YOU. TOUCH. HER!" roared Roman as he brought fist after stump into his face.
Hei was on them not even two seconds later with his club, and suddenly Shion felt himself the subject to a street beating.
He brought his good arm up to shield himself, his mind still reeling from the attack.
How had he even been injured in the first place?! He had his Aura up at all times!
He tried to force the Arcane energy up into his finger-tips to blast the ginger assailant with a face-full of fire.
Only to realise he couldn't.
His head snapped onto the pavement, and he tasted blood in his lips.
All of the Grimm started to howl, no, scream.
Where was his Aura? Where was his Arcane?
That's when he felt it. His control of the Grimm, his innate link that he had hijacked, was gone. It was erased.
That should have been impossible?!
Hei brought the club up with a scream, and smashed it onto his bone mask, cracking it and causing several splinters to cut into his skin.
His mind made the realisation immediately, even through the concussive blows being rained down upon him.
His Aura had been bypassed. No. Negated entirely. And without Aura, he couldn't use his Arcane, just as he couldn't control the Grimm anymore.
And that was only possible if someone could block it. And the only person capable of doing such a feat was…
"You're a Wound?!" he exclaimed in a croaky voice.
Roman's reply was to punch him angrily in the face.
The mask shattered in two, finally falling away and revealing his face to the world. Roman's fist came away more bloodied with his own blood than anything.
It took all of his energy to bring his legs up and kick Roman squarely in the stomach and off of him.
He tumbled back, slightly winded.
The second Roman was off of him his Aura began to return.
The damage had already been done, however.
The Grimm were no longer under his control, and he was beaten to a pulp. Nothing that his disciplined mind wouldn't force him to overcome, but frustrating none-the-less.
That was when the horn sounded.
It came from the other side of busted wall, and the growing thunder of hooves approaching was the only warning anyone was getting that something drastic was about to happen.
Hei reared his club up again to strike the masked man lying on the ground.
Only he didn't get the chance as he twisted his body with remarkable flexibility and knocked him over.
Hei collided with the ground, letting out a grunt of surprise from the blow.
Shion jumped to his feet, channelling his remaining Aura into his muscles to enhance their strength and endurance.
"Arh. You fucker," spat Hei venomously.
Shion ignored him as he cast a glance out to the growing cluster of charging cavalry approaching the hole in the wall.
The horn sounded again, and it was clearly coming from the stampede.
He weighed his options up.
Stay and try to draw out the conflict. Enough damage had already been inflicted. He'd killed three Huntsmen, and his subordinates helped decimate a sizeable chunk of the Hunter Garrison. Not to mention all of the panicking peasants that had been massacred. The fallout from this attack would be phenomenal. And that wasn't counting the Grimm's presence.
Or, call it a mission success and leave. His subordinates were about to die, they just didn't know it yet. For he could make out the banner and colours proudly displayed by the charging horsemen.
These were the Royal Guardsmen. And he knew from his sources that every single one of them was an elite, trained Huntsman. And over fifty of them were charging on horseback.
Whether his subordinates died was inconsequential. They could be replaced. But he was wounded and fatigued. Even he knew when to call it in.
He had already achieved what he wanted. There was more he hoped for, but one couldn't always have their cake and eat it too he supposed.
His mind made up, he moved.
Hei stood up, as did Roman, but Shion was already running.
As he ran by Ruby, she glanced up at him weakly, her face bloodied and bruised.
He supposed she did have some strength to pursue fighting him, even when it was hopeless. Besides, she did her part marvellously. Even if it was improvised. So he flashed her a wink and smile.
Ruby would never forget his face as pale sharp, androgynous features smiled by, lavender eyes winking, and long, silver hair billowed behind.
Hei aimed his flintlock, having reloaded it, and fired.
It exploded mortar right by Shion's retreating head as he vanished behind the building and into the alley, never to be seen again.
"Fuck," he cursed.
He tucked the flintlock into his jacket and rushed to help Ruby.
Neo was already helping the small girl stand up.
She wiped a hand across Ruby's face to wipe some of the blood up.
She flinched away in pain, and blot of blood dribbled onto the footpath.
All around them and in the distance, the Grimm started to howl and writhe uncomfortably.
Roman tensed as Hei knelt down to Ruby.
"Hey, kid. You alright?"
Ruby blearily looked at him.
"…Hei?" she muttered weakly before she collapsed from exhaustion. Neo caught her, as did Roman.
She was out cold.
"She's out, Hei," stated Roman.
Hei's look was that of incredulity as he craned his neck to look at Roman.
"No shit, Roman?!"
"Hey. No need to get pissy," he groused, helping scoop the unconscious girl up in his arms.
The horn sounded again. This time much louder and closer.
Hei glanced over Roman's shoulder. The charging cavalry were seconds away from the breach.
"We should go," he said.
Roman grimaced as he hoisted Ruby over his shoulders.
"Yeah. That'd be a good idea," he concurred.
The three of them slipped away, just as the Royal Guardsmen burst through the breach.
And that was when the gunfire erupted.
Hei froze in shock, his head snapping to the breach.
"Hei! We need to go! Now!" urged Roman.
"Right," he nodded absentmindedly before turning and slipping into the alleyway with him.
The Royal Guardsmen were dressed to the bells in ceremonial vibrant red dress uniform with gold embroidery and augulettes. A white sash held a sheathed sabre, while the white and gold-inlaid pickelhaube helmets held a bushy array of red feathers. They hadn't had time to change into actual combat attire as they were on parade. Armour wasn't necessary as their Aura was already up in advance.
Polished black boots dug into the perfectly bred speckled white stallions that huffed as they charged into battle.
Only, instead of brandishing their sabres at the ready; those remained sheathed, they clutched a rather peculiar weapon.
A long, wooden-framed steel pipe with a varnished and artfully engraved stock braced against their right shoulders.
A gift from Atlas.
Fully-fielded and tested flintlock firearms.
The second they passed over the burning rubble and corpses they began to encircle the nearby Westenders and Grimm.
The cornered guards and Hunters exclaimed and breathed sighs of relief as reinforcements finally arrived.
The Westenders looked up at the charging Huntsmen in surprise.
The Huntsmen didn't even hesitate.
The first gunshots rang out with frightening accuracy, white plumes of gunpowder erupting in the rider's faces as they charged forth into the Westenders.
Where arrows and melee had failed to break through armour and whatever Aura the attacking brigands had, the high-speed munitions used in the flintlocks succeeded.
Blood exploded out of their targets backs and limbs as the flintlocks started to fire.
Some Westenders died to a single shot, others were peppered with several and collapsed dead. Some were unfortunate enough to survive and fell to the ground screaming in pain.
The besieged Hunters, sensing victory at hand, surged forward with renewed bravado.
The Grimm fared no better as a contingent of horseback Huntsmen broke off to start cutting down the beasts.
Gunfire blasted through bone-plating.
As soon as a flintlock had been fired it was slung around on to its users back and they drew their sabre.
The Grimm didn't stand a chance as they were mercilessly cut down.
And neither did the Westenders, who by now realised the battle had been lost.
Where the guards failed, and the Hunters struggled, the Huntsmen thrived.
Some of the cloaked Westenders decided to break off and retreat back into the city, only to be cut down and trampled by the Huntsmen who stormed through with no mercy.
White smoke permeated the air, and people not prepared for its acrid stench started to cough.
Several Westenders decided to try their luck at facing off against professional Huntsmen, only to find that their own Aura, if they had any that is, meant nothing them.
The sabres bypassed their own Aura, and they were cut down relentlessly like a scythe to a chaff of wheat.
In a matter of mere seconds, the Huntsmen had massacred all offending forces. Whether Grimm or human, if it was an enemy it now lay dead.
The horses slowed down to a trot and they instantly set up a perimeter to secure the area. Many sheathed their sabres and began reloading their firearms with frightening speed and ease that belied significant training and drills had been conducted.
Several minutes later, Ozpin arrived. With him was Henry Winchester, Glynda Goodwitch, Carmine Adel and General Alexander. A squad of Hunters and a handful of Ozpin's own Huntsmen accompanied them. They brandished an array of polearms, pikes and swords.
"I want a report right now," ordered Ozpin, tone brokering no argument.
The captain of the Royal Guardsman, distinguishable by his uniform being a navy blue instead of the standard red, turned to face him. He was conversing with the Wall Section Commander who was adorned in standard Hunter armour.
"We've secured the perimeter Headmaster, and neutralised the immediate threat. The Hunter garrisons are supporting the City Guard as they push to reclaim the district," responded the Captain.
Alexander looked caught off-guard.
"Reclaim the district? What the hell happened here?!"
"We're not entirely sure, but it would appear a coordinated attack by rogue Hunters. They appeared to be controlling several Grimm with them," replied the captain, oblivious or uncaring of the General's tone.
"Grimm?" repeated Carmine.
The Hunter Commander interjected.
"We got a warning that a rogue Huntsman appeared. By the time we received it, the district was under attack from Grimm and these bastards," he gestured to the corpse of a Westender lying motionless nearby in a pool of his own blood.
"Considering it appears we were the only ones attacked by Grimm, the Captain here thinks they weren't ordinary Grimm."
"They weren't," responded the Captain curtly with a frown.
"I have witness reports from my own men, as well as what I saw with my own eyes. They bore the signs of being summoned."
The Huntsmen tensed, praying that he wouldn't say what they were fearing he was going to.
"I suspect they had a Grimm-Whisperer amongst their ranks."
"Did you kill them?" demanded Henry.
"Doubtful." The Captain glanced out down the gentle slope into the city.
"I suspect they're still out there. Somewhere."
Glynda looked outraged.
"And you just let them get away?! What have you been doing this whole time?!"
Carmine was not pleased either.
"There could still be Grimm down there. You need to mobilise now and start clearing the streets."
The Captain looked positively irritated as he responded, and the Hunter Commander sighed into the palm of his hand, head shaking.
"My responsibility, as is the responsibility of my men, is to safeguard the King and prevent any threats from reaching the Royal Palace. We have done that, and we will make sure no other threats get past us. It is the City Guard's and Garrison's responsibility to clear those streets. Now, unless you have any more questions, I have other responsibilities to tend to."
Ozpin frowned.
"No, you are dismissed. The Commander here can fill us in."
The Captain nodded brusquely to Ozpin before marching off, whistling to his men and beginning to bark out orders.
The Commander sighed as Ozpin fixed him a firm look.
"I've already sent several teams out to start clearing the streets. They'll meet up with other Garrisons hopefully and clear the streets before the days end."
"Commander," growled Alexander. "It's not even midday. I hope you have a better plan than letting lady luck decide for us."
"There's not much I can do," he snapped back. "Half of my men are already dead or severely wounded. We're trying to keep the entire wall secure so we don't suffer any more breaches! I was kind of hoping other Garrisons would be able to assist instead of dumping all the work onto my unit!"
"Gentlemen," intervened Ozpin.
"Let's not get too heated right now. There's a lot to process. Namely," he fixed the Commander a look, "where your Huntsmen are?"
The Commander rubbed the back of his head while shaking it sadly.
"We had three. That was it."
Henry picked up on the past tense.
"Three? Who were they? Where are they?"
The Commander looked at Henry, his eyes flashing recognition all of a sudden.
"Sir, they were the Winchester Brothers. Your sons, sir."
Henry felt his heart plummet.
"Where are they…."
The Commander's lips pursed.
"They… didn't make it sir. Two of them were killed by what we suspect was the rogue Huntsman. The third is in critical condition right now – " Henry barged right by the Commander and headed straight to where several guardsmen were tending to a gathering of wounded men.
"Where is he?!" he screamed.
"Where is my son?!"
"Shit," exclaimed the Commander, immediately running to chase off after Henry.
"Sir, wait! We're still waiting for the healers to arrive! You'll only make it worse…" he trailed off as he ran to catch up to Henry.
"This does not bode well," growled Alexander.
"No it does not," concurred Ozpin.
"If there is indeed a Grimm-Whisperer, they cannot be allowed to slip away. Glynda."
She straightened immediately as Ozpin called her.
"Yes, sir?"
"Take Carmine's Huntsmen and form a search party. I want you to track down this Grimm Whisperer, and eliminate them. If they escape, they could cause untold chaos like they already have."
Glynda nodded, but it was Carmine who spoke out.
"Allow me, Headmaster. They are my men. They would -" "Denied," Ozpin shook his head.
"Glynda, without meaning to sound unnecessarily harsh, is much more qualified to conduct a search and destroy task against a Grimm Whisperer than you are."
Carmine bristled at that.
"Headmaster, I strongly insist you reconsider."
"No. I have made my decision. I will need you elsewhere."
Carmine reluctantly conceded, though not without sounding bitter.
"Of course, Headmaster."
"Henry is not going to be able to assist us right now," he inclined his head to the angrily grieving man arguing with the Wall Commander and several Hunters over the body of his single-remaining son.
"And House Arc is unavailable. I need you to summon your remaining Huntsmen and Hunter Garrison and conduct a sweep of the city to assist the City Guard in stamping out any remaining Grimm and would-be attackers. Can you do that?" It was less a question and more an order from Ozpin.
Carmine relaxed a little bit as she realised she would still be in the fold.
"Yes. Yes I can sir."
"Good. General," Ozpin turned to the hulking armoured man who grunted in acknowledgement.
"Yes?"
"Can you lock down the city perimeter? No-one gets in. No-one gets out."
Alexander looked contemplative for a second before nodding.
"Aye. I can do that. Shouldn't take too long."
"Then get on to it. The sooner we regain control, the better."
"What about the Commander and Henry?" asked Glynda, gesturing to the two.
Ozpin sighed, pushing his glasses up. "I'll handle them and the wall. And the King. And the bloody paperwork I'm sure, too."
Glynda nodded.
"Very well. Huntsmen!" She called out to Carmine's retinue.
"I need you to come with me." She strode off to the Wall Commander.
The half dozen or so of Huntsmen bearing the symbol of House Adel quickly caught up with her as soon as Carmine nodded her approval.
"What are we doing exactly," asked one Huntsman, a giant yet softspoken man wearing a plain gambison with a staff strapped to his back.
"Mr Daichi, is it?"
The man stiffened as he wondered how she knew his name.
"We're going to gather a description from the Wall Commander. And then we're going hunting."
"What are we hunting exactly?" piped up another Huntress sporting flowing robes and a naginata.
She musn't have been listening, thought Glynda with irritation. Or maybe she was too far away to hear.
All of the Huntsmen and Huntresses behind her tensed when she finally responded ominously.
"A Grimm Whisperer…."
So, technically, Shion is a canon, or rather canon-adjacent, character. Not a big fan, but I need official characters that I can mold for more major roles. Technically Shions canon semblance revolves around dreams and hunting Grimm that cause nightmares. A way to get in your head and stuff it up? Kinda neat. So I've repurposed Shion to sorta fill that role here. You shall see more of him later. Still, my favourite villains have been Tyrian and Hazel. Can't wait to get back to writing them again.
Next chapter: Monday 19th August