CHAPTER 20: Demons for the future.

Daegred looked at himself in the mirror, gazing from head to toe at his reflection, which displayed the Beacon Academy student uniform. The color combination was curious, a white shirt under a black vest decorated with gold buttons, all accompanied by a red tie. A part of him expected something more glamorous, but other than that it was quite flexible and did not limit his mobility, according to Ozpin, certain modifications could be made so he only needed to get a needle and thread.

"Hey! You're choking me!".

"Then stay still!".

Any possible aesthetic ideas could wait for later, right now the childish squabbles between Neptune and Sun distracted him. Anyone who entered the room behind the stage would think that the blue-haired man was trying to strangle the Faunus with the tie, which was not far from reality because that was the result of Sun not staying still. He sighed, working with children was not his strong suit.

"DAEGRED!" like the screeching of claws cutting through glass, that voice pierced his eardrums and before he could react something crashed into his back at high speeds almost causing him to fall to the ground but his legs were firm and he only contracted a little from the surprise. The one who had assaulted him turned out to be none other than Ruby Rose, who along with her sister, had just arrived.

"You did it! We did it! We entered Beacon! Did you see what I did there!? It was like woa! cha! and then Slash!". While narrating with luxury, excess and perhaps exaggeration of details, the young woman with silver eyes imitated strange movements with her hands. Yang then placed a palm on her little sister's head while pulling her back allowing the elf to breathe.

"So, handsome, I see that we will be classmates, do you think you can keep up?".

"I will try not to leave you too far behind Xiao Long.".

"Ouch!" Sun shouted from behind. The other two crazies approached the trio, though the blond's tie still didn't fit right. Speaking of ties, the Noldor noticed that except for the long, checkered skirt, the female uniform was basically the same as the male version.

"So, guys, what happened to you? We killed a giant Nevermore! My little sister decapitated it!" the blonde girl exclaimed as she hugged the red-haired girl tightly as she struggled to keep from breaking her back.

"Not bad, not bad. It's actually pretty impressive, not to brag but…".

"We killed a dragon!" Sun unceremoniously interrupted any attempt by Neptune to brag.

"Hey! I wanted to say it! And another thing, it was a Wyvern!".

"WOW, are you serious!?" Ruby stood between the two children wanting to know more.

"It was a winged lizard that spit fire, that's a dragon!".

"No, for starters, it only had four limbs, dragons have six.".

"You mean like an insect?".

"Actually, some species of dragons only have four limbs but that's because they lack wings…" As the elf and the fighter watched as the little redhead joined the debate, they decided to have their own discussion.

"So… a dragon?".

"For the sake of staying professional, I'll call it a wyvern, and yes, we did kill it, although we destroyed half a mountain in the process.".

"WAS IT YOU!?" This time Daegred caught the girl before she hit him.

"Yeah, that wasn't in our plans though."

"But it was awesome! We should have done like Bushido Brown and walked with the explosion behind us!" Sun peeked out from behind the redhead as he performed the same movements the girl had done before.

"We would have been incinerated, I want to be famous but not as a martyr" the blue haired boy would always be available to look cool but not at the price of certain death.

"He has a point, then, you killed a dragon–".

"wyvern"

"we a nevermore, Jaune and the others a deathstalker, I think another team of jerks fought a gheist."

"Hey, aren't you missing one?" Ruby raised an eyebrow as she noticed that of the other four teenagers, the gray haired guy was absent.

"Mercury said he had to call someone, he would be here in time for the ceremony, I hope." Daegred frowned when Neptune mentioned such a thing.

"And what about you two… Blake isn't with you?" Sun peeked behind the girls to see if the black-haired beauty was arriving, but was disappointed to see nothing.

"She needs her space, take note of that, sunshine." Yang said.

"I think Weiss was going to make some calls too." Ruby muttered, looking at the front door expectantly. However, her attention shifted to the other redhead in the room, who seemed thoughtful, staring into space. She stepped away from her sister and the other two, who continued chatting as she timidly crawled next to the silver-eyed giant.

"So… you also have a lot of things on your mind?" she asked while trying not to make eye contact.

"I have a lot of things weighing on my conscience, the most recent being the health of a friend, I hope to see her at the ceremony."

"I also hope you can see her, but if she is a Beacon graduate then there are few things that can stop her."

"She is a strong spirit, you are right." At the smile that Daegred shared she could only scratch the back of her neck somewhat embarrassed. However, something about their conversation did not go unnoticed by the elf.

"And you? What ails your mind, my friend?" Ruby was surprised that he read her so easily, first she stuttered a little trying to divert the conversation to some topic but nothing came to her head, in the end she looked at her sister a little checking that she was still distracted with the other blond and the blue-haired and then sighed.

"I'm a little nervous, I came in two years early, I'm the youngest here and I don't know if I can keep up with the others, Weiss and Phyrra were amazing there! And I…"

"Nonsense, girl! You decapitated a giant Nevermore and devised a strategy to make such a feat possible. Few among the first-year students can boast that. Don't let your age cloud your vision. You are a brilliant girl."

"Thank you, but I don't think others will see it that way. Maybe they'll think I'm weird…"

"Everyone I've met in the last few weeks has been unusual. You underestimate yourself a lot, Lady Rose. Since you got here, you've made good impressions on most people, including me." Ruby thought about what she said, and in retrospect, it was true. She and Weiss didn't start out on the best of terms, but they had managed to work well together when the situation was critical. Blake was perhaps a bit distant, and yet they didn't have any conflicts. Jaune, Sun, Neptune, all of them were nothing but kind to her.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. You know, this may be a little weird, but you sound a lot like my gran–."

"Attention students, please go to the main hall and take your seats, the ceremony will begin in five minutes."

The chains that lifted him from his wrists burned his skin as if they were red hot. They ate away at the flesh of his arms and threatened to tear the muscles that suspended his body above the ground. Had he been in that position for how long? A week? It was hard to say when the only light in that cell came from a spotlight. Blood ran down like small waterfalls from the cuts on his pale skin, his mouth was open with only heavy breaths coming from those dry lips.

He hated being chained, he hated that metallic sensation suffocating his skin. He hated being restrained like a wild animal, so vulnerable, so fragile, so pathetic. He hadn't eaten or drank anything in days, his wounds were treated as a courtesy, a way to try to make a good impression when he regained consciousness, as if that had been enough to betray his brothers and sisters, they realized that it wasn't going to work, he wasn't a deserter who sold his own to save his skin. So Targg left him in Roch's care.

The guy had the creativity of a rock, cutting skin, peeling off skin, tearing off nails, hitting him with a hammer, putting hot iron against his back, using a whip, threatening to do the same to his comrades. He could endure all of that without a scream, not a single sound escaped his mouth. But he underestimated the fool, on the fifth day, when nothing seemed to work against him, the Huntsman entered the cell with a hammer and chisel.

"Well kid, looks like we made some progress today." Roch let the blood stained tools rest on a small table with wheels on the other side of the room. He tossed the pair of black horns onto a trash can.

"...".

"You're out of words kid? That would be a shame you know? The general needs you to talk, if your mouth doesn't work then it means you're no longer useful."

"...".
"When a plow bull is no longer useful it is slaughtered, we don't want that with you, do we?"

"...".

"Come on man! You're exaggerating a bit don't you think? I mean, these things grow back!" To add insult to injury he picked up the bucket and shook it causing his horns to hit the walls from within.

"Here! How about this? You tell me some names, people, places, whatever and we'll put you in a nice stable, what do you say?".

"...".

The cell remained silent, only a hoarse stream of dry air coming from Adam's mouth. The disgraced Hunstman thought that perhaps he had caused the prisoner to lose too much blood, he was about to retreat for good to eat something and let the orderlies treat him again when his ears picked up something.

"T... ss…".

"What did you say?" He turned around, but his eyes only received the same chained figure with its head down.

"Say it! Be a good boy, repeat it for me"

"B... st".

"Clearer!" He came closer, just a few feet away, trying to read the bull faunus' lips, but they were so dry that it was impossible.

"ill… ha…"

"Yes?" He was close, now the only thing separating them was the length of a finger. Roch turned his head to the side exposing his ear so Adam's whispers would be more audible. For a few seconds, the huntsman thought he was dead, the sound of his breathing suddenly ceasing. Then the red beast's single eye glowed.

"FANGS!"

Between heartbeats, Adam sank his fangs into Roch's jugular with all the strength he had left. The bastard didn't have time to scream or even activate the alarm on his scroll when the teeth cut through the flesh and skin. With an erratic movement of his head Adam tore off a good chunk of his neck freeing the Huntsman to fall to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

By instinct, he swallowed that piece, he hadn't eaten in gods know how long. Maybe he shouldn't have let go, choking on the floor was beyond his reach. But those thoughts were put on the back burner, as satisfying as the revenge was now he was at the mercy of the other guards, in a few minutes they would notice the absence of his torturer and come to investigate.

The terrorist waited patiently, but the guards didn't arrive. The abysmal silence behind that metal door was more oppressive than any torture given by that bleeding idiot. He watched as the door remained closed, unchanging. How many were behind it? Did they just walk past without bothering to inspect? Did they think he kept the imbecile as his hostage? Or did they organize a whole platoon to arrest him in case his chains broke?

But at last it came, the sound from outside the cell. The dozens of voices of guards and prisoners screaming in agony, cursing or begging for non-existent mercy. His ears recognized the gunshots, the familiar sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh, broken bones and entrails falling to the floor. Then silence returned, and from beneath the door blood entered the cell. Footsteps echoed over that puddle and the creaking of metal announced the arrival of something.

"Adam Taurus, it is an honor to see the most famous dead man in the underworld again."

He was dressed in a black cape that covered almost all of his robust body, exposing only the white skin of his strong arms from which his palms emanated a non-light, black as the abyss itself.

"Your death shook the entire White Fang."

He closed the distance slowly, but Adam could make out his orcish features as he came closer. With a white goatee under his chin and those black eyes with yellow iridescence. A strange feeling weighs down the bull faunus' chest, like a black mist consuming the entire cell.

"But Death is only a minor inconvenience and always will be."

Tai sighed with satisfaction as he finished watering the roses in the huge garden behind the house. Butterflies and bees flew over the flora of that botanical spectacle of multiple colors but despite such an excellent view the retired huntsman still remained somewhat melancholic. The absence of his daughters was beginning to be noticed, Ruby usually used to work in the garden, alongside the grandmother but without her here now said task falls to him.

Not that he complained, working with his mother-in-law was not unpleasant in any way. She was one of the few people he could talk to since the girls left for Vale.

"Are you getting lazy Taiyang?".

"Not at all, I'm just enjoying the view."

"It must be splendid if you've been standing there in silence for several minutes."

"Yes, it is spectacular, I am sorry that a decrepit old woman like you cannot see." Under any circumstances that would have been a very cruel thing to say to a blind woman, but Tai had known her for decades and knew that a few joking words would never make a dent in his mother-in-law's character.

"It's better this way, so my eyes aren't burdened by the image of your ugly face, tainting the beauty of the garden." She stood up, having already stopped digging and placing new flowers. She wasn't very tall, in fact, barely taller than her youngest granddaughter, although she retained some of Ruby's characteristics, such as the shape of her head and a similar hairstyle. Her hair was a slightly bleached black with white and gray streaks strewn across it in random strands, and unlike the rest of the family, she had dark skin.

"I know you're worried about them; it's your job as their father, but they're also strong, stronger than you think." The older woman dressed in black tied her gray hair back in a high bun.

"You're right but you said it, it's my job to worry, at least Ruby has managed to make some friends there." The letters her daughter sent painted a hopeful picture about her time at the academy despite Ruby's attempts to appear pessimistic.

"Oh? Is there anyone interesting?".

"A clumsy blonde boy."

"Brings back memories…" she say.

"Hey!"

"Go on, don't let my ramblings distract you."

"Another hyperactive blonde."

"I'm starting to see a pattern, like mother like daughter."

"Please, I have enough to worry about already… anyway, the last one is a tall redhead, she says he looks like–." She raised her hand so fast that Tai almost missed it. The only audible sound was the rumble of insects and the chirping of birds, however the woman relaxed, and he with her, when a familiar squawk echoed from the skies.

"Looks like it's going to be a big dinner tonight, I'll get the list ready, tell Qrow to take a bath, we don't want my husband to throw him out the window again." Taiyan just sighed in amusement as that memory of his youth came back to his mind. He hoped that Ruby and Yang would also forge that kind of memories with their teammates.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren; you all managed to acquire the White Tower relics, from now on you will be known as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc." Daegred clapped politely along with the other students, as the now known as Team JNPR descended from the stage. To be honest, although the blond boy had shown a good strategy on the course of the battle presented on those huge screens, the truth was that he was leagues behind his comrades, the elf believed that the young Nikos would have been a more suitable choice for leadership.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnne, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long; you four obtained the White Knight pieces, from now on you will be known as Team RWBY; led by Ruby Rose" Although the name was strangely convenient, the result of the leadership was obvious. Much to the Schnee girl's surprise, neither she nor any of the other three had bothered to organize the group for their strategic retreat, nor had they come up with a plan to finish off the flying creature that was stalking them from the sky. The silver-eyed girl had potential, the Noldor saw it from miles away.

"Daegred Swinsere, Mercury Black, Neptune Vasilias, Sun Wukong; you four managed to get your hands on the relics of the White King and Queen."

The redhead stood with his arms crossed behind his back, firm as a watchtower and showing nothing but conviction. Mercury on the other hand stood slightly hunched, with a body language that betrayed tiredness and weariness of the situation, clearly not interested in the director's words. The blue-haired boy next to him was trying not to show nervousness, but his sweat was evident. The only Faunus of the group was relaxed with his hands behind his head and his tail wagging at his sides.

"From this moment until the end of your school year, you will be known as Team DMNS." A very inappropriate name for the Prince of the Noldor, perhaps the Wizard was playing a joke on him or perhaps it was the will of the One. However, as that was announced, his silver eyes searched the crowd for a familiar face, one he had wanted to see for some time.

"You will be led by Daegred Swinsere." Then a cheer erupted from the crowd of spectators, a chorus of screams and applause that shook the academy to its foundations, followed by the glare of a thousand cameras assaulting his eyes, confetti of every color falling from the ceiling.

"I expect a lot from all of you" The Headmaster had certainly not been short on details for the ceremony, yet it was there in the midst of the chaos of glamour that he saw her. She was sitting on one of the chairs in the front row, dressed in a brown and gold colored outfit, with the same boots as always and her hands resting on her lap. She smiled at him, then surprised the elf, taking his breath away, she stood up and joined her gentle applause with the crowd.

"WE DID IT!" Sun wrapped his arm around the redhead's neck almost causing them to fall to the ground, but the elf was in the mood for such celebrations so he played along and lifted the blond over his shoulder as if he were a child.

"I want it too!" said the orange haired girl as she climbed on top of the invincible champion.

"N-Nora! Wait!".

"Come here sis!".

"Yang! No!".

As the teams watched their most energetic members climb over the redheads as if it were a competitive sport, no one noticed that one of them had disappeared behind the stage curtain. Behind everyone's backs, including the Academy staff, Mercury made a call.

"Yes, she's here. It seems she recovered quickly."

"..."

"I understand. Don't worry, I've got it covered. And one more thing, you might be interested."

"..."

"Your Prince Charming is here too."

Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨

That was quite a journey up to this point, don't worry, I'm not planning on abandoning this project. As I told you before, my classes will start this week, so the pace of updates will slow down to probably one chapter per month. I'll try to keep things at a steady pace but I'm not making any promises.

Now, as you can see, I left a few hooks and references in this last chapter. I'm surprised no one has pointed out which fairy tale character our favorite redhead is inspired by. It will be an interesting point in the future, just like everything that is coming with the White Fang. On less somber matters, we learned a little about the Rose-Xiao Long family.

All reviews and criticisms are welcome.

Namárië!~✨