King: So... technically, the inspiration is Japanese history, but I was more influenced by the version told in the game series Samurai Warriors.

Knox: What's that?

King: You already know what it is... You made an analogy to it before. Remember?

Knox: Yeah, but what about the readers that don't know.

King: Fine... It's a hack and slash game series by Koei, the same people that made Dynasty Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, and Hyrule Warriors. (I like the genre...) It's effectively Japanese history as told by over the top anime. It's not for everyone, but I have fun. Now! Enough about my gaming preferences, let's get to the chapter. Hope you enjoy~

Inspiration: Samurai Warriors / Japanese History

/\

King and Knox appeared again. King floated a little higher, "Alright. That's taken care of."

"What did you need to talk about, anyway?" Ruby looked up to the fireballs.

"Just a house keeping matter. Don't worry about it. Now, let's get the next round going, shall we?" They both disappeared, leaving the viewers alone again as the screen started to glow.

The world formed in a field of trees, summer on the horizon as the wildlife scurried about. It was the Twenty-first of June in the year 1582. The sounds of marching pulled the camera down to show a small army walking through the forest. At the lead was a man atop a horse, dressed in a long black and red coat, his hair slicked back slightly and a pair of horns sticking out from his hair.

Blake blinked in surprise, "Adam…"

Adam's attire beneath the coat resembled light samurai armor. A katana hung on his side and swayed slightly as he moved. He wore no mask, revealing his face as he looked down toward the ground beneath his horse. His mind was filled with a conflict unlike any he'd fought before.

Yang grinned with a light chuckle, "Oh? This ought to be good."

His eyes fell closed as his mind went back to that night, the night his faith in his Lord shattered.

Yang's grin fell a bit. She leaned lightly and whispered, "Blake…"

Blake shook her head, "Before you ask, this does not appear in the books…"

"Good."

The world went white as his flashback began.

Adam stood in a forest, surrounded by white canvas walls of the army camp. Many of the banners showed the familiar dual arcs in the center of the stretched canvas.

Kali blinked in surprise, "It would seem Mr. Arc, I think it was?" After Jaune nodded, she continued, "It seems he's a samurai lord this time."

Ruby gasped, "Woah! That's so cool!"

Yang leaned back toward Kali, "How can you tell?"

Oobleck pointed to the canvas, "The banners. That style is used for mobile army camps often used by old forces, primarily from Mistral's historical accounts."

Kali nodded with a grin, "Quite~"

Adam continued forward before dropping down onto one knee, bowing before the person off screen. "My Lord, you wanted to see me?"

The camera panned over to show the back of a tall blonde in a long black coat with golden accenting around the form. The dual arcs appeared across his shoulders, "I did." His voice revealed this to be Jaune Arc. He spoke with a sense of power and unyielding ambition.

Emerald and Mercury couldn't help but be reminded of Cinder in they he spoke.

Jaune remained with his back to Adam, "Tonight, we make our move on the temple." As he spoke, the camera moved up behind him to show the mountain before them, the tree line faded to reveal a large temple at the summit. "Tonight, we quash this foolish rebellion."

"I look forward to it, my lord. How may I be of use to you?"

Sienna sighed, "If only he was that loyal in our reality…"

Gira sighed and shook his head, "He's going to get you killed at this rate."

Jaune kept his gaze on the mountain. "You need not do anything. I've learned from Ishiyama. I will not make the same mistakes I had before. Assailing the temple will only lead to another 11-year headache."

"Then… What are we to do?" Adam's head rose to ask of his lord.

Jaune turned, but the camera continued to hide his face in Adam's memory, "What we must…" Smoke started to rise from the forest around the temple. In time, the entire mountain was wreathed in flames.

Everyone was silent. Many in the audience were taken aback at the scene, some denying he was responsible. Some could see the military application, but also its cruelty. One saw this with a certain appreciation.

Adam was one of the first, "My lord! What's the meaning of this?! You would willingly burn down a temple?!"

"A temple built by and harboring our enemies. Those who would harass and impede our work for unification of Menagerie." Jaune turned his back to Adam again, "These monks must learn what comes from getting in my way."

"And you would burn their place of prayer to the ground?!"

"Ishiyama also taught me that would be a meaningless gesture."

Adam's expression fell, "Then… what are…"

"They call me a demon, then I shall rule Hell itself!" Jaune swung his arm to the side, "Burn their temple to the ground! Any who attempt to flee will be captured and executed! This is my first command as the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven! KILL THEM ALL!" The memory ended with the sounds of fire, gunshots, and the screams of the monks within the temple.

Those sounds were going to haunt them. The unholy screams and the hellish version of Jaune that seemed to stand on the screen.

Only one felt no fear or empathy for the monks. Cinder grinned, feeling she could get along swimmingly with this version.

The scene returned to the present as Adam brought his horse to a stop. Below him was a large temple compound of Honnoji, in the capital of Menagerie. He was supposed to go west to aid in Sun Wukong's campaign. But he chose to defy his orders. His enemy was not to the west. He drew his blade and addressed his army behind him, "The enemy is in Honnoji!"

His army shouted as they ran down the hillside to the temple. They reached the doors and Adam's soldiers killed the guards. They broke through the wooden barrier and assailed the compound. The camera panned down to one of the fallen guards to show the symbol of the Arc clan on his armor.

June 21, 1582. The night of Adam Taurus's betrayal.

No one said it out loud, but many could feel this was the best option. This version of Jaune was clearly one of the psycho variants. This was horrifying to the viewing group. Except Cinder, she just got mad at Adam for his betrayal.

As Adam's soldiers flooded through the gate, a chain of blades cut through many and tossed them back. The camera hung on the wielder, a young woman with a long brown pony tail. Her tanned skin seemed to shimmer into a furious red. Her weapon snapped back into the form of a single sword.

Ilia blinked in surprise. "Is that me, then?"

Blake nodded, "Seems like it."

Ruby was too enamored by the blade, "Wow! A whip sword! You hardly ever get to see one of those! They're really hard to make and even harder to master."

Ilia felt a certain pride, considering she used a similar weapon type.

Ilia stood with a glare toward the enemy troops. "No further! You won't take a single step further into this temple! Do you hear me?! I won't allow any of you any further!"

"Ilia…" Adam dropped from his horse and walked through the front line of his army around Ilia. "I have no conflict with you. Please… leave and…"

This just got Ilia even more pissed, "Shut up, traitor!" She held her weapon out, pointing toward Adam, "You and I have more than enough conflict. You would turn your back against our Lord?!"

"He is no lord of mine. Not after what I've seen him do."

Ilia would agree with him, or she wanted to. She followed Adam since Blake left and did terrible things. Perhaps this version had the same issue.

"Enough!" Ilia swung her blade back as the sections snapped apart to whip form again, "You will pay for what you've done."

Adam closed his eyes, taking a breath. He slowly drew his blade and readied himself for a fight. Ilia charged forward, spinning her blade around his weapon and trying to pull it away from him. But Adam had fought alongside Ilia for long enough to know how to counter her. He moved forward with the attack and pushed his shoulder into her gut. He dug his foot into the ground and spun his arm around to smack her with the back of his fist. This knocked her off balance enough to rear back a bit and place his blade parallel to the ground and pointed at his opponent. One swift step buried the blade into her gut, her own weapon still wrapped around it and digging into her skin.

Ilia jumped with a lump in her throat. "I…" The scene was hard to watch for her at this point. It was quic and efficient, but a wound like that would definitely be fatal. She would bleed out in moments.

Ilia coughed up some blood, but her eyes still filled with defiance. She unhooked her blade from his and it snapped back to a solid form. She knew it would likely be her last action, but she would still fight! Unfortunately, without her blade wrapped around his, Adam was able to snap his blade around and pull it back to exasperate her wound. Her strength drained and she was forced to her knees.

Ilia had no strength to fight anymore. Her consciousness was fading, only lucid long enough for one final act. "I lived by my blade. / I served in joy and sorrow. / I die as I lived." She fell to the ground, dying with weapon in hand.

Kali felt a shiver run up her spine. She'd witnessed the final poem of a warrior. She had her own prepared in her early years, but she hadn't thought about it in years. Not since Blake was born. Few others in the audience knew the practice, so were confused by the event.

Adam took several breaths and shook his head, steeling his will again. "I must continue…" He moved on through the temple as his soldiers swarmed the Arc clan guards. Some among his subordinates took to the wooden structures with torches, setting the compound ablaze.

Ren groaned a little, "A poetic moment, I suppose. Given what we saw before."

Jaune nodded. He didn't like the idea of seeing himself die, few ever would. But he couldn't exactly get behind the version he saw on screen.

Adam moved through the courtyard and stopped, looking down to something he'd kicked. One of his soldiers was on the ground with a large gash across his torso, through his armor. Adam recoiled a moment.

"Poor little bull…"

Adam's attention snapped back upward and forward.

Emerald and Mercury blinked in surprise. Mercury raised an eyebrow, "So… You're part of this too?"

Emerald shrugged, "I guess."

"Always following someone else… Never living your own life."

Emerald stepped out of the shadows, revealing she was wearing a kimono that hugged her form, allowing both to be alluring and functional. The long and wider sleeves allowed her to conceal her weaponry until she needed them. She stood in the temple, looking out into the courtyard.

Mercury let out an impressed whistle, "Damn~"

Emerald rolled her eyes but admitted, internally, that she liked the look. Then again, it was likely the material and functionality. The main reason she wore what she did was because it was the most functional for her style. No frills, no loose clothing to catch, nothing that would get in her way.

Emerald took a step forward, revealing another of Adam's soldiers with a similar wound from his chest and over his face. Emerald stepped down toward Adam, "So, you finally turn your back on us."

Adam dropped his stance quickly, expecting an attack.

But Emerald moved slowly around him, as if she had no reason to fight him. Without fear of an assault, "After everything we've been through, after walking through Hell itself, do you believe this will change anything? That this could be some act of repentance?" She spun on her heel and back toward Adam. "Then so be it. But to fight the Demon King, you must get through me." She snapped her hands to her sides and a pair of serrated claws appeared on her hands.

Ruby's turn to have a shivering effect on her body. "Yikes…"

Yang, who fought someone with claws already, wasn't in on the finer details, "What? The claws aren't that impressive."

"They don't have to be." Tai shook his head, "Those things are nasty. Designed to rip flesh with each attack. Against Grimm, they're more a liability since it would catch on their bodies and leave you vulnerable. But against people…"

Yang held up a hand to stop him, "I get the picture…"

Adam growled and widen his stance. Emerald's fighting style relied on keeping him off balance to get in one big strike. One strike would rip him apart like his soldiers. There was also her sneak attacks. His thoughts were interrupted as a small round item flew toward him. He knocked the item away just in time for it to explode into a green explosion to the side. He glared back at Emerald as she tossed another grenade in one hand. He'll have to stop overthinking and focus.

As he moved forward for an attack, Emerald tossed another grenade. He hopped back to avoid it, but she never lit its fuse. The grenade was a distraction for her own attack. She swiped her blades from either side in a crossed pattern, but Adam was able to dodge backward to avoid it. He spun on his heel and swiped at Emerald who jumped over the sword. She kicked forward and smacked into his nose with her heel. Adam stumbled back but got back to form in time to block her claw from burying into his neck. He used her serrated blade against her and dug his blade in for leverage to push her back. The camera tracked as her other hand came in to swipe at him before swiping back to his blade as it moved up toward her. A moment later, the camera snapped back to show both at the side.

The camera came in on a close up of Emerald's face, a smile spread over her face. "I shall await you / Lord Arc, my precious husband / 'till we meet in hell." She fell to her knees as the camera tracked down to show a deep cut into her body.

Mercury chuckled a little, "That explains that, I guess. You married the power mad psychopath. That you're type or something?"

Emerald growled, "Shut up, Mercury."

Adam took a shaky breath, his hands losing their grip on his weapon for a moment. He had killed people before in war, but he had killed two people he once called his friends. And yet, he knew he wasn't done. His hands clenched around his blade's hilt. He had to keep moving ahead. He had one final challenge.

No one ever really thought about it. That some betrayals could be the only option and what would that person be going through? Granted, they weren't naïve enough to believe that this was a norm. Just food for thought.

Adam moved through the courtyard and among the burning temple. His final challenge waited for him in the inner building. Adam glared up into the burning building. Sitting on the steps of the burning structure, Jaune had a shallow cup of sake in his hand. He tipped the cup up to his lips and finished off the drink. Jaune looked up toward Adam and grinned. "I was wondering how long you would remain under my banner. How long you would wait until you stabbed me in the back."

"He seems… Rather composed about it." Glynda raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't even seem angered by Adam's betrayal."

Jaune stood again and picked up his blade still in its scabbard. He swung his sword and the scabbard flew off and away, revealing his double-edged blade. "You've reached the Demon King." He pointed his blade toward Adam and a demonic aura seemed to form around him, "Don't lose your resolve now."

Adam took a breath and set himself into a fighting stance. "My resolve remains steeled. I will stop you."

They were both silent as the fires raged around them. One of the tongues of fire flew off and into the air. As it burned away into nothing, both parties charged toward one another with blades clashing together. Unlike in movies, however, both reared away to avoid a counter and clashed again and again, all at different angles to try to trip the other up. Both of them tried to step around the other, but the other would block the attack. As cinders and burning wood fell down toward them, they would slash it apart as their assaults continued.

Everyone could say they now understood how this Jaune became a lord. He was a force of nature with his movements. But Adam was keeping up with him. It was on a level that put some huntsmen to shame.

Adam twisted his blade in hand and tried to force Jaune to lose his grip on his blade. A blade flew into the sky, spinning in the darkness above them. When it landed, the blade revealed to be a curved katana rather than Jaune's straight sword. Adam was knocked to the ground with Jaune's blade point just under her chin, brushing lightly against his neck. Adam closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable. But it never came. Instead, he heard laughter. Jaune had lowered his blade, just laughing as everything burned around him.

"Okay, it's official." Mercury scoffed. "This one's nuts."

Adam lurched forward, still on his hands and knees, "How can you laugh?! Everything you've worked for… Everything you built. It's all burning away! Don't you understand?!"

Jaune suddenly leaned down toward him, his smirk never faltering, "No man can have everything he wants."

Ozpin placed his mug onto the arm rest of his seat in surprise, "Not the reaction I would have expected."

Adam was too stunned to reply.

This left Jaune to continue. He stood upright again and gestured around him with his blade, "If this land could be bent to my will, it would not be worth fighting for. Generations have passed, clans have risen and died, all for the same goal to sit atop the mountain. All we differ on is the color of the banners. Our world turns on these conflicting ambitions." Jaune held his arms out to either side with his head back and eyes closed, "Feel it, Adam."

The screen flashed to show Sun Wukong in golden samurai armor looking out over a massive lake. In the lake's center, a castle seemed to float on the water, the surrounding countryside flooded to form an impenetrable siege. His mission was to capture this fortress in the name of the Arc clan.

Blake tapped her chair in thought, "That's… actually rather impressive."

"Is it?" Sun was skeptical, "It's just water."

"Consider the world. They don't have airships or war boats. Even if they did, they wouldn't fit into a castle like that. If they tried to escape, they wouldn't be able to fight back, anyway."

"Huh… Awesome."

Jaune's voice carried through the scene, "The world is moving again."

The new scene showed a soldier being knocked back to reveal a samurai Ruby with a naginata. She twirled her weapon back to a neutral position. She and her forces were the first line of defense to the eastern borders in service to Arc.

Ruby was starry-eyed, "Woah! That looks so awesome!"

Coco turned to the youngest huntress, "Thinking of changing up your look?"

"Not really. But it still looks cool."

The scene returned to Jaune as his arms lower and his head returns to face forward. "But it is no longer mine." Jaune was silent, only the sounds of fire burning around them cut through the world. "I once asked you if you could envision a world where I was no longer necessary, and you told to me you could not. I beg to differ. My greatest goal is a world where I am unnecessary. Where a warlord will no longer need to rise. To live under a single banner. The way I see it, I simply wasn't strong enough to break the cycle of war."

Ironwood let out a heavy sigh. "So that's it… He became a 'Demon King' so no one else would have to. Uniting them under his banner long enough that they wouldn't have to fight anymore…"

Ozpin shook his head, "I disagree with his methods, but such is the nature of the road to Hell…"

Jaune looked off into the world, "Adam…"

This shook Adam out of his stupor. "My lord?" He spoke out of habit, not catching his wording.

But Jaune didn't care. "I forgive you."

Cinder groaned to herself. She had hopes for this version, but this swerve just didn't sit right with her. She missed the more truly villainous, if only to get passed this.

Jaune walked off as the camera tracked his feet hitting the weakening wooden steps of the temple. His time had come to an end. He could strike down Adam, but that wouldn't change his position. He had weakened and his enemies would swarm like vultures. He had failed to scale the mountain and would fall to the flames. He sat down in the temple as the entrance caved in to the fire.

He took a breath and grinned. "Forever in fire. / I lived as the Demon King. / Now they succeed me."

June 21, 1582. Jaune Arc was swallowed up by the fires of history.