Chapter 52: Dead Reach

This next mission of Ozpin's was one I was more than a little wary of. It wasn't that we'd be facing any extremely powerful Grimm, but that the Grimm posed an extreme danger to those who either didn't have their Aura unlocked or whose Aura was deactivated.

I'd specifically waited until after Pyrrha and Winter mastered Total Concentration Constant before suggesting we take this mission.

On paper, Chill were fairly weak. They were parasitic Grimm that were incapable of existing without a host. If they failed to find one within a few days of their spawning, they'd die, but despite that they still had the potential to be extremely problematic.

Upon finding a viable host, the Chill would possess them, often killing them in the process. They'd then use their new body to go out and kill and infect others. It didn't really have any ability to fight beyond that of the body it was possessing, but it didn't need to fight when it could simply take others by surprise.

They did however have one massive fatal flaw. They needed a living host in order to continue existing and unfortunately for them, they ended up killing said host fairly quickly. Never possessing a body for longer than an hour… Well, almost never.

There was an exception to that rule… One that Pyrrha, Winter and I were going to investigate.

From the mission report, it happened nearly a decade ago. A small milling settlement disappeared overnight. When a team of Huntsmen had been sent to investigate what happened, they'd found that the entire town had been taken over by the Chill.

Reporting their findings, they'd fallen back and allowed nature to take its course, waiting for the hosts to die, taking the Chill with them, but they didn't die. Even when it became clear that their hosts were long dead, they still remained alive, puppeting their corpses.

The team had eventually been ordered to kill the Grimm. They'd protested at first, not liking the idea of fighting an entire town of corpses, but they'd eventually followed through. Killing all of the Grimm… Or so they thought.

During their fight, it quickly became clear that they were unable to permanently deal with the Grimm. Bodies that had once been cut in two pulled themselves together. Fatal wounds leaked black blood and broken limbs repaired themselves. The team eventually decided to flee, but not before losing two members to a never ending horde.

Unable to wipe out the Grimm, the area was declared lost and a wall was quickly constructed to keep the Grimm from spreading across the continent, not that the Chill seemed interested in leaving. Not one of them ventured further than the town they inhabited.

With the lack of movement from the town, it was suspected that whatever it was that was keeping them alive, it was unable to move. It was all but impossible to determine exactly what it was with the small army of Grimm that guarded the location.

Until now that is.

Having arrived in an Airship that Ozpin allowed us to use, I stared at the wall surrounding the town, its height surpassing that of the surrounding trees, preventing anything from using them to get out.

Despite its size, it wasn't that impressive. Sure it'd be able to contain low level Grimm like Beowolves, but it wasn't strong enough to stop anything more powerful, like a Goliath for more than a handful of seconds… Not that the wall needed to be that strong.

"So is there an opening that we can enter through or …" Pyrrha trailed off.

Winter shook her head. "This wall was built for the sole purpose of containing. There is no entrance, nor is there an exit. We'll need to enter it through other means," She explained.

"Then–"

"See you two on the other side," I interrupted.

Tensing my legs, I kicked off the ground, I launched myself over the wall. Looking behind me, I found Pyrrha following closely behind with Winter using a small Nevermore to fly her over it.

Landing on the other side, I found myself staring at the rundown milling town that we'd been sent to investigate. At first glance, it resembled Brunswick Farms, minus the snow, but that was only due to its abandoned nature.

There wasn't any sign of the Grimm, but there was a distinct smell of Grimm along with something that had long since decayed… Not just humans either, but also plant life and even the buildings. The town was a dead zone.

There were a few green trees surrounding the inside of the wall, but those closer to the town had died, some of which were actively rotting… Breaking down into a sludge like substance.

"This place feels wrong," Pyrrha muttered softly. "Like we shouldn't be here."

From the looks of it, Winter agreed with her. It seemed that, much like my own, their senses had sharpened. They were picking up on subtle cues that they'd never noticed before.

"Now that you've mastered Total Concentration Constant, you'll begin to notice things like this," I replied, stepping forward. "What you're sensing now is the Grimm that inhabit this town. With a little practice, you'll be able to refine your senses to the point where you'll actively be able to track them."

"How would one practice such a thing?" Winter asked, falling in step beside me. "If you don't mind me asking."

"By concentrating on one sense at a time," I answered. "I'll offer whatever help I can, but we'll need to focus on it later. Attempting something like that would only be a detriment here."

Nodding, Winter silently followed me into the town, being wary of her surroundings.

Pyrrha on the other hand looked a little on edge. Already holding her shield and spear, she looked ready to stab the first thing that moved. Seeing this, I stepped a little closer and slipped an arm around her waist, letting her know that she wasn't alone.

Walking down the old dirt road, I eyed the surrounding buildings, waiting for something to jump out at us, but nothing did. We made it all the way to the center of the town without spotting a single Grimm.

Sniffing the air, it was thick with the scent of Grimm, making it hard to pinpoint where exactly they were hiding.

"It looks like we might need to search the buildings," I muttered, letting go of Pyrrha. "If they won't come to us, we'll come to them."

"We're not…" Pyrrha swallowed nervously. "...Splitting up are we?"

"We would be able to cover more ground if we did," Winter suggested.

If this had been a regular mission, I might have accepted splitting up, but it wasn't. The Grimm here weren't exactly a major threat to us, but I'd rather err on the side of caution… At least until I knew exactly what it was I was dealing with.

"There aren't that many buildings," I hummed. "It might take a bit longer, but I think we should stick…"

A bell rang, cutting me off.

Looking for the source, I found myself staring at a church that sat a little further down the street. It continued to chime several more times before suddenly coming to a stop, leaving an eerie silence behind.

Slowly but surely, the church door creaked open and a small, child sized figure wearing what appeared to be rags stumbled out, but it was clear to see that it was no child.

Possessing pitch black skin with white bony protrusions and a half formed Grimm mask on its face with the other side featureless, it suddenly turned towards us, its neck twisting in an unnatural way.

Spotting us, it let out a guttural shriek before charging towards us. Stumbling to the floor, it continued rushing forward using all four limbs, before leaping in the air.

Seeing that both Pyrrha and Winter were prepared to strike it down, I rushed forward and snatched it out of the air, gripping its throat tightly. There were still more of these around and I wanted a basic idea of what I was dealing with.

Peering inside the Grimm with the transparent world, I blinked as dozens of eyes stared back at me.

Well, that was unsettling.

Looking around for what else I could see, I found only one other thing that seemed noteworthy. There was something else inside of it. Something that shared its Grimm nature, but also resembled something natural… A seed.

Taking a hissed breath, I released the Grimm and unsheathed my sword, slashing through its body before it was able to touch the ground. Stepping back, I watched as its body crumbled away, leaving behind a few trace remains of a skeleton and nothing else.

I could see why the other team that had been sent here was unable to do anything. They really didn't have a chance. They'd have needed someone with Silver Eyes or an army's worth of explosives to take out all of the Grimm.

Turning my attention back towards the church, I found that the doors had fully opened and an entire horde of humanoid Grimm began to pour out. It seemed that, for some reason, the Grimm had congregated in the church and I was going to find out why.

"Be careful," I warned, glancing back at Pyrrha and Winter. "There's multiple Chill in each body. You're going to need to cut them using your Breathing Styles in order to permanently kill them."

"Understood," Winter answered while Pyrrha nodded slowly.

Much like the last one, the Grimm all turned towards us and let out an ear piercing shriek. Charging down the street, they stumbled and crawled over each other as they rushed towards their goal… Us.

It was a disturbing sight for sure, but it was hardly anything that could truly overwhelm us. Even Pyrrha on her own would be able to take them all on. The only real issue was the sheer bulk of them giving us very little room to move forward.

Upon reaching us, I took a hissed breath and brought my blade down, cutting through several bodies that were instantly replaced by more before their bodies finished crumbling.

Taking a step forward, I lashed out with several more strikes, killing dozens more as they washed over me like a wave, uncaring of how many of their fellow Grimm were slaughtered.

Glancing back at Pyrrha and Winter, I was happy to see them both doing well. Their improved weapons cleaved through the Grimm with ease. Pyrrha's blade caused the Grimms flesh to bubble and burn as it turned to ash, while the wounds Winter inflicted became stiff and crumbled away.

Hearing a loud screech in my ear, I winced and grabbed the offending Grimms neck, crushing it in my hand. "Can't you see that I was having a moment," I muttered. Lashing out with my blade, I cut its body in two.

The horde of Grimm grew closer, surrounding me on all sides, but that was no issue… In fact, it was exactly what I wanted.

Taking a slow hissed breath, I prepared myself as the Grimm began to close in from all angles, blocking the light as several dropped in from above while a few latched onto my legs.

"Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form"
-0 AP

Cutting my way through the Grimm faster than they could realize, a whole quarter of the horde dropped to the floor, their bodies rapidly breaking down, giving me a whole lot more room.

Turning towards the seemingly never ending wave of zombie like Grimm, I pointed my blade at them. "Who's next?"

Instead of continuing on in the mindless manner that they had before, the horde suddenly stopped. Each one frozen in the spot they'd last been standing, whether that was on top of one another or mid attack, it didn't matter.

As one, they let out a loud shriek that washed over the abandoned settlement, before becoming silent once more.

"What's happening?" Pyrrha asked, looking more than a little disturbed at the horde's actions.

I'd like to know the answer to that myself. The Grimm didn't seem to care when we were cutting them down one by one, choosing to mindlessly attack us, but now they were acting cautious. Even the ones far in the back that wouldn't have seen what happened had stilled. It was almost like…

Crap.

…It was almost like they shared a single mind, one that wasn't here. Losing one or two at a time wouldn't really bother them, it'd be the equivalent of getting a splinter. Losing a whole quarter on the other hand would likely feel like breaking an arm… It was bound to force a reaction.

"I think I just poked the bear," I muttered.

A few tense moments passed, before the horde once more began to move. Turning around, they fled back towards the church, crawling over each other and ripping what was left of their raggedy clothing as they fought to enter the building, leaving a deserted street with more than a few skeletal remains behind.

They were fleeing in order to preserve their lives meaning that the Grimm in charge of the horde was probably pretty old. However, it wasn't that intelligent as it showed us exactly where it was hiding.

"This is horrible," Pyrrha said, covering her mouth when she saw the skeleton of a child. "For an entire town to be killed off and turned into these… Things."

"It's unfortunate, but these things do happen from time to time," Winter replied.

"It shouldn't though," Pyrrha mumbled.

I shook my head. "No, it shouldn't, but there's nothing we can do to help them. These people died years ago. All we can do now is lay them to rest and make sure that no one else is hurt by this Grimm."

Staring at the skeletons for a while longer, Pyrrha nodded slowly. "Where do we begin?"

"The church," I replied. "That's where they all went, it must be the source of all of this."

"Then let's finish this," Pyrrha muttered.

Unlike Winter who'd been a Specialist for several years and undoubtedly had experience with this, this was all new to Pyrrha. She'd never seen an entire town wiped out by Grimm before.

It was tough… Seeing all the lives that had been snuffed out, but unlike when Maria and I stumbled across the Brunswick farms, the bodies here were being actively puppeteered which made it all the worse.

Making our way over to the church, Pyrrha, using her Semblance, ripped the doors off its hinges, revealing the dimly lit interior. Unable to see more than a few feet inside, she shifted her sword into its rifle form and fired off several incendiary rounds, lighting the room up.

The interior was a mess of broken benches, torn tapestry, a rotting wooden floor and more than a few skeletal remains. There was also a fleshy vine like substance that was growing on the walls that, upon closer inspection, revealed itself to be Grimm.

And suddenly I was glad that I decided to leave team RWBY back at Beacon. There was no way in hell that any of them were ready for something like this.

Taking a cautious step into the room, I glanced around, looking for the Chill, but found that it was surprisingly empty. With the sheer number of Grimm that poured into the church, the main hall should have been packed, but it was almost entirely abandoned.

"I don't like this," Winter muttered, walking beside me with her weapon drawn. "It feels like a trap."

"I know," I replied. "This isn't exactly a great place to fend off the horde. Be ready to fall back." I warned the duo.

Spotting something at the far end of the building, I walked ahead, coming to a stop in front of a dark hole large enough to fit a large car… The origin point for the fleshy vines that spread through the room.

On the upside, I guess I now knew where the Chill went. The downside… It was underground. Not exactly an ideal place to fight Grimm… That is, if I decided to play its game.

It was pretty clever for a Grimm, I'd give it that, but that's pretty much where its intelligence ends. Instead of jumping down into the tunnels below, like the Grimm wanted, I took my sword and stabbed it into one of the thicker roots, being careful to not sever it entirely.

Taking a hissed breath, I increased the temperature of my blade and dragged it along the root, causing as much damage to it as possible without completely destroying it.

The root twitched violently as it began to disintegrate. A single moment passed before the sound of several dozen voices shrieking in pain emanated from the hole.

Attempting to retreat, the Grimm roots began ripping themselves from the wall and retreating down into the tunnel below.

Grabbing onto several of the thicker ones, I took a step back, dragging them out of the tunnel. Turning toward Pyrrha and Winter, I found them body hacking their way through the root system, causing the Grimm that hid itself underground as much pain as possible.

Following their example, I released one of the roots I was holding and stabbed my sword into it, allowing the Grimm to do all of the work for me as it attempted to pull itself free.

It didn't take long for the Grimm to react in the way that I wanted. Shrieking angrily, its roots thrashed around violently as the ground began to shake.

Instead of going into the tunnels and fighting the Grimm on its own turf, it suited all three of us far better if we pissed it off enough to get it to come to the surface.

"This building isn't going to be able to take much more," I warned.

Releasing the remainder of the roots, I slashed through them one final time, before falling back to the entrance of the building alongside Pyrrha and Winter, exiting it just as the roof collapsed inward.

A deep booming groan sounded from within the building as the Grimm that had been controlling the Chill horde pulled itself through the hole in the floor, tearing the building apart while kicking up a small cloud of dust that obscured its form.

Waiting for the dust to clear, a whipping sound suddenly pierced the air as a thorny, vine-like tendril came down, ripping through the building behind us.

Lumbering forward, the Grimm slowly left the dust cloud, revealing its form.

"How revolting," Winter said, sounding disgusted.

Pyrrha on the other hand opted to remain silent, likely not trusting herself right now… Not that I could blame her. It wasn't exactly a pretty sight.

The Grimm appeared almost tree-like in nature and like a tree, except that its trunk and branches were made from black flesh, bone and pulsing red veins… Oh, and the numerous eyes it had that appeared to blossom between the blackened leaves. That however wasn't the most disturbing part.

Much like a tree, it was unable to move unassisted, that's where the Chill came into play. Merging its body with the remains of the town, the tree, if one could call it that, was a mass of limbs that slowly pulled itself towards us while its roots dragged behind it. Looking like some kind of human/tree abomination.

Taking a peek inside, the Grimm was filled to the brim with Chill and black fluid that pulsed through its body. Noticing a hint of movement from one of the vines that hung in its branches, I stepped to the side as it lashed out, striking the spot I'd been standing a moment ago.

Responding in kind, I launched myself forward, faster than the Grimm could react and slashed through its trunk, creating a gaping wound that widened as the surrounding flesh crumbled, only for it to suddenly stop.

Leaking blackened fluid, the Grimms' wound pulsated as blackened flesh moved to fill the void, repairing its wound in a few short seconds.

"So it's like that, huh?" I muttered.

This thing didn't seem to be that strong. If I had to compare it to anything, it'd be a small Nuckelavee, but with the ability to rapidly regenerate.

Using the Transparent World to look for a weak point, I sighed when I was unable to see it through all of the Chill that filled its body.

Hearing one of its large roots creak behind me in an effort to take me off guard, I was just about to step to the side and avoid it when Pyrrha suddenly appeared, smashing it away with her shield before plunging her spear into the root, ripping it out harshly, causing the Grimm to let out a pained shriek.

Gushing black fluid in an attempt to heal itself, the root suddenly pulsed, spraying even more before it finally closed the wound.

My eyes lit up with understanding as I finally figured out what was going on. This thing had attached itself to a Grimm pool somewhere in the cave below.

That's how it was able to heal itself so fast and that's how it was able to maintain the Chill. They'd developed a symbiotic relationship. The Chill provided protection and bodies while this thing kept them from dying.

Seeing the Grimm lift several more of its roots in an effort to crush us, I rushed forward and lashed out with my blade, cutting into the Grimm, helping Pyrrha keep the thing from falling on us.

"Hey there," I said, glancing towards Pyrrha. "I've got an idea on how to bring this thing down. Think you can keep up?"

Straining under the weight of the Grimm, Pyrrha nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Then follow my lead," I said, before stopping. "But first, this might come in a little handy."

Releasing one of my hands, I reached over and grabbed the blade end of Pyrrha's sword. Closing my eyes in concentration, I took a hissed breath and gripped both her blade and my own, turning them bright red in colour. It was a little more difficult using one hand, but still doable.

"Okay," I muttered, releasing Pyrrha's blade. "Let's go."

Pushing forward, I brought my blade up, cutting through the root, cauterizing it in one smooth motion.

Shrieking loudly, the Grimm thrashed around angrily, lashing out with its remaining roots along with several dozen thorny vines.

"Flame Breathing: Blazing Universe"

Bringing her glowing red blade down, Pyrrha slashed through the numerous vines and damaged its roots, spilling more of its black fluid onto the ground.

Seeing more incoming, I rushed to Pyrrha's side and took a hissed breath of my own.

"Sun Breathing: Burning Bones, Summer Sun."
-500AP

Glancing back at her, I looked towards the remaining roots. Tapping her sword with my own, I ran forward with Pyrrha following at my side.

Hacking and slashing our way through the Grimm, we soon found ourselves back in front of the Grimm where Winter had been fighting alone, her summons wrapped in dozens of vines while the Specialist herself stood poised in the center without a single scratch on her despite being seemingly surrounded.

Holding both swords in her hands, she took a slow breath as the vines tore through her summons and began to circle her.

"Frost Breathing: Wrathful Blizzard."

Stepping into the attack, she lashed out with her blades, hacking and slashing through the incoming wave of vines in a manner that resembled a storm passing through a city... Unrelenting and beautiful.

Finishing her move with her head bowed and her blades held at her side, Winter took an easy breath as she raised her head.

"You're back," She noted, sounding a little relieved.

"Yeah, sorry for leaving you alone," I apologized. "I was just figuring out how this Grimm worked."

"Understandable," Winter nodded, briefly looking at Pyrrha's blade which was still glowing red. "And have you figured out how to kill it? Every wound I inflict is healed in a matter of moments."

"It should only be able to regenerate a handful of times now," I replied, watching as the Grimm grew new vines. "But I've got an idea on we can skip that. I just need a few mo–"

Dropping to the floor, the ground shook as the Grimm's body seemed to wither and shrink in on itself as if it was dying, but that wasn't the case.

Straining my vision, I peered through the ground and found that it had grown a single, thick root half as wide as its body that had connected to the Grimm pool down below. Rapidly siphoning the fluid into itself, the Grimms body suddenly began to swell, increasing to over twice its size.

Seeing what was happening, I immediately began to act. Grabbing a hold of my Aura, I forced it to its absolute limit and then took a hissed breath, pushing it even more.

-10000AP

Ping! Aura has reached…
…

Not now!

Aura began to stream off my body as I manipulated it, forcing it into the form that I desired. Feeling a pair of ethereal hands draped over my shoulder, I extended them down my arms and onto my sword.

Taking a hissed breath, I lashed out with a single cut, sending a wave of pressure and Aura arcing through the air. Striking the Grimm, it passed through it and continued forward, passing through several buildings before passing through the wall that surrounded the settlement.

Feeling a hint of worry at the seeming lack of damage, the Grimm's form froze, before it suddenly split down the middle, revealing the simmering flames that ate at its body from the inside out.

Relieved, I began to sheath my sword, only to pause when the remaining buildings behind the Grimm began to collapse along with a section of the wall in the distance.

Ah, Crap. That wasn't supposed to collapse… At least the Grimm were dealt with though.

Bit of a Zombie apocalypse in this one. In which Chill have no chill, Pyrrha sees how bad some Grimm can be, Winter gets to show off another Breathing technique and Coal... Well, he finally masters his Aura and pulls out a move that should be passingly familiar to a few of you.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 57 on the P word website.

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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 28th of April.
See you all then, dudes and dudettes.