Chapter 1823: 54
Chapter 54Notes:
This entire chapter was just because I had the image of a spiralizer stuck in my head, more or less
Chapter Text
"Miss Rose, are you… sure about this? A simple dagger is hardly your usual weapon, and you will be facing a pair of Beringels- notably harder to kill with a shorter weapon than any of the grimm we've covered so far, and more than capable of killing even experienced Huntsmen in a single strike… well. The strongest ones, at least." Professor Port hummed, stroking his impressive mustache as he watched Ruby take her place in the outdoor arena that the class was using today- the Professor having moved the entire group of students out in order to "enjoy the sun" and have more room to maneuver in the case of the Beringels getting out of control.
Not that they'd be able to go far- they were trapped within the arena's hardlight shields and wouldn't be able to escape by any reasonable metric… unless Ruby fired one of her 38mm Anti-Megoliath shells at the shields… which meant that really the only one at risk was Ruby Rose.
Ruby Rose, who just rolled her eyes and snorted as she took in the two rattling cages, rolling her karambit between her fingers before locking it into place- finger through the loop, held in a reverse grip with the blade pointing forward. Technically, she was supposed to have two since the weapon name was Viper Fangs , but she hadn't taken the other out from where it was in her sleeve yet- honestly, she probably wouldn't need it.
She'd killed dozens of Beringels before, slaughtered them en masse to the point that she knew exactly where their weak points were, how strong their attacks were, and just about every best way to kill one quickly, efficiently, and with a minimum of effort. They were, about as much as any land dwelling grimm below the size of a house, effectively fodder to her- there wasn't much danger and she'd largely outstripped their strength level by now after so many years of killing and consuming grimm.
"I'm ready," she stated, forcing herself to keep her voice steady and authoritative instead of the usual high pitched, shaky whimper she usually had when dealing with other people. This was no time for anxiety- there were grimm in front of her, and she had to kill them.
"Very well then- begin!"
And with that, the ax in Professor Port's hand dropped, slicing through the rope keeping the twin cages closed via an intricate system of overhead pulleys. The locks popped open, and in an instant, the two massive gorilla-like grimm erupted into the arena, screaming and roaring and pounding their chests just like the animals they were based on.
Ruby simply stared impassively, watching those brilliant, burning coal eyes tracking her as she started to calmly walk around the circumference of the arena- lining up her shot as she held her knife up and with the blade aligned. Her Aura projected from the grip and surrounded the blade in an almost invisible sheen of red, strong and steady and without a single trace of wavering with fear or panic as she watched the grimm also begin circling- these were smart ones then, not just easily killed cannon fodder that would die without giving her anything substantial in the way of essence.
That made them strong.
That made them dangerous.
That made them a perfect meal for her.
Ruby narrowed her eyes slightly, lowering herself into a ready position as she kept light on her feet, cloak writhing behind her as she eyed the many weak points on a Beringel's body- the exposed neck, the unarmored joints, the visible line between its bony chest plates… her grip on her Viper Fang tightened and she held up her karambit as she burst forward without any preamble. No warning, no buildup, just pure acceleration into a nearly invisible blur of black and red rose petals that streaked across the arena in a millisecond and slashed a six inch deep gash into the Beringel's right knee- wounding it to the point that the thing fell over with a roar of simulated pain and was momentarily thrown off balance.
She smiled to herself, flipping in midair as she slammed her feet into the hardlight shield to break her momentum- the glowing blue wall of Dust flickering slightly from the speed at which she'd impacted and zeroed her direction before flinging herself back- this time catching the grimm under the arm in a sliding maneuver that bled off speed as she spun around and around before rushing back in- disabling one by lacerating the armpit into uselessness and then ducking and slashing upwards under the other arm to do the same.
The Beringel roared, shrieks of unholy agony filling the air as the first three seconds of the actual match became the first three attacks and the first three wounds on the beast's thick hide- only the fact that her Aura had sharpened her Viper Fang to a nearly unsustainable degree allowed her to cut so easily through the thing's flesh.
Its partner was not idle- it roared out its challenge as Ruby came to a halt from her third attack, immediately charging forward and leaping across the arena with a flung punch capable of flattening a truck- only for Ruby to flash into petals again, a black and red blob flowing along the massive limb in a spiral and peeling it like a goddamn potato spiralizer .
If grimm had blood, the entire arena would have been painted red as she flung into the air and hung there upside down for a moment- her momentum seemingly leaving her stuck on a course to the other side of the arena… at least until she spun in midair and let her cape wrap around the neck of the first Beringel and anchor herself down, her horizontal movement swinging into a downward arc that allowed her to push off of the ground once again as she stuck her arm out on her way past the second, still screaming Beringel- at which point her blade caught in the thick hide and she immediately turned into the resistance, lowering her Aura output so that her blade would catch and keep dragging her on a spiral so she could disembowel the grimm at ridiculous speed-flying up the torso and around the arm until she all but decapitated the thing in a single swirling strike.
And then, as she reformed in the air again, hanging there with the sheer speed of her spiral for a moment, she kicked the head off of the second Beringel until the massive, gorilla-like head flew into the face of the first- knocking it even further off balance as it fell to the floor with a grunt of pain and annoyance, unable to really comprehend what was going on even as Ruby prepared her final attack of the match.
Wind Dust surged around the Viper Fang's blade, the karambit shining with an unearthly whitish green light as the blade was effectively extended by almost double its length- a six inch curved blade becoming almost an entire foot long as the Dust enhancement screeched and whirled around it like a contained storm of pressurized air.
Ruby vanished one last time, and appeared on the other side of the arena.
Rose petals flooded the air, bleeding from the wounds of the two dead Beringels as the first one's head fell to the ground with a muted thump- a long, deep scratch carved into the concrete floor of the arena almost two inches down.
The grimm dissolved into rose petals. Ruby straightened up and allowed the swirling storm to conceal her as she consumed the two heads and the essence in the air, and fluttered back down into full cohesion moments later.
Start to finish, for all that it seemed so much slower in Ruby's mind… the entire affair had taken less than twenty seconds, start to finish.
The sound of Ruby's screeching, skidding footsteps against the concrete had only just begun to echo as she stepped out of the arena and rolled her neck, spinning her karambit around her finger before folding it back into its sheathed position and tucking it back into her sleeve.
"All done, professor," Ruby stated somewhat belatedly, nodding at Professor Port as she started up the stairs, heedless of the many stares being leveled her way by her classmates- even now, in their second month, it seemed like no one had yet gotten used to her proficiency with weapons or ability to kill grimm… or even just the simple reality of her speed .
Petal Burst was Petal Burst. Honestly, you'd think they'd get used to a speed Semblance by now.
Hmph.
"Uh- ah yes! Very good, Miss Rose! Excellent, just excellent! Efficient and brutal- full marks, and not even a scratch on you to boot! I daresay that was the best performance we've seen all semester so far!" Professor Port chuckled, clapping his hands and nodding at Ruby, who gave him a small, hesitant smile back before returning to her team- right as the bell rang for their next class.
Amidst the cheers of her teammates and sister (and Penny, who was still around somehow despite no longer wearing disguises), Ruby simply let Yang lead her along, burrowing her head into her sister's side as she shifted her clothes from her combat uniform to her school uniform- clothes melting into shadows and reforming easily as they made their way back to the academic buildings.
Life was good so far.
Hopefully, that wouldn't change any time soon.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone