Chapter 84: Defend The Maidens Part 2
Realising what it was he just did, Magna paled as he took off. His hair quickly gained red highlights as he burst into a shower of petals. He had no clue where his friends and mother were sent but he was determined to find them.
Deciding to get the hardest area out of the way first, Magna dashed into the winter forest. Snow flew into the air as he shot through the forest like a whirlwind.
Magna knew that it wasn't practical for him to search the forest bit by bit so he employed the abilities of one of his clusters. Or rather, the characteristics.
A pair of wolf-like ears appeared on his head as his black and red hair slowly stiffened while his pupils turned into slits. With crimson lightning surging through his hair, he closed his eyes and lightly sniffed the air.
You see, the cluster he decided to use isn't actually 'human'. Hell, it's not even a humanoid! The cluster he decided to use contained the memories of an actually monster.
The Stygian Zinorge. A gigantic wolf-like beast with black fur. With crimson lightning dancing along its body, Stygian Zinorge was an apex predator.
Even in remnant, there weren't many grimm that could stand up to Magna while he embodied this monster. However, there were downsides to this cluster.
Magna can't generate nearly as much lightning as a regular Zinorge, let alone it's evolved counterpart so his lightning was kind of weak. Also, the Stygian Zinorge was a beast of anger and pride and those two feelings were amplified inside him whenever he used this cluster.
Even now, his pride was telling him to stop searching for his friends while his anger was trying to force him to raze the forest to the ground. Luckily, Magna was used to fight against his emotions thanks to Kurama.
One of the things Magna liked about this cluster is what it did to his body. It changed his skin to be exactly like the hide of a Stygian Zinorge. Not only was he now resistant to Ice and fire but swords and bullets would only leave scratches or bruises.
Though, that's not to say that he can't be pierced or slashed. Amber, not the maiden but his first teacher, managed to pierce his skin while he was embodying Stygian Zinorge.
He wanted to stress test his skin with live combat and she managed to pierce him with brutal thrusts at the same place over and over again.
Anyway, as Magna sniffed the air, his face suddenly scrunched up as he felt his breakfast try and escape from his stomach.
'Cheap cologne, a mixture of sweat, beer and whiskey… Yeah, that's Qrow…'
Thanks to the strong smell of alcohol, Magna easily locked on to Qrow's scent. He also noticed the sweet smell next to Qrow that he recognised as June, as well as the slightly earthy smell he recognised as Amber.
Gathering his aura into his legs, Crimson bolts of lightning began circling his body as he shot into the air in a flurry of petals and lightning. He became a blur as the only thing he left in his path was destroyed trees and electrified petals.
As he got closer to Qrow's location, Magna could hear the sound of swords clashing against each other. Gritting his teeth, Magna was about to speed up when he heard a roar filled with grief and wrath.
When he finally arrived, Magna felt two different things when he saw the scene infront of him. He felt his heart drop as he watched Qrow cradle Amber in his arms while Cinder and Tyrian laughed at him.
And… He felt his anger reach its peak as everything turned red. His silver eyes gained a red gleam as his hair coursed with lightning.
Magna felt a heat build in his chest. Slowly, the heat spread through his entire body as he couldn't stop himself from letting loose an earth shattering roar.
"CINDER!!!!!!!!!!"
The force behind his roar uprooted the nearby trees as a pillar of hellish lightning exploded out from Magna's body. Both parties froze as Magna seemingly teleported infront of Cinder and punched her in the nose.
While she flew backwards, Magna snapped to Tyrian. Seeing the blood on his weapon, Magna went berserk as lighting gathered in his arms.
Obviously, Tyrian wasn't just going to stand there and let Magna attack him. With a psychotic smile on his face, Tyrian said in a mocking tone, "Oh, does the little puppy want to bite me? Did I accidentally hurt your owner?"
Unfortunately for him, Magna was so angry that he didn't even register Tyrian's mocking words. Instead, he roared as a vortex of lightning surrounded him.
This forced Tyrian to take him seriously as he hastily tried to dodge. Keyword: Tried. While he was dodging the rather moderate bolts of lighting, Magna ignored them as he ran forward and forced him to fight.
Irritation appeared on Tyrian's face as he narrowly dodged a bolt of lightning and slashed Magna's face with his 'claws'. He smiled for a few seconds only to instantly lose said smile when Magna turned to him with only a tiny scuff mark on his cheek.
Magna used his sleeve to scrub off the mark as he looked deep into Tyrian's eyes and scoffed. The ridicule in his eyes enraged Tyrian as he let loose his pony tail and screamed, "Don't look down on me, you stupid mutt! I'll personally fill you with holes and deliver you to my queen! She'll definitely like you… as a pet!"
Just as Tyrian was about to attack Magna, a strong boot connected with his back, sending him sprawling to the ground. Magna stalled for a second as he glanced at Qrow and saw that his eyes were as red as his pupils while his chest huffed in anger.
As student and mentor looked at each other, Qrow slowly drew his sword as he hoarsely growled, "Magna… take Amber and June with you and run. I'll catch up once I'm done here."
Magna wanted to argue but the look in Qrow's eyes told him that he wouldn't accept anything other than yes. So Magna quickly grabbed both Maiden's and disappeared in a flash of petals.
---
(POV - Qrow)
Once Magna left, Qrow sighed as softly rested his sword, Harbinger, against his shoulder.
Tyrian looked towards Qrow with a look caught between happiness and annoyance as he yelled, "Now why did you have to go and do that. I was just getting to the best part! Just a few more seconds and I would've gotten a new pet for my queen!"
Qrow said nothing. He just slowly walked towards Tyrian with his sword on his shoulder. Obviously, this annoyed Tyrian even more as he glared at Qrow and chuckled, "Oh? Giving me the silent treatment? Is it because I hurt your little… girlfriend?"
Suddenly, Qrow's came to a halt. Tyrian grinned as he slowly crouched down, "Did you think we didn't know? Please, we've been watching the fall maiden for years. The queen knows that you and her have some… history."
"I can't wait to find that maiden again. We already have majority of her power so all we have to do is kill her. But I'm not going to do that. When I find her, I'll slowly torture her. I'll whisper your name into her ear as I defile her. I'll-"
Before Tyrian could finish speaking, Qrow seemingly teleported infront of him as he slammed his foot against Tyrian's face. The scorpion faunus was sent reeling back as his aura took majority of the blow.
He tried to stand up when his eyes widened as he hastily raised his weapon to block Qrow's sword. However, Qrow somehow easily overpowered him as a crater formed underneath the pair.
Tyrian's aura shimmered once more, showing that it took majority of the blow again. Dazed, Tyrian shakily looked towards Qrow and shivered.
With bloodshot eyes, Qrow's pupils seemingly shrank as they fully focused on Tyrian. Under Qrow's death glared, Tyrian tried to make some space between them.
He managed to get about 10 feet away when Qrow reappeared infront of him and struck again. Once again, a crater formed underneath the pair.
Tyrian trembled once again, not on fear but anger, "How dare you… how dare you toy with me!?!"
With anger fueling him, Tyrian's strength skyrocketed as he launched Qrow into the air. Eyeing his prey, Tyrian crouched down low before taking to the sky.
As the shadow of Tyrian's stinger approached him, Qrow neither faltered nor panicked as he calm deflected it. Pumping his arms full of aura, Qrow roared as he threw Tyrian at the ground.
However, he wasn't finished. Once he landed, Qrow easily dodged Tyrian's assault as he punched him in the ribs, forcing Tyrian to his knees.
Just as Qrow moved to finish him, Tyrian rolled backwards and unleashed a hail of bullets from his 'claws'.
Qrow managed to dodge a couple but still ended up taking a few shots. Luckily, he wasn't hit anywhere important but this told Tyrian all he needed to know.
"Heh… hehehe… Hahahahah!!! You! Your not using your aura for defence! Your fully focusing on boosting your strength! And that... makes you vulnerable!"
Tyrian leapt at Qrow while laughing, aiming to sever his wrist yet all he was met with was the bottom of Qrow's boot. Watching the scorpion faunus cover his nose, Qrow gave him a bored look and sighed.
"Look, I haven't got all day. I'm pissed as shit and your boring ass isn't helping me. Plus, I'm fucking sober. Do you know what that means? That means I'm gonna fucking kick.your.ASS!"
Qrow waltzed over to Tyrian and showed no hesitation as he stabbed his sword into Tyrian's leg. Tyrian's aura tried to block Qrow's sword but it was useless as Qrow put as much weight as he could behind his sword strike.
Tyrian's unholy scream echoed through the forest but all it got from Qrow was a very unamused glare as he yanked Harbinger out from Tyrian's leg and roared, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
With a swift kick to the face, Tyrian flew through the air, only to be kicked once again by Qrow. He treated Tyrian like a soccer ball, kicking him back and forth while being fueled by rage.
Eventually, Tyrian finally couldn't take it as he roared. He used his hands to push off the ground, flipping a flew times through the air as he landed in a nearby tree.
Then, Tyrian just disappeared. His psychotic laughter rang throughout the forest, yet not a single hint of fear or panic appeared on Qrow's face, only annoyance that seemed to grow more prominent over time.
As Qrow lazily scanned his surroundings, his eyes widened slightly as he raised his sword.
*clang* *clang* *clang*
Eyeing the bullets he just blocked, Qrow clicked his tongue as he muttered, "Poison bullets… great…"
Qrow knew that staying out in the open was a bad idea so he too took to the trees.
Occasionally, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out through the forest, accompanied by Tyrian's laughter and Qrow's growls.
---
(POV - Magna)
Sprinting through the forest, Magna seemed to be in his element. Even with the added weight of 2 maidens, Magna didn't feel a thing as he rapidly made his way through the frozen wonderland.
He wanted to heal Amber but he couldn't. Zinorge's instincts were telling him that he was being watched. He didn't know who or what was watching him but he knew to trust Zinorge's instincts.
June, who was being cradled in one of his hands, suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Magna… I'm sorry for being a burden…"
In response, Magna just laughed and smiled, "What're you talking about June? You've only just started training with magic! You can't just expect to be able to fight against people!"
Her lips trembled softly as June said, "But I did nothing! I sat there and watched as that girl somehow took Amber's powers. We're just lucky she only managed to get half."
Magna sighed. Jumping into the trees, Magna continued forward as he said, "Look June, I'm not gonna lie and say that everything's ok. Cause its not. We're separated from the group, Amber's unconscious and missing half her powers and we left Qrow back there to fight Tyrian."
"However, we can't just focus on the bad. I'm still alive, Amber's still alive and your still alive. If that's not worth celebrating, then I don't know what is."
Seeing June stay quiet, Magna groaned in frustration as he sighed, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, you don't need to be an all-powerful maiden or a seasoned warrior, just be you because YOU are not a burden. You are a person who deserves to live without having to fear for her life. So don't ever call yourself a burden! I'm proud to be able to help you and to be able to call you my friend!"
A soft sniffle came from Magna's chest as he noticed that his shirt started to become damp. However, he said nothing as he gently held her tight, letting her know that he is here for her.
Suddenly, Zinorge's instincts went into overdrive as Magna quickly dove back to the forest floor, narrowly dodged 5 long, spiked tentacles.
With no other choice, Magna put the unconscious Amber into his shadow. Just as he was about to do the same with June, she softly shook her head and smiled, "I want to help!"
Magna panicked, "June! Now is NOT the time! There's an enemy nearby! Heck, I don't even know if it's only one or not! Please go into my shadow!"
June just shook her head as she said, "Don't worry Magna! I won't be a burden! Just watch me!"
Suddenly, June's eyes erupted into a torrent of flames. They magnitude of these flames were on a completely different level then her previous ones.
Uttering a soft grunt, June waved her arms outwards and created a miracle. All the trees in a 50 meter radius seemingly fused together before shrinking into the ground.
With nothing obstructing his view, Magna sighed in relief as the enemy was only a single grimm. The grimm looked like a jellyfish and had deadly looking barbed tentacles.
While Magna cautiously watched the grimm, the grimm seemed to be doing the same. After a few minutes, the grimm broke the stalemate as it slowly floated over.
Magna was obviously on guard. However, he never expected the grimm to stop a few feat away and say, "You there, boy. Give me the maidens and your death will be swift."
Shaking off the shock from finding a talking grimm, Magna sneered as he said, "Yyyyeah, no."
A soft sigh came from the grimm as it said, "So be it."
Suddenly, the grimm's figure seemed to become obscured. While it was a neat trick, Magna was currently embodying an apex predator. Pulling the exhausted June into his shadow, Magna easily dodged the barbed tentacles attacking him.
The grimm had speed and accuracy. Every attack was aimed at one of Magna's vitals, meaning being hit is equal to death. Luckily, Stygian Zinorge's physique helped Magna out alot.
After dodging a few tentacles, Magna decided to go on the offensive. Dodging yet another tentacle, Magna opted to grab the tentacle this time as he pulled.
The figure of the grimm became visible once more. A smirk found it's way onto Magna's face as he yanked the tentacle over his head and roared.
Just like the hulk in the first avengers movie, Magna continued to slam the grimm on the ground over and over again. He actually found this very entertaining as the grimm tried to get out of his grasp but ultimately failed to do so.
After almost 5 minutes of continuously slamming the grimm against the ground, a sickening snap resounded in the forest, followed by the mixed cry of the grimm, as well as a woman.
Obviously, Magna knew that the person controlling the grimm was Salem. He didn't know how she was able to hear, see and speak through the grimm but Magna hoped that it was because she linked to it.
The reason he hoped for such a thing is because, if she was linked to it, she would've experienced being tossed around like a ragdoll. And Magna found the idea hilarious.
As luck would have it, Salem was linked to the grimm. Her voice was softer than before but laced with 5 times as much anger and hate, "Y-you… You will pay for doing this to me!"
Magna just rolled his eyes at the grimm and said, "Big talk for someone I was just throwing around."
Obviously, Magna's tone and words set Salem off like a firework during the 4th of July. The grimm released a dreadful pressure as she screamed, "RRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Suddenly, a black mist exploded out from the grimm. The mist made Zinorge's instincts scream 'death' and 'danger' but it was too late. The tentacles came at him from all angles, making it near-impossible for Magna to escape.
Magna could only dodge a few times before being pierced by the tentacles. A feral growled escaped his lips as the tentacles pierced his skin.
He could feel 'something' flow into his body as the grimm softly said, "Interesting… This mist is supposed to destroy a person semblance yet yours is far to powerful to destroy. Hmmm… but there is damage done to it. I guess that will have to suffice for now."
The grimm yanked it's tentacles out of Magna's body, causing him to grunt in pain as he hoarsely growled, "What did you do to me!?!"
The grimm scoffed, "Were you not listening? I tried to destroy your semblance. While I may have failed, you didn't get away unscathed either."
Magna roared as a pillar of crimson lightning surged outwards. He instantly closed the gap between him and the grimm as he slammed a lighting-infused claw onto the grimm, completely obliterating it.
Zinorge's berserk form only lasted a few more seconds before shutting down. Magna glared at the charred remains of the grimm and felt bitter.
"I might've beat the grimm but… it doesn't really feel like I won this battle…" Sighed Magna.
Glaring at the smoking remains of the grimm one last time, Magna sighed before quickly disappearing into the forest.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Nexusprime117
Nexusprime117 Star Cluster #015: Stygian Zinorge
Power(s):
Bio-Lighting Generation(Dragon Element): Generates lightning inside the body.
Enhanced Senses: The users sense of Sight, Smell and Hearing are boosted, allowing a perfect grasp of everything within 1 mile.
Zinorge's Physique: The user's body changes to become like that of a Zinorge while still retaining human form.
Zinorge's Instinct: The instincts of an apex predator.
Enraged: Augments the user's body with crimson lighting.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone