Capítulo 812: 155
Chapter 155:
Jaune held tight to the Nevermore's feathers with one hand, while keeping his other arm wrapped around Pyrrha, holding her up against his side. On his other side, Setsuna clung tight to the feathers as well, using all his remaining strength to keep from falling off. They needed to hold on tight, as flying by Summoned Nevermore was nowhere near as smooth as flying by airship. Every beat of the massive, birdlike Grimm's wings caused its body to undulate in turn, threatening to buck them off with each stroke.
Weiss seemed to have it easiest, riding atop the beast's neck, one hand tightly gripping Myrtenaster's hilt, the blade anchored amidst the Nevermore's body. Perhaps it was because it was her Summon, but having Weiss' blade sticking out of its flesh and being pulled around by every shift of her weight didn't seem to bother the Nevermore at all.
Fortunately, it looked as though they wouldn't have to worry about the difficulty holding on for long. Just a few beats of its massive wings brought the Nevermore clear of the roofs of Vale's skyscrapers, and they were now coasting along, heading straight for the safe zone. Hopefully, the people manning the defensive perimeter would realize that it wasn't a regular Nevermore coming their way, and not treat the Summon as an attacking enemy.
Jaune had to admit that this was a novel way to travel. The sound of the wind rushing past his ears was punctuated by the thunderous sound of each downward stroke of the Nevermore's wings. As such, it was hard to converse with the others, given that they would have to shout to be heard over the racket.
However, despite all that noise, they heard the problem before they saw it.
It was the sound of another, even larger, set of wings, beating along behind them. It was accompanied by a screeching roar that stung the ears. That roar incited a sense of ominous fear in their guts. Pyrrha was too out of it, thanks to Tyrian's poison, to respond. But Jaune and Setsuna quickly looked over their shoulders, Weiss a beat behind them, finding their worst fears confirmed.
"Oh...you," she said in a deadpan tone.
Sure enough, the Wyvern had spotted them, and had immediately turned about and taken up pursuit. The mantas and bullheads of the military were harrying it as best they could, but their bullets and missiles barely even seemed to faze the beast as it went barreling after them, its massive wings propelling it at speeds that had it quickly gaining on Weiss' smaller Nevermore. Even though repeated attacks had managed to divert it away from the safe zone, it seemed that, for some reason, its fixation on Weiss' Summon was much more singleminded, as it acted as though it didn't even feel the attacks of the military, which exploded against its hide, sending globules of black liquid flying through the air with each hit.
"This is bad!" Jaune shouted.
"You think?" Weiss asked in rhetorical irritation.
"If it's that determined to chase us, it's gonna follow us right over the defensive perimeter!" Jaune pointed out. "If it starts spawning Grimm behind the line, it's gonna be a bloodbath."
Clicking her tongue, Weiss found herself agreeing. For whatever reason, the Wyvern had fixated on them. If they brought it across the defensive line, it would undermine everything they'd accomplished up to that point. However, Pyrrha needed immediate treatment. They couldn't waste precious time leading the Wyvern on a chase...nor did they have time to actually fight something like that. Even if they did, victory didn't seem all that certain, when all the combined firepower of what remained of the Valean and Atlesian militaries seemed to be doing nothing.
It wasn't as though the beast's armor was impenetrable. Rather, its entire body actually seemed to be made up of the black muck that continuously dripped off its underside. Bullets and missiles threw up ripples, but the liquid that was blasted away quickly flowed back in to replenish itself. None of the attacks seemed to do actual damage to the monster.
Setsuna stared intently at the Wyvern, a deep frown on his face. Then he grimaced, apparently coming to an unpleasant conclusion. "Can I get your help?" he asked Jaune.
"What do you need?" Jaune asked back.
"I need you to do for me what you did for Weiss-san," said Setsuna. "Can you restore and enhance my Aura?"
"You've got something that'll work against that?" asked Jaune, glancing dubiously at the Wyvern, which continued to gain ground on them.
Setsuna swallowed. "Maybe..." he said. "I...I've never actually tried this technique before...but if it works..."
"What kinda risk are we talking about here?" asked Jaune.
Setsuna swallowed. "Well...if we went about giving my training levels, I'd be at Level-Four...and what I'm trying would be about Level-Ten."
"Yeah...I can't see you pulling it off then," said Jaune.
"It's still our best bet at this point," Setsuna countered.
Jaune took another glance at the closing Wyvern. "You're not wrong..."
He glanced down at Pyrrha, then looked over at Setsuna. His hands were currently occupied, holding on for dear life. This is gonna be tricky.
Fortunately, it was Weiss who supplied the solution to that. Cycling through Myrtenaster's Dust-chambers, she selected her gravity-Dust, then channeled it through her Glyphs. Black snowflake designs appeared beneath Jaune, Pyrrha, and Setsuna; holding the three of them in place on the Nevermore's back.
"Make it snappy!" Weiss shouted back, grimacing at the effort of maintaining three Glyphs and her Summon simultaneously.
Carefully letting go of Pyrrha, Jaune reached across to where Setsuna was, resting his hand against the younger boy's hip. From there, he carefully Projected his Aura into Setsuna, in the same way he had Weiss before. Setsuna inhaled, feeling his strength return, then well up within him. Letting go himself, he stood freely on the Nevermore's back, trusting entirely in Weiss' ability to keep him in place. Rather than drawing his single remaining kama, he instead cupped his hands in the air in front of them, holding them with their palms facing each other, fingers slightly curled. Then he closed his eyes.
What Setsuna was about to try was one of the highest arts of the Mumyo Dai'On Ryu, one he'd never actually trained in, but only really knew of as a concept. Chiyugi, the most basic of the school's techniques was all about controlling the magnitude of gravity. However, with further refinement, one could also control gravity's vector. In simple terms, while Setsuna's style's most basic technique increased the downwards force of gravity, more training enabled him to control which direction down was. Using that skill enabled him to manipulate objects, such as through his Chinseirin, or even alter his own gravity, allowing him to float or fly. He could increase the weight behind his swings, in the direction of his swings, to give his blows more force. All of that was part and parcel to proficiency in the Mumyo Dai'On Ryu.
For users of the Mumyo Dai'On Ryu, down was typically envisioned as a vector, a direction. However, what Setsuna was intending to do was make "down" into a single point, to have gravity converge upon a point in space, and intensify in that spot. To achieve what he envisioned, he would need both incredible power and control. It required a force of gravity orders of magnitude beyond anything he had ever produced before, and since he was intensifying gravity coming from all directions upon a single point, it was essentially producing countless Chiyugi techniques within a limited space, each with a different orientation. And then...he needed to do all that, while maintaining control of the result. What he was seeking to create had the potential to kill himself and everyone in his vicinity, if his control faltered in the slightest.
That was why, as Setsuna, who'd only managed up to two simultaneous Chiyugi thus far, focused everything he had upon the space between his hands...and nothing happened. Gritting his teeth, he tried to bring forth the image of what he wanted in his mind, but the control necessary to shape the technique had escaped his grasp. In the end, however much Jaune had boosted his power, Setsuna lacked the critical control needed to pull this off.
The Wyvern's scream sounded closer than ever. Distracted by it, Setsuna looked up, his eyes widening as he saw the beast already almost upon them, lunging in, its too-wide mouth opening up all the way down the length of its neck, those toothy jaws seeming to stretch out infinitely to encompass the Nevermore, which had looked so impressively large to the four of them, when it had been first created, but now seemed pitifully small before the all-encompassing bulk of the Wyvern.
"Sorry," was all that Setsuna could say as their death bore down upon them.
And then the Wyvern's triumphant shriek trailed off into a wail of pain as its body abruptly lurched aside, its jaws no longer threatening to close down upon them. Instead, the awe-inspiring Grimm was knocked into a tumble that sent it crashing down into one of the abandoned skyscrapers they were flying past, the building collapsing atop it.
They were able to see just what had knocked the massive Wyvern into a tumble. Streams of azure; like whole rivers winding through the air, weaving around each other; had slammed into the Wyvern's flank. The surfaces of those flying rivers were decorated with designs that were reminiscent of scales, while fanged maws attached to the ends sank said fangs into the Wyvern's soupy flesh, tearing into it mercilessly. While the jaws of the flying dragons of water did relatively little damage, the raw power behind the attack had been enough to essentially swat the monstrous Grimm from the sky.
"Those are..." Setsuna's jaw dropped as he traced those streams back to their point of origin.
There, just drifting in from the sea, from the north and west of Vale itself, illuminated by the light of the moon, was a large airborne vessel. However, it was nothing like the airships of the Kingdom; its large, ovular shape being completely different from anything from Vale or Atlas. The vessel was flying slowly and ponderously, having only just crossed over the docks and was now making its way over the industrial and commercial districts. At barely half the size of the fallen Atlesian warships, and moving far more slowly than the bullheads and mantas that swerved around it, the craft wasn't particularly imposing. However, what was imposing was the fact that those massive streams of dragon-shaped water had originated from a single figure, one of five, standing atop the vehicle's curved dorsal surface.
"What the heck is that?" asked Jaune.
"A zeppelin," said Setsuna, unable to conceal the utter shock in his voice.
"Aren't those the airships that your people use?" asked Weiss, over her shoulder.
"Y-yeah," said Setsuna. "But...why is that here...why are they here...why them?"
"Them-who?" asked Jaune.
Setsuna was too stunned to answer.
Then the five figures disappeared from sight.
Qrow panted for breath, sweat streaming down his face. His right arm dangled limply at his side, while he had to call upon all of what remained of his strength to keep his sword hefted in his left. All around him, the corpses of the Grimm he'd slain dissolved, almost like smoldering fires giving off their last clouds of smoke before dying. However, standing all around him were still more, and sadly of the living persuasion, all too eager to sink their fangs and claws into his flesh.
"Damn persistent buggers," he grumbled.
Unfortunately, even as he'd taken out the Grimm that had spawned in his vicinity, still more continued to appear. The Wyvern had passed over his position at least two more times, seeding more Grimm around him, all the Grimm in the general vicinity apparently being drawn to this particular thorn in their sides. He wasn't sure if it was their uncanny intelligence at work, recognizing and prioritizing a larger threat in their vicinity; or maybe they'd been directed to seek him out specifically, possibly at Salem's behest; or if his general bad mood after how crappy a day this had turned out to be had been negativity enough to draw them; but whatever the case, their numbers were continuing to pile up. On top of that, it was no longer just Beowolves, Ursai, and Creeps he had to worry about. They'd been joined by Griffons, a few Nevermores, and even a massive Deathstalker; the last of which stood directly in front of him, clicking its mandibles and claws menacingly. Not far away, he could see the sinuous bulk of a King Taijitu slithering his way as well.
Qrow was on his last legs. In his present state, the Deathstalker would have been too much for him on its own. Unable to use Harbinger to its fullest potential, the best he would have been able to do was hammer away at that carapace with his sword, which would have amounted to next to nothing.
"As last stands go, this sure was a crappy one," grumbled Qrow. "Too bad the Ice Queen isn't here to see me go out like a hero."
Then another roar reached his ears, this one descending from above. Wincing, Qrow directed his eyes upward, expecting to see some new Grimm dive-bombing him from above. However, his jaw dropped at what he saw instead.
Streams of water, shaped into the sinuous forms of dragons, wound through the air, lunging down, their jaws closing upon the Grimm in Qrow's immediate vicinity. Their jaws tore through black flesh and white bone armor like paper. The Grimm's cries of aggression were replaced by cries of pain as they were ripped apart, the ones closest to Qrow dying first.
In the wake of those dragons was a young man. He landed in front of Qrow, the thin tail of hair that descended from the back of his head stretching behind him as he fell. Clad in a dark-blue vest, with no shirt, the the man's muscular arms and well-toned abdomen were on full display, while his legs were enclosed in white hakama, and his feet set into sandals. He glanced back at Qrow, appearing to confirm his condition, before bursting into motion again.
The man was a flickering blur to Qrow's eyes, darting back and forth across his vision. Where the man went, the Grimm fell, cut to pieces by the strange, curved, double-pronged blades the man wielded in each hand. Though they were relatively short, they seemed to have no issue cutting through Grimm, large or small. Even the King Taijitu was carved into pieces.
After just a few seconds, the massive Deathstalker was the only Grimm remaining. Fresh from finishing off a Beowolf, the man immediately turned in place, slashing his blade downward through the air, even though the Deathstalker was well outside his reach. "Mumyo Saigyo Ryu: Suiha Nanahoryu!"
Seven streams of water, shaped like dragons, lunged out from the slashing blade, weaving around one another as they flew towards the Deathstalker. They struck with a thunderous sound, before seeming to vanish entirely, having apparently splashed impotently against the Grimm's hardened exoskeleton.
"Um..." grunted Qrow, trying to point out that the Deathstalker didn't even seem inconvenienced by the hit it had taken.
However, the man turned away from the Grimm, and instead began to walk towards Qrow. "Don't worry about it," he said. In direct contradiction to his words, the Deathstalker clicked its pincers together menacingly, before advancing towards them, yet the man gave it no mind.
Just as it was about to lunge toward the back of Qrow's savior, the Deathstalker froze, its body going as still as a statue.
The man smirked. "The seven water dragons wind within the target's body...and tear it apart from the inside."
Behind him, the Deathstalker shuddered. The seven dragons erupted from between the joints in its carapace, each one trailing black streams of Grimm flesh. As the last dragon took its leave, the Deathstalker collapsed, then dissolved.
Qrow huffed out a breath. "Thanks for the save there, pal," he said.
"No problem," said the man. "I'm Shinrei, of the Mibu Goyosei."
"Huh...?" Qrow's eyebrows went up. "Wait...you were Ruby's teacher, right?"
That gave the man pause. "You know Ruby-chan?"
"I'm her uncle," said Qrow.
"Oh! You must be Qrow Branwen-san then," said Shinrei, his eyes widening. Then he grinned. "Ruby-chan used to talk about you quite a bit."
"It's nice to finally meet her main teacher in the flesh," said Qrow, jabbing Harbinger into the ground, so he could extend his left hand, which Shinrei gripped in greeting.
"Likewise," said Shinrei. "You look like you've had a hard time of it."
"Yeah, things have been a little crazy around here," said Qrow, glancing around at the empty and battered buildings around them.
"Well, lucky for you, we came prepared for a hectic situation," said Shinrei.
"'We'?" Qrow canted his head.
"A certain fox may have keeping us abreast on things in Vale," said Shinrei. "There was a bit of a communications lag, so our boss decided it best that we be proactive for once. We Mibu thought it might be best if we put our best foot forward. What could be better than showing up to help in your time of need?"
"I certainly ain't complaining," said Qrow, smirking.
Atop Vale's southern perimeter wall, only a scant number of soldiers had survived the aftermath of the Wyvern's flyover. The swarms of Grimm that had suddenly spawned amongst and behind them had all but decimated their numbers. While the soldiers had ultimately been victorious, that victory had come at a hideous cost. The walls were littered with the torn and shredded remains of their comrades, scattered among the mangled remains of the Knights that had fought alongside them.
Worse still, many of the turrets that topped the walls had been damaged in the ensuing battle. Overall, they would be lucky if they could muster a fifth of the firepower they were supposed to have to hold the line here. And, unfortunately, the line was just about to be tested.
From the foot of the wall stretched out cleared ground, extending for several-hundred meters, a dense forest growing up beyond that. This cleared ground had been designed to be a killing ground. When the Grimm attacked en-mass, the soldiers would open up with their rifles, supported by the greater power of the turrets, taking advantage of the lack of cover to bring the masses of Grimm down before they could reach and begin to try their claws at breaking or climbing the wall.
But now, it merely gave them a clear view of their oncoming demise. The few remaining soldiers could only stare in despair as the trees of the forest that blanketed the earth between Vale and Mountain Glenn swayed ominously in a motion that didn't come from the wind, but rather from countless large bodies moving amongst them. The crack and creaking of wood being bent and broken echoed through the air, mingling with roars and howls, trees falling over, scattering flocks of birds into flight. There were even deep, trumpeting calls that made their teeth buzz uncomfortably.
For the soldiers manning the perimeter between Vale and Mountain Glenn, it seemed that the only thing they could do was grit their teeth and prepare for death. The despair that sank into the pits of their stomachs would only serve to attract even more Grimm. Despite that, the few remaining soldiers, to a man, reloaded their rifles, checked to make sure they were operational, then moved up to prepare for battle. They had spent much of their lives training for this. If the Grimm were going to overrun their position, then they would do their duty, and take as many of the monsters with them as they could.
Sure enough, the line of trees practically shattered, many a trunk simply bursting into splinters as the Grimm spilled out onto the open ground, looking more like a black flood rushing out from within the forest, than a swarm of animal-like monsters. The details of where one ended and the others began seemed to blur together, and it looked like an undulating wash of black, amongst which malicious, white skulls and glowing, red eyes bobbed like grotesque swirls of foam formed by crashing waves.
The soldiers opened fire, as did the few remaining operational Dust turrets. However, their shots had virtually no impact. A Grimm that fell was almost immediately trampled by its fellows, often lost from view so fast that, to the men firing from the walls, it was virtually impossible to see that it had been killed at all. Only streams of black particles dotting the oncoming torrent seemed to suggest that any Grimm were dying at all, any holes knocked amidst the horde disappearing so quick that they never appeared to be there at all.
Then, from the forest, an even more horrid sight appeared. Rising up from the flood of smaller Grimm were the massive bodies of the elephantine Goliaths, bulky islands amidst the swirling sea of black and white. They moved at what was probably the fastest pace they were capable of, yet their movement still seemed ponderously slow in comparison to the smaller Grimm that streamed around their legs. They almost seemed to be taking their time, as though savoring the fear and despair of those few defenders who would soon small to them and their brethren.
The onrush of Grimm easily made it to the wall, their collective bulk slamming into the structure with enough force for the vibrations of impact to be felt all the way at the top. Several of the soldiers were knocked off their feet. One of the few remaining Knights was sent toppling over the edge, landing amidst the horde and being torn to pieces in less than a second. Worse still, the Grimm continued to pile up, paying no heed to the ones that had arrived first, their bodies buried beneath the press of the ones coming behind them, their rise up the wall bringing to mind the image of dark waves crashing against a rocky shore. Several of those at the bottom of the pileup were crushed to death, their dissipating particles erupting out from amidst their comrades like sea-spray, reinforcing the image of a crashing wave.
The soldiers concentrated their fire downwards as best they could, but it was a battle they were swiftly losing. More and more Grimm continued to pile up, climbing over one another in their eagerness to get at the men atop the wall, while the increasing press of them began to crack the wall itself.
Shadows swooped down low towards the wall. Griffons descended in a pack, alighting on the wall, beaked mouths screeching, their claws stretching out to slash at the few remaining defenders. Then there would be nothing left to impede the horde below from storming the wall and inundating Vale.
Then a Griffon burst into flame. Uttering a confused shriek, it toppled over, plummeting into the seething mass below, its impact setting several of the Grimm it landed on alight, the fire spreading amongst their number like a disease. Then, one by one, over the space of just a few seconds, each of the other attacking Griffons also exploded into flames. Some disintegrated on the spot, but others fell off the wall as well, creating a chain reaction of casualties amongst the other Grimm.
A confused pause fell among the soldiers as they tried to comprehend the strange phenomenon.
The figure of a man perched atop the edge of the wall. "Man...you guys were going up against this, after everything you've already been through...You've got my respect."
It was a fair-skinned man, his head covered by a shaggy locks of pale-blonde hair, the spiky mass falling down to the level of his shoulders. He looked over the men with a set of light-orange eyes. His upper body was covered by a white kimono with red decorating the hem of the flaps, its loose sleeves extending all the way down to his wrists. Below that, his legs were covered in dark-red Hakama, which were cut short, ending just below his knees, seemingly held in place by a black and orange striped sash that wrapped around his waist. His bare feet rested in a pair of unusually tall geta, which had clicked upon his arrival.
In his right hand, the man gripped the black shaft of a spear, which was topped by a fearsome, trident-shaped blade, which glittered menacingly in the moonlight.
Looking over the surviving soldiers, the man flashed them a cheerful grin. "You guys can take it easy now. Leave the rest to Keikoku of the Goyosei."
The soldiers exchanged confused looks. Keikoku was already moving onto the attack. Hefting his spear, he swept it across in front of him, swinging the blade down along the side of the wall. All along the length of the wall, massive explosions of flame ripped through the pile of Grimm, their angry and pained screams ripping through the air. The pile that had been threatening to cap the wall crumbled downward.
Keikoku leapt into the air. More Griffons, along with some Nevermores, stooped down at him from above. However, Keikoku swept his spear out in a wide arc, unleashing a broad wave of flame that enveloped nearly all the flyers in a single go. Those that weren't caught in the flames were easy pickings for the soldiers that remained.
From there, Keikoku went plummeting straight down into the mass of Grimm, his spear leading the way. Above, the soldiers could only watch in horror as his body vanished within the packed mass, leaving them sure that he had foolishly thrown his life away to no end. However, that certainty vanished with what happened next.
"Akuma no Ago!"
With an all-consuming roar, a wave of pitch-black flames erupted outward, devouring everything in its path. It washed out along the length of the wall in both directions, scorching the attacking Grimm out of existence, even as it extended out across the cleared ground, wiping out still more Grimm in their entirety, the flames sweeping the Grimm away in a single move, leaving only a long swath of scorched earth in their wake, stopping just shy of the trees of the forest.
Finally, the conflagration faded, leaving only Keikoku himself, kneeling amidst blackened and smoldering earth, his spear having been thrust into the ground. Smoke streamed off his own body, particularly blackened smudges that decorated his clothing. Despite that, he still stood up easily, holding his spear lightly as he faced the forest, from which a fresh wave of Grimm emerged.
"Looks like you pests haven't learned your lesson yet," commented Keikoku, grinning fiercely. He leaned forward, the "sash" around his waist unwinding, revealing itself to be a tiger-tail, which now trailed behind him, lashing in the air to betray his eagerness. Ahead of him, the waves of Grimm converged on his position, his presence alone being enough to call practically all of them to him.
The head of Keikoku's spear burst into flames and, with that ferocious grin on his face, he dove headlong into the oncoming horde.
A torrent of Grimm charged headlong down the street, rushing straight towards the defensive perimeter. According to the intelligence the defenders had received from Winter, this was supposed to be the last push by the remaining Grimm born from the spawning pools that RASP and RYNB had been working to destroy. However, as final pushes went, it was one hell of an effort, only being further bolstered by reinforcements spawned by the Wyvern.
Whitley frowned as he watched the seething mass of monstrosities approach. A pair of Summoning Glyphs appeared to either side of him, from which leapt a pair of Alpha Beowolves. They bounded over the heads of Team NDGO and Team ABRN, who were holding the line in this particular session. As the Summons closed with the first Grimm of the oncoming horde, Whitley withdrew a pale-green rod from his cigarette case, bringing to his lips, then inhaling. The entire rod dissolved into his mouth, and the Summoned Beowolves rose up on their hind legs, sweeping at the frontrunners with their clawed forelimbs, their claws launching blades of wind that cleaved through multiple Grimm in a row. However, despite that, they were quickly swallowed by the horde and destroyed.
Next, Whitley Summoned a Boarbatusk, while inhaling a stick of ice-Dust. The boar-like Grimm bounded past the defenders, before going into its signature roll, throwing up waves of ice-spears to either side of it as it progressed, those spears tearing through the ranks of attacking Grimm and ripping a channel straight through the center of the horde, before it ran out of steam and was swiftly overwhelmed.
Whitley frowned and swallowed, feeling a burning sensation in his throat. Using one's body as a medium for channeling Dust's power came with side-effects after all. He reflected that he probably should have picked a better method of infusing Dust into his Summons. However, that would have to wait until after this crisis passed, assuming he survived it. As it was, despite his apparent composure, Whitley was near his limit. He didn't have much Aura remaining, having expended most of it for the Summons he had launched at the incoming Grimm very much like living missiles.
The defenders ahead of him weren't in much better shape. Nebula aimed her crossbow as carefully as she was able, fatigue weighing down her arms. She had to make every shot count, given that she didn't have many bolts left. Gwen was likewise down to her last few handfuls of throwing knives. Dew and Octavia were faring a little better, but the Dust that fueled their weapons was nearing depletion, and they too were running out of steam, physically speaking. Team ABRN wasn't in any better shape. Nadir and Reese were running out of ammunition for their weapons. Reese was especially hampered by the fact that fighting from a static position like this wasn't a good fit for her weapon and style. Both Bolin and Arslan were tired from the number of times they'd had to repel Grimm charges at close range.
Even if this was the last push, it looked to possibly be more than they could handle.
"Looks like this is it," said Nebula, glancing down the line at her fellow team leader. "Ready to work to the finish?"
"You know it," said Arslan.
Nebula looked back at Whitley. "Hey, thanks for your help, but you must be running on fumes. You should get clear while you have the chance."
Whitley gave her a small smile. "Are you all not running on fumes as well?"
"Well, yeah," said Nebula, before chuckling. "But we're Huntresses, so this is our job."
Whitley's smile widened slightly. "Well, at the very least, allow me to use what little I have left to help as best I can."
Nebula felt she should press the issue more. After all, Whitley was a civilian; albeit an extremely powerful, well-connected civilian; but still an official noncombatant, when all was said and done. He was one of the people they were supposed to be protecting, not the one protecting them.
"I'm not about to complain," said Arslan. "If you've got anything that can thin this lot out a little more, I'd appreciate it."
"As the lady wishes," said Whitley, withdrawing a pair of sticks from his case, one of wind-Dust, the other of fire-Dust. A Summoning Glyph appeared behind him, while Whitley inhaled both sticks simultaneously. The Glyph shone a brilliant, blinding white. When it faded, the bulk of an enormous Grimm rose up behind Whitley.
It was a massive, leonine Grimm, a series of bone spines extending out behind its head in a manner reminiscent of a lion's mane. Its skin was decorated by exposed bone in multiple places, including forming a ridge that ran down its spine, all the way to the tip of the scorpion-stinger that decorated its tail. It was a Manticore, and an exceptionally large specimen at that. Its body shimmered with a pale-blue and white color, shimmering and giving off ripples of heat.
With a single beat of its wings, the Manticore lifted up, flying over Whitley and the two teams holding the line. It charged straight down the street at the Grimm, its body shining brighter and brighter. Folding its wings, it began to execute a rapid series of aileron rolls, waves of shining heat wrapping around it. It plunged straight into the packed ranks of Grimm, erupting into a bolt of flame that tore its way down the street, immolating and shredding countless monsters with its passage.
In its wake, it left a channel of molten asphalt. Very few of the Grimm had survived its passage. But there were still plenty more behind it. They quickly filled in where those before them had fallen. NDGO and ABRN could at least see the tail end of the horde now. But it was still going to be a prolonged, uphill battle for them, and one that they weren't certain they could win.
Whitley collapsed to one knee, coughing hoarsely. "The last...I leave...to...you," he managed to gasp out.
"Just get clear," said Nebula worriedly.
Whitley just sighed and drooped his head.
Nebula shook her head slightly, before looking to her teammate. "Gwen, when you're out of knives, make sure you get him clear."
"Okay," said Gwen, reluctant to abandon the frontline, but also aware that, without her knives, she wouldn't be much use. At the very least, she would do what good she could.
Whitley struggled to raise his head, his throat in agony after the last two sticks of Dust he'd inhaled. At the very least, he wanted to avoid being a burden on the people he was trying to help. However, he paused in his efforts when a broad hand came to rest on his shoulder.
A powerful presence fell over the group. NDGO and ABRN, prepared to fight for their lives in the next few seconds, suddenly felt the tension and fear that had been suffusing their beings disperse into the air, as though it had never existed. In place of those emotions came a sense of tranquility and ease, a premonition that everything would be all right.
Looking over their shoulders, they easily found the source of that sensation. The tall, well-built man, his body looking as though it had been chiseled from solid stone, strode forward at a sedate pace. The dark-green kimono he wore was left slightly open, displaying the spectacular muscles of his chest, the kimono being tucked into a pair of white hakama, held up by a sash of the same color, into which had been set a simple katana. The white hair that streamed down the back of his head and short beard that decorated his chin contrasted sharply with his bronze skin. Gold-colored eyes glinted with warmth and kindness as they surveyed the assembled students.
"You are all fine warriors," the man rumbled approvingly, his voice sounding like distant thunder, before striding right past the students. "You can leave the rest to me."
"Hey! Hold on!" protested Arslan.
The man took no notice of her words, continuing to walk straight towards the oncoming Grimm. Their numbers broken up by Whitley's last attack, they no longer looked like a river. But there were still enough to present a serious problem. Still, the man seemed unbothered, reaching down and drawing the sword. Sunlight glinted off the katana's rippling steel, the man holding it out to the side, before moving it to point towards the first waves of incoming Grimm.
The Beowolves leading the charge bounded at him, leaping into the air, reaching with their claws, fanged maws outstretched and open. There was a flicker of light...and both Grimm were cut to pieces, falling past the man and dissolving before they had even hit the ground.
Of course, there was no shortage of Grimm following in the wake of those first two. However, as they closed, there was again the phenomenon of light flickering in the air around the man, and each and ever Grimm charging down the street was dismembered in the same manner. No matter how many rushed him, each one met with the same fate. The man never even seemed to move, yet the Grimm died in droves, as though the man's position suggested some kind of absolute boundary, which represented an instant death to any Grimm that dared try to cross it.
All ABRN and NDGO could do was watch as the Grimm inexorably died. After just a few minutes, there were none left. It felt strangely anticlimactic. After readying themselves for an intense final struggle, the Grimm had instead been cut down in such a mundane manner...yet also in a way so spectacularly impossible as to be difficult to comprehend. As far as they could tell, all the man had done was swing his sword. Yet he had done so with such speed that they hadn't even seen the movements of the blade itself.
Once all the Grimm had been cleared away, the man sheathed his sword, before turning to face them, gazing at them with a look of benevolence. "You have fought well," he said. "I apologize for intruding. But I thought it best to ensure that you would survive to grow more."
"Who are you?" asked Reese, looking the man over, taking in the Mistrallian style of his dress, and pairing that with the incredible feats he had just performed, feats that showed no signs of relying on Dust in any capacity. A thought occurred to her. "Are you...Mibu?"
"I am," answered the man. "I am Taihaku of the Mibu Goyosei." He bowed politely to them.
"Are you one of Ruby's friends?" asked Reese.
Taihaku chuckled softly, his manner almost grandfatherly. "You could say that," he said. "I can't say that I have done enough to truly be counted as one of Ruby-kun's teachers, but I did give her a lesson, from time to time."
"Whoa...!" whispered Reese, her eyes widening. Ruby's been getting lessons from someone like this...no wonder she's so awesome.
"What are you people doing here?" asked Arslan. "Ruby's sister said that you don't get involved in the Kingdoms' affairs."
"We were informed of a dire situation developing in Vale, and felt that we should not remain idle," said Taihaku. "To that end, Sora-sama ordered the mobilization of the Goyosei, and dispatched us to assist."
"Well, I'm grateful," said Dew with a tired sigh.
"You can all be at ease," said Taihaku. "We will take care of the remaining Grimm threat, both within and without."
"I...can't believe what I'm seeing!" gasped Ironwood, watching a feed from the southeast perimeter wall.
The screen showed Keikoku absolutely shredding the waves of incoming Grimm. His spear was a black and silver blur around his body, slicing and piercing through the toughest armor with ease, while jets and balls of flame erupted out, consuming Grimm well beyond his reach, completely decimating their ranks before any of them even came within so much as spitting distance of the perimeter wall. Despite fighting at a level that would have left most professional Huntsmen breathless from exertion, he showed no sign of flagging, despite fighting at such a pace for several minutes already.
Then he was joined by Shinrei, the other man attacking with swift, graceful slashes of the two short blades he wielded, from which he also launched dragon-shaped streams of water, which lunged out to seize Grimm in their jaws and tear them to ribbons. The two men formed up together and, despite wielding opposing elements, somehow fought in perfect synch with one another, decimating the Grimm so completely that, rather than holding off the attacking waves, they were actually pushing the Grimm farther back with each passing moment.
Another feed allowed Ironwood to see Taihaku easily holding the line against the Grimm that had been rushing the safety perimeter, seeming not to move at all, yet actually cutting down Grimm with careless ease. Most of the time, his actual attacks weren't even visible as anything more than the occasional flickering of his image...right before an attacking Grimm fell to pieces.
On one hand, this was good news. The Grimm were being routed at every turn. The unknown flying object that had been making its way into Vale's airspace had proven to be a ship of allies, who had come to assist in their hour of need, powerful allies at that.
At the same time, they seemed a little too powerful. After seeing Demon Eyes Kyo in action, Ironwood was not predisposed to dismiss the power of the Mibu. But it was one thing to know of such power in an abstract sense, after seeing Kyo in a sparring match with Ruby. But it was completely another to watch individuals mow down entire swarms of Grimm with seemingly no effort.
With power like that, I can imagine how they might have seen themselves as gods in the past, Ironwood noted, remembering the strange tale Jinn had told.
No longer needing to worry about the Wyvern's pursuit, Weiss once again directed her Summon back towards the safety zone. However, to her dismay, she felt it beginning to give out. Between maintaining the Summon itself, and the Glyphs holding her friends to its back, her Aura was running low.
"We won't make it," she said despondently, directing her Summon down to a street that would hopefully afford them with the most direct path to their objective. However, at this distance, it was unlikely that they would make it there in time to save Pyrrha.
Jaune wanted to reassure her, but he was spent too. He'd prolonged Pyrrha's life, healed Weiss, then boosted her Aura to allow her to Summon the Nevermore. After that, he'd also restored and enhanced Setsuna's Aura as well, in a bid to destroy the Wyvern, which hadn't worked out. And all of that was on top of the intense fighting he'd already done so far today. Now his own Aura was down to its dregs. Their sole remaining hope was to carry Pyrrha to the safe zone, and Sasame, before the Aura Jaune had planted within her expired. But that was looking less and less possible at this point.
"We've still got to try," he said with a determined growl, carefully pulling Pyrrha over his shoulders and hefting her up, preparing to run the rest of the way back.
Growling sounds emerged from all around them, and the three conscious members of the group looked around, seeing Grimm emerging from within the alleys, and also down the street. Farther down, they could see the Wyvern rolling and writhing where it had crashed. It seemed that, with every shift of its massive body, it only shed more and more of that black gunk, which only spawned still more Grimm. And now the majority of them were bearing down on the nearest prey.
Setsuna grimaced, pulling out his one remaining kama. "Get going," he said.
"Setsuna..." Jaune swallowed, unwilling to leave their new friend behind. He knew that, if anything happened to the boy, Ruby would be devastated.
"This is sorta my responsibility anyway," added Setsuna. "If I'd just been able to to do what I was supposed to..."
"But..." Weiss wanted to protest, but uncertain of what she could say.
"Pyrrha-san needs help," said Setsuna. "That's what's most important, right?"
"You've got some serious chutzpah, Setsuna-kun."
The voice came from above. Before the three of them could even start looking up, a dark figure dropped down, landing on the back of the first Beowolf coming their way. The Grimm's spine snapped in two as the man landed with the force of a small bomb, leaving a crater where he'd impacted. Rising from it, the man grinned fiercely.
His skin was a chocolate-brown color, a shade darker than the brown of the kimono he wore over his upper body, its long sleeves extending down to cover his hands all the way to the tips of his fingers, giving the impression that it was a little too large for him, despite the broad set of his shoulders, and the muscles that stretched across his chest. The hems of the sleeves were white, and decorated with a pattern of black diamonds. The kimono was tucked into a pair of navy-blue shorts, which left the majority of the man's powerful legs exposed, all the way down to his feet, which were set into a pair of geta, which, like Setsuna's, sported steel soles. Hazel eyes looked out at them from underneath a head of black hair, which was styled into a mass of dreadlocks. A white strap extended diagonally across the man's front, running from his right shoulder to his left hip. It held a sheathed sword in place behind his back, its handle extending up over his shoulder.
Reaching up, the man drew the sword, revealing the distinctive blade of a katana. However, instead of the usual, circular, tsuba-type guard that most such swords sported, this one sported a spreading-wing design, more commonly associated with jian-style blades, despite the weapon resembling a typical katana in virtually every other sense.
"Sensei!" exclaimed Setsuna, staring wide-eyed at the man.
Chinmei of the Goyosei chuckled. "We'll talk later, Setsuna-kun. You gonna help me take out the trash?"
"Y-yes!" stammered Setsuna, running towards his teacher.
Chinmei appeared completely unaware of the Ursa lunging at his back, one massive paw already raised to slam into his torso. However, at the last second, he dropped, his knees bending suddenly. At the same time, he leaned back, sending his body into a backwards roll that allowed him to duck under the swinging paw, while rolling directly beneath the Ursa's body. In the same move, he slashed up with his sword, disemboweling the beast.
Before the Ursa had even finished falling to the ground, Chinmei was behind it, spinning in a manner similar to Tyrian or Mercury, so that he could flare out his legs, lashing out with kicks that obliterated the heads of the Creeps behind it. A twist of the wrist of the left hand he'd planted against the ground allowed Chinmei to turn his body farther, lashing out with the sword in his right hand, executing a low swing that cut the legs out from under another Creep, before finally pushing off and coming back to his feet. As he did, he swung the sword over his head, bringing it straight down and launching a black wave off its edge, which cleaved through an entire line of Grimm.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, Chinmei brought his full Manifestation into play, the majority of the Grimm in front of him suddenly contorting as their bodies were seized by intense gravitational forces, which then twisted them like rags, until they were torn to pieces. By the time Setsuna had arrived, Chinmei had dealt with nearly all the approaching Grimm himself.
"I guess we don't have to worry about Setsuna anymore," commented Jaune, watching the whole thing with wide eyes.
"I guess not," said Weiss, equally gobsmacked by what she was seeing. Ruby told us that the Goyosei were like entire armies in their own right...She wasn't kidding.
"We should hurry though," said Jaune, getting ready to head towards the safe zone again. "We don't have much time left."
Weiss nodded.
Both of them turned...only to find an unfamiliar man in their path.
Sea-green eyes gazed placidly at them from underneath a head of pale-blue hair, which was swept back over the man's head and tied in a tail at the base of his neck, which then ran down his back. He was dressed in an elegant-looking kimono of sky-blue, the hems of its collar and sleeves being jade-green, and decorated with the images of winding dragons, embroidered in gold thread. The kimono was held closed by a white sash, into which was thrust a tanto, alongside a longer blade, which had the handle of a katana, but the profile of the blade more closely resembled the more-pronounced curve of a naginata blade.
"Allow me to see her," said the man, his gaze sweeping over Pyrrha.
"We need to get her to Sasame," said Jaune. "She doesn't have a lot of time."
"I can see that," noted the man. "However, seeing as I am the one who taught Sasame-kun the Healing Arts, I believe I am a suitable substitute."
"Huh...?" grunted Jaune.
"I am Makoto of the Taishiro," said the man, smiling at them. "I believe that I am able to help your friend."
"O-okay," said Jaune, pulling Pyrrha of his shoulders and laying her gently on the street.
Makoto knelt over her, his eyes taking in the nature of her wound, before he brought a hand to the puncture in her stomach...and inserted it, the fingers phasing directly through Pyrrha's clothes and skin.
"What-?!" gasped Weiss.
Jaune gripped her shoulder, keeping her from interfering, Jaune having already seen Sasame pull this kind of trick a few times before.
Light shined out from where Makoto's hand had been inserted into Pyrrha's body, its intensity increasing, until it was almost blinding.
"Reject!"
Makoto withdrew his hand, now cupped, from within Pyrrha. Resting in the bowl formed by his palm and fingers was a mass of sickly-purple liquid, which Makoto wasted no time casting aside. The liquid splattered against the asphalt, hissing and corroding its way through it.
Pyrrha let out a soft sigh, her body going still. But it was the stillness of sleep, rather than death. Reaching out, Jaune used what remained of his Aura to carefully assess her condition, before letting out a sigh of relief. Looking up, he noticed Makoto watching him attentively.
The man gave Jaune a small smile. "It would seem that Sasame-kun has been training you well."
"Th-thanks," said Jaune, getting the feeling he'd just been gifted a tremendous compliment.
Makoto stood, holding Pyrrha in his arms. "Come," he said. "I am sure that there are others in need of assistance."
"Right," said Jaune, standing up as well.
"B-but what about...?" Weiss looked back down the street, where the Wyvern was rolling free from where it had crashed, bracing the fingers of its bat-like wings against the ground, before lifting its head and letting loose another screech, this one being powerful enough to shake the buildings around them, and shatter the windows of those closest to the massive Grimm.
"Leave it to Chinmei," said Makoto, as though it were nothing more than an afterthought. "There is no need to be concerned. He shall deal with it."
Chinmei and Setsuna faced down the Wyvern, which bunched its body. Rather than try to take to the air again, it instead began to bound down the street towards them, its too-wide mouth opening to reveal a slavering tongue. With each step, more black liquid dripped away, giving birth to other, smaller Grimm, which followed along in the beast's wake.
"Ready to give it a try?" asked Chinmei.
"Uh...What?" grunted Setsuna, looking at his teacher in confusion.
"I know what you were up to, back there," said Chinmei, grinning down at him. "You're a gutsy kid, trying something that advanced with your level of training. You've still got some juice left, so here's your chance."
"B-but..." stammered Setsuna, more than a little mortified that his teacher had caught him trying an advanced technique that he wasn't even remotely ready for.
"You overreached, Setsuna-kun," said Chinmei sternly, glancing up at the Wyvern that was closing in on them. "Either make it right by succeeding...or take your punishment for being so reckless."
Setsuna took a deep breath, then holstered his remaining kama. He brought his hands up, palms facing one another, focusing on the space between them as he used his Aura to influence the gravity. Once again, he was beset by the realization that he didn't have remotely enough control to make this happen. He couldn't produce multiple Chiyugis to focus the gravity to a single point.
From behind him, a pair of arms reached around his shoulders, then moved up, the dark skin of Chinmei's hands cupping the back of Setsuna's own.
"You're overcomplicating it," said Chinmei softly. "You don't need to create a whole mess of Chiyugis, just one. Normally, 'down' is a direction. But now...just make it the center. Fold the gravity around it, and let it draw inwards."
Setsuna nodded, closing his eyes and bending his entire focus to the Aura he channeled into the space between his hands. There, in the center, that was where all that extra power would flow. He could feel Chinmei's Aura, working alongside his own, gently guiding Setsuna's Flow, helping him shape the technique and give it form. With his eyes closed, he couldn't see the space between his hands begin to visibly warp.
"Now...crank it up to max, as high as you can go, then reach higher," commanded Chinmei.
Setsuna did as he was bade, calling upon all his strength, and the extra power from Jaune's enhancement. He grit his teeth, sweat forming on his brow. He increased the force of gravity more and more, all of it fixated on that one single point between his hands. All the while, he could hear and feel the footsteps of the Wyvern as it closed in on them.
Then it was like something broke. Suddenly, the gravity between Setsuna's hands changed. Where he had been pressing in with all his might, it was as though something had snapped. Now the feeling was inverted, and Setsuna could feel an intense pulling sensation. It pulled at his hands, threatening to draw them together, and then at his body. He realized that, if he allowed himself to be pulled in, he wouldn't be able to survive. The force that had just come into being in front of him was far more than the human body could handle.
"Get a handle on it," said Chinmei. "Hold the reins. This is a phenomenon you created. Before it bows to natural law, it bows to your will. Use that will to contain it."
Grunting, Setsuna focused, crafting the image of a perfect sphere in his mind, while pulling his hands back away, keeping that image resting on the palm of his right hand, which he held out in front of him.
Opening his eyes, Setsuna beheld an orb easily larger than his torso. It was pitch-black at the center, and everything around the edges of it seemed to be flowing inwards. The sheer concentration of gravity into a single point had created a singularity, a black hole. The image of everything being drawn in was created by the light being drawn in by the core of his technique.
Of course, this wasn't a true black hole. It was an artificial phenomenon, born from the technique of the Mumyo Dai'On Ryu, one of its highest skills.
"You did it," said Chinmei approvingly. "Now...let 'im have it."
Setsuna looked past the orb. Through the distortion, he could see that Wyvern was almost upon them. Narrowing his eyes, he thrust his hand out in front of him, willing the singularity forward. "Chinsei Kokuten Kyu!"
The orb of black flew down the street, ripping up asphalt in its wake the debris being vacuumed in and disappearing. The Wyvern realized its danger at the last second, bunching its legs to leap, spreading its wings to take to the air. It kicked off, sweeping its wings downwards in a mighty stroke. For a second, it seemed that the monster had escaped...then it lurched to a stop.
Before it had been able to rise completely upwards, Setsuna's technique had struck the end of its tail. The Wyvern lurched to a stop with a shriek of surprise and pain. Then...it began to be drawn backwards, its body being pulled into the void. It screamed and writhed, beating its wings with all its might, shaking free a veritable shower of ebony gunk. However, the liquid was drawn in as well. Meter by meter, the process drawn out by the monster's struggling, the Wyvern was pulled down, its body spiraling inward into the center of the singularity, where it vanished. Finally, with a despairing shriek, the doomed Grimm was swallowed, its head being the last thing to go. Vanishing along with the technique itself.
Setsuna gasped for breath, his entire body soaked with sweat. Then his legs gave out, dropping him to his knees. His balance failed him, and he pitched forward, his world going dark.
"Whoop!" exclaimed Chinmei, stooping to catch his student before Setsuna's face could hit the ground. "Overextended yourself there...that's what happens when you're running on borrowed power. Well, you didn't do half bad, Setsuna-kun. So I guess we'll count this as punishment served."
Glancing up, Chinmei saw the Grimm that had been spawned in the Wyvern's wake. Previously, they had been charging after their creator, seeking to attack anyone they could find. But now...they were frozen in place. Their heads dipped, and the different varieties began to growl and snort. Some even whined. Then...slowly, they began to back away down the street. A moment later, they had turned and were now running for the walls.
"'Bout time," muttered Chinmei. "I guess having the big one here offset Makoto-sama's presence. Now that it's gone, we should be in the clear."
"Sir...the Wyvern is down!" announced one of the officers in Ironwood's command center.
"They really did it," Ironwood murmured to himself.
"Report from the perimeter wall!" announced another officer. "The Grimm are...retreating! It's incredible. Even the ones already inside the Kingdom are getting out as fast as they can."
"Report from Beacon," announced another. "No more Grimm appear to be attacking from the direction of the Emerald Forest."
The reports continued to come in, revealing that the Grimm attacks were losing momentum. In fact, the Grimm seemed to be fleeing the vicinity of Vale in its entirety. A few minutes later, and all reports indicated that the attacking Grimm were gone. It was as though Kyo had returned to Vale, though Ironwood could only guess that the source of this phenomenon was on of the Mibu who ha come to assist them.
Cheers echoed through the command center. Even through the walls, Ironwood could hear the cheers of the citizens outside, as the reports of what was happening filtered through to the populace. They'd done it! They'd survived!
But it isn't over, Ironwood thought, not by a long shot.
After all, there was a major threat remaining, a threat that confounded all logic, and a threat that could strike again at any time. So long as Jester remained at large, this would only be a temporary respite. Worse still, they had no idea where he had gone, and what he was doing. Presumably, he was fighting Kyo. But whether or not Kyo had won was unknown. Until they had an answer to that...this war was a long ways from over.
Status de energia semanal
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