“Bruno please…” Robert pleaded to his teammate whilst he stared down Geralt. “This isn’t the time or place! You can settle it later, we have other things we need to be taking care of!”
“Robert, shut up!” Bruno replied, extending his blades. “I’m not listening to a goddamn thing this idiot says. If I have to spend another week with him, I’m gonna make sure he knows exactly where his place actually is!”
“Oh really? I was hoping you’d say that!” Geralt exclaimed with a grin. Reaching to his waist he extracted his shortsword. Upon seeing this, Robert raised his own sword. The noble took notice of this move, turning his gaze to Robert slightly. “You’d better not help your pet, first year, or you'll be next.”
Robert watched as the two took up arms upon the city streets, anger present on his face. He exchanged glances between the two parties, unsure of what to do, until his gaze was pulled away by something else.
A loud crash, echoing throughout the town, drawing the trio’s attention directly towards the transmission tower. The three watched in silence as the top half of the tower was destroyed in an instant.
“What the hell…” Geralt muttered.
They were soon snapped out of their daze by a screech, this one sounding much closer. Robert barely had enough time to turn around before a pair of nevermores flew over one of the nearby houses, swooping down towards a group of civilians nearby.
“Damn it, MOVE!” Robert shouted, immediately rushing after the nevermores.
*
“Over here, this way!”
Scarlett called, waving her arms in the air amidst the flood of civilians filling the streets of Shian Shi. “Please, don’t panic! Keep moving and head towards the town hall!”
“Yeah, uh, don’t worry!” Ash chimed in, also waving his arms clumsily. “We’ll probably be fine. The Grimm can’t be that strong!”
“Ash, that’s not helping!” Scarlett said, shooting him a glare.
“I’m trying to reassure them, Scar-”
Before Ash could continue, he was interrupted by an ear splitting screech. The noise grabbed the attention of Scarlett as well as the civilians in the area. Their gaze was affixed to a particular nevermore, which soon found itself flying directly into the communications tower. The students and civilians watched in horror as the top half of the tower fell, landing atop a nearby house and reducing it to rubble.
“Go! Keep moving!” Scarlett shouted as the citizens began to panic further. The nevermore flew up high once it had completed its task. Strangely, its flying seemed to be rather rigid, as though it was a puppet or animated model, rigged by strings. Neither of the two students had the time to focus on that however, as they doubled their efforts, moving as many civilians as possible.
*
“NO!” Leon exclaimed, staring up at the destroyed tower. “DAMN IT!”
“Leon! Hey, Mr Leon!”
The huntsman stopped momentarily, turning around as the voice of Merlot registered itself on his senses. He whipped around, attempting to stomach his anger for the moment.
“Merlot, why aren’t you at your post?!” Leon asked, semi aggressively.
“I… I just had an idea of how to take down the nevermore but… I guess that doesn’t matter now.” She mumbled. "My semblance, it-"
“Look, I admire your initiative but this situation is serious. We need to-” Leon paused mid-sentence, suddenly recalling a piece of information. He turned to the tower’s entrance and bolted towards it. Merlot stood confused for a moment, before following him.
“Hey, is anyone still in here?!” Leon called into the slightly darkened building. The building was relatively untouched, aside from an overturned desk and some broken machinery due to the force of the attack.
“I um… I’m alright!” The familiar voice of the attendant could be heard from behind his desk. Leon breathed a sigh of relief.
“You need to get out of here and head to the town hall immediately. This area isn’t safe.” Leon explained, as the man stood to full height. He didn’t think twice about it, moving past Merlot and exiting through the doorway.
“Merlot. Please make sure he gets out safely.” Leon said.
“Yes!” She replied with a nod, turning to the man. However, as the man exited he brushed shoulders with someone. A new arrival, stepping past him and into the building. This person was covered almost entirely by a long white cloak with a hood, obscuring their appearance.
Leon and Merlot both turned to the figure in confusion.
“Uh, the town hall’s that way sir- Or ma’am. I can actually guide you there myself-” Merlot began, making for the door.
The figure didn’t move, blocking the girl’s path. Merlot took a hesitant step back, whilst chuckling nervously. Leon sighed and stepped forward.
“Please, this is no time for some kind of prank. Our priority right now is your safety so I politely ask that you follow our instructions.” The huntsman said in a more serious tone. The figure didn’t move an inch. Rather, they spoke.
“The nevermore did enough damage. I didn’t even need to finish the job.” Their voice sounded young and feminine. Their overall tone seemed rather upbeat and naive. “I didn’t think there would be any huntsmen in the village though…”
“What are you… Talking about?” Merlot asked, concern visible on her face. Leon didn’t say another word. Rather, he reached to his back and in one swift motion drew the katana that rested within his sheath. Flicking a switch on the weapon’s handle, it began to extend itself, transforming until it resembled a long naginata. Leon sunk into a fighting stance, blade pointed at the stranger.
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“Get behind me, Merlot.” He ordered. Merlot didn’t need to be told twice. She stepped back, reaching to her waist and extracting a pair of chakrams. Flicking a switch they were illuminated by a dull, blue glow.
“This is annoying. I’ll have to deal with you two, won't I?” The woman said, a hand emerging from her cloak.
*
“LOOK OUT FROM ABOVE!”
A soldier atop the wall exclaimed, only seconds too late. A nevermore descended from the dark skies, grabbing the soldier in its talons. It began to carry the soldier off, but was swiftly put down by a series of gunshots. It wasn’t alone however, as a flock of the bird Grimm descended upon the wall. Some were shot down, others managed to claim a victim with their dangerous beak or sharp talons.
“Focus on the nevermores!” Brandford commanded.
“We can’t keep the Grimm back! They’re reaching the wall!” Thalia reported, letting fly an arrow and taking down an ursa.
The wave of Grimm had almost entirely covered the plains now. Despite the amount of them that had been killed, the creatures had managed to reach the walls. Beowolves and Ursa pounded against the wood.
Shin watched as the gate ahead began to shake and rattle with each passing moment. Despite this, he stood prepared in his fighting stance, taking deep breaths in and out.
Thalia took aim once more, focusing on one of the nevermores above. Before she could let her arrow fly however, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. A massive figure, leaping above her position.
“IT’S A BERINGLE!” One of the soldiers shouted, only seconds before the massive monkey Grimm landed upon one of the upper walkways of the wall, destroying it and causing whatever soldiers stood upon it to tumble to the ground.
The beringle landed within the wall of the city, letting out a deep growl. Immediately, it was rushed by one of the soldiers who had fallen. Before her sword slash could even made contact with its skin, the Grimm grabbed her by the head, tossing her into a nearby building. It proceeded to send another soldier flying with a sweep of its hand, before locking eyes on the archers above.
Thalia noticed the beringle, unsure of what to do as she focused her attention primarily on the nevermores above. Letting another arrow fly, she called to the ground below.
“SHIN!”
Not a second after the word escaped Thalia’s lips, her leader was upon it. The gauntlet clad fist of Shin slammed into the side of the beringle’s head, nearly sending the Grimm on its back. He immediately followed up with a spinning side kick directly to the stomach, before landing in a loose fighting stance.
The beringle roared, immediately winding up a punch and throwing it at Shin. Strangely, the student barely moved. He simply raised his hand, seemingly catching the fist that was half the size of his entire body. The beringle’s attack had lost all force before making contact.
Shin immediately counterattacked with a swift punch to the Grimm’s chest. The force of the attack blew the Grimm backwards, causing it to stumble directly into a waiting Brandford’s blade. In one swift motion, he decapitated the beringle with ease. Without wasting a moment, he turned to Shin.
“Get back to the gate! The wall isn’t going to hold, we’re about to be overrun!” He commanded, flicking the ichor off his blade.
Grimm were beginning to pour over the walls now. Nevermores swooped in, proving too much for the ranged fighters to deal with. Beowolves scaled the walls, clawing their way up the wood. At the gate, a beringle’s fist had managed to punch its way through, opening the flood gate for Grimm to pour into the town.
“FALL BACK!” Brandford called, as beowolves pounced upon archers and marksmen. Thalia didn’t waste a second in replacing her bow with her daggers. Rushing to the nearest beast, she managed to put her blade through its head before it could end the life of a soldier. Before she could find her next target however, another beowolf pounced towards her. She barely managed to get a good look at it before its size and weight knocked her off the patrol path, but what was seen instantly struck fear into her heart. The Grimm bore a familiar green colouration, appearing almost exactly like the Grimm she had fought earlier in the day.
The strange beowolf knocked her to the ground, pinning her amidst the rubble with a single clawed paw. Raising her dagger, she stabbed into its arm causing the creature to bellow in pain and release her momentarily. Instantly, she put as much distance as possible between herself and the Grimm, whilst at the same time marking it using her semblance.
The Grimm went in for another attack, forcing her to dodge out of the way, narrowly avoiding another beowolf as it cleared the wall.
Nearby, Shin had rushed the closest beowolf. He unleashed a devastating punch, cracking the beast’s jaw with a single hit. He then proceeded to bring his elbow down on the top of its head, giving its skull the same treatment.
Brandford similarly took down Grimm after Grimm. He sliced through each beowolf in his path as though it were nothing, as the rest of the battle raged on around him.
*
“This is your last chance, stand down ma’am.” Leon stated, ready in his fighting stance. “I don’t know what your intentions are, but I can’t let you harm this town or its people.”
“Ma’am? My name is Willow.” She said in response, tilting her head slightly. “I don’t care much for your name, huntsman, but I did catch yours back there. Merlot, right?”
Merlot didn’t respond and simply clutched her chakrams, unsure of what to say.
“That’s a very familiar name.” Willow said, her tone rather monotonous and slow. “I think I should probably take you with me instead of killing you…”
“Leon…!” Merlot looked to the huntsman with concern. Without another word, Leon struck. He rushed forward and delivered a powerful attack with his naginata. In turn, Willow simply raised her forearm and blocked it.
“Why would she waste her aura like that…?” Merlot wondered out loud.
“Silly Merlot. I didn’t waste any aura on that. I don’t have any.” Willow replied casually, looking past Leon and at the student. Leon stared at her forearm in confusion. Despite the lack of an aura she had stopped his blade with ease.
Leon didn’t dwell on the thought. He brought his weapon around and attacked with the butt end. Willow dodged backwards and to the right, moving to a different part of the building’s interior. Soon after, she jerked her head out of the way, barely dodging a toss of Merlot’s chakrams. They hit the wood of the wall behind her, embedding themselves within it for a moment before returning to her grasp.
Leon followed up moments later, spinning his naginata and sending out a low sweep. Willow leapt over it, before raising her leg and blocking another strike aimed at her midsection. Leon gritted his teeth, as Willow leapt back, quickly ascending the wooden staircase to the second floor.
*
Beowolves poured into the city, as nevermores continued their plight of swooping down for aerial attacks. The defenders were slowly driven back, as the Grimm bit and clawed their way through the soldiers.
Another beringle leapt over the wall, landing upon a nearby house and smashing through the roof. All of the ranged warriors had either fallen back behind a wall of shield and spear wielding soldiers, or perished in the oncoming wave. The humans had backed up from the walls and now moved down the main road leading into the city.
Brandford let out a cry as he slashed a low flying nevermore in two with one clean blow. He was covered from head to toe in ichor, but it didn’t slow him down one bit. A beowolf leapt at him, but he slashed the beast’s head in half.
“WE HAVE TO HOLD!” He proclaimed, stabbing an ursa.
*
Thalia rushed through the streets of the town, ever pursued by the glowing beowolf. Her attempts to flee would be in vain as it caught up to her in a matter of seconds, pouncing at the faunus once more. She ducked beneath it with a dodge, at the same time switching from her daggers back to her bow. Reaching to her quiver, she extracted an elemental dust arrow, one infused with ice dust.
The Grimm whipped around as soon as it realized it had missed its target, just in time for Thalia to let her arrow fly. It flew towards the beowolf, which did its best to dodge the incoming projectile. It would have succeeded if not for the effect of Thalia’s semblance, changing the arrow’s trajectory enough to embed it within the Grimm’s leg. It let out a screech and rushed Thalia, but not before the arrow detonated, freezing the beast’s leg entirely.
Thalia let out a momentary sigh of relief, notching a regular arrow and taking aim at the Grimm’s stationary head. Before she could even properly take aim, a sudden impact from the side launched her into the side of a nearby house. Thalia let out a shout as she hit the ground with a thud, raising her head to look at her attacker.
Standing before her was a beringle. Much like her beowolf foe however, it too was coloured a sickly green and also noticeably bigger than any of the other previously seen Grimm. She gasped as it let out a roar and charged towards her.