[Vale City]
Walking through the streets of Vale, Lie Ren, an orphan and aspiring Huntsman, was making his way back to the cheap hotel where he was staying. He had not had much luck finding a part-time job to cover his expenses, at least until the Beacon entrance exams, which would be held in a few weeks.
The place had few luxuries, but it was still much better than sleeping out in the open. It did not take him long to get there, and when he opened the door, he found Nora sitting at the table, staring intently at the screen of her Scroll.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Nora repeated several times as she slapped her hands against the table, completely excited and oblivious to his presence.
Ren was unfazed by her behavior. He simply walked over until he was standing beside her and looked at the screen curiously.
"What are you watching?" he asked, intrigued by whatever had her so excited.
"Hi, Ren!" Nora greeted him upon noticing his presence, though she did not turn to look at him, far too focused on not missing the action.
"I'm watching a pretty weird movie," she explained excitedly. "First, there was a Grimm invasion."
She paused for a moment, looking somewhat confused.
"Then they deployed a giant robot that fought against a Kaiju... but the robot lost!" she added, sounding slightly disappointed, though her expression brightened again almost immediately.
"But it didn't matter because then a white dragon showed up and joined the fight! They were pretty evenly matched until a naked Faunus girl riding a bunch of tuna showed up and knocked the Kaiju out with one hit. And she crushed the dragon in the process!"
Ren was completely lost. Judging by Nora's expression, she seemed just as confused about what she was watching, although she was clearly enjoying it.
"I think I missed half the movie because a cross-dresser just showed up who looks like they're about to fight the Faunus girl," she commented, mentally making a note to look up the movie later, certain that the first half would explain what was going on.
Ren finally leaned over to get a better look at the screen, wanting to understand what the hell he was watching.
The moment he saw the broadcast, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Nora..." he began, but she did not let him speak, cutting him off.
"Yeah, yeah, I already know what you're going to say. The camera sucks. I think it's one of those found-footage movies."
"Nora..." he tried again, but Nora, lost in her thoughts, continued talking.
"I'll give it points for the special effects and the naked girl," she said, nodding in satisfaction. "I can't remember the last movie that showed nudity. Besides, the cross-dresser is pretty inclusive ."
"NORA!"
"WHAT?!"
Ren had finally managed to get her attention. He raised one hand and pointed toward the edge of the screen, where the seal indicating that this was a live news broadcast could be clearly seen.
Nora, while not exactly the brightest person around, did not take long to understand what was actually happening.
She was not watching a movie.
It was a live broadcast of a Grimm attack on a city.
Any trace of a smile disappeared from her face, replaced by an expression of concern.
"Oh, no..."
[Beacon Academy]
Sitting in his office, Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, watched stoically as the various screens displayed before his desk showed the unfolding events.
One of them showed the live broadcast of the Argus invasion, while another displayed General Ironwood, who was coordinating his forces more effectively.
"Search for records on those people," he ordered, referring to the Faunus girl and the cross-dresser.
But the personality cores were already one step ahead, especially Atropos, the most capable of the three.
"No record of the Faunus girl was found in any official or unofficial database," she reported immediately.
Ozpin made a mental note to speak with the general about that unofficial database, although that conversation would have to wait for another time. At that moment, his attention was focused on that peculiar group of people.
"Ozpin, do you know anything about these people?" the general asked.
Much to his displeasure, Ozpin shook his head.
"In my hundreds of years, I have never seen people with those kinds of abilities," he replied.
He was not lying. In all his years of life, not even back when magic still freely existed throughout the world, had he ever seen people with the strength necessary to accomplish such feats, like taking down a giant Grimm with a single blow.
"Ahh..." the general sighed tiredly. "Do you think they're related to the mutated animals?"
"Most likely..." Ozpin replied, though the general had already reached that conclusion without needing his confirmation.
To Ozpin, all of this was far too unnatural, and not merely because they did not use aura to fight. He had never seen such drastic changes occur in the world in such a short period of time. In barely a year, new creatures had appeared throughout the world, along with new technology and new enemies, such as the Grimm that had caused the massacre in Atlas and the one that had killed Jacques Schnee.
And he could bet there would be even more surprises before the broadcast was over.
"Mutated humans..." he thought anxiously.
The mutated animals could be controlled. After all, they were still animals. That was the case with Pidgey, who was currently in the Emerald Forest and got along quite well with people as long as they respected its territory.
But that was not something that could be said for humans. They could be unpredictable, unstable, and far too emotional, and if they also possessed destructive powers, the situation could turn very ugly.
Several questions began forming in his mind.
How many mutated humans are there? What are they capable of? How did they obtain that power? Or is it something they are born with?
He clasped his hands together on the desk as he carefully watched the screen, seeing the cross-dresser approach the Faunus girl.
However, there was one question more important than all the others, one that would probably end up defining the future of the world.
"Whose side are they on?"
[Argus City]
Daniel walked across the Leviathan, still dazed from the blow he had received from the girl he was now approaching.
Who is this girl, and where did she come from?
They were questions he had no immediate answers to, although he did have several theories. But whatever her identity was, it was not important to him at that moment.
What was important was confronting the prey thief.
He stopped in front of the girl intimidatingly, keeping his aura of terror active, although it seemed to have absolutely no effect on her.
"Nice intimidation aura~," the girl mocked with an arrogant smile. "I'm sure some kid won't be able to sleep tonight."
Daniel let out a small breath as he deactivated his aura of terror. There was no point in keeping it active if it was not working.
Although he had really hoped it would and that it would discourage her from leaving without causing him any trouble. With no other options, he had no choice but to put on his best smile and initiate a dialogue.
"Pardon my manners..." he said in a friendly tone. "But it seems you're after my prey."
He pointed toward the Leviathan beneath his feet.
If someone had asked him a few hours ago whether he cared who got to kill the giant Grimm, he probably would have said no, as long as it was not him. Or so he had thought, at least, until he realized that he could collect colossal Grimm and summon them through his Glyph semblance.
Of course, that only worked as long as he was the one who killed them.
For that reason, letting someone else kill the Leviathan was no longer an option.
The girl smiled, clearly amused by his words.
"I forgive you..." she teased. "But this isn't your prey~."
She spread her arms, gesturing toward the entire area around them.
"The entire ocean is my territory, and nothing that is here or comes out of it belongs to you!" she declared, leaving no room for argument.
Daniel's smile did not disappear, but it did become more strained, something that did not escape the girl's notice.
"But you do seem slightly strong... so, as a gift, I'll let you leave with all your bones intact~."
Daniel's smile finally disappeared completely, replaced by a neutral and slightly annoyed expression.
"Guess we're doing this the hard way," he thought.
[Patch Island]
At the Xiao Long family cabin, almost the entire family was gathered together, watching the live broadcast from Argus with concern. The only exception was Qrow, who was away on a mission at the time.
The broadcast had been concerning, impressive, and quite confusing, but now one question stood above all the others.
"Do you think the cross-dresser is on Argus's side?" Ruby asked without taking her eyes off the television.
She was not suggesting that he was on the Grimms' side, since that was impossible, but judging by the way he was confronting the Faunus girl, they did not seem to be allies either.
"Does it matter?" Yang replied, sounding somewhat amused, without taking her eyes off the broadcast.
Confused, Ruby could not help but turn to look at her.
"I mean, it doesn't matter if they're allies," Yang continued, clarifying her point. "Didn't you see what he did to that giant Grimm with one hit? What could that guy possibly do against a monster like tha...?"
Her words were cut short when, in an extremely fast and unexpected movement, the cross-dresser launched a kick directly into the Faunus girl's stomach.
[Super-Speed: Allows the user to move incredibly fast, accompanied by an electrical trail.]
"BAM!"
The impact was so powerful that the girl's body was sent flying with tremendous force toward the city. The camera followed her trajectory as she bounced several times across the surface of the ocean before finally crashing into the docks.
Yang was left standing there with her mouth hanging open, completely stunned by the force of the blow.
Ruby, on the other hand, covered her face, not wanting to look at what had possibly been the girl's death.
Meanwhile, during the video call between Ozpin and Ironwood, the general cursed under his breath upon seeing the cross-dresser's actions.
"Looks like he's not on our side," he remarked with disdain.
Ozpin did not respond immediately. Just because he was not on the Faunus girl's side did not necessarily mean he was on Salem's.
Of course, that was an overly optimistic thought, but his actions did not match those of a Salem agent either, such as stealing the moonstones or the extremely indiscreet way he acted. At least for now, there was not enough evidence to determine which side he was actually on.
—/—
Daniel remained standing atop the Leviathan for a moment, admiring the distance he had just sent the girl flying. Although he was certain she was not dead, the kick had given him a fairly clear idea of how durable her body was, and the conclusion was that it was quite high.
He lowered his gaze toward the Leviathan, which was writhing slightly beneath him, and a small smile appeared on his face.
"Well, no time to waste..." he muttered to himself.
[Pocket Dimensions: Allows the user to absorb, store, and release matter through the palm of their hand.]
At that moment, a golden hilt began to materialize in his hand, followed by a gleaming silver blade that completed the sword. Within seconds, Excalibur had taken shape in all its glory.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Daniel raised it toward the sky and began reciting the incantation required by the sword, charging his most powerful attack.
The effects were instantaneous.
From his position, an enormous column of golden light began to form, growing taller with every passing second and every word he spoke. The ocean around him began forming waves that spread in every direction, creating a rather striking visual spectacle.
But its effects were not merely visual.
The Grimms that only moments ago had been captivated by the aura of terror surrounding Daniel abruptly changed their behavior. Both those in the sky and those still attacking the city raised their heads and roared with hatred.
"GAARRR!"
Every Grimm, regardless of what it had been doing, changed targets and began returning to the sea, marking Daniel as their new priority.
[Beacon Academy]
Ozpin shot to his feet, his eyes wide open, displaying genuine astonishment for the first time in a very long time.
"That is..." he muttered under his breath, unable to believe what he was seeing.
His reaction did not go unnoticed by the general, who momentarily tore his gaze away from the scene to look at him.
"Do you recognize that semblance?" he asked, intrigued.
Ozpin slowly shook his head.
"That is not a semblance..." he declared with absolute certainty. "That is magic."
He could not perceive or sense it through a screen, and for the people of that era who had never seen magic firsthand, it would have been quite easy to mistake it for a semblance.
But to him, it was unmistakable.
Several drops of sweat ran down the general's forehead.
"Are you telling me the boy has magic?" he asked, visibly concerned, and for good reason.
The only people who possessed magic at that point were the Maidens, Salem, and, to a much lesser extent, Ozpin himself. And except for the latter, each of them possessed overwhelming powers capable of destroying cities or even altering the weather across entire regions.
"You said there were no more magic users."
Ozpin did not respond. His attention was completely focused on the broadcast as he tried to zoom in as much as possible on the boy and, more precisely, on the sword he was holding aloft.
"I don't think the boy has magic... it's the sword," he finally replied.
The general was quick to draw his own conclusions.
"A Relic?"
Ozpin nodded, though not exactly happily.
The Relics were magical objects of immense power, created by the God of Light before he left Remnant. Each one was kept within sealed and heavily protected vaults.
That left one rather obvious question.
"Where did that sword come from? Could it be that the God of Light has returned?"
"Are you sure it's a Relic?" the general asked. "Perhaps it's some other magical object."
"I'm certain it has to be the work of the God of Light," Ozpin confirmed. "The light it emits is sacred magic, an enemy of the Grimms."
His words were backed up by the flying Grimms, which had stopped fighting the Bullheads and were now beginning to circle the cross-dresser, enraged by that energy.
"Can we assume he's not working with Salem's forces?" the general asked, unable to find any logical reason why Salem's forces would give one of their agents an artifact capable of wiping out Grimms instead of keeping it hidden.
Ozpin had to think about his answer for a moment.
"I don't think either of them..." he said, referring to the cross-dresser and the girl, "...is on Salem's side. I think they're both fighting for themselves, trying to see who gets to kill the Leviathan."
The general wanted to refute the hypothesis. The idea of two people competing to see who could kill the Leviathan seemed rather far-fetched to him, but he could not think of a better argument against it.
Finally, he sighed in obvious exasperation.
"As long as one of them takes down the Leviathan, I don't care which one does it."
Both returned their attention to the screen. The column of light appeared to have reached its limit, as its brightness was no longer increasing. The two remained silent as they watched the enormous column begin to condense, concentrating all that energy into a single point.
A moment later, the light transformed into a gigantic holy beam that fell like a guillotine directly toward the Leviathan's head.
During its descent, hundreds of the flying Grimms caught in the attack were instantly turned to stone, losing their ability to fly and falling straight into the sea.
All the spectators watched in silence, on the edge of their seats, waiting for what would surely be the Leviathan's death.
The camerawoman, perfectly understanding what was about to happen, made sure to focus on the cross-dresser as best as she could to capture the moment.
But to the world's disappointment, the execution never came.
Just before the sword could descend completely, a female figure with a tuna tail appeared out of nowhere, her fist held out in front of her.
In less than the blink of an eye, it slammed directly into the Pyrrha Nikos mask the cross-dresser was wearing.
"BAM!"
The world seemed to fall silent for a moment.
The impact was just as powerful, or perhaps even more powerful, than the kick that had sent the girl flying earlier, and the cross-dresser's fate was no different.
With no time to prepare, his body was sent flying toward the sea, raising a massive column of water when he crashed into the surface.
The sword that had been in his hands until that moment remained floating in the air for a few seconds, as if it had yet to realize that its wielder had disappeared.
A mere instant later, it began to fall as the beam of light faded away.
But before it could reach the Leviathan, the girl extended one hand and caught the weapon effortlessly, holding it aloft as a clear sign of victory.
"GAARRR!" she roared as loudly as she could, asserting her dominance over her enemy.
People's reactions varied considerably.
Ironwood put both hands over his face, cursing the Leviathan's good fortune, while Ozpin's interest in the fight diminished considerably. He was now much more focused on observing what would happen to the Relic, especially now that it had just changed hands.
Nora, meanwhile, shouted excitedly.
"YEEEAAAH!"
The cheer earned her a disappointed look from Ren, since this was not a spectacle and there were far too many lives at stake for her to be celebrating.
"Just kill the damn Leviathan already!" Yang exclaimed, angrily pounding the armrest of the couch.
Ruby, although she did not show the same excitement as her sister, could not have agreed more. The fight had gone on for far too long, and the longer it continued, the more casualties there would be.
Meanwhile, after crashing into the ocean and sinking several meters beneath the water, Daniel experienced several emotions at once.
A slight euphoria mixed with the need to overcome his enemy and prove that he was better. Unfortunately, those feelings were overshadowed by an unyielding rage that consumed his entire being.
[Extra]
[Argus City - Several Minutes Earlier]
Sadako was really bored.
She walked listlessly through the streets of Argus, carrying her unsheathed katana while looking around. She had really hoped she would get the chance to put her sword skills to the test, show everyone how powerful she was and, of course, earn the admiration of the entire world.
But everything seemed to indicate that she was not going to get that opportunity.
"CRASH!"
At that moment, several Grimms appeared in the area, crushing cars as they ran straight toward her.
Sadako, katana in hand, did not even bother raising it to defend herself. The Grimms quickly closed the distance and, at the very last moment...
They passed right by her without paying the slightest attention to her.
Sadako slowly lowered her head, a sad expression appearing on her face.
"Now even the Grimms are ignoring me..."
And, thinking about it, why wouldn't they? Grimms attacked humans, specifically living humans. They had no reason to take an interest in a ghost who, on top of that, radiated a dark aura.
"Ahh..." Sadako sighed.
She began thinking about what she could do. What great feat could she accomplish to earn the attention of her comrades and, to a lesser extent, Daniel?
Her thoughts and self-pity were interrupted when a beam of sacred light illuminated the sky for a few moments before suddenly disappearing.
Sadako looked up and observed the scene, completely ignoring Daniel and the girl. Her attention eventually settled on the gigantic Grimm standing in the water.
After observing it for a few seconds, she reached a fairly simple conclusion.
Killing a Grimm that size would surely earn her plenty of praise and might even restore her to her former pedestal of worship.
A slight smile appeared on her face as she began imagining it.
At the same time, all the Grimms that had just passed by her changed direction and returned along the same path toward the sea.
Sadako saw no reason to walk all the way there when she had such convenient transportation.
She simply stretched out her arm and grabbed onto one of the many Grimms that passed beside her. The creature did not seem to care in the slightest that Sadako had climbed onto its back and continued running toward the ocean.
Of course, that peculiar scene did not go unnoticed by the numerous security cameras that were still operational.
[Extra of the Extra?]
[Solitas Continent - Frozen Tundra - 12 Hours Earlier]
In the middle of the night, walking across the frozen tundra, a small robot cheerfully hummed to himself as he ventured out on his improvised journey. He was accompanied by nothing but the stars and the Tuna Sword he carried over his head... and, of course, a few Grimms that occasionally watched him with curiosity, though they quickly lost interest upon realizing that he was neither human nor a creation made by humans.
As the night grew deeper and the journey brought GIR closer to the coast, the Tuna Sword, also known as the Sea-Lord, reacted to the now-familiar salty air. Its gills twitched slightly, communicating in an incredibly subtle language that only Daniel, had he been present, would have understood.
"I suppose you think I'm dead," a female voice said from the Tuna.
"Well, they certainly thought I was dead when I came out of the sea," she continued speaking, even though she knew perfectly well that the little robot could not understand her. "My heart stopped beating, my eyes turned white, and I was giving off a nauseating stench... I mean, for a fish, that had to look like death, right?"
Internally, she wore a smug smile of superiority.
"Well, you're wrong!"
"Let me tell you a story, little adventurer~."
"I was once the strongest creature in all the seas," she recalled with obvious pride. "I had no rivals. Not whales, not sharks, not sea beasts. No one could compare to my power... at least until I found my equal."
She narrowed her gaze mentally as she remembered her greatest rival, not with hatred, but with a strange sense of respect.
"The kurages... or perhaps you could call them jellyfish."
"But how could a jellyfish possibly be more dangerous than a sea monster? I'm sure you're wondering."
GIR was not wondering, but the Tuna pretended that he actually was.
"Well, it is true that they simply float with the tide, and yet they can deflect any impact. My attacks were completely ineffective against that ability..." she explained in a slightly melancholy tone.
"That was when I decided to abandon the path of strength."
Her voice filled with conviction.
"And take the path of the jellyfish!"
"And after a long, long life, I finally achieved it. I came to control every single organ in my body, so I stopped my heart... and then everything else."
She laughed to herself as she remembered what happened afterward.
"Of course, that led to me being mistaken for a fresh fish and having people try to eat me. Since they couldn't cut me open because of my resilient body, they ended up using me as a weapon. Even after following the path of the jellyfish, my destiny was always to fight..."
"Ahh..." she sighed peacefully, satisfied that she could finally tell her story to someone, even if that someone was incapable of understanding a single word.
"Perhaps you think I'm nothing more than a salted fish. And, in a way, that's true. But never doubt my strength..."
The Tuna's eye, which had remained fixed on the sky, dilated slightly, regaining some of its shine as she gazed at the stars above the tundra.
"When all the waters flow into the sea... when the last stars go dark... when everything returns to the primordial ocean from which it came..."
She paused briefly, allowing her voice to take on a melancholic tone.
"I wonder... who will dare to face me?"
"AH!"
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when GIR threw her directly into the water. She had been so absorbed in reminiscing about the old days that she had not even realized they had already reached the ocean.
"YAY! Little fishy!" GIR cheered enthusiastically as he watched the rigid body of the fish float on the waves.
At least for a few seconds, before she began slowly sinking.
She did not mind. Quite the opposite, she felt grateful. It had been an incredibly long time since she had last been surrounded by the ocean. Although, if she were allowed to be a little picky, she would have preferred tropical waters instead of that freezing sea.
Even so, her body felt an almost instinctive need to swim, to move again.
After remaining rigid for centuries, her body gave a small twitch.
"It's time to abandon the path of the jellyfish..." she thought with certainty. If her instincts were telling her to do it, then the best thing to do was obey them.
There was only one small problem.
She tried to move, but her body barely responded with weak twitches. She was far too weak.
She reactivated her organs and muscles, but keeping them shut down for so long had come at a price.
She was not going to die from it, she was completely certain of that. However, she would need to feed in order to regain her strength.
That, of course, would be a problem, since in such a freezing climate, she would have a hard time finding any plants to eat, and in her current condition, she was not capable of hunting either.
"This is going to be a problem... Oh, is that an apple?!" she thought in surprise as she watched an apple with strange patterns slowly descend from the surface.
[Seconds Earlier]
GIR, who had just thrown the little fish into the ocean, watched the water intently, waiting for some kind of sign.
But absolutely nothing happened.
After thinking about it for a moment, an idea came to him.
He opened the compartment in his head and began rummaging through all the junk he had stored inside. After searching for a while, he finally found what he was looking for.
It was one of the many apples Entrapta had labeled as "failures" and had very kindly asked him to throw away.
GIR did not hesitate for even a moment.
He threw the apple directly into the water, right where he had thrown the little fish.
He smiled in satisfaction, convinced that a little food would make the little fish come back.
To his delight, he did not have to wait long.
Barely a few seconds later, the water in front of him began to slowly churn, forming a small whirlpool that grew stronger as an intense glow emerged from the depths.
It was quite a spectacular sight.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
"YAY!" GIR clapped excitedly, completely convinced it was the little fish.
The spectacle continued for a few more seconds before suddenly coming to a stop. The sea became completely calm again and remained that way for a brief moment.
Then, just a few meters from the shore, a girl's head emerged from the water.
She had white hair, sharp teeth, and striking blue eyes.
"Thank you for your help, brave adventurer!" the girl said gratefully, waving at him with one hand above the water. "I'll remember this favor! See you soon!"
After saying goodbye, she submerged herself again and quickly swam farther out to sea.
GIR responded to the farewell in exactly the same way, enthusiastically waving his little robotic arm.
"GOODBYE, LITTLE FISHY!!" he called out through tears, like a devoted mother.
At least for a few seconds.
Then he completely forgot why he had been there in the first place and simply turned around to calmly head back toward the laboratories.
Meanwhile, the former Tuna and now a girl happily swam through the ocean, gradually getting used to her new body, which she did not dislike all that much.
Of course, it did not have the charm of a genuine tuna, but it did have several advantages. The main one being that she did not have all her muscles atrophied after spending centuries completely motionless.
Besides, she still retained her tuna tail, which was undoubtedly the most important part of her body, as it allowed her to maintain her beloved "tuniform propulsion", an elegant way of saying that she could remain completely still while her tail did all the work.
With every passing second, as she became more familiar with her new body, her speed underwater increased.
Soon, she began breaking her own records over and over again, making the sailfish look like a joke as she tore through the ocean with absolute ease.
"I'm in my element!" she thought with satisfaction.
However, her fun did not last long.
She frowned in annoyance as she ventured deeper and deeper into the ocean.
"What are those things?" she wondered, sensing that the waters were filled with corrupted beings.
She slightly altered her course to investigate and, only a few seconds later, found herself face-to-face with one of those creatures, a sort of enormous sea serpent.
"BAM!"
Before the Grimm could even detect her, the girl slammed into one of its sides, cleanly splitting it in half without barely slowing down.
The girl made an obvious grimace of disgust.
"Is this miasma?" she thought, feeling a deep revulsion toward the strange substance those creatures were made of.
Whatever it was, she did not like it one bit.
Their mere presence was already contaminating her ocean, and that was something she was not willing to tolerate.
"I'll have to teach them who rules these seas."
Annoyed, she changed direction when she sensed that all those corrupted beings were gathering in the same place for some reason.
As she continued swimming, gradually venturing into warmer waters, several tuna began joining her march.
At first, there were only a few.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
And finally, thousands of tuna began following her, instinctively recognizing their queen and accepting her dominion over them without resistance.
—//—
Author's Note:
A quick chapter to remind my 5 followers that I'm still alive.
These have been difficult weeks. You know what's worse than being sick? Having someone you care about get sick. Spending several hours a day outside the hospital waiting, or having to rush someone to the hospital in the middle of the night because they can barely breathe.
I regret what I said about driving. It's a very useful skill in situations like that.
Everything is fine now. I've gotten rid of a weight that had been hanging over me, although I've also gained a new fear I didn't know I had: the fear of loss.
Anyway, I wrote and translated this chapter as best I could. I hope you enjoy it. I'm going to get some rest. It's already 1 a.m. for me.
Hugs and kisses. Goodbye!
[Image] Apology image (guess who it is)