[White Fang Base - Unknown Location]
Inside one of the many White Fang hideouts, Adara Taurus, the current lieutenant and leader of the Vale division, was watching the broadcast from Argus alongside her most trusted soldiers... and Blake.
Although the appearance of the Leviathan, the dragon, and the giant robot had been impressive, everyone's attention was focused on the girl with the tuna tail.
"She's incredibly strong!"
"I'm sure she's not from Menagerie."
"I think she just killed the transvestite."
The room filled with whispers, but Adara only cared about one thing: finding out whether that girl would be willing to fight for the White Fang. Her origins, her motives, or even the fact that she had just killed the transvestite were minor details.
She couldn't help imagining everything they could accomplish with an asset of such overwhelming power.
They could stop hiding, abandon their low profile, and finally go on the offensive.
With someone that powerful leading the charge, they could tear down the kingdoms' walls, force them to recognize Menagerie as a true kingdom, inspire other Faunus to take up arms, and join their cause.
Adara had already made up her mind.
It didn't matter what methods they had to use or what they had to do.
She was going to recruit that girl, no matter what it took.
There was just one small problem...
"Have you found any information on that girl?" she asked through a communicator.
Although many might underestimate the White Fang's intelligence service for not being as sophisticated as Atlas's, it had an extensive network of informants spread throughout the world: alleys, factories, businesses, and even within the military itself.
As long as there were Faunus dissatisfied with the treatment they received, they would always have someone capable of providing them with information.
"We haven't found any information on the girl," she was informed.
Adara wasn't surprised by the answer.
If they had possessed information on someone with that kind of strength, she would have heard about her long ago. Still, she had to ask.
"Continue the search," she ordered.
Without waiting for a response, she cut the communication and turned her attention back to the screen, where the girl, wielding the sword she had stolen from the transvestite, continued shouting.
Adara had to admit that she had quite the fighting spirit, although she didn't seem particularly intelligent.
That, of course, was an advantage for her.
People like that were easy to control.
"Oh, this really does have potential," Blake's unmistakable voice whispered, followed by the sound of a pencil scribbling across paper.
Adara didn't want to turn around to see what she was doing, certain that she wasn't going to like the answer.
However, ignoring her instincts, she eventually did.
She turned her head and found Blake indeed writing in a notebook, wearing a smile that could only be described as lascivious.
Adara did everything she could not to yell at her. After all, perhaps she had a good reason for doing whatever she was doing or, against all odds, she might even have been working on something productive.
"Blake," she called out in a neutral tone, successfully catching her attention.
"Is something wrong?"
Adara pointed a finger at the notebook Blake was holding in her hands.
"What are you doing with that?"
"Ah! This... I was just jotting down a few ideas for my erotic stories."
Adara felt a headache starting to form.
"Please, tell me why the first thing that comes to your mind when you see a fight between mutated humans is porn."
Blake crossed her arms and smiled smugly. "That... that's my special talent~."
"That's not something you should be proud of," Adara thought as she seriously considered getting Blake out of the room before she did something stupid that ended up embarrassing her.
Noticing her mood, Blake moved her chair a little closer to hers.
"Come on, you can't blame me..." she whispered. "It's obvious there's sexual tension between the Faunus girl and the transvestite. I could almost bet that by the end of the broadcast, they'll be having rough, loveless sex right in front of the cameras~."
A drop of drool slid down Blake's chin as she imagined just how humiliating, dirty, and depraved it would be.
Adara moved her chair several steps away from Blake.
And she wasn't the only one. Everyone else in the room did the same, putting some safe distance between themselves and her.
Adara made a mental note to talk to Blake about her behavior and the possibility of getting therapy for her pornography addiction.
[Roman's Hideout - Vale City]
Lying sprawled across a couch, an ice cream tub in her hands and a smile on her face, Neo was watching the broadcast from Argus.
"That transvestite is definitely Daniel," she thought without the slightest doubt.
He might look different, his hair and face had changed, but that ass was something she could never mistake. Besides, he was using her own Semblance to disguise himself. It would have been humiliating if she hadn't recognized him.
"He's gotten better at controlling it..." she admitted.
They had only been apart for less than a month, but his ability to change his appearance had improved considerably.
Neo smiled, amused.
Obviously, it was because he had an excellent teacher.
She brought another spoonful of ice cream to her mouth, although that wasn't the only thing that had improved. His strength and endurance had skyrocketed like crazy, probably because of one of those strange objects he occasionally made appear out of nowhere.
The smile disappeared from her face for a moment.
She didn't want to admit it, but by this point, it was obvious that Daniel was stronger than her, and that wasn't something she liked.
She made a mental note to improve her training. She couldn't afford to fall that far behind.
Although, of course, judging by the punch she had just sent him flying with, she was still much better at dodging.
She wasn't too worried about his safety. Most likely, he was still alive. He was like a weed: he never died.
Her speculation was confirmed when the broadcast camera focused on Daniel again, floating above an ice floe and, more importantly, carrying a strange silver sword with blue highlights, numerous spikes, and a skull on the hilt.
Neo smiled, amused.
She had no idea what that thing was, but she was sure the broadcast was about to get a lot more entertaining.
[Beacon Academy - Vale City]
"Ozpin..." the general spoke in a flat tone.
"Yes, James?"
"Please tell me that sword isn't another Relic."
Ozpin took a long sip from his cup of tea. He really wished he could tell him that another Relic with unknown and destructive powers hadn't just appeared, but he couldn't.
"There's a very good chance that it is..."
The general dropped heavily into his seat, exhausted.
"How many new Relics have appeared?" he complained.
It was a fairly valid concern. If two had already appeared, who could guarantee there weren't four or even ten more scattered around out there?
Ozpin sighed internally.
Collecting them would be a major problem. It had taken him hundreds of years to gather the ones they currently had, and although time wasn't an issue for him, the catastrophes these new Relics could cause before being found could be devastating.
"Maybe it isn't a Relic..." he tried to give the general some hope. "Until it demonstrates some kind of special ability or effect, I can't say for certain that it's a Relic—"
His words were cut short when the transvestite on the broadcast raised the sword.
The blade began to glow blue, the light rapidly intensifying until, in one fluid motion, he drove the sword into the ice floe he was floating on.
The ice floe didn't break.
Instead, a powerful blast of freezing air erupted from his position and spread in every direction, freezing everything around him before continuing forward and covering the ocean ahead of him in ice.
The affected distance was anything but small.
Kilometer after kilometer of ocean froze solid until it reached the Leviathan, which, being in the water, became trapped in the ice. Eventually, the freezing reached the beach, although it didn't advance any farther.
When it was over, the transvestite pulled the sword out of the ice.
"Yes, it's definitely a Relic," Ozpin concluded, extinguishing whatever hope the general might still have had.
—/—
"Blessed sword! I knew you'd be useful to me someday!" Daniel exclaimed, raising the sword in front of him and giving the blade a kiss.
He wasn't sure whether the sword actually had the ability to freeze that much water, but he was glad he'd decided to give it a try. After all, he would have been completely screwed in an underwater fight, since the Faunus girl— whom, for the convenience of the author, would henceforth be called Gura— had demonstrated absolute mastery over underwater movement.
Frostmourne blushed slightly.
"Don't thank me! It's not like I wanted to help you or anything... ( ╬ ◣ ⁄ ⁄ ◢ )*"
Daniel ignored her strange behavior and turned his attention back to Gura, who jumped from the top of the Leviathan directly onto the ice.
Upon landing, she frowned and stomped on the surface a couple of times. Daniel couldn't help but laugh when he realized that the layer of ice beneath her feet was quite deep.
"You don't have any water left to swim in, dumbass!" he shouted mockingly.
Gura smiled back at him without being intimidated.
"Is that the best you've got? Because if it is, I'm disappointed!"
"I'll show you the best I've got," Daniel muttered, raising one hand toward her and activating his trump card.
[Initiating gacha...]
[Congratulations! Creature obtained: Wisp!]
Instantly, a small sphere of greenish energy materialized in front of him, and Daniel couldn't help but stare at it in profound disappointment. He had really been hoping for something better.
A third giant creature would have been much more fun.
[Wisp: A small spirit of nature, a luminous being connected to forests and natural forces.]
"Chicken!" Daniel shouted at it as he watched it walk away at a... or rather, fly away at an extremely slow pace.
"Well, so much for that. Guess we'll have to move on to Plan B."
Without wasting any more time than he already had summoning a useless forest spirit, flames began discreetly emerging from his feet.
[Inferno: Allows the user to continuously expel streams of fire from their body.]
The effect was immediate.
The ice beneath his feet began producing a massive amount of steam, which quickly spread and covered the entire area around him.
Gura made no attempt to stop him. She was certain Daniel wasn't planning to escape. If he had wanted to run away, he would have left when she sent him flying.
Curious to find out what he was planning, she decided to let him continue.
Behind the massive wall of steam, Daniel, now completely concealed, raised one hand toward the air. His palm began to glow as he focused on finding some mementos he had brought back from the Mines of Moria.
[Pocket Dimensions: Allows the user to absorb, store, and release matter through the palm of their hand.]
It only took him a few seconds to find them. The moment he did, a large quantity of bones shot out from his palm, scattering throughout the area and covering the ground around him.
When he was finished, he looked over his work with satisfaction.
"Time for the show," he muttered.
—/—
The news Bullhead flew much more steadily now, as it no longer had to worry as much about the flying Grimm. Most of them had died after being petrified by the beam of light a few minutes earlier, while the remaining ones had been shot down by the military Bullheads.
The reporters took advantage of the situation to move closer and get better footage for their viewers, who were eagerly waiting to find out what the transvestite had planned.
Fortunately for them, they didn't have to wait long.
A figure emerged from the cloud of steam that, to everyone's confusion, wasn't the transvestite, but rather some kind of skeletal figure dressed in old, battered armor.
"What the fuck is that?!" Ruby shouted, pointing a finger at the reanimated corpse.
Yang wanted to tell her that it was probably some kind of humanoid Grimm, perhaps an Apathy, but she knew she would be lying. The creature had no black skin, mask, or any other characteristic that could possibly be mistaken for one.
That really did look like a reanimated skeleton.
"Ozpin, what am I looking at?" the general asked, having to use his Semblance to keep himself from panicking and ordering Atlas's borders to be sealed.
Ozpin remained silent for a few moments, carefully observing the skeletal figure that had appeared on the screen.
"That's a reanimated corpse..." he concluded, taking a second to process it. "If the first sword possessed the power of the God of Light, then this must be its counterpart, imbued with the power of the God of Darkness."
His expression grew grim.
"Power over the dead..."
Nora, more intrigued than concerned, scoffed. "I don't think some scrawny skeleton can do anything against the Faunus girl..."
"GAAHH!"
Her words were interrupted when the skeleton suddenly opened its mouth and let out a loud, shrill scream. An intense blue glow appeared inside it, and almost immediately, similar lights began appearing throughout the area covered by the mist.
From one second to the next, hundreds of skeletons came charging out of the mist toward the Faunus girl.
Nora slumped back into her seat, feeling like the universe was determined to contradict her.
Perhaps the strangest thing for the viewers wasn't the insane number of reanimated skeletons, but the fact that many of them didn't appear to be completely human. Some were far too small, while others were enormous, reaching heights of up to three meters.
They were all armed, although none of them carried firearms.
—/—
Gura wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She was only rather disappointed. She had expected some kind of epic battle, but it seemed she had expected too much from a mere human.
She looked at the glowing sword in her hand and shrugged.
She had never used a sword, or a weapon in general, but there was always a first time for everything.
The undead horde closed the distance within seconds.
Gura tightened her grip and, with a single motion, split the first skeleton's head in two.
"Ha ha! Okay, this is fun!" she laughed as she propelled herself forward, disappearing in a flash.
The skeletons that collided with her were sent flying several meters through the air, falling apart as they went, while those that crossed the path of her sword were effortlessly cut down.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!" she cut left and right, cleaving through everything in her path.
One of the larger skeletons swung a massive club with all its strength, preparing to strike her.
Gura didn't make the slightest attempt to dodge it.
Instead, she charged straight into the weapon and headbutted it. The impact was so brutal that the club exploded into hundreds of pieces.
The other skeletons took advantage of the distraction and, using their numerical superiority, surrounded her before throwing themselves at her, attempting to crush her beneath an avalanche of undead.
And although they managed to completely bury her beneath their numbers, Gura had no trouble sending them all flying.
"FWOOOSH!"
Skeletons were launched in every direction, rapidly reducing their numbers until only a handful remained.
Just in time, since Gura was beginning to get bored of smashing them apart. The skeletons possessed greater strength than an ordinary human, something rather impressive considering they were little more than piles of bones. However, against her, they were nothing more than a minor annoyance.
She turned her gaze toward the last skeleton, which still hadn't moved, letting all the others go first.
"This has been disappointing..." she muttered as she swung the sword toward its neck.
The blade descended rapidly, but just as it was about to reach him, the skeleton raised one hand and caught Gura by the wrist, stopping the strike dead.
Gura was left bewildered, even more so when the skeleton used his free hand to clench his fist and slam it into her stomach.
"BAM!"
The blow hurt and lifted her body off the ground, but the worst came right after: a blast of compressed air erupted from the fist at point-blank range, striking her with much greater force.
[Air Cannon: Allows the user to generate walls or blasts of compressed air.]
The attack didn't end there. Before Gura could even wonder what had just happened, the skeleton's speed increased drastically.
[Super-Speed: Allows the user to move incredibly fast, accompanied by an electrical trail.]
Gura's body had barely begun to fall when the fist struck the exact same spot again and again at incredible speed, causing her to grimace in pain.
"That's enough!" she complained, spinning around and kicking the skeleton in the chest.
The impact managed to knock him backward, but unlike the others, he wasn't sent flying or torn apart. His body withstood the blow, sliding several meters backward.
Gura stared at him for a few moments before puffing out her cheeks in a small pout.
"Coward!" she shouted at the skeleton. "A surprise attack! I expected a little more class!"
The skeleton remained motionless for a few moments before bursting into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
The sight of a laughing skeleton was disturbing to several of the viewers, who became even more confused when cracks began appearing all over its body.
A moment later, the skeleton shattered with an effect similar to breaking glass, revealing that, indeed, the skeleton had actually been the disguised transvestite.
—/—
Back at Roman's hideout, Roman himself, who had been watching the broadcast, turned his head toward Neo in confusion, completely certain that this was her Semblance.
Neo noticed him staring at her and did what she did best in situations like this: play dumb.
She simply shrugged and put on her best surprised expression, which, of course, failed to fool Roman in the slightest.
However, Roman didn't press her. That would be a conversation for another time. At that moment, he was far more interested in what was happening on the broadcast than in the people Neo associated with.
Mainly because he had bet a considerable amount of money on the tuna girl, and she had better win.
—/—
Daniel, feeling quite confident, gripped Frostmourne again, spinning it in his hand and almost dropping it in the process.
Gura didn't flinch. She simply tightened her grip on Excalibur.
This had turned into a sword duel.
There was no signal indicating the start of the fight. One second they were standing still, and the next, they had already closed the distance, their swords colliding with an impact that sent them bouncing off each other.
Neither of them moved from their position.
Both began swinging their swords as fast as they could, increasing the pace with every exchange, neither willing to be the first to draw blood.
Every veteran Huntsman, student, or person with even the slightest knowledge of swordsmanship who witnessed the exchange came to the same unspoken verdict.
Neither of them had a fucking clue how to use a sword.
Their swings were so devastating that whenever one of them missed, they left enormous cracks in the ice, while the speed at which they swung their swords only continued to increase with every exchange.
And that was practically the only good thing that could be said about the duel.
Otherwise, their fighting ability was equivalent to that of a child swinging a branch around.
Obviously, neither of them had any prior training.
Which wasn't surprising. Aegis had only trained Daniel in the art of throwing punches, while Gura was still learning how to use her new limbs.
Fortunately, neither of them needed anyone to tell them how bad they were.
Taking advantage of a particularly powerful clash between their swords, both backed away, creating some distance as they reached practically the same conclusion.
Neither was tired.
Neither was injured.
And both were extremely bored.
Gura was the first to do something about it.
She didn't say a single word. She simply flashed her best smile and opened her hand, letting Excalibur fall to the ground.
Daniel followed her example and dropped Frostmourne as well. Now that neither sword stood between them, they resumed the fight where they had left off and began closing the distance.
First, they advanced with light steps, which quickly turned into a run and, finally, an all-out sprint.
Their second encounter was far more spectacular.
"BOOM!"
They collided head-on. Their hands met at the exact same moment their foreheads slammed into each other with tremendous force, bringing both of them to an abrupt stop. The ice beneath them cracked from the impact.
Neither loosened their grip.
Neither backed down.
Both were determined to find out which of them would manage to overpower the other.
At the same time, they both pulled their heads back before launching them forward again, smashing their foreheads together once more.
"BAM!"
Their foreheads collided, making the ice beneath them tremble.
"BAM! BAM! BAM!"
Once, twice, three times, they repeated the headbutts.
But on the fourth impact, Gura took the initiative.
She jumped while slightly leaning her body backward and pulling her legs up against her chest. Taking advantage of the fact that they still had their hands interlocked, she pulled Daniel toward her and slammed both soles of her feet into his chest.
The impact knocked the air out of him and sent him flying, his body bouncing several times across the ice.
Gura didn't give him time to recover. She quickly followed after him and, before he could get back up, grabbed him by the ankle, spun around on her own axis, and slammed him into the ice.
"CRASH!"
The ice couldn't withstand the impact and shattered, sending large chunks flying around them.
Without letting go of him, Gura spun around again to slam him into the ground once more.
But Daniel reacted in time. He twisted his body at the last second and kicked her directly in the face, forcing her to let go and sending her crashing into one of the ice blocks.
He didn't give her time to recover. He closed the distance and cornered her against the wall of ice.
"THUD!"
He punched her in the stomach, making her bounce off the wall.
He didn't stop.
Taking advantage of his edge in close-quarters combat, he struck her in the head once, then again, alternating between blows to different parts of her head in an attempt to give her a concussion.
It didn't work.
Her resilient body absorbed every impact without any trouble.
He tried to throw another punch, but Gura dodged it, causing his fist to end up buried in the ice wall.
Gura seized the opportunity to change positions. She grabbed him by what little clothing he still had on and slammed him against the ice wall, which finally gave way under the force of the impact.
Following his example and imitating his movements, Gura began attacking his vital points, alternating between both arms as she struck them.
"Now apparently everyone's a martial arts expert!" Daniel complained.
His comment gave Gura enough time to jump, spin around, and kick him in the head.
Once again, proving why you shouldn't talk during a fight.
Daniel's body rolled across the ground, but he managed to recover just in time to avoid her foot crushing him. The kick ended up burying itself in the ice.
He sprang back to his feet and began another exchange of blows.
Both attacked without giving each other a single moment of rest. Daniel used everything he had learned during his training, while Gura struggled to learn and adapt in the middle of the fight.
The two were completely focused on the battle, exchanging blows and constantly adjusting to each other's movements.
They were so absorbed in the fight that neither noticed that the Grimms that had left Argus had already arrived.
And even if they had noticed, they probably wouldn't have cared.
—/—
Ruby, who was still following the broadcast closely, couldn't help but get excited when she saw the Grimms arrive.
"Do you think they'll stop fighting and team up to fight them?" she asked Yang without turning around, unwilling to miss even a second of the action.
Yang was about to answer, but the broadcast answered the question for her.
The transvestite and the Faunus girl, who were still struggling against each other, were quickly buried beneath the Grimm horde, causing the camera to lose sight of both of them among the multitude of creatures.
"I don't think so..." Yang replied with a nervous laugh.
The camera began searching for them among the river of Grimms and didn't take long to find them.
A blow from Gura sent Daniel flying into the horde, crushing several dozen Grimms in the process.
Daniel wasn't about to be outdone. He got back up and charged straight at her, crushing and tearing apart the Grimms that crossed his path.
One of the Grimms caught between them ended up being split in half when their fists punched through it at the same time, before the two of them collided with each other once again.
To both of them, the Grimms had become a minor nuisance, on the same level as the chunks of ice scattered throughout the area. Rather than enemies, they seemed to be little more than part of the scenery.
"This is insane!" Yang complained.
The situation was almost insulting to Huntsmen all over the world who risked their lives fighting Grimms, only for these two monsters to treat them as if they were less than trash.
"At least it can't get any worse..."
Ruby tried to comfort her, but fell silent when, on the broadcast, the transvestite grabbed a Grimm by one of its legs and began beating the Faunus girl with it.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Nora burst out laughing.
Ren covered his eyes, unable to bear the sheer ridiculousness of the scene.
Gura, feeling insulted by what she considered a clear violation of the rules, since it had been implicitly agreed that they wouldn't use weapons anymore, grabbed one of the Grimms by a leg and began beating Daniel with it, crushing several others that got in her way as well.
Unfortunately, beating each other with Grimms wasn't working. They were far too soft and squishy to hurt either of them.
Even so, Daniel threw the Grimm he was holding at her.
"Hahaha!" he couldn't help laughing as he watched it bounce off her.
Gura followed his example and threw hers at him.
"Hahaha x2!" she laughed along with him, finding the situation amusing.
The two of them quickly began grabbing Grimms and throwing them at each other, becoming increasingly amused by the situation.
And so began a peculiar Grimm-throwing fight, more akin to a pillow fight than a serious battle. It was practically a halftime break in their struggle to overpower one another.
Qrow, who was sitting in a bar watching the broadcast, looked away from the screen and downed his drink in one go.
"I don't know them, but I already hate them..."
Nora, stars practically shining in her eyes, turned toward Ren excitedly.
"Do you think we could...?"
"No."
Ren didn't even let her finish.
Nora pouted, offended. "You didn't even let me finish! Just think about it..."
"NO!"
Weiss, who was watching the broadcast alone from her room, slowly rubbed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.
"This is so stupid that Daniel has to be involved somehow..." she concluded.
She lowered her gaze toward her Scroll and looked at the long list of calls she had tried to make to him without getting an answer.
"Damn it, answer!" she complained, shaking the Scroll back and forth.
—/—
Meanwhile, Daniel and Gura tried to grab another Grimm to throw at each other, but both were mildly disappointed when they realized they had already taken care of all of them.
"Hahah..."
Their laughter finally began to die down.
Gura wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as she caught her breath.
"I haven't had this much fun in years," she said with complete sincerity.
Being a sword and being used to hit people had its charm, but there was nothing quite like doing it yourself.
"Although this has been fun..." Her attitude suddenly changed, adopting a much colder expression. "...this farce has to end."
"Unfortunately, you will never, ¡ever! be able to defeat me."
She didn't say it mockingly or with contempt, but as a simple statement of fact.
"Don't get me wrong," she continued, calmly closing the distance between them. "You're strong, you're resilient, and you have speed."
She stopped in front of him, raising one finger and pressing it against his chest.
"But you don't have the skill. Simply put..." She slightly raised her gaze until she met his.
"You can't hit me."
Daniel frowned skeptically.
"Then what do you call the last five minutes"
A mischievous smile formed on Gura's face.
"Pity~"
Feeling like he had just been looked down on, Daniel threw a punch as fast as he could, one that, given the distance between them, should have been impossible to dodge.
Or at least, it should have been.
Without losing her smile, Gura simply stepped to the side with an extremely fluid movement, allowing the punch to pass harmlessly by.
Daniel's pupils contracted in surprise.
Unwilling to believe it, he continued attacking with everything he had, activating every Semblance related to speed until he reached his maximum velocity, unleashing barrage after barrage of punches and kicks that, unfortunately, failed to connect.
"Turururu~" Gura hummed as she effortlessly dodged the attacks, taking the liberty of talking while she did so.
"This is a skill I learned from jellyfish, and it took me years to perfect. What do you think?" she asked without malice, genuinely interested in hearing his opinion.
When she received no answer and had already made her point clear, she went on the offensive.
"BAM!"
She threw a punch that landed squarely on Daniel's face, making him stagger.
"You've had your fun, but it's time for you to give up."
Ignoring her advice, Daniel threw another kick, which Gura easily dodged, using the movement to counter with a direct punch to his stomach.
"THUD!"
The impact sent Daniel crashing into the ground, creating a small crater.
"I like you, so just don't get back up," Gura commented, turning her back on him and beginning to walk toward the Leviathan, determined to claim her well-deserved prize.
—/—
Aegis, who was watching the broadcast alongside Pyrrha because there were no Grimms left to fight, cursed when he saw the screen.
"Damn it!" he complained. "I told him we needed to work more on his dodging!"
He raised one of his pincers toward the screen, clearly annoyed as he watched Daniel remain motionless where the Faunus girl had left him.
"At least the fight is over and he's still alive," Pyrrha commented, trying to find a silver lining.
Aegis turned toward her with a confused expression.
"Who said the fight was over?"
"I don't think there's anything else he can do..." Her words trailed off when Daniel, on the broadcast, began getting back up.
"No, no, no! Stay down, idiot!" Pyrrha exclaimed desperately, certain they were going to kill him.
Aegis laughed, amused.
"You said it yourself! He's too much of an idiot to give up!"
"What is he going to do?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.
Aegis shrugged.
"Probably... something stupid."
—/—
Gura stopped when she felt Daniel get back up.
"You never learn, do you?"
She turned around to look at him, but he didn't say a word or attack either.
Daniel simply remained standing, taking deep breaths and concentrating as he gathered all his willpower for what he was about to do.
Instantly, a black layer covered his entire body, something invisible to all the spectators except Gura, who could notice the change thanks to having eaten the Devil Fruit and being able to sense Haki.
Daniel didn't move. He remained completely still, raised one hand toward Gura, and beckoned her to attack.
"You'd rather die standing than surrender?" Gura asked, nodding respectfully. "Then so be it."
Not wanting to disrespect him, Gura charged at him with everything she had.
The ice beneath her feet cracked from the force of her launch as she prepared her attack to finish him off with a single blow and spare him any more pain. It was only fair.
With her fist leading the way, Gura closed the distance and struck Daniel's forehead with all her strength.
"BAM!"
The impact shook the area, but to Gura's amazement, Daniel's head didn't go flying. He didn't even move an inch.
[Surface Adhesion: The ability to adhere to any type of surface.]
The surprises didn't end there, as the next thing she felt was an intense, stabbing pain in her head.
Before she could even understand what had happened, Gura was sent flying backward, bouncing several times across the ice as she immediately brought both hands to her forehead.
There was no visible wound, but she could clearly feel that she had suffered damage in exactly the same spot where she had struck Daniel.
[Pain Transfer: Allows the user to transfer part of the physical pain they receive to a nearby target.]
[Amplify: Increases the sensation of pain caused by the user's attacks.]
Gura wasn't stupid.
She had lived for hundreds of years and witnessed countless abilities, so it didn't take her long to figure out what was happening. He had reflected part of the damage she had just inflicted on him, although the wound on his forehead made it clear that Daniel had also been hurt far more severely.
"If you can't hit me, are you going to let me beat myself to death?" she mocked internally as she got back up from the ice. "Do you think you're tougher than me? I'll prove you wrong!"
"Let's see who falls first!"
"GAAAW!" she screamed with all her strength before charging at him again.
Her fist struck Daniel's face once more, effectively returning part of the damage to him, but this time Gura was prepared and managed to withstand the recoil without being sent flying.
She stood firmly in front of him and began unleashing a barrage of punches all over his body.
"BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!"
"What is she doing?! She's going to kill him!" Pyrrha screamed in horror as she helplessly watched hundreds of punches rain down on Daniel.
Every blow carried incredible force, generating powerful currents of air that spread throughout the area. Blood began flying everywhere, staining the blue ice with an intense red that only continued to spread with every passing second.
Incredibly, Daniel did not move a single inch.
"He is using his special technique, perfected by himself throughout his entire life," Aegis said.
Pyrrha looked away from the screen for a moment, unable to keep watching that massacre.
"What is that technique?" she asked hopefully, imagining that it was some kind of spectacular Semblance that would finally save him.
Aegis laughed, amused. "The ability to take a beating. HAHAHAH!"
Annoyed, Pyrrha grabbed Aegis, who was resting on her shoulder, and threw him into a nearby fountain, finding absolutely no humor in his joke.
Neo wanted to kill that damn bitch.
She was perfectly fine with Daniel taking a beating every now and then, since it strengthened the spirit, but this was excessive.
Ruby covered her eyes.
"Is he dead yet? Is his suffering finally over?" she asked, not wanting to keep watching the broadcast, which at this point looked more like torture than a fight.
Nora remained completely silent. Any amusement she had felt during the battle had disappeared. This was no longer funny. It was simply one-sided violence.
The scene was painful for everyone watching, and they could not help but ask themselves the same question.
"How is he still standing?"
But they were not the only ones wondering.
Gura, despite feeling pain throughout her entire body, refused to stop and continued punching him while trying to understand how it was possible that he still had not fallen.
Her eyes lowered toward the ground beneath her feet, and finally, she understood.
If she wanted to bring him down, she would first have to destroy his point of support.
"GAAARRR!"
With tremendous force, she stomped on the ice beneath Daniel, causing him to lose his footing for a few milliseconds and become practically suspended in midair.
Gura seized the moment and threw a punch that struck his face head-on, driving his skull directly into the ground.
Daniel was no longer standing.
"CRASH-CRUNCH-PUM-BAM-ZACK!"
The blows did not let up. On the contrary, her speed and strength increased even further.
"GAAWWW!"
Gura held nothing back. She used every muscle in her body, even as they began screaming in pain, pouring all of her strength into every strike against him.
The area around them changed completely. Daniel's body began sinking into the ice as enormous cracks spread in every direction. The ground trembled with every impact, and even the city of Argus could feel the force of those blows as though they were experiencing a small earthquake.
"I am Gura! Mistress of the seas!" she shouted as blood drenched her fists and began covering her own body as well. "And I do not surrender!"
"CRASH-CRUNCH-PUM-BAM-ZACK!"
Fragments of reddish ice and what had almost certainly been an arm went flying in every direction.
"THEN DIE!" she roared, raising both arms as she prepared one final attack. She had almost no strength left, but even so, she brought them down with everything she had.
"CRASH!"
The impact caused the ice more than a kilometer away to crack.
"Ah... ah..." she panted, exhausted, struggling to remain standing.
Her body trembled, and she could barely keep herself upright, staggering dangerously until she nearly fell backward onto the ice.
Finally, she lowered her gaze.
There was Daniel's body… or, more precisely, what remained of him.
He was covered in blood and completely mangled, with the marks of her fists buried several centimeters into his body.
"You held up well," Gura told him almost in a whisper. "Just a little longer, and you might have won."
"Rest in peace."
Those were the last words she spoke to him before leaving the enormous crater they were in. She staggered forward several meters, desperately trying to stay on her feet, until she finally could not take it anymore and collapsed to her knees on the ice.
"Damn... I really do hit hard hahaha...."
She laughed ironically before turning her head toward the crater in alarm.
"HOW THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!" she shouted, completely incredulous.
Standing at the edge of the crater, his body completely destroyed, was Daniel.
Or, more precisely, what remained of him.
He was missing an arm and one of his eyes, while his face was unrecognizable from the beating. One of his legs was bent at a rather grotesque angle, making his appearance resemble that of a reanimated corpse more than a living person.
Despite all of this, somehow, he was still standing.
And, more importantly, he was alive.
Gura knew he was still alive when she saw the only eye he had left, fixed on her with unshakable determination.
With great difficulty, Daniel brought his only relatively intact hand toward his mouth and discreetly pulled the last berries he had left from his palm, then let them fall into his mouth and swallowed them with difficulty.
For several moments, nothing happened.
But suddenly, flames exploded around his body, completely engulfing him.
"Did he just set himself on fire?" the General asked, thinking the transvestite had chosen to put an end to his suffering, something quite understandable considering the state he was in.
"I don't think so," Ozpin replied seriously. "I believe we are witnessing something much greater."
The entire world watched for several long seconds as the transvestite's body burned in flames, until they finally began to die down, revealing, to the surprise of some and the horror of others, that he had returned to perfect condition.
His body was completely restored. The arm he had lost had grown back, and not a single wound remained on him. Even the flames had burned away every trace of blood covering his skin, leaving it completely clean.
Although much of his clothing had been destroyed during the fight, he was now wearing a new Pyrrha Nikos mask to cover his face.
"Is he immortal?"
The question crossed the minds of many spectators, followed by several other concerns.
"How do you defeat someone like that?"
"What kind of monster is that?"
"What is he going to do now?"
Gura felt completely cheated.
"You tricked me," she chuckled through gritted teeth as she tried to stand up, only to fail in the process. Despite having no visible injuries, her body had reached its limit.
Daniel did not answer. He simply walked forward.
The moment he took his first step, the world seemed to freeze.
Strange dark lightning began falling around him, and with every step he took, the world itself seemed to tremble. His fist, covered in Haki, began to glow with an increasingly powerful light that grew stronger with every step he took toward Gura.
Many civilians in the city and weak-willed Huntsmen immediately passed out under that overwhelming presence.
The Leviathan, which had been awake for some time but had remained motionless to witness the fight, finally sensed the danger and forced its enormous body to rise from the ice.
However, upon realizing that the ocean was too far away and that the ice surrounding it prevented it from escaping, it decided to attack.
Its enormous mouth opened as a massive amount of energy began accumulating inside it.
Both Daniel and Gura completely ignored it.
Gura smiled, completely satisfied.
"GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT!" she shouted through laughter, accepting her fate.
By then, Daniel was already standing in front of her. The glow surrounding his fist had reached its limit, and he raised his arm, ready to end it all.
Time seemed to slow down for both of them.
Daniel's fist moved forward almost in slow motion, practically at the exact same moment the Leviathan Grimm prepared to launch its attack.
But before it could fire its beam, a flash appeared above the enormous Grimm, and the very next instant, the red glow in its eyes disappeared.
Daniel's attack came to an abrupt halt.
Both he and Gura turned toward the Leviathan, just in time to see its head slowly slide off its neck before falling directly onto the ice.
The entire world was left speechless.
"What just happened to the Leviathan?"
The Bullhead cameras broadcasting the fight quickly moved around, searching for whoever was responsible for what had just happened.
And it did not take them long to find her.
"THERE'S SOMEONE ON TOP OF THE LEVIATHAN!" the Bullhead pilot shouted, directing the camerawoman to focus on the enormous decapitated body.
Standing on top of it, with two katanas raised in a clear victory pose, was a girl with long, loose black hair partially covering her face.
The great and invincible Sadako had done it again!
The Leviathan's body soon began collapsing under its own weight.
Sadako did not move from where she stood.
The enormous corpse slammed into the ice with brutal force, sending her flying from the impact. However, she managed to land on her feet, sliding across the ice until she came to a stop directly in front of Daniel.
His fist was still raised, although the glow that had covered it had already disappeared.
Noticing that Daniel was looking at her, Sadako put on her best innocent smile and spread her arms, expecting a hug, his congratulations, and, of course, some very well-deserved cuddles.
After all... she had just killed the Leviathan!
Daniel and Gura exchanged an incredulous look before both of them burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! X2"
The cameras captured the three of them laughing together as if they had been friends for years, while Daniel even extended a hand to Gura to help her get back on her feet.
"Were they friends this whole time?!" Ruby asked, watching the three of them talk and laugh.
"I don't think they were friends," Yang replied, thinking about it seriously. "But I think that, without the Leviathan in the way, they no longer have any reason to keep fighting."
"This is stupid," Ruby complained, crossing her arms. "All that drama for nothing!"
Nora wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"The greatest movie of all time."
Neither Ozpin nor the General said a single word, although they were both thinking exactly the same thing.
The girl who had just decapitated the Leviathan looked far too similar to the description they had of the Grimm that had killed Jacques Schnee.
—/—
"I think this is over," Adara sighed, disappointed to see that the Faunus girl was getting along with a human.
Even so, she did not rule out finding her and recruiting her. Despite that flaw, the girl could be a key piece in the revolution. Her strength could help make the Faunus feared and respected, finally allowing them to earn the place they deserved in this world.
"AH, LOOK!" Blake shouted, interrupting her thoughts and making Adara look back at the screen.
"Looks like they're about to fuck!"
Blake pointed at the screen, where the black-haired girl had begun taking off her clothes and unbuttoning the transvestite's pants, while the Faunus girl seemed interested in joining them.
"HA!" Blake teased with a huge grin, elbowing Adara in the side. "I told you there was sexual tension!"
Adara shot to her feet, furious.
She grabbed the chair beside her and slammed it directly into the screen.
"FUUUCK!"
—//—
Author's Note:
I finally finished editing this! Fuck, 7k words. I could have easily split the chapter into two, but I just wanted to get this fight over with.
Writing porn turned out to be easier than writing a fight.
Anyway, it's 3 a.m. I'm going to bed. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Any advice or comments, I'm open to hearing them.
Kisses and hugs.