Chapter 238

Cinder Fall POV

"Thank you, Cinder. You are dismissed." The Grimm Queen dismissed me without a second thought as I quickly glanced at the man who was seated infront of her.

I had taken slow steps to deliver this…..vase to her, and watched her carefully put those flowers inside of it. I watched the entire sequence, yet I still had no idea what the hell was going on.

He barely spared me a glance, no he was too focused making those 'eyes' towards Salem.

I almost fell over when I heard them speak. I expected an intense conversation, perhaps the reveal of some clandestine information. I would even have taken a mission update about one of her underlings that I didn't know about until now.

But what I heard was…..flirting.

The flowers may have been a give away, but I was still utterly astonished that someone got away with doing that with her that It hadn't registered until now. I'd seen her casually dismiss the lives of entire villages, Humans and Faunus alike without batting an eye. I'd seen her power – her magic change the very landscape with a flick of her wrist.

Never have I seen Salem smile and giggle.

I hastily made my retreat, not daring to overstay my welcome by the tone of her dismissal.

Nor do I think my sanity couldtake being in there any longer.

I quickly stepped out, closing the door quietly. I barely got a few feet away before I was bombarded with questions.

"Cinder, what's going on!?" My most faithful follower, Emerald, looked just as startled as I was. I had made sure to brief them on the nature of Salem before bringing them here several days ago. I hadn't intended to bring them here this quickly…..but certain plans had fallen through and I was forced to improvise.

"Yo, Boss lady." Mercury casually waived. "Thought you said the Scary Grimm Lady would incinerate me if I did anything to annoy her. Should I just bring her flowers instead?"

"Mercury." I growled. "Keep your mouth shut unless you want that outcome. I'm just as in the dark as you all are." I hated to admit it, but I had questions myself.

"Cinder!" A shriek sounded behind me. I could faintly sense something reaching for me as I spun around, grabbing the stray arm, and slammed the attached body against the wall.

I had no doubt who it was, that annoying voice continued to haunt my dreams. "Tyrian." I gritted my teeth. "Try to touch me again, and you lose it!" I scoffed, tossing him aside.

Surprisingly, he didn't get crazy and try to taunt or attack me again. That was never a good sign, when such a fanatical lunatic becomes less predictable.

No, the first worrying sign was how easily I incapacitated him. If he was more…..coherent, he could have easily escaped my haphazard grapple. I would never admit it, but he was strong and not someone I could take lightly as I am now.

"What did the Goddess say!? What's she talking about!?" He didn't seem at all flustered by my physical response. Instead, he just looked at me with a maniacal look in his eyes. The obsession he held for the Queen of the Grimm.

"How am I supposed to know?" I snorted. "If you really want to know anything, go interrupt her flirting yourself."

Would make me happy if he was reduced to a pile of ash.

"F-flirting!?" Tyrian cried out. "The Goddess would never lower herself to do such a thing with a…..mortal like that!"

I crossed my arms. "Believe me or don't. Frankly, I don't care, Tyrian."

"You wouldn't happen to have gotten his autograph, would you?" Mercury looked amused by the whole thing.

I was about to reprimand him, but I stopped. No, he seemed to know that man more than I. I was….aware of his name, but not much else. "Speak, Mercury. Who was that?"

Even Tyrian stopped in his whimpers and looked at the silver-haired boy in expectance.

"Uh, a pretty famous thief I guess." He scratched his head. "He was with that other thief – Roman or something, and they robbed that Mob Boss Lady in Mistral and the Government got involved and it became a whole shit show. That was…..I don't know, a month ago?"

"There was a lot of talk about him online." Emerald quickly added. "There's a video of him taking out a big Sea Fei-long in one attack."

"What?" I growled towards the mint-haired girl. "Why was I not informed of this!?"

Sea Fei-longs are no joke. Even a small one was something a trained team of Huntsman were needed to take down. Adding its water habitat and they're extremely tricky to fight.

"Y-you were away when it happened and only came back like a week later. I thought you knew, it was everywhere." Emerald quickly cowered before my gaze.

Hmph…..I guess that does line up to when I was on that mission for Salem. We were too far out in the wilderness to get a signal on our scrolls. If he was famous for a brief moment, I would have missed the window that it would be common knowledge.

"Yeah, it happened during the Tournament." Mercury laughed. "They tried to bury it under the news of the 'Invincible girl' winning again setting a new record. They even tried to remove the footage of him participating, but it's already all over the internet."

Again, I rarely paid attention to such trifling things. A tournament would not garner my attention unless something truly exceptional occurred. Some childrens' play-fighting served me no purpose.

"He took down a bullhead with a Dildo."

And suddenly my thoughts came to a screeching halt.

"What?"

Wait, didn't he say something like that before?

"It's really funny. Dude just chucks this 4 foot long dildo with a huge handle, like a javelin and pierces right through the windshield, and smacks the pilot in the head, making him crash."

I…..didn't know how to respond to that.

Once I regained my wits, I realized that Tyrian had disappeared, off to do whatever it was in his free times. Probably worship the shrines of Salem he had in his closet.

He said it's all over, so I should be able to research this a bit more in my own time.

"C-cinder." Emerald meekly spoke up.

"What?" I snapped my head towards her.

"Are we still going after that Merlot guy?" She asked.

Crap.

I forgot about that, we were too occupied by the intruder...or whatever he was.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Watts already said we were behind Atlas…..at this point, it's too late." Atleast it wasn't a mission from Salem, otherwise I would have gone regardless. No, I was the one who brought it up after he became known.

Atlas had never been good about keeping their secrets, well, secret. The mutant Grimm popping up were hard to hide. Watts was able to hack into certain Atlas servers and get the confidential data on this Merlot person.

Even Salem was mildly intrigued by his experiments on the Grimm. I offered to go recruit him and she didn't deny me.

Damn. It would have been a good way to improve my standing in her eyes.

"There's no point now." I said evenly, looking uncaring. It's not good to become flustered or lose composure infront of my subordinates. "Go pull up any information on Merlot's previous appearances. Any strange Grimm or that iconic 'green' that appears on them. We'll see if we can find some sort of pattern to his lab locations."

Well, he had several labs and he hadn't been caught yet. Chances were he'd show himself again and I'd have another chance. From the reports I read, he hasn't been present at those past bases that had been revealed or raided by Atlas upon their discovery.

Hmm, it would be beneficial to have Atlas do the heavy lifting for us. Let them find which hole that mad scientist was hiding before I swooped in ahead of them. He would be more responsive to an invitation if I saved his life. Who knows, I might even gain another loyal follower.

At the very least, I need to get more information on this man that had the mistress's attention. Perhaps even speak to him if they separated at some point. If I can gain his favor, I may gain Salem's by association. Then I'd be one step closer to my goals.

***

Wilhelm POV

I glanced at the red-dressed women who just left, her name was Cinder, I believe.

"Do you stare at the rears of every woman who passes by?" Salem tapped her finger on the table, raising an eyebrow as she noticed my glance.

"Actually, I was just curious about your subordinate." I denied. "There's a difference between 'seeing' and 'looking'. Can you guess which one you fall under?" I gave her a cheeky smile.

I thought there was the slightly twitch at the corner of his lips where she stopped herself from smiling. She kept that neutral expression on her face as she seemed to be deep in thought. "Regardless, it appears that they require more training. You had yet to use any Magic in a meaningful way, yet they couldn't even land a hit."

"Well, their teamwork was nonexistent, and I wouldn't exactly say it's a fair fight. I could have reacted the same while blind folded to be honest." I didn't want her subordinates to get in trouble just because I was playing around a little bit. "Besides, I did use a tiny bit of magic."

"Hmph." Salem seemed to digest what I said, quiet for a few moments before she spoke up again. "Why have you come back?"

"Why?" I blinked at the question. "Do I need a specific reason to come visit? I had time, and I wanted to come spend it with you."

"If the world knew my existence, and they heard you utter those words, you would be reviled by them all." She snorted. "More so than you are now."

I shrugged. "I do what I want. As long as I have a clear conscious, I don't care what people think."

"How does that clear conscious involve the incident that took place before you originally invaded my castle?" She raised an eyebrow. "Does your clear conscious include the destruction and death you left in your wake?"

I pursed my lips at that. "Admittedly, I did go a little crazy there." I let out a sigh. "Honestly, I don't usually act like that. However, I only killed the gangsters that were trying to kill me. And for the large swatches of destruction, they were caused by other people." Who the fuck fired missiles in the middle of a city!?

Her lips quirked up slightly, revealing a very faint smile. "It was amusing all the same. However, I am curious what compelled you to such actions."

"Well….." I scratched my cheek. "I've thought about it and realized, in hindsight, that I should have been a bit more composed." I let out a sigh, rubbing my eyes. "If I had to speak of a reason for my actions, I suppose it goes back to my childhood. I didn't have any friends growing up, and I was usually all alone. Stepping out into the world, I guess I had an opportunity to just…..cut loose. Play around, get in trouble." I let out a chuckle. "You can chalk it up to a youthful indiscretion."

I made no excuses for how I acted, but thinking back, I never really had the chance to act out. I went straight into fighting, gathering power, then training with Scáthach. I never had the chance to just...be young.

Well, it was an experience I'm glad I got out of my system. Will I do things in the future that I woukd look back on and question myself for? Absolutely. However, I doubt those actions would be for such whimsical reasons again.

Sorry, mom, it wasn't drugs I got peer pressured into, it was a life of crime!

Fucking hell, my mom would kick my ass if she found out what I did.

"It is my first time hearing of a 'youthful indiscretion' that ended up with someone becoming a wanted man across remnant." She quirked an eyebrow. "I shudder to think what would happen if you escalated beyond mere 'trifling actions'."

"Like trying to court the queen of the Grimm?" I smirked.

"Are you?" She questioned.

"Pardon?"

"Trying to court me?" She crossed her arms. "Such words should not be spoken lightly."

"I believe I have shown many facets of myself to you. And I dare say, subtly has not been one of them."

"Hmm." She just hummed, not reacting. It was a bit hard to get a read on her when she held herself back like that. "Yes, I believe that you are unaware of what 'subtle' even means." She drawled.

"Well, If I were more subtle, I don't think I would have come to meet you on a whim. And I'd never been able to see that beautiful smile of yours." The reaction I got, it did make me feel good. I could see the little twitches in her expression, where she forced herself to remain stoic.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, no matter how true it is." She sniffed haughtily. "Though I will not dissuade you from further compliments."

"Well, If I continued down that road, I think we'd be here way too long."

"Are all men these days so bold?" Salem looked the tiniest bit flustered.

"Who knows." I smiled good humoredly. "But I like to be blunt about my intentions."

"Oh, is that why you admitted to staring at my rear?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Tell me, what are your intentions there, hmm?"

I coughed awkwardly into my fist. I think that question best remained unanswered for now. "So, nice weather we're having."

She gave me a dry look before giggling. "I am curious about one matter involving your escapades. Why have you gone into 'hiding'? I find it unlikely that you truly fear these magic-less humans. It was an impressive display of power, how you destroyed one of my Sea Fei-longs, such power could easily be used to bring those insects to heel."

"To what end?" I retorted. "That path leads to loneliness at the top of a throne. I neither want nor desire such a thing. Not to mention I have my own pride, Salem. I'm not going to just start killing swathes of soldiers and huntsman just to prove a point. To kill people doing their jobs when I'm the one who's objectively in the wrong, would go against my 'clear conscious'." I do make exceptions for certain elements like those Gangsters from before.

There was a strange look that flashed across her face. I think I may have hit a sore spot for her. "I see. I will consider your words."

Well, time to change the subject. "Ignoring the dreary talk. How have you been, have you read that book I gave you?"

She did perk up a little bit. "It is an interesting piece of magical literature." She smiled. "It took me many days to work out the theory and recreate a reasonable magical spell utilizing the principals it spoke of."

"Really? Only a few days?" I was honestly surprised. "I thought it would take a few weeks if I were honest. A lot of Runecraft comes from understanding the meaning and intent behind each Rune."

"Yes, it was an interesting direction from the Magics I'm more used to." She casually tuck a little bit of hair behind her ear. "There were some words I had trouble understanding. And even still, I am a little unsure of their meaning...perhaps you would discuss the topic with me?"

"Talk magic with a beautiful woman? Is that even a question?"

"It has been woefully long since I have had a proper intelligent debate on the magical subjects." Salem looked…happy as the topic was further discussed. "Tell me, is that Magic you revealed when you killed that Sea Fei-long related to this 'Magecraft' you have shown me?"

"Hah, no, it's a bit different. Technically….it's a Magic passed down from my Grandfather, which is a bit of a secret. Though, it's called the Kaleidoscope, feel free to guess on it's true nature." I grinned.

"Hmph, a challenge is it? I have lived longer than you can imagine, I will figure it out in no time." She matched my expression a little bit. A certain fieriness was now in her eyes that had been dulled before. "There were words you in the book – Od, Mana. I think I may have guessed their meanings based on clues, but I wish for a more thorough answer."

"Ah, that's an easy one. Od is the Magical Energy the body produces, and Mana is the Magical Energy the world produces."

"Yes, that seems to align with my own assumption." She tapped her chin. "Are these the terms used by your….people?" She asked.

I guess she was still assuming I was part of some hidden society of Magic Users in this world. And that wasn't technically wrong….

"More or less." I waived it off. "There are some slight differences here or there, but they are the common and recognizable terms across many different schools of thought. And I'm a bit curious about your Runecraft progress, would it be remiss of me to ask for a demonstration?"

She raised her finger up, as if to draw a Rune in the air, but halted. "Perhaps inside is not the proper place for this."

"Hmm, well, we could always go for a stroll outside, find a nice place to show off a little bit?" I offered.

"Are you asking this Queen to go on a walk with you?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"I do believe I was."

"Yes, I think that is a wonderful idea." She slowly stood up from her seat, walking towards the door. I began to follower her, but she stopped, turning towards me. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to offer your arm?" She looked a little impatient.

Oh, it seemed I forgot proper etiquette for a situation like this. She was a Queen; I should remember that for the future.

I held out my arm for her. "Shall we go, your Majesty?"

She took it a little hesitantly, though a small smile adorned her face. "Indeed we shall."

***

Scáthach POV

It was a strange feeling to miss someone with this throb in my heart. It seemed to weigh even heavier on me with the soreness between my legs that accompanied such feelings.

Once again, my student became my lover. However, it appeared this time, my Lover was the man I shall spend my life with.

I wished for some time to think about some things. To reminisce about my olden days during my life, before I became the Queen of the Land of Shadows. I was immediately taken with this land that my Harem Sister Jinn hailed from. This….Remnant, this world with a broken moon that mirrored the nature of this place.

Warriors who take up arms to defend the common folk from an onslaught of monsters. Yes, I believed I would quite enjoy this place even if I am more used to a higher level of strength.

It would be pleasant.

With one of those smaller – wolf like creatures impaled upon my spear, I hummed to myself as I walked through this strange forest. A flick removed the body for it to dissipate in my wake, joining its fellows behind me. I did my best thinking with my spear in hand. I had warned Wilhelm that I am a warrior, a woman who was brutish and sharp with both her actions and words. Yet, he accepted and tried to love on me all the same.

It almost made me feel like a young maiden once more. Those wistful and fanciful thoughts on love and affection. These feelings that made my heart thump when I thought about the man who refused to be without me to the extent that he waged war against Heroic Spirits just to bring me back. I would be lying If I said that such actions did not move this old heart of mine.

Perhaps it was the act of finally making love to him that made me this nostalgic and wanting some time to myself. And perhaps it was a good thing that he has other women – those who I can call sisters – to share his bed as my womanhood still ached and he could have still continued after I wished to stop. That cocky brat, merely relying on his enhanced nature to persist.

Well, he was not the worse I've ever had. If anything, I would call him acceptable. However, more training was certainly required on that front.

What a pleasant turmoil that man had caused me. I did not wish to be around him for the moment for I feared he would see this lovestruck expression I found myself sinking into occasionally when his face appears in my mind. That blasted man who was able to charm this Scáthach with that cursed smile of his.

"What a laughable woman I've turned into." I let out a sigh, throwing my spear and impaling another accursed creature to a tree. "Since when have I ever allowed myself to act this way?" I shook my head, recalling my spear.

Wilhelm required a stern hand some times, so I shall take up that position. I would always be a gentle lap for him to rest upon, but I must also keep watch as his teacher.

Lest he turn into another mutt.

I did not dwell on such things for now. I wished to have some….fun. To experience the days of wandering and adventuring again.

For that matter, I looked down at my hand. A small Runic Array fixed around the back of my hand, spinning and turning until it pointed in a specific direction. It was a simple array, one that played a small trick on fate, to curse myself with an.....interesting time. To direct me towards an interesting encounter I might have otherwise not been involved with. I had no bearing on what would happen, merely that people were involved in something dangerous. I would usually walk where the wind took me, but I only intended to be here for a few days.

It didn't take long for the sounds of battle to reach me. I could hear in it the distance, what sounded like a group of people fighting. However, my attention was shifted as trees were knocked over to the side.

I turned to see a strange creature staring at me. I admitted to not being familiar with Grimm, merely their basic nature. The bone-like masks and protrusions that adorn their body, the black skin-line flesh that creates the false impression of true life. Some also have red tribal-like markings. However, it was my first time hear of one of these Grimm bearing green markings.

It looked similar to a bear, yet it stood on two legs. There were a plethora of bone-like spikes coming out from its body at all angles which along with its mask and black skin highlighted its alien properties. Upon seeing me, it roared with a fury, a maniacal look in its false eyes.

"I know not what you are but come if you wish to perish." I leveled my spear at this creature.

I did not know if it understood my words, but took them as a challenge regardless and started charging at me with heavy steps. It swiped its massive claws towards me, cleaving the nearby foliage and pulling trees from the ground with the force

I leaned back, avoiding the blow, content to watch its movements for the time being. I was a little curious about this variation of Grimm, and I wished to understand its potential.

It swiped at me several times and I stepped between each attack. It looked….annoyed that it had yet to crush me below its claws, yet it seemed it could produce a different method of attack. Large – wide swings that would cause the most damage were all it was capable of.

After a few more attacked, I decided it was enough. As it swung its claw down at me once more, I stepped to the side, then slammed my foot down on its claw. The beast roared as its claw was broken, the spikes on its claw spikes shattering by the impact. I took that moment to leap up, swinging the butt of my spear down and collided it with the head of the beast. It hit the ground with a loud thump, cratering the earth withs its fall.

With a flick of my spear, I stabbed the creature through the head.

While it possessed no true organs, it seemed that damage to the 'vital' areas still produces a lethal result as it stopped moving entirely.

However, I was surprised when its body did not dissipate like the others.

I did not think much more of it as I was more interested in the continued sounds of fighting a little distance off. I gathered a little bit of Magical Energy into my feet and burst off towards the direction it was coming from.

Heading west for several hundred meters, I came to a clearing where some people in uniforms were fighting off another of those green Grimm. This one differed slightly as it appeared to be in the shape of a man riding a horse. Though the 'man' portion looked to be combined with the 'horse' portions. Truly there were strange sights to be had.

I noticed there were a few bodies on the ground. The ones that remained standing looked to be fairing poorly, but they did an admirable job of keeping the creature's attention away from their downed teammates.

One woman in particular did quite a good job at combating it. However, I could see the wounds on her body from here as it stained her white uniform in red.

Warriors fighting beasts to the death, how nostalgic.

Let it not be said that this Scáthach was unsympathetic to other's plights.

With a burst of speed, I ran towards the creature, coming out of the forest into the clearing proper.

"W-who!?" The Women at the forefront exclaimed in surprise.

I stepped to the side ignoring the woman dodging as the creature apparently could extend its arms quite the distance. It lashed out trying to grab me,instead, I ran under its legs, dashing back and forth as it tried to step on me. "Is that all you can muster, creature?" I laughed, swiping my spear at its underbelly. The thing began kicking up a fuss as it focused more intently on me.

Nimbly, it would jump back, its extendable arms shooting towards me with a surprising speed – for something of this level that is. I twirled my spear, knocking them both away as I sprint up, jumping into the air, and thrusted my spear through the 'heart' of the creature.

It flailed as my cursed spear sunk into its inky flesh. The horse portion tried to bite at me, only to earn my leg slamming down on its head. This one was a little stronger than the one I had fought before, able to take a couple blows and still remain standing. It showed a promise that there were other – stronger creatures for me to test my spear against in this land.

But I had already grown tired of this one. I feel as though I had seen all its tricks and was left wanting. Taking my spear, I leapt off of it, landing next to the unknown woman.

"I don't know who you are, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth." She leveled her sword – rather a saber at it.

I tilted my head. "Was that a pun?" I questioned.

"…..unintentionally." She frowned. "I would not deem it an appropriate time to make jokes. With your help, I believe we can wear it down, whittle away at its life. The safest method – "

"I shall end this in one strike." I declared, gathering Magical Energy onto my spear. The bloodlust had swirled together with it, producing a visible phenomenon. Such a creature was unworthy of my Noble Phantasm, but it did provide me with some entertainment, so I would waste this small portion of Magical Energy as thanks.

"What are you -- !?"

"Haaah!" I thrusted out, the magical energy turning into thorns that filled the air, stabbing and tearing into everything in a straight line infront of me. The Grimm Creature was torn apart from many different angles and spots, collapsing to the ground with another thump, unmoving.

I smiled contently, twirling my spear and slamming the butt on the ground. "That takes care of that."

"H-how!? That was a Nuckleavee, a mutant one!" She looked shocked.

"Apologies it is my first time meeting that variation of Grimm. Is it normal for them to be Green? I had met one such earlier a not too far away." I pointed to the side.

"They…..you…!?" The woman sighed. "Wait, you said you fought another one?" Her eyes widened.

"Yes, I have slain that one also." I nodded in confirmation.

Her mouth gaped as she stared at me. "Who are you?"

"Is it not polite to introduce yourself first?" I let out a small laugh.

"I-I'm Specialist Winter, with the Atlas Military." She declared. "Who are you? Are you a Huntress from Mistral? I don't believe I've heard of your before, and based on your ability, I find that unlikely."

"I am not Huntress, merely a wandering Spearwoman." I introduced myself. "I am Scáthach."

**

A reminder, most likly no chapters this weekend as I'm dealing with a very abrupt move on my part.

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