Chapter 45: Inherited will

Boom!

The sound of an explosion rattled through Music Fest, as people looked at a rising pillar of smoke coming from one of the concert halls. But due to the other bands blasting music out of million dollar speakers, it was impossible to tell if the explosions were part of another show, or a real emergency.

Fortunately, the lack of concern from event security answered the question to most guests, letting them continue their day with only the minor inconvenience of the Wi-Fi not working and their scrolls being outside service range for some reason.

However, not everyone's problems were so mundane.

"Gah!" Cinder cried as she skidded across the ice, digging her blades into the ground to stop herself.

Looking up, she glared as Adelaide effortlessly skated away once again! This damn ice was making it impossible for the dark haired girl to keep up! Meaning she was little more than a punching bag to the older huntress!

"Is that all you got?" The woman asked, making another pass at Cinder, slashing her across the stomach causing her to stagger. "After all that tough talk, you haven't improved at all." With that, she turned and shot towards the girl once again, this time planning to knock her down.

But to her surprise, Cinder planted her feet, almost effortlessly regaining her balance despite the ice.

"You talk too much!" The girl yelled as Adelaide got within attacking range. "Let's see how tough you are without this stupid gimmick!"

Digging her feet into the ground, Cinder used her semblance to smelt her heels into sharpened points with small barbs on the ends that burrowed into the ice! Now rooted to the ground, she no longer needed to worry about the ice, Cinder swung both her blades towards her opponents, her weight now finding its center of mass without slipping away!

As a result Cinder parried her attack without sliding an inch! Caught completely off guard, the force stopped Adelaide in her tracks! Then with white hot blades, spun, bringing both her blades down with all the force she could muster!

Raising both her wrists blades to block, Adelaide was able to avoid any damage, only sliding back a little ways, but that still gave Cinder enough room to charge at her, releasing a flurry of fast attacks!

Acting on instinct, Adelaide switched to close range combat mode, blocking and parrying with all four of her blades, refusing to give ground!

As they traded blows, Cinder desperate her attempts to hold her ground, she found herself struggling to keep up her defenses against the huntress, who was now spinning in place as she delivered lightning fast attack after attack! Each one coming closer and closer to landing!

Fortunately she had planned for this!

Using the stored heat in her blades, as Adelaide got closer to landing a blow, she released all that stored heat on a single parry! This caused a small burst of flames to shoot out all at once, knocking her off balance!

Acting immediately, Cinder ripped her shoe out of the ground and drove the blade's heel into Adelaide's stomach! Sending her sliding across the ice and back into a frozen car!

"Hah! I know you were all bark, no bite!" Cinder gloated, firing three arrows into three points around the huntress. "Now eat this!"

Adelaide glared up as the ground below her started to glow with heat, immediately she slid into an upright position, both blade skates positioned as if she was moving forward, confusing Cinder. What was-?"

Before she could even guess, Adelaide shot forward at blinding speeds! Propelled by the rockets on her shoes, she leapt into the air and slammed into the girl with a drop kick that sent her flying!

"Gah!" The dark haired girl cried as she slammed into the building she had just escaped from. The wind completely knocked from her chest and sent cracks spider webbing across the wall before she fell to the ground gasping, hands pressed to her breast as her aura flickered.

However before she had a chance to recover, Adelaide was on top of her again, not letting the younger huntress catch her breath! With a jumping axe kick, Cinder was forced to roll out of the way to avoid mortal injury. Just barely escaping as the older woman had used her rockets to increase her attack power, putting a massive hole in the ground where Cinder's head had been moments ago!

"She's good." Adelaide thought as she went after the girl again. This time she managed to get to her feet and block, staying in place thanks to her sharpened heels. "Quick reflexes and fast recovery. She definitely knows her way around a battle, I'll give her that. But…"

Shifting her weight, Adelaide readied her guns. And using one hand to lock both of the other girl's blades for a second, then fired an explosive round into the ground at the girl's feet!

"Ahh!" Cinder screamed as she was knocked off her feet! Now completely helpless in the air, she saw Adelaide spin, freeing herself from her blades and throwing a wide kick at the girl!

With no choice, Cinder stabbed one of her blades into the ground and using it as a step-stool to balance with her hand, she threw her own kick at the older woman's face! Making sure it was a straight shot to ensure it would land first and hopefully force her back!

But Adelaide simply moved her head, dodging the attack like it was nothing!

And right before her kick landed, the sound of the rockets firing up reached Cinder's ears, making the girl's heart stop.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

Cinder screamed as she was sent sailing him in the air, easily crossing the parking lot before slamming down spine first onto a cement parking barricade, completely shattering her aura and cracking her back causing her swords to slip from her grasp!

"Hhhha!" Cinder wheezed, rolling off the barricade and onto the ground in a heap. Slowly, she tried to crawl to her feet, but a sharp, searing pain in her back made her drop onto all fours gasping. Even with her aura protecting her, it felt like her spine had been fractured.

As she let out a few more wheezes, she suddenly saw a pair of boots right in front of her. Raising her head as much as she could, she glared up at Adelaide who was looking down at her, weapons withdrawn from around her hands.

"You are a fool." The woman said calmly as she jabbed the blade of her skate into Cinder's face, close enough to feel it but not to break her skin. "People like you shame the name huntress. Thinking you can do anything you want because you're strong, abandoning your mission because it inconveniences you, trampling others just because it's faster. Worthless trash like you shouldn't be allowed to wear the noble title."

"L-look who's talking!" Cinder snapped, ignoring the pain that shot through her with each breath. "I'm not the one running a gang of degenerate racists! Your people kill and hurt others just because of their nationality! You have no right to talk to me about slandering the name of huntresses!"

Adelaide looked down at Cinder with… pity!? What on Remnant was wrong with this bitch?! Rage filling her gut, Cinder wanted to beat her stupid face in even more! But when she tried to move, she once again fell to her elbows, the pain in her back rendering her helpless.

"You know, whenever I see people like you, I can't help but think of how sad your life must be to cling to pointless things like pride and a title you haven't even earned. When I was your age, I had already been sent to the battlefield and seen so much death that becoming a huntress almost felt like a nightmare. Unlike you, I never did it for the glory or money. I did it for my kingdom."

Cinder let out a snarl as she tried to push herself up once again. "Oh spare me the lecture!" She snapped right before she fell once again. "I don't care about your sob story! I couldn't care less about what you think! Now hurry up and let's finish this!"

Adelaide simply stared down at the girl, her eyes briefly darting to the crest on her cloak. Then she let out a sigh and knelt down, grabbing Cinder's head and forcing it onto the ground.

"I don't like you. But today's your lucky day. I owe your mother a great debt as she saved my husband numerous times. And now I repay it by not only sparing your life, but also with some advice of a failure so you might not fall into the same traps I did."

Cinder let out a snarl, trying to reach her blades, but Adelaide kicked them out of her reach with a single fluid movement.

"First, curve that ego. When you get arrogant, you stop thinking clearly, stop making decisions based on logic. And when you stop thinking logically on the battlefield, you've lost." Adelaide said, using her foot to push Cinder's head back onto the ground and holding it there. "After this mission, I suggest you go and read the art of war by general Sun Tzu. For someone with your demeanor, it'll do a lot of good. You have potential, and it will shine once it gets over that fat head of yours."

"S-Shut up!" Cinder snarled, struggling a bit more. "I already told you, I don't care what a hypocrite like you thinks! You act like you're so much better than me, so much more moral. But all you do is kill and bully others because you can! That's no different to me! So stop acting like you're the messiah and I'm just a hot headed kid! At least I don't cower begin with the title or use the job as a-!"

"I gave up being a huntress."

Immediately Cinder fell silent at Adelaide's words. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open as she stared up at the woman. Surely she was joking. No way someone would ever give up a job. They'd have to be insane to even consider it!

"Surprised? You shouldn't be." Adelaide said, reading the dark haired girl's expression. "I know full well what that title is for. And so I gave it up as well as my license not long after the war and started my crusade to put an end to the Atlas. I know I wasn't fit for the title anymore when I chose my family above others, when I chose to put lives in danger to stop Atlas from being able to regain their power. I'm here to ensure they never threaten my family again. And for them, a sacrifice like a simple title was an easy decision to make."

Cinder's eyes widened at this revelation. She GAVE UP her position willingly?! How?! Why?! Couldn't she protect her family better if she had the authority of a huntress?! And wouldn't her husband lose his job if word got out he was married to a crime boss?! Her story just didn't add up and it was driving Cinder crazy trying to figure it out!

With a smirk, Adelaide got off Cinder, turned and started making her way towards the exit of the lot.

"Well, see ya, kid." She called behind her. "Try not to take this too hard. A little girl with her head stuck up her ass was never going to get far. Hopefully you'll take something away from this. You have a lot of potential and when the second Great War with Atlas begins, a skill fighter like you will be needed. If nothing else, you'll make good canon fodder, assuming you can actually listen to your instructions."

Immediately Cinder felt her rage boil over once again. Slowly and carefully, she crawled to her hands and knees. Then, using the guard she had just landed on as support, she pulled herself to her feet and began making her way to her fallen blades.

"H-hey!" Cinder gasped as she kicked her blades back into her hands. "W-we're n-not done yet! Come b-back here and l-let's finish this!"

Her call made Adelaide stop and let out a sigh as she shook her head.

"Kid, don't." She said glancing over. "If we fight, I might kill you by accident. Debt or not, I'm not failing this mission for you. Just lay down and accept defeat with some honor. Otherwise I'll have to-."

Cinder had heard enough.

"Shut up and fight!" She yelled, slamming her blades together forming her bow and shooting an arrow at the woman. How dare this bitch talk down to her, judge her, ridicule her! All while standing on a pile of bodies that she couldn't see because of her own self righteousness! There was no way she was accepting defeat from someone like that!

But despite her fury, her attack was effortlessly batted away by the woman as she let out a disappointed sigh.

"Fine, you want to do it this way? We'll do it this way." Adelaide said, her weapons activating once again. "I honestly can't tell you your really that arrogant or just plan stupid. Either way, I guess I don't have much of a choice. Sorry but, I'm going to kill you."

With that she shot towards the barely standing girl ,blades fully enclosed around her arms. And as she made her first pass, she ducked under Cinder's guard and slashed her stomach open.

"Aaaahhhhhh!" Cinder's scream pierced the air as she staggered in place as Adelaide skated away. And soon, her body would be in tatters, no different than her ego.

Amber raced through the staff area of Music Fest. Running as fast as her legs would allow. Her lungs burned and she knew she should probably slow down to ensure she had stamina for the battle.

But with all forms of communication in Music Fest shutting down, she knew something was very wrong. Something much bigger than a kidnapping was going on here, and while she did know what, she'd get to the bottom of it. And she would do it herself! After all, her team had already proven themselves incapable of listening to her orders. So she was on her own, just like she always was.

As she rounded a corner, her heart immediately leapt into her throat as she saw Jiao running towards her. A huntsman's weapon clutched in his hand.

As they locked eyes, the singer's face lit up and he slowed his pace, coming to a stop where he slumped forward, resting his hands on his knees for support as he gasped for breath as relief flooded through him.

"I never thought I'd be this happy to see you!" Jiao gasped as he looked up at Amber. "Thank goodness you got here! I don't know what's going on, but I do know that for some reason those damned Enlighten Seraphim are here and trying to kidnap me! You need to get me out of here now!"

Amber nodded and grabbed his free hand, but instead of turning and running, she stood still, looking past him down the path she came.

"Where's Cinder?" The dark skinned girl asked, a sinking feeling filling her chest. She had a good idea where the girl was, but every part of her body didn't want to accept it.

"She stayed behind." Jiao said, echoing her fears. "She said something about running away not being an option because the person chasing us kept catching up before we could make much headway. So I went in ahead to try to catch up with the other two members of your team. All though I haven't seen many traces of them. Do you…"

Jiao continued talking about something, but Amber had stopped listening. Of course Cinder couldn't do something so simple as follow orders! When has she ever been able to do that?! Her stubbornness and ego were more important to her than their mission!

But as frustrated as she was, she knew there was some logic in her decision, even if she didn't agree with it. And while she wanted to rush to her partner's aid, she (unlike Cinder.) wouldn't abandon her job.

She stepped forward and grabbed Jiao's arm, stopping him mid sentence.

"Okay, let's go meet up with the others." She said, forcing her voice to stay calm as she turned and began pulling him along the path. "Once I've secured your safety, I'll go back to Cinder. Until then, we need to-!"

Suddenly, a series of gunshots cut her off! Immediately drawing her attention skyward as a lone figure descended from above, a string of bullets flying from their weapon that was aimed at the girl!

Amber spun, drawing her staff to deflect the bullets, managing to block several, but two slipped past her guard and caught her in the shoulder dropping her to one knee as her assailant landed a few feet away.

"Well, well, well. What have we here." Igor said as he licked his lips hungrily. "A pretty little thing like you guarding a high priority target like him? Vale really is low on manpower."

"Igor Crawler." Amber spat as she got to her feet, leveling her spear at him. "I thought you got multiple life sentences for the sheer number of crimes against humanity you've committed. How'd you get out?"

Igor chuckled at the venom in the girl's voice, licking his lips again as he eyed her body.

"Crime against humanity? That's a funny word, isn't it?" He said, casually spinning his sickle as he approached, making Amber back up, keeping Jiao behind her. "People always say crime is wrong, yet as soon as we put a libel on them, suddenly it's not only acceptable to commit those same crimes, it's encouraged."

Amber bit her lip as she took another step back. He was baiting her, she knew that. Of course someone like him would view the world in such a simplistic tone. He had killed thousands of people during the war, both civilians and military. And worse than that, according to the record, he actually took a great deal of pleasure from it! A sadist so horrible most teams refused to work with him. Even going so far to assign themselves to what were suicide missions.

Still, she might be able to turn this to her advantage. She couldn't take him in a fight, but if she kept him talking, she might be able to stall until reinforcements arrived.

"What are you talking about?" Taking the bait, Igor's face became stretched with a sickening smile as he took another step forward, clearly delighted she had 'fallen' for his trap.

"Why I'm just saying that crimes are only crimes when the world decides they are. Yet in reality, all humans really want is an excuse to chain themselves to weak fabrication. Fabrication that weakens our species until we're unrecognizable! Unable to do the one thing humans were always meant to do, take this planet for ourselves!"

As the man ranted, Amber snuck her hand into one of her pouches and grabbed a fire element, dust crystal. If she could get this high enough and detonated it, that should draw attention to the area and hopefully, bring more huntsmen as well.

"So what?! You're going to unshackle us and become a messiah for all of humankind?!" Amber called, praying this would keep him talking. "How are you going to do that?! You can't force people to become something they don't want to be! So unless you've got a plan, your logic is flawed!"

Igor stared at her for a moment, not saying anything. And for a second Amber was afraid she had over extended her hand. But then he threw his head back and let out a laugh.

"Me!? A messiah!? Ha! That's a good one!" Igor roared with mirth. "No no! I couldn't care less about what the sheep do! My point was that I'm different from the sheep who think peace is something to strive for! What I want is…well, why tell you? After all, you're about to join your friend. So it doesn't really matter too much if you know or not."

Before Amber could react, there was a loud crash from behind her. Spinning around, she saw a sickle's blade stretched high above her from the ground with a chain attached so it could be controlled!

The next second, the sickle shot down, blade aimed for her neck as a sickly purple glow emanated from the blade!

Reacting as fast as she could, Amber kicked Jiao out of the way before trying to dodge herself, managing to roll out of the way, the blade just barely scratching her leg. But the battle didn't stop there.

The second Amber landed, she blasted a jet of flames from her staff, spreading it wide to ensure he couldn't dodge, all the while forcing herself not to think of the implications of Igor's last statement. If she wanted to beat him, she'd need to be on her a-game!

"I can't take him one-on-one, especially while protecting Jiao. But hopefully I won't have too. By now security should be evacuating civilians, so if I can just stun him long enough to run to a more populated area, that should slow him down. Or at least let me find help. But to do that, I need to keep him off me long enough to-!"

Amber broke mid thought as her eyes widened at the sight before her. The flames closest to the huntsman had turned purple and were putting themselves out! No, that wasn't it! It looked almost like he was somehow burning her flames away! But how?! And what was that purple light?! Was it his semblance?! She hadn't bothered to read about his ability when she had read about his trial or even about the huntsmen himself, so she had no idea what he could do. Beside the obvious fact he was unbelievably skilled at killing people.

"Hahah!" The man laughed as the flames parted, letting him sadly step through, ripping his Kusarigama from the ground as he advanced. "What's the matter girl? That's all you got?! Your night friend put up a better fight! Hell, even the auraless Faunus was tougher! Aren't you the leader? Shouldn't that make it your job to avenge your fall team?!"

Amber felt biles rise in her stomach at his words. She wasn't stupid. She knew if Igor was here after fighting Adam and Eric, odds were he had killed them, or at least put them into a coma. Which of course meant her plan to go get help was off the table. She wanted to wrap this fight up and hurry to help her teammates and their charges. But she knew if she rushed her attacks, she'd lose. Right now, she needed to have faith her teammates had managed to get away, and hopefully managed to protect their charges.

Wait…

"You fought Adam and Eric, why aren't you taking the two band members?!" Amber yelled, once again trying to back Jiao away as she tried to distract him. "Jiao might be the lead, but those two should still be worth more when put together! Why aren't you guarding them?!"

Behind her, she felt Jiao irritably grab her arm, but right now she didn't care if she came off as cold or heartless. If she could get even a shred of information out of this manic, then it would be worth it.

"My, you've done your homework. Unfortunately, kid. Mission isn't about money." The man said, licking his lips once again. "I've just been ordered by the boss lady to catch the singer behind you. And now I'd say that object is complete. I would say you fought well, but I'm not that good of a lier."

Amber raised her eyebrow in confusion. What was he talking about? She may not have hit him, but he hadn't really hit her either. Was this some kind of ploy to get her to lower her guard or something? If someone was sneaking up on her, he woul-

Suddenly the dark skinned girl let out a cry of pain as she dropped to one knee, a purple light spreading across her skin from the point where she had been scratched, an unbearable pain following as it increased her.

Eyes wide, Amber tried to increase her aura cloak levels trying to block…whatever this was! But to her horror, instead of protecting her, the pain amplified AND made the energy shot all the way up her leg, invading her abdomen and stomach!

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Amber fell to the ground screaming in pain as her body began to writhe uncontrollably. Every single nerve in body was crying out in agony and time seemed to slow for her as she began to lose sense of her surroundings.

What the hell was this!? She felt like all her skin was melting off! Or maybe being burned off?! She didn't know! Her entire boat was screaming in agony making it very difficult to focus on anything other than just keep her own heart beating. Something she didn't even know she could do!

Was this a heat based semblance like Cinder's?! Or maybe he was somehow coating her in acid. She wasn't sure, but either way, she knew she had to do something before-!

Suddenly, the girl's stomach lurched! Using all her willpower, she rolled onto her stomach just in time as she began to vomit blood and partially digested food as her intestines and stomach began to fail.

Slowly, Amber felt her eyes roll into the back of her head. The purple energy was starting to make its way up her chest and she was finding it harder and harder to breathe. Her flailing legs began to slow and her helplessly convulsing body began to weaken to pathetic jerks. Her head dropped into the pile of sick and blood, some running into her open mouth as it gasped for air, a thin trail of drool escaping it as she let out an almost completely silent wheeze.

And for the first time in years, Amber actually wished for death not as atonement, but as an end to this torture.

"Aah, that sound is so delicious." Igor moaned as he knelt by her twitching body. He had a horrible grin across his face that was only matched in unpleasantness by the happy blush on his face. He gently reached down and rolled Amber's head up, relishing in her pained expression.

"Such a beauty. Women really do have a charm to their cries." Igor purred as he ran his fingers through the girl's hair. "Shame you're going to die so quickly. I'd love to watch you struggle and cry as I squeezed the life out of you. But orders are orders. And even I'm not stupid enough to cross my benefactor. Even though he's as annoying as they com-!"

Suddenly a bullet shot past his head, making Igor look up to see Jiao aiming his gun at him. Well, in his general direction.

"Get off her, you freak!" He snapped, shaking his gun in a feeble attempt to appear intimidating. "I don't know what your problem is, if you want to take me, I've got bad news for you! I have no intention of going down without-!"

Before he could finish, Igor swung the blade of his weapon around, slashing the singer across his wrist. And while the blow didn't break his aura, the sudden pain made him drop his gun! But the insane huntsman wasn't done yet!

Before Jiao could even think to pick it up off the ground, the weighted end of the chain swung around, wrapping around his wrist, trapping his dominant arm! Then the huntsman effortlessly whipped the weapon overhead, pulling the singer into the air before slamming him into the ground on the other side of the employees area, shattering his aura and breaking his nose in the same instant.

"Hmph! that all you got?" Igor asked patronizingly as he pulled the chain, dragging Jiao across the ground to him. "Weakling like you should just shut up and stay quiet. Don't worry, the plan might be to kill you, but knowing Adelaide, she'll try to make it as painless as possible. Though I highly doubt that machine is painless."

Somewhere through her gaze of agony, Amber became faintly aware of her surroundings. Forcing an eye open, she tried to focus in on the scene about her as Igor lifted the singer up by his now dislocated arm and punched him straight in the face, knocking him out immediately.

Horror filled her gut as she saw the huntsman throw Jiao over his shoulder as he stood up and began making his way towards the employee exit. If he got away, not only would the mission fail, but her stupidity would have cost another innocent man his life!

Biting back the pain, the dark skinned girl tried to rise to her feet, but her muscles refused to work properly, giving out the moment she put any weight on them. On top of that, the pain hadn't lessened at all from when it had started devouring her, so she could barely think properly, let alone try the incredibly complicated required for movement that she was now starting to appreciate much more.

Opening her mouth, she tried to scream, to speak, to do anything to try to either get help, or stop him by starting up a conversation. But all that came out was a weak garbled grunt that even she could barely hear.

Despair filled the girl as she lay helplessly on the ground, watching yet another person die because of her. The anger and self-loathing that she normally kept repressed came roaring back up, berating her for her weakness.

Too weak to save her best friend. To stupid to not trust outsiders. Too busy feeling sorry for herself that it drew Grimm. And now to incompetent to complete a basic mission.

And because of that incompetence, not only was Jiao being taken to be killed for who knows why, but also might have ended up with both Adam and Eric dead, and Cinder most likely fast on the way to join them.

She was so useless! All she did was bring death and misery to everyone around her. To her loved ones, and the innocent people just caught up in the crossfire. That hadn't changed in the years since when she destroyed her village, and it never would! No matter how hard she tired, she would always just be a blight on the people around her!

Something like her shouldn't exist! It never should have! How many people would be still alive if she hadn't been born? How many families would still be here if she didn't exist? She should have just died in the hands of the bandits who kidnapped her all through years ago. Yet even after she destroyed everything she had ever known, she still stupidly believe that maybe, she could find atonement or become something other than the monster she was.

What a foolish thought! A Grimm couldn't grow a heart, so how could she? Why had she believed that a monster like her had a future? The longer she lived, the more people would suffer. Until eventually they finally saw the thing she was, and did the right thing by ending her once and for all.

Clenching her hand into a weak fist, the girl prayed to the god brothers, asking for their forgiveness, and for their strength. For while she may not be overly religious, she knew that she only had one option left, and it wasn't one she relished.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to focus, forming a bound between herself and Igor. Then, she began focusing all her aura into creating blocks to ensure the full power of her semblance wouldn't appear. Then, once she was sure everything was in place, she forced her way into Igor's mind and bound their senses of touch.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" Igor screamed in shock and pain! His back arching up, throwing Jiao to the ground as he began tearing at his own skin, nails ripping his skin as he tried to fight off whatever was happening to him.

But it didn't last long as the next second his legs gave out and he began writing on the ground in agony, his body convulsing in wild, sporadic movements as spit flew from his mouth! And even though Amber couldn't transfer physical damage, the pain was enough to keep him paralyzed and unable to attack or leave.

"W-what?! What is this!?" Igor cried, clawing at his body as he flailed helplessly. And as he whipped his head around, his gaze fell onto Amber, letting him see how far his infection had spread.

Immediately his eyes widened as he realized what was happening. He may not know exactly what her semblance did, but just by going off how much pain he was in, he got the picture. With a deep snarled, Igor snapped his fingers, and instantly the purple energy flew off the dark skinned girl's body, subsequently ending her torture prematurely.

Immediately, both huntsman and huntress were on their feet, both sliding into a fighting stance as they prepared for round two! Igor made the first move, gripping his sickle in one hand and charging towards the girl, quickly slipping past the effective area of her staff and aiming to slash her neck. He must plan to finish the fight quickly! Fortunately, Amber had a new plan to deal with the sick freak!

Without even trying to dodge, she let the blade come down hard against her neck, the blade racking across her aura, still strong enough to stop the blade, but not the pain.

Which was exactly what Amber wanted!

"Gah!" Igor cried in surprise as he felt the blade rack across his own neck, making him gag slightly in surprise. And giving Amber the opening she needed!

Quick as she could, she spun her staff, wrapping the chain of his weapon around her's, getting it stuck good. Then, she spun once again, this time driving the point of her spear into the links of the other weapon, and pinning both weapons to the ground, effectively rendering them useless!

Planting her feet, Amber pivoted her feet to throw her weight into a punch that landed squarely in the huntsman's stomach, stunning him and letting her unleash a volley of fast punches to weaken his aura before knocking him back with a front kick straight to the chest!

Igor skidded back, managing to stay upright as he slid to a stop on all fours, glaring up at the girl who firmly shifted into her hand-to-hand combat stance.

She knew that had only worked because she had caught him off guard. Fortunately, out of everyone in her year, she was easily the best at unarmed combat. Easily able to force even Adam and Cinder into submission if she wanted. (She knew better than to bruise their egos.)

But now she was faced up against a pro. Someone with both more experience and greater physical abilities. So what this fight came down to was if she could manage to both out fight and out think her opponent!

"Hehe." Igor chuckled as he twisted his neck, letting out a dull crack. "Not bad, not bad at all. Most kids these days don't bother learning to defend themselves without their fancy weapons. Got to say, I'm impressed."

Amber gritted her teeth at the unspoken but, fear filling the pit of her stomach at how calm the maniac was. She knew he had something up his sleeve, something that gave his such an advantage that

And sure enough her fears were confirmed.

As Igor stood, drawing himself to his full heights, long purple tendrils extended from his hands. Each one twisted and writhed in an unpredictable pattern, as if they were alive. They were stretched out a few feet from his palms, quickly flickering between themselves showing the dark skinned girl how fast they were and how vertical. If they got within striking range, she had no hope of dodging.

"I had gone easy on you up till now. And it's definitely been fun watching you struggling to survive. But unfortunately my time is up. Any longer and the boss man is going to kill me. So if it's okay with you, I'll be taking that singer and ending you!"

With that, the man charged at the girl, his eyes lit up with sadistic glee. Reacting immediately, Amber ripped her staff from the ground and discharged one bolt of fire and lightning each. However, Igor just laughed as his energy tendrils lashed out, burning right through the attacks without even slowing him down!

Leaping back, the dark skinned girl immediately pointed her staff at the charging man and shot more bolts of lightning, trying to keep distance between them. But no matter where she aimed or how many she fired, one of the tendrils was fast enough to catch and desolate it before it even came close to Igor. Letting the man get way too close to the girl.

Seeing as keeping distance wasn't working, Amber tried a new tactic. A frontal assault! She spun her staff over her head before bringing it down from above, forcing Igor to reach up to block it.

But to her horror, when the purple energy collided with her weapon, it actually started to erode the dust crystals that made up the tip!

Amber's eyes widened as she bit back a curse. She had made a huge mistake trying to get in close to her pop and was now going to pay the price. She couldn't keep reforming her link with Igor over and over, without the proper understanding of him it drained her immensely! Not to mention the withholding of certain parts of her semblance also exhausted the girl. If she tried to do it too much, she'd run out of aura soon!

But as the tendrils snaked forward, aiming to bury themselves into her gut, she knew she didn't really have a choice. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to form the link once more as she braced for the pain that was incom-.

Suddenly a huge metal rod flew across the battlefield, slamming into Igor like a javelin sending him crashing through the wall of one of the buildings they were fighting next to!

Turning in shock, Amber saw the massive figure of Isaac Howard making his way towards them. His massive figure was completely different to when she had last seen him. Before he had always seemed so gentle, so docile. A gentle giant who wouldn't hurt a fly.

But now he had shrugged off the meek demeanor in exchange for one that screamed power and aggression. A scowl spread across his face with narrowed eyes as he glared at Igor who was on all fours coughing violently, his aura flickering. And while Mr. Howard didn't have a weapon, the way he towered over the other man made seem so small and weak in comparison.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Howard asked Amber as he came to a stop next to her, raising his hand palm open towards the hole in the wall. Immediately he activated his semblance causing the metal pole to come flying back towards him where he was easily able to calmly and effortlessly catch it.

"I got your distress call. I came as soon as I could." The older man said, answering her unasked question as she stared stunned up at him. "Sorry, it seems I wasn't fast enough. But now you and your team are safe. In a few minutes the area will be swarming with huntsmen and huntresses. And given yesterday's incident, I suspect they're going to be pretty motivated to catch the people responsible for hitting such a huge event. So that means we can be a bit more cautious, if you catch my drift. "

Amber nodded. She certainly did. If huntsmen were on their way, that meant their mission was now to stall for time. And while she was worried about her teammates, she knew her semblance was probably the only one that could counter Igor's.

And so, together with Mr. Howard, she turned to the madman and leveled the end of her spear at him. Beside her, the older huntsman took aim with the metal rod, which Amber could now see was a javelin, and prepared to throw it at the huntsman once again.

But despite their readiness, their opponent had other plans.

"Tisk! That hurt." Igor groaned as he staggered on his feet, hand clutching his side where he had been speared. He glared up at the two, eyes shifting to the older huntsman, fingers digging into his injury as he clenched his teeth.

"Bastard. Attacking me from my blind spot. Aren't you hero types supposed to attack from the front after loudly announcing yourself? Makes it easier to fill your role of becoming a corpse." He snarled, but neither of his opponents gave an inch. They knew better than to get distracted in the heat of battle. Much to the annoyance of the huntsman.

"What? Not going to even humor me?" He said in a patronizing tone. One that turned to anger when he got no response. "Fine! Be that way!" Snarling, he began backing up, going deeper into the building as he pulled a grenade from his pocket. "But I didn't sign up for a fight against Issac Howard. Adelaide can deal with this backlash. I'm not risking my life for her stupid morals and worthless ideology!"

Amber's eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do.

"Don't you dare-!"

She just barely had enough time before he throw the bomb at the unconscious form of Jiao, the shell landing inches away from him!

Without even thinking, Amber lunged for the bomb, arms outstretched to grab it before it could explode and send Jiao to the next plain! She knew a hit like this could take out all her aura, but she'd survive, which was more than she could say about the singer.

However, before she got to the bomb, Mr. Howard acted with all the speed a war hero would!

Raising his hand, the activated his semblance, immediately causing the grenade to fly away from both Amber and Jiao and towards himself instead! Catching the bomb in a single hand, he intensified his aura as he clamped both hand over the device, covering as much of it as he could! And because he was somehow able to do all this in the span of about a second, the grenade didn't go off until after it was safely clutched in the large man's hands!

The explosion blew Howard back, sending him crashing to the ground a few feet away, his brown aura becoming visible to absorb the damage but critically, not breaking it. And with his hands clasped over the metal, he had also managed to reduce the shrapnel that flew all over the surrounding area, making Amber move to lie on top of Jiao to protect him almost pointless.

"Mr. Howard! Are you alright?!" The girl asked, rushing over to the old man and helping him to his feet. She had seen the whole event so she knew his aura was intact, but given his age, she wasn't sure if something else might have gone wrong when he fell.

But to her relief, the old man waved her off. Effortlessly standing on his own with not a single problem to be seen.

"Fine. Thanks." He said, dusting off his suit. "It's going to take more than that to take me down!" He laughed, pounding his chest to show his health, before turning to the hole in the wall with a much more serious expression. "Although, it looks like that bomb did exactly what that maniac wanted."

Turning to the hole, Amber saw that he was right. Igor had used the opportunity to bolt, leaving both his weapons behind.

"Well, he won't get far." She said, spinning her staff to attach a new crystal to the end that the madman had dissolved. "With an army of huntsmen rushing to the area and three eyewitnesses, hopefully he'll be back in jail by the end of the week."

With that burden off her shoulder, she turned to the old man with a warm smile, eyes filled with relief. "Thank you Mr. Howard." She said honestly. "I don't think I would have made it without you. That was too close for comfort. If not for you, I'd probably be dead."

"Don't thank me." Howard replied, closing his eyes with a deep sigh. "I'm just doing my job. Well, old job, but that's not important. For now, we should focus on gathering the evidence of the attack and getting it to the police before it becomes contaminated. Then let's think about getting this one to safety." He gestured to the unconscious singer.

"Yeah, good idea." Amber said, relief filling her voice at no longer having to be the one making the calls. Though at the same time, even given the circumstances, she still found herself a bit tongue tied as one of her heroes once again gave her some good advice. "My teammates should be up ahead. If we can get to them, the three of us can start making our way to the evacuation point before going back to help others. Once the areas closest to the fighting have been evacuated, then the huntsmen can move in and secure the-. Oh! Sorry I'm rambling, aren't I. Sorry! I should just be quiet and do what you say, right?"

However Howard shook his head. "Not at all." He said as he pulled on a pair of gloves before carefully picking up Igor's weapons. "You're a leader. It should be second nature to start making calls no matter the time. Even if you're around someone who is more experienced than you, it's always a good idea to give your opinions. After all, the greatest masters understand that they will forever be students."

Amber felt her cheeks warm at the compliment. She knew it was good advice, but for someone like Mr. Howard to actually praise her made her get a tingly feeling all over her body. A feeling she had almost forgotten.

"But with that said, once you get met up with your team, I recommend you stay with them." Howard said, catching Amber off guard. "From what I saw, it looked like Igor was going after the singer directly. Meaning he's probably the target of this whole attack. So it'll be best if someone is with him until this whole mess is cleaned up. No telling how many of them there are, or where they might be hiding."

The dark skinned girl gulped at the ominous words. He wasn't wrong. Jiao, for whatever reason, definitely was the target. And while he didn't have any direct like to Atlas, given what Igor had said, it sounded like they didn't really care. If they got him, they'd kill him.

Again, she had no idea why someone would go through the trouble of kidnapping someone just to kill them, but Mr. Howard was right. Jiao needed protection and they were hired to do just that. But…

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." She said, turning away as she didn't want to see the disappointment on Mr. Howard's face. "One of my team is still back there fighting a losing battle. I can't just leave her to die. I know there's probably not much I can do. And she's definitely a pain to deal with, but I'm not leaving her. That's not my way."

A long silence followed her words. Amber could feel the face of the older huntsman on her and she bit her lip to try to fight back the unease in her gut. She knew this wasn't part of the mission, that doing this put her clients in danger. But she wouldn't abandon one of her own to die. Even if they definitely put themselves in that position.

But to her immense surprise, Mr. Howard let out a weak chuckle, his tone carrying both a bit of disappointment but also one of…pride? Hope? Something in between? She wasn't sure, but before she could think of it, he stepped forward, grabbing Jiao and slinging him over his shoulder.

"Like mother, like daughter." He said, smiling down at the girl who was now staring up at him eyes wide. "Silver wouldn't leave anyone behind either. In fact, your father was one such life she saved. She always put lives ahead of the mission. A rarity back then that just seems to get rarer. I'm glad to see it alive and well if at least one person in your generation inherited her will."

At his words, Amber's heart skipped a beat. A warm feeling filled her gut and created a blush that reached all the way to her ears. She knew her mother had saved her father multiple times, but being told that she was like her, even just a little bit, made her happier than she had been in years.

"Go. I'll take the singer and met up with your friends." He said, turning towards the path towards the evacuation point. "You go and help your friend. Bring her back alive young hero. I'm rooting for you, Amber Alsprings. Go show this world how a huntress is supposed to behave. Show them what it looks like when power and ideologies come together. Show them what true strength is!"

Amber placed her hand over her heart as a flood of feeling she hadn't felt in years washed over her. Slowly, a tear ran down her face which she quickly wiped away.

"Right!" She said, turning to face the way Jiao had come from, her back now facing the old man. "I'll stay on the path I was taught! I'll become a huntress they can be proud of! After all, that was always my dream. To see their ideals carried on into the future. I won't let you down, I promise!"

And with renewed vigor in her step, Amber took off down the path towards Cinder. Leaving the old man standing alone.

"You really are just like her." He murmured to himself, his hand tightening into a fist. "Silver, your daughter has become someone truly worthy of your legacy. I just wish you were here to guide the young woman as she navigates the difficulty that life will throw at someone like her." He paused for a second as he glanced over his shoulder, watching the girl disappear into the distance, into the future.

Just like his own son before he had been killed.

Turning back towards his original goal, he started walking down his chosen path, hoping that when he saw Sliver again, she would find it in her heart to forgive him for not being able to help her daughter.

Neither with her trauma from the past, or the hardships she'd face in the future.

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Originally, I wanted to have a quick fight between Adam and Eric vs Igor, but I couldn't find a smooth transition to the much more important Amber stuff. So it got cut.

Honestly there's a lot of work that gets cut I don't tell you all about. Like I had originally wanted an earlier friendship between Weiss and Ruby a few chapters ago, but I couldn't fit it anywhere and so had to throw about 4 hours of work in the trash. Free advice, don't start writing a story if you can't dump a couple hours of work on a whim. Just because something works in your first draft, doesn't guarantee it'll work in the finished product.

Now, I'd like to apologize for something I did earlier in the series. Or more actually, something I didn't do. Because somehow, in my infinite stupidity, I forgot to give Mr. Howard an official description. So to make up for it, here you go now.

Howard is very tall. Standing at 6.5 feet. He has broad shoulders and a long gray beard. He has long gray that's held out of his face with a bread of hair on the top of his head that sorta wraps around his head. Honestly, think gentle giant and you wouldn't be far off.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye!