159

Chapter 159:

For some reason, the flying Grimm that had been dogging them before had pulled back, now hovering in the air above the massive whale-Grimm that served as their platform. Facing down the woman who was the source of this massive horde, Ruby could see why they hadn't continued their attack.

Salem's presence was overwhelming. It swirled about her form, quiet, cold, and filled with horrific malice. The apparition that Ruby had spoken to before was nothing by comparison. Just being near Salem threatened to steal the breath from her lungs. The entire air hummed with the sheer power of her will.

It's like...Kyo-nii's, thought Ruby. Kyo was a very different person, of course. Even at the height of his ferocity, when his fighting-spirit was surging with intent to kill, there was still a sort of warmth to his Aura. Ruby had only seen Kyo's true fighting spirit a tiny handful of times. But those few occasions had always left her in awe of her brother. Salem's Aura was very different in nature...but seemed to match Kyo's in scope...which left her feeling uneasy. Aside from Kyo's parents, Ruby had always felt as though there was no one who could truly match his strength. Back when she had first met him, Kyo had spoken of how the other Taishiro were also probably stronger than him. But that seemed to have ceased to be true in the years that had passed since she had been adopted as his sister.

Salem's gaze focused on Ruby in particular, and Ruby's heart nearly stopped in her chest. Suddenly, she was transported back to those tunnels in Anima. Salem's Aura reminded Ruby of the sensation of those bristle-covered arachnid legs brushing against her body, except that it now felt as though those legs were wrapping around her from every conceivable angle, squeezing against her, as though several Ungols had wrapped her in a chitinous embrace. Ruby had to swallow hard against the flow of bile that threatened to force its way up and out of her throat.

Her friends were similarly affected, all of them trembling with fear in the face of the woman who commanded the Grimm. The image that had appeared in Jinn's tale was nothing compared to the reality of her. Standing before Salem felt as though they were standing before the specter of death itself.

Unfortunately, that sensation was especially pronounced for poor Oscar. Younger than the rest of them, with very little experience, his body had become completely paralyzed. Even though he had fought through the Grimm swarm alongside them, and held his own admirably, he was completely unprepared to face Salem, whose mere presence threatened to crush his mind completely. Only when Natsuki wrapped him in a tight, protective embrace did he begin to calm down.

Only one person seemed unaffected by Salem's presence. Ozpin strode forward to stand next to Ruby, planting the tip of his cane against the Grimm beneath them, resting his hands on its pommel. He stared at Salem, his expression one of neutrality. His advance had drawn Salem's attention, and now it was Ozpin who was bearing the brunt of Salem's regard.

"Salem..." he said softly.

"It's been a long time...since we were last face to face...Ozpin," said Salem, her lips curling up in a smile, her expression warming faintly, as though she was recalling fond memories...which she maybe was. However, that smile quickly disappeared again.

"So it has come to this," said Ozpin sadly. "I once believed you to be better, Salem."

Salem's eyes narrowed. "Ozpin-No...Ozma...You were the one who betrayed me."

"I did what I believed was right," said Ozpin, his own voice heavy with sorrow.

Thinking back to Jinn's story, Ruby remembered how that particular dispute had turned out...what it had cost both of them. Ozma's battle with Salem had not only destroyed the castle they had lived in, but had consumed the lives of their daughters. In the face of such a horrific loss, Salem had been forced to continue on as she always had, suffering in her immortal shell...while Ozpin simply awoke inside a new host, and was forced to go through life all over again, neither of them able to shed the burden of their grief...nor the notion that the other was the cause for it. What had once been a powerful love had been turned on its head into a bitter hatred. Ruby could feel it, lingering like a poison in the air between them.

Salem's expression darkened even further...which was really saying something. "As always...your true love was justice. Your principles would always come first, and I would forever be second to them."

"At one time, that was what you said you loved most about me," said Ozpin, striding forward.

"P-Professor!" exclaimed Ruby staring after him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Love is both blind and bitter, once you realize the truth of it," said Salem, remaining where she was. "I sacrificed everything for you. I suffered the punishment of the gods, endured millennia of solitude and suffering...all for my love of you. And, in the end, when we had the chance to gain everything...you spurned me in the final hour, turned your back on everything that we had made for ourselves. You showed me how shallow and empty love really is."

"Perhaps your love," countered Ozpin, continuing to close the distance between them. "You said you would always be second in my heart. However, that could be said about you too."

"What?" growled Salem, baring her teeth.

"Grieving what one has lost is natural," said Ozpin. "Mourning is natural. You defied the gods in your effort to bring me back, not because of your love for me, but because you were unable to cope with your own pain and loss. Worse still, you dragged the rest of humanity in along with you.

"If you had truly loved me, you would have treasured the time we had together in life, and looked forward to the time we would spend together in the eternity afterwards. Instead, you merely thought only of your own pain...and nothing else. In the end...the one you truly loved above all else was yourself."

Ruby swallowed hard. It's the same, she thought. Salem is just like him!

Even though how he had shown it had been considerably different, Ruby now realized that Salem's struggle, at least on an emotional level, mirrored that of her father's. Taiyang had never been able to let go of Summer. He had transferred that attachment to Ruby, burdened her with the pain of his loss and grief, and had tried to keep her with him, so that he would have that piece of his wife forever by his side. He hadn't cared one whit about right or wrong, or about how Ruby felt about how he treated her. The only thing that had mattered to him was his pain, his grief. In its own way, he was no different from when he had been drowning himself in alcohol...he had just switched to a different vice.

To everyone's surprise, Salem inclined her head. "Perhaps you are right," she said. "That being the case, there is no longer any place for you in my life...or this world...Ozpin."

"Indeed," said Ozpin. "If there is one thing I have learned, especially taking recent events into account...this world has outgrown both of us."

He raised his cane. "Ms. Rose...I know that this fight was originally meant for you. But please allow me to make one last attempt to end this."

"Professor..." Ruby raised her hand in protest, stepping towards them, only to pause when Ozpin glanced back at her, a sorrowful look in his eyes.

Slowly, Ruby lowered her hand, then looked past him at Salem. Her eyes narrowed slightly, the nagging feeling that had building, ever since they had arrived atop this whale, crystalizing into a realization, which brought forth a single question.

"Where is Jester?"

Salem brought her hand to her chest. "He is right here," she said. "He is inside me. I have consumed him...and made his power my own."

Ruby frowned. Did she really...? She couldn't quite imagine it herself. Jester would not be ended so easily. If it were as simple as something like this, then he would have never been as great a thorn in the side of the Mibu as he had been.

However, Salem's attention had already returned to Ozpin. "Now then, Ozpin. It's time for you to die again."

"We shall see," said Ozpin, leveling his cane at Salem, and taking his stance.

Her eyes narrowing, Salem raised her right hand, aiming the palm at Ozpin.

Given what they had seen of Salem's magic in Jinn's vision, Ruby and her friends expected fire, perhaps a blast of some untyped eldritch power. It should have erupted forth from her palm. Instead...the black mass beneath Ozpin's feet came to life, writhing as countless arms shot upwards. Their forms were flexible, like tentacles, but they ended in hands, tipped with five slender fingers, each one tipped with a white bone-claw. They surrounded Ozpin on all sides, their flexible forms threatening to bind him and pull him down.

But Ozpin wasn't there anymore. In a flash, he was already in front of Salem.

Ruby's eyes widened. But she wasn't the only one shocked. After all, Ozpin's speed seemed to be of a different type from the Shukuchi she used. Instead, his speed reminded her more of Jester's speed...or rather...his ability to render the concept of speed meaningless.

Time dilation! thought Weiss, her jaw dropping. It was similar to one form of her Glyphs. However, Ozpin's was greater by an order of magnitude.

It wasn't over though. Just as it had been when he had been fighting the Grimm, Ozpin's cane was a blur, seeming to multiply as he struck out with a rapid series of thrusts, Salem's body jolting harshly as each blow landed home. However, her expression remained unchanged. She made no effort to defend or counterattack. Instead, she held her right arm out to the side and, in an almost lazy gesture, turned her palm upwards.

There was a sinister keening noise that Ruby remembered all too well. Molten light welled up beneath Ozpin's feet. A second later, a column of flame erupted upwards, where he had been standing. However, he was already behind Salem, thrusting his cane at her back.

"Weak."

Abruptly, Ozpin's body was blown backwards. There was no sign of Salem having touched him. Instead, he was flung back, his back slamming into the rocky outcropping that lined the Grimm-whale's back, which encompassed the violet crystals that ran down the length of its spine like a ridge.

Gravity, thought Ruby. It looks like she does have Jester's power after all. She had felt that familiar presence, a power that was born of Aura, rather than magic. Furthermore, she felt that sinister undertone, a presence that suffused Salem's Aura, lingering in the wake of her attack like a bad aftertaste.

Turning towards Ozpin, Salem raised her right hand again. A glowing red sigil appeared by her feet, off to one side. A new black arm and hand erupted up from it. However, it was exponentially larger than the ones she had summoned before. It shot upwards into the air, fingers splaying out, bending back slightly, before descending upon Ozpin like the slap of an angry god. Ozpin glanced up at it, then vanished before the hand struck.

Beneath their feet, the people observing the fight felt the Grimm's body jolt from the blow. It seemed that Salem didn't really care if she injured the Grimm with her own attacks. That was understandable. At this point, the Grimm were for nothing more than theatrics. Absorbing the power of Jester, a power that he'd used to toss the Goyosei around like they were no more than toys, she didn't even really need the Grimm she'd brought with her. She was perfectly capable of destroying Vale all on her own.

That much was apparent when Ozpin appeared on her left, lashing out with his cane at her head. However, the cane was stopped by Salem's arm, which she held up to ward off the blow. Ozpin drew his weapon back, then struck from a different direction. Once again, his cane became a blur, seeming to be in multiple places at the same time. However, so was Salem's arm. Wherever Ozpin's cane struck, Salem's arm appeared to intercept it. She wasn't even looking at him, as she fended off his blows.

"You've fallen so low, Ozpin." Suddenly, Salem switched from blocking his attacks to attacking in turn. Lashing out, she struck Ozpin across the face with a backhanded slap.

Ozpin's feet lifted up into the air, and he was on the verge of being thrown away on a course that would send him flying off the Grimm's back. However, before that could happen, Salem's arm stretched out, grabbing his collar, causing his spine to bend painfully as she abruptly canceled the momentum that she had instilled only a fraction of a second earlier.

"Giving up your magic has forced you to rely on tricks," continued Salem. "You were a fool to surrender your power to those girls. Now you stand before me, practically naked. That body of yours is falling apart, isn't it. Unlike me, you feel the passing of the years keenly, every time. This is the one of the hosts you've held onto for the longest, isn't it?"

Ozpin said nothing, merely raising his head to glare at her. His spectacles were gone, but he still stared defiantly at her.

"It pains me, watching you struggle like this," continued Salem, narrowing her eyes. "I would say that your time for this incarnation is at an end."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed in return. Despite being struck so hard, he had not relinquished his grip on his cane. Now he whipped it up, jabbing it sharply into the joint of Salem's wrist, a flash of green Aura lancing out from the tip as he struck. With a grunt, Salem released him. Ozpin vanished from where he had been, just as another blast of flame immolated the space where he'd been standing.

However, instead of attacking again, Ozpin reappeared, standing between Salem and Ruby's group, his intense gaze focused directly upon her. Once again, he rested his hands on the pommel of his cane, while resting its tip against the whale-Grimm's flesh.

"It is true that I no longer have more than a fragment of the magic I once did," said Ozpin. "However, I do not regret, even for a moment, giving it away. Freeing myself from its burden has allowed me to come to a better understanding of the nature of power. Perhaps you could stand to shed that burden, Salem, rather than always seeking more."

"The words of a fool," said Salem, glaring at him. "You would merely have me descend down to your level."

"I suppose there is no point in drawing out that argument," said Ozpin, taking up his cane again.

Salem raised her hands away from her sides slightly, her arms angled downwards, palms facing the ground...or Grimm. Red and black energy crackled across her hands, a shimmering field of black that enshrouded them, while arcs of blood-red jumped between her fingers like brief bursts of lightning. The very air around her hands began to ripple, almost as though they were giving off intense heat. Her very presence had a palpable weight, a weight that was different from the Chiyugi that Setsuna or Chinmei used.

"It is time to send you to your next self, Ozpin," said Salem.

Ozpin said nothing, merely leveling his cane at Salem, adopting a stance like that of a fencer. However, his head slowly turned, and Ruby found herself flinching as her gaze met his own.

"Ms. Rose...the rest I leave to you," he said sadly, "including the next me."

"Professor!" shouted Ruby, reaching out towards him.

However, Ozpin had already turned forward. The next second, he vanished, closing in on Salem in an instant. Salem had already raised her hands, directing a blast of pure, eldritch energy right at Ozpin, engulfing him in a destructive wave that ripped a channel through the Grimm flesh they were all standing on. It was such a powerful blast that it threatened to swallow Ruby and her friends as well.

However, before it could even reach that far, the blast spread outwards, its force deflected in every direction, except for directly ahead of where it had been launched, its waves of power breaking over the curved surface of a barrier of pale-green energy that shimmered around Ozpin in a perfect sphere.

"What!?" exclaimed Salem, her eyes going wide with shock as Ozpin glided ever nearer.

Ruby was just as shocked as everyone else in their group. Ozpin had done something similar in his fight against Hazel. However, it was hard to imagine even powerful Aura being able to deflect a blast as powerful as the one that Salem had just used. Then Ruby spied some motion near Ozpin's right hand. Her gaze zeroed in on the pommel of his cane.

The gears that rested at the base of the handle, where the cane extended out, were spinning rapidly, while an intense, green light shined out from within. Crackling power spread across Ozpin's body, feeding into the barrier around him as he charged through the torrent of Salem's magical power.

"How?" gasped Salem as she poured more energy into her attack. "You gave up your power! You have next to nothing!"

"Yes." Abruptly, time seemed to stop for Salem. Ozpin now stood directly in front of her. Salem could see and hear him clearly. However, the entire world, including she herself, seemed to have come to a stop. Thus, even as he spoke, she was unable to do anything but listen and watch.

"But 'next to nothing'...is not nothing. This weapon, The Long Memory of all my past lives, was made to store time...my time. In other words, it stores away the little magic I have left, a little more each day. And I have been storing that power away for centuries.

"And now...I shall let you feel the weight of all that time with your own body."

Still helpless, Salem could only watch as Ozpin drew back his cane, then unleashed another barrage of thrusts. This time, the cane was charged with emerald-green energy, which was streaming out from the gears that were rapidly spinning inside the handle. Every blow that Ozpin struck left a bead of the same energy sticking to Salem's body...and he struck her dozens...hundreds...of times. Crackling arcs of the same color linked those beads together, burning with greater and greater intensity with each passing fraction of a second.

And still Ozpin's onslaught continued. Blow after blow he struck, pouring everything he had into this barrage of strikes, drawing out every last scrap of magic left within his cane. All of it was merging together, forming into a mass of energy dwarfing even the mighty attack that Salem had unleashed against Ozpin just before.

And then...after what seemed like ages...time started again. The accumulated energy in all the attacks Ozpin had launched detonated. A furious roar accompanied a jet of emerald green that blasted across the back of the Grimm-whale, shattering the ridges of rock and purple Dust-crystals that lined its back. There was a low, ominous moan, accompanied by a shuddering vibration from the flesh beneath their feet. Then the massive Grimm's flight dipped downwards, black particles drifting up and away from its body as it descended. Ozpin's attack had been the fatal blow...which would have been a good thing, had Ruby and her friends not been on top of the Grimm that was now falling from the sky.

It slammed into the ground, its crash crushing countless numbers of the lesser Grimm that had been swarming beneath it. Of course, everyone who had been riding atop it was thrown off their feet by the impact, which was so powerful that the resulting tremors were undoubtedly felt back in Vale. The plume of dust raised by the crash was also probably clearly visible from the walls. The descent had been so sudden that they really hadn't had any time to stabilize, a task made all the more difficult when their foothold vanished from beneath them.

Ruby groaned, raising her head to look up. The air around her was filled with dust, obstructing her vision. Getting to her feet, Ruby found that she and her friends were now in the middle of a massive trench, one that dwarfed the size of the trench that she, Miyu, Natsuki, and Nora had carved with their combo attack earlier, said trench probably having been obscured by the one the whale had dug in its tumultuous landing.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Ruby, Extending her Aura out to feel the presences of her friends, checking their status, even before their coughing responses reached her ears.

Everyone seemed relatively uninjured, though their Auras had taken a battering from the rough landing. Even if being on top of the massive Grimm, as it had gone down, had been a tumultuous ride, it was still a hundred times better than being caught beneath it.

Ruby turned back in the direction where Ozpin and Salem had been. The dust was already beginning to clear, swept away by a gentle breeze. As it wafted away from her eyes, Ruby caught a glimpse of a figure resting on one knee.

It was Ozpin, kneeling, head bowed. His cane was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, Ruby found she couldn't spot it anywhere nearby. Then...out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. But it wasn't the cane.

Black particles were streaming up out of the ground directly in front of where Ozpin was kneeling. They were descending down from above as well, all of them converging on a single point, merging together into a single mass, which congealed into a humanoid shape, which then developed color and definition. In mere seconds, Salem was standing there, looking completely unharmed. All the power Ozpin had unleashed had amounted to nothing.

Did he do anything? wondered Ruby, horrified at the sight.

She had hoped that, by fighting against Ozpin, the battle might have drained some of Salem's power. Even if she was immortal, the reserves of magic and Aura that she could use over a given period of time weren't infinite...right? However, Salem's presence was just as oppressive and overwhelming as it had been before. If her fight with Ozpin had done anything to weaken her, it was to such a minor degree that Ruby couldn't perceive it with her senses.

Then again, maybe her reserves weren't infinite...before she consumed Jester, thought Ruby.

However, as Salem glared down at Ozpin, baring her teeth furiously, Ruby could say with surety that Ozpin had accomplished something with that last onslaught.

He'd made Salem angry.

"I had intended to make your latest death swift," said Salem. "But your impertinence has caused me to rethink that."

Black hands, tipped with white claws, erupted from the ground around Ozpin again. However, this time, Ozpin was unable to make any move to dodge them. In a flash, he was knocked off his feet, the arms wrapping around his body, binding his limbs, the hands gripping him tightly, those curving claws sinking into his flesh and drawing blood. They pulled him downward, pulling his body tightly against the ground, causing it to sink in. Worse still, his face was downwards as well, pressing ever more tightly against the earth. Salem was slowly suffocating him, even as she crushed him.

Despite that, Ozpin offered no struggle, not even seeming to resist Salem's efforts. Even if his strength was all but gone, someone suffering from such a lingering, drawn-out death would be expected to struggle, to fight back, however futilely. But Ozpin did nothing of the sort. Instead, Ruby could sense his acceptance. He had no intention of fighting his end here. Nor would he give Salem the satisfaction of seeing him struggle against the inevitable.

And, as Ozpin had probably been intending, his lack of resistance was only angering Salem, who clearly wanted to see him writhe. Her lips pulled back farther, baring more of her teeth. Her eyes narrowed more, and the Grimm-arms tightened their hold. The sound of bones creaking, then cracking filled the air.

Then There was a flickering strobe of silver through the air. The flash was sudden and blinding. There was a squealing, screeching sound, and the Grimm arms holding Ozpin down evaporated. Salem was no longer standing directly in front of Ozpin, instead having suddenly retreated back over a dozen meters, still glaring furiously, though her gaze was no longer directed at Beacon's Headmaster.

Ruby strode up to stand next to Ozpin's prone form. Crouching down, she rolled him over, so that his face was no longer pressed against the ground. Then she gently brushed the dirt away from his mouth and nose, making sure that his airways were clear. As she did, she inspected his injuries.

"Professor..." said Ruby sadly.

"Ms. Rose...it's all right," said Ozpin.

"Jaune...Miyu-chan...can you take care of him?" asked Ruby, looking back.

Miyu and Jaune nodded, starting forward. It was an uncertain thing. Jaune wasn't yet skilled enough to treat injuries as extensive as the ones that Ozpin was suffering. However, Miyu had drained most of her Aura in the last two uses of her support techniques. However, if Jaune could lend Miyu his support, then she would likely be able to treat Ozpin's injuries.

Salem, however, had other ideas.

She raised her right hand, gently curling her outstretched fingers in a claw-like gesture, their tips pointed towards Ruby and Ozpin. Ruby's senses immediately blared a warning that she was in danger. Her feet ground against the earth as she turned towards Ozpin, seeking to get him away from the area that would be affected by Salem's next attack. However, even as she did, she saw that Ozpin was suddenly on his feet, one arm wrapped around his front, holding his side. The world around her, and Ruby's own body, came to a sudden stop. With his other hand, he thrust out, pushing Ruby away with a surprising amount of force, considering the condition he was in.

As Ruby flew back, time restarted. A black sphere materialized at the level of Ozpin's chest, before rapidly expanding outward. To Ruby's horror, she could only watch, locking eyes with Ozpin for the final second of his life as his body spiraled into the black hole that had suddenly burst into existence right in front of him.

Deep in the recesses of her mind, Ruby was forced to confront the truth...that she had reacted too late. Had she actually gone through with her attempt to save Ozpin from Salem's attack, the effort needed to pick him up and carry him away would have slowed her down to the point where they both would have been killed. As it was, she still had to strain to avoid being caught by the area affected by the expanding sphere of pitch-black. Propelling her Aura out through her feet, Ruby managed to force herself away from it, before it collapsed back in on itself and vanished.

Coming to a stop, Ruby stared at the space where Ozpin had been, tears leaking from her eyes as she realized that she'd failed, that he'd died...and she'd been powerless to stop it.

"It is done."

Salem's voice recalled Ruby to the present, and the cause of Ozpin's death. Turning her head, Ruby glared furiously at the woman, who stared balefully at the space where Ozpin had been standing. Then, as if she'd only just become aware of Ruby's anger, Salem's eyes slowly turned towards her. "And now...the time has come to deal with you."

Ruby's left hand closed around the handle of her sword, drawing Akaibara forth from her sheath. The sword's crimson blade shone, ringing steadily as Ruby brandished her, their Auras merging and coalescing together, Ruby adopting her typical starting stance, sword positioned over her head, the blade pointing in the direction of her enemy, the edges angled vertically, the space near the tip lightly pinched between the middle and ring fingers of her right hand.

"So you intend to fight, foolish child?" asked Salem.

"It's what I came here for," said Ruby.

"Truly, you are a fool," scoffed Salem. "After everything you have seen, after everything you have experienced, you truly believe that you could end me? You could not even handle Jester, and now I have consumed him and made his power my own. I will be eternal."

"No...you won't," said Ruby. "Even if you were, it would only bring you more misery."

Salem's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Even if the God of Light gave you immortality, you're still human," said Ruby. "That's the problem, what's unnatural about you. Humans were never meant to live forever. And so...when you are forced to live so long...you suffer because of it."

The muscles of Salem's neck visibly tightened, her jaw clenching.

"That's why you're so dead-set on making a new world," said Ruby. "You can't stand living forever as a human. So, if you figure that you end everything and make yourself into a god, you'll be able to escape your suffering. But no amount of destruction and creation will change who and what you are. No matter how much you deny it, you won't be able to escape it either. You're human, Salem."

Salem bared her teeth again. "I can see that Ozpin has taught you well...you share his gift for drawing my ire."

Ruby smirked at her. "It makes me glad to hear that."

"Ruby!" Behind Ruby, Yang started forward, aiming to try and help, to put her strength to work fighting alongside the most important person in her life. However she was stopped by Jaune, who stepped out in front of her, holding out his left arm and shield to keep her back.

"What are you doing?" demanded Yang, glaring at Jaune, who turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"We have to leave this to Ruby," he said softly. "Right now, she's the only one who really has a chance."

Yang opened her mouth to protest, to contradict him, only to stop when Qrow's hand came down to grip her shoulder tightly.

"As much as I wanna deny it, the guy has a point," said Qrow. "It ain't easy, trusting everything to her."

Yang could understand that much. However, following Qrow's eyes, Yang suddenly understood that Qrow wasn't referring to Yang herself. He was looking at Jaune. Though Jaune's left arm and shield were held out, steady and unwavering, his right hand was clenched tightly around the handle of his sword, the blade shivering in his grip. Likewise, his legs were also trembling. Jaune was on the verge of rushing forward himself, and was only keeping himself in check with an extreme force of will.

Glancing around, Yang saw that they weren't the only ones reluctant to stand back and leave this fight to Ruby. Ciel, Piper, and Rain were holding tight to Penny, who looked after Ruby with pleading eyes. Given that they weren't simply being dragged along by Penny's raw strength, Yang hazarded a guess that their appeals had gotten through to her. However, they continued to cling tightly to her for insurance, however slight it might have been.

Ren was restraining Nora. Just as with the three members of CPPR, aside from Penny, there was no way that Ren could actually hold Nora back with his own strength, if she had resolved to press forward. Instead, he was holding her in a tight hug, combing his fingers through her hair, while Nora rested her head against his collar, face turned so that her teary eyes were staring at Ruby's back. Blake was able to restrain herself. However, her expression was reluctant and uneasy, clearly expressing her unhappiness at having to stand back and leave this fight to someone else.

Weiss and Pyrrha were just as unhappy with the situation as anyone else. Reaching out with her right hand, Weiss was using it to cling to Pyrrha's left, behind her shield. Pyrrha was holding onto Weiss' hand just as tightly. Their eyes were glued to the brewing fight in front of them.

Then there were Ruby's friends from Leng. Natsuki looked as though she wanted to jump right into the fray, her kodachi drawn and ready. However, Setsuna was restraining her, one hand tightly closed around her right forearm. Behind them, Miyu looked on sadly, her hands clasped together, while Oscar...

...Oscar had dropped his kama and had clamped his hands tightly to his head, gritting his teeth and groaning under his breath as he doubled over, his entire body trembling. With all the tension in the air, his situation had momentarily escaped notice. However, that oversight passed when he dropped to his knees, then fell forward.

That was when Natsuki noticed. Ruby temporarily forgotten, she whipped her head around to see Oscar lying prone. "Oscar-kun!"

In a flash, Natsuki was at his side, turning him over while Miyu crouched down next to him. Carefully, Miyu began her examination of his condition. However, upon checking his Aura with her own, Miyu let out a soft gasp.

"Impossible..." she whispered.

"Miyu-chan...?" Natsuki looked up at her friend, over Oscar's unmoving form. Miyu met her gaze, her expression shocked.

Whatever was happening behind her, Ruby didn't notice...or couldn't afford to notice. She couldn't allow her awareness of her opponent to waver for even the slightest instant. That kind of lapse had already cost Ozpin his life. It was a mistake that Ruby was resolved not to make again. She had to put everything she had into this battle, if she wanted to ensure that humanity had a future. So, however difficult it might have been, Ruby allowed herself to ignore the commotion growing behind her, focusing everything on the monster born of humanity in front of her.

Salem stared intently at Ruby. "You and your friends need not die today," she said.

"We won't," said Ruby firmly.

Salem's eyes narrowed. "Are you not curious, child?"

"About what?" asked Ruby.

"When you faced Tyrian, you must have felt his desire to kill, correct?"

"I did," said Ruby, remembering, all too well, that intense malice.

"And yet...I told Tyrian and the others that I wished for you to be brought to me, alive."

Ruby frowned. "I guess you did." Tyrian had said something to that effect, after all.

"Because I have a use for your power," said Salem. "The Silver Eyes cannot kill me. Your mother learned that truth the hard way."

Ruby frowned at the reference to her mother's death, the casual way with which Salem brandished such callous words.

Salem continued. "However, they are still of use to me. Because of that, as I told you before, you have an opportunity to spare the lives of both yourself and your loved ones. They need not perish alongside the rest of humanity. Cooperate with me, and you can save them. Even more, when I remake this world, they will have a place within it, alongside those who have earned my favor.

Ruby's expression darkened. "No thanks," she said. "I think I'd rather save all of humanity, and send you to Hell."

"Fool," grumbled Salem. "Then prepare yourself. I require you alive. However, you would be amazed the suffering a person can endure, before their life finally gives out. I assure you that you will experience that, right up to your absolute limit."

"Bring it on!" shouted Ruby.

She vanished, leaving a flurry of red petals in her wake. In a flash, she was behind Salem, Akaibara swinging right for the pale woman's neck. Salem scarcely even turned her head. Instead, Ruby was forced to abort her attack, throwing her body into a spin that allowed her to dance aside as more flexible arms erupted from the ground, right at Salem's feet. The clawed fingers of those hands gleamed as they reached out for her, the arms bending to follow the path Ruby took, those hands seeking to find grips on her clothes and flesh. Even as she avoided them, Ruby lashed out with swift slashes of her sword, cutting them down.

However, as the last hand fell, severed from its accompanying arm, Ruby was forced into an even more desperate dodge, leaping aside as flames erupted from the ground beneath her feet. Salem swept her arm out in a broad arc, and a line of explosions erupted around her, chasing the fleeting red shadow of Ruby as she darted around, skirting Salem's position. The sky darkened, and a bolt of lightning lanced down to meet the tip of Ruby's upraised sword. Without hesitation, she unleashed a downwards swing.

"Raijin: Raikaran!"

An entire storm of thunderbolts rained down on Salem's position, bombarding her. Gritting her teeth, Salem raised her hand, and the bolts crashed against a swirling barrier of black and sickly-red, before falling to the ground around her, throwing up sparks and sprays of dust and smoke. It was then that Ruby darted in from the side, swinging her sword across her body in a horizontal slash. Rather than lightning, the blade was lined by a crimson wind.

"Kazegiri!" Ruby flashed past, and Salem lurched, her upper body separating from her lower body...for all of a second. Then the severed portions of her body rejoined, as though nothing at all had happened.

"Futile," said Salem, turning to find Ruby watching her.

"But you still don't like it," replied Ruby.

Salem's eyes narrowed.

"You told me about how much suffering someone can go through, before they die," Ruby pointed out, smirking. "But you...you don't have a limit. Since you can't die, there's no limit to how much pain you can feel."

"So...you intend to torture me then?" asked Salem.

Ruby canted her head. "Not really," she replied. "I guess I was just thinking...it really does suck to be immortal after all, doesn't it?"

With an angry growl, Salem swept a hand out at Ruby. This time, a wave of black arms erupted forth from the ground. However, before Ruby could even begin to think about evading them, the ground beneath her feet split open. Looking down, Ruby found herself staring into an enormous fanged maw that had opened up beneath her very feet, its teeth like massive, curved swords, each one more than capable of punching all the way through her body. Without anything to stand on, she was falling down into it, the jaws already closing like a massive bear-trap.

Another bolt of lightning descended from on high, with a roar of thunder. This one barely even touched the tip of Ruby's sword, before she directed it straight down below her feet. The jaws vanished with a flash of light. The arms rushed in from all sides, curling around to surround Ruby. However, they came to a stop, tangled in the strands of a web of lightning...which suddenly brightened, the crackling noise of it all increasing in intensity. With a hissing squeal, those arms dissolved into black smoke, before vanishing.

From amidst the flash, Ruby emerged, streaking at Salem, who thrust her right palm out, an eldritch blast of black and red engulfing the ground in front of her. However, Ruby had jumped, her cloaked figure now soaring above Salem, before touching down on the ground behind her. The earth erupted though, white spikes of bone, looking like ribs, thrusting out in a wave of spearlike tips that threatened to impale Ruby, who swiftly backpedaled out of their reach.

Meanwhile, Salem turned to face Ruby, extending her left hand out to her side. A trio of sinister-looking, dark-red sigils appeared in the air around her, one on either side of her, while the third hovered over her head. With a roar, fang-lined maws shot forth, sinuous bodies winding around each other, as the heads and necks of three Sea Feilongs lunged at Ruby in what seemed like a perverse imitation of the techniques Shinrei used.

Ruby didn't retreat though. Instead she charged forward, lightly sidestepping the first of the Feilong heads to reach her. Using minimal movements, she also wove between the second and third. At the same time, the first two fingers of her right hand moved to the base of her sword, resting against the flat of the blade, before tracing their way up its length. The blade exploded into ringing life, shining and drawing in the air around it. Jumping, Ruby launched herself into a spin, sweeping Akaibara around herself in a complete circle.

"Kazebara!"

Ruby's attack created a vertical red ring in the air, which extended out in all directions, cleaving through the necks of all three Feilongs, while Ruby proceeded forward, closing in on Salem once more.

With an angry grunt, Salem swept out her cloak with her right arm. Spindly, multi-jointed legs, covered with black bristles, extended out, curling inwards, their pointed tips angling to intercept Ruby, as though Salem's cloak concealed countless insectile Grimm. It was terrifying to behold, especially if one was about to run right into their midst. It wasn't all that surprising that Ruby shifted to her right to avoid those legs. However, Salem easily compensated by sweeping out the left side of her cloak as well. A large, familiar-looking pincer extended from that one, clacking menacingly as it tried to seize Ruby in its grip.

Yet still, Ruby continued forward, rushing right down the gauntlet of Salem's attacks. Right as she stepped close though, her carefully-honed instincts blared another warning. Stepping down a little harder, Ruby accelerated even more sharply, putting the last extra ounce of speed she was capable of into the move. She vanished, just as the ground where she'd been a fraction of a second earlier caved in underneath the presence of an incredible, invisible weight.

Ruby's sudden acceleration carried her between the legs and pincer, right into the center of Salem's space. Akaibara was raised high over her head. A bolt of lightning lanced down as Ruby brought the blade down directly on Salem's head. "Raijin: Honorai Ikazuch!" With a roar of thunder, Ruby used the swing of her sword to direct the bolt of lightning straight down through Salem, cutting a line all the way from the top of the woman's head to the ground beneath her. Then Ruby's followthrough, carrying the remaining energy imbued within her sword, came along a horizontal course, cutting Salem's body into quarters. The Grimm parts that had been extending out from within Salem's cape vanished in a flash, and Ruby shot past, coming to a stop, sword raised overhead, as the blue-white light of the lightning behind her seemed to completely swallow Salem whole.

Then it faded, the last echoes of thunder dying away. Where Salem had been standing before was nothing more than a circle of blackened earth, with no sign of the unnatural woman and sight.

Ruby's friends looked on, some of them daring to hope that Ruby had actually done it, that Salem was gone for good this time.

Ruby, on the other hand, calmly closed her eyes, waiting. After a moment, she snapped them open again, her body vanishing from sight as the space where she was standing was consumed by a massive explosion, one that threatened to throw the onlookers off their feet. A series of explosions chased Ruby along the length of the trench the Grimm-Whale had carved during its crash, throwing up smoke, dust, and debris. Finally, Ruby emerged from the last one in line, whole, but trailing smoke from her cloak as she skidded to a stop. Straightening, she gasped, then turned to her left, raising Akairbara, with the blade pointing down, bracing the flat against her right forearm.

Salem had appeared practically right next to her, swinging her right arm up in a diagonal arc, a black wave slamming into Akaibara, the force of the blow knocking Ruby off her feet, and sending her flying back along the line of craters that Salem's explosions had created. She landed shoulder-first, the armor plates of her pauldron catching on the ground, sending her into a bouncing tumble. Rolling to a stop, Ruby had to plant her sword to level herself back up to her feet, looking at Salem, a pained grimace on her face.

Wisps of what looked like black smoke trailed from Salem's right hand, the remnants of the attack she'd just used to bat Ruby across the landscape. Lowering her hand, she glared imperiously at Ruby. "Have you had enough of wasting my time with tricks?" she asked.

Ruby's response was to push her sword a little harder against the ground, forcing herself to stand up straight. She swayed a little. Salem's last attack had left a pretty serious dent in her Aura. But she was still more than able to keep going. Instead, she glared defiantly back at Salem.

"Impudent child," growled Salem.

She held out her right hand again, this time out to her side, fingers straight, palm facing downwards. A dark-red sigil, just like the one that she had used to produce the Feilong heads earlier, appeared, resting on the ground. From the eye-like mark in its center, the bulbous end of what appeared to be some kind of bone emerged. As it rose up, the bone was revealed to be what appeared to be a femur, a femur that formed the handle of an enormous sword.

It was easily the most grotesque weapon Ruby had laid eyes upon. It was a single-edged blade, reminiscent of a katana, sporting an extremely shallow curve, before terminating at a sharply-angled tip. The edge was a pure, bone-white, with blood-red veins running up from it, across a black body. Its spine was an actual spine, a line of vertebrae joined together, their spinous processes extending out in a series of sharpened spikes. Where the black body of the blade joined the bone that formed the handle, a red and yellow-looking eye glared out at Ruby, seething with malice. That was when it struck her. This thing was not a sword...but a sword-shaped Grimm.

The weapon was enormous, even larger than Hakuya had been. However, Salem hefted it with one hand, as though it weighed no more than a feather.

"Do you think that, with all the time I have lived, that I would not have mastered the sword?" asked Salem. "I will crush you at the skill you rate yourself highest at and, in doing so, break you completely. I will cleave the limbs from your body, then make you watch as I kill your friends and loved ones, one by one."

Ruby didn't offer a verbal response. Instead, she split Akaibara, taking up Bara and Ibara. The latter, she held out in front of her, the blade angled to the side; while the former, she held over her head, the sword angled so that its blade extended vertically down behind her back.

After seeing Salem returned from what would have killed anyone else, a second time even, most people, even the most-hardened warriors, would have given in to despair, especially considering the sheer volume of effort that Ruby had put into getting this far. However, Ruby did not falter. Her gaze did not show any signs of fear or weakness, merely a determination to keep pressing forward. Bara and Ibara hummed with their own eagerness for battle, their Auras merging with Ruby's own. Up above, the sky darkened as storm clouds boiled out of nowhere, lightning crackling within them.

Ruby and Salem faced each other down, their gazes locked. Their bodies tensed. Then they both surged forward at the same time, their blades flying towards one another, meeting with a deafening ring and an explosion of earth.