Ch 5: Reprimand or Interview? (2)

"Hmm? Why do I want to be a Huntsman?" Ray cocked an eyebrow at Ozpin's unclear question.

"Not exactly. Unlike your sister. You have been on our radar for quite some time." Ozpin turned to face Glynda, bringing the twin's attention back to her scroll, which was now showing a new video.

The image seemed to be taken from an airship high in the sky based on the angle. On the screen, a massive pack of Beowolves, wolf-shaped Grimm that's back would reach a grown man's waist when standing on four legs, could be seen turning the entire ground black with their numbers. Except for two points. One was in the center of the pack, an ever-shrinking circle around a small outcrop of rocks where four figures, licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses most likely since they were still alive in the middle of all those Grimm, could be seen fighting for their lives. The other was on the far left side of the screen. There, a small figure wrapped in a black cloak could be seen surrounded by a swarm of azure lightning bolts, racing towards the center. As the figure ran, the lightning bolts danced around it, piercing any Beowolf that got close, causing them to disappear in a cloud of black ash and smoke, leaving a scar of open land in the endless tide of Grimm behind it as the figure ruthlessly advanced in the center of the storm.

Ruby watched with sparkling eyes, in awe of the power and control the figure displayed with its master of the lightning bolts. What's more, she recognized the technique being used. Ruby turned to look at her brother in worship. She knew he was strong, but she didn't realize it was to this extent. He was slaughtering these Beowolves and Alpha Beowolves, the superior cousin of the Beowolf that took after the characteristics of alpha wolves, half again as big as their weaker cousins and able to stand on their hind legs, giving them a more bipedal fighting style, like they were nothing. And this was with what he had always described as his favorite crowd-control technique for its versatility, ease of use, and sustainability.

Ruby turned back to the screen just in time to see the figure reach the rocky outcrop where the other people were making their desperate last stand against the tide of Grimm. Approaching them from the opposite side of the outcrop, lightning began to arc around the figure's legs, illuminating its blood-red greaves, before it leaped over the outcrop to deliver a thundering punch down on top of the head of one of the four giant Alpha Beowolves, twice as big as regular Alphas, that were leading the attack, revealing a blood-red gauntlet, and exploding the giant Grimm's head into a mess of black ash and smoke.

Panicking at the sudden emergence of an unknown person, one of the Huntsman swung his spear at the cloaked figure's back as it landed. Without turning around, the figure reached back and caught the spearhead with its gloved hand and sent an arc of lightning down the spear. Shocked by how easily his attack was stopped, the Huntsman was caught unprepared by the lighting counterattack. He took the full brunt of it and was knocked unconscious. Seeing one of their teammates taken out by an unknown cloaked figure, the remaining Huntsman and two Huntresses turned their attack towards the perceived new threat.

Facing the attacks of three Huntsmen from behind and three giant Alpha Beowolves from the front, along with the dozens of regular Beowolves lurking around waiting for an opportunity to strike, the cloaked figure dodged backward away from the Grimm, slipping between the Huntsmen and their attacks back first without looking. Reaching the rear of the three Huntsmen who were standing close together with their backs to the outcrop, three red blurs flashed out from beneath the black cloak. Each Huntsman was struck in the back of the neck and knocked out. The interloper had effortlessly incapacitated four elite licensed Huntsmen in mere seconds without any injures. Grabbing the four now unconscious Huntsmen by the scruff of their necks and throwing them up onto a ledge on the side of the outcrop, where they would be out of any immediate danger, the figure turned its attention back to the Grimm.

Ducking under the claw swipe of one of the giant Alpha Beowolves, the figure delivered a sharp uppercut to its assailant's jaw, snapping its head back hard enough to rattle its brain and break its neck. Still in mid-air, the figure twisted around to step on top of another giant Alpha Beowolf as it tried to take a bite out of him. Finding purchase on its skull mask, the figure delivered a sharp kick to giant Grimm's right eye. The kick blinded its right eye and sent it stumbling into the only other remaining giant Alpha Beowolf, causing them both to fall to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Landing back on the ground, the figure drew its right fist back to its waist, gathering its strength for the brief moment before the two giant Alpha Beowolves scrambled back to their feet. Just before they fully regained their balance, the figure vanished from its spot only to reappear instantly with its fist buried in the injured Grimm's chest. The injured Beowolf was once again thrown into its comrade, but this time the force was much more significant. Even with the combined weight of two giant Alpha Beowolves, the momentum was still enough to send both of them flying back into the mass of Beowolves behind them, skidding across the ground, flattening dozens of Grimm before succumbing to their injuries and decaying into black smoke.

All this time, the swarm of lightning bolts had continued to fly around the figure, protecting it and the unconscious Huntsmen from the ravenous pack. After being spread out by the fight and the need to cover all five of the people, the people watching the video could now see that the lightning swarm was made up of 40 different lightning bolts that zipped around at close to the speed of sound, striking and piercing through the vital points of any Grimm that entered their attack zone.

Seeing four of their leaders and over a hundred of their members killed so easily in the brief time since the newcomer's intrusion, the rest of the pack became restless and started to back off. Just as it looked like they were all going to turn around and flee, a vast black shadow streaked over the rocky outcrop, ambushing the black-cloaked figure from behind. In a gesture similar to how it had responded to the first Huntsman's attack, the figure reached back and made a grasping motion with its hand. This time, however, it wasn't its gloved hand that grasped its target. Instead, a giant rib cage formed from semi-transparent azure energy formed around the figure, and a huge skeletal arm and hand extended out from it to pluck the shadow out of the air.

Its attack halted by the skeletal hand, the shadow resolved itself into a Titan Alpha Beowolf. The Titan title is given only to Grimm that have lived for hundreds of years and grown to over five times the size of their normal brethren. Even the giant skeletal hand was small in comparison and could only barely hold onto its neck by digging in its bony fingers as the Grimm used its superior reach to swipe and claw at the rib cage protecting its prey. But it was unable to penetrate the protection of the skeletal rib cage, and with a spurt of effort, the bony hand closed into a fist, crushing its throat. The colossal Alpha Beowolf fell to the ground dead, the long and terrible life of the ancient, mighty monster ended by one small figure in a black cloak.

This was too much for remaining Grimm, and filled with a terror they had never known before, they all turned and ran. Hell-bent on getting as far away from that terrifying monster as possible. Unconcerned about the hundreds of Grimm running away from it, the figure withdrew the energy constructing the skeleton surrounding it and turned around to walk through the dissipating remains of its defeated foe to approach the four Huntsmen lying unconscious on the side of the outcrop. The figure crouched down briefly beside them, checking their injuries, before turning its head sharply to stare straight into the camera that had been approaching the rocky outcrop since the video first started playing. The young face of a 12-year-old Ray could be seen briefly from within the shadow of the hood before the image cut off into static.

Back in the interrogation room, everyone turned their attention from the static-filled screen to stare at Ray. Ruby with stars in her eyes, Ozpin with a look of curious interest, and Glynda with guarded wariness.