How long has it been? Since he had last tasted magic this powerful?
Nergigante couldn't remember for sure; he only knew that he had grown weaker, bored, and even irrational over the millennia without having anything decent to eat.
Once, a few decades ago, he had a small taste when he consumed one of those humans who still had a fragment of magic.
Something extremely rare that only a few of his brothers had after existing for a long time and eating a lot of humans.
That was the reason why Nergigante killed and consumed others of his kind, all in a vain attempt to satisfy his endless hunger.
Unfortunately, even the strongest of his brethren were nothing more than an appetizer, especially when compared to the feast he was having on this day.
Imagine his surprise to find two magic-users even more powerful than those of old, back when his creator still inhabited this world.
A discovery resulting from the annoying light that shone as brightly as the sun, hovering in the skies above. For a moment, the sensation that power gave off as it threatened to burn his body was extremely similar to the Brother of Light, the greatest enemy of darkness.
Otherwise, his brothers wouldn't have gone into a frenzy, marching as they aimed to destroy any and all forms of living light, no matter how insignificant.
After all, that was the reason behind their existence.
Devouring those with negative emotions was just a way for the Grimm to feel closer to their creator.
That, and extinguishing the soul provided by the light... or was it extinguishing the light provided by the soul?
It was so long ago that Nergigante couldn't remember, and hardly any of the other Grimm did, so it was more of an instinctive response at this point.
Regardless, he didn't care about souls or the light of life, only the magic provided by the two.
That was the essence of his creator, the Brother of Darkness, and the most efficient way to fill the void.
For that reason, he was taking his time as he basked in the ice created by the purest form of magic he had felt since the Brothers of Light and Darkness purged this world.
And best of all? This ice was just a taste of what he would have later.
Satisfaction was so close that he could feel the two humans hiding in the distance.
That was the only reason Nergigante let them escape, even temporarily. Besides, they didn't go very far and didn't seem willing to really run away.
Even now, the flame of life resonated with their souls, where the weakest but fastest one had lost her willpower. The strongest and most dangerous one who had created all this ice, although weakened, was determined to keep fighting and try to destroy him.
The naivety of these inferior creatures.
How many had tried to put an end to his existence over the millennia? Many more than he could count or remember, and they had all failed. As a result, every single one of them was now part of his body and power.
The same would happen on this day and would continue to do so until the end of time.
Not even that light from before could make him think otherwise.
After all, everything alive in this world had a limit and grew weaker as it aged, unlike him and his brothers, who only grew stronger the longer they lived.
That's why he would triumph on this day, and consume these two humans to obtain even more power to satisfy his hunger, even if only temporarily, before going after the sun, made up of the light of life.
Imagining what would happen after eating all that stirred up the darkness inside him to no end.
Perhaps Nergigante would break out of his mold and ascend to become something else, just like his creator.
That and finally fill the void once and for all.
It wasn't long before the two keys to his possible evolution started moving towards him, ready to try and challenge him again.
This time, however, it would be different, and the Nergigante had a surprise for them as he emanated cold from his body, and had layers of ice covering his bone armor and thorns to make them even tougher and sharper than before.
All the ice he ate was enough to assimilate this magic and replicate its effects. It was his innate ability that helped him survive for so long and elevated him to the top of this world, along with some of his older brothers who only languished in obscurity as they awaited the unlikely return of their creator.
Soon, however, even those monsters that Nergigante sought to avoid would become nothing in his eyes.
But that was beside the point; the focus was now on these humans who had proved to be an unexpected challenge.
Considering how long it had been since Nergigante last had to really try in one of his hunts and how strong these two were compared to the rest, it wasn't an unexpected result.
Now, however, these little humans would no longer be able to harm his body.
Time to stop playing with his food and end this once and for all.
After all, Nergigante still had a living sun to hunt after this.
-----
Weiss and Ruby walked side by side as they made their way back to the battlefield. Choosing this slow, deliberate approach to preserve the power they would need. With every step they took, their hearts fluttered with worry, and not without good reason.
Suddenly, the Nergigante's corrupted flame had grown exponentially and exuded an extremely familiar sensation.
"No way..." Ruby could hardly believe what she was sensing; it was almost as if that thing had become an evil version of Weiss. "H-how is that possible?"
The implications behind this change were obvious, and she could feel the weight of her failure crushing her as she was unable to stop the Grimm from getting stronger when she had the chance.
In the end, the scenario Ruby wanted to avoid had come true. Now, Weiss and potentially the entire kingdom, if everything went wrong and Vegeta didn't intervene in time, would have to pay the price.
After all, her partner was in charge of distracting the Nergigante while she focused her power until she had the opportunity to attack.
In short, Weiss would have to do what Ruby had failed to do earlier, but against a much more dangerous opponent.
No matter how you looked at it, it was obvious that her incompetence had struck again, and the weight of that failure was enough to make the air thin as her vision blurred.
"That thing..." Weiss almost held her breath as she felt a shiver run up her back. "Absorbed my power and... made it its own?"
This wasn't good.
What was already supposed to be a difficult battle had become practically an impossible task.
Worse still, if Nergigante was able to do this with her power, what guarantee was there that the same wouldn't happen with Ruby?
This plan to defeat it could very well backfire and elevate this thing to an even higher level.
The thought of those possibilities was enough to give life to the doubt that clouded her heart.
They could die in the next five minutes, and there would probably be nothing left of their bodies to bury.
Deep down, Weiss wanted to turn around and run. In fact, that was the most logical course of action to take, prioritizing her own survival in order to fight another day.
However... she couldn't do that, even if every fiber of her being screamed the opposite.
I can't back down now. Weiss took a deep breath in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth in the form of a breath of cold air, her power intensifying according to her determination. If I do, I'll never stop regretting it.
The possibility of living like that reminded her of her mother and the path of decadence she had chosen to follow by giving up on everything, even on herself.
Weiss didn't intend to end up the same way, even if it meant facing death on this day.
Because that's what Huntresses do!
Weiss was the one who created the circumstances that led to this outcome, and she had to take responsibility for it!
As such, she had to fight, no matter what!
While Weiss felt her determination burn brighter, the same could not be said for her partner. In fact, it was almost the opposite, and it had her attention in the worst way, to the point of making her ignore the danger waiting just ahead.
"Ruby?" Weiss looked at this girl and almost regretted doing so because of how defeated she looked, almost as if she were ill. "W-what happened to you?!" Immediately, Weiss was at her partner's side, holding her before she could hit the ground. "Ruby, talk to me!"
Her words fell on deaf ears as this girl wasn't listening, especially after she started hyperventilating!
Clearly, what had happened earlier was still bothering her, but Weiss didn't know it was that bad!
If it went on like this, Ruby would have a panic attack!
What do I do?! Weiss had never dealt with anything like this before and could only think of an unorthodox solution that might help. "I'm sorry, Ruby!"
Immediately afterward, the sound of a slap echoed through the forest, strong enough to make her only friend's white skin redden almost instantly.
An extreme, not to say desperate, action, but it seemed to have been enough to fulfill its purpose in bringing Ruby back from wherever her mind had gone.
"W-Weiss?" She was stroking her aching face, breath steadying as confusion left her. "I..." Her eyes widened in realization, and tears returned. "I'm sorry..." Then she was crying, unable to do much more than that. "B-because of me, we're both going to..."
Ruby didn't finish, only to be interrupted by being hit again. This time, however, the blow was to the top of her head, and instead of feeling pain, there was a tender, comforting touch... almost like her mother used to do when she was sad.
Thinking of Summer Rose, her greatest source of inspiration for wanting to become a hero at a time like this, filled her heart with something else.
Weiss might not have known it or pretended not to, but Ruby admired her so much that she wished this girl were her sister, too, just like Yang.
The way she tried to comfort her at a time like this only served to elevate the admiration she felt to something close to adoration.
"It's not your fault," Weiss said in a tone that gave this silly girl no room to retort as she looked straight into his eyes. "That's because it was I who created all that ice, not you." If anyone should be drowning in regret, it was her. "That's why I'm going to deal with the Nergigante alone, while you prepare to finish him off, just as planned."
There was no other choice because running away was no longer an option.
Even without seeing that thing, Weiss was sure the Nergigante had them on his radar, too.
This disregard was demonstration enough that he no longer saw them as a threat and could give chase at any moment if they tried to escape.
Considering the Nergigante's level of power, even if Weiss used the time dilation of her Semblance, they wouldn't be able to get very far.
Fighting was the only option.
As for Ruby, the words spoken made her compare this situation to what had happened earlier with Yang in the dormitory, where her sister was blaming herself for what Vegeta had done when, in fact, they all had a finger in it.
While Weiss wasn't wrong in saying that she was also to blame for this outcome, the plan they had in mind didn't take into account the drastic change in the enemy's power.
"E-even so, you can't do this alone!" Ruby was scared just imagining what could happen! "Otherwise, you'll..."
She didn't finish vocalizing her concern, being interrupted by a finger over her lips.
"No questioning." Weiss didn't need to hear something she already knew, but for this girl to start believing again. I think I know what to do. Her smile returned with the desire that had undeniably been dancing in her heart since the day she entered Beacon. "After all, that's an order from your new leader."
Ruby opened her eyes wide in surprise as she understood the meaning behind those words.
Weiss wasn't blaming herself in the same way she was, because she had chosen to accept her mistake and take responsibility, just like a true Huntress.
Better still, she was also trying to carry the burden that came with the position of leader, all to help her in this helpless moment.
Suddenly, Weiss looked like a hero in her eyes... everything Ruby wanted to be.
In that case, she had to return the favor to her best friend and be the best teammate in the world!
"O-okay!" Ruby stiffened her resolve as she felt her body become lighter than when she used the power Vegeta had given to her, her eyes shining in silver light for no more than a moment. "Let's do this!"
Defeat Nergigante and help save the world!
That was all Weiss needed to hear, where even the flame that represented her partner's power had intensified.
The same Ruby from always had returned to her, and with that, the chances of winning were much higher.
Now, let's pray that everything works out. Weiss held Myrtenaster in her hands and took a deep breath as she stepped forward. There's not much more we can do.
-----
Nergigante was being patient.
If this were before, he would have been attacking wildly, destroying everything in his path in pursuit of his prize. Fortunately, eating all that magic had done something that hadn't happened for a long time, clearing his hunger-clouded mind and sharpening his numb senses.
With that, Nergigante decided to wait, especially when he still had something to eat with all this ice. Besides, there was the way the flame of the weaker human wavered and sank further into despair.
This change pleased him deeply.
Negative emotions made food so much better.
If only the stronger one who created all this ice would also despair... it would make this day one of the best of his long existence.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and Nergigante found himself regretting his own choice.
Somehow, the stronger of the two humans managed to resist despair and even made the flame of the weaker one glow with positivity again.
His dissatisfaction, however, was temporary as he sensed something else.
It might have been almost imperceptible, but if he paid attention, there was a familiar spark of energy coming from the weaker human... almost as if it were the silver light of the Brother of Light.
Perhaps it had always been there, and Nergigante simply hadn't been aware enough to notice it until now, but it didn't matter.
The possible presence of one of the silver-eyed bearers was enough for the regained rationality to come to an end and give way to the most basic instinct on which his existence was based.
To destroy everything the Brother of Light embodied.
Suddenly, Nergigante saw red and his new power erupted with a roar, spreading like waves of cold to further lower the local temperature and destroy what little was left standing.
The final stage of this hunt had become even bigger.
A fitting setting when considering what was at stake, whether for the Nergigante or the two humans obsessed with their altruistic stubbornness.
With this, just as it has been since the beginning of time, darkness and light met in combat once again.
-----
Ruby could only watch in awe as Weiss danced with death, each step resounding with violence capable of making the entire forest tremble.
Her best friend was incredible, and even in this severely weakened state, she could still fight better than anyone in the world.
Regardless of whether Weiss was playing defensively, it was still impressive. However, this was only possible because she was relying heavily on Dust to keep fighting.
Ruby was afraid to imagine what would happen once this advantage ended.
Nergigante, as expected, had indeed changed by assimilating Weiss' power and looked like a different creature with ice covering its body like a new layer of armor.
You didn't have to be a genius to know that this thing was even more formidable now, although...
...It doesn't matter. Ruby knew it wasn't true, but what choice did she have but to believe? My leader can handle it!
After all, Weiss had promised, and she believed in her best friend!
With that in mind, Ruby closed her eyes and focused on her own mission.
The day they met Vegeta, he demonstrated some of the uses of Ki. Besides extreme physical reinforcement, levitation, and telekinesis, there was also long-distance energy projection.
The image of those small spheres of energy disintegrating the pieces of wood from the broken table was there, as vivid in her mind as the day it happened.
If such a casual manifestation of energy could have that kind of result, what would happen if Ruby put everything she had into one sphere?
That's what she was about to find out.
Fortunately, Ruby already had an idea of how to replicate that feat.
Earlier, when she was in bed and exercising control over her Ki to get a taste of her new power, Ruby was able to manifest it in her hands to put an end to an argument between Yang and Weiss.
Just as it was last time, Ruby had a point of white light shining between her hands without too much difficulty. In fact, doing this was much easier than controlling her Aura.
Unfortunately, this much was nothing compared to what Ruby needed to condense to put this legendary Grimm down.
Little by little, the sphere of Ki in her hands grew in size and density. Everything was going well until her Aura began to oscillate as if it wanted to escape her control.
Even with what little Ruby had learned about these powers, it was clear that her Aura was extremely attached to her Life Energy.
In that case, there was a chance that the Aura would try to recover the manifested Ki, and that couldn't happen.
For a moment, Ruby almost let all her effort go to waste as she felt a tremor and heard roars happening right in front of her. Opening her eyes, Nergigante was right there, trying to get a piece of her, but he couldn't get closer than a few meters because of chains of ice tied to his body.
Weiss was really giving her blood in this fight and pulled the Grimm back to keep it busy.
Swallowing dryly, Ruby concentrated on the task at hand, forcing her Aura to stay in her body and her Ki to manifest faster.
Her best friend wouldn't die so easily and obviously wouldn't let the Nergigante attack her in the time it took to concentrate the necessary power, but that didn't mean Weiss could keep fighting at this level for much longer.
Soon, Ruby could feel weakness begin to hit her, and the sphere of energy being created grew to the point where it was big enough to no longer fit in her hands.
Then it happened.
The more Ki Ruby used, the harder it was to control, especially her Aura.
Just as she was about to finish condensing all her vital energy, her Aura escaped her control completely and left her body like waves to join the sphere in her hands.
Suddenly, the mass of energy took on a red hue and grew, lots and fast!
Ruby's eyes widened in surprise and fear.
After all, she hadn't expected her Aura to leave her body like that instead of trying to recover the manifested Ki!
However, just by thinking about the way the Aura behaved, this change made sense.
Because there was more "life" in this sphere in her hands than in her body at the moment, it was only natural that the Aura would react like this.
As a result, her two sources of energy were completely drained, and Ruby felt what little control she had over this sphere of energy slip through her fingers, and fast!
I have to do it now! She bit her lips and pushed herself beyond the limit so as not to waste her only chance, her eyes shining in silver light. "Weiss!"
Her voice echoed as loudly as possible, and not far away, the girl whose name had been called was fighting for her life and that of countless others.
It hadn't been more than a minute since Weiss had started restraining the Nergigante to buy time and prevent it from getting close to Ruby, and she had already lost count of how many times she had almost died.
This thing really had become something else, worthy of a walking nightmare.
No matter what, Nergigante must die! Otherwise, chaos and destruction were all that would follow, and Weiss didn't intend to let her mistake walk out of this forest alive! Not yet, Ruby?!
Honestly, she wasn't sure she could last another minute, as she had already used up almost all of her Dust, Ki, and Aura!
The rest she had would only be enough to create an opening so Ruby wouldn't miss her target.
Then, as if in answer to her prayers, Weiss heard her name being called by her friend, and for the first time, she was happy about it.
Through her peripheral vision, she could see Ruby holding a reddish sphere of energy that was, honestly, several times larger than expected, ready to explode!
Now! Weiss jumped out of the way of yet another attack capable of killing her and landed as far away as possible before burying Myrtenaster in the ground. Please work!
Making use of absolutely everything she still had, Weiss created a black Glyph with gravity Dust and pinned Nergigante in place, its claws extended centimeters away from hitting her.
It worked, for a good few seconds, before the thing's insane strength shattered its prison like it was nothing!
The power exerted caused Weiss to be thrown away and roll on the ground as her Aura finally broke.
With nothing but willpower, she had maintained her consciousness as she looked up.
"Hehe, I-it doesn't matter." Weiss forced herself to her knees, sweat dripping from her skin, and smiled at the imposing form of this monster. "It's over!"
At that moment, even Nergigante could sense what was coming and had his red eyes change direction just in time to see a mass of energy made of life and soul coming towards him.
Honestly speaking, if he wanted to, dodging was still possible, but he didn't even consider that option.
Why would Nergigante do something like that when everything he wanted the most was being given to him in such a pure, condensed state?
His meal was literally served, and he couldn't wait to enjoy it!
Or so Nergigante believed as he was blinded by hunger.
As soon as the energy came into contact with his body, the unexpected happened.
Even with his absurd size and power on another level, Nergigante couldn't stop this energy with his claws.
In fact, he was being pushed back!
This energy... was too strong!
Worse still, it was growing!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
This couldn't be happening!
Life and soul were just food for him!
So why was he being destroyed by it?!
Probably because this power was exactly the same as that his creator also possessed...
If life and soul could create him, it could also destroy him!
Too late to understand that.
In the same second, the energy sphere became as big as the Nergigante itself as it dragged him through the forest and left a trail of destruction in its wake.
As for the girls behind this attack, they could only stare in shock at what was happening until the energy sphere hit the mountain range in the distance and finally exploded!
Weiss and Ruby had to bury their weapons in the ground and brace themselves for the impact, but to no avail, as they were sent flying along with trees and debris all the way to another section of the forest that was still relatively intact.
"Argh..." Weiss grunted as she coughed up blood; she could feel that a lot of ribs were fractured to feed the pain that radiated from all over her body. "R-Ruby..." she called out to the girl, her voice sounding more like a whisper than anything. "W-where are you?"
There was no answer, and for a moment, only the worst occurred to her as she was unable to sense the presence of her only friend.
The dust hovering in the air hardly helped to appease these fears by limiting her field of vision.
"W-Weiss?" She heard her name being called faintly in the distance and immediately had her blue eyes locked in that direction. "I-I'm... here..."
Forcing herself upright, Weiss ignored the blood dripping from open wounds and walked until she caught sight of the red cape Ruby loved so much.
Immediately, there was relief at having found the girl and concern that she was lying on the ground without moving.
At least, now that she was closer, Weiss knew that Ruby was alive by being able to feel her extremely weakened presence.
Dragging herself a little further, she left a trail of blood behind her, her vision blurring until she was in front of her partner.
"R-Ruby?" Weiss whispered to have the girl look at her with only one eye open, the other closed and covered in blood dripping from a wound on her head. "Y-You okay?"
A rhetorical question, especially when you look at her condition.
Ruby's hands were burned along with part of her combat dress, all the way up to her elbows.
Although a serious wound, probably the result of manifesting an absurd amount of power like that without having anything to protect herself, it was nothing that Aura couldn't heal.
Her leg, where the piece of a tree had fallen on, however...
Just like Weiss's ribs, Ruby would also be out of action for some time.
Hopefully, neither would have a permanent injury.
"W-We won...right?" Ruby asked weakly, a happy smile adorning her lips that seemed able to keep the pain away. "Because...I don't think I can fight anymore." Her stomach rumbled loudly to make her blush. "That and I could reaaaally have some cookies right now."
In fact, she wouldn't reject any kind of food...maybe vegetables, but not all of them.
"Yeah..." Weiss couldn't help but smile too while doing her best not to laugh because she knew it would be really painful. "I wouldn't object to that idea." She sat down next to Ruby, her legs giving up with the growing weakness. "That and a hot bath, clean clothes, and a soft bed..."
This time, she would sleep for two days again and not complain about it.
The dormitory in Beacon seemed like paradise now.
Ruby only laughed a little, happy that everything had ended well, but only until she looked at her burnt hands, destroyed dress, and broken leg.
This sucks... She's never broken a bone before, and while she wasn't feeling anything at the moment, pain like no other awaited her as soon as that log was removed. I need to find Crescent Rose, too.
Easier said than done when she didn't even know where she was exactly.
The explosion was that strong.
So much power... Ruby looked down at her hands once more; the numb feeling and the memory of the attack she had created were imprinted on her skin. Almost as if it was a...Red Sun.
A cool name for an attack that she would avoid using again because of how dangerous it was.
Speaking of which. Ruby wanted to know about the damage she had caused and if there was anything left of the Nergigante. That explosion was huge!
So much so that she couldn't even feel that thing's presence anymore!
The answer to her question took some time to appear, enough for Weiss to catch her breath and help her out of her current position.
As expected, it hurt like hell.
At least, thanks to the boot Ruby was wearing, her broken leg wasn't at an awkward angle.
The pain, however, remained the same...but only until the dust finally settled to clear the obstructed field of vision, resulting in two pairs of eyes going wide and for a reason as frightening as all the crazy things that had happened until now.
"T-they're gone..." Weiss was the one to speak, unable to do much more than that because of her stupor. "The mountains... they're gone."
Where once there were mountain peaks that seemed to touch the sky and hid the horizon to form the valleys that gave the kingdom its name, there was nothing left.
"Ruby..." Weiss turned to look at her partner leaning on her shoulder in a new light, almost feeling afraid of this pure-hearted girl. "What have you done?"