As the transporter flew towards the two ships Winter and I sat across from each other.
«So what didn't the general tell you about the maidens? - I decided to ask.
«No." Winter answered in the same tone, but this time it seemed less cold.
«Well, on the one hand, that's right. But I think he'll tell me when we get back, because there's no reason for him to keep quiet.
«..." The girl's eye twitched a little, for she was very curious.
«How long have you been in Atlas's army? - I decided to ask the next question.
«Long enough. - answered the girl. - What happened in the cell? - She decided to ask her question too.
«You mean how I made it so that she couldn't get out? I used magic seals. - On my palm appeared a snow-white seal, which does not display any spell, but just needed for demonstration. - And made her powers feed the seals and strengthen the wall. That way she wouldn't be able to use a lot of her powers and just melt the walls.
«Magical? - The girl's eyebrow twitched slightly, showing she didn't believe it.
«'Oh, Winter, you don't believe in magic? "But it's more than there is," I said and created a magical seal that smelled cold, next to it was a second one with heat. Also in my hands a beautiful diamond started to appear, it was me using alchemy and creating a diamond out of thin air. - Or do you think this is all my Manifestation? This world is more complicated than you realised. General Ironwood knows about the maidens and about magic, though not much, since Ozpin wasn't in much of a hurry to share the full extent of the information.
«... - the platinum blonde didn't know what to say. - So you mean you know more?
«Hmm, what do you want more information about? - I smiled at the girl. She didn't answer, but she was obviously thinking about something, and soon we landed near two ships. The people had long since climbed out of there, as the transporters had come to their aid and were dropping ropes for them to climb aboard.
«Is there no one left inside? - I looked at my escort.
«No, everyone had already been evacuated. - She shook her head.
«Nurse! - There was a shout, and a near replica of Winter came running over, only more petite and with a less cold expression. - Ahem, nice to see you. - She noticed me and tried to look more... dignified.
«Weiss..." Winter said quietly, rolling her eyes.
«So you're the cold queen's sister? I'm Anthony Luthor, nice to meet you. - I said, walking up to the girl and gently, even gently, took her outstretched hand and gave her a kiss on the hand, or rather just pretended to kiss it.
«W-weiss Schnee. Ahem, I'm Weiss Schnee. Nice to meet you, Mr Luthor. - She made a small bow, a little embarrassed by such an unexpected greeting, judging by the slight redness in the cheeks, which on such snow-white skin is very well visible.
«You don't have to be so formal, I'm not much older than you. - I answered Weiss and looked at her older sister. - Your sister is very cute and not so cold, so why are you like that? - I said half-jokingly.
«Weiss, what are you doing here? - Sr Schnee ignored my words and stared at her sister.
«Father, does he really want to take me away? - She asked a little hesitantly, trying not to look her sister in the eyes.
«Perhaps I haven't spoken to him. Did he call you? - After her sister's curt nod, Winter clenched her fist slightly, almost imperceptible from my position. - Let's talk after the case. Anthony, are you going to do something, or are you just a chatterbox? - She asked a little provocatively, clearly hurt by my past words...a little.
«You make my heart beat more often, Miss Snow Queen... - I made a small fake bow, which made Weiss grin into her palm. After all, I'm not too small in stature and against her background I can be considered a giant. Well, I'm hyperbolising a bit, but the fact remains that I'm more than a head taller than the girl. - Okay, let's put these ships down. - I said and started manipulating the earth pillars and slowly lowering them all at once. The sight of such a huge thing starting to slowly descend was impressive, judging by the look on Weiss' face.
«This... what is this! - exclaimed the snow princess who had come to her senses... if Winter is the queen, then Weiss is quite the princess. Although she might as well be, she's the heir to the Ashes of Schnee. - Is that a Manifestation?!
«It's magic. - I said with a serious face. - I don't have the aura to be a manifestation.
«Wh-wh-what are you talking about!!! - the girl's eyes opened wide in a kind of incomprehension and at the same time realising... that I'm talking nonsense.
«Weiss, how do you talk? Bichon must have spoilt you completely. - she shook her head, though she was only now "recovering" from what she'd seen.
«It's magic. - I said again, and lifted a handful of earth and used it to create small diamonds and sapphires that were quite pretty. Then I stepped closer to Weiss and gently took her snow-white hand and poured it all into it. - That's magic too, or rather alchemy. Anyway, I'm going to put the other ship down. - I did the same procedure with the second ship.
***
«What is this Manifestation? - Winter said in a strange tone of voice as she walked over to her sister and picked up a couple of minerals from her hand.
«Are these our family glyphs? - Weiss asked in a slightly higher voice again, noticing the magical seal under Anthony.
«I don't know, but it looks like it. It's a different colour though. - Winter's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
«Father might have had....
«I don't know. - the older Schnee answered a little more sharply than she should have. - Our... father could do a lot of things, so I wouldn't be surprised. But he doesn't look much like him, except in places.
***
«Oh, a Grimm? - I noticed one Beowulf who must have somehow got stuck in the earth pillars. They didn't all appear from the same place, but as if they were trees growing, that is, at some distance, so apparently the unfortunate Grimm got stuck there somehow.
«Girls, who wants to show what they can do? - I looked without much concern at the two Schnee.
«It's only one pathetic Beowulf. - Weiss said and reached for her rapier.
«Hmm, try doing it with a Summon. - Winter said.
«Easy. - Weiss replied, and with a gulp, she created a glyph underneath her and sped off to meet the Grimm. He sensed her nervousness and lunged at her.
«Your glyphs look like magic circles. - I spoke as I approached Winter. - What can you do with them?
«Depends on the intention, but a lot of different things. And summoning the enemies we've defeated is one of the possibilities. And your magic circles? - She clearly wanted to call them something else, but out of sheer respect she went with that.
«Hmm, good question. Casting various elemental-type spells, though I have no particular talent for that. I'm best at earth magic, as you may have already seen... - while I was talking a bit about myself, Weiss was trying to summon her Invocation. At first she just quickly ran up to the Grimm and brushed past him and tried to summon him right away, but there was nothing but white light behind her. So for a couple of minutes now, she'd been trying to do it and was getting more and more tired by the second.
«Hmm. - I hummed and created a stone spike that pierced Beowulf's head from below, just before he would have knocked the girl down with his paw. Wynter was already ready to intervene as well. If the girl wasn't constantly trying to summon the Calling, she would have no problem dealing with him.
«For... why? I almost had it! - she shouted in our direction with a frown and a clenched fist on her left hand, her right hand still holding her rapier.
«You're tired and used up a lot of aura. - I muttered. - You know, I can help you with your summoning. I may not be able to summon anyone myself, but..." I said a second, and a stone golem five metres high formed from the ground. - And I can see you're spending a lot of energy concentrating.
«And why would you do that? - Winter couldn't help but wonder.
«Can't I help a girl I like? - I raised an eyebrow... and I think I've started to act a little differently, more relaxed in this world. In DC I'm constantly worried about what might happen, about alien gods or earth gods who might be interested in me and more. Here I don't have to worry about that, because there are only two gods and not to say that they are very strong. Well, that's my opinion compared to Darkseid.
«Especially since she has a lot of potential and she's diligent from what I can see. - I've given her a few more compliments. - And don't worry about her health, I can fix it if necessary. You know, like a foot or a toe. - I'll give you a wave of my hand.
«Leg, toe? - I've heard what's important to Weiss. - Forgive my earlier outburst.
«We're almost the same age, so no "you" necessary. Weiss, you don't mind, do you? - I asked, stepping towards her and looking into her sky-blue eyes.
«Y-yes. - She shook her head. - I mean, n-no, I don't mind.
«Ahem." The older Schnee called attention to herself. - Thank you for your help with the ships. - she said quite sincerely. - You and your crew saved a lot of lives....
«The likes of Weiss and the other hunters in Beacon saved a lot of lives too. - I waved her off and looked at the bullheads that had arrived, where people in Atlas uniforms had emerged, probably technicians or something like that.
«You said something about treatment. - The younger Schnee returned her attention to me. - Can you really heal, and can you even restore a limb? - Her gaze became... more demanding.
«You can see Schnee's vein right away. - I grinned. - Yes, my powers allow me to do that too. I'm quite capable of creating a fully alive body in a short time, so it's not a problem for me to regrow a limb or grow a new one. I don't think they believe in magic, they just think my Manifestation is pretty functional.
«My friend needs help! - The girl shrieked and clung to my arm. - Shinoa came with you, didn't she? She fought a red-haired psycho faun terrorist, and he's the one who cut off Yang's arm!
«Yang, is that that searing sunny blonde? - Weiss nodded and still hadn't noticed she was holding my hand. - I don't mind helping you, especially if we need someone to tell us about the neighbourhood. We're not from around here and we don't know much about it.
«You from somewhere in Wakuo?
«Weiss. - Winter said, and when her sister looked at her, she glanced at me, and she finally realised she was holding my hand. She abruptly bounced a couple of metres away from me in one leap... an aura, what can I say.
The older Schnee hadn't decided to send her sister away, after all, the academy was down right now, and her friends had been taken away by their father recently. Blake had disappeared, as the platinum blonde had said, so she wasn't comfortable being alone. So it was just the three of us, and Weiss glanced at me a lot. Already on the ship, I went to my cabin first and met Shinoa on the way.
«Administrator-kun, would you like to spar? - A pretty purple-haired girl with a huge braid and not a muscle on her face asked. - I've seen you fight and I want to spar with you.
«And Rias?- She's not a melee fighter. - came the terse reply. - Agree and... if you win then... you can do whatever you want with my body. - she said a little "embarrassed," but her eyes were dancing with devils, showing that she wasn't embarrassed.
«Oh, come on. And I don't need your body, not yet. - I said, grinning, and felt a burning stare staring back at me. The arena itself was a place where the soldiers could train. It wasn't a lot of space, but there was enough room for close combatants. As soon as we walked towards the arena, two platinum mooks were immediately there as well.
«Shinoa, don't damage the ship... too much. However... - I stomped my foot on the arena and reinforced it with magic. - Alright, let's jump in.
«Whatever you say, administrator-kun. - The girl smiled and hit the floor with her scythe, causing a rumble and sparks. - Aren't you going to draw your sword?
«Hmm, if that's what you want. - I pulled out the Quinoa Spindle. It was like the sword was glad I was using it again.
«Then I'll attack. - A pretty girl with a huge scythe rushed towards me.
I met a direct blow of the scythe on the sword and pushed the girl back without any problems, but she deftly twisted the scythe in flight and the point of the scythe was at the back of my head. But if the girl had hoped to take me by surprise with such a move, it didn't work. Still, Albedo's experience had been passed on to me in full measure. She was quite fast on the level of the best hunters, especially with that black energy of her cursed weapon blazing around her, but still not enough. As far as I know from her history, she was experimented on as a child and made the perfect vessel for cursed weapons and from that comes increased physical abilities.
«You really are a genius. - I smiled as the girl went on the attack again and masterfully struck, taking into account my height and my weapon, trying to catch me. But all her blows were met with a solid block, she couldn't even move me, however, I cheated a bit and used magic to get a foothold. Otherwise I'd have been blown away by the blow, since I don't weigh much.
The weapon in Shinoa's hands flashed a black aura, which began to grow rapidly and in this black energy as if there was a figure, woven of black miasma and this figure had a sword, which attacked me, and the girl herself jumped back and let black slashes of energy at me. And the sword of this dark figure I had no problem to repel and even more, my sword just cut through all this dark energy, and next to me from the magic circle appeared an iron golem, and it took these energy slashes on itself... and it was torn. The first blast of that energy just ripped his arm off, and the second one destroyed a third of his body from above.
«Not bad, is your scythe okay? - I was blocking her attacks with a sword made of the metal of the gods.
«Cursed weapons are hard to damage and if anything they regenerate... but come on, you win. - She reduced her scythe and looked around. - Looks like admin-kun is going to have some admirers..." she covered her mouth with the palm of her hand.
***
The whole story is already available at:
patreon.com/posts/124888009