Breathe Chapter 70: Blazing Hearts

Camping out in one of the old ruins in the Forever Fall forest, Hazel waited patiently. Although it’d only been a few days, he’d really come to enjoy his time out in the wilderness. He was pretty far away from civilization. There was no reason for anyone to venture out this far into the woods.

It was peaceful here.

He’d almost be tempted to stay here permanently... But that was an impossibility. Even if he tried, it wouldn’t be long before Salem found him and if not her, it’d be his own anger. No, he had a mission he needed to accomplish. He needed to find a way to kill Ozpin... Permanently.

If not for his own revenge, then for those whose lives Ozpin had personally ruined... And Salem was his ticket to accomplishing that.

Hazel held no illusion that she was good... But, unlike Ozpin, she never hid her motivations from him. Working for her, he’d get the revenge he so craved and, if possible, lessen the damage that she’d do in her war with Ozpin.

At least... That’s what he’d initially intended.

Things just hadn’t gone his way since he’d tried to recruit the Calavera back in Mistral. That disaster of a mission had seen him losing an ally and had his face plastered across Remnant as enemy number one.

He’d learnt fairly quickly that without the ability to move around freely, he was of very little help to Salem. If it wasn’t for his unique abilities with Dust and the rate at which his Aura regenerated, he’d likely have been disposed of already.

Grunting as his Scroll began to vibrate, he unlocked it, finding an urgent news report that played a video of a bunch of soldiers and Huntsmen being ripped into the ground by a set of black tentacles with sharp hook-like obstructions jutting out of them.

“It would seem that things have been triggered rather early,” Salem’s voice hummed throughout the forest as a Seer idly drifted into view. “No matter. We’ll simply have to compensate on our side as well.”

“Of course,” Hazel muttered.

Heading over to a large metal crate that he’d personally transported, he grabbed a lever on the door and wrenched it up halfway, before pausing.

“Come now, we do have a schedule to keep,” Salem said scoldingly, although there was something a little more sinister in her tone. “This one’s not nearly as unstable as the last one. The ingredients were far fresher this time.”

It had been far more quiet than last time.

Snapping the lever up, the crate’s door slowly creaked open, revealing a shadowed figure with bright red eyes sitting in the center, patiently waiting for its orders.

“This will be a useful test,” Salem noted. “I think it will make an excellent partner for you, I’ve heard how they’re known to be man’s best friend. Do remember to make a big splash and… Happy hunting.”

Watching as Salem’s image faded from the Seer, Hazel turned back towards the Grimm that’d since stood up and was slowly making its way towards the exit.

“Come,” Hazel said, stepping back. “We’ve got work to do.”

...Breathe...

Nursing a small cup of coffee in my hands, I stared out of the Airships window, watching as the landscape zoomed by. Trees, rivers, nearby mountains, they all passed by as we rapidly made our way towards the site where the Ancient Grimm was spotted.

Things had been far from ideal. A video of the Ancient Grimm’s awakening had been leaked to the press which, in turn had revealed a portion of it to the public, increasing tensions across an already stressed city that was already tense from the coming Vytal Festival.

The end result being the city put on high alert with an increase of soldiers and Huntsmen protecting the borders from a sudden influx of Grimm.

Although Vale wasn’t the only one affected, smaller settlements were also at risk of being overwhelmed and were in need of reinforcement. Luckily, Ironwood was more than willing to lend a hand.

“We’ll be arriving at the landing zone soon,” Winter reported. “ETA five minutes.”

That was a lot sooner than I’d have thought, especially for a trip partway across the continent. Excitement and anxiety boiled through my veins in anticipation for the coming fight.

It’d been far too long since I’d truly been able to let loose and fight with everything I had without worry about accidentally killing someone. The closest I’d come to being challenged was when Ozpin and I had our little spars, but even then, we couldn’t truly go all out for fear of accidentally killing the other.

I finally had something to fight that I knew wouldn’t die in a few hits... Although, I was a little concerned. This was obviously linked to Salem in some way, how, I wasn’t sure yet. One thing I did know was that she wouldn’t wake an Ancient Grimm without some plan in mind... Especially since I’d already proven capable of killing them.

Last time this happened, Cinder tried to steal the Spring Maiden’s powers, only to end up killing Raven’s second in command. With two Maiden’s at Beacon, they might be trying the same thing... Although, if they’re trying that again, I doubt it’ll go any better.

I did, however, have another reason to be concerned.

“Already?” Pyrrha asked. “I thought we would have had more time... Before we arrived, that is,” She hummed softly, staring down at her lap.

I wasn’t the only one that was going to be fighting the Ancient Grimm. Pyrrha and Winter were going to be helping too and, while they’d grown far stronger, I couldn’t help but feel a little worried for them.

If it was just me fighting it, it was simple. Either I’d kill the Grimm, or the Grimm would kill me, but with Pyrrha and Winter, it was different. I was confident that, at the very least, they’d be able to fall back, but I was still worried.

Other than the video of the Grimm, which didn’t reveal much of anything, we didn’t have much to go on.

“We would have if it’d stayed still,” Winter answered, hitting a few above head switches. “Unfortunately, it’s been on the move. At its current pace, it’ll likely reach Vale in a day.”

Less for the farming settlements that existed below the city. It’d also need to pass by Mount Glenn, potentially disturbing the Wyvern that slept there.

Passing over a nearby mountain ridge as we neared our destination, we were finally able to see the Grimm. Stretching as tall as a Leviathan class Grimm, it had a pretty muscular body that resembled that of a Goliath... Although, that’s where the resemblance ended.

Its head, if you could call it that, looked more like a muscular extension of its neck with a beard of black tentacles with white bone tips draped over where its mouth should be. It didn’t appear to have eyes or ears, but that didn’t seem to slow it down whatsoever.

Feeling the Airship tremor as it began to rapidly approach the ground, I shot a glance towards Winter who, upon seeing the Grimm, froze and grabbed the wheel, pulling up just, clipping a few of the taller trees.

Snapping out of it, Winter retook control of the airship and steered us a little further up the mountain, before landing it just below the ridge, still well within sight of the Grimm.

“Sorry,” She apologized, taking slow, deliberate breaths. “I wasn’t expecting it to be able to affect me like that last Grimm we fought.”

“It’s not,” I said, shooting a quick look towards Pyrrha who seemed just as affected as Winter. “That feeling in the air... The sense of wrongness... It’s not the Grimm trying to get in your head, that’s just its presence.”

It’d been almost exactly the same back in Mistral. Having mastered Total Concentration Constant, Pyrrha and Winter’s bodies now worked on a new level. Their senses had sharpened, allowing them to feel the Grimm’s overwhelming presence.

It was a bit of a double edged sword in that regard.

“If that’s just its presence...” Pyrrha muttered under her breath. “Just how strong is this thing?”

“Very,” I answered. Pulling my sword from my inventory, I headed outside, dropping onto the mountainous terrain below.

The ground vibrated and was accompanied by a dull thumping sound as the Grimm slowly made its way through the mountain range.

Dropping down beside me, Pyrrha clutched her spear tightly, staring at the Grimm as it lumbered off in the distance. “What do we do now?”

That was a good question. Having only fought one Ancient Grimm before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of this one. If it was anything like the last one, it’d probably have an insane tolerance for damage and would be capable of regenerating entire body parts.

With most Grimm, the trick was finding their weak point and exploiting it, but there was a very good chance this thing didn’t have a weak spot.

“I’m going to need to get a little closer so I can take a look inside that thing,” I replied.

Climbing out of the Airship as a Glyph formed on the ground, Winter stepped onto a newly materialized Nevermore. “Then let’s go.”

The mountain range became quiet and the ground stopped shaking as the Grimm stopped in its tracks. Pivoting its head to the side, it let out a horrible screech, revealing a mouth below its tentacle beard that was filled with rows of teeth.

“It can’t see or hear,” Pyrrha muttered under her breath, before looking at Winter’s summoned Nevermore. “So its other senses were heightened to compensate.”

So that’s how it knew where Vale was. With the Vytal Festival, the city was packed with all kinds of people... People who were extremely stressed, sending out a signal that would lead the Grimm straight to their doorstep... At least until it sensed Winter’s summoned Nevermore.

Lumbering towards us, the Grimm quickly began to pick up speed, shattering the ground beneath its massive legs.

“We need to fall back to a safer location!”

That wouldn’t work. It knew that we were here now and it wouldn’t stop until we were dead.

Glancing at my sword, I clipped it onto my belt before turning my attention towards the rapidly approaching Grimm. Taking a few steps towards it, I jumped onto a large boulder and stretched my arms out in front of me, one on top of the other.

“Coal?!”

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” I called out.

Taking several hissed breaths to further enhance my strength, I clenched my fists shut, audibly crushing the air. Building up a massive amount of force in my body, I watched as the Grimm grew closer.

Crushing the trees under its feet, it barrelled up the mountainside, losing very little, if any momentum. Nearing our location, it lowered its head, intending on ramming us while its tentacle beard spread out, cutting off any chance of getting past it.

Casting a shadow on this side of the mountain, powerful gusts of wind smashed into us as the Grimm grew ever nearer, crossing the full length of a field in a few short moments. Waiting until the very last moment, where the Grimm was only a handful of inches away, I struck.

Releasing the pent up energy in my body, my fists vibrated as they collided with the very air in front of me, before the full force of my blow smashed into the Grimm’s head.

“Six King Gun”

The immediate effects were fairly obvious. The Grimm’s head came to a complete stop, causing its body to follow soon after. Its skull crumpled in on itself, spraying black blood across the mountainside and its tentacles were snapped back painfully.

Inside, however, was an entirely different matter as the full force of the Six King Gun bounced around its body, damaging muscle and organ alike before finally dissipating.

Feeling my muscles threaten to tear from the sheer strain of the technique, I lowered my arms and breathed slowly, allowing my Aura to heal the recoil damage. I still had a ways left to go before I’d be able to casually use the Six King Gun. That being said, the sheer amount of damage it was capable of inflicting was monstrous.

Approaching the Ancient Grimm cautiously, Pyrrha prodded it with her sword. “Is it... Dead?”

As if to answer her question, the Grimm jerked forward as one of its hooked tentacles tried to latch on to her.

Taking a breath, Pyrrha brought her blade down, managing to slash through half of the tentacle, before stopping.

“Flame Breathing: Rising Scorching Sun.”

Straining as she tried to force her blade through the rest of the tentacle, it suddenly tore free from her as a good chunk of it broke down, slowly turning to ash.

“It’s only stunned,” I answered, watching as the Grimm’s head rapidly regenerated. “It’ll take a little more than brute force to do any real damage to this thing... You’ll need to use your Breathing Styles.”

Although the Six King Gun had done a massive amount of damage to the Grimm, none of it had been permanent. Everything that broke inside of it was still there. All it needed to do was put itself back together.

Not wasting any time, Winter rushed towards the Grimm with both swords. Summoning a small pack of Beowolves, she had them latch onto the Grimm’s tentacles, holding them in place while she got to work hacking through them.

"Frost Breathing: Wrathful Blizzard."

Noticing a few tentacles that’d managed to sneak behind her, Pyrrha’s grip tightened as she launched herself forward. Bringing her blade down in a spiral motion, she managed to successfully fend off the Grimm’s attack.

“Flame Breathing: Blooming Flame Undulation.”

In a matter of moments, the duo had managed to carve their way through a large portion of the Grimm’s tentacles, but it soon became clear that the closer they got to its body, the tougher the Grimm’s skin and muscles became, making it that much harder to cut through.

By the time they reached its vital points, they wouldn’t be able to cut through its skin. At the rate it was regenerating, it wouldn’t be long before this thing got up again.

Taking a short breath, I moulded my Aura into a familiar set of skeletal limbs that extended down my arms and held onto my sword.

-10 000 AP

Now was hardly the time to hold back.

Gripping my sword tightly, the blade rapidly turned a bright red. Taking a single step, the rock I’d been standing on suddenly shattered as I launched myself forward, hacking my way into its side, before finally slicing through one of its organs, causing it to crumble.

“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
 -0 AP

Thrashing about, the Grimm let out a loud, pained screech. Slamming its feet into the ground in an attempt to get up, it managed to knock itself on its side, before rolling over, revealing deep gouges in its skin that continued to burn and crumble.

Throwing its head up, it let out another cry, this one far louder than the last, causing the ground to shake, only to suddenly erupt as a geyser made of black fluid shot out of the ground, injecting itself directly into the Grimm’s wound.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fuc–“

Bringing my blade up as another geyser shot off towards me, I took a hissed breath and slashed through it, unleashing an arc of burning Aura that caused the majority of the fluid to break down and evaporate.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. Several more geysers broke through the ground, flooding the small valley at the foot of the mountain, forming a wide and somewhat shallow spawning pool that rapidly began to churn out various kinds of Grimm.

Upon climbing out of the newly formed spawning pit, hundreds of Grimm rushed towards our location, just as the Ancient Grimm began rising once more, only this time, its attention was drawn elsewhere.

Taking the distraction, I tensed my legs and launched myself up towards the Grimm, cutting a deep line through its flesh, causing it to crumble.

Rearing back in pain, the Grimm stomped the ground, causing another jet of black fluid to shoot out of the newly formed spawning pit.

Readying myself to cut through it, I found it was completely unnecessary as Winter suddenly appeared in front of me, her face a picture of calm as the jet, upon reaching her, dissipated.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

Nodding, she kept her gaze focused on the rapidly approaching Grimm. “I’ll handle things here and help where I can. You focus on the big one.”

Not needing to be told twice, I took off. Tensing my legs, I launched myself upwards, taking a breath for my next technique.

“Sun Breathing: Raging Sun”
 -200 AP

Swinging my sword in a wide arc, I slashed through a chunk of the Grimm’s neck. Intending on cutting through the rest of it on my way down, instead, I was forced to twist my body out of the way as Pyrrha’s form suddenly blurred into view as she handled the majority of the other side.

Noticing that it’d only take a little more before the Grimm’s head was fully removed, I made a split second decision and grabbed onto Pyrrha’s arm, before kicking off the air, pulling us into a spin as we climbed higher.

“What?!” Pyrrha squawked, caught off guard. “Coal?”

Reaching the peak of our climb, I gestured towards the Ancient Grimm with my sword. “Together.”

Understanding what I meant, Pyrrha smiled and nodded. “Together.”

Beginning our descent, I kicked off the air once more, only this time it was in the opposite direction. Blurring towards the Grimm, we each brought our blade down, slicing through the remainder of its neck.

“Sun Breathing: Clear Blue Sky”
 -300AP

 “Flame Breathing: Blazing Universe.”

Landing at the base of the Grimm, its body stilled as its head hit the ground just behind us. It wasn’t dead just yet, but it would be once we took out its remaining organs.

Hearing an odd sort of hum come from the Grimm’s neck as it aimed itself downward, I made to move, only for the decapitated head to suddenly come alive and latch onto Pyrrha and myself in an attempt to keep us from moving.

Using my blade to slash through the remaining tentacles, I only had a moment to react as a wave of pressure tore its way out of the Grimm’s neck.

Planting my feet firmly in the ground, I took a hissed breath and brought my blade down in a blur of movement, meeting the Grimm’s attack head on.

“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
 -0 AP

Moving through the various forms, I repeated the technique... Again and again. Not letting up until the Grimm’s attack began to die down.

“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
 -0 AP

“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
 -0 AP

“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
 -0 AP

“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
 -0 AP

-5000 AP

It seemed that I hadn’t been completely unscathed from the attack, but luckily my Aura managed to weather the worst of it.

Standing a short distance behind me, Pyrrha grimaced, clutching her hands to her ears.

Taking a slow breath, I held my blade out defensively, heat pouring off the brightly glowing blade. The surrounding area was a picture of devastation. The ground, the rocks, hell, even the odd plants that’d been directly in front and to the side of me had been reduced to a fine powder.

Lunging forward, the Grimm brought its leg down, aiming to crush us. Jumping back in order to avoid it, I was hit with a sudden feeling of vertigo that threw me off balance. It seemed that my Aura hadn’t protected me as much as I’d thought.

Stumbling as I landed a short distance in front of Pyrrha, I glanced back at her, before using one of my spectral arms to push her out of the way as the leg descended.

Bringing my blade up as the leg descended, I slashed through it, causing the Grimm to rear back, but not before I was smashed into the ground.

-1000 AP

That wasn’t so bad.

With the ground having been reduced to sand and the Grimm being wounded, the majority of the force had been cushioned. I was definitely going to be cleaning sand out of my pockets for the next few days, but that was a small price to pay, all things considered.

Crossing my arms in front of my face as the Grimm continued to try and crush me, a few short moments passed, before my vertigo finally faded. Taking a breath, I pressed my hands into the ground and readied myself to use Godspeed.

“NO!”

Hearing something heavy collide with the Grimm, it stumbled backwards, no longer close enough to continue its attempts at killing me, before a white streak collided with it, sending it tumbling towards the base of the mountain.

Feeling a hint of worry, I stood up and climbed out of the small indentation in the mountain. Looking around, I caught sight of both Pyrrha and Winter, both in different locations.

Blurring across the mountainside, Pyrrha hacked her way through the perpetual horde of Grimm, killing them at a rate faster than they could spawn. Her heart was beating fast... Faster than the rate at which she was breathing, worryingly enough.

Winter on the other hand looked different. Her hair was loose and hanging down her back, her clothes had changed and were glowing in a manner resembling her summons, she was covered in Glyphs and, oh, she was fighting the Ancient Grimm to a standstill.

Neither of them would be able to keep this up for long. Pyrrha was burning through her stamina and would pass out once she hit her limit and Winter’s new form seemed to already be fading.

I needed to help them... Both of them, but I couldn’t be in two places at once... Although, it was just a thought, maybe I could make both those places come to me instead.

The key was the Selfless State... Or, well, the opposite of the Selfless State. If sealing your senses could remove your fighting spirit and make you invisible to Grimm, then the opposite should be true as well.

Opening my senses to the world, I took in everything and allowed it to all flood out once more, entering a state completely opposite to that of the Selfless State. Feeling as if I was hitting a wall, I clenched my fist closed and glared off into the distance.

Slowly, but surely, the numerous Grimm surrounding the mountainside turned their attention away from Pyrrha and Winter, focusing on me instead.

Pushing a little bit harder, a strange sensation came over me, as if I’d been turned inside out and a portion of the world had become my body.

...
Ping!
A new skill has been created.

Conquerors Will
The world flows through you and you it. By opening your heart to the world, you are able to feel the world around you as if it were your own body and, to some extent, enforce your will upon it.

Warning, overuse of this ability can lead to mental exhaustion and loss of consciousness.
 ...

Blinking at the description, I shook my head. I’d deal with that later.

Focusing my attention on the Grimm, I could feel them as they looked around in confusion, not really sure what to do. Clenching my fist a bared down on them.

“Fall!”

As if a switch was flipped in their head, the Grimm all collapsed while those in the sky lost the ability to fly and came crashing down into the mountainside.

The Ancient Grimm was a different story.

Stumbling backwards as its legs shook, it slowly regained its footing and stood tall before letting out a defiant shriek.

Feeling a little light headed, I closed my senses once more and took a deep breath. I was going to have to work on that technique, but for now, it’d served its purpose.

“Coal,” Pyrrha called out as she suddenly appeared at my side. “Are you alright? I would have checked on you sooner, but–”

“I’m fine, just a little tired,” I interrupted, smiling at the concerned look she gave me. Turning my attention towards Winter, I found her still fighting the Ancient Grimm. She was doing a great job at fending it off, but she was quickly reaching her limit. “This needs to end.”

It was stronger and far harder to cut through than the Ancient Grimm back in Mistral, but its healing factor was far slower and almost completely reliant on the spawning pit when it came to regenerating new limbs.

Technically speaking, it should be fairly easy to overwhelm the Grimm’s regeneration. The optimal way to kill it was to destroy everything at once, but that was a little tricky to do when its skin was so tough.

Stumbling as it stepped on its damaged leg, the Grimm veered off to the side, moving dangerously close to the spawning pit, only to be forced to the side by a massive Glyph. Standing in front of it, Winter stabbed her sword into the ground to steady herself... Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough.

Tensing my legs, I took off down the mountainside, stopping at Winter’s side as the Grimm tore through her Glyph and stumbled toward her.

“Coal...” Winter muttered weakly, a small smile coming to her face.

“Hey there... Good job keeping it busy,” I hummed, glancing over her new appearance. “You look nice when your hair’s down.”

A moment later, Pyrrha’s form blurred past us. Raising her sword, she sliced through one of the Grimm’s legs, forcing it to fall on its side, away from the spawning pit. Letting out a roar that levelled a portion of the landscape, it thrashed around, fighting to get up, but with only two good legs left, it failed.

With the newly formed sand pouring down the mountain's side, the Grimm managed to swing its back end out, slipping a little closer towards the black lake below.

Stumbling past me in an attempt to stop it, Winter’s Aura flickered dangerously as the glyphs coating her body began to fade. Taking a knee, she breathed deeply, having officially reached her limit.

Raising my blade over my shoulder, I took a breath and flung it, piercing through the Grimm’s chest, causing the surrounding tissue to start breaking down. It wasn’t nearly enough to kill the Grimm on its own, but I wasn’t done yet.

Taking a breath, the world blurred around me as I launched myself forward

"Sun Breathing: Flash, Godspeed"
-2000 AP

Nearing the Grimm, I built up as much force as my body was currently able to sustain, before bringing my fist down on the hilt of my blade.

“Six King Gun”

Within an instant, the force from the punch along with the momentum from Godspeed transferred into the blade, causing it to pierce through the Grimm’s internal structure, before exiting the other side where it finally came to a stop, stabbing through the ground in the black lake, causing the nearby liquid to boil and breakdown.

Rearing back at the sudden wound, the Grimm unleashed a pained roar, before it collapsed on the ground. Grimm ash spewing into the air as its body burned from the inside out.