The King of Steel (RWBY/ Ozpin SI): Chapter 15

I sat silently, watching as she continued to drink her tea while looking at our surroundings.

“Sir Vivian Du Lac made a good decision when he settled down in this café. He always had a knack for preparing tea.”

“…I don’t know if I should be offended that you just compared my strongest knight to a mere cook or that he received such praise from you of all people.”

She glared lightly at me and I could not help the twitch of my lips as they tried to rise upwards into a smile.

“Come now, Ozma, I am not that bad.”

“Luna, Umbraxus, Lumarion. Do you need me to go on?”

“…Fine. You win this one.”

This time, I really failed to suppress my smirk as Salem, the Queen of Grimm, my eternal enemy and my former love glared at me.

A long time ago, in a land now wiped out through the God of Darkness’s actions and the sands of time, there was a time when She and I had traveled the world for our honeymoon.

It was during this time that I discovered just how picky Salem is with her food, especially her tea and snacks.

The city of Luna lost one of its most famous restaurants because Salem offended them completely by calling their food dogshit, forcing me to enter a Dual with the stakes being the complete shutdown of that restaurant.

Being who I was, it was a given that I won that duel easily and that restaurant was forced to close its doors.

The same thing happened in Umbraxus and Lumarion, except, in the case of the latter, it was much more intense as Lumarion was a trade city with deep connections to the Cult of Darkness.

All in all, throughout the few months we spent traveling the world, this woman’s recklessness and pickiness in her food caused no less than a few hundred fights which I had to always resolve one way or another.

Is she completely stupid for causing all of these incidents? Definitely. Did I blame her for it? Yes.

But, was she worth all that trouble?

Yes. Without any doubt.

Because that was how much I loved her back then. Even now, I still hold those feelings for her, which is why I feel like my heart is being ripped apart by beasts every time I see her.

But, I cannot let my love for her overshadow my judgment and logic.

No matter how much I love her, she is still the enemy of all life in this world, and I must remove her from the equation for any chance at finally returning to the Afterlife and resting for the rest of eternity.

Although, my goal and my feelings may not be as mutually exclusive as I thought.

That is for later, however, because right now, I need to make sure she does not erupt in a tantrum and destroy Vale.

Suddenly, she started chuckling as her baleful red eyes stared at me with interest.

“Somehow, you feel different. Ozma. As if we had returned to the good old days.”

“….I’ll take that as a compliment, for what it's worth. Why are you here? Salem? Why did you contact me?”

“Straight to business? That’s new, or maybe old? It has been so long that I can’t really tell.”

She chuckled and leaned into the table, with her head resting on her palms. As I tensed, ready for any fight that might take place.

Already, my magic was hard at work setting up multiple barriers to keep the damage limited should she attack while making sure that she did not notice.

But given the raised eyebrow, I must have failed.

“So, my theory was right. You really did take back your soul fragments from the maidens. Or rather, most of them. Your magic and your soul don’t feel complete just yet, although it is a close thing.”

….This does not bode well. How did she know about this?

I thought I already took care of the traitors amongst our ranks. Don’t tell me, there are more?

“Oh, don’t put on such a scary look, Ozma~. There were no leaks on your end, it's just that I have learned to adapt to your actions in the past few months.”

“After all, how can I claim to be your nemesis if I can’t keep up with your tactics and thoughts.”

As she I felt a tiny Grimm enter the field of my senses before landing on the table, revealing a Grimm that looked similar to a fly.

So, this is how she managed to infiltrate the city and gain the information that she did? But it still does not explain how she guessed that I regained my soul fragments.

Unless she was not spying on me directly but on my subordinates and staff.

Yeah, that makes more sense.

How scary, how nostalgic.

I could not help but give a wry smile as I suppressed the emotional turmoil in my heart.

“….You always were way too smart, but just like always, your wisdom and common sense are lacking.”

“If you had such an advantage, why reveal it so easily to me? Knowing very well that I am much more well-versed in the magical arts than you and could easily come up with counters to this thing that you created?”

“Because, I wanted to make you feel despair, knowing that you would never overcome me no matter what strategy you make. But, I guess I miscalculated.”

My confusion must have appeared on my face as she leaned forward and put her palm on my face.

I should be disgusted, I should be afraid of such an act since it will be very easy for her to kill me right now. A quick snap of the neck is all it would take.

But, I could not help but lean into her touch on instinct before I caught myself and pulled back a little.

Truly, the curse placed on me by the Brother Gods is nothing short of absolutely cruel.

And if the hints given by Jinn are anything to go by, this might not even be the first time they did this to me.

I need contingency plans against those two as soon as possible.

And yet, she did not react to my actions but instead continued to lean forward and continued to speak.

“I thought that I was going against the abomination that once betrayed me. The abomination that was nothing but a coward and a tool of the gods. But now, I know for certain, that the one I face is none other than my dear husband, the great Emerald Wizard, the slayer of the Evil Witch of the East who led the greatest rebellion on record and conquered all the Kingdoms that the Yellow Road passed through, only to fall at your hands.”

“The great wizard that brought low the mighty kingdom of Quadling who were considered the masters of magic. The very same wizard who came to the rescue of a simple lonely princess trapped in a tower.”

Suddenly, her eyes blazed with power, love, and hatred as she glared at me. Her power suddenly spiked as baleful black energies collided with my body.

And yet, I did not protect myself, nor did I allow myself to hunch over with the pressure.

“That is why, Ozma, my love, my enemy. I will crush you, not with some shadow games or ploys, but in a straight fight.”

“Prepare your armies, prepare your plans, prepare your little huntsmen and the people of the world.”

“Because my tide of Grimm will wash away all life from these lands and bring me the Relics that you guard so zealously.”

“Only then, will our eternal suffering end.”

“Is that so?”

I let go of my control over my magic, allowing emerald energy to erupt from my body and push back against the black energies.

My suit started to strain against my magic as my glasses were instantly reduced to dust due to the sheer intensity of my magic.

My emerald green eyes met her glowing red as I responded to her challenge as is required by our etiquette and culture.

“I accept your challenge, Salem of Corona. But beware, for the tide of Grimm that you so believe in will be met with an unbreakable Wall of Steel.”

“And when the time comes, I will show you, that there is another way for us, for you, to be freed of the Gods.”

“So, be sure to provide me with a proper challenge, my love.”

“For you know better than anyone, that I never show mercy to my enemies.”