29 Chapter 29 - Victory?

"RUN!" Cinder yelled out.

Nephrite spawned his AK from his inventory and shot a couple of bullets to stop Emerald from any possible hallucinations. Ozpin appeared next to Mercury and with dozens of precise strikes in a second, Mercury's aura had broken.

He couldn't withstand such a huge sudden burden and fainted. Resistance was futile.

Emerald wasn't much better, and with Nephrite's bullets, stopping her from concentrating. Oobleck and one of the shadow professors had surrounded Emerald, knocking her out in a few seconds as well.

It was Cinder's turn. Pyrrha used her semblance and locked her to the ground for a few seconds before the ground melted.

It was enough, and Ozpin began his assault. Pyrrha once again encased her feet. Ozpin's cane had turned into hundreds, and Cinder's aura flickered multiple times, before Ozpin used more of his strength launching her away.

Her body slammed into a wall and she fell down, her aura dispersing into the air...

Cinder was experiencing the greatest hurdle of her life, her battered condition and her broken aura remaining, and the paralyzed bodies of Emerald and Mercury spoke for themselves.

'I still have that!' She remembered the first time she had met the woman from the Crown. A cuboid the size of a mp3 with a button and words 'Use it when you are in a pickle~.' were the last moments of their first exchange.

She had thrown it back into her mind and carried it in case that woman wanted to see it, but now...

She barely took it out, her hands trembling, and quickly pressed the button.

Hope, something she had lost long ago, had been resurrected for the briefest of moments. 'Do something please!' she begged in her mind.

Alas, her last hope was nothing, but a mere spark of false hope. The moment she pressed the button, a sharp blade had pierced through her already weakened aura, injuring her hand.

"Hehe~ enjoy the present." A sweet sound said, which Nephrite recognized right away.

"Carmine!" He yelled out as a concentrated vial of fire and combustion dust mixed together detonated inside the cuboid. A bright flash had come to life and ended in an instant. What it left behind was a corpse of Cinder.

Half of her torso and neck were nowhere to be found, an end to a person and a sign of significant change.

Great clouds had enveloped the entire city of Vale and Beacon. Raindrops began their descent, further complicating the already tough fight.

...

"Ooh~ that little silly girl had pressed the button! I can't believe it hahaha." Carmine said and felt immeasurable power coursing through her veins, so incredible and yet incomplete.

She laughed and felt a slight connection somewhere deep down, a place she planned to explore anyway. With the intoxicating power at hand, she used it to blow a hole inside the elevator.

*Boom

A hole had appeared, its edges still orange from the heat alone. Just when she wanted to jump down, a force took control of the elevator and had thrown it outside the building, with Carmine still inside.

"Well, well, if it isn't that old lady, I heard that you possess the same semblance as I do! Let's see who's better." Carmine said as she dusted her clothes.

Telekinesis and its branches belonged to one of the rarest types, and a battle of life and death with one is an incredible learning experience.

Glynda furrowed her eyes and forced the molecules in the air to form a dark cloud above, forcing them even further sharp ice chunks had descended upon Carmine.

Carmine's eyes widened. She dodged and left the area of attack as soon as she could. Glynda didn't wait and the moment she left, she threw a piece of the ground below Carmine in the air.

Three other huge chunks had encased Carmine and Glynda crushed the rocks as much as she could. A dark cloud had once again appeared, and Glynda forced everything out of her, summoning a gigantic piece of ice that fell onto the compressed piece of rock.

It took a considerable amount of aura, but this was her style. Crush the enemy before they can crush you.

*BOOOM

The ground trembled as the impact had created a dozen meter big hole. Chunks of ice and debris were everywhere.

Glynda sighed as she looked at the destruction she caused. She took a step forward, but her eyes furrowed and she dashed back.

The massive piece of rock had ballooning orange dots. The rock exploded, sending shards flying everywhere, including Glynda.

She conjured an intricate circle in the air, stopping the fatal pieces that flew at her. She didn't dare wait on one spot and dashed to the side.

Moments later, a column of fire had encased her previous position, burning everything to the crisp.

"You are something, old hag." Carmine said, her face no longer sported that mischievous smile. She summoned huge winds and closed in on Glynda.

Glynda didn't take the comment well, nor her approach. She used combustion dust to generate red like missiles. They homed in on Carmine and exploded upon whatever they hit.

Carmine wasn't a slouch either and redirected most of the explosive missiles away. Their brief and yet intense exchanges in battle for dominance over an object were draining.

She clicked her tongue. A slight sense of fear had overcome her. Someone that could deal with a half-maiden with her combat capabilities was quite terrifying. Although she didn't know much about her power, the instinctive basics were there.

Carmine used her newfound power and unleashed everything she had stored inside of her, creating a massive blast that pushed Glynda 20 meters away. She used this opportunity and jumped down where once was an elevator.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Ozpin asked as he appeared. He was the fastest and the first to respond to Glynda's call for reinforcements.

"Quick! Amber is in danger!" Glynda said and coughed a couple of times. Her aura shone dimly around her body.

Ozpin's eyes widened, and he used his speed to its utter limits. He ran on the walls as if it was a flat surface, achieving much faster speed than if he was falling.

Second later he could see a silhouette of a woman. He pressed a button on a small device and a hard light wall had appeared, blocking the hallway.

Carmine had landed at this point and dashed as fast as she could towards the source of her other 'half'. She squeezed the doors with her semblance to buy even one more second.

When she saw the hard light dust activate, she used some of the magical power that had regenerated.

Her fist landed, and the hard light dust flickered briefly before strengthening again. She didn't stop there and threw out a bunch of fire crystals and shot them with her weapon.

The explosion had dimmed the hard light dust, and she punched the wall once again, breaking it this time.

Ozpin was already on her back and blew away the barricade she had created. As if he teleported, he appeared before her and knocked her back with a few strikes.

With reinforcements coming, and this headmaster standing in her way, she forced her magic and threw a lightning bolt at Amber.

Ozpin was forced to block it, and she used it as a distraction. With the wind boosting her speed, she closed in on Amber. He didn't waste any time and used his cane to blast away that lightning bolt and got ready to fight her.

She threw out her Sai, which flew at Ozpin with rapid speed. He knocked them to the side and approached Carmine to create more distance between her and Amber.

A mischievous smile appeared on her face, and a sound of glass shattering made its way to Ozpin's ears. He turned around to see Amber impaled by one of the Sai, which was on the ground not long ago.

"It was fun playing with you, old man. Oh! And tell that old hag that I will have my revenge~." She said and used her even greater powers to escape through the elevator. He tried to follow, but a wall of earth had blocked his path.

...

As if announcing its presence, a bright flash had ascended into the skies, breaking through the dark clouds.

"She did it! Everyone retreat." Said the man who didn't lift a single finger except when he controlled Adam. The controlled huntsmen went mad and used their entirety of aura to deal damage and slow down the enemies.

Qrow and Ironwood could only watch as they escaped, as the mad huntsmen weren't the only surprise with dust exploding in their faces.

Soon, they knocked the mind controlled huntsmen unconscious. There was a couple good news, no major causalities, Grimm tide successfully beaten and most of the Red Fang has been apprehended.

Now that the crown has a maiden, they have painted a huge target on their backs...