The Fallen City (2)

"Thank you for saving us," the villagers expressed with heartfelt gratitude towards Aciel, their savior, as Ottar stoically surveyed the distant snowscape.

"I am Aciel, and this is Ottar, my loyal companion," Aciel introduced.

Aciel then scanned the gathered villagers. He could see they were far from home, judging by their appearance.

Predominantly, the younger men were injured and in poor condition with ragged jackets and frostbite. There were also children without their parents and women without their husbands.

'It seemed that the younger adults were the ones who led the group of survivors.'

Aciel thought as he waited for the elder standing at the front of the group as the representative to reply.

"I am Alfred, the previous village chief, but unfortunately... as you may not know, the current village chief and the rest of the defenders stayed to confront the Grimms who followed us out from Arbor Village."

"Are they still alive?"

Alfred shook his head before replying, "It's been several months since we last heard of them when this winter storm appeared."

'They are definitely not alive. If it was just a month ago, maybe there was a chance to rescue them.'

Aciel nodded as he thought that was likely the case.

"... When was it that this winter storm occurred?"

Alfred paused before turning his head to the crowd of villagers, "Ciel, child come here."

A blue-haired girl with pinkish eyes went through the crowds before hiding behind the elder while peeking at Aciel, after seeing the frightened little girl, the elder smiled warmly as to show everything was fine, "This child was the one who first noticed the change in the weather."

"... Change of the weather... so it wasn't always like this? I thought this was Atlas Territory." Aciel deduced as he wondered if they were in the snowy lands of Atlas.

"No, no. We are outside the border of Vacuo and Vale, just between the two borders, making it a lawless ground."

'Pretty much outside the Kingdoms are lawless areas," Aciel caressed his non-existent beard and thought deeply.

"Let me recount the story," Alfred said before explaining the story to Aciel and Ottar.

When Ciel found a white-robed man performing a ritual on the coastline, a mountainous white tower resurfaced from the sea near Arbor Village. 

The White Tower was spectacular and dazzling, the villagers believed Ciel's accounts as she was the wise man's child, and not only that her account of the story was fairly accurate as it happened in the morning.

"A tower rising from the sea?" 

Aciel and Ottar looked at each other in disbelief.

It was amazing for a fact that a submerged tower would rise to ground level within just a moment.

When Remnant still had the Brother Gods, this story would fit perfectly despite its magical nature.

"I know it is a lot to take in, but... please, help us. We can't survive without any hunters or huntresses, with your skills, we can make it to the settlement in one piece."

The elder bowed while the little girl, Ciel also bowed along, the rest of the villagers bowed despite their conditions.

"..."

Aciel glanced at Ottar to know his thoughts but Ottar shook his head, "It's up to you, leader. I will follow you whatever decision you make." Aciel nodded before turning his head to the group of bowing villagers.

"... You misunderstood." 

The villagers froze almost in disbelief, "Are you not going to help us?"

"We are not hunters." Aciel nodded, "But we will still help you all, nonetheless. We also need to know more about this place."

"That! Thank you!" The elder grasped the hands of Aciel and sincerely thanked him, as Aciel took a step back, the little girl, Ciel grabbed the bottom sleeves of his cloak, "Thank you, big brother."

"..."

Aciel brought his hand to her head. Although he had a stoic look most of the time, he took his hands off the elder before gently brushing his left hand to Ciel before smiling faintly.

"Yeah, happy to help..."

.

.

.

The Lawless Area was vaster than it seemed. Imagine the size of this place. It would take two new nations to fit this entire hollow place, Aciel thought.

As the elder presented him with a map of the area, Aciel's curiosity piqued at the sight of the tetragonal shape and the crystal symbol marking the four settlements.

"Why is it shaped like this?" Aciel inquired.

Alfred pointed to the map and recounted the legends of two gods who once ruled the world, but little else was known about their predecessors. It was stuff that Aciel already knew, except that the elder knew less than him.

To the elder, it was an ambiguous tale, but to Aciel, it was reality as clear as day. The world of Remnant was, after all, just an experiment for the two gods."

As they all wandered in the snowy landscape, following the customized compass, Alfred chimed in with a satisfied look, seeing as they were doing well with the expedition.

"We're making good progress. The settlement lies halfway ahead at the border of Vale."

"Do you know anything about this settlement?" Aciel asked.

"I was just about to tell you. The settlement is called Crimson Haven. It serves as a refuge for travelers passing through the lawless zone. Many hunters, huntresses, and mercenaries frequent the area, taking on missions to combat the Grimm infestation that plagues this region."

Grimm Elimination quests were commonplace in the lawless zone, where the concentration of Grimm posed a constant threat to the surrounding kingdoms.

'Crimson Haven? I don't remember hearing about it in the RWBY Volumes,' Aciel mused quietly. 'Could it have been wiped out?' His thoughts moved on to the present as he thought of another question.

"Why didn't you ask for reinforcements from Crimson Haven?" 

"We did, our letters did reach Crimson Haven. Somehow, Crimson Haven was also facing similar issues. They wanted to help but were in a stalemate with unknown forces," Alfred explained, his voice strained with frustration.

"Help would not have arrived if we had continued defending Arbor Village," Alfred declared loudly, his words barely audible over the howling wind of the blizzard.

As darkness descended and the snowfall intensified, the once-white landscape transformed into a dark abyss, shrouded in shadows cast by the darkened sky above.

"Let's rest up here," Aciel said.

The rest of the people were pale as they were about to collapse from exhaustion. Alfred was getting breathless. Aciel also glanced at Ciel, who had a pale look while she was given a piggyback ride on Aciel's back.

"..." 

Things were not looking good, so they decided to rest inside an abandoned farm. Somehow, this place felt eerie, so Aciel went to scout first before they chose to settle inside.

"Ottar, stay here and protect the rest." Ottar nodded, "As you command."

"Are you going alone?" Alfred asked, concern etched in his voice.

"Yeah. It'll be quick to check if there are any Grimms," Aciel replied.

Alfred couldn't help but ask, "What Grimms would be staying inside this place in the first place?"

"... Have you heard of Apathy Grimms?" Aciel's tone turned serious as he glanced around at the weary faces of the villagers gathered near the bonfire.

'If we continue without checking if there are any Apathy Grimms or other Grimms in the vicinity, the next day, a lot of villagers might die.'

Aciel thought it was best to educate them about this particular Grimm. Anyway, if they can use the fear to lure the Grimms out of hiding. It would make his job a lot easier.

Although this was risky and reckless, any number of Grimm wasn't a problem as long as they were not the size of the one that attacked Beacon Academy. It was already proven by Ottar and Aciel's abilities back when hundreds of Grimms attacked.

"The Apathy? What are they?" Alfred's brows furrowed in confusion.

Aciel took a deep breath, preparing to explain. "The Apathy is a type of Grimm—humanoid in shape, but with long arms that almost touch the ground and hideous, skull-like faces. They have the ability to drain the willpower of their prey, weakening them to the point of exhaustion or even death."

"They tend to attack in packs, using their numbers and will-draining powers to overwhelm their prey."

"They can weaken their victims remotely with their scream, but if they can see their target, the effects are much stronger," Aciel explained, his gaze sweeping over the tired faces of the villagers. "Repeated attacks will drain a person's willpower until they fall asleep or even die."

Aciel's words hung heavy in the air, a chilling reminder of the dangers lurking in the shadows of the abandoned farm as the villagers exchanged worried glances. "So, if there are any brave souls to help in scouting this place, it would make it faster to find these Grimms. After all, to me, these Grimms are just prey, so feel at ease and put your trust in us. Right now, we should be more worried about the cold killing us than the grimms."

"Everyone, the young hero is right. We need to be brave. We can't allow our fears to get the best of us." Alfred chimed in.

"Yeah!"

"We will get out of this alive!"

Three figures went out from the crowd before standing in line before Aciel.

"We will join you."

"Are you all sure?" Aciel crossed his arms and observed their faces.

They all nodded in different intervals, "What are your names? Let's start from you."

Aciel pointed to the left, "I am Lucas, sir!" 

"How about you?" Aciel moved his finger to the middle.

"Armstrong!" He saluted.

Aciel didn't even point anymore as he got tired, "I am... Klaus!" Klaus looked like he was crying.

The blonde-haired young man was Lucas, with fiery blue eyes.

'Obedient and steadfast like a knight, he reminds me of the capable warriors like in my previous world.'

There was Armstrong with a skinny body. He looked the opposite of what the Armstrong name would carry. He wore eyeglasses carrying along nervous eyes. 

'Overthinker and ambitious has a good potential to be a strategist to lead an army.'

He then glanced at Klaus, the man with black hair and dark eyes. He was shaking all over.

'Timid and a worrywart. I don't know if he'll even be capable of being a warrior or a strategist. Hm...'

Aciel glanced at them and nodded, "The three of you will go inside the farm shack while I'll be the one to check the house."

"Remember, run outside if you find a Grimm. If you freeze from fear, you'll be the ones dying. Bite your tongue, and you're likely to move. From now on, your survival is your responsibility."

"Also, don't enter suspicious places like an underground system or a chained door. When you're all done, wait here and give me a report."

"Yes, sir!"

"Mmm!"

"Yes!"

"Alfred, I'll leave Ciel here."

"Yes, be careful. We will be waiting for all of you here."

Aciel brought Ciel to Alfred before glancing at the wooden door, he frowned with a skeptical look.

It was a feeling he was used to a lot on the battlefield. This place was dangerous. To others, it gave an eerie feeling, but eerieness to Aciel was a sign of something dangerous that his senses were warning him about. 

"Let's go."

The three young men grabbed their weapons and vigilantly entered the farm shack while Aciel kicked the door open and entered the house.

When Aciel entered the house and explored the place, he entered the basement and he could not have expected that it was much more dangerous than he imagined as he stared at the dark sight.