ThatKIrcguy
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Breathe Chapter 21: Terminal Breath
🕑 Added 2024-08-12 05:12:13 +0000 UTCThe dam groaned loudly as it began to slowly break apart. Numerous cracks began to form with high pressured jets of water spraying out, helping speed up the rate at which it broke apart. A large chunk of debris broke free and hit the ground with a loud thump as a wave of water followed it.
I silently stood nearby, watching it all happen. My fight with Tyrian and Hazel was over, I should leave and report the attack, but I didn’t.
There was something here, something… big behind the crumbling dam, I could feel it in my bones. This abandoned dam was a pretty remote location with very few, if any people living nearby, so then why? Why did Tyrian and Hazel destroy it?
I needed more information.
Jumping out of the way as a jet of water rushed towards me, I watched cautiously as the spray of water died down to a trickle. Looking up, I noticed that water was still pouring from the top.
Another chunk of debris broke off from the center of the dam, but instead of water, what came out was a large black tendril with hints of bone coating the base. It lashed out at a fast pace, I crouched down and swung my blade, cutting a deep line through its near gelatinous body.
“What are you supposed to be?” I muttered to myself.
Pulling back rapidly, the tendril quivered as the wound I’d just inflicted healed over in a matter of seconds, however it didn’t stop there. Raising up, the tendril quivered more violently as vertical crevices began to form on it.
With a horrible squelch and a spray of Grimm fluid, one tendril became two which immediately split and formed for. Before too long, several dozen whip like tendrils with sharp bone tips waved through the air.
“Not going to lie, that was kind of gross,” I hummed.
All at once, the tendrils shot towards me.
Weaving my way through the attack, I easily slicked through them, cutting off the barbed tips. They were fast and numerous, but weak enough for me to cut through without any effort.
Fending off the next wave of tendrils, I was briefly thrown off balance when I felt something wrap around my legs, tugging me towards the ground.
Briefly glancing down, I caught sight of one of the end of the tendrils that I’d cut wrapping itself around me, completely independent from its main body.
Bringing my blade down, I cut my self free and leapt over the field of seemingly sentient tendrils. Rushing to the edge of the forest, I jumped up into one of the trees and turned my attention to the Grimm that was slowly pouring through the crumbling dam wall.
I needed some time to observe this thing and regain some Aura.
This Grimm had honestly caught me off guard. Normally when a Grimm lost a limb, that limb would disintegrate, but this one didn’t. Each piece of it that had been cut off acted almost independently in an attempt to pin me down for the ones that were attached to the main body.
More than that, this Grimm seemed to have some limited shape shifting ability. The separated tendrils were seemingly being reabsorbed back into its main body.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Watching cautiously as the tendrils continued to merge together and bulk up at the base of the dam, my eyes widened and I kicked off the tree just as it shot towards me. Wrapping around the tree I’d been standing on, the Grimm pulled it clean out of the ground and back towards the dam wall, squeezing the tree until it shattered into splinters.
It seemed that this was the very first Grimm where I would actually need to use Sun Breathing if I wanted to be able to kill it. There was however a problem. It was just too large. I didn’t have enough Aura to be able to use each technique separately.
I was going to need to use the thirteenth form.
Taking a slow breath, I noticed something odd. Something up here smelled like Tyrian. I knew it couldn’t be him, even if I hadn’t killed him, the chunks of dam that fell on him certainly would have. No, he had been up here before I arrived and from the smell of it, he’d been in a few of these trees.
Quickly following the scent before the Grimm destroyed this tree too, I waded through the tree leaves and found myself staring directly into a camera.
“What the hell?” I muttered, tapping it briefly. “They were recording me?”
My mind raced through numerous scenarios over why Tyrian and Hazel would record me and the conclusion I came to was somehow both infuriating and slightly amusing.
Salem was pulling a volume 3 early. Everything had seemingly been set up perfectly. This Grimm… whatever it is must be one that’s strong enough to be a threat that would at the very least draw attention from the Atlesian Military… more now since they were seemingly broadcasting this.
When I declined Hazel’s offer, they attempted to kill me. Having my death broadcasted live throughout Mistral would certainly create some negative attention. Watts wouldn’t have any issue taking control of the CCT here seeing as Lionheart was in charge.
Cinder was making a play for the spring maiden and would have likely headed straight to Mistral Academy in order to retrieve the lamp. I had to keep myself from smiling when I realized just how angry they would all be when they found out this was all for nothing.
Raven was the spring maiden, not vernal. They’d just played their full hand and found out the prize was absolutely nothing… worse than nothing actually. I’d taken one of their key players and Lionheart would likely be exposed after this, maybe even Cinder too if Ozpin heeded my warning.
I couldn’t do anything for the settlements and cities that might be panicking from here. The only thing I could do right now as handle this Grimm
Seeing the tendrils begin to ready themselves for another strike, I waited for the last moment before jumping down into the waterlogged clearing below. It wouldn’t be long before this dam fully broke down, so I was going to have to make the most of the time I had before it did.
The thick tendril retracted, breaking the tree I had been standing on.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused my attention inward. I’d only been able to successfully complete the thirteenth form a handful of times, it was more than just cycling through the different Sun Breathing techniques, it also required perfect timing, precision and a deep understanding of my body.
Feeling the air push against my skin, my eyes snapped open and I rapidly brought my blade down, slicing through the oncoming tendril with a hissed breath. The tendril briefly reeled back as the part I slashed began to crumble, but I didn’t stop there.
Continuing my motion, I moved to the next form, fluidly continuing my attack, hacking through the tendril.
Splitting into numerous thinner tendrils, it began to attack me, lashing out at high speed in an attempt to entangle me, but I was ready for it.
I began to move faster as I grew more comfortable with the form, slashing deeply into the attacking Grimm. Each movement, each cut was done with the intention of ending it.
The severed barbed ends of the Grimm dropped to the floor, twitching and twisting as they dissolved into ash.
“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
-0 AP
Taking a step forward, I brought my blade down once more, repeating the form, slowly whittling the Grimm down.
As much as it tried to fight back, the Grimm beginning to lose. With each step I gained ground while the Grimm slowly shrank away, losing more of itself.
I really should thank Hazel when I next saw him. Fighting him in his dust empowered state forced me to adapt and sharpen myself, doing away with useless movements.
“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
-0 AP
Another step forward and the Grimm continued to slowly pull back.
I could feel power well up in my body as I continued to slice through the Grimm. With this, I didn’t feel like winning was a certain thing… it felt more like it was an impossibility for me to lose.
My movements sharpened and my speed increased as I finished going through the twelve forms once more.
“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
-0 AP
Seeing the tendrils pull back and freeze, I briefly stopped my attack. They hadn’t done that before, if this was some new form of attack then I needed to be ready for it.
“What are you up t…”
The tendrils began retreating back into the dam. Rushing forward, I grabbed onto them, holding them under my left arm while I planted my feet against the cracked dam wall, preventing it from being able to flee.
“Finish what you started,” I yelled at the Grimm as water poured out onto me.
Feeling my grip begin to slip as more water began to pour out, I cursed under my breath and brought my blade down one last time, severing the bulk of the tendrils from the base of the dam wall.
“Sun Breathing: Dance”
-500 AP
A loud snapping sound washed through the clearing as a massive chunk of the dam broke off, letting loose a flood of water.
Not wanting to take a swim right now, I rushed off back towards the forest trees and jumped up, landing on one of the trees to the side of the newly forming river.
Before the dam had a chance to break down naturally, a massive black tentacle shot out from the other side and dropped down, smashing the rest of the dam, letting all the water flood out at once.
Jumping to back, I landed on one of the taller trees that was protected my several surrounding ones.
“Sore loser,” I yelled out. “If you can’t beat me, what made you think a little water would?”
Watching cautiously for any movement, I found none. It seemed that the Grimm really had just run away when it saw that I could actually harm it.
Sighing to myself, I turned to leave and immediately caught sight of the Shadow. Normally it appeared when something was going on, like when Raven decided to attack the Sanctum Academy excursion, but it was late this time.
I’d already killed Tyrian and fought off Hazel… hell, I’d frightened off a Grimm, what could it want now.
The Shadow pointed off into the distance to the area behind the broken dam.
The tree I’d been standing on began to shake as a loud, squelching sound washed over the shattered dam. Off into the distance, a mass of tendrils twisted together, before solidifying into a massive arm that stretched out to the sky.
“What the actual fu…”
My scroll began to vibrate. Slipping it out of my pocket, I idly noticed that I had a single bar of signal and that I was getting a call from a number I didn’t recognize.
“Hello,” I answered. “Who is this?”
“Mister Calavera, this is headmaster Ozpin from Beacon Academy,” Ozpin’s said, his voice static as the signal was bad.
I let out a relieved sigh. “Oz, good to hear from you. For a second I thought you were an insurance salesman. You know how they are sometimes. The world could be ending and they’d still try and offer you ‘great’ deals,” I joked. “So how’s your day been… I think mine’s got you beat.”
“Yes, I can see that,” Ozpin hummed. “I’ll get to the point. The Grimm that you fought… the one that’s forming in the distance is one of the ancients. As it stands, the only option you can take to survive is to flee.”
I let out a short chuckle at that. Maria said that she felt I would probably end up pissing off an ancient Grimm if I had to go out and fight by myself. She was right as it turns out.
Taking my backpack off, I placed it on a branch and began to riffle through it, retrieving a bottle of water.
“So how did you know that I was fighting here?” I asked, looking to confirm my suspicions.
“The ones that attacked to have hacked into Mistral’s CCT and have been broadcasting your fight and the dams destruction in an attempt to cause panic,” Ozpin explained briefly. “I’ll explain more once you’re out of the danger zone. I’ve arranged for a bullhead piloted by some Atlesian soldiers to fetch you. They’ll be there in thirty minutes, so you’ll need to evade the Grimm up until then.”
I calmly sipped my water as I spotted a second massive arm forming in the distance. So I was right, Salem’s group was attempting to steal the spring maidens’ power along with the lamp.
“What if I just kill it?” I asked nonchalantly. This Grimm was large… titanic even. Allowing it to roam free was a bad idea. Salem might attempt to take control of it and even if she didn’t, it could still stumble across one of the numerous settlements in Mistral.
“I wouldn’t advise that,” Ozpin replied. “Ancient Grimm are ancient for a reason. Throughout the entire history of this world, nothing has been able to kill them. The best option we have when dealing with them is leaving them alone long enough that they settle back down again and fall asleep.”
That wasn’t exactly an ideal option, but, having fought a section of this ancient Grimm already, I understood why Ozpin thought the way he did. I wasn’t able to do any real damage to the Grimm without using Sun Breathing techniques.
It was only a guess, but there were probably only a few things that could actually harm this Grimm. The maidens and silver eyed warriors… and now Sun Breathing.
“I feel like I’ve been challenged,” I grinned.
“If you try and fight that Grimm, you will die,” Ozpin warned. “There’s nothing you could do to harm that Grimm.”
“Maybe… probably not,” I replied. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret Ozpin… something that you might have noticed when I first started fighting this Grimm. When I put actual effort into fighting, I can make it so that my cuts are caustic to Grimm.”
“If that is true then it’s all the more reason for you to evacuate,” Ozpin argued. “You could spend more time learning how to properly use your Semblance. There’s no shame in retreating when faced by a superior foe.”
“I agree,” I nodded. “But ancient or not, I don’t think this Grimm is intelligent enough to retreat.”
“Coal…”
A loud deep roar sounded through the area as the ancient Grimm tilted backwards, as the tendrils that began to pull back, revealing its head, sunken into a large, bulging body. The Grimm lacked legs, but made due with a pair long arms that it used to pull itself forward.
The ground shook and the tree I was standing on began to groan as it swayed in the deepening water.
“It looks like my break is just about up,” I muttered aloud. “Anyway, it’s been nice talking to you again, Ozpin, but I’m going to have to hang up now. Remember what I told you back in Sanctum… this is it, that moment I was talking about.”
“I figured as much,” Ozpin sighed. “It’s still not too late to change your mind. Your odds of survival will be far greater if you flee. Fighting this ancient Grimm drops those odds down to near zero.”
“Based off of what you know of me, yeah, those odds would be pretty low,” I agreed. “But I still have a few cards left to play that should more than even the odds.”
“Then I wish you luck,” Ozpin replied. “Regardless of how this fight goes, if you are still fighting when the Bullhead arrives, I recommend that you evacuate.”
“Trust me, I’m not going to need that long.”
Hanging up, I placed my scroll back in my pocket and put my backpack back on. The titanic sized ancient Grimm was slowly making its way towards my location.
Taking a slow breath, I glanced at my stats once more.
…
Coal Calavera
Semblance: Gamer Lite
AP: 9523/10375
STR: 72 => (450)
DEX: 75 => (468.7)
CON: 96=> (600)
AUR: 83 => (207.5)
…
Having Constant stacked with Aura truly pushed the limits of both how fast my body could grow and buffed those stats to a large degree. Now the only question that I had was if it was enough. There was a very good chance that I was going to have to take a gamble when it came to my Constitution during this fight.
Tensing my legs, I leaped off of the tree, jumping between several more, stopping only when my feet touched down on the fragmented concrete remains of the destroyed dam.
Getting a better view of the ancient Grimm, I let out a whistle.
“You’re a lot bigger than I originally thought you were,” I muttered to myself. The Grimm appeared to be taller than the average skyscraper, looking to be around 70 stories tall, probably more. Its body however seemed to be much wider. I was beginning to think that I’d bit off more than I could chew.
I began to run along the ground on the emptied side of the dam, rushing towards the Grimm. A gust of wind blew by as the Grimm raised its massive hand, bringing it down to crush me.
Halting my momentum, I jumped back in time to avoid being flattened and immediately continuing onward, running up the side of the massive Grimm.
Seeing the Grimm flesh ahead of me begin to bulge, I darted to the side just as a massive tendril sprouted outward, attempting to catch me off guard.
Instead of staying behind to cut it down, I continued running, aiming to kill this Grimm as quickly as possible.
Several more tendrils sprouted out of the Grimm, but I simply took that as a sign that I was on the right path. Reaching the place where a shoulder should be, I took a single moment to prepare myself.
This ancient Grimm was vaunted as unkillable… an immortal. I would put that to the test.
With a hissed breath, I charged forward, cutting through numerous newly sprouted tendrils as I single mindedly carved my way through the Grimm.
“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
-0 AP
The Grimm’s flesh crumbled away as I continued to cut through the thick muscle and bone. With another hissed breath, I moved forwards, cutting my way deeper into its body.
The Grimm let out a pained roar and shook violently as I finally reached my goal. The white spinal cord was only exposed for a single moment before Grimm fluid flooded around it, forming an amalgamation of muscle and bone.
Everything had a weak spot. Most of the time that spot turned out to be the head and it seemed that it was no different with this ancient Grimm.
My blood sung as I carved my way through the rest of the Grimm. With several more hissed breaths, I managed to leverage my sword deep into the Grimms neck. Tensing my legs, I launched myself forward and then upward, cutting through the bone in one smooth motion.
Landing on the Grimm’s back, I turned around, happy to see that a large chunk of the Grimm was now disintegrating.
“If they don’t make me a Huntsman after this, then I’m calling bullshit,” I muttered to myself, good naturedly.
The ancient Grimm let out a pained roar and stumbled to the side as tendrils began to shoot out of the neck, piercing into the skull in order to hold it in place.
“I don’t think s…” I began, moving to stop the Grimm from holding itself together before pausing when the Grimm’s entire back began to ripple.
Jumping upward, I attempted to begin the thirteenth form in mid air, but I was already too late. The Grimm’s entire back had exploded into a mass of tendrils and limbs, latching onto me.
Struggling in their grip, I attempted to gain a foothold only for the Grimm’s limbs to continue shifting. The tendrils began to tighten, pulling me into the Grimms back.
I managed to take one last deep breath before my entire body was submerged into the darkness of the Grimms body.
My Aura slowly ticked down as the Grimm began to crush my body from all sides. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe. If I couldn’t escape this Grimms body, I would end up dying.
I had made a mistake in my fight with the ancient Grimm. I assumed that the fight was over because I’d managed to sever its head using Sun Breathing, thinking that it wouldn’t be able to live, but I was wrong. The massive Grimm was capable of surviving for several moments long enough to reattach its head.
Death was certain here. In order to move forward, I needed to flip the proverbial coin and gamble that my body was capable of withstanding the only technique I’d never been able to practice.
…
Ping!
…
I ignored the message and focused my full attention inward, feeling out every blood vessel, muscle fiber and nerve ending, feeling the physical energy that they radiated. The light feeling of Aura graced my skin, reinforcing my body while at the same time amplifying it.
…
Ping!
…
Bringing the two energies together, they collided and compressing inward, sinking into my body. Feeling strength flood through my veins, I gripped my sword tightly and pulled, tearing through the Grimms body.
60
My heart thundered in my chest and my lungs screamed out for air.
The tendrils of the Grimm quivered and retracted as I cut into them, clawing my way upward. Stopping at a solid barrier, I punched upward and was greeted to daylight as I shattered the bone armor.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself out of the Grimms body while several tendrils attempted to pull me back in. Cutting through them, the hole began to seal itself.
58
Stepping forward, I nearly stumbled as my senses were overwhelmed. The world seemed to pulse and with it, my vision distorted.
For a brief moment, flesh disappeared and I was able to see the flow of blood throughout my hands. Shaking it off, I tightened my grip on my sword, idly noticing how the blade was rapidly turning bright red.
57
That timer… I can’t just wait in order to get used to this state. I needed to act now. If I exhausted the time limit of fusion without having killed this Grimm then I really would be dead.
Hundreds of tendrils began to sprout from the Grimms back once more, but they appeared to be moving in slow motion.
Running forward, the air raced by me, feeling as if it were thick, as if it were water, but it didn’t slow me down. Lashing out with my blade, I sliced through the incoming attacks with great ease.
50
The Grimm slowly reared back and let out a pained roar after having hundreds of its tendrils turning to ash almost simultaneously.
I saw my opportunity.
Rushing forward, I sliced through the back of the Grimm, quickly making my way through its spinal cord without even needing to use the thirteenth form. As I was now, each one of my strikes was fueled with Sun Breathing.
Hacking through the rest of the Grimms none existent neck, I finished removing its head, but didn’t stop there.
Last time I was taken off guard because I believed the Grimm wasn’t able to reattach its head and I was wrong. To correct that all I needed to do was ensure that there was no head for it to reattach.
Taking a hissed breath, fire burst into existence around my blade as I swiftly brought it down on the ancient Grimms head. Speeding through the forms, I focused my attention on the Grimm and began peering through its flesh, looking for any spots that might still contain Grimm fluid.
“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
It wasn’t enough. This Grimm had proven to be capable of functioning for a few moments without a head. I needed to be absolutely sure that it was dead before I exhausted the time limit.
45
Jumping off the front of the Grimm, I flipped in the air and turned my attention to its main body, looking for anything that might hint at a weakness.
I was right to be cautious this time. The Grimm wasn’t dead yet. There appeared to be a spot deep within its chest that was cycling a black fluid throughout the body, slowly regrowing its missing portions.
Given enough time, the ancient Grimm would exhaust its regeneration, but time was something that I didn’t have right now.
40
Touching down on the ground, I noticed that the Grimm was slowly shifting in an attempt to gain some balance.
Quickly making my way to the massive hand, I aimed to weaken it further. Raising my sword, I stumbled forward and buried it into the Grimms hand.
My vision briefly flashed black and I felt lightheaded. Closing my eyes, I took a moment to concentrate. The two types of energy that were merged together through fusion were fighting to be individuals once more.
30
Taking a breath, I tensed my legs and kicked off the Grimms hand, shattering it in the process.
“Sun Breathing: Flash, Godspeed”
Cutting a deep line across its chest, I dug my blade deeper and came to a stop on its other shoulder. Without the full support of one of its hands, the Grimm fully lost its balance and fell onto its side.
Jumping off, I unclipped my sheath and transformed it into its Kusarigama form. Flinging the scythe blade into the Grimms side, I held onto the other end and swung down towards the wound that I’d just inflicted on its chest.
Cutting several more deep wounds, I kicked through the chest bone and entered the Grimms body once more after tugging my Kusarigama free.
20
Peering through the Grimm, I found the vital spot that I’d been looking for. Kicking off, I carved my way through the Grimm, cutting the numerous limbs it formed inside itself while trying to stop me.
A loud thumping sound greeted me as I finally reached the area that I saw was cycling the Grimm fluid. The dull light that shone off my blade revealed a black pulsing thing that barely resembled an organ.
10
With no time to spare, I got to work immediately. Fire burst around my blade once more as I sliced through the Grimm heart, completing the thirteenth form within an instant.
9
Sadly, that hadn’t been the end of this. The Grimm had stopped trying to defend itself and had turned all its efforts to regeneration. The black fluid that the heart pulsed through the body poured out of the crumbling heart and coated it, healing the Grimm instantly.
8
Gritting my teeth, I cut through the rapidly regenerating Grimm heart once more. My bright red blade burned through the black fluid that poured out through its veins.
5
“Damnit,” I cursed aloud. My vision pulsed black as the heart continued to regenerate. I wasn’t going to win like this. Feeling the energy inside my body grow more chaotic, I fought to keep it down, but knew that I wouldn’t be able to.
“Fine, if you want to be apart from each other so badly,” I muttered to myself.
4
Closing my eyes, I began to focus, directing all of my remaining energy to one last attempt.
3
A hiss sounded around me as my blade ignited once more. Burning away the Grimms flesh through proximity.
2
Tensing my muscles, I opened my eyes and prepared myself.
1
Releasing my hold over the energy within my body, I swung my blade as it exploded outward in a bright, fiery flash of light.
“Nova”
Pressure built up rapidly, violently splitting the ancient Grimm open. Fire rushed throughout its body, scorching its insides.
Kicking off, I launched myself through the rupture.
0
Hitting the ground, I held my sword above me head to prevent myself from being injured as I rolled to a stop.
Pushing myself onto my knees, my vision was quickly turning black. My heart was still hammering in my chest and didn’t feel like it was going to stop anytime soon. That was good news.
Exhaustion beyond anything I’d ever felt before hammered its way into my body, but I still had one last thing to do.
Summoning what meager amount of strength I had left, I forced myself onto my feet and turned around. The ancient Grimm was still thrashing about, but it was quickly breaking apart. Large chunks of its body had already turned to ash.
“I… did it,” I chuckled. Falling to the side, I jabbed my sword into the ground to steady myself.
A large smile came to my face as my vision quickly turned black. I wonder how everyone else was doing… I also wonder how screwed Lionheart was now that he’d just messed up immensely and given Salem bad information.
Comments
HunterWithPatience
Simple amazing, that's all I can say, can't wait to read the conversation between him and ozpin after that.
ReverieRover
This chapter was awesome. A real David and Goliath battle that was epic. I can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction after this!
James French
Goddamn, thanks for the chap man!
