Glynda was tired. Physically and mentally exhausted, where usually only the latter was a recurring occurrence given her position as Professor and Deputy Headmistress of Beacon.
A position that came with numerous responsibilities, but that in the end always circled back to her original role as Huntress, as a protector.
Not only her, but the same was also true for the other professors and everyone who had been fighting on the front lines for five days now, including students from more advanced years.
Which isn't proving to be enough. Glynda hated to see those youngsters getting hurt and facing such adversity when it was obvious they weren't quite ready yet. At least, not for something like this.
A problem that kept escalating and overwhelming the kingdom's defenses.
The result of the anomaly that arose in Vale.
Two seismic activities, where the first one was accompanied by an explosion of golden light and blue lightning. Glynda had read these reports more times than she could say and still didn't understand what was going on. Because the explosion didn't cause any damage directly, just as it had with the two tremors.
Except that it did very little to appease the population, part of the reason for the chaos that followed, especially after the most recent incident.
The Breach was still in everyone's memory to fuel that fear, drawing even more Grimm to disrupt traffic routes and threaten the safety of the entire kingdom, where some of those creatures were formidable to the point that Glynda wished James and his army were there to help.
Something that wouldn't be possible on this day and would arrive in smaller numbers than expected.
After all, Vale wasn't the only place affected by the anomaly.
That golden light managed to reach absurd proportions of distance; almost as if it were the sun itself and stirred the Grimm of countless territories, including those that are far older and even Named, where Vale and Vacuo were the most affected, followed by Mistral, which almost lost yet another of its cities, with Argus being attacked by a Leviathan.
Only the continent of Solitas, where Atlas and Mantle were located, was spared, as it was almost literally on the other side of the globe, but not its forces.
At the moment, Atlas was already in Mistral and assisting there for days without being able to move to other Kingdoms.
Chaos born of light was taking over half of the world, and Salem was certainly reveling in this turn of events, making more plans in the shadows to make everything even worse.
Thanks to that, the Vytal festival would surely be postponed.
That, however, was irrelevant, as the kingdoms needed to overcome this ordeal first.
The reason why all help was needed... except when using first-year students.
Something Ozpin was seriously considering, at least for two teams, JNPR and RWBY.
By luck or bad luck, hard to say, these teams were in no condition to join the fight.
Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were debilitated and unable to fight for the moment.
The reason for their anemic condition was still a mystery and a secret, just like the incidents that had been occurring around them, with the constant damaging of school property and personal belongings. If their poorly told story meant that much, which began on the same day as the Golden Anomaly.
That was too much of a coincidence, and Glynda still intended to have a word with those girls when they were awake.
Then there was the other cold bucket of water on the second team, Pyrrha Nikos and her partner Jaune Arc; both heading in a similar direction, even if it was for different reasons. The golden girl in the eyes of all Beacon professors, especially Ozpin who had big plans for her, was on the edge as she found out that her city and home were under heavy attack by an ancient Grimm, courtesy of the internet that was of no help at all in controlling the masses, and that made Pyrrha less than a viable option at this point.
A weakness the girl needs to overcome to reach her full potential: the instability of her emotions.
Something not everyone could do, unfortunately, or Glynda wouldn't be on her way to see a man who was out of action precisely because of that.
That aside, Jaune Arc's inability was almost the opposite of his partner, where he had better control over himself than expected under pressure, which was the reason for him being the leader of his team in the first place, and was coping much better with the fact that his older sister was also in danger in Argus, but that could hardly make up for his lack of combat ability.
The boy had potential, she would admit, where he was growing quickly and even helped out during the breach.
The current situation, however, was completely different, and Glynda would avoid as much as possible making use of people who might end up dead.
What she and the kingdom really needed were real Hunters.
That's why she was on this little mission after giving her all on the front lines and taking down a few elder Grimm; a way for Ozpin to let her rest and still be useful when she refused to be seen as dead weight, which she most definitely was not.
It might be arrogance, but Glynda considered herself the best Vale had to offer.
If Qrow didn't drink so much and took things more seriously, maybe he could be worthy of that title.
But at least he was helping to fight and protect smaller villages outside the kingdoms, as always. Unfortunately, that was nowhere near enough.
One more reason why they had to resort to Hunters who were no longer active, so to speak.
Which led Glynda to her current destination, where one of those Huntsmen was currently living.
While other people in the same situation could be summoned via Scroll, this individual was special. Not only did he reside in the area of investigation related to the epicenter of the light explosion, but he was on leave for the same reason Taiyang had been ten years ago.
A part of Glynda wanted him to be there in her place.
Taiyang would certainly know much better about how to handle this situation than she ever could.
However, he was already busy defending Patch and couldn't be moved until the situation there was under control.
That could take a while to happen, and time was essential.
Prince Vegeta the Fourth, Glynda read the not-at-all-common name of this relatively unique-looking man she had never heard of before. Not even Ozpin.
And that should be impossible.
Not that Ozpin knew all the Hunters in the world, but the more notable ones were definitely on his radar, and given Vegeta's profile, this man fulfilled those requirements with nothing more than his Semblance, which was certainly responsible for a recent mystery.
The flying figure that had appeared on the same day as the first tremor was more than enough to raise certain suspicions that required extra attention.
Eternal Pride: a Semblance that allows free Aura manipulation for superhuman physical enhancement, telekinesis, energy projectiles, and flight... Glynda read this nonsense to herself and concluded that there was something very wrong with it all. With all this power, there was no way someone like that could be unknown.
It didn't matter if he was like Qrow and hated attention, choosing to work almost anonymously; there was a limit to how secretive one could be. Not only that, but of all the people she managed to get in touch with amidst this chaos, not one of them knew about this man.
Still, his license is legitimate, as are his documents. Glynda was sure to confirm this, to the point of checking several databases and records related to this man and his family, who descended from an ancient monarchy in Mistral. The method used to become a Huntsman, however, was different.
Normally, anyone who wanted to work in the field had to graduate from one of the four academies. However, those who lived outside the kingdoms and learned to fight through a trial by fire could obtain a license by completing a certain number of missions, and Prince Vegeta had completed numerous, single-handedly, flawlessly, and had been active for eleven years by now, since he was fourteen; an even greater prodigy than Ruby Rose.
How is this possible? Glynda couldn't understand how this man had managed to stay hidden for over a decade without actually hiding, and she intended to find out about it. When it's appropriate. Which wasn't the case currently, for more than one reason. The kind of life he lived and his losses were heavy like that.
As a child, his entire family was wiped out, and because he was a faunus, he became a slave forced to work as a bandit until he broke free during his teenage years, but not without having his tail cut off in the process.
Fortunately, he didn't lose himself like most faunus who went through something similar and ended up joining the White Fang. Quite the contrary, he decided to use his gifts to help other people instead of continuing to harm them.
In a way, Vegeta had a childhood similar to that of Qrow and Raven.
Except, the losses Vegeta suffered were far greater, especially when one considers why he wasn't currently fighting; the result of losing his wife and son, and it squeezed her heart to make her suspicions give way to sympathy.
I don't know if even Taiyang could relate. If this were all true, Vegeta's loss and pain were far greater than one could imagine, and that made Glynda hesitate. Because I'm about to try and convince a man who's been through it all to fight again...
How do you do something like that when the reason for him to fight in the first place didn't even exist anymore?
Revenge was the only justification Glynda could think of, and it left a bad taste in her mouth as she realized how wrong what she was about to try to do.
This wasn't going to be easy.
The gatebell was rung, and Glynda waited patiently as her heart beat harder with anxiety that not even the battlefield could impose on her.
The challenge she was about to face was far greater.
-----
It had been five days since Vegeta had gained access to the power of his soul, and training was progressing satisfactorily, as far as it could.
His Aura reserves were growing with no sign of stopping, and he had created a training method more than suited to his rather extreme style of doing things.
Just as he normally does with his body, Vegeta was pushing his soul to the limit and beyond.
Aura clung to life desperately, so when he released his Ki, this power of his soul would try to contain it at all costs. In that case, all Vegeta had to do was release enough Ki steadily to force his Aura to the point of near rupture.
Something to be done with caution. Vegeta still remembered the less-than-pleasant feeling of having his Aura broken and would avoid repeating the dose if possible. A strange power, indeed.
Not only because of the way it behaved, having a will of its own, but because of its relatively contradictory composition, being solid while at the same time being flexible.
However, it was thanks to these unique characteristics that Vegeta managed to increase his Aura reserves, more than doubling what he had initially at this point.
Not exactly the best method. Vegeta needed to find a specific point of control at which he could force his Aura to expand at all times when he was not training his other sources of power. A challenging exercise of control on several levels.
The kind that almost required parallel thinking, resulting in training that worked every aspect of his being: mind, body, and soul.
How many entities in the universe could say they had undergone that kind of training? Vegeta was sure that only Whis and perhaps Beerus could be included in this list, which explained a lot and created expectations.
At the same time, however, there was a sense of dissatisfaction in knowing that surely there was some far better training method in the hands of his angelic mentor.
Again, while achieving this much power in such a short time wasn't bad, it was also far from good enough.
That's because, even if he had reduced the time needed to balance the level of his three power sources, Vegeta needed to increase the speed of his soul strengthening to rival his other power sources, which were also continuing to grow even now.
'I want to go and ask Whis about this right now. Vegeta also considered his other mentor, Pybara in Yardrat, someone who could also help immensely. But...should I?
It hadn't even been a week since he arrived in this world, and he was already missing the constant guidance of someone else.
But who could blame him for that?
While he had made absurd gains in power on his own after first setting foot on Earth, it was only after accepting mentors that Vegeta had truly reached levels that most beings in the multiverse couldn't even dream about.
In other words, imagining that there was a better way to progress in this training instead of racking his brain, creating methods for a power he didn't even fully understand was what gave life to all this restlessness, and only then did he realize something that made him feel pathetic.
Since when has Vegeta become so dependent on other people?
It wasn't for nothing that he was feeling like this, especially since it was the first time he had been alone for more than a day after he had trained in the Room of Spirit and Time for his rematch against Black in the future timeline.
Normally, this wasn't a problem, since Bulma was always there waiting for his return, but now... being alone like this, not hearing anyone's voice but his own; not hearing her voice, made his mind wander as he thought too much about what he wanted to forget...the fact that this feeling of loneliness wasn't temporary.
Vegeta was truly alone now.
Coming to that realization made his eyes open as he lost focus again from his meditation and let his Aura finally return to his body as he stopped releasing Ki.
Even without an explosion happening this time, it didn't make him feel much better.
It's hindering my training. Vegeta hated to admit it, but he needed to...interact, even just a little, with other people, to distract himself and help get his head around it. And what about them? Those girls were taking their time to return and receive his training. Maybe it has something to do with what is happening out there?
His eyes focused towards the city, where he could feel the restless energy of the population becoming more and more agitated over the last few days.
Not only in the city but outside as well. There were a few Aura users that Vegeta could identify, and they were concentrating on facing numerous corrupted sources of energy. I suppose these things are the so-called Grimm.
Creatures of darkness that plagued this world, but that he had no interest in going to see in person because of how laughably weak these things were.
In fact, everyone was weak on this planet. Otherwise, such a conflict would have been resolved a long time ago.
It won't be like that for long, though. If Vegeta focused a little, he could feel the power of the princess and the little girl, both of whom were currently on the move as well and even fighting, so he knew they were kind of recovered and growing stronger as their soul power grew to measure up to the Ki he had awakened. Even without receiving any training from me, they are already the most powerful ones on this planet.
Besides him, of course.
That being the case, once they had fully recovered, those two could start destroying these creatures of darkness and get rid of every single one of them in no more than a year.
In fact, if they wanted to, they could do that with every living thing on the planet or even finish destroying that broken moon in the sky.
Such was the result of having two distinct types of energy in one body that, when added together, could grow exponentially.
'So what do I do now? While Vegeta wasn't too keen on getting involved in this conflict, he wasn't against the idea of breaking a few bones to vent his frustration. After all, besides training and meditating, what else is there to do here?
At least before he came to this world, he had Beerus, Whis, and even that weird Oracle Fish that he could talk to.
That and doing plenty of cooking.
An essential skill that Vegeta went on to learn after settling on Earth, and could proudly say had reached levels that surpassed even the gods.
Now, not even restoring the damage he caused was a viable activity.
All because of the anomaly present in this place, which Whis had prepared for him.
The lake where the water had evaporated, the land that had been destroyed into a crater, the trees uprooted and grass burnt... none of it remained; all the destruction caused by his carelessness had vanished to make way for the same green and vibrant scenery as when he first arrived.
It's almost as if time had regressed. One of Whis' many abilities, Vegeta knew, and yet he couldn't help but be surprised to see a variation of it being applied to his new residence passively. There are very few things that Angel can't do.
Unfortunately, that included bringing back to life people who had been erased from existence, body, and soul by demonic magic.
Tsk. Vegeta could only take a deep breath to hold back these feelings and emotions that were almost overflowing because of his expectations and regrets. It's not his fault. Whis had only been helping so far; he needed to remember that. It's the damn Kakarot who needs to pay for his actions.
And he would be sure to make him pay in blood!
Until then, I can't let myself be influenced like this anymore. Vegeta focused on his hands, on the chaotic energy coursing through his veins. 'From here on out, it will only hurt me.
Because now, he had three types of energy whose combination was more than dangerous and complicated to keep under control.
Appeasing his mind and heart was a must.
Fortunately, just when he was contemplating going out for a bit to distract himself, maybe even visit his "students", where his heart refused to obey and fluttered at the thought of seeing the princess again, the doorbell of his house rang for Vegeta to finally notice the presence of someone who had gone completely unnoticed by him.
Just in time. No sarcasm this time, and he was there greeting this unknown person in the same second to be faced with a beautiful woman with glasses, golden hair, and dressed in a way that, while formal, could only be described as sensual, given her mature body. One of the defenders of this world? Vegeta ignored her provocative appearance as he noticed the strength of her Aura. She must be one of the strongest of them. Which wasn't much, but she could help with some of his questions without having to leave the planet for it. "Yes?"
The question was simple and straightforward, but Glynda found herself unable to answer immediately as she stared at this muscular sculpture before her.
Although she had seen a picture of this man's face before, it didn't do justice to the whole package.
While his average height left a bit to be desired, especially since Glynda was so tall, his serious expression and attitude in not staring like most men did was a welcome change in itself. Something that reflected on the dedication it took to get that body trained to the point of perfection, and made her make the mistake of getting carried away by staring more than she should.
For the first time in a long time, Glynda was on the opposite side of a situation she detested and feeling indecent for it.
"Prince Vegeta?" She cleared her throat as she answered with a question of her own and received only a relatively surprised nod from this man. "I am Glynda Goodwitch, Huntress, combat instructor, and Deputy Headmistress of Beacon Academy."
She had a lot of titles, and Vegeta wondered if he should introduce himself all the same, but as Destroyer of Worlds was included, he decided to leave it be.
That and she already knew his name anyway.
And Beacon Academy? Vegeta had heard the girls say they were students at that place, and that explained how this woman knew about him. "What can I do for you?"
Normally speaking, he wouldn't give this woman an hour of his day, but just as it was with those girls, this Glynda had something he wanted, whether it be information or just providing him with a momentary distraction.
Besides, Vegeta could imagine the reason for her being there in the first place.
Not only for what happened to the girls after visiting him, but there were also the problems he caused by transforming and making the entire planet tremble under his power.
In fact, there was a good chance that the current situation, with people scared and creatures of darkness attacking, was happening because of him.
Whatever the case, Vegeta would learn more about it soon and deal with it accordingly, like he always did.