The fog created by the dust and cold was dense to the point of blinding, as the sound seemed to have disappeared with the sudden impact, replaced by a persistent ringing in the ears and the uncontrolled beating of hearts filled with confusion and fear.
At least, that was how both Blake and Yang saw the current situation, without understanding what was going on, only that it was something bad...and that Ruby and Weiss had protected them at the last second.
"Urgh..." Yang was watching the world spin as pain radiated through her body, especially where her little sister had hit her to reveal that her Aura was doing a very bad job of protecting her. "What in the world just happened?"
It was all so fast!
On one second, she was scolding two stupid girls for acting in an equally stupid way, and now the world seemed to have gone mad for good!
"I'm not sure..." came the confused reply from Blake, who wasn't much better, mainly because of her more sensitive hearing that made her head throb, having literal chunks of ice fall on her body to add pain to the blow Weiss had given her when saving her. "Something... exploded?"
There was no other way to describe all this chaos.
Given Weiss and Ruby's reaction, both standing protectively in front of them and the look of concern etched on their faces, it said that the worst was yet to come.
The fog that limited their field of vision was still dense, but fortunately for Weiss and Ruby, they had that newly awakened sixth sense to alert them to the threatening presence of what lurked just ahead.
Unfortunately, hiding was never the goal, and it didn't take long for this new enemy to reveal itself in the worst way.
"Grwww!"
Was the monstrous roar accompanied by a shockwave just as violent as the previous one, resulting from the explosion, except that this one had the opposite effect and cleared the entire area!
"What the hell!?" Yang's eyes went wide with good reason as she was almost sent flying away by the pressure of the wind, if it hadn't been for Ruby holding her in place. "T-this is insane!"
Inevitably, Vegeta came into her mind with this display of power, imagining that he had appeared to punish them again.
However, as much as Yang wanted to see that man as a monster, the roar just now was completely inhuman and could only belong to some kind of Grimm.
It didn't take long for the form of what was threatening them to be fully revealed.
Spikes were the first word used to describe this thing whose entire black form was covered with. Whether it was its head decorated with a pair of giant horns, its long tail, the large pair of wings, or the body that made even that Ursa from before look tame in comparison, all covered with a thick layer of impenetrable armor of spikes and recognizable anywhere.
How could they not when this creature was one of the few in the world that was considered unique and had its own name?
"N-Nergigante?!" Blake was the one to confirm the identity of this legendary monster, a walking nightmare that was rarely seen once a decade and usually had its name associated with death and tragedy. "Why is an Elder Grimm known for eating other Elder Grimm here?!"
Immediately, her mind defined that the target of this thing was the Ursa of just now, the same one that had been turned into ice cubes. However, would a thousand-year-old Grimm like this, said to have existed for longer than the four kingdoms, really show up for something so laughable when there was so much more in the world to hunt?
The answer lay in the kind of look this thing had as it focused solely on Weiss and Ruby, as if it were studying them with deadly interest, especially the ice created by Weiss's power.
Vegeta... Blake didn't need much more to come to that conclusion. This monster was probably drawn here, like all the other Grimm, because of Vegeta, but it must have sensed the power of Ruby and Weiss instead!
The fact that this thing literally ate a few pieces of ice before rejoicing as if it had tasted honey proved as much.
Even worse was knowing that it wanted more!
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted in warning as she sensed what was coming. "I'll get these two out of here, just hold this thing off until I get back!" she asked before grabbing both Yang and Blake without giving them a say and turning into petals with them to flee at speeds that exceeded the limit of her newly acquired power. Please don't die!
For she could feel how dangerous this thing was.
The Nergigante didn't just stand by and watch one of its prey flee, and tried to intervene by sending a barrage of spikes in the direction of the rose petals.
"Not so fast!" Weiss responded accordingly by burying Myrtenaster in the ground and raising another barrier, except that this one was much stronger and capable of stopping this attack that would be more than enough to turn a Bullhead into a pile of scrap metal! Strong!
As expected from an ancient creature that had managed to survive for so long!
Strangely, the prospect of facing this thing alone didn't frighten her as expected, but rather excited her, for this was the chance she wanted to test the limits of her power.
However, she wouldn't let that feeling go to her head again.
Weiss had learned her lesson and didn't want to hear another lecture from Yang of all people.
That, and while this thing was definitely strong, it was nothing compared to Vegeta!
"Freeze!" Without moving, Weiss brought out her power again, this time to attack rather than defend, with long ice stakes protruding from the ground and forcing the Nergigante to flap its wings out of the way. Faster than expected!
Not as fast as Ruby or her, but with an absurdly fast reaction time for something of this size.
That and the Nergigante were used to fighting.
Given its age and the type of opponents it hunted, each one of those registered as an equally dangerous type of Elder Grimm, it wasn't for nothing.
In that case, Weiss needed to stop worrying about the consequences and unleash more power, much more!
Her entire body glowed pale blue to the point where her clothes fluttered, and the Glyph floating above her head intensified the number of ice shards hovering around her.
This change didn't go unnoticed, and the Grimm in front of her stirred before attacking as if to stop her.
Too late for that.
Weiss sent her power coursing through Myrtenaster as she sliced the air vertically from bottom to top like a half-moon, unleashing a devastating wave of cold as she created ice far more reaching, quickly, and resiliently than before, leaving no room for escape and covering this thing's entire body in no more than a second!
Looking from afar, it seemed as if a thorny mountain of ice had been created in the middle of the Emerald Forest, its peaks visible all the way to Vale.
As a result, Weiss almost fell to her knees, having to use her weapon for support.
"I think... I overdid it a bit." Despite her weariness, she had a smile adorning her lips for more than just her apparent victory. "At least I won't need any help."
Ruby was to return to a big surprise.
After all, Weiss had just defeated a Named Grimm single-handedly!
That and changing the local topography a bit...
Collateral damage aside, how incredible was that?!
After that, it wouldn't be strange if her name were acclaimed around the world and remembered forever in the history books!
However, while she was reveling in this achievement that would make her sister proud, something else was happening.
"What is this now?" Weiss felt the ground tremble beneath her feet and, for a second, feared that another dangerous Grimm might be approaching, only to notice her ice cracking. "No way..."
She barely managed to react in time and create a Glyph to protect herself before a third explosion occurred, the glacier being destroyed, and sharp pieces of ice were sent flying with enough force to knock down any remaining trees in its path.
Amid this destruction stood Nergigante, its monstrous form completely unblemished as if nothing had happened.
To survive all that... Weiss could hardly believe her eyes, especially when she had used so much power! How is that possible?!
It might have been arrogant of her to think so, but after today, she was sure that in this world, only Vegeta surpassed her power.
Even Ruby, who had the same kind of power, was below her.
In that case, if her best blow, capable of doing more than all the Ice Dust in Vale, wasn't enough, what in the world could remotely defeat this thing?
A declaration of war, where all the kingdoms fought together?
If so, what would be the consequences of such a large-scale battle?
Just another big step towards the end of sentient life in this world.
Suddenly, Weiss was really understanding how this thing had been alive for so long, and that the legends about its destructive deeds were certainly real.
Worse still was seeing Nergigante rejoicing for a reason beyond her.
For a moment, Weiss thought that this Grimm was clever enough to be mocking her and her efforts, but the answer soon came in the strangeness of being ignored while this thing ate more of her ice.
To the naked eye, it seemed to be just that, a legendary creature eating ice, but Weiss could sense something else going on.
The power that had been used to create this ice was being absorbed to strengthen the black flame that represented this thing's distorted existence.
Then it occurred to her.
Some Grimm could do more than merely roar and destroy using their physical bodies; they did it with special abilities. In the Sea of Mistral, there was a Grimm called Sea Feilong capable of releasing literal lightning from its mouth. In the frozen lands of Atlas, there was Apathy, a Grimm with the ability to drain willpower and Aura. Chill could possess people, and Geist did the same with inanimate objects like the Gigas Armor that Weiss had to fight against in her trial... The point was that there were countless Grimm in this world with supernatural abilities that could only be considered magical... just like what Ruby and her now possessed.
Nergigante was no different and could grow stronger by devouring others with special characteristics.
That's why this thing keeps looking at me like that! Weiss felt like an idiot for not realizing this the first time Nergigante ate her ice, being too busy protecting her friends. It wants the power that Vegeta gave me!
Unknowingly, and like an idiot, she was giving away exactly what the Nergigante wanted!
This isn't good... Weiss swallowed dryly and intensified her grip on Myrtenaster's handle, feeling her body tremble, and with good reason as she saw this monster focus on her again, its red eyes containing endless hunger. "I never thought I'd say this, but... hurry up, Ruby."
Otherwise, there was a good chance that she would become this thing's lunch.
At least Weiss would be sure to give it a hard time, to the point where this Grimm would regret even trying.
------
Not far from there, a swirl of petals flew between trees, taking more and more distance from that dangerous thing, where at one point even chunks of ice fell from the sky to signal the intensity of the battle taking place, before reaching the valley outside the forest and stopping to reveal the form of three girls.
"Are you guys okay?" Ruby asked quickly, able to feel the weakened flame of power Weiss and that thing clashing in conflict. I need to get back there and help!
Before she could leave, however, her sister's not-so-encouraging reply came.
"Blargh!" Yang put what little she had in her stomach out. "Ruby... don't you ever use your Semblance on me again."
The experience was worse than a bloody hangover!
As for Blake, she was shaking nonstop, and her legs felt like they had turned into jelly, with no strength to even stand.
All sense of balance had vanished, and by nothing short of a miracle, she didn't follow her partner in throwing up.
"Never again," Blake couldn't agree more with Yang. "I don't think I've ever been through anything worse than this."
Which meant a lot coming from her and the kind of life she'd had in her years as an activist and terrorist in the White Fang.
"Sorry, guys," Ruby almost felt bad for doing that, but she had to. "I've never used my Semblance on other people like that, so I didn't know it would be that bad."
Especially since she'd never had a serious enough reason to justify using her Semblance on anyone else, and now she had one not to try it again if it wasn't extremely necessary.
"That aside, I need to go help Weiss, so stay here or move on to try and find Vegeta." Ruby had made it through the entire forest in no more than a minute while carrying these two; alone, she should be able to make it back in half the time. "Vale isn't too far away now."
Hopefully, there would be no more Grimm on the way there.
"Ruby!" Yang stopped her little sister in her tracks, having something else to say. "Don't go up against that thing!" As far as she knew, many had tried, and all had failed. "Grab Weiss with your Semblance and run!"
In fact, she didn't want to let this girl go back there at all if it wasn't for Weiss and knowing that it would be useless to try to convince Ruby otherwise.
Unfortunately, despite knowing the danger, Ruby was about to disappoint her sister once again by ignoring her words and warning.
That thing... how many people has it hurt and killed throughout its existence?
How many more would Nergigante hurt if he were allowed to run free in the world?
Just as it had been in the initiation with the Nevermore, Ruby intended to change that.
What's more, thanks to her new sensory ability, Ruby could tell that the Nergigante's sinister flame was smaller than hers and Weiss's.
Her best friend had just spent a lot of power unnecessarily while fighting that Ursa, giving a reason for all the criticisms Yang had made earlier.
Otherwise, Weiss would be more than capable of dealing with the Nergigante on her own.
Or so she believed until a tremor occurred, strong enough to knock Blake and Yang off their feet.
"Wh-what the hell was that now?!" Yang was starting to remember those moments of vulnerability before Vegeta and becoming frightened. "Don't tell me that came from where Weiss is?"
The answer to her question came in the form of a swirl of petals and the resulting wind of her little sister's Semblance that was stronger than ever, returning to the forest without hesitation.
"That can't be good," Blake finally managed to recover enough and vocalized her concern. "No matter how strong they got, that thing is an ancient force of nature, said to have been responsible for the fall of kingdoms in ancient times."
As far as she knew, currently, in this world, only Vegeta could deal with a monster of this level on his own.
Honestly speaking, he could probably deal with all the Grimm, be they ordinary, Elder, Kaiju, or Named.
That, or at least provide them with the power that they need to fight against the darkness of this world on their own.
"And we can't do anything to help..." Yang could only curse as she recognized her own powerlessness. If only I hadn't acted so crazy towards that man, I would have had the power to do more than just lament.
That and cling to the hope that everything would be fine.
Or so it should.
No! Yang could do more than that! Since when did I become so passive?! Before, she would never have stood aside, let alone put everything on her little sister's back! "Blake, let's keep going!"
Get to Vale, find Vegeta, and make him take responsibility for all this shit!
"All right," Blake agreed, because there wasn't much more that they could do in this situation. "That way, we'll get out of this place and find help."
With all these anomalies going on, it was better to seek shelter before something else as dangerous as Nergigante decided to show up.
With that decided, they continued their journey to Vale, believing that Ruby and Weiss would be more than capable of looking after themselves.
Under the sound of raucous roars, the Elden Grimm advanced savagely, its claws marking the frozen earth with a brutality that sought to crush Weiss, who could only dodge.
Somehow, even after losing so much power, she still felt freer, faster, and stronger than she used to be before meeting Vegeta.
So much so that she was finding it easier to constantly use her Glyph to dodge than her ice to defend herself, which was only sapping her energy.
I was doing it wrong. Her new power was monstrous, Weiss knew, but the way she was using it wasn't effective against something equally monstrous. I need to focus more and be more precise and lethal!
Just like when she used her limited reserves of Dust and Aura extremely efficiently, the result of her diligent training was to escape the fate imposed by her father.
That's right. Weiss couldn't forget everything that came before this new power. My efforts were not in vain!
It was to build the pillar that now served as the foundation of the person she had become!
As such, she stood tens of meters in the air on one of her Glyphs, this being as close to flying as she could get, before making use of the gravity Dust enhanced by her Ki to have a gigantic black Glyph form under Nergigante and pin him in place, even if temporarily.
Without wasting any time, Weiss decided to take the risk and use most of her remaining power to create a hundred more Glyphs, all of which were used to surround her target in the form of a dome.
This time, she wouldn't make the same mistake as before and turn all those all-encompassing ice waves, which did nothing but destroy the surrounding scenery, into hard, diamond-sharp ice stakes!
"Let's see if you like your own poison!" Weiss couldn't help but smile as frozen hell rained down on this Grimm! "Begone!"
Nergigante's immediate response was to counterattack, sending out its own wave of spikes along with a hypersonic roar capable of shattering the earth alongside the Glyph that immobilized him.
Weiss's eyes widened at this, as she saw herself being shot with deadly precision even in a situation like this!
Truly a monster!
With that, they were both hit, and Weiss felt pain as she was knocked off her Glyph, her Aura flashing dangerously to protect her from something that could have been fatal to anyone else in that situation.
If there was one good thing about this, it was that she was the only one not to take any real damage in this exchange of attacks.
Nergigante was standing as expected, but its menacing form no longer seemed so imposing as it was now impaled by dozens of ice stakes.
A piece of history; a walking catastrophe feared and even revered for the hunting of others of its own kind was brutally wounded.
This only proved how wrong Weiss was to have wasted all that power earlier.
Otherwise, this thing would be dead by now.
Unfortunately, there was no changing the past, and the damage done was nowhere near enough.
Worse still, Weiss could feel the strain getting the better of her, where merely standing up felt like a battle she couldn't win... Just like this thing whose bloodthirsty gaze grew stronger with every passing second, soon serving as an explanation as to why no one had been able to hurt this Grimm and survive to tell the tale.
It didn't take long for Nergigante to start changing, its body growing non-stop as it absorbed all the ice stakes without having to eat them and closed its wounds at alarming speeds before it had even more spikes covering its colossal form.
Suddenly, that Ursa from before was looking like a teddy bear compared to what this thing had become.
Worthy of being a Named Grimm and a walking catastrophe.
"I guess this is it, then." Weiss used everything she had to stand up and smile despite the desperate situation she found herself in. "I'll have to leave the rest to you, Ruby."
As an immediate response, Nergigante stepped forward to finally have its best meal in ages, only to be interrupted by a whirlwind of petals and the collision of a pair of boots against its head, so hard that it made its entire body slide away, leaving a trail of deep claw marks on the ground.
"Yeah." Ruby stood protectively in front of her best friend and focused on the thing that had become even more intimidating, ready to fight. "I'll take it from here."
And she would be sure to get the world rid of one of its monsters.