Blasts after blast affected the entire hallway. Jaune and Pyrrha were long gone from this area, but Ryze and Ozpin remained to duke it out with the new and empowered Cinder. Ryze dodged an energy bolt coming after him by rolling to the side and countered with a Runic Bolt. Cinder dodged the bolt with minimal movements, but behind her, Ozpin unleashed a flurry of swift strikes with his cane.

Cinder was struck multiple times and was launched back, but quickly recovered in mid air and let her Aura overflow, causing the surroundings to rumble. She got ready to attack, only to be interrupted by Runic Bolt heading towards her. She cancelled her action to defend against the attack, only to be stopped by something that held her in place. In front of her, she saw the purple man do a gesture and her actions were bound. Furthermore, he made more gestures and littered the area where she was at with orbs of floating Runic Energy.

The Runic Bolt heading towards her fast hit her, and it spread towards her surrounding, damaging the area and causing rubble to fall from the ceiling. If it wasn’t for the sturdy structure underground, this hallway would be their tomb.

Ryze and Ozpin didn’t stop there however. Ryze placed more and more orbs of Runic Energy, around where Cinder was buried, while Ozpin coated himself with a barrier. Just after their preparations, Cinder was able to break free from the rubble burying her with an enraged expression. It was at this time, Ryze activated the symbols.

In the area where the Runic Energy encompassed, everything inside was bound, making it impossible to move for a set duration. Although this was true, a strong opponent would be able to act, albeit weaker than normal. Using this as a fact, Ozpin created a barrier that could nullify its effect, and then charged towards Cinder who was having problems with moving and using her powers.

It was too late when she noticed Ozpin already right in front of her. With a good strike, Ozpin gathered a good chunk of his powers and struck Cinder. During this, Ryze went behind her around the bounded area and shot an empowered Runic Bolt towards Cinder.

Cinder was knocked back due to the force generated from Ozpin’s attack, only to be met with another from Ryze’s Runic Bolt striking her back. She flew back and forth like a ping-pong ball, and Ozpin making this a chance of a lifetime, staked his entire power reserve to defeat Cinder.

Ryze however, not seeing that once he did it, they would have to find a way out from the crumbling underground, but with Ozpin out of commission, it would be harder to escape from here if he didn’t have the power left to use Realm Warp.

Cinder, who was still dazed from the attacks, was struck with another one from Ozpin’s all out attack. It shattered her remaining Aura, sent her flying downwards, and knocked her unconscious, and at what cost? Ozpin cane’s was near destruction. His sleeves looked like it was burned through a furnace and his arms had gone limp from exhaustion. What’s more, the entire underground hall was about to cave in due to the aftermath of that attack. Even Ryze could praise that that attack could reach his all-out attack as well, if he ever will use it. His face looked towards the purple man in the room, and then lost consciousness.

Ryze quickly sprang into action, using Realm Warp once more. Once he did this, he would be out of fuel to use it again for a couple of days, but without hesitation, the brought along Ozpin, as well as Cinder back to the surface.

Huge Runic Symbols appeared around the area where the three where at. The ceiling collapsed in many different areas, and was about to fall in their area as well. But in a snap, the three figures vanished from the passageway and the entire passageway was buried in rock and stone.

==============================

On the surface, Team RWBY has finally regrouped with each other, along with another man.

“So Yasuo,” started Ruby, “I can’t thank you enough for saving my friend Blake,” as she bowed.

“Hmph,” Yasuo nodded, but then asked his following question. “So, where is this place?”

As a wanderer, Yasuo’s been to all sorts of places, albeit Ionia only. During his journey, he also met up with a girl that could weave stone known as Taliyah. But never did he encounter or even heard of this place in all of his life.

“Well, you’re in Vale,” said Weiss.

“That’s not what I meant,” said Yasuo in exasperation. He already heard this answer from the Vastayan girl known as Blake, but what he wanted to know was what region is this, if this was in Ionia which he knew was impossible given that he was from Ionia, a place where the dreaded Noxus has conquered, or where the mage hating Demacia has stepped foot on.

“Oh, right,” said Ruby as she realized what Yasuo meant. “We are in the Kingdom of Vale, one of the four Kingdoms that govern all of Remnant.”

“Remnant?” asked Yasuo in a curious voice. “Is Remnant the name of this continent?”

“What?” just like being done a suckerpunch, Ruby asked confused, “No, Remnant is the name of this world…” before trailing off and thinking really hard.

‘Did that floating girl earlier have something to do with this?’ Ruby pondered.

“Ruby,” called Yang, “Hey, Remnant to Ruby. Are you there?”

Yang looked to Ruby seemingly lost in her thoughts. This didn’t happen that often, if not, it doesn’t happen at all. She brought her hand up, curled it into a fist, and knocked Ruby’s head to snap her out of it.

“Ow!” cried Ruby in pain, but mostly surprise, “Why did you do that!?”

“Ahem,” Yang cleared her throat and pointed towards Yasuo.

“Ah,” Ruby bonked her head once more. “Silly me, I forgot that you were here Yasuo.”

“That’s alright,” reassured Yasuo as he stared at Ruby. At the moment, he had no purpose, save for wandering around here and there. He already met with the person who killed his master, and after a duel, settled the score and buried the hatchet. After that, they parted ways and swore never to get in another’s way again. He also recalled the thing that brought him here. It was bigger than the common man, in height, and in shape. It had two poles as its legs, and on its, haired-face or whatever it was, a mask with only three circles was worn. It had a horn on its back, and Yasuo could swear that the power he felt that fell down on this humongous Darkin was from that mysterious entity.

‘For him to be that strong…’ Yasuo thought.

“Anyway, could you tell me where I can sleep for the night?” Yasuo inquired, feeling a little bit tired from unleashing his attack on the masked, red-haired Vastayan.

“About that…” Ruby averted her gaze as she tried answered his question.

“Oh right,” Yasuo realized. “I forgot that this town was attacked by those monsters and those masked men earlier.”

The other members of Team RWBY could not believe their ears when they heard the word ‘Town’ and ‘Monster’ from Yasuo, although they just kept it to themselves to not get on his bad side.

“So, what are you four gonna do?” asked Yasuo as he put his hand on the hilt of his blade. The four tensed up, as they braced themselves for a possible attack, only for Yasuo, to quickly slice right above them faster than the wind. When the four looked up, they saw a Grimm, a Griffon neatly sliced in half, smoke spewing out from the bisected area. Team RWBY looked at Yasuo with awe-filled eyes, impressed by the display of strength and finesse, except for Blake and Yang who witnessed his strength firsthand against Adam Taurus.

“Well, um…” Ruby, too shocked by Yasuo’s exemplary skills, “I guess, we can help with the evacuation, how about you?”

“Well then,” Yasuo placed blade back into its scabbard. “Could you tell me how to get to Ionia?”

“Ion- what?” Ruby asked, confused about the new place she just heard. The same could be said to the other three, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. It was the first time they heard that kind of place, heck, in this world of Remnant ruled by four major Kingdoms that has complete grasp over their territory, Ionia was never once heard from. Noticing the look on Ruby’s face, Yasuo realized how distraught she was, nevertheless, he waited for her answer not giving a damn. He took a swig from his bamboo flask and did a sigh of pleasure.

Just then, a bright purple light blinded their vision. Yasuo and Team RWBY instinctively drew their weapons and held them in a combat stance, pushing their senses to the limit. When the light faded and their vision cleared again, they stared at the spot where the light emanated from and saw three figures, one standing and two on the ground. The man standing was a man with purple skin runes engraved on his body, a huge scroll strapped on his bag, bald head, wore leather pants and boots, and had a beard as well as a giant book hanging from his waist.

Yasuo, hands on the hilt of his blade, glared at the direction where Ryze and the others were. After a few seconds of silence, it was broken by a childish scream, one seemingly just behind Yasuo.

“Professor Ozpin!” Ruby shrieked as she leapt forwards, along with her whole team. Yang, Weiss, and Blake had anxious faces as they glared at the collapsed Ozpin, as well as Cinder, and the mysterious purple guy.

“…” Ryze, just silent as he took a breath while watching the four girls leaping towards his direction, wary for any unforeseen actions yet to come. When he glanced behind them however, he saw someone he never met, but knew that he was from Ionia, seeing that he was dressed in traditional Ionian cloth.

He paced forwards, surprising the team of four, only to walk past them and stopping in front of Yasuo, hands still on his hilt.

“Have you come to kill me?” asked Yasuo as he glared at Ryze with caution.

“No,” said Ryze in a bemused manner. “I just want to ask whether you are from Ionia.”

Yasuo blinked once, and sensing no hostility in the voice of Ryze, let go of his tension and took another swig from his bamboo flask.

“I am,” said Yasuo in an irritable way. “Or at least somebody that wanders around Ionia.”

Having found his answer, Ryze looked behind him and saw a huge figure covered in gold. He had no words, except pray that that monstrosity would never break free. Because even if he knows he can beat it, it would use too much of his energy, and he also won’t get out unscathed. Living more than a millennia also taught him of the height of his powers. Even the Watcher that attacked him posed no threat, if he didn’t let his guard down.

With that, Ryze left Yasuo alone, to drink his alcohol in peace, and headed towards the team of four. He found them carrying the malicious woman and the unconscious man that helped fight that malicious woman underground and brought them further away from this place, opposite the direction of the giant golden statue monster, or more preferably, the golden statue Darkin.

Seeing no other way to navigate through this place, and also having his Runic Energy depleted, he had no other choice except follow the team of girls. Yasuo also did the same thinking that he might get lost if he tried to go about his own way.

He got closer to Ryze and asked, “What’s your name?”

“… Ryze,” responded Ryze after mulling over for a bit. He saw no reason whatsoever to hide his name, and considering that he knew the face of a man without a purpose to live, it was the least he could do.

“Great,” said Yasuo in a dull tone. “Name’s, Yasuo.”

­______________________________________

Somewhere in the Residential District in Vale, the evacuation was progressing smoothly. Even if there were a lot of casualties, things began calming down when the number of Grimm decreased thanks to the hunters, as well as that giant thing that fell from the sky.

But in an alleyway, a man kneeled, crying before the corpse of one young girl. She looked no more than 12, with a dismembered limb and a face full of fear and pain.

“I’m sorry,” the man wept, asking forgiveness to his once beloved daughter. “I’m so sorry, sunshine…”

He curled his fist in anger, but then it turned to fear once he recalled the beast that tried to eat him alive. His body trembled in fright as he remembered the wide jaws of the Beowulf closing in on his head. The infinite darkness within the jaws of the beast he never thought would arrive because of the hunters. Suddenly, when he opened his eyes again, the girl was gone, leaving only a pool of blood. He searched the area frantically while in a half-maddened state.

“Pa-pa…” A voice echoed.

He turned towards the direction of where the voice came from, and without further thought, got up and ran towards that direction.

“Sunshine!” screamed the man. “Where are you!?”

“Sun-shine… Where… are you…” another voice echoed this time, in an eerie manner, only to be drowned out by the shouts of the man.

The man searched the alleyway high and low, for the girl he knew wouldn’t come back. But he couldn’t just let go of the hope of seeing that bright smile once again. He traversed through the alley, going deeper and deeper, farther away from the road where the moon shined. Once he realized the situation he was in, he grew afraid. The looming darkness surrounded him like it was approaching, ever slowly. His body trembled, shivered, and collapsed once he couldn’t take it.

Just then, like a savior rushing in, a bright light materialized in the distance. Gathering his courage, the man stood up on unsteady legs ran. He ran.

And ran.

And ran some more.

Stumbling down in the process, and getting back up and running again.

Once the light was close, it vanished, as if it was never there. Then he realized, he was deeper than before, in this intricate alley that was built like a maze. Alone, cold, and terrified, all he could do was collapse back down again and shiver in terror.

“Pa-pa…”

Then he heard the voice of his daughter again, only to hear something off from the voice.

“Pa-pa…”

From her sweet little voice, to something deeper, eerie, and screeching.

“Pa-pa…”

The voice got closer, much more noticeable than before. The voice he heard now was not something his daughter’s voice could generate. It was deep, and at the same time, high-pitched. It sounded like instead of a throat, metal grating against metal was used to generate the sound.

“Pa-----pa….”

The voice was now next to him. He also noticed that light glimmered behind him. When he looked back, he knew, it was the last he would ever see in his life. The screams of the man resounded through the alley, going as far as the main road where the hunters who were patrolling for Grimms, heard it. When they rushed into the alleyway, they were too late, all they saw was a mangled father and daughter, lying in a pool of their own blood.

“Fiddle… Sticks…”

Suddenly, a voice was heard, and then it vanished.

____________________________________________

In the Great City of Demacia, inside the throne room where Jarvan III sat upon the throne, a huge figure kneeled before him, covered in Demacian Steel, with a crest pinned on his armor signifying he was one of the Crownguards, one of Demacia’s elite forces.

“Garen,” Jarvan III spoke. “Have you noticed the urgent situation?”

“Yes, my King,” Garen replied in a respectful tone.

What was this urgent situation Jarvan III addressed? Why it was about Galio. Even without magic, he was waking up often, sometimes thrice a day, often times the whole day. The whole populace was having thoughts whether the statue was alive, but thanks to the recent efforts of Demacia’s military, it was suppressed to some extent.

“Good, then this will not take long,” said Jarvan III. “Gather a troop of less than 50. Meet me at the outskirts at midnight tonight. There, I will brief you of your next mission. Remember that word of this should not get out to the public.”

“Understood,” Garen said this as he stood up and saluted, the Demacian way. “For Demacia!”

“For Demacia!” Jarvan III answered back.

With that, Garen left the room with stride in his steps. Midnight that same day, Garen arrived with about 40 of his handpicked men. Along with him, was a hooded blonde girl, who was Garen’s sister, Luxanna. When they arrived, they saw Jarvan III with Jarvan IV, as well as Xin Zhao. Behind them, floating on the clear sea water, a huge boat capable of bringing about 50 people was anchored, awaiting sail. It was a rushed process, but thanks to the authority of Jarvan III, it was made possible, and a small rowboat was situated at the shore.

“I assume you are ready?” asked Jarvan III with expectancy in his voice.

“Yes, my King,” replied Garen.

“Very well,” Jarvan III answered back. “Allow me to brief you on your mission. Earlier this day, Galio was reported to be seen waking up. At first, we thought that it was just a residue of magic flowing from the air, but then, Galio woke up again an hour later. We investigated the cause, and we found out that there was an abnormal increase in magic in the air.”

Jarvan III paused for a moment before continuing. “And then, for some reason, we were able to notice some landmass that wasn’t seen before west of here. Whatever the case, what’s responsible for this abnormal increase in magic, the answer may lie in that land we found.”

Jarvan III then stopped and looked at Lux beside Garen, then returned his sights back on Garen. “I assume you know what your mission is then?”

“Yes, my King.” Garen replied while radiating willingness to partake this dangerous mission.

“Very well,” Jarvan III nodded. “You are to set sail this instant. For Demacia!”

“For Demacia!” The soldiers cheered.

With that, Jarvan III hopped back on his horse, with Xin Zhao and Jarvan IV following him. Once they were out of sight, Garen gave his orders.

“All of you get ready.” started Garen. “Tonight, we march as one!”

“For Demacia!” the soldiers erupted in cheers.

“Lux,” Garen looked towards his sister. “Are you sure you want to come with us?”

“Yes,” replied Lux with a nod.

“All right,” Garen nodded and climbed aboard the rowboat with Lux in hand. The soldiers were already getting ready, but with the size of the rowboat, it will have to take roundtrips about three times before all of them could get on board the ship. It took more than half an hour for them to board the ship and embark towards the newly found land.

________________________________________

At the same time, Darius, along with Swain and Katarina were boarding on ship for embarking on a journey, a journey that could hold the possibility of expanding Noxus’ reign once more.

“So long, little brother,” Darius told Draven.

“Farewell, inferior brother,” said Draven with the same arrogant smile.

Darius rolled his eyes in annoyance, and climbed aboard the ship. He wanted to give one good smack to Draven with his axe to remind him about strength, but if he could do his job with flying colors, killing people, then what reason does he have to smack him with his axe?

“I assume you’ve bid your farewells?” asked Swain in an unsmiling manner.

“Yes, I have, Grand General,” replied Darius in a rather courteous manner, in contrast with his appearance. Beside him, the eldest daughter of the Du Coteau, Katarina Du Coteau stood proud. With her signature daggers on hand, she boarded the ship after paying her respects to Swain, the Grand General.

Before they set out however, Swain stood atop an elevated platform to address the soldiers participating in this expedition.

“My fellow Noxians, today marks a new beginning for Noxus to rise again, higher than it could have ever been before,” stated Swain proudly. “And we shall bear witness to the new Golden Age, as we step on enemy lands and conquer their cities. We shall occupy those who surrender, and wipe out those who resist. For Noxus, shall be crowned, the ruler of the entire world!”

Right after Swain’s rather short speech, the Noxian soldiers raised their weapons high and gave the highest warcry they could muster. With morale high as the sky, the workers ramped up their preparation speed in order to set sail earlier than planned. Those left behind will have to bear the duty of protecting Noxus from any foreign invasion should it come to pass.

Swain looked over the horizon, towards the land he saw with his vision in the past days. He had planned meticulously for the incoming expansion of Noxus, leaving behind one of the leaders he so trust, Alyssa Roshka. After killing her father for Noxus, Swain had kept an eye out for her because of her unwavering conviction to make Noxus rise, even at the cost of her own familial blood.

Although she was incredibly nervous when she was handed the baton, if she ever failed, then Swain would deduce that Alyssa wasn’t up for the task. But enough of that, for now, Swain had to focus on the expedition.

___________________________________

Mercury and Emerald couldn’t believe their eyes. When they saw that Cinder lying unconscious after being teleported by some purple guy along with an unconscious Ozpin, the both of them had no idea what to do. They had no clue whether Cinder was able to gain the power of the Fall Maiden or not, and if she did however gain the power, she was still defeated and lied unconscious.

And since recovering her would be incredibly difficult, if not, impossible, then they had their hands tied. There was no way Mercury and Emerald could fight those four girls head on and recover Cinder at the same time, much more so if there were two unknown people following them that seemed stronger than most Hunters. There would be a chance if Cinder woke up, but they don’t know when she would.

With waiting for Cinder to wake up their only option, they started following the group from the rooftops and shadows.

____________________________________________________

Ruby and Yang carried Ozpin, while Blake and Weiss carried Cinder. Ryze and Yasuo were following behind them about 3 meters away. They wanted to call for help, but since the area was already empty and most of the teams already went to the evacuation area, they had no choice but to huff it all the way there. On the bright side, it wasn’t that far, so they didn’t complain. They wanted to ask for assistance from the other two people behind them though, but seeing that the two were unapproachable, given now, they had no choice but to keep their complaints to themselves.

“Are we almost there”, asked Ruby with an impatient look on her face. “My legs are killing me.”

“Quiet down, Ruby,” chided Weiss. “You’re not the only one tired here.”

“I agree with Weiss,” nodded Blake. “We all had a… long night.”

Yang stayed silent and worryingly looked at Blake since she was there when it happened. The Faunus known as Adam Taurus probably gave Blake an emotional scar back in the past. It was also probably the friend Blake told them about who changed, Yang thought about this in her mind.

While the four were bickering with each other while carrying the two unconscious people, Ryze and Yasuo however, had other plans. They noticed someone following them awhile back. They numbered two. They had no idea why they were following them, but sensing that they don’t have any malicious thoughts, the two of them left them alone, for now.

“So Ryze,” Yasuo stirred up a conversation. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“None of you concern,” said Ryze annoyingly.

“Alright,” Yasuo said as he glanced back at a rooftop behind them. “Then do you know something that looks huge, with two poles as legs, a huge horn on its back, and wears a mask that has three holes, and floats while moving?”

Yasuo was speaking in Ionian tongue, but since Ryze has lived for a millennia, it wasn’t strange for Ryze to know its language. He found it stranger that the four girls, as well as that man, could understand the both of them when Ryze was speaking using the common tongue and Yasuo, Ionian tongue.

“You mean Bard?” asked Ryze with a curious tone.

“You know that thing?” inquired Yasuo while taking another swig from his flask. He also noticed that it was getting empty, so he put it away.

“Yes,” confirmed Ryze. “He supposedly tries to protect Runeterra from ending itself by doing whatever it does.”

“Hmm…” Yasuo went into thought, but suddenly, he didn’t care anymore. All he wanted to do was wander here and there, and try to forget the past. Also, he would cut down anybody who dares try to kill him, as he won’t die dishonored.

Once again, silence covers the two, only the talking of the four in front of them were used as background music as they continued following them. Minutes later, they crossed through the Residential District and finally arrived at the evacuation site. There were bullheads filled with passengers and hunters escorting them. On the ground, they could see Team JNPR, Qrow, Goodwitch, and Ironwood talking with each other.

Once they saw each other, relief washed over them as they hurried towards each other.

“Jaune! Pyrrha!” cried Ruby as she left Yang to carry Ozpin by himself. “You’re okay!” and leapt for a group hug. By the way, Yang staggered for a moment, surprised by the sudden increase in weight.

“Ruby!” shouted Jaune and Pyrrha. The both of them accepted the hug, and fell backward. The crash felt like an object hit something at mach 1, but thanks to Aura, no injuries were made, physically that is.

Pyrrha was okay, but the same can’t be said for Jaune. For all that’s worth, Jaune gets scared easily, much more so if it was unexpected, and unexpected it was for Ruby to use her semblance at first sight and tackle them to the ground. They didn’t even have time to open their arms wide to accept the hug.

“Jaune,” asked Pyrrha with a worried voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… Alright…” said Jaune, still dazed from the tackle, but while the three were having a heartwarming scene, Ironwood as well as Goodwitch and Qrow, rushed towards Yang, or more specifically, the unconscious Ozpin.

“Yang,” questioned Ironwood. “What happened to Ozpin? And what happened to Cinder?”

“I don’t know,” said Yang while laying Ozpin on a stretcher that was provided by the Hunters in the area. “All I know was that the three of them popped up after a bright light shined in our eyes.”

“Three of them?” posed Ironwood as he looked behind them. He got the gist from Jaune and Pyrrha, saying that a purple man helped Ozpin fight against Cinder, but wasn’t able to stay for the entire battle. When they got out of the Vault, they met with Qrow and Goodwitch, but when the two tried to enter the Vault, the elevator was already dysfunctional. So they had no other choice but to help with the evacuation, praying that Ozpin gets out of that mess alive. And now, here they were, Ozpin lying in a stretcher, Cinder shackled to the ground, and the purple man still staring at them like it was normal.

Ironwood approached the purple man and, “Thank you, for saving Ozpin and some of the students and hunters,” thanked him. He knew that he helped some students and Hunters because of the reports he was given, saying that a purple man helped them in vanquishing the Grimm. “May I please know your name?”

“It’s Ryze,” Ryze answered with his grumpy voice. Now that he met the man-in-charge – or so he hoped to – he wanted to know where he can get some rest. “Do you know where I can rest for the day?”

Ironwood blinked in confusion for a moment, before getting his head back in order.

“Yes, of course,” said Ironwood with courteousness in his voice. “But first, we’ll have to evacuate this area. It’s still not safe here.”

“Very well,” Ryze nodded and waited for when he could get on their evacuation ship, or whatever it was. It was more advanced than those in Piltover that’s for sure, but if only it was that simple.

Cinder opened her eyes, and saw before her, a gathering of students, the General, an unconscious Ozpin, Goodwitch, that purple man, a samurai-looking man, and finally, that girl who she wanted to kill the most as of now, Pyrrha. She gathered her power and broke free from her restraints, surprising everybody in the area.

“Shit!” Ironwood cursed as he gestured towards the bullheads. “Fly away right now! Hunters, escort the civilians on the ground and get away from this area right this instant! That includes you students. Without Ozpin, we can’t fight against her!”

All of them did as he told and ran, except for Ryze and Yasuo, who seemed to be the only people who can stop her. Ryze has a reason to destroy her, but Yasuo on the other hand, had only this one reason.

“Kill me? You can try,” and with that, he drew his blade and wielded it in a stance, senses sharp and flowing like the wind. He then noticed that the two stalkers earlier jumped out of their hiding place at aligned themselves with the girl known as Cinder. One was a male, the other, a female.

“Mercury, Emerald, we won’t leave, not until I can kill that readhead Spartan,” said Cinder with rage bubbling in her voice. She was so mad that even her voice right now, sounded like thunder to the two, as well as her usual calm demeanor was gone.

But all of that had to stop, why? It was because a murder of crows appeared, well, at least shadows of it. When they looked up, not only did they see the sky clear, there were no crows, not even one, if you didn’t count Qrow, that is.

The sound of rusty metal swinging like a pendulum echoed through the area. What’s odd even was that darkness was creeping around the area, and if it couldn’t get any worse…

“Fiddlesticks… End of men… Fiddlesticks… First of ten…” a creepy and eerie voice was heard all around.

“What was that!?” Ironwood, now stressed at their situation because of so many unknown factors, screamed in exasperation.

“Fiddlesticks?” Ryze’s thoughts went on overdrive. “Damn it.”

“Brother… How could you… Betray us…?” The eerie voice then shifted even if a little bit, but still the same nonetheless. Yasuo, however, heard different. He gathered the wind all around him, and then, made it overflow causing a wild hurricane with them as the center. Nobody was harmed, except for a certain scarecrow that flew in the air. Without any pause, Yasuo blinked in an instant, and delivered countless of cuts, slices, and slashes towards the scarecrow.

“SORYE GE TON!” screamed Yasuo in rage and fury. Never had he been this mad during his entire exile. He didn’t let up, not even for a single second. After what seemed an eternity for Yasuo, he finally brought the blade up high, and swung downwards with all of his strength, hurling the scarecrow down at the ground at incredible speed. When all was said and done, the scarecrow looked like it was tossed in a shredder. Its cage in the middle of its body was mangled, its cloth ripped to pieces, its metallic arm, obliterated, and the lantern in its hand, destroyed.

Everybody witnessed this first place, and Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald now had second thoughts to try and fight again. But this time, Yasuo’s rage wasn’t quelled with just that, he then glared at the three who wanted to try and attack him earlier, and dashed with haste. Not letting this opportunity slide, Ryze threw an orb of Runic Energy towards the weakest looking person. That was the girl.

The orbs then spread after it reached its mark. Then he fired a Runic Bolt towards her.

“Like dominoes!” Ryze shouted as he conjured the Runic Bolt, but before it could reach, Emerald dodged, and Cinder, being as cautious as she was, backed off from the approaching, agile man and wrapped her subordinated in her power and tried to leave.

She was successful, but at a cost. She didn’t expect Yasuo’s speed to be that fast, and in an instant, she was pierced.

“Ton!”

It pierced through her neck. She endured the pain and flew away at a speed on par with an airship. Yasuo, having vented his anger, sheathed his blade once more and took a last swig from his flask.