[Discontinued] Yet Another World (Re:ZeroxRWBY)

23. Final Round

Steps echoed throughout the hallway of the hidden underground tunnels underneath Vale, damp and only illuminated by dying lights as two figures would approach ever closer to their destination. One of them is Cinder, recently having been beaten during her fight with Scarlet and Indigo, while the other is a female figure possessing white hair and a pale skin, almost doll-like in her nature. The half-maiden can only stare into the darkness as the female escorted her, and silence would be kept until she decided to speak up.

"Gabriel, just where are you leading me?" She said, following her just behind. Cinder could feel the sudden surge of anxiety building up within her, sweating briefly.

The female, simply known as Gabriel, had her eyes turn to the direction of Cinder's position, with her responding. "Unfortunately I cannot tell you that, as I am not allowed to. You shall see for yourself, Ms. Fall."

Cinder could only scoff at her reply, but that eerie sense of dread could only mean one thing. "Him…"

They would eventually arrive at a wooden door hidden in these tunnels, and Gabriel would wait beside it, gesturing subtly for Cinder to open it. Seeing as she had no other choice, she obliged and did so. What she could see was something akin to a sizable room, akin to that of a bunker, with approximately two other people inside.

A well dressed man, possessing platinum hair and green eyes, would look her in the eyes. He bore no sense of hatred physically, but Cinder knew better, as she immediately recoiled just from seeing him eye to eye. The other would be a black swan faunus girl, swinging her legs as she sat on a nearby table, with a giant scythe at her side, she seems to be ignoring the entire tension of the situation.

Cinder gulped, and would enter the room, the door closing behind her as Gabriel would follow her inside as well. Only then, did the man decide to speak up.

"Are you aware of your current predicament, of your failure in executing your plan?" He said.

"Y-yes." Was all that Cinder could utter out. The dominating presence of the person in front of her forced her to act this way. He's much more terrifying than her former mistress, Salem herself, speaking volumes of his status and reputation.

The man could only look her in the eye for a brief moment, before going over towards Gabriel. "Can I trust her words? Is she lying?" He said.

"No, Archbishop Proxima, I can confirm her current emotional state to be accurate." She said, robotically no less. Gabriel would switch her focus towards the young girl next to her after Proxima refocused towards Cinder.

"Tell me, then, One Of Fire. Why did you fail in your only objective?" He said, his tone is still calm, but it is one that could erupt at any moment.

"I-I did not fail by my own hands! He, the Sage Candidate Natsuki Subaru was behind all of this! He managed to prevent us from gaining victory!" She retorted, panic in her voice.

"Sage Candidate? You blame him, and not your incompetence?" He said, his posture straightened, making his form seem bigger in her eyes than usual. "Are you telling me that despite knowing what his potential can bring, you are not smart enough to figure out a solution to circumvent it? Are you blaming me, the one who set you upon this mission? Are you that arrogant to not see your own mistakes?"

She backed away a single step, fearing his influence. "I tried my best with what I have! I have tried to adapt to the situation, if you could give me one more chance, I will make sure to do things right! They will not suspect me from regaining my footing after that round!"

What he heard was perplexing. This pawn of his did not accept her own incompetence, and deemed her failure to be something positive in nature. Proxima could only look at Cinder with his expression filled with immense anger. His eyes burned as if they would ignite at any moment, furious at what he had just heard. His mouth then opened only to say a single sentence afterwards.