Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 28: Demon

     POV: 3rd

     When Ruby came too, she saw that she was in some sort of tent. She heard a few voices outside before someone came inside. The man looked rugged, and had quite a few scars all over him. When the man spotted her, he smirked and said "So, the product is finally awake."

    "W-Where am I? Why am I here?" Ruby asked as fear began to grip her. She tried to struggle against the bindings, but they held firm.

     The bandit chief held Ruby by the chin."Simple, to make us some money. All you are to us is product to sell off. Whatever happens to you doesn't concern me."

     Ruby turned her head to get his hand off her, then glared daggers into her eyes. "When my brother finds you, you'll be sorry!"

      The bandit chief began to laugh as he stood up. "Don't you get it little girl? We're the most feared bandit clan in this part of Mistral. If anyone comes..." he gave a dark chuckle as he began to head back out. "It'll be a bloodbath."

     Onyx was trecking through the wilderness, following the trail of footsteps as well as hearsay from the locals. He took a small detor to also take care of a small problem he heard of.

     When he arrived to the cave, he saw what the locals were warning of. An ancient nucklave, covered almost entirely in its natural bone armor. He also noticed an old tent in the corner, and an idea formed in his head as he looked at an object forming in his hand from his semblance.

     One bandit yawned as he rubbed his eyes with his arm. "Fucking hate guard duty." He looked to his right to his partner for the night. "What the hell has got you got so worked up?"

     "Oh, nothing" his companion replied. "Just a little nervous."

     "Wait, don't tell me...you're afraid of the dark?" The first bandit asked as he raised an eyebrow.

     "Hell no! I'm afraid of what can come OUT OF the dark" the second bandit clarified. "Like that ancient lucklave. What if it's real? It could tear a lot of us to spreads!Think what the hell ya want, but there's a difference between childish and caution."

     "Oh yeah, speaking off kids I got one on the way."

     "Wait, really?" The second bandit leaned against the wooden wall.

     The first bandit did the same as he looked out into the dark. "Yeah, my wife's actually do tomorrow. Should probably head out early to...mo...row..." Confused, the second bandit looked into the dark woods to see what the first one was seeing.

     In the distance was the figure of a dark rider on something pale, only being illuminated by the red glow of their weapon. The two men's eyes widened as they tried to open the gate to run inside.

     Everyone looked over as they heard the screams of the two guards, followed immediately by the gate crashing open. A figure wearing a dark cloak rode in on the horse half of the ancient nucklave. The pale grimm neighed as it stood on its hind legs, the rider used this opportunity to cut down two of the bandits.

     The entire camp was thrown into a panic. Some tried to arm themselves while others tried to simply run. Due to how few light sources there were, not many people were able to see who they targeted next after a kill. That is until it was too late.

     The bandit chief looked around for a weapon, only for a body to be flung over to him with a pistol. He knelt over and grabbed the gun, then immediately stood back up to face the intruder.

     Already there were bodies all over the place. Rivers of blood flowed through the lifeless camp as the  eing struck down the last few stragglers with a single swing. The being then turned the nucklave toward him, the humm of his weapon was the only noise able to be heard from them.

     "Y-You stay the Hell back!" The bandit chief yelled as he aimed his quaking gun at the being.

     The rider simply got off its mount allowing the grimm to run out of the ruined camp in fear. The cloaked person began their slow pace toward the last bandit.

     The man began to unload the pistol, only for each shot to do nothing. The man fell onto the ground and scooted back as he looked up at the hood of the figure.

     Not much was able to be seen due to the dim light of a single torch. What he saw was what he could've sworn was the face of death, floating in the black void inside the hood. The last thing the bandit chief saw was the glowing scythe slowly raised up into the air before being brought back down in a blinding blur.

     Ruby looked up as she heard running footsteps. Onyx poked his head in and finally saw her. "Ruby!" Onyx dropped the helmet in his hand as he ran over. He pulled out his kukuri and quickly cut off her bindings, allowing Ruby to hug her brother and cry in his shoulder. Onyx hugged his sister back until she fell asleep. He scooped his little sister up into his arms and began to head back, ready to reunite with the group.