RWBY||Defender of Remnant

Chapter 36: Titans

3rd Person POV

Argus, Several Minutes Earlier

"This way!" Clover shouted, gesturing for a group of civilians to follow as he led them down a street, his weapon, Kingfisher, in hand. A Manticore swooped at them, fire pouring from its jaws, and he swung, the fishing rod's hook extending to wrap around the Grimm's jaws. He yanked and whipped the Manticore into the ground, snapping its neck and causing it to dissolve.

Another Manticore dove at him, claws flashing, and he sidestepped. To the Grimm's surprise, its claws got stuck in one of the stones, and it found itself torn out of the air by its own weight...right into Maria's scythe.

Clover blinked, momentarily surprised. I didn't even sense her. Another clear indication of how far he had to go to reach her level, he supposed.

"Thank you," one of the women breathed, looking at him gratefully before rushing off to join the others as a squad of Atlesian soldiers joined them, heads swiveling in all directions with their guns raised.

"You're welco—!" Clover started, only for a horrific screech to fill the air as a Sphinx dove toward the civilians with its claws spread wide, blood trailing from the tips as flames flickered between its jaws.

Just before it could snap its jaws shut on a young Faunus with white hair and a single horn on her head, Maria flipped out of nowhere, and her 'scythe' flashed, cutting through the Sphinx's wings in a blur of steel and black, tar-like blood. The Grimm screeched; Maria's 'scythe' flashed, and the Sphinx's head split open, dark blood spraying into the air as the beast collapsed, disintegrating long before it hit the ground and shattered.

"You're lucky I'm a Huntress and not just an old lady, young man," the Grimm Reaper quipped, flicking blood off her blade with a quick twist of her wrist before she turned her attention to a pack of charging Manticores. "Well? You gonna help me or not?"

...it's official, Clover decided as he and Maria assumed fighting positions, weapons raised: Huntresses and Huntsmen are an entirely different breed of insanity.

The first Grimm lunged, fangs gleaming... and an explosion ripped through the air. A flash of steel, and the two warriors stared in shock as Sincline's armored form crashed through the building above them and into the wall on the opposite side of the city, causing a watchtower to fall on top of him.

"Was that...?" Clover trailed off... and that's when a Manticore slammed into his side, catching him off guard and throwing him into a wall.

"Watch out!" Maria shouted and backflipped, dodging a swing from a second Manticore. Kicking off a wall, she spiraled through the air and brought her weapon down, moving with surprising agility, despite her age, as she split the Grimm's skull.

"Thanks for the early warning," Clover wheezed, wincing as he pushed himself up. Luckily, he had landed in such a way that he barely had any bruises from the impact. Thank Oum for my semblance, he thought.

Activating Kingfisher, he charged, and a Manticore lunged at him. Dropping to his knees, he slid beneath the Grimm's claws and whipped Kingfisher up and around, the hook at the end snagging one of the Manticore's horns. He tugged, and the Manticore's head slammed into the pavement with a loud crack, shattering the stone.

As Clover stood, two more Manticores surged toward him, jaws agape... and a line of silver steel split both in half at the waist, a spray of dark, viscous blood erupting into the air.