Conic blasts of arcane force disabled its right foreleg. Rods of serrated metal ripped into its eyes, turning the world dark. A barrage of bullets riddled it, causing cracks to appear in its bony face, before a deluge of fire swept across its flesh to fill the air with the acrid odor of burning fur. An envenomed saber lacerated exposed flesh again and again. Two bladed sticks, driven by gravity and furious strength, perforated its back. Then came the ultra greatsword Caletfwlch, its steel harmonically resonant with its heroic wielder's own soul, and it sang a ballad of revelation for this grim titan. In all its years of slaughter and destruction the Manticore never came close to this newfound feeling: doom. The shining blade bit deep into its flesh to lodge in the bone, and the monster's mask of wrath lay atop a head half-free of its body. No matter if it somehow found the strength to slay each and every human present, the Manticore would not survive this lethal wound, and of this fact it seemed acutely aware.
Beacon's students would not, of course, allow it to perish passively.
Throughout the entirety of their insertion, the Manticore did not take the slightest note of the lightning pins jammed like acupuncture needles throughout its hide. Grievously wounded, it only shambled from side to side, thrashing weakly, when electricity arced between those plentiful rods. Across its body Jack dashed at a breakneck speed, attacking again and again—a death of a thousand cuts. When the numbness from the bolt shocks set in, and the deprivation of vital fluid thanks to overabundant cuts, the huge beast ceased its thrashing altogether. Finally, the nails in its coffin sailed forth, lead-tipped and rapid-fire from the barrels of Amaranth's weapons. They pierced the flesh of the sad excuse for a neck that remained, and all the while the faunus tied around its neck a noose of steel. In the next instant it was over. Her body weight combined with the might of her leader messily tore the Manticore's head from its body. With all the momentousness of a cathedral bell cut from its rightful place it plummeted toward the earth, and against the unyielding surface of the distillery's main lot it exploded into a cloud of black smoke. Soon after, the rest of the creature, already starting to dissolve, sagged to the earth like a mudslide. The king of the marshlands, terrifying and awe-inspiring in its fearsome majesty...rendered an inert, wretched pile of viscera, and shortly thereafter, dust on the wind.
For the first time in the whole day, a wind whistled through the dingy swampland. It carried away the smells of blood, char, and gunsmoke, and the muggy atmosphere lessened. The last of the inky vapor that had only moment before been a beast of legend slipped away, leaving nothing behind but the destruction it had wrought.
The airship settled down in a leisurely fashion on the lot. When the pilot appeared to stand at the top of the ramp, he was clapping. The other survivors joined in, some cheering or even dancing in joy and relief. At the same time, Goodwitch appeared, having been absent from the remainder of the fight. Though she walked as imperiously as ever, the ever-critical hardness in her eyes was almost imperceptibly smaller, and behind her floated three additional drums of distillery chemicals.
“Not bad, for next to no verbal coordination. Not bad at all...” The enthused shout of Lauren, delivered from the drum-laden truck pulled up not far away, drew her attention. “...Indeed. Despite all odds, it seems your teams have weathered this storm, and come out of the experience richer in wisdom and camaraderie as well as wealth.” She assisted in transferring the drums from the truck to the airship with her semblance. As luck would have it, the total weight of people and property was just less the limit for taking off, though everyone could expect a long ride home. “In light of the results,” Goodwitch commented after the vehicle got underway. “I imagine that this mission will be labeled a 'great success'.” For a moment, she stiffened, then turned back in the passenger seat to face forward. The light of a late afternoon sky, just going to gold, made her blond hair look as though it was glowing. “...Well done.”
-=-=-
Participants:
Benjamin Lloyd, Amaranth Desire, Sangue Naga, Lauren Negasi;
Jack Orpheus, Cian Kuze, Lucas Schwarz
Survivors Rescued: 12
Ally Rescued: Priscilla Montgomery, forming team 'JPCL'
Drums Acquired: 28
Individual Reward: 5 Credits, 2,000 lien each
Bonus reward: 28,000 lien, evenly distributed by mission coordinators to each student
Collective Reward: 5 Credits, 6,000 lien each
Status: Brewing Storm......complete
Great successIn the evening, the following message appeared in both the scrolls and the more rarely-used student e-mail accounts for each of Beacon's hunters-in-training.
To: Student Body
From: Beacon administrative office
Re: Monday's Events
Greetings, students of Beacon. I hope to find you well.
Then again, that may be a bit hasty of me. It cannot be argued that many of the missions undertaken by our students in recent weeks have been unexpectedly heavy. In light of this misfortune, and in the spirit of celebrating your accomplishments, Monday's schedule is going to be different. As the upperclassmen may know, the upcoming Monday is a holiday taken off by most primary academies across Vale, but one that Beacon treats as though it's an ordinary day. Instead of following this rule, Monday will instead be a day off, but one with several school-wide events taking place throughout the day. All students will be able to participate in the events. They are as follows:
9:00 A.M. - meeting at the Beacon outdoors athletic center. Coffee and Shiny D will be available for free, as well as freshly-baked crepes, which have not been served at this school before.
9:45 A.M. - commencement of a race through a newly-renovated special obstacle course. Prizes will be available for first, second, and third place.
1:00 P.M. - the grand debut of Beacon's first 'Stone Cold Showdown' wrestling tournament! Signups will be available at Professor Algernon Fullbuster's desk in the athletic center all morning. Contenders will need to adopt a persona, get psyched, get pumped, and get ready for a full-force throwdown in the ring! The first round, a massive free-for-all, will finish when just four contenders have aura remaining. Two semifinal matches will lead to a grand finals match to declare the champion! No charge for attendance, so make sure to grab a seat! ...Though you'll only need the edge.
One final note: in addition, the entire day also doubles as a 'home-away-from-home' day. The parents of our freshmen will be invited to visit the academy and permitted to stay the whole day.
We hope that every one of you will enjoy this day of leisure, reunion, and friendly competition to the fullest!
-Naranja Valdez
At about the same time, anyone watching television would be treated to the following event:
“We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for a breaking news story. In a stunning turn of events, bystanders called Vale PD to a remarkable scene this morning: not far outside the east side of Vale, a 'battleground' was discovered that appears to have been the location of a large-scale, armed confrontation between the White Fang and the highly-rumored secret organization 'Phantom Force', as revealed by a cryptic clue left on the premises. From the casualties discovered on-site, preliminary findings suggest that whatever kind of presence the White Fang has had in Vale has been seriously diminished. Could this be the first public operation of a group of dangerous criminals working beneath our very noses for all these months? Stay tuned for the full story at eleven.”
