Until the last bastions of man have fallen;

until all that we have built has crumbled away;

until we have forsaken all bonds that unite us;

until that day comes, we must fight to the end.

The crunch of fallen leaves and a light breeze were all that could be heard from deep in the forest, as a lone, hooded figure walked along the dirt path. The dense treeline and general foliage blocked out most of the moonlight that shone down from the fractured moon that hung in the sky.

The figure soon made it to an open clearing, the moonlight shining down now illuminating and highlighting every detail of the clearing. It was quiet, serene, peaceful. That is, until that tranquility was shattered by the low, almost unnoticeable growl that came from the trees to the right of the figure, as a beowolf slowly paced itself towards the figure.

Slowly, more and more appeared, staring down the figure and prowling the clearing. The figure, seemingly undeterred by the growing hostile presence, continued to stand in place, their idleness seemingly an invitation to commence a seemingly inevitable battle.

One beowolf made the first move, pouncing at the figure, claws and mouth ready to tear the immobile figure apart. Right before the beowolf made contact with the figure, the figure easily dodged out of the way. In the same, fluid movement, the figure drew out their weapon from the scabbard resting at his left, slicing at the monster’s back and then stabbing it, the blade penetrating the head of the now dead creature of Grimm.

With another fluid motion he removed the weapon from the beowolf and kicked its limp body to the ground, as it slowly dissolved and faded away. The rest of the beowolves were now very agitated and begun to charge the figure in waves. In response, the figure simply charged the pack head on.

The figure swung their sword down onto the first beowolf, knocking it down. Continuing the motion and not wanting to lose any momentum, the figure turned the slash into a spin, their weapon cutting off the head of the second Grimm. In a flash, the figured flipped the blade so that it was pointing towards them, and plunged it so that it would stab the next one that was immediately behind them. As they pulled the blade out, a swift kick right to the face was delivered to the next one that decided to charge the figure, the beowolf whimpering in pain before being cut down.

Dodging out of the way of three beowolves that decided to attack all at once, they dove towards an open space a few meters away. As they rolled, they finished the motion by ending up on one knee, and taking aim at the beowolves with the weapon they held, a chokutō, with a long barrel resting between two halves of a separated blade. They took aim with the carbine and fired at the trio, which were swiftly cut down by the hail of gunfire, which now rocked the forest.

Getting up they took aim at any that continued to charge and fired, each one only needing a short burst of gunfire to dispatch. As the figure fired, they continued to rotate their body, cutting down any that tried to flank the figure, all the while dodging around the beowolves that got close, getting slashed a few times. By the time the figure had expended one magazine, half of the back was now dead, the other half now taking more caution in approaching their dangerous quarry. Deciding to now go on the offensive, the figure charged the next group.

Charging the next group of beowolves, the figure brought his weapon low, the tip of the blade barely scraping the ground beneath him. As soon as he was close, the figure dropped to their knees, the momentum causing them to slide on the ground towards the beowolves. With a quick slash the wolves dropped the ground, now relieved of their legs. As he quickly got up, a beowolf attempted to slash at the figure using its claws. However, the figure parried the attacks easily and forced its body to be wide open and vulnerable. Launching themselves at the beowolf, the figure thrusted the blade into the Grimm’s chest, knocking it on its back. With a final push of the blade, the beowolf ceased its movements, now dead, as it dissolved away, bringing the figure’s feet to the ground.

Looking around, there were a few beowolves still remaining, sizing up their quarry with their glowing eyes. One foolish beowolf decided to once again leap at the figure. The figure responded by throwing their sword at the airborne beowolf some meters away. The attack was enough to kill it as the body landed on the ground with a thud, the sword that was once embedded in its chest now resting in the dirt, part of the blade sunk into the dirt. Before the figure could retrieve their sword, they turned their head to the sound of rumbling on their right.

As the rumbling drew near, it became clear that it was no ordinary rumble, it was a stampede. Emerging from the bushes like a train barreling down the tracks, were 3 quadruped creatures of Grimm. Much of its body was black, with a few bone-white plates along the back, namely around the neck and the rear. Their tails swished in the wind as they charged their target, their masks with all their intricate details, and the long, curved, and sharp horns aimed right at the figure where they stood. Longhorns, as they were called, were deadly creatures of Grimm if unprepared. They could easily run down whoever they were pursuing, and then either run them down and trample them, or break their aura and gore them with their deadly horns.

The figure dove right out of the way of their charge, narrowly avoiding their hooves and horns. As the figure got back up, they noticed that the three Longhorns were now circling their weapon, still staring at the figure with piercing eyes. The figure was caked in dirt and sweat, and their aura had taken a beating throughout the entire fight. If this fight were to end in victory for the figure, the fight would need to be ended soon. Charging the three, which were some distance away, the one closest began to paw up dirt as it prepared to charge. With a mighty roar the closest one charged at the figure, with the other two following behind.

Right before the two made contact, the figure once again slid underneath the creature’s legs, and then broke out into a sprint. His weapon, still resting upright in the ground was just within grasp, until a searing pain flared up on his right side. One of the Longhorns was able to change course and ram the figure, knocking them back and away from the sword. With a grunt, the figure slowly crawled back onto their feet, their aura now crackling and fading away as the figure realized that their aura was low, close to breaking point.

There's a moment

In your bones when

When the fire takes over

Breathing heavily, almost gasping for air, the figure eyed down the three Longhorns who were all pacing themselves closer to the now weakened target. Standing tall, the figure motioned the Grimm to charge. Accepting the challenge, the three charged at the figure, who in turn charged. As they neared, the figure hopped onto a nearby rock, launching themselves upwards and over the Longhorns.

Blood is running

Heart is pumping

As the battle gets closer

As they landed, they rolled to break the fall and broke out into a sprint. This time the figure was able to grab the sword, and fall back to a better position. Jumping up behind a large rock, the figure took aim and begun to fire at the Longhorns that drew near.

Ooh, they can say what they want now

Two of them were cut down, but the third was tougher than its fallen compatriots. Dodging out of the way of the charging Longhorn, the figure found themselves in the same position they were in when the fight begun only minutes ago.

Ooh, ‘cause we'll be screaming out

Steeling themselves, they focused on what little aura they still had left, and flicked the sword down. The figure pointed the blade, and the barrel at the Longhorn, which began pawing up dirt before charging once again.

We can be heroes everywhere we go

We can have all that we ever want

The figure then fired a stream of bullets at the charging Longhorn, emptying the hidden magazine in the grip of the sword. As soon as the magazine was emptied, the figure let the sword drop to the ground, embedding itself once again in the dirt at the feet of its owner. At the same time the figure thrust his hand towards the charging Grimm.

Swinging like Ali, knocking out bodies

Standing on top like a champion

The bullets swirled around the Longhorn before embedding themselves into the Grimm, bullet holes now peppering its body as it roared in pain.

Keep your silver, give me that gold

You'll remember when I say

The figure wasn’t done yet as more bullets were yet to find purchase in the Longhorn’s ruined body. From all direction bullets flew towards the target, peppering the Grimm further, some bullets entering one side of the body and exiting the other side, only to circle around and strike the Grimm once again.

We can be heroes everywhere we go

Keeping us down is impossible

The damage was too much for the Longhorn to bear, as it collapsed mid charge and skidding to a stop at the figure’s feet, succumbing to its wounds. It mooed in agony as whatever life a Grimm could have was slowly fading away. Before it could die, the figure stomped on its head, before stabbing it in the forehead with their sword, finally slaying the monster.

Cause we're unstoppable

With that, the clearing once again grew silent, save for the light breeze that blew through the clearing, but enough to cause the hood the figure was wearing to fall, revealing his features. Messy blue hair with almost neon blue highlights at the tips, dark brown eyes so dark one could mistake them for being black, and fair, if not somewhat tanned skin which shone under the moonlight.

As the figure sheathed his sword, a voice echoed out throughout the clearing. “Training Complete. Ending simulation.” A computerized voice spoke as the scenery around the figure faded away, revealing that the figure stood alone in a massive, almost warehouse-like space.

The figure looked to the exit, where a man stood. The man wore standard Atlesian pilot gear and was in parade rest. As the figure approached, the pilot spoke “Mr Leviathan, correct?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m supposed to be taking you to Signal Academy in Patch, Sanus?”

“That is correct."

“Well, we best be heading off now, especially if you don’t want your folks to catch up to you.”

The figure then nodded as he grabbed what luggage he had on him and began to leave. Before he got too far ahead, the pilot asked. “Hey, Sinien was it? Why you running away from you folks?”

The figure looked over his shoulder and said. “Just a few comlications. No need to concern yourself.” He said before leaving.







Blue Trailer End