Forged Destiny [Book 9: Ch. 22]

The Ironwood peeled back under her power, shattering much like her scythe.

Even as it did, more rose up from the ground, punching up with loud, grating noises to form trees all around the battlefield, tall and wide, splitting rock and pushing Grimm aside. Oaks, I thought distractedly. They weren't, of course. They were Ironwood trees, but they were forming in a shape and style of tree Jaune was familiar with. Their branches interlocked above and around them, forming a small forest around their position.

[...]

With my final step, I pushed and kicked off the tree, spinning in the air and hurtling toward Salem, scythe drawn back. The flap of my cloak warned her, rustling and flapping in the wind.

"Again?" Salem asked, turning lazily in the air and watching my approach. Her wings spread out and buffeted her back, taking her out of reach. "Haven't you seen already that-"

Salem backed into a branch.

A branch that hadn't been there two seconds ago, that had sprung to life and cut across the space between one Ironwood tree and the next while she'd turned to deal with me. A branch that cut off her escape even as Salem looked back in shock and anger, even as she reached back with one hand to rip it away.

Those nanoseconds were all I needed.

Salem stabbed a hand out and cast another attack.

The scythe swung through it, the Seal Rune on the blade glowing as it absorbed the attack. The blade carried through, my body flipping in the air as I intentionally took the blade away from her extended hand and beyond, cutting down into the meat of her left wing, severing it close to the base. The weapon shattered on impact again and I travelled through and past, catching myself with one hand on the branch behind.

Salem screamed and dropped, one wing flapping and flailing uselessly as she crashed down to the forest floor, leaving me up above, perched on a metallic bough. It grew under me, supporting my weight while also sprouting a new scythe in a matter of seconds. I took it and pulled it free with a little snap, whispering a quiet thanks to the open air.

The forest hadn't been an attack as Salem thought. It had just been to limit her manoeuvrability in the air. In that regard, it worked perfectly.

And now I have more than her.

Which was fortunate because black light blinked below. I dashed along the bough and jumped, vacating my spot a second before a beam of black punched up, destroying it and cutting a whole in the canopy above.

Landing in a roll, I skidded down to the trunk and jumped for another, hearing the tree fall behind me, severed at the base. The new one I was in suffered the same fate and began to fall, tipping sideways and nearly spilling me out. I was able to ride it down thanks to my Agility and jump out, catch a branch on my scythe and swing up.

Another spell punched through the air behind me, chasing me as I jumped from branch to branch, circling the still cloudy spot Salem occupied, from which beams and orbs of black light would constantly shoot forth. Trees were cut own all around me, some falling even as I jumped onto them and kicked off to reach another.

Not being able to hit your prey because they were fast and in the air sucked. It was good that Salem got to experience it for a change!

"You pest. Come and face me!"

The bell of Vale tolled.

"Not again…"

I took the chance to slip behind a tree for cover and catch my breath as arrows and spells rained down for a second time, now on a Salem who couldn't stay in the air to dodge. I could hear her casting spells at the oncoming attacks and probably smashing them aside, but arrows continued to thud down so she couldn't have blocked them all.

The barrage continued, overwhelming Salem's defence and bathing her body in fire, ice and every other element under the sun. The Ironwood tree provided me cover but even then, flames licked left and right of me, burning away until the tree was toasty warm.

When it dissipated, I peeked around the corner.

Salem's arms and shoulders had arrows in them. Her hair was blackened, and her white face smudged with dirt and, unless I saw wrong, blood. It definitely wasn't mine. Had they managed to wound her? She had her hand out, another spell aimed at the walls of Vale.

I blurred forward.

The spell was cast and shot away the second I rose up behind her. Salem's second wing made too tempting a target and erupted in a shower of blood as I lopped it off. She screamed and sliced an arm back that I slid under, knees scraping along the floor until I was on her other side, our eyes meeting for a brief moment before I sped back into the trees and out of sight.

This was what it was meant to be like in the city. In and out of cover, using my speed to ambush her. I circled around as a spell tore three trees down in the direction I'd been. They crashed and fell behind me, then more coming closer as Salem turned a full ninety-degrees, slicing through tree trunks with an elongated black sword of pure magic.

"Do you think this changes anything?" she roared. "Take my wings. I can re-grow them. Take my army, I will summon it anew. You can't kill me, Reaper. I'll bring this whole forest down on your head!"

Judging from the sound of crashing trees and spells, that was certainly her plan – and not a bad one. Jaune had bought me an arena in which I could excel, and Salem knew it. She turned and continued to rip the Ironwood trees down, slicing through ten or more at a time and clearing a huge swathe, creating an area of open space wide enough for her to see any approach I made.

—Forged Destiny [Book 9: Ch. 22]