I'm very sorry for not updating this story before! I've been swamped with projects for the past months, making me unable to write at full strength. Even now I struggled to create this chapter as the inspiration came and gone from the free periods that I could cram and I didn't want to update any other story with the fear of me losing what little progress that I had made on this one.

It has been a arduous one, with the need to redo things from time and reconstructing the story from scratch because it didn't seem well enough in my eyes. I can safely say that this one is decent enough in my eyes.

I am very sorry for the delay you had to endure, I do hope you enjoy the chapter.

Vale - Inside David's dream

Darkness and endless running. That's what the hunter did under the influence of his dream. He tried to escape the nightmare that he had brought with himself. The horrendous memories of the hunt, the intoxicating smell of the crimson water, the blood that sung lullabies to his ears, the feeling of taking the life of another, the recoil of the his firearm... The taste of euphoria in his mouth.

His eyes clouded with red as he hunted mercilessly beasts in his mind, make it big or small, all while having a maniac smile under his mask, his clothes tainted with cuts and dry blood that was once warm.

His pupils had shrunk to a very small size, with a psychotic expression present. He laughed and grunted under the influence of the old blood in his mind. Clouding his judgement in shape and forms, replacing once sane moments in Yharnam into gruesome and terrifying actions that drew the blood colder than the snow in Cainhurst castle.

It was an intense, mind boggling moment, where he only hunted and hunted, none stop against anything that he got his hands on. Nothing was safe within his eyesight, make it any kind of foe, giant or small. He wanted, craved the blood from their veins. The violence and the mystic of the light of the moon that shone over him as he took his another sorry scamp from his life.

When his attention was caught in a shadow that went to the corner of his eyesight, he immediately made his way towards it, it was formless in the shadows and it held great agility. The more he ran to catch it, the more interested he became. The more interested he became, the more his smile grew in size as warm clouds escaped his mouth.

Then without warning, the shadow was cornered as a wall erupted from below, trapping it with the hunter staring at it with a sick expression. He trudged forward, his weapon to his side and tightly gripping it, his thoughts in a daze as he became closer and closer to his prey, slowly taking the form of a person. He didn't care and drew even closer, the blood singing a tune most pleasant to his ears, drawing forth his open blood lust that was hidden all this time.

The person had scooted all the space that it had, putting their back on the wall to try and stay away from the crazed hunter, blood drunk of his own greed and lusts. The hunter was standing face to face against his prey, that took the shape of his team mate, Eileen, scared and tearing up with a horrified expression. Her clothes tattered and her weapons no longer on her, only a throwing knife that once belonged to the hunter, previously etched against the body of one of his deranged prey.

With shaky hands, she put her weapon up, looking so weak, so terrified, so nervous... The perfect prey for him. For any hunter in fact, but to him it was the most beautiful sight he saw in his daze.

He came closer and closer, his Beast Claw getting ready to strike and dropping his Hunter's Pistol on the ground, ammunition had been stripped a long time ago since he entered his slumber. It was not his longest night, but it was the most fulfilling night that he's had since he arrived in this world.

His eyes glowed an ominous red, blood drunk from everything that he had slayed, everything that he had killed. Many thoughts swirled on his mind, all of them yelling him to kill her slowly or quickly and drain her blood, drink it, savor it, bathe in it! Anything! Just to drench her crimson blood on him!

When he was already at the optimal range, she closed her eyes, her figure trembling with fear as she put her knife for defense, a fleeting attempt against him. He put his arm up, ready to swipe at her, a psychotic look on him as he grinned with a haunting expression.

"Is this what you really want to do to her?" A voice echoed in the darkness, making him stop him motion, suspended in time. "She gave you her respect, her trust and her life as your partner, one you never had before. Do you really want to throw that away?"

"You're going to deny me of my prey!? She's right in front of me! Shivering! Trembling with fear! You want me to relinquish this moment!?" He yelled towards the voice that is questioning his action. He deserved this! It didn't matter if she was once his partner, or that she trusted him with her own... life...

"You entered this with an oath, David. To save the lives of the people that were infected. Did that little girl also deserved to die because of your mistake? Was she also your prize for the hunt? Did you come here to kill or to try to not hurt her? The night has been long, David, and we both know that this isn't what you want. This isn't us." The voice stepped from the darkness and was behind the blood drunk David.

Looking behind him, the tattered hunter saw himself in a white aura around him, his form faintly glowing with his clothes in prime condition, the opposite of his. His expression was that of worry and regret.

"This isn't us, not what we were shaped into. We aren't cold blooded murderers, we killed because we had to at the time, we didn't had any choice. We didn't succumb to our beastly desires, we were strong enough for that. We have to be stronger than that, unless we become like those hunters again." He looked at the moon that shone down on them. It's moonlight an illusion, a lie that was fabricated in his mind. "Look at our hands... Is that the hands of a killer? Because if you kill her, our partner, our only way to repent our sin towards her, and all the sins we committed on the others, can we really say that we are better than them?"

"...We're growing soft." He replied with his eyes hidden under his hat. "If we keep going the way we do, we won't become better. We won't be strong or fast enough to help them. And even if we achieve that plane, it'll not be enough to do anything. We are weak..."

"No, we aren't." His conscious responded to him with confidence. "We are strong. Believe in Eileen when she said that we are strong. Believe in yourself that we are powerful enough to tackle any challenge that is thrown at our way. We are not growing soft, we are simply adapting to this new world.

While the children have not been in the same path as we did, it doesn't mean that they are weak either. They simply need a little guidance. That's all they need and that's all we can do for them. We killing them... Isn't the answer."

His crazed self lowered his clawed hand, thinking to himself before releasing an angry yell. In a quick swing, he hit the wall behind her, with his hat overshadowing his eyes, giving off an ominous look at her tearful eyes. Her form froze up, her eyes slowly trailing at the arm that stabbed the wall, caving in some of it down onto the floor.

"Go..." He silently said, but she didn't heard him nor could move from her stupor. "I said go, you fool!" He then shoved her with his left arm, making her move out of the wall. Seeing her opportunity, she ran away from him as fast as her feet could carry her, turning on the corner and disappearing from his dream. Recoiling his arm, he then rolled to his side, leaned his back on the wall and slowly slouched down to the dirty floor, looking up to his other self.

"I don't want to hurt them... I don't want to make them relieve the same fate as they had before..." Slowly, his bloody form returned to his normal self, his glowing self dissipated away into the darkness, leaving him alone in his dream. His conscious, his humanity, the small piece that voiced out when his eyes were becoming closed to the beast inside of him.

He blinked a few times into the darkness, resting on the ground looking ahead of him, his path carved with bodies and blood. The sacrifice of many and the lost lives of his drunken state. He couldn't waste the opportunity that was given to him for such a petty reason, not after all the hardships he had undergone to reach a new world devoid of the old blood.

He then looked at the moon, casting it's light at him like a beacon, how he hated that full moon that always gave him a sense of comfort. It didn't take him long to enter in a trance just by staring at it, with a stoic expression. Seconds turned minutes and minutes turned hours, at least that's how he felt about it, time wasn't something he took much notice.

Something struck him odd though, at the center of the moon a black substance that seemed to be ever present seemed to spread ever so slightly, pulsating as if it was alive. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion a the strange occurrence when suddenly, it spread through the moon at a frightening speed, encasing it in a fleshy, black prison. He could only blink as an eye slit through the middle of the moon, gazing at him.

"What in the..." He could barely muster his words before the floor under him caved in, falling down to a lower floor while the eye looked at him in interest. Grunting from the fall, he looked around to see nothing but darkness, before the rattling of chains caught his attention. He looked down to see his hands and feet bound by shackles, locking him in place as they stretched far beyond in the void.

Pulling with might, he could not shake the restrictions off or pull them at that matter. As this was happening to him, screens started to circle around him, displaying a pair of eyes looking at him, before he was enclosed at their gaze, and the giant eye above him made him all the more anxious of what was going on.

"Curses! LET. ME. GO!" He pulled even stronger as he yanked the chain on his right, with blood and scars on his wrist from pulling so hard. He then went ahead to yank his left hand out, when holes started to bore on his palms, burning searing pain came and so did his wounds increase by the moment. This sudden turn was in no more than a nightmare that was born from him.

Searching desperately, he noticed that nearby his weapon was etched on the floor. Quick thinking, he used the chain on his right hand connected to his shackle and threw it, wrapping around his Beast Claw, pulling it towards him. Quick on his wits, he cut himself free from his restraints as the eye above grew limbs akin to tendrils, before a mass fell down behind it.

Not wanting to know what spawned, he turned heel towards the screens that kept a watchful eye on him. Each pair of eyes following his movements in intrigue and curiosity, as if he were a center piece in a game. Crashing against one screen, fragments of itself were scattered down on the darkened floor like glass. He didn't care what happened to him, but his instincts were yelling at him to just get away from here.

He did nothing more than run away with his weapon in hand. No firearm in hand nor any kind of extra equipment on himself, all seemed striped away from him on the fall. He understood his Hunter's Pistol falling out of his grasp, but not his throwing knives and the rest of his explosives and other things.

Just as he came out of the darkness from the light at the end of the tunnel, he saw hundreds, maybe even thousands of Grimm staring at him with hostile intent, giving him attention as if he was one of their prey. He gasped in surprise at what he was seeing. His breathing started to become erratic as there were too many enemies at the same time and without any blood vials, it would be naught but death.

"Dear Amygdala... What are all of these beasts doing here? From the lowest to the highest ranking Grimm are all here, just staring, growling and snarling in my direction... I have to escape, I can't fight all of them at the same time!" His thinking was sound, however he couldn't return back to where the screens were.

"David... Help me..." He sharply turned back to see Eileen riddled with wounds. Claw marks scattered her body, her left knee had been gnawed at from probably a surprise attack, pieces of bone stuck on her right arm, she was in a condition that he never saw her before, as if she fought for her life and now carried the scars of war with her.

He breathed slowly while his eyes darted between the two. Too many Grimm to face, not to mention his companion was heavily wounded, escaping with her will be difficult. This was an impossible scenario for him to salvage.

"Don't worry." He softly replied towards the reborn Hunter of hunters as he positioned himself between them. He couldn't fight them all, he was going to die, but that was exactly what he was doing back in Yharnam, dying over and over again, until he was able to shift the odds in his favor. Trial and error, however, this time he didn't know if he had someplace to return or if he was allowed to comeback. Now... It was a gamble that he didn't like. He steeled himself as he pushed her back inside the tunnel, to give him some more space and the Grimm then kicked into action. Rushed towards him in droves, creating packs and groups with one another.

He remained in silence as he raised his weapon and transformed his left arm, if he didn't had his firearm, then this was as a good replacement as he could get. However, with the multiple enemies and different kind of them... He was surely dead.

"...Vid... Avid..." A voice was calling him, this one sounded more feminine, but it wasn't Eileen.

"...David..!" The voiced started to sound more clearer and clearer, as he looked up to see the moon shake and the eye turn a crimson color, staring in a more ominous and obsessive at him. It would have sent him shivers down his spin, if he hadn't had his fair share of weird encounters in Yharnam.

"David! Wake up!"

Junior's club - Storage room

Startled awake, David hooked the person shaking him in a swift motion and pinned them on the same bed as him, with him on top. Looking down, he saw the annoyed form of Melanie. Now standing on the floor, he took a moment for him to take in his bearings, realizing that he's back onto the room that he had fallen asleep in.

"Miss Melanie? How did you get in here?" He asked as he slowly sat her on the bed, putting a hand on his head, trying to shake the sleep away.

"How else? I asked the boss to bash the door open, after you've spent the entire week locked up in here." She informed as she had a frown on and crossed her arms in displeasure towards him. He looked at her surprised.

"I've been asleep for a week?" He asked incredulously to her. He didn't felt like he slept all that much.

"Yeah, you have, you dolt. Junior was against me to open the door for some reason, but after a good jab at his gut, he complied." She replied back still looking angrily at him. "What were you thinking locking yourself up! Everybody thought you died here! Not answering our calls or the people coming here to see if you were fine, not responding to their messages or even to the boss' shouting." She asked angrily.

He looked at his hands, clenching them a few times before looking at the wall in front of him. He felt refreshed from his slumber, but it took him a while to realize that he had no weapon on his hand, relieved that he hadn't attempted to hurt his co-worker.

"I... Needed it. Desperately." He could only respond that. His nightmare before waking up, it felt so real to him. He looked at his wrist to see if a mark was etched on it, if any kind of wound was present on him. He looked pleased to see that nothing was there, making his form relax. "I'm sorry for not responding... I've pulled one too many nights awake. No one to blame than me on my recklessness on this matter."

"What the heck were you even doing here? Every time me or Miltia or even one of the goons came here to talk to you, we could only hear you murmuring in here to yourself like a madman. Heck even that blonde girl came here with another girl to talk some sense into you, she just stood here, afraid to even coming inside! The other tried, but after some time gave up and when I say some time, I mean two hours long!" This information made him take a moment, was he unconsciously releasing killing intent? Yang could've easily blown the door apart to enter the room, but was he terrifying her that much? Who was the other girl even?

There was a pause that unnerved the girl as he looked to the floor in silence, it wasn't unusual for him to be silent, however it felt uneasy this time around. The other times they were much more relaxing and at ease.

"Guess I wasn't well in the head. Nightmares tend to bring the worst in people after all." He replied back to her while looking at her. He didn't look tired anymore but she was surprised.

"You're telling me you've been in a perpetual nightmare for a whole week? That sounds... horrible." She responded a little off putted by that tidbit. A week with nothing but nightmares that was just taxing.

"Would you mind telling me who the other girl was? I would not want to guess and mistake her for someone else." He asked politely to her, while standing up from the bed. The moment he did so, his bones gave a loud crack from finally being popping back into place, his stiffen muscles were relieved of blood finally being pumped into them after such a long break. She winced as the sounds echoed in the room.

"Uh, yeah. It was a twerp called, uh, Eileen I think? Stubborn girl, only that blonde could pull her away from the door. Said she'd wait here until you came out." She responded to which he rolled his neck, enabling another crack to release from him.

"Miss Eileen you say. That youthful girl has been putting me in a silver plate recently. I wouldn't have guessed that I would impact her that strongly with our time together as partners." He said lowly with a small smile on his face. One that Melanie didn't let escape, though she didn't voice out. "How long are you going to be hiding on the other side, Junior?"

"Hey, I'm not hiding, I'm waiting for the both of you to get out. I need to see what the heck you've done to the room, assess it and then ask one of my goons to clean it up." He replied back a little annoyed at the Hunter for taking his vacation in the clubs storage room. At least he didn't took anything from the bar.

"Ah, my apologies!" He responded back while getting his bag and leaving the room, courteously letting Melanie to leave first. "I truly apologize for my prolonged stay here, I didn't know I would be out cold for so long."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here. If you stayed any longer that blonde would come back again to check up on you and maybe this time she would've brought one of Beacon's teachers to haul you back. Wouldn't be surprised if she did end up doing that." He replied while entering the room. "Huh. I thought you'd broken anything here, but nothing changed. Guess everything is fine for now."

"You should probably leave for the academy, David. It would be bad if Junior got any attention from huntsman or huntresses with his job." Miltia advised as she didn't want to lose her way to earn Lien.

"Yes, you speak wisely, miss Miltia." He took a couple of steps forward, before turning back to them. "Tell me, why only now were you able to enter the room? You had the entirety of seven days to open, why today was okay to enter?" He was curious to know the reason.

"Maybe because, like, you were quiet all of a sudden. You weren't talking like a madman or giving the door an eerie feeling from it. I took the chance and entered while he was shaking on his boots and Miltia didn't want to disturb your beauty sleep." Melanie responded, since she had the most confidence in herself than the others.

"Ah, I see. How very brave of you miss Melanie. If you had not waken me... I'm in your dept." He said with a respectable tone and a bow. This made her look away with a 'huff', stubbornly avoiding eye contact with him.

"Jerk." She replied embarrassed of his words. "Just get out of here."

"Once again, I apologize for causing so much trouble. I'll repay you some other time." He then left them, greeting a few grunts as he did. Miltia entered the room with Junior, where they took a more cautious approach into the room that radiated an ominous feeling before.

Something catches her eye almost immediately, the bed that David had slept for so long had been drenched with sweat, leaving his mark present. That and the odd drop of blood where his hands would be. Nail marks on the sheets like claw marks, showing how strongly the good hunter was clenching the sheets of cloth, enough to even draw blood from his hands.

"Junior." She called her boss over, to let him check what she found. The sight the blood marks made him flinch a bit.

"Jesus... What the hell happened to him? This isn't what I originally thought." He responded while grabbing the fabric and throwing it into the garbage can nearby. "Burn it. Who knows where he's been and I'm not taking a chance to finding it out."

She nodded before taking a match box nearby into her pocket and taking the trash can out to later engulf the contents in flame.

Something was off by the hunter from the start, but this was completely different from before, exceeding the trauma that Junior has noticed over the years, almost in a maddening level.

While the good hunter walked, he took out his scroll to look if anyone else tried to contact him. He was surprised to see that he had at least 100 messages, from his team, Ruby's team and Jaune's team, with some other people that he didn't recognize at the same time.

It was still early morning, around 7:30 AM, which he was thankful that Melanie had awaken him before classes started. At this moment, he was fairly sure that his partner was or has awoken from her slumber as well, getting herself ready for another day. He contemplated if he should contact her or not, with Yang wanting to hog all of the warm water from every morning.

Deciding that warning her would be for the best, due to her not being as used to the role as he was, he wrote down a message for her, something to calm her nerves if she was being anxious at the moment.

"Good morning, miss Eileen. I apologize for contacting you so early while you are either still asleep or trying to awake. I'm just here to warn you that I'm returning today and that I should be there for the first class of the day, if my transportation would arrive in time." He sent the message and continued on his track, reaching the bus stop, waiting for the bullhead to arrive and take him to Beacon academy. He then felt his scroll tremble and saw that she replied, quite quickly.

"Oh thank the lord! What have you been doing in that room!?"

"Are you hurt? Why didn't you respond to us?"

"You should've warned us that you would've been taking so long!" With the intensity of the messages, it wasn't too hard to see that she was very worried and concerned about him.

"I apologize. I didn't even know how long I was out. Only woke up today. My fatigue had been much greater than I had realized. I'm okay, whatever I had is gone now, no cuts or bruises. I was simply tired." He responded back to her, but as he was setting it down, she quickly sent another message.

"Tired? Tired!? No normal person could sleep for a whole week without feeling thirst or hunger! What did you do to even get that tired?" A fair assessment and question. One he would answer something simple for her.

"I've been avoiding sleep for a great many days in the academy." That was the answer, one she prod even deeper.

"And why did you think that was a good idea? I know you a little bit to know that you wouldn't do things without a reason." He wasn't surprised at her words, she had spent enough time with him to have some sort of grasp of his way of things.

"I truly apologize, miss Eileen. Nightmares had been plaguing me during those days and I feared that something might've happened if I slipped into my slumber there and then. It also was a habit that was forced on me." He replied back, while tracing his eyes on the road.

"Nightmares? O-oh... You mean when you were in Yharnam..." She sounded hesitant to ask, a normal response.

"That's right." He responded quickly before typing once more. "If my previous experience with Ruby says anything, it is better for me to rest somewhere that doesn't isn't populated."

She was typing something, but quickly deleting it and wrote something else. "What time do you think you can arrive?"

"I'm not entirely sure. If the schedule I'm seeing right now says anything, I should be able to arrive during professor Glynda's class, I'm already expecting that she'll be displeased with me."

"She's not the only one! Professor Port was saddened that you were away for a week. Your story struck more to the students than his, though it's not much to argue there, his are all so... exaggerated. Crushing a Grimm's head with your bare hands and then bringing back it's corpse is too far fetched, how would he bring something that would become ash for no longer than a few minutes?"

"I agree, he's rather passionate when he's recollecting his past. Some I don't believe, others are not so hard too. While it is difficult for some feats, they are not impossible. Though, I have to concur, that part looks very outlandish on his part. Probably a spur of the moment to gather some attention to himself." He could see his transport coming not too far away. "Excuse me, Eileen. The bus, as you call it, is coming. We'll continue this conversation later, if you don't mind."

"Oh no, no! I'll be waiting for you, then. Have a nice trip." With the message sent, he put his scroll back into his pocket and awaited for his transport.

At Beacon Academy - Team HUNTER's room

Finally David had contacted her after a wordless week. During the time that he was away, Henryk and Gascoigne were at each other talking behind his back, mainly the golden one, as his trust for his team leader had been shaken. David's mysterious background and gruesome story from his homeland had labeled him as a murderer in his eyes and he wasn't the only one to agree.

Students from far and from Beacon themselves were apprehensive hearing his story, not only that, but his sudden disappearance had made them believe that he had been expelled from the school altogether.

However, that had been stopped the commotion before it had started to take shape, with the teachers producing a white lie to the students to calm them down, most likely by headmaster Ozpin's directions.

It had been appreciated by Eileen, but with how things are going, it was clear that the team that was made was dysfunctional. A team leader that goes missing, members fighting each other and only one that had recently taken the mantle of sub leader where she had no prior experience. It was a bleak situation, one that needed to be talked with each other, before the team disperses out of the chaos that was ensuring between them.

And it all pointed towards David, the hunter that disappeared from time to time to help others or to his 'oath' as he calls it. Even though he means well, his actions were making the inevitable quickly approach.

"Hopefully, when he returns, they could have a much needed team talk. This team needs to talk with each other, to know each other. Otherwise... We might go our separate ways after the Vytal festival, maybe even before it." Eileen thought to herself before she frowned. "I don't want that... I don't want to part away from my first partner..."

The morning passes by as of any other day. First it was to hurry to the shower before Yang took most of the heating water, next was professor Peach's class, which the woman gave an intriguing lesson of the various compounds in liquids including the sap that the teams from the previous semester had brought back. Afterwards came Professor Glynda's lesson.

Eileen sat down next to her teammates, while keeping an eye for David, he should already be here or at least being close to Beacon, sometimes using the public transport could have setbacks in the schedule due to weather pattern changes.

"Now then, I expect that everyone is here... except of course mister David, which once again has decided to not come today as well." Her tone was that of disappointment, if her frown told anything else.

"Uh, miss Glynda! He contacted me today! He said that he would be coming, just a little late because of the bus! I think it got a problem while coming, otherwise he'd be here already." Eileen spoke up, eliciting a good response out of the teacher.

"Is that so? Well, do tell him that he's not going to escape the paperwork that he has accumulated while he was away. I expect that he makes it at the end of this weekend, on the double." Homework, the one thing students hate, specially if it's from a weeks worth to be done in less than 5 days.

"Y-yes ma'am." She replied back a little uneasy as the teacher tapped on her scroll to light up scrolling through students after students to match them up. The screen banners above her lit up as well with two squares present, both with interrogation points present, as no challengers had been selected yet.

"Yo, Eileen? That true? Is David coming today?" Gascoigne whispered to her, looking a little surprised at her speaking up.

"Yes, this morning he messaged me that he'd be returning today. Something about avoiding sleep for many days." She replied to him lowly as the first pair had been selected.

"Aw yeah! You ready to take a beating, Jaune?" Yang asked excitedly while the blonde boy trembled on his spot.

"Please be gently..." He pleaded while she smirked to him with a mischievous smile.

"Nope!" She happily replied to him.

"He wasn't the only one losing sleep." He motioned towards Blake where the bags under her eyes were clearly visible. "But did he tell you why he was losing sleep or was that it?"

"Nightmares. From when he was in Yharnam." She responded as a shotgun sound emitted on the arena and Jaune was lifted out of the ground and backwards, shielding himself from Yang's first punch.

"Oh... Yeah that could give a good reason to lose some shut eye. You think that one story was enough for him to stay awake though?" He asked back as an explosion rang out and Jaune's scream was muffled from it.

"It would, or maybe something else would. I think I remember that Ruby tried to wake him up once, I asked her team and they said that it was unpleasant to remember. Something about his expression sent chills down their spines." She replied before a clash happened, looking down they saw that Jaune was actually putting a decent front for once, with Yang parrying his attacks.

However, that moment of glory of his was soon dispelled with a punch to the gut and him sent flying backwards with his knee on the ground.

"I think we're done Jaune! Good defense there, you actually improved!" Yang said as her banner shined green and Jaune's lit up as red.

"Ugh... I think I'm gonna-!" He put his hand over his mouth and ran towards the lockers, where you could very faintly hear him vomit.

"And vomit boy is back!" She cheekily said before Glynda adjusted her glasses and typed on the scroll to change the banners.

"Winner, Yang Xiao Long. A good performance against someone that has some skills to protect themselves, though I would put some thought on your reckless nature. Return to your seat." She advised as she was picking another pair of suitable students to fight each other.

She nonchalant brought her hands behind her head and walked towards the lockers to change clothes. First match and she didn't even broke a sweat from it, that was how much her fight was with Jaune, though he did put up a fight. Better than when he fought against Cardin a few months ago.

The banners photos shifted like a roulette, going through multiple students to decide the best pick, sometimes David's picture appeared for a split second before another face took his place.

As the students were talking with each other, the door of the classroom silently opened and in came David, slowly entering inside and scanning the room for a seat for him to take. He found one below Blake and he walked towards it, wearing Beacon's student clothes on.

However, due to him always wearing his hat and mask, he was recognized right away by Glynda as he made he took his seat. She did not call him out, however she was displeased to see him so late for class.

The picture of two students came into view, from their profile, they were from different schools. She called them as they went to suit up for their match. The students were chatting with each other, to either pass the time or to get to know one another better.

David glanced over his shoulder to see Blake trying to stay awake with bags under her eyes, an indication that she hasn't slept for a few nights at least. This made the hunter squint his eyes ever so slightly, she noticed him looking at her before she waved at him, he nodded back to her as he looked forward to the arena.

"So who do you think that'll win?" The person next to him asked, the hunter turned his head towards the voice and he saw Mercury talking to him. He had seen him before a few times with Cinder before.

"Hmm... It's hard to say. If we look at their current gear, I'd say the victory would be for the one to the left, though his actions would carve his path." He responded with his voice low for the student of Haven academy.

"Really, I think the guy at the right would win. What makes you sure yours would come out like a champ?" He asked interested in his judgement.

"Compared to the person to the right, in terms of firepower, the one at the left would definitely lose. Mister Oliver would decimate miss Violet with his impressive armor, their weapons are vastly different, with her choosing a easy to use rapier, than Oliver's choice of a great hammer. One choose overwhelming strength against accuracy, heavy armor against agility." He voiced his thoughts towards the student to which he voiced his own.

"Yeah, but one strike and she's done for, how is she gonna deal with that stray demon?" He joked around to which the hunter replied back with a snicker.

"I would call him a stray demon, but if he is like one, dodging him is not too difficult." The match started and the juggernaut rushed forward only for Violet to dodge him easily to the right, avoiding a tremendous smash of his great hammer. "To carry such weight, you have to deal with the disadvantages that comes with such brute strength. Your reaction time is lowered, your movements are stiff and before you can even begin to attack, your enemy already hit you 4 times in a row mercilessly."

True to his words, the match was in favor to Violet at the beginning, before Oliver reveled his trump card against speedy attackers like her.

"That is, if you can adapt to such predicaments, then the chances of failure decrease and you might gain the edge that you've lost from the beginning." Oliver's armor started to glow in the visible lines of his joints, giving him a small boost in terms of his movement, able to catch her off guard before smacking her to the side. It was a nasty hit, yet she had the aura to block most of the damage.

"The cost to such adaptability, often times isn't significant. However in these cases, it can lead to failure to the user by facing someone that has their wits checked." Just as he said that, Violet burst through a feat of speed and attacked each weak point in Oliver's heavy armor, chipping his aura lower and lower before he fell to his knees. "Those that do so, have the highest chance of winning and live another day."

"Very impressive, miss Violet. I'm glad to see that you know when to attack such armed opponent and when to leave him be. This is an impressive leap in your development." Glynda praised the young huntress.

"Thank you, professor Glynda. I learned by watching the other students, mainly that scary guy that fought with Cardin." She responded, making the bully give an audible growl. Her opponent punched the ground in frustration, all because he was a little slow he couldn't win.

"Damn, you were right on the mark! Guess the higher they are the harder they fall, specially in his case." Mercury playfully said while he awaited for a reaction.

"Although that is true, if he lowers his garbs weight, dismisses some protection in favor of agility, he would most likely have beaten her. That is, if he's willing to accept that change. Defense is not everything, agility isn't everything, strength isn't everything. A balance is needed, lack it and this is the result." He motioned towards the defeated juggernaut.

"Alright then students, it is time to have another pair to fight-"

"Professor Glynda! Our team wants to challenge one student!" Cardin shot up his arm, catching the teachers attention.

"Really now? Then who's going to be your opponent?" She asked with a calm demeanor.

"Pyrrha Nikos, it's time we test that Mistral's champion title to the table!" He announced while aiming at her.

"Hmm, an interesting proposal. Is it alright with you, miss Nikos?" Glynda requested of the spartan. She in return stood up and nodded her head before looking at her opponents.

"I accept your challenge. Let the best one win." She displayed confidence in her words, making Cardin grit his teeth in anger to her optimism and good nature.

"Well see about that!" What came out was more of a challenge than his usual anger, wanting to show everyone that his team can take on the most talented student in Beacon.

"This should be interesting. No doubt that she'll win, but what are your thoughts big guy?" He asked curious of his opinion.

"I've seen those two before, in and out of their abilities. Cardin is no pushover with his strength, but he isn't as coordinated with his movements and his team. While they support him and have their moments, they are too flashy, too individual to call a team, always trying to one up the other, with their leader being first. Pyrrha however has had practice, enough to win three tournaments. Though I fear that because she hasn't fell in battle yet, she hasn't experienced the most needed emotion yet." He voiced out, while eyeing the field, as the two challengers were brought forward.

"Really now. And what is that emotion?" He asked intrigued by his words and judgement on the team and the champion.

"Loss." He replied before entering in deep thinking. "If one cannot lose, they cannot improve. You can win and continue to improve, but without losing you'll never truly improve the important parts. If you rely too much on your ability, then you cannot move forward. She has the physical ability, but not the mental ability to cope with such a shock." He thought to himself as the battle started.

He had already seen Pyrrha perform and it was indeed a cut above the rest. He reflexes were sharp, her accuracy higher than an eagles, her judgment in her actions was exemplary, her strength higher than average however she can circumvent it through technique. She has all the qualifications to become a huntress, however there is but one thing that makes her weak and that is her naive nature... how pure it was.

With extreme finesse and quick work, Pyrrha juggled between team's Cardin's members, often taking three or two at a time, with Cardin rarely joining the fray to add more power to their assault. While they fought to win, it almost looked like she was toying with them, opting to a more subdue manner to resolve the battle than to use plain violence like Cardin's way with using raw power as the answer.

Seeing the match, the hunter clenched his hands into fists. The match was one sided and it was towards the girl that prioritized submission than to kill. Such way of thinking would backlash her, will get her killed.

"This is merely a game to everyone..." He thought with a grunt as the match was drawing it's end, with a vicious slam on the floor with Cardin's back hitting like a cannonball, before the spartan brought him up again with a flip backwards and sending him away from her, he sprawled on the ground as Pyrrha took a relaxed stance.

"And that's the match." Glynda announced as she walked towards the middle of the room, with a few students impressed by such a display.

"Lucky shot..." Cardin spoke his last words as he tried to get up, before falling down from his injuries and exhausted aura.

"Well done miss Nikos, you should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." Her tone sounded proud for her student to do such a feat.

"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha politely thanked her teacher for the praise in her performance.

"Now I know that it's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" She asked towards the audience, but because of that last match they aren't so willingly inclined to ruin such a display. Not hearing an answer, she looked towards the one student that's trying to keep herself awake. "Miss Belladonna?" This made the cat Faunus "You've been rather docile for the past few classes, why don't you-"

"I'll go." With a hand raised, the hunter made his presence known, surprising even the teacher, as he's never been too inclined to willingly participate the sparring.

"Well this is truly a surprise! Never saw you so excited to partake on sparring, mister David. Give me a moment to choose your opponent." She said while flipping through her scroll to choose a good opponent.

"No need, I've already decided on who I shall fight." He announced before pointing towards the spartan. "You'll be my target." His tone sounded more threatening than anything, making the girl in armor blink in surprised.

"I'm sorry, but miss Nikos has already finished a match. I recommend you choose another partner." She replied to him, not liking how he voiced his partner.

"Come on teach, it'll be a blast if you let him go at it! Heck, I might even join the fun, get a feel on things." Mercury said with a smirk, his tone playfully.

"Two against one, doesn't seem very fair..." Jaune murmured as the odds of winning for Pyrrha have decreased even more.

"There is a reason why I chose you, Pyrrha." He casually said before retracting his hand. "You're weak." The audience went silent when he spoke those words, as if he was crazy for even bringing that up. However this caught the spartan by surprise and that made her interest in the thought of fighting the two of them even more.

"Professor, if it's alright, I want to fight them." She then turned her gaze towards the hunter, excitement seemed to swell on her chest. "I'd be more than happy to oblige."

Even though she seemed optimistic, the squint in David's eyes seemed more annoyed than anything. Most would think that he was having a bad day and they wouldn't be so wrong to assume so. However, through the time that he spent in the academy, he had this feeling that they were preparing them against the Grimm not against another human being. He studied them, observed them, listened to them and even interacted with them on a daily basis and only now he noticed the lacking of this place. His first class was on the right track, the others were simply mellowing the kids. Well, most of them at least.

"Yo David, I'm ready to go! What about you?" Mercury asked as he was now equipped with his gear, it wasn't much, just two rerebraces and two vambraces and a change of clothes.

"No weapon in hand? No... He must utilize his body like Yang." He thought before looking at the boys feet and immediately recognized the dust canisters attached to his feet. "Instead of using his fists he uses his legs. Interesting." He mused before taking his trademark Hunter's Pistol and a great sword that would make his point be viable.

"Woah! You're bringing that with you? Man, that's old fashioned." Mercury tried to jab at David's choice, however he didn't get the usual backtalk from Emerald, just a dry chuckle.

"Perhaps... but you should never judge a book by it's cover." That was a warning, a threat which the kicker took a moment to be quiet and take a closer look at the blade. It didn't look much, except for the unusually large guard and the detail for the sword.

"So, we ready?" He asked resuming his playful side.

"Yes, I am." He moved alongside him as they passed through the archway towards the arena where Pyrrha was warming up her muscles despite already finishing a match.

"Are both sides ready?" Glynda asked towards the fighters present.

"Yes!" Pyrrha responded with a calm tone, entering her fighting pose.

"I'm good." Mercury replied with a carefree attitude, before he also took one.

"If I may." David raised his hand while stabbing his blade on the ground for the moment. "I'd like to change the rules for a bit." This got the students to murmur lowly as to what ask 'what did he say'.

"A change of rules? Well this is unprecedented, what did you had in mind, mister David?" Glynda asked not liking already that he suggested a change in the rules she imposed.

"Nothing much, just a few things that have to be made very clear." He said before raising each finger to his conditions. "One, this will not be a two for one match. The match will only be decided when the aura has been extinguished. Two, it is permitted any way to win the match. And finally three... None may retire the match until the first condition is met."

"What!?" Jaune and a couple of students gasped at the insanity of those rules, to fight until the aura is exhausted. Eileen however was shocked the most, because the hunter had no aura whatsoever, which means he's implying a fight to the death.

"Mister David! I'm surprised that you'd suggest something so barbaric! The rules will not-"

"This is an establishment to learn, is it not?" He cut Glynda as she was about to speak. "Then you must let them learn that in a fight against another huntsman or huntress, these rules... are incredibly linear. Out there, there is no rules, there is only survival. Otherwise, when a real threat appears, their death is all but assured." His words were cold, yet his composure was eerily calm.

"Wow! And here I thought the rumors about you were a myth, you are one bad ass guy alright." Mercury said while having a sweat drop roll down his cheek. He just wanted to test things out, but now he was caught in this persons trap of hard teachings.

"That is why we have missions to make our students learn at a decent rate Hunter David, this jump in difficulty for a simple sparring match is uncalled for!" The professor was displeased of such argument.

"In a life and death situation, a person can become much stronger than they are now." He grabbed his blade and rested it on his shoulder. "Despise me how much you like, hate me if you must, but these rules will be carried on. For their own good." As he finished saying that, an intense wave of killing intent radiated from his body, making Mercury jump away in caution. The hunter showed a blank stare, no longer stood his tired one. It calm and incredibly eerie to look at.

"Oh man, that's a presence alright! And he's been keeping that under the rug?" Mercury asked towards the spartan that had her stance frozen. She was feeling for the first time this presence, this malicious air that choked her lungs and made her nerves tense.

"Is this... what he's trying to show me? How I'm weak?" Pyrrha thought to herself as the hunter gave a step forward, her body responded with two steps back. This feeling was all but new to her. This wasn't the same kindhearted David that she knew, this almost seemed like...

"What are you afraid of? Is the blood lust really affecting your sense of danger? We haven't started the hunt yet, Pyrrha." A dangerous red glint could be seen on the hunters eyes, almost of that of a beast yet his grip was solid. No honorifics as well, which can be a sign that he's serious this time.

Each step that he took, made her coil back even more with her shield up. Mercury took cautious steps to the side, trying to avoid a crossfire between the two of them. However, he was fairing better than the spartan, carefully pacing himself.

Then he rushed forward to try and get David as fast as possible, jumping high with his leg up and throwing it down like an axe. He thought that he had the perfect angle, but at the frame of a second, he saw the hunter looking at him which made his blood chill to the bone. Those menacing eyes... It was like staring at him like a piece of meat. When the blow impacted on the floor, he stood there right beside him with his blade still resting on his shoulder.

"That was dead on! Did he... Did he move or did I over jump it?" Mercury thought as he turned his head to be face to face with his target. He was at the heart of the beast, the best range to be hit and he just stared at him, with the utmost silence. No whisperers, no shuffling, no sound came from the very room, but the kicker was there and he could hear the deep breathing of the hunter. It was like time itself stopped flowing, before the hunter moved again, his steps echoing on the arena. Mercury didn't dare to move an inch, despite being in the same pose for roughly 15 seconds, thinking that if he moved he'd be targeted.

When he did move and his lungs finally gave way of him needing oxygen, making him gasp for it only a blade whistled in the air and him to quickly evade with agile back flips. He looked forward to see the sword carve a line on the floor, signaling where he stood. He fell on his right knee as he clutched his chest, his heart was beating like crazy, adrenaline and instincts kicking it.

"Mercury, you alright?" Emerald asked, now seeing concern on the boy as he looked paler than usual. He didn't respond back, but he shook his head. It only took one attack, one that missed, but the hunter is doing something much worse than physical pain. It's a psychological bombardment, where he pressures someone to the point that they feel weak.

"This guy... Is much more dangerous than he lets on! I can barely breathe here!" He said weakly as his sense of danger sent signals all around, a presence was right behind him and he tried to knee kick the imposing danger, only to attack air. "What..."

"You shouldn't blink." What followed was a blade that made contact to the boys torso and sent him sprawling on the ground, before he readjusted himself and slid next to the spartan.

"W-when did he get behind me!?" He screamed in his mind as he saw the blade glint before returning to the hunters shoulder to rest. Normally Mercury would just play around with people, have some fun, get to know their style and what ticks them off. This... This person isn't letting him have any of that. His presence alone is making himself skeptical on this battle altogether. Almost as if the hunter IS the one playing with him in a sadistic way.

"It was but a moment, but I saw it." Pyrrha spoke towards the kicker, grabbing his attention. "He used his medallion, the one that looks like a bone. Every time he uses it, he gets faster and you'll lose him out of your sight. That's how he got behind you." She said in a calm manner, yet her shield wiggled from side to side. "Be careful! I've never seen him so engaged in a sparring match before."

"You shouldn't be distracted." The heartless hunter spoke before consuming a blue canister and becoming invisible.

"Wha!" The students choked the word out in astonishment, was his speed not his semblance? It was deadly silence afterwards, just trying to listen for the footsteps of the adversary, yet none came out.

"W-where is he?" Mercury was starting to get affected by the unexplained events. He knew from Cinder that the hunter shouldn't be trifled with, but this is on a whole other level. As if they decided on a silent treaty, both Mercury and Pyrrha put their backs against each other and looked around. In some instances they seemed to find him, but a blink was enough for them to lose him.

They heard the noise of metal grinding on the floor and saw sparks fly before disappearing and reappearing in a different part of the stage, getting closer to them as if the presence was intentionally making himself clear where he's at.

"Okay, I'm officially freaked out. Anybody else feel their skin crawl?" The kicker asked as to calm himself and Pyrrha nodded to him as the sparks drew closer and closer, rapidly approaching before vanishing.

"Stay. Focused." The voice of the hunter immediately made them jump away from each other, hearing him just at their side. Only for Pyrrha to feel a sharp pain from her right side, propelling her towards Mercury and tacking him with the momentum that she received. When they looked at the still form of David, they saw the long blade stretch out like his arm. He stabbed her with full force. A quick look at the screen and she saw that her aura had decreased towards the yellow line with just that one attack, Mercury was in the middle of green, which was good but he wasn't expecting to be hit in the first place.

"Anymore tricks you got up your-" Mercury was going to speak before his body and Pyrrha's were pelleted with a flurry of knives, each hitting a vital point in their bodies.

"You talk too much." He coldly spoke as his stare was met with two grunting ones. "Are we done warming up?" He asked them as if he was barely tired at all.

"Warming... Warming up!?" Pyrrha spoke astonished, that was only him getting ready to fight, which means the real fight is about to begin. "I refuse to believe that what we've been doing so far is you warming up. You were testing us, weren't you?"

"Close, but honestly... What do you think?" His tone got darker, almost venomous that made her eyes widen. "One that holds a higher talent than others... means nothing in my eyes. You are but a kid Pyrrha, you know nothing what darkness and madness can this world hold. He on the other hand, seems to cope well with it. However, neither of you will get out with a simple aura depletion." That was enough for them to become even more cautious than before.

"The hunt... starts now." He calmly informed before dashing forward towards them, his being throwing his usual caution to the wind. Was it confidence on his skill or was it something much more sinister, no one knows.

Mercury was the first to rush ahead, attempting clash with the hunter using his higher agility, just as he lifted his foot to try an attack, the hunter had already stopped on his tracks and aimed his gun at the youthful, pressed the trigger and fired against him. In a split second decision, the kicker fired a round from his foot and propelled himself away from the aimed shot towards his head, grazing just ever so slightly on his cheek. When he was at a safe distance, he rubbed where the bullet passed and saw blood.

"Wind dust rounds... Clever guy made them to counter our aura barrier. He's serious, really serious." He gave a shaky smirk as his lip trembled. The last time he felt like this was when he was with his old man.

David opened his gun and put in another round while running. Using this chance to attack, Pyrrha ran forward, shield up and ready to take the blow. Once the flintlock pistol was ready, David kicked on the shield, using the moment that the spartan pushed him off to fire a blind shot at her feet, exploding in the process.

"Fire dust rounds too!?" Pyrrha exclaimed not expecting him to change ammunition so adamantly, as her shins were slightly charred from the blast. She saw as he elegantly recovered in the air and landed without a sound. "This feeling its... Exhilarating! I've never felt like this before! The challenge, the need to improve and think ahead! It is so exciting!"

"I'd figured you'd say that, however you shouldn't distract yourself." David warned as there was a beeping resonating in the arena, behind Pyrrha was a delayed molotov that she didn't noticed was thrown the moment he fired his shot at her feet. With a painful grunt, she maintained her position despite her back being slightly burned. "Don't get your emotions take control of you, or else that small explosion behind you will turn into a fire storm."

"Missed me, big guy!" Mercury yelled before spinning in the air trying to give a solid and powerful hit onto the exposed hunter.

"Hardly." He casually responded as he side stepped away to the side, avoiding the move completely. "Impressive footwork, however you'll need more than that to reach me." With the back of his sword, he hit Mercury in the gut before kneeing him on the shin and kicking him away like he was an insect. "I'll be taking a few lessons from your style if you don't mind."

"Ugh... Sure, go ahead. Mimicking is the highest form of respect after all!" He rushed forward at the same time as Pyrrha and both of them mixed their attacks against the hunter, while he simply dodged as if he could see their moves in slow motion.

"Is this really everything that you have?" He asked as the spartan's sword barely grazed him and the kicker tried to hit his mark. "Or is the poison taking root in your bodies already?"

"What!?" Pyrrha shouted before her sword was parried with his blade and Mercury was stopped mid kicking when a bullet hit his chest dead center. Spinning in place after the parry, David clenched his great sword and hit Mercury on his side and with a feat of strength, sent both students to the side.

"Damn that bastard has a strong arm. He knocked the air right out of me!" The kicker clutched his right side as he took another look at the screen, David only got grazed yet his score says that he still has almost a full green bar. Him and Pyrrha however were already on the orange line. "When the heck did you poisoned us even? There was no time for you to hit us!"

"...The knives..." Pyrrha realized as she looked to the side to see the flurry of knives that the both of them got hit. At the serrated edge, there was an unknown liquid dripping on the ground. "You planned that far? Is that the reason why you could see our moves, because we were slowed down!?"

"Talent isn't everything. Fighting isn't everything. Survival is. If an opponent is too fast for you, you slow him down. If he's too strong, you tire him out. If he's smart, then you have to outsmart him. I have no advantage like the both of you, but I can make do just fine and end you when I please. To consider you prey is by far a stretch to do so." He spoke as if in a snap of a finger, he would subdue them in that instant.

"So this is the strength of a hunter... But I still got a whole lot of stuff on me!" Mercury responded kicking up shot after shot of explosive white dust rounds, spinning around like he was dancing and making his rounds spin around like a cyclone. "Hey champ, a little help here!" He shouted as he aimed his shots directly at the hunter.

"With pleasure!" She replied before firing numerous rounds towards David, which moved from side to side, avoiding the cover fire.

"Take this, you creep!" He then yelled a grunt and smacked his foot down, converging all the rounds spinning towards the hunter.

"How interesting. Your way of manipulating your dust is truly impressive. But I have ways to avoid this foolish attempt of hurting me." He said before bending his knees looked down and waited for the right moment... Before unleashing an unsettling screech that sound like an animals rage surfacing from within him, making the convergence of the rounds split in different directions and hit all around the arena.

"No way... That's impossible!" Mercury exclaimed as his aura reserves dropped to red thanks to that last attack of his. Pyrrha was also trying to suppress her own disbelief, yet it was too much for her to do so.

"I believe you've showed everyone a good spectacle, Mercury." He started while holstering his gun to his hip and hovering his great sword in front of him. "However, you aren't the only one that can do such a feat, I may not have as much practice as you. But let me show you how I handle with my weapon." He raised his left hand over his blade and swiped at it slowly. "I'll show you... what my guiding moonlight can offer you..." An malachite glow came from the blade before what was once a great sword grew with an ethereal glow, it was both beautiful yet at the same time intimidating.

"Holy crud..." Was the thought of everyone. That wasn't something that Dust could do, not that they knew of.

"Be very attentive, the both of you. I will not warn you again for your mistakes." He coldly said before grabbing the blade with both of his hands and entering a stance, the blade as in response of it's master, gathered the power that it's user wants and with a flick in the air, released a condensed energy that cut the stage in it's wake, separating the two children from one another. They both looked back to the wall cut where the energy blade hit.

"This is too much..." Mercury softly spoken voice echoed through the classroom. He wasn't the only one with that train of thought. The hunter was showing his fangs at last, how he was much more than a kind person, he can also be a ruthless one as well.

With shaky steps, Pyrrha was the first one to get out of her stupor and challenged the hunter in a head to head combat. She thought that a blade that size would make him slow to hit her and her judgement was sound, however she was not dealing against someone like Cardin that valued power. She was dealing with someone that valued every aspect of a weapon and that included the way he would use it for the least amount of response.

The power behind his strikes, the fast reflexes he did with his feet to avoid her, the quick thinking of re-positioning his body every time she changed his trajectory thanks to the metal blade... It was far more challenging than she ever thought and that only grew her excitement, overshadowing her fear of getting hit by that blade.

Mercury jumped in after he was able to steel himself for one last bout against him, red bar or not, he was going to get a single good hit on him. And while the hunter was preoccupied with the exchange of attacks, his body finally started to receive the toll of taking on against too many attacks and the kicker was able to land a solid hit against his back, followed with Pyrrha's sword finally hitting something. However, she was expecting to hit his barrier, and in the spore of the moment forgot that he has no aura, making her stabbing motion through his left shoulder affect her more than she thought.

Standing still with a blade passing his shoulder, blood dripped down on the floor. Mercury blinked twice to see if what he was watching was right. His opponent was effectively skewered by the champion, this being that was a threat even to him didn't even erected a barrier up. He looked up on the board and saw that the bar only fell towards the very tip of the yellow line.

Pyrrha, never has wounded someone to the point of making them bleed, so seeing her sword, her companion from many fights masked with crimson red had made her stop function on the spot. Eyes widened, knees trembling and conscious heavy as the realization that she just hurt someone almost fatally.

"D-David I didn't- no, wanted- how-" She was silenced when he grabbed her sword with his left hand and kicked her away from him. He didn't grunt, he didn't even show any signs of pain, only annoyance.

"Tch. Just one very small problem with this sword, it takes too much out of me with every swing." He said before taking the blade etched on his shoulder and throwing it to the side dismissively. "What is wrong? Never saw blood before?" He asked indifferent towards the red head that was trying to say an apology, but failed every time.

Recovering from the confusion somewhat, Mercury rushed forward, trying to hit the hunter once more to confirm something. Only to see the glowing blade return to it's previous state and him getting his weapon once more and shooting him.

"Oh crap!" He yelled as he didn't reloaded his dust canisters and got hit in the moment. In a split of a second, he saw David towering over him with his hand outstretched, the sight of a beast staring at him with blood drenched eyes sipped into his mind as the blade came in contact with his stomach, making his aura take the full blunt of the stabbing motion as his body started to flicker from holding on. With little effort, the boy stuck at the tip of his blade was thrown to the side like a rag doll, and rolled on the ground until his momentum stopped on it's own.

"T-that hurt... that hurt a lot..." He said as he tried to get back up, but seeing the shadow over him made him think over things through. He then remembered the rules of the match and then turned around. "I forfeit." He casually said with a smirk, while trying to hide the pain in his stomach. Though, his words only made David angry and already positioned his sword for a stabbing motion, which he then released. "I said I forfeit!" He yelled this time, as he felt the blade etch itself on the ground next to him.

"I detest liars the most." David responded with venom on his words before taking his blade back and made his way towards the champion that got her blade back, however she was trembling on her spot, her sword not even pointing towards him. "What are you so afraid of?"

"I-I hurt you... I-!" She was immediately kicked back as she tried to apologize.

"Do you think you can apologize to a murderer as well out there in the world? You naive young girl." He stated as he casually walked towards her. "If this is the first time you drew blood from someone else, then you better start accepting the fact that your hands will become dirty. A hunters job isn't flying colors and so is the same as a huntsman. You fight for your peace, but it comes with a cost. Blood will be spilled whenever you like it or not."

"B-but I don't want to kill! I don't want to hurt anyone like-!" She was kicked once more, making her roll to the side.

"How cruel..." One student said as the hunter was showing no mercy towards the champion, which was supposed to be just a sparring match.

"In a life or death situation, you have to decide to whether you want to live or die against someone that wants to take your life. In Yharnam, you had to accept the insane mentality of kill or be killed. This world is no different. Bandits that want to pillage for their own gain, their own survival and for the thrill that it gives. Terrorist groups that want something more than what they have already. All of them want to take your life and you'd rather be killed than to kill a murderer for your own survival? How foolish, how naive, how utterly disgraceful!" He roared as he stabbed his blade on the floor and from underneath his coat, he brought his beast claw onto his hand and raised it in the air.

"If you wish to lose your life so much, then so be it!" He then swiped his arm forward, before noticing that her hand glowed dark, he looked to the side to see her shield float on the air towards him, looking down she already motioned her blade to stab him in desperation. With quick thinking, he twisted his body to avoid the blade while changing the trajectory of the shield and using the momentum, he made his claw crash down into a cloud of dust.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled in horror as the cloud started to settle to see her fine, her head was in between the claw space with a visible surprised expression on her.

"For that one moment, you thought of survival. That is the first step for you to live in this cruel world. Now sleep, Pyrrha, you've earned that right." David spoke as she let her head fall down on the floor and pass out.

That class had been the most breathtaking and cruel one yet thanks to the final act between the three students. The scores said it all, how David had only reached a yellow bar and both other students aura were completely depleted. The champion lost, the assassin had been shaken with fear against the hunter and David had shown a side in which nobody knew, of how ruthless he can actually be if he wanted to in a battle.