Chương 145: Chapter 138: The Familiar Face from Home

Minutes before the chaotic devastation of the afternoon unfolded... High above the frozen, unforgiving tundra of Solitas, the perimeter of the floating island of Atlas was a marvel of military engineering. The towering, pristine titanium defensive walls were reinforced by a continuous, crackling hexagonal grid of hard-light energy shields. Guard posts were stationed at regular intervals, outfitted with heavy laser artillery and manned by the Kingdom's finest soldiers.

At Sector 4 of the outer perimeter, two Atlesian soldier guards stood side-by-side on the metal walkway. Their standard-issue white armor blending in with the snow drifting through the air. They were staring out at the endless, frozen horizon together.

"Hey," Guard 1 said, his breath pluming in the freezing air.

"Yeah?" Guard 2 replied, leaning casually against the railing.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" Guard 2 sighed thoughtfully, looking up at the bruised sky.

"It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night." Both soldiers stared at each other in complete, baffled silence.

"... What?!" Guard 1 stammered incredulously.

"I mean why are we out here, on this wall?"

"Oh," Guard 2 blinked behind his visor.

"Uh... yeah."

"What was all that stuff about God?"

"Uh... hm? Nothing."

"You wanna talk about it?" Guard 1 asked carefully.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Guard 1 shook his head, gesturing wildly to the empty frozen wastes.

"Seriously though, why are we out here, Grif? We're supposed to be stationed in the Omega-9 docking bay! This is completely outside of our job desk!"

"Well, I heard that the guys who usually take this post were on sick leave," Guard 2 shrugged lazily.

"So... Sarge transferred us here."

"He should've told us yesterday instead of this morning so we could bring extra warming supplies!" Guard 1 complained bitterly, shivering.

"It's freezing out here!"

"Oh, come on, Simmons. It's not that bad," Guard 2 reasoned.

"We get to look at this beautiful arctic scenery! How about we take some pictures and send them to Donut?"

"Man... I don't understand you, at all..." Guard 1 groaned. Suddenly, Guard 2 paused. He leaned forward over the railing, squinting at a strange, dark smudge on the distant horizon. It looked like a massive, swirling flock.

"Wow, what a beautiful flock of birds," Guard 2 commented.

"Look at them migrating."

"Nothing special," Guard 1 sighed, not even bothering to look. Guard 2 lifted his advanced military binoculars to his visor, zooming in on the approaching flock. His jaw slowly dropped.

"Wait a minute..." Guard 2 muttered, his voice trembling.

"Those aren't birds..."

"What?"

"Those are... Flying gorillas?!"

"The hell? Are you high?!" Guard 1 snapped. He grabbed his own binoculars, bringing them up to his visor.

"There's no such thing as flying goril... la..." The guard froze. His blood ran instantly cold.

"HOLY CRAP! THOSE ARE FLYING GORILLAS!" Guard 1 screamed.

"I know, right?!" Guard 2 yelled back.

"THOSE ARE GRIMMS, IDIOT!" Guard 1 slapped his partner's shoulder in absolute panic. Taking another look through the magnified lenses, Guard 2 finally processed the terrifying, unnatural bone plating and the glowing red eyes.

"WHOA! YOU'RE RIGHT! THEY'RE COMING HERE!"

"THE ALARMS! QUICK!" The two guards desperately slammed their fists onto the emergency terminal. The blaring, high-pitched shriek of the city's perimeter alarm instantly echoed across the floating island.

A massive, apocalyptic swarm of Beringels, horrifyingly grafted with the massive, feathered wings of Nevermores, was hurtling through the sky directly toward the Atlesian shield. Trailing right behind the winged apes were hundreds of standard Nevermores, Griffons, Sphinxes, Manticores, and Teryxes. All along the perimeter, Atlas Military guards rushed to their battle stations, raising their advanced rifles and powering up the heavy artillery.

They needed to thin the horde as much as possible before the mass crashed into the city's energy shields.

"FIRE!" a commanding officer roared. The defensive laser cannons erupted. Thousands of high-caliber rounds and searing beams of red energy tore into the approaching swarm. Several winged Beringels shrieked, their bodies shredded by the anti-air fire as they plummeted into the snowy abyss below. But it wasn't nearly enough. The sheer volume of the horde eventually reached the perimeter.

"THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM!" a soldier screamed over the gunfire.

"FALL BACK TO THE INTERIOR! KEEP SHOOTING!" As the soldiers retreated to the inner walkways, the leading wave of winged Beringels collided with the crackling, hexagonal hard-light energy shields. BZZZZZT! The energy grid flared violently. Every single Beringel that crashed into the wall was instantly and brutally electrocuted by the high-voltage defense, their massive bodies spasming before completely disintegrating into black ash. But then, the next wave hit. And the next.

The soldiers stopped shooting for a fraction of a second, completely confused by the suicidal behavior. Each winged Beringel was aggressively, intentionally hurling itself directly into the lethal energy shield, vaporizing upon impact. They were doing it over and over again, completely ignoring the gunfire.

"Are they... killing themselves?" A soldier gasped. After the Beringels, the Nevermores joined the suicide run. Then the Griffons. Then the Sphinxes. Then the Manticores and Teryxes. At first, the shield held, vaporizing everything that touched it. However, the horde was endless. They kept coming, crashing into the defensive energy non-stop, their bodies creating violent, localized surges of static feedback that began to strain the generators.

The soldiers' confusion quickly morphed into sheer, unadulterated terror. Grimm were mindless beasts of destruction, but this behavior was horrifyingly calculated. It was as if they were being explicitly commanded by someone, or controlled by something, to force themselves through the grid through sheer attrition.

"THE SHIELDS ARE OVERHEATING!" an engineer yelled from a terminal. The swarms weren't just focusing on one spot. They were executing their suicide impacts at multiple, concentrated points across the entire perimeter wall. They were forcing themselves inward. The Kingdom's defensive walls groaned under the impossible pressure. The hard-light hexagons began to flicker, turning from a solid blue to a warning red. CRACK! A section of the energy shield shattered like glass.

A massive winged Beringel roared, breaching through the opening, followed immediately by another, and then another.

"THEY'RE ENTERING!" The panicked soldiers now had to fight a terrifying two-front war. They fired desperately at the swarm outside that continued to widen the breach, while simultaneously turning their rifles inward to fend off the winged Beringels and Teryxes that were already inside the perimeter. Several guards were violently tackled over the railings by the apes. The remaining Grimm ignored the soldiers entirely, banking their wings and flying straight toward the gleaming metropolitan center of Atlas.

Miles away from the perimeter chaos, the exterior courtyard of Atlas Academy was peaceful. Numbers of Atlas students were walking between classes, chatting casually in the afternoon sun. Dr. Pietro Polendina and Maria Calavera stepped off a sleek military Bullhead, making their way across the courtyard. A moment later, Penny Polendina descended from the sky, her thrusters humming softly as she landed gracefully beside them.

"The installation of the temporal stabilizers in Mantle went flawlessly," Pietro smiled warmly, adjusting his glasses.

"I intend to report our success to General Ironwood immediately. Knowing the situation in the lower city has stabilized will certainly put his mind at ease."

"It's about time something went right," Maria grunted, tapping her cane against the pavement. Suddenly... The deafening, wailing siren of the city-wide emergency alarm suddenly cut through the air. Pietro, Maria, and Penny froze. The Atlas students in the background stopped in their tracks, murmuring in sudden panic. The three turned their heads, looking toward the far edges of the floating city. Their eyes widened in absolute shock.

A massive, dark cloud of flying Grimm was rapidly approaching the metropolitan skyline.

"Good heavens..." Pietro breathed in horror.

In the commercial outskirts of Atlas, the sudden blare of the sirens triggered absolute pandemonium.

"Attention citizens," the automated public address system boomed over the speakers.

"Hostile entities detected. Evacuate immediately to the designated safe zones near the military bases. Do not remain in the open." People screamed, dropping their shopping bags and sprinting frantically down the sidewalks. Hover-cars swerved wildly as drivers panicked. Amidst the screaming, terrified crowds, Saitama and Neopolitan were walking down the street at a perfectly casual, leisurely pace.

Saitama, disguised in his black suit, white coat, and bowler hat, was entirely unfazed by the apocalyptic panic happening around him. He was currently glaring down at a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

"Are you kidding me?" Saitama complained, completely ignoring a screaming businessman who sprinted past him.

"I specifically walked all the way out to the outskirts because the cafe in the central district was closed. Now this one is locking its doors too?!" Neo, walking beside him in her warm black trench coat with Hush resting over her shoulder, let out a silent, exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. The primary reason she was so remarkably calm was simply because she was standing next to the invincible anomaly.

"This is ridiculous," Saitama grumbled, crossing his arms. The two of them just continued walking, casually strolling through the fleeing crowds.

Back at the Atlas Academy exterior, Pietro, Maria, and Penny stared at the encroaching dark cloud.

"How did they possibly breach the defensive walls?!" Pietro panicked, gripping the armrests of his mobility chair.

"And they're heading straight for the outskirts!" Penny's green eyes narrowed with fierce, unyielding resolve. Her Floating Array swords detached from her back, hovering in a defensive ring around her.

"I must intercept them," Penny declared.

"I will defend the outskirts so they cannot advance further into the city." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Be careful, Penny!" Pietro called out, his voice thick with paternal worry. Penny looked back over her shoulder, offering her father a bright, assuring smile.

"Don't worry! I am combat ready!" With a burst of green energy, Penny launched herself into the sky like a rocket, flying directly toward the Grimm horde. Seconds later, the heavy academy doors burst open. Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Oscar Pine, and Qrow Branwen sprinted out into the courtyard, their weapons drawn. The ten Huntsmen rushed over to meet Pietro and Maria.

"Pietro! Maria!" Ruby called out.

"Are you guys okay?!"

"We are fine," Pietro answered quickly.

"But the city is not!"

"General Ironwood just received an emergency transmission from the Ace-Ops," Qrow reported grimly, gripping Harbinger.

"The defensive grid has been forcibly breached."

"We saw," Maria pointed her cane toward the sky.

"Penny just flew off to intercept them at the outskirts." The Huntsmen and Huntresses looked up. The sky across the city was darkening with the sheer mass of the descending monsters. They were absolutely horrified. Just minutes ago in Ironwood's office, the whole Ozpin's group had been crushed by the soul-destroying revelation of Salem's immortality. And the students had just convinced the adults to tell Saitama the entire truth. And now, Salem's forces had reached their doorstep. The heavy doors hissed open again.

Team FNKI and Ciel Soleil sprinted out of the academy, joining the others.

"By the Gods," Ciel gasped, her analytical mind completely short-circuiting as she looked at the sky.

"The structural integrity of the outer perimeter is designed to withstand a Class-9 siege! How did they break through?!"

"According to the Ace-Ops report, the swarm includes Beringels..." Oscar explained, his voice tense.

"With wings."

"Winged Beringels?!" Flynt Coal exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"The Ace-Ops are already deployed to the sector," Weiss informed the Atlas students.

"General Ironwood tasked us to provide immediate backup."

"We're in," Neon Katt nodded, spinning her nunchaku. Despite the crushing, hopeless truth about Salem that weighed heavily on their hearts, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Oscar, and Qrow were still Huntsmen. They were determined to fight. They had to prevent the modified Grimm from tearing the city apart.

"Let's move!" Ruby commanded. The combined forces of the Vale and Atlas students, along with Oscar and Qrow, dashed toward the landing pads to board the transport ships.

In the skies above the Atlas outskirts, a fierce, desperate dogfight had erupted. Several sleek Manta battle airships wove through the clouds, engaging the flock of winged Beringels, Griffons, Sphinxes, Manticores, and Teryxes.

"Air control to all units, be advised!" the dispatcher's voice crackled over the radio network.

"Unusual behavior of swarm with new unidentified flying-class Grimm has been reported. They have managed to breach through the defensive walls by force!"

"This is Manta 8-1. Targets spotted, over!" a pilot responded, banking hard to avoid a swipe from a Griffon.

"This is Manta 9-3. Identifying the target," another pilot gasped.

"By the gods, are those... Beringels? The Beringels have wings! Over!"

"This is Manta 7-4. We're ready to engage, over!"

"All units, do not let them enter the metropolitan area!" Air control ordered frantically.

"Fire at will!"

"Roger!" The sky lit up with tracer fire and explosive Dust rounds as the Mantas clashed with the monsters.

Down on the streets, the last remnants of the panicked civilians were still running for cover. Among them, Saitama and Neo continued their leisurely stroll. Saitama was holding a glossy flyer featuring a picture of a decadent chocolate parfait, deeply annoyed.

"Huh?" Saitama muttered, looking up at the sky where the dogfight was raging. A massive winged ape swooped past a building. Saitama blinked comically.

"Since when can gorillas fly?" Neo shrugged, tapping her parasol against the pavement. She was equally confused by the biological impossibility, but she didn't particularly care.

"I specifically saved this discount coupon," Saitama complained, waving the flyer.

"It expires today!" Suddenly, a terrified man sprinting past them blindly bumped hard into Saitama's shoulder. The impact knocked the flyer out of Saitama's hand, sending it fluttering down the street.

"Hey, watch it!" Saitama grumbled. He immediately walked away from Neo, chasing after the drifting piece of paper with his usual flat expression. Neo stood alone on the sidewalk, watching him chase the flyer. She didn't notice the massive shadow passing over her. A Griffon, having broken through the aerial dogfight, tucked its wings and silently dive-bombed directly toward the lone girl from behind. At the very last second, Neo sensed the shift in air pressure.

She spun around, her heterochromic eyes widening in shock as the Griffon's massive, razor-sharp beak opened wide, mere inches from her face. BAM! The Griffon instantly, spectacularly exploded into a geyser of black mist and gore. Saitama stood right in front of Neo, his red-gloved fist fully extended. He had moved with a speed that completely broke the laws of physics, effortlessly obliterating the beast. Saitama lowered his fist, looking at her with his usual, entirely unbothered flat face.

"You alright?" Neo's shock melted instantly into a warm, deeply affectionate smile. She nodded happily. She had her invincible protector. THUD. THUD. THUD. Several massive, winged Beringels landed heavily onto the asphalt surrounding them, cracking the street. Their glowing red eyes locked onto Saitama and Neo, recognizing them as prey. Saitama looked around at the towering, feathered apes. His dotted eyes narrowed in mild, comedic recognition.

"You know," Saitama mused casually.

"These guys somehow remind me of a gorilla I met back home." The Beringels roared, preparing to charge.

"STAY!" The word echoed with absolute magical authority. A wave of temporal energy washed over the street, freezing the winged Beringels completely in their tracks. The Ace Operatives: Clover Ebi, Marrow Amin, Vine Zeki, Elm Ederne, and Harriet Bree, charged out from a side street. Moving with flawless, lethal coordination, they shattered the frozen Beringels into dust within seconds. Clover lowered his weapon, spotting the anomaly.

"Saitama? What are you doing out here in the open?" Harriet asked, jogging over.

"We were looking for another cafe because the one at the central district is closed," Saitama complained, pointing down the street.

"But now the cafe out here is closed too. It's incredibly annoying."

"Why aren't you with an escort?" Marrow asked, his tail swishing nervously.

"We were with an escort earlier, but we got separated," Saitama shrugged.

"He must've already run away." SCREEECH! More winged Beringels slammed into the surrounding rooftops, while dozens of Sphinxes and Teryxes swooped down to attack the streets. Saitama, Neo, and the Ace-Ops looked up. Below the raging Manta dogfight, a streak of bright green energy descended rapidly. Penny Polendina arrived, hovering mid-air. Her Floating Array swords spun around her, firing a relentless, pinpoint barrage of lasers that shot down the winged Grimm with mathematical precision.

"Thank the gods Penny is here," Vine breathed a sigh of relief. Clover turned to the hero.

"Saitama, you and your companion need to stay low. If you start fighting out in the open, your identity will be compromised to the public. Let us handle this."

"Are you sure?" Saitama asked flatly. Clover smirked, spinning his weapon confidently.

"We've been getting a lot faster since our training sessions with you. I've also reported our position to the General. More backup is already on the way."

"Alright, have fun," Saitama sighed comically. The Ace-Ops sprinted forward, engaging the fresh wave of grounded Beringels. Saitama looked down at Neo, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"This is so boring. This is exactly like that time those black animals invaded the upper city in Mistral." Swiftly, the five Ace Operatives destroyed numbers of winged Beringels with their weapons and Semblances. High above, Penny swooped down, her lasers cutting a Sphinx in half before she crossed paths with Harriet.

"Salutations, operatives!" Penny called out cheerfully.

"Thanks for the assist, Penny!" Elm yelled, smashing a Beringel with her hammer.

"Leave the airspace to me!" Penny commanded, rocketing back up to intercept a Manticore.

"We'll hold the streets!" Clover agreed.

Not long after, two Manta dropships roared overhead, hovering just above the street level. The heavy hatch doors hissed open. Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team FNKI, Ciel Soleil, Oscar Pine, and Qrow Branwen leapt from the ships, landing gracefully onto the asphalt. They immediately noticed the terrified civilians hiding in the alleys, and then they looked to the sky. They saw the Griffons, the Manticores, the Sphinxes, and the Teryxes.

But as their eyes locked onto the massive apes with Nevermore wings, a chill ran down their spines.

"Those are truly Beringels..." Weiss gasped, her rapier trembling slightly.

"Salem must have explicitly modified them in the dark pools," Oscar realized, a horrific dread settling in his stomach.

"But why the sudden invasion?" Blake asked, her amber eyes scanning the chaos.

"This is just like the attack in Upper Mistral. Why now?"

"She's tired of hiding," Jaune reasoned grimly.

"She knows we're here." Qrow Branwen took a step back, dragging a heavy hand down his face. The sheer, apocalyptic despair from General Ironwood's office crashed back over him. He looked at the endless swarm of modified monsters.

"What's even the point?" Qrow muttered, his voice cracking with hopelessness.

"We're fighting an unkillable god. Is any of this even worth it?" Ruby instantly stepped directly in front of her uncle.

"We must keep moving, Uncle Qrow," Ruby declared, her silver eyes burning with absolute, unyielding determination.

"Remember what Saitama taught us! We don't stop pushing our limits just because the wall is high! He has been with us this entire time, and we agreed we are going to tell him everything when this is over!" Qrow looked down at his niece. He saw the radiant, unbreakable hope in her eyes. The exact same hope that had allowed them to survive Haven and Argus. Qrow sighed, his grip tightening on Harbinger. A faint, rugged smirk returned to his face.

"Alright, kid. Let's give it a shot."

"Don't let them advance any further!" Ruby commanded the group, spinning Crescent Rose.

"We protect this city!" Oscar, Weiss, Yang, Blake, Ciel, Team JNPR, and Team FNKI all smiled, nodding fiercely.

"Everyone, let's go!" Jaune roared. The teenagers and the veteran Huntsman scattered, dashing at supersonic speeds directly toward the grounded winged Beringels and descending flyers. The battle that erupted was nothing short of an epic, high-octane symphony of destruction. Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Qrow fought with a casual, terrifying efficiency. Having endured Saitama's reality-breaking speed and durability training for months, their martial prowess had evolved far beyond the limits of standard Huntsmen.

Ruby was a crimson blur, her scythe effortlessly decapitating three winged Beringels before they could even raise their arms. Weiss danced across the battlefield, summoning massive ice glyphs that impaled descending Manticores out of the sky. Blake and Yang fought in perfect tandem. Blake used her shadow clones to blindside the heavy apes, while Yang shattered their bone-plated skulls with singular, explosive kinetic punches that sent shockwaves echoing down the street.

Jaune Arc stood like an impenetrable fortress, utilizing his vastly enhanced physical strength to intercept a charging Beringel, stopping the massive beast completely with a brutal shield bash before Pyrrha Nikos vaulted off his shoulders, hurling Miló with magnetic precision right through the beast's chest. Ren glided through the chaos, firing rapid, pinpoint bursts from StormFlower, while Nora laughed maniacally, riding a Teryx into the ground before crushing it with an electrified swing of Magnhild.

Qrow carved through the horde like a grim reaper, Harbinger moving in wide, lethal arcs that severed Grimm wings and limbs with effortless ease. Meanwhile, Oscar, Ciel, and Team FNKI were experiencing a profound, exhilarating revelation. Having just endured days of speed evaluation against Saitama in the Atlas training room, their kinetic perception had fundamentally shifted. As they engaged the massive Grimm, they realized something incredible: the monsters seemed incredibly slow.

"They're barely moving!" Flynt laughed, unleashing a massive sonic wave from his trumpet that blasted a row of Beringels off their feet.

"Too easy!" Neon cheered, skating circles around a confused Sphinx, striking its joints with a blinding flurry of nunchaku strikes until it collapsed. Kobalt and Ivori moved in to finish it, Kobalt suppressing it with heavy hard-light blasts while Ivori's whip snapped its neck. Oscar Pine ducked under a wild swing from a Beringel with a millimeter to spare. Moving with a speed he didn't know he possessed, he spun The Long Memory, cracking the Grimm across the jaw with enough force to shatter its bone plating.

Ciel Soleil adjusted her beret, moving with flawless, metronomic precision.

"Target velocity is entirely insufficient," she noted calmly, firing a perfect sequence of high-impact Dust rounds that dropped two incoming Griffons from the sky.

After over ten minutes of relentless, highly coordinated slaughter, the streets were completely clear of the black ash. Qrow, Oscar, Ciel, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Team FNKI regrouped in the center of the avenue, breathing lightly. The Ace-Ops jogged over to meet them.

"Thanks for the backup," Clover nodded approvingly.

"You kids fight like seasoned pros." In the sky above, the Atlesian Manta airships, heavily supported by Penny's laser barrages, were successfully mopping up the remaining aerial Grimm.

"The behavior of this swarm makes no sense," Vine observed, crossing his arms.

"It's completely impossible that they're being attracted by the Relic," Pyrrha whispered to her friends.

"The Lamp is safely hidden inside Saitama's closet in the penthouse."

"They must be actively controlled, or explicitly commanded to attack this sector," Ren deduced.

"Yo." The entire group turned around. Saitama and Neopolitan were walking casually down the street, stepping over the piles of fading ash to approach the Huntsmen.

"Saitama? Neo?" Nora blinked in surprise.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm looking for another cafe," Saitama explained lazily.

"I already told you guys we were heading out again because the first one was closed." Before anyone could respond, Clover's earpiece crackled violently with static.

"Report," the Ace-Op answered. The voice of a panicked perimeter soldier screamed through the radio, loud enough for the Huntsmen to hear.

"Sir! The entire secondary swarm has arrived! They've completely overwhelmed the energy grid! They've breached the walls! The whole horde is inside!" Clover's eyes widened in sheer horror. Suddenly, a terrifying, deafening chorus of unearthly screeches echoed from the horizon. The Ace-Ops, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team FNKI, Oscar, Ciel, Qrow, Neo, and Saitama, looked up toward the distant perimeter walls. A massive, apocalyptic black cloud was blotting out the sun.

Tens of thousands of winged Beringels, Nevermores, Griffons, Sphinxes, Manticores, and Teryxes were pouring over the walls, heading directly toward the outskirts and the helpless city. Everyone's blood ran cold. The sheer scale of the invasion was entirely insurmountable. Everyone except Saitama, who simply continued to look mildly annoyed about his expired coupon.

"What do we do?!" Marrow panicked, gripping his weapons.

"There's too many of them!" Ivori yelled. Oscar, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR frantically looked at Saitama, and then at Neo.

"Wait! Saitama can obliterate the entire swarm right now!" Yang realized desperately.

"Neo just has to mask his action with her illusion Semblance, exactly like she did with the giant super robot in Mistral and the silver titan in Argus!"

"But we can't!" Blake argued frantically.

"We can't just throw up a random illusion! Salem's agents are hiding in this city! We need to create an illusion that makes logical sense, otherwise they'll realize it's a cover-up!"

"And we can't use the giant super robot again!" Weiss added in a panic.

"The other Kingdoms firmly believe the robot is a classified Atlesian weapon! If we manifest it over Atlas, it will completely compromise the geopolitical cover-up General Ironwood established!" As the students and the operatives frantically brainstormed in sheer panic... The sky above them began to glow with an intense, blinding orange heat. A loud, booming, intensely mechanical voice echoed from the heavens.

"INCINERATE!" Everyone whipped their heads upward. Hovering high in the sky directly in the path of the apocalyptic swarm was a lone figure. From the palms of the figure's outstretched hands, two absolutely massive, cataclysmic beams of searing, golden-orange laser energy erupted. The heat was instantaneous and blinding. The sheer, devastating power of the blast completely eclipsed any Dust weaponry or Atlesian artillery ever witnessed.

The massive laser beams swept across the sky, effortlessly melting through the front lines of the Grimm horde. Winged Beringels, Nevermores, Griffons, and Sphinxes were instantly, flawlessly vaporized into nothingness, their ashes evaporating before they could even hit the ground. Everyone on the street, aside from Saitama, stared up at the sky in a mixture of profound awe and absolute, paralyzing confusion.

"Is that... Penny?" Pyrrha asked, shielding her eyes from the blinding light. Thud.

"Salutations, everyone!" The entire group jumped. Penny Polendina had just landed gracefully onto the asphalt right next to them, her swords returning to her back. Everyone's jaws hit the ground.

"Wait, if you're here..." Ruby stammered. Penny tilted her head, looking up at the figure in the sky who was currently maintaining the apocalyptic laser barrage against the swarm.

"Who is that?" Penny asked, her mechanical mind utterly fascinated. Everyone turned their gazes back to the sky.

"That firepower..." Weiss breathed, entirely captivated.

"I have never seen Atlas possess that kind of devastating energy before. It's impossible." The figure in the sky swept his arms in a wide, punishing arc. The super-massive lasers effortlessly obliterated the remainder of the dark cloud. Within ten seconds, the entire, apocalyptic swarm of thousands of Grimm had been completely and entirely reduced to a few fading embers. The sky was completely clear. The figure in the sky ceased firing.

Smoke plumed from his metallic arms as he slowly turned his head, looking down at the group of Huntsmen gathered on the street below. The figure fired his thrusters, descending rapidly from the sky. He landed heavily onto the asphalt in a deep, heroic crouch, his back turned to the group. The impact cratered the pavement, kicking up a dramatic cloud of dust. Slowly, the figure stood up. He turned around, fully revealing his appearance to the Huntsmen. He was a young man with sharp, spiky blonde hair.

He was wearing a casual, sleeveless hooded jacket and dark jeans. But his arms were entirely, unapologetically mechanical. The sleek, black metal of his cybernetic limbs was interlaced with intricate, futuristic designs, glowing with bright orange lines of internal heat. His face was entirely organic, handsome and serious. But his eyes were strikingly distinctive, piercing, glowing yellow irises set against pitch-black sclera. He was a cyborg. An incredibly advanced, devastatingly powerful cyborg.

The cyborg stood tall, his expression locked in a deadly, calculating scowl. The Ace-Ops, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team FNKI, Oscar, Ciel, Qrow, and Neo stared at the newcomer. They were entirely frozen in a complex mixture of absolute awe, lingering fear, and profound confusion. None of them had ever seen technology like this before. The cyborg's glowing yellow eyes scanned the crowd of heavily armed warriors. Then, his gaze locked onto a certain, entirely unremarkable man wearing a bowler hat.

Saitama stood differently than the rest of the panicked group. He wasn't afraid. His dotted eyes simply widened to maximum, comical proportions. While the adults and the students were utterly baffled by the futuristic savior, Saitama knew exactly who this cyborg was. He knew that man.

"Whoa!" Saitama blurted out simply, his jaw dropping. The cyborg's deadly, serious scowl instantly vanished. As he processed the flat, mundane face beneath the bowler hat, his black and yellow eyes widened in pure, unadulterated, earth-shattering shock. The cyborg took a trembling step forward, shouting in a voice thick with a mixture of profound confusion and overwhelming, desperate longing.

"SENSEI?!"