RECAP:
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Vengeance

Visas Marr: The extent of his power cannot be put into words… and his perceptions have grown as well. To him…
Tobin: You are dust motes in a storm… a grain upon a beach… and as insignificant as a body that orbits the graveyard of Malachor.

Enraged by his failure to capture the Fall Maiden from Cinder, Darth Nihilus drains the Wyvern of its essence before flying back towards Beacon Academy.

Pyrrha, Ozpin, and Ruby return to the courtyard of Beacon Tower where they meet up with Ironwood and Penny. Ironwood delivers the news of Qrow's death to Ruby, leaving her emotionally devastated. Determining that Nihilus is tracking the Maidens, Ozpin plans to set up an ambush for the Sith by using Pyrrha as bait with the help of Glynda, Ironwood, Penny, and Ruby. As the remaining students evacuate from the school, Pyrrha has one last conversation with Ren before seeing him off.

Having used her Glyph to survive the airship's explosion, a battered Weiss and Blake wander through the abandoned hallways of Beacon Academy in search of their missing friends and a way to escape the Grimm-infested school. Making their way to a burning cafeteria, the duo are attacked by Adam Taurus. Neither of the Huntresses are able to put up much of a fight and Adam cuts out Weiss' eyes before stabbing Blake through the stomach.

Meanwhile, Yang rushes out of her dorm in search of her friends. Outside the dorms, she encounters Winter and convinces the latter to let her help find her missing teammates. Drawn by the sound of Weiss screaming, they enter the cafeteria just as Adam has concluded his fight with Weiss and Blake. Although a furious Yang is determined to avenge her teammates, she is held back by Winter, who warns her that she is no match for Adam and instead orders her to move Weiss and Blake to safety while she holds off Adam.

Despite both fighters giving it their all, Winter and Adam finds themselves evenly matched and the duel comes to a standstill before it is interrupted by the arrival of Darth Nihilus. While Winter flees the cafeteria, Adam slashes Nihilus with his sword, but finds that his attack has no effect on the Sith Lord. Nihilus proceeds to drain Adam of his life before continuing on to Beacon Tower.

Tropes in this chapter include:

Always a Bigger Fish:
- The Wyvern, a Grimm of near-mythological status capable of taking down entire airships singlehandedly, is completely overpowered by a hungry Nihilus, who drains the Grimm of its essence once it draws his attention.
- Adam easily picks off the weakened Blake and Weiss, and fights Winter to a standstill. However, even he's no match for Nihilus, who's supercharged with the Dark Side energy he absorbed from the Wyvern.
Big "NO!": Blake's reaction to seeing Adam slash out Weiss' eyes.
Blade Lock:
- When Yang tries moving an injured Weiss to safety, Adam lashes out at her with his katana, only for his attack to be parried by Winter, who proceeds to lock blades with him.
- Near the end of their duel, Winter and Adam lock their blades a second time. This time, Adam breaks the lock by head-butting Winter in the face before unleashing a full magazine from Blush into her body.
Broken Tears: When Ruby learns of her uncle's death from Ironwood, she falls to her knees before breaking down into tears.
Call-Back:
- In the author's notes for the chapter "Fear", they mention how Nihilus is capable of using a similar Force healing technique that Sion had. Here, Nihilus is shown using Dark Healing to recover from the injuries he sustained while fighting Cinder in the previous chapter.
- Believing that Ruby's Silver Eyes could be useful against Nihilus, Ozpin asks her if she remembers how he commented on her silver eyes back when they first met. When Ruby nods her head, Ozpin explains to her how her Silver Eyes have the power to destroy the Grimm.
Cassandra Truth: When Adam attacks Blake and Weiss, Blake tries to tell him that he's just an Unwitting Pawn to Cinder and warn him about Nihilus, only for him to brush her off.
Central Theme: Revenge. Adam is driven by his desire for vengeance against the Schnee family and Blake. Winter swears revenge on Adam after he permanently blinds her sister. Lastly, Ruby herself desires revenge on Nihilus after learning that he's responsible for the death of her uncle.
Cool Versus Awesome: Darth Nihilus (the ghost of an evil space wizard possessing Jaune's body) vs. Adam Taurus (a master Iaijutsu Practitioner with a Cool Sword).
Curb-Stomp Battle: Already a superior fighter, Adam makes short work of Blake and Weiss, who are unable to put up much of a fight due to being weakened from their earlier battle with Nihilus.
Curb Stomp Cushion: While fighting Nihilus, Adam moves faster than he can react and slashes him across the chest with his katana while being fully charged by his Semblance. Even though Nihilus tanks the blow, he's only able to do so because he coincidentally had supercharged his Aura earlier in the chapter. Against any other opponent, the attack would have been instantly lethal.
Evil Versus Evil: Darth Nihilus vs. Adam Taurus.
Eviler than Thou: Once again, Darth Nihilus proves to be the greater evil to another of RWBY's villains. Like everyone else, Adam is outclassed by Nihilus and killed easily.
Failed a Spot Check: When the Wyvern lands next to Nihilus, he initially fails to notice the massive Grimm dragon standing right beside him until it takes one step closer to him. Justified as Nihilus was so enraged by his failure to retrieve the Fall Maiden's powers from Cinder that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.
Fist of Rage: Picking off from where the previous chapter left off, Nihilus is shown clenching his fists and shaking in anger from failing to absorb Cinder's half of the Fall Maiden's powers.
Flash Step: Adam manages to pull this off on Nihilus near the end of their brief duel.
Geo Effects: In preparation for Nihilus's arrival, the heroes sets up as many environmental advantages for themselves as possible. Penny and Ironwood stockpile large pieces of rubble for Glynda to use as projectiles. Meanwhile, Ruby scouts out good hiding spots for their ambush.
The Glomp: Penny's reaction to seeing Ruby is to run towards her and hug her so tight that Ruby briefly has trouble breathing.
I'll Kill You!: Winter to Adam after discovering that he cut out her sister's eyes.
Winter: Adam Taurus. From crimes of assault robbery, murder, destruction of property, and terrorist actions, I should place you under arrest. However… For what you did to my sister, I will kill you here and now.
Internal Reveal: Ruby learns about her uncle's death from the previous chapter. She doesn't take it well.
Know When to Fold 'Em: Winter immediately disengages from her fight with Adam when she sees Nihilus coming up behind him.
Mirthless Laughter: Upon seeing all the destruction Nihilus has caused to Beacon, Amber feels partially guilty for being unable to prevent the Fall of Beacon. As she wonders whether she could have stopped Nihilus had she not had her powers stolen by Cinder, Amber expresses this insecurity by ruefully chuckling inside Pyrrha's head.
Motive Rant: Adam gives one to Blake when she accuses him of betraying everything he fought for.
Adam: I fought for vengeance. Vengeance for all the Faunus that have been wronged throughout history! Today is a day of victory! [turns to Weiss] An even greater one, when I have the head of the Schnee heiress.
Neck Lift: After tanking Adam's signature attack, Nihilus grabs him by the throat and lifts him into the air before draining his life.
Never Say Goodbye: Just as he's about to evacuate Beacon alongside the other students, Ren hugs Pyrrha and tries to say goodbye. Pyrrha responds with, "Don't say goodbye. I hate goodbyes. Too final."
No-Sell: Nihilus is able to completely tank Adam's strongest attack after draining the Wyvern.
Not Quite Flight: After draining the Wyvern, Nihilus leaps from Amity and soars toward Beacon. He isn't flying, he's falling with style.
Oh, Crap!:
- Blake's reaction when she and Weiss run into Adam after investigating the sound of screaming from Beacon's cafeteria.
- Winter's reaction to seeing Darth Nihilus walk towards her during her duel with Adam.
Parrying Bullets: Winter uses her saber to deflect the Dust rounds that Adam fires at her from his rifle.
Precision F-Strike: Blake does this while trying to reason with Adam.
Blake: There's a monster out there and whoever called you here is playing you like a fucking fiddle!"
Quizzical Tilt:
- The Wyvern tilts its head in interest when it detects Nihilus' fury at failing to drain the Fall Maiden from Cinder. Upon arriving at Amity Colosseum, the Grimm dragon turns its head to get a better look at the source of the negativity that it previously felt.
- Upon hearing Amber's advice to "let the past die", Pyrrha reacts by tilting her head at how strange but fitting she finds the mantra.
Roundhouse Kick: Adam shatters Weiss's Aura by roundhouse kicking her in the ribs so hard that she goes flying back.
Scared of What's Behind You: While fighting Adam, Winter sees Darth Nihilus approaching behind him and immediately flees. Adam assumes that he scared her off and he jeeringly calls her a coward. Before he can give chase, he hears the ominous sound of footsteps behind him. He then turns around and finally sees what actually caused Winter to abruptly break off their duel.
Scream Discretion Shot:
- When Weiss and Blake reach the cafeteria, they hear the sound of someone screaming "AAARGH!" from inside. The duo then rush in and see the corpse of an Atlas Academy student with Adam's katana sticking out of him.
- In-universe from Yang and Winter's perspective. Neither of them actually sees Adam cut out Weiss' eyes or stab Blake through the stomach, they just hear the sound of Weiss screaming from the cafeteria. When they rush into the cafeteria, they see Weiss clutching her bloodied face while Adam rips his katana from Blake's stomach.
Sharing a Body: Even though their souls have merged, Pyrrha and Amber's minds are distinct enough that both consider themselves separate from the other while sharing control of Pyrrha's body, with Pyrrha being the dominant personality.
Single-Stroke Battle: Subverted. Adam tries to take down Nihilus using his Limit Break and end the battle with a single slash. Unfortunately for him, Nihilus had his Aura supercharged from draining the Wyvern, so the attack does nothing to him.
Sins of Our Fathers: Adam is determined to kill Weiss and Winter for the discrimination that the Faunus have faced from the Schnee Dust Company under their father's leadership. The fact that neither of the sisters have had any hand in the decisions made by their father's company means nothing to him.
Staring Down Cthulhu: Attracted by the anger Nihilus is feeling, the Wyvern lands next to him and gets into a staring contest with the Lord of Hunger.
Suppressed Rage: Nihilus is barely able to contain his fury at having failed to drain the Fall Maiden's powers from Cinder. He's visibly shaking with anger with both of his fists clenched tightly. The sheer rage he lets out through the Force is enough to attract the Wyvern to his position, who identifies Nihilus as a "singularity of hatred".
Tearful Smile: Pyrrha gives a tearful smile to Ren while making their Reunion Vow.
Tears of Blood: After Adam cuts out Weiss's eyes, she sheds tears of blood.
There Are No Coincidences:
- Nihilus notices how all three of the Force signatures that he had been tracking are now gathered at the same location and decides that this can't be a coincidence, attributing this to the will of the Force.
- Ozpin doesn't believe that it was a coincidence that Cinder just happened to die while he was transferring Amber's Aura into Pyrrha and realizes that Nihilus is actively hunting down the Fall Maiden.
This Cannot Be!: When Nihilus easily tanks a strike from Adam's Semblance-powered katana before lifting the Faunus up by his throat, Adam can only gasp out "Im-Impossible!" before Nihilus drains him of his life.
Title Drop: Adam drops the chapter's title during his Motive Rant where he admits that he's driven by "vengeance".
Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Nihilus lets out so much anger at having failed to drain the Fall Maiden from Cinder that he immediately catches the attention of the Wyvern, which breaks off its attack on the airships to investigate. When the Grimm closely examines Nihilus, it just stares at him and is unwilling to attack due to sensing the sheer amount of power that he possesses.
Tranquil Fury: After Adam permanently blinds Weiss, a furious Winter engages him in a duel and channels her anger into her attacks while simultaneously keeping an icy exterior.
Unseen No More: After spending the most of the story as The Ghost, Adam Taurus finally makes his first appearance in the story.
Untouchable Until Tagged: Adam is able to hold his own against Nihilus due to being able to outspeed him. However, the second that Nihilus gets ahold of him, the battle ends and he is dead not long after.
Use Your Head: Near the end of their fight, Adam and Winter get into another Blade Lock which Adam breaks by head-butting Winter in the nose with his mask-covered face.
We Wait: Having deduced that Nihilus is actively searching for the Fall Maiden, Ozpin uses this to his advantage by having Pyrrha act as bait while he and his allies set up an ambush around her using the environment to their advantage.
Ozpin: Meanwhile, we shall wait here for our guest.
Ironwood: Wait here? We are not going after him?
Ozpin: I do not believe it was coincidence that the thief of the Maiden's power died. I believe Nihilus is actively hunting down the Maiden. So rather than searching aimlessly for him, we can wait here and prepare the environment to our advantage.
What the Hell Are You?: Said by Adam to Nihilus when he finally turns around and sees him.
The Worf Barrage: Adam's Semblance, which in canon was able to defeat Yang in a Single-Stroke Battle, doesn't even scratch Nihilus after he absorbs the Wyvern's energy.
The Worf Effect: Darth Nihilus takes out the Wyvern and Adam Taurus, two of the most dangerous combatants present at the Battle of Beacon, with relative ease.
Worf Had the Flu:
- It's established that their earlier battle with Nihilus had left Blake and Weiss exhausted and low on Aura. Because of this, neither is able to put up much of a fight against Adam and only survive thanks to the intervention of Winter.
- Inverted with Nihilus during his short battle with Adam. Under normal circumstances, even the large amount of Aura in Jaune's body wouldn't have been able to tank a fully-powered hit from Adam's Semblance. Unfortunately for Adam, Nihilus was fresh off from supercharging his Aura with the Dark Side energy he absorbed from the Wyvern. Because of this, Adam's strongest attack doesn't even scratch Nihilus and he is quickly killed by the Dark Lord not long afterward.