Chapter 1: He Who Slays Monsters

The clopping of the horse and the sound of wooden wheels filled the path in the forest. A peddler with a few of his wares trekked through the dark forest. The sun was already setting. The peddler looked around for any sign of danger or anything that intrigues him. In the corner of his eye he sees a piculiar object. Growing just a few steps from the path were a bunch of blowball flowers blooming ripe yellow. He stopped the cart and got down from his seat. The peddler must've thought himself lucky to spot the plants. They were common but high in demand alchemy ingredients to sorcerers and alchemists. He gathered enough to fill an entire burlap sack. It was then that he noticed that the surroundings were getting darker. It was time for him to leave, he supposed. He walked back towards his cart when suddenly a pack of wild dogs jumped out of the forest startling him and his horse.

"Get back!" The peddler yelled as he pulled out a short sword from his waist.

The dogs barked and snapped at the peddler, their mouths foaming from mad dog disease. The dogs circled around him and his cart to prevent any escape. One of the dogs attacked from behind luckily it only bit off a sleeve before being hit with a short sword making it yelp… but it did not relent. Soon the dogs began to move closer and closer.

The merchant swung in an arc to scare away the dogs but it did not work, it only excited them.

The peddler prayed for help from the gods.

One of the dogs went for the pounce. He was too distracted to see the dog leap at him from the side. When he turned his head the dog already jumped towards him. He felt his heart beat faster in anticipation of the pain of being mauled. He closed his eyes and shielded himself… but the bite never came. Instead a yelp of pain from a dog was heard. He opened his eyes to see the dog on the ground dead with an arrow stuck to its head. The other dogs panicked in seeing one of their own die.

The dogs turned to the direction of the arrow barking. The peddler noticed a figure walking towards them. He saw tall man in full armor that consisted of both leather and steel, he had a rugged look to him as his armor was covered in mud and grime. Has wearing a helmet that hid his face, the helmet was that of a knight but somewhat damaged and scratched, what used to be a red plume on the top was sloppily ripped off leaving a small patch of red. On the sides of the helmet were two white stumps as if something had broken off from it. On his side was a bastard sword and on his arm was a small round shield strapped on it in which a symbol of two crescent moons adorned the middle. on his back was another sword wrapped in cloth, a bronze colored crossguard and a blue hilt could be seen as well as a quiver of arrows. His belt had a rectangular waist pack strapped behind and at his leg was what looked like a crossbow missing the bow part strapped with a holster. The man in armor was intimidating to say the least. He was holding a strange looking bow. It had gears like that of a draw bridge on it's top and bottom. On the middle was a circular object.

The armored stranger knocked another arrow that he pulled from the quiver on his back and shot an arrow at another dog killing it. And then another, and another, and another. The man shot arrows as he walked towards the peddler. The dogs became enraged they charged the armored man. The man then suddenly folded his bow, which startled the peddler thinking he snapped the bow in two but the stranger just put the folded bow on his waist.

The man then unsheathed a steel bastard sword from his hip and charged at the dogs.

There were about 6 dogs left after he killed 4 of them. Three of the dogs ran quicker than the others, aiming to rip the stranger's throat. The first dog leaped towards the stranger but the stranger swung his blade diagonally killing it instantly. The second had little time to react as the stranger delivered another diagonal slash that split it's head. The third dog managed to leap as the stranger finished his attack on the second dog but was violently repelled by the force of the stranger's shield bash breaking it's neck and killing it.

The stranger stared at the remaining dogs who have seemed to stop in shock again. This time they were turning their tails to retreat.

But he did not relent. The stranger rushed towards the dogs slashing one as he reached it and stabbing another that was close to it. One almost managed to escape but was pierced when the stranger threw his sword at it.

With a huff the stranger walked towards the impaled dog and pulled out his sword. He pulled out a cloth from his waist pack and wiped the blade.

The peddler was awestruck of what he had just witnessed. The sheer speed and brutality was out of this world.

"Hey…" the stranger spoke startling the peddler.

"Y-yes?" The peddler answered.

"Are you heading to the village beyond this forest?"

"Oh uh ye-yes." The peddler nodded. The stranger just looked at the sky. It was almost night time. The stranger then approached him intimidating the peddler further. The peddler was about to beg for his life but the stranger spoke first.

"I need a ride."

/0/

"Alright. This is our stop stranger." The peddler stopped the horse drawn cart as they reached a small town. The merchant looked behind the cart where a fully armored fellow sat.

The armored stranger stood up from the cart and walked towards the merchant.

"Thank you." The armored stranger spoke.

"No. Thank you. You saved me from those rabid wild dogs back at the trail. The least I could do is to give you a lift." The peddler smiled.

The armored stranger just nodded.

They parted ways after that brief exchange. The peddler to the village center to sell his goods and the armored stranger to the tavern.

The village peasants gawked and looked at the armored stranger as he walked towards the tavern but dismissed seeing how dirty his appearance looked. They just chalked it off as another traveling sell-sword. Though the guards were wary as he was carrying his weapons and his shield.

The armored stranger stopped at the entrance of the tavern. The laughter of its patrons and the sound of a lute being played rang in the stranger's ears. He was about to enter when the sound of feet running in the mud and the heavy breaths of a man was heard. He turned his head to see a man in rags pass by him and hurriedly entered the tavern.

The man in rags fell to the floor of the tavern stopping everyone from what they were doing.. He was dirty, probably because the rain made the ground muddy, and covered in blood. Partially the reason why people screamed as they saw him. His frantic panting and an expression on his face as if he saw the devil itself.

"Help! Help! Please help!" He kept pleading to the people around the village.

"Monster!... Please help me! It took me child an' killed me wife!" He pleaded to the onlookers but the other peasants all looked away. 'is he mad?' 'a monster?' 'His kid is dead. Nothing we can do about it.'. the murmurs of the people pushed him deeper into despair.

"What is all this racket?!"

The man in rags looked towards a soldier.

"Please!" The man in rags fell to his knees in front of the soldier. Wet mud splattered as his knees fell to the ground.

"A monster has taken me child! Took her right to the graveyard over the Hill! Please help me!"

"A monster? Here?" The soldier looked to the peasants. The soldier took a deep breath. The peasant looked hopeful. However this hope was crushed as soon as the knight spoke.

"Give up."

"W-what?... What are you…" The peasant quivered.

"There ain't no monster slayer here. I'm sorry about your family."

"But-" the peasant pleaded.

"I'm going to post a bounty on that beast. Thank you for letting us know about the monster. Until more soldiers come or a Witcher passes by we can't handle the monster ourselves."

There were only about 5 guards stationed at this village due to it being a small village. It would at least 10 mean to take down a monster. Moreover this was an unknown monster. Too much risk to send someone. It might be something from a lowly nekker to a gods damn fiend.

The man had a dead look on his face as tears streamed down his muddied face.

"I'm sorry lad. Come to the guard post once you… calm down." The soldier said.

The crowd dispersed and went back to what they were doing. The lute of the bard played a song but everyone grew tense, the atmosphere turned gloomy as the soldiers left the poor man in his despair.

The man held his head down. A dozen thoughts ran in his head. Surely his daughter could still be alive. Perhaps he could face down this beast alone. With a spear in hand maybe. But he knew how it would be a death wish. Even the measly nekker can kill a man in seconds. The man stood up not noticing a figure coming towards him.

"What did the monster look like?" A voice spoke earning the interest of the whole tavern.

The man didn't turn to the voice. As he had thought that it might be another curious villager.

"What does it matter… the bounty will be posted as soon as the soldier comes back. It will already be too late by then… gods… I never should have left Toussant..."

"I will try to kill this monster… and save your child."

The man looked behind him and saw a tall armored man staring down at him.

"W-what?" The man looked surprised.

"I need details of the monster. I need to know what it is before I kill it. Hurry.. if it is what I think it is there may still be time to save your daughter."

The man frantically nodded.

"A-alright. It had the look of an old woman. Black greasy hair, hellish empty white eyes, face full of boils and a horrible long tongue that killed me wife as soon as it touched her face."

The armored stranger nodded.

"A hag." The armored stranger spoke earning gasps from the tavern folk.

"What was the color of its skin? Was it brown or blue?"

"I-I think it was brown like flesh sir." The man answered.

"Grave hag it is. Where is the nearest graveyard here?"

"Right over the hill over there. I can guide you-"

"No. Too dangerous. You'll only get in the way. I can't focus on defending you and your child as I kill this thing." The armored man's voice was stern.

"A-aye sir."

"Here. Get something to drink. Calm yourself. I'll get your child back." The armored man tossed a silver coin to the man before he walked towards the Graveyard beyond the hill.

"Thank you Sir!" The man called out.

The armored stranger did not stop as he walked.

/0/

The armored stranger walked towards the village center and stopped at the pedler that he was travelling with.

"I need some dog tallow and blowball." The stranger spoke at the peddler.

"Ah, good to see you stranger! Dog tallow and blowball you say? Peculiar items…"

"Do you have them?" The armored man pulled out his coin purse from his waist pack.

"Yes of course! They sell like fine wine at a Toussant tavern to alchemists. They usually buy them in bulk."

"I need 1 bottle of dog tallow and 3 bags of crushed blowballs."

"That'll be 50 crowns." The peddler smiled.

"50-...*sigh* fine." The armored stranger sighed. Damn merchants.

"Pleasure doing business with you stranger!"

The stranger walked towards the designated hill. True enough the graveyard was close to the village. The hill overlooked it.

"Close to the village… probably got bold since the village is small." The stranger muttered to himself. He looked at the surroundings. "Dug up graves. Some made with tools and some made with claws. Signs of ghouls. Hag probably scared them off."

The stranger then mixed the dog tallow, blowball and a vial of what looked to be blood creating a noxious liquid.

"... Half baked. Should've prepared more. But it'll do." He sighed. It was already getting dark. He had no time to brew properly.

He pulled out his bastard sword from his side and soaked it in the concoction. The left overs liquid was smeared on his shield. He then heard crying and a shrill voice of a sickly woman.

A creature walked out of the woods near the graveyard pulling what looked to be a sack of something and cage made of bones and skin. Inside it was a small child. Probably 4 or 5. She was crying. She was still alive. True to the man's description the creature looked like a sickly old woman. Thin arms with clawed hands, naked torso with a bloated stomach. It was hunched as it walked towards the graveyard.

The armored stranger crouched as he walked down the hill.

The grave hag set down the bone cage on a gravestone and started to fix wood for a cauldron that the hag pulled out from behind one of the gravestones.

The armored stranger was now finally close but far enough to be undetected by scent.

'the kid is too close to the hag. Gotta draw it away from her. The armored stranger picked up a rock and threw it to a gravestone away from the child.

The hag stopped digging and looked towards the noise. It looked towards the child in the cage and looked back at the direction of the sound. With a low growl the hag moved away from the child.

The armored stranger pulled the harpoon gun from his side using his shield arm. With his small round shield being strapped instead of carried he aimed at the hag. He pulled the trigger.

An explosion rang as the hag was hit by the bolt. It exploded on impact taking a chunk off the hag. The hag screeched and writhed in pain on the ground. The harpoon pistol was useful but it was only single-use. You'd have to reload and rewind the spring it to use constantly.

The armored stranger ran towards the downed creature planning to pin it down and stab it in the brain through the eye before it could collect itself. But unluckily for him the hag recovered and stood up facing the incoming stranger. The hag lashed its deadly tongue towards him.

The stranger used his round shield to block the tongue and used his sword to strike at the tongue. The sword almost cut the tongue off but the hag retracted it making him only deal a small cut.

The hag screeched and grabbed it's own tongue. The oil. The oil had burned it's tongue. Had it been properly brewed it might've poisoned the monster. The hag hissed as it stared down the armored stranger. The stranger doing the same with a sword and shield stance.

The hag screeched as it charged towards him. The stranger doing the same. They both clashed. The hag crashed to the stranger's shield. It's tongue trying to lash behind the small shield that was rammed to it's face. It's long thin clawed hands tried to grab the stranger's shoulder as if trying to embrace him.

The stranger grunted as the monster crashed into him but he held his ground. As the monster grabbed his shoulders he quickly made an upward slash severing one of it's arms.

The monster was surprised at the stranger's strength. Stopping a charging monster and cutting a limb off in one strike. The monster moved back in pain but the stranger did not relent, he did not let this hag a moment to breath. Another strike at it's face cleaved off it's jaw along with its tongue. Another strike, this time to the chest, the sword cut through it's rib cage and took chunks of bone and flesh due to the sheer strength of the strike.

The hag staggered backwards and turned to the child in it's bone cage. It fell and clawed its way towards the child until a sword pierced the back of its head.

The stranger had thrown his sword. He was breathing heavily, not from exhaustion but rather from the adrenaline coursing through him.

He walked towards the corpse and pulled out his sword.

"Hm...cracked. Need to find a blacksmith for this..."

He cleaned his sword with a piece of cloth and as he was cleaning it he noticed a bush of roses that grew on the graveyard.. Roses...He looked to the sky as a breeze blew. A memory came to his mind. He pulled out an odd object, rectangular in shape with a yellow diamond on the center. The object was adorned with the symbols of roses which he caressed with his thumb . He pressed the diamond in the center and the object opened up like a scroll. Yet nothing happened...

"3 years… I promise I'll find you..." He sighed. He was about to head to the child when he heard a rustle in the forest beside the graveyard.

He readied his sword and shield towards the noise. His instincts suddenly flared. He quickly rolled forward as a large creature leapt from his side. He quickly recovered and readied his sword once again.

The creature looked like a naked man crawling on all fours, it's face was scarred and bloody, it's arms were thin but muscular, it's legs and feet twisted to resemble that of a dog's. It snarled at the stranger. Soon two more emerged from the trees.

Ghouls. Probably waited till the hag died.

The stranger hoped that the remaining oil on his blade was enough. Otherwise he'll just have to brute force his way out of this.

The first ghoul charged and attempted to claw at him but he moved away making miss. He counter attacked by lunging his sword at the creature's back. It hit, the blade pierced the creature but it was minor.

He turned to the other two ghouls. Another ghoul attacked with the same pattern but this time he swung down as he dodged hitting the side of the ghoul, this time the ghoul's wound was serious. The injured ghoul limped due to the pain.

The last ghoul didn't attack. It was more weary than the others.

"Alright then."

He took a deep breath. He stood straight and positioned his sword in his chest as if making a prayer. The ghouls curiously looked at the stranger.

His body began to be covered in white energy and then it dissipated. The air around him suddenly changed. He took a step forward.

"Come." He spoke.

The ghouls roared and attacked all together. The stranger spun his blade in response causing the ghouls to be blown backwards due to the force as the blade hit their chests. The stranger did not give them time to recover as he began his assault on one of the ghouls. One clean stab through the jugular killed one ghoul. The other two recovered and growled. The second ghoul, the injured one, tried another pouncing attack and so he did another counter slash completely cutting the ghoul into two. Now the third was enraged. Something also changed with the ghoul. It's body suddenly emitted a red mist. It's eyes turned blood red and spike grew from it's back. The ghoul did a mighty roar in its mutated state.

The two stared down each other. The ghoul charged. But the stranger stood unmoving. The ghoul snarled as it ran towards the stranger. As it struck the stranger's shield flickered and he bashed the ghoul with his shield. A loud boom resounded from the impact blowing back the ghoul. The staggered ghoul was suddenly hit with a flurry of blows before the stranger retreated to a stance again. The ghoul recovered. Heavily bleeding, the ghoul snarled. Once again they stared each other off.

The stranger crouched and readied his legs as if preparing for a sprint. The ghoul scratched the ground like a bull ready to charge.

Both charged at each other and clashed. The ghoul tried to claw him but the stranger used his shield to lift the monster exposing it's stomach, there he repeatedly stabbed the monster with his sword. The monster yelped in each stab. Soon the monster went limp. The stranger shoved the carcass off. He was now smothered with blood and guts. As he again pulled out the cleaning cloth, the moment the cloth touched the blade it shattered leaving only a dagger sized broken blade. He sighed and threw the blade away.

He turned towards the child in the bone cage.

The child was shaking. Pale from fear but she seems to be healthy.

"Are you okay?" He asked the child.

"Ah! Please don't hurt me!" The child moved back in the cage.

The stranger sighed and removed his helmet. His appearance might've scared her.

"It's okay. Your father sent me."

/0/

"He's probably dead." A drunk man spoke as he downed ale.

"Probably." Another drunk man replied.

"Wanna make a bet?" The first drunk asked.

"Ha! Fool's bet. What? Make a bet if that armored fellow lived or not?"

"Yeah, there might be a chance you know?" The stranger reasoned. He was about to speak when a loud yell came.

"He is alive! I know it!"

It was the man in rags. Now nervously holding a tankard of ale.

"Give it up man. Only witchers face monsters alone. That man ain't no witcher. Witcher have these glowing eyes. And fur!" The first drunk man spoke.

"Fur? Witchers have fur?" The second drunk man asked.

"Well yeah! I mean they have cat eyes don't they? Why wouldn't they have cat fur? Maybe even a cat's tail!"

"Hm. Makes sense. They're freaks through and through hah!" The second drunk laughed.

"Freaks that kill monsters! Monsters that terrorize us peasants!" The man in rags spoke.

"Aye! Monster slaying freaks! A drink to those freaks!" The drunk's words slurred as he hooked his arm to the man in rags.

"Get off me! He'll come back with my son! I know it!" The man in rags removed the arm of the drunk and stood from his seat.

"It's already been 2 hours. The moon is already high up in the sky. Give up. It's just the way it is in these parts." A new voice spoke behind him. It was the soldier from before.

"I lost my wife and children to a bunch of drowners. Tried to save them, I did. With a troop of 8 soldiers." The man looked sternly at the man in rags.

"Only two of us came back alive."

The man in rags was silent.

"Drink. Do whatever you have to do to cope with it. Your daughter is-" the soldier continued but he was cut off.

"Papa!" A child's voice rang throughout the entire tavern. The child ran through the other patrons and straight onto her father's arms.

"Melissa! My precious daughter!" The father hugged his daughter. Both crying in happiness. "Great gods above thank you! Melissa we will leave this place and go back to Toussant. We will be safe there."

The soldier and the other patrons were surprised.

Heavy footsteps pulled the attention of the patrons, the guard and the father-daughter duo.

There stood on the entrance was the armored stranger. Covered in blood, mud and grime. On his hand was the severed head of a hag and what looked like ears tied with a rope.

He approached the soldier and stared him down. He was tall so the guard had to look up. The stranger handed him the severed head.

"Food, drinks and lodging. That's all I need." The armored stranger spoke.

The soldier nodded before the stranger sat at a stool.

"Thank you Master Witcher!" The man in rags came to him.

"Thank you!" The girl followed.

"You're welcome." The stranger replied.

"Sir I can not thank you enough for what you have done! Please if you ever come by the great Duchy of Toussant. Please look for the noble house of Aethis. They will reward you greatly for this!" The man in rags spoke.

"You're not a peasant are you?... " The stranger softly spoke.

The man in rags just smiled.

"I'll keep it in mind." The stranger turned his head. The food offered was just some mashed potatoes and stewed chicken.

"Can I have your name master Witcher?" The man in rags asked.

The stranger began to remove his helmet. As soon as he took it off the man and the rest of the tavern folk had their eyes widen. Blonde hair tied to a ponytail tail. A handsome face with a scar on his cheek.

"I'm not a Witcher." Clear blue eyes looked back at the man, not those famed cat eyes witchers had.

"I'm a Huntsman."

a/n

I think we all know who this armored stranger is.

soooo yeah here's a Witcher x Rwby Fic. One where they don't take place in the same universe. Instead it's an isekai.

This is an isekai and It wont be just Jaune who got isekai'd in this fic. More on the other RWBY characters later.

The story of how it happened will either be revealed through flashbacks or individual chapters.

oh Yeah. I'm totally using Goblin Slayer's armor. I'm a huge fan of it.

anyway, Thanks for reading!