Korrina and the Black Eagles
Chapter 18: Tempest of Rage
Edelgard wanted to keep the destruction of Arianrhod under wraps, as she feared that the outrage would divert everyone's attention from Rhea at a time when everyone needed to be focusing on Rhea. Despite this, the sheer scale of the spell used to destroy Arianrhod ensured that everyone got some sort of idea as to what really transpired. Calls for Arundel's removal from power began to fill the air of Garreg Mach, and anyone who even looked like a follower of him was kicked out of the monastery. This protest got so bad that Hubert needed to drag Arundel through the street just to prove that his loyalty was still with the Adestrian Empire. Afterwards, Edelgard made a speech about her "uncle's" crimes against the empire and set his trial date to the day after she returns from her assault on Fhirdiad. Korrina then followed the two into the Death Knight's former hideout, where Arundel was to be held prisoner until further notice.
The moment Arundel was certain he was out of the public eye, he revealed his true form (Thales) and exploded. He repeatedly demanded to know why he was being treated so indignantly. Korrina then went inside Thales's cell and said, "I knew it. You were the one behind my father's death, weren't you?" This caused Thales to think that Korrina's treatment of him was entirely because of this and laughed. He asked if this was really about something that happened 5 years ago. Korrina responded to this with a firm, "No. This is about your careless destruction of Arianrhod and the deaths of everyone stationed there. Do you have any idea how much you set us back?" Much to Korrina's ire, Thales did not believe that this was a big deal either. He simply responded by saying, "Setback? I beg to differ. Without Cornelia, Arianrhod was useless to me. Thus, I removed it." Korrina asked what about all the troops that Edelgard stationed at Arianrhod and asked if they meant nothing to him. Thales confirmed this and said that they were just disposable fools anyway. According to Thales, all they did was hold him back. Korrina was absolutely horrified at the sheer callousness on display with this statement. It explained why Thales had no issues with experimenting on Edelgard or turning so many innocent people into monsters, but it still took Korrina a moment to truly process that someone so vile and heartless could possibly exist. After a moment of trying to wrap her head around what she just heard (something that Thales felt the need to mock), Korrina finally said, "I truly cannot believe this. Is anything sacred to you, or are we all just experiment fodder for whatever monster you want to create next?" Thales corrected her and said, "That's not completely true you know. I exist to serve the interests of my fellow Agarthans, Cornelia included." Most would stop the interrogation to ask what an Agarthan was, but Korrina did not truly care to waste time on that rabbit hole. All she wanted to know at that moment was what those interests might be. Thales then replied by saying, "The reclamation of our fine land from the 'goddess' who stole it from us. We were hoping that you would be more considerate of us than Seiros, but you turned out to be just as prejudiced as she was." Korrina then got enraged herself and said, "Prejudiced?! You turn my people into monsters and confess that you have no regard for our lives, yet I'm supposed to be the prejudiced one here!?" Thales then said, "Yes. Get mad at me like you do with everyone else who fails to meet your expectations. All you have proven with your folly is that you aren't as different from Seiros as you claim to be." Before Thales could go any further, Korrina slapped him. It was something that she wanted to do ever since Thales got the idea that he was somehow superior to her. Korrina then said, "This whole time, I have tried to be reasonable. I may have kept you on a short leash, but that's because we here in Adestria don't like being experimented on and turned into monsters. In case you haven't been paying attention, I have also been quite merciful for most of this war. It might have been a mistake, but I was able to save a few noteworthy lives. How does this make me as bad as someone who openly tried to kill me and my sister over a small disagreement!?" Thales refused to answer this question, and Korrina eventually realized that she was just falling into another one of his traps. Thus, Korrina sort of regained her composure and brought in Shamir. With a strained voice, Korrina said, "This is Shamir, the finest assassin I know of. She will be watching you for the remainder of the month. You try to pull anything, and you'll be killed before you know it. Your trial will be the day after we return from Fhirdiad." As Korrina left, Thales said, "The Agarthans will not stand for this, you know! Once they hear of this, they will kill you all when you least expect it!" Korrina replied by saying, "Thales, if you really think that that is how it will end, you clearly don't know what our own spies are capable of." Korrina then left Thales in that cell. Though she wished it were so, this would not be the last time they saw each other.
Now that the Adestrian Empire was down to only a few thousand men (something that Thales played a large part in), Korrina and Edelgard were left with no choice but to stake it all on one final invasion of Fhirdiad. No more games. No more side objectives. The Black Eagle Strike Force was just going to march through the Tailtean plains and take the fight directly to the capital. A smaller force led by Lorenz and Raphael had already been dispatched to take the land held by House Fraldarius before Rhea and Dimitri could reclaim it, so the Adestrian Army still had something resembling a foothold in Faerghus. Fortunately, Rhea and Dimitri were not much better off. Despite being able to take out a large percentage of the Adestrian Army, they were still losing more and more land each day. They outnumbered the Adestrian Army, but not by a significant amount. Also, the loss of Cornelia, Ingrid and especially all of House Fraldarius at Arianrhod did much to lower morale. It was highly likely that Dimitri and Rhea, too, were going to stake it all on one final battle. It was obvious to nearly everyone that Dimitri and Rhea were planning to intercept the Black Eagle Strike Force at the Tailtean Plains and kill the co-empresses. Fhirdiad no longer had the resources to wait out a siege, and the only remaining place to run was a dead-end peninsula to the north with only a small desert and nothing else. Also, the Tailtean Plains were of great historical significance to the Church of Seiros. It was where Seiros originally defeated Nemesis 1000 years ago, and it was where Dimitri's ancestor killed Edelgard's ancestor and gained full independence from Adestria 400 years ago. What better place for a last stand than a place that has brought them good fortune twice in the past? Hubert insisted that Edelgard and Korrina not be a part of this invasion and instead go with Lorenz and Raphael instead as their faction would not see as much fighting. Hubert's rationale was that Dimitri and Rhea would focus primarily on killing Edelgard and Korrina respectively, so the threat to their lives (and the future of Adestria, by proxy) was far too great. However, neither of the co-empresses would hear it. It was largely thanks to Korrina that the Black Eagle Strike Force was in a position for victory (albeit a very narrow position), so having her pull back now would only set up the Black Eagle Strike Force for failure at a time when they needed to win more than ever. Thus, Hubert relented and prayed for their safety.
Once Hubert was out of hearing range, Edelgard let out a large sigh of relief and complained about how much of a handful he could be at times. In a rare display of solidarity, though, Korrina said, "I can understand what Hubert was trying to say, though. Had we not been as integral to our team's many victories, I might have agreed with him in that one occasion." Edelgard then corrected herself by saying that Hubert was always like that since the day Thales sent her back to Enbarr. Edelgard started trying to impersonate Hubert for a moment, but Korrina chuckled at the inaccuracy. Edelgard looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong? Wasn't my impression of Hubert spot on?" Korrina responded by saying, "No. Hubert is a lot quieter than that…except for when he got mad at me that one time." Edelgard responded with a solemn "I see…" before changing the subject and thanking Korrina for her efforts in taking out Cornelia and helping take Arianrhod. Edelgard was beginning to wonder if her sister was really mentally equipped to continue the fight and help rule Adestria, but it seemed as if the results of the previous week said otherwise. Korrina changed tone and said, "I wouldn't say it was easy, though. Even now, my failure to protect Hilda, Seteth, and Flayn haunts my nightmares." Edelgard sort of understood where Korrina was coming from. She would be lying if she said that she didn't feel anything when word broke out that Flayn was among the people killed in that battle. Edelgard then said, "I suppose deep down inside, I wanted the fighting to end with that attack on the monastery 5 years ago. I, too, was hoping that this many innocent people would not have to die in the process. But…what's done is done. If we hold on to the past for too long, we'll only end up losing ourselves to grief like Rhea did." Korrina understood all too well, as she came dangerously close to that threshold when Flayn was killed by their own men a few months ago. Even so, Korrina could not shake the feeling that the both of them had a fiery afterlife awaiting them for all the people that died in this war they started. Edelgard responded with an unsure "Then we'll just have to do a lot of good after this war is over to make up for it. Besides, no one really knows what the afterlife is like, or even if there is a god at all." Korrina understood what her sister and co-empress was trying to say, but she couldn't believe it. These past few months, Korrina had begun to embrace the possibility that maybe she isn't the real goddess at all. Maybe there's a god beyond Sothis, and the people had simply forgot about him during the age of Seiros. Edelgard confessed that that could be a possibility, even if the things she went through had caused her to doubt the goodness of whatever god truly existed. Before taking her leave, Edelgard gave Korrina the portrait that she had been working on for a few months. It was admittedly a source of embarrassment for Edelgard, but she thought it might help ease Korrina's mind before the final battle. Edelgard then said, "Even if you lost yourself like Rhea did, and left us with no choice but to depose of you as well, you will always be my dear sister. I love you Korrina." The two embraced, and Korrina said, "I love you too Edelgard. When I get some time, I'll do a portrait of you in return".
As preparations for the final battle went fully underway, a pattern began to emerge with all the people that Korrina spoke with: what would happen once the war finished. Manuela was worried that she would be single forever. Lysithea wondered if the end of the Church of Seiros would truly bring an end to the fighting. Lindhardt feared that these final pushes from both sides would endanger the lives of those caught in between. Petra debated if she had truly progressed enough to become a worthy ruler of Brigid. Bernadetta worried that she wasn't taking these preparations seriously enough if this truly was the final battle. Alois pondered what Jeralt would think if he saw the type of person that Korrina would become. The only one who wasn't in deep thought was Caspar, who was mostly just excited to get this over with. Korrina tried to address everyone's concerns as best as she could, though Lysithea's question really made Korrina think for a moment. After the Church of Seiros was dealt with, would they have to face the Agarthans that Thales warned about? Was Thales just trying to fill Korrina's head with doubts when he gave that warning, or was he being truthful? Also, did Thales really speak for the Agarthans, or was his kind just an extremist branch? There wasn't enough time to truly think about that. For now, all that mattered was grabbing the finest weapons and armor that money could buy and training everyone to their maximum extent. Korrina in particular used her powers to try to see the fight between Seiros and Nemesis. After all, Korrina sincerely believed that Rhea was Seiros in disguise and that she would likely use the same fighting style she utilized 1000 years ago. Through these flashbacks, Korrina learned that Seiros countered the Sword of the Creator's long range by closing the distance and relentlessly attacking so that it would be impossible for Nemesis to truly unleash its whip form in a meaningful way. The moment Nemesis got smart enough to step back and get far enough away for him to actually use the Sword of the Creator's whip form, Seiros allowed him to catch her sword so that she could throw it away and switch to a smaller dagger. Korrina was somewhat shocked to see how great of a brawler Seiros was as she tackled Nemesis, punched him in the face, then kicked him to the ground before using that dagger to finish the job. Even 1000 years ago, the sheer ferocity that Seiros displayed as she fought was a sight to behold. It would take a long time for her to develop a counter to such a fighting style.
In the week leading up to the final battle, Korrina found herself with one last free day before heading out. Korrina used some of this time to reflect on her time with Jeralt. Even if she never 100% forgave him for making her grow up a mercenary, she could at least understand why he did what he did. Korrina remembered what Alois said about what her father would have thought of her being the leader of the opposition against Rhea, and now she had her answer. Jeralt probably would have stood by his daughter and fought with him until the very end. Korrina also remembered Jeralt's final request. To find the ring he left behind and give it to someone that she could love in the same way that Jeralt loved her mother. Korrina wasn't quite sure how Jeralt loved her mother, but she had no doubt about who she loved. Later that day, Korrina walked up to her love Albein. Albein was somewhat miffed that Arianrhod was kept a secret from him, but after a quick explaination from Korrina, he understood. More importantly, Korrina had something to ask of him. Korrina then said, "You know how Edelgard considers me her rock? Well, you are my rock. If it wasn't for you, my sister and Alois, I would have collapsed under the weight of this war long ago. Thus, I have one more thing to ask of you, Alm." Korrina then gave Albein the ring, and he knew exactly what Korrina was about to say. Korrina then got emotional as she said, "Alm, when this is over, I…I want to marry you. You were the first to welcome me to this monastery, and your greetings and farewells kept me together during the toughest of times. You give me faith in this world, and that's why I continued to pick myself up no matter what happened. There's no one in this world I would rather be with than you." Albein graciously accepted, as Korrina was the first person to ever truly give him the time of day or really want to know him as a person. They then kissed in front of the monastery doors.
That night, Korrina took Alois fishing like they would sometimes do. Alois was quite grateful that the war was over, as he couldn't stand the thought of slaying another comrade in arms. Korrina responded by saying, "I know exactly how you feel. Losing Flayn…well, let's just say I haven't been able to sleep well since." Alois agreed, and even wondered if they would still have a pleasant afterlife after all this. Korrina responded by saying, "Only God can answer that." Alois looked at his niece with a confused expression and said, "God? Who's that?" Korrina responded by saying, "I've been thinking for a long time, and I've come to realize that neither I nor Seiros may be the true god of this world. If we were, we wouldn't be able to die, nor would we be as fallible as we are. Besides, no matter what our more religious comrades tell you, there is only so much I can do with my powers. There has to be something out there more powerful than I lurking out there. We may meet it someday, or we may not. All we can do is trust it for now." Alois didn't seem to follow Korrina's line of thought, but he did at least respect her outlook. Korrina then comforted Alois by changing the subject and saying, "Don't worry about Jeralt. If he were alive, he would still be fighting alongside him." Alois responded with a confused, "Are you sure? Him and Rhea went way back, you know." Korrina said, "It wasn't that simple", before going on to explain what precisely led to Jeralt breaking off from Rhea. This greatly put Alois's mind at ease, as he now knew that Jeralt would have at least supported the war to a degree. Korrina finally told Alois the reason she was hanging with him that night. She said, "Uncle, this may be shocking to you, but I'm getting married." Alois was a bit surprised, but Korrina could tell from his joking that he was happy for her. When Alois started asking who it was, Korrina responded by saying Albein. Alois cracked a smile at this and continued joking, for he always approved of the lad since they started looking for Korrina's body together. The longer Albein persisted, the more Alois was convinced that this was the one for her. Korrina smiled back and said, "Alois, you know how fathers usually walk their daughters down the isle for these weddings? Well since Jeralt was killed, I was wondering if you could walk me down the isle in his place." Alois then began to sob tears of joy, for this was the highest honor anyone had ever given him. The wedding was on…as soon as Korrina got back from Fhirdiad.
As Magdred Way gave way to the Tailtean Plains, a massive storm began to stir. These conditions were exactly the same as when Seiros fought against Nemesis a full millennium ago. Whether this was going to be a case of history repeating itself, however, was a thing that Korrina preferred to wait until the battle was over before fully deciding. Besides, both co-empresses were extremely confident in their chances at victory. Even if Dimitri and Rhea claimed victory that day, a smaller force led by Lorenz was on his way to take Fhirdiad as they spoke. For those reasons, everyone believed that an Adestrian victory was inevitable. That didn't mean that Dimitri was going to make things easy, though. One of the first things that the Black Eagle Strike Force noticed was that only the Faerghus banner was flying among the enemy ranks. This could either mean that the Knights of Seiros were left behind to hold Fhirdiad or that they were moving in a different direction in an effort to flank the Black Eagle Strike Force. Whichever scenario was likely, however, it was still a bad idea for the Black Eagle Strike Force to lower their guard. As everyone got into position, the co-empresses began to discuss how much Dimitri had changed these 5 years. Edelgard remembered how honorable Dimitri used to be, often announcing his presence before fighting. Korrina simply chuckled and said, "You and I remember Dimitri quite differently, sister. The Dimitri I knew seemingly transformed into a monster once he entered combat, screaming and laughing as he single handedly ravaged entire armies. Half the time I saw that lad, he had to be restrained." These words seemed to unnerve most of the Black Eagle Strike Force, who were already dreading the inevitable showdown with him. Thus, Korrina said, "Leave Dimitri to Edelgard and I. He's too powerful, and too violent for any normal human to even survive in battle." This idea seemed to set most of the Black Eagle Strike Force at ease, and Korrina began her final speech. She said, "Black Eagle Strike Force, 5 years ago, we challenged the Blue Lions in combat and won. All that has changed from then is the absence of the Golden Deer as a threat and the rain. Just because Dimitri has gotten stronger doesn't mean that we haven't. I have no doubt that we can win. We defeated the Blue Lions 5 years ago, and today, we'll defeat them again. Once again, the eagle will soar and the lion will sleep! Long live the Adestrian Empire!" The entire Black Eagle Strike Force (save for Silvain, who desperately tried to hide his reservations about fighting his former king and friend) repeated those last words and rushed into combat against the Blue Lions for the last time.
The first order of business was crossing the river that separated the Adestrian Army from Dimitri's army. Wading through the river was quite the unpleasant affair (especially since it was raining outside), but it was by far the easiest of the tasks that needed to be accomplished that day. Originally, Petra was meant to fly over to the side of the river and deal with some of the swordsmen and great knights positioned to the east. However, all this did was unveil the kingdom's final bid for victory before it was time. The great knight closest to Petra jumped off his horse, grabbed a crest stone out of his bag and clutched it tightly. Within the span of a minute, that great knight was gone and a xenomorph took his place. This in turn forced the Black Eagle Strike Force to reconfigure their strategy and change direction while in that nasty river to give Petra support in this time of great need. Bernadetta, Lysithea, Caspar and Manuela were all sent to aid Petra in dealing with that xenomorph. Even before they got out of the riverbank, Bernadetta was able to shoot a bunch of arrows at the xenomorph to divert its attention away from Petra while she dealt with the other great knight. Once everyone reached the side of the river where that xenomorph was, Caspar went straight to work pounding the xenomorph's mask in while Lysithea kept the swordsmen at bay with her magic. Once the mask was gone, Petra, Lysithea and Bernadetta joined Caspar for a 4-way strike that finished the beast once and for all. However, none of them were convinced that that was the only crest stone hiding among the enemy ranks. Everyone would need to be more careful going forward.
Soon afterwards, things went from bad to worse. Mercedes arrived with reinforcements the moment everyone arrived at the other side of the river. Korrina's heart sank at the thought of yet another innocent that would die in this war, and from the sound of it, even Dimitri wanted her off the battlefield at once. Pegasus knights began to charge at the Black Eagle Strike Force from the north. Their numbers were daunting, but nothing the Black Eagle Strike Force couldn't handle at this point. However, it was at this point that the Knights of Seiros began to show themselves. Worse still, the Knights of Seiros had arrived from the south and east: 2 areas that ensured the Black Eagle Strike Force was completely surrounded. Petra and the units sent to assist her were in the most trouble by far, as Rhea herself came in right on their side of the river. With the tides beginning to turn against them, Korrina had everyone on that side pull back and focus on the Pegasus knights that Mecredes brought with her. Meanwhile, Korrina took a few of her finest warriors and left to deal with Rhea personally while everyone else tried to push forward through all the Pegasus reinforcements. This plan quickly proved misguided, however, as two of the men waiting on the other side of those Pegasus knights had crest stones of their own. The transformations distracted Korrina and provided Rhea with the opportunity she needed to force her on the defensive. The main forces were getting slaughtered by those 2 xenomorphs, and Korrina was getting beaten down by Rhea. If Korrina didn't use Divine Pulse right then and there, the war would have been lost. Because their present situation seemed hopeless, Korrina went all the way back to before the battle began. This time, she was going to use an old tactic from the Great Bridge of Myrddin. The entire Black Eagle Strike force went to the east side of the river this time and waited for Rhea to come so they could take her out of the picture before she became a major threat. This strategy helped keep the Knights of Seiros at bay, but Rhea was only interested in one person: Korrina. When the 2 finally met, Rhea finally confessed that her and Seiros were indeed one and the same. On her end, Korrina did not deny that she had studied that grand battle for Nemesis's point of view for this battle here. This time, Korrina turned the Sword of the Creator into its whip form right off the bat to trick Rhea into allowing it to catch the Sword of Seiros before throwing them both away. Korrina let go of the Sword of the Creator, and approached Rhea before she got a chance to finish her little trick. Rhea anticipated this move and stabbed Korrina in the gut with a smaller dagger, but Korrina accepted the risk and allowed Rhea to kick her down before revealing her own dagger and disarming Rhea. The fight then got dirty as Korrina countered Rhea's melee attacks by slicing her hands and feet with that dagger. Eventually, Korrina was able to bypass the arms and legs and stab Rhea in the chest with that dagger. However, the Knights of Seiros dragged Rhea off before Korrina could deliver the finishing blow. This also caused the Knights of Seiros to retreat and Dimitri's morale to crumble. Now the Black Eagle Strike Force could concentrate all their efforts on Faerghus without any more fear of intervention from the church.
Now with all hands on deck, the Pegasus knights that Mercedes brought with her were easier to deal with now than ever. For the sake of not overloading her forces, Korrina stayed out of reach of the transforming knights until Mercedes and her reinforcements could be properly dealt with. In hopes that she would not have to suffer long in death, Korrina had Bernadetta snipe her from a distance. Thankfully for Korrina and Mercedes, Bernadetta only needed one arrow to finish off the girl. Korrina averted her eyes while this happened, and a lot of the Black Eagle Strike force did it as well. They all understood what fate awaited them for being party to that woman's murder, but if it didn't happen, she would have continued the fight somehow. The only luxury they could afford at that moment was the fact that Dimitri was also quite disheartened by her loss. As the Black Eagle Strike Force turned towards Dimitri's direction, 2 of the knights blocking the path transformed into yet more xenomorphs. Facing 2 of these beasts at the same time was truly an uphill climb, even with the entire Black Eagle Strike Force present. What ended up happening was that the Black Eagle Strike Force fell back to the altar where Mercedes was killed so that they could challenge the xenomorphs from the high ground. The gambit worked, as the height advantage allowed the Black Eagle Strike Force to break both masks in a combined assault and finish the xenomorphs rather quickly. Now only Dedue stood between the Black Eagle Strike Force and Dimitri, but he had a crest stone of his own. Rather than turn into a xenomorph, however, Dedue grew 4 times his normal size and became an armored colossus. The colossus was completely unlike anything that the Black Eagle Strike Force had faced before, but Korrina had in idea for how to beat it. She had the Black Eagle Strike Force surround the colossus and attack it from every direction conceivable. The colossus was able to bat most of the Black Eagle Strike Force away with a casual swipe of its arm, but this failed to stop the units attacking it from the back. Besides, every time the colossus swatted away a member of the Black Eagle Strike Force, they would just come back fully healed a minute later. Eventually, the colossus changed tactics and started smashing the ground. This caused tremors that were devastating at first. However, Korrina answered this by getting away and getting in sneak attacks between the colossus's attacks. After a few rounds of hit and run, the colossus fell. Everyone played a part in this victory. Most of the Black Eagle Strike Force paid no mind to Dedue as they pressed onwards, but Korrina knew the normally gentle giant enough to lament his fate as he slowly turned back to normal and passed on.
After Dedue's passing, Dimitri almost seemed to give up on the battle altogether. He did absolutely nothing as the last of his knights were decimated, leading some to accurately believe that the loss had become too much to bear for him. However, Dimitri quickly regained his determination and fire upon seeing Edelgard reach him at last. The Dimitri Korrina knew and feared came out at last as he roared back to life and charged Edelgard with his own relic, a lance named Areadhbar. Angrily, Dimitri asked Edelgard how long she intended to kill and conquer. Edelgard was still able to parry Dimitri's blind thrusts, but this time, Dimitri was no longer holding back his true nature. No matter what, Areadhbar never fell out of Dimitri's hands. Dimitri continued to fight back with all his strength, and his rage was slowly overcoming Edelgard's more disciplined fighting style. If no one intervened, Edelgard would be in serious trouble. Fortunately, Silvain got his former king's attention just at the right time. Dimitri called Silvain a traitor at the top of his lungs and charged at him with all his strength, but before he could reach Silvain, Korrina grabbed Areadhbar with the Sword of the Creator and said, "Enough! From now on, I'll be your opponent!" Korrina then succeeded in separating Areadhbar from Dimitri, but the fight was nowhere near over. Korrina then lashed the Sword of the Creator in a follow up attack, but Dimitri grabbed the whip, used it to pull Korrina towards him, then socked her in the face with his free hand. With the both of them weaponless (or so it seemed), both sides resorted to old fashioned brawling for the last phase of the fight. Unlike Rhea, Dimitri had absolutely no overconfidence to speak of. Dimitri no longer allowed himself to believe that he would survive this battle at all. He just wanted to take as many people with him as he could. Dimitri's assault was swift and far less predictable than Rhea's. Korrina had absolutely no time to pull out her dagger, as all her strength had to go into Dimitri's never ending series of punches. Even when Korrina was able to use her dagger, Dimitri simply laughed it off and kept going. It was like the man was invincible. Eventually, Korrina finally had to tap into her God Ki to win. A green aura enveloped Korrina's entire body as the ground beneath her turned into a crater. With this extra power, Korrina was finally able to overpower Dimitri as she began to knock him further and further back until Dimitri was literally against a wall. Dimitri readied his final punch, but before he could, Korrina knocked him clean in the jaw. The king of Faerghus was down.
Despite all these injuries and his jaw broken, however, Dimitri still persisted. Slowly, the king of Faerghus began to crawl towards Edelgard, swearing to kill her with his own hands. As he inched closer and closer, Dimitri began to blame the death of his parents entirely on Edelgard. As Dimitri inched closer and closer, the poison he spewed towards Edelgard became more and more venomous. Finally, when Dimitri was within range, Edelgard raised her axe and finished him with her own hands. Even so, Dimitri died anything but peacefully. The battle was unambiguously won. As everyone calmed down from the battle, Korrina asked Edelgard whatever Dimitri was talking about. However, all the explanation Edelgard could give was that Arundel was the true culprit. Korrina was never going to be satisfied with that answer, and she even wished that her Divine Pulse stretched back indefinitely so she could choose the Blue Lions and learn more of what really happened all those years ago. However, there was no longer anything that could be done for Dimitri. The only thing Korrina could do now was follow Rhea to Fhirdiad and finish the war once and for all.