"Solon." As Edelgard speaks, she holds up an arm, a signal for the others to step back. Ferdinand does, without hesitation, but neither Hubert nor Byleth move. Byleth has been preparing for this, but she doesn't know what Hubert intends to do, and she nudges him. She is not going to let him throw away his life just to stand at Edelgard's side.

Of course, despite all of her preparation, the same could be said for her.

"Don't you think it's time you stopped pretending to be human?" asks Solon. "We were fine to let you play around for a little while, as long as you stayed out of our way, but...well, Kronya never stays away this long on her own, you know."

"I'm not one of you," Edelgard says, "and I'm never going to be."

"That decision was already made for you. Now, can you just tell me the truth? I know she was tangling with hunters in the area, do you know anything about that? Her trail goes cold at some hunter's house, but he's already dead," the man, Solon, explains. Byleth tenses- they've been inside her house. "Apparently, Kronya killed him, so the hunter's daughter says. She says that he used his dying breath to kill her, but...well, imagine my surprise when I found out that you're dating that hunter's daughter."

Edelgard doesn't need to confirm his suspicions. Or, rather, she confirms them enough when, instead of answering, she lunges, ready to attack. He is fast, perhaps faster than her, but she struggles to keep up, the two falling into a fight that moves so quickly it is impossible to actually watch. Byleth can't keep up with where either of them are, until suddenly, she only sees Edelgard, and hears a shout from behind her.

In an instant, Edelgard is behind her as well, fighting Solon off of Ferdinand, turning to Hubert and saying, "Get him out of here, now!"

As Hubert takes Ferdinand's arm and makes a dash out the door, Byleth runs across the room, trying to think quickly. She needs to make sure that Solon does not follow Hubert, and that the fight stays in this room. Beneath her dress, she has several stakes, but she isn't sure if they would work at a distance; they aren't exactly ideal throwing weapons. But in her clutch, she has a small vial of what her father had labeled Holy Water , which she had taken despite not being too sure about it.

At the time, she'd recalled that ordinary water does nothing to Edelgard, and she'd always thought that the water churches claim to be holy was just ordinary water, made special to them because of their faith. But now, she has to hope that there is something special about this, as she turns back around, crossing a short distance to get back in range of where Edelgard fights Solon at the door, trying to prevent him from escaping after Hubert and Ferdinand, and she uncorks the bottle and flings water at him.

For a moment, it is as if acid has touched his arm, and any exposed flesh that the water touches burns for a moment. Solon is frozen is place, and it would be a good opportunity for Edelgard, but a few droplets have hit her as well, and she struggles against the pain just as much as he does. By the time she is able to react, Solon has already set his sights on Byleth, but that's okay, because at the very least, she managed to get his attention. Hubert and Ferdinand will be safe, as long as they actually stay out of this.

Byleth runs, but Solon catches up to her before she can take even a few steps, grabbing hold of her, wrenching the stake she has grabbed out of her hands.

"You're certainly not your father," he says in a mocking tone. "I never had the pleasure of fighting him myself, but I've heard stories, of course. Still, if this is how his child fights, and if he lost to Kronya so easily...well, he couldn't have been too impressive, could he?"

He is trying to get a rise out of her, toying with her before he kills her, already knowing that, no matter how violently Byleth reacts, his victory is still assured. She knows this, but for just a moment, she doesn't care. The one who killed her father is already dead, but there are others like her, targeting humans just because they can, and there are families torn apart by this, and maybe Edelgard is no better, even if she only hunts to feed, but...but…

That isn't personal . Byleth realizes, in the split second before Edelgard comes to her rescue that it isn't personal. She can think about it from an objective standpoint, that she wants to help people and save them from suffering like she has, that getting revenge will somehow benefit others, but ultimately, she only cares because her father was killed, and because her loved ones are being targeted. And whoever her loved ones may have to kill, be it for survival or self-defense- that is something she has to accept, and something that she readily accepted long ago, without realizing it.

Solon watches her for a reaction, and Edelgard hangs back, hesitating, unsure about her next move when he has both of them at a disadvantage. Byleth knows that, if only one of them is going to make it out of this, she has already decided long ago that it doesn't have to be her. She brings her knee up to kick Solon, and Edelgard moves at that exact moment. Perhaps Solon is slower to react because he is so sure of his victory, because he is sadistic and wants to draw out his fun, or perhaps Edelgard's desire to save Byleth gives her just the slightest advantage.

Whatever the case, she is faster, fast enough to take the lead again, and Byleth is freed, reaching under her dress to remove another stake, and attempt to join the fray. Just like before, just like with Kronya, Byleth is only able to defeat Solon because Edelgard has all of his attention. She does not understand how any human could hope to fight monsters like this, and does not understand how they will be able to continue like this, even if she continues to train.

As she watches Solon disintegrate, just as Kronya did, she wishes that her father were here to tell her what she should do next.

When it's over, they search to make sure they are alone before going to find Hubert and Ferdinand, to attempt to talk about what just happened. Ferdinand is so shaken up that they instead settle on simply huddling together, to remind him that they are all still here, they are all still alive, and that it is over, for now. It is meant to serve as a comfort for Ferdinand, but really, it's for all of them.

While they are bunched together, Byleth thinks about her revelation during the fight, her realization that she is not fighting for any just cause, and that her vengeance is just that. Edelgard agonizes over her fate sometimes, and Ferdinand has not yet realized the magnitude of what he has gotten himself into. Sometimes Byleth thinks he remains intentionally stupid, taking things one step at a time rather than forcing himself to face it all headon.

Hubert seems to have accepted his role long before Edelgard was ever turned, long before such a role even existed for him, and Byleth has allowed herself to be swept up in it without a second thought, both of them motivated only by love. They are similar in that way, and she wonders if they are less or more human because of it.