Yo readers! It's ya boy Ginzo here! Turns out the author's a big ol' idiot and used an old draft of Leona's and Anan's appearances. Leona's actually the human and Anan's the Awoken. S' why he has white hair. Anyways, I went back and fixed it so the author didn't have to. For future reference, Leona has tan skin, with a jet Black ponytail. She's got a mean mug and a bunch of scars, too. I personally don't know how Lus finds that attractive but more power to him, I guess. Anan has pale Blue skin that's almost white with White spiky hair and Red eyes. I apologize on behalf of the author and I hope he gets his stuff together. I gotta dip because he's yelling at me to stop breaking the fourth wall or something, I don't know. Ginzo out!

Hey everyone! I'm moving my end of chapter notes to up here because there's a few things I wanna note. First, I created a playlist on Youtube for the music if you play it while reading. You can find it under Fire Emblem: The Guardian House. Second, this story is also going to be up at Ao3 and Wattpad eventually, so if you prefer the layouts of those websites better you can read it there! Next, I've begun to draft a story that's actually set in the Destiny canon that follows Fireteams Noctis and Tengoku, so if you're interested in the story of them, be on the lookout for that! Finally, there may not be a chapter this coming week as I will be busy. That's pretty much it! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and keep reading! Any Reviews, favorites, or follows are appreciated. Later!

The Blue Lions hadn't stopped running since the Hive appeared. Swarms and swarms of what appeared to be skeletal creatures poured out of the forest to chase them, only being held off by Lus. Their screams struck fear into the hearts of the students, the sound being the only indication of how far behind the swarm was.

Lus was behind the house, only leaving it briefly in the event that the swarm behind them got too large. The Titan briefly slowed down to place a barricade alongside a wall of ice in order to block incoming shots from Boomers.

"How close are you guys?!" Lus asked over comms while unloading a slug into a Knight's head.

"Just keep running! We'll intercept at the edge of the forest!" Leona replied as she and Tengoku hurried to their meeting point.

Meanwhile, Jose and Moa had just finished alerting the Monastery to the threat they may soon be facing. The remaining knights at the monastery were on high alert, most fearing for their lives. The knights were told by Jose and Moa to only protect the students and not to engage, which they understood. Many were preparing to evacuate the monastery if need be, with some even prematurely leaving. The monastery had turned from a bustling place to a ghost town. Jose and Moa waited at the gates of the monastery to see if they could catch sight of Lus and the others.

"How do you think the Hive got here?" Moa asked, looking down the scope of her Whisper Of The Worm.

"Some crazy Hive god probably cut through dimensions. Question is who though…" Jose replied, not removing his watchful eyes from the landscape.

"Seeing as Savathun's in hiding, maybe Xivu?"

"Probably…" Jose surmised as he leaned against the wall of the monastery. "But why?"

"Crests and Relics?"

"Don't the Hive already have too many weapons of mass destruction? I mean, a few more couldn't hurt them, but I don't think that's the only thing they want."

"Hmm..." Moa said as she lowered her sniper and thought to herself.

"Mull it over later!" Hornet appeared and said. "I'm picking the Hive chasing them!"

Lus yanked out the magazine from his Trustee before chucking it fast enough to kill a Knight that tried to rush him. As he turned to catch up, he realized he could see the end of the forest. As Lus helped Byleth kill a Thrall that attempted to maul Mercedes, A Knight rushed Lus from behind and knocked him off balance with a mighty swing from its cleaver. As Lus raised his Sentinel Shield to block another swing, he yelled at the house to keep running, assuring them that Moa and Jose would protect them once they left the forest. Lus rolled back and rose before rushing to grab the Knight's forearm and rip it off. He then charged his right leg with lightning and kicked the knight, vaporizing it.

"We're at the end of the forest!" Lus shouted over comms. "Where are you guys?"

As if on cue, Lus saw a flaming Leona fly through the air and unleash a devastating knee on an unsuspecting Knight, sending its carcass flying.

"You're finally here!" Lus yelled, mauling an Acolyte with his shield.

"Yeah, yeah mark me late later!" Leona replied, punching straight through a Knight's core before pulling her arm out and ripping the hole open, tearing the Knight apart.

"Moa, do you see the students yet?" Lus asked, charging towards another group of Hive rushing the pair of Titans.

"Yeah! Jose flying over to bring them back! There's a lot of Thralls on their tails though!" Moa responded, unleashing the fury of Xol upon several lowly Thrall.

Even though the group was running as fast as they physically could, the Thrall behind them were catching up. The students could only imagine themselves running faster as she heard the screams of the skeletal creatures behind them. Suddenly the screams stopped, and in place of the screams, they heard what sounded like a small storm.

Ginzo unleashed an utter hell of a storm upon the Hive who dared to draw near the fleeing students. His Cloudstrike fired bolt after bolt, all of which perpetuate the lightning storm on the horde of Thrall. Ginzo stopped peering down Cloudstrike's scope when he saw the discs of flame rain down on the Thrall. He saw Jose join with the group and annihilate any Hive who drew near them. Ginzo briefly turned his gaze and saw a colossal Ogre bending trees and shaking the ground.

"OGRE!" Ginzo shouted as he began to fire his lightning sniper at his new target.

"You can't take care of one Ogre?!" Leona shouted in return, literally blazing two Acolytes with her light.

"No! I mean this one's big and scary! It's like the Ogre on Mars with the spider back!"

"I'll handle it." Anan said sharply, running past Ginzo.

"Don't mess up!" Ginzo quickly said, attempting to find the Ogre's weak spot.

Anan summoned a supernova in his right hand before tossing it at the Ogre's head. To his slight chagrin, it had no visible effect on the colossal monster.

"I see…" Was all he muttered before the Ogre slammed its hand on Anan. When Anan's body was nowhere to be seen, the Ogre became slightly confused, before it felt a blazing sword being driven into the growth on its back. Anan slammed his hand to the Ogre's growth before unleashing a Chaos Reach from point-blank range. The Ogre was greatly angered by this, and attempted to thrash itself in order to toss Anan off, screaming with fury. Anan leaped off, using the momentum from the Ogre to distance himself before launching a gargantuan Nova Bomb onto the Ogre, its seekers detonating with a short delay.

Anan then blasted forward, summoning his Dawnblade before flying up and once again driving it into the Ogre's growth. Anan sent a blast of lightning into the growth from his left hand before he grabbed his sword and used gravity to slash down the growth. The Ogre roar echoed throughout the entire area, its rage becoming obvious. As Anan blinked to the side and attempted to use Chaos Reach once again, the Ogre, along with the rest of the Hive disappeared in a Green mist.

"You messed up!" Ginzo shouted, hurrying over to Anan's position.

"How is that messing up?" Anan asked, scanning the area to see if there were any stragglers.

"You let it get away!" Ginzo shouted, holstering his Cloudstrike.

"We'll deal with it later," Lus said, appearing over comms. "are the students safe?"

"They just got inside the Monastery." Moa replied. "From what I saw there were minor injuries. Good job, Lus. Protecting a bunch of kids isn't easy."

"Those were Xivu Arath's Hive. What's she doing here?" Anan said, beginning to walk alongside Ginzo.

"Probably trying to find the same thing as the Vex…" Ginzo replied, stretching his limbs.

"Indeed. But why would she take them out from the field? Something's off…"

"Things are getting strange around here…" Jose came as he escorted the students to the others still at the monastery.

"Now then...how'd you guys get here?" Lus asked, turning to Leona who released two parts of an Acolyte carcass from her fists.

"We went through the giant Vex portal in the Glassway, same as you guys, I'm assuming."

"You'd be correct." Lus replied, beginning to turn to head towards the monastery. Lus sighed and turned off his comms.

"So…of all the people to save us, we get you guys…"

"That's a shitty way to say thank you…" Leona replied, doing the same.

"Wasn't trying to."

"Whatever. I'll just add it to the list of the times I've saved you."

A period of nothing but the sounds of the ground being trampled by the two Titans passed before anything was said again.

"Isn't that Hawkmoon? You said it broke when the Cabal attacked." Lus asked, side-eyeing Leona's Handcannon.

"It did." She replied.

"So how does it work again?"

"Crow helped." Leona coldly said, her gaze not shifting from straight ahead.

"I...see."

In a manner unfitting of him, Cinnamon appeared between the two Guardians.

"Please don't fight you two…this world has no chance of defending itself besides us. The last thing it needs is you two at each other's throats." the Ghost said, looking at the pair.

"I'll try." was all Leona said. Lus however remained silent, only briefly gazing at his Ghost before Cinnamon disappeared into him.

"That was the Hive?"

Dimitri's face was that of disgust, due to his thinking of the creatures his house had escaped. According to Lus, they were the Hive. The race that the Guardians said followed a brutal cycle of endless killing. They were also stronger than the Vex, according to the Guardians. Dimitri looked at his house as his Professor went around ensuring everyone was okay. Apart from a few injuries, they had made it out physically safely. However, the mental image of the Hive was forever burned into all of their minds. The tri-eyed monsters were far scarier than the images they were shown.

"Dimitri, are you alright?" Byleth asked, worry washing over his face.

Dimitri nodded. "I'm fine. I was simply thinking about the Hive. They're a gruesome force."

Byleth nodded in return. "Indeed. But I'm sure Fireteam Noctis will prevail."

"I believe so too. Not to mention they'll have the help of the new Guardians as well."

Byleth nodded. Mentally, however, he was conversing with Sothis about these creatures.

"The Hive are a far more formidable foe than I was expecting. Just how do the Guardians survive in their world?"

"They're pretty strong…" Byleth began.

"I know that! But still, it must take immense courage to be able to stand against foes like the Vex and the Hive."

Byleth mentally nodded as he continued to survey around the room. He laid his eyes on Ashe, who looked especially traumatized. As Byleth and Dimitri took the same idea, they approached the boy with a worried look on their faces.

"Ashe, are you alright?" Dimitri asked, showing obvious concern for his classmate.

"Oh! Your Highness! I've...been better. I recently received some terrible news...Lord Lonato, was found dead…"

"That's terrible!" Dimitri said. "This must be horrifying for you, Ashe. If there is anything you need, please allow me to assist you."

"My condolences, Ashe. Take all the time you need." Byleth's face softened as he nodded.

"Thank you, both of you." Ashe said as he attempted a smile. "Still...t-this is complicated. For some reason, Lord Lonato was creating a rebellion against the Church. A-and they found a note on his body stating that they would attempt an assassination against Lady Rhea at the Goddess' Rite of Rebirth."

"I...see." Dimitri solemnly began. "I...assume the knights were sent to deal with him then."

"That's what I thought too...but the knights who found his body said that it was nearly destroyed like it had been eaten or something…" Ashe said, his face adding an expression of disgust.

Dimitri's and Byleth's faces shifted to one of shock and disgust.

"Who could do such a thing?!" Dimitri wondered, covering his mouth with his hand.

"There's more to this that we don't know…" Byleth said, resting his chin on his hand.

"Indeed." Dimitri nodded. "In any case, Ashe, please take all the time you need to rest and recover."

"What's brown and sticky?"

Ginzo was currently following behind Anan, Leona, and Lus, who in turn were following behind a regiment of Knights of Seiros returning from a mission. Ginzo was slewing pun after pun at them. The victims of Ginzo's antics had already grown far too tired of them, and now it was a matter of how far Ginzo can go.

"I'm not answering that." Leona stated, the annoyance in her voice obvious.

"A stick! C'mon that was easy!" Ginzo laughed, smirking wildly underneath his helmet. "Hey, did you know I'm only friends with 25 letters of the Alphabet?"

Ginzo's audience said nothing, but he continued nonetheless.

"I mean, I think I'm a funny guy, so I don't know Y!" Ginzo managed, a laughing fit nearly overcoming his punchline.

"I dare you to say another…" Leona growled.

"Why couldn't Oryx use his full name on social media?"

"I don't know…" Leona said, her footsteps slowing to catch up with Ginzo.

"Because the username was taken!' Ginzo began to laugh, as they arrived at the front gates of the monastery. Leona quickly turned to Ginzo and patted him on the back.

"I gotta admit, that last one almost got me…" Leona said as she gave a fake smile under her helmet. With a final pat on the back that was more like a slam, Ginzo's body flew to the ground, creating a small crater in the earth.

"I ain't gonna stop!" Ginzo said as he let out a muffled laugh face down, causing Leona to roll her eyes.

"Anyways, where's this Archbishop?" Leona asked, turning to Lus.

"This way." Lus said, walking through the gates which the Knights rose up.

"So this is the monastery..." Anan said as he looked around at the grandeur of the monastery. They had finally arrived after a long walk, the main challenge being Ginzo testing Leona's patience. Anan assumed that the inhabitants of the monastery were not hostile, due to Noctis residing there. However, he made sure to bring his favorite Black Talon in the event it was needed, alongside his Stars In Shadow and Succession. Leona moved closer to Anan, ignoring Ginzo currently rising from his makeshift grave.

"This place is weird. It's almost like we went back in time to way before the Golden Age." Leona said, still looking around.

Anan nodded. "Yeah. But according to Cinnamon's notes, we're in an alternate dimension or universe entirely. I have no idea how or why the light still works here…"

"The light has transcended time and space before. It's why we were able to kill Atheon."

"True…Still though, something is off about this world."

As Ginzo hurried to catch up with the group, he joined comms.

"So…this Archbishop...are they cute?" Ginzo piped in, temporarily ceasing his endless puns.

"She's pretty attractive…" Jose replied, joining the group.

"Please don't try to flirt with her…" Moa joined over comms and in person.

Ignoring the antics, Leona followed her rivals and comrades as she looked around the Monastery.

"So what's the deal with this place?" Leona asked as she returned her gaze forward.

"It's an old monastery, home to the Church of Seiros and the Officer's Academy." Answered Hornet. "Some students here have Crests, and there's at least one Relic here, so we're trying to find them and find a way to monitor them."

"Never thought I'd be in a highschool anime!" Ginzo said, smirking under his helmet.

"Well, this place is pretty anime…" Lus agreed.

After a short moment of more walking, the team of five finally arrived at the Audience Chamber, and laid their eyes upon the Archbishop.

"There she is...Lady Rhea. You should probably take off your helmets and speak to her face to face." Lus said as his team fell behind Tengoku, allowing them to meet the Archbishop.

"Won't she freak out that Anan's an Awoken?" Leona asked, not halting her pace towards the figurehead.

"Nah, she already saw us, so you should be good. Just be sure to bow and all that." Jose answered.

As Fireteam Tengoku removed their helmets and arrived close enough to the Archbishop, deemed so by a figure next to her with Green hair, they began the formalities. Starting with a bow, Anan was the first to introduce himself.

"Greetings. I am Anan Marus." said the first human of Tengoku, his sharp features along with his youthful appearance conflicting with his head of chin-length spiky white hair. His cobalt skin and striking red eyes surprised Rhea and her assistant.

"Leona Ishara, Titan of Fireteam Tengoku. It's an honor to meet someone as high ranking as you." Leona said, her tan skin and Raven-Black hair tied back into a spiky ponytail being visually inspected by Seteth and Rhea who were slightly intimidated by her ferocious features.

"I'm Ginzo Nao, and it sure is a pleasure to be meeting yo fine self!" Said the second human of Tengoku with a smirk. His short light brown hair bobbed as he bowed, only being held up by a Black and White headband. He looked into the eyes of the Archbishop with his own brown pair.

Lus and Jose both stared at the ground in disappointment, with Moa simply facepalming.

"Please refrain from flirting with the Archbishop." The Green-haired companion of the Archbishop added with a stern disapproving look on his face.

"Of course...forgive my comrade." Leona added, kicking Ginzo.

"It is quite alright." Lady Rhea began. "In any case, your allies, Fireteam Noctis, saved our monastery from an attack by the Vex. After seeing what Guardians can do firsthand, it is greatly reassuring that you are all very capable of keeping us safe. It is also very intriguing to see humans from your world as well. Please feel free to remain here for as long as you like."

"Thank you." Leona said as she and her comrades bowed and returned their helmets to their heads.

"That's it?" Ginzo asked over comms. "No terms and conditions or anything like that?"

"Well, we did most of the talking…" Jose returned.

"Before you all leave," Rhea began, halting all but Ginzo who already departed from the chamber. "I have one more thing to ask of you. A minor Lord of the Kingdom of Faerghus is fermenting a rebellion against the Church of Seiros. The Knights of Seiros have already been deployed to deal with them. I am also planning on sending the Blue Lions house as well as the Black Eagles house. I once again ask that you accompany them in order to offer assistance."

"About that..." Lus said, turning to the Archbishop. "With the recent appearance of the Hive, I don't think it's a good idea to continue missions. At the very least, not with students."

"The Hive are a race that literally specializes in death." Anan spoke. "A single Hive rune that means death can kill hundreds."

"For the time being, I ask that you suspend all missions until the Hive and Vex are sufficiently dealt with." Lus asked, turning to the Archbishop.

"I see. That is unfortunate. Very well, but please do deal with the Hive as quickly as possible." Lady Rhea answered.

Suddenly Catherine walked into the chamber, wearing a puzzled yet terrified look on her face. She walked to meet Lady Rhea before bowing and rising to face her.

"Lady Rhea...we've returned from the battlefield, but...when we got there, Lord Lonato was already dead…"

"How do you mean?" Seteth asked, his face shifting to be shocked.

"Well…when we arrived, we only saw the mangled corpses of Lonato and his soldiers…some were destroyed beyond all recognition...we captured and spoke to a lone survivor. He says that everyone was wiped out by an army of creatures with three glowing eyes…"

When the Guardians heard this, all of their eyes widened in shock. Their situation had somehow gotten even worse.

"Where is he now?" Asked Leona.

"He's in a cell at the moment. I can take you to him if you want." Catherine answered, turning to the Guardians.

Suddenly the frantic voice of Ginzo arose over comms, simultaneous with screams and explosions coming from the monastery grounds.

"ANAN MESSED UP!" Ginzo shouted, firing off three bolts of Arc from his Cloudstrike.

"What?!" Anan answered, both over comms and locally. "What did I do wrong? And where even are you Ginzo?"

"On top of the roof sniping WAY too many Ogres. You guys gotta get out here now, shit's getting real! Ginzo out!"

Lus turned to Lady Rhea, while the rest of the Guardians rushed outside to confront the violence.

"Evacuate the monastery now! The Hive made it inside!" Lus yelled as he ran to help his comrades fight off the incoming onslaught. He heard Seteth yell a confused "What?!" at him, but he ignored it due to the time constraints they had. As Lus made it to the main floor of the monastery grounds, he saw a scene that reminded him of that day.

The day the City fell.

The Hive came in droves like frenzied hornets. Lus quickly shook himself from his shock-filled stupor in order to raise his shield to protect a fleeing Annette from the thunderous blasts of a Boomer Knight. Lus quickly summoned a Hammer of Sol in his right hand, before chucking it at the Knight, purging it. As Annette spotted and called for Felix to hide behind Lus' wide shield, he shifted it to a Ward of Dawn. Lus briefly peeked out the dome and pulled Felix inside, shielding him with his body. When both students were inside, Lus ran out and unleashed the fury of The Lament upon two Knights attempting to rush the bubble.

"She got us!" Anan yelled over comms while unleashing two Nova Bombs upon a crowd of Acolytes. "She made us think we could fall back so she could push in!"

Leona growled in anguish as she turned a corner and saw a human knight shielding a student both perish under the blade of a Swordbearer Knight. "Where do we set an evac point?!" She yelled as she rushed the Hive Knight and tore off its head with her bare hands.

"Well it was gonna be by the stables and carriages but they're on goddamn fire!" Moa yelled as she leaped in the air before releasing a Shadowshot upon the Thrall below her.

"I'll make one then!" Jose yelled as he took to the skies before releasing a Slova-bomb upon the monastery walls near the greenhouse and dorms, causing it to blast open. He quickly planted a Well of Radiance, before calling over to Claude and Edelgard to hurry to his position. "Lus or Leona, can you get over here and make a bubble quickly?!"

"I'm on it!" Lus said, slicing through a Knight with his sword. He ran back to his bubble containing Felix and Annette, quickly checking to make sure that they're alright.

"We're gonna have to move. We leave when I say go. Whatever you do, stay behind me." Lus said, earning a nod from the two. He switched back to comms to ask a favor.

"Ginzo, gonna need some cover!" He said, waiting while peering out through the purple dome. Once he saw a blue bolt of lightning strike an incoming Knight and create a thunderstorm, he knew it was time.

"GO!" Lus shouted, summoning a shield and using it to block incoming attacks from the Hive, shielding Annette and Felix as they moved to Jose's position.

Ginzo was firing round after round from his Cloudstrike, raining down lightning upon his foes. Any now-refugees were protected by blue bolts of energy from his sniper. He directed them to the evac point Lus and Jose had set up. Ginzo continued to fire limitless rounds into his foes, creating lightning storms where he struck. It was then that Ginzo saw three figures of interest: the towering Ogre from before, the High Celebrant, and a Pyramid-headed Wizard, the size of which dwarfing any other powerful Wizards he saw before.

"Ayo, big Ogre, Wizard, and High Celebrant are here!" Ginzo shouted over comms as he unloaded into the Ogre's growth on its back.

"A little busy! Keep them off the students!" Lus shouted as he peeked from his Ward of Dawn on the evac point, throwing multiple flaming hammers upon the Hive.

"I'll take on the Wizard! Leona, can you handle the Ogre?"

"Less a matter of 'if' rather than 'when'! I'll handle it!" Leona shouted as she ripped apart a Hive Knight.

"Guess that means Celly's mine!" Ginzo shouted as he changed his target to the Celebrant, holstering his Cloudstrike in favor of cloaking himself and dashing to the massive Knight.

Jose finished flying Dedue and Mercedes to Lus' bubble, before taking to the skies and relieving some pressure off Lus by raining fire. Jose briefly dipped in the bubble before firing off a blast from his Telesto. Worry began to creep over his face. Lus could only fit so many in his bubble. Even if Leona put a bubble near Lus', there would be no way they could save everyone. But the fact that already so many had died, began to chip away at his mental fortitude.

"Moa! Can you help us over here?" Jose asked, collapsing his sword into a Nova Bomb and dunking it into the ground.

"Way ahead of you!" Moa shouted as several Golden Gun shots rang out, dropping Hive soldier after Hive soldier. Moa fired off a few more shots before dodging into Lus' bubble. Moa rose to look at those within the safety of Lus' Ward of Dawn. She recognized two of the three house leaders, Edelgard and Claude, along with Anette, Felix, Ashe, Ignatz, and Caspar. Moa cursed as she cloaked herself. Far too many students were missing.

"I'm gonna look for anyone else!" Moa exclaimed, rolling out of the bubble. "I'll leave a present!" She yelled as she leaped in the air and unleashed an ungodly amount of Shadowshots upon the Hive, tethering them with perfect timing. As Moa landed, she saw Lus unload a slug into a Knight, taking down it and many other Hive tethered.

She turned to rush into the burning monastery, hoping in her heart to see the students alive. As she made it inside, she saw Dimitri, Leonie, Ingrid, and Sylvain being chased by a Knight, which she quickly took down by unleashing far too many Golden Gun shots into it. She quickly yelled to grab the attention of the students, causing them to run over to her. She hastily began to escort them to Lus' bubble, which was already far past the point of uncomfortable with how many people are in it.

She saw Jose create a Well of Radiance behind Lus' bubble in order to provide some form of space for the new arrivals. Jose then flew over to Moa and miraculously found a way for all four students to cling to him. Moa confirmed Jose was already in the air above his Well before firing a few Golden Gun shots to thin the herd. Moa then charged back into the fiery anarchy that befell the monastery, searching for any more survivors.

Ginzo dodged a slam from the Knight before Shadestepping behind it and leaping up to its head slamming the barrel of his Golden Gun into it with his right hand while summoning an Arc Staff in his left. He stabbed the staff into the Knight's jugular before surging it with pure Arc Light, unleashing an inferno of Golden Gun shots simultaneously. This earned a roar of anguish from the Celebrant, which quickly threw him off. Ginzo smirked as he knew he got the last laugh. Before he was thrown off, he managed to toss several grenades into the gashes his staff and bullets created. As they detonated, the Knight screamed with fury and rage, rushing Ginzo. He dodged to the side again, this time throwing a flurry of fiery knives upon the Knight.

Anan unleashed a Celestial Fire upon the Pyramid-headed Wizard with his right hand, and a Handheld Supernova in his left, creating a squall of elements that exploded upon the witch. Without hesitating for a moment, Anan charged a Nova Bomb in his right hand, slamming it into the Celebrant and pushing it back. He then struck the chest of the Wizard with his lightning charged palm, before unleashing a Chaos Reach. As Anan prepared his next blow, the Wizard saw an opportunity and blasted Anan with the power of several Knights sending Anan flying into the quarters of the Knights of Seiros. Before too much damage could be done to Anan, Glaucia healed him and he rolled back to avoid the Wizard who appeared before him at an alarming rate. Anan waited for the Wizard to come closer before unleashing a Penumbral Blast upon it, along with a Duskfield Grenade to slow it. While the Witch was in entropy, Anan uppercutted the Wizard with his palm, unleashing a devastating beam of Arc light.

Leona charged her fist with Arc, making a claw with her hands before she plunged it into the Ogre's face. She then slammed the Ogre into the ground repeatedly before she threw the Ogre with ease, the sound of the Ogre landing briefly drowning out all other noise. Before the Ogre could rise, Leona soared through the air, slamming the Ogre with a Burning Maul. Before Leona could get another hit in, she felt the terrible hand of the Ogre grab her torso and crush her bones, earning a scream of anguish from her before she was slammed into the ground. As the Ogre rose to go look for its next victim trampling the body of Leona, it felt several heavy rounds being emptied into its weak spot, before a call of a bird was heard and a final round sent it reeling. Behind the Ogre stood Leona, renewed, and ready to continue the fight.

Byleth was currently searching for Jeralt, amidst the chaos that was currently happening. The Hive had managed to overrun the monastery, leaving destruction everywhere. Byleth had managed

to find a Mausoleum of sorts, which was currently infested with Hive. He darted from shadow to shadow to avoid the tri-eyed monsters, and the skeletal creatures currently feasting on a knight's corpse.

Byleth scanned the room, seeing that nothing could be done for the victims who had already suffered a cruel fate in the mausoleum. He saw taller Hive with swords and smaller ones with weird contraptions desecrating the tombs of those buried here. He wanted to stop them and let the dead rest, but he knew it'd be futile. Sighing to himself, he began to turn out of the Mausoleum, when he came face to face with one of the smaller tri-eyed Hive. As it saw Byleth, it roared, alerting the others to the fresh meat that had newly arrived. Byleth swung his sword, which bounced as it collided with the chitinous armor of the soldier. Byleth quickly dropped the sword and ran deeper into the mausoleum, the entrance becoming blocked by the Hive chasing him. As he vaulted over a tomb, his left shoulder was struck by a purple bolt, burning his flesh and causing him to grunt in pain as he kept running. A skeletal Hive attempted to cut him off, but he managed to slow it by throwing his sword at it, which did nothing more than briefly stun the creature.

Byleth had made it to the far back of the room, which had a towering figure with a sword currently looting a tomb. Byleth saw it turn with a strange weapon that resembled a Relic. The thing roared with fury, before rushing Byleth with both its cleaver and strange sword. Byleth managed to narrowly roll back, avoiding a crushing slam by the beast. He heard the rushing skeletal creatures behind him scream as they drew closer, sandwiching him with the monster in front of him.

Byleth rewound time to move back to his original hiding spot. As expected, the smaller, skeletal creatures along with some of the smaller tri-eyed creatures rewound to their original positions. However, the being wielding the cleaver and the Relic was unchanged. It roared and began to rush Byleth, exposing his spot once again.

Suddenly an explosion-like sound was heard, accompanying a bolt of Orange that exploded the beast.

"Are you alright?"

Byleth turned to see Moa begin to fire a flaming contraption in her hand.

"Gonna be honest here...I don't know if we can do this…we're down really bad." Jose said as he guided a group of students to a safe zone outside the monastery.

"Yeah…we're getting screwed." Lus answered, feeling himself becoming winded from his nearly incessant use of Ward of Dawn since the battle began.

"You can say that again..." Ginzo muttered, rolling away and landing three shots on the Celebrant's head. Ginzo rolled once more into a smoke cloud, hoping that it would give him a quick moment to move to an advantageous position.

Suddenly with a terrifying roar, a dragon flew down from the sky in majestic glory, raining down freezing rays upon the Hive.

"Oh, so they got Ahamkara now?!"