Time for things to get violent again.

Chapter 109 – Conflict in the Holy Tomb, Part 1 (Pegasus Moon)

Hilda let out a cry as she swung her axe at a Fortress Knight, her axe smashing into his shield with a resounding clang. To her surprise, her foe only staggered back slightly despite the power of her strike. She then let out a yelp as he shoved forward, bludgeoning her with his shield and sending her stumbling back into a pillar. The back of her head struck the stone, leaving her seeing stars as she slumped over. She looked up in a daze as the knight raised his axe over his head.

Seeing this, Marianne shrieked "Hilda!" as she cast a Nosferatu spell, drawing the knight's life energies from his body.

The knight let out a loud yowl of pain as he turned his attention to the pale healer. Marianne tried to ready another spell, but the knight moved with surprising speed and was upon her before she could finish. Terrified, Marianne avoided the blow, which still caught her skirt and tore it, exposing her still-covered left leg. The knight readied his axe to strike again, but Marianne let out a cry as she blasted him with a Thoron spell, electrocuting the armored soldier. Despite the spell shocking him, the knight staggered forward to try and hit Marianne, who stumbled back in terror.

Just before the knight reached Marianne, he lurched as a silver lance pierced through his armor from behind and out his chest. The knight slumped over as he perished, revealing Dimitri behind him.

"Dimitri! Th-Thank you…" Marianne said sheepishly.

"Tend to Hilda," said Dimitri, his tone unusually cold toward the pale healer.

"Oh, um, right."

Marianne went to see to Hilda as Dimitri whirled around, seeing two sword-wielding soldiers rushing at him. Marianne turned and saw him as he met their charge, blocking a strike from the first before whirling around and slashing the head of his lance through the man's throat. He then reached out and grabbed the wrist of the second soldier, and Marianne could swear she heard the man's wrist break in Dimitri's grasp. The soldier screamed as he dropped his weapon. Dimitri then pulled on the man's wrist, sending the man to the ground on his side before impaling him through the back with his lance.

Marianne had to wince at such brutality. As she did, Dimitri looked up into her eyes, and she saw something in him she hadn't seen before: bloodlust. It was almost as if he were relishing this fight. The sight unnerved the healer.

A moan from Hilda made Marianne remember what she was doing, and she turned to tend to the pinkette's injuries. She did her best to ignore the sounds of battle as more Imperials rushed to attack the prince and tried to shut out their screams as he cut them down.

…

Constance shouted as she sent a barrage of fireballs at a trio of Imperial mages. The three raised their wards to try and block her, but the incomplete spells were not enough to stop her attack. Two of them screamed as they were set on fire, while the third managed to avoid being hit. This mage retaliated with a Thunder spell, but it fizzled uselessly on Constance's ward.

"You dare attack me?!" Constance said proudly.

The sorceress readied another spell and was about to launch it when she heard someone shout, "Constance, behind you!"

Alarmed, the blonde spun around to see a dagger-wielding soldier swinging her blade at her. She hissed as she stumbled back, avoiding the woman's strike. Constance then released her Sagittae spell, but the woman ducked under the spell and avoided it. Shocked, Constance had no time to prepare another spell before the woman rushed forward and swept her leg at Constance's ankles, tripping the sorceress.

Constance looked up in horror as the woman prepared to stab her in the chest. Before she could, the shaft of a lance slammed into the woman's chest, sending her flying back with a yelp.

"Leave her be, cretin!" Ferdinand shouted as he readied another stance.

The woman, still able to fight, looked at Ferdinand and, realizing she was presently outmatched, turned to flee. Before she could get far, however, she shrieked as magical ice began to encase her, freezing her solid.

Knowing it had been Constance's spell, Ferdinand said, "Well struck, Constance."

"Your rescue was most timely, Ferdinand," Constance said in reply.

"Think nothing of – stay down!"

"Huh?!"

Ferdinand dashed behind the surprised blonde and raised his shield, and Constance heard the loud sounds of arrows striking his defense. She spun around to see the three Imperial crossbowmen who had tried to shoot her in the back.

Furious, Constance hissed, "The nerve of…"

She rose to her feet and readied her Mana again, channeling a powerful spell. The archers were in the middle of reloading their crossbows. Before they could finish, Constance released her Bolting spell, sending a devastating bolt of lightning to crash down upon the archers from above. All three were fatally electrocuted by the spell.

"Well struck, again," Ferdinand said, this time a bit sheepishly.

"Just one of my many magical talents," Constance said pridefully. "But to think these vagabonds would resort to crossbows. How unsightly."

"I call it effective," said Claude as he rushed into cover near Constance and Ferdinand, accompanied by Petra as the Brigid princess readied her own bow.

As she took cover, Constance replied, "I should have guessed that you, of all people, would praise someone using such a distasteful weapon, Claude von Riegan."

"Hey, it takes a lot of training and practice to use a regular bow in battle, you know. Those things, on the other hand, you just teach someone how to point, shoot and reload, and they're good to go."

"A valid point. But the Church of Seiros forbids their use in battle."

"And why do you think that is? Besides, I don't think these guys care."

"Claude has correctness," said Petra.

The Brigid princess leaned out to look at the enemy position, but she immediately jerked back as another crossbow bolt came flying at her. As it missed, she came out and fired a quick shot at the Imperials, but this arrow missed its mark too. Petra then ducked back into cover as another crossbow bolt missed her.

"I am not liking these crossing bows," said Petra.

"For once, we agree on something, Princess of Brigid," said Constance.

…

Felix maintained a ready stance as he squared off against an Imperial swordsman. Three other Imperials were dead at Felix's feet, but none of them had been an easy victory for the heir of Fraldarius. Felix did not expect this fourth one to be any easier.

He knew these men had to be professionals. It was in how they moved. Their attacks and blocks were born from training and discipline.

Felix made the first move against his opponent, swinging his blade in a feint before reversing and attempting to slice at the man's legs. The swordsman saw this coming, however, and deftly blocked the attack. Felix then parried the man's counter before taking another swing, with his enemy dodging the strike.

The Imperial swordsman was about to attack again when a Wind spell slashed him, having been fired from behind Felix. As the man crumpled to the ground, Felix turned his head to see Annette settling from her spell.

"Annette."

"Sorry, Felix," said Annette. "I know you don't like it when someone helps you win a fight, but I–"

"No, it's fine. This isn't the time for sport."

"Oh, well, umm…"

"Stop standing out in the open like that. You're an easy target.

"Oh, sorry!"

Annette ducked behind a casket as Felix slashed a crossbow bolt out of the air. Then, as Felix focused on dodging or deflecting more shots being taken at him, Annette saw two Imperials attempting to remove the lid on another casket.

"Felix, those two over there!" she shouted. She then moved to intercept them.

"Annette, wait!" Felix shouted.

Annette prepared another Wind spell and fired it just as another crossbow bolt flew out from the Imperials. As her spell hit its target, Annette screamed as the bolt sank into her right shin.

"Annette!"

Felix rushed to the orange-haired mage's aid, dodging another crossbow shot as he ran. But as he finished dodging, he was suddenly blindsided by an Imperial axe fighter, who slammed his shoulder into the Blue Lions' swordsman.

"FELIX!" Annette shrieked as Felix crashed into another casket.

Felix groaned as he tried to recover, seeing the axe fighter closing fast on him. Felix rose and raised his blade, blocking the axe that swung for his head. He struggled against the axe fighter for several seconds before an arrow struck the fighter in the right side of his skull, killing him instantly.

"Got him!" shouted Ashe.

Felix did not turn to thank the grey-haired archer, only giving him a quick gesture. He looked to see Annette had limped her way back to cover. Shaking off the pain in his body, Felix rushed over to Annette's side.

"Annette, let me see it," said Felix.

"O-Okay…"

Annette showed her leg to Felix. The bolt had dug itself into her shin, but thankfully it hadn't struck a nerve or an artery.

"I-Is it bad?" asked Annette.

"It didn't hit anything vital. But I'll still need to remove it."

"Y-You will?"

"It's got a barb."

Annette blanched at this. Then, her expression filled with surprise at hearing the sound of ripping fabric. She realized to her alarm that Felix was now in the process of tearing her skirt.

"F-Felix! What are you doing?!" Annette yelped as her face blushed red.

Felix moved the scrap of Annette's skirt to her face as he said, "Bite down on it. This is going to hurt."

Realizing what Felix meant, Annette nodded and bit down on the scrap of cloth. A few seconds later, she let out a loud, muffled scream as Felix ripped the crossbow quarrel from her leg.

Then, she heard ripping fabric again, and saw Felix was again tearing her skirt.

"F-FERIIX!" Annette said through the cloth gag.

Felix ignored her protest as he wrapped the torn cloth around Annette's wound, pulling it so tight that Annette had to yelp again.

"That should hold for now," said Felix.

Spitting out the gag, Annette said, "Can you please stop ruining my uniform?!"

Felix ignored this and said, "Stay here. Call over a healer when it's safe."

Annette tried to protest, but Felix did not stop as he went back out to fight the Imperials.

…

Rhea hissed as she sent out another Excalibur spell at a trio of Imperials who were trying to gather up Crest Stones from the caskets. All three howled as they were sliced up by Rhea's magic, with their spoils clattering to the ground. The Archbishop felt a mix of sorrow and fury as she watched the Crest Stones roll across the floor.

Her instincts kicked in as she heard the whistle of another crossbow bolt flying at her. Rhea raised her shield and deftly blocked the projectile before looking back at the attacker. She would have immediately fired a spell at the archer, but she had to use her Mana cautiously since she was still maintaining the spell binding Dorothea.

She was still uncertain of the girl's true allegiance. True, it was entirely possible Metodey had been lying just to create a distraction, but Rhea had been betrayed more than a few times in her life by those she thought she could trust. In any case, one thing Metodey had said was undeniably true: Dorothea was an actress. Her panic in Rhea's grip could have been another act.

Rhea then turned to look back at Byleth, who had just run another Imperial through with the Sword of the Creator. Rhea worried she may have lost the teacher's trust when she assaulted Dorothea and threatened Anna's life. She knew she would have to make amends somehow.

Then, the sound of sinister laughter snapped Rhea out of her thoughts. She spun around to see Metodey had darted his way through the battle and was now closing in on her, too fast for her to ready a spell. Rhea swiftly drew her blade and assumed a defensive stance.

Metodey leapt up toward the Archbishop and threw a trio of smoke bombs at her. Rhea maintained her stance as the bombs exploded, creating a thick cloud of smog that choked the air around the ancient throne. Rhea was seemingly unfazed by this as she waited for Metodey to attack. She had seen this trick before.

Rhea saw movement out of the corner of her right eye just before Metodey sprung out of the smoke and swiped at her. Rhea blocked the strike and gracefully slashed at him, prompting the assassin to dodge back. He then raised his left arm toward her in a fist, as though grasping something in his hand, and jerked his wrist.

To Rhea's surprise, a small dart shot out of the assassin's metallic bracer, and Rhea let out a short "Ah!" as the dart hit her in the right shoulder. She quickly ripped the dart from her shoulder, leaving a small red stain on her white dress.

"Got you, 'Lady' Rhea, hehehehe…" Metodey laughed.

Suddenly, Rhea felt her insides beginning to go numb. Rhea grimaced as she realized the dart had been poisoned. Her mind raced as she began to feel the symptoms. Lightheadedness. A loss of feeling in her extremities. Her heartbeat was slowing. She was having trouble focusing her Mana. She looked down at the dart and saw a bluish tint on the needle mixed with her blood. A familiar scent came from the projectile.

Rhea's eyes widened. It was the scent of a flower some knew as Dragonbane, one that had long gone extinct in Fódlan. Its extract, however, wasn't useful for conventional poisons. It was only something someone would use against a very specific target.

Rhea grimaced as she looked again at Metodey. He knew what she was.

"Feeling a little woozy, 'Archbishop'?" Metodey sneered. "That dart was made just for you. Gotta say, it looks really effective."

"You…!" Rhea snarled as she tried to stay standing. She knew she had to end the fight immediately before the poison overwhelmed her.

Rhea let out a shout as she rushed at Metodey and took a series of slashes at him. But her strikes were sluggish, and Metodey laughed as he dodged each blow. After her fifth strike, Metodey saw an opening and darted forward. Rhea let out a loud gasp of pain as Metodey's fist sunk into her gut. Then, before she could recover, the assassin shoved Rhea onto her back and stomped on her belly, making her scream.

"Lady Rhea!" Catherine shouted as she heard the Archbishop's scream.

She tried to rush to Rhea's side but was cut off when a volley of fireballs landed in front of her, spreading flames across her path.

Metodey laughed as Rhea cringed under his boot and then said, "I thought this would be harder."

Rhea scowled as Metodey licked his lips and then touched his blade against her left breast. He then began tracing a circle with his blade around where her heart was.

"I'm sure I'll get a big promotion after I bring back your heart."

"Get away from her!" shouted a voice that left Rhea shocked.

Metodey's face lit up in surprise before a Sagittae spell struck him in the side, sending him careening off Rhea's body and crumpling to the floor. Surprised, Rhea turned to see Dorothea had been the one who cast the spell. The girl was now free, as Rhea's chains had dissipated when Metodey poisoned her. She now stood ready with Joyeuse.

"Dorothea…?" Rhea said in surprise.

Dorothea glared at Rhea, which was enough for Rhea to know the girl hadn't forgiven her.

"G-G-Gah… Why you…!" Metodey scowled as he got back up. "YOU BITCH!"

Metodey rushed like lightning at Dorothea and made several furious swings at her. Dorothea blocked and parried each blow, gasping as one strike took off a few strands of her brown hair. Then, as Metodey readied another attack, Dorothea saw her opening and jabbed, and Metodey screamed as she stabbed him in the gut.

The assassin dropped to the floor on his back, losing his grip on his blade, and his expression immediately turned to one of panic as his left hand clutched his side. He raised his right hand toward Dorothea in protest.

"Wait… No! I was just following orders! I was just… Please, don't kill me!"

"Give me one good reason," Dorothea said spitefully.

Metodey was silent as he pointed his hand at Dorothea.

"Dorothea, beware!" Rhea shouted.

Rhea's warning came too late as Metodey smirked, jerking his right wrist and triggering the mechanism in his bracer. Dorothea shrieked as a dart hit her left arm, making her stumble back. Metodey then got up and tackled the diva onto her back, sending Joyeuse flying from her grip.

"Hehehehe, the oldest trick in the book, and you fell for it!" Metodey cackled. "Now, it's time you DIE!"

Metodey raised his right arm as a hidden blade extended beneath his wrist from his bracer.

Before he could strike, the Sword of the Creator wrapped around his neck. Metodey let out a loud "GACK!" as he tried to clutch at the segments digging into his neck.

Dorothea looked past Metodey and saw Byleth just as the greenette said, in a tone not quite her own, "Shi'ne!"

Rhea's eyes went wide at hearing the words, while Metodey's went wide as Byleth ripped back the Sword of the Creator. His head flew from his shoulders and tumbled down the ancient stairs, his expression of shock frozen on his face.

When Byleth threatens to take your head, you'd better watch your neck.

I know you guys will think Metodey should not have stood a chance against Rhea. That would be true in a straight-up fight. That's why he resorted to poison (specifically, a poison meant for Nabateans or Manaketes). And I know some of you will chew me out for giving Metodey some tools straight out of Assassin's Creed, but it felt like a good fit to me. Besides, I had to have a way for Dorothea to get free from Rhea's spell.

I also know you guys think Dorothea should not have gone and saved Rhea, given how she treated her. But she did, and she hasn't forgiven Rhea. She still did the right thing, even if it was to save someone who had assaulted her only a few minutes ago. We'll touch more on why in the next chapter, and the consequences of said save.

This battle is going to be at least two more chapters long, but I had to cut it off here due to word limit. Stay tuned for the continuation!