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26th of the Blue Sea Moon, Year 1180 Month 7
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It was still a bit frilly for Aster's taste.
She was presented with a collared, white, long-sleeved shirt with blouse-like frills framing and streaking down her chest. It was tucked into a belted corset, which provided a stunning amount of breathability, like it wasn't there in the first place. The leather must have been enchanted, because it stretched and fit and contorted wherever Aster bent her body. Below her waist, she wore fashionable and tight-fitting pants, black in color, tucked into black boots. Both items of which, like the corset, were much more comfortable than they looked. To finish the outfit, and perhaps as a jab at Aster herself, Catherine had a waistcape sewn into the inside of the corset which was shaped like a diamond, with a spade designed on the inside of it; symbolic, perhaps of Aster's own subservience to Catherine in this whole clothing debacle, as she was the spade, and Catherine was the diamond.
The most surprising part? It took all of two minutes to get it all on; a very manageable time for most situations. It was extremely comfortable, even for Aster. The waistcape was a bit much, but she supposed it was no worse than the makeshift cape she made of her jacket in her usual attire. All in all, Catherine had outdone herself.
Not that Aster would ever say that to her face.
The knight stood with a satisfied grin on her face; a cocky one, actually. She knew she did a good job, and was waiting for affirmation of such. Aster shrugged, examining herself in the mirror. Goddess, but even doing that felt like a blow to her mercenary pride. "It's alright," she said.
Catherine scoffed at that. "Oh no, don't even think about hiding the fact that you love it, not after you poured your heart oh-so-graciously out to me the other day," she slung an arm over the professor's shoulders. "So, come on, let me hear it."
Aster groaned. "Fine, you did a good job."
"A perfect job," Catherine corrected.
"Don't push it," she rolled the knight's arm off and went to stretch, finding the limits to the outfit's own stretchiness. Even the corset contorted comfortably as she bent forward to touch the ground with her feet planted. "The waistcape might get in the way."
"Not likely. That whole number was enchanted; the cape is designed to be repelled by your body when it's in motion, so it'll always get out of your way, say, when you're running."
"Good to know," Aster replied, finishing her stretches and facing Catherine. "Do it."
"Do what?"
"You were insistent about makeup. Do it, and get it over with," Aster ordered. Catherine chuckled, stepping toward her.
"Oh, I don't know. I think we can skip that part today," she said, smiling.
The mercenary eyed her suspiciously. "If you're pitying me…"
"It's not pity," Catherine assured. "But if this is supposed to be the new 'natural' you, then why get rid of your natural face?" she reached up, tracing a scar near her eye, the one that went from just above her inner brow and went diagonally down until it just hit her nose. It wasn't one she was proud of, but thankfully it wasn't that noticeable until one got close. "Damage and all."
Aster snatched the woman's hand and squeezed. "Off. Limits."
"Ooh, quite a grip there, Professor," Catherine laughed it off as Aster let go, with both women stepping away from each other. Aster grabbed a piece of paper from her desk, and then went to the door, prepared for the day. "And Byleth," she paused. "For the record, I wasn't liking you without the scars. You're a lot prettier as you are now."
Aster clicked her tongue in annoyance at the knight's games and then exited the room, trusting her to lock it behind her.
She had too much to do today to be distracted by that damned knight's wiles. This was their last day before their mission, and their last day at the monastery before next month. What was next month?
A break from the year. A full month away from the academy to join with family and friends. This was the only vacation of such length; the closest thing to it after the fact is the Battle of Eagle and Lion, which includes a week of contests and celebrations to go along with it in addition to the week of preparation each house is given for the battle itself, during which regular classes are postponed in favor of preparing for the battle.
Still, on the break coming up, Aster had too much paperwork to do in the meantime. Not to mention, the Church was only providing supplies, not troops or servants, for their mission. Aster took things one step farther, and told the students in advance that she was expecting them to load the carriages themselves, and account for all of their supplies without help from the knights or servants. This, of course, made her very popular.
Despite their predictable complaints and cries of nobility, Aster remained steadfast on her decision. Sylvain was exempt, as he was staying at the monastery, yet when she arrived at the front gates, she saw him there along with the rest of the Black Eagles. She eyed him warily, but didn't make special mention of it as she addressed the students; nine heads, just as she expected.
"Black Eagles," she called, and they formed their line and did roll. Aster waited for Edelgard to get back into the line before resuming. "It takes us two days to get to the target, and we travel through the night. Today, you have three tasks. One, you take care of any business you have here at the monastery. Two, you account for and load supplies into our provided carriages including food, drink, weapons, armor, bedding, and clothing. Three, you decide amongst yourself who is driving at what time," her eyes immediately went to Edelgard, but she hesitated before speaking. "Hubert."
At first, he ignored her. That changed when he was elbowed by Caspar. "What do you want, Professor?"
Aster ignored the venomous tone, and answered. "You'll be responsible for giving me the driving schedule. I'll expect it in my hands by noon," she said, not waiting for a response as she held up the paper she brought from her room. "Who will act as accountant?"
After some murmurs and deliberation, it was decided that Bernadetta, of all people, would do it. At the cheery urging of Caspar, she scurried up and snatched the page from Aster's hand, so fast and frantic that she almost ripped it in half. She soon produced a pen from one of her pockets, and propped the paper on one of her sketchpads; Aster had noticed her drawing more openly as of late.
Ferdinand and Edelgard leaned over her to see the paper's contents. "That's...a lot," the Aegir heir visibly swallowed. "Professor, surely this is a bit excessive."
"The horses need food too," Aster returned, as her only explanation. Did these kids pay so little attention to all of the supplies they use on the road? "The vendors are here. They're aware of what you need. I'll be drifting around should you need me," she explained, stepping away from them. With a turn on her heels, made very easy in her new boots compared to the goddess-forsaken heels she'd been forced to wear the past week, Aster went to the stairs and sat down. After a moment, a new and infuriating part of her brain worried about getting the waistcape dirty, before the rational part reminded her that it didn't matter in the slightest. Damned knight; after only one week, she had Aster fussing over a speck of dirt to ruin the outfit.
The boots really were comfortable, though. And Aster had had her usual ones for many years, and they were becoming worn out, slowly but surely. When that happened back in the Blade Breakers, she just picked some up from a thieves' den they raided or asked Jeralt to include boots in their reward from a client, along with the usual fee of supplies and coin.
As Aster scanned the bustling students, who were all trying their hardest not to look as incredibly out of place as they likely felt, she got the distinct impression that something was wrong. Nine heads, but...Sylvain was here. Suddenly, it hit her, and it was obvious what was wrong.
"Hubert," she called, and the boy's face shrivelled up in disgust. Still, he answered her call by approaching.
"Well, that didn't take very long. And what fresh hell do you have for me today?"
Aster frowned at that, annoyed at his tone. So, as recompense, she decided to stoke the fires a bit instead of cutting straight to the point. "Tell me how I look."
"...What?"
"This is a new outfit, and I don't have an eye for fashion. Tell me how I look," Aster ordered.
"Gck...tch...you…" after a moment of noises caught in his throat—born from pure disdain—he took a breath. "You assume I have an eye for it? Your time would be better spent asking-"
"Answer the question," her eyes narrowed. "Concisely."
She heard a low growl emulate from his throat, and for a second, she saw his eyes flash with power; his crest nearly came out from his anger, which was a rare sight for anyone, let alone Hubert von Vesta, who Aster hadn't seen use his crest since she arrived at the monastery. "You...look...fine…" he practically choked out the words.
"You're pitiful," Aster returned immediately, getting a more audible snarl from him at the dismissal. "Lysithea didn't show up. You'll retrieve her."
"And why, praytell, can you not retrieve her yourself?" he seethed between his teeth.
"Because I don't want to. Is that a problem?" Aster returned, meeting his eye and daring him to strike first. To her disappointment, he relented after a few seconds of silence. He stalked off, muttering murder and curses under his breath as he did.
When Aster's gaze left him and returned to the other students, she saw Edelgard shooting her a worried look. As soon as Aster met her eyes, the snow princess turned away and returned to her work.
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Hubert took his time getting to the dorms. In reality, it was a quick walk past the pond and greenhouse, but Hubert elected to go through the mess hall, and then up through the main hall and to the left, coming from the north rather than the south just to take as much time as possible.
He begged whatever was watching Fódlan that the devilish girl wouldn't even be there; either dead or otherwise having already left. So, of course, he didn't get what he wanted.
He stood outside her door, reluctant to even knock, but right as he went to do so, the door slammed open. Lysithea ran forward, apparently not planning on closing the door behind her, as she ran into Hubert. "Wah!" she cried out as both of them tumbled to the ground.
"Gck! You fool of a child!" Hubert snarled, shoving her off of him.
"H-hey! Don't call me that!" she returned, rising to her knees before wincing. "Ow…" she rolled up a torn sleeve to reveal a newly bleeding scrape. "Look what you did!" she held it up to show him.
"I did?!"
"Yeah, you creep! Why were you standing outside of my door like that! I know I'm late! You didn't have to come get me!"
"I was…" he let out a frustrated sigh. "I was carrying out my duty as that witch's slave!"
"Witch…" Lysithea wondered as Hubert got to his feet. "The Professor? She's the kindest woman I know. She's also smarter than I think you're assuming."
"Oh? Would you care to enlighten me?"
"I don't know; would you care to help me up?" Lysithea wondered. Hubert growled and turned away, annoyed. With a huff, Lysithea got to her feet on her own. "Whatever...I can't believe someone like you can't see that she's playing you."
"Oh, is she? And what brought you to that brilliant conclusion?" he wondered, crossing his arms.
"I'm going to choose to ignore your tone and simply say that you're terrible at reading people, and that's coming from someone who is also terrible at reading people. Do you honestly believe that she pulled from a hat the second time she needed help? She specifically chose you, just to make you mad."
"Hmph, I don't have time for your ridiculous theories," he started back toward the front gate. To his chagrin, Lysithea caught up and fell into pace with him.
"What's your problem, Hubert? Is there a reason you act so coldly to everyone?"
"Simple; I don't waste my time engaging with things that don't matter. Lady Edelgard's safety and goals are my only priority."
"What about your grades?" Lysithea asked. Hubert opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when he saw the girl smirking. "Aha! I got you!"
"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," he returned. "You're obviously delusional."
"You know, they say people that insult others constantly are just projecting things they don't like about themselves."
"A rich statement, coming from one like you," Hubert sneered.
"Says the man who claims not to want to use up time on 'things' like me," Lysithea railed.
"A problem that will be sorted out momentarily. I promise."
"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Lysithea rolled her eyes. Hubert growled at the gesture.
He clicked his tongue. "I was referring to when we arrive at the front gate."
"Sure you were."
Hubert shook his head. This girl was too much trouble. He was absolutely thrilled that she would be out of their hair after this mission. That, at least, left only one heinous woman to deal with.
xxxXXXxxx
Aster heard them singing long before she thought they would try. It was Ferdinand that started it, though judging from the laughter of Sylvain and Dorothea, they probably tricked him into doing so.
Still, he was quickly joined by Caspar, and then Petra, and then Sylvain and Dorothea. Linhardt even hummed quietly to himself along with the tune, as Aster heard when she walked past him.
It was a work song she'd taught them on the road, designed to be sung in time with a march or—as they were doing now and among other things—passing bags of feed along a line and into the carriage. Of course, it was yet another tune that was one big innuendo, this time the noises and whoops the singers do is in reference to the bouncing and jumbling of a pair having sex in the back of a moving carriage, going along with the bumps and swerves of the road.
Yet, here Ferdinand was, oblivious to the meaning. She had no doubt that Sylvain didn't explain it to the blissfully ignorant noble, but so long as they were keeping themselves entertained while they worked, Aster saw no issue with it. She would just have to remind Sylvain to tell Ferdinand sometime in the future, to be fair to the Aegir heir.
And on that account, Sylvain was lucky that Ferdinand was uncomfortable with, but not completely opposed, to that brand of humor, unlike a certain princess.
Of course, she was a bit preoccupied with her annoyance at Hubert not returning with Lysithea in a timely manner. If possible, she'd like to resolve things with him, or at least get him to start thinking, before they left on the mission. To do that, he had to actually be present so that she could provoke him.
Not that she would ever resort to such an underhanded tactic. It wasn't like she was a mercenary or anything.
It took a full twenty minutes for them to arrive, and they were both fuming. Lysithea was practically yelling at the man; good, get him in a bad mood for Aster's inevitable provocation. About what? Aster didn't care, but when they arrived she called Lysithea over to her.
Lysithea looked over at the sound of her name, and hung her head as she obeyed the summons. Immediately, Aster detected a tear in her sleeve, along with a splotch of red. "Professor, I'm...I'm sorry I'm late. I don't have an excuse, I just...I was up late last night researching and-"
"It won't happen again," Aster interrupted, uninterested. "What were you speaking to Hubert about?"
"Hm? Oh, that...he's so distant and rude to everyone, and I got a bit sick of it. I was only giving my opinion."
"Which he didn't appreciate."
"No, not at all," Lysithea avoided eye contact, get a hint of pink on her cheeks from embarrassment. "I'm afraid I lack the...fortitude to help him the way you helped me. He seems a bit too set in his ways for that."
"Then we're in agreement," Aster said, crossing her arms and leaning on the stair railing."
"Do you think your plan will work, then?" Aster eyed her, questioning how she knew of it. "I intercepted Hubert's bug so he couldn't listen in on you...sorry, for not telling you."
Aster looked at the young mage, wondering to herself whether she should actually care or not. Considering that, for now, Lysithea was on her side, she figured it wasn't worth speaking about. "...Accepted." she said. "What happened to your arm?"
Lysithea raised her brow, before she held it up. "Eyebrows ran into me, is all...wasn't his fault, I suppose."
"Don't get soft," Aster said, making the young mage jolt at the sudden command. "...Keep an eye on him, and go see Linhardt for the cut. Ask Bernadetta what to do; make sure to push and get a straight answer out of her," Lysithea started to bow her head in acknowledgement. "Push lightly," Aster finished, thinking more on the Varley's girl's mental state; she was likely already stressed from the responsibility, so it was probably best to give more of a gentle nudge if anyone needed anything.
"Of course, Professor," Lysithea bowed her head and took her leave.
From there, Aster simply observed for a while. They all took an early lunch so they wouldn't be distracted by the other students in the mess hall, namely by Claude, as he is wont to do. From there, close to noon, Aster noticed the workflow start to slow down. She approached Ferdinand as he was working vigorously to keep up with Caspar, who didn't slow down for anything. "How much longer?" she questioned, knowing they were close.
"If I had to guess, Professor, I'd say another hour or so. Just some weapons' maintenance, storage, and final counts is all," he answered. "If I may, is there a particular reason other than 'discipline' for why we nobles are being forced to do this menial labor?"
"To help you," she answered, but the look on the Aegir heir's face told her that that wasn't enough. "It helps build strength and endurance. It helps you understand roughly what an outfit needs should you ever be put in charge of logistics. It's also a trick to get your soldiers to like you more; if you're willing to help them with the small things, they'll find you more relatable, and will be inclined to listen to you."
"Ah, I see," Ferdinand's eyebrows bunched up, dissatisfied. "I suppose I'll...have to take your word for it," he said. Aster nodded at that and looked at the time.
"If anything happens, don't jump in," she warned.
"Um...alright…?"
She didn't say anything else before leaving his side. "Hubert," she called. His shoulders visibly scrunched up with tension, before he slowly turned with the most evil glare Aster had ever seen written plain on his face. She gestured for him to follow her as she returned to the stairs.
When he got to her, he took a deep breath. "What?" he was no longer hiding his disdain, not that he was doing a good job of it anyway.
"Driving schedule by noon," she crossed her arms. "You're late."
"I'm well aware."
"Then what's your excuse?"
He took another breath and closed his eyes. "I have none. I suppose I'll start now," he started to turn away.
"Not before you're punished," Aster stopped him with just those words. "For ignoring an order, and wasting time when I sent you to retrieve Lysithea."
"Tch," he clicked his tongue. "Do your worst."
Aster raised her chin, almost enjoying his defiance. Almost. She pointed to the ground. "On your knees," she ordered.
"I refuse."
"Then I'm sure Edelgard will have a word," she threatened. He jolted at the princess' name, and then obeyed her command.
Aster didn't hit her students, she'd said. They were of a more sensitive ilk, she'd said. She didn't want to hit her students. But tough love was sometimes necessary, and it was better to rip off the bandage now while the consequence would be bearable.
"Don't enjoy this," she told herself, trying to slip into the role she had to assume in this specific moment. This wasn't her. This wasn't her.
This wasn't who Aster Eisner was. Not anymore.
Byleth lifted her boot and rammed it into Hubert's face. He recoiled, a red mark appearing where he'd been hit, yet he didn't topple backwards as Byleth expected. He caught himself, gnashing his teeth as he just took it. So, Byleth slammed her boot into his face again.
By now, her students had stopped working, and were watching in either awe or horror. It was probably a mix of both.
Hubert held stronger this time, allowing all the resistance Byleth needed to dig and twist her boot into his skin. She was pretty sure she broke his nose with the initial kick, which she hadn't meant to do. But he was a mage, and they were a fragile lot.
"This is what happens when you cross the Ashen Demon," Byleth growled, arms still crossed eyes seething with rage for this fool's disobedience. "Don't enjoy this," she reminded herself. "Don't become that thing again."
This wasn't who Aster Eisner was.
Aster removed her boot, seeing blood dripping from the man's nose. Yet, he didn't attack. Fine, she would try something that Aster would do; humiliate him. She pointed at her feet. "You got blood on my new boots. Clean them."
"W...what…?" that finally seemed to make the dark mage speechless.
"Clean my boots. Shine them, lick them. I don't care," Aster shrugged. "But do it here. Now. In front of everyone."
"I…" his gaze lowered to what he was supposed to be cleaning, an incredulous look on his face. Slowly, that shock turned to anger.
"Well? I'm waiting. Or perhaps Edelgard can come over and force you to obey," she stepped closed. The motion made Hubert von Vestra flinch.
Then, he glared up at her. His eyes shone with a hot pink hue. "I will not."
"What?" she questioned, stepping closer.
"I said," he raised his hand suddenly, and Aster saw a Miasma spell in it as he pressed it against her chest. As well, his body shone pink; the color of his crest, the Crest of Macuil. "I will not!"
Aster was blasted backwards, crashing through one of their carriages into the armory vendor's kiosk. Her back slammed into the weapons rack, and she dropped to the ground, stunned at the raw magical power that he possessed. True, she'd never seen him use his crest before—one which was specifically designed to boost one's raw magical power—but he was just a student, right? She hadn't even seen this kind of power from Hanneman, a mage too many years his senior.
Still, she pushed onto her feet, ignoring the vendor who was half screaming curses at her and half trying to help her up. She shoved the man away and snatched a silver sword from the half-destroyed rack, stepping over the wreckage.
The Black Eagles had surrounded Hubert, trying to placate him. "Step away!" Aster roared, making the entire courtyard fall into silence. "He's chosen his path and now he'll walk it!
"But Professor!" Edelgard stepped forward. "This isn't what I thought you meant when-"
"Not another word, Edelgard von Hresvelg!" Aster snarled, willing to play the part of the villain today as she held the sword up to the girl's neck. She put up her hands in surrender, and she, along with the other Black Eagles, obeyed her command, leaving Hubert, still glowing with the power of his crest.
Aster readied her sword, waiting for him to make the first move. His eyes hadn't left her since she reappeared from the wreckage.
After an age, Hubert flung two more dark balls of Miasma her way. She swatted them aside with ease and charged toward the man. She purposefully went about her actions a bit slower than she otherwise would've, to make it more of a fair fight.
This allowed Hubert time to side-step her slash and fire another point-blank spell at her, knocking her backwards. He maniacally laughed as he fired it off, though it was weaker than the initial one that had blasted her away.
She managed to raise her blade to take the brunt of it, leaving only the impact. She crashed into the stairs, cracking them as her body bounced, but ultimately landed on her feet. Where she landed, however, was suddenly engulfed in a shadow. Aster looked up to see a Mire spell looming above her. She just barely avoided the spell with a roll, and by then Hubert was already readying three other spells. "What's wrong, Professor?! Having trouble keeping up?!" he launched three Miasma spells toward her, which she avoided. "You look to be getting a bit desperate already! Why not just hold still and let me kill you to save us both the trouble!"
She ducked behind a nearby guard, letting him take the impact, before she darted away toward the stables. Against what Aster would've done, Hubert took his time in following, relishing in the chase. Unfortunately for him, this gave Aster all the time she needed to get into a position to ambush him.
He entered the stables, and from Aster's frantic climbing and running, the horses were already fairly antsy. So when Aster leapt down from her perch toward the dark mage—in his line of sight, of course—they very nearly went into a frenzy. Hubert lurched backwards just in time to avoid a killing blow, though he still got a gash running down his face. When Aster landed, she took one or two extra seconds to 'steady' herself before resuming her assault. That gave Hubert time to light up another spell.
Aster swiped her blade into the man's side—with the flat of her sword—only to have the blade flung away as he put his hand near it. Despite her coddling of the mage, this genuinely threw her off-balance and forced her to take both a physical and mental step back.
Hubert knew a 'Repel' spell, likely 'Silver Repel.' That made things significantly harder for her to work safely. His left hand was surrounded by a distortion, warping the air around it, signifying that it was still active. How long was he able to maintain it? It must cost some amount of resonance to do so, right? This is where Aster's own lack of magical knowledge was a hinderance.
She'd have to do her own homework later.
For now, she dashed forward, attacking slowly and deliberately, letting Hubert repel her blade time and again. Get him comfortable, and the defeat would be all the more devastating. Even now he was grinning like a madman, firmly believing in his superiority.
Aster noticed him charging up a spell in his other hand, but pretended not to. When he finally fired it off, she raised her sword to block it once again. The Miasma spell shot her straight through the fence and crashing into one of the horses. It was trouble enough to stand with the animal kicking and neighing, let alone when Hubert followed it up with another volley of Miasmas. She deflected them easily enough as she stumbled to her feet, and then dashed forward.
She leapt up and to the side, dodging another spell. She kicked off a pillar to her left and propelled her opposite foot toward the mage, nailing him in the cheek. He staggered from the hit, having reached his hand up to prepare for a sword slash, onto to get a boot to the face. Aster kept up the pressure, leaping and kicking over and over, bouncing around and kicking off everything she could find, eventually knocking him right out the other side of the stable.
He landed on his butt, and Aster was ready to finish this. When she went to deliver the finishing blow, however, his body flashed pink once again. "Banshee!" he called, voice echoing with power. Vines of dark energy whipped up from the ground. Several nicked Aster, but most were trying to ensnare her. She slashed through a group of three to her left and dove through the opening.
When she vaulted back to her feet, she found herself surrounded by stone; an 'Illusory Wall' spell. She knew these wouldn't break like normal stone, nor could they be cut through; they were essentially made of magic, after all. She leapt up and kicked off of each opposite wall, rapidly gaining height until she landed on the top of them. She searched around from her vantage point for Hubert, but was unable to spot him; a 'Change Appearance' spell maybe?
"What are you doing?!" Aster heard behind her. She turned, seeing none other than Thunder Catherine. She had her hands on her hips, both confused and angry. "I heard you were fighting a student!"
Before Aster could even consider answering, she was blasted off of her perch from a Miasma spell. She would've landed hard from the height, but Catherine jumped up and caught her bridal style. When she landed, Catherine set her down and raised a brow, waiting for an answer. Aster looked away, seeing Hubert approaching, his whole body covered in distortions, making his form difficult to make out. She did notice the 'Death' spell careening toward her, though.
Without warning, she grabbed Catherine and dragged her in the way of the spell, stepping to the side to let her fly past her from the hit, before charging forward.
Before Aster could even make it to Hubert, another wall erupted in front of her, cutting her off. A wall appeared behind her as well, blocking an even angrier Catherine off from her, at least. She dashed to her left—narrowly edging past yet another rising wall—and peered around the corner toward Hubert, only to have to immediately lurch backward as a Death spell crashed into the wall, destroying the entire corner. A wall appeared behind her, and a Mire spell appeared over her, all-but forcing her into the open.
Hubert was still veiled, but Aster pounded toward where she thought he was, and she was correct. Though her heavy overhead slash was repelled once again, it was enough to break the veil, making him reappear in full form. Aster also happened to know that those kinds of spells took a lot to maintain, so she didn't think he'd have enough resonance to safely perform it again for such a long time.
Again, she went slower than normal, getting him into a false sense of security as he was allowed to blast her away for now the fourth time. Though she tumbled, she still landed on her feet. She was then surrounded by walls again, only the side facing Hubert was left open. "I've had enough!" he roared, finally using both hands for one giant Death spell.
Aster readied her sword, aiming to take the spell head on. He snarled at the act, insulted.
Good.
He fired off the spell after a precious few seconds. The ball of dark magic was massive, easily the size of Aster's body. Should anything go wrong, it would likely blow off a good chunk of the wall behind her, in addition to the illusory ones that Hubert had already created.
She slashed into the spell, but was shocked by its force and was immediately forced to use her other hand to brace the blade. The excess of the spell cut past her, vaporizing the illusory walls and carving into the ones behind her. Her hair whipped back and forth from the wind that was generated, flashing blue into her vision. She could feel Hubert's will directing the spell, pushing it harder and further, but it wouldn't be enough.
With a push and a roar of her own, Aster's blade turned and slashed right through the spell. All of its force burst out at once, making her carve backwards along the ground a few meters. The action shocked the young dark mage.
But Aster wasn't done, and this time she wasn't going to hold back.
She burst forward, body and eyes surging red with her crest. Hubert tried to ready more spells to ward her off, but Aster was too fast. She was too strong. After all, to his mind, she shouldn't have been able to push through that Death spell at all with how much power he put into it.
Oh, how much he had to learn.
She kicked off the ground in a running leap and reared her blade back across her body. She slashed through Hubert and landed behind him, skidding to a halt. She held the position for a moment, calming her throbbing crest and getting it back under control. This was a technique she wasn't used to using so violently anymore.
A Phantom Strike.
Hubert crumpled to the ground, body temporarily crippled. Aster took in a breath, her crest fully disappearing. As she circled around to his front, she saw the other Black Eagles finally catching up, along with Catherine. She lowered herself into a squat, using her hand to move his head so he could look at her. "You disobeyed a direct order from your master, Hubert," Aster said. "How did that make you feel? I bet it felt good. Remember that feeling, for tomorrow's mission," she stood, and looked to her students. "What are you doing here? You have work to do," she said, shoving the sword into the ground right next to Hubert's face. Then she moved next to Catherine, who looked like she might explode from how red with anger her face was. The Black Eagles were just staring at her, even Edelgard and Lysithea, who knew what she was planning to do. "Go!" she snapped, finally jolting them into action. All of them scrambled away, save for two.
Edelgard left with everyone, but was slower about it, giving Hubert a look of pity and then shooting an uneasy glance toward Aster, telling her that she wanted to talk later. Lysithea was the other one who lingered, kneeling next to Hubert and trying to help him up. How ironic that the outsider was the one that showed him the most compassion.
To Aster, that justified more than anything that she had needed to take drastic action to fix the dark mage. Aster didn't get to see the conclusion to the interaction, whether Hubert accepted her help or not, before Catherine dragged her away.
The professor let herself be led away from the scene of lingering magical damage, and Catherine only let go once they were out of earshot in one of the gardens. "What in the goddess' name were you thinking, Byleth?!" she all-but screamed in her face. "You just assaulted a student!"
"He attacked first," Aster returned. "I defended myself."
"Really?" the knight crossed her arms. "Forgive me if I have my doubts. From what I've heard, you have a habit of getting into confrontations with your students, but I never thought they'd ever escalate to...what just happened."
Aster leaned against the wall. "I just don't play their games," Aster said. "If you play by their rules, they'll always win, and then nothing gets done and they never learn anything."
"It isn't your responsibility to make them better people; you're only supposed to make them leaders, soldiers, and scholars."
"How are they supposed to lead if they can't even live with themselves?"
"You aren't their parent, Byleth!"
"But I'm the closest thing any of them have got," she said, causing Catherine to recoil at the absurdity of the statement. And yes, it was absurd. Most of them had parents that were healthy and that held expectations of them. "The fact is that they don't have any other good role models. Most of them don't have mothers at all, and the rest hate their fathers. Dorothea doesn't have anyone! Is that fair? Should I let her live with that? Or should I step in? What would you do? What did you do with Lysithea?"
"I-I...that's different," Catherine turned away, avoiding Aster's piercing gaze.
"Hubert needed a push. This was it. You have to trust me on that," Aster put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "You obviously don't like the method. Guess what? I don't either. Do you know how hard it was to kick him when he was down like that? It hurt me, Catherine."
"..."
"...Say something…" Aster muttered. Damn it, what was about it about this woman? Why did Aster crave her approval? Why did it even matter? She was just a knight; a brute. Yet, she needed her to understand why Aster did what she did. Maybe so that she could find some approval within herself.
Because despite all the times Catherine annoyed her, Aster trusted her judgement. It was almost scary how much faith she was willing to put into her, and for reasons that Aster herself was still unsure about.
Catherine shrugged off Aster's hand, still not meeting her gaze. "...This is your only chance. If things don't work out, Lady Rhea will hear of this, and you'll be gone."
Strange...hearing those words, Aster felt...dread. She didn't want to leave yet. She still had so much more work to do. Still, Aster nodded her agreement. "Fine."
With a sigh, Catherine let Aster go. "Byleth," Catherine started as she walked past. "...there's always another way. A better way. Try and find it next time."
Aster eyed her, but didn't say anything else. She just walked away.
Author's Note:
First and foremost, I've gotta give some credit: the new outfit Catherine made for Aster is basically the art by nvalee. Just look up "nvalee byleth" and it should be the first result. All credit for design goes to them and/or whoever commissioned them to make that profile. All I added was a spade symbol in the waistcape.
Second, to reiterate: I'll be uploading the first two chapters of the finale tomorrow, and the second two on Saturday. As well, the upload times might be a little weird and/or late tomorrow because I have to drive like six hours and stuff. I'll try to upload while I'm gone, but I can't make any promises. Just bear with me on that.
In any case, thank you all reading, as always. Hit me with a follow and a favorite, leave me a review if you like, Discord in my profile for questions and suggestions, and I'll see you all tomorrow!