One night, following a small downpour of rain which left numerous puddles amongst the stone paths that lined monastery grounds, Professor Lucas entered the comforting region known to all as his bedroom. Carefully hanging one of the many copies of his uniform over the chair next to his desk, Lucas parked his partially naked body onto the soft, bouncy bed and pulled the covers over his somewhat strong-looking chest. A chest that came about from four months worth of training and exercising.
Before closing his eyes, Lucas glanced at his torso and smiled.
"I've really come a long way. Granted, it's only been four months, but that's four months of near-constant training. From my kinda chubby old self to this...not as chubby thing I got going on here. Not bad!" He commented to himself.
"Yes, you have made good progress. Excellent work, Lucas," Byleth complimented his host.
"I must concur. You aren't the weakling you were so long ago. If you were in the same situation your past self was in with that bandit, then you would most certainly have a better chance of attaining victory," Sothis added.
"Thanks, you two. I appreciate the kind words," Lucas thanked his mind buddies. "I think it's obvious I still have a long, long way to go. Like, so long of a way to go it might as well be a damn marathon. Not just in terms of strength, but skill too."
"That is true. As you are now, you may be able to give your students a satisfying fight. May is the keyword," Sothis agreed. "Training with Byleth's father has certainly given you an advantage in regards to your growth. If you had been training with anyone else, then you may not be where you are now."
"I've also had Byleth guiding me and giving me tips. That's also given me an advantage," Lucas pointed out. "But there's still gonna be a massive mountain to climb. And I'll have no choice but to climb it."
With a final glance of his torso, Lucas lowered his head onto his pillows and closed his eyes, intending to rest. But immediately after doing so, several knocks came from the door, disturbing the professor's sleep. A voice called out from outside.
"Professor? Are you awake?" Edelgard's voice called.
"Yeah, I'm here. Give me a second," Lucas quietly groaned.
The teacher quickly put his uniform back on, reversing the undressing process he'd just gone through. Making sure to slip his shoes onto his sock-covered feet, Lucas ventured over to the door, opening it to reveal the presence of the white-haired princess, garbed in red-tinted bulky armour befitting of an Armoured Knight.
"I apologise for disturbing your rest. Something has happened that you may know about," Edelgard mentioned. She lowered her voice. "It regards the future."
Lucas' drowsy state of mind flared back up to life. He stood aside. "Oh. Well, in that case, come on in. Better to have this conversation inside where barely anyone can hear us."
"That is true," Edelgard agreed, stepping inside. Lucas closed the door behind her in a careful manner so as to not draw attention to the scene. The Adrestian grinned. "You look like you were just about to fall asleep."
"I was," grumbled Lucas. He sighed. "I'm sorry, what did you want to talk to me about? The future, was it?"
"Yes. The immediate future. Allow me to explain," Edelgard began. "Claude saw a suspicious individual enter a hole next to one of Garreg Mach's outer walls. While I am typically not inclined to believe his tall tales, I believe him this time. I happened to be nearby, so I was the first person Claude spoke to. Then I left to find you since I knew you would likely know about this. Do you?"
Lucas' eyes expanded. A little. "I do. I knew this was going to happen this month, but I didn't know it was gonna happen today of all days. Is Dimitri there too?"
"I believe Claude ran off to locate him," Edelgard answered promptly.
"Fuck. This IS the DLC, after all. Well, best to get it over and done with as soon as possible," Lucas rubbed the discharge out of his eyes. "Alright then. I assume you know where the hole is?"
"Claude showed it to me before we split up. I will take you there."
"Sounds good. Just, uh, let me put some armour on. I should have it lying around here somewhere…ah, there it is!"
Lucas pulled out some pieces of armour from underneath his bed, slapping them over his regular clothing, providing him with a decent amount of protection while not limiting his movement too much. Edelgard watched on with much confusion - a realisation came to her.
"Professor, have you not taken a certification exam yet?"
Lucas frowned. "N-no. I haven't. I could probably take the Myrmidon one by now, but I just haven't done it yet. Maybe I'll do it once we're done here."
"Right," Edelgard seemed unconvinced.
Once Lucas fished out his sword, he and Edelgard ventured outside (ensuring the bedroom door was locked before leaving), heading over to the hole in the wall Claude pointed out earlier. Despite Edelgard's bulky armour setup, she was still able to move decently fast. She wasn't as quick as Lucas, but she wasn't moving at a snail's pace either. This impressed Lucas. Soon enough, the two arrived at the hole. Dimitri and Claude were already there.
"Oh hey, I see you brought Teach. Good job," the Golden Deer's house leader commented. "I assume you told him about the situation, Princess?"
"I did," Edelgard confirmed.
"Great! That means I don't have to play catch-up," Claude breathed a mock sigh of relief. "So, Teach, what do you make of this whole thing?"
"Whole thing or hole thing?" Lucas joked, still half-asleep. He shook his head to help waken himself further when he saw Edelgard facepalm. "Uh, I think this situation is certainly strange. You said some person wandered inside?"
"Yep, pretty much. I didn't get a good look at them, but I think they saw me. They scurred on in like a mouse with cheese," Claude explained, his yellow-tinted Lord armour clashing with the dark appearance of the night. "I'm thinking about following after them to see what's what. Everyone in?"
"I will admit, I am curious. This individual could pose some manner of threat to Garreg Mach as a whole. Perhaps they have something to do with the Western Church," Dimitri proposed, his blue-tinted Lord armour slightly blending in with the nighttime environment. "It would be prudent for us to investigate."
"I am much the same way as you, Dimitri. I too am curious," Edelgard added. "What about you, Professor?"
"I'm down-uh, I'm in," Lucas corrected his language. "Wait, where's the other three? Shouldn't they be here-"
"Whoa there! What's all this, Professor? You and the three house leaders creeping around at night? Pretty shady, if you ask me."
As if on cue, Hilda, Linhardt and Ashe all arrived onto the scene, already equipped with their respective weapons and armour. Or in Linhardt's case, robes. Lucas facepalmed and groaned, emitting the same irritated sound he made in his room earlier.
"I am so fucking tired right now," he mumbled to himself. He then addressed Hilda. "You see that hole right there? We're gonna go in and see what's happening. Claude saw some guy go in so I guess that means it's a damn nighttime party or something."
"That seems a bit reckless to me. Following a stranger to an unknown location in the dead of night...it almost reads like a horror story," Ashe commented. "Is this a good idea?"
"It'll be fiiiine," Lucas drawled. He turned his eyes to Linhardt, who'd been yawning at least a million times by then. The Black Eagle Priest was slowly turning around to walk away. "Hey, Linhardt. Where do you think you're going, buddy?"
"I-you're not drunk, are you, Professor?" Linhardt narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Never mind. I'm leaving because I can tell something's about to happen. And I want no part of this. What I do want is rest. So feel free to go down there without me."
"Hold yourself, Linhardt. Your bad luck is our good fortune. You're coming with us," Edelgard demanded.
"You can stop thinking ways out of this, Hilda. We could use your help too," Claude convinced.
"You as well, Ashe. I'll explain everything on the way," Dimitri requested.
Linhardt yawned again while Hilda frowned, making inaudible complaints about her mistreatment. Ashe was much more receptive to the idea. He smiled and nodded, equipping the bow that was on his back.
"Happy to help! We don't have anything better to do at this hour, so we may as well pitch in," the boy accepted his house leader's request.
"You have our gratitude. Now then, let us be on our way. Ready, Professor?" Dimitri turned to the only teacher of the group, who'd been mumbling and grumbling to himself the entire time.
"Yeah, yeah, let's get moving. No more wasting time here," Lucas responded with a sigh.
Leading the group down into the abyss, Lucas' face began to birth a frown. He knew what was about to happen, about the four people he and his group were going to encounter very soon. Following that meeting was to be a battle. Reminded of his foreknowledge, Lucas started to formulate something that resembled a plan.
Through the dimly lit tunnels they went. Past many a torch, splotches of blackness and numerous piles of rubble. The group of seven even had to step over frequent gatherings of stone and shattered rock tiles. Some folks, namely Lucas and Linhardt, nearly tripped on a loose rock neither of them had seen. The latter was saved by Ashe while the former was unfortunate to not have anyone to catch his fall. With a grumble, he got back up, continuing to lead the group further into the darkness.
As they all returned to a careful walk, another conversation Lucas and Byleth recognised occurred.
"Hmm...it seems this place is more than a simple passageway. There's clear evidence of human habitation," Edelgard surmised. For a brief moment, she glanced at Lucas and was about to ask him something, yet hesitated upon remembering they were with company.
"People living under Garreg Mach...oh! My brother used to tell me stories like that back in his Academy days," Hilda recalled, a smile of remembrance on her face.
"Ah, so Holst attended the academy as well, then?" Claude asked curiously.
"Of course. Back then, there were tons of rumours about what goes on below Garreg Mach. Something about tons of passages and houses beneath the town, all inhabited by super-shady people," Hilda answered. "It had a real intimidating name too. Ah, what was it again...I think it was called...Abyss?!"
"Oh dear god it's time-" Lucas realised, implanting his face into both of his palms as new voices arose.
"That's two points for the pink-haired gal! Welcome to Abyss, strangers."
A strange man with wild hair, an unusually grey school uniform and well-defined abs emerged from the darkness. The seven from the surface world turned their attention to him. Save for Lucas, who was still buried within his own hands.
"Identify yourself!" Dimitri demanded, gripping his lance. He got a better look at the new person. "That uniform…"
"Welcome, curious students of the Officers Academy! What brings such fine, upstanding surface dwellers to our humble abode?" The stranger questioned.
Lucas ignored the rest of the conversation. As he and Byleth expected, after Balthus' arrival, Constance showed up, claiming the group entered Abyss for the church or whatever. The group's attempt at a retreat was foiled by the timely entrance of Yuri and Hapi, blocking off their escape route. As the scene played out, Lucas' frown grew ever more intense behind his hands. He lowered his arms before a fight could begin.
"Alright, alright, enough. You four, shut the hell up. Please," Lucas demanded, displaying his displeased frown for all to see.
"Excuse me? Who are you to tell us what to do?" Yuri inquired. "Judging from your appearance, you must be a professor. I'm afraid your level of authority doesn't apply here."
"I'm gonna stop this fight," Lucas ignored Yuri's statement. He pointed at Balthus. "You, big guy! You were here first. How much did you hear?"
"Just the last thing the pink-haired gal said," Balthus replied, a tone of skepticism in his voice.
"Do you recognise this girl at all?" Lucas continued to ask, now pointing a thumb at Hilda. "Pink hair, young enough to be a student, anything ringing your bells? Hilda, say something. I think this guy recognises you."
"Um, what should I say?" The Golden Deer girl in question queried.
Balthus blinked. "Hey, wait a second...that hair, those eyes, that voice! It can't be! You're not Holst's little sis, are you?!"
"Wha-I am, but who are you?" Hilda confirmed, more confused than anything.
"I'm Balthus! Your big brother's best friend?" Balthus tried to get her to recall.
"Wait. Balthus, Balthus...BALTHUS?! From House Albrecht?! Baltie, that's really you?! Wow, haha, you've certainly grown old," Hilda finally recognised the man, jumping slightly when she recalled fully.
The Ashen Wolves and the six students from the Officers Academy stared at each other in bewilderment. Edelgard and Dimitri glanced at Lucas - Yuri noticed this. He shared a gaze with the professor, raising an eyebrow ever so briefly before returning to a neutral expression.
"Well then, that's something. Can't say I was expecting any of us to recognise these random surface dwellers," Yuri commented aloud. He turned to Balthus. "Hey, big guy. I don't think Holst would be pleased if you went ahead and attacked his sister, right?"
"You're right, pal. Oh man, he'd have my head if I did that!" Balthus joked around.
"What about these invaders? Surely their presence here cannot bring favourable tidings," Constance wondered, speaking up.
"Something tells me these people are a lot more special than we think. If they've got the sister of Duke Holst with them, who knows what other kinds of royalty we have here. Though I think I already know who everyone is," Yuri answered, directing his eyes towards the three house leaders. "Edelgard von Hresvelg, princess of the Adrestian Empire. Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, prince to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. And Claude von Riegan, heir to the leader of the Leicester Alliance. Am I mistaken?"
The house leaders were taken aback. "H-how did you know that?" Dimitri asked in surprise.
"Heh," Yuri grinned. "You just told me, princeling. Thanks for the info."
"Great. Excellent work, your majesty. You just gave away our identity. Wanna reveal any other secrets?" Claude teased after facepalming.
"My apologies! I had no intention of doing that. It seems our new friend here has quite the silver tongue," Dimitri noted, frowning a little.
"They do not intend on fighting us at this point, that much is certain," Edelgard pointed out. She looked at the Ashen Wolves. "Will you simply let us go?"
"Yeah, I guess there's no point in keeping you folks here. Though…" Yuri turned his attention to Lucas. "I would like to know more about you. Perhaps you all can stay down here for some time."
"Yuri-bird, you sure that's a good idea? These guys have swords, axes, lances and all kinds of nasty stuff. What if they're with the people that are attacking us?" Hapi brought up.
"I doubt these finely-dressed folk are with those rough looking thieves. If anything, these surface dwellers seem much like the opposite," Yuri reassured his compatriot.
"Indeed! I recognise the look of nobility, and...uh, some of these individuals certainly have that look! It would be abhorrent to turn them away! After all, if this is truly Edelgard von Hresvelg, then I may have a chance to restore House Nuvelle!" Constance declared, throwing her opinion onto the pile.
"I guess I'd like the chance to catch up with Hilda. These guys would also be a big help in dealing with those other guys that keep coming after Abyss," Balthus chipped in.
"So there you have it," Yuri began to summarise. "I guess you can come in. But not before you agree to help us out with our little mercenary problem."
The students from the surface all looked at Lucas, their appointed leader, for an answer. He groaned.
"Fine. We'll help you. Let's just get this whole thing over and done with ASAP so we can get some rest," Lucas quickly looked back at the students. "At least, so I can get some. I have no idea how everyone else is so normal and chipper."
"My, aren't you quite sleep deprived," Yuri jested, earning a glare from Lucas. "Don't worry, I'll allow you to have some shut-eye. Just as long as you answer some questions for me, friend."
"I have a feeling I know exactly what he wants to ask," Lucas internally remarked. "Alright, whatever you want, dude. We'll be rid of your mercenaries, we'll talk with each other and then we'll head back up to the surface all before the sun rises. Sounds good?"
"Sounds good. Now, how well can all of you fight?" Yuri addressed the entire surface dwelling group.
He and the rest of the Ashen Wolves led their way down the path they came from, prompting the Officers Academy folks to do the same. A conversation about individual fighting strengths and talents emerged - one that Lucas tuned out. He was preoccupied with something else.
"So, we're really about to start the...we're really about to help the Ashen Wolves," Lucas corrected his otherworldly phrasing.
"Aelfric. He's the man behind all of the events that are to happen within Abyss," Byleth stated. "What do you intend to do with him?"
"I don't know. I just...I want some sleep, Byleth. Is that too much to ask?"
"No, not at all," Byleth shook his head. "Not at all."
Deep into the winding tunnels resting beneath Garreg Mach Monastery and through the never ending spots of darkness that littered said tunnels, the collective eleven emerged into a narrow hallway that opened up to a world of surprise.
"Welcome to Abyss. A refuge from society's cruelty," Yuri introduced the locale to the newcomers. "People of all shapes, sizes, races, ages and genders are here. We're all the sort of people society didn't want to deal with. Whenever the world above had enough, they threw us down here. Like we're nothing but trash to them."
Abyss was a dense, decrepit location. Tattered rocky walls, broken wooden stalls, narrow halls. It was a far cry from the cleanliness and tidiness of Garreg Mach above. A horrible stench permeated throughout the area. If either of the surface dwellers hadn't noticed it already, Hilda and Linhardt's disgusted reactions certainly notified the rest.
"This smell is horrible! How could anybody live with it?!" Hilda complained.
"I've smelt worse," Ashe casually mentioned. "But still, this place is nothing like the surface. That represents the light while this clearly represents the dark. Not that it's a bad thing! It's just an indication of the kind of place this is."
"You have a weird way of going about it, Freckles, but you're kind of right. I mean, have you seen all these dark spots? We don't exactly have the best lighting around here," Hapi pointed to several splotches of blackness. "Our torches keep running out, too. It's like the whole place keeps falling apart."
"Kinda like the stalls our vendors use...or the lives of our pals," Balthus lamented.
Whatever merriment or happiness they all possessed had been washed away and replaced with sadness.
"Feel free to explore to your heart's content. Just don't get lost. Don't break anything either. We don't have much of anything," Yuri advised, turning to face the whole group. He then looked at Lucas. "Come with me. I'd like to speak with you."
"If you must," the professor sighed.
"I do."
Yuri and Lucas broke away from the group right before they all dispersed into their own separate directions. Although Lucas was interested in exploring Abyss for real, it was clear there were other pressing matters to attend to right now. Such as Yuri and his need for answers. The pair walked into an obscure room shrouded in shadows.
"Let's get right into it. What the hell was that back there? You talked to Balthus as if you knew him. You already seemed to know about his relationship with your pink-haired student. It could be argued that she told you about it, but it seemed to me as if she didn't even know about it. At least, until she remembered," Yuri began interrogating. "So who are you? Some spy from the Alliance?"
"If I was an Alliance spy, don't you think I'd be teaching the Golden Deer and not the Black Eagles?" Lucas countered, frowning.
"That could just be a way to not draw attention to yourself. Hell if I know," Yuri shrugged. "Alright, tell you what. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? That way, I can be certain whether you're a spy or not."
"I'm Lucas Hog, I'm 23 and I teach the Black Eagle House at the Officers Academy of Garreg Mach Monastery," Lucas mokingly introduced himself. "That what you wanted to know?"
"Incidentally, that's pretty much all I knew about you. The only other thing I'm aware of is that you were travelling with Jeralt Eisner, the Blade Breaker," Yuri mentioned. "Tell me something I don't know. Like why you knew about Balthus and the girl's relationship."
"You wouldn't believe me. It's a story so unbelievable that even I can't believe it at times. Heck, Rhea knows about it and I've proven it to her, yet I still feel like even she doesn't wholly believe me," Lucas claimed.
"Try me."
Lucas was about to sigh, but it transformed into a yawn midway through. He blinked before blushing slightly in embarrassment and then started to explain.
"I'm something of a seer. I know about specific events that'll happen in the future. I also know about things that have happened in the past as well as seemingly random facts about people, places and the like. That's why I knew about Balthus and Hilda's relationship. That's why I know the names of all the Ashen Wolves. That's why I know what you're up to."
Yuri's eyes broadened. "Oh? You weren't kidding when you said it was unbelievable. Maybe I'll be more inclined to trust your claim if you tell me what it is I'm supposedly doing here."
"You're keeping an eye on Aelfric, the cardinal, aren't you? Rhea asked you to. Isn't that correct?"
Smirking, Yuri replied. "Heh. That is correct. But how do I know Lady Rhea didn't tell you that? Again, you could just be a spy for all I know. A spy with some really good intel."
"Okay, how about this?" Lucas perused his knowledge of the future. "Soon, we'll be fighting a group of those mercenaries that keep attacking Abyss. During that fight, a masked man on a horse will arrive and try to fight us, but we can avoid him if we're fast enough. We call this masked man the 'Death Knight'."
"Now that's a lot more specific. If this comes true, then I'll take you a little more seriously. You said Rhea knows about it, right? I'll have to ask her when I get the chance. For now, just walk around Abyss. I'll fetch you and your students when we're ready to attack."
Lucas nodded, then turned around to leave the overly dark room. Before he could do so, Yuri called out.
"Stay safe, friend. Abyss can be quite the dangerous place."
"I know."
With that, Lucas departed from the area, following the vague path he remembered taking to get to this side area. He eventually returned to the main Abyss location, looking down the busy main 'street'. His attention quickly changed.
"I'm not sure how long it'll take for Yuri to get ready. I don't think it'll be too bad if I just have a kip round abouts here…"
Finding an unoccupied bedding shack, Lucas almost immediately fell asleep.
He was woken up not even an hour later. Stolen from whatever dreaming state he was in thanks to someone shuffling his body around, Lucas' eyes slowly opened themselves. A quick rush of pain indicated that his headache hadn't dissipated.
Claude was the one to have woken him. Apparently, at that time, Yuri was ready with his plan to attack the mercenaries. Despite the constant ringing of pain in his head, Lucas didn't have much of a choice than to follow Claude towards some random part of Abyss. All of the Ashen Wolves and the Officers Academy students were there, mostly raring to go. Linhardt was busy yawning the entire time. Lucas could relate.
Once Yuri gave the all clear, the group of eleven ventured down various specific hallways until they arrived at a wide open room with a square platform in the dead centre of it all. Everyone that wasn't Lucas discussed the nature of the ruinous room, a conversation that was familiar to the British man. Which is why he decided to not listen. His attention was brought back to reality once Edelgard looked in his direction, a gesture he returned.
"Professor. Do you think anything unexpected may happen during this battle?" She asked with a whisper.
"The Death Knight should appear, but that's about it," Lucas whispered back. "As long as we take out the mercenaries as they show up, we'll be fine."
"I understand. I trust you have some form of countermeasure for the Ashen Wolves' mercenary issue."
"I sure hope I do."
Just then, a gaggle of mercenaries entered the massively wide room. The wolves were positioned on the platform while the Officers Academy folks stood on the outer ledge, some distance away from the enemy forces.
"Alright! Time to knock some heads together!" Balthus declared, his voice loud enough to reach even the surface dwellers.
"He's right. Everyone, stay close to one another and don't get distracted! We'll team up on each of these guys so it's a two versus one kinda situation. Don't let them surround you!" Lucas instructed, pulling upon strategies from his time with the game.
Before they all knew it, the enemies closed in.
A contingent of the current forces approached the Ashen Wolves as they huddled together on the platform, all of them prepared to cover the other with their respective specialties and strengths. Yuri and Balthus were their frontline fighters while Hapi and Constance stood closely behind them, firing off all sorts of spells to weaken oncoming foes. This allowed Yuri and Balthus to cut them down more easily, forming a large pool of blood on the edge of the platform that dripped down the stairs onto the floor below.
Meanwhile, a less scattered group of mercenaries targeted the Garreg Mach team. Edelgard and Dimitri teamed up on an unsuspecting brawler, tearing them apart with their combined strength. The brawler's body dropped to the floor - cut clean in half. Another gauntlet user had seen this occur and they were horrified. They were hesitant to attack, afraid of the demonic duo that glared in their direction. That reluctance gave Edelgard and Dimitri enough time to repeat their earlier action, the latter creating a comparatively small cut that the former finished off with a powerful slash from the Sword of the Creator.
Hilda clashed with a fellow axe user. Ashe helped her out by sniping the axe mercenary in the neck with a well placed arrow. Linhardt then softened up a sword user with a Cutting Gale, allowing Hilda to finish the job with a strong swing of her axe. This caused blood to spray onto her armour, eliciting a groan from the pink-haired Brigand and a whimper from the green-haired Priest.
Lucas was closer to the three non-house leader students, mainly keeping an eye on them as well as the house leaders themselves. He wanted to make a move, yet his students were more than enough to deal with these folks. But when an axe user began to rush down Hilda, who was still reeling from the sudden amount of blood on her person, he saw an opportunity.
"Time to put what I've learned to use! Byleth, get ready with the magical energy!" He requested, readying his fingers.
"I'm on it."
Mana pulsed from within the core of Lucas' mind. It slowly began to flow through his body, which was when it fell completely under the control of Lucas. He commanded it to follow an internal path through his arm and to his fingertips, where he then molded it into a specific pattern he memorised over the course of many weeks.
"Fire!" Lucas yelled, reaching out his palm in the direction of the incoming axe user.
A ball of flames emerged from his fingertips, quickly shooting through the air and blasting the mercenary in the chest. The force of the attack sent them flying onto their back, the flames burning away at their armour. Lucas finished it up with a swift but clunky sword stab straight through his opponent's neck. He retracted his blade, its tip now covered in blood.
"Oh wow! I didn't know you were studying magic, Professor Lucas! Good work!" Ashe complimented him.
"Thanks. It took me a while to figure it out, but at least I can do it now," Lucas thanked. "Let's meet back up with the house leaders."
Linhardt, Hilda and Ashe all responded with varying levels of nodding and followed their teacher back to the outer edge of the room, where the three house leaders were tearing through the opposition as if they were nothing. Whatever Edelgard or Dimitri hadn't dealt with, Claude immediately took care of with precision and finesse. They were like an unstoppable trio. Lucas and the other three students watched with amazement, lost in their viewing of such a powerful yet small force.
"They work so well together…" Hilda commented.
"Despite not having many opportunities to fight together, if at all, they operate as if they were a single unit. How fascinating," Linhardt added.
"It's almost like something you would see in a novel!" Ashe exclaimed.
"Red, blue and yellow, coming together as one," Lucas internally remarked. "Come on, you three. Let's back 'em up."
Throwing aside their admiration (for now), the four of them jumped back into the fight. By this stage, the initial round of enemies were finished off and the Ashen Wolves joined up with the Officers Academy people. A new batch of foes emerged from the top right corner of the battlefield. Lucas and his squad slowly stepped forward as the mercenaries all came rushing in. Just as quickly as they engaged with the monastery students and Ashen Wolves, they were reduced to heavily battered sacks of meat and red paste.
Most of the surface dwellers found themselves interested in the skills of the wolves. Each of them possessed unique fighting styles and strategies, employing team-based tactics that perfectly encompassed their individual disciplines. As a team, they were phenomenal. Barely any scratches were laid upon them. Although Balthus did receive more than a few, he had access to numerous healing resources in Yuri and Linhardt so there was never much of an issue for him. Lucas was glad he didn't have to use Divine Pulse.
Soon enough, the first round of reinforcements were taken care of with little injuries on the side of the defenders. But then a second round approached. The Abyssians and the surface dwellers took some quick breathers so they could catch their breaths. Only then did they rejoin the battle.
Partway through their encounter with the additional batch of mercenaries, the arrival of a certain someone caught Yuri's eye in particular. A masked man rode into the battlefield on a horse, shadow-riddled scythe at the ready.
"I thought I smelled fresh blood. The worms will feast tonight!" Death Knight claimed, his voice somehow able to reach the ears of everyone else from the other side of the room. "The sword awaited you in the Holy Mausoleum. Show me its power!"
Edelgard gripped her Sword of the Creator.
"Heh, that guy looks like a barrel of laughs. We've gotta avoid him, yeah, Lucas?" Yuri asked, turning his head towards the professor after slicing the throat of a mercenary.
"Yeah," Lucas confirmed, following another usage of Fire. "He's way too dangerous for any of us to deal with. Maybe if we all ganged up on him, but it'll be more worth it to deal with these mercenaries. Before you ask, he's not with them."
"All I needed to know," Yuri smiled. He turned his attention back to the fight.
Even though the mercenaries weren't entirely pushovers, there was no way they could overcome the combined strength of the three house leaders as well as the coordinated might of the Ashen Wolves. Lucas, Linhardt, Hilda and Ashe - comparatively speaking - had simply been assurance. Assurance for the other seven that the fight would be won. That none of the mercenaries would be able to escape.
Before long, all of the enemies were routed. The Death Knight escaped through a warp spell, uninterested in engaging these people any longer. A quick round of healing brought everyone back to full strength.
"Finally. Thanks for your help, everyone!" Yuri thanked, relieved.
However, before any further merriment could take place, an assassin approached Yuri from the shadows. The appearance of a certain mage prevented them from acting. A mage Lucas wasn't happy to see.
"Aelfric, you're here! Well, shall we capture this fool?" He rhetorically asked his ally, approaching the assassin.
"That would be most beneficial," Aelfric the cardinal answered, blasting the enemy's legs with a Bolganone spell to prevent them from moving. "There. This unfortunate soul shall not see the light of day."
"Instead, they'll only be seeing the darkness of Abyss. Hey, boys! Grab this guy for me and strap him to a chair somewhere," Yuri commanded his men, who'd come in earlier.
They proceeded to do precisely as they were instructed, allowing the Ashen Wolves to reunite with Aelfric. All of the surface dwellers converged on the central platform where the Abyssians ended up at.
"Aelfric! How serendipitous that you have come to our aid!" Constance exclaimed in happiness.
"I am relieved that I wasn't too late. I do hope my presence proved useful," Aelfric replied, smiling. He turned to Lucas. "You must be Professor Lucas. I have heard about you from Her Grace, Lady Rhea. You are the Officers Academy's newest hire, are you not?"
Lucas fought back the urge to growl at the cardinal. "I am. And who are you?"
"Ah, forgive me. My name is Aelfric. The church has granted me custodianship of Abyss," Aelfric introduced himself. "I am sure you have already been informed about Abyss' nature."
"I have," Lucas responded, a touch of venom in his voice. "It's not a very pleasant place to be."
"Indeed. It is a shame that Her Grace and the church believe Abyss to be something of a nuisance. I hope I can change their opinion someday," Aelfric lamented. "Before I lose myself, I have but one request for you, Professor."
"And that would be?" Lucas wondered, feigning ignorance.
"The Ashen Wolves are an academy house in all but name only. While I am their guardian, I cannot enrich their minds. That is where you come in. I would like you to take them under your wing, to guide and teach them," requested Aelfric.
"Wait a minute. Aelfric, where's this nonsense-" Yuri was going to ask before being cut off.
"I accept," Lucas interrupted, a frown threatening to emerge itself. "I'll discuss it with Lady Rhea and Seteth later, though I imagine they'll be fine with it."
"Hey, don't we get a say in this?" Hapi questioned. "You can't decide something like that for us. Especially not while we're literally standing right in front of you."
"If you become an Officers Academy student, you'll have free access to all of our resources. The dining hall, the training rooms, the sauna - almost everywhere. For free," Lucas tried to convince her.
"Dining hall? For free? Hmm, I do like free food..." Hapi considered, going into a deep thinking process. "Oh, what the heck, I accept."
"I know Garreg Mach's training facilities are the best! And there'll be all sorts of people to train with! I'm in!" Balthus added.
"I will be able to peruse the library at my leisure! I see no notable downsides! I shall accept!" Constance accepted.
"Heh, I guess I wouldn't mind learning from such an interesting person. Count me in," Yuri decided, unnerving Lucas slightly with his words. "Hey, Aelfric, shouldn't you be taking care of those thieves?"
"Right you are. Please excuse me," Aelfric apologised. "One more thing, Professor Lucas. Are you, by any possibility, Jeralt's child?"
"No," Lucas shook his head. "Why do people keep thinking that? I look nothing like the guy."
"My apologies, Professor. I was merely curious. I will be seeing you another time."
Aelfric disappeared in a flash of magical light, warping away from the underground battlefield everyone had been fighting in minutes earlier. Lucas remained standing there, arms folded and eyes narrowed.
"That bastard, Aelfric…" he began to think. "I won't let you perform that rite."
Author Notes: Major apologies for not getting this one out last week. I started doing something I'm not allowed to talk about yet and then a heatwave happened. My writing juices sorta fizzled out when that occurred. It's still going on but it's not as bad as it has been. Hopefully I can get Chapter 13 out by Sunday.
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See y'all next time!