The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth.
The days leading up to The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth had passed, and it was almost time for it to begin. Everyone had done what they could in order to gather information about what the enemies true goal might be, since the assassination still sounded to crazy to be real. But despite their efforts, they had no idea just what their enemies might be after. But they did have somewhat of an idea of where they might strike. Right now, Byleth was speaking to her students about the whole thing, not being aware of that Akame and her class had been doing the same.
"The Rite of Rebirth is finally underway. Time to see if our hunch was right" Claude said.
"Ugh, I hope it's not. Then we wouldn't have to fight anyone" Hilda said.
"Our hunch is right" Byleth said.
Ignatz nodded "We've all come to this conclusion together. I'm sure we got it right".
Seteth and Flayn suddenly joined the bunch with the former speaking "You seem a mite too relaxed for my liking. The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth is about to begin. While we are in the Goddess Tower, we are relying on you to secure the locations that are lacking in defense".
"May I let you in on something, Professor? My brother can be a bit...callous. He told me that he was concerned about you, and hinted that perhaps you would be better off patrolling a coffin!" Flayn said in amusement.
"That was said in jest, Flayn. And in confidence. Please just remain by my side and do not cause any more trouble. As a professor, you would do well to remember that it is your duty to guide your students down the path of righteousness" Seteth said.
"Please excuse us, everyone. We shall see you again after the ceremony has concluded!" Flayn said as she leaves with Seteth.
"Seteth is way too overprotective. He reminds me of my brother... and in some cases, my sister too. Though she has a different method of protecting me" Hilda said.
"Come on, Teach. I know a hidden spot where we can monitor the stairs that lead to the Holy Mausoleum. If there's anyone down there, they'll be trapped like the rats they are. We'll just have to take them down without getting bitten" Claude said.
Byleth nodded and they got ready.
Meanwhile with the Black Eagles, they had all gathered to discuss what they had figured out. Sadly, non of them had managed to gather anything worth while.
"Sorry, I looked and asked around all I could, but I wasn't able to pin point what our enemies could be after" Akame said
"At least you did your best, Akame, but this does pose a problem. The Rite of Rebirth is about to begin, but we still don't know what our enemy is after" Hubert said.
"We have no choice but to deal with the situation as it unfolds" Edelgard said before Ferdinand and Caspar shows up.
"That does not sound like you at all. I suppose you'll be needing my help on this one" Ferdinand said.
"It doesn't matter where they go, they won't get past me. I'll never let them near Lady Rhea!" Caspar declared.
Edelgard looked more annoyed than relieved "Ugh, Caspar, focus. Our mission is to find out what their true aim is".
"No worries, Edelgard, I think I've figured it out" Everyone looked and saw Esdeath enter "Turns out we are not the only ones who've been digging around. Byleth and her class had the same suspicions as we did and they believe our enemies are targeting the Holy Mausoleum beneath the monastery".
"The Holy Mausoleum?" Akame asked.
"Long story short, it's a holy place where something very powerful is sealed away. Our enemies might be searching to undo the seal and steal whatever is inside" Esdeath explained.
"Well, we have nothing else to go of. Maybe we should join Byleth and her students to see what is happening" Edelgard said.
"I am afraid I'm going to have to tell you all to not interfere" Esdeath said, surprising her students.
"What!? But we finally have a lead, and if something dangerous happens down there, they might need help!" Caspar said.
"You are right, which is why I am going to head over there myself. But if two classes suddenly disappear it could raise a lot of unwanted suspicion from both our allies and enemies. Besides, if we are wrong in our hunch, you all will be needed here, to stop our enemies in case they really are seeking to kill Rhea" Esdeath said.
Akame shook her head "Professor please, my sister is might be walking in to something even she might not be able to handle. Let me come with you, I beg of you".
Esdeath looked at her for several moments before she sighed "Alright, you alone can come with me, and only because of your family bond with Byleth. But be ready to fight just in case".
"I will, thank you professor" Akame said.
Esdeath nods before looking at the rest "You all got your orders. Do not let me down".
"We won't professor. I would wish you luck, but I know you won't need it" Edelgard said.
Esdeath smirked before leaving with Akame.
Turns out the Golden Deer were right. The enemies were indeed in the Holy Mausoleum.
"Our guess was spot on. Looks like we have company" Claude said.
A Mysterious Mage looked at them "Those Central Church dastards have spotted us... Buy me some time while I open the seal on the casket!".
"I'm on it" One of the soldiers said.
"Looks like the enemy is going after the casket in the back. Maybe they're going after the saint's bones? Weird. I'd like to defeat them before they can finish the job" Claude declared as everyone began to advance. But as they did, they spotted a man wearing black armor and a death mask was sitting on his horse in the center of the room.
"Death Knight! Prove your strength and scatter these fools!" The Mage ordered.
The Death Knight did not move "I don't take commands. Or waste my time on weaklings".
"I'm getting a really disturbing vibe from that guy... No one go near the evil-looking knight, OK?" Claude said.
"Sister!" Byleth turned around and saw Akame arrive with Esdeath.
"Akame? What are you doing here?" Byleth demanded.
"So your hunch was right, Byleth. Good job, now shall we help you clean these people out?" Esdeath asked.
Claude smiled "With Esdeath backing us up, this should be easy".
The Death Knight looked at Esdeath and a smirk formed behind his mask "The mighty Esdeath. Rumored to have slain thousands of enemies. Now you are a prey worth hunting".
Esdeath smirked herself, she could tell this Death Knight was strong "You wish to face me in battle? Very well. Leave the knight to me, the rest of your, deal with the thieves".
Everyone agreed as Esdeath approached the Death Knight who stepped of his horse spinning his dark schythe in his hand.
"I always wondered what it would be like to face the legendary Esdeath in a duel. I am pleased the chance arrived this soon" Death Knight said.
"No one has ever survived a real duel against me. You might regret this challenge" Esdeath said.
Death Knight only chuckled "Regardless of the outcome. This will be a good battle".
Esdeath charges at Death, making several quick, but futile thrusts at his head as he swiftly bobs away from the blade. A downward strike is blocked by his dark scythe, he forced her blade away but she quickly charged back in. The two openly clash weapons as Death Knight lands a downwards strike, and aggressively swipes at Esdeath, forcing her to do a series of back handsprings away from the lethal scythe and eventually block it. She tried to counter but was forced to jump back from blinding strike from Death Knight's scythe.
As she slide back she got ready to fight again until she felt something. She glanced down and saw cut across the chest area of her uniform, exposing a little skin but not deep enough to leave a wound. Had she been half a second slower, that strike would've cut her chest open. She couldn't help but to smirk at how dangerous her opponent is. It's been years since anyone had came that close to killing her. This was a worthy opponent indeed.
While the two strongest warriors clashed, the rest were fighting their way towards the Mage before he could get away. Akame blocked a strike from one of the soldiers before kicking him in the chest and sliced open his throat. She then had to jump out of the way of a spear strike from a girl who was trying to hit her. She was a young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, looking to be around the same age as Akame herself. Akame quickly closed the distance, avoided another strike and sliced at the girl, causing her to fall down.
"No! Wait, please! You don't know what you're doing!" She said.
Akame looked down at her before "Begging for mercy now? Pray for mercy from the goddess".
"I serve the goddess! That pretender of an Arch Bishop is the true sinner here!" The woman said.
"What are you talking about?" Akame demanded.
"She has been poisoning the people of Fódlan for all these years! We are going to break that lie and expose her for the lying monster she is!" The girl said as she stood "My name I Spear! And I swear on my father's honor, I will not let this continue!".
Akame had no idea what this girl was going on about, but regardless, she had no choice in the moment, she had to put an end to this. So with that she got ready to fight.
While that was happening, Byleth reached the mage "It's no use! The seal is broken. You can't– Huh? A sword?".
The mysterious mage pushes back the lid of the tomb. He pulls out a sword. Byleth charges and attacks. The sword is thrown out of the mage's hands. Byleth catches it. The mage prepares a magical attack. Byleth unthinkingly uses the sword to block the attack, and the sword begins to glow with power.
"Huh... What?" The mage said in shock.
Byleth throws aside her other sword and faces the mage, who back away. Cornered, the mage prepares a magical barrier, but Byleth used her new sword to cut through it before slashing the mage across the chest, finally killing him. As she stand by the tomb, Byleth ponder the magical sword. There is an empty space in the pommel where something appears to be missing.
The sudden change of events caused everyone to stop. Even Esdeath and Death Knight stopped their duel to marvel at what had just happened.
"That sword is...I see. What a pleasant surprise" The Death Knight said before letting out a whistle, making his horse run towards him. He quickly got on it's back before riding through the rest and pulled Spear on to his his horse "My apologies, Esdeath. Our duel to the death will have to wait".
With that, Death Knight vanished by using some kind of magic, much to Claude's annoyance "The jerk got away. Was that magic? We can't even chase after him. Hey, Professor. The way that sword is shining... Do you think it could be...".
Catherine arrived with some knights "Is the intruder here?! Oh... Looks like you have this under control. You! Round up any stragglers". "Will do!" The knight said.
The battle was over.
Later, the captured priests that were part of the plot, was now standing in front of Rhea, Seteth Shamir and Seryu, awaiting their judgment.
"As all of you have committed a breach of faith, the archbishop will now pass judgement" Seteth said.
"Inciting a Kingdom noble to rebel. Unlawful entry. The attempted assassination of the archbishop. An attack on the Holy Mausoleum. It is unnecessary to go on, followers of the Western Church" Shamri said.
"What?! We have nothing to do with the Western Church!" One of the priests said.
"You have already been identified. Please spare us your second-rate theater" Seteth said sharply.
"Such heinous acts can not go unanswered. As punishment for your unspeakable sins against the very goddess herself, you are all sentenced to death" Seryu said, doing her best to not kill them on the spot
"Dishonoring a holy ceremony is worthy of death for a member of the church. You are well past the hope of redemption. If you have any grace remaining, you will willingly offer your life as atonement for this crime" Rhea said calmly.
"No! This isn't what we were told would happen! We've been deceived!" One of the priests said.
"Shut your mouth! Your reason dosen't mean anything, the fact still stands that you are all sinners, and will now face the absolute justice of the goddess" Seryu said, her anger growing by the second.
"It's no use arguing. Whatever your excuse, the punishment stands" Shamir said coldly.
"May your souls find peace as they return to the goddess..." Rhea said as she did a silent prayer.
"Wait! Please! The goddess would never forgive you for our execution!" One of the priests said.
"Monster! We know you've already slaughtered many of our fellow brethren like this!" Another priest said.
"The only monsters are the one who dares raise their hands against the holy church" Seryu said before looking at Rhea "Shall I bring them to their execution, Lady Rhea?".
Rhea nods "Your faith and loyalty will never be forgotten, Seryu, you have learned well. Please remove these poor, lost souls from my sight".
Seryu bows "As you wish, Lady Rhea".
With that the priests where forced away by Seryu and some of the knights. They would not live to see another day. Meanwhile, Esdeath had watched the whole thing.
"And people say I am cold..." She muttered.
In the Golden Deer classroom, they were talking about what just happened.
"I suppose that's that. The assassination attempt, the attack on the Holy Mausoleum... Looks like it was all a plot by the Western Church. It's just too bad that that masked knight who was leading the attack got away. Vanished without a trace, along with that girl" Claude said.
"But why would the Western Church want to attack Lady Rhea?" Hilda asked.
Claude looked at her "Why? Take your pick of reasons. Relations with the Western Church aren't exactly friendly".
"The Western Church..." Byleth wondered.
"Oh, that's right. Jeralt mentioned that you grew up completely isolated from the church. The Church of Seiros is split into a few different branches across Fódlan. The Central Church is headquartered right here at Garreg Mach. Then there's the Western Church. Far west from Castle Gaspard, where Lord Lonato had his little rebellion, is the Fortress City of Arianrhod. It's the strongest fortress in the Kingdom. On the other side of it is the headquarters of the Western Church" Claude explained.
"Not too smart to bicker with people who worship the same goddess as you" Hilda pointed out.
"The bishop of the Western Church must be pretty ambitious. Probably hopes to split off completely. In which case, he'd need to weaken the Central Church's influence. Killing Rhea is certainly one way to do that. To the shock of no one, I hear the knights have been sent to subdue the leaders of the Western Church. We'll probably get a chance to assist" Claude said.
"You're an odd one, aren't you, Professor? How'd you make it this far in life without ever interacting with the church? I can't believe someone like you exists in Fódlan. It's too strange!" Hilda said.
"If you think that's weird, consider the fact that Rhea hired Teach despite all that" Claude said.
"So, those guys they caught... They all got the axe, right? That's brutal" Raphael.
Lysithea nods in agreement "Lady Rhea can be rather intimidating at times. In fact...she can be downright terrifying".
"Yeah no kidding. Still, was it really necessary to kill them all like that? There is a such a thing as a prison you know" Leone said.
Marianne looked at Byleth "Professor. Those who cannot be saved must be delivered to the goddess for judgement. Is that not so?".
Before Byleth could answer Seteth arrived "There you are, Professor. It seems Lady Rhea would like a word with you. Come with me".
With Akame, she just finished explaining everything to he classmates "And there you have it. The whole mess was started by the Western Church. We dealt with most of them, but the mysterious Death Knight and a girl got away by using some magic, there was no way to chase them".
"A lot of things sure went down down there. Ah man now I'm mad for missing it" Caspar said.
"Regardless, it's good to see you made it out safe, Akame. We were worried about you" Dorothea said.
"There was no need for any worry. With Esdeath helping her, I would've been more surprised if something bad did happen" Hubert said.
"You saying I would've died if Esdeath wasn't with me?" Akame asked.
Hubert smiled "Do you really want me to answer that?".
"No... no I do not" Akame answered, earning a few chuckles from her friends.
"Speaking of Esdeath, where is she?" Ferdinand asked.
"Right here" Everyone jumped when Esdeath showed up out of nowhere "I'm here to inform you all that there will be no extra training today. Feel free to rest up".
Everyone where surprised, and Esdeath's voice made it clear something was bothering her.
"You OK, Professor?" Petra asked.
"I'm fine, just bothered by the execution" Esdeath answered.
"You... didn't like that the enemies were killed?" Akame asked, she would expect Esdeath to be bothered about her enemies' death.
"I'm not bothered that they died, but how they died. Executed with no way of fighting back. I would've preferred if they were killed in combat" Esdeath said before she sighed "Killing someone who has no way of defending themselves. That is a prime example of cowardliness".
"Those words could get you in to trouble, Professor" Hubert said.
"No need to worry about me. Now enjoy your day, if you can" Esdeath said before leaving.
Akame had seen a new side of Esdeath today... she is more human than many would expect.
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This chapter was partly meant to show how different this version of Esdeath is from her canon counter part.
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Tell me what you think.