Just when it looked like Shez bit off more than she could chew by merely wandering into this unknown section of Garreg Mach, she was saved by Byleth, the House Leaders, and Linhardt, Ashe, and Hilda. What started as a misunderstanding turned into a surprisingly large fight under the monastery. Based off of Balthus' strength alone, the Ashen Wolves were clearly a group not to take lightly. Shez was on a knee, panting heavily from the physical exhaustion her fight with Balthus had on her. "These guys are no joke..." That's when she could feel some of the soreness in her body start to fade away. "Huh?"
When Shez glanced behind her, she saw that Linhardt was the one that was healing her. "How you ended up here is the biggest mystery of it all." Linhardt said while holding his hand out towards his fellow classmate. "But I suppose it's best to heal you up as most I can. The more you fight, the less work I have to do."
"I like the way you think, Linhardt." Hilda was in agreement. She had her axe at the ready, but she absolutely wasn't about to get involved in this fight unless she absolutely had to. "We can just let Claude and the others handle it. I don't really think they need us here for physical support."
"Are you okay?" Ashe asked Shez.
"Physically, yeah." Shez said while standing up. Linhardt's healing magic wasn't perfect, but it did let her stand on her own two feet. "You guys just stay here as backup. I'm going back in there." She said this...but she didn't move. Her violet eyes tracked the battle as it happened, and not once was she able to move a muscle.
"...Are you sure?" Hilda noticed this and tilted her head. Shez was usually pretty gung ho about charging in headfirst, but this was the first time she's seen the other woman completely stop in her tracks.
"Why aren't you moving?" Arval asked. They were more than ready to get back into the action now that Shez was healed up.
"...I...I can't find an opening..." Shez mumbled to herself. Her battlefield awareness was always fairly decent, but after fighting against and with Byleth, along with the various battles taking place during her time in Garreg Mach...she realized she found herself thinking a bit more than usual. Watching the fight in front of her, she couldn't find an opening that wouldn't result in her just...getting in the way.
"Ohoho! What a fantastic opportunity to try out my new spells! Tremble before the might of Constance von Nuvelle!" Constance raised her hand, several violet spheres of magic appearing around her, all of them launching towards Edelgard on her command. Despite not being versed in dark magic like Hapi, Constance was capable of using it with no problems while the sun wasn't a factor. "I hope I don't catch the Princess by surprise! But I would not be surprised if even she was unable to stand up to my magical might!"
Edelgard was making a beeline towards Constance. With the orbs of magic coming her way, she resorted to dodging by flipping to the side, or simply using her axe to slice the magic in half. "Nuvelle...?" That name rang familiar to Edelgard's ears. But it didn't stop her from swinging her axe at Constance, who just narrowly had time to avoid. Edelgard's axe split the ground in two, but her violet eyes never moved from her target. "Wait a minute...Constance, is that you!? What are you doing down here?!"
"Save all inquiries for after I swiftly dispatch you!" Constance said while snapping her fingers. "Dearest Hapi!"
"I'm on it, Coco." Hapi was on Edelgard's left, already firing off a purple sphere of true dark magic in her direction. Edelgard had little time to react, but she was saved in the nick of time by Dimitri's lance cutting through it.
"Are you unharmed, Edelgard?" Dimitri asked.
"I could protect myself just fine, Dimitri." Edelgard scoffed. She'd rather take the hit than be protected by him, but it was too late for that.
"I don't think there is a need to be like that..." Dimitri said with a frown.
"Quarreling in the midst of a battle?! You two must be foolish or confident!" Constance slammed her hand on the ground. This prompted three trails of glaciers to shoot out towards Dimitri and Edelgard. Their reaction was slow since they were distracted, so they were struck and pushed against the nearest wall, pinned by the ice.
"These are future leaders? They lack cohesion." Hapi said while leaping into the air to get a clean shot. She was beautifully following up on Constance's attack, shooting a large sphere of dark magic towards Dimitri and Edelgard. A shot like that would deal heavy damage, if not take them out entirely due to how exposed they were.
Dimitri, however, was not going to let that stand. As the sphere of dark magic closed in, his absurdly high physical strength allowed him to get an arm free and catch the sphere with the palm of his hand. It did break through his armor and burn his skin, but he fended it off easily. "I apologize for giving you both a terrible first impression. I assure you, we are more capable than this, correct, Edelgard?" He then closed his palm, crushing the sphere of magic within it. This made Constance and Hapi gasp.
"Absolutely. I think a certain noble is attempting to punch far above her weight class." Edelgard managed to get her axe free and it erupted in flames. This easily shattered the ice around them, and she swung it forward. Despite the distance, she was capable of sending a shockwave of flame in Constance's direction. "Solar Prominence!"
"Impossible!" Constance gasped, her only defense being to cross her arms as the incoming shockwave of flame struck her. It hit hard and she slid back quite a fair distance. "Ngh...I can see that my physical constitution does need some work..."
"Coco...!" Hapi was worried for Constance, but those worries shifted to herself when Dimitri appeared in front of her. She was still airborne and had no means to dodge. Fimitri thrust his lance forward, but only used his strength to deal damage. He didn't actually hit Hapi, but the shockwave from the sheer force he used was more than enough to knock her to the ground next to Constance. "Oh, ow. Okay, maybe these guys aren't so bad after all..."
.
Just on the other side of the battlefield, Byleth and Claude were preparing to engage Yuri and Balthus. Claude had his bow and arrow ready, while Byleth stood at his side with her silver sword drawn. "Okay, Teach. Let's see what you got. I'm no good in a straight up fight, so...I'll cover you as long as you cover me."
"Understood." Byleth nodded. It was a simple plan that played to both of their strengths. The Professor bolted ahead while Balthus and Yuri charged at her, moving in zig zags that crossed one another to ensure she couldn't reach her movements. Yuri made the first move, swinging his blade elegantly towards Byleth, but she countered it with a slash of her own. Balthus sought to take advantage of this and punch her, but she swiftly moved to the side and kicked him in the stomach. Due to his injuries, he easily staggered but didn't fall.
"Whoa! This little lady's got some kick to her!" Balthus laughed the pain away.
"So this is the new Professor in town." Yuri said with an intrigued smirk. "Quite the beauty if I say so myself." It was unknown if he was serious or not. Maybe he was just trying to fluster Byleth so he could get a clean hit with his incoming swing...but it didn't work. Her expression didn't budge, and he found his sword blocked by her wrist guards. "Eh?" Byleth then followed up with a punch to Yuri's chest that made him cough. "Oh, okay...that was a surprise. Guess she's got thick skin..."
"Huh...that's strange..." Byleth tilted her head a bit at Yuri. Despite the fact that he was the one who engaged this large fight, the force behind his blade was lacking something. As a mercenary who's seen many battles, she knew exactly what it was. Yuri may not have been able to read Byleth's expression, but he she was as skilled as he'd heard, then he could assume she was catching on.
Balthus attempted to follow up by attacking Byleth from behind, but found himself ducking as an arrow almost struck him in the back. "Whoa!" He turned and noticed Claude, only to then meet the backside of Byleth's fist when she slammed it into his cheek, causing him to stumble once again. It was a good punch and he laughed. He did try to grab her, but she slipped away from him easily and leapt back to gain some distance. "She's fast too...even if I was fresh, she'd be tougher than that purple haired one."
Shez heard that and growled. How could Balthus say that like she wasn't about to win!? "I'll show you...!"
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Linhardt asked. Shez was just about to jump in when he spoke. "He might just be trying to goad you in."
"..." Shez growled quietly.
"..." Hilda was silent for a different reason. Everything was moving so fast, she couldn't tell at first, but the longer she looked at Balthus.
"...I know him..." Ashe said while staring at Yuri.
Speaking of Yuri, he and Byleth were engaged in a duel of swords. Yuri wasn't able to get one over on Byleth, but he wasn't so easy a target either. He was mostly on the defensive since Byleth was fairly aggressive and strong, which did make him grin. He was seeing firsthand just how strong this new Professor was. "I see...!" He then stepped back and shifted the way he held his blade. He moved forward once again, preparing to sidestep any attack Byleth made. She did swing cautiously and he evaded it easily, slipping behind her to aim a powerful slash at her back. Ashen Demon or no, this would certainly leave a mark...but she dodged it. Like she knew it was coming. "...!?" Even Yuri couldn't hide his surprise. Before he knew it, Byleth kicked him and he tumbled before coming to a halt. "Did she predict me?!" His Duelist Blow was a surefire the first time he used it in a fight against someone, and even after since he was a quick thicker. But he'd never seen anyone who dodged it the first try! It...made him grin. He liked this.
Unfortunately for Claude, Yuri kept Byleth distracted long enough for Balthus to get in close. Claude did try to move, but Balthus' fist met with his gut, causing him to fold over before he was promptly pushed away. Thanks to Balthus' Crest, he could feel some of his injuries healing again. "Woo! Now that felt good!" He didn't plan on giving Claude any time to recover, pursuing him immediately.
"Yeah, he hits hard..." Claude recognized Balthus after that punch. He aimed towards the ground and let loose a few arrows, kicking up a dust cloud in front of him to use for cover. There was no way he was beating Balthus when it came to pure power. But Claude was a lot trickier.
"Gotcha!" Balthus punched the dust cloud, hoping he caught Claude in it as well. But to his surprise, Claude was longer there. "He's fast..."
"Gotta be a quick thinker to survive." Claude was to Balthus's left, a powerful arrow of wind already nocked and let loose. Claude did have the advantage in the fact that Balthus was injured from his fight with Shez, but that was no reason to let his guard down. He took one punch already, and Claude wasn't so sure if he could handle another from the King of Grappling. He didn't want to find out.
"Crap..." Balthus held his arms in an X formation to block the incoming arrow of wind. If he wasn't already bruised up, something like this would've been no problem. But he was knocked off his feet and flew across the air for a short distance, before landing in front of those who weren't taking part in the battle. "Gah, damn, that's smarts..."
"...Baltie?" Hilda asked.
Balthus immediately sat up and whipped his head to face Hilda. HILDA!? "Hilda!? Oh sh..." Oh, this was bad. Hilda was here?! If Hilda got hurt down here and then Holst heard about it...!? "Y-You're not taking part in this fight, are you!? I'd really rather not fight you, because the last thing I need is your brother hearing about this."
Hilda scoffed and waved her hand. "Me? Fight? Noooo way. I'm just a delicate little flower. I'd get totally pulverized in a fight like this."
"Are you serious?" Shez said, skeptically. She heard from Leonie how hard Hilda can swing.
"...That's a relief." Balthus really didn't want to deal with that. He tried to stand, but his body wasn't allowing it. Considering he was thrown into two hard fights back to back, it was only natural that he'd hit his limit sooner or later. "...Yeah, I think I'm out." He was far from the only one. Yuri, Constance, and Hapi were pinned down by Byleth, Edelgard, and Dimitri respectively. The Ashen Wolves did show some good effort, but in the end, the House Leaders prevailed on this day.
"Hah...I guess that's fine." Yuri shrugged his shoulders. He preferred things this way anyway...there were some aces up his sleeve he felt didn't need to be revealed just yet. After all...this was never a battle to the death anyway. "Looks like you win."
"Yeah, you got us." Hapi said, accepting the result.
"I see my music needs more fine tuning...very well! Now that I understand my own shortcomings, I doubtless shall improve in the future!" Constance laughed to herself, unfazed by how things turned out.
"...Okay. So who are you guys?!" Shez asked. "I stumbled here and the big guy wanted to fight me. I'm not a bounty hunter, okay!"
"...Yeah, I think I can see that now. My bad." Balthus rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just...not a lot of people know about this place."
"Does Rhea know?" Byleth asked.
"Oh, yeah. She knows about Abyss." Yuri said with a nod. "It's just a place for people with no place to go. We're the Ashen Wolves, and you can kind of call us...Fourth House, for lack of a better term."
"Fourth house?" Edelgard raised a brow. She had no idea an entire area filled with people was active under the monastery.
"I suppose we have some airing out to do." Dimitri crossed his arms, putting his lance away now that the battle was over.
"...Hey, you're Count Rowe's..." Ashe started to close in on Yuri.
Yuri recognized Ashe immediately. What a time for that. "...We can get those introductions in a little later. I think most of us can use a bit of rest first. But I will say...I only wanted to see how strong you guys were, with all the commotion on the surface. I can say you didn't disappoint."
"I think our teamwork can use a little work. Teach clearly works well with anyone, but I feel like we'd just get in each other's way." Claude was referring to himself, Dimitri, and Edelgard.
"I can work just as well on my own, the Black Eagles or with My Professor." Edelgard said while crossing her arms.
"Playing nice with others is important." Byleth said. Edelgard had no response for that. Byleth then turned to Yuri. "So...about these introductions."
"Don't worry...I'll explain everything properly tomorrow." Yuri said with a nod. "I won't tease and leave you all hanging for long. Besides, it wouldn't be so bad to get some sunlight every once and again."
"Speak for yourself." Constance huffed.
"Yeah...I could use the rest. You guys hit hard." Hapi couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh as she looked over her injuries. It was involuntarily and she knew better, because the moment the sound left her lips she covered her mouth. "...Damn." She mumbled.
"Oh, that's not good." Balthus gulped. The ground began to rumble violent, as if the earth itself was responding to something as simple as Hapi's sigh.
"W-what's going on now?!" Ashe asked, barely managing to keep his balance.
"...Sorry. Bad things happen when I sigh. I'm usually better about that." Apologizing was all Hapi could do. The others would understand the meaning in a little bit. From the earth, a gigantic worm broke through violently and roared loudly. It spawned closer to Hapi than it did anyone else, much to the surprise of everyone aside from the Ashen Wolves.
"W-What is that?!" Hilda gasped. This was the first time she laid eyes on a large monster of any kind.
"Not another one..." Linhardt said with a loud groan. Now he couldn't avoid getting involved.
"Whew...that's an ugly one..." Claude whistled.
"Another one of those monsters..." Shez thought to herself. But this one she could fight! The others were geared up to fight as well. The last fight of the night, because who knows how late it was when this encounter with the Ashen Wolves started.
"There's nothing to it." Yuri said. "This won't take long with all of us here. Come on, let's make short work of this monster!" And once they did that, they would be able to give a proper introduction come morning.