Time to wrap up the battle.
Chapter 69 – The Rose-Colored River, Part 5 (Lone Moon)
Annette began panting from exhaustion after using another Excalibur spell to deflect a barrage of spines from the Manticore. She had nearly used up her Mana, and she knew she didn't have enough to do it again.
"Can't… keep this up…" said Annette.
"Then we need to take this thing out before it takes us out," said Yuri as he readied a Cutting Gale spell.
Yuri sent the spell soaring toward the Manticore, which now had several new wounds inflicted upon it, his spell cutting a gash along the monster's front left leg. Yet despite its injuries, the Manticore continued to attack anyone it could find, friend or foe. Two Imperials screamed in horror just before the beast stomped on them, sending several others nearby into a panic.
The Manticore then swung around, smashing one of its tails into a Church Fortress Knight and slamming him into the demolished barracks. It then caught sight of Catherine just as the Crusader moved to slash at its right side. Catherine let out a loud yelp as the Manticore struck her with the back of its forepaw, sending her and Thunderbrand tumbling across the bridge.
"Healer! Need a healer!" shouted Alois as he tried to assess Catherine's injuries.
Seeing this, Shamir took aim at the Manticore's head, seeking to put an arrow into one of its eyes. She fired, but the arrow went into the thrashing creature's thick hide, doing little damage. Shortly after, Felix dashed in and slashed at the Manticore's hind legs, which were filled with arrows and crossbow bolts, his blade only slicing a shallow cut. He then dashed back as the Manticore tried to stomp on him.
Lysithea then shouted as she sent a Seraphim spell at the Manticore, burning a large patch on its left side. Infuriated, the Manticore readied its tails for another spike barrage.
"Watch out!" shouted one of the Church's soldiers.
Before it could send its barrage, the Manticore let out a roar of pain as the Sword of the Creator wrapped around one of the scorpion tails. Byleth pulled back hard on her weapon, slicing through the tail with her blade's segments. The tail crashed to the ground as blood began pouring from the stump.
Now truly enraged, the Manticore turned toward Byleth and swung its two remaining tails in her direction, sending its barrage of spines directly at the Archbishop.
"LOOK OUT!" shouted Dorothea as she rushed over, readying a ward spell.
Byleth was caught off guard by Dorothea's sudden intervention. The diva's ward spell quickly formed just before the spines slammed into it. The spell shattered as it narrowly blocked the barrage, with several spines hitting nearby soldiers.
Then, without even a moment to react, the Manticore lunged at the two women.
Byleth and Dorothea let out cries of pain as the back of the Manticore's claw bashed them, sending them sprawling across the ground.
"Dorothea! Professor!" Bernadetta shrieked in horror.
Despite the pain in her body, Byleth struggled to her feet. But as she stood up, she noticed Dorothea out of the corner of her eye, lying motionless on the bridge.
Uncharacteristic fright filled Byleth's heart as she rushed to Dorothea's side. But upon reaching her, Byleth felt a wave of relief when she saw Dorothea let out a soft moan.
The diva had only been knocked unconscious.
"Have some of this!" shouted Anna as she released her Flash spell, sending a ball of light toward the Manticore. "Cover your eyes!"
Having only a second to react, the Church's soldiers turned their gaze away from Anna's spell just before it exploded, releasing a dazzling light and a loud bang. The Manticore snarled as it was blinded and deafened by the spell, though the soldiers knew its disorientation would only last briefly.
Knowing she had to seize the opportunity, Byleth turned to Annette and said, "Annette, tend to Dorothea!"
"R-Right!" Annette replied in surprise.
"You stupid monster!" Bernadetta shouted as she drew another arrow. "You'll pay for hurting her!"
Bernadetta's Minor Crest of Indech flashed above her head as she released her arrow, with the purple-haired recluse swiftly reaching for another arrow and firing it even before her previous shot had hit the Manticore. Both arrows soared into the Manticore's left eye, sending it stumbling back with an earsplitting roar of agony.
As Byleth rushed toward the Manticore, she held her hand to the Sword of the Creator's blade, readying a Spellblade enhancement. The blade began to blaze with fire as she extended it into its whip form and lashed it at the Manticore, slicing a burning line across its hide. Instinctively, the creature tried to slash its left claw at her, but Byleth slid under the attack without slowing down, retracting her sword as she did and delivering another fiery slash to its underside. Using her momentum, she acrobatically leapt to her feet and jumped away just before one of the Manticore's tails stabbed at her.
"By, behind you!" Anna shouted as Byleth landed again.
One of the remaining Imperials, seeing the Archbishop before him, was raising his axe, intending to bury it in her skull. Byleth whipped around and slashed through the man's stomach before dodging away as a second Imperial tried to stab her with a lance. She quickly countered, taking off the second Imperial's head. Two other Imperials were about to attack her when five of the Church's soldiers rushed in to help Byleth.
Deciding to leave the Imperials to the Church soldiers, Byleth turned back to the Manticore, which had just tried stabbing Anna with one of its tails after she had slashed it. Cia hit the beast with another Miasma Δ, the tanned diva exhausted from casting so many spells. Shamir, Bernadetta and Ignatz all fired at the monster's head, trying to hit its right eye, but the beast thrashed about, and the arrows instead buried into its thick head.
After firing his shot, Ignatz turned to the ballista crews and said, "Fire!"
The ballistae released their payloads, with two of the large bolts hitting the Manticore in its left hind leg. The Manticore roared as it toppled onto its side, now barely able to stand. As it toppled over, Byleth rushed forward and dealt another hard slash, with the Sword of the Creator carving through one of the Manticore's sharp tusks.
Dodging away from a swipe from the monster's claw, Byleth looked at the damage that had been inflicted on the Manticore. Both of its wings were broken, the beast had lost one of its tails, it was covered in burn marks from various spells, and two large gaping wounds were in its sides. She could hardly believe the creature was still alive.
Yet it still readied its tails for another barrage of spikes.
Seeing this, Caspar rushed forward at the beast. Spotting him, the Manticore raised one of its tails, intending to skewer him with the massive stinger.
Byleth immediately lashed the Sword of the Creator out as it thrust its tail at Caspar, slicing the stinger clean off and causing it to impact next to Caspar.
Before the beast could even growl in pain, Caspar roared and swung his axe with all his remaining strength into the Manticore's skull, hitting it right between its eyes. The impact created a small shockwave as the Manticore released a deathly roar of agony, lurching back and causing Caspar to lose his grip on his axe, which remained embedded in its head.
The blow had been so powerful that the Manticore's body began to topple over the side of the bridge. With its wings broken, it scrambled to try and stop itself from falling over the side, digging its claws into the stone of the bridge.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" shouted Lysithea as she released her Seraphim spell, empowered by her Major Crest of Gloucester.
The blast of holy magic hit the Manticore in its neck, burning through its throat.
The Manticore released one final snarl before it slumped over, its eyes darkening, and its body tumbled off the bridge.
As the corpse of the Manticore fell towards the Airmid River, its body crumbled away, revealing petite, broken frame of Fleche von Bergliez before she disappeared into the fog below the bridge.
The Church soldiers cheered loudly at the monster's defeat.
Seeing the Manticore's death, the Imperials realized the Church would turn their full attention toward them. With their numbers down to less than 200 men, they stood no chance of victory.
"Retreat! Everyone, fall back!" shouted one of the remaining Imperial officers.
"Don't let them escape!" shouted Byleth. "Cut them off!"
The Church began chasing the Imperials toward the south end of the bridge. All five Demonic Beasts had been slain, and their fliers and cavalry had been wiped out. The Church's cavaliers quickly turned their attention to the fleeing enemy, with most of House Gloucester's troops either killed, wounded or subdued.
It took only another two minutes of slaughter before the Church army had the surviving Imperials surrounded, with cavalry cutting off their escape to the south.
As the remaining Imperials huddled together, they knew they were finished.
"Throw down your weapons and your lives will be spared," said Byleth.
The Imperials did not move, but Byleth could see they were not ready to give up.
"Do as she commands," said a familiar voice.
Byleth turned to see Leonie carrying Lorenz on her shoulder, despite that the mercenary was clearly wounded.
"Acheron is dead," said Lorenz. "The battle is lost. As acting commander of the garrison, I will not have you throw away your lives."
The Imperials were hesitant to obey, but after a few seconds, one of the officers dropped his axe. The clatter of dropped weapons followed as the Imperials held their hands up in surrender.
Byleth let out a sigh of relief. The battle was over.
…
Watching from afar as the sun began to set, Odesse smiled at the result of the battle. To him, the victor was irrelevant. All that mattered was the results of the Chimeric Crest Stone's field test.
Given the destruction the Manticore had caused, he knew Thales would be pleased.
Yet Odesse also knew the Agastya would not be happy to learn of the Fell Star's return. Despite this, he had to inform Thales of her role in the battle.
Odesse turned and vanished into the shadows, unnoticed by all at the bridge.
…
As Seteth, Flayn and Alicia arrived at the bridge, the three were shocked at the number of casualties their forces had taken. Nearly 200 of the Church's soldiers had lost their lives, with around another 150 severely wounded. The Imperials and House Gloucester troops, meanwhile, had nearly been wiped out, with only 114 out of the 1,500-strong garrison surviving to be taken prisoner. Large portions of the bridge's surface were badly damaged, with the western watchtower still burning and half of the barracks demolished.
Seteth grimaced at the carnage, something he had grown all too accustomed to.
Flayn and Alicia went to assist the wounded as Seteth looked around for Byleth. He found her with Anna, Leonie and Judith as they all faced Lorenz, who was nursing his wounded shoulder.
"I suppose if anyone is to decide my fate, it should be you, Professor," said Lorenz. "I do not ask for mercy, given my–"
"Lorenz, shut up for a second, would you?" Leonie interrupted, prompting Lorenz to fall silent.
Byleth then said, "I need your help, Lorenz."
"What could I possibly offer you?" asked Lorenz.
"Claude wants House Gloucester to side with him to eliminate the Imperial 5th and 11th armies. To do that, we would need to convince your father, Count Gloucester, into taking House Riegan's side."
"And from what I've heard," said Anna, "your father's not a big fan of House Riegan."
"That's a terrific understatement, Anna," said Judith. "Especially considering what happened to Godfrey."
"Who?" asked Leonie.
"Claude's uncle," Lorenz answered. "He was to be House Riegan's next Duke until he was slain by wild beasts in 1177. Many believe my father had a hand in his death."
"And what about you, Lorenz?" asked Anna.
"I cannot dismiss the possibility. Father has always wanted leadership over the Alliance. It will not be easy for me to convince him to take Claude's side."
"Lorenz, please," said Byleth. "You may be our only chance."
Smiling, Lorenz said, "I will not let you down, Professor. I know I can get through to him. It is the least I can do to repay your mercy."
"Thank you, Lorenz. I'm glad to have you on our side."
"If you can convince your father to aid House Riegan," said Seteth as he joined the conversation, "Claude should be able to encircle and destroy the 5th and 11th Imperial armies. We would then be able to launch an offensive into the Empire."
Judith was about to say something to Seteth when the group heard someone shout, "What is HE doing here?!"
Surprised, the group turned to the source of the voice, with Byleth now filled with worry.
I'm cutting it off here in order to set up the next chapter, which I'm sure I'm gonna mess up somehow.
I first thought about Lorenz and his men switching sides in the middle of the battle, but I felt that would require too much suspension of disbelief. Instead, Lorenz is allowed to join our heroes after the battle. After all, Count Gloucester probably isn't going to magically change sides without some convincing.
The Manticore proved to be far nastier than expected, didn't it? I'll need to think about more possibilities for special "boss" monsters that could appear in the future. I already have one in mind for a particularly nasty character, but I'm open to suggestions on the subject.
Next chapter is going to be one that tries to address one of Dorothea's biggest flaws. Be aware that I'll be writing it with the knowledge that some of you readers are going to be ticked off. But as I've learned over the years, trying to please absolutely everyone is a surefire path to failure.