Crimson Flower

Burning Bridges

Great Bridge of Myrrdin

Ignatz Victor, when he was young, wanted to become a knight of an Alliance lord, much to his parent's joy. Yet, as he grew up, he found an affinity in painting pictures on canvases… Each stroke of the brush brings upon tinges of colors to the blank canvas before him as his imagination plays a part in what he would like to materialize. He had come to love painting and it seemed to be what he felt was his true calling.

Yet, fate could be cruel as his parents disapproved, his meek nature unable to fight against their wishes as he was pressured to continue his path to become a knight, an aspiration he dreamt of as a child but was too blissfully ignorant not to realize it wasn't what his heart yearned.

Fate was even crueler as his parents were proven right to get him educated and trained for knighthood when war erupted in all corners of Fodlan.

A war he is fighting now.

It happened so quickly, the gates either bombarded with magic spells combined by a battalion of mages to increase power or were being rammed by a battering ram, before the Alliance forces in Myrrdin could mount a defense, the archers were bombarded with what they were meant to shoot from another side, effectively preventing them from shooting at either the mages or the Imperial soldiers.

They never saw them coming due to the ominous fog that engulfed Myrrdin and its surrounding areas come dawn, many believed it's simply the work of Fodlan's nature but some scholars thought otherwise yet were too late to discover the fog's artificial nature.

The fog cleared up to reveal Myrrdin being attacked in three different directions: an army from the direction of Garreg Mach, an army from Airmid and lastly, a fleet of boats approaching from the Airmid River that flowed through the renowned bridge, of which were mostly composed of archers that had bombarded the Alliance troops defending the fort.

Ignatz wasn't a man of violence but he had the sudden urge to punch the soldier he overheard earlier boasting so confidently that the Adrestian Empire wouldn't have the resources and men to assault the Great Bridge of Myrrdin due to how reportedly stretched out and low morale they are, but he was probably dead by now from the volleys of arrows that struck the area he was assigned in.

If it wasn't for Judith's quick thinking, the Alliance soldiers within the fort would have been disorganized and eventually routed. Ignatz thought he was lucky to be under the Hero of Daphnel's command, the lady warrior Judith truly lives up to her reputation as a competent and charismatic commander, having organized the panicking soldiers into formation to prepare for a counterattack.

And despite the gates being breached, the invading Imperial army was met with firm and strong resistance from each side.

All hell broke loose as the once tension filled air around Myrrdin were filled with the sound of clanging steel, rending flesh and exploding magic, all accompanied by the shrieks of death that ensued from each mortal blow dealt by man to man.

Byleth and the Black Eagle Strike Force that he led watched the crumbled gate as more of the Imperial army they commanded rushed through the broken gate.

"Good work Lysithea." Byleth praised the Ordelia noblewoman yet his eyes never left the fort they were invading.

Lysithea nodded as she, Annette and Dorothea recently arrived to join their comrades after Lysithea lead the battalion of mages to form and fire a destructive Resonant Lightning spell in unison to break down the gates of Myrrdin, their concentration was left undisturbed due to the distraction of the fog caused by another division of magic users.

"What are we waiting for? Why aren't we charging yet?" Caspar asked, itching to get into the battle. "Ferdinand and Sylvain already lead the charge so why won't we?"

"Patience, Caspar." Linhardt cautioned. "We're waiting for the archers to disembark from the river and regroup with the other battalion of archers from each side."

Byleth nodded, keeping in mind the strategy he had discussed with Edelgard and her inner circle of strategists in regards to this siege.

"Linhardt is right, we need missile support before sending the bulk of our forces in while the vanguard strikes first and keeps them busy." Byleth nodded as his eyes turned to Bernadetta who was overseeing the archers that were regrouping on their side of the Airmid River.

"Bernadetta?"

"We're ready, Professor. Most of the archers had regrouped and formed ranks. Ashe had mobilized the initial line of archers to provide support to the vanguard on Her Majesty's side." Bernadetta responded with a nod, her voice and mannerism devoid of any of her bashfulness and anxiety. Something that still amazes Byleth and the others for how much Bernadetta changes in terms of confidence and personality when it comes to such matters.

Byleth gave her an approving nod. "Once we're inside, let the infantry clear the way to the ramparts of Myrrdin, position yourselves over there and rain down everything you can to our enemies from your elevated position."

"Understood." Bernadetta nodded once more before taking her leave.

"Careful Bernie." Caspar said with his voice lacking the fiery impatience, casting a look of concern to Bernadetta who returned it with a reassuring smile.

Byleth walked ahead of his former students, turning towards them and raising his sword towards the direction of Myrrdin.

"With me." Byleth said with firm conviction before charging ahead, it didn't take long for the others to follow as they joined in the battle. All of them eager to finally fight under the leadership of their long absent professor.

Lysithea and Leonie on the other hand weren't enthusiastic in this battle not because of any lingering loyalty to the Alliance but out of fear of facing someone within the walls of Myrrdin, facing someone they knew.

Edelgard on the other side led her charge, mowing down any unfortunate soul that stood in her way after she had discarded her shield that was riddled with arrows following her initial entry within Myrrdin.

The trail of blood she left behind as she cleaved Alliance soldiers that dared to try their luck against her was beginning to demoralize the rest of her enemies. The soldiers of the Alliance shakily held their weapons, feebly pointing them towards her as Edelgard stood before them, her Aymr slicked with the blood of their comrades.

With the archers being kept busy by Ashe and his battalion of snipers, the infantry of the Alliance were left to themselves especially with the cavalry being kept busy by the charge of the Imperial army's own cavalry.

It was bedlam for them as they never expected the Empire's expected siege to be so… efficient and well executed, a far cry to what they were led to initially believe: that the Empire was stretched thin and their morale steadily failing due to the prolonged war.

"I can see your will and resolve faltering, soldiers of the Alliance. I would give all of you this chance to lay down your arms and surrender, your defeat is inevitable." Edelgard said as her eyes focused on the soldiers before her all while the Imperial soldiers behind her were ready to join the battle if their Emperor commanded.

"There's no need for further bloodshed. I guarantee your safety if all of you surrender now."

The soldiers of the Alliance all looked at each other, murmuring between themselves of the choice the Emperor had given them, weighing their options in dealing with Edelgard with some of them being too frightened to even approach the Emperor with the fear of being cut down by her axe or to the blades of her emboldened army.

The others kept firm in their loyalty to their nation, sending defiant gazes towards Edelgard. Something that Edelgard expected and quite admired compared to those who seemed resigned.

"Don't think you can intimidate my men into surrendering while I'm around, Your Imperial Majesty."

Edelgard's eyes narrowed as she caught sight of the approaching woman of renown, the latter's troops giving way for her to pass until she stood at the helm of the Alliance soldiers.

"Judith." Edelgard coldly spoke her name.

"Your Majesty." Judith acknowledged Edelgard's title yet offered no courtesy. "I believe this is the first time we have spoken. I have merely caught a glimpse of you when I visited Claude back in Garreg Mach before you laid siege on it."

The Emperor gave her a nod of confirmation. "Yes it is, I have only heard word of your accomplishments Lady Daphnel… It is unfortunate that your house lost it's prestige just because of the fact that none of you have inherited a Crest, something that shouldn't be the case considering your prowess both as a warrior and a commander."

"Yes, it is unfortunate but such is the way of things." Judith shrugged despite her own reservations to her house's misfortune especially since House Galatea broke away from them.

"And despite it all, you condone such a thing?" Edelgard asked.

"Unfortunate as it is, the status and prestige of my house matters little to me, it's my loyalty to my people and to the Alliance that matters most. I know of what you fight for Your Majesty or what you claim you fight for and I must say I have only respect for you and the balls you have to fight something deeply entrenched in Fodlan but you cannot sway me. My love for my own nation comes first before any flimsy ideals."

Edelgard briefly closed her eyes, sighing as she did. There was nothing else she had to say towards Judith, she has her answers ready. Edelgard lamented how such a fine woman wasn't born in service to her Empire, instead she was wasted serving another nation subservient to the corrupt and crumbling system she was fighting against.

"Then, no words need be spoken further." Edelgard said as she assumed her fighting stance with Aymr. Judith returned the same gesture as she drew her rapier and assumed her stance with a shield.

Without another word, Edelgard and Judith clashed as their respective armies joined them. Judith's presence and her unyielding spirit against Edelgard had mostly done the wonder of boosting the Alliance soldier's morale as they were more eager to fight.

Judith and Edelgard clashed with the former being careful not to let her rapier meet the Aymr head on, fully knowing that if her blade met the full brunt of the Aymr, it would break easily. Instead, she used her agile body to move around Edelgard, skillfully avoiding getting cleaved like her deceased men while attacking with strikes of her own, something Edelgard defended from with her axe.

While Judith wasn't as fierce and aggressive as Catherine was, Edelgard could tell she wasn't someone to be taken lightly. The Emperor would do well to take her beliefs into consideration as even if Judith lacks a Crest, her skills that made her renowned within the Alliance military was definitely something to watch out for.

'She's patient and precise with her strikes.'

On Judith's side, she knew that one misstep would mean her end against the Emperor. She had heard the reports of spies witnessing the battles Edelgard had been involved in and the fact that she managed to defeat Catherine five years ago and disarmed King Dimitri was something she needs to watch out for, she didn't expect the Emperor to possess such power and skill when she first saw her in Garreg Mach.

'I'll end up getting sent back to Derdriu in halves if she manages to get a hit on me with that axe.'

Her eyes went towards the axe Edelgard held, it looked like it had the characteristics and appearance that would fit a Heroes' Relic' description yet it wasn't something she had heard or read about. The way it pulsates with it's red-orange glow, it behaves exactly like a Heroes Relic should. Could it be a newly unearthed relic or was it…

Without warning, Edelgard moved towards Judith, ready to swing the Aymr once again. For someone with such a heavy looking weapon, Edelgard was swift in her movements against Judith who struggled to dodge her attacks this time, when Judith attempted to block with her shield, the Aymr severely dented the silver infused steel even managing to pierce through it, the blade inches away from rending the flesh of Judith's arm.

'What strength! It could even cut through silver infused steel?!' Judith thought as she was caught off guard but was quick to retain her composure as she used their close proximity to draw and stab Edelgard with her rapier, prompting the Emperor to hop away. While Edelgard avoided any serious damage, Judith managed to slightly piece the cloth on Edelgard's left shoulder, nicking her skin.

Edelgard glanced at the slight cut on her shoulder before turning it back to Judith who discarded her damaged shield as she knew the next time Edelgard's axe landed on it, it wouldn't be enough to protect her anymore.

'I need to hold her off as much as I can.' Judith thought, fully knowing she couldn't defeat the Emperor by any conventional means after she had gauged her adversary's power. She's not coming out of this battle alive if things continued and what she awaited for wouldn't arrive on time.

Judith had to hold her position, the safety of the Alliance as a whole relies on this battle. And retreat was never an option for her.

On the other side of Myrrdin, Byleth effortlessly dispatched swathes of soldiers with one fell swoop, using the whip form of the Sword of the Creator to cut them down before motioning his own men to move forward as his sword retracted back to its base form.

The vanguard that first charged were invigorated by the entry of the Black Eagle Strike Force and their commander as the Emperor's finest helped them get an advantage over their enemies.

Leonie fought side by side (after she charged and dismounted her mount) with Byleth, the two watched each other's back as they fought off those who tried to gang up on Byleth, naively thinking he would be defeated merely by quantities of soldiers with less quality to compare.

Byleth momentarily lamented Felix wasn't allowed to join the battle after he had just returned to Garreg Mach, with Hubert having put him in house/room arrest like he did with Annette out of caution… a move that some voiced out to be rather overcautious.

The swordsman would have been a tremendous help in this battle but alas…

"Duck." Byleth ordered Leonie who did without question, as if knowing what her mentor's son was planning.

Shifting the form of his sword into it's whip form again, Byleth spun around as he swung the bladed whip as if acting like a vortex of blades that cut down the Alliance soldiers surrounding them. The death throes of those around him filled his ears as well as their blood and viscera slicking the ground invading his nostrils with the stench.

By the time Leonie had risen, she found herself surrounded by corpses and the ground she was standing on was stained with puddles of mixed blood.

Retracting back his sword, Byleth waved it to his side with much force to shake away most of the blood it gathered. Leonie almost forgot how cold and efficient Byleth could be in a battle, giving the justice to his moniker that she didn't want to say aloud.

Byleth gave Leonie a nod to go on her way and help the others as he pushed on forward, his goal was clear as Edelgard and her war council had discussed with him days ago: Find Judith and the other sub commanders confirmed to be partaking in Myrrdin's defense, should they fall… Myrrdin would be theirs and there would be no need to wipe out the soldiers of the Alliance within its walls.

Unfortunately for him, one of the sub commanders on his enemy's side is one of his former students… Someone he didn't think would have much of a future in the field of battle considering that his aspirations lied elsewhere.

"You know…"

Lysithea grumbled as she parried with her Levin Sword against another sword aiming to cut her down, she countered against her attacker by thrusting her Thyrsus staff towards her enemy, blasting the unfortunate soldier away with dark magic.

"Not a good time to talk right now." Lysithea scolded Dorothea as they fought side by side in fending off any ongoing attackers as they pushed onwards.

Dorothea fended off another attack with her Hexblade enchanted sword, enchanting the blade with magical energy that helped empower her own attacks to match against her more physically superior opponents.

"It's quite ironic the professor told us not to do anything reckless yet he charged mostly on his own just now." Dorothea pointed out as she watched Lysithea use the innate magic within her Levin Sword to send bolts of lightning to the now electrocuted recipient.

Lysithea merely hissed in irritation, Dorothea was right about it, Byleth was pretty much hypocritical for telling her and the other members of the Black Eagle Strike Force to prevent doing something that would kill them yet he rushed in alone to fight his way through with Leonie joining him for backup.

Her irritation fueling her magic, Lysithea waved the Thyrsus as it resonated with Lysithea's Crest and potent magic power to fire multiple spheres of dark magic towards an approaching group of soldiers, sending them flying on the air before they could even get near.

"I can't believe you're taking this less seriously!" Lysithea exclaimed with a disapproving frown towards Dorothea. "Take this seriously, otherwise it's your head!"

"Believe me, I'm taking this seriously." Dorothea reassured her. "Just voicing out my–"

Dorothea had to parry a lance aimed to impale her, Lysithea came to her aid by blasting away the soldier from Dorothea with a Miasma sphere.

"Concern." Dorothea continued before giving Lysithea a nod of gratitude. "Thanks."

Lysithea didn't pay her any more attention and went to refocus her battle. They were here to help push the line as Byleth and Edelgard are to track down Judith and take her down, a simple but effective goal of cutting the head of the snake.

While Lysithea had given and shown her resolve to Edelgard about her willingness to go to war at her former homeland, Lysithea alongside Leonie were asked the same question by Byleth before their march to Myrrdin.

Though Leonie was willing and committed to aiding Byleth, Lysithea shed forth some details she didn't even tell anyone… including Edelgard.

"I'm afraid of the moment when I face my former classmates in the Golden Deer, professor."

That was a thought that also alarmed Leonie, having never thought of such a possibility from happening until Lysithea mentioned the grim possibility of having to fight the likes of Marianne, Hilda, Raphael and Ignatz, they knew Claude and Lorenz were the most probable for them to fight and they made their peace with it but to the other four?

Just as Lysithea waved the Thyrsus above her to summon spikes made out of dark magic to assist Sylvain and Ferdinand from afar, who were held up fighting the enemy cavalry, Lysithea froze when her eyes met with someone… someone she had feared to face in the battle field.

Someone she had once considered her friend and someone who taught her the value of economics.

"Ignatz…"

"Lysithea."

The two former classmates stood, frozen as they stared at each other in the middle of the battle. Lysithea lowered her Levin Sword and Thrysus while Ignatz relaxed his hand that was pulling the string of his bow, an arrow ready to be nocked and set loose.

"I never thought I'd see you here…" Lysithea trailed off as she witnessed Ignatz' shocked expression turned to that of sorrow and then to a look of betrayal.

Narrowing his eyes, Ignatz raised his bow to take aim towards his former friend, Lysithea returned the favor by raising the Thyrsus and Levin Sword, both crackling with power.

"I don't want to hurt you Ignatz, please… stand down."

"Easy words for someone like you who turned her back on her country." Ignatz said with such vindictiveness that it took Lysithea aback, it seemed like the meek and soft spoken Ignatz she remembered back in the Academy was nowhere in the Ignatz before her now.

"I'm serious Ignatz, I don't want to hurt you! We only want Judith!"

"Then you will have to get through me." Ignatz responded with such resolve to protect his commander and the Alliance as a whole.

Feelings of shock and anger melded within him, Lysithea is his enemy and he should kill her like any Imperial soldier yet the friendship he shared with her back in the Academy, even if she was or wasn't in the Golden Deer was holding him back.

And it was frustrating him as his hand shaked in hesitation to shoot at Lysithea.

They had learned from each other with Lysithea learning the theory of economics from Ignatz in order to ready herself for that aspect of ruling the Ordelia lands once she graduates. Ignatz in turn was aided by Lysithea in some subjects he was struggling with in order for them to do better in their aspirations for the future.

How ironic that such aspirations were put on hold and instead, here they are… standing on opposite sides as enemies.

"Why? Why would you side with the Empire, Lysithea? Why betray us? Your own nation?" Ignaz asked with restrained fury, wanting to get to the bottom of Lysithea betraying the Alliance and instead allying herself with the Empire.

The Ordelia woman feared this question would come sooner or later when she would fight one of her former classmates, it was bound to happen and she lamented she couldn't fully explain everything to them.

All the intricacies of the events that lead up to this, it was far too complicated for her to explain in one fell swoop especially in the middle of a raging battle.

"It's complicated." Lysithea merely responded with nothing else to divulge.

Ignatz, of course, didn't take that kindly. All he wanted was to hear his former friend's reason, he wanted to understand yet that was even denied from him. He thought he and Lysithea were friends but now he can see they are far gone from such.

Ignatz' hand stopped shaking as he came to terms with what he was about to do, fully drawing the string of his bow and pointing the arrow to Lysithea.

Just before both could attack, a javelin was thrown towards Lysithea. Unprepared from an attack in that direction, she barely blocked it with her Levin Sword with the force of javelin disarming her of it as Lysithea looked at the direction from where the attack came.

"Well well, it looks like I was right."

Ignatz and Lysithea turned to the source of the voice to see a familiar yet unpleasant face that they faintly remembered.

"You." Lysithea growled as memories began to resurface of a dark time in her days as a student of Garreg Mach.

The mocking, condescending and vindictive tone… there's no denying it.

The newly arrived mounted knight smirked after Lysithea recognized him, Ignatz frowned at the man's arrival, having also hated him for his attitude during their days in the Academy.

Lysithea knew this man, even if five years had passed… she can still remember the person who bullied her for the various falsehoods levied against her, no thanks to Cyril.

"I'm surprised you remembered me." The man smirked as he took another javelin. "Here I thought you were too busy laying down with men of the Empire to remember me… seeing how you have fully validated me by joining them."

Lysithea merely glared at him, technically, he was right about Lysithea validating his accusations of her back as a student, that she would turn her back to the Alliance and instead join the Empire but then again, this moron wouldn't understand it more than Ignatz will.

While she had her reservations in fighting Ignatz, she had no qualms in fighting this fool that had interfered. Even deprived of a sword, Lysithea was confident she could kill him with her magic, something she had readied to do as she channeled the arcane energy within her vein towards Thyrsus.

A single Dark Spike will end this man's entire career.

Just as Lysithea raised her hand holding the Thyrsus, Ignatz fired his arrow that hit Lysithea's staff off of her hand, interrupting her channeling of her spell.

"I can't let you do that, he's still my ally." Ignatz said unapologetically as Lysithea was surprised by his sudden attack, leaving her open for the charging man to attack her with his lance atop his horse.

Unable to react properly on time, Lysithea feared the worst until Caspar arrived in time to intercept him with his clawed silver gauntlets blocking the blow of his spear to protect Lysithea.

"Caspar!" Lysithea exclaimed at her unlikely rescue.

Caspar gave her a toothy grin before pushing back the lance of the man who dared to kill Lysithea with it, making him nearly lose his balance atop his horse and leaving him open for Caspar to smash his skull with his gauntlets.

Only to be intercepted himself by a big burly man equipped with his own gauntlets to hit Caspar across the face with.

Sending Caspar reeling from the blow, the big burly man who had come to his comrade's defense stood before Caspar and Lysithea as the latter and Ignatz recognized him.

"Raphael?!"

Raphael glanced at his bespectacled best friend with a smile.

"Reinforcements have arrived." Raphael declared as the sound of a horn signifying the arrival of reinforcements were heard all over Myrrdin.

While Ignatz was relieved to see Raphael, Lysithea wasn't for two reasons: First, this was another former classmate and friend she has to face today and second, she and Caspar were both at a numerical disadvantage.

Deprived of her own weapons while she and Caspar are outnumbered, Lysithea knew Ignatz wouldn't hesitate to fire another shot of his arrow to either of them should their fight resume.

The fight resumed as inevitably as it is, Caspar and Raphael immediately came to blows as both traded and blocked blows from one another, leaving Lysithea to deal with Ignatz and the man who bullied her.

She knew that even without her Levin Sword and Thyrsus, Lysithea could still effectively fight them but the danger lay with Ignatz' accuracy with his arrows while he had a mounted knight to aid him in battle.

There was no time to think of any strategy as the mounted knight charged to kill Lysithea with either his lance or running her through with his armored horse' weight, Lysithea hastefully readied a single Dark Spike to fire at him only to be distracted midway as she avoided a potentially fatal arrow to her chest by Ignatz.

Diving to her side, Lysithea barely avoided the arrow and the cavalry charge of both her opponents yet maintained enough concentration to keep the Dark Spike intact, floating above her.

The mounted knight maneuvered his horse to charge at Lysithea for a second try as Lysithea contemplated who to fire her spell at as time began to tick at her life.

Fortunately for her, the mounted knight was forced to be dismounted when a lance pierced his horse on the side making the animal wail in pain as it reared up to dismount it's master, running away afterwards.

"Leonie?!" Ignatz exclaimed at the arrival of yet another former classmate and friend who had joined the opposing side, he was ready to fire another arrow again but this time, Lysithea was focused on him and motioned her arms to point towards Ignatz' direction, the Dark Spike that loomed above her multiplying into smaller versions of five.

"Good thing the professor asked me to get back to assisting you all." Leonie said with a sigh of relief as she went before Lysithea and assumed a defensive pose with her lance.

The mounted knight was angered at another interference in his attempt to take Lysithea's life, he glared at Leonie. At first, he wondered who this new arrival is until he remembered who the woman is, vaguely remembering the crude woman with short orange hair that always hung around Claude and the others as if she was of the same status as them, a commoner who barely managed to get into Garreg Mach yet had the audacity to step over her station.

"You! You're that village rat who barely got into the Academy! How dare you strike me? I am Edgar von Albany, the son of Acheron von Albany! Know your place!"

"Wait, this pompous shit is Acheron's son? No wonder he's as rotten as him!" Leonie said in realization, having never known the man by name ever since she heard about how he bullied Lysithea only for him to get struck by Edelgard.

Lysithea knew the man of course, upon knowing his parentage, she didn't spend much time thinking about him after Edelgard slapped him and since then, had stopped harassing her.

They were interrupted when Caspar and Raphael both rolled on the ground between them, after Caspar had tackled Raphael and brought him down, both were breathing heavily as their faces and bodies were bruised and battered from brawling each other.

By now, both were bereft of their fist weapons, only using their bare hands to fight one another. One last punch to each other pushed them back to their respective allies' side with Leonie supporting Caspar and Ignatz supporting Raphael from falling down.

"H-Hey Leonie… Lysithea, good to see ya—" Raphael managed to wholeheartedly greet them with a smile and a single eye (his other eye being swollen shut) as if they weren't even his enemies before he lost consciousness and fell face first on the ground.

Caspar grinned toothily as blood flowed from the corners of his lips and from his nostrils.

"T-That looks like m-my win…" Caspar deliriously said before he too fell unconscious on the ground, both he and Raphael having taken out each other.

Before any of them could react, Lysithea immediately moved to retrieve the Thyrsus and Levin Sword, taking the distraction to her advantage as she ran towards the Levin Sword that she had spotted earlier.

Just as she was about to reach it, Lysithea felt a stinging painful sensation before seeing her own blood staining the left white sleeve of her dress after a lance managed to severely slash through her left forearm courtesy of Edgar who acted fast to prevent Lysithea from retrieving her sword.

"Lysithea!" Leonie cried out before barely dodging an arrow from Ignatz, his arrow instead managed to hit the pauldron of Leonie's shoulder, guarding Leonie from the brunt of the arrow's piercing to her shoulder's flesh.

Quickly acting despite the pain on her shoulder, Leonie rolled to the side which made Ignatz think twice in firing his next arrow and almost immediately, Leonie hurled her only lance towards Ignatz.

The bespectacled archer was forced to abandon his aim as jumped to the side to avoid the lance from piercing his stomach and just as he was about to stand up and aim towards Leonie, he was met by the sight of Leonie fully drawing her bow that she had kept strapped around her and an arrow pointing at him.

Before Ignatz could nock his arrow, Leonie let loose her arrow towards Ignatz which pierced him on his right knee. Ignatz cried out in pain as he felt the arrowhead go through his flesh and out of the other side, making him fall down on the ground clutching his maiming injury after Leonie cunningly outmaneuvered him.

He used to be a big threat to her and Lysithea until he took an arrow to the knee which left him unable to continue the battle. Leonie then knocked him out by hitting his head with the pole of her lance.

Concurrently, Lysithea fell to her knees from the severe cut she had sustained on her arm, blood continued to pour from her wound as Edgar approached her with a dagger in hand to kill her with it. Lysithea could almost reach for her sword yet was unable to as Edgar loomed over her and raised his dagger to stab her with it.

"Where's your Emperor now to protect you? How about that professor you slept with?" Edgar taunted as he looked down on his defeated enemy with nothing but hatred and envy towards the former noblewoman of the Alliance, having resented Lysithea and saw her as an upstart from a struggling and failing noble house.

"They won't be grieving over you since by now, both of them are going to be overwhelmed by the reinforcements my father had brought."

Lysithea merely gave him a defiant glare before it cracked, making her chuckle darkly which incensed Edgar to see his opponent having the gall to chuckle at him even in the face of death, he had expected her to futilely beg for her life but not this.

"What's so funny you traitorous whore?" Edgar questioned her.

Lysithea stared straight at Edgar's eyes.

"You talk too much."

Having enough of Lysithea's defiance even in the face of death, Edgar was about to bring his dagger down until he felt five blades impale him from behind, all of them lodged deep into his back. Edgar looked behind him to see the Dark Spikes that Lysithea split into five smaller spikes, impaling him as his eyes widened in horror and his mouth coughing out blood from the mortal wound he was dealt with.

"Y-You… managed to m-maintain y-your concentration despite y-your wound?" Edgar questioned as Lysithea stood up and picked the Levin Sword with her right hand.

"If you thought I was defenseless up close without my weapons and just because I am a mage then you are a bigger fool than I thought." Lysithea responded as she stood before Edgar who was still frozen in his place, not having the strength to move anymore.

"B-But I had you… t-this can't b-be!"

"I only tricked you to think I was defeated. A certain songstress taught me that and besides…" Lysithea briefly remembered Hilda's words to her. "I heeded my friend's advice to look vulnerable to men."

With those words, Lysithea plunged her Levin Sword deep into Edgar's chest, killing the depraved noble's son instantly as Lysithea spitefully watched him fall to the ground after pulling out her sword, a pool of blood quickly formed around him.

As Imperial soldiers passed by her to continue pushing against the Alliance, Lysithea returned to where her Thyrsus is, after spotting it and picking it up, she felt the relic's power surged through her again.

Using her Faith magic, she applied first aid into her wound by using a healing spell to staunch the bleeding. Unlike Linhardt and Manuela's efficiency, Lysithea's wound still hurts her but what matters now is that she has stopped the bleeding that has stained her white left sleeve red with blood.

As she watched the Imperial soldiers fight and die alongside the Alliance soldiers, Lysithea worriedly looked up at the gloomy sky, her thoughts on the reinforcement brought on by Acheron and how this will affect both Byleth and Edelgard's pursuit of Judith.

Judith spat out her saliva mixed with her blood as blood flowed down from her head while Edelgard remained largely uninjured, saved for a few nicks on her body, having adapted to Judith's fighting style.

While Judith avoided a mortal wound from the Aymr, the force of it even when blocked sent her crashing on a few barrels nearby which caused the wound on her head as well as the bruises she sustained.

The Hero of Daphnel by now, have truly seen what the Emperor was capable of, she was just too strong for her to handle and it bit her hard in her pride as a seasoned veteran that she can barely do anything against Edelgard for she had surpassed her in both strength of arms and of tactics as well as more and more of her men fell from the blades of the Imperial army.

She had heard reinforcements arrived yet why haven't they arrived to assist her and her troops? What was causing their delay? Were they intercepted? Many thoughts ran around Judith's mind until she was forced to stop such thoughts when she saw Edelgard running towards her with her Aymr ready to cut her down.

Battered by the force of Edelgard's blows as well as the exhaustive efforts to avoid them, Judith knew she only had one choice left against Edelgard and it was an option she didn't want to consider ever since Claude presented it to her during the Round Table Conference.

Her soldiers thinning as the Imperial soldiers steadily overwhelmed them, Judith finally came to terms with her loss on this front.

Jumping away from Edelgard, Judith kicked an Imperial soldier's helmet that littered the ground towards Edelgard, causing the latter to swat it away with her Aymr. Edelgard expected a futile attack from Judith, only for her to be slightly taken by surprise when Judith instead turned around and started running away from her.

"This front of the battle has been lost! Retreat and regroup with the reinforcements!" Judith declared to her remaining soldiers, all of which were bloodied and exhausted from the skirmish. Some of the more lucky ones managed to rally behind Judith while some who were too tired or beaten were put to the sword or captured by the Imperial soldiers.

"You're not getting away." Edelgard growled as she pursued Judith while being followed by a retinue of her own soldiers.

Somewhere within the battlefield, Byleth fought alongside Petra and some Imperial soldiers to battle a part of the reinforcements brought by the man who caused the Empire to have a reason to declare war upon the Alliance.

"Acheron." Byleth coldly stated the name of the infamous lord known for his vanity and opportunistic tendencies, he will forge and break alliances or pacts on a whim if it conveniences him, not caring if he is to honor his own part of the bargain.

"You, who are you to stand before me? I can recognize the tribal savage of a princess you are with–"

Byleth could see Petra twitched in response to how she was called by the vain lord, even Byleth felt offended with how Acheron described her as such. Besides Edelgard's orders to execute the man without reservations, Byleth could possibly have another reason to carry out the sentence.

"But I can't recognize you– hold on…" Acheron briefly paused when he noticed the glowing sword that Byleth held in his right hand.

Not that Byleth can blame Acheron for not recognizing him considering how he has been gone for five years, no one outside the Imperial army in Garreg Mach knows he has returned and if word would have spread, it can easily be dismissed as a rumor by many. Byleth knew that after this battle, the entirety of Fodlan would be aware of his return from the grave.

Claude and Dimitri will be alerted but the person he knows that will react as such to the extreme is the person he wants to face the most…

Without another word, Byleth started to charge towards Acheron's forces, his green eyes fixated towards Acheron who looked like he had seen his doom upon seeing the killing intent within Byleth's eyes.

"Kill him!" Acheron fearfully ordered as the soldiers he brought with him charged towards Byleth only to be swiftly cut down by the man which were followed by him being backed up by Petra and the Imperial soldiers, Petra having parried away a throwing axe aimed at Byleth's back as he fought.

Byleth gave a nod of thanks towards Petra before continuing on his way towards Acheron who looked more and more filled with fear as he watched Byleth effortlessly kill his troops.

The former professor parried another blow from a sword, letting his enemy's sword grind against the Sword of the Creator as Byleth spun behind him to deliver a slash to his enemy's back. While doing this, Acheron saw it as an opportunity to charge with his lance aimed towards Byleth's back.

Without warning, a bladed whip erupted from the ground below Acheron's horse, impaling the horse from below and narrowly missing Acheron's groins as the bladed whip penetrated through horse' body.

As Acheron fell from his steed, he saw Byleth with the Sword of the Creator impaled on the ground, it's form being that of it's bladed whip form, digging through the earth and to Acheron's direction.

Acheron painfully fell to the ground as Byleth retracted back the whip into a sword, the lord had heard of how formidable the former professor was even when he was still in the employ of the Church but seeing and experiencing Byleth's power for himself frightened him, he didn't expect such an unknown variable to enter the war during the crucial phases of the war when the power balance was about to turn against the Empire. The man who approaches him with cold green eyes, intimidating aura and a blood slicked sword in hand.

He was up against the infamous Ashen Demon.

"Professor! Enemies are to be approaching us behind!" Petra warned as she spotted a mob of Alliance soldiers arriving in their direction.

Before Byleth could issue any order, the approaching soldiers were pelted by arrows fired from Bernadetta and her sniper squad, having secured their positions in the ramparts of Myrrdin.

This could only mean one thing for Byleth and the Imperial army, this battle is about to conclude and all that is left is to find Judith and her sub-commanders–

"The battle is lost! Retreat!" Acheron screamed out after seeing how his last ray of hope has been extinguished by a rain of arrows, dropping his lance and cowering away in fear as the men he lead hesitated for a moment in abandoning Myrrdin or to stay, most fled with their lord while the others stayed once they saw Judith running towards them.

Judith witnessed Acheron's retreat as well as the deaths of the reinforcements he brought with them, as much as she hated Acheron, he was right this one time: The battle is lost, Myrrdin is lost. They must retreat to fight another day.

The Imperial army was too much with the Black Eagle Strike Force joining in and upon seeing Byleth with the Sword of the Creator, she finally found out why reinforcements didn't come to her aid.

She had only heard stories from other sources and by Claude about this man that she was heading towards in her retreat to the northern gate, she had heard of how Rhea proclaimed him to be the chosen of the Goddess at one point, possessing her blessings: The Crest of Flames and her sword, only to turn them against Rhea for some reason during the prelude of the Empire's march against the Church of Seiros.

He still hasn't noticed her which Judith wanted to keep that way as she ran with what remained of her soldiers amidst the continuous arrows fired by the Imperial snipers from the ramparts of the very fort that Judith was meant to protect. At that point, her thoughts strayed to Ignatz for a moment, wishing the bespectacled boy hadn't fallen and was able to retreat as she is doing now, the boy deserved more than to have his life cut short in this war. He was eager to help out and Judith knew that such a person wasn't meant to live his life on the battlefield.

"Professor!"

Byleth and Judith's attention snapped to where the shout came from to see Edelgard trailing behind the retreating Alliance soldiers and Judith.

"Don't let Judith escape!"

Byleth looked to where Edelgard was glaring at the retreating Alliance soldiers that passed by him, turning his attention away from Acheron and to Judith who he caught was staring at him, their eyes locking. Seeing Judith's reaction, Byleth immediately set to go where Judith was only for two of the Alliance's wyvern riders to descend down to protect her.

Byleth growled at the sudden appearances of the riders, needing to deal with them quickly before Judith had a chance to escape.

One of the two riders that intercepted Byleth was about to strike when the winged reptile's head was struck by a spike made out of dark magic, recognizing it from Lysithea who fired it a distance away from them with precision using her Thyrsus staff, having been on the way to back up Edelgard only to see the Alliance retreating.

Now, only having one wyvern rider to deal with, Byleth skillfully dodged the bite of the winged reptile before he parried the lance that attempted to pierce his chest. Just as Byleth was about to kill the rider, Edelgard hopped with her Aymr and cleaved through him and her Aymr deeply lodging into the flesh of the wyvern's back, killing both at nearly the same time.

Edelgard gave Byleth a look to keep going and to leave any stragglers to her and the Imperial army. Byleth wordlessly left with a nod.

Propelling himself to the air by stepping on the wyvern's corpse, Byleth landed within the retreating Alliance soldiers.

"Defend Lady Judith!" One of the soldiers loyal to the noblewoman cried but was swiftly cut down by Byleth as he made his way towards Judith.

"No! Retreat! Prioritize your lives to fight for another day!" Judith cried out without looking back to witness her men being killed due to their defense of her.

Enough blood has been shed today, the blood of her people and such wasn't enough of a price to pay to defend Myrrdin. What's important now is to regroup with Claude in Derdriu and warn the other noble houses about the Empire's incoming advance upon their territory.

She has to live if she is to defend her country in the encroaching future. As she was meters away from the northern gate, she could at least feel the satisfaction of having the Empire feel some semblance of defeat for failing to kill her.

Until blood spurted out of her chest, her eyes widened as a sharp pain emanated from her chest. The Hero of Daphnel looked down to see the pointy end of the Sword of the Creator coming out of her chest, soaked in her blood.

Judith coughed out blood as she felt her life fade as her blood flowed from where her heart was, she looked behind to see that Byleth has stabbed her from a distance with his sword in his bladed whip form, surrounded by the corpses of her loyal soldiers who tried in vain to defend her from her killer who looked winded from the continuous fighting he has done in order to mortally wound her.

Falling down on her knees after Byleth retracted the Sword of the Creator back into its sword form, Judith lamented her failure to both hold Myrrdin and to survive as per Claude's orders for her.

"It looks like I'm done for... Claude... I'm sorry…" Judith apologized, her thoughts about the boy she had mentored and helped since he set foot in Fodlan and was introduced to her by the late Duke Oswald von Riegan.

Judith von Daphnel, the celebrated Hero of Daphnel, a brilliant commander of the Alliance has passed away.

Byleth stood over her bleeding corpse, looking down at the woman he had just killed. He looked at his blood soaked sword, still pulsating with power, he had been used to killing people who had deserved it… this is one of those moments he wasn't sure that the person he had killed thoroughly deserved it.

"She's dead."

Byleth glanced at Edelgard who looked down on Judith's corpse, the look in her eyes being unreadable even by him.

"Yes." Byleth somberly replied.

"With her death and Myrrdin taken, we can dismantle the Alliance soon enough." Edelgard stated.

Byleth merely nodded, waving his sword to the side to shake it off of the blood of Judith and the Alliance soldiers he killed before sheathing it back to the side of his waist.

The former professor gave Edelgard an expectant stare as the battle still continued around them.

Edelgard turned around and raised the Aymr above her head.

"Alliance soldiers, Judith has fallen! Further conflict is futile!" Edelgard proclaimed as everyone including the Imperial soldiers ceased fighting as they heard their Emperor's declaration. "If you surrender, your lives will be spared. Lay down your weapons immediately."

With that announcement of their victory, the Imperial soldiers raised their weapons to the air as they cried out in triumph while the Alliance soldiers dropped their weapons and either fell to their knees or looked down in defeat and devastation for the massive loss they had experienced.

As the Imperial army cried out in victory, Byleth quietly left, passing by Lysithea who held on to her bloodied sleeve.

Their eyes met but neither said a word, Lysithea's eyes told him there was no cause for alarm when she saw Byleth's eyes looking alarmed at the bloodied sleeve Lysithea wore.

As Byleth proceeded to take his leave, he suddenly was taken by surprise when Lysithea started coughing out blood violently, feeling dizzy and then losing consciousness just before Byleth could catch her from falling face first on the ground.

His cries for help were drowned by the cries of victory as he cradled Lysithea's unconscious body.

Apologies for the months long drought of this fic, I took a break from writing then focused on concluding my Verdant Wind Bysithea fics before refocusing everything back on this fic! Sorry for everyone who thought I abandoned this story! Anyway, battle focused chapters are really tiring to write, I don't feel too sure I did a decent job writing this battle so I hope you guys find it satisfactory. Next will be a shorter chapter to deal with the aftermath as well as show more of the characters outside of the Empire!