Author's Note: Here it is! The moment you've all been waiting for! Well, the moment I've been waiting for at least. I've been waiting to write this chapter for ages. I've had it planned out in my head for a long time.
There's not really much more to say so let's just jump right in! Onward to the freaking awesome chapter!
Part One
White Clouds
The Sword's Reclamation
Finally, the day of the Rite arrived. Today, a mysterious group would try to assassinate Rhea. But more importantly, they would try to break into the Holy Tomb. Well, obviously Rhea was important, but she would be fine. These guys were weak and even they knew it. Otherwise they wouldn't bother with a plan like this. The real threat was the Death Knight.
"Are you sure you want to let things play out exactly like last time?" Sothis asked as Byleth headed to the agreed upon meeting spot. Well, it wasn't really "agreed on" per-say so much as Byleth sent out a few notes and was expecting people to show up.
(We have no choice.) Byleth said. (I need the Sword of the Creator and I can't just ask for it. I definitely can't break into the tomb myself. Besides, I'm not letting things play out exactly like last time.)
"Ah yes, your plan." Sothis said, her voice a combination of skepticism and annoyance.
(Hey! It'll work!) Byleth protested. She would have stomped her foot if it wouldn't look weird (granted, even if people could see who she was talking to, it would still be weird for a grown adult to stomp her foot like a child.)
"Your entire plan relies on your ability to kill the Death Knight." Sothis said. Byleth had a feeling that if she could see her, Sothis would have had her hands on her hips.
(I've done it before.) Byleth replied.
"Yeah, with the power of a Goddess." Sothis said. "You're just an ordinary, non Goddess-powered human right now."
(I'm also the second strongest mercenary in Fodlan.) Byleth rebutted.
"And the girl?" Sothis asked.
(Lysithea?) Byleth asked. (She'll be fine. I'm not asking her to attack the Death Knight directly.)
"He might still try to kill her." Sothis pointed out.
(If he tries that he won't live long.) Byleth said. (You hurt my students, I hurt you.)
That's when she arrived at where she was going to meet her students. But instead of the three house leaders and their merry bands of misfits, she found a very miffed looking Seteth with his arms crossed.
"Oh hey Seteth." Byleth said casually. "What brings you here?"
"Making sure that you're doing your job." Seteth said.
"I am doing my job." Byleth said. "I'm stopping evil plots. How did you even know I'd be here, anyway?"
"It wasn't hard." Seteth explained. "I figured you'd be somewhere around the Holy Mausoleum."
"You're not going to try to stop me, are you?" Byleth asked.
"No." Seteth replied. "I don't have the time. The Rite is about to begin. I am merely here to inform you that should you continue with this instead of the assigned mission and your wild speculation-"
"Logical assumption." Byleth interrupted.
Seteth rolled his eyes. "Should your "logical assumption" be wrong, it will reflect poorly on you."
"It's a good thing we're right, then." A voice said. Byleth turned to find the ones she had really been waiting for. The three house leaders along with a group of students. Edelgard stood at the front, hands on her hips. "I, for one, can't wait to see the look on your face when it turns out we're right. I especially can't wait to see the look on Rhea's face."
"Claude, have you been teaching her how to make witty comments?" Byleth asked.
"Not on purpose, no." Claude replied.
"Claude had nothing to do with this." Edelgard said.
Seteth cleared his throat. "You do realize you aren't helping your case." He looked at his wrist despite not wearing a watch. "Anyways, I have to go. Think about what I said."
"Can do." Byleth said, sarcastically saluting.
As Seteth left, Byleth turned back to her students. Claude had brought along Lysithea (as asked), Hilda, and Leonie. Edelgard had brought along Hubert (of course), Caspar, and Petra. And Dimitri has brought along Dedue, Ingrid, and Sylvain.
"Is everyone ready?" Byleth asked. Everyone nodded. "Alright, let's spread out. Whoever wants to break into the Holy Mausoleum is bound to be around here somewhere."
"You got it, Teach!" Claude said, pumping his fist.
"Oh, one more thing." Byleth said. "Lysithea, do you have that anti-teleport spell prepared?"
"Of course I do." Lysithea said. "But why do you want-?"
"No reason." Byleth said and without another word she turned away and began her search.
Half an hour later and no sign of their mystery thieves. If Byleth didn't already know how things would go, she would have given up already. Hilda had. But that wasn't really all that unexpected.
"Ugh, I'm so bored." She complained. She sat down on the ground and leaned against a pillar. "Can we just go home now?"
"Technically, we are home." Ingrid pointed out. "Not our home home but we live here."
"You know what I mean." Hilda said.
"Just be patient, guys." Byleth said. "They'll show up eventually."
"But this is boring!" Hilda complained.
And then there was a loud crash. Everyone turned towards its source, a group or black clad weirdos who had just used a fireball spell on the door to the Holy Mausoleum. You'd think that the door to one of the Church's most important places would be more resistant to magic attack.
"Alright! Let's go!" Byleth shouted, motioning for her students to follow her into the lion's makeshift den.
Up the stairs and into the Mausoleum they ran, chasing after their mysterious enemy. Claude was the first up the stairs and immediately threw out a quip.
"You guys do realize the door was…" The quip died in his throat when he saw the scene that was atop the stairs.
One of the group, presumably the leader, was at Saint Seiros' Tomb in the far corner, carefully trying to undo the magic that kept it sealed shut along with any traps, magical or mundane, that might come along with it. Radiating out from his location was the rest of the mysterious thieves, all ready for battle. But they weren't the scary part. The scary part was the massive warrior with a skull helmet that practically radiated terror.
The rest of the students and their teacher came up the stairs, saw the same sight Claude saw, and froze. All except for Byleth, Edelgard, and Hubert. The Death Knight didn't scare them, though for different reasons.
The leader of the group turned away from his work to see what the commotion was. He kept one hand hovering above the coffin, presumably to keep whatever magic he had been undoing from snapping back into place.
"What's this?" He asked. "We were spotted? But how? The plan was perfect."
"Pathetic." The Death Knight said. "You really didn't expect them to see through your cowardly ruse?"
"Don't give me that kind of talk, Death Knight." The leader said. "Do your job! Kill them all!"
"I don't take orders." The Death Knight growled. "And I don't fight weaklings."
The leader growled in frustration. "Fine! The rest of you! Attack!"
The thieves rushed forward, snapping the students out of their trance. Byleth pointed at the enemy.
"We need to stop that mage before he opens Serios' Tomb!" Byleth said.
"What about that scary skull guy?" Hilda asked.
"That Knight is a formidable opponent." Edelgard said. "Give him a wide berth and don't attack him directly."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Claude said. "Let's go!"
Claude drew his bow and selected an arrow from his quiver. He spun it in his hand before knocking it and firing it off. It missed one thief by just a few inches, hitting the ground instead. However, instead of clattering harmlessly to the floor it instead released a green gas that engulfed several thieves. When it dispersed, the thieves lay on the ground, knocked out.
The rest of Team Garreg Mach leaped into battle. Leonie and Caspar quickly struck up a dynamic, fighting back to back and cutting down any who dared attack them. Petra did the same thing she did during the Black Eagle's first mission, weaving through the thieves and stealthily taking them down. Occasionally, she used Claude's sleeping arrows as cover, holding her breath to avoid getting knocked out too.
Dedue fought like a beast, plowing through enemies easily. While Sylvain followed behind, cleaning up any leftovers. Ingrid, meanwhile, fought on the opposite side of the room.
Dimitri and Edelgard wound up being forced to work together again with… better than average results. They still had their difficulties but at least Dimitri wasn't getting kicked in the face.
A similar shaky alliance was happening between Lysithea and Hubert who, unfortunately, complimented each other quite well. Their magic together was a formidable combination. This didn't stop them from insulting each other all the way.
"You call that Miasma?" Lysithea commented. "I could do better than that asleep with both arms tied behind my back!"
"That could be arranged." Hubert said coldly, blasting a thief with dark energy. "Perhaps we shall throw in a gag while we're at it."
"Aw. Am I hurting your feelings?" Lysithea asked with mock concern, sending a similar spell at an enemy.
"Hmph." Hubert hmph'd. "Your insults wouldn't even offend a child."
Far away from all of this, Byleth fought with careful precision. She had to defend herself and get rid of these thieves, but she also needed the leader to open the coffin so she could get her sword.
And then the leader opened the coffin. This was it. Byleth wasn't ever going to get another chance like this. It was now or never.
As the leader slowly took the Sword of the Creator out of Seiros' casket Byleth charged towards him, discarding her normal sword as she ran. He had just enough time to get out a confused "what?" before Byleth kicked him in the back, knocking him down and knocking the sword out of his hands. The sword flew through the air, end over end, before eventually landing in Byleth's outstretched hand.
As soon as she grabbed the sword, it lit up red and Byleth felt power course through her veins. Unbeknownst to her, she began to glow and her hair and eyes changed from their usual blue to a glowing green. Byleth gave the sword a little twirl, whipping it across the ground and then pulling it back in. She grinned.
"Oh I missed this!"
She charged the leader and cut straight through the magical barrier he attempted to put up, leaving him dead on the ground. She turned around to see the rest of the thieves that were still alive cowering in fear. The Death Knight, however, calmly observed her. At least, it looked that way. It was hard to tell with the mask.
"That sword is…" He muttered. "I see. What a pleasant surprise."
Byleth remembered this. Those were the words he said right before he teleported away.
"Lysithea!" She shouted. "The spell! Now!"
Lysithea understood Byleth's meaning immediately and stuck out her hand. Before the Death Knight could do anything, chains of black energy appeared from thin air and wrapped around his arms and legs before disappearing. The Death Knight looked down at himself, seemingly confused (again, hard to tell with the mask).
"What's this?" He asked.
Byleth pointed her sword (for she thought of it as hers) at the Death Knight. "I'm not letting you get away! Kids, duck and cover! This might get a bit messy!"
The glowing had faded and her hair had returned to its normal color but Byleth still cut an intimidating figure, effortlessly wielding what should be a two handed sword with just one hand. Of course, the Death Knight wasn't intimidated by anything but that was just fine.
"Very well." He said. "If you wish to meet your death today, I will oblige."
Byleth let loose a battle cry and charged at the Knight. The Death Knight responded in kind, rushing forward. The two of them collided in the center of the tomb, Sword against Scythe. The shockwave from the collision sent both opponents flying backwards, forcing anyone in their path to leap out of the way.
The Death Knight's scythe wasn't a Hero's Relic but it was almost as powerful as one. A strike like that would have obliterated most normal weapons. It fit. A mysterious, powerful weapon for a mysterious, powerful warrior.
"Strong." The Death Knight said. Byleth could tell from his tone that he was pleased.
"There's plenty more where that came from!" Byleth shouted.
The two warriors charged each other again this time, the force of their weapons' impact did not knock them backwards. Instead they began a dangerous and terrifying dance. Both of them were fairly evenly matched, though Byleth was slightly quicker and more nimble since she wasn't bogged down by heavy armor.
Both combatants were on the attack, leaving little room for dodging. Instead, their blades clashed together, making sounds loud enough that the fight could probably be heard all the way at the Goddess Tower. Eventually, Byleth managed to stab her sword into the crook where the scythe's blade met its handle. She pushed upwards and pulled the scythe out of the Death Knight's hand, sending it flying to the other side of the room.
"Hmph." The Death Knight hmph'd He stretched out his hand and his scythe floated into the air and flew back into his hands. No fair.
The Death Knight prepared to charge again and… disappeared in a flash of light.
"What the-" Byleth said. "Where'd he go? Is he invisible?"
"He's not invisible." Lysithea said, stepping out from behind the column. "That was a teleport."
"But the spell is supposed to stop teleports." Byleth pointed out.
"The spell only stops first hand teleports." Lysithea explained. "Second hand teleports work just fine. He must have been teleported by someone else."
Someone else. But she had killed the only mage powerful enough to teleport him. Though there was one other possibility. One that followed Edelgard everywhere she went.
"What happened here?" A voice suddenly asked.
Byleth turned around to see Catherine, Shamir, and a contingent of Knights standing at the top of the entrance stairs. She waved.
"Oh, hey guys. Sorry you missed the party. There are still a few party favors leftover if you want." She gestured at the cowering thieves with a smile.
Author's Note: Oh yeah! I think this is my new favorite chapter! This was just so freaking badass! Byleth has finally taken back the Sword of the Creator and made it hers! She fought the frikken Death Knight (who escaped, sadly, but he had to if I wanted to keep him in the story).
There really isn't much to say aside from endless prattles about how cool I find this whole thing. The part where Byleth grabs the Sword of the Creator out of the air and gets all cool and glowy: perfection!
Maybe I'll think of some more to say later and then rush to incorporate it into the next Author's Note but for now, this is BackSet, signing off with an absolutely delighted poyo! Poyo!