It was time for another mission. About a week or so before the end of the Garland Moon, the Black Eagles set out to Gaspard territory in order to accompany some Knights of Seiros with their efforts to clean up the rebellion started by Lord Lonato. Lucas, Rhea and Seteth all knew there would be more to the mission than just that. They knew the Black Eagles would be involved in a skirmish with a militia.
Lucas was nervous, having plentiful doubts about potentially killing innocent people. Did they truly deserve to be murdered for raising their hand against the Church? Was Lonato really desperate enough to raise peasant levies so he could have his agenda fulfilled? These thoughts persisted as he, his students and some extra knights carried on towards Gaspard. Although there was something else that created a pit in his stomach. Something he denied. Regret also persisted.
For his first time being in Faerghus, it wasn't so bad. It clearly got colder the moment they stepped over the border. Gaspard was only right at the edge of Kingdom territory. Lucas assumed it'd be much colder further in. A part of him dreaded whatever frigid possibilities lay further within Faerghus.
After a bit more travelling, the convoy had to stop and set up camp.. Lucas was once again tasked to unpack all the relevant equipment and help with setting all of it up. Some of the students even helped out this time around. Once it was all good to go, everyone split up. Three students in particular went to go train in a wider open area that wasn't too far away from the campsite. A safe area in which stretching their muscles was possible.
"Finally, time to get training!" Caspar chirped, stretching his arms and legs. "I hope you're ready Ferdinand, because I've got some new techniques!"
"New techniques? Consider me interested, Caspar," Ferdinand commented, readying a Training Lance. "I cannot simply assume they are common Combat Arts. Would that be correct?"
"Yep! Professor Lucas actually came up with them. He said they're supposed to be used bare handed, but he modified them so they could be used with gauntlets. I gotta say, they're pretty handy!" Caspar explained. "Good thing we got Linhardt here. He can patch you up when I send you to the ground, Ferdinand."
"Pretty handy...was that a pun?" Linhardt noted internally. "My being here also allows me to practice my Heal and Physic casts. By all means, be as rough as you can. The more work you do, the more work I have."
"Hear that, Ferdinand? Doctor's orders. Are you ready?" The blue haired one inquired, getting into a battle ready pose with his Training Gauntlets.
"Well, if the Priest gives his consent, then I suppose I can try somewhat harder than normal. I am ready," Ferdinand declared. "Linhardt, if you may."
"Of course," Linhardt yawned in confirmation. "Three, two, one - go."
"Come on, you could've said that with some more oomph!" Caspar complained, frowning. "Oh well. Let's go, Ferdie!"
"Don't call me that!"
Caspar charged forward, ducking under Ferdinand's lunge, keeping his momentum as he did so. With said momentum, Caspar was able to get in close before the orange haired one could return his lance. He landed a punch. The blunt spikes from the gauntlet harmlessly stabbed Ferdinand's chest, but the force behind the punch itself was strong enough to cause Ferdinand to recoil backwards some ways.
This was enough of a chance for Caspar to initiate one of his new techniques. He stepped forward and unleashed a rapid barrage of diagonal slashes with his gauntlets' claws, throwing them out with enough speed that it was almost disorienting to keep track of them all. The gauntlet user finished his barrage with a double diagonal claw slash, forming an X-shape with his pair of weapons as the slash occurred. Caspar ended the technique with a dual handed thrust of his claws.
"What do you think of that, Ferdie?" Caspar asked with a grin.
"Such a fearsome technique. You're saying our professor came up with it?" Ferdinand replied between breaths. "I did not realise he knew anything about brawling."
"Yeah, I was surprised too. He came up to me when I was at the training grounds one day and taught me some stuff," Caspar recounted. "He called this one the 'Wolf Fang Fist', or something. I dunno what it's got to do with wolves, but hey, I like it."
"Maybe you should try howling while using it next time. That might boost its power," Linhardt jested, smiling at his own joke.
"Huh, maybe you're right," pondered Caspar. "Thanks for the tip, Linhardt!"
Linhardt facepalmed. "Caspar, that was a joke. I highly doubt that will actually work in any capacity. You're free to try, however."
"Alright, that's enough. I'm not done yet, Caspar. Let us continue." Ferdinand spun around his lance with only a single hand for no reason other than to show off. "There is no need to heal me just yet. That attack was merely a scratch."
"Just a scratch, huh? I'll show you what else I can do! Come on!" Caspar retorted, getting into a stance.
"This might take a while," Linhardt sighed as he began to lay down onto the grass.
While the sleepy student was resting and gazing at the slowly setting sky, the two rowdy boys continued practicing their respective moves on one another. Ferdinand was displaying fine, precise usage of his lance whilst Caspar proved to be very nimble and somewhat difficult to predict with his new techniques. At one point, the smaller boy pulled off an uppercut that had been prepared with a crouching jump, the technique sending Ferdinand flying through the air momentarily before falling down onto the grass. Caspar referred to it as 'Shoryuken' - another one of Lucas' moves.
The two of them practiced into the night. At least until the point where they all needed to hang around the campfire and eat whatever meal the appointed knight prepared. After that, everyone went to bed, preparing themselves for the eternally long day of walking that laid ahead.
A long walk proceeded. A walk so long that Lucas' legs were virtually shattered by its end. Even resting at camp didn't fully absolve him of all that pain. Knowing these elongated treks would only improve his stamina failed to soothe his battered legs.
Eventually, he and his contingent arrived at Magdred Way at night time. It took some more walking around, but the group were able to discover a small camp the Knights of Seiros had set up. They were all stopped by two knights that were posted to guard the whole thing.
"Hold it! Who goes there?" A mildly grumpy guard asked in a demanding fashion.
"We're the Black Eagles from Garreg Mach. We've also brought along some additional knights of yours," Lucas answered in place of anyone else. "I'm Lucas Hog, the Black Eagles' professor."
"Hmm, you certainly look like you're from Garreg Mach. But how do I know you're not just some bandits trying to be all sneaky?" The same guard continued to ask.
"Uh...would a bandit even know that a contingent from the monastery would be coming to this specific location? I don't feel like they would," Lucas doubted, trying to reassure the man. "Look, if you fetch Catherine, she'll know what's up. I've talked to her. She knows who I am."
"You could be hiding under some kind of magic for all I know. Maybe you kidnapped the real Black Eagles and took all their clothes, I dunno," the guard suggested, shrugging. He turned to his partner. "Hey, Victor. Go get Catherine so she can clear this crap up."
"Sure thing, friend!" 'Victor' chipperly replied before bouncing away to do as he was told.
An awkward silence followed. The guard stared down the group with a scrutinising expression that strangely combined confusion, uncertainty, tiredness and mild rage. Nobody was sure what to think of this man. Some of the knights that had been hanging around with the Black Eagles raised a bit of a fuss about being held back. One knight was especially pissed.
"Alexei! You do this shit every single time!" The knight raged. "I can't fucking believe you, man."
"Wha-excuse me! I'm the guard around here, 'Boris'! I'm only doing my damn job!" Alexei, the ill-tempered guard, countered.
"We're clearly from the monastery, you idiot! Bandits aren't gonna be able to get all of our clothes and act like us perfectly!" Boris yelled in return. "We've got the literal fucking Adrestian princess with us. Let us in."
"Not until I can confirm your identities! By the goddess, 'Boris', if that's really you there, then I'm gonna sock you in the head until you get it through your thick skull! Guards. Have. To. Be. Vigilant!" Alexei threatened, his thick eyebrows only becoming thicker somehow as his anger increased.
"I'd like to see you try, you buffoon! You couldn't hit me even if your life depended on it!" Boris shouted, the wrinkles on his forehead becoming much wavier as the shout match continued.
Lucas, the Black Eagles, as well as the rest of the knights, simply listened to this engagement out of confusion and boredom. Bernadetta hid behind Dorothea as soon as the loud noises emerged. There wasn't much anyone could do here, if anything. Most of the knights were facepalming at this point, some trying to put a hand on Boris' shoulder to calm him down, yet the two men continued yelling at each other while ignoring any outside stimuli.
"What's going on here?"
Upon hearing the voice of their superior, the two men shut up. Lucas grinned as Catherine herself showed up beside the man who went out to fetch her in the first place. Her face was littered with a silent anger that could be heard by even the deafest of people.
"S-sorry, ma'am!" Alexei and Boris apologised in unison, both men raising a salute.
"I didn't ask for an apology. I asked what was going on," Catherine reiterated, rage seeping through her tone.
Alexei and Boris looked at each other nervously.
"Answer me, damn it!" Catherine demanded, placing a hand on Thunderbrand. The two men got the message.
"Alexei was holding us up because he thought we were outsiders when we're clearly not!" Boris revealed in a single breath.
"Boris is just being an ass!" Alexei claimed, also in one breath.
"You two...you never change. Stop being so damn loud. Get along with one another so you'll stop shouting. If you don't, your arguments are just gonna attract the enemy. Get your acts together!" Catherine ordered. The two men nodded at the same time. She turned her attention to Lucas, her general demeanour calming. "So, you finally made it, huh? I've been waiting for you. Come on in."
"Thanks, Catherine. I was worried we'd be out here all night," Lucas joked around.
"Hah! Yeah, that certainly would've been a possibility with these morons." Catherine motioned to the quivering knights. "Let's get your people in before I have to smack these two upside their heads."
With nary a hesitation, Lucas and his group were granted access to the large camp. Catherine provided an introduction of the area while the newbies walked in. It was quite wide open. The largest tent stood towards the general left side of the camp - the host of important administrative stuff. Various other tents were scattered around for the sake of providing space to sleep. Another particularly large tent was the designated medical 'ward', as Catherine explained. There were also stations for people to sharpen or forge their weapons if need be. Training areas were also abundant.
"So, what do you think? Not bad for a camp, huh?" Catherine asked as she finished her introduction.
The students murmured in assent. Lucas' mouth was agape while he looked around. "Yeah, this is pretty good. Certainly more feature filled than the sorts of camps you make while on the road."
"For sure! This is more of a place for us to hole up while we deal with that bastard Lonato. A temporary base, I guess you could call it," Catherine looked around the camp again. "We've got some spare tents for you and your students. We knew you were coming. Well, maybe not you , but we figured a house would be sent out here at some point."
"Fair enough. I am not gonna complain about pre-made lodgings," Lucas commented, looking at the tents. "I'll assume there's not enough for one tent per person."
"You'd be right. Some of your students will have to pair up. I don't think I have to say this, but try not to let one of the girls be with one of the guys. I shouldn't have to explain that," Catherine hinted.
Lucas stared at his students through the corner of his eyes. "Yeah, I understand. How many per tent? Oh, and what about me?"
"Two, maximum. I guess if you move around some rolls you can get more than that, but we've only put two of them in each tent. Your students can fight over who gets what. As for you, you get your own tent since you're the professor. You get to pick out any tent you want, as long as it's empty," Catherine answered, staring at the group of young'uns momentarily. "Meet me in the big tent over there when you're done so we can discuss the mission."
"Alright, thanks Catherine. I'll see you there," Lucas said his goodbye. Once Catherine left, the professor addressed the students. "Did everyone get that? Decide amongst yourselves who you'll be rooming with."
The usual suspects stuck together. Dorothea chose Bernadetta, leaving Edelgard with Petra. Hubert wasn't pleased with this arrangement - Edelgard had to convince him otherwise. He was forced to be with Ferdinand as Linhardt and Caspar selected each other right away. Lucas smiled as he witnessed this display of camaraderie and friendship. It made him feel warm somehow, despite the Kingdom's vaguely cold climate. But upon remembering the one he'd left behind intentionally, the warmth faded.
Not only that, he started feeling lonely. Sure, Byleth and Sothis were with him so it wasn't all bad, but he still wished he had someone to room with.
"Can't be as bad as he must be feeling right now. Still..." Lucas thought before sighing in the real world.
He led his students over to where the abundance of smaller tents were. They all scanned the lodgings until they came across the empty ones. Once they did, the tents were quickly occupied by eager young adults. Lucas made his peace with his lonesome, singularly occupied tent. He almost felt like falling asleep. But then he remembered he still had a meeting to go to, so he got back up and ventured to the tent he last saw Catherine going into.
Upon seeing it on the inside, Lucas was surprised as to how massive it was. Not more so than the average room, though it was impressive for a tent. Most of the space was taken up by a wooden desk accompanied with chairs. Wooden crates were littered around the left wall, some open and others not. Catherine was there, overlooking a map that had been laid out on the desk. She hadn't noticed the professor's arrival.
"Hey, Catherine. I'm here," Lucas greeted her, alerting the knight to his presence. "Wanna talk about that mission?"
"There you are. Yeah, let's talk," Catherine acknowledged him. She pointed at the map. "Take a look."
Lucas walked over and gazed upon the map. He spent an embarrassing amount of time simply staring at it. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Those," she replied, pointing at some black marks on the map. "They're markers that indicate where Lonato's forces have been causing a ruckus. We've been stamping them out before they can get really bad. We figured that by taking note of where he's been, we might have been able to predict where he'll be next, but that hasn't worked out."
"Hmm," Lucas mumbled as he returned his gaze to the map. "They might attack here next."
"You mean this camp? That's ridiculous. We picked a remote area, they shouldn't even know we're here. What makes you say that?" Catherine folded her arms in doubt.
"Call it a hunch. You're in Lonato's way, right? It only makes sense he'd want to take you out as soon as possible. I imagine he might try to use the nearby fog to his advantage," Lucas recalled, using his foreknowledge to his advantage. "You've got torches, right?"
"Yeah, of course we do. We know the Gaspard region's infamous for its fog, so we stocked up just in case. Do you really think he's gonna attack with that in mind? It'll affect him just as much as it'll affect us."
"I think so. Maybe not right now, considering it's almost ten, but soon."
"That's some guess. We'll see what happens. Maybe you guys won't even have to lift a finger."
Lucas chuckled. "Heh, maybe. It would be great if we didn't have to do anything, but with Lonato still around, I don't see that being the case."
"You're probably right." Catherine sighed.
A small silence occurred. It felt somewhat awkward to the two participants. Shattering the silence, Catherine spoke up, although her tone indicated some kind of reluctance.
"Hey Lucas, while you're here, can I ask you something?" She requested.
"What's that?" Lucas wondered, curious.
"Why does Lady Rhea give you special treatment? I've seen you train with Captain Jeralt. There's nothing remarkable about the way you fight and as far as I know, you haven't had any experience teaching. I'm sure there's hundreds of people out there that are way more appropriate for a professorship. Yet, Lady Rhea chose you. I can't conceive why."
"I'm not too sure myself," Lucas half-lied. "But I'm not about to waste this opportunity. I don't plan on letting Lady Rhea down."
"Good. Because if you planned on doing anything less than that, I would make sure I'd get to carry out your punishment. I wouldn't be afraid to run Thunderbrand straight through you."
"I-I see," Lucas laughed nervously. "Is th-that all?"
"Yeah, there's nothing else to discuss. Nothing I can think of, at least."
Lucas smiled and nodded, saying his goodbyes before departing from the meeting tent. He breathed a sigh of relief, easing his nerves for the time being. Lucas knew Catherine was overly protective of Rhea. Seeing it in person truly frightened him. Fortunately, there wasn't anything left to do, so he retreated to his tent, glad to finally get some rest.
Or so he thought. Preventing his sleep this time was a sudden memory.
"Ashe…"
The Blue Lions boy. The one who had such a personally historic connection with Lonato, the man who was attacking the church. Lucas found it impossible to sleep after beginning to realise that Ashe wouldn't be getting any closure. He wasn't there with the Black Eagles. Ashe had approached Lucas one day at Garreg Mach, pleading with the professor to allow him to go on the mission. Yet Ashe wasn't there.
All because of Lucas.
He denied Ashe the chance to find out why his adoptive father was doing the things he was doing. Lucas already knew, of course. But Ashe didn't. The professor tossed and turned in his bed.
"I regret not bringing Ashe along. He was so upset when he found out about the rebellion. Most of the students, let alone the Blue Lions, were concerned for him. And yet I didn't let him attain his happiness, his closure. The thing that should ease his pain. Why the hell did I do that?!" Lucas wondered, kicking himself mentally.
"You chose to spare him from further sadness. There is nothing wrong with doing that. After all, that is what I chose to do in some of my previous timelines," Byleth reassured him, sporting a strangely calming smile.
"I know, it's just...I could have allowed him to come. I could have allowed him to see Lonato at least one more time. With his presence here, we may have been able to save him. I doubt I'll be able to do that on my own. Catherine's gonna go up to him and slice him into pieces. I can't stop her. I'm dooming a man to death...all because of my selfishness," Lucas claimed.
His eyes twitched. Tears began arising.
"Selfishness? What do you mean?" Byleth wondered.
Lucas didn't respond as he was still busy fighting off tears.
"I'm trying to help you, Lucas. You're not going to be able to solve your problems by ignoring them like you are now. Allow me to help you so that you may heal," Byleth recommended, speaking in a more forceful yet somehow still calm tone of voice.
Lucas still didn't speak.
"Please, Lucas. Help me so I can help you."
The professor sighed. "Alright, fine. By 'selfishness', I mean how I've actively chosen to not allow Ashe to come with us. How I don't want him here. How I want Lonato to die."
"Could you elaborate?" Byleth requested, refusing to judge just yet.
"I want Lonato to die so the timeline remains as normal as possible for now. There, you happy? If the timeline is normal, then my so-called 'predictions' will be true. Then Edelgard, Dimitri and Rhea can start fully trusting in my future sight. They'll be inclined to listen to me in regards to future events and whatnot. So there," Lucas explained as he frowned. "It's all so I can have a good social standing of sorts. I'm letting a man die for that. I…"
Lucas' face twitched once again as his tears continued to threaten him with their presence. Byleth's next words, however, caused the tears to back off slightly.
"I do not think you are selfish for that."
"What?" Lucas responded in confusion. "How am I not selfish? As I said, I'm literally letting a man die so people can believe in me. Just so I can prove some kind of point. Just for me. That's the definition of selfishness."
"But you are not doing it only for yourself. You have Fodlan's best interests at heart. If Edelgard, Dimitri and Rhea believe in you, then you can direct them onto paths that will better their lives. That's hardly selfish. In fact, it's rather noble, as Ferdinand would put it," Byleth refuted. "I think sacrificing the life of one person for the sake of an entire country is worth it."
"You really think so?" Lucas rhetorically asked, considering Byleth's words. "Maybe you're right. I don't know. I just...I need sleep. I don't think this pit in my stomach will go away with that, though."
"It may not. Do know that I will always support you, no matter what you do."
Lucas smiled. "Thanks, Byleth. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Rest was a bit easier to obtain from then on.
Only a few hours after waking up did Lonato's forces arrive in the area. Lucas, Catherine, the students and the other knights marched over to the battlefield where Lonato would eventually show up. They had to wade through the increasingly thick fog, which wasn't much of an issue since the knights were making good use of their torches to pierce the veil.
After a while, the monastery forces stopped. Lucas couldn't tell for sure, but the area they were all at felt just like the one from the game's third chapter. It was the only explanation he could think of. He turned to face his students.
"Get in formation, Eagles! Just like we discussed!" Lucas ordered.
They did as they were told. Edelgard and Hubert brought up the front alongside Lucas, while Dorothea, Petra and Caspar took the middle. Ferdinand, Linhardt and Bernadetta were at the back. Once Catherine and her knights started to brave the fog, the Black Eagles did the same, following somewhat closely behind the Heroes' Relic user.
The battle began. A member of the militia soon emerged through the cloudy depths, targeting Caspar and spouting something about protecting Lord Lonato. Caspar didn't care much - he was excited to fight. He nimbly dodged around the axe user's slow, untrained strike, retaliating with a rapid barrage of punches from his gauntlets. The speed behind these attacks was much too quick for the poor so-called soldier.
As the Eagles and knights bravely fought through the fog, more and more militia approached. All of them fought with a level of uncertainty, as if they were hesitating, unsure as to whether this fight was truly right. Noticing this, Lucas' stomach turned. He wanted to turn away.
Yet he couldn't. No backing out now. Thanks to the previous month's mission, he was more used to the idea of killing, but his stomach did not agree with murdering those who didn't deserve it. He tried to justify it by reminding himself that these people were attacking the church so they weren't entirely innocent, but no matter what he repeated to himself, it never sat right with him.
"I wish this was a dream. That would mean these people wouldn't be dying. I suppose for them…" Lucas wished after creating a massive gash on a woman's torso with his sword. "This is a nightmare come true."
Everyone pushed through. They cut, sizzled or sliced down anyone they needed to. Most of the Black Eagles students were as worrisome about their actions as Lucas was. Some even voiced their doubts.
"Is this the right thing for us to do?" Dorothea wondered, once she blew a gigantic hole into someone's chest with a Thoron. "These people haven't done anything wrong. Aside from attacking us, of course. But is it really okay for us to kill them just because of that?"
"It is unfortunate, Dorothea. But we must be doing this. They are our prey and we are hunting," Petra reassured her friend, ending another militia's life by slashing them through the chest.
"We must be doing this, huh?" Dorothea repeated in a rhetorical manner. "All for the church, I suppose. Thanks, Petra. I'm still not comfortable with this, but I'll carry on. I have to."
"You are having the spirit! Let us continue and make sure we stay in formation. It is importance, uh, important we do that," Petra smiled.
The two joined back up with the rest of the group, staying in line with Caspar so as to keep each other safe and within sight. Lucas' proposed formation was indeed working to that end. Each of the students were able to see one another, if only barely at some points. It was enough for them to watch out for their friends and ensure they didn't get lost along the forward path everyone was going on.
But soon enough, that proved to be a non-issue. Catherine took the life of a dark mage she was barely able to see through the fog. Upon doing that, the whole place cleared up. There was no need to worry about not being able to see another person as there was no more fog clouding their vision.
In turn, this allowed a certain man to see precisely who his enemies were. Lord Lonato locked eyes with Catherine, his face contorting into one of complete madness and hatred. Lucas had never seen anyone so enveloped in anger before. The game couldn't replicate the true rage Lonato was radiating.
"So you have returned...Thunderstrike Cassandra." Lonato maintained his frustration. "The woman who murdered my son."
Catherine chuckled. "I've long since dropped that name, old man. You're behind the times. Now...why don't you get in front of my sword? Everyone, push through! Let's bring an end to this battle right now!"
The knights shouted as they charged forward, invigorated by their commander's words. Meanwhile, the Eagles felt the same way. There was something about what Catherine said that ignited the fires of passion within them. Even someone like Hubert felt some kind of emotional push to get things done as soon as possible.
Everyone pressed forward, eliminating whatever militia stood in their way. Lucas wanted to use some magic here, yet his skills with casting still needed some work. That was something he wished to work on later. For now, he allowed his blade to dance.
Catherine was leading the charge - this made Lucas frown. He began to realise that an encounter between her and Lonato would most certainly end in the latter's death. Despite it being what he wanted, Lucas couldn't help but feel guilty.
"I could try and talk to Lonato, but that would only attract unwanted attention. Besides, I don't think Rhea would be pleased if I went against the mission like that. That would only lead to her distrusting me, which isn't what I want. Weighing things logically like that, there's less downsides to letting Lonato die. The only thing that brings it down would be Ashe's reaction. Ashe…" Lucas breathed a sigh to ease his worries. "He's going to be upset. I just know it. And I'm not doing a damn thing about it! God!"
"Goddess, not God. Do remember you're no longer on Earth," Sothis reminded him.
"Shut up, Sothis!" Lucas snapped. He quickly realised what he said, his eyes widening even in the real world. "I-I'm sorry, Sothis. I didn't mean to say that. I'm just-"
"Stressed? I understand. Regardless, do not take it out on me. Snap at me like that again and I will be inclined to give you a headache. Or worse," Sothis warned, her tone of voice becoming ominous.
"Uh, right. S-sorry. Message received."
Byleth chimed in. "Do not worry about Lonato's passing. Ashe will be upset, yes, but he always gets over it. At least, he gets over his initial bout of sadness. The death will greatly affect him on a personal level, although it will serve him as a good source of inspiration for additional training. He'll be fine."
"I get that, it's just -I still feel bad that I'm not granting him happiness. Like, he'll certainly appreciate it if Lonato doesn't die here, but I'm just not going to be able to stop Catherine. I'm gonna let that man die without doing anything!" Lucas worried. "How can I not feel this terrible?"
"Like you said last night, it's for the sake of Fodlan. Letting Lonato die will increase the chances Edelgard, Dimitri and Rhea will trust you. That's the most important thing. If they trust you, they'll listen to you about the future. If it's to stop that war and thus save thousands of lives, I think it's a good idea to let Lonato die," Byleth gave his opinion.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, huh?" Lucas considered Byleth's words as the battle raged around him. "I-I agree. That makes sense. I'm sorry, Ashe…!"
Lucas helped his students finish off the rest of the militia. While doing so, he kept an eye on Catherine. She was going straight for Lonato, using Thunderbrand to slice through anyone standing in her way as if they weren't even there. Lonato stared her down from the height he was at while riding his horse.
Catherine danced around Lonato's lance stabs, slashing away at his horse's legs. This caused the creature to go slightly insane. It tossed its rider from its back and ran away. Catherine let it escape, then she pointed Thunderbrand at Lonato, who was slowly standing back up.
"You will NOT get away with attacking the Church!" Catherine insisted, rushing forward.
With a single slash of her blade, Lonato was done for. The sword pierced his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. He fell over and cried out in pain.
"Christophe, I-I'm sorry..." he croaked between his dying breaths. His eyes closed and his breathing was no more.
Lonato was dead.
Tears were welling up inside of Lucas. He turned away so nobody could see him wipe his eyes clean. Edelgard and Hubert noticed this. The pair kept a mental note of their professor's reaction.
"Didn't think Lonato would ever do something like this," Catherine commented, looking somewhat upset temporarily. "Good work, everyone. Let's get out of here."
As the knights began to round themselves up and the students shared their worries about fighting militia, Edelgard approached Lucas, who'd been continuing to look into the distance while facing away from everyone else.
"Professor, are you okay?" She asked in genuine worry.
"I-I'm fine," Lucas lied instantly. "Just a little bit shaken up by this whole militia thing."
Edelgard could tell he was withholding the truth. Yet, she played along. "I understand. Everyone was shaken up by it. I don't think they realised they would be fighting civilians. Professor, you must remember. These people were fighting for what they believed was a just cause. It may not have been the case in reality, but it is what they assumed. We had no choice but to eliminate them since they fought for such unreasonable ideas. You should know, Professor. It's not possible to change the world without sacrifice."
"You're right. But it's possible to find ways to circumvent death wherever possible. This isn't one of those situations," Lucas admitted. He turned around, his eyes slightly red from crying. "That's what I plan to do, Edelgard. I don't want any of you to die."
Edelgard's mouth was wide open in surprise. She thought her statement was convincing enough, yet it seemed the professor was stubborn and adamant in his ways. She frowned, only for a moment.
"His eyes. He is truly empathetic. I can tell - his emotions are not fabricated. Does that mean his claims are true? Can he really see the future?"
Edelgard's thoughts and theories persisted, even as she and her professor joined up with everyone else as they all departed from the battlefield. The sight of Lucas' eyes, stained red from crying; it never left her mind.
Author Notes: Sorry this chapter took a little longer to come out than the last few. Just haven't felt like writing as much as I have recently. I should be back to normal now, though!
Don't forget to join the Fanfiction Treehouse Discord server! I'm there along with a whole load of other cool writers! Here's the invite code: 9XG3U7a.
See y'all next time!
EDIT (25/11/2021): Always stay gaming, folks.