Byleth found herself confronted by Myson and a few dark mages in the basement of this abandoned fortress. The bandits were all properly routed, so the appearance of these mysterious mages was a separate matter entirely. "So you're not bandits." Byleth said while readying her sword.
"Do not lump us in with those filthy beasts." Myson stated. "You made a grave mistake coming here and you will pay for it with your lives." As Myson said this, he fired numerous spheres of dark magic in Byleth's direction.
Byleth's judgement in coming down alone proved to be a good call. Myson's bloodlust was different than that of the bandits who were trying to flee and defend themselves. This man wanted the intruders routed. She ducked and weaved through the incoming blasts, closing the distance between herself and Myson faster than the man expected. She swung her sword down at him, but he was able to avoid it. What Myson didn't evade, was the incoming kick to his chest she threw at him, causing him to stagger until his back hit the wall. "I don't have time for you."
"You…" Myson scowled, grunting from the surprisingly strong hit. "How dare you touch me!? What are you all standing around for, attack! Eliminate these beasts so we can reconvene with the unit who left earlier!"
"Yes!" The dark mages complied with Myson's orders and began to attack Byleth all at once.
Byleth narrowed her eyes and went through the motions. This wasn't the first time she's dealt with magic, nor would it be the last. She weaved through the incoming blasts and swiftly closed the gap, slashing her sword at one mage before repeating the process. None of them were able to land a single hit on Byleth and she killed them all as a result. She the approached Myson once more, managing to slash his arm as he evaded a fatal strike to the chest. "Slippery."
Myson grit his teeth in anger, feeling the blood seep through his clothes. There was a fresh cut on his arm from this wretched beast of a woman. How dare she!? But he remembered the mission. "I cannot afford to waste my time with you." He said before he just vanished into thin air.
"…He left?" Byleth blinked. "That teleportation…" It looked familiar. It was a greater scale, but it reminded her of what Shez was capable of…
"I know you have questions, as do I. But I think it is more important to ensure the wellbeing of those students before anything else." Sothis said. "It is not safe to be here."
"You're right." Byleth had to find the others so they could leave. They completed their mission of routing the bandits. What was happening now was an unexpected predicament that they found themselves in. As curious as she was about the person in the prison cell, the safety of her student's came above all else.
.
.
Shez and Luke were fighting against Kronya. This woman who appeared out of nowhere and nearly killed them with her sneakiness. Shez used her two blades to attack Kronya, but the mysterious woman was skilled at fighting. She was able to parry Shez's attacks, but she wasn't able to get her own in either. "What's with this girl!?" Shez grunted, unable to get the upperhand on Kronya.
"She's freaky, that's what!" Luke shouted while rushing in from the side. He was going to try and attack Kronya with his blade while she was dealing with Shez. He had been watching her movements thus far and was confident he could replicate and catch her by surprise. Kronya didn't even look at him and one of the tendrils on her back violently lashed out at Luke. "Gah!?" He wasn't expecting this and stumbled back, fumbling his sword as the tendril managed to cut across his side. "What the hell was that!?"
"Did you really think I'd allow a worm like yourself to get close to me!?" Kronya scoffed. Shez tried to attack her again, but she was able to defend her strikes. That's when another tendril whipped out at Shez, who had to roll to avoid it.
"I think we can come to the conclusion that this is not a normal person…" Shez said while panting a bit. Kronya was putting up a fight. This was different than fighting another mercenary, a bandit, or even Byleth. Something about Kronya was just different and off putting.
"Not a normal person?" Kronya's orange eyes glared at Shez. "We're more normal than you worms! We were here first!"
"Yeah, I have no idea what that means." Luke shook his head. When he glanced behind him, he could see the other Black Eagles beginning to rush out of the fortress to the front area. "What the? You guys done already?"
"We finished, but these dark mages came outta nowhere!" Caspar said.
"Retreating was appearing to be the best action." Petra said. They did take Byleth's advice from before, but they weren't entirely out of the woods just yet. "Our Professor is still missing…"
"She's not back yet?" Luke said.
"Who is that?" Ferdinand asked while gesturing to Kronya. "She doesn't give off the aura of a bandit."
"She barely gives off the aura of a person…" Linhardt added.
"She's scary!" Bernadetta whined.
"She's not one…" Edelgard's grip on her axe tightened.
"Then what is she?" Dorothea's question was up in the air.
"Hehe." Kronya smiled at Edelgard. "You seem disappointed! Sorry, but if you were looking for someone, they're not here anymore! Those Knights found this place sooner than we thought, so we had to take them somewhere else. It's just you and me." That alone told Edelgard everything she needed to hear, and she didn't like it one bit.
"Lady Edelgard…" Hubert said. He could read her expression and tell what was on her mind. They could technically get away with it. But if they succeeded, it would create a mess down the line.
"But it's so nice of all of you to gather here!" Kronya crouched down a bit. "I can take all of your lives one by one!"
"That's not happening, because we're not done yet!" Shez charged at Kronya once again, only for the two of them to end up in another stalemate.
"Haven't you learned by now?" Kronya was pushing Shez back easily. Even if she was outnumbered, she was very confident about her chances. "It's like you said. I'm not a 'normal' person!"
"Yeah!?" Shez's eyes flashed orange. "Well, neither am I!" That's when her physically appearance started to change, accessing Arval's power. There was a shockwave that boomed outward, forcing Kronya to slide backwards. Everyone started with widened eyes as Shez finally showed them her true power.
"What the-!?" Luke gasped.
"What is that…? That's so cool!" Caspar was immediately jealous.
"…." Edelgard and Hubert's eyes were wide, but for a different reason.
"WHAT?!" Kronya was somehow the most shocked out of everyone. "That's not fair! Why do you have that power!?" She knew what this was and she hated it. "Who are you!?"
"I'm the woman who's about to kill you." Shez replied with a snarky grin, rushing towards Kronya once again. The difference this time, is that she teleported halfway through, appearing to Kronya's left. Kronya managed to block the incoming sword swing, but Shez's increase in power made her tumble along the ground.
"Gah!" Kronya grunted, rolling along the ground before coming to a crouched position. Shez used her teleportation to appear on top of Kronya, thrusting both swords down at the woman. Kronya's tendrils blocked both of them. She grinned maliciously and thrust her strange sword for Shez's stomach, but Shez was able to teleport backwards to avoid a fatal injury. "This is so irritating!? How can a feckless vermin like yourself have that power!?"
"Does she know something about us…" Arval questioned internally.
"No time to think! I'll make her talk!" Shez said while teleporting all around Kronya to confuse her. She moved in for another strike, but Kronya was ready this time. One of her tendrils wrapped around Shez's wrist, violently flinging her into the dirt. "Ow!" Shez grunted before trying to regain herself.
"Hah!" Kronya flung a dagger at Shez's ankle. The dagger itself didn't land a direct hit, but it did graze her ankle to the point where she slowed down a bit.
"Looks like it's time to get in there…" Luke was about to move, but he found that he and the other students were suddenly surrounded by dark mages. "Ah."
"Oh, these guys are no problem!" Caspar said while immediately slamming one in the chest with his fist. "They're all magic and no muscle! They'll fold like paper!"
"Thanks for that." Linhardt said sarcastically, feeling like he was included in that statement.
"Looks like we have no choice." Edelgard wasn't in the mood to deal with these mages. That's why a single swing of her axe sent a fiery shockwave that knocked a number of them down. "Get out of our way." Her voice was extremely commanding; not taking anything from these wizards whose confidence wavered. "I hope our Professor is okay." They haven't seen Byleth since she went to the basement alone…
Shez's ankle injury only slowed her down a little. She still had the physical advantage against Kronya and tried to use it, but this woman was not an easy target to hit. She went for a swing but missed, and when she tried to recover on her bad ankle, she felt it. "Tch…!"
"That power is a waste on you!" Kronya was going to use this opening, but an arrow flying by her face caused her to retreat. "Huh?" She looked in the direction the arrow came from, only to see that it was Bernadetta who fired it.
When Bernadetta felt Kronya's confused gaze on her, she was already assuming the worst, and she was correct to this time. "Oh, why did I do that…" Bernadetta had no explanation as to why she even took a shot at Kronya. But she couldn't just stand around and watch this mysterious woman attack her classmate. But now? She was completely frozen in fear, having met the gaze of someone who genuinely planned to kill her.
Unfortunately for Bernadetta, Kronya knew a weak link when she saw one. Her eyes lit up with murderous excitement and she suddenly darted towards Bernadetta. "I think I'll kill you first!"
"I don't think so-!" Shez was about to chase, but Myson suddenly appeared in front of her. "Another one!?"
Myson stared at Shez. While his hat covered his eyes, she could still feel the rage behind his gaze. "…I thought I sensed a familiar power. And it turns out…it was you. You have his power."
"Get out of my way!" Shez tried to move, but Myson threw a blast of dark magic at her that forced her on the defensive. As such, Edelgard, Ferdinand, and Petra were quick to back Shez up, but the others weren't sure if they could make it to Bernadetta in time.
"Bernie, look out!" Dorothea lunged at Bernadetta, tackling her to the ground as Kronya's sword nearly sliced Dorothea's hat. The two hit the ground, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Kronya still had an easy target and brought her sword down, only for it to clash against opposing steel. "Huh…?"
"What?" Kronya's eyes followed the blade that interrupted her.
It was Byleth. She made it and looked over to her students. "You all did well in holding out until I got here. I apologize for the delay, there were a lot of mages back there. But fall back. I can take care of her."
Luke took a glance behind Byleth, only to see that she wasn't lying. There were a lot of dead bodies behind her. This only made him realize how terrifying of a fighter Byleth actually was. "Whoa…"
"Professor…" Bernadetta felt like crying from the huge wave of relief that was washing over her.
"I told you, I would do my best to protect you all." Byleth nodded.
"Thank you so much." Dorothea flashed Byleth a smile and quickly pulled away with Bernadetta.
"Tch…" Shez growled lowly. She was mostly irritated at the fact the Ashen Demon came in and was suddenly being looked at like some kind of hero!
"Who do you think you are!? If you're their leader, I'll just kill you and watch them despair!" Kronya pulled her sword back and swung it for Byleth's midsection. Byleth blocked her hit with her gauntlet, then moved in to punch Kronya square in the face with enough force to actually knock her down. "Wh-!? D-Did you just punch me!?"
"And you took it terribly." Byleth said while walking towards Kronya menacingly.
"She completely knocked her flat." Caspar said in awe. "I wanna punch that hard!"
"The Professor is truly in a class of her own." Ferdinand said.
"I am glad she is in our class." Petra replied, completely misunderstanding Ferdinand's words.
That was…extremely embarrassing and it infuriated her. At least with Shez, Kronya could've kept up. But that single punch hurt far more than it should. Kronya growled and sprang up, rushing at Byleth with her sword and all of her murderous intent. "You'll pay for that!" She yelled, slashing at Byleth over and over. Byleth was able to keep up with her attacks, blocking and parrying her attacks with ease. Kronya then took a step forward, but Byleth tripped her and made her stumble. "Ngh…!"
Byleth then spun around, using that momentum to aim a slash at Kronya's back. This one hit and Kronya let out a grunt of pain while stumbling forward. A direct hit. "…"
"What are you doing, Kronya?" Myson asked. "Don't let this beast…" He had to defend himself from one of Ferdinand's attack. Myson was paying attention, but he still almost caught a lance through the chest. Caspar, Petra, Luke, and Shez all tried to follow up on this opening, but Myson threw his hands out and dark spikes shot out around him from all directions. The three of them barely had time to defend as these spikes pelted them. "Keep your distance from me."
"Agh, man…he really doesn't like being touched." Luke said while rubbing the back of his neck. It was a light joke in the midst of the tense situation.
"That was unexpected…" Petra held her side. But there was a soft soothing light that healed her a bit. She turned around and saw Linhardt putting in some effort. "You are having my gratitude, Linhardt!"
"I can't heal all of you at once…so be careful." Linhardt said. Myson did attempt to throw some dark magic at Linhardt, but it was countered by Hubert's own. An explosion occurred in the middle, much to Linhardt's dismay. "Could you try not to cut it so close next time?"
"I'll see what I can do." Hubert's tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Kronya actually felt that hit. She hissed in agony attacking Byleth again, her movements getting much faster and more aggressive. Byleth was keeping her defensive stance, sparks flying as their weapons connected. The two swung with so much force, they were both forced back. Byleth then sprang into action, slipping to Kronya's left to try and attack her. That's when Kronya grinned, one of her tendrils shooting out towards Byleth's neck. Byleth was able to evade this by turning her head, and Kronya followed up with a kick to her chest. Byleth did block this in time, but she was sent sliding back a bit. "Hehehehe…" Kronya pointed at Byleth's face. "You act tough, but you bleed like any other worm."
It's true. There was a cut on Byleth's cheek that was bleeding a bit. It was the first time anyone had seen her bleed, but Byleth was unfazed. She brought her thumb to her cheek and simply wiped it away. "Was a cut on the cheek the only thing you could offer?"
"HOW DARE YOU!?" Kronya had it up to here with this vermin. She ran forward again, mixing up her movements by leaping from side to side. She jumped into the air, flipped around, and tried to bring her sword down on Byleth.
The Professor brought her sword up to clash with Kronya. Just as Kronya tried to attack with her tendrils from this position, Byleth pushed her back with relative ease. "Back off."
Kronya refused to be pushed around by this worm like this; so two of her tendrils dug into the ground, giving her a slight height advantage over Byleth, while the other one was primed and ready to strike. The single tendril jabbed at Byleth while she slashed her sword at the Ashen Demon. It was a high speed assault that Byleth had to defend from. A few jabs from Kronya's tendril did nick her, but she was able to defend herself properly. Eventually Byleth had enough, her sword igniting with flames. She clashed with Kronya, but her blazing sword overwhelmed the woman and she was skidding backwards, burn marks singing her skin. "Ow! Grr…!"
It was then that Byleth's sword lit up with lightning and she rushed Kronya, stabbing it downwards. "Hah!"
Kronya was easily able to avoid this by flipping backwards a few feet away, landing on her feet with an irritated smile. "Looks like you missed, vermin."
"No I didn't." Byleth replied. The lightning coursed through the ground. Kronya could see this coming and her eyes widened, so she had no choice but to leap into the air. It was a good thing she did, for an explosion of lightning occurred directly where she was once standing. Now that Kronya was in the air, she was going to try and come down on Byleth again. Predicting this, Byleth lifted her sword from the ground, only for a brilliant flash of golden light to erupt outwards.
Anyone looking at Byleth in this moment had to cover their eyes from the bright light. Because Kronya was the closest one to her, she had to cover her eyes. "Damn you!" The light was so bright, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was midair, blinded, and she couldn't control her momentum. She was left completely defenseless.
"This is it." Byleth changed the grip on her sword. Kronya was coming her way with no way to stop her momentum due to her temporary blindness. Byleth swung her sword up, twisting her body at the last second for a rising, spiral slash. This was one of the combat arts Jeralt taught her a while ago, and against a defenseless opponent, it was perfect for finishing them off. As Byleth brought her sword up, a bright white symbol flashed behind her, signifying the activation of her mysterious Crest for all to see. The blade carved upwards along Kronya's exposed chest, leaving a deep gash as the woman cried out in agony.
"GAAAAAH!" Kronya wailed in pain, tumbling along the ground as black liquid seeped from her wound. She lie on the ground for a moment, coughing and sputtering…..but she wasn't dead. She growled, planting one hand on the ground before slowly pushing herself up. There was a noticeable wound on her chest, black blood dropping from it.
"What…" Now Byleth was legitimately surprised, even if her expression failed to show it. That blow should have been enough to kill a normal person. No, it was enough to kill a normal person. She's done that attack more times than she could count, and every single time it resulted in a dead body. Kronya wasn't dead. She was hurt and angry, but not dead. "…What are you?"
"Gh…" Kronya was panting heavily, one eye squeezed shut. Byleth really got her there and she hated it. "You…worm."
"Curses…" Myson had to disengage from the students he was fighting in order to warp next to Kronya. "You got too excited, Kronya. I warned you about playing with you food."
"…." Kronya hissed in response. If only she could say she was playing with her food. No, Byleth was just a monster. A freak. "I'm not through with her! I'll make her squirm! I'll make her writhe! I'll kill her!"
"Kronya! Get a hold of yourself!" Myson snarled. "You have a mission. You have to dispose of the body."
"Do you really think we're going to let you go anywhere?" Edelgard asked Myson. "You're completely surrounded, injured, and we have no qualms of ending your lives here and now." A bold statement from the Princess, but she meant every single word of it. "Whatever body you're discussing, I'll be certain to rip it from your hands as well."
"Gh…" Kronya was delirious from pain and anger. All she could focus on was Byleth and that expression. She could swear the Ashen Demon was mocking her. But…they had a mission. They couldn't afford to fail now. She was important to that plan. "…Release the creature we captured."
"Creature? We've combed through this place quite thoroughly." Ferdinand said with doubt. "I sincerely doubt you have suitable room to hold some kind of creature in here."
"W-What else could you possibly have in this horrifying place?!" Bernadetta asked. But the moment she did ask, the ground started to rumble. "Why do I talk…"
"Something's coming…" Shez was still in her transformed state, glancing around carefully. Her eyes then met with Myson.
"…We're not finished with you, though." Myson said.
"…I'll make you pay for this." Kronya told Byleth. She had a score to settle. Before anyone could say anything else, a Demonic Beast emerged from the walls, completely taking down half the fortress with its sudden entrance.
"What in the-!?" Caspar gasped.
"W-What is that thing!?" Dorothea's eyes were wide. She'd never seen anything like THAT before! While everyone was reacting to the appearance of the Demonic Beast, Myson and Kronya vanished. "Ah, they're gone?!"
"We can worry about them later." Byleth said while readying her sword. "This is more important." This was…well beyond anything she's fought before. First time for everything.
"I'll make sure to kill this thing." Shez didn't want to be shown up by Byleth. Being saved by the Ashen Demon left a strange, bitter taste in her mouth. She wasn't that weak to need help!
"I did not know what I was signing up for today." Luke was just in awe at the events happening today. He thought this was going to be a quick mission. This turned into something he couldn't begin to understand.
"Is everyone ready?" Byleth said while staring at the Demonic Beast. The Beast roared loudly, its tail slamming along the ground frantically. The Black Eagles stood behind Byleth, all of them prepared to face off against this monster after giving a positive response. "Alright. Let's do this!"