They advanced through the tunnel in complete silence, only their breath could be heard. The faint light from the Sword of the Creator allowed Byleth to cast away the shadows in their path. After a few minutes had passed their path grew narrower.
"Professor, I sense some magic ahead from us" told him Hubert.
"We have to be careful, in case that the situation turns difficult leave me"
"But Professor…" protested Ferdinand.
"It is a command, Ferdinand, don´t disobey it"
"I will obey, but I hope we don´t have to resort to something like that"
They continued in complete silence until they arrived to a wide room. With the light they had they couldn´t see where the room ended, but it appeared to be quite big.
"This room looks quite big" whispered Ferdinand "I wonder what…" he suddenly stopped when he realized what it was in front of them.
Flayn was lying on the floor. Her face was extremely pale, but she wasn´t the only person that was unconscious. A red haired girl wearing the academy uniform was next to her. Ferdinand was about to approach her, when he was stopped by Byleth´s hand.
"Professor, what?"
"It may be a trap"
"The Professor is right, it looks extremely fishy to me" commented Linhardt.
"You should have just come to your death" a metallic voice said from the shadows.
A few meters away from them the Death Knight appeared, his eyes completely focused on Byleth and the Sword of the Creator.
"Welcome to your tomb, you may rest here for the eternity"
Byleth noticed that there was some movement in the shadows.
"Defensive positions now!" he shouted
A spell came from the shadows, but it was easily repelled by Hubert, who retaliated with his own dark magic. Byleth decided to release a powerful fire spell to cast aside the shadows. It worked. With the new vision of the battlefield he could see at least two groups of enemies to their left and right advancing to them, the Death Knight remaining still in the middle.
"Show me your strength. Let the feast of death begin" the Death Knight said with a deadly voice.
Byleth avoided one spell directed to him and used his sword as a whip to impale the enemy mage. Alongside him Hubert and Dorothea were casting spells while Petra and Ferdinand took care of the physical enemies. Bernadetta was aiming to the enemy archers while Linhardt stayed in the middle taking care of everyone in the group. All their students' eyes were filled with determination.
"Let´s make them regret facing us. Together we will prevail!" he shouted to his students.
"Defeat is the only logical conclusion to their arrogance" smiled Ferdinand.
"Professor, Look at those panels on the floor." Said Hubert pointing what appeared to be a mosaic on the floor. "I sense a strong magic coming from them. We should be careful with them". The moment he said it a mage appeared through it, casting a dark magic spell against an unaware Ferdinand. The impact sent Ferdinand flying in front of Byleth, his lifeless eyes opened in a surprised expression.
Using the powers of Sothis, Byleth returned to the past and rushed to the platform where the mage was starting to appear. Using the Sword of the Creator he swiftly decapitated him, his enemy head rolling next to the Death Knight.
"Be careful with the panels! Enemies may appear from them!" he shouted.
Looking to the head of his dead ally the Death Knight laughed. He then looked at him.
"This room is already stained with the smell of death. Let me paint its walls with your corpse" he said crushing the head with his leg, approaching him with his giant scythe.
They both charged at each other. The Sword of the Creator was shining on his hand with each hit of their weapons.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I´m not interested in talking, let our weapons do the chatting" He then tried to impale him with the scythe, but Byleth avoided it jumping to his right. Byleth then used the Sword of the Creator as a whip, aiming to his adversary head, but the Death Knight blocked it with his scythe, entrapping his sword with it. Pulling from it he made Byleth trip in front of him.
"Your life ends now" he said, crushing his chest with his scythe. Using his last seconds of lucidity Byleth used his powers again. Returning back in time, he charged at the Death Knight, his blade impacting with the edge of the scythe.
"Show your face"
"Why would I have to do something like that?"
"I want to see your face before I kill you"
Hearing that, the Death Knight laughed.
"Give your best then"
They exchanged blows in a mortal dance. They were focused on each other, but he could hear new voices, when he took a glimpse of the situation behind him he felt relieved.
Caspar had come with reinforcements, but he didn´t expect it to be the students from the other two houses. Dimitri and Claude were leading their students and were assisting the already exhausted Black eagles.
"Secure the area, we have to assist the Professor as soon as possible" ordered Dimitri
"Reinforcements? They will die as well"
"Take care Teach, that guy doesn´t seem on the mood today" said Claude.
"I won´t let you touch them, you are mine. Everyone, take care of Flayn and the student!" said Byleth looking directly into the Death Knight´s red orbs.
"And you are my prey" he said combining the attack of the scythe with a lightning spell.
"If I want to kill him I have to overcome his strength. There is no other way around. I have to use this Sword to its finest" Byleth thought, after avoiding the attack.
Byleth started to accumulate its energy in the blade, feeling an intense aching as he did so. With each impact he blocked it started to glow brighter, until it was painful to watch.
"What are you trying to do?"
"I will show you my true strength"
Activating his crest Byleth made a thrust with all his strength. The Death Knight used his scythe to block the attack. The moment the two weapons met an explosion happened, sending both flying in opposite directions.
The impact to the ground made Byleth cough blood, but the Death Knights situation was worse, as he had received most part of the energy of the explosion. Part of his armor had melted and his scythe was shattered. His helmet was partially destroyed, allowing Byleth to see the man behind the mask.
"I welcome pain…" he murmured.
"Jeritza… Why have you been deceiving us all this time? What is your purpose?"
"Death Knight, you are having a bit too much fun" said a distorted voice behind Jeritza. Soon after, the owner of the voice appeared. The mysterious person was wearing heavy armor, adorned with red feathers in the area of the shoulders. That person was wearing a heavy shield and a long axe, but its most striking feature was the helmet, a mask colored of red and white that hided all its face.
"Don´t get in the way of my game"
"You´ll have more opportunities to play soon. Your work here is already done"
"Understood I will go" Jeritza said, disappearing into a purple cloud of magic.
"Who are you?" Byleth was exhausted from his combat with the Death Knight, but he was prepared to face this new unknown menace to protect his students.
"I am the Flame Emperor. It is I who will reforge the world."
"I don´t know what your objectives are but I promise you I won´t let you harm my students"
"Our paths will cross again" the mysterious figure said as it disappeared before Byleth couldn´t even approach.
"The Flame Emperor. What are his intentions? And why he had to abduct Flayn?" he asked himself.
"We have defeated them all Professor!" shouted an excited Caspar.
"You should be more careful Caspar. I had to use a lot of healing spells to keep you safe" complained Linhardt. Byleth then felt sudden warmth within him. "And you too Professor, you should take a better care of your body"
"How are Flayn and the other student?" asked Byleth approaching the students of the different houses.
"They are pale and the pulse is slow, but they don´t have life threatening conditions" observed Mercedes, the blue lions students, that was sitting next to them.
"We should carry them all to the infirmary" said Dimitri. "I wish we could have arrived earlier, but I am glad that everyone is alive"
"When we join forces there is nothing to fear Dimitri" smiled Claude.
"You are right, Dedue, Raphael, please bring them to the infirmary" ordered Byleth.
Despite their sizes both of them took with great care the unconscious student and Flayn. All of the students followed them to the tunnel mouth.
"I am glad that everyone is safe, but I fear that we will see more trouble in the foreseeable future. We are facing forces we barely know. We have to be more careful from now on" commented Sothis inside his head.
"You are right. We barely know anything about the mysterious unfolding around us. I will remain alert to protect my students"
"You care about your students, but they also care about you. It moves me to see such commitment"
"I guess that you are right" he said, smiling.
"Oh Teach, you are smiling, even though we have just had a tough battle. That´s the spirit"
"I am glad to see that you still have strength to be like that Professor" smiled to him Dimitri.
They headed together to the infirmary. When Byleth opened the door he saw inside Rhea and Seteth that were in front of a bed where Manuela was sleeping. A few meters away from them was Edelgard, who smiled to him when he saw him open the door.
"I´m glad to see you well, my Teacher"
"Flayn! Is that you?" Seteth rushed to their place the moment he saw her unconscious sister. "Please place her on this bed. She is too pale, we need to!..."
"Calm down Seteth, your sister is alive" assured him Rhea. "You have done a great job Professor, I didn´t expect less from you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart"
"Allow me to express my gratitude too Professor" said Seteth looking at him with a sincere smile. "It is only thanks to you and your student that she is alive"
"I did what I had to do"
"We should let them rest for the time being" said Rhea. "Seteth you are free to stay here, I am sure you want to spend the rest of the time with your dear sister and I am sure she will be happy to see you again"
"Thank you Rhea. I really appreciate it"
"Professor, if you don´t mind I wish you to accompany me to my chambers"
Byleth nodded at her and followed her. The rest of the students started to take their leave, although he could notice that Edelgard´s eyes stayed on him a bit longer than the rest of his students.
"Please sit here" Rhea offered him a chair. "I wish to know in detail what happened beneath the grounds of the monastery"
Byleth explained her everything related to their battle. When he ended his explanation she had a sorrowed expression on her face.
"I must blame myself to have accepted Jeritza as an Instructor at the monastery. I could have never thought he would be responsible of such many crimes. I will send the knights to catch him, he may confess to us their plans and the identities of the other perpetrators"
"Do you know something about the Flame Emperor?"
"I regrettably know nothing about the identity of such mysterious figure. The Church will do its best to learn about the identity and objectives of our enemies, but I am afraid it will take some time"
"I will help you with anything I can"
"I appreciate your kindness, but your most important task will remain preparing your students for their future. Besides, next month will be the battle of the eagle and the lion and I am sure that everyone will be excited with its preparation. Professor Hanneman came earlier; he said he wanted to talk directly with you. You should go see him. I apologize for taking part of your time"
"There is no problem. I will be seeing Professor Hanneman then."
Byleth left behind the archbishop´s quarters and headed to Hanneman´s office. He was on his way when he came across with Dimitri and Felix.
"Hello again Professor. Have you already talked with Lady Rhea?"
"Yes"
"I was the first that came here to ask him for a favor Dimitri, don´t forget that"
"I didn´t intend to take advantage from my innocent questioning Felix, but I apologize" he sighed.
"I have received a letter from my father" explained Felix. He asks me to return to Fraldarius territory to subdue a group of bandits that is constantly attacking the nearby towns. I wouldn´t mind going alone, but I think this will be another chance to see your strength in combat"
"I´m afraid to admit that since the tragedy of Duscur the situation in the Holy Kingdom is complicated" said Dimitri. "I have some matters to resolve with my uncle Rufus, the regent. I have to return to Fhirdiad and I hope you could accompany me"
"Both places are to the north so there shouldn´t be any problems to complete both task in a reasonable time" continued Felix
"I heard that you already completed your monthly task. Since we have two weeks until the end of the month, I think it would suppose no problem to assist us. Will you accept Professor?"
Byleth looked both of them. The solemn Dimitri and the direct Felix were like water and oil, yet he couldn´t avoid feeling there was something else to it. He had no reason to reject their offering so he decided to accept.
"I will accompany both of you"
"I´m glad to hear that" smiled Felix. "The two of us could easily handle the group of bandits, but I don´t mind if you bring the other students with you"
"I will make sure that I won´t be a burden to you Professor. I will show to you the capital of the Holy Kingdom when I am finished with this matter"
"I´m looking forward it" Byleth nodded to him. "I will tell my students then, but first I have to talk with Professor Hanneman"
"See you tomorrow" Felix said without turning back.
"I cannot thank you enough for your help Professor. I will prepare my belongings. I will tell the archbishop too about this matter. I am sure she wouldn´t mind"
Byleth headed to Hanneman´s office. He knocked the door and entered the room when he heard the Professor´s voice.
"Thank you for your help Byleth. Without you, we can´t know what would have happened to Flayn and Monica"
"Do you know the identity of the other student?"
"Yes, she was a student enlisted into the academy last year. She was supposed to finish her studies last year, but she disappeared. Everyone supposed she had just run away, but what I couldn´t believe if that she had been beneath the monastery all this time. When she recovers I would like to ask her a few questions about her whereabouts. Her disappearance may be linked to Flayn´s and the information she could provide could lead us closer to the truth"
"I´m interested in resolving that matter too"
"I´m glad to hear that. However, we must now take care of a more mundane problem. Manuela has been injured and I´m afraid that she will be unable to teach her students for some time. I would like to divide her students between the two of us to avoid causing any problems to her students. What do you think?"
"That sounds like a good idea, but Dimitri and Felix had asked me for help and I will be heading to the Holy Kingdom with my students. I won´t be at the monastery for a short while."
"Oh I see. In that case, could you take the rest of my students with you? Since they are part of the blue lions and you are heading north I´m sure they won´t have any problem joining your ranks for a while."
"I see no problem with that"
"In that case I will tell them today, treat them well Byleth, although I already know that you will be doing your best" he smiled to him.
"Leave it to me"
"By the way, how are you feeling with the Sword of the Creator? Is it causing you any problem?"
"Nothing remarkable. I had to use quite a bit today and I feel exhausted, but there is nothing more to it"
"I´m relieved to hear that. A weapon of such power would surely be quite demanding, energy wise. If you only use it from time to time I see no reason to worry about"
After parting from Hanneman, Byleth decided to tell his students about their future expeditions. He was walking through the aisles of the main building when he found Edelgard.
"Hello my Teacher, I was looking for you. Hubert has told me about the events that unfolded under the grounds of the monastery, but I wanted to hear it from you too"
He explained to her everything that had happened. She listened to his explanation with attention. "So a new enemy has appeared. At least everyone is safe. The fact that there are so many secret areas within the monastery makes me question the security measures of this place."
"I wanted to tell you something more. I will be lending a hand to Felix and Dimitri. Felix has asked me to take care of a group of bandits that is attacking some villages and Dimitri needs to go to the capital of the Holy Kingdom so we will be heading the north for the rest of this month"
"The lack of stability in the Holy Kingdom worries me, but I don´t mind accompanying you to assist them. I will tell the rest of the Black Eagles."
"We won´t be alone. Hanneman has asked me to bring the rest of the Blue Lions students with me since he will be taking care of the Golden Deer students and we are already helping two of them"
"That doubles our numbers" said a surprised Edelgard. "Understood. Since we are heading to the north I´m sure that the Blue Lions students will prove to be useful. I will tell the rest then. See you tomorrow my Teacher"
"Thank you Edelgard"
With nothing else to do he returned to his room and placed the Sword of the Creator in the sealed box. The sword was incredibly powerful, but he didn´t intend to abuse its power. "I can take care of a group of bandits with conventional weapons" he thought.
"That´s a good idea. You are an experienced warrior. I´m sure you won´t have any problem taking care of some bandits out there" said Sothis
He was sealing the box again when someone knocked to his door. When he opened it he could see Cyril in front of him.
"Seteth wants to talk with you in his private chambers"
"Thank you for telling me. I will go then"
"And thank you for saving Flayn, I was worried about her wellbeing"
Byleth was a bit surprised with Cyril´s confession. He usually just told him his errands without interacting with him.
"I´m relieved too"
…
"Professor, I´ve already told you, but I cannot thank you enough for this. Flayn means much to me, you have my eternal gratitude for saving her. I am indebted to you"
"I´m just happy she is safe."
"Yes indeed, I am overjoyed too. However, we cannot forget that these events took place in front of us. The fact that one of our officials took part in this and was possibly the kidnapper of Flayn makes me shiver. And we cannot forget about the mysterious Flame Emperor. His true motives are yet unclear. However I have an idea. I suspect that the perpetrators of this incident were behind Flayn´s blood"
"Her blood? Why?"
"The blood that flows through her veins is extremely special… and dangerous. They may intend it to use it as catalyst to cast more powerful spells, although this is just a hypothesis. If these unknown enemies want to experiment with my sister´s blood I am afraid that we must leave the monastery and go into hiding."
"Brother wait!" said Flayn coming to them, her face still pale.
"Flayn! What are you doing here? You shouldn´t be here, you need to rest, you are still weak"
"I can´t agree with your line of reasoning dear brother. I do not wish to live again a lonely life, hiding from the rest of the world without a place I can call home."
"Again?" asked Byleth.
"We have only been here for a few years" explained to him Seteth. "Since she was young my sister has attracted undesirable attention from people that wanted to take advantage from her kindness. Some of them even wanted to harm her to have access to her blood. That´s the reason why we have spent years avoiding big cities and villages. To stay safe" He then looked at Flayn. "If we stay here we may be targeted again! I wish you no harm Flayn. I think that it would be better if we abandon the monastery"
"Even if we leave the monastery behind us there is no guarantee that they won´t chase us. That is why I believe it would be safest to stay here, at the monastery. Besides, we have the protection of the Knights of Seiros and the Professor is here too" she said shyly smiling to him. "You have admitted that he is a capable fighter and he has saved me today. I am afraid that I can barely remember anything about my period of captivity, but looking to the marks in my body I am sure that without the Professor I may not be here anymore"
"I know what you mean, but even in a place like the monastery you were kidnapped."
"That means that there is no place where we will ever be safe brother. We have to be careful and hope for the best." Flayn then looked at Byleth "What if I were to join the Professor´s class?"
"That is a great idea"
"I am pleased to hear that. With the Professor nearby there is nothing to fear. Don´t you think so dear brother?"
Seteth looked at him as if he was analyzing him. "He is a capable fighter and he has proven to be trustworthy, despite his unusual appointment. Can I entrust you with Flayn´s safety, Professor?"
"It would be a pleasure. You have nothing to fear Seteth"
"I´m relieved to hear that. However, you must rest for the time being Flayn. I won´t let you accompany the Professor on his tasks until next month. Your health is more important now"
"I understand brother. Thank you Professor, I am looking forward to getting along with everyone. Please treat me like any other student"
"I will. By the way Seteth, I want to ask you for a favor. I want to use some Pegasus for my current task. Do I have your authorization to use them?"
"You have it. I´m sorry to have avoided giving you permission until now, but I needed time to make sure you were trustworthy. Now I have a better understanding of you. Please feel free to use them, but take good care of them. It would be a tragedy if we lost some of them in the battlefield"
"I will protect them too"
"Good luck on your task Professor. I will be accompanying Flayn to the infirmary"
"Bye Professor, I hope to see you soon!"
With nothing more to do Byleth returned to his room and prepared his things. There were many things he didn´t understand yet, but he was sure that if he stayed close to his students they would stay safe. "Together, we will overcome every obstacle" he thought.