1/13 Guardian Moon

"Why are we here? You have been silent all the way to this place!"

"Keep silent, Kronya. We wouldn´t be here if you hadn´t acted on your own. Things has gotten complicated with master´s injuries and now is your duty to resolve this matter once and for all"

"I´ve told you hundreds of times already, you didn´t need to be so harsh" Kronya said as she cherished the area of her arms, where fresh scars could be seen.

"You know that I was quite lenient if we take into account the gravity of the situation. Anyway, your objective is quite easy this time. You only need to attract the host of the Fell Star to this place"

"He won´t probably come alone. His dear students will come to his aid"

"Kill them all. Isn´t that what you wished for? You are free to kill any of them. If you do as I told you, you will be properly rewarded" Actually her real objective was to buy him the time needed to prepare a portal to Zahras, although there was also the possibility that she could achieve their objective without resorting to such device. That was the reason why he was leading an army of their own. One of the beasts they were controlling suddenly roared, but apart from that they were quite docile under their command.

"I will comply, but I only have a condition"

"Which one?"

"If I can neutralize him can I keep his body?"

"For what purpose would you do something like that?" he asked disgusted.

"You know how lonely I´ve always been. His corpse would surely be a better company that what I´ve experienced until now" she said with a sadistic smile. He had never understood her, but it was clear that she was insane. "Master Thales experimented too hard on her" he thought. Kronya was a capable fighter, but she was prone to prolong unnecessarily the suffering of their objectives as Duscur could tell him. Even though she achieved their objective of causing disruption, the way she butchered countless soldiers was unnecessarily cruel, including for their standards. When he confronted Master Thales about it, he simply shrugged. "I didn´t prepare her to be a nun. She is my dog and as long as she is useful that is enough"

"I have high expectations on you, don´t dare to disappoint me. Do whatever you want with the corpse"

As he focused himself on the preparations of the ritual, the Flame Emperor came to his mind. If he was going to come, it was highly probable that the Flame Emperor would come with him. "Last time we were too lenient with her. If she dares to oppose us directly, I will have no other option but to get rid of her. Regarding the Fallen Star I can´t let nuisances like that risk the success of our plans. Eliminating their weapon would prove to be a waste of resources, but if that way they could get rid of the Fallen Star he thought that it was a well enough trade off.

…

"My Teacher!"

Edelgard came rushing to his place, catching her breath in front of his door.

"What happened, Edelgard?"

"Those responsible of your father´s death…They are at the sealed forest. One of the knights of Seiros was commenting it in the main entrance, it is a matter of minutes before the news arrive to the archbishop´s ears too. I promise to tell you any news I could know. Whatever you decide to do, I will comply with your decision"

"How interesting turn of events. However, you should be careful, if you let consume yourself by vengeance, everything could end badly" Sothis said inside his head. "How strange that they had appeared so close to the monastery, they are idiots…or they are up to something. I won´t tell you to do nothing, but keep an eye on everyone"

"I will protect everyone" he said to her.

"I wouldn´t expect less" Sothis smiled from her throne room.

"Thank you for telling me, Edelgard. Summon everyone. This is our opportunity to strike them"

"I will certainly tell them. I´m sure everyone wants to lend you a hand, my Teacher, but please be careful, I´m sure that you will be their main objective"

"Don´t worry, Edelgard. This won´t be the time I fall" he said as he patted her shoulder. "I will be waiting all of you at the main hall"

"Understood!"

He prepared himself and in no time, he headed to the main entrance. The area was unusually crowded, soldiers wearing their armors.

"Sorry for making you wait!" Edelgard excused herself as she was accompanied by the rest of the Black Eagles, including Flayn.

"I´ve heard everything from Edelgard. Professor, I promise you that I won´t fail you. This is the opportunity I´ve been waiting to thank you for everything you have done for us" Ferdinand said, with his spear already prepared.

"Ferdie, you surely sounded more mature than usual, I don´t dislike that part of yours"

"If Edelgard agrees on it I have no objections to make" Hubert said with a neutral expression.

"Let´s give them a good beating, they deserve it!" Caspar roared.

"Caspar, please don´t shout like that so close to me, my ears hurt" Linhardt complained. "After everything that happened a few weeks ago I have the feeling that we won´t see any more difficult. I´m counting on you"

"If Linhardt has so much energy that means that we will certainly succeed" Dorothea smiled.

"Of course, Dorothea! I won´t disappoint you, Professor. I will do my best for everyone. Together there is nothing we can´t defeat" Petra smiled

"I will do my best too, but please, don´t put me in the front line, it´s too scary!"

"I will do my best Professor, I can´t thank you enough for what you did when you saved me" Flayn genuinely smiled.

"Wait a moment!" Rhea said as she hurriedly approached them, accompanied by her personal guard. "Our forces will take care of such menace. It is clear that they have appeared so close to the monastery to provoke you into attacking them. I will not tolerate your loss at any costs"

"Don´t worry, Professor, I will make sure that they pay what they did to your father" Catherine said looking at him as she unsheathed Thunderbrand. "I will make sure that they will pay for everything they did"

"I want to go" his tone was firm, but he said it harsher than expected making everyone silent.

"I command you to stay here. That is not negotiable" Rhea said with a serious expression. "I understand how you feel, but that must be the intention of our enemy. They hope you come to them to finish what they started"

"Lady Rhea, I must dare to disagree" Edelgard said as she approached her. "Our Professor is a capable fighter that has been battling our current enemy now for a few months. Even if their objective is to weaken us, they don´t realize that the bonds between us have turned ourselves into a competent team, we won´t fall easily into their traps and we will prevail. Furthermore, without your presence here they could aim to enter the monastery when it is at its most vulnerable. Wouldn´t it be better if a small force went to annihilate them while our main forces make sure that the monastery stays safe? The Professor and some of us have already been there so we won´t be battling in an unknown terrain"

Rhea was silent for a few seconds before looking at him.

"Promise me that you will return"

"I will"

"I trust your words and with the power of the Sword of the Creator I highly doubt that you will be found in peril, but don´t underestimate the dangers that are awaiting you" Rhea said as she nodded. "We will make sure that the monastery stays safe. Get rid of them. Make sure that no one survives" she commanded as she left accompanied by a surprised Catherine.

"Edelgard, you really are persuasive"

"Nothing to feel proud about. It´s part of my training after all and I didn´t lie. After all this time together, our bonds had grown deeper and that will be the key for our victory"

"I couldn´t agree more" he smiled.

"Wait a second!" shouted Leonie as she approached them, her face red. "You are about to leave to hunt them down, right? Please let me accompany you, I must avenge Master Jeralt for what they have done!" Leonie was already wearing a battle armor, her lance and bow already prepared for battle. Looking at her he knew she wouldn´t give up until he acceded to let her go with them.

"She really was loyal to your father" Sothis commented inside his head.

"I have no reasons to oppose"

"I won´t disappoint you" she quickly nodded

"In that case, let me join too"

"Lysithea? What are you doing here?"

"I suspected that Leonie was so altered because they had found out about their location. The Professor has really treated me well and I wish to lend a hand. Don´t worry, Professor I will do my best"

"I know, I´m counting on all of you" he nodded at all of them as he led them into the outskirts of the monastery.

….

The forest was completely silent as they approached the area where they had been for the last time spotted. The leaves of the trees where moving, but apart from that they could hear nothing. Even Caspar was keeping silent.

She could feel a faint magic presence in the air.

"I sense magic in front of us, they must be close" she said as she approached Byleth

"I sense it too, prepare battle formations. The cover of the forest will abandon us soon" he said as he unsheathed his own sword. As he said so the trees around them grew scarcer and they could see what it was awaiting them.

Soldiers clothed in black armor were accompanied by beasts similar to those they had battled back at the old chapel. All their enemies were covering their faces with masks, but she could see that their flesh was pale as a corpse.

"How many visitors have come to visit the poor Kronya, such an honor. You must be an idiot if you have come here. Do you wish to die like your dear father?" Kronya said. She wasn´t hiding her appearance anymore, showing them how unnatural she was. "Perhaps you can´t recognize me like this? I´m Monica the sweet girl all of you were stupid enough to trust for a while" Kronya laughed as she momentarily changed herself to the looks of Monica. "That girl was so boring, but she makes a good suit, don´t you think?" she laughed.

"Disgusting" Leonie muttered, her lace trembling of fury as her eyes were focused on her.

"Kronya" Byleth said as he walked forward

"Uh?"

"You are dead" the tone of the Professor was calm, but she could see the fury in his eyes.

"Are you feeling cocky just because you are in front of your dear students? Pathetic. For your insolence I will make sure all of you die a painful death. I will be sitting on your corpses by the end of the day. Slaughter them like the animals they are!" she shouted as she signaled them to the mutated beasts, the moment she did so, they roared as they approached them.

One of the beasts tried to bite her, but she was able to avoid the attack and retaliated with an axe attack to the face of the beast. Their mages were releasing powerful spells against the beasts while Bernadetta and Leonie were shooting arrows to the monsters' weak spots. To her left Caspar and Ferdinand were blocking the path of the armored units of the enemies while Byleth was fighting against another beast a few meters from him.

"Where is Solon?" she wondered as she crushed the beast´s skull with a brutal hit of her axe that used the combined power of her Crests. She highly doubted that Kronya would be acting on her own with the support of such number of troops.

With a roar the beast that was fighting Byleth fell to the ground as he finished it off.

"We have to keep going forward!" he shouted as he faced his next adversary.

They were steadily advancing through the enemy lines. With the combined forces of all of them even the fiercest beasts were incapable of overwhelming them.

"You have been training really hard, don´t you?" Kronya laughed as she suddenly rushed to the position where Byleth was fighting one of the armored soldiers.

"Byleth, behind you!"

Byleth was able to block the attack of Kronya´s main weapon but received a slash of her golden dagger in the leg, red blood pouring from his wound. A mere look to her main weapon made her realize it wasn´t an ordinary one; a faint light was coming from it and sparks of light were released from the weapon every time their swords impacted against each other.

"I thought the dagger would do the same trick than with your father, but I guess I was wrong. What a pity. I will make sure to kill you anyway, don´t worry you will be seeing your father soon"

"I won´t die by your sword. There won´t be any redemption for you, Kronya" Byleth said as he tried to pierce her heart.

"So aggressive, that´s the kind of guy I like the most" Kronya laughed.

The rest of their forces were quickly approaching them, but Kronya and Byleth were so close to each other as they fought that it was impossible to shoot at them without injuring the other.

"Make sure that they aren´t more hidden troops around here" she commanded as she kept an eye on their surroundings.

…..

"You fight well despite being an idiot. Did your father cry as he was dying? Just curious" Kronya said as she tried to break through his guard.

"You won´t distract me, if you need to rely on dirty tricks to try to hit me you are doomed" he said as he parried another of her attacks and quickly counterattacked. Kronya´s attacks were fast and deadly, but he knew he had more stamina than her as her movements started to get slower.

"What are your objectives?"

"You really think that I would tell someone like you such information? Don´t make me laugh. Enough of this nonsense I´ve got bored of fighting you" she said as suddenly her sword grew brighter and exploded sending both of them to the ground. As he was trying to stand up again Kronya was already on him a dagger on her hand. Stopping her arm with his own, they rolled on the floor trying to kill each other with their respective daggers.

"This wasn´t my only trick" she laughed as her armor suddenly released a dagger that immobilized him.

"Poison" he thought, as he tried to move, but his body wasn´t answering his commands. Kronya was already on him, her dagger about to hit him when an arrow pierced her from behind.

"Ugh!"

Taking advantage of it and using the power of his crest he was able to overcome the poison that was paralyzing him and stabbed her in the stomach. Looking at the owner of the arrow she could see Leonie with a furious look on her face.

"This is for master Jeralt!"

…

"Me? Defeated by you? How can it be? Impossible!"

"This is the best you can do? Your life ends here" he said as he started to approach her. In the split of a second Kronya threw a dagger at him, but he was able to avoid it and with a quick swift of the Sword of the Creator he cut one of the tendons of her feet off, the moment the sword bit her flesh she screamed in pain.

"Your suffering is nothing compared to what my father suffered. You won´t find mercy here" He said as he hit her in the head with his sword hilt and he prepared to unleash the fatal blow.

"My Teacher! Another beast!" Thanks to Edelgard´s voice he was able to avoid the projectile aimed at him, but Kronya took advantage of the situation and started to run away, limping.

"Edelgard, everyone, get rid of the beast. I will chase her down!" he said as he started to chase her.

"No problem my Teacher, I will keep them safe!" Edelgard shortly smiled before engaging in combat against the giant beast in front of her.

Even though she was heavily wounded, Kronya was able to keep a fair distance from him, although the trail of blood she was leaving behind was telling him that she wouldn´t last for too long. He cut through bushes and trees alike as he swiftly approached her.

"Leave me alone!" Kronya cried in despair as she realized he was coming closer and closer.

"After all the pain that you have caused? Never!" he shouted as he released the power of the Sword of the Creator, aiming to her heart, but he failed and he only hit one of her arms. Kronya fell over a few meters from where she was due to the impact, arriving to an empty square, partially destroyed columns all around him.

"You are strong, I can´t deny that, but if you think that you will survive you are wrong. The forces that you have faced…there are only a fragment of our true force!" she shouted as she prepared a last stand with the dagger of her bell.

"No matter the enemy I will crush all of them. I won´t have any mercy with all of you. Now prepare to die" he said as she approached her.

"DIE!" Kronya shouted as she jumped on him with the strength she had left, but he easily parried the attack and buried the sword in her belly, its tip showing from her back.

"The fight is over" he said as he released the sword from her belly, her guts partially coming out. As he did so, she fell on her knees, too weak to move away from him. He then raised his sword…when suddenly a fireball impacted in him, stopping his attack. He tried to move again but he was trapped in a magic cage of pure magic.

"So the Fallen Star was able to defeat you, uh? I wouldn´t expect less. You have miserably failed again, Kronya"

"Solon…please" Kronya begged as blood left her lips.

"Don´t dare to speak my name again, whore" Solon said as he slapped her face, sending her to the ground. "So useless, only in death you will find some utility" he said as he unsheathed a dagger with golden glyphs on it.

"NO!" she cried as Solon started to open wide her chest. As he did so a dark mist started to pour from her chest.

"I need to break free from this place, I don´t have a good feeling about this" he thought as he started to hit the magic cage, but its barriers were sturdy enough to withstand his powerful attacks.

"It has no use Fallen Star; the barriers have been powered by magic crystals prepared in Zahras itself" Solon said as he knew his intentions while the fog around him got thicker. "I´ve waited so long for this moment…A pity that the Sword of the Creator will be lost forever"

"What are you trying to do, Solon? If you feel so confident fight against me!"

"I would be a fool if I did so, although you will have what you desire in no time" he said as he stood up again, a crest stone in his hand. "Proud city, open your gates to your rightful sons, may your everlasting light never die and grant us access to your miracles" he said as the mist around him turned crimson red, a portal starting to appear in front of him.

"Great city of Zahras, please hear my plea" Solon continued as fire-red chains were released from the portal, chaining him. It didn´t matter how much he tried to release himself for the grip, it was too strong as he slowly approached the portal. At that rate he would have no other option but to use his divine pulse. He closed his eyes and focused on returning back in time.

"Your unnatural abilities have no power here" Solon laughed when nothing happened. "I´ve been preparing this moment for a long time. Did you think I would ignore such a powerful threat to our plans? Yes, I know that you are capable of such power, but we adapted to face such threat a long time ago. Reserve your forces for what will be waiting you to the other side of the entrance" Solon said as the red fog grew even brighter, he was mere meters away from it, but instead of heat he could only feel a deep cold that was menacing to overwhelm his whole body.

"It can´t end like this" he thought as he desperately tried to free himself from its chains.

….

With a final roar the beast fell to the ground, making the ground around it violently shake.

"Good job everyone! We need to find the Professor now, come with me!" she said as she entered the forest in front of her. As she entered it, she could see marks of sword attacks and a trail of blood. However, as she approached the end of the small forest, she could sense a strange energy coming from the area in front of her. "I don´t have a good feeling about this" she thought as she was finally able to leave the forest behind her, the moment she saw what was happening she was shocked in disbelief.

Byleth was chained by fire red chains that were coming from a portal covered in crimson red mist, yet she could only feel a freezing cold around her. Kronya was lying dead in the center of the square and Solon was witnessing how Byleth was being shallowed by the mist.

"Stop it!" she shouted as she started charging at him.

"So it seems that your allegiances have changed. How regretful" Solon said as he casted a myriad of spells against her. She was able to avoid them, but she knew the more she spent avoiding his attacks the less time she would have to assist him. Luckily the rest of the students were starting to arrive.

"Is that the Professor? He is in great peril; we need to help him!" Ferdinand shouted.

"Such powerful magic, so Solon is willing to profane this sacred land" Hubert chuckled as he released his own dark magic spells.

"All of you are a bunch of fools if you think you can succeed!" Solon shouted as reinforcements appeared around him, creating a wall between the Professor and them. They didn´t have too much time left as he was already partially engulfed by the mist.

Activating the power of her dual crests she used a brutal hit to break through the enemy lines. Using all her strength she smashed her enemies to the ground. Noticing her, he extended her hand as she did the same. She was about to reach for him when a rotten hand came from the mist, catching Byleth in its grip as he was finally engulfed by the mist. The moment he was shallowed by it, an explosion sent her to the ground as the mist disappeared, leaving nothing but Kronya´s corpse behind.

"NO!"

"What a pity, you were so close yet you have failed, although I must say that it would have served nothing, those chains would have imprisoned both of you"

"Where have you sent him? You will pay what you have done!"

"To a place worse than hell itself. A place of everlasting pain where he will luckily lose his sanity before he loses anything else, that will be his undying curse"

"You belittle him if you find that you can contain him. I believe in him and I´m sure that he will come again to all of us. Your life ends today, Solon" she said as she picked up her axe.

"It seems that the faith you lost a lifetime ago has finally returned. Faith is for those weak of heart. I´m not surprised that you still have faith since you are weak. Prepare to face your judgement! I will have no mercy with you, broken weapon"

…