"Byleth? The hell are you doing here?" asked a surprised Balthus. Of all places he didn´t expect to meet the ashen wolves here.
"The same could be said about you, Balthus. What are you doing here?"
"It´s simple, do you remember the weapon I was using back them? Some asshole stole it while I was drunk and I´ve come chasing him"
"You really are troublesome. If I didn´t accompany you I would have a more relaxed life" Hapi complained "Well, at least the Professor is here, do you mind helping us?"
"Of course" he nodded while smiling. They were his friends after all.
"We´ll have time to celebrate for this encounter after we get it done, for now it seems that a fancy lord and those assholes are already having a fight"
"There is no time to lose, I won´t let innocents get involved into this fight" Edelgard said as she readied her battle axe. "Imperial Guard, secure the place and evacuate those in need!"
"Understood emperor!"
"Emperor?! Wow, I´m out a few weeks and the world changes without noticing" Balthus laughed. "Let´s get this party started!" Balthus shouted as he ran towards the enemy.
"How troublesome" Hapi sighed as they accompanied him to the fight.
"I need that relic! For my daughter! Please give it to me, I´ll reward you accordingly"
"The hell you are talking about! That´s our loot! It must cost a lot, I won´t give it to you unless you bring a mountain of gold"
"What is going to cost you is a punch in your face, asshole!" Balthus roared as he punched one of the thieves in the face.
"Leave that relic alone! If you don´t do it, something bad will happen!" Hapi shouted as she released a spell against them.
"Well, if it happens, they might end up eating each other, it could be quite a sight"
"Hubert, now it isn´t the time for such jokes. Surrender the relic, Baron Ochs, stop this nonsense" Edelgard commanded as she used her axe to crush the enemies in front of her while he was making sure that the enemy didn´t outflank them.
"I wish I could, but this is the only opportunity that I have to see my dear daughter again. Feel free to imprison me if you want, but first I will take it. Kill them!" Baron Ochs ordered as his forces established a defensive perimeter around him.
Using one of his swords he killed the thieves and Baron Ochs´s forces as he tried to approach the thief holding the gauntlets.
"You little brat, return that to me!"
The thief was unsheathing his sword to face Balthus, but both him and Batlhus received the impact of a spell.
"Baron Ochs, here you have it!" shouted one of the magicians as she threw the gauntlets to the Baron.
"I won´t give you the opportunity to see my daughter again! If you want to fight so be it!" Baron Ochs said as he prepared to use the gauntlets.
"Don´t do that!" Balthus shouted, but it was too late. The moment he inserted his hands in the gauntlets a black substance started to pour from the weapon, involving him.
"ROARRRRRRR!" Instead of the Baron there was a giant winged monster in front of them, its claws dangerously sharp. Its mere presence spread fear through the ranks of the thieves, which started to run away.
"Dammit, this shouldn´t have happened"
"This is not the time to give up, Balthus. Hubert, Hapi use your spells to cover me and Edelgard, Balthus make sure to recover the relic the moment we slay the beast!"
"Understood!"
The beast was preparing a wind attack, but the spells released from Hapi and Hubert made him lose its focus. Taking advantage of it he used the Sword of the Creator to propel himself towards the beast, his weapon cutting through the wings of his foe.
"Now Edelgard!" he shouted as the beast approached the ground for a few seconds.
"Baron Ochs, I´m sorry for this" Edelgard said as she jumped on the beast´s face, her axe crushing through the skin and bone of the monster, the ground around him shaking violently. As it happened the beast started to disappear, reappearing the Baron, which was covered in blood, his face a mess.
"I got the relic, although this situation sucks" Balthus said as he worriedly looked at the Baron.
"Baron Ochs, please stay with us!" one of the wizards shouted as she hurried to his place. With the thieves gone the forces of the Baron had completely forgotten about them, all of them worrying about his wellbeing.
"Perhaps a strong enough healing spell would be enough" he wondered as he doubted if he should approach the Baron, when a cold voice interrupted him.
"How interesting, so here was the other device" said a man standing on one of the roofs. His hat partially hid his face, but he could see that his flesh was completely pale. In one of his hands a relic like item could be seen.
"Another thief? Come on, give me a break! This is mine, stop messing around!" Balthus shouted as he prepared to fight again, this time with his gauntlets ready.
"Thief? The craftsman can´t be considered the thief. You are the ones that are usurping our legacy" he said to Balthus as he realized Byleth´s presence.
"The Fell Star? Solon underestimated you and even our Lord committed the same mistake once. Your mere existence is a threat to everything we stand for and I, Myson, will resolve this problematic once and for all. Very well then, this will be the opportunity to test the strength of our devourers of stars" he said as he extended his arms, the moment he did monstrous creatures started to appear in front of them.
"What the hell are these? It´s the first time I´ve seen something like this" Hapi muttered. The monsters in front of them were standing on their hind legs and they were fully covered in armor, strange devices on them. Compared to other monsters they were smaller in size, but even then, their height was the double of a human. There were only six of them, but he sensed they were more dangerous that the ones they had been fighting until now.
"Surprised? This is the apex of our knowledge" the mysterious man laughed. "Get rid of the Fell Star, destroy everything that stands on your way and recover the gauntlets"
"Permission to use heavy weaponry?" asked one of the beasts with a mechanic voice.
"Allowed. Fire at will"
"You are the worst!" Hapi shouted as she released a fire spell against them, but it was stopped by one of the beasts, which activated an energized shield.
"What kind of magic is that?" Hapi asked shocked.
"That´s not magic, little girl, that´s technology, progress. This time we won´t be holding down, the Fell Star must be eradicated" he said before looking to Edelgard. "Some should run away before the situation gets worse"
"Allowing a battle in the heart of the Empire and in front of me. I will never allow something like that!"
"Having a will of your own is surely troublesome"
Their conversation was interrupted as one of the monsters shot at them a fireball through its arm, the explosion leaving a crater behind.
"Protect the Baron at all costs!" shouted one of the wizards as the remaining forces of the Baron prepared for battle.
The forces of the Baron started to charge at the monsters which where standing where they had just appeared.
"Fire at will!" Myson shouted, the moment he did all of the monsters released a rain of death upon them.
"To the ground!" he shouted as he pushed Edelgard, which was standing next to him. The projectiles that they were firing at them had the appearance of small cannon balls yet they were too fast to be seen before the impact. In a few seconds most of the Baron forces were slaughtered, not even the strongest of armors was enough to stop such attack.
"Erect a magic barrier, quickly!" one of the mages shouted.
"Pathetic" Myson smirked as the beasts charged at the magic barrier with their energy infused weapons. Only a handful of hits were necessary to destroy it, before those standing behind were slaughtered by them.
"Stop this madness!" he shouted as he released a giant fireball against them, but the attack was stopped by one of the shields of the beasts, as one of them released a beam which impacted in one of the columns of the market.
"They are heavily armored and they have a huge variety of weaponry. This looks bad" Edelgard said as she avoided a blast aimed at her.
"They are really difficult to deal with. We need more men" said an exhausted Hapi.
"If the local forces intervene there will be plenty of casualties" Edelgard replied. Her face was red, but her eyes were lit by pure fire. "They feel they are above everything, but they are mistaken. I won´t hold back" she said as an intense energy started coming from her, the power of her twin crests.
"You might have the technology, but you lack the soul to make this world a better place. I won´t let you cause any harm to them" he said as he pointed the tip of his sword towards Myson. "I´ll make sure that I´ll kill all of you, you will regret what you have tried to do here" he said as he felt how his inner power was starting to flow through his veins.
"The light of the star is getting brighter, but this won´t be my undoing, I´ll…" he was interrupted by the slash of a sword, its right hand falling to the ground.
"I´m sorry, but I´ll be taking this" Yuri said appearing from the shadows while he took Myson´s hand. "I´ve been searching for this relic for a long time, thank you for the invisibility spell, Constance. Professor, sorry for arriving all of a sudden, I´ll promise to tell you later"
"You would be helpless without me, luckily enough it´s cloudy today. I´m glad to meet all of you once again. Not the reunion that I expected, though" Constance said as she appeared a few meters from them, a confident smile on her face.
"Seeing both of you here is such a relieve that I´m about to sigh"
Looking to her, he suddenly came with a new risky idea.
"Hapi, do it"
"Are you sure Professor? You know what will happen"
"Let the monsters fight against them, they have the number advantage, it´s time to take it back"
"A fight against everyone, just the one of my liking" Balthus laughed as he prepared his fists.
"You bastards, I will show no mercy to any of you!" Myson shouted as he applied a fire spell on his wound to cauterize it. As he said so, purple mist started to appear around him, more beastlike monsters that the ones they had been facing starting to appear.
The new reinforcements started to charge at them, but a shriek from the skies told them that their "reinforcements" had arrived, giant eagles joining the fight as if they had been summoned by a god of war.
One of the eagles trapped one of their enemies and flew with it to the skies before letting it fell to the ground, the impact making the ground shake, but the eagles were also experiencing casualties, the projectiles from their enemy piercing effortlessly through their bodies. Avoiding one of the projectiles aimed at him, he jumped on one of the beasts. It tried to shake him off, but he used his sword to pierce through the helmet and the skull, the Sword of the Creator irradiating pure energy. Next to him, Edelgard was avoiding the attacks of one of the beasts, but the fury of her adversary wasn´t allowing her to hit its weak points at the junctures of the armor.
"You bastard! Take this!" he shouted as he used the whip form of his weapon to aim at the beast´s head. It stopped the hit with its shield, but that was what she needed to use her axe to crush her foe to oblivion. She was catching her breath when he approached her.
"Together we are stronger, even if they have more devices, they won´t defeat us if we stay together" he said as he offered his hand to her.
"You are right about it, no matter what, we´ll overcome this battle…together"
…..
"Is it over now?" he wondered as the last of the intelligent beasts fell on its knees. Around him there were scattered the corpses of countless monsters, the market turned into a battlefield around him.
"Luckily enough, we don´t have any civilian casualties. The market is heavily damaged, but that can be repaired at least" Edelgard said as she observed the battlefield. "Myson, you won´t be causing problems anymore. It is over"
"Over? How foolish, from beginning to end. The battle is far from over" he said as dark aura started coming from the critically injured beast. "Your seals are removed, inherit the blood of your companions and erase everything from this existence!" Hearing his command, the partially melted helmet of the beast fell to the ground, revealing a fearsome appearance. The face of the beast was heavily deformed, two pair of jaws within its mouth, yet he could see some reminiscence with a human. The monster jumped on one of the fallen corpses, starting to devour it. As it did so parts of its heavily damaged armor started to fall, revealing a monstrous body which was quickly changing into something terrifying.
"A true opponent for your worth, Fell Star. Face the evolution or perish!" Myson shouted as he teleported.
"You, bastard!" Balthus angrily said as he tried to jump on him
"Balthus, careful!" he shouted as he pushed Balthus to the ground, avoiding a fireball aimed to the both of them. The beast had finished its transformation. It was no biped anymore, its body resembling a scaleless dragon.
"It hurts, please make it stopppppp!" the beast roared as it looked at him, the moment it did so, it charged at him with its jaws wide opened. He stopped the attack with the power of the sword of the Creator, the sword impacting against the teeth of the beast, which was trying its best to shallow him up.
"Spells at the beast! We need to counterattack!" Edelgard ordered as she approached him with her heavy shield and her axe. "I don´t know what you are, but the only thing that I can do is to release you from this earthly pain" she said as she released a charged hit to one of the limbs of the beast.
Catching its attention, the monster´s attack on him lost strength, which he used to jump on the beast´s back. The creature tried to stand on its feet, but it was welcome by a rain of magic spells, courtesy of Hubert and Hapi. Canalizing his energy into the Sword he cut through the chest of the beast, revealing a crest within it. He jumped to give the final blow, but his sword was stopped by the claws of the beast.
"I need help!" he shouted as he continued his struggle against the beast.
"Of course, Professor, we are friends after all" Balthus smiled as he came to his aid.
"You´ve always had a big mouth" Hapi said, but she was smiling.
"And like this the Ashen wolves are reunited once again" Yuri smiled as he used his sword to hit the beast on its hind legs.
"The Ashen wolves and her leader Constance"
"No matter the obstacle, we can overcome it" Edelgard said as her axe sliced through one of the monster´s arm, allowing him to finish it off, the moment the crest stone within the monster was broken the beast dissolved in black mist, complete silence falling on them.
…..
"I think I´ve had enough battles for the rest of my life. Professor, don´t ask me to sigh ever again. That was a dangerous bet. What would have happened to us if the monsters decided to help them instead of just joining the fight?"
"It was the only alternative to avoid a slaughter of innocents, but I understand how you feel. I won´t be abusing your situation anymore"
"That´s a promise, remember to keep it, okay?"
"Hey, Professor! That guy is still breathing!"
Baron Ochs was lying on the ground, a small pool of blood surrounding his body. What remained of his face was extremely pale, yet he was still breathing.
"Can you check on him, Hapi?"
"I can try" she said as she placed her hands on his chest, but after a few seconds her expression was darkened. "There is little I can do; this man is going to die"
"Monica, is that you?" Baron Ochs asked with a weak voice. "The Monica which I´ve been searching for so long….my dear daughter…Is….that you?" Baron Ochs asked as he touched her hair. "It is red, such a difficult to find color…is that you?" he asked again, his voice almost a beg.
Balthus was about to talk, but he was interrupted by Hapi.
"I´m right here father"
"I was finally able to find you…I knew…I knew that you were alive…I´m sorry daughter…I did many terrible things…You may hate me now"
"You did it out of love. I would never hate you"
"That´s what I wanted to hear…I´m happy…Promise me that you will take care of mum…She will be happy to see you again"
"Don´t worry, I will"
"Thank you…Monica" Baron Ochs said as his chest stopped to move.
"Why did you do it?"
"Why not, Balthus? Even if he committed mistakes in his life, he did those out of love. Wouldn´t you feel better if when you die someone tell you that you did the right thing?"
"I´ve honestly never thought about something like that"
"Take your time to consider it sometime. This world is already filled with enough coldness, a bit of light won´t be causing any harm. The poor man had already paid what he did with his life. I don´t hate him despite the trouble we had to suffer because of him. Someone will have to tell the widow about this"
"I´ll do it" Edelgard said as she approached. "What happened here won´t be forgotten, he was just a desperate man in search of someone he loved. Those who were responsible of this pain will pay for it"
"The nature of the human heart is really interesting. The way people act out of love is really intriguing. Good or not is another matter, though" Hubert commented as he looked at Edelgard for a second before looking at him. "It seems that those who had been slithering in the dark had taken quite a fixation with you. I would recommend being careful from now on. Even if you were able to escape from their traps, they are willing to commit any atrocities if that means they can get rid of you"
"You don´t have to worry about me, Hubert. I won´t let my guard down"
"It´s not a matter of being worried or not. If Lady Edelgard´s security is affected I will make sure to take measures on that matter. For now, I´ll have to spend some time checking the damages of the market. This show of force is more proper of an open battlefield"
"By the way, Yuri. What the hell were you up to? It was cool to see you appear from nowhere, but you haven´t told us yet, what were you doing at the capital?"
"Since we left the monastery I was searching for this little thing; the fetters of Dromi"
"Another relic? Yet somehow this one is a bit different from the others"
"It really is, it isn´t supposed to be used as a weapon; it is more like a tool. With it my movements are even faster" he said as he suddenly appeared behind them. "It is a good trick to have with you in case of trouble, although I would have been unable to find it without the help of Constance"
"When the Dagda-Brigid war happened, I heard confusing reports coming from the lands of Dagda. Rumors about a strange glove that had unnatural capabilities, such ancient item could be nothing but the fetters of Dromi, the favorite item of Dromi, the thief of ancient times. There are many tales about him, but the most important is about how he found it. It was said that he discovered a cave that guided him to the gates of hell and there he claimed it as its own. Naturally, the inhabitants of the depths tried to trap him but he was able to outsmart them. After those events he travelled across the entire world in the search of adventures and treasures. Perhaps his final resting place was located in Dagda"
"Who knows, although that happened a long time ago. Anyway, even if it was found in Dagda it finally ended up in the hands of Duke Gerth"
"Duke Gerth is the minister of Foreign affairs in the Empire. He played an important role back in the war against Dagda and Brigid" Edelgard commented as she observed the unknown relic.
"One way or another the news of such discovery must have landed in the ears of the guys we had been fighting. Duke Gerth´s territory was attacked a few days ago, although he survived in exchange of the relic. We´ve been searching for the culprits, luckily enough they don´t see to be exactly careful about their whereabouts, although I must admit that I didn´t expect to find any of you here"
"Baron Ochs was more likely pressured by the same group to give them a relic, it seems that they promised him the life of her daughter in exchange for the relic of Balthus"
"So those guys were after your relic and they tried to use that poor man to get mine? There is something I don´t like about it. Did you see the beasts they had with them? They are really up to something and I don´t like it a bit. Now that we talk about it, you seen quite changed Professor"
"Wasn´t it obvious, Balthus? His hair is completely different, his eyes too. What happened to you?"
"Last month we were searching for the murderers of my father and we found them in the sealed forest. We defeated them, but Solon sacrificed Kronya to imprison me in the Abyss"
"The sealed forest was the place where we found the Chalice of the beginnings. I knew that there was something odd with it" Yuri said as he took a closer look at him "And then what happened?"
"I received the power of the Goddess and I was able to return to this world"
"The power of the Goddess? I would laugh at it, but you sound pretty serious about it. I guess you are telling the truth" Yuri said as he scratched his head. "They tried to get rid of you back then, but their plans failed and know they tried to get rid of you again, it seems that they think about you as a menace to their existence. As long as you breath they will try to kill you"
"They can come and try, I won´t be killed by the likes of them"
"That´s the spirit!" Balthus laughed. "If they have problems with you, they have problems with me. They are just scum; they hide and only strike when they are feeling cocky. What a bunch of cowards"
"I think you are confounding cowardice with being cautious. We should be as well. They are able to control beasts and they use weapons different to the ones we are used to battle. They also seem obsessed with obtaining relics. They must be preparing for something but, but why two relics?" Yuri said as he looked at each of them.
"Why a man with a treasure wants two?" Hapi answered. "The more power they have the more they want. I´m glad we were able to stop them here and now, they look so similar to that lady…"
"Are there any reports of more robberies like this?" If they were searching for more relics, it wouldn´t be strange to hear rumors about it.
"Not as far as I know, although I wouldn´t relax because of it. Admitting the disappearance of a relic could cause many troubles to a noble. If something has happened, they must have kept silent about it, but that would explain many things. When I heard that the members of the western church tried to assault the mausoleum I was surprised, but if someone knew that the Sword of the Creator was located there…" Yuri said as he looked at his sword.
"Then the risky maneuver would have been worth it"
"Exactly" Yuri nodded at him.
"Those we found there were just the pawns, the real responsible are still roaming around this land. They used the members of the western Church to assault the mausoleum. If they succeeded, they would obtain the most powerful relic and if they failed, they would cause problems between both Churches" Edelgard said.
"And the Church quickly satisfied such plan with the execution of the prisoners and the war against the western Church. You could say that we have been doing their dirty job" Hubert chuckled.
"In the end we´ve been fooled by them, but they are growing bold. Something similar happened at Remire village, remember?" Edelgard said looking at him. "Of all places they could choose they decided to attack a village in front of the Church"
The events of the village came to his mind once again and with it the so-called Flame Emperor. The Flame Emperor said that he wasn´t involved and his way of acting back at those moments had been suspicious. Since the attempt of catching them with Dimitri there hadn´t be any new reports about his whereabouts, yet he knew he must be somewhere. Perhaps searching for him would bring some light to the whereabouts of the mysterious organization so focused on killing him, but it wasn´t the only mystery still in the shadows. He was certain that his bond with Sothis was the cause that they were so fixated with him, yet it was clear they weren´t the ones in the root of such connection.
"The board has been moving around all this time, but now I understand I´m being moved" he thought. "They must have a reason to hate the Church and they have connections within the different regions of Fódlan. We need to trap one of them to search for the truth" he said to them as he adjusted the belt of his sword. "A city without light, that´s the only thing I know, but what I saw and what actually exists could be completely different. Sothis, if you really are the Goddess of this world I´ll need to count on your strength to resolve this mystery" he said to himself.
"Professor, finally I´ve found you. What had happened here?" asked a shocked soldier of the Church.
"Monsters and thieves appeared, but we were able to neutralize them, what has happened?"
"I was commanded to bring this letter to you, sir" The knight said as he handed him a letter with a beautiful calligraphy.
"It seems that the ceremony will take place next week. In that case, I´ll have to return"
"Wyverns are prepared to bring you back as soon as possible to the monastery. I´ll accompany you to assure your safe return"
"We´ll accompany you then. A ceremony, I wouldn´t want to miss something like that and I´m sure that there will be enough stuff to eat"
"You are just so simpleminded" Constance sighed. "I will take this situation as an opportunity to learn about the mysteries within the monastery. Of course, with Lady Edelgard´s permission"
"I wouldn´t refuse your presence, although the opinion that matters is the archbishop´s"
"Very well, it seems that we don´t have time to waste. I´ll be picking the faster"
"Wait a second Yuri, don´t get so cocky, how troublesome" Hapi said as she followed him.