-Excellus's Dungeons-
Three sunrises. The attack on Castle Bastein would start within the next few hours. If I make a move, now is the right time to do it. Robin looked around. One guard was in the cell, watching him. The door was locked with a heavy iron bolt. Judging from footsteps he heard the previous days, one was patrolling the hallways, and he'd bet even money that his cell had guards, just in case he somehow escaped from his chains and subdued the lone guard.
"I feel sick." Robin complained. "Really sick. I think you might have to unchain me and take me to a healer, or something."
"Really?" The guard raised an eyebrow. "You think that's going to work?"
"Silence, Faceless Henchmen Number One." Robin glared at him. "You are interrupting my perfect escape plan. Now stick to the script, or we'll have to take it from the top. Ahem. Allow me to continue. Go fetch a healer. I'm sick."
"You don't look sick."
"Oh, I assure you, I'm quite sick. My stomach feels awful." Robin groaned. It wasn't convincing. "See? S-I-C-K."
"What are you trying to pull?"
"I don't know, I'm bored." Robin sighed. "Do you even know why I'm in here? I mean, I do, but I don't think Excellus would tell his faceless goons all his plans – urk!"
The guard jammed the butt of his spear into Robin's stomach. "There. Now you really do have an upset stomach."
"That was good." Robin gasped. "Maybe I'll spare your life when I escape."
"You aren't escaping."
"I disagree." Robin said. He yanked on his cuffs, straining the chain. He did it again. "See, I've been working on the brick these chains have been bound too for the last three days. I'm getting loose. I'm going to yank it out of the wall and beat you two senseless with it."
"What?" The guard looked at the brick. He slowly walked near it. "You couldn't have-"
Robin released the extra length of chain he'd been concealing in his hands, giving him more mobility. Then he nailed the guard with a kick to the groin and was rewarded with a high-pitched squeal of pain. He ran around the guard and looped the chain around his neck, pulling it to choke the man. Footsteps pounded as guards ran to the sound of the cry.
Robin narrowed his eyes to the door. "Open this cell and release me!"
The door opened, and two guards walked in, holding spears at him. "Drop him."
"Counter offer: You drop your spears, or I kill him and then I kill you."
"Excellus will have our heads if we release you. He'd be dead either way, and I've got no intention of dying with him." One of the guards said. The guard in Robin's chain tried choking out a sentence, but Robin wasn't interested in letting him. "That said, he still owes me five gold. Release him, or we stick you full of holes."
"There are two problems with that plan. The first is that Excellus wants me relatively unharmed. And here's the second." Robin snapped his fingers on his left hand. "Wild wind, become my blade. Wilderwinds!"
Special for this mission, he'd felt the need for a backup, concealed weapon, so he put his ingenuity to the test. By using the pages from out a Dying Blaze and a Wilderwind, he'd managed to make a mismatched pair of elegant, vellum gloves. The left hand one was Wilderwinds, a wind tome which used razor winds as a weapon rather than the blunt force most of the other one wind tomes did. And, like he'd thought, Excellus's hubris left him everything except his weapons.
A sheaf of razor wind slashed his cuffs off of him. Precision small cuts. Difficult, but doable, especially with Wilderwinds' low level magic being easy to control. Robin hurled the unconscious man aside and faced the two soldiers. "Thank you for opening my door. But it's time we ended this.
On Robin's right hand was the Dying Blaze. He brought his hand up and tugged the glove to make sure it fit. He pointed it at the two soldiers and snapped his fingers. "The last spark of fading embers. Dying Blaze!" Flame blossomed around them, castigating the two soldiers into a hellish fireball.
A fourth soldier popped his head into the room, attracted by the noise. He had time for a brief glance before Robin severed his head with the Wilderwinds.
"Two mostly-used magic gloves." Robin stripped the fourth guard of his iron lance, but as he told him earlier, left him alive. The man had a decent sense of humor and hadn't been terrible to him in prison. "A rather deficient weapon, trapped in my enemies' stronghold while he decides to destroy all I hold dear. Everything is proceeding precisely how I planned it."
-Fields of Rosanne-
"The caravan is over there." Zulas gestured. Behind him, the nearly one thousand troops Robin had given him broke into squadrons. "Remember, our goal is capture, not destroy. We don't know what's in these wagons."
Robin's envelope had contained a new set of orders, telling Zulas to wait at a spot in the north of Castle Bastein. He claimed that a supply caravan would be there, and Zulas was more needed to deal with it than anything else but stressed that the wagons must be captured intact.
"Fifth through twelfth." Zulas raised and clenched a fist. "Go!" Cavalry thundered, heading towards the wagon from a flank. The guards went to deal with the incoming cavalry. Zulas charged, leading his own infantry squadron, ready to hit them from head on.
The infantry in front of them set in a formation, ready to intercept. Zulas skidded, and hurled his lance, taking a man through the throat. One of his men tossed him a new one, and Zulas charged through the hole in the line he made.
"Follow me! We need to break their lines!"
-Castle Bastein, Southern Walls-
Your instructions are as follows. While your attack at the south is likely to be all but ineffective, there are three key targets you must destroy with your magic. The meteor tome you've procured should help, but they must be destroyed at all costs. Use your personal squadron to take a spot on the walls if you must.
The invasion was going horribly. Vermil didn't know what happened, but three thousand troops, all bearing Imperial standards, had joined their army, along with the main force that was shifted to attack from the south. Someone had made a last minute decision to shift the focus to the south walls at the last second, and Robin had vanished.
And the assault was failing horribly. At first, the defenders had crumbled beneath superior numbers, but then an army showed up, most of the castle's garrison, and fought them back. Now, they were struggling to hold the first wall, and they weren't going to hold even that.
Vermil withdrew the tome and started targeting. But why water tanks, of all things?
-Vermillion Palace-
Argeni took a deep breath in. The red doors almost taunted her. True, her nobility gave her access to Walhart's court, but it was never something she had taken advantage if in the past. But Robin's 'message' had just been a blank letter to someone Argeni didn't recognize, who gave her a letter back. When Argeni opened it, it was from Robin with a second set of instructions.
Argeni, I apologize for the deception, but I needed you to act in stealth. To trick your enemies, you must start with your allies. You must have known you would be in for rough times when you joined me, but even I did not suspect how soon they would be. I have one task for you. You must go the grand court and-
"Denounce the second-in-command of the Empire." Argeni inhaled. "Robin knows what he's doing. Robin knows what he's doing."
-Excellus's Castle-
"The armory is that way." Robin spun at the voice. A woman in a tan cloak was flipping a dagger. Three corpses lay around her. "Didn't you take a look at the layout? You've been here for three days. You took so long, that I was about to come looking for you."
"I'm sorry, I've been chained up." Robin sighed. "What have you been doing, Dant?"
"I was cooking, actually." Dant said. "Well, when I wasn't snooping around. Excellus has an excellent kitchen. I haven't seen ashwaha spice for nearly a decade at this point. Don't worry, I pinched it for my personal stash. Ask nicely and I might even show you how to use it properly. It's really easy to get into the kitchen staff when you're a good cook."
"Have you been to the armory, then?"
"Yup. It's better than yours." Dant sighed. "I wish I had a limitless bag. Though you will be getting all this anyway, right?"
"Let's not count our chickens just yet." Robin raised an eyebrow. "Find anything good?"
"These letters. And this crystal. It seemed weird. Very weird." Dant passed him them. "The letters are intelligence from the Archaneian continent. It seems Excellus was keeping tabs. Well, several, but these letters in particular are from someone named Anna."
"As in, the merchant guild?"
"Yup." Dant smirked. "They're charging him through the roof. And they made him pay up front. And I've got the contract, so I'll be getting the intel now. The crystal seems inert, though. Still thought you'd like it."
"Is everything else going according to plan?" Robin said. "You got the weapons?"
"Near as I can tell." Dant said. She slung the pack over her shoulder, drawing three things. "The best spear I could find. The tome you requested. And, finally, I thought you might like this."
"Seriously?" Robin accepted the third object. "These aren't supposed to exist. A magic seal?"
"My guess is that he was saving it as an ace-in-the-hole." Dant laughed. "Presumably Yen'fay would have used it, as the toad would be helpless in its presence. The irony being, of course, he couldn't magically ward it because of the nature of the device. Be careful, alright?"
"I'll need your help with one more thing…" Robin said. "Can you build a wall?"
"Poorly."
"That's all I need."
-Excellus's Office-
Excellus materialized in his office, gasping for breath. The Rosanneans had broken through his lines and were moments away from reaching his personal guard. The retreat he had called meant that reinforcements weren't coming, so he'd been forced to warp away, leaving his guard behind. That meant, on top on everything else that had gone wrong, he'd need new elites. His reputation was now shattered, he'd need a scapegoat, and his plan with that infernal upstart was going to need a last-minute change. Wait. He could just blame Robin for all of it, couldn't he? Perhaps. What had gone wrong, anyway? The Rosanneans were waiting for him at every turn. They knew he was going to attack from the south. How did they know that? Robin had to be behind this somehow.
"Robin." Excellus growled. "I will make you wish you'd never been born."
"Mmm, I doubt that. Though I do get were you're coming from. Kind of sucks when your plans don't go your way, am I right?" Robin asked, chuckling. "I mean, take it from me. Three days ago, I had this whole plan which involved backstabbing Valm to delay their acquisition of Rosanne, and then this absolute jerk had to go ruin it for me."
"Robin!" Excellus spun around to see the grinning tactician.
"None other." Robin said. "Hey, you've got a pretty sweet pad, you know that? Well, had a sweet pad, I sort of ransacked the place, but I think we can agree to let bygones be bygones. You foil my plans and imprison me, I destroy your stuff. Seems like a fair trade."
Excellus growled and went for his tome. Robin barely ducked the lance of fire that went over his head. He held up his hands. "Woah, chill the hatred. Look. I know we don't like each other, and I agree this will end in a fight to the death, but can we be civil and talk first?"
"What do you want to say to me?" Excellus spat out.
"You seem annoyed. Did your big plans not go as planned?" Robin asked. "See, if I recall correctly, this is the sequence of events. I sold the siege plans to Rosanne. You arrested me. You changed the plans to counter the plans I sold to Rosanne. What went wrong, or perhaps am I wrong about the sequence of events?"
"Someone betrayed me, insect." Excellus seethed with fury. "The Rosanneans knew about my trap! The plans you showed them should have instructed them to keep a reserve force in the north, waiting to counter the real attack. But it was in the south. I was defeated."
"I see." Robin said. "Although, of course, I need to correct you on one small detail. The plans I sold Rosanne instructed them of an incoming attack from the south."
"What?"
"Yes." Robin sniffed. "Tragically, it appears that the plans left in my tent that you had Yen'fay look at weren't the real invasion plans – they were the mock-up I drew. My lieutenant, Argeni, will attest the fact that I changed plans afterwards. In fact, she notarized them herself, with a magic seal and all. The real plans? They just had me lead the assault from the east. Perfectly effective, since Rosanne thought I was coming from the north, thanks to the plans I sold them."
"You're lying!" Excellus stared at Robin as his mind refused to process the information.
"No. I do admit that a straightforward charge is a bit simplistic for me, but," Robin shrugged. "It was all that I needed at the time. Or haven't you realized?"
"Oh no…"
"Oh yes." Robin grinned. He held up his fingers. "Step one: Create a bogus defense plan to a bogus invasion plan that you pretend to sell to your enemy. Step two: Tip off your rival that you've done so. Step three: Your rival locks you in a prison cell. Step four: Your rival attacks based on the bogus defense plan, but you sold a defense plan perfectly tailored to that invasion plan. Step five: Enjoy."
"You set me up!"
"Actually, you set yourself up." Robin clarified. "Or, as they like to say, what goes around comes around. If you hadn't kidnapped me, none of this wouldn't happen. I was counting on you biting the juicy bait I laid out, but if not, capturing Castle Bastein would have been a good consolation."
See, even if Rosanne hadn't believed my plans, they would have expected the attack to come from the north, because the plans conditioned to believe the dynamic I was planning was north/south and the plan was to assault the west from the east. The only flaw would be if Rosanne believed I was tricking them and Excellus taking over my army. In that event, Excellus would not suffer a humiliating defeat, but Rosanne would learn to trust me in any event. I would be fine, because of the notarized plan that Argeni helped me with. Robin ran through his checklist. This is the best possible outcome – Rosanne trusts me, Excellus humiliated, and I look perfect. Now, there's only the finishing touch.
"I'll see you burn, foreign scum." Excelus hissed. "You'll die!"
"You know when I said I ransacked your pad, earlier?" Robin reached into his coat to pull out an encrusted seal. "You have quite the collection, Excellus. It's a magic seal, isn't it? This seems a bit worn down, but I should be able to fire it up for a few moments."
"You wouldn't dare-"
"We're going down that route?" Robin laughed. "Why don't you make a list of things that I've done to you today and ask yourself if stripping your magic will make it in the top five? Here's a hint: I had Argenita di Cratez denounce you publicly for betraying Valm."
"Bolga-"
"Kishuna!" Robin activated the magic seal first. Excellus's magic energy fizzled out. Robin dropped the magic seal, laced his fingers together, and cracked them. "This is going to be fun."
His first punch hit the rotund tactician square in the chin. The fat softened the blow, so Robin didn't even feel the full impact. Robin followed the right cross with a left straight right into the man's gut. It sunk in, right into a generous layer of blubber.
"What a miserable failure." Robin stared in disgust. "You can't even take a beating properly, can you?"
"Stop!"
"Nope." Robin looked at the second object he had taken from the vault. "I suppose I'll have to dip into this earlier than I expected. Pity for you." Robin readied the jet-black spear he had swiped from Excellus. Runes lit up on top of its surface.
Robin dropped low, sweep-kicking Excellus. As the fat tactician dropped, Robin cocked back his right foot and punted him, connecting his foot with the man's jaw. The Valmese was sent flying backwards, collapsing in a heap.
Excellus got to his feet to see Robin rushing him. Robin swirled the lance around and stabbed through Excellus, the lance cleanly piercing thought him. Robin put a foot on the man and kicked him off the lance. Excellus collapsed, a neat hole put through his chest.
"Huh. So the Luna can really cut through any armor." Robin looked admiringly at the spear. "I'm going to have fun with this one."
A gasp sounded behind him. Robin turned to see Excellus get up, draining a blue-tinted bottle. He swung the lance and shattered the bottle. "Perhaps I haven't made myself clear, Excellus. I want you dead."
"I'm not going to roll over and die." Excellus growled, turned, and ran. Robin sighed. The Valmese tactician reached the door, yanked it open and ran through. Then he bounced off the wooden barricade set behind it.
"Are you familiar with the concept of walls?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow. "See, when I had the benefit of the whole day to set up this ambush, I was able to do a bit of interior decorating. Well, I didn't do it, my assassin did, but it's pretty much the same."
"You trapped me in here!" Excellus growled.
"Not exactly. Neither I nor Dant are what you would call a qualified builder, so I bet you could break the wall with a few good punches. Of course, when I say 'you', I mean 'me' because you couldn't break a pane of glass with those flabby arms. Heck, if a pane of glass dropped from the top of a tower on you, it'd probably just bounce." Robin jerked a thumb at the window behind him. "Coincidentally, there's a window if you want to try. Please do. I'll even let you go for it."
"That's not really a window, is it?"
"See, now you're getting the hang of it. Good." Robin took a step back and carefully aimed. "Stay still."
"So you can impale me?"
"More or less." The Luna flew straight and true. Robin sank the lance threw Excellus's ample gut, running him through and pinning the man to the wall. Robin kicked the magic seal up and caught it deftly. Then he deactivated it.
"What-?" Excellus stared at him.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I don't kill you outright." Robin said. "Believe me, I'd like to. Well, you're too important and I'm just not enough. Even with evidence, it won't be enough if I just stand over your corpse. So we'll go another route. You'll be court-martialed for your betrayal today, and put to death. But I'd like my revenge all the same, so instead of killing you, I'm just going to break you. You think you're smarter than me? You haven' managed one victory all day. And, just to prove it, I'll let you fight me. Everything's disabled now. You can run if you'd like. I mean, if your pride will let you. Because you'll be running knowing that I've bested you in every way."
Excellus howled and ripped himself off the spear. He drew a red tome from his robes. His eyes glowed red. "Mistake! You want to challenge me on my field? You think to challenge Valm's most powerful spellcaster to a duel of magic? There won't be enough ash left over to fill a spoon, let alone an ashtray."
"Red blood of the earth, gather thine energy and pass through me like a red conduit of the earth's crust." A red outline seared itself around Excellus. The air itself ignited. Excellus gestured. "A searing volcano to eradicate my foes. Bolganone!"
"The absorbing crackle of ozone." Robin reacted quickly, drawing a yellow tome from his holster. "SUPERIOR JOLT!"
A crater of magma erupted beneath Robin's feet, spewing red-hot lava. Then, a split-second later, a cloud of electricity buzzed into life around Robin, absorbing the magma into the electricity, solidifying the matrix.
Excellus collapsed, defeated. Blood had soaked his wounds from the hole Robin had put in him earlier. Robin sighed, pulled out a blue-tinted bottle, and forced it down the fat Valmese tactician's throat. "Don't die on me."
"Glug…"
"Get up." Robin slapped him awake. "I have one more thing to tell you."
"Urgh." Excellus's eyes opened. "What do you want now?"
"That window was actually just a window." Robin gave a slow clap.
-Vermillion Palace-
"And so, I bring you, Excellus, accused on counts of high treason!" Robin shouted, before the assembled crowd of nobles, with Walhart sitting upon his throne. "He attempted to deceive us all. He sold the Rosanneans my battle plans ahead of time, hoping that I would be killed in the ensuing massacre. Upon finding out that he had accidentally used my prototypical plans, he was forced to take things one step further."
"Excellus kidnapped me, and took control of my forces, implementing my initial battle plans, in an attempt to recreate the circumstances." Robin continued. "I can only speculate from there. I believe he captured me alive, because he considered me no threat. Excellus would most likely have killed me during the battle, and dump my body somewhere near the castle."
"I see." Walhart folded his hands. He'd known things would happen when he appointed the white-haired stranger to his glorious legions, but even he didn't see this turn of events. He doubted that the slovenly coward who was Excellus would attempt such a plan like this. "And then what did you do?"
"Fortunately, I had an ally." Robin coughed. "I foresaw the possibility of something of this nature, so I slipped in a contact within Excellus's staff. I didn't foresee that I'd be the one needing it, though. Using her, I was only able to get messages to my trusted lieutenants. One of them, a specialist in these regards helped me break out."
"From there, we set a trap for Excellus when he came back. Using nothing but my wits, a spear and a tome, I defeated and bound him." Robin concluded. "And that is that."
"I see." Walhart rumbled. "Excellus, is this true?"
"No! It's all lies! ALL LIES!" Excellus spat. He was chained within a pentagram, blocking his magic. "Robin requested that I take over his forces for the battle, as he had urgent matters. Magnanimously, I agreed. This foreign piece of scum gave me his battle plans, insisting that I follow them. He sold me out! Then, when I was forced to flee the battle field, after making a valiant last stand with my personal guards to buy soldiers time to escape, I was ambushed by him and his assassins in my own castle! I slew five of them, but it wasn't enough!"
"Hmm." Walhart stood up and drew his axe. "Robin, I do not care for your response to him. I merely have a single question. What are you doing?"
"You said we must end the battle of warring tacticians ourselves, Conqueror." Robin knelt on one knee and bowed before him. "I am merely following the instructions you left for us."
Honesty. Walhart appreciated it. Lies help keep the weak from being pulled down by their own failings. While nothing else Robin would say would have the same level of truth, Walhart would at least know the motive. The world does not change. There must always be one leader of the pack. The clash between them was evident from the beginning. And the winner –
"I see." Walhart said, finally. "And have you finished with your battle?"
"I have, my liege." Robin looked up. "What is your verdict?"
"I say this." Walhart walked forward with his axe. "One of you will die today. An act of unparalleled treachery has been carried against my Empire. Castle Bastein was to have fallen so Valkyrie Pheros would have it to conquer Rosanne. And, through the machinations of one of you, that has failed. That man deserves death, and he shall receive it."
"Robin it is, then!" Excellus said. "He is the one who sold the battle to Rosanne! Ask him, Conqueror! For none can lie in your presence without your knowing it."
"Indeed, Excellus." Robin said. "None can lie – your very self included. In any event, I can guarantee that I will not feel the axe."
"So sure of yourself, Robin?" Walhart asked.
"My actions have conquered Castle Bastein." Robin said. "Thanks to your brilliant military planning, Conqueror."
"And how have you accomplished that?" Walhart raised an eyebrow.
"Almost a score thousand Rosanneans seek refuge within their walls." Robin said. "They needed food, and what better time to get it than after a successful battle? Under my orders, Zulas seized an incoming convoy of food. Vermil targeted their water towers. Within a week, they shall run out of food, and have to choose between sacrificing their citizens, or holding the castle."
"Clever, tactician."
"It was my intent from the beginning." Robin said. Again, Walhart sensed no deceit this time. The white-haired foreigner had always intended to starve the fort into surrender. A glint appeared in Robin's eyes, hard and black. "Do my actions please you, Conqueror?"
"They do." Walhart pointed his axe at Excellus. "You, coward. You are sentenced to death for betraying the Valm Empire."
"Liege. A boon." Robin knelt again. "I would ask for a private word with Excellus."
"Very well." Walhart gestured. "Lords and Ladies. Your leave, now." Walhart waited for a few minutes until the room was empty, save for him, Robin, and Excellus. "You have your word. I shall leave now as well. Wait for my executioner."
-Vermillion Palace-
"Robin!" Excellus hissed. "What now? Come to taunt me in my moment of defeat?"
"No. I've come to bargain." Robin said. "It is within my power to free you."
"Liar!"
"Of course." Robin said, leaning in next to him. "We both know that. But who can a liar trust if not another liar? I have a plan to get you out of it, Excellus. But you must give me information worse it. And I mean now, else I have no cause. Give me reason to free you. Put me in your debt."
"Very well." Excellus said. "I see you've come to your senses. There is a crystal in my castle. It connects to one possessed by a Plegian named Aversa, who wants me as ruler of Valm. Help me, and I will cut you in on it."
"Very nice." Robin said. "Thank you."
"Now, your end…?" Excellus looked hopeful.
"Here's the thing, fool." Robin hissed. "Why would a liar trust another liar?"
"You…" Excellus looked ready to explode with rage, than burst into sobs instead. "You cannnnn't!"
"One last thing, Excellus." Robin said. "This is between you and me, because no one will believe you now. You think I did this because I'm loyal to Valm or my quest for power? That couldn't be furthest from the truth. Here's the truth. I'll die for my ideals, but I'd rather live for them. I don't care for power for power's sake. I'll become the most powerful man on this continent. If Aversa is willing to work with you, she'll be willing to work with me. All to achieve my goal."
-Vermillion Palace-
"Yen'fay. Attend me." Walhart fell into stride, walking out of the palace.
"As you wish." The dark-clad samurai fell in line beside him.
"Your reason for being here is gone." Walhart said. "I am aware of the schemes that Excellus used to entice you to my side. Excellus will be executed. What do you desire, Yen'fay?"
"I apologize, Conqueror." Yen'fay turned to him. "I cannot tell you that."
"Will you leave Valm? Join the Chon'sin again?"
"I swore an oath to serve. I cannot betray my oath." Yen'fay said. "There is one thing that I place above my honor, and with Excellus gone, I will never betray my oaths again. My blade cannot be turned against you."
"But you have already sworn an oath to serve Chon'sin."
"Aye." Yen'fay nodded. His statement was one syllable, but it signified something of importance to both men. "There is only one my blade can be turned against now. I must ask leave, Emperor of Valm."
"It is granted, on one condition." Walhart said. "You must execute Excellus."
-Vermillion Palace-
"And what is my goal?" Robin asked. "Quite modest, if you ask me. My amnesia clouds my mind, yet what I desire is clear as day. Furthermore, I am gifted, that much I know, so the responsibility towards fulfilling my dream is all the more greater due to the greater power at my disposal. I would set this world so all who follow me receive it better than I. Something which I will succeed at by killing you."
"The ends justify the means, Robin?" Yen'fay asked.
"Gah!" Robin jumped and spun around. The ebony samurai was right behind him. "How long have you been behind me?"
"Only for your declaration of what your goal is." Yen'fay said. "I thought you here to gloat, but you measure your weight against his. It is good. Learn why your rival falls, so you do not make his mistake."
"Of course. That's, ah, exactly what I was doing." Robin said. "Yen'fay, why are you here?"
"With this cut, I release myself of all obligations." Yen'fay placed his hand upon his sheathed hilt. "Then I may discharge myself with honor."
Discharge with honor – the leash the Empire has on Yen'fay – the Chon'sin I spoke to who moves silently like him – the same Chon'sin who is an infamous rebel – Excellus holding the leverage – Everything clicked into Robin's head as Yen'fay executed Excellus with a single stroke. The Yen'fay turned the blade inwards.
"Don't do it, Yen'fay!" Robin shouted. "Say'ri wouldn't want it!"
-Report to Excellus from Anna, XX/X/XX-
Ylisse lost. Hard. Ylissotopol was destroyed and the Exalt was captured. She's on trial to be executed.
