Deliverer of Birthright

by romeoraiden

My First Story. Two Nations. One desperate enough to bring a terrible war, the other more concern for themselves, and at the center, a sheltered Princess is forced to make difficult choices for the good of all. In her quest to do what's right many will stand with her and many more will oppose, throwing her in a state of despair. And from the chaos a Fallen Hero will rise again.

20. Chapter 20: The Little Yang in the Yin

*Chapter 20: The Little Yang in the Yin

From a tall tree falls a ninja to his death as his neck has been cut and lands on top a samurai, causing him to fall as well, allowing the Spear Fighter he was fighting to stab him in the head with her silver naginata. She is attacked from behind by an Oni Savage ceasing the chance to strike with his club but is shot in the back with three arrows that halt his assault and is later finished off by a shuriken that hits him right in the forehead. A small skirmish occurs in the woods outside of Kyoto as the liberation force sent to apprehend the treacherous noble, Yamamoto with them already engaging the post guards and by the looks of it have managed to catch them off guard and subduing is easy enough with them yet to lose any soldiers and Ryoma already delivering the finishing blow to the commander of this unit.

"Area secured, Milord, none have escaped to give away our arrival." Saizo informed the High Prince who is leading the company.

"Good, any word from Corrin and Hinoka's groups?" Ryoma asked while feeling a great amount of unease.

"They're doing just fine on their end." Saizo explained firmly.

"Good, let's meet up on our chosen rendezvous point." The High Prince ordered.

---

Another Ninja cries in pain as she gets kicked on to a tree by Kaze who engaged her in combat. Ryoma, Corrin, Hinoka and Sakura came to Kyoto, bringing only eighty soldiers with them and have divided them into three units, 30 go with Ryoma and 25 each for Corrin and Hinoka, and Sakura accompanies the former. Each unit goes to engage the guards protecting the city from the outside from the west, south and east to enter the city from the sewer tunnels, and while it will be surely well-guarded is still arguably the safest route.

"This is your last chance Nemuri, stand down and cease further hostility." Kaze warned the female ninja that he is familiar with who unfortunately does not heed his warnings and stands back up to fight but is halted as she is hit by a blizzard that immediately encases her in ice, along with the tree behind her, leaving only her head unfrozen. Kaze quickly turns to see that this is Felicia's doing as she is the only one in the company that is able to use natural ice magic.

Corrin's group is arguably the strongest, even when not including Robin as they take out their adversaries the fastest and apprehend all they could, though naturally enemy casualties are unavoidable even if it was just a few.

"That's the last of them?" Corrin asked Robin who enchants the shackles they place on the defeated enemies with magic to make them more difficult to free themselves from.

"Yeah, it should be safe to leave them here for now, especially since all contact here from the city is completely nullified." Robin explained.

"Then we best meet up with Ryoma and Hinoka already. Where was the rendezvous point again?" She asked.

"It is north of the city, Lady Corrin, the only place that strangely doesn't have any guards that is guaranteed to be safe to meet up unnoticed." A Samurai informed her.

"What about the Aerial units. The Military Branch that guards Kyoto is over-reliant on Pegasus Knights?"

"Sky Commander Suì-Fēng remained faithful to the crown and kept the Sky Division from Yamamoto's clutches but were sadly all wiped out." A Priestess informed the dark news.

"Dammit! At least the skies are clear for us to proceed slightly more safely." Oboro muttered.

"I wouldn't count on it just yet." Kaze sighed.

They waste no time in heading there and are the first to arrive with Ryoma and Hinoka still haven't shown up yet but none are worried.

"Kaze, are you alright, that woman you fought, Nemuri, you know her?" Corrin asked, noticing the somber look on his face.

"I do, in fact, I know most of the Ninjas we just confronted. Goteitaishi, Kirio, Baishin, Makizō, Yumichika, Momo, Kisaragi. We all trained together as children under the tutelage of my father and uncles. We all swore under the Dawn Dragon Oath to dedicate our lives to the crown. Nemuri was wildly known for having a rebellious streak and quite the hothead for a warrior of the silent arts but she, like her whole family is extremely devout followers of Sephiroth, I dare call them zealous. And yet it was plainly obvious in her eyes that there was no hesitation in striking down her own countryman to keep Kyoto under Yamamoto's clutches." Kaze said with sadness and regret over fighting former comrades and shame towards them for their actions. Something that practically all of the Hoshidans beside them are feeling right now, Sakura's look of anguish is a common sight nowadays but today is different since she's not bearing witness to bloodshed against Nohr or patching up wounds inflicted by them but this time against her own people which must take a heavier toll on her poor heart.

"Yuki, Jūshirō, Yachiru and Nanao were also among them. Those four always wanted to be Pegasus Knights but their family lineage bound them to being Sentinels instead." Subaki said feeling bitter as he just got back from striking down former friends.

"Traitors. All of them!" Hana cursed under her breath, wiping out some of the tears in her eyes before they can come out and anyone would notice. "May they never find redemption for their sins in the Eternal Flame of Iblis and drown in Qliphoth's Sea of Despair."

"Maybe… maybe they've all been blackmailed; Yamamoto threatened their families or a loved one and has them on a leash." Corrin suggested, trying to make sense of all these acts of betrayal.

"That's a high possibility but more wishful thinking, and as resourceful as the adversary is, Yamamoto couldn't have gotten dirt on all of them, and I can't shake the feeling that at least a few dozen of them should've been able to escape and warn the Capital much sooner regardless. It's regrettable but the men and women we're up against are our enemies and must be treated as such. Dead or alive, we must rescue Kyoto." Azura declared very firmly about this whole scenario.

"The discord here is not as bad as it is in Nohr but it's still quite the hassle to fathom how this could happen in Hoshido." Jakob said surprised by how tight Nohr's chaos would reach here so severely and will surely leave an impact on future generations. "Doubtless to say that this is a curse inflicted upon by that serpent, Iago."

"This does feel like his level of deception. The question is how long has he been in contact with the ignoble members of Hoshido's court?" Robin wondered.

"Long enough to leave a stain on our honor that will take decades to mend." Subaki sighed.

"What's Yamamoto's deal anyway? Why go through all of this in the first place?" Corrin wondered as she was barely briefed on the subject of the former nobleman.

"He's almost your stereotypical noble, self-absorbed and far too prideful but still commanded much respect and admiration from the people, and technically still does despite his incarceration. He like many disapprove of your mother's position as Queen for many reasons, the most common is that she was originally a foreigner of Hoshido and many Nobles tend to be sensitively pitiful when someone not of noble birth is put in any sort of position of power. Yamamoto wasn't the most outspoken about it but the subtle hints were as good as any reason to keep an eye on him and his attempts to dethrone the Queen four years ago was the moment we dreaded for years." Kaze explained.

"And how did he think to accomplish that, by staging a civil war? If such a thing happened or was moments away from occurring Nohr would've known about it and Leo would've never kept his mouth shut about it to me or anyone else." Corrin wondered.

"His first act of defiance was targeting my family, as you already know, we of the Igasato Clan have long since sworn allegiance to the Crown and served as the bulk of the Royal Family's defense, in order to get to them disposing of us first is the safest bet. That being said however, my father, Saizo the Fourth wasn't very popular with the nobles and really got under their skin, having only respect for King Sumeragi and sadly, my brother who is now the head of the family picked up on his bad habits and thus has the same unpopularity and ceasing the opportunity to use the distrust to his advantage, Yamamoto carefully spread a foul rumor among the nobility that Saizo was planning to stage a quo instead and our clan was already preparing a militia to attack. Fortunately for us and funny enough, Azama somehow caught wind of this and out of a mere whim warned Lady Hinoka and Lord Ryoma of Yamamoto's treachery and Yukimura staged a clever tactic to expose him by pitting him against me and Saizo, while we were both still oblivious to the crisis. Even though your mother and siblings had complete faith in us they couldn't ignore such accusations no matter how unlikely and put us through a test of sorts to ensure our loyalty and it was fortunate that we were not aware of it sooner because Saizo was not in the right state of mind when he found out that Yamamoto was using our family like that." Kaze explained. "Especially since Yamamoto send ninja assassins after Ryoma before we caught him and said assassins were in fact traitors of our clan who sided with him."

"I'm surprised he wasn't executed on the spot for such actions." Oboro said while listening in.

"He was supposed to but political pageantry and close ties with the previous queen spared his life and he was instead sentenced to the Shinigami Chasm. A deathly prison built around the border that separates Hoshido from the Flame Tribe's homeland that is arguably the most gruesome prison in Horus where the worst of the worst are taken never to be seen again." Kaze continued.

"My father visited the chasm before and he told me grimly that it be a blessing if I never get to go there just to escort a criminal." Hinata said.

"I was told much the same as well." Kaze said.

"I've seen it myself. A perfect example of why Muspelheim is not a place you want to die on." Robin said with a look that told Corrin that he harbors empathy for anyone criminal enough to be sentenced there. "There's a reason why it's called the Shinigami Chasm because death is essentially the only freedom from that place and the warden and guards are all Flame Tribalist so that's a huge bonus as to why you best behave in Hoshido."

Corrin, Sakura and Felicia gulp at those words.

"Shinigami? Isn't that one of the many aliases of the Ice Tribe's Dragon Goddess?" Jakob asked familiar with the name.

"Yeah, it's the Hoshidan word for God of Death, and the Frost Dragon Shiva is also worshipped as a Goddess of Death as well as Ice, fitting how Niflheim is the only place left in Horus that contains any information about Necromancy and how the Chieftains are sworn to make sure such power remains buried forever and for some reason they're against destroying that dark magic instead." Robin explained.

"It's a matter of principle rather than common sense." Felicia explained.

"Better the Grimm than an Army of the Dead." Corrin muttered in contemplation and still sore about the Necrodragons. Ryoma and Hinoka's groups finally arrive and they can now proceed.

"I take it you all had it done wonderfully as well?" Hinoka asked with her group looking no worse for wear.

"Wonderfully is not the word I used but things do feel easier still, so no loss of life on our side just yet." Corrin replied.

"Excellent, now we must enter the city and our safest bet is to travel through the sewer tunnels." Ryoma said.

"They only look unguarded with no signs of magical security within but there's no denying that walking in is a huge risk. We need a diversion to better proceed." Kagero advised.

"Let me take a peek in first." Lilith said as she volunteers to examine the tunnel and does so by using her magic to transform herself into a bird, that is funny enough a robin and once she is close enough she turns into a rat to safely investigate.

"HA! She turned into a robin." Felicia chuckled.

"We can see that Felicia." Robin mused.

"She can shapeshift too, that is one resourceful stable girl." Rinkah uttered.

"I've always wondered how she was able to keep the stables in the fortress so spotlessly clean." Jakob added.

After almost fourteen minutes of waiting, Lilith returns exiting the tunnel in her true form and rushing to Corrin's side.

"The place is full of ninjas and diviners who have the placed magically booby-trapped. I managed to disable most of them without their knowledge and prepared a powerful sleeping spell that should activate on my call but there was not much else I could do." Lilith informed.

"Excellent work but if there is no guarantee that we can enter with a higher probability than it is still ill-advised to enter with such big numbers while relying on stealth, we must create a big enough diversion to catch them all off guard and force them to focus more of their soldiers in one direction." Ryoma concluded. "They won't be foolish enough to do this with all their troops but just enough."

"In that case then we might as well trigger some explosions all around the city and put them in disarray." Rinkah suggested callously.

"Try to take this a little more seriously, Rinkah." Corrin hissed at her.

"No, she actually has the right idea." Robin countered.

"I do?" Rinkah muttered.

"She does?" Corrin uttered. "Wait, you plan on flying to the city, launch an attack on wherever there aren't any civilians and tempt them to hit you with everything they've got?" Corrin questioned.

"Basically." Robin replied.

"I love this plan." Jakob cheered.

"You would." Robin hissed.

"You recently said you wouldn't be using your magic recklessly." Corrin protested.

"I'm not going to go all-out, just enough to get under their skin and if I'm really lucky, get Yamamoto's full attention, making it easier for all of you to mobilize." Robin suggested.

"It would be safer if you did not go alone so I shall accompany you." Ryoma declared.

"Your Highness…" Saizo wanted to protest to this but once the High Prince raised his hand for him to be silent, he knew there was no point.

"I want in on this too, it's been a while since I was given the chance to really let all of my dragon fire loose on a wider scale." Rinkah volunteered.

"Suit yourself." Robin said.

"Fine!" Corrin hissed reluctantly. "But wait, what signal do you intent to pull this time, another huge lightning bolt?"

"I prefer a red flare." Robin shrugged as he grabs both Ryoma and Rinkah's hands tight to take them to the sky with him. "How are you two airborne?"

"Hmph, I do alright." Rinkah shrugged arrogantly.

"Not as much as I would prefer but I'll last a short ride." Ryoma said showing little concern as Robin takes to the sky very fast and they all could've sworn that they heard a small squeal from the three and it definitely didn't come from Robin or Rinkah.

"Is… Ryoma afraid of heights?" Corrin questioned.

"Lord Ryoma fears nothing!" Saizo quickly argued boastfully and feels insulted at the insinuation.

"He simply doesn't like being away from the ground, there's a clear difference." Kagero added.

"No there isn't. Either he's afraid or isn't, regardless, he's not having a good time up there." Jakob scoffed.

"Guard your tongue, Nohrian." The Red Ninja warned.

"Wait a minute, why can't I just go with them? I've got wings." Corrin said.

"Need I remind you that you can't fly without me and I am better-needed moving pass the sewers." Lilith reminded her.

"Oh crud, I really need to get to work on that." Corrin cursed her incompetence. She may condemn her dragonic powers but she will not dismiss how grand it is to have the ability to fly on her own. She really loves taking to the skies, hence why she always wanted to be a Wyvern Knight like Camilla. "Anyone know how to ride a Wyvern because I think I may need to take the same lessons the hatchlings take while in dragon form to get these wings of mine working."

"Say no more, Lady Corrin, you may not know this but I too am well verse on how to manage a Wyvern from my experience with Escanor." Jakob volunteered.

"I can help you with flying as well." Hinoka also volunteered.

"I don't mean to turn you down, Lady Hinoka but Pegasi and Wyverns are completely different in their methods of flight, it's a common misconception but the wings of a Pegasus are meant for gliding not really to take flight as they actually rely on kicking the air to remain airborne, and if they flap their wings constantly no one would be able to ride them, unlike Wyverns who actually fly by flapping their wings." Subaki reminded her.

"I know that, but I can still be of some use, Corrin's an actual dragon after all and not some knock off."

---

Robin, Ryoma and Rinkah now float above Kyoto, roughly ten thousand meters above and remain afloat as Robin uses the same magic he used to make a large cloud tangible enough for them to stand on, afterward he picks up a large circular glass that resembles the one used on telescopes that is a magical relic with the same properties that allows them to zoom in and have a perfect view of the city from this height. While Robin is scouting the city, Rinkah is having a loud laugh at Ryoma's expense.

"Please stop laughing at me." Ryoma uttered embarrass.

"You squealed! You actually made a squeal upon taking flight. Who would've thought the mighty Ryoma is afraid of a little height." The Fire Princess mocked.

"I fear nothing! I just don't like being away from the ground is all." Ryoma defended himself, which is really a poor attempt as there may very well be no difference between not liking being airborne and being afraid. "Plus, in what world is this altitude considered a little? Not even Wyverns can go this high up!"

"You've clearly never encountered the Wyverns raised in Muspelheim." Rinkah snickered.

"Can't you focus on something else, like the fact that we're actually standing on a cloud of all things!"

"Eh, I have a really open mind so I'm not impressed."

"If you kids are finished with your time in kindergarten you might want to take a look at this." Robin insisted as he points at one particular red building that looks like one for a noble full of himself would be living. "By any chance is that Yamamoto's residence?"

"Yeah, I recognize his poor taste anywhere." Ryoma affirmed.

"Doesn't really look all that different from your place, only smaller and redder." Rinkah added.

"That's exactly my point, the bastard is so full of himself that he thought to commission his own version of Shirasagi in Kyoto without are knowledge."

"Alright, aside from making sure we get the city's full attention that's where our havoc must be the focal point to lure enough of their troops for the others to come in with less intrusion." Robin said. "But first things first I need to make a few preparations."

"Like what?" Rinkah asked.

"I much rather show you, right now I'll leave you two on the roof. Try not to squeal." Robin said half-jokingly as he creates a red glowing orb that he tosses and leaves in the sky before he flies them down into the city. While Ryoma didn't squeal this time he was hugely annoyed. He wasn't going to live this down.

In mere seconds they were already within the top of Yamamoto's manner, several archers on top from every angle but none spotted them yet and by the time they could they were all carefully taken cared off.

"I'm surprised you know how to deal with anyone without causing a ruckus." Ryoma complimented Rinkah as she suffocates the last sniper.

"My mom used to be a ninja master for Mukushu up until that Mad Daimyo's War that devastated Kohga made her question her morals." She replied.

"You two stay here and don't start any ruckus just yet, I have a few contingencies I want to try out before we can truly start." Robin advised.

"Whatever you got in motion be quick about it." Rinkah demanded as Robin flies off.

---

"All seems to be going well with the barrier so far, Milady." Orochi said as she and other Diviners have been assisting Mikoto in getting the Barrier of Concord ready to reactivate once again and they have been at it for hours after Corrin unleashed the Throne's power.

"Yes, I can feel the Blight fading from Suzanoh but there's still too much of it all over Hoshido. In order to reactivate the barrier all corruption must be expelled from at least the Capital, that alone just might be enough to set our main defense in motion and dispel the rest of the blight, chunk by chunk." Mikoto calculated.

"Indeed, the atmosphere isn't returning to normal, it's improving significantly, activating the barrier with the Seal of Flame's power will result in something greater." Orochi added. "However, it's still too soon to do anything so extreme and we'll have to wait at least one more day."

"One more day is enough to make me go mad with anticipation, with Nohr's reach feeling closer than ever." Mikoto sighed. Getting her barrier up and running the first time was a pain and keeping it active for years was even more hazardous and now she just knows it'll be even harder.

"And hopefully you can at least make sure it works on all invaders and not just Nohrians instead. Gotta do something against those Blackhounds too." Reina advised as she walks in on the conversation.

"This spell is deeply complex and troublesome and originally I could only ward off a certain threat at a time, I just lacked the power before, even with all of Hoshido's mages at my side since the Barrier was never meant to protect an entire nation, I'm constantly putting it beyond its limits and if I were to go any further it would've fallen apart." Mikoto explained. "Weakening the strength of the Grimm was an added bonus due to its nature as a form of Light Magic."

"You never said the spell was based on a lost art like the power of light." Orochi said surprised.

"Sorry, the Barrier is a spell from the place of my birth, or at least I think it is, no one in Hoshido has ever heard of it until I used it." Mikoto replied, not really sure herself.

"Wow, you, your daughter and soon to be son in law have terrible memories." Reina mused seeing the odd pattern in the family.

"I know, I just hope it's not somehow magically contagious and my grandchildren one day just out of the blue forget me." Mikoto muttered, already thinking way too ahead on Corrin's future.

"Isn't it a bit too soon to be thinking about grandkids, the time you have with your step-kids is scarce enough as it is with all your other duties and their misadventures." Reina asked.

"After that Halloween madness, I'm starstruck that I'm not already a grandmother. I mean, we all know what really happened that night between those two white delinquents." Mikoto said, fully aware that her daughter drugged Robin into having sex with her, so really she's the rapist and it's a miracle he remains at her side still. Any decent guy would normally walk out after something that awful. Corrin is luckier than she realizes.

"Yes we do." Orochi snickered seductively regarding that juicy tale.

"You two are the weirdest retainers, I swear." Mikoto complained.

---

"Wow, so this is what the Capital Suzanoh looks like. Amazing." Mozu uttered as she is walking around the capital, not wanting to stay in the Castle all day and could not help but want to explore the place and it's all so breathtaking to the former villager, and even though the city square is still in ruins from the previous attack there is still charm to it that Mozu can't seem to put it, and the townsfolk are really nice. Hayato also tagged along, not too comfortable staying in Shirasagi and having nothing better to do but still looks annoyed, like he doesn't want to be in the Capital either.

"It looks fine in looks anyway." Hayato said nonchalantly.

"Are you okay, you seem off all the sudden. Are you perhaps homesick. I know I feel like that plenty of times." Mozu wondered as they stop and remain right at the center where it all began with most people wanting to avoid the scene where the Blight Dragon appeared so they're alone for now.

"It's not that, though I will admit going this long away from the tribe, heck, being away from Oldstrong this long brings a lot of anxiousness but I'm just annoyed that I wasn't allowed to go into the fight in Kyoto." Hayato said annoyed of being excluded.

"I don't like being left behind either but you really should consider how Lady Corrin feels, she allowed us to come along and feels responsible for our wellbeing and the last thing she wants is for us to be involved in one carnage after another." Mozu said, agreeing with Corrin's decision even if she has let her new powers get to her head a little bit.

"Well I don't appreciate the babysit, I left home to rise up and make a name for myself, not be a bench warmer." Hayato hissed.

"Why the rush to be an adult already, you know you got your whole life ahead of you to be thinking of all this carnage." Mozu questioned, getting annoyed herself with the Wind Tribalist, who despite being in good terms with everyone in the group he does have a tendency to get under their skin with his big mouth and inability to take a short joke without acting like a flame tribalist instead.

"I'm no stranger to carnage and death." Hayato bit back, startling Mozu a little bit.

"What do you mean?" She muttered.

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand." Hayato shrugged.

"Well then help me understand, we're both from the same cloth aren't we?" Mozu insisted.

"Look Mozu, you're new to this whole… Demigod lifestyle but the first thing you got to get behind is that it's not all sunshine and rainbow, we who have the blood of the dragon gods are popular for the wrong reasons more so than the right ones."

"I thought the Wind Tribe and Flame Tribe were in good terms with Hoshido." Mozu said.

"We are but that's beside the point since ancient times the tribes have held control over the most significant lands in Horus, my tribe controls Oldstrong, Rinkah's with Muspelheim and Felicia's has Niflheim. It may seem like no more than a desert, a volcanic and snowy region but there's so much more to those lands, secrets that outsiders of our teachings cannot begin to grasps and we didn't come to be just because the Ancestral Dragons wanted to start a family with humans or assert their dominance, no, we were chosen to guard their secrets since they can no longer do it themselves, having lost their physical forms." Hayato explained. "I don't know what those secrets are because only the Chieftain and other higher ups that help run the tribe have the privilege to know and guard it but somehow that information has been leaked and all sorts of groups who "hide in veils" have come in search of it and numerous battles have been fought over the ages to claim whatever it is, and the other tribes have suffered similar attacks before. I was very young when it occurred but the last time my tribe was attacked, my mother, uncle and two of my cousins were no longer a part of our lives."

"Oh, Hayato." Mozu mumbled dishearten by his tale.

"I learned then and there that the world is not a nice place and not even kids are spared from the evils that come and go whenever they like no matter who gets caught in the crossfire." Hayato growled while tightening his fist. "It's why I need to get stronger and I don't have the luxury to be a kid. I'm going to be the Chief of the Wind one day and carry the Will of Ramuh and the people on my shoulders someday after all. Fuga gets it but he doesn't seem keen on letting me bear the burden and has been overbearing ever since. I get that he's my dad and he's only looking out for me but I'm smart enough to know that I can't be protected forever, not when those villainous characters are still out there."

"And you think that maybe these people might be from Nohr?" Mozu asked.

"Who else could they be. They're the ones who robbed us of the Water and Earth Tribes, Ramuh only knows what became of the others. There are only three of us left in the world and you can bet that now that they know you're the last direct descendant of the Stone Dragon, they will come for you as well since we know for a fact that whatever the tribes were hiding somehow haven't been stolen yet." Hayato cursed, revealing a resentment he's been holding towards Nohr for so long.

"But I don't know what this secret is?" Mozu muttered.

"Doesn't matter, you're the only one that's really standing between them and Cheve, the Great Wall is more powerful than it was when Ryoma activated it so there's no way they can pull the stunt they did before to break in. Your life is the only key that can unlock it now and they don't necessarily need you breathing to get to YOUR Dukedom and as a descendent of Archaean you're the rightful Duchess of Cheve." Hayato continued. "Being blessed by the gods is not a good thing Mozu, it's the worst kind of curse. Like being the greatest swordsman, it doesn't matter how fearsome you are, sooner or later people will come to challenge you and they may never leave you alone until you are surpassed or dead."

Hayato's words should've brought dread to Mozu, and it did but she's not showing any apart from her usual nervous expression.

"I'm not afraid, I'll pull through somehow, as long as Lady Corrin and Robin are with me, I'll be fine." She said trying to sound courageous.

"Whatever eases your…" Hayato ceases his words once he feels something hot on his chest and reaches for his shirt to show a necklace he keeps hiding with a pearl attached to it that is glowing red hot.

"Oh, that's a pretty pearl." Mozu noted.

"And a cause for trouble." Hayato narrowed his eyes. "This is a special item designed to hunt down practitioners of dark magic, whenever warlock-like mages are close enough, roughly about a hundred yards away the pearl will glow like this. It's been acting up whenever I'm near Robin since he too uses dark magic, and it especially glows like crazy when near Grimm."

"I thought nobody in Hoshido uses dark magic." Mozu said.

"It's frown upon here in the East but not many can resist the temptation so those that due use it keep it a secret, and anyone exposed usually gets deported but can stay so long as they accept an agreement from the law enforcement, nothing military like since dark mages are forbidden to join the army. I really thought Suzanoh would be the last place anyone from the darkness would be stupid enough to settle down here, unless…"

"There are Nohrians nearby." Mozu concluded dreadfully.

"It's showtime." Hayato declared, looking ready to rush in towards danger.

"Wait, you really mean to rush in and attack some warlock?" Mozu questioned.

"Why not, all of Hoshido and Oldstrong are in a road where dark magic is a definite kill with fire." Hayato said.

"Shouldn't we call for backup first. If there are Nohrians here we should warn someone."

"What, and cause a panic, this is a city full of scared and angry people and when the subject of the two is within proximity people throw all reason aside and behave like a pack of idiots, the less they know the better we can handle this." Hayato boasted. "Come on, Mozu, we can't afford to wait for backup and risk this being an actual crisis. If it's just some dumb townsfolk messing with the dark arts than we'll turn a blind eye and if it's something serious, I'll call for help and it'll be easy enough for me to send a message to the castle with my magic."

"Well… okay, but where do we even begin to start looking for someone that screams I'm a bad guy?" Mozu muttered.

"Easy, we go wherever the pearl keeps glowing and stay away from the direction where it becomes dimmer and where better to start searching than the sewers." Hayato suggested.

"But that's like the most obvious place for the guards of the Capital would think to infinitely check for danger."

"I think I speak with total confidence when I say that one must be overly deceptive when planning any sort of invasion so I say that's our best bet." Hayato said confidently and rather Mozu liked it or not the two younger members of Corrin's group ventured into the sewers on what is hopefully a wild goose chase despite the magical evidence to the contrary and just to be on the safe side they managed to steal, or rather ''borrow'' as Hayato puts it, a Silver Naginata from a Spear Fighter on patrol in the city while he stopped to have lunch, Mozu wasn't too happy about that but once they were within the sewers of Suzanoh she couldn't complain.

"It smells awful here." She mumbled in disgust, desperately covering her nose.

"What you expect, sewers are where the trash from above is placed to safely dispose of it, all the big cities have undergrounds like this built for that purpose. Keeps the outside clean and with magic the disposal is easy enough even if it typically takes time to get the dirty work over with." Hayato explained while seemingly not too bothered by the smell since he's not covering his nose and is instead focus on his necklace with the pearl glowing brighter. "I knew it, one or more Warlocks in Suzanoh."

"What could they be doing down here?" Mozu wondered.

"Only one way to find out." Hayato said as they go where the pearl leads them until they reach a wider path and find their targets and discover the Dark Mages, exactly eight Warlocks and one Sorcerer, all of them standing on a violet glowing magic circle with demonic-looking markings, each one holding a tome of dark magic with both hands each that is glowing with the same color as the circle, as well as their eyes and are all speaking an incantation in a language Mozu can only assume is Magecraftian, and even their eyes are glowing with the same color.

"What are they doing?" Mozu asked.

"I've read about this incantation before. They're trying to create a portal, one large enough for a whole bunch of people to come in." Hayato said recognizing the words of the incantation from his studies. "And they're putting in a lot of effort and magic into this."

"Why, I thought they could come and go as they please with the Queen's barrier gone?" Mozu asked.

"No doubt because the Hoshidans cleverly built a magical Protection Stave surrounding a massive portion of the Capital that protects it from enemies magically barging in and this spell will thwart even that. That Yukimura fellow was right and the huge battalion coming from the borders really is just a diversion to split Hoshido's forces while the true threat is still within Nohr waiting for their chance to strike at the heart of the capital totally off guard." Hayato surmised. "Nutcracks! It looks like they're almost done too, we better get to them quickly."

"Don't you think this all feels a little too easy, I mean for them to sneak in here without being caught must mean that they must have…"

Mozu is unable to finish as Hayato is suddenly sucker-punched from behind by a man dressed like a Berserker and then gets his face slam into the wall on his left, seemingly knocking him out cold, and before she could scream she is caught herself and her mouth covered by another Berserker as the Mages are in fact being guarded by other Nohrians.

"Well, look what we have here, two punks thinking they're some kind of heroes." The Man holding Mozu hostage smirked sinisterly.

"Son, you two are quite clever to have found us by yourselves but you are still quite the dumbest little shits I have ever had the displeasure of putting up with if you actually thought just the two of you could stop this but I do commend you both for getting this far." The other Berserker said mockingly as he raises his iron axe, clearly having zero qualms about killing the two of them despite their age. "Sorry kiddos but no witnesses and the Nohrian Army has no patience for babysitting."

"That's fine by us." Hayato said somewhat weakly, getting on his knees as he faces the two men with his nose now bleeding from the impact but doesn't look broken yet, the little man is quite durable despite his still delicate skin. "But you should know that you're the ones in over their heads."

At the nick of time, Mozu shows off her new dragonic strength and easily frees herself from her captive's grip and on impulse squishes too hard, not only breaking the armor covering the man's forearm but the arm as well, the bones crack so loudly that everyone nearby could hear it, with the Berserker screaming with immense pain, falling to his knees and clutching his now ruin arm in anguish.

"What the fu-" The other Berserker uttered as Hayato gets some payback blasting the cruel man away with a wind blast. The Demigod then proceeds with the Warlocks as he fires a horizontal tornado attack towards them that they quickly take notice of and are forced to cease their spell to create a barrier to protect themselves and the impact also hits the manhole cover above them that is blown upwards for those in the immediate street to notice and begin to panic over what this could mean.

More Nohrians show up to kill the two and one of them would've caught Hayato off guard if not for Mozu who valorously gets in the way and clashes her naginata with his iron sword and she hit it so hard that she actually manages to shatter the blade, to the shock of the Ranger. Mozu then hits the Ranger's chest with the bottom tip of the polearm hard enough to send the man flying, bumps into three other men as they all crash into the wall with a hole being blown open, causing the rest of the Nohrians to remain paralyzed with shock and admittedly fear over the two monsters attacking them.

"Oh… my… I…" Mozu uttered shaking rapidly over how insane this all is and afraid herself. For three seconds as it is soon replaced with a lot of inhuman enthusiasm and thrill. "That was fantastic! I can't believe how easy this is! I feel amazing!"

"I knew that Dragon Adrenaline would get a kick out of you eventually." Hayato smirked, counting on this happening.

"We can actually win this! I can win this!" Mozu declared, now getting in over her head, not that Hayato will even try to get her to calm down, and the Nohrians seem to have regained their composure.

"Agreed, but just to stay safe we better get that backup now." Hayato said as he creates an orb of green glowing wind and flies it out of the manhole where it reaches for the sky and expands until it creates a tornado that never touches the ground and is large enough for all to see and for those who don't see it, the strong wind current it emits spreads pretty far and can be felt by many, a clear sign that not all is well.

---

"You're Majesty!" A Basara comes rushing to the throne room where the Queen is discussing further plans with Yukimura and her two Retainers. "There's trouble in the Capital, a magical tornado has appeared in the sky but has not touch the ground, no doubt the work of a Wind Tribalist."

"But the only resident of Oldstrong currently in Suzanoh is Hayato." Orochi uttered.

"I knew that kid was going to find trouble one way or another but for him to cause this sort of ruckus without reason is very unlikely." Reina concluded.

"Could it be the Nohrians?" Yukimura said dreadfully. "But how could they have breached our Protection Stave?"

"I'll assemble the Guard!" Reina said leaving with haste.

"I'll go on ahead right now and get to the bottom of this." Orochi added heading to a different direction.

"Looks like I'll have to rush our clock by a lot." Yukimura said having no choice now.

"So be it then." Mikoto said before turning to a Priestess beside her. "Go and double the defense on Takumi. No, triple it. No, quadruple it… tenfold? Yes, tenfold the guards. Nobody wearing black gets near my boy!"

"Yes, you're Grace." The Priestess bowed before going to follow her orders but quickly stops to march back to her Queen. "Wait, does that include our men since basically all the Samurais and Ninjas have black with them?" She asked to clarify.

"Okay, I wasn't thinking right when I said that so let me rephrase myself." Mikoto muttered.

---

"You'd had your chance and now we're coming in!" Yelled one of Yamamoto's men from one of the streets of Kyoto as six men are about to force their way inside a small market that is also the home for those who own it that has their doors violently smash open.

"No! How dare you barge in here like this!" The store owner demanded in outrage but also fear since he knows what's going to happen to him and his family. "I've paid what was demanded like everyone else."

"Half, and you were given enough time to get the amount from your 'friends' and now we have no choice but to make an example of you so that the rest of this city don't make the same mistake!" The leading man said as he points a katana at him.

"Please, you don't have to do this." The Owner pleaded, already shedding tears with his wife behind holding their children protectively.

"Maybe you're right. But then again, I don't want to be right." The Man smirked sinisterly.

"Then I'll see you again in the Underworld." Robin said as he was fortunately around while this is occurring and assaults Yamamoto's men with a wind spell that blows them out of the store and throws from high up before they fall violently enough to gravely wound them but nothing that can't be nurtured.

"What…" The Owner uttered.

Nearby soldiers rush to the scene upon seeing their comrades lying on the street in such a state but they don't get a chance to do anything, much less help them as they are all struck by lightning from above and they also fall to their knees, Robin flying above them as he quickly flies back to Ryoma and Rinkah.

"Sorry for the nineteen-minute wait but I got a little sidetrack by how Yamamoto has been handling the people here." Robin said. "Apparently raising taxes is Yamamoto's way of keeping people in line and those who don't pay on time are made an example of."

"I would've probably spent the whole day sidetrack if I could see how unfairly that scum was mistreating my people." Ryoma replied.

"We won't have to be that long." Robin said as he begins to channel magic from Morgenstern and in mere seconds, nearly everywhere that leads to the sewers ignites with explosions that spread from below in quite a reach and plenty of havoc in the surface for the citizens but more importantly Yamamoto's men who are pretty much everywhere to notice. Robin follows it up by creating a large cage made of lightning to cover up Yamamoto's home, really getting the attention of the guards.

"Showtime!" Rinkah roared as she jumps off the roof along with Ryoma as they spread their own chaos. And finally, Robin triggers the red sphere he left in the sky to implode, releasing a bright red flare for their allies outside to see.

---

"That's as good a signal as any." Corrin said as now is the time to strike.

"Follow me, I know the quickest path that will lead us right below Yamamoto!" Saizo said as they all march forward while their aerial unit take to the sky towards their target and thanks to Robin's distraction, the many archers that are station in the rooftops are too distracted by what's happening down below to notice and it helps that Robin took the time to subdue a few himself.

"Over here!" One of the soldiers guarding the sewers spots Corrin and the army, only to be immediately forced to slumber by Lilith's sleeping spell as it starts its effect and thanks to the carnage Robin caused, the amount of resistance is fewer and wisely he kept the path that leads to where they need to go intact.

"Die, Royal Dogs!" One of Yamamoto's men shouted as many of them arrive to intercept them with the battle commencing.

"Quit getting in our way!" Corrin shouted as she delivers a strong swing to an Oni Savage, sending him crashing through a wall, but this one is sturdier than the rest and manages to get back in the fight and tries to maul her with his Great Club, though Jakob interferes, getting between them and succeeds in impaling him by the neck with his Soldier's Knife before he could counterattack.

"Fools like these can never comprehend when mercy is offered to them. It's sickening to look at them." Jakob scoffed.

"How far is Yamamoto's stinking house?" Hinata asked.

"It's pretty far, but we will get there soon enough provided we engage less resistance." Kaze said.

"Doesn't seem like we'll take too long, you smell that. There's an awful lot of smoke in the smelly air." Azama said.

"Robin must've set fire to several sections of the city to strike down the majority of men station below to save us more time." Kaze concluded.

"Wow, he sure is resourceful." Felicia said in awe. "Wonder why he hid the fact that he was a mage all this time?"

"Didn't want the attention and become persuaded of joining Nohr's army." Corrin said.

"He's sure doing us wonders." Oboro replied.

"Halt!" More enemy units arrive to block their paths.

"Nothing but a pointless nuisance after another." Saizo scoffed.

"We won't let any of you near our Lord, especially you, Scourge of Nohr!" One of them declared, pointing venomous at Corrin.

"Do not call me that!" Corrin yelled and instinctively she transforms her left hand into its more beastly form and fires a water blast at them that blows most of them to the ground.

"Crush anyone who dares spill ill words to Milady!" Jakob cursed with his breath as they all move forward.

"Are you okay, Lady Corrin?" Felicia asked with concern.

"Yeah, just peachy." Corrin shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. "What about you two, as surprised as you were you brushed off the fact that I can turn into a dragon rather well."

"You're asking that to someone who's Foremother was also a dragon?" Felicia replied, reminding her of her own lineage.

"Okay, that's fair but still odd."

---

"So much for not using more of his magic." Azura said as she flies alongside Hinoka, leading the aerial assault and make their way to their destination while gazing at the carnage Robin has caused, granted it really isn't that bad and not too noticeable since the majority of the damage was done underground but Azura and most well trained Sky Knights and Archers have a knack for spotting key detail and see enough of what is really going on. What is really noticeable, however, is the large cage of lightning trapping Yamamoto's home.

"I feel bad for Yamamoto with how easy this feels and clearly is." Hinoka joked somewhat while she goes into action, dodging a few arrows fired at her by enemy archers that were lucky enough not to be attacked by the Flying Tactician but they don't pull much of a threat and Setsuna who is riding with Subaki and the other knights with range weapons are efficient enough to deal with them and within the cage Ryoma and Rinkah make short work of the soldiers guarding the manor, none able to hold their own against them while Robin remains outside of his cage, confronting any who come in an attempt to try and go through, though he now confronts them using a single Hagakure Blade while also moving with superhuman speed and is doing fine thus far.

"Subaki, lead everyone to help Robin keep those scums away from the manor, Ryoma, Rinkah, Azura and I can handle Yamamoto." Hinoka instructed to Subaki.

"Understood, Milady!" Subaki complied.

"Try not to die." Setsuna said as the two Princesses split from the unit and they land down just as Ryoma finishes off the last guard in the front yard.

"You're a little late." Ryoma said to her.

"I can say the same for you guys taking your sweet time." Hinoka replied.

"Was that a Blackhound mercenary?" Azura asked noting how different the armor the men on the ground are from each other.

"Yeah, Yamamoto hired these goons to be a part of his private militia, turns out that while we were away they've been on and off helping the Nohrians with their attacks, only now their allegiance is officially clear." Ryoma explained.

"At least we'll get them to answer for THEIR greed." Hinoka said as she and Azura dismount from Rukia and Hinoka instructs her to stay out of trouble and remain on standby until she is needed and the four enter the manor and are immediately assaulted by a large amount of green blobs of slime that threatens to drown them in it.

"Hell no!" Rinkah shouted as she fires a mighty geyser-like attack of fire that counters the green liquid and destroys it, however, once both attacks cease, they must now move out of the way as a large man is now jumping above them, ready to attack with a large spear, of which they manage to evade in time.

"Yamamoto!" Ryoma roared recognizing the man that just attacked them to be the former noble of Hoshido. Yamamoto is one large and broad individual with a bald head, hazel eyes, bushy eyebrows, and a long black beard and is wearing a unique gray version of the Basara uniform. The top of his uniform is open enough to expose his hairy chest and his weapon of choice is a Waterwheel.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Ryoma, look at you all grown up into an actual man for a change." The former lord said mockingly. "I'm surprise it took you this long to come after me but even more so that you're still breathing. I was sure that you would not have been able to survive Princess Camilla's onslaught in Cheve."

"You'll find my comrades and I have become increasingly sturdier since last time, and you are more foolish than before." Ryoma said pointing Raijinto at him.

"Oh, I trust you'll find that I've changed myself in more ways than one." Yamamoto said smugly with a dark aura manifesting around him.

"That attack we got hit with first was the dark spell of Mire." Azura said familiar with that spell.

"If you recognize that then you must know this one." The Darkness around Yamamoto grows larger as a mass of lightning infuse with corrupt darkness is unleashed upon the four before they could do anything about it, minus for Ryoma and he quickly stops this attack with Raijinto as he absorbs the electricity from the dark spell and sends a shockwave that forces the darkness away from them, said darkness changes into a black liquid form that lands on the ground and begins to move by itself.

"A Goetia!" Hinoka shouted as they run away from the dark goo, especially once large tangible spikes start to come off it in an attempt to stab them, of which Rinkah disposes of with her intense flames.

"Since when can you use dark magic? That's not something that people learn to use out of the blue." Ryoma demanded.

"War changes people, High Prince, I was under the impression that you already knew that. Guess I'll have to teach you that myself." Yamamoto said as he rushes at the High Prince with dark energy infused into his naginata and begins clashing with Ryoma. The Prince knows better than to underestimate this foe for not only was he known for being a genius when it comes to politics but he was also credited as the strongest Basara before his imprisonment that he proved a challenge for Reina at one point so it be no surprise if he would prove a small challenge for Ryoma, still the fact that he is able to fight is strange because based on what Ryoma has heard, Yamamoto should've suffered a serious wound to his arms that should've made wielding a weapon with such proficiency highly unlikely so perhaps him suddenly being able to use dark magic, of which he has never displayed before isn't the only thing to question.

More of Yamamoto's men show up and assault the three ladies, and Rinkah responds with great ferocity, though a bit too much since her flames almost hit Azura, forcing her and Hinoka to rush back outside with multiple soldiers chasing after them as they take the fighting outside. Hinoka faces against a Blackhound Berserker who tries to overpower her with some very mighty swings from his axe that she certainly can barely take as the first two swings she managed to parry, she's not willing to test her fortune with the third swing and instead dodges the axe by backflipping, immediately following by getting on her knees before rushing from below as fast as she can and thrusts her weapon right in the Berserker's heart, killing him.

Hinoka is forced to drop her weapon and leave it in her defeated adversary's chest as she almost has her head cut off by the blade of another Blackhound that she fortunately managed to evade on time, only to again be attacked again by another foe who has a Brave Lance.

"That'll do wonderfully!" Hinoka shouted as she aims to take that lance just as she swiftly dodges a downward swing and get behind the Lancer and delivers a karate chop on the man's neck that leaves him practically out cold and his weapon for the taking as Hinoka faces the Mercenary that almost beheaded her with Azura offering assistance who faces the two with duo swordsmanship.

"Thoron!" Two mages fire thunder spells at the Flame Demigoddess that she catches with her bare hands while clad with flames, easily parrying them to the ground and counterattacks with two fireballs right at the faces of the two mages, knocking them to the ground and later confronts two Axe Fighters who manage to catch her off guard and move their large axes to cleave her left to right, thankfully, though, Rinkah is faster than she looks, especially with her pyrokinesis and she leaps upwards by igniting her feet with flames to propel herself, then gets herself upside down and with her Venge Club that she also picked up from the floor in time, succeeds in bashing both their heads fiercely before landing back on her feet.

"I almost hate how things are turning out exactly how Robin planned by just giving him a map of the city, this is just too easy." Rinkah smirked, not even breaking a sweat yet. "Maybe it's because Corrin is barely around this time."

"Shut up, Rinkah!" Hinoka shouted as she and Azura finish with seemingly the last of the Blackhounds. "Is that the last of the guards in the manor? It doesn't feel right."

"Yamamoto must've felt too safe with only his men keeping his order in the city that he didn't see the need to put so much of the security to himself." Azura surmised. "Our assault both seems and feels completely unorthodox that it doesn't seem like all of them are processing what's going on."

"Either way, we mustn't let our guard down for a second, you never know what other surprises we could be facing."

"You mean like a huge beam heading this way?" Rinkah asked as she looks to her right and notices a large red beam come firing at their comrades from outside the lightning cage coming in fast that none of them had time to counter but lucky enough to avoid, including Robin and as it hits his cage, all the lightning quickly dissipates into nothing, just narrowly missing a startled Azura.

"What in Sephiroth!" Hinoka gasped as the Hoshidans turn to see where such a powerful attack came from and several yards from them a new foe arrives and it is a monster that might be a new type of Grimm. A gargantuan pitch-black golem probably three stories high or slightly more, roughly humanoid in shape, but without a distinct head, and bulbous spiked hands resembling tree roots. Its body is comprised of a blackish fluid with some solid white metallic plating like the skeletal armor of other Grimm but somewhat different at the same time, also lacking any of the common red markings. The fluid that makes up the vast majority of its body expands and contracts into the body in a manner that seems similar to breathing. The creature's most notable feature is its glowing red core, located at the base of where its neck would be that must be its eye.

"What the Hell is that?!" Hinata cried in shock.

"I've read about this monstrosity in the ancient text, it is a Carnage, a berserk beast that thirsts for destruction and capable of creating magic attacks that can annihilate almost anything and is believed that even the Nohrian Royals have a hard time controlling this species." Subaki explained dreading this new foe and even Yuzu seems terrified by it.

"I call it an exaggeration but I rather not take any chances." Robin said prepared for the worst as the Carnage's eye begins to glow and from it fires another beam that the Tactician rushes in to block the attack through the use of Morgenstern by opening the book and sucks the beam within the pocket dimension, at least Corrin and the others assume there's a small dimension within Morgenstern, and with it Robin manages to absorb and stop the attack, however the Carnage isn't relenting just yet and pours more power into its attack before ceasing it's assault for now, though doing so created a shockwave of some kind that blew Robin away and sends him crashing near Yamamoto's manor and right beside the trio of princesses.

"Robin, are you alright?" Azura rushed to his side.

"Peachy…" Robin muttered getting back up and checks if there is any damage done to Morgenstern but the book seems to have successfully absorbed all the damage without a scratch to the pages but he does feel that whatever dark power the beam it fired is made of is not the stereotypical dark magic from Nohr, this is true destructive power. Returning his attention back to the Grimm, the Carnage raises his right arm upwards as it stretches phenomenally high up above all the buildings around it due to the liquid nature of its body and the hand morphs into a mace with many spikes and slams it down right at the Hoshidans before any of them can move out of the way, forcing Robin to get back to the action, flying towards the large mace and stops it midflight by clashing with it using his katana, struggling to push it back while buying his allies the time to escape. The Carnage doesn't stop and from the arm Robin just blocked come out three boa size cobras that move to bite at him, however the Tactician moves faster, summoning one of his Levin Swords and swiftly cuts the beasts down with lightning speed, as well as cuts off the Carnage's arm

"Robin, enemy reinforcements are rushing at us from all angles now that your cage is out!" Subaki informed Robin as Yamamoto's men close in.

"Fall back and take to the rooftops, we still have the aerial advantage and whatever you do, do not let the Grimm hit you, whatever its magic attack is made of it's not something that any of you can brush off." Robin ordered as there part of the plan is not going smoothly because of the out of place arrival of the new type of Grimm, forcing him to face it on his own.

"Still feeling like this is easy, Rinkah!" Hinoka asked as she whistles for Rukia to return for her and Azura to ride.

"I regret nothing!" Rinkah boasted as she flies herself up with flames while the rest of the company succeeds in avoiding the incoming fire from their foes. "Dang, we left Ryoma with Yamamoto."

"I be more worried about that piece of shit than my brother." Hinoka shrugged, having zero doubts that Ryoma can beat him but still feels compelled to be there just to be safe. "That Grimm raises a lot of red flags and makes you wonder where are the Nohrians if it's here."

"I only hope that it's the only one we have to deal with." Azura said, deeply wishing she had her pendant right about now, or at the very least Corrin's Dragonstone because she feels powerless without either.

---

Ryoma howls as he swings his blade at Yamamoto with swift strikes faster than when she sparred with Corrin as he aims to kill, however the enemy Basara is quite agile and swift as he manages to hold his own remarkably well, he almost surprises the High Prince and his use of the Waterwheel is quite a hassle to deal with but Ryoma maintains the advantage and channels power from his blades and fires a mighty crescent shape lightning strike at him.

"Waste!" Yamamoto roared as he releases another dark spell, one that creates a cloud of wretched darkness that intercepts the lightning strike, canceling both attacks, catching Ryoma almost off guard as another dark cloud is immediately fired after the first one vanished that he barely has time to dodge.

"Ruin!" Yamamoto cast another dark spell that fires a large purple horned skull that Ryoma again barely manages to do anything again but still prevails as all it took to stop it was impaling the forehead with Raijinto, though he could feel the intensity of the spell, if not for his high resistance that skull would've instantly killed him. This only irritates Ryoma more as he goes forward and assaults the former noble with a horizontal slash that while he is able to parry, the impact sends Yamamoto crashing through a wall and lands right into his own kitchen but before he crashed through the wall, he fired another magic attack, one of Hoshidan origin that is a Snake Spirit, coming in really fast that Ryoma has to use the lightning speed to evade this next attack and to decapitate it before rushing back towards Yamamoto but to his surprise, the Basara disappeared from where he landed.

"Where are you, you coward!" Ryoma demanded, searching around for his foe but he could not go much further as he is assaulted by five Snake Spirits who wrap themselves around his arms, legs and neck, severely restraining him and squeezing him so tight that he is losing his grip on Raijinto and is being choked as well, and just at the nick of time, Yamamoto reveals himself about to impale Ryoma from the front, however, the High Prince's hold on Raijinto is good enough as the holy sword unleashes a shockwave of lightning that vaporizes the snakes and halts Yamamoto, allowing Ryoma to take another hit at him but he hesitates due to the damage recently done to his body, coupled with being almost out of breath, falling to his knees, allowing Yamamoto the chance to slip away again, and this prompts the Prince to push himself further and chase after him again into the main hall of the manor but again loses sight of him.

"Even… even I didn't expect this of you." Ryoma muttered while catching his breath. "You've always been difficult to work with because of your high standards but there was no denying that you love your nation dearly. To think that you'd sunk so low as to abandon your own ideals and delusion of grandeur and sell your own countrymen to our worst enemies."

"I love my people, High Prince, not the nation itself." Yamamoto retorted while still out of Ryoma's sight as he keeps his guard up for another incoming attack. "I've always seemed unfair, strict and a hardass, as my oldest son Miyatsu would always say but everything I ever did, I did for the benefit of every Hoshidan. Even you commended me for my contribution."

"Which made your betrayal all the more unbearable. My father thought of you as an older brother before his first marriage, he constantly depended on your wisdom when his reign was young, you were his shield from the pressures of the crown. Mentored and molded him into the great leader we knew him as. You are my uncle as well as my godfather, I just can't fathom what you've become. I can understand the distrust for foreigners giving our history with Nohr, Mokushu and the rest of the world but my mother has earned her place as Hoshido's Queen and not just through her marriage with my father."

"YOUR MOTHER IS DEAD RYOMA!" Yamamoto roared with long suppress hatred out in the open. "Replaced by that whore, Mikoto. I gave my all to Sumeragi, from the moment I was born I was forced into servitude of the Crown by my family for being another branch of soldiers to the Dawn Faithful. Even when he got under all our skins because of his brash, impulsive, insubordinate and out of control nature I had to tolerate him and keep him in the 'right path' no matter how much I struggled and lost because of him and your family, while he got away with whatever misdeeds he made along the way. I even let him take my sister's hand in marriage. Sweet Ikona died birthing his final bastard and eight months later he announces his second marriage and tarnishes millenniums of tradition."

"Choose your next words carefully, Yamamoto!" Ryoma warned enraged.

"And do you want to know what it really was that sent me over the edge? Was that he had the nerve to blame me. ME! For Ikona's death, when I was the only one among the Council who advised him that we needed to protect Kohga from Mokushu's evil, he took his wrath on all of us. I'm still shocked that I wasn't beheaded or at least demoted that night. My only regret is that I hesitated for so long after his well-deserved death to make my move. It's not often that I let fear hold me back but I guess it took me years to stop seeing you as Ikona's son to really begin setting the people down a better path." Yamamoto said and every word that came out of him made Ryoma more on edge, trembling to struggle with his own shaken thoughts on the matter.

"I acknowledge Mikoto's efforts to help Hoshido but it doesn't change the fact her methods and leaving us in a stalemate accomplished nothing but put us in bigger turmoil and gave Nohr the time they needed to attack. Now the only option left is the logical one."

"Surrendering our lands to the enemy Is the only logical choice? In what sense?" Ryoma demanded.

"Because we can't beat them Ryoma. This is our third war against them and two out of three times we've lost and there's nothing charming about a third time. And now they have the power of their God backing them up and we have nothing and the only reason they're doing this is because they're hungry so why the resistance?"

"We give them an inch and they'll always demand a mile. Doing things their way will leave us starving and exhausted. Even we are not unlimited, Yamamoto. You of all people should know that. We can't let them have their way, no matter how regrettable it is." Ryoma argued. "We must fight, for our honor and the natural life of our people."

"HA! There you go again, jabbering the same foolish words as Sumeragi. Thinking with the sword. All you've done is delay the inevitable and sacrificed unnecessary lives just to satisfy your thirst for revenge because daddy is no longer here to see you mature into a proper Swordmaster." Yamamoto mocked. "Garon didn't kill your father, and he didn't lock your step sister in a fortress because she was his prisoner of war, and he is not completely heartless enough nor is he entirely stupid enough to consume our land dry of resources to inevitably leave us one day useless in the future. There will be peace under his dominion. Why do you think I was so insistent with the Council and your mother to allow those Nohrian deserters to live here, I was making many preparations for our inevitable defeat long before I was approached by King Garon's right-hand man and he requested my allegiance. I am thinking of the future."

"A future where our people are robbed of our livelihood and Hoshido is no more." Ryoma countered.

"Hoshido is not a place, boy, it is a people. Notre Sagesse can be Hoshido, any island can be made into Hoshido. As long as the people live on, our traditions will not die." Yamamoto replied.

"How can you be so sure that the people will accept yours and Garon's ideal so easily?" Ryoma questioned.

"I never said it would be easy. Changes may be good but nobody necessarily agrees with it. But what you really should be asking yourself is how can you be so sure that the people will oppose it so strongly as you? They're humans, Ryoma, commoners. They don't care who's in charge. To them, Kings and Queens are all just faceless beings who rule from on high. If we tried to raise taxes or something, you better believe they'd protest and bring forth as many riots as it takes to get what they want. Take Garon, the fearsome Demon King of Nohr for example. Behind all that rough and frightening exterior he's just another man. If they keep working, he, his family and the rest of the nobility can keep living the high life. So it's not like he's going to treat us truly poorly or anything. As long as we can live our lives and have a little happiness they aren't going to worry about it all too much. This is what you and your siblings always fail to understand, the people don't care about you, or that you are their crown prince and future king, they care about what you can do for them. They believe so strongly that a leader should be more a protector and provider than anything else, more than eager to criticize us of the upper echelon for the smallest offense. We humans are shameless creatures that carelessly ignore any misfortune which does not befall us directly. They can and often do turn a blind eye to all manner of wickedness so long as it does not touch them or their kin. They will bow their heads, condemning those victims for bringing calamity upon themselves, and then they will cast their eyes toward heaven in thanks while their neighbors lay dying around them. Nohr is that wickedness because they're commoners are going hungry for so long and are causing all sorts of trouble that is driving the nobility to become more and more heartless to keep them in line."

"I can't believe you feel this way." Ryoma uttered, more shaken by his words.

"And I can't believe how deplorable you are, so willing to spill so much blood just because they're your enemies and yet remain enclosed under a black & white mentality. You are more a monster than you realize, my nephew." Yamamoto laughed at the expression Ryoma now has. "So short-sighted and cursed never to rise above it. Another sin of Mikoto for letting you do as you please. If the situation were reversed and Hoshido was the one desperate for resources and Nohr teeming with perfection, you can bet that we'd be doing the invasion for them refusing to help us. It is the way of the world for the strong to crush the weak and live driven by a self-imposed entitlement to punish those who deny us of our wishes."

"Enough! I don't care about your beliefs. I'll stop you no matter what it takes, show you how wrong you are!" Ryoma declared.

"There you go with your father's bravado. It'll cost you dearly." Yamamoto smirked.

"But before we finish this, answer me this. How did you know that Corrin was kept locked in a fortress to be her prison? That information was only disclosed to my family's retainers and not even the most gullible among them would brag about it." Ryoma asked, confused.

"Oh… my spy network may have pulled a few strings in Nohr and caught a few rats worth my attention." Yamamoto said mockingly.

"How dare you! You knew where my sister was all these years and you kept that information to yourself!" Ryoma yelled, his rage growing immensely. They might've been able to get Corrin back all the sooner if they had known where she exactly was. "But wait a second, if you knew where she was then why didn't you use this information as leverage when you were put on trial, my mother would've undoubtedly struck a deal to lower your sentence to know where to find Corrin?"

"You would think that, and I did brag it to her at one point, and the look in her eye, like a petty little puppy eagerly wanting to please her master, she was willing to let me off in a shorter sentence if I told her where to find her little dragon until she wasn't." Yamamoto confessed, disappointment and frustration now felt in his voice. "She surprised me a lot when she refused my offer in a manner befitting a queen for once in her pathetic life, she outright refused to beg me for anything, not wanting to take any chance I would assault her step-children again so instead she sent me to the Shinigami Chasm and thought the terror of Muspelheim would break me and force me to tell her what she wants to know. She would pay a visit to me once every couple of months since then to see if I was willing to comply but she like everyone else overestimated the Flame Tribe's creativity. None could break me. Frustrated, she almost gave me the impression that she was going to threaten to put my family in the chasm despite the fact that they weren't involved in my previous plan. I knew she wouldn't go through with her threats of course but I wouldn't have been surprised at the same time."

"Oh, mother." Ryoma uttered left with few words upon discovering this side of Mikoto. He has noticed that ever since the incident against Yamamoto his mother would vanish on certain days with no particular pattern to go somewhere only those in the Royal Guard, Yukimura, especially her Retainers knew and wouldn't say anything about where. "That was something that we should've discussed together."

"Well, I believe we wasted enough time, and enough has been said! It's time to end this Ryoma!" Yamamoto declared as Ryoma notices another Goetia dark spell coming in fast from the front, giving Ryoma little time to parry and just block, the force was much stronger that it actually push him several feet but he could not be knocked down as he gives it his all to stop the spell, However, this is only a distraction for the real danger as Yamamoto appears behind him like a ninja, about to finish him.

"Goodbye, nephew." He said with a small hint of remorse, thrusting his blade at Ryoma's back. A blade that never reached him as out from the floor a large hand comes bursting out that grabs Yamamoto by the head, stopping him. The High Prince's savior is none other than Corrin in her dragon form as she comes out of the sewers, holding her now revealed to be step-uncle and pinning him to the ceiling hard enough to make him drop his Waterwheel.

"Corrin!" Ryoma shouted surprised just as he finishes with the Goetia.

"Enough has been said, uncle." Corrin said with rage and sadness as she then slams him to the floor so hard, leaving cracks and incapacitates him.

"Lord Ryoma!" Saizo and Kagero called out at once as they, Jakob and Kaze come out of the hole Corrin came from. "Apologies for the delay."

"What of everyone else?" He asked. In the nick of time, outside in the front yard, a massive stalagmite of ice burst out from below, no doubt created by Felicia as the rest of the company come out and catching Yamamoto's men by surprise and giving their aerial allies the chance they need to overpower them again. "Never mind."

"This battle is already won, High Prince." Kaze assured him.

"I'll believe that once Yamamoto's men submit or lie dead at our feet, my friend. Thanks for arriving at the nick of time, he was more of a challenge than I expected. I did not know he had a talent for ninjutsu." Ryoma sighed.

"Dammit." Saizo hissed in frustration about something.

"Lady Corrin, are you well?" Jakob asked as Corrin's course of action surprised him as it was all so very sudden and she gave him a previous impression that she didn't like turning into this thing. She reverts back to her human form and looks at the unconscious Yamamoto with sadness.

"Not in the slightest, Jakob. I volunteered for this assault to see and understand what would compel a Noble of Hoshido to betray such a prestigious kingdom and what I learned was more than I could chew." Corrin said as she heard the entire argument between Ryoma and Yamamoto from the sewers due to her superhuman hearing having increased to greater heights since she obtained her transformation.

"You… heard all that?" Ryoma muttered, disheartened by this news. "Forgive me, I never wanted to open your eyes to the world this way."

"Everyone is always telling me that." Corrin muttered.

Before they could have a proper heart to heart about this revelation, an energy beam is seen blasting through the manor above them, tearing through everything with east and causing the ceiling to fall on them, though they did manage to get out in time and Corrin also saves Yamamoto by dragging him along outside and they see what caused the front side of the manor to crumble apart so easily as Robin continues his fight with the Carnage Grimm as it fires his beam at him again while he's up above the sky and as the beam reaches him, he evades it and flies down in front of it as fast as he can while he channels his magic into his Hagakure blade to enhance it as he aims to cleave the beast in two but once he hits it, the Carnage's liquid body hardens significantly enough that the katana snaps upon impact, forcing Robin to get out of the way as the Carnage slams his left arm down on him, and once he evades, it morphs the right arm into a blade and extends it to reach Robin that he is forced to parry with both Levin Swords but the hit still knocks him to a wall.

"What kind of Grimm is that?" Ryoma uttered.

"A Carnage. Another top-tier Grimm that is supposedly much stronger than a Fafnir and Leviathan class." Kaze explained. "Thought they be bigger, though."

"Never mind that, what's it doing here?" Saizo demanded.

"Enough of this!" Robin shouted as his body once again surges with Ignis just as the Carnage swings its bladed arm down on him but one punch from the Tactician was all it took to not only repel but destroy the arm entirely, not that it'll do much since the thing can regenerate its limbs ridiculously fast but Robin still has dozens of cards left to play. "Time to freeze!" He shouted as he casts a powerful Fimbulvetr spell, creating a blizzard shape tornado around the Grimm in an effort to freeze it in ice, which he accomplishes very fast.

"My turn!" Rinkah shouted as she jumps from a rooftop while she ignites both her arms with huge amount of fire and rotates, creating a torrent of flames that moves in a spiraling formation, hitting the Carnage that triggers a powerful, burning explosion that destroys the new Grimm entirely that it can't regenerate. "Told ya all this was easy."

With the destruction of the Carnage, the rest of Yamamoto's forces lose morale with plenty of them already laying down their weapons in surrender but some seem more stubborn enough to want to continue.

"Now it seems like it's over." Ryoma said satisfied as he turns to the remaining enemy soldiers and speaks in a high voice full of authority and conviction. "Listen up! All of you. This battle is over and your lord lies defeated and at our mercy. All of you are guilty of the sin of betrayal while most are power-hungry fools consume by your greed and have brought terror and pain to my people. YOUR PEOPLE! However, as High Prince of Hoshido, I am still honor-bound to show you mercy and spare your lives. Lay down your weapons and cease this pointless resistance and surrender with your dignity still intact or else we'll be forced to strike you down. You're choice!"

His words do manage to reach them as the rest comply and surrender as well.

"Good." Ryoma sighed.

"You have a way with words." Corrin complimented.

"As well I should, I have a moral obligation as a Prince to always know what to say." Ryoma replied.

"It's over then. We've won?" Felicia said while breathing heavily, likely due to using her magic to make such a huge stalagmite.

"It seems that way." Corrin sighed.

"Indeed, though a very pyrrhic one at that." Corrin, Felicia and Jakob become startled by the familiar chilling voice behind them and they turn to see the new adversary, who is none other than Nohr's Top Tactician and King Garon's Top Advisor, Iago. "Quite a show this was."

"Iago." Corrin uttered.

"You scoundrel!" Jakob cursed as he hastily gets between him and Corrin, daggers line and ready with everyone else already on their guard for the worse.

"That dishonor falls solely on you, Jakob, as usual." Iago snickered before focusing his attention on Corrin. "Well, well, well, Princess Corrin, a 'pleasure' as always, even under these circumstances. My, how you've come a long way from your days in the Northern Fortress and quite the little army you've amassed as well. To think that Yamamoto and his forces could be defeated so pitifully easy. And after all the trouble I went through into busting him out and all those other criminals from the Shinigami Chasm and lending him the Shadowgift to mend his grievous wounds. What a waste of power. But at the very least they've done their part well enough."

"What are you talking about?" Corrin asked confused.

"You mean to say that you haven't figured it out then. What a pity, but it does make things a lot more satisfying." Iago said and upon those words, the entire city begins to tremble violently, causing even more of a panic than there already was to Kyoto and above them, the sky darkens, changing red and the clouds out of view from those below.

"A Magic Seal Dome." Robin gasped recognizing the dark force that is trapping them now.

"What have you done, foul sorcerer?!" Ryoma demanded.

"Think with your head and not your sword for once, High Prince, this entire incident was but a ruse, I knew you Hoshidan Royals would gladly seize any opportunity to further punish those who oppose your rule so I had this entire city set up to be your prison once you've shown up." Iago explained with a triumphant smug. "Really, the north section of Kyoto being completely unguarded should've been your first clue and the newest monster to my King's army the final red flag."

"Damn you!" Ryoma shouted as he rushes to smite the Sorcerer but the moment his Raijinto touched his pale skin, the blade and the Prince phase right through him like he was made of mist. "An Illusion?"

"Correct, you didn't think I risk locking myself up here with you Light-Dwellers, did you. Stupidity of any kind is punishable by death in Nohr. You three know this better than most, don't you?" Iago mocked all of them, especially the former Nohrians. "I can't tell you enough how tempting it is to leave you all here to die while you're all trapped with many more Carnages, however, destroying a city as valuable as Kyoto would put a dent in Nohr's new economy, plus, Yamamoto and his men have proven their loyalty, as such their home and those living here will be left off the hook for now."

"You know damn well that you can't keep us here for long, Iago. And Once we do escape, you can bet I'll be coming for you tenfold." Jakob warned him.

"Spare me your bravado, Joker. You'd want to kill me for the more trivial of reasons. Still being adamant about accusing me of the Second Lycan Attack on the fortress is exhaustingly annoying enough as it is." Iago shrugged.

"I know it was you, you spineless vermin. You've held Lady Corrin with vindictiveness for as long as I can remember when all she's done is show you more respect than any man of your stature deserves and now that we know of her origin, it's all clear now. Your obsession with destroying everything within the White Night is wildly known even amongst the commoners." Jakob shouted.

"What can I say, I'm an apex predator, and Hoshido has had it good for too long so these lands are the perfect hunting grounds." Iago chuckled.

"There's more to it than that, is there?" Corrin questioned.

"Maybe there is, or maybe I'm just a man who was naturally born pure evil. Take your pick, it matters not which, all I'm concern about is doing my job." Iago shrugged.

"Answer me this at least. Xander told me that it was you who gave the all clear to invade Hoshido. Was it because you thought your plan to assassinate my Hoshidan family was foolproof or was it because you knew that Demon was there in the Canyon and the Dragon he put on me?" Corrin asked, dreading this question for so long.

"Oh? That, I'm quite curious how you knew about the original assassination attempt me and his Majesty had planned out to kill that worthless queen finally and rid ourselves of that Barrier, not even your former siblings or the Crown Prince for that matter was made aware of the specifics, especially you. Heck, you were never even meant to leave Nohr until the war had ended. Being the new head of the border guard was the true role Queen Arete had orchestrated for you in the Twilight War. And as for your question, well… I was unsatisfied by the mercy my masters were spewing so… since you're no longer a Princess of Nohr, there's no use in hiding it. Yes, I knew Wrath was going to be in the Bottomless Canyon that day, in fact, I'm the one who asked him to be there for you to be my suicide bomber." Iago confessed. Upon said confession, Corrin instantly snaps, already forgetting that Iago is not physically here and without warning, furiously swings the Yato at him, releasing a powerful twister that completely demolishes Yamamoto's manor in a matter of seconds.

"Temper, temper, Corrin. You should know that the Seven are Omnipresent wherever people are acting under their respective vices and nowhere is this more apparent within times of War." Iago mocked.

"Why?! WHY?!" Corrin practically pulled her lungs out at Iago for his treachery.

"Why? Well, that's very simple really. You're Hoshidan. You may lack the blood but your place in this ever maddening world is as clear as the Dawn itself and I exist only to bring your extinction. But most importantly, I'm a survivor of Shion." Iago revealed before his illusion completely vanishes.

"Come back, you Devil!" Jakob demanded vengefully.

"That Nohrian Scum!" Hinoka cursed, also vengefully.

"Shion…?" Ryoma uttered troubled by this information. "It can't be."

"Corrin." Robin called out to her as he and most of the team regroup with the Princess.

"S-Sister? What's wrong?" Sakura asked worried upon seeing Corrin on her knees with a tormented look to her face.

"We're trapped, that's what's wrong." Hinoka protested looking at the sky while absolutely livid.

"We can see that and what's wrong with our magic?" Rinkah asked as she can't call out her fire magic.

"This entire Dome is a Magic Seal, rendering any magic users within it powerless." Robin explained as he tries to channel his magic but it seems that even he is powerless inside. "And I take it that the dome itself is also sturdy enough to keep our physical units inside as well."

"Gods, this entire incident was just a diversion to get our army's strongest members trapped in one place, which means that the Nohrians have found a way to breach Suzanoh's last means of defense." Kagero uttered horrified.

"That's right…" Yamamoto uttered as he regains consciousness and stares at his nephew and nieces with a smug despite his defeat. "I was merely the bait and you let your emotions get the better of you as expected, children, and now this war may end as swiftly as possible."

Enraged, Ryoma walks to him and pulls him close by his collar. "How do we get rid of that thing? Answer me, Yamamoto!"

"I'm no snitch, boy, and if the Chasm couldn't break me then you certainly can't." The Lord scoffed at Ryoma's demands.

"You better believe I can make you talk." Saizo cursed, still not satisfied with the man's current state and still harboring a deep resentment for what he had done.

"I like a crack at him too." Rinkah volunteered, cracking her knuckles.

"You might want to watch your back first!" Hana advised with desperate haste as she tackles her to the ground to save her from an incoming arrow, the morale of Yamamoto's men resurfacing and getting back in action.

"Wha-t are they d-doing?" Sakura uttered.

"No magic for us brings a delusion that they have a higher chance." Subaki said guarding her as the battle resumes yet again.

"Step away from our lord, Royal pigs!" A Samurai leading all of them demanded as they all manage to force Corrin's army to fall back and giving them a chance to rescue Yamamoto.

"I've warned you all to surrender and keep your lives. Don't make me keep my word!" Ryoma shouted with his Sacred Treasure's power still operational.

"We don't answer to any of you anymore, High Prince." The Samurai shouted defyingly.

"Yeah, our loyalty is to Lord Yamamoto only, who hasn't let us down, unlike you!" A Spear Fighter said next.

"You brought this war upon us and now it's time to pay!" Another Samurai shouted.

"You people are all crazy!" Hinoka yelled furiously.

"Lilith, is there a way to disable this Magic Seal?" Corrin asked in her fighting stance while keeping a defenseless Lilith safe from the incoming onslaught.

"I might be able to shut it down from the outside but the power of this thing is so great that neither of us can so much as transform into our dragon state." Lilith explained. "Though I'm confident that my ability to absorb Mana is still viable and with enough of it, I might be able to get a few of us out of here with my Dragonstone's energy with natural Warp Magic but there's no way I can do much more than that."

"Take as much mana from me as you need then." Robin volunteered.

"And take yourself, Corrin, Robin, Hinoka and Sakura out of here as well. Someone has to go and help secure the safety of the Capital if the Nohrian Army has found a way to breach our final defense." Ryoma instructed after cutting down an Oni Savage.

"But what about you guys?" Corrin uttered.

"We can't afford to leave Kyoto in this state and the two of you are more helpful outside than us." Ryoma countered.

"But…"

"No buts, Corrin. You must protect mother and Takumi!" Ryoma shouted.

"Time to go." Lilith said as she finished extracting enough necessary mana from Robin to get out of here.

"That was way too damn fast." Robin breathed loudly as she just sucked 10% of his magic power and because it wasn't done slowly the aftereffect is already kicking in and now feels heavily nauseating.

"Sorry, we're all under a lot of pressure." Lilith apologized. "Plus, your magic is way too irresistible."

"And now you're a vampire!"

"Jakob, Felicia, two can come too if you wish." Lilith said turning to the two.

"Why on Earth would we want to stay so far away from Milady?!" Jakob argued.

"Kaze, Azura, you two go as well." Ryoma instructed.

"Alright, please be safe, all of you." Azura replied.

"I'm more worried about you guys. We got this in the bag!" Rinkah roared, charging forward while Lilith takes the nine of them out of Kyoto and they find themselves outside of the Magic Seal Dome.

"Okay, it should only take me twenty minutes to dispel the dome." Lilith said as she began working her magic.

"Lady Corrin, you're looking rather worse than before?" Felicia asked noticing that Corrin still has her tormented look.

"Well, obviously because I'm not okay! I think I'm having another episode." Corrin snapped. "The former lord that we were sent to capture or execute is my step-uncle! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"W-Well… y-y-you see…" Sakura muttered, completely uncomfortable with this situation, and not even Hinoka and Azura can find the words to explain this recent failure.

"Robin! Kaze! You two surely know about Yamamoto's ties with the Hoshidan Royals, why didn't you say anything?" Corrin turns to her two retainers.

"We thought you already knew." The two said at once genuine with their response.

"NOOOOO!" Corrin cried loudly, indignantly and largely stressed out.

"Not to speak on behalf of your stepfamily but I can only assume that since you have no real attachment to that rat and the fact that he attempted to do harm to said family might've been enough for you not to let that detail hold you back. At least I consider that an acceptable excuse." Jakob suggested.

"Well, I'm not okay with this at all. This entire catastrophe has been nothing but histories most violent family feud and going against one family is bad enough and even with my choice to stand with Hoshido I'm still fighting Hoshido!" Corrin protested.

"Dire tidings indeed." Kaze muttered.

"And now I have to go another round of this because who better to lead one final assault on the Capital than Xander." Corrin mumbled.

"You know there's no turning back now, Corrin. We can't let Suzanoh fall." Robin said reluctantly.

"I know, I know. Just… give me a moment to breathe." Corrin begged. "I'm sure the Capital will be intact for ten more minutes; we left the Light Army Scroll with Orochi as a final safety measure should the worse occur after all."

"I bet against that." Robin sighed.

---

Mozu screams her lungs out as she lifts the biggest wagon she could find and throws straight to a Warlock and Axe Fighter, with the former to destroy it with an Elfire spell, only to be caught off guard by an incoming Pegasus Knight who decapitates him with his Naginata. Hayato and Mozu succeeded in stopping the Nohrians from casting their spell and the Capital's guard arrive in time in assisting the dozens of Nohrians that manage to sneak their way into Suzanoh, which led to a vicious but short skirmish within the Heart of Hoshido and ultimately the Nohrians were the defeated with most of them killed while the rest have been apprehended and will join the rest of their brothers and sisters in arms as more prisoners of war.

"Well, that seems to be the last of these schmucks. Well done you two, and here I thought you would do nothing but cause us trouble. Which you did but in a good way." Reina praised the two delinquents.

"What can I say, I aim high and will ultimately reach for the stars." Hayato said smugly and satisfied with their triumph.

"Wait, that's the last of them but there's so much I want to do!" Mozu argued, the adrenaline still popping in her head and her dragonic nature blooming wildly, she looks really anxious for more violence.

"Easy there, little one, your time in the spotlight is not over yet but simmer down for now." Reina chuckled with amusement, delighted in seeing this new side of Mozu.

"Yeah because this is obviously not over yet. If this many got in then there has to be more, no way they wouldn't think to cast more than one of these powerful spells with the risk of being caught." Orochi surmised, which proved to be true as it is too late now. A large pillar of red light erupts within the far south side of Suzanoh that catches the attention of everyone, signaling the worse. "Oh no…"

"It's all over now. We've won, Hoshidans!" One of the captured Knights declared as he laughs triumphantly before being silenced by Reina who jabs her spear through his mouth in irritation.

The Pillar proves to be a portal with Grimm coming out of it, first being the fliers, like Nevermores, along with another type of Grimm that resembles bats called Ravagers, having bone-like masks with red markings on them, as well as spikes protruding from their backs, and a bone-like ribcage over their pitch-black fur. Additionally, they also have large fangs that interlock over their jaws. Ravagers have red wings leathery in texture and uglier than Nevermores. Some are around the same size as bats while others are bigger, roughly dog-size.

On the ground come out the earthbound based Grimm alongside Nohrians soldiers being led by none other than Crown Prince Xander, both he and his steed wearing a different set of armor more befitting of their stature. A stern cold face with pure conviction to see this through to the end.

"Gods, the Nohrian Army is here! Run!" A townsfolk cried out in terror as the people run for their lives, especially with the four Nuckelavees that have been brought along who run rampant with their fear screams.

The Hoshidan Forces rush in to defend their Capital, two Pegasus Knights rushing in first before anyone else, aiming straight for the Crown Prince but this proves to be a foolish mistake. Without batting an eye, Xander easily strikes the two down with Siegfried, the first the one on his left and then his right, neither standing a chance.

"Hmph."

Suzanoh won't last ten minutes.

---

That's it for this one and I apologize for the wait. The fight with Yamamoto was short but I felt it already served its purpose in exposing Hoshido's imperfection a bit. If you think there's more I can do, I liked to hear your opinions on the matter. Iago's darker nature has been revealed and so has the conflict between the Nobility. I got the idea of Yamamoto from Hinoka and Saizo's support since an actual member of the War Council did attempt to overthrow the Royal Family by using Saizo, and Hinoka responded that "He should be in a cold, dark place by now." which sheds some light on what goes from under the peaceful lives of the citizens, and I get the feeling that this isn't the first time Ryoma and his family had to deal with corrupt nobles so I took it and spiced things up a notch. Plus, Azura's support with Subaki reveals that the Royals have distant relatives who detest our beloved Songstress and used Nohr's invasion as an excuse to get rid of her despite the royal family's claims that she's one of them so not even Corrin's lighter family is without their many faults, something that Azura has been aware of for some time, which really sheds some light on how she would want to return to Nohr despite how upset Ryoma, Hinoka and Sakura became in Conquest. Bear in mind that I still intend for Hoshido to be the lesser of two evils in this story with Nohr being as bad as they were in the game but more sympathetic and restraint. Mostly, as you'll see in my next chapter.

Round two with Xander and he'll be wearing the armor of the Crown Prince class from Warriors, bear that in mind from now on, same with Leo as the Dark Crusader, Camilla as the Malig Master and Elise dressing for the part of a Strategist/Rod Knight when they show up again.

About the whole sewer thing, I want to point out that I know very little about the culture and structure on how cities were built of the era Hoshido is based on since I didn't bother to learn such things when I started this story so I apologize if I made any massive inconsistencies and lack of understanding and ask that you role with this one.

Also, I would like to give my thanks to scottusa1 for giving me the most reviews. Sure yours are short with few words but every little counts, I'm glad I've kept your interest this long. The same goes for Akasha Bloodriver, I enjoyed our previous chats. Then there's also KeeltheSwift (Really hope I pronounced these names correctly), I appreciate any criticisms that might help me improve my writing since these fanfic serve a purpose other than my amusement. Finally, to the guest named Gray, I hope the changes I made are to your liking, I pretty much did it as soon as I saw your review, never was one for first impressions. Till next time and Happy Halloween.