The Fatebreakers and Mythos Hearts members present continued up the mountain to the hot springs source.
"So with Azza'zel dead, that only leaves one Stat Master remaining." Yuri said.
"Yeah. And I have a hunch they're the one behind this pollution of the…" Theo said before they stopped at the sources to see the two figures, one of them holding his hand within the source, the water around it turning purple and bubbling..
"I remember those two. They were from the mixed bath." Kazuma said.
The rest of the group finally managed to get a good look at the other figure, an odd looking figure with the head of a rabbit, his body hidden within black wizard robes.
"We must hurry. Azza'Zel likely won't be able to hold them for long." the rabbit-headed figure said.
"I'm going as fast as I can. This kind of thing takes time, and-" the man said.
"What? Hans, is that you?" Wiz asked upon seeing him as he froze.
"Uh…I think you have me confused for someone else." the man said quickly.
"Come on. We both used to be in the Devil King's army together. You were very nice for a deadly poison slime." Wiz said.
"Uh…" the man named Hans stuttered, breaking out into a cold sweat. "(Paia'Mon, could use some help here!)"
"(The coffin isn't here yet. Just stall.)" the rabbit-headed demon whispered back.
"Uh…alright, it is me!" Hans aquised. "What the heck are you doing here, Wiz? I thought you opened a shop somewhere."
"I did… but I ended up joining these adventurers here on their trip. I help them out from time to time…" Wiz said.
"Bad news for you, pal! She's a good guy now!"
"Good guy?" Hans said. "Wait, Wiz. Wasn't the deal between you and the Devil King along the lines of you maintain his barrier and don't interfere with any actions from the other generals? What happened to that, huh?"
"I-I was just saying hi because I haven't seen you for so long!" Wiz promised.
"Yeah, and now they know what I am, thanks to you!" Hans shot back.
"You're the one who's been polluting the city's hot springs." Dimitri said.
"Who's your friend? As if we didn't know." Nemo said.
"Then I'll make my introduction short. I am Paia'Mon, Stat Master of Magic, Lord Zenos's lead magician." the rabbit-demon bowed. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance…however short it might be."
"You don't seem concerned your fellow Stat Masters are dead, as if you have something planned to stop us." Yuri said.
"That…hasn't quite arrived yet." Paia'Mon admitted. "For the moment, you seem to have me dead to rights."
"Correction, we have both of you dead to rights." Ultra said.
"We're not gonna let you poison Alancretia's Hot Springs and kill all its citizens!" Edelgard said.
"Why not? You've seen what those maniacs are like! They have no respect for anyone outside of their cult, they all but force people to join…those people are pure scum! Even worse!" Hans yelled. "Trust me, I know scum, and those people take the cake! Frankly, I'm doing the world a favor here!"
"They may not be the nicest people…but they're still Aqua's followers!" Ethox declared, summoning Way to the East. "You'll have to go through us if you wanna hurt them!"
"And good luck with that, buddy." DJ said. "Don't know how tough slimes in this world are, but I'm willing to bet that you ain't no Rimuru Tempest, Hans."
"You're talking big…to a general of the Devil King's army." Hans said.
"So were Verdia and Vanir." Seiya pointed out.
"Well, they didn't have the highest bounties on their heads!" Hans countered.
"Wait, this guy's got the highest bounty?" Nemo asked Wiz. "I mean, I know not all slimes are pushovers, but…how bad is this guy?"
"You don't know? Poison Slimes are some of the most dangerous monsters in Belzerg." Wiz said.
"Nu I chto! We take him, here and now!" Molotok declared, hefting his war hammer and the group prepared to fight.
That is, until Paia'Mon looked up into the sky and smiled. "Ah, it seems my secret weapon has arrived."
The group looked up as well, seeing two gargoyles carrying a large, stone coffin wrapped in chains.
"A coffin? Heh, nice of you to bring along something we can put you in!" Kazuma said.
"Oh, I'm afraid it's already occupied…for now." Paia'Mon smirked. "Those from Fodlan…perhaps you noticed that Those Who Slither in the Dark haven't had any activity since Onigashima?"
"We had thought their losses were too great, so they had retreated back to Fodlan and remained in hiding with the war over and peace restored. Are you saying that information was a lie?" Edlegard asked.
"There was no one left to hide!" Paia'Mon declared. "During the war, we Stat Masters were sent to your world…and completely wiped out their little cult, to the last man. Those Who Slither in the Dark…are no more!"
"Wait, you wiped them out? But why?" Rista asked in confusion.
"To obtain this!" Paia'Mon answered, as the gargoyles let go of the coffin, sending it crashing straight up to the ground, not suffering a single crack. "Within this coffin…is someone I think you all know quite well. Some by reputation, and for others…all too personally."
"You mean…the King of Liberation? Nemesis?" Claude said.
"Indeed. The man who killed the god Sothis, and waged war against her children, who led the Agarthans into becoming the devils of Fodlan…lies within this very coffin."
"Okay…so what? He's dead, right? And Evie's not here, so you can't mutate him." Grantz pointed out.
"There's more than one way to bring someone back. Even now, as we speak, my Demonic Transformation Skill, Corruption Call, is bringing him back to life as a demon. Twice as powerful as he was before!" Paia-Mon said.
"In other words, we have to kill you before Nemesis is fully revived. Am I inferring that correctly?" Yuri asked.
"...Human, I'm not some cliche villain. Do you really think I would tell you my whole plan if I left a way to prevent it?" Paia'Mon asked. "I cast the spell on his corpse yesterday."
Just then, the coffin began to shake, the chains snapping one by one as a demonic aura overtook the stone.
"And now, it is complete!" Paia-Mon declared, standing in front of the coffin. "Quake in terror, adventurers, as you witness the new power of the reborn Nemesis! The newest subordinate of Zenos Road! Arise, King of Liberation, and-!"
An arm burst out of the coffin, grabbing Paia-Mon by the neck, choking him for a moment before it snapped his neck.
"Too. Much. Noise. From one so weak." a voice said, before the coffin burst open, a large man surrounded by a black, demonic aura stepped out, holding his Dark Creator sword. "Hmm…this is not Fodlan. But…" he said, looking straight at the residents of his world. "Sothis…you've come to this place to die…"
"Uh…I'm just gonna keep poisoning that hot spring. If that's okay with you…" Hans said softly, before slowly backing away.
"Nemesis. He's as intimidating as he was described in history." Yuri said.
"Yeah. I kinda figured with all we learned about him, he'd be impossible for even demons to control." Claude said.
"This world…will know death…" the figure said before looking at Paia-Mon's corpse. "Hmm…that annoying creature…it made me stronger. Yes…I can…" he trailed off before his aura exploded outwards, causing the group to shield their eyes.
(Cue- God Shattering Star- FE Three Houses)
When they were able to open them again, they found themselves surrounded by an army of soldiers, all looking undead.
"Argarthan soldiers!" Shez realized.
"...I'm suddenly feeling a lot less confident about our chances." DJ stated.
"Not just them though. Look." Yuri said, referring to ten different figures by Nemesis.
"Are these…incarnations of the heroes who followed him?" Dimitri said.
"The Ten Elites. Two of them who you and Claude inherited your crests from." Yuri said.
"And they'll be in the ground again." Claude said, drawing his bow. "We've grown past that history." he said, firing an arrow as it pierced one of the incarnations' heads.
"I think that's something we can both agree on." Yuri said as he slipped on the Fetters of Dromi before signaling Aubin close to him as they initiated Burst for the second time. They then flew through the air at lighting fast speed, cutting down the remaining nine. "Seems my burst is without rival." he said as he was in jet black clothing with his eyes the same sclera and color as Aubin's and his cloak briefly taking the form of wings.
"We will handle taking down Nemesis…the slime is all yours." Byleth said.
"Thanks, guys. Holler if you need help!" Ethox said as the Mythos Hearts and Fatebreakers made a clear path towards Hans.
"You are all pathetic weaklings! You lack the courage to challenge me in lone combat." Nemesis said.
"I don't think you have any room to talk since you've sicced an army of undead soldiers on us." Yuri said.
"So…let's put you back into the ground." Shez said.
"This power I sense from you…Epimenides?" Nemesis asked.
"Sorry…but it's Shez and Shez alone. Epimenides…is long dead." Shez said as he drew both his swords.
"Then you are no one of importance to me." Nemesis said as they clashed swords.
"Oh I think you'll remember me…as the guy who kicked your ass!" Shez said, pushing the man back as Byleth joined in as did Yuri.
"I'll try not to make this too painless." Yuri said as he slashed from every direction as Nemesis gained lots of slash marks.
Byleth then jumped in as she slashed at Nemesis with her silver sword, pushing Nemesis off Shez and opening him up to attack.
"Here it comes…!" Shez declared before rapidly slashing at Nemesis from every considerable angle in a wide area, cutting him all over before he lept into the air. "You're done!" he declared, finishing with a big X-Slash that cut into Nemesis and the ground itself with massive purple energy, and the King of Liberation felt it all in spades.
"Urgh…!" Nemesis yelled in immense pain, actually being struck a lethal blow.
"Had enough, old man?" Shez asked.
"We need to end this now." Byleth said.
"Agreed." Yuri said.
Nemesis staggered, struggling to keep on his feet. "You are all pathetic weaklings. You lack the courage to face me without your swarm…"
"You're wrong about that." Shez said. "Being together with others who fight by our side? That gives us courage."
"But you…you cast aside those feelings when you cut down those innocence. So…" Byleth said as she swung her sword and beheaded the man. "Go back to rotting away like the corpse you are."
(end Song)
"And that's the end of that." Claude said.
"Now it is all up to the others to defeat Hans and save this town from being poisoned to death." Dimitri added.
"I think they can handle it just fine." Yuri said.