Enbarr was caught in the middle of a conflict. On one side, Duke Gerth was desperately attempting to fend off a Demonic Beast, protecting a lost Hero's Relic with his life. The ruffians that were attacking him were turning into those creatures one by one. At this rate, he knew he wouldn't make it out alive. This assault was led by Myson, whose goal was to obtain that Hero's Relic. On the other hand, Baron Ochs obtained the Vajira Mutushi from the Black Market, the very Relic that Balthus was looking for.

"This sure turned into a mess..." Luke groaned at the situation at hand. First trip to Enbarr and this is what he had to deal with?

"Myson's mine!" Shez was already running ahead. She had a score to settle with the mage and she wasn't going let it go so easily.

"Don't go charging in so recklessly!" Luke exclaimed. "Last time you did that, you got a sword in your back!"

Shez immediately skidded to a halt. She hated that Luke was right, but the scars on her body told the story of what almost happened. The gash on her arm, the wound on her back...that was the day she almost died for certain. She thought she had gotten over it, but when she looked at Myson and thought about the way he continued to target her. "...I just want answers." That's what it boiled down to. She wanted to know why.

"We'll find out together." Luke said with a slight smile. "I've got your back, at least!"

"I'll watch out for you, for a price." Anna winked.

"And I'll make sure nobody gets hurt on my watch." Mercedes had her usual sweet smile.

"Yeah, that's all well and good, but we kinda gotta hurry before things get outta hand." The moment was sweet, sure. But Balthus was in a hurry and didn't want to be slowed down by this stuff.

"You're the one who dragged everyone here." Hapi shook her head. A normal person would've sighed right here, but she couldn't afford to do that. Her expression said it all. "So you have to take some responsibility for what happens."

"Yeah, yeah..." Balthus scratched the back of his neck. "We need a plan! I gotta get those gauntlets back from that noble ASAP! It'll be bad if he uses them."

"Bad...?" Monica tilted her head. "I have to save my father before something bad happens to him! Perhaps I can get close and talk some sense into him. But if he sees me, I'm not sure if he'll lash out or not in his state..."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to knock some sense into him first!" Balthus nodded.

"Thanks, moron." Monica thought to herself. "While you do that, I'll make sure Myson doesn't escape!"

"I can draw Myson's attention." Shez said with a firm nod. "He hasn't noticed me yet...and I know he's going to focus all his attention the moment he does. We can use that."

"Is this just an excuse to rush in?" Hapi questioned.

"No, I've actually thought things through this time!" Shez shook her head, sweating a bit. It did track for them to assume that. "If you guys back me up, we can surprise him and maybe even capture him for questioning!"

"Well, I'll be. Looks like you do have some good ideas after all." Luke said with a teasing grin.

"Just follow my lead!" Shez said with both of her blades drawn. This time, she'd be the one to catch Myson by surprise!

.

.

"Ugh...make it stop!" One of the thieves assaulting Duke Gerth was crying out in agony. He was about to transform into a Demonic Beast, but before he could, Byleth moved in with the Sword of the Creator, cutting them down. By killing them, she completely stopped the transformation. "That worked..."

"Thank goodness!" Hilda said while wiping the sweat from her brow. This was way more work than she ever signed up for! It was a stressful race against time; slicing down thieves before they could transform and overwhelm the city. There was also the fact there were still a few Demonic Beasts attacking Duke Gerth as well. "This is too much work!"

"Complaining about it won't make it go any faster!" Yuri spoke up. He was too focused on speeding ahead, leaving the fighting to the others. The safety of Duke Gerth came before anything else. It helped a great deal that the thieves were too busy agonizing over their pain to properly fight back, so he was able to sip by them and slice them down with his sword. That didn't stop a Demonic Beast from turning its attention to him, however. "Oh, I know I'm the prettiest one here, but you've got to be kidding me..."

Claude then fired a wind infused arrow from his bow at the face of the Demonic Beast. It was a direct hit, which made the creature stagger slightly. Before it had a chance to properly recover, Edelgard's axe ignited in flames and she swung upwards with a high leap, landing a fierce blow on its body. The Demonic Beast howled pain, but it wasn't dead. It just snarled in response. "This one is much stronger than the one at Zanado..." And she did not like that one bit.

"Looks like we'll need a bit more force to take this one down..." Claude said, and as he did, the Demonic Beast began to inhale. "It's about to attack!" The Demonic Beast fired a large stone from its mouth at Edelgard, Claude, and Yuri, but it was intercepted by a fireball. There was an explosion of smoke from the collision and all three glanced back to see who protected them. It was, of course, Constance.

"Thank you for the assistance, Constance." Edelgard said.

"You do not need to thank me...I'm sure someone else would've done it much better and faster than I..." Constance said with a heavy sigh. "I was just the only one who happened to be around..."

"Just take the compliment and move on." Yuri said. The Demonic Beast was still a problem...

"Haaaaah!" Hilda dropped in from above, her axe exploding with lightning as she slammed it onto the skull of the Demonic Beast. This direct hit caused the beast to recoil, but as it lashed out, it flung Hilda into the ground. Hilda grunted as she rolled along the stone street, cuts and bruises appearing along her fair skin. She just looked annoyed now, despite being hurt. "Ugh...! Stupid monster!"

"I was about to ask if she was alright, but that appears to answer my question..." Edelgard spoke.

Constance brought her hands together, lightning proceeding to crackle between them. She then swung both hands down, causing a gigantic bolt of lightning to drop down from the sky and smite the Demonic Beast. The beast howled before it collapse to the ground, dead. It reverted back to the human that it once was. "It seems my meager power was just barely enough to finish the wounded beast off..."

"It took all that effort just to take one down." Claude said with a sweat drop. These monsters were no joke. At least the streets were already cleared, but that did very little considering their situation. There was no easy scheme around this situation...

"If we have to keep brute forcing our way through these things, we'll never make it to the Duke in time." Yuri said with an aggravated sigh. They were were fast, but speed wasn't going to help them in this situation...

And right after Yuri said that, another Demonic Beast decided to turn their attention towards them. But then, Byleth immediately moved in with the Sword of the Creator, the chain-whip blade slicing through the Beast with ease. "Haaaah!" She slashed the Demonic Beast, landing in front of everyone else with a serious expression.

"Whoa, you go Professor!" Hilda said with a grin.

"Follow me." Byleth said while looking over her shoulder. "I'll cut them down as quickly as I can. The rest of you can rescue the Duke."

"Professor Byleth...you are going to draw the attention of all those Demonic Beasts...?" Constance asked with a low, worried tone. Even with the power of the Sword of the Creator, she was concerned about the danger Byleth was throwing herself into.

"I can do this, trust me." Byleth said with a firm nod. She displayed her power with the Sword of the Creator before. She was getting used to the blade and Sothis' power. Nothing would go wrong as far as she was concerned.

"Very well, my teacher." Edelgard would respond to Byleth's conviction with her own. "We shall follow you. Do not be concerned about us. Continuing pushing forward and do not look back."

"You heard the lady." Claude nodded. "Right behind ya, Teach."

"Right. Let's go." Byleth said. The Sword of the Creator shone brightly as Byleth charged ahead. The others followed, making a beeline to Duke Gerth while she used her strength to cut down the Demonic Beasts.

.

.

On the western side of the city, Myson could see that his Demonic Beasts were slowly dropping in numbers. "This cannot be! This power...the Fell Star must be here." How irritating! What were the chances the one person that could throw a wrench into his plan would show up? "No matter. I suppose I have no choice but to be more hands on with this approach." It was a good thing he brought forces of his own to corner Duke Gerth, just in case. But he was finding even those forces to be dwindling in numbers. "What now!?"

Shez teleported in front of Myson with a grin. "Hey, remember me?"

"You!" Myson snarled at Shez. "You're here as well?"

"That's right! And I have some questions for you that you're going to answer!" Shez swung her special blade at Myson, but he crafted a magical barrier to block the hit. The two clashed, neither side intending on giving up. Eventually the stalemate ended by Shez leaping backwards and pointing her sword forward. "The way to a girl's heart is not by sword, by the way."

"So you saw me and decided to rush in on your own? You are a painfully predictable beast." Myson shook his head. Shez was handing herself on a silver platter for him! As inconvenient as this may be, he was noticing the opportunity presented to him. "This time, you will not be getting away."

"Funny." Shez said while holding both swords by her side. She crouched down and sprinted forward, making a straight line for Myson. "You took the words right out of my mouth!" She slashed at him several times, but the dark wizard was able to counter with short ranged spheres of magic. Shez was unable to land a hit, but Myson wasn't able to either. Shez then flipped over Myson, acting as if she was going to slash at him in the process.

"I am aware of that trick!" Myson said while shifting his body to the side, easily evading Shez's attack.

"But do you know this one!?"

"What?!" The unfamiliar voice caused Myson to turn. Shez was merely a distraction, because Luke and Anna were already in front of him, their swords moving to slash him. Myson brought his hands up and crafted a barrier in front of him. This barely withstood Luke and Anna's assault, and in the end the barrier shattered and he was thrown back, tumbling across the ground with a grunt. "Ngh!"

"Oh, but wait!" Anna giggled while pointing into the sky. "There's more!"

Myson tilted his head up, only to see Monica and Hapi firing a combination of wind and darkness magic at him. "You...?!" He vaguely recognized Hapi as an experiment from one of his own. But it was Monica attacking him that had him annoyed. Myson took the full brunt of the magical attacks, sliding across the ground angrily.

"Don't relax yet! YOU'RE MINE!" Shez instantly appeared behind Myson, thrusting one of her swords towards his back. She was aiming for the finishing blow, but it wasn't going to be that easy. Myson twisted his body, Shez's blade stabbing into his shoulder instead. It was a direct hit, but not the one she was hoping for. "Tch, you're slippery...! But you're not getting away this time."

"You're going to pay for what you did to me!" Monica exclaimed. "Ugh, I had to learn wind magic so I would fight as Monica if need be, but I much prefer my knife. Besides, I can't stick and play fight with Myson for long..."

"What do you think you're doing!?" Myson snarled at Monica, keeping Shez at bay while he was surrounded by the others.

"Trying to capture you." Hapi said.

"I know you know my father is here, and I'm not going to let you bring any harm to him!" Monica exclaimed.

Oh. So that was it. A snag in the operation. Myson understood. "Tch...did you really think you had me cornered?" Myson said as multiple Argathans suddenly teleported in around those who assaulted him. "You arrogant beasts. You need to learn your place!"

"Where did they come from...?!" Mercedes gasped. She was on standby in case anyone needed healing, and that looked like it would be more and more likely now.

Myson quickly slammed Shez's stomach with an orb of dark magic that exploded and sent her skidding back. There was blood drawn from his shoulder wound, but he could deal with it. "I will not be leaving this city empty handed." While everyone was distracted with the reinforcements, Monica used this chance to slip away.

Shez shook off the impact and glanced around. The situation was manageable. "You're not leaving this city at all."

.

.

As for Balthus, he was making a beeline straight to Baron Ochs. The Heroes Relic that man possessed was a danger that could not be left unchecked, and it was his responsibility to deal with it. Balthus was sprinting towards Baron Ochs and his attendants, who were all trying to flee the city as quickly as they could. "Hey, sorry! But I can't let you leave with those!"

Hearing the voice call out to him, Baron Ochs spun around with wide eyes. "Huh!?"

"Oh dear, it looks like one of those thieves is trying to come directly for you!" One of the attendants said.

"What should we do?" The other one asked.

"I...I can take care of him! I won't let him stop me!" Baron Ochs said while preparing the Vajra Mutushi. They were on his hands and the moment he even thought about using them, he felt a strange sensation of uncontrollable pain welling up within his body. "Gaaaah!"

"Damn..." Balthus knew this was going to happen. He was just going to have to stop it before it got worse. With his own gauntlets ready, he took a swing at the incoming Baron Ochs, landing a strong hook on the noble's cheek that sent him skidding back. "First off, those don't belong to you! Second, you know you can't use them, so why are you!?"

Baron Ochs shook off the impact and attacked Balthus with a flurry of punches. Balthus was the King of Grappling, so he knew his way around a fight. Baron Ochs did not know how to fight like this, so he was just swinging wildly. This meant Balthus could avoid his strikes with ease. But that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. Balthus had to block a hit, but the power of the Heroes Relic was still strong. So he was nearly sent flying back from a blow that nearly punched through his defenses. "This...isn't for me, but I still need them!" Baron Ochs howled as that pain returned. "I need them so I can save my daughter!"

Balthus felt damage even though he blocked that one hit. It was going to be bad if this fight lasted long. He needed to end it quickly. "Listen to me, man! Your daughter was found safe and sound! She's even here, in this city!"

"What...?" Baron Ochs dropped his guard. "No, that...that can't be right. If I knew about that, I would've heard about it sooner!"

"That's right." One of the attendants said, snickering into her hand. "He's lying to you. Monica would've contacted you herself if she was free."

"He's just trying to get you to lower your guard." The other one said.

"What the hell?" Balthus shook his head. "I'm not lying about it! But clearly she was right to be a little worried about you, you aren't in your right mind right now." And he didn't like how those attendants were goading him on. If Monica even was here, right now, he figured she wouldn't be able to convince Baron Ochs until he couldn't move. So Balthus readied up and charged at Baron Ochs once again, throwing a flurry of skillful punches at the noble. Baron Ochs was on the defensive. Even with the power in his hands, he didn't know how to use it. He was just a desperate father and that fueled all of his actions.

"I have to save Monica! I won't be stopped!" Yet, as he roared out his defiance, he was just continuously smacked by Balthus again and again, each punch wearing him down. Balthus was very clearly wearing him down and fast. Baron Ochs coughed up blood from each hit. He was bruised and battered, feeling even more of his strength leave him with each passing second. "I...I have to..."

"Just give it up. Who are you trying to save like that?" Balthus shook his head while standing over Baron Ochs. "I'll be taking thos..." Before Balthus could finish, the two attendants fired on him with magic. Somehow, he wasn't expecting them to intervene. So he was caught off guard and thrown into the side of a building. "GAH!"

"We won't let him take those from you." One attendant spoke.

"T-Thank you..." Baron Ochs shakily got to his feet. He then turned around and hobbled off as Balthus was stuck dealing with his attendants. He didn't get far, because Monica was standing in front of him, a few feet away. "M...Monica...?! He could hardly believe his eyes. But his vision was also a bit blurry from how hard Balthus was beating into him.

"Father..." Monica flashed a sweet smile, slowly stepping closer. "I'm so sorry...I didn't tell you in time and you did something so reckless for me..."

'Monica..." Baron Ochs smiled briefly for a moment. It looked like his daughter and sounded just like her in this trying time of his. "I missed so...so...so much...I was so worried..." He hobbled over to Monica and his vision started to focus a bit more. Wait...something...something wasn't right.

Monica stepped closer, quickly, her arms wrapping around Baron Ochs for an embrace. "Things got a little out of hand. But I'm so happy to have found you here, Father."

Baron Ochs wanted to return the hug, but something was wrong. He looked at Monica and studied her face. It looked fine, but...the way she held him. It wasn't a warm embrace of his daughter. It was a cold, constricting grip that he could barely fight in his condition. "Wait...you...you're not Monica...!"

Monica giggled darkly in response to Baron Ochs growing panic. "That's right. But you believed it just long enough so I could get close. Your real daughter? Dead. Thrown off a mountainside."

"W-What...?" Baron Ochs felt all of the energy leave his body at those words. If it weren't for the fact he was being held, he would've collapsed on the spot. "B-But...you...you said...!"

"I know what I said." Monica squeezed Baron Ochs tighter. "But oh, what a shame. It looks like you were a little too late. By a few months." Monica teased. "Don't worry, though! You worms can enjoy each other's company in the afterlife!" She pulled out a knife and stabbed Baron Ochs right in the back with it. "You were a nuisance to my plan. So this worked out for me. I got to enjoy your last moments...and you got to despair with the knowledge your daughter is dead. And that all of your actions to save her were in vain."

Baron Ochs sputtered some blood with a weak, violent cough. "Mo...nica..." And as the life left his body, Monica let go of him. But...

"AAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

"Huh?!" Monica took a step back, but it was too late. Due to wearing a Heroes Relic without having a Crest, Baron Ochs' body transformed into a winged Demonic Beast. Monica wasn't able to get far as the Demonic Beast formerly known as Baron Ochs grabbed her with one of its talons, hovering over the city in view of everyone. "Let me go you damn worm!" Monica could curse since nobody could hear her. But that did not help the severity of her situation one bit...

The fighting mostly came to a halt when this new Demonic Beast emerged. Balthus looked into the sky with a grim expression. This was the one thing he was worried about happening... "...Oh man..."