"Forward! Do not falter! This is the day we change the course of this stalemate! We will claim this Bridge in the name of the Empire!" Edelgard's voice echoed the battlefield as her knights charged into combat against the forces of the Alliance. Hubert kept his battalion close by her to her right while Bernadetta and her battalion were stationed to her left. She had sent forth her vanguard across the bridge to combat the bulk of the forces while sending Ferdinand and Linhardt across to the small island to cut around and attack from behind. She had to admit that the work they did on Myrddin was outstanding. What was once a huge stone bridge with a great view had become an intimidating fortress. Her siege equipment was able to break through the stone wall and gates to get access to the bridge itself. Now they had to fight their way across. They had to cut down the soldiers of the Alliance to reach the Hero of Daphnel Judith.
And some familiar faces along the way. Edelgard's scouts had reported that Lorenz, Ignatz and Raphael were stationed here.
She suddenly remembered a time when she was in the library of Garreg Mach, five years ago. She was looking for a book on the history of the Alliance's noble houses when she found Ignatz reading through it. He kindly offered it to her when he noticed what book he was looking for. The smile on his face as he adjusted his glasses lingered in her mind. He was a smart young man. And now here she was with her soldiers ready to kill him to achieve her dreams.
"The ends never justify the means Edelgard."
Edelgard clutched her free hand to her chest as she grimaced in pain over the memory of Byleth. He would not approve of this, she knew that. But what choice did she have? Five years of bloodshed during this war against the Church and she could not reach them through the Kingdom. She had to take the Alliance territory so that she could have multiple entries of invasion on the Kingdom. She needed the Alliance's land to grow bigger than the Kingdom so that she could finally break the stalemate. The Archbishop would not accept anything other than her death and she had no plans to give her life away to them. No. She had to stick to her guns. She had to remember the better world she would make after this was over. This was the time when things would go her way.
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"Woah, it looks like a cluster fuck over there," Balthus quipped as he peered through the tree line at the destroyed gatehouse and wall of the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Empire soldiers stood ready facing toward the inner fortress ready to charge in if reinforcements were called.
"There's no way we're going to get past them without being seen. It'll be suicide," Hapi commented as she peered underneath Balthus's arm at the scene before her.
"Such overwhelming odds against us... we would surely suffer an embarrassing defeat this grim day... such is my life," Constance drawled out with her gaze down.
"We'll have to wait until the battle is over, then maybe have a chance to sneak by with fewer Empire or Alliance soldiers standing guard as they clear the dead out," Yuri pondered. "But even then it'll be difficult. There's no way we could row a boat across at this stage too."
"I say we sneak through now."
All the Ashen Wolves looked to Byleth as if he grew a second head. "...You what?"
"There's only five of us. If we split up and make our own way across we could use the chaos of the battle to sneak through it all unseen," Byleth suggested.
"Are you insane chatterbox? There's no way we're getting through that mess unseen!" Hapi exclaimed as she waved her arms towards the ongoing siege.
"If we keep to the shadows, narrow pathways and alleyways we may have a chance. The Empire and Alliance would be too focused on each other than what we're doing. We just have to be more careful when passing battalions not in combat," Byleth further explained with his arms crossed. "The only other way of getting into the Alliance territory is through the Kingdom and I'm not entering the Church's territory again."
"It's suicide dude. There ain't no way we'll make it," Balthus uttered in disbelief with a shake of his head.
"I'm sorry Byleth. But we aren't in a hurry to rush to our deaths, not even for you," Yuri apologised as he crossed his arms. The Ashen Wolves were now all that he had left and he wasn't going to lose them. Byleth frown deepened ready to argue back until a gentle hand held his own. He turned his gaze to the downcast Constance.
"If this is not too forward of me. I plead to you to not go into the lion's den. The thought of losing you is too much to bare..." She spoke quietly, forcing a gentle squeeze on his hand. Byleth almost let the intrusive thoughts of his time at the academy flood his memories once again. The companionship he felt when he was with his Black Eagles, even to those not in his class. He almost remembered a time when they relied on and cared for him. But that was before the war. Years of fighting a war alone brought up the walls he held over his heart for most of his life. How his life returned to simplicity. To complete the mission before him, no matter how impossible it seemed. He had achieved the impossible many times before and he can do it again. If the mission was to seek safety in the Alliance, then neither the Empire nor Alliance's force combined would stop him. Especially if they did not know he was there.
Byleth pulled his hand free from Constance and pulled up a black face mask from his neck, covering his mouth and nose. "Then this is where we part ways. Thank you for your companionship. But I'm going into the Alliance's territory now."
And with that, Byleth took off sprinting through the bushes before Yuri and Balthus could get the chance to grab him. "Wait! Byleth! Damn it!"
"Byleth no!"
"Chatterbox!"
Byleth did not turn back. He continued on through the bushes, flanking around his sight of the bridge and the soldiers stationed around. There had to be a spot somewhere that he could slip past. He peered his eyes across the camp searching for that perfect spot.
"There..." Byleth whispered to himself. There was a dip in the land where only three soldiers stood guard just below where the Bridge where the stone hand crumbled slightly, allowing for someone to climb up into and avoid the main soldier camp on the main road. He stopped behind a tree and reached for the wrappings of the blade on his back. But after a moment he decided against using that blade and reached for his hip instead, which held a Silver sword. He drew it quickly and sprinted out of the tree line for the soldiers.
"Nosferatu," Byleth reached out his free hand and with a bright glow in his hand, he unleashed his divine might onto one of the soldiers who fell instantly to its power. This alerted the two remaining soldiers which quickly spun around to face the oncoming Byleth. He wasted no time in charging with his blade pointed forward and as soon as he was upon one of them, thrust the blade for him. The soldier to his credit was able to parry the blade away in time. So with Byleth's momentum, he passed the soldier and redirected his blade to swing behind up and slashed up the Adrestian's back. The soldier staggered forward with a cry of pain as the other standing soldier slashed her own blade downward for Byleth's shoulder. Byleth parried and riposte with a vertical slash for her throat. The soldier backed away with her hand to her throat, trying and failing to stop the blood pour down her breastplate and Empire surcoat. Knowing that she was seconds from death he turned his attention back to the last soldier who unleashed a flurry of slashes towards him which he was able to parry and avoid without issue. He then took advantage of the soldier's misplaced balance in his downward slash to quickly step on his blade to pull it from the soldier's hands. Before the soldier could react Byleth drove his blade upward and pierced through the unfortunate soul's chin and straight through the skull. The helmet the soldier wore propped up from his head as Byleth's sword pushed upward, balancing on the tip of the blade. With all three neutralised, he pulled his sword out of the soldier and quickly ran and climbed up onto the bridge.
Crates and carts were pushed to the sides of the long walkway across the bridge, and groups of soldiers were stationed along the middle waiting for the orders to move up. The sound of battle cries and magical explosions could be heard further down the bridge. Luckily for Byleth the crates and carts provided decent cover for him to move up the bridge undiscovered. There was the odd moment he had to knock something over to cause a distraction to soldiers stationed too close to pass undetected. But eventually, he succeeded in moving along unnoticed so far. At one point a horn was blown in the distance which caused the soldiers close to him to jump up.
"This is it! For the Emperor! For Adrestia!" With an uproarious cry of patriotism, they charged down the bridge. With their attention up ahead it made it easy for Byleth to run alongside them with the carts and crates as cover without stopping. He could see one of the islands to the left of the bridge with buildings standing tall, despite the wear and tear of warfare along them. However, he was now running out of carts and crates for cover. He knelt down low behind the last crate and surveyed his surroundings. He had finally reached the front lines.
Empire soldiers and Alliance guards clashed blades and spears against each other. Arrows flew across the battlefield alongside arcane elements of fire, ice and even miasma. Bodies littered the stonework to the point some soldiers would stand on their fallen allies for height advantage against the other. Byleth fought in battles before, but never on the scale of this. War truly was hell and he was thankful he had not in the five years participated in it. Suddenly he heard a woman's cry not far from him. He peaked around to see a familiar face. Looking more mature than the last time he saw her but still wearing the warlock robes from last time. There was Dorothea, knocked onto the ground before a large knight with a shield to match his size. He rose his axe high ready to be brought down upon the young caster. Despite himself, Byleth reached his hand out to cast faith magic to save her.
However, he had no need as a javelin pierced the knight in the back, which was then followed by another familiar sight. A paladin wielding a silver spear rode by and cut the knight down. His long ginger locks blew in the wind like a prince from a fairy tale. Ferdinand von Aegir held onto his reins as he leant down sidewards on his horse offering a hand out to Dorothea.
"Are you hurt?" He asked with worry in his eye. Dorothea looked up at him with the sun perfectly shining just behind him. Making him look all the more princely that she couldn't help the smile grow on her lips. She took his hand and he pulled her up to her feet.
"I'm fine. Thank you Ferdie," Dorothea gave a curtsy. Ferdinand grew a smile and have a nod to Dorothea, happy she was being nice to him and giving a smile.
"You are welcome. What noble would I be if I didn't lend you a hand?" He asked with a light blush on his cheeks.
"Don't ruin it now Bee," Dorothea shook her head then slapped the backside of his horse. With a yelp, Ferdinand was sent riding into battle. Byleth watched the exchange with relief that the two looked okay. The way they spoke to one another told him that they had not changed drastically due to the war and took comfort in that. Though he wished they weren't part of the war he was happy they were still alive. Byleth looked around again to find an opening. He saw a wooden bridge a short distance away from where he was but saw no path to it that did not lead through the ever-raging battle on the bridge. Byleth sighed for a moment before looking behind him to the stone wall separating him from falling into the wide river below. Deciding on it Byleth sheathed his sword and quickly vaulted over the ledge, holding onto the wall on the other side. He began to shuffle along the wall slowly to reach the wooden bridge, holding on to the ledge tightly with his feet pressed against the stone wall. Small pebbles of stone broke from the stonewall under his feet and dropped down to the river below with small splashes. Byleth controlled his breathing and took his time shuffling along. He suddenly stopped when he saw a body of a soldier pushed over the wall. They screamed as they fell with a loud splash into the river, a red cloud of mist within the waters forming where they land. Byleth took a moment of pause before continuing to shuffle along. After a while, he was close enough to the wooden bridge to peak over the wall. There were no soldiers close to him that weren't locked in battle so he pulled himself up and over. Byleth knew the safest bet was to continue on through this island to cut passed the front lines of the main bridge. So he went to cross the wooden bridge.
"Push forward! Show them the strength of the Adrestian Empire!"
That one voice froze Byleth in place. His eyes grew wide as his heart skipped a beat. A swirl of emotions churned in his mind, heart and stomach. He slowly turned around to where the voice called out. There she was...
"...Edelgard..." Byleth watched her swing an axe and cut down an Alliance spearman. The axe was large and shared the same aesthetic as the other Heroes Relics he had seen. Instead of her class uniform or knight armour, she wore a blood-red dress that despite growing out wide from her waist, also seemed to be made of plate. Her hair was pulled into two buns on each side of her head with a golden crown upon her head. She looked fierce. She looked imposing. And despite the blood splatter across her face. Byleth thought she looked beautiful. Flashes of memories penetrated his mind in mismatched order and conflicting emotions.
"My Teacher, you have returned."
"I feel like I have plenty to learn from you."
"Stupid, pointless dreams that I cannot control."
"The future of the Empire... of everything... depends on me."
"Can I have this dance, my teacher?"
"I, too, will be the sort of ruler willing to risk my citizens' lives in service of a higher cause."
"You have given us plenty of reasons to care about you."
"I'm so sorry Professor..."
"Now here I stand, the fruit of that endeavour: Edelgard von Hresvelg!"
"Stay with me, Professor! Don't leave us!... Don't leave me!"
"You can't save me, Professor..."
"Professor... Byleth... I..."
"I am the Flame Emperor... It is I who will reforge the world."
"I only wish... we could have walked this path together..."
Byleth remained frozen as he watched Edelgard give out orders to her battalions and cut down all Alliance forces that approached her. He wanted to call her. He wanted to run up to her and hug her. He wanted to cut her down in bloody vengeance. He could do it too. They didn't know he was here. All he had to do was reach for his other sword and he could get her from a distance. The thought of killing her here and now left him feeling like he wanted to be sick with how his heart and stomach churned. He stumbled slightly and grabbed the wooden railing of the bridge to steady himself. Suddenly someone from the Alliance went to sneak up behind her with their sword raised. The jolt of fear that ran through his body caused him to draw his silver sword. But the would-be attacker fell quickly in black flames from the familiar sinister aide to the Emperor.
Thus Byleth's emotions twisted from fear of Edelgard's safety to anger toward the Marquise of House Vestra. The assassins sent after him were from Hubert. The constant hindrance and reminder that he was just as much an enemy to the Empire as he was to the Church. Why was he frozen on the spot? Why was he worried for anyone in the Empire? Why was his past holding him back?
Suddenly he was pulled backwards by two arms wrapping around his waist and bringing him down to the ground.
THUNK!
Byleth shook from his emotional stupor and saw an arrow embedded into the ground, one that would have hit him had he remained standing. He saw standing not far from Edelgard another familiar face. Her purple hair wasn't as messy as he remembered but despite almost being killed by the girl he couldn't help but feel proud for a moment that Bernadetta wasn't running and hiding, but instead facing the adversaries before her.
"Get up you crazy idiot and run!" Whoever pulled him away in time was now pulling Byleth to his feet and dragging him across the bridge. As Byleth turned to run he saw who helped him.
"Yuri? What are you-"
"We're all in this mess because you decided to go in alone. If the rest knew you were such an imbecile standing waiting to be shot they'd kick your ass! Shut up and keep moving!" he called over his shoulder. As he did Yuri could see that they were being pursued by Bernadetta and a group of archers. "Damn it now we're being tailed!"
"We split then. Try to lose them and make our own path again. If you make it through don't wait for me," Byleth said as the two crossed the bridge.
"Likewise!" Yuri once crossing the bridge went straight ahead toward the buildings whereas Byleth turned right down the pathway. Once Bernadetta crossed the bridge she paused to look in both the directions Byleth and Yuri went.
"T-those assassins were going to kill Edelgard... You three come with me after this one, the rest chase the other! S-so... Orders given!" Bernadetta nodded and made her way towards the building where Yuri ran into. The rest went down the path to pursue Byleth. Bernadetta opened the door and quickly drew her bowstring as the four others followed her inside and did the same. They quickly split up and started searching all the rooms. From the look of it, this building was used for storage. Each room had crates of supplies for the Alliance.
"AAAHHH!" A soldier screamed out in the building.
"WAAAH! W-Where was that?!" Bernadetta screamed as she heard her two other archers' footsteps run across the floorboards.
"URK!" Bernadetta ran out of the room she was in and stood in the corridor. Her arrow knocked and was ready to fire upon the foul assassin trying to kill Emperor Edelgard. Her hands were shaking as she held her bow with each step she took down the hallway. She approached an open doorway and quickly spun around to scan inside. Empty. She moved further down the corridor, wondering why it was suddenly so quiet. She spun in front of another open doorway and found out why. All three of her archers were dead in the room. Her heart was racing at the sight. She wanted nothing more than to run away and hide. Why was she here? Why did she have to fight in Edelgard's war? She wasn't supposed to be here! She never wanted this! Why couldn't her old Professor come and tell her it was time to go back home to Garreg Mach? Back when it felt like home. Now she was going to die here to an assassin. This was going to be just like that time she went hunting for a rabbit and it somehow ended up hunting her! She was going to die! She was going to die! She was going to-
She heard a floorboard creak in the hallway behind her and she spun around and fired the arrow.
"GAH!" Yuri cried out as the arrow pierced through his left hand that was going to grab her shoulder. He staggered back as Bernadetta drew another arrow. "Wait for a second!"
"Y-Yuri? W-what are you doing here?" Bernadetta was shocked to see her oldest friend in front of her.
"Just passing through. Didn't expect to see you this good with a bow. Or bravely walking into a building that housed an assassin. It's nice to see how you've grown now," Yuri smiled as he snapped the wooden shaft of the arrow.
"B-but the assassin was going to kill Edelgard and- wait... y-you're with the assassin?" Bernadetta almost shrieked.
"No no you've got it all wrong," Yuri pulled the arrow out of his hand and tossed it aside.
"That means you are going to kill me too! Like my archers!" Bernadetta continued to ramble.
"Look let's just calm down for a moment and talk this out. Put the bow down Bernadetta," Yuri raised his hands in surrender with a smile on his face, taking a step toward her.
"No! I'm not falling for your tricks! You're going to try and kill me to escape. If you're the enemy, then I... I have to kill you!" Bernadetta with a pained look in her eyes as she pulled back the bowstring. Yuri seeing no alternative, would have to kill his old friend. He charged forward pulling a dagger from behind his back under his cloak. He ducked down under her bow's aim and slashed upward, cutting through the bowstring.
"I'm sorry Bernadetta," Yuri apologised as he brought his dagger back around in his slashes momentum and went to plunge the blade into his chest. However, what he did not expect were the training lessons Bernadetta had with Felix and Byleth to kick in. Despite the fear and panic on her face she grabbed his arm and using his momentum against him, twisted around, pulled his arm down over her shoulder and bent forward herself. Yuri found himself being flung over her shoulder and landing hard on his back. He grunted in pain and looked up to see Bernadetta making a run for it. Yuri knew things would only get worse for him if she called for help, so he quickly got to his feet and ran after her. He flipped the dagger in his hand and caught it by the blade. He lined up the shot for the back of the fleeing girl. He could kill her now and be done with it. But he couldn't do it.
"Damnit!" Before Bernadetta could reach the door to her freedom from the building of death, Yuri sheathed his dagger and dived forward, tackling her to the ground.
"NO! GET OFF ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Bernadetta screamed as she rolled to her back and started flailing her arms at Yuri.
"Stop fighting! You are making this far more difficult than it needs to be!" Yuri wrestled against her fighting arms and managed to grab her wrists in each hand and pin them to the ground above her head while straddling her. However, Yuri felt his stomach drop when he heard a battalion of guards outside the door about to pass by.
"Where did Countess Varley go?" the two could hear from the other side. The two looked at one another, knowing what Bernadetta was about to do. Yuri cursed himself mentally. Why couldn't he just kill her like he was supposed to when they were kids? Why couldn't he kill her now? Who was he kidding? He knew the reason why. He knew since their time spent at Garreg Mach before the war. It was this reason that somehow made Yuri act on instinct to stop the girl underneath him. Bernadetta took a deep breath and was about to scream for help.
But she was silenced. Her eyes went wide and her whole body went ridged. The world may as well have frozen for the Varley girl cause nothing else mattered at the moment. The only thing she was focused on was something that she thought would never ever happen in her life.
A boy... was kissing her. Not just any boy. Yuri, her oldest friend, someone who seconds ago she was about to kill. Someone who was about to kill her. Yuri... was kissing her.
After that thought, she stopped thinking.
Yuri kept the kiss going until he was sure the guards outside the building had moved on. He pulled away from her lips with a sigh.
"Well... that wasn't how I thought this was going to go. But at least you've calmed down enough to stop attacking me," Yuri looked down at the red-faced girl with a smile.
"..."
"I'm not going to kill you Bernadetta. We're friends after all and I look out for my friends. But I do need to continue on through Myrddin," Yuri continued to explain.
"..."
"Sorry I broke your bow, and killed your archers but it was completely in self-defense. I hope you understand and that there are no hard feelings," Yuri concluded.
"..."
"...Bernadetta?"
"..."
"...Hello?... Bernadetta?"
"..."
"...Oh dear I've broken her," Yuri sighed as he let go of her wrists and got to her feet. The girl had not moved an inch since being freed by Yuri. He even had to take a moment to check to make sure she was in fact still breathing.
"Well I hope someone finds you. You wouldn't want to be found here by the opposite side after all. Take care of yourself Bernadetta," Yuri gave a little salute and a grin before making his exit from the building. Bernadetta remained laid out on the floor, not thinking.
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Byleth continued running from the battalion of archers in pursuit of him. While weaving side to side to avoid the odd arrow that came hurtling toward him he looked around for a way to get off of the island. However, he came skidding to a halt as just before him there was an Alliance unit stationed in front of him manning a ballista, with a path to the right leading to a wooden bridge that lead off the island. The Alliance forces drew their bows and aimed at Byleth. Stepping forward as their leader was none other than Ignatz.
"Stop right there!" He drew his bow and aimed at Byleth. The former professor gritted his teeth and slowly raised his hands. If he didn't hesitate when he saw Edelgard he wouldn't be in this amount of trouble.
"As you are on your own, we will give you this one chance to surrender to the Alliance. Or we will be forced to shoot you down," Ignatz gave the ultimatum to Byleth.
"I'm being pursued by the Empire!" Byleth said as the mentioned soldiers managed to catch up.
"Empire! Open fire! For the Alliance!" Ignatz called out as Byleth quickly dropped down and rolled to the side to avoid the incoming arrows. However, something else happened instead that shocked him. From the walls that surrounded the island above, barrels fell and shattered before them all, releasing a purple gas into the air. Byleth pressed the mask against him and held his breath, using the thick smoke as a screen to get past both forces and headed towards the wooden bridge.
"W-What is this... this...rr...rrraah...RRAAAAAHHH!" Hearing Ignatz roar like that brought Byleth to a halt and he spun around to see a horror he hoped he would not see again. Both Empire and Alliance were beating each other with their weapons like feral mongrels. Foam leaked from their mouths as their rage took over completely. It was just like Remire village five years ago. But back then it had taken weeks for this curse to take full effect on them. Byleth looked up above the purple smoke to see the familiar dressed cultists of those that lurk in the shadows standing atop the walls. Did they manage to weaponise Solon's research in the five years to make the change instantaneous? Byleth's blood began to boil at the sight of them. So they were here fighting alongside Edelgard here as well? Those monsters had no place among the living! Byleth went to reach for his other sword until he saw familiar blonde hair with blue highlights. Constance stood beside them with her arms bound behind her, her ankles tied and gagged. Then before Byleth could do anything, they pushed her off the wall. She landed with a sickening thud as her shoulder, arm and no doubt many ribs broke upon impact.
"NO!" Byleth watched as the feral soldiers turned and dived on Constance, hacking their weapons into her like wild animals. He watched her twitch and writhe at the blows until the blood puddle reached out beyond her attackers. Soon enough she went still.
Then the world shattered as Byleth activated his divine pulse. He rewound the world back before he arrived at Ignatz and the others. All the while letting the rage and hatred he felt toward the monsters that moments ago killed Constance, who killed his father, who spread chaos and misery in the world. He let the hatred flow through him as he got into position. He will stop them, he will kill them all! The glass shards repaired themselves and time resumed.
Byleth pushed himself to sprint faster to get to Ignatz's unit quicker. The moment he was able to see them he started shouting. "AMBUSH! EMPIRE ON THE WALLS!"
This alerted Ignatz to look up above to see the cultists above, they hadn't gotten in position yet, nor had the barrels rolled to the ledges yet. "Take them out! Open fire!"
The arrows began to fire upon them, and many not prepared were shot down by Ignatz and his forces. Byleth looked to the wall to see Constance standing, tied up and gagged like before.
"Constance! Jump!" Byleth called out. She quickly looked down to see Byleth and hopped towards the ledge and jumped, placing her trust in Byleth. It was rewarded as he was there to catch her in his arms. He placed her down and cut her legs free with his sword then moved to cut free her arms. As soon as her arms and legs were free she stepped forward and with her arms extended, conjured a large fireball in her hands and fired it at the Empire's archers that had just arrived. The fireball exploded and managed to engulf the entire group. Soon the Alliance archers fired arrows to kill the burning foes out of mercy.
"Impressive Constance," Byleth commented. She turned to him and grinned.
"A little something I had been working on for a while before we met you again. Soon the whole world will respect the power of House Nuvelle! Hohohoho!" she laughed almost manically. It wasn't until Byleth realised that they were standing in the shade of the wall.
"Thank you for your warning," Ignatz called to them with a wave and smile. "You even took out the Empire forces approaching as well."
"For Arundel!" a voice called out from above. One cultist with a few arrows in his body held a barrel in his arms. Before anyone could react he jumped off the wall and crashed into the stone pavement next to Ignatz's battalion, shattering the barrel and releasing the gas. Byleth pulled Constance away from the spreading gas. Luckily with only one barrel, it did not spread as far as the many barrels before did. But it was enough to engulf the whole of the archers, including Ignatz.
"No... NO!" Byleth cried out as he watched the Alliance forces choke on the gas, the coughing morphing into rabid growls as the curse took effect. The world shattered around Byleth once more as he reversed time again to the conclusion of the battle.
"A little something I had been working on for a-" Constance began but Byleth didn't waste time. He drew his dagger and ran away from the wall until he saw the last survivor of the cultists rise from the ground with the barrel. He flipped the dagger around to hold it by the blade and threw it at the cultist. The dagger sunk into the head of the cultist and he dropped the barrel. He sighed in relief.
"Thank you for your warning," Ignatz called out to him with a smile and wave. But Byleth's heart dropped when he saw the barrel upon being dropped had begun rolling towards the ledge.
"GET YOUR MEN AWAY FROM THE WALLS!" Byleth cried out in desperation but it was too late. The barrel fell from the wall and shattered, releasing the gas and cursing the Alliance archers once again. Byleth and Constance backed away from the gas as the Alliance forces turned feral.
"What vile horrors have we bared witness to...?" Constance asked once again in the sunlight.
"I couldn't stop this... I can't stop this... I can't save them..." Byleth spoke aloud as the Alliance force turned their attention to the two survivors. Constance looked to Byleth with a grim expression as he slowly drew his sword. "We've no choice... we must kill them all."
Byleth shut his eyes and suddenly, all his rage, anguish, hatred, and emotions switched off. He felt nothing. He was once more, the Ashen Demon.
And a demon he was, Constance thought as she fired her spells upon the maddened soldiers. Byleth was able to keep all the attention on him as they charged the man and all were torn to shreds. The Ashen Demon provided death most unclean. He swung and ripped open stomachs, letting their organs pour onto the battlefield. He took off heads and cut off limbs. Despite the unpredictability of the cursed soldiers not one was able to get one hit on him. Those that were put down in a merciful way were by the hands of Constance. Who shot out ice shards that pierced the chests of those that tried to flank Byleth. She pulled the stone from the walls to create boulders that she fired upon the maddened. Eventually, Byleth stood coated in the blood of the Alliance. No guilt or sorrow was felt for the many bodies that littered around him. He looked up to see the ballista had also been destroyed in the battle with one of Constance's boulders.
"Urgh!... Raaaah!... I'll kill you!" Ignatz's voice called out. Byleth turned around to another nearby boulder to see the former student of Garreg Mach pinned underneath it from the waist down. He clawed out desperately toward Byleth with bloodlust in his eyes.
"Constance... go ahead and make it to the other side," Byleth ordered.
"I know my presence must be repulsive to you... But you must forgive me as I ask, what would you do?" Constance bowed her head submissively to the Ashen Demon.
"I'll finish up here and then make my own way across the bridge. Stick to the plan," Byleth slowly approached Ignatz.
"As you wish my lord..." Constance bowed submissively again and took off running toward the wooden bridge nearby. Byleth stood before Ignatz who growled at him. Byleth felt nothing as he looked down at him. He gripped his silver sword with both hands, the blade pointed down toward the archer. He rose his sword and gaze up and-
Sothis stood in front of him, muted in silence but obviously screaming at him to stop.
Byleth staggered back in surprise and with a blink of an eye, she was gone.
"S-Sothis! Where are you? SOTHIS!" Byleth called out, spinning around on the spot looking for her. But she was nowhere to be seen. His emotions switched back on upon the sight of his old friend. Upon looking around all the dead around him, quickly began to envelop him. The guilt of being unable to save the soldiers from the cultist's evil. How no matter how much he tried to stop them they still won. He looked back to Ignatz. He was living proof of that. Their dark magic had infected him into being a mindless rage-filled puppet. So why would Sothis stop him from putting him out of his misery?
But then Byleth began to remember. The last time she appeared was when she guided him into healing Alois and curing him of the dark magic that kept his wounds open.
"Can I help him? Is that what you are telling me Sothis?" Byleth asked aloud. He got no response back, though he didn't expect to get one. He wondered what this meant though. Why was Sothis now showing herself to him again? What could this all mean? It was something he would have to ponder on another time, when he wasn't in the middle of a battlefield. Wasting no more time he leant down and placed his hands on each side of Ignatz's head. Ignatz grabbed onto his harms and tried to claw through his armour. Byleth ignored his attempts and closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his Faith magic once more. He focused on removing the black magic that was infecting Ignatz's mind. To remove the rage that urged him on. He kept his eyes shut as he continued to concentrate. His palms felt warm, telling him he was doing something. He then felt two small hands press against his hands, which made them feel even warmer. He felt a strain in his mind which caused him to wince but he pressed on. The small hands removed themselves from his own and he could feel his faith magic die down.
He opened his eyes to see Ignatz sleeping. He looked peaceful, with a hint of a smile on his face. Byleth... did it. He believed he did it. He felt a huge relief on his shoulders. He had the power to fight back against Those who Lurk in the Shadows and their dark magic. He pushed himself to his feet but then felt the world spin. He staggered back for a moment before falling to the ground, losing consciousness before he even hit the ground.
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Moments earlier Edelgard fought alongside Ladislava against Lorenz and his cavalry. The two together were able to outmatch Lorenz's battalion and he ordered his forces to pull back before things got too dicey for him.
"If we keep pushing them your majesty we'll be face to face with Judith soon enough," Ladislava commented.
"There's still no word on Acheron yet so the reinforcements have yet to arrive. Nor have I received word on my Uncle's forces either," Edelgard spoke with a hint of concern. While they were getting closer to Judith, she knew her forces would have weakened enough for Judith's forces to rally the Alliance into an all-out attack. Acheron's betrayal and her Uncle's forces were the battle's turning point. He hoped to hear from them soon.
Suddenly both girls' attention was drawn to the green beacon of light coming from the island adjacent to the Bridge. It shone brightly over the walls of the island and looked like magic associated with the Church of Seiros. This only made Edelgard grow more concerned.
"Did they get reinforcements from the Church?" She turned to Ladislava with a frown.
"They couldn't have. The Alliance stayed out of the war to proclaim their neutrality. They wouldn't have agents of the Church among them," Ladislava disagreed with a shake of the head.
"Send someone over there to find out what's going on! I want to know what that was," Edelgard ordered with a swing of her arm. Ladislava bowed and quickly left to gather some forces. Hubert suddenly appeared right beside Edelgard.
"I don't like this, your majesty," Hubert frowned with his arms crossed.
"Nor I Hubert... nor I."
A/N: This took longer than I thought it would. For some strange reason, my memory of this fight had a forest in it. It wasn't until I started writing and looking up picks of the battlefield that I was proven wrong. But this is Part 1 of the Great Bridge of Myrddin battle. After this, things will heavily start to diverge from the game's canon storyline. As I said, this won't be Crimson Flower.
To address the reviews that wonder how the hell Edelgard and Byleth will get together in the story with their current situation. I can tell you it isn't happening any time soon at least. This is gonna be a long story after all with twists and turns.
I've also not played Three Hopes yet so no Shez in the story at least. But will turn to that for character descriptions of people that aren't shown in Three Houses. On that note, I've also not played any other Fire Emblem game. Three Houses is my first. So I've no knowledge of prior games and characters aside from, "Hey, Marth, Roy, Robin, Corrin, Ike, Chrom and Lucina are in Smash Bros".
So, what's going to happen in Part 2 of The Great Bridge of Myrddin Siege? Hope you continue reading to find out!