Now to conclude the second battle for the monastery.

Chapter 15 – Second Battle of Garreg Mach, Part 3 (Guardian Moon)

Randolph nursed his wounded side as he took stock of the situation. The fire attack had already crippled his force, but after the monastery defenders had capitalized on the situation, his remaining troops had been devastated. Within a span of minutes, he had lost nearly his entire army, with only around 150 soldiers left against around 400 defenders who could still fight. His airborne units had been annihilated, shot down by the Church's archers or defeated by their fliers, despite that he had heavily outnumbered them earlier. Worst of all, their only escape route had now been cut off by the Church's cavalry or was otherwise a sea of flames.

The battle was a total loss. But he couldn't simply surrender. He had already failed the emperor before. She and Lord Vestra would never forgive it a second time.

For his own sake, for his men who still lived, and for the sake of his family, he had to keep fighting.

"General, what are your orders?" shouted one of the surviving Imperials.

After a moment of contemplation, Randolph shouted, "Stand your ground! If we are to die this day, we'll die fighting a battle worthy of legend!"

This did not have the effect Randolph had hoped for. His soldiers knew they were doomed, and hearing their leader planned to go down fighting wasn't helping things.

"That's enough, Uncle Randolph," said a familiar voice, prompting the general to turn.

Randolph snarled as he saw Caspar. The blue-haired warrior was accompanied by Seteth, Catherine, Shamir, Leonie, Lysithea, Felix and Ferdinand, as well as what remained of the monastery's defenders. The Imperials were now surrounded with their backs to the fire.

"Caspar…" Randolph hissed. "I'm not surprised to see you're with this rabble. And you as well, Ferdinand von Aegir. I thought Ladislava already took care of you."

"General Randolph von Bergliez," said Ferdinand. "You and your men will lower your weapons immediately and surrender. Do so and your lives will be spared."

Though some of Randolph's men were about to drop their weapons, the general shouted, "Don't listen to these traitors, men! The Church won't show any mercy to us!"

"You cannot hope to prevail against such odds, General Randolph," said Seteth. "Do not throw your life and the lives of your men away by fighting a hopeless battle. Surrender now and you will be allowed to return to your homes when the war has ended."

"Lies! The moment we drop our guard, you'll have us all butchered like cattle! I won't disgrace the Empire or my family by surrendering to the likes of you!"

"Are you listening to yourself?" said Leonie. "Who here was planning to slaughter a bunch of civilians?!"

Catherine then said, "You don't stand a chance. Give up. Now."

Randolph was about to spit out another refusal when Caspar said, "Don't bother, guys. Randolph's as stubborn as they come. There's only one way this is gonna end."

Caspar strode forward and readied his axe, prompting Randolph to do the same.

"Your father would be ashamed of you, Caspar," said Randolph. "To see you turn your blade against the Empire that raised you."

"Ashamed? You must not know my father that well. He'd be proud of me for standing up for what I believe in!"

"And you believe in fighting for the tyranny of the Church?!"

"This isn't about the Church! This is about fighting for my friends! This is about stopping Edelgard! She plunged Fódlan into war, and I don't care if she had a good reason for it! She's gotta be stopped!"

"I've heard enough of this… We might be from the same house, but I won't hesitate to strike you down, Caspar!"

Gripping his axe tightly, Caspar said, "You took the words right outta my mouth!"

Caspar then roared as he rushed at Randolph. Randolph met his charge, with both warriors slamming the blades of their axes against one another. Both were equally matched in strength, with each shoving as hard as they could to try and overpower the other.

As this exchange occurred, the Imperials roared as they charged toward the monastery's defenders, who met their attack with a hail of arrows, spells, and crossbow bolts. Twenty of the remaining Imperials were struck down immediately, leaving the rest to fight the defenders up close.

Catherine slashed through an Imperial soldier's right arm, severing it before slashing through the man's waist. Shamir drove her karambit into another soldier's throat, ripping it open before she dodged back, dodging a sword swing and giving Leonie a chance to impale her attacker on a lance. Felix cut down two more Imperials who tried to attack Lysithea, giving the mage the chance to unleash a Swarm Z spell into a group of five, sending them to the ground in agony. Seteth and Hyperion swooped down and killed three more Imperials with lance and talon.

All the while, Caspar continued his clash with Randolph, the general snarling loudly as he tried his hardest to kill his nephew-in-law. Randolph broke the clash with Caspar and made another hard swing at him, prompting Caspar to dodge and then backhand Randolph in the head. Randolph stumbled back, but quickly resumed his attack, swinging desperately at Caspar as he either blocked or dodged. The two exchanged blows for a full minute as the battle around them raged.

"Stay still, you coward!" Randolph shouted. "I will not fail Her Majesty!"

Randolph then roared as he leapt up, swinging his axe with all his might at Caspar's head. Caspar dodged back, narrowly avoiding the strike, and then slammed his shoulder into Randolph before he could recover. Randolph lost his grip on his axe, which remained buried in the ground.

After stumbling back again, Randolph turned just in time to see Caspar swing his axe at him, and Randolph cried out as he was slashed from his shoulder to his hip, the axe cleaving through his armor with ease and creating a bloody gash across his chest.

"N-No…" Randolph wheezed as he fell to his knees.

As he did, Caspar released his axe and caught Randolph in his arms. The battle around them stopped as the remaining Imperials saw their general fall, and with him their courage. Weapons began to clatter to the ground as the few remaining Imperial soldiers surrendered.

"I… I've failed… Her Majesty…" Randolph gasped as blood filled his mouth.

"It's over, Uncle Randolph," Caspar said sympathetically as he laid Randolph on his back.

"A-Are y-you… proud of yourself, Caspar? Proud of your… victory… today?"

"This isn't about pride, Randolph! I told you before, I was fighting for my friends! Friends and innocent people you were trying to kill! I wish it didn't have to come to this…"

"I… I see…"

As Randolph gasped for breath, with one of his lungs split open, Byleth and Dorothea walked onto the scene, watching as Caspar knelt over his dying uncle. Remorse filled them both as they realized what Caspar had done.

"L-Listen, Caspar…" Randolph wheezed. "I… I know I don't deserve to… to ask anything of you, but… Please… If you see my sister… Tell… Fleche… I…"

Randolph von Bergliez's final words died in his throat as his head slumped to the side, and his body went still.

Caspar was silent for a moment, and then he said, "It's a promise, Uncle Randolph."

The warrior then moved his hand to Randolph's eyes and shut them for his deceased relative.

Everyone around him watched in silence as the second battle for Garreg Mach finally came to an end.

…

Dorothea still had a hard time believing it. They had won. They had faced an army more than three times their size and they had won.

The people of Garreg Mach Monastery were safe… for now.

But looking around at the carnage, she could not help but shed a tear at how much their victory had cost. Besides just how many people they'd been forced to kill to survive, of the 700 defenders of the monastery, about 120 were dead, with another 300 wounded. About 80 of the wounded would never fight again, and some weren't expected to last the night. At least 40 of the casualties had been volunteers.

In all honesty, Dorothea had expected far worse. She had expected them to lose the battle. To lose everything. But it had been a testament to Byleth's ability to command and to Anna's plan that they had gotten through as well as they did. The Imperial army had been almost completely obliterated, with less than forty of them escaping and twenty-eight taken prisoner.

Walking through the carnage, Dorothea saw Byleth speaking with Seteth.

"We faced a powerful enemy today, but Garreg Mach remains secure, for now," said Seteth.

"They'll be back," said Byleth.

"Indeed. Some of the enemy managed to escape the flames, though not nearly enough that they could threaten us. Are you certain you do not wish to order a pursuit?"

"I am. We must tend to our wounded. Besides, I think everyone's had enough death for one day."

"Very well. But those that have escaped will surely report back to the Empire. No doubt they will send a much larger force next time."

"We can worry about that later, Seteth. Please, just help with the wounded right now, alright?"

"As you wish. I am not versed in the healing arts, but I will do what I can to assist. No doubt Flayn could do with some more bandages."

As Seteth turned and left, Dorothea walked up to Byleth and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'll live. Thank you for asking, Dorothea."

Dorothea gave her a warm smile and then said, "I should be thanking you, Byleth."

"Huh? Why?"

"For keeping us safe. I thought for sure that the Empire was going to slaughter everyone here at the monastery, so I didn't want to fight them, but you… thanks to you, we get to live another day."

Byleth was silent for a moment, and then said, "I… don't deserve all the credit, Dorothea. We survived because we all did our part. Including you."

"But I… I barely did anything. And you got hurt protecting me. Again…"

Byleth paused for a moment, and then said, "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Dorothea was caught off guard by this and couldn't help but blush at Byleth's words.

But before Dorothea could find something to say, Brigitte's boisterous voice shouted, "Hahaha, told you we'd make it, Dorothea! Those Imps never knew what hit them!"

Byleth and Dorothea turned as Brigitte, Ferdinand, Petra, Constance, Bernadetta, Annette, Felix, Leonie, Lysithea, Lana, and Cia all came up to them.

"I would not embellish our triumph this day, Miss Stark," said Ferdinand. "We were lucky to have won the battle."

"Luck nothing, Ferdinand," said Leonie. "It was thanks to Byleth and Anna. If it weren't for them, we'd never have beaten the Empire."

"I'm with Ferdinand, that was too close," said Bernadetta.

Being out in the sun, Constance said, "Against all odds, and against certain doom, I never would have expected us to survive such a trial. No doubt I only made things far more difficult than they needed to be."

"Oh, cut that out, Constance," said Leonie. "You did good, you hear me?"

"Well, as long as we're all still together, everything will be alright, right?" said Lana, prompting Cia to sigh at her sister's naïveté.

"Hey, where are Caspar and Linhardt?" asked Annette.

"They are burying Caspar's uncle," said Petra.

"Should we go see him?" asked Dorothea.

Pondering it for a second, Byleth said, "No. I think Caspar needs some time alone right now. But we should still be there when he needs us."

"Hold on, where's Alicia?" asked Lana.

"She got hurt really badly during the first wave," said Annette. "Flayn said she'll be okay, but…"

"She isn't the only one," interrupted Felix as he glared at Brigitte. "You almost got yourself killed when you charged in without thinking, Stark."

"Wha – hey, I didn't know those guys were there!" Brigitte protested.

"Worse, you endangered others by being so reckless." Felix then glared at Lana as he said, "Both of you."

"Huh? What did I do wrong?" Lana asked in confusion.

"The front line is no place for a healer who cannot defend herself," said Ferdinand.

As Lana stammered nervously, Cia said, "Hey, lay off my sister, Aegir! She was only trying to help!"

"Like you were when you broke formation, Cia?" said Lysithea. "I would have finished my spell sooner if you hadn't gone off on your own and broken your connection."

"Hey! Were you planning on letting those guys shoot us?!"

"Enough!" Byleth shouted, quieting the others. After a moment of silence, she then turned to the divas and said, "You all did well, yet you have to understand that it isn't just your own lives at stake. If one of you had died, how do you think it would affect the rest of us?"

Brigitte opened her mouth to protest, but she quickly realized Byleth's point. Lana and Cia also clearly got the message.

Byleth then turned to the others and said, "As for the rest of you, putting blame on them for their inexperience is unfair. They haven't been trained like you have, nor have they seen as many battles as you. And even the best of us can make mistakes."

Felix looked as though he was going to object to this, but after a moment of thought, he sighed and said, "Fair enough."

"I'm sorry we caused you so much trouble," said Lana.

"No, you need not apologize, Lana," said Ferdinand. "I cannot claim that I have never done something reckless before."

As the others nodded and came to an understanding, Dorothea said, "If anyone here needs to make an apology, it's me."

"Huh? What for, Dorothea?" asked Leonie.

"For… for doubting you. I thought you could never hope to win against the Empire, and that you were all just trying to get yourselves killed in a war you could never win. But at the same time, I wanted to keep all those people safe, yet I didn't want to fight to protect them. I shouldn't have called you fools or said such terrible things. I… I'm so sorry."

"Dorothea, you do not need to be making the apologies," said Petra.

"Petra's right," said Bernadetta. "When you think about it, us taking on the Empire is a really bad idea."

"We know you were simply voicing your concern for our wellbeing, Dorothea," said Lysithea. "But as Lady Eisner said, it was our choice to fight the Empire, and to fight for the people of the monastery."

"Don't worry about it, Dorothea," said Brigitte as she walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Like I told you, all we had to do was kick the Empire's ass. And we did."

Dorothea was silent for a moment. Then, with a sniffle, she said, "Thank you, everyone. Thank you."

…

Hours later, Anna found herself standing near the outer gates of the monastery as flames continued to rage outside the great wall. But it wasn't merely at the wall where the fires roared.

Down below at the bottom of the hill, the monastery town was being consumed by fire.

Anna knew it was her fault. Some of the fire carts had gone off course and rolled right into town, and now the whole place was burning. They'd never be able to put out the flames with all the wounded they had. They couldn't even reach the town right now thanks to how devastated the area was.

She knew she was going to receive all kinds of hell for this. The aftermath of it was going to leave the monastery town a pile of ashes by the time the fires went out. The only saving grace was that the town had already been evacuated before the battle started.

She'd said she was willing to do what it took to win. But now that she saw the cost of their victory, Anna could not help but doubt herself.

How much more would she need to do to ensure they won? How many would have to die so that she could keep Byleth safe?

She had no intention of breaking her promise to Jeralt again, but Anna still worried over how much she would have to do to keep it.

Poor Caspar, right?

And lo and behold, the price of Anna's controversial measures. Losing that town at the foot of the monastery is gonna be tough. But what really makes a town? The buildings or the people who live there? IMO, it's the latter. You can rebuild structures; people, not-so-much.

As for the divas, am I being heavy-handed in showing their inexperience and lack of training? Or is this realistic enough? They may have raw talent, but that doesn't compare to being professionally trained.

Just to note, I've set it up so this battle occurred during the middle of the Guardian Moon, not the end of it like in the game. We're not finished with the month yet. We're once again going to pivot over to the Imperial side (but that won't be for at least one more chapter).

Finally, on a review-related note, I've said before that while I appreciate reviews, please don't be a dick about it. No one writes things perfectly. If I continue to see disrespectful reviews like that, I'll have no choice but to turn on the "Moderate Reviews" option so guests can't post.

But to answer the reason for that officer in the last chapter, it served a few purposes. One, it shows Byleth isn't omniscient and can still make mistakes. She was concentrating on Randolph and on saving Dorothea, disregarding her own safety. Second, it ties in to an upcoming chapter where Byleth is going to receive a wardrobe update. Gotta have a reason to give her the Enlightened One outfit, after all. ;)

Also, if I make Byleth seem too OP, it kinda diminishes her as a character, and diminishes the threats she faces. Hence why she's not curb-stomping everything in sight. It'd feel cheapass.