What a horrible night to have a curse!
Chapter 51 – The Wandering Beast (Lone Moon)
Marianne shook frightfully as she knelt before an unconscious Mercedes. Six men assigned to guard the queen lay dead nearby in various states of dismemberment. She looked up at the cause of their deaths in terror.
Standing before her was a massive reptilian monster, not unlike the Black Beast that Miklan Anschutz Gautier had turned into at Conand Tower years ago. There were several differences, however, with this beast having a much smaller horn and far bulkier frame. Its four glowing eyes were fixed on Marianne and Mercedes. The beast was covered in scars and damaged scales, but these did little to diminish the monster's durability. Marianne's guards had tried attacking it when it first appeared, but their steel and silver weapons all uselessly glanced off its hide. Even one of Mercedes's fireballs did nothing to it, which had prompted the beast to swat the cleric aside like a fly after it had ripped apart the unfortunate bodyguards.
"Mercedes, please! Wake up!" Marianne said in panic as she shook the unconscious cleric.
"Your friend will not wake, bearer of our Crest," said the monster, leaving Marianne wide-eyed in shock.
"Y-You can talk?"
Snarling, the Wandering Beast said, "I sensed your presence from afar. You and your friend will sate my hunger."
The Wandering Beast took another menacing step forward as Marianne readied an ice spell and said, "Stay back! I'm warning you!"
"Your magic will not save you. Nothing will stop me… from feasting upon your flesh and blood!"
The Wandering Beast lunged forward with its jaws, prompting Marianne to shut her eyes and scream as loud as she could.
Suddenly, she heard the Wandering Beast let out a howl of pain. Startled, Marianne opened her eyes and looked to see Dimitri had just dealt a hard slash to the Wandering Beast's head with his lance, the Heroes' Relic Areadbhar.
"Dimitri…!"
Brandishing his weapon as the Wandering Beast stumbled back, Dimitri snarled, "You will not touch her, abomination!"
The Wandering Beast recovered from the blow and looked to see Dimitri and his weapon. Its four eyes widened slightly in recognition at seeing the Heroes' Relic.
"Areadbhar…" said the beast. "So, you're one of Blaiddyd's…"
"I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, son of Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd! And you, beast… you will die for daring to threaten my wife!"
Dimitri roared as he rushed at the Wandering Beast, which swung its left arm to swat him aside. Dimitri dodged the blow and slashed the beast's arm, leaving a noticeable gash and spilling its blood. The Wandering Beast again recoiled in pain, stumbling away from the King of Lions, who chuckled darkly as he was stained in the beast's blood.
Marianne was always unnerved when she saw Dimitri like this. Whenever he was in battle, Dimitri would let loose and enjoy the slaughter, often killing his foes slowly and painfully. When Felix had still been part of the Loyalists, he would compare Dimitri to a violent boar, a term Marianne had come to realize was fairly apt. If anything, his violent impulses had only gotten worse over the last five years.
And yet, despite knowing his dark side, Marianne still loved him. He was still her prince, who valiantly charged to her defense time and again. Even if he was bloodthirsty, he was still a good man inside.
The Wandering Beast screeched again as Dimitri wounded it with another blow from Areadbhar. But then, to Marianne's horror, the beast rushed forward with alarming speed and smashed the back of its clawed hand into the prince, sending him flying back.
"DIMITRI!" Marianne screamed as the King of Lions tumbled several meters.
Dimitri managed to right himself mid-tumble and stabbed Areadbhar's head into the ground, dragging a line in the dirt for another three meters as he slid to a halt.
Growling, the Wandering Beast looked at its wounded arm and then said, "This is not over…! I will devour both you and the girl in due time!"
The Wandering Beast then released a fell roar as Dimitri rose and readied his lance again. Seconds later, he and Marianne heard trees breaking as loud footsteps approached. They turned to see a Demonic Beast storming out of the nearby forest, with venomous drool dripping from its mouth. It was followed shortly after by an enormous yellow snake, known in Fódlan as a Blotted Adder. Neither was as large as the Wandering Beast, but they still towered over Dimitri and Marianne.
"Bring me their flesh and blood!" shouted the Wandering Beast as it turned and marched back into the forest.
"You won't escape me, beast!" Dimitri shouted as he rushed toward the retreating monster.
Dimitri's move prompted the Blotted Adder to slither rapidly at the king, forcing him to break off his attack and dodge as the snake made a lightning quick attempt to bite him. This was followed by the Demonic Beast releasing its toxic breath at the king, to which he leapt back and dodged again.
"Out of my way!" Dimitri shouted as the two monsters prepared to attack again.
The loud whinny of a Pegasus prompted Marianne to turn and see Ingrid swooping down on Celdia's back at the Blotted Adder, with Luin in her grip. She then heard hoofbeats and saw Sylvain riding forward with the Lance of Ruin. They were followed by Dedue and a battalion of sixty men.
"Protect His Highness!" shouted Dedue.
Ingrid slashed Luin at the Blotted Adder, which avoided the strike and tried to bite her, but Ingrid and Celdia moved too fast for it to hit them. Meanwhile, Sylvain thrust the Lance of Ruin into the Demonic Beast's right hind leg, causing it to collapse onto its other three limbs. Sylvain darted away from the beast's counterstrike and then sent a quick bolt of fire into its side, though it inflicted little damage. Upon reaching Dimitri, Dedue sent his men to help Ingrid deal with the Blotted Adder, while he and the king targeted the Demonic Beast.
Marianne winced as the Blotted Adder turned toward the approaching platoon and, with a lightning-quick lunge, killed one soldier by biting through his torso. It tossed away the unlucky man before hissing and spraying a burst of venom at the soldiers, striking six and leaving them struggling to breathe from the poison.
Knowing those men were dead unless she did something, Marianne quickly channeled her Mana and shouted, "Esuna!"
Five of the six men were close enough for her spell to work, purging the poison, but leaving them still too debilitated to fight. The sixth one was not so lucky, collapsing and breathing his last as his lungs and heart failed him.
Ingrid, seeing the Blotted Adder swat three more soldiers with its tail, shouted as she dove in to attack the giant snake before it could devour another soldier, who screamed as he crawled away in panic. Her Minor Crest of Daphnel shimmered above her as she slashed Luin at the Blotted Adder, decapitating it with a single well-placed strike. The body of the snake flailed for a moment before crumpling to the ground as the Blotted Adder's head crashed nearby, its mouth open in post-rigor mortis.
Just as Ingrid was about to order the cheering soldiers to help fight the Demonic Beast, she heard the monster screech its last as Dimitri, who had leapt onto the beast's head, stabbed Areadbhar into its brain. The Demonic Beast collapsed to the ground as Dimitri jumped off it, the monster crumbling into dust.
"Well struck, Your Highness," said Dedue.
"This fight isn't over yet, Dedue," said Dimitri.
Before anyone could ask Dimitri what he meant, a messenger rode up to the group and shouted, "My liege, a report from Lord Rodrigue and Sir Gilbert! We're under attack by wild beasts!"
"How many are we talking about?" asked Sylvain.
"Unknown, sir!"
"We'll regroup with the others and help drive them off," said Ingrid.
Before the men could move, however, Dimitri said, "Belay that order."
"Your Majesty?" Ingrid asked in surprise.
"The abomination that attacked my wife is the one leading these beasts against us. We will pursue and tear it to shreds." Turning to the messenger, he added, "Soldier, tell Rodrigue to send three battalions to reinforce us."
"At once, Your Majesty!" said the soldier as he turned and rode back toward the Loyalists' camp.
"The rest of you are to follow me." Pointing at some of the men, he added, "You four, take Marianne and Mercedes back to the villa and guard her with your life."
"Dimitri, wait!" said Marianne. "Let me come with you."
"Absolutely not. That monster came for you, and I won't give it another chance to harm you."
"Dimitri, please! I know it's like you said, it came looking for me. But didn't you hear what it said? It said I shared its Crest. That must be the creature my father was talking about. You may need my power to destroy it."
"I will not take such a gamble with your life, Marianne. Sergeant, get her to the villa."
"Yes, Your Majesty," said one of the soldiers as he saluted the king.
Two of the other soldiers were about to lift Mercedes into their arms when the blonde healer stirred.
Abruptly, Mercedes bolted upright and said, "Huh? What – What happened?"
"Mercedes, are you alright?" Marianne asked as she rushed to her handmaiden's side.
"I… I think I'm alright. Wait, where's that monster?"
"We were just about to go after it," said Ingrid. "You go back to the villa with Marianne."
"I appreciate the concern, Ingrid, but I'll be fine. Besides, you're all going to need a healer if you're after that thing."
"I can cover that for you, Mercedes."
"You've only just started learning white magic, Ingrid."
Before Ingrid could protest again, Dimitri said, "Very well, Mercedes. If you can still fight, you come with us. Marianne, will this be enough to satisfy you?"
Marianne hesitated to answer. She still wanted to go with Dimitri after the Wandering Beast, but she saw her husband wasn't about to let her take such a risk. Despite the bloodthirst in his eyes, she could still see the care and love for her in his expression.
"A-Alright, Dimitri…" Marianne answered. "But please, be careful."
"We will return. I swear it, Marianne."
Marianne reluctantly turned and followed her escort back toward the villa as Dimitri, Ingrid, Sylvain, Dedue, Mercedes, and their soldiers entered the forest. As she reached the villa, she turned just in time to see Dimitri and the others vanish into the misty woods.
…
Gilbert grunted as he blocked a strike from a Dire Wolf's claw, protecting one of the Loyalist's mages as the woman readied her spell. The mage then released her Thunder spell, electrocuting the Dire Wolf as a hail of arrows struck it, slaying the beast.
The elderly knight noted how the mage had taken too long to finish her spell. Then again, he wasn't going to criticize her; he was getting slower as he got older. He wondered how long it would be before he'd be too old to put on his armor.
He spun around as a Roc swooped down toward a platoon of archers, who failed to draw their bows in time to shoot it. Three men were snared by the Roc's talons and carried off to their doom. Some of the archers fired at the bird as it pulled away, with two arrows hitting its wings, but not doing enough to knock it out of the air. It released its victims, who screamed as they fell to their deaths.
It was then that Gilbert heard Rodrigue shout, and a bolt of holy energy soared out and struck the Roc. Screeching as its left wing was incinerated, the Roc tumbled out of the air and crashed into the middle of the Loyalists' camp, breaking its neck as it landed.
"Rodrigue!" Gilbert shouted to the Shield of Faerghus, prompting the head of House Fraldarius to ride up next to the elderly knight. He then shouted, "Where are you sending those men? We need to reform our defensive line!"
"They are heading to aid His Highness," Rodrigue replied. "He is in pursuit of the monster leading this attack."
"A beast leading other beasts?"
"If it will make the rest stop their attack, then killing it is our best move. His orders are to drive off the rest and hold our position until he returns."
"What of the queen? Is she unharmed?"
"She is alright. Queen Marianne has been escorted back to the villa."
"Thank the Goddess."
The discussion between the two veterans was interrupted as they heard an officer shout, "Fall back! Fall back!"
Gilbert and Rodrigue turned and saw four more wild Demonic Beasts charging at the Loyalist's line, tearing apart those who couldn't escape.
"They had best hurry," said Rodrigue.
The two veterans moved to reorganize their fleeing troops and repel the attacking beasts, knowing they'd be losing a lot more men before it was over.
…
"Marianne, are you alright?" asked Margrave Edmund as he held his adoptive daughter by her shoulders.
"Y-Yes, father, I am unhurt," said Marianne.
Theodore sighed and said, "Thank the Goddess. To think that beast would come in search of you. Where is King Dimitri?"
"He pursued the beast into the woods."
"He what?! He mustn't face the creature at night! Its power is at its greatest in the light of a full moon!"
Marianne's brown eyes widened in horror. She looked at the sky, seeing the full moon and a cloudless sky.
Margrave Edmund then said, "Even with the Heroes' Relics he and his allies possess, if they fight the beast now–"
Not waiting for her father to finish, Marianne put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Within moments, Dorte came galloping up to her, the grey steed snorting as arrived.
"Wait, Marianne, what are you doing?!"
Mounting onto Dorte's saddle, Marianne said, "I have to warn them!"
Marianne whipped Dorte's reins, sending the steed rushing after Dimitri before Margrave Edmund or her escorts could stop her.
Of course it can't be so easy, can it?
I know this differs considerably from the in-game Paralogue, but where would the fun be in following that to the letter? Isn't the whole point of fanfiction to make your own twists on what's considered canon? For instance, I know Maurice is a death-seeker in the game, but he's also overwhelmed by his bestial instincts. In this, I've made him a bit more clever and insidious, as befits someone who's been around for a thousand years.
I've also taken the liberty of giving Sylvain and Ingrid access to Anima and White magic, respectively. It honestly just makes sense that the two would learn more than just physical combat, and Sylvain even has that budding talent in Reason.
As for the other monsters that show up, the Blotted Adder was based on Alfyn's first boss (the Blotted Viper) in Octopath Traveler. Let's just say that game really grew on me. I may want to add in a few more creatures inspired by OT and its mobile prequel. Speaking of which, the boss music in OT is just sweet. Yasunori Nishiki is so underrated.