Time to wrap up this battle, just in time for Labor Day.
Chapter 53 – A Hero's End (Lone Moon)
Marianne and Dimitri stared each other in the eye, given a spare moment as the Wandering Beast recovered from the queen's spell.
"What are you doing here?!" Dimitri shouted to her.
"I had to warn you about the full moon," Marianne said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't want me to come, but I was so worried! Please, Dimitri, let me help you!"
The two were interrupted by the growl of more approaching beasts. Two Dire Wolves, a giant boar and a Savage Bear came out of the trees on either side of Dedue and the Loyalist soldiers. The Duscuri and his men quickly assumed defensive positions as the beasts waited to strike. Dedue kept his focus on the Savage Bear, an enormous beast that made a Duscur Bear look like a cub by comparison.
"Protect the queen with your lives!" shouted one of the soldiers.
The soldier's shout was followed by the bellowing laughter of the Wandering Beast.
"So, you are here, bearer of our Crest," said the Wandering Beast. "I thank you for saving me the trouble of hunting you down." He snarled for a moment before adding, "My beastly blood is roused… You, your beloved, and all your friends… I will feast on you all!"
"No…" Marianne said quietly. Then, glaring at the Wandering Beast, she shouted, "I WON'T LET YOU!"
Marianne released another holy spell at the Wandering Beast's head, but this time the monster raised an arm to intercept the hit, taking little damage from the queen's magic. Seeing her attack was ineffective, Marianne quickly readied a Physic spell and channeled it toward Dimitri. The king rose as the pain from his wounds subsided.
"Thank you, Marianne," Dimitri said as he readied Areadbhar and turned back to the Wandering Beast.
"I'll devour you first, young king!" roared the Wandering Beast.
Maurice opened his jaws to crush Dimitri, who slashed Areadbhar at the monster's mouth and dealt a hard blow, knocking his head back. The Wandering Beast grunted before swinging his tail at Dimitri, who dodged the attack and dealt a quick stab to the monster's hide.
Just before dodging another attack, Dimitri shouted to Marianne, "Help Mercedes!"
Marianne immediately prepared another Physic spell as the Wandering Beast shouted, "Kill them all, my pack!"
The beasts charged at Dedue and his men, who unleashed a hail of arrows and crossbow bolts at the approaching threat. These were not enough to stop them, with one of the Dire Wolves mauling a Loyalist soldier with its fangs and the boar smashing through two others. The soldiers scattered to try and surround the beasts, with Dedue moving between Marianne and the Savage Bear.
"Stay close to me," Dedue said to the queen.
The bear roared as it charged at Dedue. Marianne, despite knowing of the approaching threat, kept her focus on her Physic spell, knowing she had to get Mercedes back into the fight. Dedue roared as his shield met the bear's strike, the Duscuri knight holding his ground through pure strength and will, yet he still struggled against the beast, which dwarfed him in size.
Marianne shouted as she cast her spell, sending her healing magic into Mercedes. The blonde cleric's vision cleared as the pain in her skull was numbed.
"Thank you, Mary!" Mercedes said with a short groan as she hurriedly got to her feet and began readying her own healing magic.
At first, Mercedes thought to heal Ingrid, but a quick glance around at the battle told her she needed to help more than just the blonde Falcon Knight, who lay on the ground with a badly injured left arm. Sylvain had recovered from his own hit and was now helping Dimitri fight the Wandering Beast, but the two of them weren't enough on their own. She turned as another soldier screamed his last as a Dire Wolf crushed him in its jaws before throwing the corpse into a tree.
Mercedes focused her Mana, channeling a far more advanced healing spell. She hadn't fully mastered it, but they needed it now more than ever.
"Goddess, give me strength!" said Mercedes as she released her spell. "Vulnera Sanentur!"
A wave of healing magic spread out from Mercedes as the Minor Crest of Lamine shimmered over her head. As the wave washed over the Loyalists, each of them felt the pain in their bodies fade as their non-fatal wounds closed. Lying on the ground, Ingrid continued to bite her lip as the spell restored her arm, which she now realized wasn't broken, but dislocated.
Staggering to her feet, Ingrid moved over to a nearby tree and, clenching her teeth, rammed her left arm into it. She let out a stifled scream of pain as her arm popped back into place. Taking a second, she looked down at her left arm as she flexed her hand, ensuring she could still move it.
"Are you alright, Ingrid?" Mercedes asked as she ran over to the blonde and began channeling another healing spell on her.
"I'll live," Ingrid replied as Mercedes's magic helped to dull the pain. "Thank you."
Ingrid then snatched Luin off the ground and rushed to help Dimitri and Sylvain while Mercedes drew the Tathlum Bow and readied an arrow.
As Mercedes fired at the Wandering Beast and Ingrid dashed in for a quick stab, Dedue continued struggling against the Savage Bear, which swung its claws at him. Dedue blocked the strike but stumbled back from the force of the blow. Then, seeing his chance, he swung his axe at the bear, cleaving into the beast's hide. Snarling, the bear tried to slash him again, but Dedue blocked the attack and countered with another blow from his axe.
The bear then raised both of its arms and slammed them down, briefly shaking the ground and making Dedue stumble. But at this moment, Marianne swung around and sent a Cutting Gale at the bear, delivering another large slash to it. As the bear reeled, Dedue roared and plunged his axe into the bear's chest, cleaving through its heart. The bear let out a final agonizing roar as it collapsed, with Dedue covered in its blood.
Marianne swung back around toward the Wandering Beast. Now that all four of the Relic carriers were attacking him at once, the Wandering Beast was on the defensive. He tried to smash his arm into Ingrid after she made another stab, but she dodged away just in time. In response, Sylvain and Dimitri hit the beast in his unguarded side, darting away before the monster could counter while Mercedes shot another arrow into his hide. Several new wounds had been scored on the Wandering Beast, but he still had plenty of fight left.
Snarling, the Wandering Beast said, "Enough! You will all die!"
The Wandering Beast's hide began to glow with crimson cracks. The heroes knew he was going to unleash his dark wave again soon.
Seeing this, Marianne shouted, "I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANYONE EVER AGAIN!"
The queen released her Aura spell, sending forth a beam of pure holy energy and hitting the Wandering Beast right beneath his horn where the Crest of the Beast was visible upon his head. The Wandering Beast howled in agony, the crimson cracks on his hide fading as he clutched his head in pain.
Seeing the Crest Stone was a weak-point, Dimitri then rushed forward and shouted, "I'LL DESTROY YOU!"
Leaping up as his Minor Crest of Blaiddyd shimmered, Dimitri slashed Areadbhar as hard as he could through the Wandering Beast's head, shattering the Crest Stone and slicing off several of the Wandering Beast's fingers. Then, immediately after landing, he rushed forward and thrust the lance into the creature's chest, dragging Areadbhar's blade in a bloody line down through the Wandering Beast's hide. Maurice let out a loud, agonizing howl as his torso was split open, drenching Dimitri in blood.
The Wandering Beast, fatally wounded, toppled over onto his side as his blood and guts spilled from his belly.
Seeing this, and having just finished off the other beasts, the Loyalist soldiers cheered for victory as they saw their king standing over the monster as Maurice began breathing his last.
Marianne, however, looked at the Wandering Beast with pity. Slowly, she urged Dorte to trot up to the monster, with Dedue following close behind.
As he gasped for breath, the Wandering Beast wheezed, "W-Well… done… descendant of… Blaiddyd… At last, this nightmare… of a thousand years… is at its end…"
"You welcome your own death, beast?" Dimitri asked coldly.
"You would too… if you were made… to suffer… as long as I had…" Then, seeing Marianne approach, the Wandering Beast added, "Oh… inheritor… of my Crest… if this body… is to decay… then the sword… I… leave it… to… you…"
Maurice's eyes dimmed as his body began to crumble into ashes and dust. The forest floor beneath began to blacken and wither as his ashes fell to the earth. Within seconds, the Wandering Beast was no more, and all that remained of him was a curved sword made of ancient bone. A stone with the symbol of Maurice's Crest was embedded between the blade and the handle.
"Whoa… that's some blade," said Sylvain.
"Is this what turned him into that… thing?" said Ingrid.
"Our task here is done," said Dimitri. "Let us return and assist Rodrigue and Gilbert."
Marianne dismounted from Dorte at this moment and walked up to Dimitri.
"Are you alright?" she asked her husband.
"I'll be fine."
Marianne then turned to the sword. With trepidation, she knelt over and grasped the weapon, which began to glow in her hand. The Minor Crest of the Beast then shimmered over her head, signifying her compatibility with it.
Alarmed, Dimitri said, "Marianne, what are you–"
"We should bring this back," said Marianne. "We can't afford to leave it where someone could find it and be turned into another Black Beast by its curse."
"But what about you, Marianne?" asked Mercedes.
"I have Maurice's Crest. I should be safe from it. We'll discuss it later. Lord Rodrigue and Sir Gilbert may have need of us."
Agreeing with the queen, the Loyalists left the forest clearing, leaving only Maurice's ashes to mark his final resting place.
…
Rodrigue scowled as a Savage Bear struck down one of his Paladins with a swipe of its claw. The bear was then struck by a volley of Thunder spells, letting out a final roar as it was electrocuted to death. Rodrigue then turned as Gilbert ordered several ballistae to fire at a trio of Monarch Moths, sending large bolts at the giant insects before they could get too close. Two of the Monarch Moths were shot down and flailed on the ground, but the third one kept approaching their line. Fortunately, Gilbert was prepared and ordered his archers to fire their flaming arrows. The subsequent volley set the last moth ablaze before it could pose any further threat.
But as the two veterans looked across the line, they saw the attack wasn't subsiding yet. More beasts were still assaulting the Loyalists, and the screams of men and women persisted like an unending choir.
"How many can there be?" Rodrigue said with a scowl.
"Has any word been sent from His Majesty?" asked Gilbert.
"Not since Margrave Edmund sent word of the queen's flight."
Gilbert said nothing in reply, though Rodrigue could tell he was concerned.
"Should we send someone to look for them?" asked one of Rodrigue's officers.
"We must focus on the threat at hand. Reinforce the left flank!"
Just as Rodrigue's men were about to reposition, one of them shouted, "It's the king! His Majesty returns!"
Cheers rang out as Rodrigue and Gilbert turned and saw Dimitri at the head of two battalions of battle-weary soldiers. They also saw Marianne riding with him, holding a glowing red sword.
"Thank the Goddess," said Gilbert.
"Hunt them down!" Dimitri shouted as he pointed Areadbhar in the direction of the attacking beasts.
His men roared as they rushed forward, overrunning two Dire Wolves within moments before continuing onward to attack another Demonic Beast. Ingrid flew skyward on Celdia as she passed by a Roc, slashing through its wing with Luin's blade. Sylvain, supported by several more cavaliers rushing to join him, thrust the Lance of Ruin into a giant boar's flank, while the rest of his men threw javelins and fired arrows into the swine until it squealed its last. Mercedes, meanwhile, rushed over to Rodrigue's position to help heal the wounded.
But what surprised Rodrigue and Gilbert was the sight of Marianne riding toward one of the Demonic Beasts with her new blade, with Dimitri already having met the monster in battle. Dimitri slashed Areadbhar across the Demonic Beast's head, damaging its Crest Stone. As the monster reeled in pain, Marianne let out a war cry of her own as she slashed her new sword, Blutgang, at the monster's neck, the blade surrounded by dark electricity that engulfed the Demonic Beast in its power. The Demonic Beast screeched and collapsed, crumbling to dust a few seconds later.
Soldiers cheered at the victory as Marianne, knowing Dimitri likely would not approve of her being on the front lines, looked at him. Dimitri looked back with his one good eye and smiled.
"They're running!" shouted a soldier.
The two rulers of the Loyalists turned to see some of the beasts had finally started running away, with soldiers chasing after them until they reached the forest. More cheers rang out as the battle finally came to an end, leaving the bodies of beasts and soldiers under the light of the full moon.
A bit shorter than the last one, but the next chapter is one that'll need some space.
I'm sure a few readers are going to notice the Harry Potter reference at some point. It's just my way of making the Fortify spell a little fancier.
The next chapter will have a discretion warning for a good reason. I'll see you then.