A monarch will fall in this chapter.
Chapter 98 – Blood of the Eagle and Lion Pt 8 (Great Tree Moon)
Edelgard's eyes glowed green with power as her two Crests infused her with unnatural might. She had become far more adept at controlling such power, but she still knew she wouldn't have much time to finish the fight. A human body was simply not built to contain the power of two Crests at once. The ground cracked around her from the sheer pressure of her power, and the world around the Emperor moved in slow motion in her eyes. Dimitri, who had been charging at Edelgard, was knocked back by the burst of power as though it were a strong gale.
Watching the Flame Emperor, Dimitri found himself breaking out in a cold sweat.
For the first time in the battle, the notion that he could lose had crept into his mind.
Yet this thought was quickly dispelled, prompting Dimitri to let out another roar as he rushed at Edelgard once again.
Before he could reach her, the Emperor shouted, "CRUMBLE TO ASH!"
Edelgard swung Aymr to the ground, unleashing a massive shockwave that buckled the earth beneath Dimitri's feet. His charge was abruptly stopped as he almost lost his balance. He then saw a crimson glow coming from between the cracks in the ground.
Alarmed, Dimitri leapt back as an eruption of fire burst from the ground. Heat and stone battered him as he was knocked back several meters, but he had avoided the worst of the attack. Rock and soil flew into the air with energy crackling between each individual stone.
Before any of it could land, Edelgard rushed forward, crossing the distance to him in barely one second.
Surprised at her speed, Dimitri swung Areadbhar at Aymr, his Minor Crest of Blaiddyd shining above his head. The two weapons met with explosive force, and for an instant, the battlefield was still.
Areadbhar's blade shattered like glass to Aymr's overwhelming power.
Edelgard's axe continued onward to cleave into Dimitri's chest, carving through his armor as though it were paper.
Dimitri barely started howling in pain before Edelgard swung Aymr again at lightning speed, delivering another devastating blow to the King of Lions, breaking numerous bones from the sheer force of her strike. Edelgard then made her final swing, a blow that sent Dimitri flying into a large boulder, which burst into a shower of stone and dust that collapsed on top of her foe.
The rocks and earth that had been sent airborne from her first strike finally hit the ground.
Edelgard gasped for breath as the power of her two Crests dissipated. Pain wracked her body, yet she endured it as her soldiers looked in awe at their Emperor, who let Aymr slip from her fingers to rest in the ground.
But as she gazed into the cloud of dust, Edelgard could not believe what she saw.
Dimitri, despite bleeding from head to toe, and despite his innumerable internal injuries, was clawing his way across the ground toward her.
…
Byleth finished slashing through three Fortress Knights before dodging a fireball sent by one of the Empire's mages. She quickly lashed her blade at the mage and decapitated him before spinning around as she heard another spell coming toward her. The Archbishop narrowly dodged the Miasma Δ spell, prompting her to glare at its source.
"You will not get in Her Majesty's way, Professor," said Hubert as he readied another spell.
"Stand aside, Hubert," Byleth replied. "I'm only giving you one chance."
"We both know that will not happen. For Lady Edelgard's vision, you will die."
Hubert sent a Banshee Θ spell at Byleth, attempting to encircle her in a swarm of dark spirits. Byleth lashed her sword at them, and within an instant, Hubert's spell was dispersed, having inflicted no damage on the Archbishop.
Snarling, Hubert readied another spell while four of his subordinates sent their own dark spells at Byleth. Byleth charged at them, slashing through each spell in quick succession before lashing her blade at Hubert's men, killing all four in a single strike.
Alarmed, Hubert tried to back away from her, but he was far too slow.
Hubert howled loudly as the Sword of the Creator slashed his chest, deeply wounding him. The majordomo collapsed to the ground on his side as he clutched his wound, trying to stem the loss of blood.
Byleth looked down at Hubert as he gasped for breath. Seeing him wounded at her hand grievously left a bitter taste in her mouth. Despite his actions, he had once been her student.
As his former teacher looked down at him, Hubert chuckled darkly and said, "You are too late, Professor. Lady Edelgard has… already… won…"
Grimacing, Hubert slumped over as shock and blood loss robbed him of consciousness.
Knowing she had no time to waste, Byleth left Hubert's unconscious body and rushed after Edelgard.
…
Edelgard watched in astonishment as Dimitri tried to crawl his way toward her. He should have already been dead, with only sheer hatred keeping him alive.
The King of Lions seethed raggedly as he said, "Edel…gard! You…! I… will… kill you! You will know… the regret… of my father, who was… killed for you! Of my… stepmother, who was slain… by her own daughter! You will bow… your head… before all the lives… you've trampled… for your ideals… before you die… in… misery…!"
Edelgard gazed down at Dimitri as he finally lost the strength to keep crawling toward her. He was now writhing like a wounded animal, yet his one good eye continued to glare hatefully at the Emperor. Dimitri continued to hate her for crimes she did not commit, a truth Edelgard knew he would never accept.
After a sigh, Edelgard walked toward Dimitri as she drew the Sword of Seiros from its scabbard.
"Your obsession with me is appalling," said Edelgard. "If you were a normal human, you would most certainly have died already. But your path has ended, Dimitri."
"Ed… el… gard…!" Dimitri seethed, trying to grab her ankle as she walked past him.
As Dimitri lay before her, Edelgard brought the tip of the Sword of Seiros to the back of the king's neck.
"Farewell, King of Delusion," said Edelgard. "If only we were born in a time of peace, you might have lived a joyful life as a benevolent ruler."
With that, Edelgard drove the blade into Dimitri's spine.
Just before the life in Dimitri's remaining eye faded, he let out one last gasp.
"Ma…ri…anne…"
Edelgard removed the Sword of Seiros from Dimitri's body as the King of Lions finally perished.
The Emperor looked down at Dimitri's body with pity. Everything he had believed she was responsible for had been the machinations of Thales and his ilk. Edelgard had been just as much of a victim as Dimitri had been, and yet the king had lost sight of his duty as a sovereign.
And yet, his final word…
"EDELGARD!"
Alarmed, the Emperor swung around just in time to deflect a strike from the Sword of the Creator. Byleth made several quick slashes at Edelgard, who deflected each blow masterfully. Leaping back to avoid another strike, Edelgard assumed a defensive stance as Byleth stood before her.
Though she was, in a way, happy to see her old teacher, Edelgard knew Byleth couldn't be sharing the sentiment. She saw her teacher's green eyes briefly turn to Dimitri's body, and despite her efforts to hide her expression, Edelgard knew what Byleth had to be thinking.
Byleth did her best not to show her regret. She had been too late to save Dimitri. And with what power she had left for the Divine Pulse, she knew she would never get to him in time. Even if she went back as far as she could, Dimitri had already been mortally wounded by then.
There was nothing she could do to save him, just like with Cyril.
"Edelgard…" Byleth said as she tried to hide her grief and subdue her anger.
"It has been a long time, Professor Eisner," said Edelgard. "Or rather, I should say Archbishop Eisner. Rhea had you take her place, I see."
"This madness must end, Edelgard."
"It will once Fódlan is under the rule of the Empire. Until that goal is realized, I will never stop, no matter what I must overcome to achieve it."
Byleth knew trying to persuade the Emperor was fruitless at this point. There would be only one way of stopping her.
She didn't want it to end like this.
She wished there was another way.
But Byleth knew there was only one option left.
Seeing the resolve in Byleth's eyes, Edelgard said, "I knew when next we met one of our paths would have to come to an end." Raising the Sword of Seiros toward her teacher, Edelgard said, "Now, your journey ends here, Byleth. Forever…"
A second passed, and then Byleth shouted as she rushed at Edelgard. The Emperor swiftly deflected strike after strike from the Archbishop, countering when she saw a brief opening, but failing to hit Byleth. The two clashed as the Imperials watched their Emperor trade blows with the Archbishop.
…
Leonie fired her last arrow at an Imperial fighter who was chasing down the retreating Alliance Army, hitting the soldier in the head. As she did, she heard one of her riders cry out in pain as a javelin hit him. Whirling around, Leonie could see Imperial troops everywhere. Despite taking grievous losses of their own, the Imperials were now decimating their enemies.
It was especially bad for the Loyalists. Word of Dimitri's death was spreading like wildfire through their ranks, destroying their morale. Combined with their badly overextended position, the Imperials were now tearing through them like a swarm of locusts.
As she watched a Demonic Beast smash through another Loyalist battalion, she heard Sylvain shout, "Leonie!" Leonie turned as Sylvain raised the Lance of Ruin and said, "We've gotta get the others out of here! Someone, get a runner back to Sir Gilbert! Tell them they need to retreat before the Empire reaches them!"
Agreeing with Sylvain, Leonie shouted, "Everyone, form up! Let's move!"
Leonie's cavalry broke away from trying to slow the Imperials down and rushed to follow Sylvain's battalion, which charged at the Imperials east of the central hill. Catching them in the flank, the Loyalist and Church cavalry smashed through the Imperials, adding to their many grievous losses.
As they cut through the Imperials, Sylvain shouted to the Loyalists, "Fall back! Everyone, fall back to the north, NOW!"
The Loyalists, realizing the battle was lost, began to flee from the Imperials as Leonie and Sylvain tried to cover their retreat.
…
Edelgard grimaced as she blocked another strike from the Sword of the Creator. She was still weakened from using both of her Crests. Using them both again would surely have catastrophic consequences for her body. And while Byleth was clearly showing signs of fatigue from her own fight to reach her, the Archbishop was gaining the upper hand.
Backing away from another strike, Edelgard prepared a fire spell and sent a bolt of flame at Byleth, who leaned to the side and let the spell pass right by her left cheek. Byleth retaliated with a quick lightning spell, hitting Edelgard and briefly shocking her. It wasn't nearly enough to kill her, but Edelgard was already dealing with the backlash of using both Crests. The Emperor almost fell to her knee, summoning her strength to stay standing.
Just as Byleth was about to continue her attack, she heard eight Imperial solders roaring as they rushed to aid their ruler. Byleth whirled around, her eyes briefly glowing green as she shouted "Shi'ne!" and lashed the Sword of the Creator through all of them in one swing.
Astonished, Edelgard rose back up as Byleth turned back toward her, the Archbishop's eyes losing their glow as she looked at Edelgard.
Despite losing control again, Byleth was quick to recover from it. She had slowly been getting more used to Sothis's power overtaking her mind, and now was not the time to hesitate.
"You've gotten far stronger, my teacher," said Edelgard. "But I'm not about to lose to you. Not here, not now."
"Edelgard, stop this!" Byleth snapped. "Enough people have died here today! This bloodshed needs to end!"
"The lives lost here are in the service of Fódlan's future. A future where Fódlan is no longer ruled by Crests or by the Church. A future where the strongest and most capable lead Fódlan toward a new horizon."
"And what of all those lost to achieve that future?"
"Their sacrifice is a necessity to see it come to fruition." Byleth was about to refute this when Edelgard said, "You will not deter me from my path, Byleth Eisner. And if you will not walk alongside me, then you shall be crushed under my heel!"
Edelgard reached for the power of the Crest of Flames, opting to use only one Crest. It would still tax her body and would not provide as large a boost as using both at once, but her body would at least be able to take the strain. Still, she had to end this quickly. The longer she used the Crest of Flames, the more damage it would do to her afterward.
The Flame Emperor roared as she rushed at Byleth, who shouted as she met Edelgard's charge, her own Crest of Flames blazing above her. Their blades whirled and clashed at extraordinary speed and with blows that would have crushed lesser men. For several seconds, they matched each other step for step.
But as Edelgard made another swing at Byleth, the Archbishop shouted as she slashed at the Sword of Seiros, knocking Edelgard's arm away. Before Edelgard could recover, Byleth made another shout, this one a tearful cry, as she lunged at the Emperor.
Edelgard let out a painful gasp as the Sword of the Creator pierced her chest, emerging out of her back.
Feeling her life slip away, Edelgard moved her hand to Byleth's cheek as everything around them seemingly slowed to a crawl.
"Pro… fess… or…" Edelgard said softly as tears began flowing from her eyes.
As the Emperor touched Byleth's cheek, her green eyes began to shine a bright, unnatural light, and time came crashing to a halt.
"SAY WHAT?!" That's what you're thinking, isn't it?
Dimitri's death was always something I intended to have when I started writing Songstress: White Clouds. I said this wasn't going to be some Golden Route, after all. Having Edelgard kill him was also intended as a difference compared to Azure Moon, Verdant Wind, and Silver Snow.
Edelgard using both her Crests at once is meant to give her a MASSIVE power spike, but is intended as a "death or glory" move. If she doesn't take her enemy out quickly with it, she'll end up crippling herself afterward.
As for what will happen next? You'll just have to wait until next chapter.