Pikmin 4 is so much fun, but it won't stop me from getting this chapter out.
Enjoy.
Chapter 102 – Venomous Treachery (Harpstring Moon)
Edelgard needed her rest. Being the Emperor did not change that. No matter how strong she was, no one could avoid the need for recovery.
Yet it wasn't just the Emperor who needed to recuperate.
The battle at Gronder Field had been an Imperial victory, but it was a costly one. Of the 90,000-strong army she had commanded at the start of the battle, close to 22,000 were dead or dying, with around 31,000 other various casualties. She presently had about 37,000 soldiers still able to fight, and most of them were chasing her enemies back toward the Airmid River.
Edelgard was relieved to know that her enemies had suffered far worse losses. The Empire could not be certain of their remaining strength, but they were confident that the Church, Loyalists and Alliance were in no shape to continue a push of any sort toward Enbarr.
In the meantime, at Hubert's urging, Edelgard had returned to Fort Merceus to rest and recover from the battle. The Black Eagles, who had suffered grievous losses as well, accompanied her back to the fortress. From the casualty report Salia had given her, Edelgard knew the Black Eagles would not be fighting for at least a month. Ladislava was still in a coma, while 129 members of her elite strike force were dead. Other casualties put the Black Eagles at less than 200 men and women who could still fight.
In short, the Battle of Gronder had been a disaster for them. As such, Edelgard had ordered that the Black Eagles be withdrawn from the battlefield until they could recover from their losses. It would not be an easy task. Though the Black Eagles were expendable in the grand scheme of things, they were not truly replaceable. Each elite lost took with them their knowledge, skill, and experience, things that no one else could truly replicate.
And though her enemies in the battle had been routed, she still had to worry about Thales. Edelgard knew he would not remain idle. The big question was what his next move would be.
Yet, with how tired she was from the long march back to Fort Merceus, Edelgard hoped she could leave such a matter until the next morning.
Edelgard took her time in removing her armor. No one else was in her private chamber, as she did not want others to see the markings on her body that adorned her. They were the result of Solon's experimentation on her, and served as a painful reminder of all she had lost just so Thales and his ilk could turn her into a weapon.
As she finished removing her armor, she suddenly heard a choking gasp outside her room that quickly turned into a silent gurgling. Edelgard spun around and, on a reflex, drew her dagger as she marched up to the door of her chamber.
Upon opening it, she was shocked to see the four guards outside her room were dead. Two had their throats slit open, while the other two had been similarly dispatched by stab wounds.
Yet there was no sign of any attacker. Not even a trail of blood betrayed where their killer had gone.
Now alarmed, Edelgard heard a soft footfall behind her and whirled about, expecting to see someone.
There was no one in sight. Yet her window, which had previously been shut, was now open.
Cautiously, Edelgard moved back toward the armor stand in the middle of her room, where the Sword of Seiros was still sheathed. She was going to need more than just a dagger to defend herself.
As she did, a section of the room seemed to ripple, as though something transparent had moved.
But just as Edelgard noticed the shifting light, a sharp, piercing pain entered her right shoulder.
With a shocked gasp, Edelgard looked down to see a strange dart embedded in her.
Within barely a second, the Emperor felt her body seize up. All her strength vanished as she struggled to breathe.
Barely two seconds after she had been struck, Edelgard collapsed to the ground on her side, paralyzed by poison.
The Emperor tried to call for help, but she could not even manage a word. The poison had left her almost completely immobilized. All she could manage was moving her eyes as she tried to breathe through her nostrils, but little air made it to her lungs regardless.
Soft, wicked laughter filled the room, followed by a man's voice that said, "All too easy."
Edelgard's eyes darted about, looking for the source of the voice. Seconds later, she saw a figure materialize in front of her, shedding his invisibility. It was an Agarthan, that much was certain. The Nightblade was dressed in what looked like a black overcoat with a dark grey trim. A black hood and a skull-like mask covered his head and face, respectively, so that only his glowing red eyes were visible. Several knives were strapped to his legs, and his wrists had two long bracers with blades hidden atop each wrist. It was a similar setup to the one Metodey had used, but this Agarthan's equipment was far more advanced.
"I expected more of a challenge from you, Flame Emperor," said the assassin Dolofonos in a deep, almost raspy voice as he paced slowly and menacingly toward Edelgard. "But it is just as the Agastya said – beneath all your armor and authority, you are still a weak little beast."
As Dolofonos moved toward the Emperor, the blade on his right wrist extended slowly, revealing a serrated edge that was clearly designed to maim and tear as much as possible. With growing fear, Edelgard desperately tried to move, but she had no strength with which to do so.
"Ahh, that look in your eyes..." Dolofonos sneered. "It's just like hers were ten years ago." He paused for a moment, and then squatted next to Edelgard and said, "Your mother looked at me with that same terror moments before I carved out her heart."
Dolofonos's claim brought a new fear to Edelgard's heart and mind. She could not see his face, but she knew deep down that this was the man who had killed her mother, Anselma von Arundel.
And now he was about to do to Edelgard the same thing he had done to her mother.
"Fear not, Entei," Dolofonos said as he readied his blade. "You will join her in Hell soon."
"Not as soon as you may think, Dolofonos," said a voice that surprised both Edelgard and Dolofonos.
The Agarthan Nightblade swung around and stood as his red eyes locked with Cornelia's green gaze.
"Bias," Dolofonos growled. "Do not interfere. The Agastya has ordered that the Flame Emperor be eliminated."
Smirking, Cornelia said, "And for you to kill me as well. Do not take me for a fool, Dolofonos."
The Duchess's eyes began to glow a faint violet.
As they did, Dolofonos chuckled darkly and said, "Your vaunted gift will find no purchase on my mind, Magistra."
Cornelia did not show any surprise. She knew Dolofonos was wearing a Mind Shield, an Agarthan device that protected its wearer from any mental powers, whether magical or psionic. While he wore it, her Dominus power was useless against him. Thales normally banned the use of Mind Shields, but he made an exception for Dolofonos due to his fanatical loyalty to the Agastya.
But unbeknownst to Dolofonos, it wasn't his mind she was using Dominus on.
Edelgard's eyes shimmered with a violet glow as an order filled her thoughts.
Remain calm.
Edelgard's fear began to subside. Her breathing slowed as she watched the two Agarthans. Yet even with the command Cornelia had given her, she remained anxious.
Just as Cornelia moved to cast a spell, Dolofonos rushed forward and drove his blade into the Magista's gut.
A second later, Cornelia's body shattered like magical glass, which quickly disappeared.
Dolofonos, realizing he had struck a mirror image of the Magistra, whirled around just as a Rescue spell finished around Edelgard. The Emperor vanished in a flash of light before Dolofonos could finish her off.
Snarling, Dolofonos spun back around, activating his enhanced vision. Through the floor of the citadel, he saw Edelgard materialize before the real Cornelia one floor down. Six of the Magistra's supplicants were with her.
Sneering, Dolofonos strode out of the Emperor's quarters as he activated his Dark Gift, Shadowmeld, causing him to vanish from sight.
…
Cornelia's supplicants stood around her as the Duchess knelt next to Edelgard. The Emperor struggled to breathe as Cornelia attempted to use a cleansing spell on her. But, just as Cornelia expected, the spell did not work on the poison flowing through Edelgard's veins.
The Magistra wasn't surprised. Poisons used by the Agarthan Nightblades were far deadlier than conventional ones. If Edelgard was to survive, Cornelia would have to obtain the antidote, and she knew for certain that Dolofonos would have it on his person. All she could do for now was slow the poison down.
Edelgard let out another painful gasp for air, one that Cornelia knew was a cry for help. Yet Cornelia did not turn to her, needing to watch for anything that could betray Dolofonos's presence. Even if his Shadowmeld made him invisible, including to her enhanced eyes, he was not impossible to detect.
Seconds later, one of Cornelia's supplicants let out a howl of pain as an invisible blade ran him through his heart from behind. The others turned and one swung his blade at where he thought Dolofonos would be, but his strike only met air. Two seconds passed before a second supplicant, one of Cornelia's mages, let out a silent shriek as she had her throat slit open. A third supplicant rushed over to try and hit the assassin, but the minion only succeeded in letting the Nightblade stab him right between his eyes.
As Dolofonos cut down her supplicants, Cornelia immediately channeled her magic to create a barrier, protecting herself and Edelgard. She could not extend it to her minions, lest Dolofonos get inside the barrier and run her through.
The barrier finished forming around Cornelia as the last of her supplicants toppled to the ground, having been stabbed through the back of his neck.
Dolofonos's sinister laughter filled the chamber as Cornelia's eyes looked for any sign of the assassin. But even with all the blood he had spilled, Dolofonos remained invisible.
"How fitting of you to hide behind your vaunted sorcery, Magistra," said Dolofonos. "But even you cannot keep that barrier up forever. And the second that it opens, you will join your supplicants and the Flame Emperor in death."
Smirking, Cornelia replied, "You don't have that long to wait, you sycophant. Sooner or later, the Imperials will come to investigate."
Dolofonos chuckled again and said, "Perhaps, but that girl will die long before then. Once they find you next to her body, they'll remove your head if I haven't done so already. No one can save you or her now, ты бесполезная блядь."
As the assassin finished his threat, Cornelia now began to laugh, much to Dolofonos's confusion.
"Ты себя переоцениваешь, наглый червь," Cornelia replied.
The Duchess then moved her arms to channel a new spell, yet her barrier remained in effect. The dome of magic began flickering as Cornelia stopped channeling Mana into maintaining it, but it was still enough to keep Dolofonos out until she was finished with her next spell.
Hidden from sight, Dolofonos was shocked that the barrier did not immediately vanish. Cornelia did not have a Magitek shield like some of the other Agarthans did. But the barrier she had conjured should not have persisted after she switched to another spell.
The Nightblade then realized her intent and rushed toward her, intending to break through the barrier as it weakened.
It was too late for him to stop what was coming.
The barrier surrounding her faded away just as Cornelia spread her arms to her sides. With a brief shout, she unleashed a wave of electricity all around her, filling the entire chamber with lightning. No matter how stealthy Dolofonos was, he couldn't avoid such a spell. The assassin howled as he was electrocuted and fell to his knee, his invisibility fading away as every part of his body filled with agonizing pain.
Struggling to move, Dolofonos looked up to see Cornelia glaring at him as electricity continued to crackle between her fingertips.
"How disappointing," said Cornelia. "I thought you'd at least stay standing after a jolt like that."
Snarling, Dolofonos hissed, "You merely delay the inevitable. The Agastya… he will–"
"If your master wants my head, he can come for it himself. Oh, and one more thing…"
Cornelia unleashed her lightning into Dolofonos, frying him as he howled his last breath.
As Dolofonos's body slumped to the ground, Cornelia said, "That… was for Patricia."
The Duchess looked down at the now-dead Nightblade with great satisfaction.
The moment for her was brief, however, as Edelgard let out another wheeze.
Cornelia knelt next to Dolofonos's body and searched through his belt. Within seconds, she pulled out a small vial that she knew was an antidote. The Duchess then moved swiftly to Edelgard's side, uncorking the vial as her eyes glowed violet. She needed to make sure Edelgard would drink it.
The Emperor's eyes glowed as Cornelia controlled her, but despite the commands that the Duchess gave her, Edelgard could only convulse violently.
Cornelia scowled. The poison had moved through Edelgard's system faster than she first thought. She didn't even possess the strength to open her lips to receive it.
Knowing she had only one option, Cornelia raised the vial and deposited the foul-tasting fluid into her own mouth.
Then, keeping her grip on Edelgard's mind, Cornelia brought their lips together, engulfing Edelgard's mouth for several long seconds.
In doing so, Cornelia was able to force the antidote down Edelgard's throat, using her tongue to pry open the Emperor's lips.
Within seconds, Cornelia felt Edelgard lurch in her grip. She removed her mouth from Edelgard's lips, allowing her to cough and gasp violently for air.
Cornelia smiled, knowing Edelgard would live.
As Edelgard struggled to fill her lungs, Cornelia heard the clatter of armor approaching. She rose and looked to the nearby stairwell just as Hubert and several guards arrived on the scene.
Just as Cornelia expected, Hubert was positively livid at what he saw.
That's gonna complicate things.
I knew Dolofonos meant "assassin" in Greek before I added him into the story, but much like other Agarthan honchos, he didn't last long. After all, invisibility isn't very helpful if your target just fills the entire room with lightning.
If you need a mental image of what Dolofonos would look like, he'd be similar to the Fatui Agents in Genshin Impact, but with a different color palette. He doesn't really need to have a face for you to remember. And yes, he could've been a lot more pragmatic by stabbing Cornelia first or not taking the time to gloat, but that's characteristic of the Agarthans' arrogance (at least in this story).
Also, once again, Cornelia's mind control gets countered. It might be a tad cliche, but Dolofonos would never have stood a chance against her without something to give him protection against Dominus. Didn't really make much of a difference for him, though. Besides, I have Cornelia as someone who doesn't rely on her Dark Gift as much as the other Agarthans.
Finally, if you were wondering about the Imperial Army size, Dimitri may have thought it was 60,000, but he took that at face value. Had he, Claude and Byleth known the true size of the Imperial Army at Gronder, they may have chosen to avoid a direct confrontation. Either way, Edelgard's victory at Gronder had a steep price.
As for the fallout from this? Stay tuned until the next chapter.