The Dustbin
Day 33: Ghost Stories Part Final
The Black Eagles, led by Professor Byleth Eisner, managed to rescue the Dustbin group that were sent to survey the underground passage in search of Flayn's whereabouts.
With part of Karna's initiative, the Black Eagles were able to return the next afternoon, and were allowed a day of rest to fend off the sleep deprivation that they've inadvertently suffered due to time itself being thrown into the wind after spending prolonged periods underground. The Dustbin themselves were found slumped against the pit's wall as seen from above, to which they were pulled back up to the outside world, completely battered and semi-unconscious.
The four woke up well enough to talk after being bedridden a week later. For which, they began explaining everything.
21st of Horsebow Moon, Afternoon
"Drugged?!" Seteth hissed as he interrogated the Dustbin four, "and Miklan being brought back from the dead?! Are you sure the latter wasn't from the drugs?!"
"Bottom line, he ain't coming back in a while," Karna groaned out as he and the three of his accompanying students (Byron, Vidar and Topaz) were lying on their beds, still trying to regain the sensory functions of their muscles, "at best, we took him out of commission for now. Whoever brought him back from the brink is gonna bring him back stronger than ever, otherwise, why bother putting all of those modifications on him in the first place?" he pointed out, "and as for the kidnapper..."
"I killed him after he pushed my patience a little too far with him torturing us for completely wrong assumptions," explained Topaz, flexing the clawed fingers of her Demonic Beast arm, "... and given that how tight-lipped he was also about himself, I doubt that torturing him back with his own medicine would've yielded no results."
"Ugh, back to square one..." Seteth groaned as he ran both of his hands down his face.
"Not quite," Byron pointed out, "for one, we do know for sure that Flayn is definitely underground, and before you say that they'll end up making a run for it, I have to ask, what's stopping the Abyss from running into them, let alone, all the guards that your organization has put into place?"
Seteth then calms down a bit upon realizing that their efforts weren't in vain. "... So you're saying that-"
Karna weakly smirks. "It's check," he spoke in chess terminology, "our little cabal hiding below where we tread upon have no moves left to play against us."
"So what do we do to ensure that a 'checkmate' is secured and that Flayn herself will come out alive?" asked Seteth.
"Seal all the exits," suggested the Professor, "the Plaguebringer looks to be a high-maintaince laborer. So they need to bring in a supply chain from the outside to get him back to work, given that it's doubtable that he runs on food and water anymore."
"Cut off his pipes and hoses, that guy was needy as he was slow," Byron explained before he picked up the white mask bearing a human visage, "however, getting close to him without wearing this is asking for death by a pickaxe to the head. And no, magic and physical alike just... bounces off of his stupidly-thick and spiked armor," the genius student explained, "my advice when he shows up, ignore him. Completely. He's too slow to act on his own nor is he worth the effort of actually engaging him."
Seteth sighs again. The Dustbin were delivering mixed results after mixed results, and while he wishes that they could deliver the killshot already on their own, last time that happened, an entire fort was burnt to the ground.
The doors of the infirmary open, revealing Hanneman and Archbishop Rhea herself walking into the room.
"Lady Rhea!" bowed Seteth, to which the Archbishop raised her open hand to ease him.
"So you speak the truth?" she asked Karna with her eyes squinted in sternness, "that Miklan has come back from the dead and he is part of this conspiracy?"
"May Sothis strike me down where I am should I lie," swore the Professor, "I'm guessing that 'bringing people back from the dead' is a huge taboo, isn't it?"
"You guess correctly," replied Rhea before she looked at Topaz with the same look of suspicion, "and is it true?" she asked the little Hassashin, "that you now bear the [Crest of Gautier]?"
"Apparently," she answered, "thankfully, I am ambidextrous, so using weapons with my left hand isn't an issue-"
"That isn't the issue here!" Hanneman exclaimed, "do you know what this means for you?!"
Byron thinks to himself for a moment before landing on a conclusion. "Oh," he smirked with realization at the implications of a foreigner having one of the 22 Crests of the Goddess, "you're implying that she's now a legitimate heir candidate to the Gautier estate along with that playboy!"
"This isn't a laughing matter!" Seteth pointed out, "do you realize what would happen to Fodlan if they learn that Crests can form through..." he looked towards Topaz's Demonic Beast arm, "... a mutation like that?!"
"Chaos," Rhea bluntly answered, "suddenly, more of those who stole the Goddess' gifts to mankind will start asserting their own dominance and all established orders will be challenged to the breaking point until all social order breaks down completely, whether by usurping the positions of power or worse..."
Hanneman then looks at Topaz. "The whole population wouldn't be as lucky as her," he pointed out, "we do not need more Demonic Beasts roaming about the world!"
"So, with that all said," Seteth remarked to the Dustbin, "from Miklan being back from the dead to whatever Topaz has right now," he emphasized on the latter, "I beg of you, don't, tell, ANYBODY. NOT EVEN TO YOUR OWN FELLOW STUDENTS."
"Latter, can be done with ease with bandages and can be talked off as a war wound," Karna nodded, "former? You do realize that someone else is going to figure it out someday, correct? You know, say, if his mask falls off of his face again and shows his scarred mug to the whole world and everyone will connect the dots from there."
The Archbishop then is the one who lets out a frustrated sigh. "For all of your sakes, pray that never happens."
"So, about the underground?" Byron brought back the idea.
"Right, seal all of the exits and cut them off," Seteth parroted, "siege mentality before we move in. I'll get Gilbert and Shamir on the case."
As the administrator hurries off elsewhere, Hanneman and Rhea stay with the Dustbin, the two silently judging the four of them.
"... What?" asked Karna, to which the two let out a frustrated sigh.
"I'd expected that you lot would be the ones to lure out all abnormalities of whoever opposes the current Fodlan... is what I would be saying if it weren't for what happened last week," sighed Rhea, "how? How do you all keep running into these bizarre adventures that seem something out of an amateur's storybook rather than grounded in reality? Every month? Every time, that you and your lot of rejects are involved?"
"It is beyond science at this point..." Hanneman pointed out.
"Beats me," Karna deadpanned, "just shows how much Fodlan and all of its people hate us and all of our guts."
"Normal people, I sort of understand," Rhea remarked, "but why the Flame Emperor hasn't attempted to recruit any of you is beyond me."
"We brought down their places of operation, twice," pointed out Byron, "at this point, I think the Flame Emperor is just out to kill us all out of spite more than anything else at this point."
"... Not... new..." groaned Vidar, "... enemy... everywhere..."
"That's not normal!" Hanneman protested, "that shouldn't be normal!"
"Like how the Tragedy of Duscur should be normal?" Byron pointed out, much to everyone's shock as it rendered them all silent, "... I was there, collecting from dead bodies, to not starve. Reality isn't tailored to suit everyone, so apologizes if we... can't fit in."
"I was raised to believe that the only thing that lies waiting at the land of plenty like Fodlan is decadence," Topaz remarked, "my stay here, all I see is a world that is confused by its own shadow," she said, "you preach unity, yet I see division. You promote peace yet I find war. Tell me Archbishop," the Hassashin asked as she looked at her Demonic Beast arm, "... how do you define the human spirit as a whole?"
Rhea sighs. "If you must know, I believe humanity itself can be perfected," she answered, "war and sin are like how a child rebels against its parents before it matures and learns to grow up. The Goddess has created us all yet we chose to stray," she explained, "the Church made it its full-time job to guide those who are lost back to the righteous path."
"I see," Topaz remarked, "I can see that your job is to live in a child's dream."
Both the Archbishop and Hanneman jaws (metaphorically) dropped to the floor upon hearing such thing that was borderline heresy.
"... Care to explain where you're from?" asked Hanneman as Rhea tried not to turn the whole infirmary into a murder scene.
"Almyra," answered Topaz.
"Which part?"
"Northwest," she answered, "across the sea lies Sreng."
"What is there at your home?" asked Hanneman.
"Sand."
"Anything else?"
"Sand."
Hanneman pinches the bridge of his nose. "... Anything else besides sand?"
"... Rocks."
"A complete wasteland?" asked the Professor of the Blue Lions.
"My people are the only living beings who were born and stayed there, aside from numerous species of poisonous insects and snakes that we use as food and cacti and sparse rains as water," Topaz answered, "we adapted to go a month without food or water, we developed a belief where death is the sole truth in the world and that everything that is around us right now have no value until we die," she explained, "everyday is a fight to simply not die, whether it be from bandits or anyone bold enough to trespass our borders, we kill whoever is within our sights."
"What made you stop?" asked Hanneman.
"Prince Shahid," she answered with disgust, "he led a penal battalion of 1 million against us and forced us to act as his vassals. That humiliation turned us from the ones closest to death to mere extensions of his ego."
The Archbishop finally calms down her murderous rage that was bubbling beneath her skin. "... I see," she remarked in a composed manner, "in a way, your people are a lot like the Duscur. Tell me, how many died?"
"None," Topaz replied, "Prince Shahid lost 700,000 to our traps. All of them," she pointed out, to everyone's surprise, "there was only around 20,000 of us and all of our traps that were sprung took centuries to prepare. Knowing that the Prince and his forces have us outnumbered, he then requested our surrender and when we refused, he forced us to surrender by threatening to send an army of 2 million, actually trained soldiers and flyers, not even giving us the dignity to die by his hands and our lives were now dictated by a gutless coward who sees all who is not him as beneath him," she gritted her teeth, "our leader conceded shortly before killing himself in shame."
"What prevented you from killing him given that your religion worships death?" asked Rhea.
"Too many people in Almyra to kill," answered Topaz, "the more we kill, the more of them seem to take their place. We are trapped within our own obligations and are reduced to mere mercenaries due to Shahid simply finding us, and our lives are held in hostage to the pact that our former leader had signed, with the violation resulting in the termination of our faith and people," she hissed, "until then, our values are eroding away into decadence, to the point I had to kill some of my own brothers and sisters of the order when they became afraid of death, just like the ones who we've been raised to kill in the name of our faith."
"Uh..." Karna interrupted, "... aside from keeping what we said in the underground at the underground... there's your answer," he remarked to prevent the Archbishop from knowing who Topaz is really after (Claude/Khalid; out of obligation rather than free will), "... I think what she meant to say is that humans aren't perfectible in a... uniform sense."
"Speaking from personal experience, Professor?" scowled Rhea.
"Hey, I got kidnapped as a slave while in Almyra and got shipped all the way to Battu, got lost at Shangri-La before finally coming back to Fodlan!" he pointed out, "... and well, let's just say that some places are more... hospitable than others, and before you say that they can move elsewhere if they don't find the place livable, tell me, why do you think they stayed?"
Hanneman thought to himself before coming up with an answer. "... Because of the surrounding territories?"
"Personally, I think Topaz's people worship death in a sense where they try to make sense of the hand that they were given," vouched Karna, "remember, Sreng was a functioning independent nation-state before Lambert decided to annex the fertile southern lands that resulted in the people Northwest devolving into numerous clans of bandits and warriors while the rest of presumably fled and tried their luck with Topaz's people," he pointed out the struggle between nations while implying that those who fled were murdered by Topaz and her people, "people are not designed to take one way towards this... 'perfection', so to say. I think we're all just here to rationalize what the hell is going on in the stupid world that we're all born in. Whether gods or death, mankind solely exists to survive at all costs and justify any course of action that they take because we know that we're going to die someday. Some may deny it, some accept, but for me personally, I don't have all of the answers, but the only thing I can know for sure that no one, not even death, the Goddess, the Goddess of Death or the death of a goddess has all of the answers, let alone a definitive one truth."
The whole room goes silent for a second before suddenly going ice-cold at the next instant.
"... Do you mean to say that what the Church is teaching is ultimately wrong?" Rhea asked, speaking calmly while her hands balled into cannonball-like bludgeons made of skin and bone.
"Hey, enjoy the chaos," smirked Karna as he braced himself for what was about to come next, "it makes the established order much more tolerable to bear on a daily basis."
The next moment, Karna and the whole bedframe that he was laying on were breached through the window and walls behind him and sent plummeting out of the second floor of the main faculty building.
Standing before the giant hole punched into the wall was Rhea, with her barren knuckle stretched out towards the open. Next to her were the other students from the Dustbin and Hanneman, all of them trembling at her awesome might that was shown to them right now.
"... I'll forget what you've just said," Rhea spoke towards Karna laying below the wrecked cot before she walked away elsewhere, finally calmed down after releasing her pent-up rage that she had in her for the past few months and avenging Seteth.
"Ahh..." he sighed out as he looked up at the sky while a crowd of students gathered around the commotion, the muscles in his body now back to being functional, "... it feels good to be back."
"Hey," Byleth looked down at the splayed Karna before looking up at the hole where he'd came flying out of, "... you enjoy getting hurt or something?"
"What can I say?" smirked Karna, "it keeps me awake."
Until he bleeds out and dies, snarked Sothis, but given that he's treating getting punched through a brick wall and falling off of a second floor similar to a scraped knee, I think his physical integrity isn't even remotely human.
Either that or drugs, Byleth remarked as they both saw Karna walk away, now hale and healthy as a young colt.
Deep Underground...
"Anything?" spoke the white-colored Dark Mage standing over the stone slab with the naked Flayn drugged out of her mind, her eyes shone by a circle of lights whose infinite glare burned on her paralyzed eyes, her chest cut open yet her organs still functioning, Flayn herself still aware of everything that is going on around her, yet her body too unresponsive to even twitch, let alone feel, "I mean, we just broken through her skin last night after breaking 58 scalpels made of diamond."
"Boss is going to kill us if the coffers run dry," spoke the other, similarly dressed Dark Mage, trying to find something inside of the girl as he fingered through her organs, "now we gotta find where the actual hell the Crest Stone is at! Without killing her!"
"Wish it was the other way around..." spoke the Dark Mage in frustration as he grabbed the pair of pilers from the tray of surgical tools, "sure as hell make the job a whole lot easier!"
At the door of the small chamber where the two Dark Mages did their work, the Death Knight walks into the room with only one source of light.
"Kinda busy here," spoke the Dark Mage.
"The Church has caught wise of our actions," informed the Death Knight.
"No kidding, given that the Plaguebringer is out of commission," pointed out the Dark Mage as he kept his goggled eyes inside Flayn's organs, "the spare parts should be arriving through our main channel-"
"It has been intercepted," the Death Knight explained, "all of the exits leading in and out of the Abyss and its tunnels are now policed both by the Church and the Abyss volunteers. Our chain of operations have been compromised."
The Dark Mage then drops his pilers onto the stone floor. "... So you're saying that we're trapped?"
"I suggest finishing up whatever you have to do now," declared the Death Knight, "you have until tonight to extract her Crest Stone or else-"
"Found it," the Dark Mage found the small, ruby-colored stone with a heart-like design engraved into it wedged between Flayn's heart and left lung, "... yep, like back 10 years ago with those brats."
"Which ones?" the other Dark Mage remarked as he brought out a pair of surgical forceps and tweezers, "Embarr or Ordelia?"
The Dark Mage in white snickers as he then lifted the two organs wedging the Crest Stone in-between. "Does it really make a difference?"
All Flayn can do as her Crest Stone was excised from her body was scream in complete silence, unable to do anything but watch and listen.
Oh Goddess... she begged in silence as the two Dark Mages in white began severing the sinews and muscle fibers binding her Crest Stone inside of her, ... help me.
30th of Horsebow Moon, Afternoon
"No sign of anyone getting in or out?" Seteth asked Gilbert.
"I caught two," the Knight of Seiros answered, "all of them killed themselves in captivity to prevent any further interrogation."
"Just like back at the Rite of Rebirth," Shamir pointed out the similarities, "anything else of note?"
"All secret passages have been sealed," Seteth confirmed, "both the breached tunnel and the ones inside all of the faculty offices have been closed off airtight."
"What of the said faculty?" asked Gilbert, "anyone missing?"
"No," the admin shook his head, "aside from Jeritza who called in sick today, everyone is present."
All three of them let out a collective sigh at their bases being covered for today's planned raid. "I'm pleased to inform you all that the location of the raid has been secured to a general area," he declared as Seteth pulled out an updated map of Garreg Mach's underground, with a certain area circled around, "this area in particular was built on top an active Dragon Vein, which is a natural reservoir of saturated mana, and where a bunch of... shenanigans are most likely going to happen."
"Explain," requested Shamir.
"Strengthening hotspots that gives whoever stands above it more power both physically and magically, and don't even get me started on the warp panels," Seteth pointed out, "... come to think to think of it, I think there might be a giant warp panel that the kidnappers might use to escape from their corner-"
"Enough said," Gilbert cut in as he picked up his [Silver Axe] and his tower shield, "let's move!"
And so, the raid begins with all of the best of the student body and Knights of Seiros making their way to the Underground Chambers through the basement entrance (the one that wasn't kept off the record, unlike the Abyss) and began their operation to finally rescue Flayn from her captors. However, due to autumn being just around the corner, many of the overall student and a few from the faculty body were already suffering from seasonal illnesses that left them partially-incapacitated, including all three of the house leaders who had to call in sick this morning.
"Also, Hubert's not coming," Byleth remarked as she led the two-short Black Eagles into the underground with everyone else, "sickness got to him too."
"Come to think of it," Dorothea recalled Edelgard's behavior for the past few months, noticing how slightly feverish the Adrestian scion was acting and that her episode of stress might've having to do with something that worsened her sickness, "... she was kinda pushing herself a bit too hard lately."
"Well, sucks to be her," Byron spoke out as the reunited Dustbin ran alongside them and everyone else, "guess her silver spoon is going to be have to feed her medicine now, ainnit?"
"Less talking, more running!" Karna snapped, to which he complied, "the sooner we get to the Dragon Vein, the less likely those creeps will escape!"
As soon as they made their turn into a certain area deep underground, the air around them suddenly changed. Electricity nuzzled throughout their skins beneath their clothes as the seemingly-inconspicuous chambers just felt odd in both fascinating and foreboding senses.
"Fascinating," Hanneman remarked as his magic felt invigorated throughout his wizened body, "so this is what it feels like to in a Dragon Vein."
"I feel like a young lady again," Manuela giggled to herself, "let's do this!"
"Don't get cocky," warned Byleth as she drew her [Sword of the Creator], "the enemy here is going through the same thing as us."
Karna then spots a company of Archers, Mercenaries and Cavaliers coming their way. "The welcoming committee has noticed us," he smirked as he twirled his [Crescent Sickle], "let's answer them!"
"Attack!" ordered Seteth as he charged on foot with his [Silver Lance] leading the others into the fray. The battle begins with the clash of opposing forces meeting the dim caverns underground, their echoes of screams and steel clanging against each other.
Sounds that could be heard all the way from the other side of the underground chambers, such as the two Dark Mages with Flayn in hand and working on trying to get the teleporter to work.
"Why are we doing this?!" one Dark Mage cried out as he tried to connect the lines flowing with the Dragon Vein's mana, "we're surgeons, not engineers!"
"We're short-staffed due to the blockades intercepting over half of our backup, including the engineer team!" the other Dark Mage pointed out as he lifted up another stone tablet to expose another array of circuits, "our initially planned escape routes have all been compromised by those Church dickwads blocking it off, so shut up and get this piece of junk to work or our heads will end up on a platter!"
"Which one?" snarked the Dark Mage as one of the cables hissed with smoke before exploding and rendering it useless, "the Death Knight, the boss or the Church prostates?"
"Anyone!" the Dark Mage cried back as he proceed to hotwire the teleporter to get it back to working order, kicking the old teleporter all the while, "so quit whining and get this giant piece of junk to work already!"
Back near the entrance, the rescue operatives rampaged their way through the darkness as more Archers and Mercenaries appeared out of the darkness of the pillars.
"Dammit!" Gilbert cursed as he pulled his [Silver Axe] out of a slain Archer before he ducked back under his shield to protect himself from the arrows shot aimed for his head, "even after blocking off their routes, there's more of them than we've anticipated!"
"Well, I never specified that we would intercept all of them through those blockades alone," Karna deadpanned as he fired a [Swarm Z] towards the Cavalier, blinding him off-course before Cyrus knocked him off of his panicking horse with the sweep of his [Killer Lance], "at least its not a repeat performance like Miklan's Conrad Tower where we had to deal with the enemy at their strongest."
Seteth tried his hardest not to blurt out that said Miklan has been brought back from the dead as he speared a Mercenary through his chest with his [Silver Lance]. Normally, Charming would be here to provide air support, but given that he's underground, the roof being rather low and Archers having plenty of cover and space to shoot from, Seteth had to come on foot in order to increase his chances of survival.
"I found a key!" Caspar exclaimed as he held up a blooded [Door Key] that he'd found on a slain Mercenary.
"Hold onto that!" ordered Byleth as she swung her [Sword of the Creator] in its whip form, constricting it around the Cavalier's neck before pulling him off of his horse and killing him by winding back her segmented blade and sends his head flying off of his neck, "getting used to this."
"Speak for yerself!" Selene cried out as she fired her [Iron Bow] into the darkness, can't tell if she's missing or not, "me shots keep hitting de pillars more dan de actual enemy Archers!" she cursed before she ducked under a retaliatory arrow shot from the enemy, "me eyes can't see shite in de dark!"
"Behind me!" Sorcha ordered her twin sister as Selene got behind her while the former drew aggro to the enemy Archers, blocking them with her [Claymore] blade or taking nonleathal shots to her body, "stings a little but I think those guys can't see as well either."
"Let me try something!" Ignatz then tosses a bottle towards the darkness before shooting an arrow from his [Steel Bow] at the jar. The arrow first goes through a lit torch around the pillar, setting the arrow on fire before it shattering the thrown jar and sending bright cinders to light up the darkness ahead, exposing the enemy positions. "There they are!"
Both Ignatz and Selene take out the two enemy Archers upon seeing where they were hiding in the shadows.
"What de hell was dat?!" Selene asked Ignatz.
"Fresh oil paint," Ignatz answered, "allegedly, some guy got it from Almyra and sold it to me for cheap. Was gonna use them later, but I had a bottle on me just in case."
"That's awesome, Natz!" Raphael praised his friend while he was chokeholding a Mercenary.
"Right," nodded Sorcha as she then saw Cyrus rampaging through the darkness before coming back out covered in the blood of his enemies, "oi, how many left?"
"A couple Mages, a few Cavaliers and a few Mercenaries," Cyrus replied, "careful. Next room up ahead is full of weird crap."
"Got room for two more?" Sorcha asked before saddling herself and Selene on top of Darius's back alongside with the Battu giant youth, "come on! Let's move!"
"Hey! Wait for us!" barked Karna as the others went into the next chamber while Gilbert's men watched the rear of the advance.
At the next room, the air around them changed. A sense of invigoration filled the whole room, strengthening everyone in it, both enemy and ally alike.
"Alright," Seteth snarled slightly, feeling inflamed by the exposure of the Dragon Vein's energies invigorating his body and mind, "kill them all!"
"Right'o!" Karna nodded before he noticed that one of them was missing and that the enemies weren't getting killed by slit throats from behind, "... uh guys?!"
"What is it?!" asked Selene as she shot her arrows from where the Professor was standing at.
Karna quickly does a mental headcount across the battlefield and finds that none of the slain enemy forces present died from slit throats.
"... Where's Topaz?!"
At the Other Side of the Underground Chambers...
"Good grief," Topaz spoke in her native language away from prying eyes as she pulled her [Bolo] from a Brigand's neck and pilfering his [Door Key] from his corpse, "even if I wished to kill in the name of Azrā'īl, I'm practicing in a foreign land full of cowards who cling to such ephemeral days leading to the truth-"
She then instantly draws her [Shamshir] and points the blade behind herself, revealing Shamir's face.
"How did you sneak upon me?" the little Hassashin asked in her Fodlan language.
"You rely too much on your diminutive size to jump on your foes," Shamir answered, "even rats can be spotted after trailing them to their holes."
"Ugh," groaned Topaz as she sheathed her swords, "so much for peace and quiet."
The two then walk down the tunnel leading elsewhere.
"... I have to ask," Shamir spoke from behind, "how did you find this place?"
"I saw a Brigand go through it and I followed," replied Topaz, "when there's smoke, there's fire. And when there's a hidden passage..."
"You find the enemy's hidden underbelly," Shamir finished the little Hassashin's sentence before spotting another active warp panel before them, "... question is, who turned these on?"
At the other side of the wall where the two were at was the same room where the two Dark Mages were working to get the giant teleporter working. "Dammit! There's not enough mana going through these circuits!"
"I thought the Dragon Vein had enough mana to keep this stupid thing on!" the other Dark Mage cursed, "but the circuitry is only exhibiting enough output to power one pair of warp... panels..." he then ran his gloved hands down his masked face, groaning in frustration all the while, "... son of a...!"
"Oh hell no," whimpered the Dark Mage, his white robes burnt black from the hissing of the mana circuits connected to the mass teleporter.
The other Dark Mage then exploded in anger upon realizing what was going on and why the main teleporter was taking so long to boot up, and it wasn't just the cut and worn-down wiring, kicking and stomping harder at the giant teleporter than before.
"SOMEONE TURNED ON THE FUCKING WARP PANELS?!"
Both Karna and Selene were then warped into the same room with the lever pulled down, catching the attention of the two Armor Knights armed with a [Steel Lance] and a [Steel Axe] respectively.
"Well this is not good," Karna shrugged before the two armored hulks charged towards them, "run!"
Both jump out of the way as the Armor Knights crash their weapons where they were at. The pair then turn to face their respective targets of choice.
"I'll take girly," the lance-wielder remarked.
"String bean's mine," the axe-wielder claimed.
Just beyond the warp panel where they've come from, the main group were slowly finishing up their sweep with the remaining enemies. Cyrus with Sorcha was taking out the other Cavaliers while the undermanned Black Eagles along with the leaderless Blue Lions and Golden Deer were routing the rest of the Mages and Mercenaries present.
Eventually, all of them finish their work, leaving everyone a chance to breathe.
"Okay... headcount!" Seteth called out, "Golden Deer, sound off."
"Lorenz, Leonie, Raphael, Ignatz, Hilda, Lysithea and Marianne are all here," Manuela heaved out as she fell to her knees, "... oh my poor body... only thinking that it was young again..."
"Careful with burnout," Hanneman heaved out as he mentally counted the remaining Blue Lions, with all of them currently present, "... we're not young anymore as we'd like."
"Black Eagles, six students, everyone's here," Byleth pointed out before noticing that the Dustbin were now almost half of their size, "... I think we're missing a few."
"Where's Shamir?" asked Gilbert, "... in fact, where was she since the beginning?!"
"We'll come back for them later!" Seteth remarked as he took the [Door Key] from Caspar before opening the reinforced door, only to be greeted by a shower of arrows and [Fire] spells thrown his way, "for now, we have to break through! The enemy holding down this point of entry!"
"Armor Knights! With me!" Gilbert ordered his men as they formed up a defensive advance to draw in enemy fire, "Shamir's company, I'm assuming command! Take out the enemy's long range support!"
The Archer behind the Armor Knights fire their [Steel Bows] at the enemy forces, to which then they were met with the enemy calvary charging towards them.
"BREAK THROUGH!" barked the lead Cavalier of the charge as he rattled his [Steel Lance], "BREAK THROUGH!"
"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Gilbert ordered as his Armor Knights got into a phalanx formation, "STOP THEIR ADVANCE!"
The wall of Armor Knights dug in as the Archers switched over to targeting the enemies horses to thin their numbers to allow the main force to advance.
"Charge!" barked Seteth as he led the main force to confront the Cavaliers backed by Archers and Mages, spiraling them towards into another bloodbath.
"I'LL HANDLE THESE PRETENDERS UP FRONT!" boasted Cyrus as he and Darius jousted the enemy horsemen with his [Killer Lance] with Sorcha swung her massive [Claymore] cut down the horses and sent the enemy Cavaliers falling towards their deaths, "TAKE OUT THE COMING ENEMY FOOTMEN! ALL OF THEM!"
Byron and Vidar began facing the Brigands and other Cavaliers charging towards them with their [Steel Axes] and [Steel Lances] brandished towards them. Vidar then draws his recently-pilfered [Half-Moon Halberd] and [Devil Axe], using the former to deal with the enemy horsemen and the latter to strike at the other Brgiands. Byron casts a [Freeze] spell on the ground to reduce the friction where the enemy were walking, causing most of them to slip off of their feet and leave themselves open for coming attacks. However, the rain of arrows and spells still came down hailing towards them all, with no knowing who or where the arrows and spells were all coming from!"
"Watch for friendly fire!" Byleth pointed out as she swung her [Sword of the Creator]'s segmented blades to buffer out some open space for her allies, "we can't afford to stay here for long!"
"Easier said than done!" Hilda complained as she swung her [Steel Axe] while batting away a cluster of Mercenaries away from herself wit her shield, "these guys are such a pain to deal with!"
"Clear out!" Lysithea ordered as she blasted a [Miasma Δ] at the cluster of enemy forces to weaken them before Bernadetta, Ignatz and Ashe fired their volley of arrows at them, crippling their targets' overall effectiveness as they scrambled under fire before the others came in and finished them off.
"That was easy," Sylvain remarked from atop his horse.
"Yeah, but don't get ahead of yourself," Ingrid pointed out.
"Hey you two!" Cyrus called out towards the two from afar, "save your flirting elsewhere!"
The two Blue Lions blushed before yelling back at Cyrus' accusation in unison.
"WE'RE NOT FLIRTING!"
At the Central Chamber...
"Sir?" a Cavalier asked, "was authorizing the activation of the warp panels behind out... partners' backs a good idea?"
"Explain," replied the Death Knight.
"For one, despite this entire underground chambers being built atop a Dragon Vein, even our way out would be strained to keep itself... you know," the Mage protested, "... kinda slows down our own escape?"
"Point being," the Priest remarked, "aren't we stretching both our forces and resources too far and thin?"
"That's what I'm counting on," answered the Death Knight, "are you aware of the saying, 'curiosity kills the cat'?"
"What do you mean?" said the Cavalier, "are you... planning to get them to find us first?"
"I have been informed that regardless of plan or circumstance, the Dustbin are more than likely to... deviate," the morose horseman spoke, "... I plan to exploit that little pet peeve of their's to my advantage."
"A simple divide and conquer?" the Mage pointed out, "strategy of all times now?"
"The Dustbin have proven themselves to survive situations that would've killed countless others time and time again," the Death Knight pointed out, "first my decoy, then Zanado infested with Demonic Beasts, then a burning fort, a collapsing tower and Metodey's death shows that they were able to endure it long enough before killing him, on top of decommissioning the Plaguebringer on his debut performance," he listed down the instances where the Dustbin had come out alive, some more barely than others, "my orders from the Flame Emperor are clear: the Dustbin must die tonight so they don't become further nuisances to our plans in the future. I intend to see it through before we make our escape."
"So until then, we wait for them to come to us?" said the Priest.
"From the moment they open the doors," said the Death Knight, his [Scythe of Sariel]'s absurdly-sharp edge humming and vibrating in the air, "I will take flight. The rest of you, take out many as with you before you are all slain."
Around the corridors, after Topaz and Shamir came out from the warp panel found themselves at another tunnel where they met an enemy Archer.
Both Shamir and Topaz took him out before he could do anything. Behind the dead was a locked door, for which they then inserted the [Door Key] into the lock, turning it and opening it before the key itself snapped in two.
"Shamir, I have to ask," asked the little Hassashin, "but why does all of Fodlan's keys to doors and chest snap in two after one use?"
"All locks in Fodlan are made universal," answered Shamir as she peeked out of the open door, only to withdrawal back in upon dodging an arrow from the other side, "as for why they break after one use, they're deliberately made cheap so that no one can hold exclusivity rights to whoever can use to lock and unlock whatever they please. Discourages secrecy, so to speak."
"I sometimes question your employer's edicts as well as their sanity," Topaz rolled her eyes at the Knight of Seiros (for hire)'s remark, "by the way, was that another Archer up ahead?"
"How fast can you run?" the Sniper asked.
"I small and fast enough to not get shot at," boasted Topaz.
"Run, now," she ordered as she kicked the door open, allowing Topaz to zip into the enemy Archer's sight as Shamir drew back her [Silver Bow] before firing an arrow at him in the next instant.
Both the arrow and Topaz's [Bolo] claim the Archer's life.
"Good job," praised Shamir in her usual stoic tone, "anything on him?"
Topaz looks ahead to find another locked door and spots no [Door Key] on the enemy body. "Dammit!" she cursed, "this whole area must've been a ruse!"
"Nothing for it then," sighed Shamir, realizing that she forgot to stock up on spare [Door Keys], "let's go back."
But while Topaz and Shamir returned to the warp panel where they've came, the tile shuts off due to Karna dodging a blow from an enemy Armor Knight's [Steel Axe] hitting the level controlling the warp panels before said handle broke off of its hinges, shutting off the first set of warp panels activated prior before turning on a different set, as indicated by Selene stepping onto where they've both came from but still remaining at the Armor Knight's mercies.
"Well, that's unfortunate," snarked Karna before he dodged another heavy swing from the Armor Knight's [Steel Axe], "Selene!" he called out as he blocked the next downward blow with the shaft of his [Crescent Sickle], "how are you holding up?!"
"Not great," Selene heaved as she bled from the side of her stomach after receiving a grazing thrust from a [Steel Lance]'s side prongs, "you know, maybe followin' ye wasn't de greatest idea."
"I must ask," Karna said as he snuck in a [Miasma Δ] with his free hand to blast the Armor Knight off of him, allowing him enough time to get some space between himself and the enemy, "why did you follow me?"
"After ye and de others bein' gone for a week and learnin' that you were tortured without us?" Selene pointed out as she fended off the Armor Knight's thrusts with her own [Rusted Lance], "... I'm a bit worried about losin' ye and others, dat's all."
"... Why," Karna remarked as he clicked his tongue, sort of feeling a little warm at her concern, "thank you-"
From the other end of the room, a heavy thud was heard, causing everyone in the vicinity to stop what they were doing and gawk at the door being imprinted from the other side. The steel door at the southern end of the room sounded like if someone brought an entire battering ram to bash against the door as indicated by the dents and bumps being formed through the iron construction until said layer of bolted iron was then sent flying off of its hinges, behind it revealing a very, very, pissed off Topaz, her Demonic Beast arm slowly cracking its fractured bones and torn muscle tissues back into their default place like an armor that came to life and started straightening its bent plates by itself, without touching it. Behind was Shamir, who, in the first time of Fodlan history, adopted a look of sheer shock and horror on her face usually occupied with a stoic curt mannerism or a professional unbiased coolness, neither of which were shown as of this moment.
"... Who, turned, off, the, warp, panel?" the little Hassashin snarled, taking a step with each word spoken, uncharacteristically more enraged than her usual fare, getting close enough until she was directly looking up at Karna with bloodshot and twitching eyes.
Karna then pointed to the Armor Knight with the [Steel Axe] standing in front of him and Topaz. She then immediately pounces atop of the Armor Knight's head like a rabid animal, causing him to flail around desperately trying to rip her off of his head as the Hassashin drew a [Rapier] from her back and shoved the thin blade through the vents of the Armor Knight's helmet.
"... Whoa," Selene remarked as Topaz pulled her sword out of the slain Armor Knight before sheathing it, "... since when did we have two Vidars?"
Topaz rolls off of the dead Armor Knight, finally calmed down as she wrapped the bandages back around her Demonic Beast arm. "... Apologizes," said the Hassashin, "it's just that when our way out was denied all of the sudden... I sort of began seeing red."
"Ah, then is it a bad thing if I didn't told you that the other Armor Knight was the one who broke the switch controlling the warp panels?" lied Karna as he pointed his thumb to towards the Armor Knight before Selene.
The next three seconds was the repeat of the first, ending with blood spraying out of the Armor Knight's visor vents like a geyser and Topaz flicking the blood off of her [Rapier]'s blade afterwards.
"... You know, there was four of us and only two of them," Shamir pointed out at their obvious numerical advantage that they could've used instead, "... Karna, I get you like playing dirty, but even for me, that was taking it a little too far."
"There's no such thing as too far when it comes to playing dirty," retorted Karna as he looked at the remaining active warp panels, counting five, "... alright, who wants to play a game of chance?"
All four then go their separate warp panels, leading to the following (and varied) results:
Topaz ends up in a room with a Mage and a Priest, both of them having their throats slit open upon seeing her, their [Magic Staves] taken, and the door next to them being punched down by Topaz before it was sent flying off of its hinges.
"... Vidar?" Byron spoke as Topaz was seen coming from behind enemy lines, to everyone's shock at a girl shorter than Lysithea have twice Raphael's strength, "... I think you might have competition."
The battle quickly then turned to the rescuers' favor, with the Hassashin quickly sending the enemy forces into disarray one slit throat at a time.
Karna finds himself in a lone tunnel with a switch at the end of the hallway. He then pushes it up, causing the air around them to go back to normal, only to flip it back down to send the air into disarray, essentially flipping the distribution of the Dragon Vein on and off like a curious kitten toying with a ball of yarn.
"Hm," he remarked curiously, "I wonder what happens if I keep flipping this up and down until the lever breaks?"
Adopting a devilish smirk, Karna begins pumping the crank that controlled the flow of mana coming from the Dragon Vein. At the battlefield, everyone began suffering nausea due to the extreme bipolarity being inflicted upon them right now.
"... What's going-*urp*... on?!" groaned Annette as the air around them twisting and fluxing like a wrung rag.
"... The Dragon Vein..." Seteth queasily remarked as he tried to keep standing straight, "... it's going out of control!"
At the teleporter where the Dark Mages were at, one of them ended up getting electrocuted from the sudden surge of mana that flared up during the hotwiring process, knocking him out cold.
"AW COME ON!" the remaining Dark Mage cursed, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CARRY THE PLAGUEBRINGER AND YOU BACK ON MY OWN?!"
Meanwhile, Selene finds herself at a hallway with a treasure chest at the end. Realizing that she doesn't have a key, she leaves.
Shamir also finds a treasure chest at the cramped area where she'd found a treasure chest at the end.
"Good thing I keep these around," she muttered to herself as she took out a [Chest Key] before inserting it into the lock of the trunk, revealing a sheathed [Levin Sword] inside, "finders keepers. Also note to self: stock up on [Door Keys] in case of Topaz or Ashe not being around."
Shamir then returns to where the chamber with the warp panels were at, meeting Selene.
"So uh..." she stammered, with Shamir noticing that Selene was eying at her [Levin Sword].
"You found a chest?" Shamir correctly guessed the girl's lack of words before handing her a [Chest Key], "make it quick."
Shamir then sees off Selene going back to her central northern warp panel before taking the same left northern warp panel where Karna went through. Upon reaching the other side, she finds Karna playing with the controls of the lever.
"Oh hey," greeted the ecstatic Professor, "having the time of my life right now, how are you?"
"You continue to baffle me with your inconsistency," deadpanned Shamir, "now are you going to stop or going to continue with your childish antics while the others are fighting for their lives?"
Karna ponders on his answer while his arm was throttling the lever up and down before said lever buckled and snapped in two. With the lever now broken, the very thing that was keeping the Dragon Vein's flow of mana under control now started to flood the whole area with excess and raw mana from the earth. The end result ended with everyone, including the Death Knight to start feeling queasy from this sudden overload.
"... Okay, I'm bored now," Karna groaned as both he and Shamir buckled under the pressure of surging mana, "... let's go."
The two return to the main hub of warp panels, where they find Selene wearing a [March Ring] tied around a cord. "Found this inside," she remarked before looking at Karna, "... it's yer fault that the whole place feels like arse?"
"Upper western panel," Karna ignored Selene's accusation as he then led the other two into the warp panel not taken.
Upon reaching the other side, they run into the main group with Topaz in tow, all of them looking under the weather due to Karna's shenanigans.
"Hey guys," greeted the cloaked Professor, "how are you all doing?"
"Drop dead," Seteth flipped him off.
"Later," Karna brushed it off as he stood before the last unopened door, "anyone have a spare [Door Key]?"
"I think I dropped it back somewhere," Caspar remarked, "I'll go get it-"
"No time to waste, we're going Plan B!" Karna retorted, "Vidar! Topaz! Punch down the doors!"
"Wait, are you nuts?!" Raphael remarked, "at least leave it to me-"
All complaints fall silent as soon as Topaz reveals her Demonic Beast arm with a "XIII" carved into the back of her clawed and scaly hand. Both she and Vidar then ball their hands into a fist before slamming their knuckles onto the door's surfaces with such force that it again, sent them flying off of their hinges and ends up hitting the Cavalier and the Mage behind the Death Knight, their heads spilt and spilled out into the open.
Not caring that he lost his auxiliaries, the Death Knight immediately takes flight out of the broken-down doors, swinging his weapon in a lethal arc, with Vidar quickly ducking out of the way while Topaz's Demonic Beast arm managed to absorb the impact to not cut through her arm, but more than enough to send her tiny body flying over the entire rescue party before landing hard on her back and rolling across the floor and hitting a wall.
"... Odd," spoke the Death Knight, "something that my scythe couldn't cut through."
"GO NOW!" Karna ordered as soon as he knew what was about to happen, "FIND FLAYN! WE'LL HOLD HIM OFF!"
"BUT YOU'LL DIE!" Seteth protested.
"TELL THAT TO SOMEONE WHO GIVES A DAMN!" Karna barked back as he fired his [Miasma Δ] at the Death Knight, dealing only small damage before an unknown forced shocked him back, "... like the Archbishop said to us, we're expendable."
"Karna..." Gilbert remarked as the Professor and the ragtag band of rejects stood back up.
"... What are you schmucks waiting for?!" he snarled out before slamming his [Crescent Sickle] to the ground, "GO!"
"I won't let you-" Vidar then pulls out his [Devil Axe] before the Death Knight swung back with his [Scythe of Sariel], the former's weapon breaking the axe in two.
Still, the moment of distraction provided enough time for the others to focus on finding Flayn and disperse throughout the Underground Chambers unimpeded, leaving the Death Knight to confront the Dustbin by himself.
"Guys," Sorcha sighed out in an attempt to calm herself as she drew her [Claymore], "call me chicken... but I think we might be over our eads' on dis one."
"Sure as hell doesn't look as fake," Byron grumbled as he imbued his [Hand Axe] with his [Frost] spell, "this is the real deal."
"You assume correctly," confirmed the Death Knight, "I am the true Death Knight. Do you have any last words?"
Karna smirks before flipping him off. "I said it once, and I'll say it again..." he snickered in defiance and genuine humor, "... your costume needs work, edgelord."
"Die," the Death Knight then gallops towards Karna before he was intercepted by Cyrus ramming his own horse against his.
"A horseman?!" Cyrus grinned as Darius dodged out of the way of the unseen force, "tell me, can you last against Battu horse-fighting?!"
"Astaroth!" the Death Knight's horse then brayed menacingly as it charged towards Cyrus and Darius, winding back his scythe in preparation for his victory strike.
However, Selene fires an arrow towards the Death Knight, causing the unseen force to instead attack her while at the same time, Cyrus manages to land a clean blow onto the horseman of death.
"Selene!" Sorcha ran towards her twin sister.
"... I... figured it out," Selene's voice trembled out, "... that unseen force... can only spot one attacker at a time."
"You heard her!" Karna cried out as he readied himself, "take him out two at a time!"
With this new strategy in mind, Karna and Vidar team up next. The former fires his [Miasma Δ] at the Death Knight while Vidar ran in pace with the spell's trajectory, allowing both to hit and only Karna was forced to dodge the unseen force akin to a god's wrath from above (despite being underground).
"Sucks to be you," Karna smirked, "your [Distant Counter] only applies to those who attack you one at a time and fight you in a fair fight," he pointed out, "too bad, for we play dirty."
"I'm more than enough alone," boasted the Death Knight as he then charged towards them, swinging down his [Scythe of Sariel] like a farmer breaking through the earth with his hoe as he tried to skewer the Professor from above where he rode.
"Problem is, you are alone," Karna focused on all of his energy on dodging the Death Knight's blows, keeping him busy while trying not to get too far from him in order to stifle one of horsemen's greatest advantages: their mobility and range. Sure, he can dismount, but by Karna purposefully giving him the higher ground, he's incentivized to stay stationary while he himself was no stranger to slipping out of perilous situations like the one he's putting himself into right now.
Only luck and a bit of skill can keep him and his class alive for now. The Death Knight was strong, but he's only one man facing against a group of survivors who'd just as faced just as worse as the Death Knight himself.
Meanwhile, Seteth was staring down at a Priest who was in cahoots with the Death Knight. He then drops his [Silver Lance] before picking the man up by the collar of his robes.
"I'm only going to ask this once and once only," he snarled, "where is Flayn?!"
"Who's Flayn-" the Priest was then punched in the face before being slammed against the wall.
"THE GIRL!" Seteth roared before he punched the man in the face again, drawing blood from his broken nose, "THE GIRL THAT WAS TAKEN THIS MONTH! WHERE IS SHE?!"
"I DON'T KNOW-" the Priest was then punched in the face once more, blackening his left eye.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" the overzealous administrator roared out in fury as he threw him onto the floor and pinned him down there, "I KNOW YOU HAVE HER! AND IF YOU DON'T GIVE THE ANSWER I LIKE, I SWEAR TO THE GODESS, I WILL ENSURE THAT YOU CONFESS THE TRUTH WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY!"
Seteth continues beating the man senseless. His fist torquing up and down upon the Priest's face, breaking him down slowly and painfully with each blow that bruised and wrecked the man's visage beyond all recognition.
"WHERE IS SHE?!" Seteth roared as he kept punching, "WHERE IS SHE?!"
"... Downstairs, downstairs!" the Priest finally confessed as his thrashing revealed a hidden door underneath the carpet that they were on, "... they're at the teleporter... I dunno what they're doing..."
Seteth glares at the pathetic man before picking him up off of the ground with his [Silver Lance]. "You're coming with me," he ordered as he pried the hidden door open to reveal a staircase leading elsewhere.
Back outside, the Dustbin were coordinating their attacks to dampen the effects of the Death Knight's [Distant Counter]. However, they also had to watch for his actual prowess with his scythe, with it not only being sharp enough to cleave through steel like paper, but also the man wielding it himself was also a skilled warrior himself, using the polearm akin to a calvary axe rather than the horsemen's usual choice of a lance weapon.
"... Persistent..." cursed the Death Knight, heaving slightly before the wounded and utterly exhausted Dustbin, "... you do not earn my admiration. Only my disgust."
"Like... we're here to make friends with you..." Karna gritted his head, with Byron using his last [Heal] on Karna after using it on Topaz, "... seriously. ... You're not exactly fun to fight either."
"The way you... hold your saddle... steadily..." Cyrus grinned, "... Battu will welcome a warrior like you."
"My blade belongs to no one," the Death Knight declared before he resumed his charge towards them.
"Kiddos, I got a plan," Karna remarked, "... but I need you all to buy me some time."
"Make it quick then," Byron remarked as he then fired his [Freeze] beam spell towards the Death Knight, which was then met with a retaliatory surge from the unseen force of [Distant Counter], but his [Prayer Ring] saves him last-minute from getting killed on the spot. Regardless, the spell hit and slowed the charge substantially due to the frost caking both the rider's and Astaroth's armors, adding more uneven weight to them.
"Sorcha! On me!" Cyrus barked as the Brigidian girl hopped onto Darius' back as they rode towards the Death Knight's recovered charge. Cyrus then leans forward, pointing his [Killer Lance] towards the Death Knight whereas Sorcha wound back her [Claymore] during their own charge.
The two clash at once, with Cyrus taking the brunt of the [Distant Counter] while Topaz managed to strike atop of his head hard enough to flip the horned skull helmet around backwards, blinding him momentarily until he wrestled with his own helmet back to its correct orientation by grabbing by its horns.
"You'll pay for that," threatened the Death Knight as it then chased after the two on Darius.
Meanwhile, Vidar and Topaz were running across the side of where the Death Knight was riding at, to which they were met with a spray of gravel caused by the Death Knight dragging his weapon across the floor and kicking up debris behind him.
"Which... one... first?!" Vidar grunted as he blocked the dust and gravel with his crossed arms.
"Who says we have to attack?" Topaz remarked before she ran ahead and jump onto Astaroth's hind before climbing atop of the Death Knight's horned head and covering his eyes with her hands, preventing him from seeing and tried to rip her off of his helmet.
"GET OFF OF ME!" the Death Knight then wrestles the little Hassashin off of his head before tossing her into the air, winding back his scythe and swung it towards her as she fell back down.
Topaz successfully blocks the killing blow, but at the cost of her [Bolo] snapping in two, dampening the impact of the strike as the scythe blade as it struck her Demonic Beast arm, but this time, the scales were breached as it drew black blood from its cracks.
"... Gonna feel that one tomorrow," Topaz groaned as her own Demonic Beast arm snapped itself back together, "... normal mending is beyond me now."
Selene, still standing next to Karna, saw him concentrate his mana into three focused points of output. "Professor," she asked, "what do I do?"
"... Get his attention, but don't die," he ordered cryptically. Selene then fires her [Iron Bow] towards the Death Knight, only for the arrow to miss and a lighting bolt to come down from above. In a desperate moment, Selene tosses her [Rusted Lance] above her head to absorb the lightning in her place as the Death Knight came riding towards her like a bat out of hell.
Karna, seeing an opening, smirks. "Hey Death Knight!" he taunted.
The Death Knight then switched of whom he's going to kill from Selene to Karna, for which the latter was counting on.
"You fell for it."
He snaps both of his fingers, unleashing [Dark Spikes T] above the Death Knight's head. The dark magic barbs explode upon contact, dismounting the Death Knight from Astaroth and finally bringing their brutal confrontation to an end.
"Checkmate," boasted the Professor as he fell onto his bottom in exhaustion.
Byron then notices something that had rolled from the Death Knight's procession. It was similar to those promotion [- Seal]s, only black in its frame to the usual gold and the gem being pearl rather than ruby-red. "Strange," he remarked as he put it away onto his person, "I think I'll keep it."
"Professor!" Cyrus cried out as he rode back with Sorcha on tow, "are you alright?!"
"... Well," he looked at the Death Knight, lying on the floor, "... I think edgelord's no longer an issue-"
The Dustbin then hear a rough cough coming from the Death Knight as he slowly got back up to his feet using his [Scythe of Sariel] for support. "... Damn accursed spell..." he coughed out as if he were choking on shards of glass, "... I'm not done yet..." he heaved out, "I AM NOT DONE-"
"That's enough."
Between the Dustbin and the Death Knight appeared the Flame Emperor accompanied by two War Masters wearing full-faced helmets with a grill-visored armored masks. The two bodyguard escorts were carrying a giant trolley with the Plaguebringer in tow.
"I beg of you," plead the Death Knight, "please, let me kill them as you've commanded!"
"I'm belaying that order," retorted the Flame Emperor, "we got what we came for, so it's time to cut our losses and run."
The Death Knight tries to protest, only for the Flame Emperor to stare him down into compliance. "... Understood," he reluctantly falls in, "I will go."
The Flame Emperor glares at the Dustbin behind his mask with a contemptuous look. "What will it take for you all to stop getting in our way?"
"Not giving you any ideas, pal," Karna flipped him off, "except for your costume, and no, it ain't getting better with age either."
The Flame Emperor then reaches into his cloak before scattering a pinkish-purple dust around himself, the Death Knight and the bodyguards carrying the unconscious Plaugebringer. "... We... will meet ... again-ah-ACHOO!" he suddenly sneezed under his mask and torqued his head down violently, "... damn flu season."
The four then disappear into thin air, completely gone from where they were.
"... Guess even terrorists have to take sicks days sometimes," snarked Byron.
"Come on," Karna ordered as he drank a [Concoction] to heal himself and numb his bodily pain, "... let's go find Flayn."
The Dustbin then come into the room where the Death Knight had come from, and at the center was Seteth, carrying Flayn in his arms as he and her came out of the open passageway on the floor. Flayn herself was looking rather awful, wearing nothing but white plainclothes stained in blood and dirt and her skin completely pale and placid like milk.
"... Hey," Karna remarked, "... don't tell me that she's-"
"No, she's alive," Seteth somberly stated, "but... I don't think she's okay."
Karna then looks at her chest, noticing a small stitch that reached all the way up to her lower thoat. "... I'm sorry," he bowed his head, "... I'm sorry that we couldn't have saved her."
Seteth shook his head. "You tried, you cared," spoke the administrator, "... that is enough."
Upon Flayn's rescue being confirmed by others throughout the Underground Chambers, everyone then unanimously agrees to leave without anything else having to be said. In fact, the less said about this situation, the better.
"... Come to think of it," Karna remarked as soon as he and the others got out of the Church's basement entrance, "... what about the Dragon Vein itself?"
"Pardon?" Seteth spoke.
"Yeah... during the fight while you guys were fighting everyone else, the levers controlling the flow of the latent mana kinda..." he half-fibbed his way out while trying to address one last problem for today, "... broke."
Everyone goes completely silent upon hearing what he was implying. It was then broken with Seteth letting out a deep sigh of annoyance that went on for a bit.
"Everyone," he deadpanned, "please run."
At the night of the penultimate day of the Horsebow Moon, a massive blue explosion of overclocked mana shot out from the side of the earth that the Monastery was situated upon. For the next 12 hours (without breaks), the Dustbin was ordered to clean up the mess, by themselves.
Silver lining, Flayn was successfully rescued alive and well (in a manner of speaking), the Dustbin were given at least partial credit (sparing about half of the usual wrath they usually receive on a monthly basis and the Archbishop begrudgingly admits that them facing the Death Knight by themselves was indeed worthy of praise), and they were allowed to keep their loot of [March Ring], two [Magic Staves], a [Levin Sword] (originally procured by Shamir) and a bizarre [-Seal]-like object later identified as the [Dark Seal] (used as a proof to show that they took on the Death Knight and won, albeit, almost dying in the process).
With that, the kidnapping case comes to a close. Everyone but the Dustbin slept like newborn babes.
31st of Horsebow Moon, Midnight
Flayn woke up from another nightmare. Or rather, it feels that the nightmare itself never ended.
For the past half month, she couldn't sleep. It was the equivalent of an endless night terror that she can't do anything about. A sleepless nightmare that never ended. A story about a rock who has gained self-awareness as it was helpless to do anything as it was chipped away by others.
A piece of Flayn was taken from her. A piece so vital to her sense of self that she can never get back, and in its place was a scar that was etched onto her very being which can never fade away no matter how much time passes by.
Her Crest that she was born with, a gift from the Goddess, was now gone.
"Mother..." she sobbed as Flayn sobbed on her bed while curled up into a ball, "... I'm so sorry..."
A knocking sound was heard. Flayn refused to answer, assuming that it was Seteth.
"Go away..." she whimpered, "... I'm fine-"
"Uh... Flayn?" spoke Byron's voice, much to her surprise, "... it's us. The Dustbin. We... we need to... apologize."
"... For what?" she asked, slightly bitter at their involvement for quite literally everything that had happened this month, "... you don't have to apologize."
"I know," Byron bluntly replied, "but we rather not you'd join in on our path of sordid cynicism and bloodshed," he protested, "look Flayn, you have things that we never had: a solid if overbearing family, a social circle involving normal people, a curiosity for life that allows you to be more open-minded than us, and above all else, a reason not to kill for fun."
Flayn knew that they were mostly right, but how could she truly believe in what they say? How can anyone claim to be sympathetic when they don't know who she really is?
"And before ye say that we don't understand ye, yer rite," Sorcha admitted, "but the only thin' we know for real is that yer hurt, and I git it. Getting hurt feking sucks. Sometimes it sucks so bad that ye never want to leave the bed and dat sometimes it's so bad dat ye want to die."
"Time doesn't stop regardless," Topaz spoke, "life is cruel, death may be an escape, but right now, you're alive. That itself is worth living on for."
"... We want... to help..." Vidar grunted, "... we want... to know... your... pain..."
"We're the worst kind of people in Fodlan, the other people sees us that way and there's nothing we can do to change that," Cyrus remarked, "all we can do is make sure that the others don't join us."
"It's too soon to give up Flayn," Selene stated, "... honestly, I liked that ye laughed at me story about the Dullahan even through it was supposed to be scary and all. For once, I... kinda felt like I knew what it means to... ye know, mean somethin' to someone else."
"For once in our lives, our efforts meant something," Byron stated, "we found someone who we can talk to as odd bedfellows. Someone who doesn't... you know, hate our guts for who we are."
Flayn's ears perked at what they've heard. She meant something to them. At first, she only joined and continued to listen in for curiosity's sake. They were able to connect with her with such short period of time.
"Flayn, if you must know," Topaz remarked, "we were the first ones to look for you and we almost ended up where you would've ended up on the same slab as you," she pointed out, "the others didn't stop looking for you, we really didn't stop to sleep, because you mean that much to us all."
"You kinda mean a lot to us," said Cyrus, "... you mean so much to us that we want to... well, try again with our friendship."
"So again, once more," Byron begged, "can you let us back into your world? Just for one night? For one last story that we can share without having to you know... repeat what happened? A good dream for night, just saying."
Flayn was honestly taken aback by those people that Seteth derided as "deviants" and "hellions". But turns out that behind their bloodthirsty exterior that were more akin to demons rather than human beings, deep down, they do have a sense of camaraderie that extended also towards her. But instead of viewing her as a kindred spirt to them, they saw her as someone worth fighting for. Someone who inspires through will alone. A light of reprieve for their eternal darkness.
Gathering her willpower, Flayn walks towards the door and opens it, revealing the Dustbin carrying a trunk of props and a lantern with them. "Oh, wow," she blinked, "... what's with all of those things for?"
"Figured we go the extra mile for tonight's story night," Byron answered as they came in, "... a little improv, from the heart."
"No old wives tales or ghastly rumors," Cyrus remarked, "just an entirely original story from us amateur story writers."
"... You... need... love..." Vidar poked at Flayn's chest scar, "... for... hurt... you... have."
They then open the trunk, revealing a mask, a wooden replica of [Thunderbrand] (Catherine technically has the trademark rights to it due to her being the current wielder of the Relic), cloaks of several different colors, a long-haired wig colored in red and blue and a small harp.
"Please, have a seat," Selene escorted Flayn back to her bed, "tonight, yer whole room's gonna be the stage for tonight's one and only performance."
Byron then covers the lantern before unveiling it, now with Topaz playing the main heroine of the story, indicated by her wearing the red and blue wig and wielding the wooden sword. In the background, a strum of the small harp played.
"Once there was a great warrior woman," narrated Byron as the character which Topaz played walked in place, "her skill with the blade was unrivaled, her beauty unmatched by her peer, and her soul pure and clean as the tears of the heavens above."
The lantern is then covered again before unveiling, now depicting the villain taking something from her body represented by the blue cloak. The villain played by Cyrus was dressed in a red cloak that covered him head to toe, with the only thing that was recognizable of him was the white mask of a human visage that made him look dispassionate and evil.
"Then one day, the Hell Lord took the warrior woman's very soul, stripping her what made her unique," narrated Byron, in an obvious parallel to what had happened to Flayn, "realizing that she had lost the very thing that had made her special, the warrior woman set off on a journey to take herself back."
The lantern darkens before brightening to another scene again, this time, the heroine surrounded by two masked bodies acting as corpses (played by the twins) as the harp itself struck a deep note.
"Without her soul, she became merciless," spoke Byron, "without herself, the warrior woman simply became a killer. She'd dirtied herself to simply take back what was hers."
The room goes dark again, the light revealing the heroine now wearing the white mask that the corpses and the Hell Lord wore.
"Upon noticing, she'd realized that she was now losing herself."
The room goes dark again, upon lighting back up revealing the heroine raising her sword over her own masked face.
"She refused to prove the Hell Lord right."
The room goes dark again before lighting back up to the scene where she now faced the Hell Lord himself, but now her face covered in rags and bandages similar to Vidar's.
"I am me," spoke Topaz's character, "you can take my soul, my talent or my beauty, but in the end, you will never destroy me!"
"Come," spoke Cyrus' character, extending out both his arms to the side, "come and be destroyed."
The lights go out before revealing the heroine finally taking her soul back, as indicated by her wearing the blue cloak around herself and her partially taking her bandages off of her face.
"In the end, the heroine reclaims her soul," narrated Byron as Flayn spotted Vidar being the one to play the harp this whole time, "but she knew that with or without her soul, she was still who she was and the fact never changed. She can change, she can grow, and above all else, she is still who she is, and no one can take or destroy herself."
The Dustbin gather before Flayn and all bowed. "The end," all of them spoke altogether.
Flayn began sobbing softly, feeling touched that the Dustbin were the ones who put this improv performance from the heart for her to tell her something.
Crest or no crest, she still had people who would love and protect her. People who will accept and cherish her even without what made her special.
Humanity won't end simply with one tragedy. They showed her that.
"Thank you all!" she sobbed as Flayn hugged them, "... I'm glad that I've met you all as my friends!"
Behind the doors, Seteth himself was listening in on their performance this whole time. At first, he was going to come and and stop them, but after giving a heartfelt (if sloppy) performance that resonated with his family, then perhaps he needs to reevaluate his opinion on the Dustbin.
"... Alright," he nodded as he walked away from Flayn's room, "... I'll let you go for tonight... but your asses better not be in there by the next morning."
To Be Continued...
Support Conversations:
- Cyrus and Sorcha (C)
Cyrus: "What do you want? Calling me out here of all places of all times?"
Sorcha: "Hrmmm..."
Cyrus: "You staring at me? What are you looking at me like that for?"
Sorcha: "Can't believe that yer dis big yet yer weaker without Darius... Alright, it's decided. I'm challenging ye to fine me!"
Cyrus: "... What."
Sorcha: "I've seen how ye tick. Tell me, can ye fight without yer horse or does your horse fight for you?"
Cyrus: "Darius and I are one! We fight together and stay together! That's how we win our fights!"
Sorcha: "Sounds like yer chicken! Can't fight alone, can ye?"
Cyrus: "Oh yeah?! Then let's see you fight and win against me on horseback!"
Sorcha: "What?! I'm de one callin' de shots ere'!"
Cyrus: "What's the matter? Chicken?"
Sorcha: "URAGH! FINE! BRING IT! BUT IF I WIN, YE GO A WEEK WITHOUT DARIUS!"
Cyrus: "But if I win, you go a week on a horse."
Sorcha: "Bring it, I'll make ye eat yer own horse's shite!"
- Selene and Karna (C)
Selene: "... Hello... Professor."
Karna: "Ah, Selene. Hardly working or working hard?"
Selene: "... *sigh* Both. People ere' are feking terrifying when I'm not killin' em."
Karna: "Please. Elaborate. I'd like to help."
Selene: "*sigh* How should I describe it... it's like people are... judging me on thin's that I'm not good at. Like... ye know, talking to people outside the Dustbin and whatnot. I'm more afraid of people givin' me the stink-eye than actually, ye know. Dyin'."
Karna: "Hm. Curious. How does that occur?"
Selene: "Maybe unlike me sis, me da raised me to be de 'shadow'. The ones that guard me family and clan from the darkness. I watch from afar and I take care of others who I care about. Never learned to talk until Princess and us were dragged to Adrestian Empire as tribute. Then after dat, people just... came in."
Karna: "Yes, such bipolarity would be rather... traumatic."
Selene: "And I learned from me sis' example dat I can't kill whoever I like to or shite's gonna git worse since well, der's more people ere' than all of us in Brigid and Dagda combined."
Karna: "So you wish for me to teach you soft power? The art of talking and conversing without recoil?"
Selene: "If dat's wat's called, den ya, I'll bite."
Karna: "Well, given my own... history with people, I might be the worst kind of person to be learning social etiquette. Are you okay with other people getting involved in this... tutoring?"
Selene: "Anything to help. I ain't picky."
Karna: "Alright, here's the first lesson: find someone willing to teach us about social etiquette in the first place."
Author's Notes: OH MY FUCKING GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE.
This chapter, more or less, is two separate chapters that I've crammed into a single behemoth of a chapter. Silver lining, my schedule slip is now over and hopefully in the foreseeable future, I don't mess up the game's canonical continuity since I'm already taking massive liberties with the game's mechanics for a more, shall I daresay, "realistic" pacing and absurd black comedy.
My deal with the Death Knight, by far, it's one of the most challenging foes that the Dustbin had to ever face. He's on Maddening difficulty when he was ordered to kill the Dustbin to eliminate a future threat, so in order for the Dustbin to, you know, not die (remember, they don't have Sothis to turn the clock back for them), they had to break the game's traditional strategy RPG formula in favor of real-time free-roaming RPG ala Xenoblade Chronicles, and even then, Byron almost bit it if it weren't for the [Prayer Ring] saving his ass the last minute. Simply but, due to the Death Knight being so aggressive (again, alluding to the Maddening difficulty's version of him), Karna couldn't just go in and snipe him off of the map with [Dark Spikes T]. He had to set it up first before firing the sucker onto him to kingdom come. Needless to say, Byron earned that [Dark Seal].
And for Flayn losing her Crest stone? Yeah, that's not just angst for the sake of angst, but rather, said Crest stone along with the Plaguebringer's existence hints sinister designs...
Also, since Horsebow Moon is September, what better way to kick off Fodlan's autumn than with a flu season that not even the Flame Emperor isn't immune to? Oh yeah, and the three house leaders and Hubert calling in sick was the whole justification for their canonical non-involvement for the "Rumors of a Reaper" chapter, so there's that.
Alright, gonna go now. See you next week for an arc that I was dying to write before the schedule slip kicked my ass four weeks straight (five counting the cold).
References:
- Death Knight's horse name "Astaroth" is named after one of the 72 Demons of Ars Goetia. An overly-edgy name for an equally-edgy Death Knight.
- The Flame Emperor's War Master escorts were wearing full-faced gladiator helmets called the Cassis Crista (worn by the Murmillo-class gladiators) in lieu of their usual spartan helms. Also, said gladiator helmets were also used in Fire Emblem Awakening's generic Warrior class. Heavier than most helmets but provides more overall protection and good for keeping up the mask-theme of the Flame Emperor's forces. Anonymity helps.
- The plot of the play held by the Dustbin in Flayn's room is thematically inspired by Nier, but nowhere as remotely near as bleak as Yoko Taro's twisted mind.
- The main heroine/Flayn allegory (played by Topaz) is a homage to the leaked Fire Emblem 17 MC, right down to the red and blue "Colgate hair".
- The Hell Lord/Flame Emperor and Death Knight composite-allegorical character (played by Cyrus) is designed after Jack of Blades from the Fable series and named after Nier's Shadowlord but without the nuance.
- Sorcha and Cyrus' support conversation's ending exchange is based off one of Liu Kang and Kung Lao's pre-match intros ("If I win, you a week hatless; When I win, you go a week wearing one.").
