Of course it couldn't just end like that. It would have been way too easy. What did she thought this was, a fairytale?! Defeat the big bad evil woman, save the day and get the boy?!

Amane the Orochi peered down the edge, anxiety and worry spiking through her, Apollyon's last words washing over her and inside her mind like an angry storm. Finally, at long last, this madwoman's plan made sense.

She wanted war. Just… war. And what better way to do it than to make an enemy of every other faction currently in Heatmoor? Than, once everyone has banded together against her… disappear into the wind.

The factions would then lose the common enemy that they wanted to fight, leaving only… each other. And a multi millennial grudge to settle, all of which not aided by the Viking's sudden invasion, the cheeky little bastards.

She chewed her lips, not really knowing straight away what exactly she was supposed to do. The obvious thing would have been to go back down and join her comrades in fighting the Knights and Vikings… but she didn't want the conflict to continue. She didn't want this war to protract for any longer than it had to.

She promised him that she would put an end to the bloodshed, after all.

Speaking of…

Amane had heard some footsteps, a little bit after winning against Apollyon, followed by some hushed whispers in Latin. She turned around… and there he was.

Corvo. The former healer of the Blackstone Legion. Someone who, in the almost two months that she knew him, she had become extremely close to. The one that broke the prejudice in their camp about the Knights being all enemies. A prejudice that even she fell victim to.

Hard not to, considering she had almost been crushed under their horses' hooves, but she was nonetheless glad that she managed to move past that.

He was talking to… her.

She wasn't dead yet. It was only a matter of time, she knew that much, but there was… something different about the woman. Her eyes were different, full of all the warmth of someone who deeply cares about the person they were speaking to.

Amane narrowed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the conversation. Corvo had taught her a bit of Latin, during their many healing sessions together, and even after, when they both had time. Mainly just another excuse to pass some time with him, but she was genuinely interested. Learning the language of the enemy could prove to become a boon for them, after all.

They hadn't gone far into the lessons, both because they rarely had time and because Latin ended up being a lot more complicated than she thought, but she managed to pick up some things here and there.

Obviously, she was lost for most of the conversation. She caught some words here and there, like "Caelum", their home village, some verbs and adjectives, but the end surprised her greatly.

Apollyon smiled one last time, closing her eyes, while Corvo released a shuddering breath.

"Requiescat in pace, mater…"

The first few words meant "rest in peace". They were actually the first words he translated for her, to sate her own curiosity when a dying Knight murmured them to one of their allies. The last one… was familiar.

She wrecked her brain for almost an entire minute before she managed to figure it out. And the answer shocked her to her core.

Mater… or "hahaoya" in Japanese…

Mother.

Apollyon was Corvo's mother?!

Did… did she just…?!

She killed his mother?!

Terror gripped her heart. Of all people, why did she had to be HIS mother?! Could there have been another solution?!

Did he hate her now…?

She hated how weak and pathetic her inner voice sounded with that last sentence. She was the Emperor's Champion damn it! Amane was confident, playful and strong. She had to be! The opinion of a simple healer shouldn't be a concern of hers!

But it was. She cared about his opinion of her, more than anybody else's.

So, when he looked at her, smiled and nodded, she felt like a massive weight was lifted from her chest. Now, if only her face could stop burning…

"Thank you… for finally freeing her".

She wordlessly nodded back, and together they started heading back down. They had a war to stop for good.

"Okay, that was impressive. And I don't just say that to anyone, you know?"

Corvo exhaled from his nose for the tenth time in the last half an hour.

"Like, seriously, you just showed up, screamed 'stop' and everyone did just that! My allies, your allies, even the Vikings! Why did you never say that you were friends with their leader?! That could have saved us a lot of headaches, you know?!"

"Alright, alright, I get it! Can we move on from this conversation already?! You're getting awfully repetitive…"

Amane pouted while he finished bandaging her left arm. Holy Diana, he knew that she was a lively one, but she seriously hadn't stopped talking since they managed to cool everyone's spirits.

And he thought that Skye and Stone were chatty…

Speaking of which…

"You'll be going back to them, aren't you? With the Knights, I mean…"

He nodded.

"I've been away for far too long. Someone has to clean the mess that Apollyon left behind…"

"Isn't that your friend's job now? She is their new queen, after all…"

Yup, good ol Skye the Warden was unanimously elected as the new praetor of the Iron Legion… and by extension, the queen of the entire faction, since the Legion was the most important one among the ones remaining.

It used to be the Blackstone Legion, which meant that Apollyon used to be at the helm… but now command had shifted to his friend.

And he couldn't be more proud. Her name had been one worth remembering indeed.

"Even royalty can't do everything by themselves. Ayu is living proof of that, with how much she has to delegate between you four…"

Amane huffed gently.

"I guess that's true… you'll come visit every once in a while, won't you?"

Corvo grinned. It was an expression he wasn't used to having on his face, so might as well take the habit once again. He had plenty of reasons to smile now, after all.

"Of course. Besides, we'll see each other again at the meeting between factions at the next solstice. I have ties with everyone involved, so Skye will surely want me to attend".

"Yeah…"

Amane started kicking the air while Corvo decided that it's time to begin packing his things. He had a couple of days worth of journey ahead of him. But he couldn't help but notice that the Orochi… looked like she wanted to say something.

"Say…"

"Hm?"

"Next time… next time we see each other… are you going to keep teaching me?"

The healer tilted his head.

"You still want to learn?"

The Empress' Champion blinked owlishly, like she couldn't believe what she just said, but quickly covered it up.

"Of course! Your language is… plenty interesting, after all, eheheheh…"

That was the most embarrassed laugh he ever heard in his life. Which made it pretty obvious that the female warrior wasn't telling him everything. But he decided to squash his curiosity and gave her an out.

"It's a promise then!"

He extended his hand towards her, smiling the entire time.

Amane stared at his hand. Then his face.

She smiled as well and grasped his hand.

"It's a promise".

Hello?! Is this thing on?! It is?! Noice.

Welcome, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of AHO, the show where character arc do eventually get somewhere!

Or… not really. Corvo's character still isn't fully complete, as not all questions have been answered yet.

But anyway, we are officially back, the break is finally over! And with it, the For Honor Campaign section of this story has also come to an end. We're still not done with the story itself, obviously, but things will now start to get… spicier, probably.

But before we get started with the DLC heroes, we have a couple more chapters to go. Two "special chapters", in a way for some that sweet, sweet lore.

Next time on A Healer's Oath: Apollyon, The Goddess of War.

By the way, during the break, this story officially turned one year old! So... happy belated anniversary, I suppose!

That's all folks! Ta-ta for now!