'Blast! Ferdinand is out,' Edelgard breathed.

'I am quite sure Ferdinand went out with a valiant fight your high'-

'Enough sarcasm, Hubert.'

A mixture of boos and cheers filled the cooling air as knights pulled down the final two yellow flags. Dorothea grinned at Lorenz and the man spun his head the other way.

'Gosh, the Black Eagles have certainly done well. Although the odds are really against them now,' Ignatz said.

'If the Lions get back far enough then the new professor won't be able to get close,' Lysithea said.

'Even if they do, Felix and Dimitri are two of the most skilled and disciplined fighters in all Faerghus,' Ingrid said. 'For Byleth to take them on at the same time, plus Sylvain and Hanneman, is impossible.'

'The Black Eagles have much to be proud of in their professor,' Dedue said, 'but victory does now look difficult for them.'

'True,' Linhardt said, 'but the odds have been against him the entire time so go figu'-

Linhardt fell silent.

'The winged horses are nearly here,' Dimitri said. 'The final horn will sound imminently.'

Felix sulked and dragged his blade across the ground, splashing his feet in the puddles that were beginning to form. 'What a joke, he's not even going to face us. Coward.'

'Relax Felix, I shall spar with you in the training ground tomorrow to make up for it,' Dimitri said.

'Hmph.'

'I can't let my date know that I just stood around the whole time, I'll need to come up with a cool story,' Sylvain said. 'Would you guys be good if I said the professor came out the woods and I'-

Thrashing sounds came from behind them and they turned. Sylvain squinted his eyes. In the heavy rain, he saw… something, something that made the hairs on his neck rise.

'It's...,' he trailed off. Suddenly his throat tightened. At one moment, he felt tired, the next, his heart thundered in his chest, as if it were trying to break free from his body. The thing reached the edge of the trees, and that's when he spotted the blue hair of the new professor. His long black cloak trailed at the arms and to Sylvain he looked like a monster from old ghost stories.

For a moment, none of the Blue Lions spoke.

'The professor,' Hanneman eventually said, not sounding like himself.

'He's… actually going to fight...,' Dimitri breathed.

At one moment, the one known by many as the Ashen Demon was at the final line of trees, Sylvain blinked and suddenly the man was tearing across the grassland towards them. His heartrate spiked further. 'W-We don't have time to retreat,' he choked.

'Stand back,' Professor Hanneman said, raising his hand. 'Allow me to'-

'No you don't! I've been waiting for this,' Felix said. There was an uncharacteristic twang to his voice. 'He's mine!'

'Wait, Felix,' Dimitri shouted, but Felix didn't. He sprinted forward, closing in on Byleth and blocking Hanneman's line of sight. Dimitri cursed. 'We're committed, Sylvain, let's go!'

Moving towards Byleth was the last thing Sylvain wanted to do, but he nodded and forced himself forward.

'You better be ready, Professor,' Felix shouted. 'I'm going to make you wish you never set foot in this monastery!'

Byleth said nothing, only continued to close in on his prey.