Part 1: White Clouds

More Than Meets the Eye

"This isn't like him. He was supposed to be back two days ago."

Sitri was on top of the Monastery walls looking out to the distance and trying to find a sign of her friend. Jeralt had been out on a mission with the Knights of Seiros and was supposed to be back by now. But he wasn't. What's more, is that there hasn't been a single message sent to confirm that they would be delayed. Jeralt always sent a message if he was being held back.

"Are you still troubled by Captain Jeralt, my child?"

Sitri turned around to see Lady Rhea approaching her, who looked very regal in the moonlight. "It is quite late at night my child, we all need to rest."

"I know. But I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. You know Jeralt would say something if he was to be delayed."

"We can only hope the Goddess can guide him home." Rhea said clasping her hands together. That didn't make Sitri feel any better. In fact it made her mad.

She hated the way that this planets inhabitants always seemed to throw their problems or solutions to this 'Goddess' person. Sure, she can understand everyone has a faith to hold onto. But nobody seemed to think for themselves around here. And Rhea was no different. Why not just go out and find them?!

That's when Sitri had an idea as she sprinted over to her room and went into the chest at the foot of her bed and pulled out her scouter. She quickly fixed it onto her ear and pressed the button to turn it on. "Come on….. boot up already…."

"My child, what are you doing?"

Rhea was wondering what had gotten Sitri in such a state that she felt like she had to check in on her. But Sitri wasn't paying attention, and Rhea saw why when she saw the scouter and her eyes narrowed. "Who gave you that?"

Sitri gasped when she saw a multitude of power levels in the vicinity that Jeralt was in. And she knew that he didn't take that many knights with him. "Jeralt is in trouble! I have to help him!"

She started to run out her room but something grabbed her arm. She turned around to see Rhea clinging to her arm who had a dark look over her eyes. "I cannot let you go out there!"

"But he's in trouble! He will be killed!"

"We can send help over but not you! You're too fragile!"

That hit Sitri deep as she let out a growl yanking her arm away. "Let's get something straight Archbishop. I may be severely weakened, but I can still blow this entire land to dust, so don't call me fragile. Second of all, I am not your lost puppy! I am a Saiyan! And I am going to help my friend!"

With that parting sentence, Sitri ran outside as a white aura formed around her with Rhea running after her. "Sitri please! Don't go!"

"Get away from me!" Sitri yelled before completely shocking Rhea as she started flying away. It was something the Archbishop has never seen before. But now she was beyond worry. And she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists together.

"That stupid girl is going to get my mother killed!" Rhea yelled as she turned around with a crazed look. "Knights of Seiros! To me!"

In the air, Sitri was using her scouter as a guide to Jeralt as the wind blew in her hair which gave her a sense of ease, despite the situation. It had been a while since she actually flew so she was loving this. But right now, her focus was on her friend. "Come on Jeralt, don't die on me…."

…

"Captain! There are too many of them!"

"Where did they come from?!"

"I'm getting overrun!"

"Stay strong men!" Jeralt yelled dodging a swing from a sword as he stabbed his attacker through the throat. He doesn't know how these attackers got here, or what purpose killing him and his men were. All he could do right now was defend as best as he could, but even that was becoming an impossible task with no hope of any reinforcements arriving.

"Kill the followers of the Goddess!"

Jeralt dodged another attack in the form of a lance and forced his hand against the attackers chest and shot a Ki blast that went straight through his chest, killing him instantly. He was trying to not use Ki attacks since he hadn't trained on how to properly control it. Right now, each attack he used drained a huge portion of energy making him more exhausted. He barely ducked out of the way as an arrow whizzed past his head when he saw mages charging up dark magic.

"Captain! We can't hold them off!"

"Men! Group up with me!"

Jeralt picked up a shield off the ground from a fallen knight as the remaining members of his squad grouped up behind him as the mages charged up their spells. He knew he couldn't block it, but hoped that at least he could protect the others. "Men! If I fall in battle, you run and you don't look back! Do I make myself clear?!"

"But Captain-"

"That's an order!"

He grit his teeth bracing himself for the impact as the mages all fires their magic and the orbs of darkness sailed towards the group. Jeralt closed his eyes and waited for death.

….It never came.

He slowly opened his eyes to see a red barrier was around him and his squad. That's when he saw a certain someone standing in front of him. It was Sitri, who had her arms crossed in an 'X' fashion. She deployed a Ki barrier to deflect the incoming magic. She blew out a breath and started coughing once the barrier dissipated. "Sorry I couldn't come sooner Jeralt."

"Sitri. Your illness. You can't be out-" Jeralt started to say but Sitri cut him off.

"Don't worry about me. We need to get you and your men to safety." She was in a stance staring down the attackers who were confused at the newcomer. Jeralt nodded at that and looked at his men once more.

"Men, you go to the Monastery and you get help. You don't come back without reinforcements, you understand? We can handle it from here."

"Yes sir!"

Jeralt took a stance beside Sitri as his men all started running away. She pressed the button on her scouter to scope out the various power levels. "I can say that there are 59 enemies around here. Let's try and pick them off. Their power levels aren't anything to write home about."

"Got it." Jeralt replied.

"Who is this?" The leader growled clenching his fists. This was supposed to be an easy assignment. Yet this woman shows up out of nowhere and disrupts the plan when it was so close! "Everyone! Kill those two!"

"Get ready!" Sitri yelled.

"I'm always ready!"

…

Byleth let out a sigh as she and Shamir walked out of a house, which was the fourth one they went to. So far, they weren't able to get much leads on these visitors, other than them kidnapping the families children and killing the animals. It just didn't make sense. She hugged her arms as the snow had started coming down harder than when they left the inn.

"Where else could we ask?" Shamir asked holding her hand against her forehead in an attempt to stop the snowflakes from hitting her face. "But then again, I doubt we can get anything out of the townsfolk, it seems that they either don't say anything or are just as clueless as we are."

Her partner hummed in thought, placing a hand on her cheek. That's when her ears perked up and the hair on her neck tingled, as she sensed something nearby. That's it! That's what they can do. Byleth closed her eyes and let loose a breath, clearing her mind. Shamir tilted her head and wondered what Byleth was doing.

That's when Byleth opened her eyes and did something that Shamir had never seen before in her life. She started levitating off the ground. Not like a mage going a few inches, but steadily flying skyward. She was flying! Byleth was flying!

While Shamir was freaking out over this, Byleth closed her eyes again and managed to sense some individuals who had strange fluxes in their energy. But suddenly, they disappeared just like that. Like they realised what she was doing. "Damn it….."

Sighing heavily, she dropped back down to the ground, with the crunching of snow beneath her feet being louder in the cold, quiet afternoon. That's when she heard the sound of someone's throat clearing. Confused, Byleth turned around to see Shamir standing there with her arms crossed and looking very annoyed. "What?"

"So when were you going to tell me that you can FLY?!"

Byleth blinked slowly, as if registering what she just said, before laughing quietly. "Oh yeah. I can sort of fly. I'm not very good at it yet, so I don't use it that often."

But then Byleth's face turned serious, remembering what she sensed. "Someone is around here. They're hiding from us, but I sensed them for a second."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. It was faint, but I sensed it." Shamir replied as she was looking around, trying to see anything but unfortunately found nothing. "But back on the main subject, why didn't you teach me how to fly? Do you have any idea how much time we could've saved?"

A giant sweat drop formed on Byleths head as Shamir loomed over her, eyes glinting dangerously. Byleth started waving her hands in front of her and stammered, trying to explain. "I-I'm not good at it yet, a-and you know, get the basics done first you know?"

Byleth then bowed her head and dropped to her knees clasping her hands together above her head and whispered. "Please don't hurt me…."

Shamir just sighed and shook her head, helping Byleth up to her feet again. "Why don't we make up for lost time and you can just teach me how to fly. Besides, we're not getting anywhere just chasing people who don't want to be found. Let's come up with a plan and try again tomorrow."

"Right!" Byleth nodded, giving a smile but let out a small 'eep' when Shamir glowered at her again. "In the meantime, you're going to teach me how to fly."

"W-Well, in all honestly its not that difficult to actually do, you just need to keep practicing. Come with me and I'll show you."

Byleth grabbed her hand and lead Shamir over to an open patch of land just outside town which was caked in snow as it kept on falling. She then stepped back and looked at her partner who was standing there with her arms crossed. "There's not really a big explanation Shamir, but the best way I can explain is that you have your energy at your core right?"

Shamir nodded, watching Byleth point at her abdomen. "Okay, so all you do is push it down until it's below your feet."

Byleths face scrunched in concentration as the snow started melting around her due to how much energy she was putting out in an attempt to give herself lift. After a few moments, her feet lifted off of the ground as Shamir covered her face to stop the snow hitting her, but watched in awe at Byleth flying, even if it was for the second time. "So, just like that huh?"

As if on cue, Byleth fell to the ground with a loud groan, looking tired. It seemed that it drained a lot out of her, but she gave a shaky smile. "Yeah, just like that."

Shamir looked down at her feet and repeated the instructions in her head. Just push down the energy to her feet. Just push it down.

She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as the snow started to get blown away under her feet as she slowly rose up the ground. Byleth struggled to hold in her glee as Shamir went higher and higher until her feet were level with Byleths head. Shamir then groaned loudly and fell with a thud just like her partner. She panted hard trying to catch her breath before slowly looking up. "This is…. liberating to say the least."

Shamir got up to her feet and dusted the snow covering her trousers. "If you're struggling with this, then I propose something. Whenever we aren't investigating these visitors, let's try and perfect flying. This would be a highly beneficial ability to have, wouldn't you agree?"

"I agree, but I just never found time for it." Byleth said, walking back to the inn with Shamir who shook her head and pumped her fist.

"Then let's make the time. It will help us in future missions too."

"I guess…"

"What's the problem? Usually you would be thriving for the chance to train."

"It's just a feeling I have." Byleth replied, still looking around. "It's like you said, I fear that there is more going on here than just killing livestock and kidnappings. I fear it's…. sinister. It's weird, but it seems that there's more going on with Faerghus itself too. Why couldn't they help?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I usually spend my time outside the territories of Fódlan. Honestly, the Church feels like the only safe place nowadays, and that's saying something considering my beliefs."

They were entering the inn as the bartender sauntered off to the kitchen to prepare food for the pair as they sat in a booth. "That reminds me Shamir. Why did you join the Knights of Seiros? You don't strike me as someone who believes in the Goddess."

"You would be right to assume. I don't believe in the Churches teachings." Shamir replied, holding out a hand for a cup of tea to appear for her. As if on cue, the bartender handed her a mug filled with the amazing liquid she loves so much. "But Lady Rhea helped me once. I felt like joining the Knights would be my best way of repaying her. So why didn't you join the Knights?"

Byleth shrugged as her tail wrapped tighter round her waist. "I never grew up around the Church. To the point where I only found out about the Church last month when I arrived. My dad did everything he could to keep me from it."

Shamir raised her eyebrows in surprise as she set her mug down. "Now that's surprising how you've never known anything about the Church. But from what I've heard, Professor Jeralt doesn't seem too keen on the Church."

"How so?"

"Well, going by what I have heard, he pretty abandoned the Knights. Why he did that, I have no idea. But to keep you from it must mean he really doesn't like the Church."

Byleth looked down again, as if thinking back to the events of Remire Village. "He didn't seem thrilled when Alois arrived…"

And then she remembered what Jeralt warned her about. 'Keep your guard up around Lady Rhea. I don't know what she's planning.'

"….Shamir, can I ask you something? What's your opinion on Lady Rhea?"

Shamir raised her eyebrow at that question and shrugged. "Well, she helped me so-"

"No, I mean what do you think of her as a person?"

Now she had a surprised expression on her face. But then that gave way to a light chuckle. "Wow. You're actually the first person to ask that question. Most people just paint her as this holy being."

Shamir looked around so as not to attract unwanted attention and leaned in. "But my opinion of her? It's hard to say. I know that's a shit answer, but…. Lady Rhea always has this mask about her. Like she's hiding something. I know that's a weird thing to say, but I feel that she's done stuff that she isn't proud to admit. Wouldn't exactly be this holy Archbishop if people found out that she had flaws now, would she?"

Byleth was silent during this entire evaluation of their employer. She wasn't satisfied with that answer. She felt like Rhea was interested in her, and her alone. The way that she would steal glances at her and had this passive look in her eyes. Like she knew something about her that Byleth didn't. It was frustrating to say the least, but thankfully she had somewhat of an ally in Shamir when it came to Rhea.

"Jeez, I've never seen you think and eat at the same time. It's fascinating to say the least."

Byleth blinked and realised that she had an entire turkey leg in her mouth. She must've spaced out for who knows how long. "You okay Byleth?"

"Yeah, just thinking about the mission." Byleth lord and continued eating. "I'll be taking an early night tonight."

"What? But it's only 7pm. Why go to sleep now?"

"It's what dad always taught me." Byleth said dabbing her mouth with a napkin, now full. "Always be asleep before the full moon. I'll see you in the morning Shamir."

"Wait, Byle-" Shamir didn't have time to call out as Byleth already went upstairs leaving behind a confused Shamir. "Full moon? Is she talking about that ridiculous legend? Surely not…"

"You mean the Moon Monster?"

Shamir turned to see the Bartender clearing tables as he heard what she said. "It ain't no legend miss. It's very much real, my dad saw it with his own two eyes."

She rolled her eyes and sipped at her tea. "And what exactly is this monster?"

He blinked, not expecting her to continue the conversation, but he cleared his throat, continuing to clear tables. "Hard to say, but all I know is that it happened in neutral territory. Dad described it was like a great ape, and it devastated a forest and mountaintop. Happened about fifteen years ago. Nobody has seen it since. The gospel spread around like wildfire, about how you must never be out on a full moon otherwise the monster will get you."

"Don't you think that sounds silly when it's only appeared once?"

"Maybe. But I've seen the damage for myself. Anyway, that's not why I came over. I have something that could help you."

Shamir raised an eyebrow but motioned for him to continue. At the stairwell, Sothis was listening in to that conversation as she had a hand on her chin thinking. 'A monster every full moon? That would be a cause for concern. But it does seem weird for Byleth to avoid this monster at all costs, I would've assumed that she would try to find it. And beat it up.'

She then shrugged it off and floated back to the room where Byleth was sleeping. She honestly looked peaceful and serene while resting in her bed. Nothing like the training obsessed buffoon that she had learned to tolerate. But now Sothis was thinking about the mission.

'Hmmmm… I have a feeling that those two are right. I've had this strange feeling ever since we arrived at this town. The residents here are scared. That much is true. But it feels like much more happened than just what the mayor let on. Maybe he simply can't bring himself to explain it? Who knows…. It's like these visitors are waiting…..'

Sothis then started yawning and stretched her arms, and smacked her lips. 'I suppose… we will find out….. tomorrow…..'

Meanwhile downstairs, Shamir was in shock at what she just heard from the bartender. "You are joking."

"Why would I lie about that miss? The mayor wants to help, but those visitors….. they're something else. They were using something that wasn't like magic. They used weaponry that formed on their hands, it was unlike any form of magic I've ever seen. They were the ones who told the mayor to ask the Church."

"So… there is nothing wrong with the Kingdom right now?"

"Well, not exactly. We heard rumours of a rebellion happening but nothing that couldn't prevent the Kingdom from sending help. But the leaders direct orders were to contact the Church. We fear that it may be a trap for you two. It's you they want."

'That explains why we've been sensing energies but they end up hiding away again. So this could all be an elaborate trap?'

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a large pouch of gold. "Thanks for the tip. Here, take this."

He smiled widely and took it out of her hand, looking in the bag to make sure it was real. "Thank you so much!"

Shamir nodded, watching the bartender quickly walk out of the area as she looked at the full moon shining bright in the sky. She just shook her head and laughed to herself. "Heh. Moon Monster…"

…

"So, what's the plan today Shamir?" Byleth asked as the snow storm had passed, leaving behind a fresh layer of snow today. The two were up and about early as Shamir lead them to the mayors house. Shamir looked focused this time and turned to her partner.

"I got a good tip last night. We were right Byleth, there's more to this. We just need to find some answers. And the mayor could shed some light on this little mystery."

They got to the door of the mayors house as Shamir knocked on the door and stepped back, looking around. Byleth noticed Shamirs recent paranoia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

"I know we will. I'm just worried about what's waiting for us there."

The door opened to reveal the mayor who had a surprised expression. "Oh, good morning you two. How can I be of service?"

Shamir looked around to make sure nobody was looking. "We were hoping to acquire some additional info. And we want the whole truth."

His face turned serious as he realised what she was talking about and let them inside. "We will have to be quick. They have ears everywhere. I've been dying to tell you but the dastards won't leave me alone. We should be safe here. Now, what would you like to know?"

"We heard that they asked you to specifically contact the Church. Is that true?"

The mayor nodded, looking out the window to make sure nobody was around. "Yes. They wanted a certain someone to show up. Now, I don't know the exact circumstances but it appears that they were waiting for your partner as they predicted the Church would send her."

Byleth blinked in surprise at this revelation. Her? What did she have to do with these people? To her knowledge, she had never met them before. The mayor seemed to have read her thoughts and continued.

"I'm afraid I don't know all the details. But our orders were to keep you two in the town for as long as possible. Now at first, I said that was a ridiculous request but… well, you know the rest when it came to our children. They threatened to keep them locked up if I didn't try to keep you here. I apologise for misleading you two."

The two mercenaries looked at each and nodded, before looking back at him. "You didn't have a choice, you have no need to apologise. But now this mission just got a whole lot more complicated. Why did they want Byleth?"

That's when the mayor widened his eyes when he heard a knocking at the door and started shoving them out to the back door. "You need to be quick! If they know we're talking, I fear what will happen to the children! Just please wait a little longer!"

The next thing the women knew, they were back on the snow covered streets as the door slammed shut. Byleth looked behind at the now locked door and hummed. "Well, it seems that something spooked him. Perhaps it was one of the visitors?"

"Perhaps. Those dastards are really starting to get on my nerves." Shamir said dusting snow off of her coat. "Let's try and find them by flying. We can cover more ground and it will help build up endurance."

Byleth nodded to her partner as the two took off with concentrated faces, now high in the air.

The mayor breathed a sigh of relief as he thought that he got the women out of harms way. But then he was grabbed by the shoulders and tossed to the floor. "I must say, I'm disappointed in you. We had a deal after all."

He had a panicked look as he saw a robed figure looming over him with two others holding him in place. "But it's your lucky day. You'll be part of… our new plan. I do hope you'll comply."

The mayors eyes widened as he was hoisted to his feet. "What's going on? Where are you taking me?!"

"All in due time, my friend."

…

Byleth was now alone high in the air looking around when suddenly, Sothis appeared again. 'It's such an amazing ability to be able to fly. I'm almost a little jealous.'

"It's still hard to control. You have any idea where they could be Sothis?"

'Hmmmm….. they are certainly not wanting themselves to be found that's for sure. Or maybe… they're waiting for an opportunity? The mayor did mention they were after you. But why? Your power? Your strength? This is a puzzle that won't be solved until they reveal themselves.'

Byleth nodded as she listened to her words. She touched back down to the ground to catch her breath and put her hands on her hips, looking around the towns scenery. "I guess we should keep looking- ACK!"

Sothis was startled to have heard Byleths screams of pain as she wheeled around to see a shocking sight. A robed figure had Byleths tail in his hands and was squeezing hard. She looked at Byleth who had a glazed look on her eyes and fell to her knees. 'Byleth! BYLETH! Get up!'

That's when Sothis remembered Byleth describing how her tail worked. Her entire body shuts down. The robed figure produced a knife ready to plunge into Byleths chest and the spirit was panicking wondering how she could help. Sothis couldn't do anything! She was just a spirit in a hosts head! What could she do?!

'…..The Divine Pulse, that's it!'

But before Sothis could summon the glyphs to turn back time, a foot connected with the robed figures head, causing him to let go of the tail and go crashing into a bunch of barrels, which caused the townsfolk to run away in panic. Shamir landed next to Byleth and helped her up.

"Thanks… Shamir."

"Just when I think you're done teaching me brand new things, I learn that you have a tail. We can focus on that later though. It seems that they finally revealed themselves."

As if on cue, a couple of dozen figures in robes appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the pair as the women kept their guards up. "Bring forth the hostage!"

That's when the crowd parted and out came two figures who was holding the mayor in place as he tried to break free. What looked to be their leader appeared alongside and held a knife in his hands as he addressed Byleth. "Surrender your life, Byleth Eisner. And I will spare this man."

A dark look appeared over Byleth as she lowered her stance, ready to attack. "Using a life as a hostage? How low can you go?"

"Well, you tell me. Will you surrender?"

She glared at him and balled her fists together as Ki formed around them. "No."

"I see. That's too bad."

And her eyes widened once he shoved the knife in the mayors chest, killing him instantly and the leader threw the mayor onto the hard concrete with the snow being stained with his blood. But then everything turned purple as Byleth realised where she was. Everything was frozen in time. Just like Remire Village.

'You idiot! Why didn't you try to save him?'

She turned around to see Sothis there with an angry look on her face. Byleth suddenly felt sheepish as Sothis stormed towards her. 'Don't your stupid eyes work? That was a hostage! You need to do everything in your power to save him!'

"R-Right. Sorry." Byleth muttered rubbing the back of her head.

Sothis just groaned loudly slapping her forehead. 'What am I going to do with you… right. Let's try this again. And this time, don't screw it up. You have the ability to wind back time, so I say that you should make use of this very generous ability.'

Byleth nodded and took her stance. Time started rewinding slowly until finally they were back at the point where the mayor was dragged out.

"Surrender your life Byleth Eisner, and I will spare this man."

This time however, she was prepared as she turned to Shamir and yelled. "Shamir! Close your eyes!"

Byleth jumped high into the air as Shamir did as she was told while everyone was confused in what was happening. The mayor had his head hanging down so he didn't know what was going on. Byleth was now blocking the sun and put two fingers on both sides of her head and closed her eyes before yelling.

"SOLAR FLASH!"

The entire town was lit up in a blinding white light and the snow just made the light that much harsher as everyone who was looking up was affected. It caused all the robed figures to scream in pain, and clutching their eyes from the harsh light as the leader dropped the mayor while covering his eyes in pain. Byleth landed on the ground and grabbed the mayor before turning to Shamir. "Run!"

Shamir nodded and took off with Byleth carrying the mayor on her shoulders. As the light died down, the leader managed to regain his vision and growled, turning to his men. "DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY!"

The trio hid in an alley to catch their breath as Shamir looked at Byleth. "Why did we run away? We could've taken them all out while they were blinded."

"Because remember, the kids are being held somewhere. Mayor, do you know where they are being held?"

"Y-Yes! I do! I can direct you to them, but this seems like a suicide mission! There are too many! Oh please Goddess, give me strength…"

"Don't worry. We can handle it." Shamir replied. "Just lead us to where the kids are. And please don't start praying just yet."

"Of course! Follow me!"

The pair nodded as the town was swarming with the robed figures who tried to look for them. The leader growled again and punched the wall as it cracked from the force. "WHERE ARE THEY?"

"Sir, if I may?"

The leader let out an angry exhale but kept his composure and turned around. "What is it?"

"Perhaps they went to free the children we took? It would make the most sense, wouldn't it?"

"…..Excellent point." The leader grinned pulling out his sword and tome and started marching towards the spot where they kept the children. "Men, you know what to do. Bring the girl dead or alive. Our Lord demands it."

On the outskirts of town, the mayor was running alongside Byleth and Shamir and pointed to a barn in the distance. "There! They're being kept there!"

That's when an arrow whizzed past them and stuck on the wall of the barn. They turned around to see the robed figures. And they were all piling out of the town by the dozen. There must have been thirty or forty of them, all with weapons out. Byleth narrowed her eyes and took a stance again, before addressing the mayor. "Free the children mayor. We will handle this."

"You can't be-"

"Do as you're told!" Shamir growled drawing her bow. "Go! We have this covered!"

"R-Right!"

An arrow whizzed towards them again and grazed Byleths cheek before hitting the ground. She let out a grin and looked at Shamir. "If they're using weapons then that's no problem-"

Byleths eyes widened when she felt a trickling sensation down her cheek. She pressed a finger to that spot and looked at her finger and widened her eyes. It was blood. She was bleeding. That arrow made her bleed!

Now she was panicking. If that arrow did damage to HER, imagine what it could do to Shamir. She got her composure under control and yelled. "Shamir! Be careful! They've done something to the arrows! They're more deadly than regular ones!"

"Dammit! Why can't it be simple?"

"Life is never simple."

They turned to the leader who still held his knife and had a wide grin while approaching the pair. "You Goddess worshippers are all the same! You try and repel anyone who dares challenge the Church! We will reign supreme with your death! And the Archbishop will soon follow!"

Dark looks appeared over the women as they didn't take too kindly to that. "Listen, none of us worship the Goddess. But if you dare threaten the life of Lady Rhea, then your life is forfeit."

"You are completely out of your league." He grinned as a dark aura formed around his body which made Byleths eyes widened.

"It's Ki."

"What?" Shamir gasped. "Are you sure?"

"It's unstable, but there's no denying what it is. Whoever these enemies are, they have strong weaponry, as well as Ki. This might be tougher than we thought. Okay Shamir, I'll take the twenty five on the right, you take the twenty five on the left. First one to beat their side wins."

She chuckled quietly drawing an arrow. "Everything's a competition to you. You're on."

"ATTACK!" The leader roared as the mages started charging with Byleth charging too and Shamir staying behind.

"I hope we can make it. For everyone's sake."

…

So this was definitely a hard chapter to write. I know it's a whole lot of talking but it's more setting up the lore of the story on top of that. I hope it's not too confusing. But hey, the final part of this arc will end next chapter. All action, so classic Dragonball Z.

So yes, that's another DBZ technique used under a different name, and it appears that these guys know about Byleth, even down to her tail. Could it be the same enemies Sitri also fought? I'm pretty you all know who these guys are.

Also here's a question. Obviously if given the opportunity, Byleth can go Super Saiyan God. Do you want the students and Shamir to learn God Ki? Just something I could do later down the line.

Also do keep in mind, we have four more students left to learn Ki. One from each house, one that isn't.

Also we've past 25 favourites and 35 followers. Thank you all, and were close to hitting 30 and 40 respectively. Also please review to let me know what you think guys. It definitely means a lot when you guys review, even if it's a few words. But anyway, tune in next time for the finale of this mini arc.

Review, Favourite and Follow.