The Dustbin
Day 47: Survey Class Part 1
11th of Guardian Moon, Morning
"So, what does the Cardinal in charge of this shitheap want with us human garbage?" remarked Karna as he and his class met Aelfric in his personal study.
The man sighs before resuming of what he was about to say. "... As of this moment, a grave danger lies brewing beneath us," he spoke, "I need you and your students to investigate on what is happening down there."
"Speaking in real vague terms, Cardinal," Byron pointed out. "Please clarify."
He sighs again before elaborating. "... From this point forward, I request that all of you keep this a secret," begged Aelfric, "but there is a reason why the Abyss is considered an open secret among those in the underground of Fodlan."
"Something else that's luring them here," Cyrus pointed out, which the Cardinal nods, "and not just unsavory folk looking to get even with those who fell below the cracks of this continent's system."
"A rather... powerful relic of yore sleeps below where the Abyss lies," Aelfric explained. "I assume you've heard the Chalice of Beginnings?"
The Dustbin look at each other before blinking in disbelief. "No fekin' way," Sorcha remarked, remembering Yuri's bogus chalice that he'd used to lure out Aelfric's kidnappers, "ye sayin' dat shite is real?!"
"And the reason behind my kidnapping a few months prior," he pointed out, still shaken up by the circumstances surrounding that month. "Part of the reason behind the formation of the Ashen Wolves is to protect such powerful artifact falling into unscrupulous hands."
"If it's so powerful, why not destroy it?" asked Topaz.
"You just answered your own question," Aelfric pointed out, "that grail cannot be destroyed. It exudes so much power that the only one who can feasibly destroy it is the Goddess herself. The best we could do is merely contain it with all that we have."
"How... powerful are ye insinuatin'? Selene asked.
Aelfric shakes his head before getting up from his desk. "I spoke enough. All you need to know is that the Chalice of Beginnings cannot fall into the wrong hands. Normally, I would not risk members of my own flock with this arduous task..." he remarked before continuing, "... but thankfully, your group won't be in on this alone."
"Really now?" said Karna. "To whom we may owe our possible displeasure?"
Just Outside...
"And my day is irrevocably and completely ruined," groaned Karna as he saw Byleth waiting for him outside of Aelfric's study. "Woman, what the actual hell?!"
"It was the weekend and I had nothing else to do," she remarked dryly as usual. "Don't worry, it's not just me. The Three Houses' leaders and one student per class have volunteered."
"And by 'volunteered,' you mean-"
"She means us, fartkunckle!" sang Hilda as she cut off Cyrus' words. Entering to the Professor's side were none other than Hilda Valentine Goneril and Claude von Riegan representing the Golden Deer, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd and Ashe Ubert of the Blue Lions, and Edelgard von Hresvelg and Linhardt von Hevring from the Black Eagles, all joining with her in this expedition.
"Hilda, language," Claude defused the situation before Hilda and Cyrus can attempt to murder each other in broad daylight. "Sorry, she didn't mean it."
"Doesn't have to mean anything in the first place for me to waste that spoiled princess of yours right here and now, Khalid," Cyrus growled, barely hiding his disdain as he gripped around the shaft of his [Gradivus].
"Khalid?" both Edelgard and Dimitri remarked.
"Almyran royalty, second prince," the Golden Deer raised his hands in a mock surrender, "told my House everything, they all took it surprisingly well. Even Lorenz, who even offered to help me draft an appeal to the Leicester Alliance's Round Table Conference."
Karna then looks to the side as he whistled a cheery-sounding army march tune.
"Interesting of a story as that may sound, we'll talk more about it afterwards," said Yuri, as he and the rest of the Ashen Wolves entered the scene. "Right now, we need to put a stop to those bandits trying to get their hands on that artifact of unimaginable power ever again."
"Normally, we would present such piece of great power to the Church itself, but alas, even if it did succeed, there wouldn't be anything stopping the worst of vagrants from coming down here and wrecking us all at their leisure," sighed Constance before she looked towards Edelgard giving her a small curtsy. "Surely you understand, Your Majesty."
Edelgard raised her hand. "At ease," she rebuffed, "we're underground and I chose to be here. This artifact has admittedly caught my interest too."
"Edelgard, you're just saying that because you literally have nothing else to do but follow your Professor around like a lost puppy," snarked Dimitri, to which even Byron and Vidar chuckled at.
"And I suppose you have something else better to do today, Prince Dimitri?" Edelgard asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Prince of Faerghus stutters before giving his answer. "As the Crown Prince of Faerghus, anything that might serve as a security risk to my people is the highest of my concerns!"
"Right," Claude rolled his eyes, "and I didn't come here because of a certain someone badgered me into joining this mess..."
"You know the deal," Hilda smirked, "loser does a favor for winner. I won that round of strip poker, and whose undies did I saw that night?"
The heir of Leicester Alliance groaned in resignation. "... You saw mine."
"Man, imagine if Holst is here right now," Balthus gagged on his laughter. "He would blow a gasket after hearing what had come out of his baby sister's lips!"
"Holst?! Where?!" Cyrus sprang into action brandishing his weapon towards an ambiguous direction as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Easy, easy," Karna calmed the Battuian boy down, "he's not here!"
As the large horseman took a deep breather before stroking Darius' mane for comfort, Hapi then approaches Karna. "... So Karny," she spoke, "you and I have the same Crest, right?"
"You mean the [Crest of Timotheos]?" he remarked as he took off his glove to reveal the brand on his palmtop, to which Hapi did the same by exposing her's stamped on the back of her neck. "Mine is minor, but yes."
"You at least know where my folks are?" asked the muted girl, hoping for something despite the former facade.
"Last I saw em, I was just a kid, way before you were born, so I don't know what had happened to them," the hooded Professor answered. "And before you ask, no, your folks asked the same thing of me, and I told them that I'm not one of their kind. I was just that million-to-a-one chance of someone being born with a random crest."
Hapi then looked slightly more downcast than her usual self. "... Kay," she mumbled. "Thanks for clearing it up for me though."
"Hey," Karna shrugged, "they're still out there until you find their bodies. Until then, you still got your friends."
She smiled slightly as the group moved out. "... Thanks for the talk, Karny. We'll talk more when I feel like it, alright?"
He grumbles with a shrug before picking up his [Scythe of Sariel] before following after the expedition party. "Right'o. Daylight's burning and all that."
At an Undisclosed Location...
"Oi Bias!" Myson banged his hands against the doors. "Bossman told me to check on ya and stuff."
The doors slide themselves open, revealing the immature Valkyrie wearing nothing but her lacy, kitty-themed cut-out lingerie exposing her bull skull-tattoos printed all over her pale chalk-white skin with a slight mint-green tint. "Sup choom," she greeted with a slight smirk, "liking what you see?"
"Maybe in a few centuries," Myson smirked back as he passed by her upon entering. "Cuz I've seen cliffs less vertical than you."
The little Sage then kicks her fellow Sage's testicles from behind with her Chrome-enhanced leg pistons she'd installed, causing Myson to crumple onto his knees in pain, his whole body curled up into a ball laid on its side, nursing his own groin even after his own impact-dampening Chrome had taken the brunt of the impact. "... Fucking prick," muttered Bias as she passed by the collapsed Myson.
"Not... cool..." whimpered the Warlock as he wormed his way across the floor, unable to get up as of this moment. "... So," he began to speak in a squeaky and strained voice, "... about the commissioned Titanus..."
"Yeah yeah, bossmen Solon and Thales gave me the detes," said the Valkyrie as she then dropped the clipboard before where Myson's face was laid at. "The intel stated that the Abyss is even more cramped then our own metro, so I had to make some mods to fit our bonanza's mission statement in order to optimize on more of the high-speed gewaht that'll rip that gomi heap a new one before they know it."
The Warlock then picks up the clipboard and begins reading the specifications of their Titanus for the current mission. "The Titanus modification project, 'Project Rubicon'..." he began to read through the sheet, "focuses on high speed and firepower along with it being easy to disassemble, transfer, and reassemble anytime, anywhere at the cost of armor and operational time... weapon loadout being the standard-issue 300cm long [GAM-01 Adharma] one-handed katar... a portable 192mm [SAM-ET-00 Ravana] cuehorn riot cannon, a pair of modified 500mm back-mounted Viskam launchers, the [SAM-ET-01 Vel]... whoa, not sparing any expenses, aren't ya?"
"You know me," Bias huffed with her chest puffed-up in pride, "I am anything but modest."
Myson rolled his eyes before he finished reading the schematics. "... And to top it all off, a pair of disposable rocket-propelled [SAM-ET-02 Trishula] explosive javelin launchers carrying 423mm-bored high-explosive, impact fuse-detonated warheads, with designs taking inspiration from the [Arrows of Indra]. This specific Titanus' final designation... [ATM-SMD-01 Hermes]."
Upon him finishing reading the schematics, Bias then unveiled the Titanus dressed in an armor looking more aerodynamic and sleeker than that of the usual Titanus' fare of being heavily armored and clunky looking, now sporting small verniers throughout its legs and backs. Compared to the regular Titanus model, this one was significantly slimmer, looking more humanoid and upright, almost as if it was a statue that was about to come to life rather than a mobile humanoid-looking weapon.
"Ain't she a beaut?" asked the Valkyrie. "Now I can finally use these tin cans for offense rather that home defense! Sure, it's lacking some armor, but it's still a giant-ass construct made of wootz steel bound with titanium-mithril composite nano-fibers woven throughout its inner frame! Those dirty yonos can't even scratch it with their cheap-ass irons, if they can even catch up to it!"
"Wait, did you test any of these weapons?" asked Myson as he wobbled back up to his feet. "I mean... they're all designated as prototypes given their model numbers, and last thing that needs to happen is for them blow up mid-fight."
"Sure I did!" Bias answered. "I blasted several underperforming miners up at Faerghus with all of em. Don't worry, that part of the cave that collapsed ran dry of ore and the weapons themselves are still in perfect condition after a 48 hour-long torture test."
"So when's this tin can gonna be shipped out?" asked the Warlock.
"As soon as my ripperdocs finish installing the 3.0 version-Chromes into our patients," the Valkyrie answered. "Bossman said that they want both of us delta at the same to better coordinate with Cleobulus' scouts."
"Including Kronya?" Myson asked.
"Sharing the same room as those two," she then walks towards where the Chrome implant procedures were happening. "Come on. We'll see if they're done or not."
The two then enter into a blood-soaked operating center where three individuals were strapped down and having their bodies cut up with loud and modified with numerous kinds of buzzing surgical instruments wielded by several groups of white-cloaked Dark Mage doctors and surgeons from the Medical Department as all three of the patients were biting down on metallic gags to prevent them from screaming during their painful-looking procedures.
"Hello luckies!" Bias greeted as droplets of blood splattered onto her skin as she walked closer into their operation. "How are my favorite chooms doing?"
"Almost done installing the 3.0 version Chromes, ma'am," said one of the doctors as she then shoved an array of wires woven around a piston-like schematic into a lime-haired young man's thighs' exposed muscules. "Just need a few minutes to recalibrate their brains to these new things."
"Keep up the good work!" she replied as the Valkyrie led the Warlock back outside of the operation room.
Upon a few minutes of waiting, the three were then released from their operating tables before heading out where the other two Sages were waiting.
"Sup losers? Looking like you all just came back from the dead," Myson greeted. "Now who's ready kick some monkey ass?"
The lime-haired young man with a bare-chested outfit cackled enthusiastically. "The pain of death awaits!" he gleefully remarked as he grasped the air above his head. "So let me gorge already!"
"You'll need to," spoke the dour-looking armored woman standing next to Kronya. "You look really thin."
"Like you're the one to talk, Anacharsis," Kronya rolled her eyes. "Because you two look like shit."
"Says the failure who got the shit kicked out of her by a 4'8 Almyran pygmy who's best classified as a pseudo-Demonic Beast," grinned Bias before flipping her off. "So shut your trap until you can put your eddies where your mouth-hole is."
"That goes for the rest of you too," Myson pointed out as he caught the other two chuckling. "Suicide mission or not, you ruin the fun for all of us, we dump your dyin' asses to the wolves without a second thought. Capiche?"
The three nod in the affirmation of all of them now knowing their place.
Bias then stretches her arms behind her back before barking out her next orders. "Aight chooms, let's pack it up!" she then clapped her hands together, signaling her subordinates to disassemble [Hermes] for shipping. "Soon as we're done, we're gonna meet up with Cleobulus' gangoons squatting near our rendezvous point and we'll only start wrecking shit when the order from the top gives us the say-so, neh?"
"You're the boss," spoke Anacharsis. "... But what about my ride?"
"I already have that arranged," spoke an elderly and gravelly voice, revealing himself to be Solon. "Modifications have been made to your wyvern prior to your operation. He's in good hands of Cleobulus' subordinates as we speak."
"Hiya-papaya, ya old fart!" Myson greeted with a gusty cackle. "Back from the dead with some good news?"
The old man chuckles, taking Myson's insult with gusto and good humor. "... Even better," he remarked with a sly grin as he opened a small portal with his cane, "additional upgrades."
From the portal, Solon pulls out a pair of clawed gauntlets, a platinum axe with its blade coming out of a sculpted wolf's head and jaw, and a pair of short swords with inwardly-curved blades, with all three of them being embedded with artificial Crest Stones.
"For you, Periander," Solon stated to the lime-haired man, "with the [Snow Dragon Sign] replicating the [Crest of Chevalier] and its powers, I present you the [Dark Vajra-Mushti], the diamanté claws that steals thunder from the very skies!"
The lanky Grappler picks up the claws as he put them around his arms. "Sick. Wicked sick," he giggled to himself as he banged the gauntlets against each other, each strike generating a crackle of electricity. "Thanks gramps! I'll gladly kill a thousand of those beasts for you with these!"
Solon smiles at his sentiment before he approached Anacharsis. "As for you," he then spoke to the Wyvern Rider as the elderly Sage planted the artificial Crest Stone into the weapon, "with the [Ice Dragon Sign], replicating the [Crest of Aubin] and its powers, I present you with the regalia, the [Geri Beil], the beastly axe that fells even the most terrible of demons and hellspawn with its swings!"
"I'll be the judge of that," she grinned as she picked up the mighty battle axe one-handeed and gave it a few practice swings to get the feel for it, with each arc swung generating a cold air akin to a winter's wind. "... So far so good. Now let's see how itself handles in a real fight."
"As for you, Kronya..." Solon then began speaking to her in a more serious tone, much to her dread that she tried to keep down. "... In light of your recent failure, Sage Thales and I discussed on what to do with you."
The Assassin barely kept her composure as her whole body trembled in fear and sweated as if she were inside an active volcano, much to the other two's delight.
"... But upon realizing how formidable the Dustbin have proven themselves to be, we have come to a decision to let you redeem yourself on this mission," he revealed, much to Kronya's genuine surprise. "To that end, I have expended an exceptional amount of my own time and resources to accommodate for your... shortcomings."
He then hands her the fake Crest Stone styled as an amulet along with the pair of odd-bladed short swords. "... F-for me?" she stammered nervously as she fiddled with her new jewelry slung around her neck.
"That is the [Thorn Dragon Sign], bearing the power of the lost one, Ernest," Solon explained. "Completely forgotten to this world's history, our scant records regarding our man or woman of mystery have confirmed that there is no Relic tied to that wellspring of arcane power. In light of that development, my team and I decided to workshop our own Crest Weapon from whatever available spare parts." He then gestures towards the pair of blades that Kronya held onto, the set of weapons now faintly glowing in response to her Crest Stone. "With the lost power of the [Crest of Ernest], you will be now able to wield the demonic blades, the [Kharga], whose edges are fine enough to cut through even the most hardiest of guards as if they were wet paper. Use it well, Kronya. I will say nothing else other than do not disappoint me this time."
"Y-yes sir!" she replied, now slightly relieved at her prospect of redeeming herself. "I won't let you down!"
Periander snickers. "Kiss-ass."
"Word," Myson agreed.
"[Hermes] is ready to be shipped out, boss!" said one of the Dark Mage mechanics.
"Activate the Warp Panel!" ordered Bias. "Lock the coordinates to our spies stationed near Garreg Mach!"
"Beacon signal confirmed!" said the other mechanic. "Coordinates locked!"
"Warp Powder installing!" the other mechanic stated as the location from afar began to glow with a pink-purplish hue. "Charging complete! Whenever you're all ready!"
"The three of you, go on ahead," Solon ordered the trio. "I need to bother the two Sages before they join you."
"Yes sir," Anacharsis replied as she and Periander were led by Kronya into the glowing panel as the disassembled Titanus was moved alongside the former group before all of them teleported elsewhere.
"So, what's the holdup?" Bias asked, to which Solon gave a flat stare towards her.
"... First of all, please put some clothes on," the old man sighed before he looked away. "I'm aware of your habits, but for heaven's sake, the last thing that needs to happen to us is that we get our cover blown for you getting arrested for public indecency."
Bias puffed her cheeks before stomping away from her fellow Sages in a huff, presumably to put on some proper attire.
"... So what about me, gramps?" Myson asked.
The elderly Sage then gestures his younger peer down to his level before whispering something in his ear. Upon hearing what the old man had to say, Myson's smirk crested further upwards.
"You sly son of a bitch," he smirked.
"Be a dear and pass that message along to little Bias, would you?" Solon remarked before he turned and left Bias' sector. "And make sure no one outside of the Sages hears of it."
The doors then shut behind Solon as soon as he finished what he had to say.
Deeper into the Abyss...
"Quick question," asked Karna as the expedition group were led by Yuri and his Ashen Wolves, "just how may bogus chalices are dispersed throughout this underground complex?"
"Come on, I had to pick up my counterfeiting skills from somewhere," the leader remarked. "I also have a few bogus chalices lying above ground too. Some people fall for gilded trash like a bunch of suckers."
"At least you're using that kind of criminal talent for good..." sighed Dimitri.
"Can't be too picky down here, Dimi," Hapi pointed out. "This place used to be a hive of scumbags before Aelfric came in."
"She speaks the truth," Constance vouched, "for the poor girl was the first one of us four to end up down here."
"Wat, and ye came in last?" Sorcha asked.
"It was only around a few years ago, thank you very much," the ex-noblewoman replied with a slight huff.
A squeak was heard from beneath them, to which Edelgard screamed and recoiled back.
"... Edelgard, afraid of a little rat?" Selene smirked. "Dat's rich."
"You have no idea how horrifying those things are!" she heaved. "They bring nothing but disease and famine!"
Vidar then snatches the scampering rat off of the floor before eating it alive whole, much to the disgust of everyone present. "... What?" he asked, the bandages around his face now splattered with the vermin's blood. "... I missed... breakfast."
Edelgard then proceeds to vomit to the side as everyone recoils back at the sight, sans the Dustbin.
"That is disgusting," Claude winced. "How do you live with yourself?!"
"Nope, don't answer that," Linhardt gagged. "I don't want to know!"
"You'd be surprised what you're willing to put on your plate when you lived on the run like me and Vidar," smirked Byron before he looked at Ashe. "I'm sure you can agree, right?"
"What? No!" said the Blue Lions' Sniper. "I thought my brothers better than to do that!"
The Dustbin's Warlock clicks his tongue in disdain before he walked past him. "Lucky bastard."
"Alright, we wasted enough time, all of you," Karna spoke out. "We're practically wading through other people's piss and shit so suck it up. We got a treasure hunt to accomplish and some ne'er-do-wells to chase out."
"I am going to have nightmares tonight..." Linhardt commented with a shudder, "and her Highness said I should get out more."
"... Already regretting that decision..." gagged the Adrestian Crown Princess, "... but we're in too deep to turn back."
The expedition team then continued on making their way further down, the air around the group becoming more tense and distorted as of they were being lured in by an unspeakable power.
"We're getting close," said Yuri.
"Yep, my bones feel it too," Balthus agreed. "No one can escape that kind of lure once they sense it."
"Metaphorically or literally?" asked Cyrus. "Because I barely feel shit."
"You know, if you have kind of nerves around me, I'd find you more tolerable, Cyrus," Hilda remarked.
"Don't test me," he growled back, which his horse Darius snorted menacingly.
"Now kiddos, play nice," Byleth sighed. "... Since when did I become a babysitter between two Houses that I'm not part of? Isn't that usually Karna's job?"
I'd be more concerned of what's happening up ahead, Sothis commented. I advise caution. That power far up ahead... might rival my own.
That bad? asked Byleth. Guess what that Cardinal said wasn't an exaggeration.
The two companions then continue walking in silence with the rest of the group before one of them broke the silence. ... You know, we never had a chance to thank Karna.
Of your father being spared from meeting his terrible fate? Sothis pointed out. Where he did that my powers cannot? ... I personally find that vexing, but he did save us. You know what? Thank him first, then I'll mull on my own. Sound good?
Byleth nods before she walked towards Karna. She then taps onto his shoulder, catching the latter's attention.
"What?" asked Karna.
"... About last month," she began, "... thanks for saving my dad. It... really means a lot."
Karna rolled his eyes. "Think nothing of it," he rebuffed Byleth's gratitude. "I only wish to show that I'm better than you, nothing more. Anything less is merely happenstance."
As Karna walked away from the ex-sellsword, a comment rang out from the spirit. Well that was rude.
Still hung up about me stealing his job... Byleth mentally sighed. ... You know, he's kinda refreshing in a sense that he doesn't pretend to like me. Wish the same happened back during my old job. Those kinds of clients are the least likely to screw us over.
Sothis grumbles to herself as she stared holes into Karna's direction. ... I for one, still trust him as about as much as he can touch me physically.
At an Undisclosed Location Near Garreg Mach...
Standing in the small clearing of a forest leading into a cave stood a fully-white and gold armored figure with a mask resembling that of a marble statue's face. Sheathed behind its back was a folded-up ornate compound-longbow painted in deep crimson with wing-like symmetrical protrusions running through its limbs. Below the collapsed weapon was a quiver full of explosive arrows that it had made during its spare time. As its sole crimson cloak fluttered over its left shoulder in the afternoon wind, a small spatial disturbance was felt before it as it distorted further into that of a wormhole.
"Contact," said the Dark Bishop standing next to the armored figure as he scanned the distortion with his own magic. "Confirmed to be our's."
"Just in time," spoke a masked armored Sniper as it saw three figures along with several containers teleport before where it stood sentry.
"Sup new meat!" greeted Periander. "Where's the boss lady's folks at?"
"Right here," sighed the Dark Bishop in charge as he raised his hand. "Don't stand out here for too long lest we get spotted. Come on."
The group then moves into the secret passage unearthed by them, dragging the crates containing parts of [Hermes] behind themselves, a task made doable thanks to their updated enhancements.
"So, where're we headed?" asked Kronya.
"A place they call the Chasm of the Bound," the Dark Bishop answered. "Our guys managed to distinguish the real location of the Chalice of Beginnings from the fakes with a little survey. Place is rigged with several booby traps, magical runes acting as several layers of barriers around the treasure, oh, and of course, several fully-functional Golems ready to blast any living being coming into their line of sight to smithereens."
"Cool," Periander giggled before he tapped on the Sniper's helmet. "So who's the new kid? That of Flame Emperor's new Riders?"
"Call me Conquistador," it answered. "I'm here to provide supporting fire. Nothing more."
"Excuse her, she's been a little crabby," said the Dark Bishop. "Then again, not all of us here need nine hours of sleep every night, right?"
"I find it unbearable," commented Conquistador. "The caves alone would drive anyone remotely sane stir-crazy."
"Yes, very vexing indeed," Anacharsis snarked. "So where's my ride? I heard that he got a modification before I did!"
A shrill and distorted cry was heard echoing from ahead. "Good boy... good boy..." a Dark Mage's voice echoed from up ahead before a low roar echoed from up ahead. "... Didn't we just feed him this morning?!"
Anacharsis then drops her load before sprinting ahead of the group, leaving Periander to pick up the slack much to his annoyance. Deep inside, she then found a black-scaled wyvern chained to the ground, hissing and snarling until it was reunited with his master.
"Shh... good boy," the Wyvern Rider soothed her beast as she stroked his head and neck, "... did you miss mommy, Scythian?"
The chained-down wyvern purrs in response to his master's baby talk, his prior agitation now completely disappeared from its current behavior.
"Mommy missed you too!" Anacharsis cooed as she rubbed her cheek against the wyvern's own.
"Hey Ana," Periander remarked as he came into their view with the parts of [Hermes] dragged behind himself. "Thanks for ditching your load like that."
"Well, we got here regardless," the Wyvern Rider snarked, reverting back to her sardonic tone.
"Yeah, whatever," scoffed Kronya. "So what're the modifications that your pet's got?"
Anacharsis then swings down her [Geri Beil] through the chains binding down Scythian, releasing him and allowing the wyvern to unfurl its wings. But rather than its wings being a pair of membrane wings resembling of that of a bat's wings, its "wings" were a pair of rotary propellers inside a ring of reinforced iron frames. Edging around the mechanical wings were an array of fluttering fins and cables connected to the beast's chest that contained a modified respiratory and circuitry system, allowing an improved performance time limit and to top it all off a steel visor with a single glowing neon-green line running horizontally through the mask over the beast's eyes.
"That's a wyvern?!" commented Conquistador. "What sort of abomination did you create?!"
Periander cackles at the new Rider's shock. "Honey-bones, you clearly don't know how we operate," he sneered. "We take things and make em bigger, faster, and stronger. Human bodies alone can only do so much, so why not augment them to make them even better?!"
"That suit of armor along with your current modifications and that fancy-ass [Bow of Bael] you use are gifts from our side, pal," Kronya pointed out. "So shut up."
"Just gonna give the order to start assembling [Hermes] to my guys..." the Dark Bishop slinked away from their heated conversation. "... Why does our boss have to have her hands full all the way at Faerghus of all places?"
"Sorry if we're late!" Bias greeted as she and Myson used [Warp] to teleport into the base camp inside the cave.
"You three, take a breather," ordered Myson as he approached the Dark Bishop, "and for you my man, roll up your sleeves, put on some elbow grease, and call your guys. Reassembling [Hermes] is gonna be a real chore."
The caverns then come to life with insidious activity happening in utmost secrecy.
Back at the Expedition Team...
"How much longer?" Cyrus groaned as the group kept traversing from a brick-layered tunnel to that of a naturally geological one. "I'm already going stir-crazy from the dark, tight space and the fact that I didn't kill anyone for the past week and a half! At least Flayn's kidnappers were kind enough to send goons for us to play with once in a while!"
"Would you... please... shut the fuck up?" Linhardt also groaned like a zombie. "We're all... tired... of this shit."
"I really wish Marianne was here..." whined Hilda as Darius behind her chewed on one of here pigtails. "At least she would make the damn horse stop eating my hair!"
"Fek ye mate," Sorcha remarked as she pivoted and fidgeted through the narrowness of the tunnels, "me sword's not agreein' with dis environment!"
"Have to ask, why wield a sword that big?" asked Dimitri, still one of the few who's going strong during the long trek through the dark and narrow spaces.
"I like thing dat kill with one blow," she answered.
"Can't any weapon do that?" Claude commented.
"Nah, dey break too easily when I'm de one swingin'," Sorcha replied.
"It's true," Selene interjected. "She almost broke de [Levin Sword] dat we had in our stables just by sleepin' on it."
"Ah, that I can sort of sympathize with that feeling," the Prince sheepishly chuckled.
"Chin up, your highness," Ashe remarked with his usual cheer, "you'll be able to use one weapon rather than having to buy several spares."
"You know, if your weapon's one breaking first, shouldn't you like take up grappling?" suggested Balthus. "I mean, both you and Sorcha worry about maintaining weapons, so I figured working on your natural strengths might be for the best!"
Dimitri lets out a nervous chuckle. "... Please, let me sleep on it for a while before I give a definitive answer."
"I ain't picky," Sorcha then brandished her fiery [Ne Zha] gauntlets. "I like me punches the way I like me meat; cut and well-done."
Just up ahead, Selene walks next to Constance, the latter fretting over her less-than-favorable situation. "Ye alright?" she asked.
"I'm well enough to walk, thank you," she answered. "Normally, I would've brought my horse with me, but something told me that the Battuian steed would've attempted to ravish my horse before I knew it."
"Fair enough," said the Pegasus Knight without her ride, now currently reclassed into a Sniper under the table. As the two continued to walk with the expedition team, a thought sparked in her mind. "... So, how did ye lose your... well, everythin'?"
Constance sighed before explaining. "Lost everything during when the Adrestian Empire and Brigid went to war," she answered, much to Selene's shock. "And before you say anything, no, I do not blame you or your people for reducing me to this. In fact, I'm half-assured that it was the other Imperial Palace Nobles that left my family's territory defenses under manned and underfunded."
Selene was lost for words before she blurted out the following. "... Me sister was part of dat northern raid," she confessed, much to Constance's shock. "... I mean, among me people, Sorcha was born one of the strongest so she was sent on her first raid when she was just a kid to put 'er into paces."
"... And what of you?" asked the disgraced noblewoman.
"Couldn't join," answered Selene. "Farsighted. Me eyes are too shite for Brigid. I was one of de lucky ones. Didn't get killed as soon as me disability was found out, because me sister and dad stepped in."
"... Oh my," Constance's voice trembled. "... My condolences."
"Too late for dat," she grumbled. "We lost, our lands got colonized as 'compensation,' and our princess was defanged and made yer princess' little bitch. It was war, Constance. The weak suffer."
Edelgard then steps in upon hearing what they'd said. "You know, we're not planning to completely annex Brigid, you know," she pointed out. "As soon as I become Emperor, I plan to finally bury the hatchet between the new nations and find a new way forward. Petra is not my bitch, but a future diplomatic comrade-in-arms that I genuinely wish to bond with."
Selene scoffs before spitting at Edelgard's shoe. "Yer words mean nuthin'," she snarled with barely-hidden contempt. "Princess Petra was find til ye came along. She was a perfect Brigidian, one that I looked up to despite me eyes being shite, despite me own people considering me a nobody. One dat kept me strong with me sister and I found ourselves 'ere, no different from de kind of world dat I was born in. Ye said yer 'er friend? Bull, she's now yer own puppet thanks to ye and yer people."
Edelgard tried to defend herself, but one look into Selene's eyes and she knew why it was futile. Her eyes were that of those who've experienced betrayal rooted from wounded pride. It took a few moments for her to understand, that Selene's life wasn't so different from her own; utterly alone except for those whom she considered her closest allies. And Edelgard unknowingly had snatched Selene's own light from her when she needed it the most.
Now all hopes of reconciliation were lost between them when the McCarthy sisters found themselves in the Dustbin, a group of youths united by their shared suffering and rejection. But unlike the Abyss, where people of all walks of life had gathered, the Dustbin had no one but themselves; a band of vagrants amidst vagrants.
Selene then stares holes into Edelgard' very soul as the latter felt a small piece of her own heart chip away like a rotten tooth. "Fek, ye, Edelgard," she snarled. "Fek ye 'nd yer entire fekin' family. Because when both Adrestia and Brigid are on fire, our Princess is gunna choose de first and leave the second to cinders. I hope when ye finally be me people's friends, I hope, from de bottom of me sincere heart, dat ye choke on our food and die."
Literally everyone present to hear such vitriol coming from the Dustbin's second-most quiet member were left in complete shock as Selene walked ahead of the whole group.
"... Dark," Yuri commented.
"Ditto," Hapi agreed.
Constance then begins to sob into Balthus's chest, which the latter accepted her feelings.
"Great," Linhardt groaned in disgust, "now I'm going to have two nightmares tonight..."
All Dimitri can do is let out a nervous chuckle for Selene's own words have sort of resonated with his own heart. Ashe meanwhile, was on the verge of tears of hearing such grotesque story of a person who literally has too little to lose give a crap about her own well-being anymore.
Claude meanwhile was now starting to have doubts if Fodlan and Almyra can truly come to terms with each other's existence, while Hilda was trying her best to ignore such feelings, but for the first time in her life, she was now having to think about her own place and circumstances in the world.
Byleth herself, had nothing but pity for the poor girl. To have her whole life nigh-ruined because of a single disability followed up by not being able to find a place where she can belong expect for her sister and her friends.
... Some people are born into the complete suck, aren't they? Sothis grimaced.
Byleth had no other words to that.
"... And people wonder why they themselves consider us freaks among freaks," Byron commented with utmost seriousness. "This is why."
Vidar and Sorcha nod in agreement.
"I can relate with a prideful nation, but I cannot sympathize with her own people leaving her all but to die without doing anything wrong," snarled Cyrus as he placed his hand onto Selene's shoulder. "Know this, Battu shall welcome you into the herd if your own home rejects you."
"Blasphemy," Topaz remarked. "To declare her death before she can fulfill her destiny? Shameless."
"And this kids, is what I like to call, a 'reality check," stated Karna. "A wise man once told me in my travels: 'Do wish carve yourself to fit the world around you, or do wish to carve the world to fit you?' There's no definitive answer. No one's going to satisfy everybody, even sexually. At the very best, you'll be left with a world where 99.99% people are saved, while the remainder .01% can and will find ludicrous ways to hate the other for simply existing until their very dying day."
Just as Karna saw the whole group sans the Dustbin be in a complete funk, he then loads his matchlock pistol before firing it into the air, waking everyone up.
"So reach for the stars kiddos," Karna smirked as he walked past them, "for the only joy found in this crapsack of a world is to watch those attempts come careening down back to the earth. Now that we all let it out of our systems, let's march onwards!"
The Dustbin then marches ahead of the rest of the group with cheer aplomb.
"... Man, that was one hell of a bummer," Yuri sighed as he continued onwards. "We were here for a treasure hunt and we ended up in a fucking lecture..."
"I'm just glad that they didn't murder us down here and left," Hilda commented.
Byleth sighs before getting the whole group back on track. "Come on," she ordered, "we don't have all day."
The expedition group heads further into the caverns, now fresh air coming in from up ahead.
Finally, Sothis sighed, we all need some fresh air after... whatever all that was about.
I thought that I've seen the worst of Fodlan back at my old job, but clearly, I missed more than I thought, Byleth pointed out.
Can't blame you, the spirit spoke in a reassuring tone, you're only one person, and as far as I'm concerned, all that everyone can do is to live the very best they can.
"Hey, I see a light up ahead!" shouted Cyrus from up ahead. "I think we're near the exit!"
Everyone in the group then run towards the light at the end of the tunnel and all find themselves facing down a giant citadel in ruins. Above the rocky cavern walls were that of a fissure that led up to the mouth of the canyon, the gap being this place's sole source of natural daylight.
Yet in spite of all the light shining down the overgrowth, there were no animals around this idyllic piece of untouched land. Despite nature flourishing around them, whole area felt completely dead.
"Yep, we're the right place," Yuri confirmed as he surveyed the area below them. "Welcome to where the Four Apostles have first laid their feet upon during the Age of Heroes, the Chasm of the Bound."
Everyone then sighs in relief, sans Hapi, who just plopped her butt down onto the earth, taking in the fresh air along with everyone else.
"Finally, open space!" Cyrus cackled as he then got on top of Darius' back. "Gonna go see how the grass tastes! Hyah!"
Upon snapping the bridles, the pair then take off towards the bottom of the chasm were the greenery was at.
"Well at least someone's happy," Hilda grumbled.
"I'm just glad we're outside," Ashe sighed in relief. "The whole experience inside the cave might've driven everyone a little loopy."
"No, being stuck with you people is what made us go loopy," Byron snarked. "Except you of course. You just disgust me with your idealism, but that's more about me than you."
"Ignoring that..." Balthus stretched his shoulders and arms, "... let's bounce and find that chalice!"
"Wait," Karna raised his hand, stopping everyone from going. "... Someone mentioned that there's some sort of power emanating from here a while back, correct?"
Constance and Yuri nod in confirmation right before Karna then saw the piece of the earth around where Darius' hooves have trampled over being to lump and bulge.
"CYRUS! GET BACK HERE!" Karna cried out. "IT'S A TRAP-!"
Right in front of where Darius rode towards, a quadruplet of Assassins armed with [Silver Swords] burst from the earth, ready to strike Cyrus down from where he stood. Cyrus, being no stranger to sudden ambushes, swung his [Gradivus] in a wide arc. knocking all four of them out from the air.
Three of them landed on their feet and knees, while one crashed into an eroded pillar, breaking into dust upon impact.
"... Am I seein' things, or did dat bastard explode into rock and dirt?!" Selene exclaimed as more enemies rose from the dirt, all of them closing in towards Cyrus.
Karna then suddenly senses a massive surge of power coming towards them. "HIT THE DECK!"
Everyone then jumps from where they stood right before a massive blast of lightning struck where they were prior, caving in the tunnel entrance, cutting off their escape.
"Intruder detected," a rusted and moss-covered Golem spoke, much to everyone's surprise. "Alerting units Marcelle and Simone. Initiate security measure level one."
"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Karna cursed as more bolts of lighting thrown by the other activated Golems around the ruined citadel fell behind the fleeing expedition group until they now found themselves facing down an emerging army of constructs resembling human warriors, all of them armed with weapons appropriate to their own respective classes.
"Okay, I see Fortress Knights, Warriors, Paladins, Assassins, Snipers, and a few Golems," Byleth remarked as she drew her [Sword of the Creator], keeping her cool in the heat of a sudden battle.
"Whatever they are, they're not living human beings, that's for sure!" Byron pointed out.
"Meaning, hold nothing back if you all wish to live," Topaz stated as she drew her [Zulfiqar] and [Cursed Ashiya Blade] from her waist. "Give them no quarter!"
"Edelgard, take the front with Dimitri and other front line attackers!" ordered Byleth as the aforementioned two drew enemy aggro towards themselves. "Rearguard, provide covering fire with whatever you have!"
Byron then swings his [Perun] around before the chain axe landed on where the synthetic enemies were clustered together at the most, the magical explosion sending them all flying into the air. Meanwhile, Selene, Claude and Ashe all fired their arrows towards the Paladins charging towards them, knocking them off of their horses before said horses were then disintegrated by Karna's [Dark Spikes T].
However, even after the mounted knights were flung off of their steeds, their horses still trampled towards the rearguard without stopping.
"Remember, those horses aren't real!" Karna warned as he then joined with Hapi to provide mid-ranged support, blasting the earthen stallions back to dirt with their combined [Dark Spikes T] spells. "Take them out too! They'll attack regardless if their riders are there or not!"
"DUCK!" Sorcha then tackles Yuri down before a flung Warrior had messily broken upon hitting a tree behind him. "OI, WATCH IT!"
"DAMN IT ALL!" Cyrus cursed as his lance broke apart enemy after enemy, dirt and rock exploding with each one expired, only for them to be quickly replaced. "THERE'S NO END TO THEM!"
"Meaning there's something making these creeps!" Balthus pointed out as he performed a powerbomb onto a Warrior into another Warrior, crumbling both constructs back into dirt.
"Good enough reason to not stay in one place," Yuri remarked as he swung an arc of voltage from his [Levin Sword] to intercept the arrows out of the air Constance blasted the Snipers perched atop of the trees with her [Sagittae] spell. "EVERYONE! WE NEED TO MOVE!"
"Beats being pinned down!" Hilda commented as she pulled her [Freikugel] off of a Fortress Knight's crumbling head. "But where though?!"
"Head to the citadel's center! There's more cover!" Karna ordered as then then delivered a dropkick onto an unsuspecting Assassin, which it then exploded into dirt.
"I'll take the front!" Edelgard then braced behind her greatshield before charging through the enemy ranks to create an opening. "EVERYONE! FOLLOW ME!"
"I'm only listenin' te ye cus right now because we're fightin'," grumbled Sorcha as she then swung her [Claymore] through several Paladins and their horses at the same time, maintaining the gap long enough for everyone to reach towards the central area of the ruins to form a proper defensive perimeter.
"Alright, we got some breathing room," said Karna as he swung his [Scythe of Sariel] across the row of earthen constructs now besieging their position, "now we need to figure out how to shut these things down!"
"Call it a gut feeling, but I think they're all being run by the same power source," Hapi pointed out as she fired another [Dark Spikes T] towards a group of Paladins rising from the earth. "Some kind of... autonomous spell cast upon this whole patch of land."
"Cool theory, but where are we to find such thing?" asked Linhardt as he casted [Heal] on Edelgard before she excused herself back to the fray.
Ashe then looks around where the Golems were gathered at. None of them were moving that very spot, as if they were guarding something over there.
"I think it might be over there!" he pointed towards where the Golems were gathered at. "It looks as if they're guarding something!"
Byron then peers towards where Ashe had referred to, noticing a significant outflow of mana coming from it. "He's right," spoke the Warlock as he then casted [Freeze] over the group of earthen constructs before shattering them all with the swing of his [Perun]. "Any volunteers?!"
"I'll go!" Byleth spoke as she swung her [Sword of the Creator] before slugging one more enemy in the face with her bare knuckle. "Rest of you, hold the line and don't get blasted!"
"Present company included," Topaz remarked as she mounted on Byleth's back. "Your sword alone won't be enough to cut down that many. Get me close enough and we will slay them all at once."
The ex-sellsword sighs before running off towards where the Golems were situated at with Topaz in tow.
"Are you sure they'll be fine?" asked Dimitri before he headbutted a Fortress Knight construct into gravel. "Shouldn't we send more people?"
"Nah, they'll be fine," Claude remarked as he shot an arrow from his [Silver Bow]. "Topaz's blade is sharp enough to be its own logging industry."
Breaking through the incoming earthen soldiers, Byleth and Topaz both then sprint towards where the Golems were gathered at as the latter group saw their approach and begun to take appropriate action.
"Intruder detected," spoke one Golem.
"Eliminate, eliminate," spoke the others in unison as they all began throwing spears of light at the pair, the latter of whom dodged the incoming blasts with daring maneuvers and acrobatic jumps that defied human limitations of physical feats.
Left, right! instructed Sothis as Byleth followed her word to dodge the incoming blasts, trying not to expend her Divine Pulses unless their situation demanded it, avoiding what had happened last month. Now duck under! Her host body then ducked her head down as the singing bright spear passed over her and missed her by a hair.
We're not getting any closer to them as long as they keep throwing those lightning bolts! Byleth pointed out as she and Topaz kept running like mad. There's gotta be a way to redirect their line of fire!
Byleth then glanced at her [Sword of the Creator] as she then recalled the time that she'd used its extended reach to get her out of several tight spots. Maybe I can use this like I did last month?
And fry yourself in the process?! Sothis remarked. Conserve your usage of my powers, woman!
Topaz then noticed what and where the Black Eagles' professor were looking at and figured out what's what. "Professor of the Black Eagles!"
"Yeah?!"
"Do you trust me?!" she as before she somersaulted over the thunderbolt that which then exploded behind her.
"Got no choice, do I?!" Byleth exclaimed.
"ON MY MARK!" Topaz's right hand then lights up with the [Crest of Gautier] before she'd thrown her V-bladed [Zulfiqar] towards the incoming blasts. Much to Byleth and Sothis' surprise, the thrown sword absorbs the blasts into itself.
"The [Zulfiqar] is Zoltan's masterpiece!" declared Topaz as she drew her [Cursed Ashiya Sword] from her hip as her blade boomeranged through the air, catching all of the Golems' spells within its path. "Not even the Goddess of Fodlan shall fell this blade of death!"
"Heresy, heresy," droned the Golem before all of them began moving towards Topaz, "death to the heretic. Suffer not to let them live."
All of them. brought down their metallic fists towards the little Hassashin, only for all of them to miss as one found her grabbing around another Golem's head.
"Missed me," she taunted before she planted her [Cursed Ashiya Sword] into one of the Golem's eyes, causing to temporarily malfunction before the supercharged [Zulfiqar] buzzed towards the gathered Golems before making contact with one of them, triggering a chain reaction to stun all of them with their returned powers.
Topaz then catches her returning blade before shaking it off its excess electricity. "NOW! HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT!"
Byleth then unleashes her [Sword of the Creator]'s max output as the singular blade extended into that of a segmented bladed whip, heating up with each wind-up sweep before bringing it all down upon the stunned Golems into a brilliant arc.
"[RUPTURED HEAVEN]!" declared Byleth as the hot whiplash cut through the brass heads of the Golems, shutting them down all at once before they all fell into heaps of broken and rusted slag. "Did we get em?"
I sense no mana circulating through them, Sothis remarked as she saw the wrecked Golems. They're gone. Well done!
"Well done," Byleth telephoned Sothis' message to Topaz, to which the latter ignored before heading towards the are where the Golems were guarding prior.
Upon approaching the place, Topaz spots a small pedestal with a shining node placed atop of it. Balling her hand as tightly as she could, she then slams her fist against the node, rendering it completely inert as soon as it got crushed into pieces. "Now it's well done," Topaz remarked as she saw the pieces lose their light. "Now let's see what happens next."
Back at the center, the enemies still came surging forth like an endless army.
"There's no end to them!" exclaimed Dimitri as he swung his [Silver Lance] through an Assassin construct. "They just keep coming back!"
However, the others in the fight begin to notice as they continued to fight against the coming army, everyone began to notice something about the enemy's state of affairs.
"Is it just me, or are they starting to die for real?!" Balthus pointed out after punching a Warrior construct across the field before it exploded into dirt and failed to reform.
"I think they got it!" Ashe remarked as he shot his [Steel Bow] towards an enemy Sniper. "The Golems are down!"
"About time!" Hilda exclaimed as she swung her [Freikugel] through several Fortress Knight constructs. "I'm just about sick of fighting these puppets!"
"It's a cold day in hell when I agree with you of all people!" Cyrus exclaimed as he thrusted his [Gradivus] through several enemies before they were reduced to dust.
"Professor Karna, the word, if you will," Yuri requested as he blasted a Warrior with his [Levin Sword].
"Their numbers are finally thinning!" Karna broadcasted the news as he then blasted [Swarm Z] at a Sniper with the spread out bugs sending the other foes into disarray. "Everyone! Push for the offensive!"
With the constructs unable to endlessly replenish their numbers, the expedition team gradually turned the tides of battle, slowly grinding down the enemy numbers one by one, until the very last construct of dirt crumbled back to the earth that it was spawned from.
"And that's the last of em!" Balthus exclaimed before he banged his [Vajra-Mushti] together, generating sparks with each blow. "Man, that was one helluva workout!"
"I for one, am starved for actual bloodletting," Byron sighed in disappointment. "This is why I hate fighting constructs. I'm better off chopping wood if I don't want to see blood and death."
"Cold feet already, dear distant cousin?" taunted Constance as she unfurled her parasol with the sun shining from the chasm gap above.
"Lukewarm at best," he then snatches the parasol out of her hands, causing her to fall into a state of depression from the exposed sunlight.
Sorcha plops onto the ground before belting out a loud groan of frustration. "We came all de way out 'ere only for a bunch of nobodies to show up and try to kill us!" she growled. "Where de fuck are de bandits that didn't even see?!"
"Come to think of it..." Linhardt looked around the area, "... Professor Yuga did say that this place feels empty of life. Not even a single insect."
"... Are you thinking that the constructs we've fought are responsible for keeping out all possible intruders?" asked Dimitri.
"Whatever the case, the case is closed," Byleth remarked as she and Topaz returned to the group. "Though something does feel a little off."
"Eyes peeled," Topaz warned. "There may lie more waiting. That initial wave felt too easy."
"Easy, how?" asked Hilda.
"Think about it," Ashe agreed with the Dustbin's Hassashin, "was there any adventure novel where there lies some sort of ancient temple with only one kind of easily-to-disarm trap?"
A dreadful lull takes over the chasm's pits. "... Guys?" asked Claude, suddenly remembering something that might've sounded important, "didn't one of the Golems say anything about 'Marcelle' and 'Simone'-"
Somewhere from the citadel, a pair of heavier-armored Altered Golems emerged from the opened ruins.
"Unit Marcelle: engage," spoke one Altered Golem in a distorted woman's voice, a pair of red gleams shining from the gap of its brass helmet.
"Unit Simone: engage," spoke another Altered Golem in a soft male's voice, with a pair of blue gleams shining from the gap of its own helmet.
"Found em," Claude remarked, his snark hiding his fear. "And they also talk too. Lovely."
The red-eyed Marcelle then surveys the area before coming to its next decision. "Seventeen hostiles confirmed. Six security level one Golems terminated. First node unresponsive."
"Activating second node," said Simone as it then remotely casts an automated spell into the earth, respawning the earthen soldiers from the ground once more, all the while calling additional Golems from where the pair had emerged from. "Initiating security measure level two."
"To all whom that befoul this sacred place," Marcelle pointed towards the expedition team, the maiden-like drone echoing menacingly throughout the chasm's walls, "leave now or perish."
"Welp, things just went to hell in a hand basket real quick," Karna rolled his eyes as the enemy reinforcements closed in on them. "Wonder how it's gonna get worse."
Just as Karna had said his peace, a loud roar akin to a blazing fire echoed from afar before the scream grew louder until it had revealed itself to the battlefield.
Immediately upon flying into the scene, [Hermes] wastes no time shooting its [Trishula] warheads at the group of recently-deployed Golems and constructs in its opening barrage.
"CHEESE IT!" Karna barked as everyone got out of the way of the incoming missiles.
Everyone then jumps out of the way of the shot lances before both exploded on contact, the explosion consuming the entire central area along with the surrounding constructs and lesser Golems being blown apart by the combined blast.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Edelgard cried out as she lifted Linhardt off of the ground.
"It looks like another Golem..." Dimitri remarked as he was then buffered by the generated turbulence from the newcomer's flightpath.
"... I don't think that Golem is from around these parts, though," Claude pointed out before he ducked his head under another explosion.
"ANOTHER GOLEM?!" Hilda cried as she scrambled back up to her feet as she watched the humanoid titan flying circles around the chasm and its defenders as it blasted them all to kingdom come with its other weapons. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"
"Nope," Byron commented as he brushed off the dirt on his robes as he witnessed the utter carnage brought on by the newcomer, "... although I don't think a normal Golem can fly or wield handheld weapons the size of ballistas."
"THEY SURE CAN NOW, JACKASS!"
Behind the flying Titus flew in a rotor-winged Wyvern ridden by four people on its back, two of whom jumped off its back and landed on the shoulders of the now-hovering [Hermes], leaving the Dark Bishop and the Wyvern Rider on the latter's mount.
"You," Byleth glared at Kronya.
"Know her?" asked Periander, pointing his [Dark Vajra-Mushti] at the ex-sellsword.
"I was supposed to kill her dad last month, but I guess I can now kill her to make up for it," growled the Assassin, grimacing at this cold comfort. "Lucky me."
"Who are they exactly?" asked Dimitri.
"Guys from last month, tried to kill us all," answered Karna as he readied his [Scythe of Sariel]. "But unlike last time, they brought new friends and toys to play with."
"Hey! That's my Relic you have on you!" Balthus pointed towards Periander's weapons. "Where did you get that?!"
The lanky Grappler cackles at his indignation. "That's for me to know and for you to find out, beefcake."
"Hey, so uh, who do we prioritize?" the Dark Bishop asked the Wyvern Rider in front of him. "Because in my defense, I did not know that there were more Golems! Let alone two Altered variants!"
"Does it matter?" replied Anacharsis, unimpressed by their power compared to that of [Hermes]. "Kill em all regardless."
The situation has now taken a turn for the worse. The expedition team were slightly ragged from fighting off an endless horde of constructs and Golems guarding the Chasm of the Bound, the hallowed grounds' automated security system has executed its second level of deterrence/extermination of the trespassers, while the Agarthan agents have come in with a massive [Hermes] and three of its agents now using Crest-related weapons.
"I've been waiting for this very moment since that little halfling bitch broke both of my arms..." Kronya growled as she unsheathed her dual [Kharga] blades sheathed behind her waist before brandishing both of them menacingly. "... NOW IT'S PAYBACK TIME!"
"All trespassers shall be removed from these hallowed grounds," Marcelle declared as it then begun engaging [Hermes]. "None shall escape judgement. Death to all defilers of the Goddess' will."
"So," Karna spoke to Byleth, "ready to fight or die?"
"Fight of course," she answered as she readied her own sword, its blade glowing in tandem with her own Crest.
Karna then smiled as he twirled his scythe as the rest of the expedition team readied themselves for their biggest fight of their lives ever yet. "Then fight like if you're going to die."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: This wasn't an easy chapter to write. Not after the positive reception/reviews of the previous chapter. The pressures of following up along with keeping my promises from my previous chapters is a rather precarious road that I set up for.
Now, for the development of this chapter. First of all, "Rite of Rising" is being adapted, but I'm going to make it a pseudo-composite adaptation to fit in with the Dustbin's own narrative intrusion and I already planned out this arc's ending. My only hope is that the whole arc doesn't feel too rushed or dragged out. I advertised arc to be the biggest in my fic, so I got a lot of pressure on myself to make this perfect as I possibly can make it.
Second, yes, Karna, Byron, Periander and Anacharsis are now technically candidates for the Chalice of Beginnings' human sacrifice requirements due to them technically having the appropriate crests. The latter two are a deliberate choice by Solon's part, and the former... well time will have to tell if he noticed it or not. But given that Hanneman wasn't exactly quiet about is Crestology Research, it can be inferred that Solon as "Tomas" might've overheard it. Also, the three OC weapons, the [Dark Vajra-Mushti], the [Geri Beil] and the [Kharga] all represent the three types of Crest-related weapons: the first represents the [Dark-] Heroes' Relic replica weapons used by the Ten Elites (Golden Deer Route spoilers), the second represents the Crest regalia like the [Sword of Seiros], and the third is a "Crest Weapon" like the [Aymr]. And yes, I am aware that the canonical [Vajra-Mushti] was made after the War of Heroes, but what was stopping TWISTD from making another like they did with the other Heroes Relics? If they can make [Aymr] and [Kharga] out of spare parts, then the [Dark Vajra-Mushti] isn't an impossibility. And for the [Crest of Aubin] having an axe regalia weapon when juxtaposed to Yuri, a fragile speedster magic knight, may I remind you that you don't see Lorenz using the [Axe of Ukonvasara] despite having the [Crest of Gloucester], do you?
Third, the whole rant on Selene's part, I sort of attribute it to her (and everyone else in the Dustbin) being stuck with the people they fundamentally despise (with the only reason why they haven't killed them in the dark is to have more bodies between them and their enemies) and their last mission having a "no killing"-clause stapled to it, means that they're not exactly in an agreeable mood, which they can put aside during battle, since it's life or death.
In the rant, Selene sort of represents cultural hypocrisy. The whole "there are no weak Brigidians" mantra is kinda turned on its head when one child born with sight impairment is allowed to live. And now, the McCarthys aren't commoners in Brigidian society; if I had to make a comparison, I'd say that the McCarthy Clan are equivalent of Dukes and Duchess-rank to Petra's Macneary Royal Clan. Despite being born "weak," she was only let live because of her own family vouched for it (Sorcha being the biggest advocate for her life), and since then Selene's life just turned into that of one where she didn't have her own agency sans her sister and formerly-Petra. Her rant towards Edelgard and Constance (and to an extent, everyone in the Black Eagles House) is her way of letting out the rage and that she kept hidden for about good decade or longer. It's illogical, but really, when one's life has been the one where one can't matter to oneself, logic dies in favor of "rationality" and fanaticism.
To retroactively quote from Shadow Star again: "Divide a single slice of bread equally between ten people and ten people starve." In short, sometimes trying to solve a problem or presenting a solution to a problem (like Edelgard's declaration to make peace with Brigid as soon as she becomes Emperor) ironically solves nothing. That's realpolitik in a nutshell, which Selene knows; nations don't make friends, they're a convenience, which what Brigid is to Adrestia, at best.
Also, voice actors for the remainder of the Seven Sages of Agartha and their OC operators (haven't done this for this fic in a long while):
- Myson: Chiharu Sawashiro (JPN), Alek Le (ENG) (originally credited only by Kirk Thornton in both Japanese and English, but given his overhauled persona-I find the canon one still tepid even after his iteration in Three Hopes-I had to darrin his voice).
- Bias: Tomoyo Kurosawa (JPN), Alex Cazares (ENG) (again, Rebecca tribute)
- Chilon: Maxwell Powers (JPN), D.C. Douglas (ENG)
- Pittacus: Sumire Uesaka (JPN), Valerie Arem (ENG)
- Periander: Mamoru Miyano (JPN), Ryan Colt Levy (ENG)
- Anacharsis: Mariya Ise (JPN), Courtney Lin (ENG)
Well, this was easily the most reference-heavy chapter I've ever written. Did a lot of digging into Hindu mythology and design cues from other works of fiction. See you all in the next chapter.
References:
- Bias, continuing with her Cyberpunk: Edgerunner's Rebecca tribute, continues with her door greeting and exposing the same exact tattoos.
- The [ATM-SMD-01 Hermes] is a massive tribute to the [MS-18E Kampfer] from Gundam 0080: War in a Pocket. Its modification project name, "Project Rubicon," is a reference to Operation: Rubicon. Its weapon loadout consisting of a melee weapon, a pair of heavy launchers, and a pair of disposable artillery is that of the Kempfer's, with the names like [Adharma] (meaning "not accordant to the dharma"/evil), [Ravana] (a twenty-headed king of the Rakashas), [Vel] (Hindu War God Murugan's divine spear) and [Trishula] (a trident spear held by several Hindu devas and other deities) are all references to TWISTD's weapons and equipment being named after various stuff from Hindu mythology and cosmology. Also, the prototype weapons themselves call into mind of various Zonai tech from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
- Sidenote: the designation numbers each mean the following:
- [GAM-01] stands for "General Assault Module 01."
- [SAM-ET-00, 01, 02] stands for "Specialized Assault Module-Experimental Type 00, 01, 02."
- [ATM-SMD-01 Hermes] stands for "Agarthian Technology Model-Special Mission Deployment-type 01 Hermes." Also named after the Greek Messenger God of Speed.
- Periander (the Grappler) and Anacharsis (the Wyvern Rider) are Oneirio's "Ashen Demon AU" OCs (meaning I do NOT own these characters; and for which, he'd long left hanging since 2020 to have moved onto Granblue Fantasy fanart), with the former being named after the "Tyrant of Corinth" of 627-585 BC, while the latter is named after the Scythian prince during the 6th century BC. Both were considered other/honorary members of Greece's Seven Sages.
- Periander's personality is partially based off RWBY's Tyrian, but has some elements of Fire Emblem Awakening's Henry in it. Also his reaction to his [Dark Vajra-Mushti] is from the manga, Undead Unluck.
- Anacharsis' personality is that of Rita Kaniska from King-Ohger, but less virtuous and with some Fire Emblem Awakening's Tharja and her dry wit added into it the mix.
- The OC regalia tied to the [Crest of Aubin], the [Geri Beil], is both a reference to Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword's Hector of Ostia's personal weapon, the [Wolf Beil], and named after one of the Norse Mythology's two wolves of Odin, Geri, whose name roughly means "the ravenous one." It's also a pun to this Crest regalia's relation to Yuri, who leads the Ashen Wolves, tying the whole "wolf" motif altogether.
- Kronya's personal Crest Weapon (an in-universe call-forward to the existence of Edelgard's [Aymr]), [Kharga], are based off real-life Gurkha/kukri knives design-wise, and named after the Hindu Mother Goddess of War Kali's merciless demon-slaying sword.
- Edelgard's reaction to rats is a reference to Professor Port's comments about them in RWBY, Volume 4, Episode 4, "Family."
- Conquistador's armor is based off Fate/Grand Order's Olympian Soldier enemies, with its [Bow of Bael] being designed after Warframe's "Rakta Cernos" bow and named thematically named after Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's final boss, who's also named after the first demon of Ars Goetia.
- Scythian, Anacharsis's pet cyborg wyvern, is named after the city where the Wyvern Rider's namesake was born in, and the beast's modifications are loosely based off Proteus Ridley's incarnation from Metroid: Samus Returns with the visor of Cyber Mancubus from DOOM Eternal.
- Karna paraphrases Tomonori Komori's line from the manga Shadow Star. I also had Selene's breakdown directed to Edelgard and Constance bring in mind of the indie-video game, The Cave, where it performs various character studies and points out the fact that Petra in the canon Three Houses game can be found fighting for Edelgard 100% regardless of whatever path is taken, with Brigid just being mentioned as part of the greater agenda off-handedly at best.
- The construct enemies during the battle in the Chasm of the Bound are a reference to the Fabrications-group of enemies from Fire Emblem Engage.