The Dustbin
Day 40: No School Part Final
25th of Red Wolf Moon, Morning
"Come on, kiddos!" Byleth yelled as she with Hanneman and Manuela led their classes towards Remire Village under attack by Demonic Beasts, "the enemy aren't going to be waiting for us, let alone the villagers!"
"This early in the morning..." Manuela grumbled, "... just where are the Knights of Seiros when you need them?"
"It help to pay attention to the meetings," Hanneman remarked as he rolled his eyes, "Catherine and Shamir are sent to investigate an activity of dissidents at Rhodos Coast, Gilbert and Alois are sent to Morfis to rescue our diplomat when the nation came under attack from Alymran forces, and Jeralt is at Remire, trapped behind enemy lines."
"Tch, it's just politics," she dismissed as she and the others kept running towards Remire, "speaking of which..."
"Yeah, kinda sucks that Edelgard and Hubert aren't here today, again..." the Professor grumbled at the prospect of her class fighting with two less members (and coincidently, the same number as Karna's Dustbin), "of all times when they had to be called back home... I swear, on the coming Parent-Teacher Conference, I am going to have choice words for the Emperor himself, or whoever he sends his way."
"Such is the burden for those in power," Ferdinand remarked in agreement, "I assume with everything happening in Fodlan, I'm surprised myself that I wasn't called back by my own father."
Either that's a misplaced sense of grandiose self-worth or a desperate cry for help, deadpanned Sothis, but indeed, it seems rather peculiar on why only those two keep disappearing like that at the most crucial of times.
First two months ago during Flayn's kidnapping and now today... agreed Byleth, ... no time to think about it now. My dad and his guys are in danger.
Just as the group ran across the path leading towards Remire, a heavy rumbling was felt on the very ground that they've walked on.
"Is it just me, or is there a cloud of dust coming our way?" Claude asked Manuela as the coming stampede revealed itself to be the exposed-cog clockwork Great Knight, the Plaguebearer, "... and is that horse made of cogs?!"
"PREPARE TO ENGAGE!" Byleth ordered as from behind the charing calvaryman, a horde of masked Brigands armed with [Half-Moon Halberds] charged towards them.
"Gah! Creepy masks!" Bernadetta screamed as she noticed the masks that they were wearing resembled that of the Flame Emperor's before she began shooting her arrows at the coming horde while the others charged into the coming horde of Brigands.
As the two sides began to clash their arms, Byleth then notices that the Plaguebearer was ignoring them as it then rode towards who were firing their arrows and spells towards the mechanical rider. But again, much to her surprise, the rider didn't attack them. Rather, from its many pipes coming out from his armor and clockwork horse, jets of thick and opaque gas spewed around them, covering the whole battlefield in a thick fog.
"Dammit!" cursed Dimitri as he fended off a Brigand, "I can't see..."
The Prince of Faerghus lets out a hefty yawn as he began to fall asleep on the battlefield.
"Hey Boar Prince, what the hell do..." Felix then lets out a yawn before he took notice that the others were starting to show drowsiness one after another, "... no... don't fall asleep... don't fall asleep..."
Everyone but Byelth fell napping, one by one.
... Why... why do I... yawned Sothis as her host began to feel the same due to their mutual synchronization, ... feel sleepier than usual...
"Gotta stay..." Byleth groaned as she supported herself with the [Sword of Creator] planted onto the ground, "... stay awake..."
Before her, the sounds of gears clanging and gas hissing was heard as Byleth found herself looking up upon the Plaguebearer's horned visage atop of his puppet horse.
"... Sweet dreams," its voice whispered as it then brought down its [Axe of Abaddon] onto Byleth's head, splitting her scalp open like an overripe melon while the faint sounds of weapons tearing through flesh.
Again, Byleth found herself dead, or at the very least, what she'd seen as time itself wound back to very moment where they were marching towards their deaths.
"Professor?" asked Caspar, "why'd you stop?"
Byleth took a few quick breaths as she then tried to register on what she'd seen, or rather, what she and the others went through.
That was close, said Sothis, if I had actually fallen asleep at the moment of your death, I don't even know how I would be able to bring you back!
Okay, don't breath gas coming out of scary mechanical horse man, got it, she rationalized as she then saw the repeat of their own killers from the previous causality coming towards them, got any ideas?
For now, try and find a way around the fog! she answered, hold your breath if you have to!
"All of you, stay back!" ordered Byleth as she ran ahead towards the Plaguebearer riding towards them, his mechanical horse still spewing the jets of sleeping gas everywhere. Oddly enough, Byleth noticed that the masked Brigands weren't being affected by the gas due to their masks, but by the time she'd already noticed the latter detail, she promptly gets run over by the metallic horse, the wrought-iron hooves snapping her bones and imploding her organs underfoot.
Another reset occurred, but this time, Sothis was awake enough to deliver a barb directed towards her host.
... That was stupid, the spirit deadpanned, never do that again.
Sorry, Byleth apologized, tubby's faster than he looks.
Kinda like right now? Sothis then pointed towards the quick arrival of the Plaguebearer and his masked goons.
Despite being caught off-guard, again, Byleth then quickly issued her orders. "ALL MAGIC USERS AND ARCHERS, FOCUS FIRE ON THAT HORSEMAN!" she barked out, "DON'T LET HIM GET NEAR YOU!"
With little reluctance, all of the magic users and Archers began firing their spells and arrows towards the Plaguebearer to slow down his advance, causing the Brigands following him to advance without him.
"Alright," Byleth said as she drew her [Sword of the Creator], "keep up the fire and pin him down," she ordered, "everyone else, follow me and don't break their masks!"
"You know something that we don't?!" Claude stated as he kept firing from his [Steel Bow].
"JUST KEEP THE COMMANDER SEPARATED FROM HIS TROOPS AND FOLLOW MY LEAD!" she barked back as she then led the remaining students to engage the masked Brigands, pushing the battalion away from the Plaguebearer as he was kept on the backfoot from a barrage of spells and arrows that kept hitting him over and over to let him do anything other than keep riding, with some arrows jammed between his exposed cogs of his mount, causing him to slow down to pick out the arrows jamming his cogs or making him do anything but run freely.
Our plan is working! said Sothis as Byleth and Petra fought off the two Brigands armed with [Half-Moon Halberds], the Archers and the Mages are keeping the armored rider at bay, while we engage the footmen!
And take their masks so that we can use their masks to immunize ourselves from the gas! Byleth answered back as she impaled the Brigand with her sword before ripping the mask off of his face, "EVERYONE! LISTEN UP!" she barked as she put on her mask, "DO NOT ENGAGE THE COMMANDER WITHOUT THE MASKS!" she pointed out, "SO DON'T BREAK THEM!"
Dimitri ends up breaking one after punching the enemy Brigand in the face. "Oops," he winced, "sorry."
Sothis then rewinds five seconds back on the clock, right before the moment the Prince broke the mask, and instead corrected the mistake with Byleth lashing her [Sword of the Creator] out towards the Brigand's neck and lopping it off right before his face.
"Like I said, don't break them," said Byleth as she caught the masked head before handing it to Dimitri, "this is for your own good, so spread the word to the others."
"Uh... right," he nodded as he put on his mask under her orders before he carried out her orders, "EVERYONE, DON'T BREAK THE MASKS!" he shouted through the filters of his face wear, "WE NEED THOSE TO FIGHT THE COMMANDER PROPERLY!"
"Surprised that you didn't break it first," Felix rolled his eyes before he cut down a Brigand with his [Killing Edge] and taking the mask for himself, "I suppose a broken clock is right twice a day."
"Low punches, got it!" Raphael then punches his own Brigand with his [Steel Gauntlets] with so much force that the enemy vomited blood and bile from inside his mask before falling over dead, "... sorry about that," he apologized as he wiped the insides of the marred mask with his sleeve, which the straps barely fit his face as they were on the verge of snapping as soon as he put it on, "... worst case, I think I'll sit the fight out."
Meanwhile, the others who were facing the Plaguebearer were keeping up the fire as their target was too busy plucking out the arrows stuck between its exposed mechanisms and its armor being rattled with a rain of spells pelted onto him like rocks thrown by children. Yet despite taking such heavy fire, the Plaguebearer, for lack of a better term, was unharmed, only being slowed down and not being harmed in any sense of the word.
"We're not doing anything to it!" Lysithea remarked as she kept firing her [Miasma Δ] towards the bizarre-looking Great Knight.
"So is the enemy!" Ignatz protested as he kept firing his arrows with his [Killer Bow], "so don't let up!"
"Man, and I thought the Great Knights in Faerghus were stubborn," Annette remarked as she unleashed [Cutting Gale] after another, "seriously, he would give Gwendal a run for his money on endurance alone!"
"But he's no knight," Ashe pointed out as he fired his arrows towards the horse's internal mechanisms, jamming the arrows between the exposed cogs, "that horse isn't even real! He's just pretending to be one!"
"Then let's show him off of the stage, shall we?" Dorothea then fired her [Thoron] towards the Plaguebearer, shocking him all over as he let out a pained yell distorted by his hisses beneath his helmet.
"It's weak to electricity!" Hanneman pointed out as he then switched from his [Wind] to [Thoron], "press the advantage!"
"Way ahead of you, you old fart!" Manuela then raised her crackling hands up towards the gray skies above as her elderly compatriot fired a stream of lighting towards the clockwork rider, "[Bolting]!"
A radiant bolt of lighting from the sky strikes the Plaguebearer, shocking both him and his internal workings to critical mass. Realizing that he needed to find a way to survive this fight, he quickly flees the scene before he shuts down again and began paying mind towards the combatants that were keeping his Brigands separated from his chain of command.
"INCOMING!" Dedue remarked as he saw the mechanical rider gallop towards them in a rampaging cloud of opaque gas.
"THOSE WITHOUT MASKS, RETREAT AND TAKE THE REMNANTS OF THE ENEMY FORCES WITH YOU!" ordered Byleth as she then lashed out her [Sword of the Creator] into its whip form to strike the rider from afar, only for her blow to be parried by his shield as he kept galloping towards her.
Noticing that she and the other students were now wearing air-filter masks, the Plaguebearer then begins to opt for another strategy. Mainly, by turning up his gas output and begins to fog up the entire area to completely obscure his presence.
As the valve squeaked to release more gas, Byleth along with those who managed to get their masks all braced themselves for the coming encounter in this fog of war.
"Alright, sound off," said Byleth.
"Dimitri," said the Prince.
"Felix," said the sword user.
"Raphael," said the giant student, "... also, the mask barely fits my face."
"Then stay where you are right now, but be ready to jump out of the way," said Byleth, "fog of war is the worst and running around blind will get you killed."
Thankfully, one advantage that they have is that the Plaguebearer wasn't exactly the stealthiest person in the battlefield, given all of his mechanisms whirring about making sounds that one wouldn't find desirable when conducting stealth.
About subtle as a lit barrel of black powder, Sothis rolled her eyes as she then picked up sounds of hooves coming from behind Byleth, behind you!
She then immediately jumps out of the way of the Plaguebearer's [Axe of Abaddon] from digging itself into her back before the rider disappeared back into the fog.
Slippery dastard, Sothis commented, are you alright?
Nothing new, answered Byleth, gonna have to do that, huh?
Do what exactly? asked the spirit, something stupid? Because I can only turn back time so many times before I need to rest!
Sorry, but the longer this goes on, the more likely that the kids are going to die, she pointed out as sounds of grunts coming from other students from around her were heard amidst the rumbling hooves within the fog, and besides, I only need to mess up once to learn from my mistakes thanks to you, she remarks to her disembodied spirit companion, you'd make a better teacher than me, honestly.
... Huh, that's new, Sothis smacked her etherial lips, ... pride. Towards you, of all people.
The sounds of the thundering of wrought-iron hooves drum towards them from behind was heard.
Behind you! said Sothis as Byleth then performs a backflip over the underhanded swing of the Great Knight's weapon before lashing out her [Sword of the Creator] to latch herself onto the rear of the mechanical horse as she then took a ride across the earth with her being dragged behind by the clockwork rider on her heels through the dirt.
The Plaguebearer then notices that there was something being dragged behind him, and began trying to hack the bonds between the segmented blades to cut her off of his back, only for his [Axe of Abaddon] to simply bounce off of the glowing threads.
Just what is that sword made of to make it so resilient? asked Sothis as her host was sliding her heels across the earth while her binds entangled around the rear of the mechanical horse held on even as it began to gallop faster and harder.
Just ignore that and gotta focus on how to close in! thought Byleth as she then began to think of ways to get onto the horse.
Plaguebearer, realizing that she won't let go, formulates his final option. He first then sets aside his [Axe of Abaddon] onto the saddle-rack before unscrewing his right arm off to reveal a barrel loaded with his anti-cavalry round inside before the pull-pin firing mechanism. Desperately and without aiming, he then points the hollow point of his barrel behind himself before using his other hand to pull the pin to fire the shell towards Byleth.
PULL UP! PULL UP! screamed Sothis as Byleth then retracted her sword's whip-like form to draw herself closer towards the mechanical horse as she leaned under the fired shell before it exploded behind her at the time she herself was careening through the air.
Thank the goddess this isn't an actual horse, sighed Byleth as she found herself now hugging the clockwork horse's butt, otherwise, this would be the second time that I had to smell its posterior.
As she then climbed up to the saddle, the Plaguebearer then began swinging his [Axe of Abaddon] around itself to hit Byleth's head, forcing her to duck under the swings before hugging her whole body around its tank bolted onto its back.
"... GET... OFF!" it hissed as it then began trying to pry her grip off of his metal tank with his warpick.
"HEY, WATCH THE BOOB, BRO!" Byleth replied as she tried to pull her [Sword of the Creator] stuck between the exposed, spinning cogs, "seriously, who made this thing and why is it necessary to make it in the first place-WHOA!" she almost falls off of the clockwork horse after the Plaguebearer begins rock his body around wildly to shake her off himself, "HOLD STILL, WOULD YOU?!"
"PROFESSOR BYLETH!" Dimitri called out from within the fog, "HANG ON, WE'RE COMING-OW! OW! OW! WHAT THE HELL AM I STEPPING ON?!"
"SERIOUSLY?! CALTROPS?!" groaned Felix, indicating that he and Dimitri found each other, "WHERE DID THESE COME FROM?!"
Well now, ain't he got all of his bases covered like a fortress on legs, Sothis rolled her eyes as Byleth held herself onto the tank while the warpick was trying to peel her boob off of itself like if its scraping off dried bird feces, we're one move away from checkmate. Finish him off!
NEED TO FIND AN OPENING FIRST! said Byleth as she kept struggling to pull her sword out from the cogs, IF I END UP BREAKING THIS, I DOUBT A LITTLE RESIN AND GLUE WILL FIX IT!
The ride then suddenly jolts upwards, as if it ran over something. Byleth looks behind, and spots Raphael lying on the ground with the rest of his head collasped onto itself and its inners spilled out into the open.
... Sothis, reset, she requested, the spirit then turning the clock back by ten seconds, around the same time when she'd heard the two students from the Blue Lions step on laid spikes.
Alright, what's your plan? asked the spirit.
"SOMETHING STUPID!" she yelled out loud as she then lets go of the sword in lieu of the Plaguebearer's [Axe of Abaddon]'s upper shaft, swinging herself around the rider before using the momentum to give a hard aerial dropkick to his helmeted head, knocking both herself and the rider off of the automaton horse, grabbing onto the handle of the [Sword of the Creator] still stuck between the cogs at the last minute, taking away his mobility and riding out of the fog in the process. "Phew, that was close," she sighed as she took off her mask, "he shouldn't be going anywhere now-"
TREE! yelled Sothis as she looked ahead to find herself and the ride fast running into a tree, crashing the mechanical horse into the trunk, destroying both it and her bones within the same impact.
"Ow..." groaned Byleth as she looked up, "... at least I'm alright-"
Her words were then cut off as the flying [Sword of the Creator] landed blade-first into her throat, forcing Sothis to rewind the time back to the moment where she came riding out of the fog.
This time, she bails immediately right before as she then saw the mechanical horse crash into the tree that spelled her prior doom, with her freed [Sword of the Creator] now landing safely away from her person as the mechanical steed broke into a pile of scrap metal and cogs.
I only have three resets left, Sothis pointed out, remember that we're sharing this body.
Sorry, she apologized as she then went to retrieve her Relic.
Byleth then looks back where she'd come out from, noticing that the gas itself is beginning to thin out until the barrier of emitted fog began to shrink. "All of you inside!" she called out, "get out from there! He's a sitting duck now, so best not do anything stupid!"
Shortly after, out came Raphael carrying both Felix and Dimitri over his broad shoulders.
"... I could've taken him," pouted Felix.
"Enough of that," said Dimitri as he took off his mask, "now what?"
"Run," Byleth ordered, "and reformulate with the rest of the student body fighting the Brigands. Hopefully, none of them are too injured to keep going."
The four then run back towards where the masked Brigands were being disposed of, the last of which being slain by Ferdinand's [Steel Lance].
"Finishing off?" asked Byleth.
"Well done," Petra gave a thumbs-up as her stolen mask was placed above her head.
"Any of you injured?" asked Manuela as she healed Dedue's wounds with her [Heal] spell.
"Just stepped on something sharp..." Dimitri blushed, "... although I doubt that the vagrant Great Knight will find no reason to use them now, given his unmounted state."
"Saw the mechanical horse break apart," said Raphael, "kinda reminds me of the insides of a bell tower, only smaller."
"Alright, wait for that thing to come out of the fog then jump onto him all at once," ordered Byleth, "prioritize the masks to those fighting in melee. Ranged fighters, keep yourselves at a distance to not get yourselves killed. That dastard hits hard."
From the fog emerged the monohorned helm of the Plaguebearer, bringing his fog with him, albeit less effectively without his mobility tool, screwing back on its right arm that it shot its shell out from before flexing its digits, indicating that it works.
"Incoming!" Byleth and everyone else slips back on their masks as the Mages and Archers pulled back from the encroaching fog of death approaching towards them.
For the Plaguebearer himself, he was grateful that his upgrades made his armor less heavy (although still heavy enough to warrant a mechanical horse; if they could build a mask for a live horse, then it would've done so without having to build an artificial one), so he won't be a sitting duck in the middle of the battlefield when he is dismounted, and be able fight without being overly encumbered, which is the overlying flaw of all Armor/Fortress Knights.
"Tell us your name!" ordered Dimitri as he pointed his [Silver Lance] towards the foot-bound Great Knight, only for his demand to be replied with a coughing laughter.
"... Sorry kid," said the Plaguebearer, "... but the dead... don't have names."
It then charges as it then increases its sleeping gas output to act as an improv smokescreen, first raising his weapon into the air as if he were to swing it down, only for instead to jab the sharp point of his shield towards the Prince's stomach, forcing the latter on the backfoot and leaving him open for a sideways swing with his warpick.
Dimitri then blocks the incoming one-two feint attack with the shaft of his weapon, sending him instead flying across the battlefield and out of the smokescreen as he landed rolling and tumbling onto the ground. At the same time, Felix and Sylvain came in with their [Killing Edge] and [Lance of Ruin] respectively, only for their attacks to not so much make a dent through his armor.
"... So that's the extent... of a Relic's power?" the Plaguebearer looked towards Sylvain and his Relic, now seeing as a remnant of a past that he now rejects completely, "... pathetic."
First he grabs the [Lance of Ruin] by its upper shaft before swinging both the Relic and Sylvain into Felix, knocking down both of them to the earth before the Great Knight raised his armored foot over them to pin them down and finish them off, only for him to be tackled down from behind by Raphael, Caspar, Dedue and Ingrid at the same time.
"Posthaste!" said Dedue as he blocked the coming scratch from the Plaguebearer's sharpened shield with his own bulwark as the enemy quickly got back up to his feet wildly swinging.
"Get off of me, you manwhore!" Felix scrambled to toss off the redhead off of himself before the two joined the fight against the Great Knight.
The Plaguebearer realizes that he's outnumbered, even from just taking into account to those he can currently see in front of him, he knows that the whole entire student body now had access to the masks that prevent his [Sandman] gas from affecting them. As much as he hated to do so, he had no other option...
"What is he taking out?!" said Caspar as the Plaguebearer then threw down a small burlap sack to the ground that scattered pink-purple dust everywhere before disappearing.
... But to use the [Warp Powder] and retreat for the moment. The Plaguebearer was no Death Knight, for he was (relatively) sane enough to make a tactical withdrawal when the situation called for it, including to keep himself unknown towards those who've seen him.
Upon his departure, the fog of the [Sandman] disperses into thin air, leaving behind a very confused (and dissatisfied) student body who were just fighting for their lives a few seconds ago.
"... That's it?" Claude pointed out, "actually, how the hell did he retreat?! We had him surrounded from all sides!"
"... Maybe magic?" Manuela suggested, "[Warp] is one of my specialties in [Faith Magic]."
"Gotta give the enemy some credit," said Byleth as she took off her mask, "they got all of their bases covered."
You'd know, given that you died a few times, Sothis snarked.
Shut up, growled Byleth.
"But he didn't use magic," pointed out Caspar, "but rather, I think I saw him throw a smoke bomb before he just... disappeared."
The Black Eagles Professor lets out a grumble before resuming her march towards Remire. "Forget it, just come on," she stated as she began walking, "we got no time to lose."
The three houses resume their march towards the village under fire.
At Remire Village Under Attack...
"HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!" Jeralt ordered as he led the villagers and the remnants of his forces against the Demonic Beasts surrounding the villager, "KEEP THEM AT ARM'S LENGTH AND WATCH OUT FOR THEIR ATTACKS!"
He then spots a Giant Wolf that was about to stamp its paw atop one of the cowering villagers, only for him to come riding in before scooping him up from the ground and riding away from the area of impact.
"Also, don't sit still," ordered Jeralt as he dropped off the villager back to a safe distance, "keep moving or else you'll die!"
"Ri-RIGHT!" answered the middle-aged villager as he then joined back with his fellows to fend off the Demonic Beasts, holding them back before his sellswords finished them off.
While Karna's instructions helped the villagers from being helpless sheep that needed to be constantly protected, the fact that they were still untrained noncombatants just mere hours ago was still prevalent. Just because they can fight doesn't mean that they knew how to fight an actual battle. Then again, Karna has a point in that they had no other option, but that didn't mean that making them possibly die sooner was a smart idea either.
It was a lose-lose situation, and all Jeralt can do is keep the casualties from getting too high. Or at least until help arrives.
"Dammit, I'm playing patsy again..." he groaned before going back to his front, "DON'T BREAK FORMATION! KEEP AN EYE ON EACH OTHER MAKE SURE NO ONE GETS SEPARATED!"
While he and his cadre were fending off the whole pack of Demonic Beasts, Karna's side was more or less a bloodbath on a localized scale. While Karna's initial volley of [Dark Spikes T] taking out most of the forces, there were still the others to contend, resulting in with the Dustbin taking on several surviving Cavaliers armed with [Crescent Sickles] with only Cyrus being the one who's mounted. Everyone else were stuck on foot to fight opponents with higher ground.
"WEAK! WEAK! WEAK!" roared Cyrus as he and Darius sent the Death Knight's minions flying off of their steeds with his [Killer Lance], "ALL OF YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO BE CONSIDERED HORSEMEN!" he boasted as he staked another foe up by his throat with his lance and grabbing his dropped [Crescent Sickle] by its shaft with his teeth, "PRETENDERS! FRAUDS! YOU BRING NOTHING BUT SHAME TO YOUR ANCESTORS!"
Darius then lets out a menacing bray before crushing a Cavalier's head under his hooves before trampling over the rest of his body, crumpling the armor into his flesh and bone before moving onto his next kill.
"Someone's havin' fun," grumbled Sorcha as she then ducked under a scythe swing while swinging her [Claymore] through all four of the horse's legs, sending the rider above careening across the air before he was shot through the head with an arrow fired from Selene's crank-operated [Crossbow], "den again, what's not fun about killin' sum fools?"
She then parries a low sweep from a dismounted Cavalier by vaulting over his strike with her own sword planted into the ground before she landed onto his back before punching him down with her [Ne Zha] gauntlets, the scorching knuckle-blade piercing through his plate armor and flesh all at the same time.
"VIDAR! DESTROY!" the feral boy roared out as he then ran towards the Cavalier that charged towards him, both meeting with the latter raising his weapon over his head and the former dropkicking the horse's throat, causing it to gag and buck over, causing the rider to slip off of his mount and crash onto the dirt. Seeing an opening, Vidar then immediately vaults over the panicking horse and slams his [Baigujing] gauntlets into the fallen Cavalier, the frozen blades punching through the cracking plate armor as his flesh and blood froze solid.
"GET HIM!" shouted the other Cavalier rallying his comrades, "KILL THAT THING!"
Seeing that there were now several of them aggroing towards the bandaged boy, Vidar then plants both of his gauntlets into the ground to freeze the earth solid, causing the loss of friction to cause the horses to slip and fall en masse before him. Normally then, he would follow it up with him killing them off at their moment of discord, but hearing a buzzing sound coming from behind himself, Vidar then instead bows out as a V-shaped blade spun across the air, ripping through their necks, slaying both men and beast alike.
"Braver than most," said Topaz as she caught the returning [Zulfiqar] before parrying a sneak attack from behind with her [Wo Dao] sliding the [Crescent Sickle] across her bowed body before swinging it back to the Cavalier's plate armor to knock him back slightly to swing down her V-bladed sword into the enemy's head, spitting his helmet and head in half, "... but foolish and reckless as the rest."
"Show off," Byron rolled his eyes as he then belched out a sonic scream towards the charging Cavalier with his [Banshee Θ] spell to slow him down before firing his [Freeze] spell to knocking him off of his horse. Upon jumping out of the way from the now-runaway horse, Byron then quickly runs towards the downed Cavalier as he took out his [Mace] and began beating the enemy's head in, burying the Cavalier's own crumpling helmet into his own face as each blow landed square into his face, until the vents and breaches from the wrecked helmet began spouting blood from within. "Done," he said as he then casually walked towards his classmates while offhandedly firing another [Freeze] spell towards a Cavalier trying to take him by surprise, only to find himself frozen solid before his head was shot through with an arrow from Selene.
"Duck your head," ordered Topaz as she threw her [Zulfiqar] over Byron's back to cleave through another rider and mount pair trying to attack the latter from behind, "how many remain?"
"Plenty to go around," said Byron as he then belted out another [Banshee Θ] point-blank at a dismounted Cavalier to stun him long enough for him to take his helmet off before savagely beating his exposed head with his [Mace] cracking his skull open, "how about a wager for the whole class?"
"Meaning?" asked Topaz while she parried a [Crescent Sickle]'s swing with her [Wo Dao] before ducking under the returning [Zulfiqar] that then decapitated the enemy from where he stood.
"Whoever kills the most guys gets first privilege to use the [Advanced Seal] that I've won," he declared as he then shot both a [Blizzard] and [Miasma Δ] at once at the coming Cavalier.
"I get the feeling that the whole arrangement is going to be heavily contested," the little Hassashin pointed out as she slid her [Wo Dao] into the gap between the Cavalier's helmet and throat, "but fair enough. We'll count our kills afterwards."
"Don't pout when you lose, alright?" said Byron as he then unleashed [Freeze] to another charging Cavalier before him.
At the epicenter of the wrecked village, Karna and the Death Knight were having a fierce duel between polearm users, with the former masterfully wielding the [Gradivus] against the latter's sinister and brutal mastery of his [Scythe of Sariel].
"Come on," sneered Karna as his lance locked with the scythe blade, "you gotta be having some fun facing me over that wench, right?"
"Hurry up and die," growled the Death Knight.
"Oooh, touchy," replied the Professor as the two began walking in a circle with their weapons kept locked onto each others', "I love it when they talk dirty!"
The two break off their weapon lock before coming back towards each other, clashing their lances against another, with each swings colliding against another sending sparks flying everywhere as roars of rage and laughter of lunacy echoed through the ruins wrecked havoc everywhere.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Karna cackled as he danced through the earth and the air, dancing with his [Gradivus] around himself and against the Death Knight's arms in a wild waltz of death, "I SUDDENLY FEEL ALIVE AGAIN! I'VE RETURNED FROM HELL TO EXPERIENCE HEAVEN ONCE MORE!"
"Go back," demanded the Death Knight as he swung his [Scythe of Sariel] towards Karna's loops, only for it to be parried by the lance's shaft and Karna landing a hard kick across this skull helmet before swinging down his polearm across his helm, banging the massive spearhead onto the top between his horns, dizzying him for a moment and allow Karna to close in the gap to deliver a point-blank [Miasma Δ] to his stomach, knocking him back further. In reprisal, the Death Knight unleashes his [Distant Counter] towards Karna, sending an unseen force of power towards the Professor, only for him to spin out of his way from the shockwave before taking a neutral combative pose. "How..." said the morose crusader as he slammed the bottom shaft of his weapon into the dirt as he got up, "... HOW ARE YOU THIS STRONG?!"
"You're crazy. That I can respect," answered Karna, "but compared to us? Whatever crap you have gone through to birth such madness and bloodlust... cannot compare to mine, buddy."
The Death Knight then bolts towards the Professor with his weapon raised over his head before jumping up to perform an overhead swing that Karna blocks with his [Gradivus]. "Unworthy... UNWORTHY!" he roared as he kept pressing his scythe onto the Professor's weapon, the red wisps in his eyes flaring up like a pair of suns that were about to explode in pure rage, "YOU ARE UNWORTHY! YOU WILL DIE LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE AND DESERVE!"
"Ooh, cuts deep, bro," Karna smirked, not impressed at the Death Knight's monotonous bloodlust, "I've heard and been through much worse, pal," he pointed out as the two kept each other close with their weapons clashing against each other like a pair of bulls with interlocked horns, "a dog's death is a luxury that I cannot have!"
"THEN WHY WON'T YOU DIE WHEN YOU DESIRE SO?!" asked the Death Knight.
"Simple, really!" Karna remarked as he knocked off the weapon lock before kicking up dirt to the Death Knight's face to give himself some breathing room between himself and his morose-looking foe, "because if I miss out on living long enough to continue spiting other people, then why bother dying prematurely? It's my only reason to keep going, to get back at those who try and exploit me! Only of which I continue to bear and endure it all because I will relish every moment in the inevitable payback!"
"Scum," declared the Death Knight as his [Scythe of Sariel] began to glow flaming-orange, "you are not worthy to stand upon the stage of history that my liege has created!"
"Then I shall be the one to shit on all of your collective dinners," smirked Karna as his [Gradivus] began emitting a pale-blue light that chilled to the touch, "history itself will end with my ascension and everyone else that I deem inferior eating mud."
The two then ran towards each other as they began to execute their finishing blows.
"[GLOWING EMBER]!" the Death Knight then swung his blazing [Scythe of Sariel] towards Karna.
"[Frozen Lance]," countered Karna as he thrusts his chilly [Gradivus] against the coming swing.
The two arms meet, only for both to knock each other off of their respective wielders, landing far away from both of them at opposite sides from behind each other.
"... Well now," Karna smacked his lips as he looked back at the [Scythe of Sariel] landed on where he was standing at prior, "... this is super-awkward-"
He was then punched in the face, by the Death Knight. "OUR FIGHT'S NOT OVER YET-"
He was then met to a swift kick to his crotch, with Karna's swift reprisal managing to crumple his cup into his testicles, causing the Death Knight to roll around the ground in pain.
"I was getting to that, you emo," sneered Karna as he pounced onto the Death Knight and the two began their barehanded melee while the two grappled against each other, rolling themselves across the dirt as both men struggle to remain at the top while the other made efforts to usurp the former, only for the deadlock to end as Karna fired a [Miasma Δ] to the Death Knight's face mid-roll, separating the two of them forcibly, "so shut the fuck up and let's kill each other already!"
The Death Knight then blasts [Thunder] towards Karna, the latter countering it with his [Swarm Z] dispersing the voltage throughout the open to dampen the spell's effectiveness. In turn, the Death Knight blasts Karna with [Thoron] onto his chest, sending him back a couple feet before Karna shot another [Miasma Δ] towards the Death Knight, doing the same to what had happened to him prior.
"Hmph, never took you for a spell caster," commented Karna as the Death Knight shot another [Thoron] towards him, only for him to counter it with another [Miasma Δ], both of which exploding on contact, "lance usage, spell usage, black horse with horned armor..." mused Karna as the Death Knight kept slinging his bolts of electricity towards the Professor while the latter mused, "... combined that with your body double using spells and wielding a similar weapon like yours... you're a repurposed Dark Knight, aren't you?!" he pointed out as he kept dancing around his spells, "no wonder why the others were terrified of you! You're a Master Class to these novices!"
"Point being?!" barked the Death Knight as he blasted his last [Thoron] spell before returning to use his [Thunder].
Karna smirks as he readies himself to unleash his deadliest spell. "You're about to meet your match, pal."
The Death Knight notices that Karna was now emitting dangerous levels of mana with his incoming spell, so he opted to do the same by doing the same with his own most powerful spell he has on him.
"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Karna euphorically cried out in glee as his spell reached its crescendo, "COME ON! SHOW ME WHAT YOU LOVE!"
"[DEATH Γ]!" the Death Knight then blasts a skull-shaped fireball of darkness towards Karna.
"[HADES Ω]!" declared Karna as he shot his beam of screaming souls of the damned towards the roaring skull fireball, pushing it back as the two profane arts of darkness clashed against each other.
Both blasts of [Dark Magic] collide against one another, both spells grinding and pushing against each other to make the other concede in this arcane clash of the world's most profane spells. However, the clash between the magics came to close as both spells collapsed onto each other, disappearing into nothing before expanding out towards its surroundings as if its elementary particles are reaching out towards the infinity, sending both of the casters flying across the village ruins in opposite directions as the rest of the village were consumed by the ensuing blast. The Death Knight was sent flying into a building before the whole thing collapsed onto itself, burying him in a pile of timber and rubble, whereas Karna was sent flying towards where Jeralt and everyone else were at, taking on the last Demonic Beast that stood amongst the corpses of its brethren.
"GUH, GARGH, SON OF A-" cursed Karna as he rolled and tumbled across the dirt, keep rolling and going until he was then caught by Jeralt while he was upside down, "... which way is up?"
"Curse my own decency for actually saving your worthless life..." he grumbled as he then let go of Karna.
Karna then closed his eyes for a moment before taking a listen to his surroundings. "... You got them all?"
"Have to admit, your plan worked," sighed Jeralt, "... granted, what you still did was reckless."
"Hey, no risk, no reward," defended Karna, "sometimes running opens up a bigger target. Their backs."
"Speaking from personal experience?" asked the Blade Breaker.
"You have no idea," answered Karna as he got up, seeing his own students stack up bodies into separate piles, "... wonder what they're doing over there."
As then approached them, the students of the Dustbin began fingering through the piles while piling up all the loot onto a single stack.
"Hey Professor," said Byron as he put away his pilfered [Dark Seal] into his Dark Mage robes, "you're just in time."
"For what?" he asked.
"Our kill counts!" answered the student, "whoever killed the most gets to use the [Advanced Seal] first."
"I got 9," said Sorcha, "... felt sluggish t'day."
"7," said Selene as she let out a sigh.
"Same," said Byron, "... I really ought to improve myself."
"12," boasted Cyrus, "beat that."
"11," sighed Topaz, "... what's done is done."
"Wait, what about Vidar?" asked Karna as the bandaged boy dragged another, half-frozen body towards his own pile.
"Can you help him count?" requested Byron, to which the Professor then did.
"... 13," said Karna as soon as he finished counting, "we have a winner."
"Next time, I swear!" Cyrus shook his fist angrily.
"Our killing machine," Byron spoke with pride as he handed his [Advanced Seal] to his friend, "you've earned it pal. Now get stronger."
Vidar nods as he then throws the seal up into the air, followed up with a bolt of energy striking him from above, anointing him with a new power. From his old attire of the Brigand's, Vidar's Warrior garb took its place, a jet-black leather tunic with striking pieces of gold-colored armor with spikes studded onto every last piece of iron, his cape that stopped at its waist being burnt black and tattered at its end, and the fur around his collar and shoulders being an entire pelt of a Duscurian Black Bear, the largest omnivorous species in all of Fodlan, right down to the whole head itself being present on his shoulder armor adjacent to his other, large-spiked pauldron. Simply put, Vidar's own savagery was personified through his own armor, the heir of barbarism himself has arrived before them all.
"Vidar... STRONGER!" he roared rapturously as he raised both of his [Baigujing] gauntlets into the air, "VIDAR! INVINCIBLE!"
"Good for you," said Karna as he then approached the now-unconscious Death Knight, his head being the only thing that was sticking out from the pile that he was buried in, "now then, what's underneath that skull-face of yours..."
By the helmet's horns, Karna then lifts the facade up from the head, revealing a silver-masked man with cream-blonde hair reaching down to his neck.
"JERITZA?!" Byron exclaimed as he and everyone else looked down at what or rather, who they were seeing right now, "HE'S IN ON THIS?!"
"Dat explains how de Death Knight came in an' out of Garreg Mach," snarled Sorcha, "son of a bitch was a spy!"
"Welp, now I've got to explain this to the Archbishop..." groaned Jeralt as he facepalmed at the revelation.
"Forget handing him over!" said the old Paladin as he drew his [Silver Sword], "let's kill him now!"
"Wait a minute," Karna raised his hand before he then removed Jeritza's mask, revealing a face that looked like a male distaff counterpart to a certain Blue Lions student, and one that Karna recognized long ago, only now a bit older, "... Emile?"
"You know him?" asked Cyrus.
"I tutored him when he was a kid!" answered Karna, "but I thought the whole Bartel House went up in flames..." he then began to piece together between the arson that he was blamed for and the "Death Knight's" bloodlust, "... son of a bitch! I GOT PLAYED FOR A FOOL FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS BY HIM OF ALL PEOPLE?!"
"And that's quite enough," said Tomas as he then smacked Jeralt in the back of his knee with his cane, forcing the Knight of Seiros to kneel as he then pressed his fingertip against the man's temple, the tip of the old man's finger glowing dark purple, "move, and the Blade Breaker dies."
"... Tomas?" said Karna, "... since when did you know [Dark Magic]?" he then looked towards Emlie lying before him, "... are you two in on this?!"
Selene then points her loaded [Crossbow] to Tomas' head. "Wat really are ye, ye old fart?" she asked as she kept her weapon steady towards his head, ready to fire if it calls for it, "I can see well enough dat yer not really 'Tomas', aren't ye?"
Tomas then lets out a sinister chuckle. "For a barbarian, you're smarter than you look."
The old librarian then transforms into a hunchbacked old man with skin pale as death, his cranium bloated and veiny like a waterlogged corpse, and his white and beige robes with his simple oak can turning black and red. One of his eyes were bigger than the other, differing in irises and just as bizarre as his balding sky-blue hair that fell to his nape.
"Well," shrugged Karna, "I can tell that you're no friend of ours," he remarked casually before his voice dropped several octaves, "so where's the real Tomas?"
"You assume that 'Tomas' was real to begin with," sneered the pale old man, "beasts, all of you. You weren't able to realize that 'Tomas' was merely a lie this whole time! A facade of humility in the heart of this world built on lie after lies!" he ranted, "so drunk on your lies that you've all failed to notice me! The facade of humility in the heart of this world's power! All this time I've played you all for fools, for 'Tomas' really never existed!"
"YER REAL NAME!" barked Selene as she jabbed her loaded arrow into the old man's head, "NOW!"
"Very well, but only because you've asked," said the old man, "I am Solon, the savior of humanity!"
"Dude, if you're gonna adopt the whole 'savior of humanity' schtick, at least get some tan in," commented Karna, "because that chalk-white skin of yours is screaming 'I'm a bad guy, please shoot me'."
"Pot calling the kettle black there, interloper," said another voice as another black-cloaked Mage with a white mask suddenly teleported behind Selene and pointed his own [Dark Magic] towards her head, "one wrong move, and your sharpshooter will be a couple inches shorter."
"And you are...?" asked Karna.
"We haven't met, but I have been keeping track on all of you," said the masked man, "I am the Black Mage, the Flame Emperor's shadow-"
Byron then points his [Freeze] spell towards the Dark Mage's cloaked head without anyone noticing. "And you talk too much," he remarked, "so how long have you been keeping tabs on us?"
"That is not for you to know nor for you to find out," said the Flame Emperor as he teleported behind Byron before aiming his [Fire] towards his head, "all of you shouldn't have looked into the dark. And for that, you all must die-"
A pair of clicking sounds were heard behind the Flame Emperor, revealing Topaz with her dual flintlock pistols, both of them having their hammers wound back and ready to fire. "You merely adopted the dark, Flame Emperor," said the Hassashin as she pressed her guns against the helm while she herself was held up by Karna's arms (the latter being ignored after all eyes were on Byron), "but I was born in it."
Karna then lets out a sigh as he then realizes that the whole situation has now devolved into a standoff, with whoever blinking first being the one responsible for killing all of them at once. "... Okay," he smacked his lips in apprehension, "... anyone else we're missing?!"
From afar, perched onto one of the treetops was none other than Dolofanos, with his scoped flintlock rifle zeroed in on the Flame Emperor's head, but his aim being partially compromised due to Topaz herself getting in the way of his shot. Now normally, he'd had no problem shooting through someone else, but there were two problems. The first which being that he himself is not sure if he has loaded enough black powder to propel the lead ball through two people and successfully kill both with one shot. The second being that if Solon dies before his future plans can be executed, then he'll be the one to take his superior officer's place as the "backup catalyst". For now, there was nothing for him to do other than just watch hope that nothing happens.
And nothing did, for the next couple seconds.
The Flame Emperor then looks at the helmetless Death Knight before facing Karna. "So you all already know too much."
"Oh come on!" Karna remarked as he continued to hold up Topaz in his arms, "I was that kid's tutor back when he was only a brat! How the hell did that arson ten years ago drag me into this clusterfuck?!"
"Your reputation of your calamitous misfortune precedes you, Professor Yuga," said Solon, "weren't it for different circumstances, we'd be allies, or a useful pawn, as you've proven yourself to that wench running that infernal Church."
"Look, I know that she ain't the greatest, but you guys aren't making a good first impression either!" Jeralt pointed out.
"Quiet, you," hissed Solon as he pressed his fingertip against the Blade Breaker's temple, "even after all this time, you do nothing about your station!"
"Hey, free room and board," said Byron, "we'll literally usurp entire kingdoms in their name if it means getting paid and fed to do so."
"Your powers can be used to better Fodlan!" said the Flame Emperor.
"I ain't even from ere'," Selene pointed out, "why do I wanna die for a patch of dirt that I wasn't even born on?"
"It's in your best interest if you'd done so," answered the Black Mage, "you've chose the wrong side of this conflict. You'll all pay for it either way."
"You don't decides who lives or dies, cosplayer," Topaz spat as she kept her eyes on the Flame Emperor, "only Azrā'īl determines who goes and who stays. Those who I've slain have been chosen."
"Speaking of other gods in Fodlan?" chuckled Solon, "lass, you have balls."
"Only because we really don't care about this place," said Byron, "we never cared to begin with. It never has done anything for us that warranted our loyalty, and neither did you. Your little crusade against the status quo is cute and all, but that's about it: a mere childish fantasy in the grand scheme of things. Order and chaos are an endless dance of madness that cares for naught for anyone that it crushes underfoot, and all the while, your visions and dreams will barely last a century before something else better and shinier takes its place," he pointed out, "but don't beat yourselves over it. That is the consequences of being an idealist. You lot only exist to see your own dreams get crushed into dust before your very eyes."
"Dreams are not that fragile," claimed the Black Mage, "it is my job to ensure that my liege's dream will come true!"
Byron then lets out a wicked cackle. "Tell that to the idiots I saw ten years ago at the Tragedy of Duscur," he stated, "fools, all of them, from crying children to those knights slaughtering innocents under the smallest of pretenses, but I can sort of understand why they did all that in the first place, after all, the instigators were the ones who hired me to carry it out in the first place!"
"... Wait, what?" Karna remarked.
"To be honest, if King Lambert had paid me more, or had the gumption to pay me for my services at all, then he might've lived," said Byron, revealing himself as the killer of the King of Faerghus, "I killed a king, and the other nobles just let me walk away with a fortune! Ha! Ain't that a kick to balls?!"
"Wait, you were that kid?!" Solon remarked in surprise, and I thought Cleobulus was joking, and yet here I am, seeing the boy now sharpened to a killer, the old man mused at this surprising development, ... perhaps he's more of beast than I thought. No, the whole pack of them are devils in the making!
"Why..." said the Flame Emperor, "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?!"
"I needed money, man," answered Byron, "food and medicine doesn't come for free, and I already got chased out of several marketplaces and farms for stealing. For me, anything and anyone is nothing but monetary gain regardless of who they are. Have to keep that in mind or otherwise, I will die cold and starving, which mind you, is a pretty stupid way to die."
"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU'VE CONDEMNED TO DEATH WITH THAT SELFISH ACT?!" said the Flame Emperor.
"I do, and for that, I apologize," mocked Byron, "compassion was in scarce supply, and Vidar is my only other reason left for me to live aside from my own survival. In order for me to learn that, I had to kill more people to realize that living solely for myself as both a survivor and an academic freak of nature. A steep price for something called... 'compassion'."
"You are beyond disgusting. You would fit in with them!" said the Black Mage as he pointed towards Solon.
"Losers have no right to complain," said Byron, "and what if you outed me to the public? Who would take the words of a terrorist who attacked an innocent village with Demonic Beasts to kill us all?! And honestly, DO THEY EVEN CARE?! I AM ALREADY A SCUMBAG OUT IN THE OPEN! AT LEAST I DON'T PRETEND THAT I'M A GOOD GUY!"
"That's right!" said the young newlywed, "my husband was driven mad because of you!"
"The world was a lot peaceful without you creeps around!" yelled the woodsman, "all of us just want to live in peace and you all ruined it with your machinations!"
As the villagers began to rave and rant towards the standoff, the ones outside the deadlock looked at each other in confusion.
"Oi," asked Sorcha, "... are we de bad guys?"
"Eh, my people destroyed entire civilizations and nearly took over the whole world centuries ago," shrugged Cyrus, "kingslaying is merely a footnote to us. If anything, Byron would be considered a hero among my people."
"... Byron... saved me," said the bandaged Warrior, "... no one... but him... helped me... while everything... burned," he spoke, "... told me... everything... it doesn't... matter in the end... people... not us... are bad."
But before the chaos can escalate, a volley of arrows landed between the three of them and the standoff. It didn't take a genius that there were lit fuses hissing down to hollow containers that scented of black powder.
"Aw crapbaskets," cursed Karna as the arrows then exploded, sending everyone caught in the chain of blasts flying everywhere.
"MILORD!" said the Black Mage, "WE MUST RETREAT!"
"For once, I agree," snarled Solon as he scrambled back up to his feet with the help of his [Circe Staff].
"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" said Selene as she shot her [Crossbow], only for the shot arrow to be intercepted by another arrow shot from afar.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Topaz then blind-fired one of her flintlock pistols, only for the shot to instead hit Solon's ankle, causing him to yell in agony.
"DAMN WHORE!" roared Solon as he then unleashed a stream of dark lighting, "DIE! [BOHR X]!"
"[BANSHEE Θ]!" Byron then screeched out sonic howl to intercept the spell, only for him to get hit by the full blast of the spell, only for his [Prayer Ring] to save him at the eleventh hour, "... yep. Hell on the throat."
As Topaz then let out an enraged yell while aiming her other flintlock pistol, Dolofanos perched from above, then shot his rifle at the same time as the former, the two shots overlapping over another as if it were a single shot.
Both lead balls end up hitting the Flame Emperor's leg, one into his knee and other out through his shin, causing him to take a bad limp mid-stride. "FUCK! MY LEG!" exclaimed the Flame Emperor as he was then carried over by the Black Mage's shoulder.
"OVER HERE!" said Odesse as he pulled the Death Knight out of the rubble, "LET'S BOUNCE ALREADY! PLAGUEBEARER RETREATED!"
"DID HE SAY PLAGUEBEARER?!" Karna exclaimed as he then scrambled to get back up from the blast, only for his leg to be badly burnt from the explosion, hampering his movement greatly.
Dolofanos meanwhile, then decides to retreat by applying his supply of [Warp Powder] onto himself before anyone can notice him escaping, successfully fooling the Flame Emperor with this facade of ambiguity despite having failed to kill his own faction's "partner" ala by an "accident".
Once the dust settles, Karna then looks ahead, only to find that the Flame Emperor and all of his accomplices were all gone, vanished into thin air.
"DAMMIT!" cursed Karna as he pounded his fist into the dirt, "THEY GOT AWAY!"
"Eh, silver lining," said Byron as he dragged the [Scythe of Sariel] behind himself, "we bloodied their noses good enough."
Jeralt then glares at the Dustbin before walking away, intending to put Byron's confession onto his report and see that his crimes are answered for, only for him to be stopped by Karna, who grabbed his ankle as he walked away.
"... Do anything to harm or slander by students..." growled Karna, "... and I'll slander your men's reputation in turn for this little happenstance of them going murderously insane, got it? Wanna care to wager which one of us is gonna look bad when my students' jobs are to be the bad guys while you guys are the good guys?"
As much as Jeralt wanted to flaunt his authority as a Knight of Seiros, the last thing he wanted to be in was be in more debt under Rhea of all people. And even though it was from unforeseen circumstances, it didn't change that it was still his own men that began slaughtering the villagers.
For the sake of not burdening himself and those he knew with this loss of renown (as a sellsword company, the last thing that his clients needed to hear was his own men going crazy and slaughtering people indiscriminately unless he wants to cripple or lose his alternative source of revenue away from Rhea), he had no other choice but to accept Karna's silence in exchange for his own.
"... Fine," he snarled, "what happened in the village, stays in the village."
The backup arrives at the ruined Remire Village and escorts the survivors back to Garreg Mach. No more words were left to be said on their way back after this bitter affair of revealed conspiracies and unspeakable evil.
30th of Red Wolf Moon, Evening
"I cannot thank you enough for your help," said Manuela as she and Byron began working on a stabilizing agent to their patients' collective states of insanity, "a shame what happened back at Remire."
"Hopefully, the repairs are going to be just fine, and will be better after we cure the crazies," reassured the young genius as he took off the calming agent from the boiler with a pair of tongs, "... a question, Professor."
"Ask away," she replied.
"Do you believe that it is better to admit that you're evil rather than pretend that you're good?" asked Byron, "I mean, I met the Flame Emperor himself. Seemed like the self-righteous of sort."
"Honestly, both are pretty bad," answered Manuela as she then began mixing the concoctions with her [Pure Water] as a base agent, "I think it's dependent which one is more prettier to look at."
"You don't say," Byron sighed in disappointment as he saw the stabilizing agent while he took notes of his own, "... you know what, I think I'll try being a Priest and a Bishop."
"Oh?" remarked Manuela, "what changed your mind?"
Byron let out a sigh before answering. "... Let's just say that I can't afford to take living for granted anymore," he answered, "after all, I got others to look out for now."
"Is that so?" said Manuela as she then put the finished product into a bottle, "well, hopefully your intellect can be used for good."
"Indeed," smiled Byron, where in reality, he wanted to make that spell that caused the people go insane and utilize it for himself.
At first, he initially dismissed [Faith Magic] as a concept that won't help him. A healing tool and nothing more. But upon seeing the fits being weaponized through the methodology of [Faith Magic] (and figuring out that Solon himself was behind this due to connecting his involvement with the Church that went back decades), suddenly, using the power of medicine and human physiology seemed like an untapped gold mine for experimentation.
"Perhaps I do fit in with them after all," smirked Byron as he went out the door, meeting Karna outside.
"Sup," he greeted as he walked alongside with his student, "how's the cure?"
"We're almost done and currently in the trial phase," answered Byron, "and of Tomas and Jeritza?"
"Both emptied their offices a few days before the attack happened and the latter left his three-weeks notice on his own desk," said Karna, "guess you were right. We bloodied their noses good. Even got a sweet bonus for exposing Church moles ourselves."
"I know, given that we acquired the Death Knight's scythe as a weapon," Byron remarked, "... Professor, I'm thinking of double-classing as a Priest with Dark Mage," he stated, "realized that after our encounter, we really can't afford to keep attacking recklessly. We need to expand our options in our future battles."
"On that, I agree," Karna nodded, "in fact, I'm thinking of experimenting myself as well," he stated, "specifically, I'm thinking of upgrading my own [Dark Magic] spells to what I've dubbed the '+'-variants," the Professor explained, "regular [Dark Magic] is good enough as it is, but 'good enough' won't be good enough in the foreseeable future. Have to evolve our methods and tools or we all perish, no?"
Byron chuckles in amusement. "Can't wait to see it."
"Now go and upset the test-givers, would you?" Karna smirked as he playfully jabbed Byron's arm with his elbow.
And so, the month of carnage ends with laughter as the storm that preceded left nothing but ruin and confusion behind.
To Be Continued...
Support Conversations:
- Byron and Topaz (B)
*Mess Hall, late at night, students gathering around for Trivia Night*
Host Black Eagles Student: And we are back! Back to Garreg Mach Monastery's Weekly Trivia Night! Last time, our uncontested trivia master, Byron Amadeus Noa, suddenly now has competition! For tonight, this is no open oral night! Tonight! We're only doing a clash of minds between our two contenders!
Male Blue Lions Student: Alright, place your bets people!
*students begin placing bets into the boxes each labeled "Byron" and "Topaz" respectively*
Byron: Don't cry when you lose, okay?
Topaz: You will be the one crying, Noa.
Host Black Eagles Student: Them's fighting words and I LOVE IT! Now, as usual, we managed to acquire our questions from the anonymous advice box that was about to be thrown out yesterday and now we're going to test these two geniuses to their utmost limit!
Female Golden Deer Student: HURRY UP AND BEAT HIM, NEW KID!
Male Black Eagles Student: I GOT MY WEEKLY ALLOWANCE RIDING ON THIS!
Byron: Oh look, they love you.
Topaz: I'm not one for pageantry. Let's just get this over with so I may prove to be the better one.
Host Black Eagles Student: FIIIRRRRSST QUESTION! What is the purpose of telling jokes for a dour man?
Byron: It helps them calm their nerves.
Host Black Eagles Student: COORREECT!
Byron: Speed matters, Topaz. Get good.
Topaz: Thank you for the advice.
Host Black Eagles Student: NEXT QUESTION! Who is the other art lover aside form Ignatz?
Topaz: Sylvain. I saw his pants bulge at the painting of a naked woman.
Host Black Eagles Student: That's gross, but YOU'RE CORRECT!
Female Blue Lions Student: I AM GOING TO KICK HIM IN THE BALLS THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!
Byron: You actually pay attention to that?
Topaz: Being short and small has its advantages.
Host Black Eagles Student: NEXT QUESTION! If Edelgard von Hresvelg doesn't inherit the throne, which line of succession will the Imperial Throne go to?
Byron: The Aegir House. Specifically Ferdinand von Aegir, because he wouldn't shut up about it!
Host Black Eagles Student: Total mood, but YOU'RE CORRECT!
Topaz: You got lucky.
Byron: As long as I win.
*time passes as question after question is answered between the two, leading to a 20 on 20 tiebreaker*
Host Black Eagles Student: Ladies and gentlemen, I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! WILL ANYTHING STOP THESE TWO?!
Byron: ... Have to admit, you're pretty good.
Topaz: ... I sense no fear behind your answers... truly admirable!
Host Black Eagles Student: I SENSE RESPECT BETWEEN OUR TWO RIVALS! IS FRIENDSHIP OR SOMETHING MORE BLOOMING BETWEEN THE TWO?! ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT WITH TONIGHT'S FINAL TIEBREAKER QUESTION!
Byron: Bring it on!
Topaz: May the best intellect win.
Host Black Eagles Student: What is the Archbishop's cup size?
*audience and the two contenders goes into awkward silence*
Host Black Eagles Student: ... Okay, who wrote this crap?! Was it Sylvain?!
*Byron and Topaz look at each other awkwardly*
Byron: When was the last time you snuck into her room?
Topaz: Once, and she has no bras that I can use for reference! Nothing but open-breasted corsets!
Host Black Eagles Student: Crude and possibly privacy-intruding question aside, BOTH CONTESTANTS ARE STUMPED FOR THE FIRST TIME!
Female Blue Lions Student: Who even has the answer for that unless they're a total creep?!
Male Black Eagles Student: Is it blasphemous that I kinda wanna know?
Male and Female Golden Deer Student: ... Kinda? But we're also curious too.
*Seteth then bursts into the Mess Hall*
Seteth: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!
Host Black Eagles Student: CHEESE IT!
*everyone but Seteth and the two contestants leave the now-vacated Mess Hall*
Seteth: ... What are you two doing out here? It's past bedtime!
Topaz: Trivia night.
Byron: Oh hey, Seteth. Just wanna ask, what is the Archbishop's cup size?
Seteth: ... What.
Author's Notes: Gonna go on a hiatus until mid-December. Got school to worry about and it's already kicking my ass out of the gate.
That aside, the start of this chapter was me giving Byleth and Sothis the credit that they deserve. Sure, they're not as adaptable as the Dustbin, but they're formidable enough in their own right to improvise mid-fight. I mean, the Plaguebearer is another Death Knight, only more of a close-ranged combatant due to lacking a [Distant Counter].
Speaking of whom, the upgraded Plaguebearer is basically a Great Knight without the beast weakness, so basically a Fortress Knight with a 7 in move. Dismounted and he's just an armored unit with 6 in move rather than 5 of usual Fortress Knight/General/Marshal classes in Fire Emblem universal continuity.
Byron is the definition of a "social darwinist" and his disregard of his own country (most of them aren't even born in Fodlan, so they have no stakes in whatever's happening over there) stems from seeing their future as not something worth looking for. He only killed King Lambert when he as a kid because he didn't know any better at first (I suspected that Byron himself was bait to lure out the target to the Archers' firing range, framing the whole incident on Duscurians due to ambiguity; in fact, the ones who hired him were surprised that a kid killed the King himself), but upon learning who've he'd killed, Byron just went on cloud nine and thought that he was now Faerghus' apex predator after toppling their top dog. The whole confidence boost actually helped him graduate Faerghus' Mage Academy early and he rode on that wave until he became his own boast through nothing but pure grit and killing lots of fools. He's smart enough to keep the fact that he killed a King under wraps, that is, until his confidence boost made him blab in front of everyone, but as he stated, who would believe such an outlandish claim (doubly so when the blame was already pinned on the Duscurians)? Point being, he's a braggart that can back up his claims and more, but like everyone else in Garreg Mach, even his own sordid past is more complicated than it looks, so more on that in the later chapters.
To which Karna stepped in, and with his reinvigorated confidence, and pulled a Rhea. Specifically, by forcing Jeralt to lie about the statistics by not mentioning what Byron had told or he will pin the blame on his sellsword band for getting involved and going insane in the first place. Just to not muddy the waters any further, Jeralt complied, only out of self-preservation and him not making his daughter look bad. In a way, Karna as legit blackmail material and he wasn't afraid of using it to protect his students, who now is his sole reason to keep living. In a way, becoming the mask of a class that he didn't want to teach sort of helped in the long run.
All and all, the difference between the Flame Emperor's faction and the Dustbin are that the former has a vision for change but are willing to do anything to enact that vision coming true, even if it means killing countless innocents, while the Dusbin has no such pretense for goodness, but are more upfront about their scumbag natures because they hold no stake in Fodlan's bigger game of destiny aside from keeping themselves alive.
With all of that out of the way, the Dustbin are now going to work extra hard to get stronger so that they don't let the Flame Emperor get away next time, where in the next month, they're going through their own Paralogue chapters in a pseudo-training arc. Don't forget to leave a review for this chapter and I'll see you all back in mid-December! Wish me luck on my last year in college!
References:
- Karna's line towards the Death Knight before their clashes of [Dark Magic] spells is a reference to the Major's line in Hellsing Ultimate Abridged, Episode 10, "The Party's Over".
- The whole standoff between Solon, Selene, the Black Mage, Byron, the Flame Emperor, Karna, Topaz and Dolofonos is based off Regular Show's Mexican Standoff scene between the federal agents and the Capicola Gang animatronics from Season 4, Episode 37, "Steak Me Amadeus".
- Topaz's remark to the Flame Emperor is from Bane's quote "You merely adopted the dark, I was born in it"-line from The Dark Knight Rises.