To say that things could be better for Felix and his group would be an understatement. All of them were in a pretty bad way. Mercedes and Annette had spent all of their energy healing the wounds of the others while also casting spells to defend themselves.
Though what worried Felix a lot more was the state Ingrid's younger brothers were in. While Slyvester had a few scrapes and a patched up wound on his shoulder, it was nothing compared to younger brother. Edd had taken an attack that was meant for his brother. A slash across his back had gravely injured him, so while Felix carried him, Annette and Mercedes were trying their hardest to dig deep into their reserves and try to heal his wounds.
As the group hurried inside a small room to hide themselves from Those Who Slither In The Dark, Mercedes and Annette examined Edd a lot more closely. As they carefully laid him down on the ground Sylvester held onto his brother's hand.
"Come on, Edd. Stay with us." Sylvester begged as he squeezed tightly to his hand. Meanwhile, Annette and Mercedes were pushing themselves to heal Edd's wounds.
"He's going to be alright." Mercedes reassured as the light from her hands grew in intensity.
"Mercy's right. He's going to be all right. We'll make sure you both see Ingrid again." Annette said as she smiled at Sylvester.
While the three hovered around Edd, Felix, Ashe and Emile peeked from the slightly ajar door. From what the three could see they were thankfully not followed as there was not a Slither Mage outside.
Ashe let out a sigh of relief as Felix quietly closed the door. Felix, Ashe and Emile turned their attention back to the three on the ground.
After a few tense minutes, the light from Mercedes's and Annette's hands dimmed as a smile reached their faces.
"He'll need some rest, but Edd will be fine." Annette calmly spoke.
Sylvester let out a small sigh of relief hearing the news.
"Thank you." A smile then appeared on his face as glanced at Felix. "I'm sorry. You're probably used to things like this with fighting alongside Ingrid and Emperor Edelgard."
At that moment everyone in the small room heard a banging noise coming from a small cupboard. Felix took the lead and held tightly to his still drawn sword. Slowly he crept forward till he reached the small cupboard and pried it open.
Inside was a scared woman who shakingly held a candlestick and held her eyes closed. She had short curly ebony coloured hair and tanned skin.
"Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." The young woman cried out as her grip tightened on the candlestick.
Still being a bit wary of her, Felix still had his sword in hand, however he motioned for Mercedes and Annette to check her over.
They both nodded their heads as Mercedes was the first to approach her. She crouched down and covered her hand with the shaking woman's. The young woman raised her head and opened her emerald, green eyes. Mercedes saw tears stains trickling down her face, so she tried her best to reassure the frightened young woman.
"Hey, everything is going to be okay. You're safe now. No one is going to hurt you now, I promise." Mercedes spoke softly to her as she held out her other hand to help her to get out of the cupboard and stand on her own feet.
The young woman dropped the candlestick and hugged tightly to Mercedes's chest. There she let her tears flow. Mercedes was taken aback for a few seconds, but then wrapped her arms around the crying woman.
"There, there. Everything will be all right now. "Mercedes softly reassured again as she rubbed circles into the young woman's back. This lasted for a few minutes before the woman had calmed down enough for Felix to question her.
"So, what is going on here? We arrived with everyone from Fhirdiad still inhabiting the Capital. Then a few minutes go by and then everyone disappears, which led us here, however we have not seen anyone, until we met you."
The young woman recoiled and shivered hearing Felix's authoritative voice. She hugged tightly to Mercedes as the woman cowered. Taking offence with Felix's lack of tact, Annette pulled the swordsman to the side and took her place next to Mercedes.
"I apologise for my friend's abrasiveness. Why don't you tell me your name?" Mercedes asked as she stroked the woman's hand softly.
"Sy-Sylvia." The woman quietly squeaked out.
"That's a beautiful name, Sylvia." Annette spoke softly.
"T-Thank you." Sylvia meekly said.
"I know how hard it must be, but we need to know what is going on here, Sylvia. A friend sent us here to investigate this Those Who Slither In The Dark Facility. Then when we arrived in Fhirdiad everyone had disappeared." Annette spoke, trying to get through to Sylvia.
The woman shakily nodded her head. "A-A-Are you f-friends with E-E-Emperor E-Edelgard?"
Hearing this Annette and Mercedes nodded their heads with wide smiles.
"Yes, we are." Mercedes gleefully said.
Seeing how happy both Annette and Mercedes were after hearing Edelgard's name spurred something in Sylvia.
"I w-was the aid of Her Majesty's mother. We were captured and my lady bid me to flee as soon as she gave the okay. That was the last time I saw her alive… They had trapped her inside her carriage and burned her alive. Before I fled she gave me a letter addressed to Her Majesty's eyes only."
Annette and Mercedes both gasped as their hands went to their mouths in disbelief, while the others turned away mournfully.
Silence settled over the room's occupants for a few minutes before Ashe spoke up. "Do you know where the people of Fhirdiad are being held, Sylvia?"
The young woman thought for a moment before nervously nodding her head.
"I k-know where they w-would be taken… the extraction chamber." Sylvia looked out into an empty space as soon as she mentioned this chamber. Then began to shake wildly as her hands flew to her head, covering her eyes. Her hands squeezed tightly to her own head to try and forget these memories.
"They boil you alive and use the remaining essence to bring back their dead into these undead mindless monsters. I've seen men, women and children alike sacrificed to bring them back." Her hands let go of herself as she threw them around Mercedes's and Annette's necks.
"Please. Don't take me there. I don't want to see it again."
Annette and Mercedes both hugged tightly to Sylvia. "We won't. We can promise you that."
Ashe smiled at the sigh as he slowly approached the three. "Why don't you teleport and take her back to camp. Edd needs his rest too."
Felix nodded his head agreeing with the archer. He then turned his attention to Sylvester. "You want to go back?"
Sylvester looked towards his unconscious younger brother and the now steady rise and fall of his chest and nodded his head. "No, I can still do this." He then turned his eyes towards Annette as Slyvia hugged tightly to Mercedes's chest. "Can you take him back to camp? Make sure he gets seen too."
Annette smiled and nodded her head. "Of course. You have nothing to worry about."
The healer then ran to Ashe and looped her arms around his neck. Ashe returned the gesture as he wrapped his arms around the healer's waist.
"You be careful, alright Ashe." Annette pleaded as she rested her forehead against his.
Ashe snorted. "When am I not? But for you, I promise I'll be careful. No taking risks."
"Good." Annette sighed as she closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose.
The two spent a few more moments together before they split apart. Annette carefully picked up Sylvester into her arms as she stood next to Mercedes and Sylvia, as the former started to cast the teleportation spell.
"Be careful Emile." Mercedes spoke as her teleportation spell was now ready.
It took him a few seconds to think of an answer but settled on. "You too, Mercedes."
With that, the four had teleported away back to camp, leaving Felix, Ashe, Sylvester and Emile to finish Those Who Slither In The Dark in Fhirdiad.
With a destination in mind, the four set off towards this Extraction Chamber and prepared themselves for what lies within.
The four had battled through what seems like endless amounts of Slither mages. All guarding the Extraction chamber.
"The vermin are trying to halt our path. We must cut through them before they finish reviving the last of their warriors." Emile yelled as he sliced through a mage with his scythe.
"They're throwing every disposable body to stop us from reaching the Extraction Chamber. We have to hurry." Ashe also yelled as he let loose arrow after arrow as he pierced another of the Slither mages.
Sylvester covered Ashe's back as another Slither Mage was getting too close to him, as he fired a series of arrows, impacting the Mage's chest.
"I clear a path for you and Sylvester to push through Ashe." Felix yelled as he cut through two mages with his two swords.
Ashe and Sylvester nodded their heads as Felix sliced at two more mages. Giving the pair a clearer path to the chamber.
"Go!"
Quick on their feet both Ashe and Sylvester ran towards the chamber, while still firing off arrows to the mages that grew too close to both Emile and Felix.
However they were not prepared by what they saw. By the time they both reached the chamber their hearts sank as the room was completely empty except for one lone Slither Mage clacking away on a strange device.
"Step away from there." Ashe yelled as he and Sylvester aimed arrows at the mage.
The Slither Mage held up his hands in surrender. He turned around with a malicious smile spread across his face.
"You are far too late. My brothers and sisters occupied you long enough so we can achieve our goals. An army like no other that will serve my lord faithfully." The Mage then snapped his fingers on his right hand and then pointed upwards.
Ashe's and Sylvester's eyes followed the direction of where the mage pointed and saw millions upon millions of coffins high above their heads. It was truly too many for them to count.
"T-They're the…" Sylvester gasped.
"I know." Ashe replied back as he turned his focus back to the Mage in front of them.
"The people of Fhirdihad were ever so gracious to offer their lives for a worthy cause."
Sylvester's grip on his bow tightened as he let his anger get the better of him. "Where is my father, you bastard!"
The Mage smirked to himself. "Please, there is no need for such vulgarity. You may call me Odesse." The Mage lowered his arms to give an overly dramatic bow to Ashe and Sylvester. "Though now you mention it, I thought you looked familiar. You both have that same pathetic look. He might look a bit different than what you remember."
He raised his right hand again and snapped his fingers. A bellowing roar erupted from high above Ashe and Sylvester. The noise from the roar was so loud that the pair had to cover their ears. As the pair recoiled, Ashe saw that Odesse made a quick exit through a portal of complete darkness.
"I hate to run, but I would prefer not to be killed by our own weapon." Odesse spoke as he entered his own portal and then disappeared through it. The portal of Darkness quickly vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
The two didn't have much time to ponder where Odesse had gone as there was another bellowing roar. Then a giant lumbering creature dropped onto the ground. It snarled and clumsily battered its arms around, though Ashe and Sylvester were quick enough to get out of the way.
That was until Sylvester looked at the face of the creature.
"F-Father?"
"Ah, so you do recognise him. I am surprised-" Odesse appeared again, standing on the creature's shoulder.
"You monster! What did you do to him?" Sylvester yelled as he hired an arrow, however it missed as Odesse teleported to the creature's other shoulder.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." The Slither mage wiggled his finger to the side. "You didn't let me finish."
Sylvester gritted his teeth and clenched tightly to his bow.
"Now where was I… Oh right. Your dear old father was actually the very first to volunteer for his ascension. There were however… complications."
Odesse raised his hand to the side to show off the creature before Ashe and Sylvester. "As you can see. Your dear father was not supposed to become this monstrous. Something must have happened during the process to corrupt it. How so very… human."
At that moment Felix and Emile had arrived and readied their weapons as they stood next to Ashe and Sylvester.
"I see my brothers and sisters were slain. Their sacrifices will serve to ensure our Lord his victory." Odesse spoke solemnly.
"Just what are you after? Who is your Lord? What are you planning?" Slyvester shouted.
Odesse snorted. "I forget how pitiful you humans can truly be. I thought it would be obvious by now. Though there is little harm in divulging you pitiful rats into our plans. You won't live long to see our righteous victory."
Felix and the group gritted their teeth, growing annoyed from this Mage.
"We aim to bring back to life the King of Liberation himself. This base was built by we Agarthans to rebuild his Army from the filth which infest our rightful land. We used the rats that inhabit this area as… fuel to bring back the warriors that fought and died against the Nabateans. Now our once proud army has been reborn anew."
"But… That's impossible. Nemesis is dead and barely anything remains of him. Besides he's locked away tight in a tomb in-!" Ashe raised his head as he was struck with an idea.
Odesse smirked maliciously. "It seems like there is a smart one among you."
"What is it, Ashe?" Felix asked, taking his attention from Odesse.
"During the war, I travelled down to the Abyss and visited the Archives. It is there I discovered that Rhea or Seiros hid the corpses of Nemesis and the Ten Elites underneath the Holy Mausoleum in a secure passageway. We had already dealt with Maurice, but I wanted to know the location of the others, so I tried to locate this passageway but I couldn't find it. I thought it would only be open to those from her family." Ashe then raised his head and looked in the direction of Odesse. "But I fear they have found a way inside."
Odesse laughed maniacally. "You have no idea how powerful we really are. While you and your little group, run by the so-called Emperor, were busy ransacking our bases of operations, our true plan was put into effect right under your noses."
Odesse raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. "And now your time has officially ran out. As a heads up before you confronted me, I initiated a repeat from what happened at Arianrhod heading towards all of our bases that you discovered. Toodles." Odesse mockingly waved goodbye to the group as he and the giant creature that was formally Sylvester's Edd's and Ingrid's father disappeared from a teleportation spell.
"No, Father!" Sylvester cried out, reaching out to him, but to no avail.
"Sylvester focus, we have to get out of here." Felix pulled his outreached hand down and pulled him back into the present.
"B-But-"
"I know. But if we don't focus and find a way out of here, we'll be dead."
"R-Right."
At that very moment, Annette appeared right next to Ashe.
"Annette!" Ashe hugged tightly to his lover before Felix snapped him back to reality.
"Annette, we have to get out of here. They have set off those Spears of Light like they did at Arianrhod, and they're heading right here."
"Right. Grab onto me." Annette spoke and on command everyone held onto Annette as she started to weave the teleportation spell.
Within a few moments the group of five had made it back to camp, just in time to witness the Agarthan base, and Fhirdihad, be obliterated within an instant. Just like Arianrhod.
Felix gritted his teeth as a scout approached the small group.
"Send a letter out to Byleth and Enbarr. And pray the others are unharmed."
