The Dustbin
Day 63: Graduation Part 2
28th of Pegasus Moon, Night
In a certain isolated space within Shambhala, a pair of doors opened, revealing the redheaded-seductress herself, Sage Cleobulus, back from the dead.
"Eyyy! Welcome back to the party, mom!" Myson greeted his senior Sage, causing the others to stare at him awkwardly. "... Aw shaddup! I know what I said!"
Cleobulus then takes her seat with the rest of her circle. "Apologizes for the delay," she spoke, "but you know how our Samsara Initiative still needs further refinement."
Bias scoffed with a huff. "... Yeah," she snorted while sewing her stuffed rabbit, "remember the time when you got put into my meatsuit while I got put into yours? Not gonna lie, I still miss having boobs."
Pittacus grumbles uncomfortably, as she was sitting next to Bias and her right ear being constantly filled with the diabolical little Valkyrie's tirades. "... Too... loud."
"There there," Myson held the Gremory's hand. "Don't listen to the mean girl's voices, aight?"
Bias flips the bird towards his direction while gagging in faux-disgust.
"Ahem!" Chilon cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "... Thank you all for attending to our meeting in a short notice. Now with that out of the way, I'd like to begin with an announcement that the Adrestian Empire has now begun their move and are besieging Garreg Mach Monestary as we speak."
"Fucking finally!" Myson remarked as he leaned forward.
"What gives?!" asked Bias. "Didn't we cut off support from them and leave to drift?! When did they get the balls to go on without us, huh?!"
"The brat has resorted to more... mundane methods to fund her insane crusade," Solon explained. "Grassroots movements to spur the Empire's youth and seasoned warriors to enlist, strategic expose of both the Church's and of our collaborators' corruptions, and her coronation to Emperor..." the old man then smirked. "... Have to admit, the brat learned a thing or two from the time we've spent together."
"Oh I can only imagine the look on that Dimi-boy's face when he sees that little bitch leading an army against all that he knows and loves..." giggled the Dark Flier. "... So, Sage Thales, is it ready?"
Sage Thales nods. "The so-called Archbishop may have stamped out all of our covert influences within her sacrosanct halls of worship, but she'd done so too late," he boasted. "Whether the brat Emperor or that white-clad whore comes out in the end, we will make short work of the survivors in one fell swoop!"
"You refer to our plan to mass-teleport our combatants into said halls with our covert teleportation array we've planted around the area and wipe out the remnants?" Cleobulus pointed out.
"No," Sage Solon shook his head. "... Apparently, that woman Rhea decided to pull a fast one on us at the eleventh hour by reinstating that madman Karna into her ranks permanently. A frontal assault will result in an attrition rate that will be nigh-impossible to recover from!"
"So instead..." then Sage Thales flashes an absolutely wicked grin, "... we use that."
The remainder of the Seven Sages widened their eyes at their de-facto leader's declaration.
"... No freakin' way," Myson chuckled in disbelief. "... Goin' right for the nuclear option?"
"Normally, I wouldn't bother protesting," Cleobulus smiled as she spoke, "but unleashing a city-destroyer just to kill one man? There's overkill and then there's that, Thales."
"That yono's has proven repeatedly that he's a tough sunnuvabitch to zero," Bias pointed out. "I mean, I'm okay flatlining those dirty gomis in one giant fiery nova, but should we consider less draga options? It's not like we can make more of those things after we lost our very first prototype and all related data a millennia ago!"
"Not to mention, the mountain that the monastery is sequestered on top of has been confirmed by our agents to be a giant well of mana pooled in by several Dragon Veins converging onto that area," Chilon warned. "The recent estimates show that using that will result in Garreg Mach and the surrounding five-mile radius will be reduced to a smoldering crater! At that point, there will be nothing left of value to repossess and integrate into our long-term war efforts against our foes!"
Sage Solon then looks away in shame. "... It is a sacrifice we have to make," he confirmed. "All of the Crest Stones and its related relics, not to mention all of the possible test subjects that will be eliminated... it will result in a crippling setback to the developments of our Crest-related research and development projects, but as Sages Bias had pointed out, Karna's direct involvement will result in a greater potential loss by his mere presence alone."
"The time for half-measures and compromises has come to end, my fellow Sages!" Thales then rose from his seat. "All of our enemies have gathered at one place! Now it is up to our own wills to whether we let them dare live another day... or we turn their spot of convergence into their graves!"
A moment of truth has now been set upon them. Now they must vote whether to launch their superweapon upon Garreg Mach or not.
Then to everyone's surprise, Pittacus was the first Sage that raises her hand. "... Do it," she softly spoke. "... All enemy must die."
Myson soon follows suit. "She's right," he agreed. "That party-pooper ruined our fun one too many times. High time to kick him out, FOREVER."
Bias shoots up her hand. "If I was the faceman for this decision," she commented, "then I'd also advocate for unloading our payload aimed at every last of Fodlan's beaverviles at the same time we send Garreg Mach to Hell. That's the Agarthan giri: 'Fuck with us, we fuck you right back, harder'."
Chilon raises his hand in agreement. "If it means our most hated enemies are to be disposed of, then so be it."
"No arguments here!" Cleobulus raised her hand.
"Then the vote is unanimous," Sage Solon confirmed. "I shall notify our staff-"
Then all of the sudden, a transmission appeared before the Seven Sages of Agartha at the center of their round table.
"Report," Sage Thales sternly spoke.
"SIR! WE HAVE AN UNAUTHORIZED [TITANUS] DISPATCHES OF ALL THE UNITS FROM HANGAR #5 AND ARE AMIDST A CITY-WIDE RAMPAGE!" screamed the Dark Bishop on the other side of the transmission. "REQUESTING CLEARANCE TO ENGAGE-OH FUCK-!"
The feed then cuts off into static right before a sound of a horrid explosion tremors from outside of their meeting room.
"... Well then," Myson then shot up both of his hands before jumping out of his seat. "... I hope that it's worth the noise!"
Sages Thales and Solon glance at each other before both nod in agreement.
"Mobilize everyone," ordered Sage Thales. "Solon, see to it that our weapons are properly armed and ready for their launch."
"At once," the old Sage then heads to his station.
"Cleobulus," Thales ordered. "Wake up Plaugebearer Mark IV and Warlord Mark III. They'll buy us some time to rally our forces for a proper defense."
"No more needs to be said," the Dark Flier than manifests her shadowy pegasus mount before flying off to her position.
"Bias, you come with me," Thales ordered. "We'll be needing to wrest the control of the rampaging [Titanus] ourselves."
Bias then stretches her arms and fingers before her. "Time to chip in."
"Chilon, you take Myson and Pittacus and rally the remainder of all of our combatants," Thales ordered. "I leave the command over them to you!"
"Yes sir," the Great Knight bowed his head before facing the Warlock and Gremory. "Come! Our enemy awaits!"
Myson then takes Pittacus by her hand as the meeting room of the Seven Sages was quickly vacated to confront their foes that dare invade Shambhala.
Underneath the (Sealed) Holy Mausoleum...
Once, there was a hidden sanctum where the Goddess and her children were laid to rest, undisturbed from the rest of the world.
"WHERE IS HE-OH FUCK-!"
... That wasn't the case longer.
Sealed off from the rest of the world, a giant cage of equally-giant briars was erected around the Holy Mausoleum's very heart. To those penned within, a grim reaper had descended upon this plane, delivering judgement to those who it deemed deserving to die.
"Peek-a-boo," taunted Karna before he brought down his [Scythe of Sariel], cutting off another row of heads. "That makes twenty-one. Only seventy-nine left-"
Dimitri then leapt towards the traitorous Professor from the latter's left flank with his [Silver Lance] raised. Karna then uses his scythe like a shepherd's crook to hook one of the Blue Lions students before slinging him at the Prince.
The Prince ceases his bloodlust for a moment to not maim his ally, allowing Karna to escape back into the chaos of the battlefield.
"Sorry Your Highness!" apologized the student.
"Focus on finding that bastard!" Dimitri ordered as heads continued to topple and roll around them.
Outside of the cage of thorns, the others tried to break down the bars with whatever they had at their disposal, but neither weapons or magic could even nick off so much as a single thorn out the shadowy stems.
"Dammit!" cursed Lysithea as her [Hades Ω] bounced off of the cage. "This is the evolved form of [Dark Spikes T]?! How is it this busted?!"
"I think hid more things from us than all of us realized!" Mercedes pointed out.
All Dorothea can do is cringe at that statement. "... Oh the tragedy of us pawns. Doomed to ignorance to those above us until it is too late."
Back inside the cage, Edelgard was keeping her head on a swivel while trying not to hit her own soldiers while trying to lock down Karna's position as the latter shifted in and out of view like a deranged ghost.
"Everyone! Form up!" she ordered. "Cover each others' blindspots and make sure to not isolate yourselves-!"
A spray of blood followed up by a rain severed heads heralded Karna as he literally appeared next to her where her men once stood. "Hi."
Edelgard swung her [Silver Axe], but it misses as Karna moves to her own blindspot and disappearing like a phantom.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Hubert cried out in desperation beyond the briar bars. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! KEEP BREAKING THROUGH!"
Then a roar from the Archbishop was heard, with her [Shield of Seiros] out in the front and [Sword of Seiros] held tightly in her other hand, Rhea rammed through friend and foe alike as soon as Karna reappeared around a circle of headless bodies.
"KARNNNAAAAAAA!" the Archbishop roared from atop of her lungs as she then charged with her targe, to which the aforementioned stops her charge by kicking the sole of his boot into the shield's flat.
Rhea then immediately follows it up with an upward sword swing aimed at his leg, but Karna blocks the blade with the shaft of his scythe before the two break off and immediately collide back against each other, staring each other down face-to-face, with only their armaments acting as buffers.
"Careful lady! You might pop a blood vessel," taunted Karna as he bore a shit-eating grin.
"DIE! DIE!" screeched Rhea as she then began pushing the Professor back, slowly raising her [Sword of Seiros] with each step reclaimed before bringing it down upon his head. "DIIIEEEEEE!"
Karna breaks off from the deadlock last-second before grabbing Rhea's waist from behind and then lifting her up as he arched his back to the other side, driving the Archbishop's head into the ground, burying her facefirst before releasing her from himself with a recovery roll.
"Get a thesaurus, woman," Karna deadpanned as he raised his [Scythe of Sariel] before swinging it down.
Rhea pulls her head out of the earth and catches the scythe's blade between her teeth, biting it down hard enough to snap the Agarthan-forged blade into pieces.
"Oh crap," Karna groaned as he looked as his now-bladeless weapon.
As Rhea then resumed her violent offensive, Karna then kicks himself off of the ground using her face as a springboard before throwing his useless weapon at her. The Archbishop slashes through the spinning steel shaft before ramming through several more people with her shield as she closed in towards Karna.
"KILL! MURDER! EXECUTE!" screeched Rhea as she begun to close in.
"Much better," Karna smirked as he then reached into his coat, drawing out a blackened blade that was curved outwards like a sickle, only that the blade's length and girth was akin to that of a one-handed shortsword.
Rhea's [Sword of Seiros] and Karna's deviant blade clashed against each other, sparks flying between each arms' colliding frictions before it was then quickly followed up by Karna's kick meeting with Rhea's shield bash.
For each side that pushed, the other pushed back. No matter which side tried to pull, the other side had a retort waiting in their works. A perfect deadlock.
"... Curious, aren't you?" Karna asked tauntingly. "... And yeah, I had it with me this whole time, buried within my own bag of knickknacks that you and your reprobates tried to confiscate ever since I stepped foot in here. And that is why you always keep all your things within reach. Never know when you might need them."
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Rhea screamed as she returned to charging towards him.
"Give me a minute," Karna retorted as he then blasted [Expiration Δ+] before her, the acidic stream forcing her to cease. "Gotta got give the brats their future consultation before they graduate!"
Lorenz spots the discolored smoke before it dissipated, to which then he saw the squirming and melting bodies of those who were caught in the blast.
"He can practically destroy all evidence of his involvement with this spell alone...!" muttered Lorenz as he observed the spell's effects. "EVERYONE! STAY AWAY FROM THE SMOKE!"
Just as Edelgard was among one of the ones who've heard the warning, her back was then bumped into by none other than Karna himself, who then brought down his blade onto her head, before tripping her feet and pinning her down to the ground his blade being only stopped by the shaft of her [Silver Axe]."
"You know what this baby is?" asked Karna as he pressed his weapon against Edelgard's own. "It's a khukuri, one of the most useful bladed tools there is."
Edelgard then pushes him off and gets back up, but not before Karna immediately closes the gap between them, this time, Edelgard managing to recover her shield to block the next incoming blow.
"Hailing from an isolationist subcontinent of Rajapushpa, it is used by farmers that want to clear out jungles and its wildlife to expand their fields, to the dreaded Kshatriya tribesmen as their weapons specialized in guerrilla warfare," he explained as the blade began to wedge further into the height of her shield. "Its use also spread to places like Brigid and Dagda, where it's used to gut fish. Shangri-Lan street thugs love this thing for its accessibility and cheap price for a cutting instrument, and for me personally, I use it to skin animals to make myself a fine, velvety, warm-ass fur coat out of my kills during winter."
As he finishes with his speech, the large knife then splits her shield down the middle into twain, opening a large incision across Edelgard's left arm that cut all way into her bone before her face was then grabbed by Karna's black-gloved hand and pulled back to his face level and then slammed into the floor.
"Now you may be thinking..." Karna then pinned her down by stomping onto her right arm before it could reach for her [Silver Axe], "... what was the point of my little improvised lecture back there? Well, for one!"
Karna off-handedly parries a charging Soldier's [Silver Lance] from his hands before decapitating him with the khukuri without so much as looking at him.
"Your plans has so many holes in them that fishing nets that make better material than whatever you built your schemes upon," Karna began. "I mean, seriously, I figured your Flame Emperor-bullshit out since day one, and the only reason why I didn't bother is that IT DIDN'T MATTER TO ME."
"... What do you mean... that 'it didn't matter'?!" the Emperor remarked back as another headless body fell before her, this time, the exposed stump of the neck staring her dead into her eyes before she looked away in disgust.
Karna laughs maliciously before blasting [Expiration Δ+] at a group of poor sods and deterring others from approaching/interrupting his future consultation with Edelgard von Hresvelg.
"Emperor or not, you're just a brat," he began. "Your plans of revolutionizing Fodlan away from the current age and system that needs to be put out to pasture? Reasonable, but of all the people that you had to put your trust into, why did it have to be the Agarthans, aka, the very same people who made your life a living hell?!"
"... No one would believe in me even if I told them everything," she growled.
"You're the fucking Emperor, they don't need to believe in you, only that they need to obey you," Karna pointed out. "Hell, the people that you dismiss as sheep, for all their flaws, was the least likely people to put a fucking knife in your back. The Agarthans want you dead unconditionally, and treated you as such, a disposable tool to their own ends. The condition of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' wasn't on the table to begin with. They were planning to screw you, your friends, and remaining family over since day one."
"How would you know-?!" but just before Edelgard could break off from his pin, Karna unflinchingly drives his great knife into the very arm he'd nicked, piercing through flesh and bone protected by her metal gauntlets like a hot knife through butter, reaching all the way down to the earth that the arm laid on.
She screamed in agony as Karna sat onto her back, rubbing his bony butt in it.
"I'd know better than you," he then flashed a wicked smirk as Karna leaned in, "because I was there ten years ago, cutting open your siblings while pretending to play doctor."
Her eyes widened at that revelation. "You... you were there...?!"
"Bingo!" he chipperly answered as he then twisted the blade in her left arm, mutilating it even further and squeezing out another pained shriek from the young Emperor held hostage. "... Okay, in actuality, I killed one of the Agarthans in charge of said Crest experimentations by snapping his twig neck and robbed him of his clothes, but I admit, I fudged the results just to fuck with your siblings more. I even collected all of their scalps before throwing them away into a nearby bog to preserve them. And there lies the lesson: don't trust people who are just like me, and instead, be sure to put your utmost trust people who are like this khukuri. Lowly, humble, and unassuming. But reliable, versatile, and will last you to the end of the world."
Edelgard was now hyperventilating as one of the architects of her despair stood atop of her back, with her utterly helpless to do anything about it as the curved edge of the monster's exotic knife was now placed onto the uppermost fringe of her brows.
"With that said..." he then licked his teeth that cracked open to reveal a devilish grin, "... your lovely, snow-white hair... I'll add that to my collection along with the rest of your siblings!"
But just before he could skin her bald, Dimitri's roar was heard through the black fog of [Expiration Δ+], risking his own safety as he leapt through the veil with his weapon in hand.
"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU MONSTER!" he belted with pure rage.
"If you insist," Karna then gets up before punting Edelgard towards Dimitri, the two colliding midair and landing on each other. "SHE'S ALL YOURS, MOTHERFUCKER!"
Before either Edelgard or Dimitri could get up, the latter was then grabbed by his ankle and then dragged out before he was then swung over the Professor like a metronome's pendulum, slamming face-first into the dirt.
"Ah the dirt," Karna began as he rebuilt his smog of corrosive black gas around himself and the Prince. "A perfect place for you roll around and cake your eyes with before you see the world through em."
Dimitri then gets up before pointing his weapon at him. "... I heard everything," he snarled. "You... YOU'RE THE ONE BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH FODLAN!"
As the Prince charged forth with his weapon, Karna dodges the thrust before closing in the gap between the both of them, twisting one of Dimitri's arms behind his back before kicking in the back of his legs to force him to kneel.
"And yet, you understand nothing, Prince," Karna spoke with bile to his words. "You think all of this world's problems can be solved just by bringing the perpetrators to justice?" he then scoffs before continuing. "Here's the news, reserved just for you: You're in way over your head if your think things will always go your way."
With his released unbridled strength, Dimitri uses his own bound arm to throw Karna off of himself, but as he was thrown, the Professor rakes his knife through the armor and across the Prince's tendons located in his right tricep, inflicting a numbing sensation that cripples the usage of his dominant arm.
Dimitri then switches to wielding his [Silver Lance] left-handed while mustering up his remaining strength to invigorate his right arm back to working order. "... All I know..." he heaved as the Prince forcibly willed his severed muscles to move despite their condition, "... is that I have to stop you!"
"Stop me? STOP ME?!" Karna tirades before catching himself and clearing his throat. "... Oh, forgive me. I lost composure for a second there. You're the kind of a person that just irks me to a degree that breathing the same air as you makes me want to rip your mouth open, stretch out your jugular, and vomit down into your mouth hole that you call a 'face'."
"Happy to be of service, you devil," growled Dimitri before he then lunged his weapon towards Karna, only for the weapon to be split down the middle upon being cut through by the man's knife, parting like a split branch as Karna closed in the gap and grabbed the Prince's face before delivering a flying knee into it, causing Dimitri to fly back across the ground into a heap.
"Ah, you fucking white knights disgust me to a degree that I cannot put into mere words," Karna snarled before he then stomped onto Dimitri's head, concussing the latter enough to prevent his recovery. "... 'Good'... 'evil'," Karna then rubbed his soles into the blond mop below him, "... who died and made you into the one who defines which constitutes as what? That is the height of arrogance right there, little piglet."
Beyond the briar bars, Dedue suddenly had the urge to kill someone as painfully as he can. He didn't know why, save for the fact that SOMEONE was responsible for this.
"But I would forgive you..." taunted Karna as he then stomped onto the Prince's head, caving it further into the ground and burying his face halfway in, "... but even then, you're too stupid to realize that the truth was right under your nose this whole time."
Dimitri cranes his face out of the dirt to glare at Karna defiantly as the latter than produced a flame-decorated white mask from his sleeve.
"Look familiar?" he smiled. "Admit it. You knew that deep down in your unsoiled heart, you knew that she was the one behind this mess."
"... That's not possible!" he heaved. "... There... THERE HAS TO BE A MISTAKE-!"
With a roar, Karna then punts the Prince's head across the earth, causing that latter's temple to bleed profusely while rolling across the ground like a kicked ball.
"IT'S THE FUCKING TRUTH, LITTLE PIGLET!" Karna spat with venom. "HELL, HER ACTIONS HAVE LED UP TO THIS VERY POINT! YOU'RE NOTHING SPECIAL! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO YOUR FATHER!"
"... My... father...?" the Prince deliriously remarked as he got up. "... What... WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!"
Karna cackled before he then adjusted the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. "... Let's just say that he really should've worn a helmet."
Unable to fathom anything anymore, Dimitri then attacks as only rage manifested within his heart. Karna dodges all of his clumsy, yet devastating blows that grated the ground that they struck upon as if he were playing tag with a child, for which there was a kernel of truth to that metaphor.
"That's all that your so-called 'justice' amounts to," taunted Karna before he then wound his head back while slipping through another wild swing from the Prince's [Silver Lance]. "Nothing more than a childish temper tantrum."
Swinging back his head with all of his might, Karna then bashes his head into Dimitri's nose, breaking it into several pieces as blood stained the former's white hair was stained red. As the Prince fell back to the floor, Karna then mockingly tosses the Flame Emperor's mask that he'd pickpocketed from Edelgard during her future consultation onto Dimitri's chest.
"Despite everything I said," he smarmily remarked, "you're a smart enough kid. I'm sure you'll come to terms with the truth on your own."
As the black mist of [Expiration Δ+] dissipated around himself, the number of people that were still alive around has been reduced significantly, and to those who were still alive, they were all now at death's door from inhaling the secondhand fumes of Karna's corrosive gas that only the caster himself was immune to.
Even Rhea, the hardiest of the lot present, was crippled from breathing in that much toxic gas that now eroded her lungs, causing her major difficulties breathing from both the spell and the increasing lack of any substantial ventilation present.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" both Dedue and Hubert cried out as they saw their lieges down for the count.
"I wanna go home..." wept Bernadetta as she now have given up fighting entirely.
"He's really a devil..." Ignatz gasped as his vision began to blur.
"Please, let them go!" begged Mercedes.
"Shut up in the fucking peanut gallery," Karna deadpanned as he picked his ears with his pinkie before looking out of the cage. "... My, don't we all look spry today."
"You're... the last person... that I WANT TO HEAR FROM THAT!" Lorenz cried out as he tried to crawl towards Karna, but only for the latter to sit on his back by dropping his backside onto the former, causing him to cough out blood from the impact.
"Well, it's not like you're in any better position to even protest," Karna pointed out. "Then again, no one is."
Lorenz then tries to crawl away from him, but Karna plants his khukuri before his face, nearly cutting off his nose.
"So," began the Professor, "... how are the shoes that you're trying to fill in?"
Lorenz growls. "... When Claude hears of this...!"
"Oh, so you really do acknowledge him as the true leader of the Golden Deer," mocked Karna. "Guess daddy's vicariousness dug in deep into your roots, huh?"
"It... matters not!" coughed Lorenz as he continued to resist. "... As long... as I... lead... and serve my people...! It doesn't... matter if... I'm willing to try!"
"You know that those shoes are way too big to fill with your baby feet," Karna rebuked. "... Daddy's little baby pet project. That's what you were since you came out of your mommy. Nothing more than his toy soldier. Sure, things have changed due to the circumstances, but you're only where you are right now because daddy willed it as such. How can someone, who's done nothing more than follow orders for the majority of his life, hope to ever lead? Even Claude, now-Crown Ameer Khalid Al-Mansur I Muhammad, despite all the crap he had to put up with from both sides of the pond, chose every action for himself with his own will and grit. And look where that took him: back to square one."
Lorenz and the rest of the Golden Deer widen their eyes upon what Karna was implying.
"... No fucking way," Hilda then dropped her [Freikugel] before falling onto her knees. "... You set us up... back then?!"
"Not intentionally!" Karna confessed. "... Just saw a golden opportunity and I took it to remove a dangerous player off of the board that I've now claimed."
"WE TRUSTED YOU!" Raphael roared in fury, banging his fist against the briars, causing it to bleed.
"And with that, you have my utmost gratitude," Karna then flipped the bird towards them as the last of Lorenz's spirit was shattered into bits by Karna's revelation. "And before you start raging..."
With a snap of his fingers, the entire underground tomb begins to tremor as rats and roaches begin flooding the whole place from all directions.
"You guys look a little left out," he smiled beatifically. "So play with my friends invited by my [Vermintide Z+]. Careful now. They all bite."
Then the entire outside perimeter of the thorny cage was then bombarded with panicked shrieks and chitters of various vermin alike.
"Now with that fire lit under your collective butts..." Karna grunts as he gets back onto his feet before dusting his pants off while complete and utter pandemonium roared outside of the cage "... who wants a piece of me next?"
Jeralt then staggers towards him, leaving behind his dead horse, slumping with each footstep propelled with his aged heart beating desperately as the man before him was the true enemy. "... So was sending away Byleth also part of your greater plan?!"
"Eh... fifty-fifty, really," Karna shrugged as he deliberately left himself open, with those able to fight now being preoccupied by a sea of rats and roaches outside, and the rest being only able to put up a token resistance due to the lack of oxygen and poisoning of the air left behind by Karna's [Expiration Δ+]. "Sure, having the literal power of the Goddess Sothis herself was a contributor... but really, it was a favor."
The Blade Breaker's eyes widened as he swung his [Silver Lance]. "... What do you mean, a 'favor'?!"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Karna replied as he dodged. "... During my time here, I took the liberty of looking into your diary while you were asleep, and... well, suffice to say, I'm disappointed."
Karna then headbutts Jeralt to the ground before mounting the man onto his chest.
"JERALT!" Rhea cried out, but her body wasn't able enough to move as she'd liked, forcing herself to cast [Restore] to properly detox herself.
"And suddenly, she gives a crap..." deadpanned Karna as he then balls his hand into fist before winding it back. "Ain't that a bitch?"
Karna then clocks the Blade Breaker across his face with his fist.
"You had, an ample amount of chances to let your kids live a normal life, away from the bullshit that was Fodlan and its dirty dealings," scolded the lanky Professor before punching Jeralt again. "You didn't commit enough, Jeralt. You could've easily left Fodlan and yet, you chose to stay with that whore's reach. You have no one but yourself to blame for all the shit that you put your kids and your charges through. First your son's untimely death, then your gradual reintegration, and now, this."
Just as Karna was about to punch Jeralt again, the latter catches the former before headbutting him back and freeing himself. "... Get real," he snarled back. "No one asked... for you to be a fucking buzzard."
Karna then snorted a wad of blood from his stuck nose. "... Better to be a buzzard than a freakin' turtle, Blade Breaker," he scoffed. "I gave her an out. I gave her more than you've ever given her throughout her whole life, and all I gave her was the keys to her own cell that she'd trapped herself in. What kind of father are you when you can't even do that much for your kid? Is it a certain moral standard that you're unwilling to cross? Is it the fear of the unknown, hounded by faceless strangers in a land that you don't have a map of? Is it sentiment, for all the crap you've been through here, you still can't fathom leaving this place behind without looking back?"
"... Well don't you like to know," growled Jeralt. "... I ain't the greatest dad in the world... but I sure as hell don't corner people into doing what they don't want!"
The Blade Breaker then charges at him, but Karna dodges the thrust of his [Silver Lance] before winding back his leg and then swinging it back forth, right between the former's legs, the latter's shin striking through his hidden codpiece, crumpling it and the captain's testicles upon contact.
Karna scoffs yet again as he held up the slumping Jeralt by his raised foot. "No, I just have the spine to say what needs to be said."
"Your words... are nothing but poison!" snarled Rhea as she fully detoxed herself. "... Truth or not... what's the point... when all you do... is hurt people with your words?!"
"Not my fault that they can't handle the truth," smirked Karna as he kicked the incapacitated Jeralt aside. "Then again, it's your fault that you did nothing but baby your flock into submission to the point where they can't live without you feeding your drivel into their collective earholes... Seiros."
Rather than being surprising, the now-revealed Seiros scowls. "... You knew, didn't you?"
"Uh... you using the [Sword of Seiros] and [Shield of Seiros]?" he pointed out. "Not to mention the [Major Crest of Seiros] that is literally FLASHED ON YOUR STANDARDS EVERYWHERE I FUCKING LOOK. There's 'hiding in plain sight,' and then there's that."
Seiros then charges towards Karna, fully recovered and reengaging with her foe, clashing her sword against Karna's knife before attempting to punch him with her targe, dodging her blow by slipping to the side before sticking his back onto her own. "HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?!"
"Do I have to answer the question of which you already know the answer to?" he replied. "Face it, Seiros. Your great plan was doomed to fail. Secrets can only be kept for so long before someone bumblefucks into finding out."
"ONLY BECAUSE OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT!" Seiros then swings her head back into Karna's, knocking him down and allowing her to leap onto the man, raising her fist before bringing it down.
Karna dodges the first jab before biting into her wrist, drawing out green blood from where he sunk his teeth into. Seiros fights through the agony, but that one second of distraction allowed Karna to escape by kicking her off of himself.
As the two tumbled across the ground before quickly getting up, Seiros and Karna then clashed their arms against each other so forcefully that the upcoming collision caused both of their weapons to be knocked out of each others' hands, launched across the air before the weapons landed behind their users, planted blade-first into the floor.
Without their weapons, the two then stared each other down as they began circling around each other.
"... You don't know the sacrifices that I had to make to get to this point," spoke Seiros as she tossed away her shield, the targe rolling across the floor before landing on its face. "You have no idea how much I had to give up all for the sake of bringing mother back to this world so that it may be ushered towards salvation."
"Textbook definition of a 'sunk cost fallacy' right there, folks," Karna replied as he tossed away his damaged glasses. "Your whole plan hinged on one person that you manipulated before her birth. All of that careful planning, undone in an instant, courtesy of yours truly. Now ain't that a kick to the noggin? Maybe next time, come up with a better plan that doesn't rely on a single person to be dancing to your every whim and resulting your entire tactical infrastructure is compromised the very moment your little pet runs out on you!"
"All that you've said and done for the past year... all that groveling and bootlicking..." growled Seiros as she then removed her headpiece, undoing her lime-green hair point revealing a pair of pointed ears, giving away her nature as something inhuman, "... was all of that your sick idea of a joke?!"
"Yes, it was," smirked Karna as he lowered his head into a faux-bow with a bearing similar to that of a court jester. "And it was hilarious."
Then suddenly, Karna then grabs onto his coat before ripping it off of himself, revealing his muscular, yet lanky frame only dressed with a sleeveless black leather vest and pants, both being bound around onto his body and legs with numerous sliver-buckled belts.
"I knew, that before this very moment, you couldn't do anything to kill me directly," taunted Karna. "After all, you had a reputation to maintain, since it would be shocking if the Archbishop was publicly outed as a tyrannical murderer who kills anyone that pushes her too far." He then begins hopping in places before limbering up his legs with a few practice kicks, the shot long legs contained by his black-leather pants and tipped with equally-dark boots. "... Consider this moment from me as returning the favor, for having to put up with my crap ever since last year."
Seiros chuckles sinisterly as she then ripped off the sleeves of her robes, freeing her muscular arms for the rest to bear witness as she then cracked both her knuckles and neck into place, now looking more akin to a street thug than a holy woman. "... Your funeral," she hissed with utter malice. "And I'll make sure no one comes to see your casket."
The two then stop circling around each other before staring down in stillness that could be heard through the now-quieting pandemonium.
... Those two aren't even human anymore, thought Edelgard as she saw the two's chthonic stare down that could be felt by all within the thorny cage. ... I'm not sure if either of them were human to begin with.
Then in an instant, the two of them run at each other, with Seiros now winding back her fist as she thrusts it forth, and Karna winding back a reverse-roundhouse kick before shooting out his leg.
"KAAARRRNNNAAAAAAA!"
"SEIIIRRROOOOOOSSSSSS!"
Fist and foot then violently collide, unleashing a bellowing shockwave upon the impact as the two architects of this very chaos face each other down in one last duel to the death, witnessed only by those who are not long for this world.
At the Streets of Shambhala...
"You know!" Kronya exclaimed as she and the Dustbin hung onto the rampaging [Titanus]' shoulders. "... I only planned-! To hijack-! Only-! One of them!"
At least six of those mechs were wrecking the streets of Shambhala, with each of the Dustbins riding atop of those berserk giants, and with Byron and Kronya sharing a seat.
"The unspoken rule of the Dustbin is the following," Byron smirked. "No kill like overkill."
Several Agarthans then tried to fire at them with their Dark Magic spell, but the Dustbin use their hijacked [Titanus]' bodies as shields before firing back at the enemy resistance with their own tools.
"OI! Sorcha cried out as she tried to shoot with her [Siegfried] while Cyrus nailed all of his targets with his [Nidgogg]'s poisoned arrows. "HOW DO I FEKIN' FIRE DIS THIN'?!"
Kronya groans. "A moment, Byron?"
"Knock yourself out-" then he then spots something around the corner that causes him to put on his helmet. "INCOMING!"
Then the now-centaurian Plaguebearer Mark IV with Warlord Mark III riding on his back appear out from behind one of the buildings, the former winding back a heavy swing with his [Axe of Abaddon] before connecting it against one of the [Titanus], knocking it off-balance and falling onto the ground.
"ABORT!" Kroyna then grabbed Byron before leaping onto another as Warlord then pulled out two pairs of tubes that then each emitted a stream of concentrated red energy akin to a glowing blade, the four light blades sinking into the [Titanus]' head, shutting it down as indicated by its lights now dimming.
"GUESS WHO'S BACK, MOTHERFUCKERS?!" cackled the crimson Mortal Savant as he climbed back onto the galloping Plaguebearer's back and resuming their combined pursuit. "HOLD STILL AND BE MY WARM-UP KILL!"
"... You're way too loud for this, Shez," deadpanned the heavily-modified Great Knight, now speaking in a voice that was clearer and less prone to coughing fits. "But alas... they are the source of my woes... so they must die!"
"Alright Miklan!" spoke Warlord. "I'll let you take the first pick!"
Kronya looked back as the Agarthan-loyal members of the Flamer Emperor's Four Riders chased after them.
"CAN DIS THIN' GO ANY FASTER?!" asked Selene while her griffin Morrigan carried Cyrus' horse Darius in its talons.
"IT'S GOING AS FAST AS IT CAN!" the Agarthan pointed out.
"SLOW THEM DOWN AS BEST AS YOU CAN!" ordered Byron as he turned around while opening his [Glephnir] tome. "KRONYA! TEACH SORCHA HOW TO SHOOT WITH THAT SWORD IN THE MEANTIME!"
Kronya nods in agreement as she then jumped onto the [Titanus] where Sorcha was at while everyone else who can fight from range began shooting their payload at the Plaguebearer and Warlord-duo.
"NOT A CHANCE!" boasted Warlord as he parried the poisoned arrows from Cyrus' legendary bow. "MY [HELIOS] BEAM SABERS CAN MELT THROUGH EVEN THE TOUGHEST OF STEELS!"
"Hang... on!" warned Plaguebearer as the ground before them began generating ice spires and phantasmal chains. "It's gonna... get bumpy!"
As the pair of augmented marauders maneuvered around Byron's barrage of spells and Vidar's [Baigujing] supplementing the former's cryomancy in hopes of slowing the former two down, Kronya then eventually makes her way towards where Sorcha was situated at, still. struggling to make her legendary sword work.
"FEEEKKK!" cursed the Vanguard as she then began banging the sword's flat against the mech's head. "WORK YE PIECE OF SHITE!"
"Whoa! Sorcha! Chill!" the Agarthan plead before the Brigidian calms down in a huff. "... Look, sorry for not teaching you how to use its other features, but better late then never, right?"
"So how do I do it?" asked the Vanguard as she raised her [Siegfried].
"Okay, first, you have to focus your king's aura into the sword's gem," advised Kronya, to which Sorcha followed.
Closing her eyes, she began allotting some of her mythical protection back into the weapon itself, causing the gem placed on its crossguard to begin glowing.
"... Alrite," nodded Sorcha as she confirmed the results. "Now wat?"
Kronya then presses herself behind Sorcha's back as she then grabs onto her hands. "... Now release it," she answered. "Don't worry, the protection restores itself after a short while."
Sorcha blinked. "... Uh, how?"
Kronya blinked. "... Didn't tou-san ever teach you how to use magic?!"
"Dat was Byron's schtick!" she protested. "... 'Nd even before den, I couldn't even so much as fart out a single [Fire] spell."
"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!" Kronya bemoaned.
Then another [Titanus] falls, causing Vidar to leap next to where the two girls were at. "... We... losing!"
As per his words, Plaguebearer and Warlord were slowly catching up, with a collapsed [Titanus] left in their wake while clearing through Byron and Vidar's obstacle course of ice and chains.
"WHO WANTS DADDY'S BELT?!" cackled Warlord as he then drew all four of his [Helios] Beam Sabers and putting all four between the fingers of one his hands while using his free hand to draw out his [Moplah of Mephisto] from behind.
"... You cannot... run forever!" the Plaguebearer's helmet vents begin shooting jets of gas as he wound around his swinging arm wielding his [Axe of Abaddon], accelerating towards the group.
"HURRY UP AND SHOOT THAT THING OR WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" screamed Kronya.
"YE KNOW DAT SCREAMIN' AIN'T GUNNA 'ELP, RITE?!" Sorcha shot back.
"... She... can shoot," Vidar grunted out, causing the two to stop panicking. "... [Samadhi Fire]... like... that?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, [SAMADHI FIRE]?!" the Agarthan barked back, becoming more panicked as she began smelling a distinct odor of Plaguebearer coming closer to them.
Sorcha however, knew what the War Master meant, and smirks. "... Thanks, Vidar," she replied as she then regained focus towards her [Siegfried], pointing the two-pronged blade right at the augmented pair of marauders. "... Fur remindin' me of wat I should do now."
A small dark-red orb of crackling mana formed at the legendary blade's tip. As both Plaguebearer and Warlord then leapt towards them with their weapons drawn, the Vanguard smirked.
"Thanks fur comin' rite where I want ye te," she smirked even more sinisterly as a name and an image of a terrible power being unleashed flashed across her mind now properly resonating with the legendary weapon. "... [Königsgebrüll]."
The small orb of crackling mana then suddenly erupts into a massive beam of dark-red mana, incinerating everything that were caught within its infernal reach, as both Plaguebearer and Warlord were completely devoured by the blast, their faint shadows disappearing into the unholy light with the fanfare of that of a lion's roar, trembling the earth and air alike as the surroundings that the unleashed Combat Art graced itself with bowed, melting and prostrating before its hellish radiance.
"... How divine," Topaz commented as she stared into the blood-red stream of hell's glow. "... Mankind are the true gods if they're capable of feats as this."
"Holy shite," Sorcha remarked with complete awe as the beam slowly subsided while turning her gaze towards Kronya. "... Just let me know wen ye swing dat way."
The Agarthan ignores her request as she then spots a pair of burnt-out husks now lying behind them. "... They ain't gonna be moving anytime soon," she remarked. "Anyways, great job!"
The rest of the rampaging [Titanus] continue their trail of carnage as the rest of the Dustbin with Kronya made their way through the streets of Shambhala.
"I think we're in the clear!" Cyrus cackled victoriously.
Then suddenly, a surge of power that ran itself throughout the entire underground was felt by both Byron and Kronya.
"... Oh crap," the Agarthan cursed.
"EVERYONE FUCKING BAIL-!" screamed Byron, only for his warning to be cut off by a wicked tremor that rocked the entire underground city.
Then the ground itself began ripping itself apart, causing all of the [Titanus] to lose their balance, followed up by everyone being flung off of their rides.
As they flew, Selene managed to jump onto Morrigan's back and fly low enough for the Griffin Knight to order her mount to release Darius, letting the giant horse go and allow Cyrus to mount him as he recovered from being thrown off.
After which, both riders began their rescue of their allies. Selene manages to catch both Byron and Kronya with her griffin's talons and Vidar and Sorcha being caught onto Cyrus' arms as he rode on Darius' back.
Topaz, on the other hand, jumps from [Titanus] to [Titanus] and then from uplift debris to another, skipping through the air as if she were playing hopscotch.
Eventually, the violent quaking stops, allowing the Dustbin and Kronya to reconvene back together in the now-ruined city's streets.
"What the hell was all that?!" asked Cyrus.
"An earthquake," answered Topaz as she then looked at both Byron and Kronya. "... But given both of your reactions, I suppose that this is indeed, not natural, correct?"
"Yeah," the Agarthan nodded. "... There are only two people on earth who are capable of such feat!"
"Flattering, coming from a traitor," spoke an authoritative voice that which all of them looked towards.
Emerging behind the pile of rubble that was once their city came Sage Thales, leading a contingency of Agarthan Dark Bishops, Dark Knights, Heroes, and several other [Titanus] mechs stationed at their rear. Appearing to his sides were the rest of the Seven Sages, with Cleobulus, Chilon, and Solon coming out from his left, and Bias, Myson, and Pittacus standing to their leader's right.
"We finally meet again, Dustbin," Thales greeted before looking at the Agarthan not on their side, "... and Kronya."
"Okay, not gonna lie, seeing them pull shit like that was impressive..." commented Bias as she fiddled with a tablet-like device in her hands before peeking from behind it, "... but to hijack six of my tin cans and take them out for a joyride like a bunch of porkers?! Not preem, choom. Not preem!"
"She speaks in like, majority-percent slang," informed Kronya. "Sage Bias is just pissed that we played with her toys without permission."
"Fancy meeting you shits for reals," Myson sneered as he flipped a bird. "Guess that maid of ours was good for something after all! Now we can kill all you party-poopers ourselves!"
"His grammar and diction are atrocious," Byron shook his head.
Then from behind the Dustbin and Kronya, the [Titanus] that they were all thrown off from rose back up to their feet, now slowly approaching them, surrounding the Dustbin and Kronya from all sides.
"Sage Bias, have you finished debugging the malicious code from our mobile puppets?" asked Sage Solon, to which the young Valkyrie flashed an "OK" sign with her hand. "Excellent."
"PRESENT ARMS!" barked Sage Chilon as everyone drew then weapons and/or prepared their spells. "AIM-!"
"One question!" spoke Byron, catching everyone's attention to halt from what they were doing. "... Is this all of you? As in, every Agarthan present?"
"... Uhh, yes?" Cleobulus answered while her hand was raised preparing the [Death Γ] spell, befuddled at this sudden shift in tone. "... You know that there are better last words than what you've just said, correct?"
"Oh good!" the Eligor answered. "That means you fell right into my trap."
With a snap of his fingers, the subverted [Titanus] begin glowing red throughout their lines.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!" Bias cried out in panic, frantically tapping away at her tablet before finding something that she really didn't see coming. "... A self-destruct protocol?" she then looked back up in utter shock as Byron flips her off. "YOU PLANTED A TROJAN HORSE WITHIN EACH OF THEIR O.S.?!"
"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Kronya exclaimed as the Eligor cackled. "I DIDN'T TEACH YOU HOW TO DO THAT!"
The Eligor kept cackling as he then drew out his [Perun] and lassoed his compatriots around himself. "The trick of knowledge is exploiting the principle 'do nots'," he pointed out rapturously as he continued circling the chain of his weapon. "With knowledge of the fundimentals alone, a myriad of possibilities are open to experimentation!"
"Hold that thought," Cleobulus raised her hand, "... you're saying that just from a minute-long introductory crash course through the basics of our technological knowledge, you're saying that you managed to compromise over 90% of our infrastructure... JUST BY BUMBLEFUCKING WITH IT?!"
"WHO GIVES A SHIT?! SHUT IT DOWN!" Thales ordered.
"I CAN'T!" Bias panicked as she then dropped her tablet. "THE MALICIOUS CODE HAVE ALREADY COMPROMISED OUR I.C.E. AND HAVE BREACHED ALL OF THE CITY'S AUTONOMOUS DEFENSE NETWORKS! IT'S GETTING INTO OUR LAUNCH SILOS!"
"AW FUCK!" Myson cried out. "OUR PAYLOAD GONNA BLOW UP BEFORE OUR FACES?!"
Solon widened his eyes before glancing at Byron. "... Perhaps I need to reassess my opinion."
Chilon then looks behind at their own [Titanus], their lines now shining red as he and his fellow Agarthans all sensed a mana buildup within their autonomous weapons to critical mass. "DEFENSIVE MEASURES-!"
Right before every single deployed [Titanus] mech, armed [Viskam] turrets, and the city's integrated leylines powering the latter all exploded, Byron casts [Warp] to deliver his allies away from the line of fire.
"... Fuck," cursed Pittacus.
In the next second, a third of the subterranean city of Shambhala, capital (and only) city of Agartha, was consumed into a hellish conflagration.
Around Garreg Mach Monastery...
Both in and out of Garreg Mach Monastery, tensions were brewing towards a boiling point.
Outside the walls stood over the Adrestian Imperial Army, numbering ten-thousand strong, led and spearheaded by none other than the Death Knight, who in turn, was supported by Minster of Military Affairs, Count Leopold von Bergliez, and Minster of Religious Affairs/Bishop of the Southern Church of Seiros, Count Grégoire von Varley. The latter only arrived under the threat of being castrated publicly by the Death Knight himself, while the former joined for a good scrap and to just snicker at the latter's misery.
"... Where is the Emperor?" asked the Bishop.
"Inside the monastery, dumbass," deadpanned the bear-like War Master. "Hey Captain Death Knight, are we just standing here, look intimidating, or are we gonna proceed with the plan and ransack the place already?"
The Death Knight sighs seething. "... We stick to the plan," he ordered. "Encircle the monastery until the signal is given. Then you may fight to your heart's content, 'Juggernaut'."
"... Y-yes. Simply encircle!" nodded the mousey man. "... An... e-excellant plan-"
"The moment the signal is given, you're going on the front lines and provide cover for our vanguards," the Death Knight ordered, causing the pathetic Bishop to pale even further. "... Count Bergliez, you have my permission to kill him if he so much as tries to take a step back from the battlefield."
The War Master gleefully cackles in anticipation as he then straps his [Járngreipr] Relics around his arms. "One way or the other, someone's ending up on my kill list," he remarked casually while cracking his knuckles as Count Varley tried his best not to soil himself in their presence. "... Let's get along, alright partner?"
But just before he could faint, the gates to the monastery open, alerting the Adrestian Imperial Army and its forces.
"Here they come!" the War Master cackled.
But to many's surprise, only a single person walked out of the monastery, for which was none other than "Thunderstrike" Catherine, the Swordmaster of the Knights of Seiros herself.
"... What is she doing out here, all by herself?!" asked Count Varley.
"Ain't it obvious?" replied Count Bergliez. "It's a duel."
The mousey Bishop lets out an exasperated sigh. "... You fight-happy swollen-head juggernauts."
The War Master then taps onto his fellow Count's shoulder. "... You mind coming closer to me for a second?"
Count Varley then reluctantly comes to Count Bergliez, to which then the latter smashes his forehead into the former's nose, breaking it into pieces as jets of blood gushed out of his nostrils while the Bishop flailed around the dirt in pain.
"Only Count Hevring can call me that and live," the War Master growled as a few of the Adrestian Imperial Troops couldn't help but snicker at the Bishop's agony. "Rest of you! Back into formation!"
The men then immediately resume to their stoic posture as the Death Knight then approaches Catherine. "State your business," he spoke. "... I care for not what it is, but make your intentions clear."
"Alright, so here's the thing," the Knight of Seiros spoke frankly. "... Apparently, a third party infiltrated our ranks and now both of our leaders are missing in action."
The Death Knight's pair of blood-red wisps that were his eyes blink. "... Come again?"
"You want me to show you what happened myself?" she replied.
Just as Count Varley was about to raise a protest, he then realized that he couldn't due to his own nose being broken.
"I'm taking a detachment of my own soldiers with me," spoke the Death Knight. "Count Bergliez, if anything goes wrong on my end, you're in charge."
"Don't worry your pretty little head, Captain Death Knight," the War Master confidently replied. "She's a decent and honorable person. Subterfuge isn't her job."
As the Death Knight then began to leave for Garreg Mach, he then snatches the broken-nose Count Varley by his neck as he and his detachment of Dark Knights followed the Swordmaster back inside.
Upon entering, the entire monastery was empty. No students, no staff, nor any of the churchgoers were present in the halls of worship.
"All non-combatants are evacuated?" asked the Death Knight.
"Standard procedure during wartime," Catherine replied before looking back. "... You seem calmer than your reputation has given you."
"A lot happened," the Death Knight deadpanned, still remembering the loss of his testicles at the feet of that man before shuddering. "... One disaster after another, I was forced to reevaluate my mindset into what it is now."
"... It's Karna, isn't it?" asked the Swordmaster, to which the skull-helmed man nodded. "... Ugh. Everything that he touches turns into shit."
Count Varley begins gagging around the Death Knight's fingers.
"... Isn't he gonna suffocate?" asked Catherine.
"Give it a moment and he'll faint," the Death Knight reassured as the Bishop then drifted into unconsciousness. "... By the way, where are we heading?"
"The Holy Mausoleum," she replied. "Why?"
"Good," upon passing aside the monastery's recreational fishing pond, the Death Knight then dunks Count Varley into it to wake him up. As the pathetic man flailed around the waters for a moment, the Death Knight then picks him out of the waters with his replacement [Crescent Sickle] used like a shepherd's crook. "That saves me the trouble of having to touch him with my hands."
"Since when did you have a sense of humor?" scoffed Catherine as she also enjoyed the pathetic man's suffering with the others. "... We're here."
The Death Knight and his detachment arrive at the Holy Mausoleum's entrance... which was now nothing more than a pile of rubble being excavated by the Church's combatants and remaining staff.
"LADY RHEA!" Cyril cried out as he kept digging frantically. "HANG ON! WE'RE COMING!"
"Whoa," Pit taken himself back at his fellow page's energy, "... calm down before you pull a muscle!"
"... Oh," the Death Knight remarked as he then got off of his horse while dropping his scythe and Bishop onto the ground. "... It's Karna, wasn't it?"
"When I get my hands on him, I am going shove [Thunderbrand] up through his crack and make him lick his own shit off of it," the Swordmaster remarked with a growl before grabbing a pickaxe. "Come on, you wanna save your leader or leave her to rot?"
The Death Knight gives his next order with heavy reluctance. "... One of you get back to Count Bergliez and tell him everything," he then picks up several pickaxes before handing them to his men and the reluctant Count. "The rest of you, start digging."
"B-But-!" just before Count Varley could start giving lip, the Death Knight then picks him up by his clothes before placing his burning coal pits for eyes directly in front of Count Varley's own.
"Do it, or I'll allow Catherine to use you as 'practice' for what she'll do to our culprit," threatened the Death Knight. "Understood?"
The Bishop nods rapidly as he dampened his pants.
At the Fiery Ruins of Shambhala...
The once, vibrant city of Shambhala, pride and joy of Agartha, was now nothing but smoldering ruins.
Reappearing within the waste, Byron and Vidar found themselves together, but separated from everyone else.
"Aw shit," groaned Byron. "... Did the explosion of mana fuck up the coordinates-?"
Suddenly the War Master then tackles the Eligor out of the way from an eruption of Dark Magic, revealing themselves to be none other than Sages Cleobulus and Solon.
"YOU REPROBATES!" screeched the Dark Flier. "YOU ALL RUINED EVERYTHING!"
"Bite me, Countess Cornelia Arnim," Byron flipped her off while calling by her pseudonym on purpose before noticing that the pair were alone. "... So how the fuck did you two survive?"
"We Seven Sages earned our positions from survival," the old Sage answered. "... Your little act of tomfoolery, while groundbreaking, is unacceptable."
"You beasts will not see daylight ever again!" Cleobulus remarked as she then pulled out her signature weapon, the [Asclepius] staff, resembling a cross-headed lance with a bronze serpent coiled around its upper shaft. "TO THE ETERNAL VOID WE SHALL CONSIGN YOU ALL-!"
From her rambling, Vidar then tackles her out of sight with [Armads] in hand, leaving Byron and Solon to confront each other by themselves.
"... Kind of a flair for the dramatic, isn't she?" asked Byron.
"She picked up that habit within Faerghus' Royal Court," Solon shook his head as he then channeled his mana through his [Staff of Circe] before pointing the glowing tip towards Byron. "... I have to admit, weren't for the fact if you were born a Fodlander, I've might've taken you as my student. Not many youngsters appreciate the finer arts of pursuing absolute mastery of the arcane."
"Why let that stop you?" requested the Eligor as he then took out his [Garm] axe and [Glephnir] tome. "Every day living is always another opportunity to learn new things! Let's make this fight one to remember forever!"
Solon smirks as he then prepares to unleash [Death Γ]. "... Then study closely."
As an explosion of clashing Dark Magic was unleashed from afar, Cleobulus manages to free herself from Vidar's grasp by manifesting her shadowy pegasus from the darkness. Vidar wastes no time destroying the construct with the crackling swing of his [Armads].
"... You... call me... beast... right?!" the War Master pointed at the Dark Flier.
Cleobulus refuses to dignify him with an answer nor a response, only readying her staff to fight close-ranged.
"... I... show you... how beasts... FIGHT!" a violent aura of crimson lightning begins emitting from Vidar and the resonating [Armads]. "... BEASTS! RIP! THRRROOAAAT!"
Inside the Great Archive...
Sorcha and Selene now found themselves falling onto a large bookshelf containing tablets before it then dominoes onto the rest of the shelves, knocking everything down within its reach.
"Bloody 'ell, where de fek are we?" the Vanguard asked as she looked around the dimly-lit library-like place.
"Ye know..." the Griffin Knight remarked as she got up with the help of her [Gae Bolg] and Morrigan both acting as her support, "... I think Byron would like dis place-LOOK OUT!"
Selene then tackles her twin sister aside, at the cost of her griffin being killed in the blast.
"NO!" Selene cried out as she saw her winged mount go up into smoke. "MORRIGAN!"
"Sheesh, you even gave a name?" spoke out the douchey voice of Myson as he and Pittacus came out of the library's shadows to confront the twins. "... Aw come on, you can get another, can you?!"
"SHE WAS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, YE BASTARD!" the now-mountless Griffin Knight screeched as she then whipped out her [Crossbow] and fired its bolt towards the Warlock's head.
The Gremory present then casts [Ward] to block the shot heading towards Myson. "... Don't... hurt Myson!" Pittacus screamed in a strained voice as mana began to surge from within her. "... I...! GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"And I'll help!" Myson added as he and the Gremory readied their spells. "SO ARE YOU BITCHES READY TO DANCE?!"
Sorcha and Selene look at each other before exchanging a mutual nod as they then draw [Siegfried] and [Gae Bolg] respectively.
"Bring it."
At [Titanus] Hangar #4...
"... Did we get separated?" asked Cyrus as he and Topaz looked around the emptied hangar.
"It's par for the course at this point," scoffed the Espio as she then kicked down the damaged blast doors the size of castle gates leading outside, spotting Bias and Chilon heading towards their way, both of them riding on their mechanical mounts. "Well look over there. Company."
"I call dibs on the horse guy," the Bow Knight then drew out his [Gradivus] before riding off towards the pair.
Up ahead, the two Sages spotted the Battuian rider coming at them alone.
"That dirty gonk thinks he can solo us?" scoffed the young Valkyrie as she readied her [Luna Λ] spell. "I'll zero his leadhead ass back to whatever gomi pile he spawned from-!"
The stoic Great Knight raises his hand to prevent her from taking initiative. "... He's not alone," spoke Chilon answered as he then put his Faceless helmet on. "MASKS ON, NOW!"
Just as Bias manifests her bunny mask around her head, a blade on a chain-length was then shot out from behind Cyrus' back, nearly nailing the Valkyrie in the head as it tore apart her plush headpiece before it was then yanked off of her head.
Chilon counterattacks by grinding his [Bolt Axe] across the earth before unleashing an electrified stream towards the horse, but Darius then leaps over the blast, allowing both Cyrus to go over Chilon and Topaz to pounce onto Bias and her ride.
"You're coming with me, pipsqueak," snarled the Espio as she then forcibly took over the controls of the Valkyrie's mechanical mount while the Bow Knight than confronted the Great Knight after landing behind him.
"How much was all of that planned?" asked Chilon while resting his [Bolt Axe] across his shoulder.
"Eh... 100% played it by the ear," Cyrus admitted as Darius bucked in place. "But we're not here to talk, aren't we?"
Chilon stared at [Nidhogg] that was slung around his back. "... I thought we missed some when we were cleaning house back then," he remarked as the Great Knight then opens a small dark portal with his free hand before reaching into it and pulling out an ornate lance crowned with a pair of dull-teal dragon wings around its neck up to its sliver spearhead. "So with that said, do you honestly think that wielding an ancient regalia weapon is enough to close in the gap between our prowesses?"
Cyrus scoffs as he then twirled his [Gradivus] around his hand while holding tight Darius' bridle in his other. "... Victory is not decided by one's weapons alone, nor a warrior's skills."
Chilon couldn't help but smile at his honest bravado, not being like that of the overly-proud Fodlander, but rather, this boy held the bearing of a true warrior.
"Is that so?" the Great Knight snickered, now finally allowing himself to enjoy the upcoming fight. "... Have at thee!"
The two riders then gallop like the wind before they both intersect, breaking their armaments against each others'.
As for Bias, she was a bit too busy wrestling Topaz's grip away from her mount's controls, even going far as to overclock her Chromes to even match the freak mutant strength that the Espio had in her.
"GET OFF OF MY RIDE, YOU MEAT-FREAK BITCH!" cursed the Valkyrie.
"You're coming with me," Topaz rebuked as she then planted [Baselard] into the mechanical mount, sabotaging its internal workings and causing it to stall and stop suddenly.
The latter of which then sends both Topaz and Bias crashing through the wall of a wrecked building. As the two then got back up, they stared each other down while readying their weapons.
"... You guys fucking suck, you know that?" the Valkyrie sighed as she reached for her tome behind her back. "Always getting your noses into other peoples' businesses, wrecking our plans, and now, blowing up the place where I live. You guys need a fucking hobby!"
Topaz flips her off as she then twirled her [Baselard] around her hand while unleashing [Blutgang] from her left arm. "... Is that all you have to say?" she asked. "Because you've accurately described my job prior to joining the Dustbin. Don't tell me what I already know, jailbait hag."
Bile surged from the Valkyrie's throat out of sheer rage as she then unleashes a terrible spell akin to a thunderbolt struck down from the heavens like a hammer swung down by a wrathful deity.
"THEN DIE KNOWING NOTHING!" roared Bias as Topaz smirked, the latter ready for her banquet of blood.
At the Agarthan Parliamentary Building...
"Home sweet home..." Kronya scoffed as she then tipped over an expensive vase off of its pedestal on purpose. "... Yeah right."
As the pottery shattered upon impact, Kronya then took the time to reminence her time here as a brainwashed agent.
"... Tch, nothing good to recall," she muttered to herself as she then meandered into one of the rooms. "Now what do we got here-WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Upon entering, her eyes were bombarded with lit screens reading the following:
[BRAHMASTRA LAUNCH SEQUENCE]
[ALL SILOS ARMED]
[ALL SILOS CLEARED FOR LAUNCH]
[CALCULATING COORDINATES]
[FUELING TANKS]
[TIME REMAINING UNTIL LAUNCH]
15:30
"... Oh fuck me," cursed Kronya as she stared at the screen before running up to it and begin trying to override the command. "WHY?! WHY NOW?! OF ALL THE TIMES, WHY ARE THEY USING THE FUCKING JAVELINS OF LIGHT RIGHT NOW-?!"
Then from behind, Kronya's head was then grabbed by a firm hand before being lifted up off the ground.
"Find anything?" taunted Thales before the Sage then threw the traitor Agarthan out of the room before walking himself out of it to confront Kronya.
The doors leading into the launch command room were then locked tight by a blast door sliding over the opening.
"... I admit," confessed the Sage. "For a second there, when I saw that the malicious code that your new friends have planted inside our infrastructural data frame was about to reach our [Brahmastra] silos, my heart almost went into shock. It's good thing that the bug bit off more than it chew too soon and caused the majority of the system to overload before it could even get to our backup generators."
"... So why... are you talking... when you can kill me now?" asked Kronya.
Thales sighs. "... I'll be real with you, from the moment when the War of Heroes went south, we knew that the chances of bringing Agartha back from the brink went down the shitter," he stated. "That said though, we weren't just going to lie down and wait to die. So if we can't take Fodlan back from those beasts... then we'll simply take all of them down with us."
As soon as he finished his piece, Thales then draws his [Ridill], its serrated edge roaring to life as it then spun around its length.
"Perhaps it is due to our shortcomings that we brought this fate upon ourselves," the Sage admitted as he walked away to give Kronya some space. "... But we will not give them the satisfaction of letting our enemies celebrate our demise. Kronya! As the leader of Agartha, I order you! Draw your sword so I may bring upon your rightful judgement! Die like a proper Agarthan as you are!"
Kronya gnashed her teeth in fury. "... 'Agartha'-this, 'Agarthan'-that... YOU'RE FULL OF CRAP, THALES! ALL OF THIS IS TO SATISFY YOUR OWN FUCKING EGO!"
She then draws her crimson blade from its scabbard.
"We had an out! And you took it away from us!" she revealed. "No one asked for the fight to go on for long as it did!"
"THEN ARE WE TO LEAVE THE FALLEN UNAVENGED?!" Thales barked back. "THOSE ANIMALS SLAIN TOO MANY OF OUR OWN! WE MUST KILL THEM ALL BEFORE WE EXPIRE! USE YOUR HEAD, KRONYA! IT'S NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE EXIST TO SLAY DRAGONS, NOT SURRENDER TO THEM!"
"MY NAME! IS NOT! KRONYA!" she then pounced as her crimson blade and Thales' [Ridill] clashed against each other, the sparks flying illuminating the dimly-lit hallways.
Thales then pushed back from the blade lock as the Agarthan traitor regained her stance while gripping her blade tightly.
"... I thought the brainwashing from the Samsara Initiative wiped your memories pertaining to your name," growled the Sage as he tossed his cape aside to reduce drag before glancing at the crimson blade. "Not to mention, that blade you wield looks familiar... Ah, it's the [Muramasa], the 'Demon Blade,' isn't it? He finally finished repairing that coming-of-age present meant for you. Now if he only extended that kind of care to the rest of his people..."
"Know the true name of your demise," she spoke as her [Muramasa] gleamed in the dark. "You now face Tsukiko, last of the Kirigakure Clan, and the seventh bearer of the name 'Saizo'! Prepare to die!"
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: ... Coincidently, both fights are taking place underground.
But before I begin, I got a part-time job near where I live, meaning that I have an income (nothing glamorous, but an income nevertheless).
So anyhoo, this chapter overall:
This fic came out sooner than I anticipated only because I got bored and chose to start the writing a few days early. I cannot take a break when I'm on a the fic's endroll, so in a way, this may be a rare occasion that I'm riding high from, but I appreciate the work I'm putting into it.
The put-downs I had for Edelgard and Dimitri were things I had waiting in the wings for a while, but admittedly, for Lorenz, Jeralt, and Rhea, I kinda added last minute just to make Karna gab a little more just to point out the obvious holes in their logic. Although my personal opinions are more... shall we say, understanding.
Edelgard's clearly a victim of circumstance, and while I don't support her fundamentally, I can understand where she's coming from... although as Karna stated, trusting the Agarthans (I know it's not trust, but getting them on board is a move I'll never understand save for "keep your friends close, your enemies closer"-adage) was a bad call, which Karna rubs it into her face by revealing his involvement in said "circumstance."
Dimitri is more or less the traditional Fire Emblem main character, but Three Houses is a game where conventions go to die, and this fic, it goes a step further and pisses on the former's smoldering remains, which Karna is doing.
Lorenz is technically a nepo-baby, but he's trying his best, not that Karna gives a shit about the "trying"-part and prefers to rub in the "nepo"-part just to torment him and his friends. It also calls back to his canon envy/rivalry with Claude, and with him gone... what's the point of his goals anymore besides do what Claude did?
Jeralt is the textbook definition of the "Parents as People"-trope, but Karna dismantles it by accounting that his actions fell more into "Unwitting Instigator of Doom"-trope by simply not leaving Fodlan and go far away from it as far as possible.
And Rhea... she's kinda in both camps of "Not so Different" and "Not so Similar"-tropes when it comes to herself and Edelgard, but seriously, when her plans ultimately relied on the compliance of one person/Byleth and the moment she bails and everything falls apart? You bet Karna's gonna tighten the clamp around that weak spot. At least there's a kickass martial arts fight coming up next time.
And for Agartha's chaos, first of all, I had to get Plaguebearer and Warlord out of the way. The Dustbin have regalia weapons from other Fire Emblem games, and they got bigger fish to fry.
As for Byron already mastering Agarthan technology from the basics alone? He's a bit of a mental freak ala "Mad Scientist" that is motivated by chronic boredom. If something can blow up at people's faces, he can and will find a way. Basically, give him a modern-day car, and he'll take the whole thing apart piece by piece to see how it works before turning it into something else that still works while utilizing the same principals of said car, just used differently.
Also, Kronya's real name being Tsukiko Kirigakure, aka, Saizo the Seventh? More on that in the later chapter of why that's the case.
And to answer the questions from the Guest:
1) I am legit torn between Alcryst and Alfred, the former being the best depressed boy while the latter I just find him to be a ray of sunshine-himbo.
2) Well, I chose six student headcount for two regions: one being that each pair represents not only which House they were originated from (the McCarthy Twins from Black Eagles, Byron and Vidar being from Blue Lions, and Cyrus and Topaz being from Golden Deer) and there being no Church affiliates due to their initial reputation being just THAT BAD, with the only boost to their standings being "promoted" to the Church's part-time Black Ops. Two being that they're so underfunded that they're kinda forced to work "partially-functioning" ala not with a full party of eight. Meta-wise, it's to show how much of a "butt-monkey" they initially start out as.
3) Sorry about the lack of clarity, but yeah, the truth is rather complicated. In laymen's terms, Byleth would've won... at the cost of about using up all of her Divine Pulses, and then sustain an absurdly high attrition rate on her side, with Almyra ultimately no worse for wear due to sheer numerical superiority. Compare that to Karna's loss but managing to keep the casualties to a semi-acceptable minimum, if with the fact that the leadership of both sides suffering casualties are regarded on equal footing as a death of a common footman. Either way, pick your poison on which outcome being preferable.
References:
- The Samsara Initiative that the Agarthans imply that they use is conceptually based off the Phoenix Protocol used by the Citadel of Ricks from Rick and Morty. It's also named after the Buddhist concept of the Samsara, an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
- Myson's reaction to the Dark Bishop's alert of Shambhala being under attack by the Dustbin w/Kronya and their hijacked [Titanus] is a reference to Prince John's line from Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
- Karna and Rhea's deadlock is based off how pre-fight intros in Mortal Combat 1 (2023) work.
- Karna's lecture about his khukuri/kukri/Gurkha Knife to Edelgard is inspired by Dwight Méndez's small trivia about the machete from his introduction cutscene in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
- Rajapushpa means "Royal Flower" in Hindi, and is this fic's iteration of the Indian subcontinent. One of its subcultural tribes, the Kshatriya, is named after the warrior aristocracy within the Varna caste system, considered the second-highest on the totem pole only before the Brahmin priest class.
- Karna's sleeveless leather undershirt and pants-combo is loosely inspired by Cahara/Mercenary's outfit from Fear & Hunger, with the belts all over being inspired by pseudo-BDSM attire that is prevalent in Industrial Metal fashion and characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura.
- Karna and Rhea/Seiros clash at the end of their segment is based off Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise's Dynamic Intros.
- Warlords's new weapons, the [Helios] beam sabers, is named after the personification god of the Sun in Greek mythology. Design-wise, I had the Mortal Savants' ornamental katanas that their models carry around be usable.
- [Siegfried]'s fic-original ranged Combat Art, [Königsgebrüll], means "Royal Roar" in German, and is ascetically based off Gundam Unicorn's Beam Magnum shots and Code Geass' Hadron Cannon beams.
- Solon's "... Then study closely."-line is inspired by Master Pakku's statement to Katara when she wants to learn proper Waterbending from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Cyrus' line towards Chilon before their clash is a reference to Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury's "Duelist's Oath": "Victory is not decided by a Mobile Suit alone, nor by a pilot's skill alone."
- The name of the Javelins of Light, [Brahmastra], is named after a mythical superweapon from Hindu mythology which can basically be described as a nuclear bomb that only certain devas and heroes can use, after they get clearance of the knowledge of its existence.
- Kronya's true name, Tsukiko, means "Moon Child" in Japanese. Her clan name, Kirigakure, means "Hidden by Mist" in Japanese, alluding to her long-lost heritage that include Fates characters like Kaze, Saizo, and Asugi. Her signature weapon, [Muramasa], takes its namesake after the blades created by swordsmith with the same name, whose works are cursed to compel the wielder to cut down everything they come upon. It's title of the "Demon Blade" is lifted from the Vanillaware game, Muramasa: The Demon Blade.