Black Eagles: Edeglard, Hubert, Monica, Dorothea, Lindhardt, Caspar, Shez, Flayn, Bernadetta active.
Blue Lions: Dimitri, Luke, Ingrid, Sylvain, Annette, Felix active.
Golden Deer: Claude, Hilda, Marianne, Lysithea active.
Ashen Wolves: Yuri, Balthus, Hapi, Constance active.
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[Flashback.]
"You want to do what?" Claude lifted a brow as Lysithea slammed her hands on the table.
"You heard me!" Lysithea stared Claude down, while the others within the Golden Deer just watched silently. "I want to take on Shez. I can beat her."
"...Look, I understand your enthusiasm, but let's leave the planning to the grown ups, alright?" Claude said with an annoying, yet serious smile. As always, he was putting Lysithea down for her age. "Shez isn't the kind of opponent we can just throw someone at and hope for the best, anyway. That's the same as offering a sacrificial lamb." And as far as Claude was concerned, victory was the only thing that happened.
"You don't think I can do it, do you?" Lysithea narrowed her eyes.
"I'm gonna be honest: not really." Claude said seriously. "At best, you'd likely wear her out. But I'm also considering the worst case scenario, where she just beats you and moves on like nothing happened. We can't really afford that in a fight like this."
Lysithea's expression twisted in anger and annoyance. "I was the one who forced the Death Knight to retreat, after Shez was unable to. After YOU ended up provoking him for some unknown reason! If it weren't for me, your arrow would've gotten nearly everyone killed!" She bit back, and hard. Claude let out a low grunt of annoyance, mostly because he couldn't argue that. But he knew he didn't take a shot at the Death Knight. Something messed with his aim and everyone nearly paid for it.
"Hey, guys, c'mon...!" Raphael was going to try and be a voice of reason here. Marianne fell silent, due to the tension, Ignatz wasn't sure what to say, and Hilda was looking between the two sides curiously.
"Maybe we should let her take a crack at it!" Leonie said with a grin. "I've been itching to test my strength against her too. Whatever she's got up her sleeve, it's not something I can't handle!" This was the girl who wanted to take on Byleth, after all. Both she and Shez had that in common, and she wanted to be the one who emerged victorious.
"...Claude." Manuela overheard the argument. Even if she wasn't taking part in the battle, she still had a duty as a teacher to try and lead these kids down the right path. Normally, she would've left them to it, to see if they could come up with a compromise on their own. But Claude and Lysithea would be here for hours, and they didn't have that kind of time. "Determination is a very powerful thing, you know? There are a lot of things someone can do when they are determined."
"Professor Maneula...determination alone can't win a battle." Claude said while looking over to her. "We've got the least amount of students compared to the other classes. Every person here counts. I can't let Lysithea fly off the handle just because..."
"Determination may not be enough to win a battle, but one must have the determination to see it through." Manuela said calmly, and with a smile. "I know you're only saying these things because you care and want to win, but everyone else has their own desires as well. Instead of dismissing the idea...how about we try finding a way to make these ideas work with the flow of the battle?"
"I...I think that's worth a try..." Marianne said quietly. She was barely able to get a word in with all the back and forth.
"I agree..." Ignatz remarked. "If there's anyone that could pull it off...I think it's Lysithea."
"So we agree on something for a chance." Lysithea huffed. It felt nice to have everyone on her side, and against Claude for a change. "You always do things on your own, but we have ideas too! So you should start listening to them more."
"Be honest, Claude." Hilda looked towards Claude with a tilt of her head. "You've see what Lysithea can do; we all have. Do you really think she can't fight Shez?" It's not a fight Hilda would want, so she was more than happy to pawn it off to someone who was actually willing.
Lysithea and Claude stared at each other for a while. Eventually, Claude relented. "Okay. If I'm going to be honest, I don't think it's impossible. I know this squirt here has some serious magic power. A good blast will take out anyone."
"So what is the issue?" Lorenz questioned. Everyone was in agreement that the one with the highest chance of victory, against one of the biggest threats, was Lysithea.
"Shez is just too fast." Claude shook his head. "She can warp and those powers of hers give her the advantage, especially on those not accustomed to close combat. A good hit from Lysithea will no doubt put her down, but getting that hit is like finding a needle in a haystack. The chances don't look good."
"Then I'll make an opening." Lysithea stated. This was something she felt like she had to do. Even though Shez was a bit of a clueless dope at times, she saved her. Lysithea respected Shez's strength. She wanted to challenge the one that saved her. She couldn't explain why, but it was something she needed to do. "Don't underestimate me, Claude. I don't have to be faster than Shez. I just have to be better."
[End Flashback.]
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"Right now, your class has a pretty commanding lead." Jeralt looked at Byleth, who still had yet to pry her eyes from the battle even for a second. She was listening to what was being said, however. "Not bad, kid..."
"It's still anyone's fight." Byleth said firmly. Jeralt laughed a little at her response. Because she was absolutely right. Even if the Black Eagles had better looking numbers, the tide of battle could easily shift at a moment's notice.
"Those kids are really giving it their all." Manuela placed a hand on her cheek. She wished she could be down there with them. So did Hanneman and Byleth...
"They are putting their lessons to good use." Hanneman stroked his chin, a prideful smile appearing on his old face. "Knowing they are applying our advice in the heat of battle, and seeing it work for them...hohoho, nothing makes me feel more pride as a teacher."
"This fight's only just getting started!" Jeralt exclaimed. The tide of battle could shift at any moment, but that was the most exciting and tense part of it all. The battle wasn't over until one class, or even one person, was left standing.
"Give it your all!" Alois exclaimed.
"Yeah, this is getting exciting!" Catherine grinned. Shamir just stood silently with her arms crossed.
"..." Gilbert was also silent, his eyes wandering across the battlefield...
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"You wanna go?" Shez said while staring at a very determined Lysithea. Whereas the younger girl didn't really have a scratch on her, the same couldn't be said for Shez. She had some battle damage, but she was confident that it wouldn't hinder her ability to fight a mage like Lysithea.
"I want to beat you!" Lysithea exclaimed, pointing at Shez. "So don't you dare hold anything back on me! I'm not a kid and can take anything you throw at me, got it!?"
"Works for me!" Shez said with a grin. "I wasn't planning on holding back anyway!" Shez started strong with a sprint forward. All she had to do was close the gap and this battle would be over in a flash! After a few steps, she vanished, only to appear in front of Lysithea while in the midst of a swing. "So give me your best!" Just as Shez swung, she realized something...Lysithea wasn't in front of her. "Huh!?" In fact, Shez was exactly where she started.
Lysithea had her hand out with a smirk. She then placed her hands together, a sphere of dark magic forming within the empty space between her palms. It was a rather large sphere, which she suddenly shot forward without warning as well. "HAH!" The orb of Miasma cut through the air, and Shez brought her swords up to defend against it. The Miasma exploded against Shez's swords, sending her skidding back with some burn marks.
"W-What the hell!?" Shez was shocked. "Did she counter my warp!?"
"I think I know what happened." Arval quickly explained. They barely had any time, because Lysithea was going on the offensive. Another orb of dark magic formed within her hand and she threw it forward; only this time it exploded mid-flight, turning into a bunch of smaller orbs that sought to overwhelm Shez. Shez, with few options, had to try and block and deflect as many of them as she could. "She must have planned for you. I bet she used a Warp spell once you were within her range!"
"No way...!" Shez grit her teeth, a few of the dark magic orbs grazing her body despite her defensive efforts. Lysithea was worthy of the genius title, and this made Shez's pained expression turn into a wide grin. "Okay, so this will be fun...!" She managed to weather the assault of dark magic and took off into a sprint once again. "But she's not the only one with a few tricks up her sleeve!" Shez charged her sword with magic, putting to use a new technique. "Shadow Blade!" She swung her steel sword down, sending a crescent slash towards Lysithea.
"Huh...!" Lysithea clearly wasn't expecting this, and she didn't have the speed to avoid it either. So she crossed her arm, the slash slicing right through her. She winced. This was a magical attack, so she was able to endure it, but it was still quite powerful and it left a noticeable gash on her body. Just as she uncrossed her arms, she saw Shez approaching, while also throwing her unique sword at her. Lysithea watched the blade fly past her, intentionally, and already realized what was about to happen. Dark magic covered her entire arm, and she spun around, clashing with Shez, who teleported behind her. "I knew you'd do that...!"
Shez's blade was blocked by the dark magic on Lysithea's arm. Shez now realized how serious Lysithea was, if she came up with a tactic like this to deal with close combat. "You're really something else, Lys...!" And then Shez did something completely unexpected; she reared her head back, before crashing it into Lysithea's! The both of them recoiled from his headbutt, but Shez thought it was worth it!
"Oooow!? You!?" Lysithea felt the blood drip from her forehead after that impact. Why was Shez like this!?
"How'd you like th-!?" And right after she said that, a blast of white magic from Lysithea's free arm impacted Shez directly. She grunted while tumbling along the ground, before coming to a stop. "Why do I feel so drained...?" One look at Lysithea said why. The younger girl used Nosferatu, which healed the damage she just took. The blood dripping from her forehead came to a halt, and the gash on her chest healed nicely as well. The pain still lingered, but the injury was no longer there.
"Wow, that girl's magic really is something else!" Catherine said while tilting her head. "I'm impressed."
"Lysithea is very talented when it comes to magic. She's pushed herself very hard for these results." Almost too hard, as far as Manuela was concerned. But considering how much of a fight Lysithea could put up, even against an adept close fighter like Shez was incredbile.
"But...she's still a mage." Catherine pointed out. "Most magic users don't last long in a fight like this. All it takes is one good hit from Shez, and she goes down." As an experienced sword fighter herself, she knew the two endings to this story.
"This girl...she's dangerous." Arval said. "It might be wise to turn back and challenge her later..."
"Turn my back now? Absolutely not!" Shez shook her head. Lysithea wanted this fight, and she was going to deliver! Shez was going to win this in one round. "That all you got, Lys? I'm just warming up over here?"
Lysithea furrowed her brows in irritation. Was Shez mocking her!? Oh, she'd regret that. "Alright. I'll make this quick then!" Her pink eyes flashed with her Crest of Gloucster, and she placed her hands on the ground. This prompted three tendrils of dark magic to explode from the ground around her, and lunge towards Shez violently. Lysithea didn't have time for a long, drawn out fight! She was going to put everything into putting Shez down as fast as possible! "Swarm Z!"
"Uh oh." Shez realized her mistake in provoking the proverbial bear. But there was hardly any time to turn back now. Shez darted forward, spinning around with her swords to cleave through the Swarm Z as the tendrils tried to strike her. She didn't forget that getting close would leave her open, and these tendrils were relentless as well. So she pushed off into the air, where the tendrils did follow her. Just as she wanted. Shez crossed her swords and slashed them down in an X formation. A slash of this nature followed suit, splitting through the tendrils and making way towards Lysithea.
"Ah!" Lysithea made a desperate dive to avoid being caught by the incoming slash. She wasn't entirely successful, as she was thrown to the side, tumbling along the ground with some scrapes and bruises. But she made sure not to stay down long either, lifting her eyes to the sky, only to see Shez wasn't there anymore. The realization that she warped struck her, and she quickly glanced around. She spotted the purple haired mercenary incoming and prepared to use Warp to throw off her position, but Shez was prepared for this. Just before Shez could even get that close, she warped again...and again...and again! Every single approach was a fakeout! "I can't keep up...!?"
Shez finally struck Lysithea from the one place she never would've expected: the front. She dashed past her, slashing both swords along the girl's torso for a direct hit! "Got her!" She slid a few feet back, knowing full well that a direct hit against someone this frail, would definitely put them down for the count.
"Ah..." Lysithea's eyes widened as she began to tip forward, but she then slammed her foot on the ground, remaining steady despite what would've normally taken her out in one blow. "N-No...I'm not going to lose to you...!"
"What the..." Shez's eyes widened.
"She's still standing after that!?" Even Arval was surprised. Everyone watching this fight, assumed that Shez would win the moment she got a clean hit. But to everyone's shock, Lysithea refused to go down.
"What tenacity!" Leopold laughed. Despite being so young, Lysithea had the grit of a veteran soldier!
"I knew I could take a single hit like that..." Lysithea had one eye clenched shut. She expected to get pushed this hard by Shez; she was undoubtedly among the strongest students within the academy. If she could beat Shez...
"She won't last another hit." Shez said while getting into a stance. Lysithea's tenacity surprised her, but it took more than tenacity to win a battle! That was something she learned firsthand after Byleth absolutely destroyed her several months ago. "I'll finish this here!"
"Wait!" Arval exclaimed.
One look at Lysithea said it all. She was about to do something. Her Crest of Gloucster was still shining brightly within her eyes. "HAAAAAAAAAAH!" She threw her down, prompting a gigantic whirlwind to erupt underneath Shez and throw her into the air, tossing her around against her will.
"Gaaaaaah!?" Shez cried out from both surprise and pain. She was trying to get her bearings straight, but it felt impossible when she was spinning around so much. But this wasn't the worst part. She could see above her, and how a white magic seal appeared over the tornado. From it, multiple beams of light began to rain down on her. Left with few options, all she could do was swing her swords defensively as the tornado died down, giving her some leeway, but hardly enough to rest. The beams of light sliced her body as they slipped past her defenses, whittling her down slowly. But eventually, the assault stopped. "I held out..."
"It's not over!" Arval warned.
"Huh...?" Shez looked towards Lysithea, and that's when she saw it. Lysithea used those two spells to buy herself some time. The fact that Shez was even still standing after that was a testament to her strength, which is why Lysithea was truly going all out in this moment.
Lysithea had two orbs in both hands. She then brought her hands together, merging these orbs of faith and reason magic together. This turned into a gigantic sphere of the two types of magic. She fused the highest levels of faith and reason magic she had at her disposal, all for the sake of putting down one of the strongest people she'd ever met. "This is everything I have!" She told Shez, a fire burning in her weary gaze. "TAKE THIIIIIIIIS!" She swung her arm down once more, the orb of magic turning into a bright colored beam that aimed to crash down on Shez.
Shez grit her teeth, staring at the mass of magic coming at her in worry and wonder. Would she even be able to withstand something like this!? She didn't have a choice, as it was coming in too hot! She braced herself for impact, screaming as it crashed down on her with a mighty tremor that followed suit. Everyone fighting couldn't help but briefly turn their eyes to this display of magical might near them. The trembling slowly died down, and there was a thick cloud of smoke over Shez's location.
"Holy..." Even Jeralt, in all his years, rarely saw something like that come from a person. Let alone someone of Lysithea's age.
"Shez...?" Byleth was shocked just like everyone else. Even her eyes widened just a little bit at Lysithea's capabilities.
"..." Rhea said nothing, and yet...
"What the hell was that!?" Luke gasped. A lot of the other students who weren't from the Golden Deer were also in shock and awe at that biref display of power.
In the midst of all this, Claude was in an archery shootout with Bernadetta. While the latter's aim greatly improved since the mock battle months ago, Claude wasn't taking her lightly either. But when that explosion of magic occurred, the both of them briefly stopped. "H-HUH!?" Bernadetta yelped.
Realizing this opening, Claude infused his arrow with wind to strike Bernadetta. She realized what was happening and quickly nocked an arrow in turn. The two of them fired at the same time. Claude's arrow collided against Bernadetta, exploding with wind to knock her back and down. Bernadetta, however, didn't plan to take Claude out. Instead, her arrow struck his shoulder, causing him to wince and recoil. "Damn..." Clever shot.
"N-Ngh...you may have gotten me again...but...that's okay...Bernie did a good job." Bernadetta was proud of her performance. She couldn't seek to win, but she used her presence to severely weaken Claude's ability to draw an arrow. So even though she was defeated this time, they both knew she may have lost the battle, but the war might've been won.
Claude took a deep breath, and remained silent. He and the Golden Deer knew what that kind of power was. "This is it, Lysthiea. Let's see what your determination got you..."
Lysithea reached her limit and she knew it. But she refused to collapse until she saw the result. Until that thick cloud of smoke surrounding Shez cleared, she was not going to collapse. Slowly, it did. The smoke dispersed, and there was Shez...still standing. Shez was heavily damaged as a result of that final blast, but at the last moment before impact, she activated her transformation to increase her durabilty and overall power. Using her transformation defensively...she'd never done that before, but Lysithea pushed her to it. "N-No way..."
Shez was standing tall, but she felt pain all over. If it weren't for the adreline constantly pumping through her veins since the Battle of the Eagle and Lion started, she might've passed out. Wordlessly, Shez teleported to Lysithea and punched her in the stomach. With her level of exhaustion, a hit like this was all that was needed to put her down. Lysithea crumbled to the ground, glancing up at Shez one last time. She was annoyed, irritated, yet oddly content as well. She could manage a faint scowl at her own shortcomings...before passing out. "You...were the strongest one I've fought here so far..."
"...Lysithea is unable to continue the battle." Seteth finally reported, and she was warped out after that.
"Wooo! Wow!" Catherine was applauding. "You sure know how to teach 'em, Manuela!"
"Yes...that was a fantastic performance by your student." Hanneman said, giving Manuela praise for her teaching. Even if they didn't always get along, he knew the effort and care his colleague put into teaching.
"Mhm. That was great." Byleth had to praise both Manuela and Lysithea as well.
With the defeat of Lysithea, Claude stared up at the sky. Shez was still active. Honestly, that was the outcome he expected. But the results that led to that outcome? "You surprised me, Lysithea...your idea wasn't so bad after all..." A severely weakened Shez...that was a prime target to pick off, if he could manage it in time.
"Haaah...haaaah..." Shez stumbled a bit, but she let her transformation fade. She took a lot of damage there. She needed a healer to keep her going, otherwise she was just easy pickings...
"What were you thinking!?" Naturally, Arval had to object to Shez's actions. "You could've easily dodged that the moment it came towards you! Why did you take that attack knowing how dangerous it was! You're on the verge of passing out!"
"I had to take it." Shez replied, closing one eye shut.
This only confused Arval. "What do you even mean by that? You took unnecessary damage!"
"I know, but...I had to." Shez said, glancing at the destruction Lysithea caused during their fight. "Lysithea was coming at me with everything she had. It wouldn't have felt right if I just...dodged it. I wanted to take her full strength head on and come out on top, and I did. But, damn...that girl is strong. It was looking really bad there for a few seconds!"
"You almost lost!" Arval chided. But they eventually sighed. Shez had a method to her madness, or maybe she was just mad. Regardless...
"But I feel so much better now." Shez said with a prideful grin. "Is it just me...or has everyone gotten a lot stronger lately...?"
"That's because of you." Arval explained. "I don't know how they were progressing initially, but ever since you arrived, you've been one of the strongest people here. A mercenary shows up, enrolls as a student, and gives everyone a run for their money, and your powers are another factor as well. I can only imagine that everyone is improving so quickly to keep up with you."
"Heh...that kinda feels good." Shez said with a flattered smile. Everyone was working hard to keep up with her, and she was working hard not to fall behind, and catch up with Byleth. The entire Academy was getting stronger at a faster pace, simply due to her presence. "But I can't relax just yet. I'm part of a team, after all..." Which meant, in order to continue supporting the Black Eagles, she needed to get help fas-!
Unfortunately for Shez, the moment she took a step...
"Sorry..." Hapi was standing in front of the weakened Shez now, cutting off her escape route. "I know what you're looking to do...and I'm not about to let that happen."