"Sounds like we were right," Byleth lowered his voice. His students stood behind him as he neared the door to the Holy Mausoleum. "There's a lot of commotion in there."
The cathedral was eerily quiet. Most of Garreg Mach's inhabitants were surrounding the Goddess Tower or crowded on the market streets in celebration of the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth.
"It's said that this is the resting place of Saint Seiros, herself," Ferdinand tried to match his professor's volume. "Could they truly mean to desecrate her body?"
Shamir approached the door and stood next to Byleth and placed her ear within centimeters of the door. "Whatever they mean to do, they're heavily armored."
Byleth turned to face his students, many of them had their weapons at the ready. "Stay in your pairs. Do not leave your partner unguarded."
"According to the maps we found in the library," Shamir took several steps back, "the fighting space is going to be limited. One way in, one way out."
Byleth nodded. "We're not going to have much time to spread out let alone gain the upperhand."
"Or take them by surprise." Shamir finished for him. "If we're spotted while we're still in the bottleneck of the entrance…"
"It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel," Byleth agreed.
"What is the plan, my teacher?" Edelgard tightened the grip on her axe.
Byleth met her gaze as he pondered for a moment. "Shamir and I will go in first. More than likely, we can enter undetected, then we can draw their attention to the sides of the mausoleum. That'll divert their attention from the entrance so you guys can safely get inside."
Shamir didn't add to his plan, only nodded in agreement.
"Then, Bernadetta, Leonie. I want you two first. Bows out and nocked. While their attention is on Shamir and I, you should both be able to get a shot or two in on those closest to the entrance, give the others room to move."
"F-first?" Bernadetta brought her hands together.
"It's okay, Bernie," Leonie rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm your partner, I won't let anything happen to you."
"You are fierce, Bernie, like the huntress," Petra reassured her.
"Leonie," Byleth nodded toward her. "Once you see the enemy beginning to shift, you give the others the signal."
She puffed out her chest and gave him a firm grin.
"Once the rest of you hear Leonie's signal, you come in your pairs. Move to your left or your right, distance yourself from the entrance as soon as you can. Close-quarter fighters, you'll likely face resistance, so stay vigilant. Distance fighters, aim for clustered enemies."
Caspar sheepishly raised his hand in the air as if they were still in class. "What about me, professor? You're my partner."
Byleth gave him a soft smile. Make your entrance with Edelgard and Hubert, and find your way to me. But only if it's safe."
"So I'll be chasing you around the mausoleum, again?" He let out a sigh.
Byleth pursed his lips and nodded, "probably. But I'm counting on you to watch my back."
"That's right, Caspar," Dorothea interjected. "We leave our dear professor in your capable hands."
"Well, when you put it that way… yeah, yeah I can do this!" Caspar pumped his fist into the air.
Byleth gave each of his students another glance, hoping he could remember their faces just as they were now. He knew there was a good chance more blood would be spilled. But he longed to rid himself of the haunting memories of their lifeless bodies.
Finally, he gave a firm nod as he wrapped his hand around the handle of the door that separated them from their enemies.
He locked eyes with Shamir, she held up two fingers and pointed them to herself, and then stuck out her thumb and pointed it behind her.
Byleth nodded. It was a language he understood. She would go in after him and move to her right.
"My teacher," Byleth had been so focused that he nearly jumped and opened the door just as Edelgard's words left her mouth. He turned to face her.
Edelgard's eyes pleaded with him, "please be careful."
He gave her a silent smile. Something he found himself doing more and more often these days.
The door didn't make a sound as he opened it just enough so that he could squeeze through. He kept his palm on the hardwood until he saw Shamir had now a firm grip on the door's edge.
Byleth released his hand and took several steps forward. No one in the corridor. But at the end, a light shone through an archway. Several shadows danced within the light.
As he reached the beginning of the archway, he craned his neck gently. He could have used his sword as a mirror to see inside, but with the shining light, he feared a reflection would give him away.
He counted no less than a dozen enemies that he could see. Shamir was right, most of them were heavily armored. All of their backs were toward him. His eyes scanned the room, many of the pillars that were indicated in the maps he and Shamir found in the library were accurate. He let relief fill his body.
Byleth turned his head to see Shamir a few steps behind him.
Impressive, he had not heard her approach.
Byleth held up four fingers and tapped his opposite forearm three times gently and pointed to his eyes. The taps on his forearm represented the amount of enemies, and his eyes indicated those were the only ones visible.
She nodded in understanding.
Byleth extended his left leg, exposing it through the archway and in one swift motion he turned the corner. He felt exposed.
The mausoleum was more lit than he had expected. An enemy would only need to turn their heads and Byleth would have nowhere to hide. He took several steps to his left, never letting his eyes drift from the soldiers that stood toward the center and back of the room.
He could see Shamir lower her body as her steps quickened but never made a sound as she made her way to the nearest pillar.
Byleth spun his body to place his back against the pillar on his side of the mausoleum. So far so good. But as he assessed their situation, he realized they needed to make it further back in order for his students to safely enter.
It would only take one good archer or one deadly mage to concentrate all of their focus on the single archway and they could take out the whole class without breaking a sweat.
He saw two fingers on the opposite of the room from behind a pillar, motioning toward the back of the room. It seemed he and Shamir were on the same page. They would need to make their way at least two pillars up before gaining the enemy's attention.
Byleth focused on his breathing to ensure it remained steady as he emerged from behind his cover. He lowered his body as Shamir had done, realizing the lit chandeliers could cast his shadow and draw unwanted attention.
He moved forward, toward his next pillar. Byleth's ears were hyper aware, he was certain the only noise he heard was not from them. Several of the heavily armored soldiers readjusted their weight as their armor clinked. He could hear a muffled conversation coming from further back.
Byleth reached his next pillar, positive he had not been seen. He peered his eyes from behind the stone and reassessed their situation. There were more than a dozen. He now counted just over two dozen. One in particular, stood out. His thick armor was such a deep shade of black that it almost reflected like a mirror. His helmet had horns that twisted and reached for the sky.
He must be the one in charge. As much as Byleth favored targeting the enemy's leader first, to cause confusion and disarray within their ranks, he feared what would happen if the two dozen other soldiers were left unattended.
Byleth's confidence grew as he had not heard any commotion that indicated they had been spotted. He lowered his body and stepped quickly out into the open. The final pillar. He took a moment as his feet kept moving to appreciate the silence, for in just a few moments, chaos would ensue.
He pressed his back to the final pillar. He was now firmly in the center of the mausoleum. Should the battle break out now, he was certain their enemies would be facing them and pay little attention to the archway.
Byleth peered out once again. He did not see Shamir, but he had faith in her. He stuck his arm out into the open and extended all five of his fingers before making a fist. Byleth looked once again and saw a thumbs up.
Shamir was in position and acknowledged his plan.
He took a final deep breath and quietly unsheathed his sword. It made no sound. Something he had practiced in his youth for hundreds of hours. With his left hand, he retrieved his knife from his waistband. He was determined to not only draw their attention but to take out as many of them as he could to ensure his students safe entry.
Byleth pivoted on his heel, his eyes immediately focused on a poorly armored archer. He cocked his arm back and sent his dagger flying. It penetrated his temple and he promptly fell to the floor with a thud.
With a deafening collection of clanking armor, suddenly all eyes were on him. He lifted his sword and rested the blade on his shoulder.
Here we go.
"Hey!" Shamir called as she pivoted from behind the pillar. She favored the bow as she released her bowstring. Another thud.
The foes weren't sure where to look. They saw Byleth but heard Shamir. Many darted their heads back and forth before half of them turned their attention to her, and the other half to him.
Byleth darted forward and swung his sword downward and felt the tip of his blade tear through the leather armor of his opponent. He was dead set on not letting Shamir have all the attention.
With a scream, his opponent fell to the ground clutching his chest.
As soon as he fell, another took his place, this one wore thick armor. Byleth prepared to drop to his knee and sever his artery. But before he could, he heard a short FFFTTT and the armored man craned his neck, an arrow protruded from his neck.
Byleth quickly turned his head and saw Bernadetta fumbling to retrieve another arrow from her quiver. Determined to let his students go unnoticed as long as possible, he yelled as loud as he could, "push forward, Shamir!"
He heard the clinking of steel meeting steel. "No problem."
Byleth sprinted forward, sizing up the next in line. He extended his leg and crouched as he spun his body, narrowly missing the armored foe's sword. Byleth slashed his own blade sideways as he stood tall. The burly man fell to the ground as he watched his leg slide across the marble floor. Byleth swiftly stuck his sword in the man's neck to put him out of his misery.
"Move, move!" He heard Leonie shout. He quickly diverted his gaze as he saw Edelgard, Hubert and Caspar emerge from the archway as they kept their backs to the wall, trying to assess their situation.
"Aaarrrg!" Byleth darted his eyes in front of him in time to jump backwards, the man's axe grazed Byleth's stomach. Without hesitation, Byleth swung his blade upward and left a sizable gash in his foe's groin and stomach.
Another ran at him. His sword high above his head. Byleth double stepped to his left and let the man's sword slice the air before thrusting his own blade into the enemy's back.
No time to end their suffering, Byleth thought to himself as he lifted his sword across his head, barely blocking another sword from striking the top of his head. Byleth pushed harder on his blade, trying to parry his armored enemy's sword to gain some distance between them.
"Aaaaah!" Byleth dared not divert his eyes again.
Caspar rapidly approached and swung his axe down on the man's helmet. It made quite a dent, and he began to drunkenly step toward Caspar, dropping his sword. Caspar lifted his axe again, "stay away from our professor!"
Byleth would have relished in Caspar's odd timing to show affection, but instead he deftly pierced the man's thigh and quickly returned his blade to his shoulder.
He gave Caspar a quick nod before several red fireballs flew across the ceiling of the mausoleum. One after another.
"Stay away from her!" Someone screamed. It was a woman, but her voice cracked so severely that Byleth was unable to identify who it was.
He quickly gripped Caspar's arm and began running in the direction of the distressed yell.
"Get away!" Dorothea stood over Petra's oddly calm body resting on the floor. Her hands darted forward, releasing another spell. Then the other hand darted forward with a fireball. Dorothea had amassed quite the pile of fallen enemies in front of her.
As Byleth approached, he could see the tears behind the rage in Dorothea's eyes. "Prof-professor!" She stumbled over her words as she looked down at Petra's body.
Byleth dropped to his knees and rolled her over. Several gashes in her face made her nearly unrecognizable but it was the laceration to her neck that had taken her life. Byleth couldn't help but look into Petra's lifeless eyes as blood continued to squirt from her neck onto his chest.
"Sh-she protected me," Dorothea's voice quivered.
Byleth looked up at her and met her gaze, it was pure horror that filled Dorothea's eyes.
"Oh, my Goddess," Caspar's voice cracked.
Byleth put his hand in front of him and tightened it into a fist. He clenched harder and harder even as he felt his surroundings begin to vibrate. Blurs of light and dark flew all around him.
Finally he released his fist. A sword swung downward, aimed directly at Byleth's head. He quickly stepped to the side and spun his body, severing another leg. He ran toward the opposite side of the room where he knew Dorothea and Petra were.
"Watch out!" Petra called to her as she lifted her sword at the rapidly approaching enemy. She used her arm to push Dorothea hard in the shoulder and she fell to the ground several feet from where she was.
Petra lifted her blade as the enemy raised his axe.
Byleth ran as fast as he could, paying no mind to his surroundings.
Petra swiveled her body at the last second as the enemy brought his axe down but stumbled over his feet and fell to the ground. She quickly thrusted her blade into the center of his back and turned around. Her eyes widened as another heavily armored foe ran toward her.
Byleth threw his body into the air, shoulder first as he collided with the armored man. Both of them tumbled to the ground but Byleth was quicker. He swiftly pushed himself back onto his feet and swung his blade under the man's helmet and severed his exposed neck.
"You have my thanks," Petra gave him a firm nod as Dorothea weakly took her place beside her.
"Eyes forward." Byleth simply stated before dashing toward an archer he saw in the middle of the room. The archer's eyes seemed focused on something as he swiveled his body, aiming.
Byleth spun his body and let his sword sever the archer's side, breaking his focus. He raised his sword and brought it down. The archer fell to the ground.
Byleth felt franticness consume him. A feeling he was not used to during battles. He was usually much clearer of mind.
He stepped forward and slashed his blade across his body. Another step forward and swung his sword backhanded. Each swing of his blade made contact with another foe.
Byleth couldn't think of anything else. He spun and swung his blade. He sidestepped and thrusted his weapon forward. Not a single strike missed their intended target.
He was in a blind rage. The only thought in his mind was to kill. Less enemies, less danger. Byleth never stopped moving his body or his blade. He deftly stepped over the bodies of the ones he struck down only to meet another.
"Archers in the back!" Shamir yelled from across the room.
Byleth blinked several times, suddenly keenly aware of the warm liquid that covered his face and hands.
"Quite a display," He heard a deep, mechanical voice call out, almost amused.
He heard the whistle of another arrow and caught a glimpse of the blur shooting through the air.
Purple hair. Bernadetta's head jerked back as the arrow penetrated her face. Byleth immediately took off running toward her. Leonie swung her lance, spun her body and thrusted her spearhead into another man's neck. "Bernie? Bernie, you okay?"
Byleth slid across the floor as his knees collided with the side of her body. The arrow protruded from her eye as her mouth hung agape.
"Bernie!" Leonie turned her body and screamed. "No, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie." She dropped to her knees next to him. "I-I'm sorry, Bernie!"
Byleth knew what to do. He held his fist out and let the dizzying feeling overwhelm him. Somehow, this time felt different… harder. His head swam as he released his fist.
"Archers in the back!" Shamir yelled from across the room.
Byleth's legs took off running. He saw the archer aiming his arrow. But he was too far away. He no longer had a knife to throw. The archer narrowed his gaze on his target as his fingers twitched.
"Quite a display," This time he ignored the deep, mocking voice.
Byleth lifted his sword above his head and swung it with all of his might. It flew through the air slower than his knife would have. He intensified his stare as he watched his sword pierce the archer in the stomach. But not before he released his arrow.
Byleth snapped his head to look for Bernadetta's purple hair. He found it just in time to watch her head jerk backwards as she fell to the ground.
His eyes frantically darted across the room, wondering what he could do differently.
"Bernie? You okay?"
Byleth held his hand in front of him and made a weak fist.
"What are you doing?" Sothis called out, she breathed hard, "I don't know how much more of this we can take."
"I know, Sothis, but we can't let them die."
"No," her voice firm as Sothis' breathing slowed. "We cannot let the little ones fall. Do it."
Byleth's head swam as he tried to tell up from down. He feared he would fall to the ground, losing the precious seconds he would need to save Bernadetta. The vibrations seemed stronger than before. His head pounded and ached and screamed for him to stop.
He released his fist.
"Archers in the back!" Shamir called out from across the room.
Byleth focused his gaze on Bernadetta. She raised her bow and aimed for another opponent. He broke out into another sprint. His arms pumped to and fro as fast as he could. He dropped his sword without thinking.
"Quite a display," Byleth was already sick of that knight's voice.
Faster. I have to be faster.
"You must do it," Sothis reassured him.
Byleth lept from the ground and threw his arms in front of him. He wrapped them around Bernadetta and he tightened his grip around her body as they both fell hard to the ground. He felt the breeze of an arrow. Byleth let go of Bernadetta and placed his hand on her cheek to forcibly turn her face toward him. He was rewarded with her wide eyes staring back at him, searching for answers.
Bernadetta's eyes rested on the wall behind where she stood. An arrow dug itself barely into the fractured stone. "Th-that arrow, it would've hit me? It wo-would've hit me!"
Byleth's lungs ached for air as he stood and gripped Bernadetta's hand to pull her to her feet. "But it didn't, you're okay. You're okay."
He nodded as he placed both of his hands on her cheeks, keeping her attention on him and him alone. "You're okay, Bernadetta."
His breathing was rapid as he released her from his grip. Byleth's eyes scanned the room and saw Edelgard staring at him, he was sure she witnessed Bernadetta's close call.
Byleth gave her a nod though her wide eyes didn't soften.
"Wait-wait for me, professor," Caspar lagged behind him.
There were many bodies spread across the marble floor. Byleth's eyes darted to each of them, searching for any features that remotely resembled any of his students.
His head swam as his balance felt unsteady. Byleth blinked hard, trying to focus his eyes.
Only a handful of enemies remained. And the knight who sat upon his horse.
Byleth took several steps forward and leaned down to grip his sword by it's hilt. He nearly fell forward but straightened his stance. He felt drunk.
But he couldn't stop now. It was almost over.
Shamir struck down another enemy and turned her gaze to the next.
Byleth was confident the few that remained could be handled by her and the students. He took several weak steps toward the knight. His feet barely managed to lift from the floor. His grip was weak on the hilt of his sword. He could hear the tip of his blade scrape against the marble ground.
As he neared the mysterious knight, the large man dismounted his horse. The clanging of his dark, heavy armor echoed through the mausoleum.
"You seem as if you should have a name," Byleth tried to make his voice strong, but his breathing gave away his fatigue. "Dressing fancier than the others, you clearly wanted to stand out."
"They call me the Death Knight," His deep voice was amplified by his helmet. "But you may call me your salvation, for I will free you from this wretched life."
Byleth let out an exaggerated laugh, "why do you all have 'death' in your names? Do you think it somehow makes you more dangerous?" He tightened his grip on his sword as he lifted it and gently laid it on his shoulder. In truth, there wasn't a muscle within him that didn't ache. His head was still spinning but he tensed his body in a feeble attempt to hide it.
"You dare mock the Death Knight?" The knight's helmet betrayed no emotion.
"I do," Byleth raised his voice.
"My teacher!" It was Edelgard's voice he heard. But he did not turn to face her.
"I've slayed hundreds, maybe thousands just like you," Byleth continued as his eyes narrowed, searching for any twitch that might give away a sudden attack. He felt a warmth drip down his lip as he quickly wiped his sleeve against his nose.
"Not like me, I assure you," the Death Knight extended his arms. In his right hand he held a lance. No, not just any lance Byleth assessed his weapon. It was a scythe. "You'll see soon enough."
With a swift motion, the Death Knight swung his scythe across his body. Byleth dropped to his knees and felt his hair move with the breeze and heard a loud WHOOSH.
He thrusted his sword toward his favorite spot but heard a hard clank as the tip of his blade was met with armor.
Of course his thighs would be armored.
Byleth scrambled to his feet as he struggled to keep his balance. An overhead swing with the scythe and yet another WHOOSH.
Byleth turned on his heel and spun his body toward the Death Knight's side, he swung his sword as hard as he could but felt it deflect off his armor with another loud CLANK.
Byleth stepped back, he wanted to put distance between them. His enemy's scythe had a long reach and a very intimidating sound but he was slower.
This time, he took the offensive. He swung his blade over his head, the Death Knight made no attempt to block it. His blade bounced off his helmet without so much as a dent. Byleth immediately swung his sword across his body, another CLANK. A backhanded swing, another CLANK.
Byleth's eyes studied the Death Knight with each swing, hoping to see some exposed skin somewhere. At the very least, perhaps he could drain his stamina. Throw him off balance, anything.
The Death Knight stepped backward and swung his long scythe once again, lower this time, aiming for Byleth's legs. He jumped over the blade and swung his sword and struck the Death Knight in the arm, another CLANK.
He heard swift footsteps approaching. Shamir jumped into the air and spun her body, her blade twisted with her. Her blade bounced off the Death Knight's chest armor. The large knight cocked his arm and backhanded her.
She went flying into the air, only landing after what seemed like an eternity. Byleth stared at her body on the floor and only released his breath after he saw her arms push herself back onto her feet.
A small purple ball of light came from nowhere and struck the Death Knight in his shoulder. Byleth quickly turned to see there were no more enemies behind him. His students approached cautiously.
The Death Knight swung his arm behind him. It was then Byleth saw a solitary mage looking on in horror. "Retrieve it! This won't take long."
The mage stumbled but began to run to the very back of the room. Whatever he was doing would have to wait.
Byleth didn't imagine the Death Knight would let him or any of his students pass.
He swung his large scythe again, low, once again aiming for his legs. Byleth jumped lower this time and landed firmly on the blade of his weapon, holding it in place. He swung his sword at the knight's wrist but it only bounced off.
The Death Knight seemed unphased, he pulled on his scythe with more strength than Byleth expected, pulling it out from under his feet. Byleth stumbled and struggled to stay on his feet, but his surroundings spun, his head still swam. He fell to the ground.
The knight lifted his scythe above his head.
Byleth shook his head, trying to rid himself of the dizziness that plagued his head.
"No, stop!" Edelgard ran forward.
But it was too late, his scythe came down with such force that Byleth was unable to determine where it would land. But he could guess.
A flash of white. Then red and black. Byleth blinked several times, trying to focus his eyes. Edelgard stood before him, her back faced him. Her brilliant white hair swayed with her motion.
The Death Knight took several steps back as he released his grip on his scythe. Each step echoed through the silent mausoleum.
Edelgard's head lowered. Byleth saw something protruding from her back, between her shoulders.
Her body became stiff and she fell to her side with a loud THUD. Byleth crawled the best he could and put his hand on Edelgard's shoulder. The scythe pierced her square in the chest. Her mouth moved but he couldn't hear any sound other than gurgling.
"Edelgard!" Byleth placed a hand on the back of her head. Her eyes darted back and forth as if she was following something he couldn't see.
"No!" Hubert bellowed as he ran to stand above her. "No!" His eyes became crazed.
"Stay with me." Byleth whispered, hoping with everything he had that his words would reach her. "Please, Edelgard. Please, please."
Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth as her eyes rested on his. She smiled as she swallowed hard.
"I know what we must do," Sothis's weary voice confirmed his thought process. "We will do it together."
"Stay strong, Sothis," Byleth whispered, he felt a wetness drip from his eyes as he kept his focus on Edelgard's face.
He lifted his hand over Edelgard's chest and made a fist. He dared not think what would happen if he didn't have the strength to do it again.
"We can," Sothis read his mind. "We will do it again."
Byleth clenched his fist. His strength seemed to be drained from his body, but he clenched harder. The vibrations were weak, his surroundings had not blurred.
"Harder!" Sothis encouraged him.
He tightened his fist as hard as he could, perhaps, even harder. The vibrations grew stronger and stronger, his head became fuzzier as it swayed. Byleth closed his eyes as the blurs swirled around him.
Byleth could keep his fist tightened no more. He opened his eyes. He laid on the ground as the Death Knight raised his scythe high above his head.
"No, stop!" Edelgard screamed as she ran toward them.
Byleth rolled on the floor as fast as he could and collided with Edelgard, tripping her. She fell on top of him.
He heard a loud CLING as the scythe collided with the marble floor. Byleth let his adrenaline take over as he stood and gripped Edelgard's shoulder. He pushed her back and she fell into Hubert's waiting arms. "Keep her there."
Hubert gave him a firm nod as Edelgard attempted to push herself from him.
The Death Knight took several steps toward Byleth. Byleth moved across the room to distance himself from his students. It was obvious the knight had only one objective, him. The Death Knight followed him, oblivious to the Black Eagles.
"My teacher!" Edelgard yelled. Hubert struggled to keep her steady in his arms, not allowing her to break free.
"You must stay here, Lady Edelgard." Hubert's voice sounded more solemn than usual, "please forgive me."
"Let me go at once!" Edelgard squirmed and struggled.
Byleth sheathed his sword, an action that seemed to take the Death Knight by surprise.
"Confident, are we?" His deep voice taunted Byleth.
No, he thought to himself. Just a new tactic.
Weapons weren't working, not with armor such as his. But armor that sturdy was bound to be extremely heavy. Whoever was underneath all of those layers had to be strong to carry it.
The Death Knight cocked his arm and swung his scythe once again. Byleth jumped backwards as the blade narrowly missed him. He immediately skipped forward and brought his leg up and kicked the knight square in the chest.
The Death Knight stumbled backwards, he struggled to regain his balance.
Weakness.
Byleth grinned as he wiped his nose clean of the blood he knew was going to be there. He bounced on his feet, determined to stay as agile as possible.
The knight galloped forward a few steps and brought his scythe down from over his head. Byleth sidestepped the strike and lifted his leg once again, his foot collided with the Death Knight's side. The knight's feet stepped over one another, trying to stop the momentum by his kick.
Byleth used this opening to sidestep to the Death Knight's back as he cocked his leg again. This time he brought all of his weight behind his leg as he kicked the knight as high on his back as he could.
The Death Knight fell forward onto his face. Byleth approached him as he tried to push himself off the ground. He gripped the knight's scythe by his handle and tried to pull it from his grasp. The knight tightened his grip on his weapon as he struggled to keep it in his possession.
Suddenly, he rolled onto his back. Byleth instinctively jumped back, unsure if he would have to dodge another attack.
Instead, the Death Knight let his voice echo across the room, "I didn't expect to encounter someone like you…"
Byleth hesitated, unsure if he should move to the offensive again or if he should prepare to avoid a frenzied attack.
"How fortunate."
Byleth furrowed his brow. But before he could say anything. The Death Knight seemed to be enveloped in a white light. Byleth covered his eyes with one hand as he squinted to see what was happening.
The white light streaked rapidly toward the ceiling and he was gone.
Byleth scanned the mausoleum but saw no trace of his adversary. But someone else caught his attention. A single mage trying to push the grave cover from its tomb.
"Our adrenaline is fading, I can feel it," Sothis's voice was strained. "You must hurry and end this."
Byleth sprinted to the back of the mausoleum just as the mage reached inside the small opening he created and revealed a white sword.
As Byleth approached him, the mage seemed to panic, he held the sword out in front of him. He was not accustomed to wielding weapons, that much was obvious.
He unsheathed his sword and with a quick swing, the white sword flew into the air. Byleth reached out and effortlessly grabbed it by its hilt. His eyes ran up and down the sword. It wasn't metal, it was… something else. There was a hole just above the hilt that looked as if it was meant to hold something. He dropped his metal sword and held it in his right hand.
Suddenly the sword began to glow. It was subtle at first. Then it grew brighter and brighter.
The mage backed up and began to cup his hands, a red flame formed between his fingers.
Byleth snapped his arm down and the sword extended into a chain of white blocks. He swung his arm above his head and the chain struck the mage in the chest, tearing his flesh from his bones.
He didn't seem surprised. Byleth somehow felt as if he knew this sword. He cocked his arm back and the chain neatly snapped back together to form a solid sword once again.
Byleth turned his body to see his students staring at him, wide eyed as they slowly approached him.
"My teacher," Edelgard's words seemed unsure.
Byleth gave the sword another look before turning his gaze to Edelgard and shrugged. He was just happy to see her alive. No, to see them all alive.
Edelgard sat at her desk and stared at the quill that laid motionless over her blank papers.
She had so many questions, but none that she would dare vocalize.
Rhea seemed overjoyed at the fact that Byleth had wielded that Sword of the Creator, she didn't even question how such a thing might be possible without its crest stone. But Edelgard did. Every hero's relic needed a crest stone, and the right wielder.
What she saw should not have been possible. It was as if the sword came to life just with his touch alone.
It only confirmed what she knew. There was something special about her teacher, more than she could have ever dreamed.
Not only did he best the Death Knight, forcing him to retreat, but once again, he seemed to be in many places at once.
The most impressive being tackling Bernadetta to the ground a fraction of a second before it would have been a fatal shot. It was almost as if he knew that it was going to happen.
Edelgard's fingers lifted the quill from her desk. She delicately dipped it into the inkwell before pressing its nib against the paper.
It seemed as more time passed, she discovered something new about Byleth that not only impressed her, but left her in awe.
Her quill scratched the paper beneath it.
How could he wield such a powerful weapon without a crest stone?
Edelgard's hand moved frantically as the nib drew on her parchment.
She even saw him tackle an enemy that had taken Petra by surprise. The next thing she knew, he was running clear across the mausoleum to save Bernadetta.
Edelgard's focus on her paper grew more intense as she rapidly moved her quill back and forth.
It appeared her teacher could read their enemy's minds, knowing what they would do next. He deftly identified weaknesses as fast as he unsheathed his sword.
She smiled as she saw a picture begin to form on her parchment. But she wasn't satisfied yet.
Perhaps best of all, Byleth protected her. Though she was certain the Death Knight would not harm her, he pushed her out of harm's way, believing her to be in danger.
Edelgard's heart began to flutter as she stared at her parchment. She hadn't gotten his eyebrows just right. His intense, mysterious gaze could use some work as well. But it was her first portrait. She crumpled the paper between her hands and tossed it in the tin can next to her desk.
Edelgard pulled another piece of parchment from her drawer and began again.