Byleth knocked on the door to Rhajat's room. She was a bit surprised that the diviner wasn't walking around quite yet. There was no response. Byleth knocked again, with a bit more force. Still nothing. She then heard a bang of something hitting the floor.
"Rhajat? Are you okay?"
The silence returned. Byleth tried to open the door, but it was locked. The door then clicked, and she turned the knob. She slowly pushed it open. "Rhajat...?" She turned on the light, only to find Flayn on the floor. She was barely conscious.
"Flayn!"
"...Professor..."
Byleth ran to her side. "What is she...? I'd better get her to the nurse's office..."
Byleth picked her up and carried her on her back. She ran outside of Rhajat's room, and started making her way to the infirmary.
"Professor!" Camilla exclaimed as she saw her. "I just heard a scream from Professor Jeritza's quarters! Wait... is that Flayn?!"
"I found her in Rhajat's room. I think she needs medical attention." Byleth explained.
"Now that you mention it... I haven't seen Manuela..." Camilla realized. "She's not in the infirmary... Come with me! We need to investigate that scream, it could've been Manuela!"
Byleth hesitated, then nodded as she followed the princess. They quickly arrived at Jeritza's quarters, and found the rest of the dragons waiting for them.
"Flayn!? You found her!?" Shiro exclaimed.
"Yes, but what's going on here?" Byleth asked.
"Professor Manuela..." Selkie mumbled as she pointed at her body. "We just found her like this."
"Is she injured?" Byleth wondered.
"She needs medical attention!" Corrin said panicking.
"Wait... she's pointing at something." Caeldori followed the path with her eyes and the group noticed something behind the shelf.
"A secret passage?" Corrin said, confused.
Suddenly, Hannerman entered the room. "What is the meaning of... Wait, is that Manuela?! And Flayn!? What happened here? We must take them to the infirmary immediately. Lady Camilla! Please help me carry her."
"Right." She replied with a nod. Byleth gave Flayn to her, and sat her on her back. She then pulled up Manuela and put the nurse's arm over her shoulder as Hannerman took the other. They carried her away, leaving Byleth and the dragons.
"Where did you find Flayn?" Asugi asked.
"In Rhajat's room. No idea what she was doing there." Byleth explained. "Wait... I almost forgot, where is she?"
"I haven't seen her all day..." Forrest mumbled.
"You found Flayn there right? You don't think..." Caeldori began. "She had something to do with Flayn's disappearance?"
"Of course not!" Corrin snapped. "Why would she kidnap Flayn?" Corrin seemed offended that she'd even suggest that.
"You're right... sorry." Caeldori had her problems with Rhajat, but even she had to admit this seemed too far for her.
Velouria started sniffing. "Wait... I smell Rhajat! I think she's in that passage!"
"She could be in danger!" yelled Corrin. Before anyone could ask what to do, Corrin ran down the stairs.
"Corrin!" Byleth followed her, and the rest of the class was close behind.
"Damn, who knew Professor Jeritza had all this in his quarters..." Shiro said as they ran to find Corrin.
"It's sure suspicious..." Velouria pointed out.
The team continued their mission to find Corrin and Rhajat. Byleth was a bit surprised to see the former so angry and upset. She knew Corrin was a kind hearted person who cared about her friends, but she still wasn't expecting such a violent reaction. Byleth put up her hand to order the team to stop. The sight made everyone's blood run cold. Up ahead was Corrin, standing in front of the Death Knight.
"Tell me where she is, NOW!" Corrin yelled.
The death knight looked past her, noticing Byleth. "That sword. You must be... One of us will die, the other will live. I will enjoy this dance of damnation." Ignoring the girl in front of him, he turned around and walked away.
"Hey! Get back here!"
"Corrin! Calm down!" Asugi scolded. "If we're freaking out, there's no way we'll find her."
Corrin turned around and looked at everyone, before sighing. "You're right... sorry..."
"It's fine. Just don't run off like that again." Forrest told her.
"Now, let's follow him." Byleth suggested.
Everyone nodded, and let Byleth lead them deeper inside. They soon come across a more open room, filled with enemies. Everyone took a battle position, seeing no choice but to fight their way through.
Corrin took a deep breath. "Okay... Rhajat's gotta be here somewhere." She looked behind her and saw an odd mechanism on the floor. "I wonder what that is... Should we step on it?"
"Shiro, Forrest, Asugi, do you mind checking those out? The rest of us will head the other way." Byleth requested.
"Yeah, let's go guys!" Asugi said before heading off to inspect the mechanism with Forrest and Shiro behind him. Asugi stepped on it, and vanished into a flash of purple light. Everyone looked at the space in surprise.
"I'm okay!" They heard Asugi exclaim, seemingly from the other side of the wall. It seemed to be a teleporter. Shiro and Forrest ran into the mechanism as well to back him up, and the rest walked down the only path forward to them, only to find five enemies. One had a sword, two had lances, and two had bows. They quickly rushed them, catching them off guard. The sword wielder was in front and attacked Byleth. She lifted her sword in order to block it, but the sword was knocked out her hand. Her arm was also sliced, and before the arrows could start raining down on them, Byleth triggered divine pulse.
The rest walked down the only path forward to them, only to find five enemies. One had a sword, two had lances, and two had bows. Byleth sliced her sword at the blade wielding foe, catching them off guard. Selkie transformed and started spinning around the field. She hit one of the archers, but the other shot her with an arrow, breaking her flow and making her stop and fall onto her stomach. Velouria ran to her side and sliced at the enemy before grabbing Selkie and jumping out of the way. Corrin, also transformed, tackled both of the lance foes. Caeldori threw her lance and hit them both, lowering their numbers by two. The archers attacked Corrin with their bows, but the arrows bounced off of her. Byleth slashed the sword user, finishing them off, then started swinging the sword of the creator rapidly, which took out one of the archers. A recovered Selkie picked off the remaining archer with a kick, giving them more breathing room.
"Damn... I had to use a divine pulse charge that early... hope the rest of this area won't be so dangerous." Byleth mumbled to herself.
Magic went hurling towards Byleth, but Corrin manages to destroy it with a slice of her sword before it made contact.
"Professor, is everything okay?" Corrin asked.
"Yeah, thanks." Byleth replied. "Now come on." Byleth ran towards the next batch of enemies, who began to attack. Two of them shot magic at Byleth, but she sliced both of the shots into nothing. As they came into sight, the lance immediately went for Byleth, as did the sword.
Velouria rushed in and caught the sword with her claws, leaving an opening for Byleth to go after the lance. Byleth swung and wrapped her sword around the lance and pulled it out of their hands, and it went flying into the sword user. Velouria grabbed the sword using mercenary and threw them into the mages. Selkie and Corrin both transformed, and charged into both mages. Selkie grabbed one with her teeth and shook them around before throwing them away, and Corrin tackled the other into a wall. Corrin noticed one of the defeated enemies holding a key. She picked it up and looked ahead, seeing a locked door.
"Do you think we're safe to open it? There's probably more enemies behind the door." Corrin asked Byleth.
Byleth nodded. "I think so, we've got to progress somehow. Give me the key though, I'll take the lead."
Corrin complied and gave her professor the key. Byleth walked up to the door and opened it, and as they expected, there were soldiers beyond it.
An axe wielding rogue was the first to attack, rushing Byleth. She dodged the attack, and shot magic at the axe user. Caeldori quickly followed up with her lance, easily defeating them. Velouria, to Caeldori's surprise, pushed her classmate out of the way. She hadn't noticed the arrow barreling towards her until it hit the beast. Selkie noticed a damaged wall and smashed her way through it. On the other side of it, she saw the archer who was aiming another shot. She quickly ran towards them and grabbed them with her teeth. She threw them in the air and headbutted them as they fell back down.
"They're gone!" Selkie exclaimed.
Before anyone had time to rest, two balls of magic came from above. Byleth was able to dispatch them by swinging her sword. With the key Caeldori got from the axe, she quickly opened the door, and Corrin ran towards them. She swung her sword at them both stunning them. Byleth picked them off with her magic, finishing them off. With some newly found breathing room, the 5 took a second to rest.
"Thank you Velouria... I should've been paying closer attention..." Caeldori said, looking rather apologetic.
"It didn't hurt too much." Velouria said with a shrug. She would've responded more snarkily if it wasn't for the fact that she already looked like she felt plenty bad.
"If everyone's okay, we should continue."
Everyone nodded at Byleth before continuing their trek. They walked through the opening Selkie made, passing to the other side. They came across a few bodies, and looking forward they noticed Shiro finishing someone off.
He then looked up and smirked at the others. "Took you guys long enough."
Forrest giggled. "He says that, but there just weren't too many enemies on the other side. We took them all out and got here, so we took out any soldiers we saw."
"No problem for us, you picked the right guys for the job Professor." Asugi bragged.
"Looks like I did." Byleth said with a nod. They walked up towards the trio, who were standing in front of a door.
"I can sense something on the other side... something strong." Forrest said.
"Must be the Death Knight..." Corrin mumbled. "We have to take him on ourselves this time."
"I can unlock this door whenever." Asugi reminded her.
Byleth looked around to see all of her students with expressions of grim determination. To everyone's surprise, she smiled softly. "We can do this."
"R-right!" Corrin said, a bit surprised by her expression.
"Open the door Asugi." Byleth instructed.
Asugi did as told and picked the lock with ease. They opened the door, revealing a few more enemies, along with the Death Knight. Behind them, was an unconscious Rhajat, and on the floor next to her was an unconscious redhead. It took everything for Corrin to not charge past them to save her.
The death knight stared at them without saying a word. He looked straight at Byleth.
"Now you will die together... How joyous."
"Let her go!" Corrin exclaimed.
"I don't take orders from you." He replied. "Keep an eye on the captive." He told the other soldiers in the room.
"Stay calm Corrin." Byleth replied. "We can take him."
The Death Knight charged towards them, prompting Velouria to do the same. She caught the lance between two of her claws stopping him in his tracks, but with a bit more force he kept going. This broke Velouria's stance pushing her backward, and without missing a beat the death knight impaled her arm.
Byleth swung her sword to grab his lance which gave Velouria breathing room, but the Death Knight pulled the sword right out of her hands. Forrest used the opening to heal up his friend, while the Death Knight ran towards Byleth and sent her flying. Asugi threw one of his shurikens at him, doing no damage but at the very least making him a bit weaker. Selkie ran towards the sword of the creator and grabbed it in her mouth. She leapt over the death knight and stood in front of Byleth, before throwing her the sword.
"Thank you."
The Death Knight felt something hit him, and he turned his head to see Shiro rushing him. Before he could rush to him, Corrin jumped into the air and swiped her sword at the death knight. The knight retaliated but Corrin jumped back before transforming into her dragon form. She shot her breath at him, stunning him for a second. Caeldori rushed in with her lance and stabbed at him a few times before quickly retreating. Selkie then spun circles around the death knight. She jumped and tackled him, but he sliced at her, knocking her back. Forrest quickly rushed to heal her as well, catching the Death Knight's attention. He ran towards Forrest, who started firing magic at him. While it did hurt him, it wasn't enough to stop his assault. Byleth swung her sword again, and wrapped it around his steed's legs. The horse fell over, leaving the knight vulnerable.
Asugi threw shurikens at him, weakening him further despite their lack of power. Velouria jumped towards the knight and sliced him in the back. The Death Knight swung his lance in a circle before standing back up, getting the pressure off of him. Forrest attacked him with another ball of magic, and Shiro threw his lance at the knight's head. It got stuck inside his mask, which he pulled back out and threw back at Shiro. Shiro was barely able to dodge it before reclaiming it. Caeldori flew past his left side while stabbing at him, then did the same to his right. The Death Knight grabbed her pegasus' wing, shocking both it and Caeldori. He slammed the two into the ground and lifted his lance. Selkie dashed towards them and pushed them out of the way before the lance could land.
While he was distracted, Corrin prepared to slash him in the back while Shiro readied his lance. With a spin, he used his combat art knightkneeler, making contact at the same time as Corrin's jump slash. For the first time, the death knight took a significant amount of damage as he grunted in pain. Byleth wrapped her sword around the horse's leg again, but before she could knock him over the Death Knight stabbed at her sword, sending it back to its owner.
Selkie surprised the Death Knight with a tackle on his side, nearly knocking him off his horse. Velouria followed up on the opening by rushing to the knight and tackling him with her shoulder. The Death Knight fell over as the horse began to panic. Velouria grabbed the horse and threw it to the other side of the arena, before jumping and slamming down on the Death Knight. Forrest and Asugi shot their respective projectiles at the knight, they fused together as Velouria jumped out of the way and the attack made contact. The Death Knight put his lance into the ground to help him stand back up. He jumped into the air and nearly flew over to his horse, putting them back together.
Caeldori rushed the Death Knight, and had her weapon knocked out of her hands. Shiro managed to catch the lance, and hit the Death Knight with both of them. He stabbed with one, then stabbed with the other as quickly as he could. He threw the lance back at Caeldori, and she flew up before slamming her lance on the crown of the knight's head. A transformed Corrin and Selkie both donkey kicked the knight on opposing sides, dazing the knight a bit.
"Death Knight, allow us to help!" One of the remaining goons suggested.
"No... I will kill them myself..." He replied. He seemed to be running low on stamina.
Byleth and Forrest fired magic that fused before hitting him, prompting him to run towards them. He sliced at Forrest, but Byleth stopped the attack with her sword. Forrest blasted the knight point blank, sending him flying backwards. As he was in the sky, Caeldori stabbed him while flying upwards, then moved out of the way to let him fall back on the ground. Asugi ran up to the stunned knight and started slicing with his shuriken, finally doing damage.
He jumped backwards, and to his surprise as well as the rest of the team, the Death Knight stood back up. "I must admit... your strength is formidable. However... I will... I must spill your blood..." The Death Knight began to laugh. "I can't wait... to see the life and hope leave your eyes..."
"I won't let you." Byleth replied defiantly. "My students will not die today. No matter what it takes, I won't let you hurt them. We'll save Rhajat and fight another day."
"Say what you will woman... Words will not save you. If that were the case, I wouldn't be here." The Death Knight charged towards Byleth. Before she could react, a purple flash of light showed up in front of her. Once it vanished, there was someone in large red armor wielding an axe. The new person swung their axe, pushing the death knight away from Byleth.
"Halt, you're having a bit too much fun." They said.
"You are getting in the way of my game.' He replied with frustration.
"Hmph. You'll have more opportunities to play soon. Your work here is done."
"Understood. I will go..." He looked towards Byleth before vanishing in a similar flash of light to the person in armor, as did the living soldiers.
Said armored person turned towards Byleth. "We will cross paths again. I am the Flame Emperor... It is I who will reforge the world." Before anyone could question them, they teleported away.
"The flame emperor!?" Shiro said in confusion. "What kinda guy is he...? What did he want?"
"Who knows..." Asugi replied. "What a weirdo... Either way, we should save Rhajat and that girl!"
"Yeah... we're coming!" Corrin exclaimed.
She ran towards Rhajat who was still unconscious in the chair. She slowly came to, and looked at her crush. "...Corrin?"
"Rhajat!" Corrin wrapped her arms around her. "You're okay!"
"Yeah... you all... really came for me..." Rhajat sounded a bit in disbelief.
"You know it." Asugi reassured. "Corrin was so worried about you. She almost fought the Death Knight herself."
Corrin blushed as she looked away. "I... yeah..."
Rhajat looked at her in surprise. She then started giggling a bit creepily. "I see..."
"Um anyway." Caeldori interrupted. "How'd you get here Rhajat?"
Rhajat looked a bit thoughtful. "I... I'm not sure. I had a dream... someone called for me. They said if I came with them, they'd let Flayn go... They asked me a bunch of questions while I was asleep, about my heritage."
"That's concerning... Who could that have been? That does explain why we found Flayn in your room..." Forrest pointed out. "Well whatever, we'll worry about that another time. I'm just glad you're okay."
"Indeed." Byleth added.
Rhajat looked at Byleth in surprise. "Professor... were you smiling?"
Byleth felt her face. "...Huh. I... guess I am." Byleth wasn't a person who wore her emotions on her face. So this even surprised her. "I guess I'm just... happy you're safe. We should go though. Velouria, can you carry the redhead? And Corrin, can you carry Rhajat?"
Corrin and Rhajat both blushed, but Corrin nodded. "Alright. Come on Rhajat." Corrin turned around and crouched down, and Rhajat grabbed onto her.
"You got it." Velouria walked over to the unfamiliar girl and picked her up.
"Yay! Everyone's safe!" Selkie exclaimed.
Selkie's enthusiasm caused everyone to smile. Everyone retreated for the time being, taking the girls to the infirmary.
…
Seteth wiped his eyes. He still couldn't believe that Flayn was alive and well. He turned towards Byleth. "Professor... Please, allow me to express my eternal gratitude once more. Flayn is safe and sound, and I have you to thank for that. Mere words could never express how thankful I am. I...I am indebted to you."
"I couldn't have done it without the students." Byleth said. "Especially Rhajat."
"Yes, of course. I shall express my gratitude to the students as well."
Byleth folded her arms in confusion. "But why was Flayn taken to begin with?"
Seteth's expression darkened. "Her kidnapper was the masked knight who vanished during the Rite of Rebirth. The one known as the Death Knight. Considering the circumstances, it seems plausible to assume that his true identity is Jeritza. And we cannot forget about the mysterious Flame Emperor... His true motives are yet unclear. However, I have an idea. I believe the enemy may have been after Flayn's blood. The blood that flows through her veins is special. It is extremely rare...and extremely dangerous. If enemies who know the secrets of Flayn's blood have appeared, our only option is to leave the monastery and go into hiding."
"Brother, wait." Flayn said walking into the room.
Seteth scowled. "Flayn?! What are you doing here? You should be resting!"
Flayn looked at him sadly. "I do not like the path of your thoughts. I do not wish to live in some lonely, remote location where I never get to see anyone. Not ever again."
Seteth found himself a bit frustrated. "If we stay here, you may be targeted again! Wouldn't it be better for the two of us to live in peace?"
"Even if we ran off to some new, secret location, there is no guarantee that they would not find us." She explained. "That is why I believe it would be safest to stay in the monastery, where we are surrounded by capable knights and professors."
Seteth relented slightly. "I see your point, I do. However..."
It was then Flayn started smiling again. "You know it is the only reasonable option. What if I were to join the professor's class?"
"That is a great idea." Byleth replied.
"You think so too? I am so very pleased to hear that! With a professor like you nearby, I shall be safe no matter what foe should appear!" Flayn seemed reassured now.
"I see. I am afraid you have a good point. Professor... Due to my position, I have closely scrutinized everything about you. After all that has happened, I must admit that you are indeed...a trusted ally. So, what say you? Can I entrust you with Flayn's safety?" Seteth admitted.
"It would be my pleasure."
Seteth smiled softly. "I shall speak with the archbishop immediately. Please... Promise to look after Flayn. She is all I have."
"I am so glad that Flayn is safe. Yet I can't help but wonder what the story is about that other girl. She wore the uniform of the academy. But who is she?" Sothis wondered inside Byleth's heart.
…
"I cannot believe you!" A voice shouted filled with rage.
"YOU OBTAINED HER BLOOD CORRECT? WHAT ELSE DID YOU NEED?"
"That's not the point! She got away, because of you!"
"I NEEDED TO KNOW OF THAT GIRL'S ORIGINS. I DID NOT GET MUCH, SHE WAS STUBBORN."
"I don't care what you wanted! The least you could've done was let us know what you were going to do!"
The voice laughed. "AS IF YOU WOULD HAVE RELENTED. YOU PEOPLE HATE THOSE NABATAEANS. OUR COOPERATION IS ONE OF CONVENIENCE, NOT OF FRIENDSHIP. DO NOT FORGET THIS!"
"As if I'd forget that..." The first voice said. "Do NOT do that again."
"I WILL DO WHATEVER I MUST! WHATEVER IT TAKES! DO NOT BELIEVE FOR A SECOND THAT YOU HAVE ANY POWER OVER ME!"
The first voice sighed. "Whatever... Like you said, we did get her blood. That is what is most important." The first voice walked away, leaving the second by himself.
"HUMANITY... ARROGANT AS ALWAYS..."
…
Seteth and Camilla waited around the infirmary, allowing the girls they found to rest along with Manuela. Corrin waited by Rhajat's bed, both of them having fallen asleep.
"I doubt Jeritza will return to the monastery..." Seteth mused. "I'm not sure what we'll do with the Black Eagle house..."
Camilla looked towards Corrin. She smiled softly, glad to see that she had grown so much. She wasn't sure if she needed her supervision at this point, as sad as it made her to say. "Maybe... I can take over?"
"The house?" Seteth said with surprise. "Hm... I'd have to discuss that with the archbishop. For now, I'm just glad that no one was killed. Manuela... Byleth... everyone fought so hard for my sister. I will never be able to pay them back."
"You don't have to. We're friends aren't we?" Camilla asked.
Seteth paused, before laughing. "We're already friends? Well... it's not like I mind. Thank you, Lady Camilla."
Meanwhile Flayn looked the bed over, at Rhajat. The girl who saved her life. That was a kindness she'd never forget. She knew Rhajat didn't have to do that, nor had she expected her to. Rhajat took a major risk just to keep her safe, a girl she barely knew.
"...Thank you, my sister."
