Both the Golden Deer and the Blue Lions had already been carving their way toward the other side of the mausoleum by the time Kratos and the Death Knight had started to confront one another. From one side, Byleth and her students made quick work of the first wave of soldiers blocking their path before arrows started to fly towards them from further down. This forced them to take cover while Claude, Leonie, and Ignatz tried to find an opportunity to fire back, with Lorenz and Lysithea attempting to support them with their magic. Unfortunately, the numbers were not on their side.

Leonie peeked out from behind a pillar, narrowly avoiding an arrow that whizzed past her. "This isn't looking good! They're not giving us any openings!"

"No kidding," Ignatz muttered as he fumbled with another arrow. "There's too many of them. I can't get a good shot without exposing myself."

Lorenz cast a quick fire spell toward the archers, forcing them to duck before ducking back to safety himself. "This is precisely why we should have brought more mages. A well-placed spell could have cleared them out by now."

"Right, because we have so many mages to spare, Lorenz." Lysithea shot back as she readied another spell. "If you're so confident, why don't you go out there and show them how it's done?"

Claude managed a grin despite the situation. "Hey now, there's no need to fight among ourselves. Besides, I don't see you rushing in either, Lysithea."

The white-haired mage huffed, "You know very well that I'm not reckless enough to get shot full of arrows, Claude."

Right after she said this, a heavily armored Edelgard came up from behind them. The soon-to-be-empress didn't even glance their way as she marched past, using her broad shield to tank the oncoming fire. She reached the next row of pillars where the nearest archer was hiding, who immediately dropped his bow and drew his sword to defend himself. Unfortunately for him, Edelgard was already on him, bashing his face in with her shield and finishing him with her ax after knocking him to the floor.

More arrows came her way, and the leader of the Black Eagles took cover in order to catch her breath before shouting at the other students. "We're wasting time! We need to move. Now!"

Hilda, who was crouched behind a stone coffin next to Claude, rolled her eyes with great agitation. "Ugh, That's so easy for her to say. And who the heck made her boss?"

"I told you we should've had Raphael bring a shield!" Leonie shouted ruefully.

"Well," her house leader could only shrug, "Nothing we can really do about that now." Claude then looked over across the mausoleum to see how the other class was faring. "But at least they've got the right idea."

On the other side, the Blue Lions had formed a tight shield formation with Dimitri, Deduce, Ingrid, and Sylvain at the front as they forced back anyone who attempted to take them head-on, while also protecting themselves and everyone else behind them from the enemy's arrows.

Meanwhile, Kratos and the Death Knight circled one another like two predators sizing each other up, neither making the first move. The dark rider spun his scythe at his side, continuing to assess the Spartan, who held his shield raised with the spear resting on top, its point aimed directly at his adversary. Eventually, having grown tired of waiting for his opponent to make his move, the Death Knight stopped and faced Kratos fully, flourishing his scythe once more in front of him before finally going on the offensive.

With a sudden burst of speed, he lunged forward, swinging his scythe in a wide arc. Kratos, anticipating the attack, shifted his shield to intercept, blocking the strike with a solid thud. The force of the blow reverberated through his arm, but he held firm. Kratos countered with a quick stab at the knight, but the demon twisted away at the last second and used his momentum to swipe at his neck, but managed to duck just in time.

The Death Knight swung again. And again. And again. But each and every attack was met with either nothing, or the stalwart defense of the God of War's Guardian Shield. Though Kratos couldn't see it, he was aware of the knight's growing frustration at the Spartan's refusal to take part in the fast-paced duel that he was evidently searching for.

"You bore me!" the Death Knight snarled, stepping back and resumed walking in a circle. "I did not come to trifle with a coward who hides behind a shield." Kratos, however, offered the rider no response, and continued to maintain his defensive form. "If that is how you play, then let us see how you handle this."

The Death Knight rotated his scythe, pointing the blade upward, and slammed the pointed pommel down on the stone floor. The tile cracked beneath him, and the scythe began to glow faintly blue as electricity sparked and a blackish violet aura started to emanate from all around him. Then, in a flash, a magic circle appeared beneath him, and he vanished.

Kratos needed only a brief instant to understand what was happening, and he didn't need to wait for Mimir to call out, "Behind you!" as he spun on his heel, raising his shield just in time. The Death Knight reappeared, his scythe slashing across toward his midsection, but Kratos intercepted the attack and prevented the blade from cutting him in half.

Seizing the opportunity, Kratos immediately thrust his spear toward the knight's exposed side, but before the strike could land, the Death Knight vanished again. From a short distance away, the dark rider reappeared, his scythe once again at the ready, but this time he kept his distance, as though daring Kratos to close the gap.

"I know how strong you really are." The Death Knight told him. "You are a warrior without equal. I can see the monster that lies within. But if you will not give me the battle that I want, then I will not allow you to kill me so easily. I seek a worthy opponent, not a mere executioner. Show me that you are somebody worth my time."

As the duel went on, the Blue Lions have been making progress by pushing further and further down the right aisle. Eventually, they got far enough to the point where Ashe and Mercedes had the opportunity to fire on the flank of the archers suppressing the Golden Deer, causing them to try and take cover from two different flanks.

With the archers distracted, Byleth took advantage of the opening they'd been given and ordered, "Everyone, follow my lead!"

From Dimitri's perspective, he watched as the Golden Deer pressed forward to cover more ground thanks to his class's efforts and smiled brilliantly. "Keep it up, everyone! We have them on the ropes now!"

As the Blue Lions continued their advance, the enemy forces began to waver under the combined pressure of both houses. But amidst the chaos, a lone enemy mage, hidden behind one of the massive stone pillars, quietly chanted before he stepped out from behind his hiding spot and unleashed a web of black magic that surged across the floor towards the student's formation. As the dark lines extended outward, spikes shot from the ground with the intention of impaling anyone who stood in its way.

Dedue was the first to react to the dark tendrils racing toward them. "Move!" he bellowed. Sylvain and Ingrid immediately broke formation, backing away to a safe distance. Dimitri, however, distracted by his earlier encouragement to the others, was a split second too slow to react. Dedue acted without hesitation, shoving the prince with enough force to nearly send him flying. Dimitri hit the ground hard but was spared from the incoming attack. Dedue, however, wasn't as fortunate. The dark magic reached him just as it reached its limit, and a black spike shot out, skewering his thigh and causing him to stumble and fall heavily on his back.

"Dedue!" Mercedes screamed, her eyes widening with worry and shock before she ran to his side.

"Have at them, lads!" one of the enemy leaders shouted. Upon seeing the broken formation, they wasted no time in regrouping to prepare for a counter-push. Meanwhile, Dimitri still lay dazed on the floor after having hit his head on the stone floor as the intruders charged toward them.

Now realizing that this was quickly turning into a desperate fight for survival, Mercedes immediately got back on her feet, but remained standing defiantly in front of Dedue as she readied her bow. The rest of the Blue Lions, including Felix, Sylvain, Ashe and Ingrid rushed forward to try and recreate the vanguard for their two fallen comrades while Annette supported them from behind. Both forces clashed, and despite being outnumbered, the students were able to hold their own. However, one of the intruders did manage to sneak past the line, and he found the prince still attempting to pull himself back on his feet.

Though his vision was blurred, Dimitri was very well aware of the man approaching him with a murderous intent, and he hurriedly felt around the floor to try and find his weapon that he'd dropped from the push Dedue had given him. Unfortunately, his fingers only found cold stone. Desperate, Dimitri raised his shield, preparing to defend himself from whatever attack that would come, with the rest of his friends too distracted to even realize what was happening.

Just as the enemy soldier raised his weapon, the prince heard a voice call out his name. "Dimitri!"

Both he and the approaching intruder turned their heads to see Marianne rushing over to his side and holding his lance, though her grip was unsteady, her hands were trembling, and very clearly stressed beyond comprehension. Upon seeing who it was that attempted to intervene, the intruder sneered, clearly unimpressed by the young woman standing between him and his kill; and with a cold gaze, he redirected his attention to Marianne. Time seemed to have slowed down for Dimitri, and he could feel something rising in his throat about the imminent danger the girl was now in as the man twice her size lunged towards her with his own spear.

But then, something remarkable happened. Marianne's eyes widened in fear, yet her body moved on its own. Instinct took over as she angled her lance and deflected the oncoming attack. And her attacker, having fully expected to already have the girl dead to rights, was thrown off balance after having overextended due to hitting nothing but air. At the same time, the priestess followed through with her movements just as she'd done countless times over with Dimitri in the past and sunk the tip of the spear in his side just below the arm that the armor did not cover.

The man gasped, dropping his weapon and his eyes widening in surprise. He stood rigidly still as blood began to seep over his lip, and Marianne let go as he fell to the side and hit the ground hard with the spear still inside him.

Dimitri hurriedly scrambled back to his feet, still slightly dazed from the earlier blow. His vision cleared just in time to see Marianne standing over the fallen intruder, her hands trembling uncontrollably as she stared down at the man she had just killed. The shock was evident on her face, her eyes unfocused as if she couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

Dimitri quickly moved between her and the lifeless body, blocking the sight from her view. He grabbed her gently by the arms, his worry plain in his eyes. "Marianne," he said, his voice firm but filled with concern, "Are you unharmed?"

Marianne blinked, as if snapping out of a trance. She looked up at Dimitri, her lips quivering as she struggled to find her voice. "I... I'm fine," she managed to say, though her voice wavered. "But… I…"

Dimitri tightened his grip slightly, trying to steady her. "You did what you had to do. You saved my life," he reassured her, his tone gentle yet resolute. "But right now, we need to keep moving. Can you do that?"

She hesitated for a moment, still visibly shaken, but then she nodded slowly, drawing in a shaky breath. "Yes," she whispered, trying to steady herself. "I can."

With that, Dimitri released her arms, offered her a small, encouraging nod and turned around to remove his lance from the dead soldier. "Stay close to me," he instructed. Marianne nodded again, this time with a bit more confidence, and the two of them turned to rejoin the rest of the Blue Lions.

When Kratos had originally challenged the Death Knight, his intention had been to merely keep the red-eyed demon busy while the Golden Deer and the rest of his class could go and accomplish their mission without fear of interference. However, what he did not intend was for the scythe-wielding rider to eventually catch on to what the spartan was up to, and Kratos had begun to worry that if he did not engage with the Death Knight enough to keep his attention, then it would've been likely that he would attack the students in order to force the professor to confront him.

And now, upon seeing the close call with Prince Dimitri in the corner of his eye, the Ghost of Sparta had decided that enough was enough, and began to go after the Death Knight for real. Though the dark rider was initially pleased with this, Kratos' approach at merely attempting to end the fight as soon as possible caused him to evade the brigand even more; but not without trying to land a hit or two whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Eventually, the Death Knight noticed someone reaching Saint Seiros' coffin. While keeping a safe distance from Kratos, the rider stole a quick glance and saw the woman who had prevented her student from shooting him cut down the mage who had broken the seal. What truly caught his attention, however, was the sword she now held in her hand—a long, jagged blade seemingly made from the same material as the other hero's relic. But more importantly, it exuded power with a glowing red aura.

Seeing the weapon in Byleth's possession caused the rider to become enthralled by what he'd just witnessed, and appeared to have completely forgotten about Kratos as he said aloud, "That sword… I see. What a pleasant surprise."

Kratos wasted no time taking advantage of the distraction, rushing the Death Knight. The rider barely managed to turn his attention back in time to dodge out of the way. Now completely detached from their duel, the knight swung his scythe at Kratos with renewed force, the blade cleaving through Kratos' silver lance. But the Spartan had had enough of the Death Knight's games. He tossed aside the broken spear and continued his advance, deflecting the next swing with his shield before landing a punch directly to the center of the rider's armored chest.

With a loud crunch, the armor caved in where Kratos' fist had landed, and the Death Knight emitted a sickening sound, as though he were regurgitating his own innards. The force of the blow sent him staggering back several feet, doubling over in pain. Falling to one knee, he used his scythe for support, and once again, a retching sound escaped him. Blood began to seep through the black satin material covering his head, dripping down his mask.

"Arrrgh!" groaned the rider, placing his free hand over the fist-sized cavity in his armor while trying to breathe with ragged, bloody breaths. "I- I can see it now…" The Death Knight croaked out before letting out a series of ravaged coughs. "The will to live… to fight… to die."

As if sensing its master's distress, the rider's black horse trotted up to the injured man, nudging his jaggedly armored shoulder. "I thought… this would finally be-" he coughed again violently, "-my last dance. But now…" The knight managed to raise his head to look at Kratos one last time. "...I realize-" another cough interrupted him, more sporadic and harsh, "-that I cannot go yet. Not without…"

Unable to finish, the coughing overtook him entirely. The Death Knight forced himself back onto his feet, draping an arm over his horse's neck for support. Then, without another word, they both vanished into thin air. This time, for good.

All was suddenly quiet throughout the mausoleum, and everyone with the exclusion of Dedue and Mercedes converged on Kratos at the center of the room. Everyone's eyes were on the small pool of blood that the Death Knight left behind before talking amongst themselves.

"That jerk got away." Claude said, shaking his head. "Was that magic? I never heard of a teleportation spell that could transport you where you couldn't see."

"Aye," Mimir concurred from Kratos' hip, "I'd seen it before, though only back in my homeland. Quite the advanced spell, if past experience is anything to go by."

"Which means we won't be able to chase after him." Byleth concluded, and everyone's attention was now suddenly on her.

"Hey, uh, Teach…" Claude asked with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. "What's, uh… What's that you got there anyway?"

Edelgard tilted her head at him. "You don't recognize it, Claude?"

"Wait a minute," Dimitri added in, "Did that come from Saint Seiros' tomb?"

"Brother," the Norse god said to Kratos, "I'd like to see exactly what these lads are referring to, if you don't mind."

Kratos made a noise to acknowledge his companion before bringing the head around for him to see, and Mimir's jaw nearly dropped upon seeing the sword in Byleth's hand. "Oh, bless me nan, is that…?"

Before he could say anything further, another voice called out from the entrance. "Is the intruder here?!"

Everyone turned to see Catherine and a company of church soldiers spilling into the mausoleum and fanning out. But after seeing the two classes together with Kratos, along with the litter of dead bodies spread across the chamber's floor, the Captain's expression relaxed a bit as she sheathed her sword.

"Oh… it looks like you have this under control." Then to the rest of her men, "Everyone, spread out and round up the stragglers- and any others that happen to be playing dead."