Chapter 13 – Confrontation
"Aaaah!"
One of the pegasi suddenly fell atop the bridge, struck by an arrow. The rider fell off her mount upon impact, though to the fortune not off the bridge itself. The Elusians at the back turned, just in time to see-
"It's the Lythians! They're here!"
The pegasi quickly scattered, just in time for one to avoid a second arrow, flying back out the bridge area. Most of the Elusians quickly readied their weapons, before charging at their incoming foes. Abyme and those nearest her remained where they were, however. Still rooted on the spot, their minds still processing what they just witnessed.
Inside the Ring Vault itself, Veyle stirred, before slowly standing back up. The entire motion had thrown the hood off her head, making Ivy fully see the glare now leveled at her.
"Princess Ivy," she said in a curt tone. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Atonement," Ivy replied. "A long, overdue, atonement."
No sooner had she finished saying those words that she suddenly dashed at Veyle. Seeing it coming this time, Veyle was able to sidestep out of the way, leaving Ivy to stab empty air. She quickly turned to see the Fell Dragon now leering at her.
"Is that so?" Veyle asked. "And just how long have you felt-"
At this, she smirked.
"Guilty?"
Ivy did not reply, simply lunging again at Veyle, who simply dodged once more.
"My, to think an Elusian royal would raise arms against Father's kin. And with a Divine blessed Emblem, no less," Veyle said. "I wonder what King Hyacinth would have to say about that."
Ivy's frown deepened, as Veyle then seemed to reach within her cloak.
"Too bad you won't be there to hear it!"
In a quick motion, Veyle suddenly flung a knife right at Ivy!
"Agh!" Ivy flinched as the knife hit its mark at her abdomen, unable to dodge it in time.
"Ivy!" Lumera called out.
The Elusians were likewise shocked.
"Lady Veyle and Princess Ivy fighting each other… what is going on!?" One of them said.
The Divine Dragon Monarch quickly swooped down, aiming at Veyle. She, however, got out of the way. Lumera quickly twisted her body around without hitting the floor in one fast motion, before firing a beam of energy. Unfortunately, Veyle would dodge that too.
"You won't get awa-" Lumera began, only to suddenly spasm. "AHH!"
"Queen Lumera!" Now it was Ivy's turn to call out, as she watched Lumera drop to the floor.
Lumera's body then began to glow, and in a flash, she was back to her human form and on her hands and knees. Ignoring her own pain, the princess quickly moved over to her side, kneeling down.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Ivy asked, full of concern.
"I'm… fine," Lumera replied, grimacing as she panted. "Don't let… Veyle get away…"
Ivy quickly turned, to see Veyle had reached the entrance, where Abyme and the other Elusians were still rooted on the spot.
We need to strike, now! Marth's words sounded in Ivy's mind.
Yes, Ivy nodded.
Wasting no time, she charged.
The Elusians, who could only stare anxious as they saw what unfolded before them, finally felt relived upon Veyle coming over their way.
"Lady Veyle, are you alright?" Abyme asked once she was near.
"I'm fine," was Veyle's reply.
"What will we do? There's fighting on the bridge," an Elusian pointed out, glancing back outside the vault.
Veyle looked over as well, with a small frown.
"Our time here is up," she said, turning back to them. "It's time we leave."
"But what about," Abyme suddenly paused, her tone wary, "the Princess?"
Veyle glanced over, where Ivy was just kneeling down next to Lumera. Her frown deepened, before abruptly turning away in disgust.
"We need not concern ourselves with traitors," she replied.
The last word actually made the Elusians flinch.
"Y-yes, Milady," Abyme said through gritted teeth.
They knew it was undeniable, however. Not when they saw it with her very own eyes. Just then-
"Watch out!"
One of the soldiers quickly lunged, swinging his weapon! Then all of a sudden, Ivy was there, her weapon parried by that of the soldier.
"Ugh," Ivy frowned as she moved back.
The Elusians quickly placed themselves between her and Veyle, the latter whom quickly turned back.
"That's right, we need to take that Emblem from you first," she mused.
"I won't let you," Ivy said, defiantly.
Veyle smirked.
"We'll see," she said.
So focused they were on the princess, they failed to notice Lumera slowly rose an arm, stretched towards the Fell Dragon. An orb of energy manifested before her open palm, before she fired another beam, straight at-
"AAAAAAH!"
Veyle herself.
"Lady Veyle!"
The Elusians glanced back in panic as Veyle collapsed on the floor. Ivy would do the same, instead towards Lumera who likewise gave out and fully fell as well.
"Queen Lumera!" Ivy called out.
She must have reached her limit, Marth said, worried.
Please let it be she only fainted, Ivy hoped.
The Elusians did not ignore her words, however. They turned back to her.
"Your Highness, you…" Abyme trailed off, looking at her in disbelief.
Ivy turned back.
"You would show more concern to her than to Lady Veyle," Abyme phrased it as a statement, rather than an answer. "She is right, you truly have turned traitor."
That seemed to have been the final straw for her.
"General, please, you must listen," Ivy begun. "Don't-"
She had not the chance to say more, however.
"Raaagh!"
For Abyme suddenly swung her axe at her!
"Ah!"
Ivy quickly dodged it.
"General Abyme, please stop!" She pleaded.
"I don't listen to traitors!" Abyme cried out, before swinging again.
Ivy once again simply dodged and moved back. Abyme took this chance to turn back to her shocked soldiers, still rooted on their spots.
"Take Lady Veyle and go!" She ordered.
"B-but-" One tried to protest.
"That's an order!" Abyme barked.
"Y-yes, Milady!"
One of the soldiers was quickly to lift Veyle's prone body up in a princess carry, with the rest covering him. Ivy spared a brief glance at them as they then rushed out of the vault.
No, the rings! She thought.
There was nothing that she could do about it, however, as once again she found herself dodging Abyme.
"Surrender the ring, Princess," Abyme spat out the last word with vile. "Don't make me take it off your corpse."
Ivy's eyes widened. Had things really escalated that far?
Ivy, you need to fight back! Marth called out. Or else am I to be taken as well?
For a moment, Ivy hesitated. The look of fury aimed at her and the before mentioned willingness to kill, it was proving to be too much for her. However-
No, Ivy's expression hardened. I won't allow that to happen!
It was too late for the rest of the rings, at last from her side. She could only hope, judging from the sounds of battle outside, that there was still a chance to recover them. Which means that Emblem Marth's safety was still down to her, and perhaps that of Emblem Sigurd's too, if his ring was still worn by Lumera. With newfound resolve-
"Haaa!"
Ivy lunged at Abyme, who nonetheless parried her attack.
"I see, so that's how it will be," Abyme grunted, before readying another attack.
Thus, their clash continued.
The fighting at the bridge raged on. The Elusians did their best to hold their ground, using the debris as cover and their pegasi giving them an aerial advantage. However, the Lythians proved able to withstand the assaults as they advanced, as Etie and Clanne sniped at the passing pegasi. Soon both sides were finally clashing directly, and the Elusians quickly found themselves pushed back.
"Come on! We must reach Her Majesty's side!" Alfred called out as he led the charge.
The bridge was thankfully wide enough for the prince's horse to maneuver, though that only lasted once reaching the debris itself, forcing sharper turns and shorter gallops. In any case, the Lythians continued their advance, when-
"Divine One, look," Vander called out. "The vault."
Alear glanced over.
"The dust has dissipated," he noted.
"The fight inside must have stopped," Vander said.
Alear frowned.
But on who's favor? He wondered.
"We must hurry," Alear said, rushing towards the next enemy.
Mother, Princess Ivy, hold on just a bit more. We're almost there.
It was not long before the Elusians coming out of the Ring Vault met the full sight of the battle before them.
"This is bad, we're losing," one said, worried.
"It truly is time to return to the ship," the one carrying Veyle said. "Let's go."
The soldiers nearest them quickly noticed their presence.
"Ah! What happened to Lady Veyle!?" One said, shocked.
"Where are Lady Abyme and Princess Ivy?" Another asked. "Are they alright?"
The soldiers grimaced at the mention of the princess, but held their tongue.
"There's no time to explain," was the reply, said curtly. "We got the rings, we must retreat!"
The soldiers were a bit confused at the reaction, but then-
"R-right," the second soldier who had asked nodded, before glancing around. "Call the pegasi, we're leaving!"
The Lythians, naturally, did not miss this. They saw the pegasi rushing over and landing, as the Elusians fell back.
"What are they doing?" One asked.
The answer would quickly present itself, as they start seeing the pegasi fly away... with added passengers.
"They're fleeing!" Clanne called out.
"Haha, we won!" Another Lythian cheered.
"Thank goodness," Lupe sighed in relief.
"Hold on, we can't let them leave!" Vander said. "They could be fleeing with the rings!"
"Come on, let's stop them!" Alear said, wasting no time in rushing over.
Thus, the fight resumed, now a race against time, as the Lythians tried to reach where the pegasi were landing, which was at the very back, just outside the Ring Vault.
"This is bad, we might not all make it out," an Elusian said, panicking as he saw one of the fleeing pegasi shot down by Etie's arrows.
"At the very least, Lady Veyle should," another said, before glancing over. "Are you done!?"
Two Elusians were securing the prone form of Veyle atop one of the pegasi. One of them glanced back.
"It's done."
With that, the pegasus took off. In that moment, Alear's eyes caught sight of it, when-
"Huh?"
He could not help but frown.
Is that… Veyle?
Somehow, he could tell, finding the sight of the Fell Dragon… oddly familiar. Alas, it was too late to do anything about it. Etie had managed to shoot an arrow, which would have hit its mark if not that another pegasus intercepted it, taking the hit in its stead. The Elusians likewise watched with their held breaths finally releasing in relief once the pegasus had flown far enough.
"Godspeed, Lady Veyle," one of them said.
It was not long before the last pegasi fled. Only a couple soldiers remained standing. The Lythians quickly surrounded them, but the Elusians made no effort to fight back.
"We surrender!" An Elusian called out, tossing down his weapon.
His companions did the same. They knew it was over. They took solace their mission had been successful for the most part. The rings were surely now on their way to Elusia. The Lythians kept them surrounded, still in battle stances, but honoring the call of surrender.
"We'll take care of things here, Divine One," one of them said to Alear. "Go help Her Majesty!"
"Right," Alear nodded.
With that, he hurried inside, followed by the stewards, Lupe, and the Firenese.
Ivy and Abyme continued to clash, with neither side getting the upper hand. It was clear it was close to a stalemate, with Ivy only managing to keep up thanks to Emblem Marth doing most of the work. She was a mage, not a swordfighter, after all. However, the situation was soon to shift.
Our time Engaged is almost up, Marth informed her.
Understood, Ivy replied with a small nod. Then we need to put distance between us.
It was perhaps now the time to use the tome she was given. Against the armor-clad Abyme, this would likely end the battle now, but she needed the opportunity to cast the spell.
Don't worry, I'll cover you, Marth said.
It would be only a few seconds later.
Now! Marth called out.
To Abyme's surprise, Ivy quickly jumped back, the Engaging ending at that very moment. However-
"Ah!"
Ivy winced, her free hand quickly clutching her abdomen. No longer suppressed by the Engaging, the knife wound Veyle had inflicted on her could not exert its pain in full. Ivy's knees buckled and she hunched down slightly, but she managed to remain standing.
Seeing this, Abyme smirked.
Thank you, Lady Veyle, she thought.
"Willing to surrender now the ring?" She asked.
Ivy grunted.
"N-never," she replied through gritted teeth.
Then almost as if on cue, Emblem Marth materialized between them, before attacking! Only a quick reflex saved Abyme from Marth's sword striking a vulnerable area.
"Why you- Huh?"
Something caught her attention in the corner of her vision. Quickly turning while raising her axe, she was able to parry the incoming sword slash of Emblem Sigurd, who dashed past her atop his horse.
"We missed two of them!?" Abyme could only exclaim in surprise.
"Now, Ivy!" Marth turned back to the princess.
Ivy wasted no time, readying a Thunder spell. Abyme turned back to her, barely having the time for her eyes to widen before a bolt of lightning struck right down at her.
"Aaaaah!"
Abyme was quickly on her knees, her axe dropped on the floor. She struggled to glance back up, glaring straight at Ivy.
"Forgive me, General," Ivy simply said, as she prepared another spell.
She controlled the magic flow for the second bolt to lack the potency as the first. Regardless-
"Aah… ungh!"
It proved still painful enough for the already weakened Abyme. It was the last she experienced before darkness claimed her. She fell fully on the floor, unconscious. Clutching again at the knife wound, Ivy too fell on her knees; still in pain, but also relieved.
It's over. It's finally… over.
