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-Yuri's POV-

"You're gonna regret this, Aelfric," Balthus grumbles.

"I accepted the regret I might have felt from this long ago. As long as she returns, nothing else matters. Yuri, if you think you'll be pulling anything funny, think again. The Knights of Seiros won't save you." Aelfric instructs the only of the Ashen Wolves not tied up, me.

"Well, that's a darn shame." I shrug, acting like I hadn't a care in the world. In reality, though, I felt as if the fates of everyone I knew were on my shoulders.

"Yuri, I could-" Hapi starts in a hushed voice, but I sternly shake my head, silently telling her, 'Not yet'. The girl would use her power to summon beasts with her sigh, but not until my command. I was confident that I had the situation under control. Now to wait for only a bit longer, as the clock's hands approached midnight.

A few of Aelfric's mages enter, and Aelfric commands them, "It is time. Take them. Your blood will pour forth, filling the Chalice of Beginnings. Let the ritual begin!"

In mere moments every one of the Ashen Wolves, including me, was stabbed, cut down far enough for our vibrant crimson blood to dribble to the cold, stone floor below. "You really are a fool..." I grimaced as unexplainable pain twisted my features as we were drained ever so slowly of our blood.

"You were diligent, Yuri. You kept me aware of all the Ashen Wolves' movements. As compensation for being such a good student of my flock, I will gladly hear any final words from you." Aelfic chuckled darkly.

"Heh, that's rich. If you knew me at all, you'd know these won't be my final words. I'm simply biding my time."

"For what..." He trails off.

"For the goddess's descent. Can you hear it? She's coming." I mock him, just as the clock hits twelve, and activates the loud tower bells.

"Bells? This late at night?" The monk asks, unbelieving.

"Yeah, you hear that, Aelfric? That's the sound of your demise." I choke out, placing a hand on the wound in my legs where blood gushed out at a concerning pace.

"I know it was you who sent me on that mission that ultimately led to me landing in Abyss. Overall, your performance was lacking. Lady Rhea has been on to you as well. Oh, and just so you know, I've been working for her since before I ever began working for you. She had me keeping an eye on you. Told me to inform her if you seem to be planning anything." I explain at an unhurried rate.

"You!" Aelfric growls.

I continue with a weak smile gracing my face, "But you took those I care most about hostage, which limited my options. You chained up the Wolves and kept a tight grip on my rogues in Abyss to ensure I wouldn't betray you. I deliberated on what to do next, knowing I'd have to rely on my own cunning to see this through, all while paying lip service to you. Until today. The day you pulled all your forces in so you could attempt this ritual. You're no villain, with that sticky conscience you call a heart tripping you up. Not like me."

"...I see. You were one step ahead of me all this time. It does not matter now. The ritual has begun. There's no stopping it now. You will all die. Just a bit longer." Aelfric regains his smug, cocky attitude, watching the goblet collect the blood that was being drained from the Ashen Wolves.

I frown. "Don't think for a moment--"

"That you're getting off easy, pal!" Balthus rips free of his rope bindings, his muscles finally being of use. I had tied them in a way they should be able to easily break free, but I suppose I overestimated them.

"Please untie us as well!" Constance demands next to Hapi.

"You're talking. Do it yourself. I dispelled the silence from you ages ago, or hadn't you noticed?" I tell her as if it were so very obvious.

"Oh! I see!" She exclaims, escaping her ropes along with Hapi.

"It's great that we're not tied up anymore and all that, but we're still being actively drained..." Hapi mutters.

"I've invested everything to ensure my success today... Surround them! Don't let them escape! The ritual will not be stopped." Aelfric's voice pierces the air, and many more of his soldiers swiftly surround the four students, relentlessly pushing our weakened bodies to the marble floor of the Holy Mausoleum.

"Ugh! Why won't it cease? We are freed, and yet our blood still drains from us?" Constance groans.

"Hmmm. Well, this wasn't part of the plan." I burst out laughing, masking my uncertainty and the dizziness that plagued my mind due to blood loss. The injury I'd obtained was burning at my flesh as the bright red liquid dripped onto the smooth flooring.

"This is no laughing matter, Yuri!" Frowns Hapi disapprovingly.

I glance over at Aelfric who kneels over the lady who is lying peacefully on the stage. "Stop panicking, Constance. You know I'm never unprepared."

"Hey, you've always got a trick up your sleeve, don't ya? I can hear your secret plan running our way." Bathus says as the sound of charging footsteps races through the large halls of the building.

-Your POV-

"We've arrived," I murmur, watching as the large, steel doors of the heavily guarded Holy Mausoleum creak open at Lady Rhea's command. Sleek, marble pillars reach up to the ceiling, and the spacious space was overall poorly lit, but enough illumination was there for me to make out halls and halls, leading to various facets of the structure. "Where is Aelfric?"

"I dunno, but this place gives me the creeps!" Hilda shivers beside me. "It's so eerie and empty."

"Let's search for them, but stick together," Byleth instructs, gesturing to the entrance of the temple-like place.

We all wordlessly agree, and begin to enter. After only a minute of searching, the gruesome sound of grunts in agony echoes in the halls, and we all start to rush forward, pushing past another large set of metal doors and into the main interior of the Holy Mausoleum.

"Ugh. I don't know what's happening here, but it definitely doesn't look good." Claude cringes away from the scene.

He was right. I could spot each of the four Ashen Wolves, crumpled on the ground, blood pouring from various limbs to the center of the room, where the Chalice sat, greedily collecting their blood.

"Can this really be the Rite of Rising... What precisely is going on?" Dimitri asks, astonished.

"Their blood is being drained and then transformed into... raw power... Ugh... I... That's a lot of blood. Too much blood. This is hard to watch." Linhart places a hand over his mouth in disgust.

My legs were glued to the floor as I observed the absolutely horrible scene. The moment my eyes latch on to Yuri's light purple ones, he breaks into a grin, although the pain was etched into his features as mages blocked the path to him.

"YURI!"

The scream couldn't stay locked up anymore, and every one next to me flinched the moment I let it out. Tears stung the edges of my eyes, but I wiped them away, feeling the need for clear vision to cut down every enemy in my way. Traitor or not, one thing was clear. This was wrong. Yuri and the others were being sacrificed for a foolish and futile reason. Our bond was stronger than any stone, Yuri and me.

With each falling tear, I advanced, swinging my sword at any opponent who stood in my way. Before I knew it, I was standing by Yuri's side, the majority of Aelfric's army limp and dead on the ground.

My sword clattered to the floor, and I sank to the ground next to it, immediately wrapping my arms around Yuri's torso. By holding you tight, Yuri, I can only wish we could stay this way together forever, in each other's arms. "Never leave me again!" I weep, gripping his uniform closer, noticing his rapid, ragged breathing.

Before Yuri could respond, the monk named Aelfric spoke up, ignoring everything but the woman that lay before him. "So this is how it feels. Infinite power flowing forth from the chalice... Without the chalice's protection, I doubt anyone will survive."

"This is horrendous!" I shout in a thin voice, sorrow choking my words, only turning my attention away from Yuri for a moment. "How can you kill everyone, including your allies, and you don't even care?!"

"We have to stop this!" Hilda adds, crouching beside her childhood friend, Balthus.

Suddenly charging forward, Professor Byleth wields her glowing sword, a determined expression clear on her face. With one... two... three slashes of the blade, Aelfric falls to the ground.

"No... no. The ritual must not fail!" The monk struggles to stand again, he shoots out a hand, "Stop them!"

More reinforcements arrive, and soon everyone is locked in combat. While they are larger in numbers, our resilience pulls through. Hapi doesn't waste any time calling demonic monsters, while some others wield magic or weapons. Even when I began to fight, however, I was very reluctant to leave Yuri, who stayed on the ground, a sad look on his face as he watched me mercilessly kill anyone who stepped near me. His eyes were like a blade of unmelting ice, cold and unwelcoming until I glimpsed his gaze soften when directed at me.

The dreadful affliction he was suffering through was nothing to the injuries I was getting, fighting this way and that.

It wasn't long before Byleth got close to Aelfric again, who raised his hands in a stopping motion. "Wait, Professor, be reasonable. The person I am resurrecting isn't just anybody. She is just as important to me as she is to you!"

The professor pauses to question him. "Who... who is that?"

"Sitri," he replies, staring fondly at the green-haired woman. "Your mother,"

"My teacher, is what he says true?" Edelgard shouts, finishing off another mage with her axe.

"I never knew my mother." She slowly admits. "I cannot confirm nor deny this."

"I have not wanted any harm to befall you, as you are her child. She'd have wanted you safe. But if you insist on getting in the way of this, I have no choice but to strike you down." Aelfric raises his arms in a wavering motion, summoning magic. "Soon... soon, she will be brought back to me. Should anyone attempt to get between us, they will sorely regret it."

"No chance." Byleth cries, stabbing forward her legendary sword, the final blow needed to send Aelfric toppling.

"Not yet... There's still time!" He protests.

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Word count: 1815 words