Chapter Text
The Empire had all but conquered Derdriu by the time they’d arrived.
Byleth watched as billows of smoke wafted from inside the city walls. Loud cheers could be heard from the Imperial army as she, Dimitri, and the others picked up their pace. Her skin prickled with the heat of her anger as she drew the Sword of the Creator and charged in.
Those bastards wouldn’t enjoy their victory for long.
She found Judith first, the Hero of Daphnel reduced to kneeling with her hands behind her head, surrounded by soldiers. As one raised their lance to strike, Byleth reacted; she whipped the sword through his back, before using the momentum of her swing to send the body careening into the other men. Judith looked on, surprised by the sudden attack, before she noticed her and smirked.
“About time you got here, Professor,” she quipped as Byleth approached her.
“We should’ve gotten here sooner,” Byleth lamented, sheathing the sword and extending her hand to Judith. She grasped it firmly and Byleth pulled her up, aware of how Judith’s face winced and how she nearly fell forward.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to fight alongside you… those Imperial jerks really pushed my limit,” Judith grunted, breathing sharply as her wounds flared up.
Byleth steadied her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. “You’ve done enough. We’ll take it from here.”
She gingerly guided Judith toward Flayn, who stood by ready to tend to the injured. As she handed her over, Judith grabbed Byleth’s arm. Their eyes met, and she could see the unmistakable fury burning in her eyes.
“Give them hell, Professor.”
Byleth nodded curtly before rejoining the others, steeling herself for the fight to come.
She had to make use of the Divine Pulse multiple times, but in the end, they managed to drive the Imperial army out of Derdriu.
They put up one hell of a fight, that much is undeniable, considering they had just overwhelmed the capital of the Leicester Alliance. It didn’t help matters much when reinforcements suddenly started showing up, making the situation even more dire. She watched with dismay as even Dimitri struggled to push the soldiers back atop his horse. They just kept coming, seemingly without end.
Just as the fight began to look bleak, a fierce battle cry suddenly reverberated around her, and it hadn’t come from the Imperial army.
Several shadows passed overhead, and Byleth looked up to see a battalion of wyvern riders descending upon their enemy, letting loose volleys of arrows. Her pulse leapt as she scanned them, hoping that maybe Claude was among them.
The wyvern rider leading the battalion swooped in low in front of her, dispatching several mages with a mighty swing of his axe. The wyvern roared as it touched the ground, flapping its wings.
“You must be the Professor that Master Claude talked about so much!” the man atop the wyvern said with a bellowing voice.
She blinked, staring at him. He shared some similarities with Claude, what with the tan skin and dark slicked-back hair. The beard was far more impressive, though. “Is… that so?” she managed to say.
The man threw his head back and laughed. “Aren’t you modest! But let’s save the chitchat for later. We’ve got an army to push back, after all!”
As he coaxed his wyvern back into the air, he shot a wink at her. “Name’s Nader, by the way! A pleasure to be fighting alongside you, Professor!”
In all honesty, if Nader hadn’t shown up when he did, the battle would’ve dragged on for far longer than Byleth would’ve liked.
With the last of the Empire’s soldiers forced to retreat, Byleth finally got a chance to survey the damage done to the city. She suspected it would’ve been pretty bad, but… gods. She couldn’t tell what the heaps of rubble used to be at one point. Merchant shops? The homes of families?
A lump formed in her throat. They should’ve gotten here sooner. She knew they had to prioritize reclaiming the fortress city Arianrhod from the clutches of the Empire, as well as wait for more Kingdom lords to swear their fealty to Dimitri as the rightful King...
And yet, she felt so guilty.
The sound of footsteps approaching her pulled Byleth from her thoughts. She turned and saw Dimitri; his armor was roughed up, but he looked steady for the most part. He was without his horse, but she did recall him bringing the gray stallion to Marianne for an emergency heal, so she knew it would be okay. He’d pulled back part of his hair, combing his hand through a few blond strands that hung over his eyepatch.
“The last of the Imperial soldiers have been driven out, Professor. Mercedes and Flayn are setting up triage and tending to the wounded,” he reported as he joined her.
Byleth nodded in response. “Has anyone seen Claude?” she asked.
Dimitri shook his head. “Nothing so far. Judith did say he retreated farther into the city, and we have Ingrid and Cyril searching in the air for signs. If they find anything, they’ll be back swiftly.”
She knew he was trying to ease the tension pulling inside her chest, but that sense of dread refused to budge.
The King of Fargheus gently grabbed her arm. “Come, Professor. Let’s go back and regroup with the others. We can plan our next move there.”
Byleth hesitated at first, her heart wanting to go straight to looking for Claude, but she knew Dimitri was right. She allowed him to lead her along, carefully maneuvering over the broken carnage that was Derdriu. When they finally arrived at a clear space where triage was set up, Byleth saw Judith sitting among the injured being treated. Next to her was that wyvern rider that fought alongside them earlier, Nader. His wyvern stood nearby, scratching at an itch under its wing with its muzzle.
“You mean to tell me that, all this time, you were actually Nader? The undefeated Almyran general?” From the sound of it, Judith did not seem too happy.
Nader grimaced, nervously running a hand through his hair. “Guess the cat’s outta the bag now, eh? Sorry to cause you trouble, but the kid insisted I kept my identity a secret for a while.”
Judith sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I just wish I could’ve gotten a heads up is all.” She hissed as a healer tended to a cut on her shoulder. The sleeve had been cut off for better access to the wound. “But we got bigger problems now, so I’ll have to hound him later.”
As Byleth and Dimitri approached, Nader’s wyvern perked up and growled quietly. The Almyran general looked in their direction and smiled, patting the beast’s nose to reassure it that they weren’t a threat.
“Why hello there, Professor!” Nader greeted jubilantly. “Ah, and you too, Your Majesty,” he added quickly with a bow.
Dimitri waved dismissively. “No need for formalities; I have yet to be officially crowned, after all.” He brought a hand to his chin and studied the man. “You seem to know who I am, but I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”
Nader chuckled. “Ah, well, Claude’s talked about you and the Professor before, so that’s how I recognized you,” he explained. He stuck out a hand towards Dimitri and continued. “Name’s Nader. I was Claude’s combat instructor when he was a kid.”
A smile crinkled at the corner of Dimitri’s mouth as he grasped Nader’s hand and shook it firmly. “A pleasure to properly meet you, Nader. And I am grateful for your help driving out the Imperial army from Derdriu.”
When they finally let go, she saw a wistful expression cross Nader’s face. His eyes were downcast, and his shoulders slumped. “I was away at Fodlan’s Throat when I got the message. There wasn’t enough time to gather reinforcements, so I scrounged up what I could for a battalion and set off.” His lips pressed into a thin line as a sigh escaped his nose. “Wish I’d gotten here sooner…”
“There’s nothing more you could’ve done,” Judith interjected. “That boy knew he was taking a large gamble sending those messengers. I’m just glad you actually showed up.”
Dimitri turned his head to Byleth, and she realized she hadn’t spoken since they came here. “Claude placed a lot of faith in us that we’d come to his aid,” she finally said. “I just… hope we didn’t let him down.” The last part came out more as a whisper, but no one seemed to notice.
“Speaking of which, has anyone found him yet?” Judith asked. There was a hint of urgency as the words left her mouth.
“We have flying units scouting the city, but I plan to amass whoever isn’t terribly injured to form a search party,” Dimitri informed her.
The Hero of Daphnel sighed, resting her elbows on her knees and settling her head in her hands. “Gods, I hope he’s okay. If anything happens to him… I’ll never be able to face his mother again.”
Nader rested a large hand on her uninjured shoulder. “We’ll find him. Kid’s a lot tougher than you think. I’ve seen him weasel his way outta plenty of precarious situations before.” A smirk creased his cheeks as though he were reliving a fond memory.
“Oh, I’m very familiar with his weaseling about,” Judith remarked. She smiled wryly, but Nader seemed to have lifted her spirits a bit.
BANG!
Byleth winced and covered her ears as a sudden loud crack filled the air, followed by a shrill whistling noise. Cries of confusion and panic rose from the people in triage.
“It’s a flare!” she heard someone yell. Byleth looked up to the sky, and in the distance she saw it; a bright red light flashing above, trailed by a thin line of white smoke.
“It’s coming from the harbor,” Dimtri spoke, gesturing to where the smoke emerged from in the distance.
She didn’t miss Judith’s face turned pale, her blue eyes widening with panic. “That’s where Claude and Hilda were.” Judith attempted to get up, but Nader kept her firmly in place.
“And what help’re you gonna be with your wounds?” the Almyran general chided. Judith frowned and sighed, relenting to him. Nader let her go and grabbed the reins on his wyvern. “I’ll fly ahead and see what’s up, if you don’t mind.”
“Thank you, Nader. Professor, you should go with him. I’ll join you once I’ve retrieved my horse,” Dimitri informed her.
Byleth nodded and approached Nader as he hopped into the saddle of his mount. She climbed up behind him, wrapping her arms securely around his torso as he clicked his tongue and the wyvern leapt into the air. There was a tight grimace on her lips as they flew towards the direction of the flare.
She wasn’t a religious person, despite being a vessel of the progenitor god, but in that moment, Byleth prayed dearly that Claude and Hilda were okay.
The wyvern’s feet barely touched the ground as Byleth leapt from the saddle. She caught sight of Sylvain and, to her surprise, Raphael. The last time she saw him was at the Battle of Gronder, where she had chosen to spare him along with the other former Golden Deer students that had remained by Claude’s side. Between the two of them was a battered but alive Hilda, who rested against Raphael as Sylvain tended to her wounds.
“I’m gonna check the other side of the bridge, Professor. You just worry about those kids,” Nader informed her. Byleth nodded in agreement as he took to the sky once more.
Raphael’s golden-yellow eyes lit up as Byleth jogged towards the group. “Professor! You’re here!” he called out, waving his arm toward her while the other held onto Hilda securely.
Byleth greeted him with a smile before kneeling down beside Hilda, watching as Sylvain casted a small healing spell to alleviate the pink-haired warrior’s injuries. They’d have to wait for Dimitri to arrive with Marianne to do anything else.
“How’re you holding up, Hilda?” Byleth asked as Sylvain finished the spell.
Hilda smiled wearily at her, blinking her half-lidded eyes. “Oh, you should’ve seen the other guys. I gave them the good ol’ Hilda treatment,” she laughed softly, though it was quickly cut short as she winced and gingerly laid a hand on her left side. “I was doing so well, until that dumb brute knocked me over with dark magic.”
Byleth quirked an eyebrow curiously. “Did you recognize him?” she asked.
“He was the one leading the army. I think his name was…” She closed her eyes and frowned. “Ugh, what was it? Ar…. Arun…. Aaron?”
“Lord Arundel?”
The sound of Dimitri’s voice, accompanied by the clacking of hooves against cobblestone, alerted Byleth of his arrival. She watched as he helped Marianne dismount from his horse, taking notice of how his hands seemed to linger on hers until he finally let go, allowing her to treat Hilda’s wounds.
Sylvain moved aside to give the more experienced healer some room. “Heh, it’s a good thing you brought Marianne. I don’t think I really qualify that well as a healer,” he said.
“Actually, it looks like you’ve done a decent job,” Marianne’s soft voice spoke, gingerly looking over the areas that Sylvain had treated. “Even a basic healing spell can mean the difference between life and death. Your quick thinking may have saved her life.”
A blush formed on the Gautier heir’s cheeks, rivaling the color of his hair. “You think so? Well, maybe I should take the Holy Knight exam. I bet the ladies would love a man who can heal.”
Dimitri groaned, placing a hand over his face. Byleth rolled her eyes--it’s just a good thing Ingrid wasn’t here.
“Sylvain, why don’t you head back to the triage base? See if they need any help,” Dimitri asked. Fortunately, Sylvain took the bait and promptly mounted his own horse before galloping away. When he was out of sight, Dimitri turned his attention back to Hilda. “Apologies, Hilda. You said the one commanding the army was Lord Arundel?”
“Well, I didn't exactly remember his name, but--ow!” Hilda yelped, flinching at the healing salve that Marianne was placing on a cut on her abdomen. Raphael held her steady so that she didn’t move too much. “Oh, I am so giving that jerk a good thrashing next time I see him!”
“Focus, Hilda,” Byleth said. “Do you remember what happened after he attacked you?”
Hilda’s lips pulled into a thin line. “I was supposed to protect the bridge leading to the harbor. Claude was on the other side; he was the city’s last line of defense,” she explained. Her pink eyes closed and she swallowed thickly. “Th-the last thing I heard, before I passed out… was… I….”
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence before a choking sob escaped her throat. Hilda leaned her head against Raphael’s large chest as hot tears ran down her cheeks.
“It was a scream,” Raphael answered for her. “I heard it too. It… it was Claude.”
There it was again. That ice-cold dread flooding her veins with each pulse.
“Is he…?” Byleth began to say.
Raphael sighed and shook his head. “I got no idea. I wasn’t too far from the bridge when I heard it. I tried to get to him, but every time I knocked out one soldier, nearly a dozen more showed up. It was endless.”
She found herself standing up shakily, her clammy hands clenched into fists. She attempted to steady her breathing with a deep breath before her feet began to move.
“Professor…?”
She heard the concern in Dimitri’s voice, which caused her to stop at the foot of the bridge. But what she saw on the other side prompted her to run.
Byleth remembered how Claude flew into battle at Gronder Field atop a magnificent white wyvern, adorned with elaborate golden armor and red tassels. She had watched in awe as the creature dipped and swooped almost elegantly among the enemy soldiers. It was truly a shame that they weren’t able to ally with each other beforehand; all she could do was convince Claude to pull back, and let the Kingdom force Edelgard and her troops to retreat.
Now, the wyvern lay among the rubble, barely alive. Blood coated her white scales, and much of her armor was left in tatters. She whined painfully as Nader soothingly spoke to her in Almyran. He was kneeling beside her, gently stroking her snout.
When he heard Byleth approach, Nader stood. Her chest lurched as she saw Failnaught clutched in his right hand. Red was smeared on its surface.
“...No…” she whispered, covering her mouth. The corner of her eyes stung, and she blinked, hoping to hold back any tears.
He… he’s not…. He can’t be...
“There’s no body. I already searched the area,” Nader said, breaking through her thoughts. He placed his free hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I don’t believe for one damn second that the kid’s dead, Professor. He’s too clever to give up that easily.”
Byleth sniffled, only able to nod in response. She knew there was truth in his words… but the guilt was overwhelming. Her body trembled, unable to stop herself from crying. She rested her forehead against Nader as he brought her closer and rubbed her back.
“We’ll find him. I promise.”