A/n: So, I completely forgot there's already a character named Acheron in the game. In my defense, I planned out this story before I completed any of the routes in the game. However, I will be changing the mission slightly by replacing FE's Acheron with mine to add more flavor to the story. Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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On the first day of the Lone Moon, Presea was called to the cathedral by Byleth. The professor had gathered the Golden Deer and Judith for Claude in order for their next mission to be discussed.

"Preparations are complete. Now it's a game of patience. As they say, good things come to those who wait," Claude informed the others.

"Care to elaborate on this plan of yours, Claude? Can we really do this without battling my father?" Lorenz asked.

"Pretty soon, Count Gloucester will need to gather his troops in the northern part of his territory."

"Against Houses Riegan and Daphnel?" Byleth inquired.

Claude nodded with a grin. "You got it, Teach!"

"The combined forces of the Riegan and Daphnel houses will threaten the northern part of the Gloucester territory. Nardel, that retainer I mentioned, is going to draw their attention," Judith stated.

"We'll take that opportunity to make our way through Gloucester territory and launch a surprise attack on the Great Bridge of Myrddin."

Lorenz met the brunette's gaze. "And...are you not concerned about the possibility that I may tip off my father?"

Claude didn't doubt his friend's loyalty. "The future of the Alliance rests on this battle. I'm certain you won't betray us."

"Hmph. I will ensure our success."

"I know you will. If we win this fight, then our next goal will be to topple Enbarr, the Imperial Capital. I said before that my plan was to meddle with the Empire, but I'm going to do you one better. We are going to defeat the Empire, once and for all. But to do that, we can't afford to slip up here. Bear that in mind and prepare yourselves for the coming battle."

"I'm positive we'll succeed," Presea said.

The emerald-eyed boy directed his confident smile her way. "Keep that hope up and there's nothing we can't do."

When the meeting ended, Presea headed to the dining hall. Because of her new cooking skills, she wanted to see if she could make something wyvern-friendly for Albus. She gathered some ingredients she knew a wyvern could eat and created a large portion. Once the meat was cooked medium well and she mixed in the other ingredients, she poured the food on to the plate and headed to the stables.

She entered the stall where Albus was resting and called out to him. The white wyvern lifted his head and watched her closely with his golden eyes. When he recognized her and spotted the food in her possession, he hopped to his feet with an excited growl.

Presea laughed at his exuberance. "I know you're hungry and I made something special." She held out the plate as Albus sniffed the food. His tongue skimmed over one of the pieces of meat in curiosity. When the flavor exploded on his tongue, he took a big chomp of the food and enjoyed every second of chewing on it.

It didn't take Albus long to eat the food. He even licked the plate afterwards to show just how much he enjoyed the meal. Seeing the food was gone, the wyvern nudged his muzzle against her abdomen with a needy grumble.

"What? Was that not enough?" Presea asked. Albus stared into her cerulean eyes before bobbing his head up and down. She huffed out a chuckle at seeing him nodding his head. "All right. I'll make you seconds, but that's it, okay?" The wyvern nuzzled his snout against the side of her head in an affectionate manner.

Swiveling on her heels, Presea turned to the leave the stall but was stopped when she saw a smirking Claude standing at the entrance of the stables. She arched a brow as she approached him. "How long have you been here?"

"Only a couple minutes. With your senses, I'm surprised you didn't notice me at all," Claude said.

"I was distracted," she replied. "It's also a little difficult to sense others when I'm in the stables. They're tons of smells and noises that drown everything else out, but I doubt you came here to talk about that. Is there something you need?"

He shook his head. "Nothing in particular. Just wanted to see what you were up to. Now that I know you're spoiling Albus, that saves me the trouble from needing to feed him later. By the way he's acting, I'm guessing he liked what you made him."

"I'll say," she laughed, holding out the plate. "He licked the plate clean. I'm heading back to the dining hall to make him seconds. If you'd like, I could make you some of those rabbit skewers I promised."

Claude's eyes gleamed with excitement. "I'm down for anything you cook."

"Then let's go."

The couple left the stables and made their way to the dining hall. Presea walked behind the counter and returned to her ingredients. She cooked Albus' meal and the pickled rabbit skewers simultaneously while ignoring Claude's gaze. He was watching her intently as she cooked both dishes, amazed at her skills. An impressed smile manifested on his face. "You really have improved your cooking skills. Look at you go. I can barely boil water."

"You're not that bad at cooking," Presea remarked. "You've impressed me a few times with your cooking."

"You're just trying to be nice."

"I'm telling you the truth. You really have made some amazing dishes, Claude. Maybe you should—" The sound of screaming interrupted Presea's thought. She looked up from the stove and locked eyes with Claude. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He asked.

"Screaming." She extinguished the flames to keep from burning the food.

Just as she was about to check where the scream came from, Hilda rushed into the dining hall. "Claude! Pressy! We've got a big problem! There's some people in weird robes trying to infiltrate the monastery!"

Claude and Presea's eyes widen in horror. The snowy-haired girl immediately thought of the mysterious group who destroyed her village and killed her people. She went to follow Hilda, but she was stopped by the brunette. Gazing into his emerald eyes, she wondered why he was stopping her. "What're you doing, Claude?"

"Stay here," he said. Without giving a reason, he left the dining hall.

Presea remained where she stood as students rushed out of the dining hall in fear of the unknown assailants closing in on the monastery. After a few minutes, she couldn't stand the thought of her friends getting hurt and wandered to the marketplace. She didn't want to anger Claude by going after him and the others, but she couldn't stand by and do nothing.

As she walked by the many stalls in the marketplace, she saw how the vendors were hidden behind their wares. Before she could exit the the marketplace via the wooden doors, she froze mid-step when her nose detected a strange scent. It was a mixture of blood and ash, which caused her skin to crawl. She unconsciously took a step back as the scent grew stronger.

Suddenly, the wooden doors shattered as a figure broke through them. Presea acted quickly and protected herself and the vendors from the shrapnel. The moment everyone was safe, she dispelled the barriers. Looking toward the person who infiltrated the Officer's Academy, her eyes widened in horror when seeing a older burly man with spiky white locks, crimson eyes, and a heavy stubble beard. What caught her attention were the scars across his jaw. There were four long scars that resembled claw marks. They trailed up the left side of his face along his jawline and ended just below his ear.

Presea became petrified when her cerulean eyes locked with the man's crimson ones. Her heart was racing inside her chest because of the fear she felt just by being in this man's presence.

"I've finally found you," he cackled, holding out his hand as a familiar dark enigma swirled around in his palm. "Once you're dead, the armor shall be complete and I will become fully immortal. Not even my brother will be able to surpass me."

"Acheron..." Presea mumbled his name.

"It seems you already know of me," he grinned. "Then this'll be a quick extermination."

Releasing the dark enigma, it surged forward and headed straight for the girl's heart. She quickly entrapped it in sphere of light before turning on her heels and running away from Acheron. She needed to get away from the market to keep the vendors from being drawn into the fight.

As she was running past the pond, Presea felt an immense pain in her left shoulder. She cried out in pain and stumbled, but she kept running and pressed a hand against the wound. Blood seeped through her fingers as she ran past the greenhouse and the dormitory. Without looking, she casted a fire spell at Acheron.

The man dodged the fireball and readied his own spell. He fired a ball of miasma, but Presea used her own spell to cancel his out. Turning the corner and passing the training grounds, she ran to the reception and headed to the cathedral.

As she was crossing the bridge, searing pain courses through her body when lightning struck her on the back in the center of her scar. She tripped over her own feet and skidded across the stone. Her hands and knees were scraped, blood dripping from the torn skin. Blood from her shoulder, palms, and knees tainted the stone. Pushing through the pain, she gritted her teeth and managed to get back to her feet. She tried to concentrate and cast a spell, but she could only manage a sloppy and weak air spell.

The blades of wind shot towards Acheron. However, he created his own protective barrier crafted from miasma and took the brunt of the wind blades. He manipulated the barrier and created a vortex of miasma. It shot forward towards the girl and knocked her to the ground. She screamed at the top of her lungs as the miasma sliced up the exposed skin her clothes didn't cover. She crumpled to her bloody knees and couldn't move a muscle due to the pain she was experiencing. Her body shook, her breathing ragged and labored.

Acheron stalked forward with his hand raised. The dark enigma was desperate to be released and itching to consume Presea's heart. When he was ready to release the spell, a figure bursted from the doors of the reception hall and charged toward the burly old man. Hearing a battle cry, Acheron turned around and glared at the person.

Presea managed to lift her head to see who was there. It was Byleth. He wielded the Sword of the Creator and slashed at Acheron. The old man was forced to fight against the professor and the dark enigma vanished.

"Those eyes and hair..." Acheron grumbled. "You're one of them."

Byleth remained silent, glaring daggers at him as he fought against him. He grunted with every swing of his sword and promptly dodged every spell Acheron sent his way. With the Sword of the Creator, he was able to deflect some spells and send them back his way.

Presea, feeling weak from the pain and blood loss, watched Byleth fight against Acheron. The older man was clearly more powerful and not even the professor could win against him by his lonesome. She wanted to help him, but she was too weak to even raise a finger. Under her breath, she cursed herself for being so weak and useless against Acheron. She couldn't even transform.

Byleth continued to fight against the man until Seteth, Alois, Catherine, and Shamir showed up. Seeing as he was outnumbered and his plan had failed, Acheron gritted his teeth before vanishing into thin air.

Sheathing his blade, Byleth rushes to Presea's side. He kneeled in front of her and examined her wounds. "We need to get you to the infirmary."

"Wh-Where are the others...?" Presea weakly questioned.

"They're on their way back." Byleth places a gentle hand on her uninjured shoulder. "What happened to you is my fault. I should've known the soldiers were a distraction."

She shook her head. "Acheron did this to me, not you. I didn't realize how powerful he was..."

Byleth grabbed her least-injured arm and wound it around his shoulders. He hauled her to her feet and leaned her body against his just as the cry of a wyvern was heard. Looking towards the sky, he spotted a familiar white wyvern descending.

Albus landed on the bridge and Claude hopped off. Like the others, he hadn't fully grasped what just transpired with the mysterious invaders. "Teach, what—?" His voice died out when seeing Presea's current state. With a wide-eyed, horrified gaze, he rushed over to the injured girl. He gently placed a gloved hand on her cheek after analyzing her injuries and the alarming amount of blood. "Who did this?"

"Acheron," she whispered. "This confirms our worst fears. These mysterious robed individuals are linked to Acheron and they've somehow freed him."

"I never expected someone would attack the monastery directly, especially in the brightness of day," Byleth commented. "Acheron wasn't afraid to attack in broad daylight. He is quite brazen."

"Let's save the chitchat for later. Right now, we need to get Presea to the infirmary." Claude took the snowy-haired girl from Byleth and scooped her up into his arms. Gingerly, he carried her to the infirmary with the professor close behind. He placed her down on the bed, muttering an apology when he heard her whimper.

A few minutes ticked by and Marianne arrived. She healed the shallow cuts littered across Presea's body, but her magic wasn't strong enough to heal her shoulder. She grabbed bandages and filled a small basin with water before returning to her. The azure-haired girl cleaned the wound before applying the bandages. "There. The bandages will need to be changed every few hours until your shoulder has completely healed."

"Thank you, Marianne," Presea sighed in relief.

"Leave the bandage changing to me," Claude said. "I feel like it's my fault this happened to you..."

Presea couldn't help but chuckle, earning Byleth and Claude's attention. "I swear, you two love to blame yourselves for things that are out of your control. Acheron's to blame, not you both. Neither of you knew what he had planned. No one has ever been brave enough to attack the monastery in this manner. At least we know why they were here."

"Tomas—I mean Solon—knew about you for some time before revealing his true colors. He probably shared that information with Acheron and that's how they planned out this attack. The soldiers were the perfect distraction. No one would've expected one man to infiltrate the monastery, let alone that one man to be Acheron himself. He was confident in his abilities and almost achieved his goal," Claude said. He kneeled down in front of Presea and wiped a small smudge of blood off her cheek. "I'm just glad Teach made it in time. If he was a second later..."

Presea took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "Let's not think of the "what if's." I'll be fine after some rest. My shoulder will take some time to heal, but I'm alive and that's all that matters."

Claude learned forward, pressing his forehead against hers. He stared into her cerulean eyes with determination. "I promised you before—I won't let Acheron have you. We will stop him."

"He did mention something that caught my attention," she said. "Before he attacked, he said he could finally become fully immortal. That means he's still mortal and needs my heart to complete his immortality."

"Which makes him still killable," Byleth deduced. "But for now, we need to focus on our next mission. I've a feeling Acheron won't be able to make another surprise visit anytime soon due to us wiping out a considerable amount of his loyal soldiers."

"Yes. I doubt Acheron would make the same move twice. He'll need time to come up with his next plan," Presea stated, standing up.

"Oh, I don't think so." Claude nudged her back down on to the bed. "You're staying here. You need to rest. After all that blood you lost, the last thing you need to be doing is walking."

"But what about the food I left in the dining hall?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Albus understands after seeing you in such a state. And regards to the rabbit skewers, we can have some once you're feeling better."

Presea nodded. "Okay." She laid down on the bed and got comfortable. Not long after, she fell into a deep slumber.

Seeing she was finally resting, Claude's smile shattered. He was relieved she would make a full recovery, but he still blames himself for what happened regardless of Presea's attempt to sway his guilt. He was the one who told her to stay behind because he didn't want to risk what happened at the chapel to happen again. However, his plan backfired and he left her as easy prey for Acheron.

Claude left the infirmary with a grave expression. He searched for Byleth, who had left a few minutes before Presea fell asleep to speak with Seteth. He found the two talking in the audience chamber down the hall. He interrupted their conversation. "Sorry for barging in unannounced, but we need to deal with this Acheron guy as soon as possible. We can't have a repeat of what happened today."

"And we won't," Seteth responded. "What happened today was disastrous. The church and knights will do everything in their power to ensure security is increased."

"Security won't be enough," Claude retorts. "Acheron knows where we are and didn't have any issues breaking down the front door to get to Presea."

"Claude, we all are worried about Presea," Byleth chimed in. "But we must focus on the next mission. We will worry about Acheron later."

"What if later is too late? What if you're wrong, Teach? What if Acheron does attempt to infiltrate the monastery again like he did today? It'll be too late to deal with him and he'll get exactly what he wants. And when that does happen, he'll be unstoppable. The Empire will be the least of our problems."

"Please, Claude, calm yourself," Seteth said. "You are upset and need to clear your head. As the professor said, we must focus on the next mission."

"Of course I'm upset," the brunette sighed. "Presea's the person I hold dearest to me and her life's in danger. Wouldn't you be upset if the person you love was in danger?"

The professor nodded. "I would do everything in my power to protect the one I love. If it's all right with Seteth, I do wish to sort through Lady Rhea's documents to see if I can learn more about Acheron. While waiting for our next mission, I will do all that I can to formulate a plan on how to deal with Acheron."

"I'll help you," Claude said. "I'll make Acheron pay for what he did to her."

<——————————————<<<<<

A week passed after the incident with Acheron. Presea was out of the infirmary and fulfilled her promise to Albus and Claude by preparing them their meals. She found herself spending most of her time at the training grounds. She was focusing on her spells and learning new techniques to improve their strength.

From time to time, Presea's shoulder would ache. She stopped casting to give her body a rest and let the pain in her shoulder subside before continuing. Of course, Claude easily found out about her lengthy training sessions and would visit her every now and then.

Today, Claude wandered to the training grounds with a roll of bandages in his hand. Presea forgot to visit him the previous night so he could change her dressings. He entered the training grounds, but he quickly ducked when a large icicle soared over his head. The ice shattered against the door, the shards raining down on him. He lifted his head and blinked owlishly at the snowy-haired girl. "I don't know what I did, but I am sorry."

Presea smiled at his comment. "You didn't do anything wrong, Claude. I'm still a little jumpy. I thought you were, well...you know..."

He sighed in relief. "So that means I get to keep my head, yeah?"

She giggled. "Yeah." When seeing what was in his hand, she frowned. "I completely forgot last night..."

"It's no big deal. Let's change your bandages now, shall we?"

"My room's closer. Let's do it there."

The couple left the training grounds and headed to the dormitory. They arrived at Presea's room and Claude immediately got to work on changing her bandages. He removed the older dressings and noticed the splotch of blood on them. His brows furrowed, wondering if she had irritated her wound from all her recent training. He examined her injury and saw it had reopened. "I think you need to stop training for a little bit."

"Why?" She looked at her shoulder and groaned when seeing the wound. "Oh..."

Claude wrapped the bandage carefully around her shoulder. "This is the first time I've ever seen you train this hard. If you keep this up, your shoulder won't heal."

"I know. It just..." She hung her head with a faint sigh.

"It's Acheron, isn't it?" Claude asked.

Slowly, she lifted her head and nodded. "He's incredibly powerful and I stood no chance against him. If the professor hadn't shown up, I would've been killed. His powerful magic must be the result of his consumption of Pterolykoses' hearts."

"There's still no need to push yourself. Acheron is strong, but you're not alone. Teach and I have been looking into this guy and we're hoping to learn a thing or two that'll help us." He secures the bandage and moved one of his hands downwards. His finger grazed against her side, earning a small gasp from the girl.

Presea playfully glared at him as she scooted away. "Hey, you did that on purpose."

"Still ticklish, huh?" Claude chortled. He closed the distance she created between them and tried to poke her side.

Seeing what he was trying to do, Presea acted quickly and grabbed his hand. "Oh, I don't think so. There's no way I'm letting you tickle me."

"In that case..." Claude took advantage of their linked hands and gently pushed her down on to the bed. He was cautious of her injured shoulder as he pinned her against the mattress. "How about this?"

Presea gazed into his emerald eyes. "As long as there's no tickling."

"It's a win-win situation for me regardless of what we do." He leaned down to kiss her on the lips, but stopped short when someone started knocking on the door. Looking toward the door, he asked, "You expecting company?"

"No. Wonder who it could be."

"Let me check." Claude pushes himself off the bed and answered the door. "Oh, hey, Teach. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to ask Presea something," he answered.

Said girl climbed off the bed and got to her feet. "Ask away, Professor."

"Did Acheron say anything during the attack?"

"No," she said. "Are you looking into Acheron?"

"Yes. Morosely, I haven't discovered anything. What about you, Claude?"

"Nope. Nothing. Sorry, Teach," the brunette replied. "But I'll keep looking for any documents or books I can get my hands on."

"I appreciate what you both are doing," Presea smiled. "Please, do tell me when and if you find anything about him."

Byleth nodded. "Of course." The professor walked away, leaving the couple behind.

Claude watched the jade-haired boy saunter off towards the dining hall before closing the door and focusing his gaze on Presea. A smirk made its way onto his face. "Now, where were we?"

<——————————————<<<<<

When the end of the month arrived, Claude and Byleth gathered the Alliance Army and marched out of Garreg Mach. Their destination was the Great Bridge of Myrddin which was situation on the border between the Leicester Alliance and the Adrestian Empire. It was also located in House Gloucester territory.

The Alliance army came to a halt on a clifftop. In the distance, they spotted their destination. Lorenz gazed at the large structure. "The Great Bridge of Myrddin is in sight. Beyond it, the Empire."

Cyril stares in awe at the sight. "Whaddya know. There aren't bridges that big in Almyra, that's for sure..."

"How unsettling. There are bridges in the southern part of Ordelia territory, but nothing like this," Lysithea said.

"It's the most strategic location in that area to move a large army across the Airmid River. The Empire will want to hold on to it at all costs, so expect tough defenses," Claude stated.

"If we are victorious, this will be a major loss for the Empire," Presea added.

"Let's proceed with caution," Byleth advised.

Ignatz nodded in agreement. "You're right. The defenses are pretty impenetrable. Let's make our move carefully."

"You're in command, Teach. Do whatever it takes to win. Well, other than sacrificing the lives of our allies for the sake of victory. Try to avoid that," Claude mentioned. "Let's get moving. We're counting on you, my friend."

The Alliance army descended the cliffside and made their way over to the grand structure. They reach their destination, but not before they were spotted by Imperial soldiers and their general. The Alliance army prepares themselves as the enemy made their way towards their current location on the bridge.

Claude mounted Albus before grabbing his bow and a single arrow. "They say the enemy general, Ladislava, is among Edelgard's most trusted. Let's see what she's got."

"Don't fly ahead, got it?" Presea jabbed a finger in the brunette's direction. "We need to stick together and only branch out if necessary."

"Oh, come on, Pres. I'm not THAT careless anymore."

"I know, but you still get drawn into battle and sometimes fly ahead of everyone else."

"I promise I won't be careless," he reassured her. "Now then, let's focus on the mission. Our goal is to take down Ladislava and gain control of the bridge. Let's go!"

The Alliance army sprung into action when seeing the imperial soldiers closing in on them. They dashed forward and met their enemies halfway on the bridge. Among them was their main target, Ladislava. She fought alongside her loyal soldiers, killing any Alliance soldiers in order to reach Claude.

As the Alliance army continued to cut down the imperial soldiers, another group of enemies appeared out of nowhere. Claude turned his head and frowned at the sight. "Whoa, new enemies from the central fortress? By the looks of it, that might not be all of them."

"Leave them to me!" Lysithea shouted. She, along with Lorenz and Raphael, dealt with the soldiers and claimed the central fortress. They thought it would've ended the barrage of imperial reinforcements, but they were wrong when a large group of armor-cladded knights made their presence known.

Ladislava, who clashed blades with Byleth, suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs. "Acheron! Now's the time to show your loyalty to the Empire! Attack the enemy from behind!"

At hearing the name, Presea's eyes widen as she turned to face the large group of reinforcements. She watched the soldiers step aside, allowing one man to saunter forward. She shook her head in disbelief. "It can't be..."

The sinister man who infiltrated the monastery earlier in the month stood in front of the imperial soldiers with a grin. He held out his hands, showcasing his powerful spells. "On this fateful day, your body shall be mine."

"You work alongside the Empire?" She questioned.

"I only allied myself with them in order to achieve my goal. Once I've accomplished what I need to, they will have lost their value."

"Just like my people?" She hissed.

He glared at her. "Your precious father betrayed me by shattering the one promise we made. After the escaping Zanado once the battle was over, I devoted my life to hunting down Pterolykoses in order to gain their powers and forge an impenetrable armor in honor of my brother. However, your "Lady Rhea" imprisoned me for centuries and put a halt to my plans. Thanks to some close allies, I was freed and able to locate the remaining Pterolykoses. Your father was my prime target while the others were just bonuses. And now, you are all that remains. Once you're mine, I shall be gifted with immortality and finish the armor. With your death, Pterolykoses will be no more."

Acheron casted a spell and targeted the girl. She easily dodged and put distance between him and her. When she tried to conjure her own spell, someone grabbed her arm and hoisted her upward. A gasp of shock and fright fell from her lips at the sudden feeling of flight. Her world was spinning and when it ceased, she realized she was on Albus' back. She was seated in front of Claude. "What're you doing? We have to stop him!"

"You remember what he did to you before, right? You still haven't completely healed. I was against you coming with us because of your shoulder, but Teach convinced me to bring you." Claude kept an arm secured around her waist while his other hand held Albus' reins. "Leave Acheron to the others. You and I are going to deal with the other imperial soldiers."

Presea looked back towards Acheron and saw Leonie, Hilda, and Lysithea facing off against him. She was worried for her friends' safety, but wanted to trust they were capable of standing against him long enough for the others to get rid of the remaining imperial forces.

Ladislava, who was still struggling against Byleth, was joined by none other than Ferdinand. He emerged from a group of soldiers on his steed and targeted the professor. Presea noticed what he was trying to achieve and shot a ball of miasma at him. It hit its mark and caused the redhead's steed to stumble slightly.

"Nice shot," Claude commented.

"No time for compliments," she retorts. "Fire an arrow at the ground directly below Ferdinand. I'll enchant it."

"Yes, ma'am." He nocked and arrow and waited for the girl to enchant it before releasing it. He watched the arrow sail through the air and hit its mark. When the metal tip embedded into the ground, icicles sprouted upward. They encased both the steed's legs and torso while Ferdinand's own legs were frozen. Seeing as he was uninjured, the brunette asked, "What're you up to, Presea?"

"I'll let the professor decide Ferdinand's fate. He was a fellow student at the Officers Academy. Maybe Byleth can convince him to switch sides like I did with Ashe. For now, we—"

Suddenly, Albus was hit with a powerful fire spell. He fell from the sky with Claude and Presea still on his back. The couple cries out in fright as they tumbled to the ground.

Presea pushes herself of the ground, wincing when she felt an intense pain in her injured shoulder. Looking down, she saw blood seeping through her clothes. "Dammit..."

Claude recovered from the fall and crawled over to her. Seeing the blood, he realized the same thing. "The wound's reopened again. We need Marianne." He stood up and turned, but stopped when he saw Acheron heading straight for them. He clenched his fists tightly when he realized he was the reason behind their fall. Quickly, the brunette picked up his bow and an arrow. Standing protectively in front Presea, he aimed the arrow at the older man with a sharp glare.

"You think one measly little arrow will stop me?" Acheron scoffed. "You're sorely mistaken if you believe so, Duke Riegan."

"I'll do everything in my power to stop you," Claude growled.

Acheron cackled. "You are a mere insect compared to me. Your power is nothing and you'll be dead before you're able to fire that arrow. Seeing as you are the new leader of the Alliance, you are not my intended target. Hand over the Pterolykos and you'll live to see another day."

"Not going to happen."

Presea was petrified with fright. She glanced around the battlefield and spotted the unconscious forms of Lysithea, Leonie, and Hilda. She saw the injuries Acheron gave them and felt her fear being erased and replaced with pure anger. Movement returned to her body as she slowly stood up. A powerful golden aura engulfed her body, her eyes shifting from cerulean to gold. "I'll kill you..." she muttered.

Claude glances over his shoulder when overhearing her. "Presea...?"

Without hesitation, she transformed and released a thunderous howl. Claude stared up at her form, noticing her Golden marks were radiating brilliantly. Her size was much larger than usual and she towered over them. Her one tail had multiplied into five. He took a few steps back, lowering his bow in the process.

Acheron held up his hands and gestured to the immense wolf. "Such power shall soon be mine!" He took a step forward and attacked the creature, but it was easily deflected by one of her many tails. "What?!"

The Pterolykos pounced on the older man and used a barrage of spells against him. She knocked him back and slammed his body against the stone wall. The rubble pinned his body to the ground, giving her the perfect opportunity to temporarily get rid of him. Casting another spell, a large hole opened up beneath Acheron. The man screamed as his body plunged into the dark pit.

When Presea could no longer hear his screams, she filled the hole. With Acheron no longer in the picture, she could still feel the anger boiling in her veins. In order to rid herself of such a feeling, she set her sights on the remaining imperial soldiers. Spell after spell, she wiped out enemies left and right. She even made sure to protect her allies although she was blinded by anger.

After a few minutes, all the imperial forces were wiped out. Not even Ferdinand was spared from her wrath. Seeing the threats were gone, Presea reverted back to her human form. Her eyes returned to their normal color as the golden aura vanished. Due to the immense power she used, exhaustion took over her body. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

Byleth was the first to rush to her side with Claude in tow. He checked over her to see if she was breathing and saw her chest rising and falling slowly. Then he examined her to see if she was injured. When he did, he saw a blood stain on her shoulder where her old injury was.

"Teach, is she...?" Claude's voice trailed off as he kneeled beside the collapsed girl.

"She's fine," Byleth reassured him. "Could you check her shoulder?"

The brunette nodded and removed a portion of Presea's clothing to analyze her shoulder. He removed the bloodied bandages and his eyes widened in shock. "It's healed?"

Seteth, who had been fighting alongside them, made his way over. "Such tremendous power... I haven't seen such a display in many years."

"What happened?" Byleth inquired.

"A Pterolykos' magic is powered by their emotions. Whenever certain emotions are triggered, it can lead to a Pterolykos to wield immense power. It seems whatever emotion took over Presea allowed her to access a powerful reserve of magic and wipe out the imperial forces. It also appears what magic she wielded healed her injury."

The tenseness in Claude's body evaporated. "I'm just glad she's okay." With the professor's help, the brunette hauled Presea up and onto his back. He kept a tight grip on her as he regrouped with everyone. He was relieved when seeing Lysithea, Leonie, and Hilda were healed and free of injuries. "Well done, everyone. The Great Bridge of Myrddin is ours."

"I was prepared for bloodshed, but that was more than expected... I guess I'm still not used to this," Leonie sighed. "And that guy, Acheron... He was strong."

"Even our enemies were fighting for their own cause. They held out without fleeing until the bitter end..." Ignatz said.

"We must overcome this," Byleth chimed in.

"Yes...we can't afford to stall here."

"Now it's on me to return to Alliance territory and convince those lords to join us," Claude stated. "Lorenz, would you return home for the time being and lay the groundwork with your father?"

"Fine. After all, this is for the Alliance. Or rather, for all of Fódlan," Lorenz replied.

The brunette then glanced around at the faces of his other friends. "For those of you who live in Alliance territories, I ask that you return to your houses, and spread the word about the current situation. Until we finish our preparations, Judith and the knights will do everything in their power to defend the Great Bridge."

"That's a casual way to dole out such a deadly mission, boy," Judith retorts.

"Do you object?"

"Just who do you think I am? I won't let the Empire pass this way, even if it costs me my life."

"Too bad you're not allowed to die. Fight like your life depends on it, but flee if you're ever truly in danger," he said.

"A tall order, as always. I'll use my best discretion, Claude," Judith responded.

"We have no objections either. Go forth and secure us a sufficiently powerful army," Seteth spoke up.

Raphael was the next to speak. "I'll stay here too. The only ones I'd be going home to are my little sis and my grandpa."

"Are you sure you don't want to see your sister?" Claude questioned. "It may be a while before you can return home again."

"But if I see her, I may not want to come back. So I'll wait till I'm done here."

Byleth thought for a few seconds before saying, "I'll stay here too."

"Actually, I'd like for you to come with me, Teach. To help negotiate with the lords. They're followers of the Church of Seiros, after all. It'll make things easier if we have someone there to speak on Rhea's behalf," Claude explained.

"What about Pressy?" Hilda asked, worried about her friend.

"I'll be taking her back to Derdriu with me."

"Is she all right?" Marianne pondered.

The brunette nodded. "She's fine. She just needs some time to rest." He called Albus over, who was fine from Acheron's previous attack, and managed to mount the wyvern with her friends' help. He placed Presea in front of him as Byleth was given his own wyvern from one of the knights. Before taking off, he addressed his allies. "All right, everyone. Let's meet back at the monastery next month. Good luck out there."