A Force I Can't Run From (A Fire Emblem Twisted Tale)

Chapter 6: Escaping Fhirdiad

Although that wouldn't slow Dedue since he has the most unwavering loyalty Byleth has ever seen. Dedue was known to be stubborn in battle. He barely retreated, even when heavily injured.

"I will do anything to protect His Highness." Dedue would always say when Byleth would ask about why he would not retreat.

However, such loyalty could be costly. And that is exactly what Byleth feared.

"Oh, that Duscar rat? I took care of him." Cornelia answered.

Dimitri clenched his fists angry and without thinking, charged towards Cornelia. He punched her and threw her onto the ground. He readied his lance and was seconds away from striking the fatal blow when Cornelia was warped away from his grasp. Dimitri growled at the sudden loss of his prey. A nearby mage used Rescue on Cornelia to save her.

Dimitri once again charged forward and slashed the mage with his lance. They were killed with one strike. The body fell lifelessly onto the ground. Blood splattered everywhere but no one cared. This was war.

A crazed smile formed on Dimitri's face, one that reminded Byleth of the fateful day in the Holy Tomb. He pointed his lance at Cornelia. "Your turn to die!" He yelled.

He lunged forward to attack. Cornelia smirked and swiftly dodged to Dimitri's right. She took out a dagger and aimed to stab the middle of his face. Dimitri instinctively dove towards his left to attempt to avoid the attack. He was too late to fully dodge the assassination attempt. The dagger instead sunk straight into his right eye. He yelled out in pain and faced downwards while clutching the right side of his face. Byleth gasped loudly at the sight before her.

"DIMITRI! NO!" She yelled. Once she got a better look at the scene, she covered her mouth in shock. She may have seen much worse while working as a mercenary, but it was the fact that it was happening to Dimitri made it worse.

Blood was dropping from the wound and through his hand. It stained the ground as it seeped into the stone flooring. Cornelia's dagger was covered from hilt to tip in blood, also dripping onto the ground below.

Cornelia was satisfied. An eye for an eye punishment. Perfect before she could execute him. She turned to Byleth. Byleth was frozen in fear. She slowly backed up but bumped into some guards. They quickly restrained her by pinning her hands behind her back. Cornelia laughed. "Looks like you're next." She said as she approached Byleth.

Byleth only had one choice: To use Divine Pulse. She avoided using it in case another and more dire event happened to force her to use it. This is getting as dire as it does. Byleth thought.

The sound of shattered glass rang in Byleth's mind. Cornelia stopped in her tracks. The guards were now statues. Dimitri still was clutching his face in pain. Only Byleth was sentient. She replayed the past minute in her head. Go back to before Dimitri attacked Cornelia.

Time rewinded itself. Unfortunately, Byleth had to relive the gruesome scene again. Once time was now at where Dimitri and Byleth being stopped by Cornelia, Byleth refroze it for a brief second. Once she was ready, she unfroze it.

"Oh, that Duscur rat? I took care of him?" Cornelia repeated. Dimitri once again clenched his fists and was about to charge after the mage. Byleth knew better this time. She grabbed Dimitri by one of his wrists.

"What are you doing?!" He asked angrily as he tried to shake free.

"I'm saving your life." Byleth spat, somewhat annoyed at Dimitri's attitude. "Trust me."

Byleth slashed her Sword of the Creator in the air and it turned into its whip form. She swung her sword back behind her to attack the guards behind her and then unleashed it forward, killing the mage. Now the path was clear. "We need to get out of here, now." Byleth said as she retracted her sword. She turned around to run away but Dimitri didn't follow.