Fire Emblem Protagonist 17

The carriage had a surprisingly tense feeling running through it's air.

Emilia had told her story. The story of how the Witch's Cult had attacked Elior Forest with the help of a young woman, the Black Serpent, and another young man. The story of how another faction of the Witch Cult had tried to defend it.

Julius hummed, a hand on his chin. "A moderate faction of the Witch's Cult... Fascinating. I... actually am quite the... fanatic when it comes to history, and yet I have never even heard of the possibility of such a thing existing."

The Finest Knight was once again the man who drove their carriage. Although there was small window opened so that he could talk with them, or receive orders if need be.

Felix scowled. "That's because nobody ever mentions them, nyah. Which can't be good..."

Before any suspicions could be raised, Crusch interjected. "Lady Emilia has told nothing but the truth, that I can guarantee..."

She became lost in thought. "Is it possible that this side was only ever shown to elves? We don't know much of their history, especially now that Elior Forest is frozen."

Julius nodded. "It's quite likely that's the case... Though the Witch's Cult, worshippers of the Witch of Envy having a moderate faction sounds... strange." He sounded super excited as he talked about it.

He wasn't lying, he really was a history nerd.

Heitor raised a hand. "Maybe the moderate faction just used to worship elves in general or something?" He was just making a guess of course, he didn't know.

It was pretty rare for cults that worshipped the big bad to be somewhat good in Fire Emblem games though. Typically things were really black and white.

Julius smiled. "It's certainly possible... I'll make sure to take a look at it eventually..." His gaze shifted to Emilia. "My passion for history aside, that information about that Pandora woman was really interesting. Perhaps she's an Archbishop?"

Felix sighed. "Her and that other guy... Can you really not remember him at all, Lady Emilia?"

The half-elf frowned. "I cannot, sorry. He was just... really forgettable."

The man had marched onto her village and tried to destroy everything... How forgettable did someone have to be that Emilia genuinely didn't remember a goddamned thing about him!? There was definitely something else at play here!

Maybe an ability of his? Just like Petelgeuse had his invisible hands...?

Crusch crossed her arms. "And more than the presence of those two, there's that seal at the forest... Do you really know nothing about it, Lady Emilia?"

Once again, the half-elf did not have a satisfactory answer. "Yes, I didn't even know it existed until that day..." It was definitely something bad.

A seal that only Emilia, who was possibly Satella, could open? Heitor was willing to bet it either had some legendary weapon behind it, that is to say the Falchion of the game, or it was sealing a super evil ancient dragon.

Crusch pinched her nose. "Well, it is certainly something interesting... I wish you had told us of this sooner, we could have sent it as a message to the capital."

She was referring to something Julius had done. The Finest Knight, accounting for the possibility of their defeat, had sent all their information about Petelgeuse through Priscilla's servants. So, even if they were to meet their end, the capital would know of Sloth's weaknesses.

The message also talked about the plague of course. This was not the first time Lugunica had dealt with undead, so hopefully they would treat it with complete seriousness.

Priscilla huffed. "You should feel lucky that mine servant managed to make the half-wit talk at all." She glared at Emilia. "Tell me, how are you not a shriveling pathetic woman anymore? Did mine piggy whisper sweet nothings into your ear?"

He didn't whisper anything... because he was really loud about it. As any Fire Emblem Protagonist should be.

Emilia blushed, and hid her face. "Yes..." Oh boy. "He almost put a baby on me even." What...?

He felt good that Emilia was now well enough to joke around, but a princess shouldn't say stuff like that about a servant. It could get him into very, very hot water.

Before anyone else could comment on it... Crusch did. "Y-you aren't lying...!?" Was this gonna become a Heitor teasing season?

He didn't know Crusch would be the type to abuse her reputation as a lie detector to play pranks. It would almost be kind of sweet, if it wasn't aimed at him.

Emilia hesitantly nodded. "Uh-hum... I really thought I was about to become a mother there. W-which doesn't sound too bad, but with the Royal Selection happening right now, I really wouldn't be able to give the baby the love that he or she would need." Very funny.

Crusch glared at Heitor. "Y-you! Explain yourself at once!" Something then happened.

People realized Crusch had not simply just been going along with Emilia's supposed attempts at teasing.

Julius almost lost the reigns of the Earth Dragon. "S-such... lustfulness! Did you really do such a thing!?" No! "A commoner with a princess... that is simply not allowed!" Did he really have to make it about class!?

Felix moved closer to Crusch, almost as if trying to protect her. "We got a pervert here...! Please hide behind me, milady, nyah!"

And Priscilla just looked disappointed. "I leave you alone for but a few minutes...Swine, you're a swine." A new one!?

Emilia came to his defense. "E-everybody, please don't get mad at Heitor. I was basically begging for it, so..." She just made things worse! Her defense was awful!

Crusch somehow became even more bug eyed. "You... are still telling the truth. You are still telling the truth!" Was she though!? She definitely wasn't!

Julius received such a shock to the system with that confession that they almost went off road. That is to say, this little adventure was beginning to straight up become dangerous for their lives.

So he definitely needed to clear up this misconception, for his sake, and for theirs. "All I did was give her a little peck on the cheek! Certainly nothing that could get her pregnan— Ouch!?"

Priscilla was pulling on his ear, like a mad mother. "Now, listen here you swine, do not believe for a second I'll let someone under mine wing to become a lecherous man who thinks women are play things!"

She continued, ignoring his pain. "Feel free to have your fun with slop, but—."

Emilia cut her off. "Lady Priscilla, please let him go...!" Was she on his side or against him!?

Crusch cleared her throat. "Um... Heitor was not lying about simply giving her a peck on the cheek." The carriage became silent.

Thankfully in her shock, Priscilla released his ear. He immediately began caressing it... If that went for a bit longer, Felix would be reattaching things to a living being once again.

Felix scrunched up his eyebrows. "How is that supposed to make a baby...?" It wasn't!

Could it be that Emilia saw that peck as Heitor trying to lead things into sex? Because that had certainly not been his intent—.

"Because kissing makes babies, right!?"

Felix, a doctor, could not handle such an outrageous proclamation. "Unless you are about to reveal some insane elven biology, please do not even start, nyah!"

Emilia tilted her head. "I-It's not an elf thing... D-don't think you can trick me!"

"You are tricking yourself!" And so, the Blue proceeded to break Emilia's reality.

Heitor never even got to talk about the Luna book.



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"Has your ability activated, piggy?"

"Yes... This is going to be a troublesome fight." Though they knew that from the beginning.

Which is why instead of attacking head-on, they were more or less sneaking up on the enemy. That did mean they had left their dragon carriage considerably behind, so it wouldn't be spotted and give their position away.

He was surprised people such as the arrogant Priscilla, and the chivalrous Julius didn't complain about such methods, but maybe he shouldn't. This was the Witch Cult after all, and they deserved no respect.

Priscilla squinted her eyes. "Give us the details then."

Heitor sighed. "First there's the Witch's Cult... Petelgeuse is here." He could see Emilia trembling in the corner of his eye. "And so are several of his fingers... the people he can possess."

He continued. "They're skilled Witch Cultist's on their own already, but if we don't eliminate them all first, they will also serve as extra lives for him... Is what I would normally say if you weren't around, Lady Priscilla."

But there were more problems. "The Witch Cult aside, this town is infected too... with a queen parasite. They're a variant that can affect women, and because of this parasite, the undead around here are more powerful."

Julius interjected. "I see... something similar had happened during the civil war fifty years ago. Is there only one of such an enemy here?"

Heitor nodded. "Yeah, I think the infection started with her." What a poor woman. "Right now the undead are fighting the Witch Cult though, which is certainly... interesting."

Did that mean the Witch Cult were not the ones who had started this mess? Or was this simply a experiment they had lost control of?

It also went to show how much more powerful the undead were with their 'queen' around. They went from complete fodder that Heitor would be able to handle at level one, to a genuine threat.

Crusch hummed. "So we have two enemies... well, let's focus on the Witch's Cult. Fighting a two sided war would be difficult, so let's instead put pressure on the Archbishop together with the undead, and then clean up later."

With that Heitor could agree. Not only because Petelgeuse was the most dangerous enemy, but also because the strength of the undead would fall considerably once the parasite queen had been killed. That is to say, they had a much more obvious weakness.

She continued. "That said, how many civilians are there? Depending on it our approach might need to change."

Heitor frowned. "There are none... all I see are cadavers."

He didn't know why, but he could make some theories. Perhaps since this was the base of operations of the queen, she didn't want any troublesome elements, or perhaps the Witch Cult had already done some work here.

Either way, it meant they only needed focus on attacking. "So let's rush Petelgeuse. There's no need to split or anything, we just need to kill him and then deal with the rest later." If the Witch Cult even stayed around.

Maybe he should be aiming for a total elimination, but to be honest it didn't really matter much. The Witch Cult could always get new members, the Witch Cult couldn't get a new Petelgeuse. Aiming at the commander was only common sense.

Emilia awkwardly raised a hand. "If it's not much to ask... Can I face Geu—, Petelgeuse?"

Heitor shrugged. "We will all be facing him." Even if Priscilla was the star of the show. "So ask your questions then."

Priscilla interjected. "Just do not be surprised if I take his head before you can do anything, half-wit."

Emilia took a deep breath. "Okay... I understand." This was a serious situation after all, and she understood that.

And so they began their plan of pressing the Witch Cult between two enemies.

Sneaking was proving to be surprisingly easy. The cult's focus was concentrated on the undead after all, they weren't expecting a new enemy. Petelgeuse was closer to the back however, probably out of caution...

But in this situation it actually helped Heitor and his little group. Petelgeuse being away from the undead meant that they were close to them.

As soon as they saw their first cultist, Heitor summoned his Rapier. "Everyone, attack! And remember to stay close!" It would be a chaotic battle.

But thanks to his ability, if an ally really did wander off too far, he could just call them back. Everytime someone would get wounded as well, he could immediately send Felix to them.

Their formation may not have been perfect, not even sophisticated... but it was unbreakable. That had its own value.

Emilia froze for a second, instead of immediately engaging in combat. "So that's..."

Crusch drew her sword. "The enemy. For now think of nothing else, Lady Emilia." For all that talk, she had actually done that embarrassing ritual of hers.

Still, as usual Crusch was a talented combatant. Her blade of wind cut the cultist cleanly in two, along with breaking his weapon. Defending against her blow was not wise.

It was if blood being spilled had awoken Emilia from her shock, because she had burst into action. "Right! Ul Huma!" The half-elf created by far the biggest attack she had done so far.

An icicle the size of a house crashed against a cultist. If they were unaware of their presence, that had changed now.

But that was fine, they always knew stealth wouldn't last long.

Heitor too entered into his own battle, starring at a hammer wielding cultist.

He put a hand on his rapier, and slowly dragged his palm against it's edge. However, he did not cut his hand like a idiot, instead that edge began shining the most brilliant of white.

Heitor dashed at the cultist, the power of the Moon blessing his blade.

Naturally, the cultist did try clashing against him, but it didn't matter one bit. The rapier went through the hammer like a knife through butter, and then through the cultist in the same way.

It had not been like when Crusch broke a cultist's weapons. It had been much less brutal, far more elegant. It truly was like he had just been cutting butter, and not a goddamned steel hammer.

It felt amazing. To finally have a 'it' that so many warriors here did.

Level up!
+1 Str
+1 Spd

The ding that echoed through his ears made him feel even better, although it was a pretty shitty level-up... Welp, no use crying over spilt milk. Any level up would be useful and appreciated here.

Naturally, his little light show didn't go unnoticed. "Piggy, what was that...?" After finishing her own fight the baroness stopped to question him.

He smiled. "Just something I picked up in the village... I can explain it later." He had already done so with Emilia.

Priscilla grinned. "A piggy can learn new tricks, huh?"

He sighed. "If you put a book on his brain, then yes." Instead of elaborating and clearing up his confusion, he just kept fighting.

Time was definitely of the essence, after all... "Everyone, let's up the pace! Petelgeuse is trying to break through the undead!" The Archbishop was on the move.

Perhaps because he saw their group as the hardest to confront, he was going towards the queen. If he killed her, Heitor had no idea if he would try to escape or not, and he didn't want to find out.

In their attempts to quicken the pace, Heitor had even settled into somewhat of a routine. Fighting against Cultists could be dangerous at his current level, so what he would do was simple.

He would wait for someone to engage an opponent, and then he would charge-in with a Luna and take them out. Essentially, he was acting like a glass canon protected by tanks.

Eventually, they stumbled upon the final stop before dealing with Petelgeuse.

Three fingers. Three people who could replace Petelgeuse.

Another two were deeper into the fight with the Undead, while another two were dead on the ground. The rest were not on the battlefield, Petelgeuse had presumably left them elsewhere as insurance.

Not that it would matter against the Yang Sword Vollachia.

Approaching those fingers without a plan would be dangerous, so Heitor communicated with his comrades. "Julius, cut their vision!"

The Finest Knight smiled. "It shall be done!" One of his spirite, the one of Yin, flew between the two groups.

It's shadow expanded, and although he did not chant, Julius certainly did. "Shamak!" A cloud of darkness filled the battlefield.

It wouldn't do much against the cultists of course. As the lowest form of magic, only Heitor with his pitiful Resistance would really be affected by it, which is why he had made sure to stay out of it. It would however limit everyone's visions...

Except for Heitor, who could still see things clearly. "Right there!" He guided Emilia's and Crusch's aims.

"El Huma!"

"El Fura!"

Both struck true. From Crusch's hand a small wind wave cut through a cultist, and the Goa he had been preparing as a defense.

Meanwhile, Emilia's ice attacks were aimed at two cultists. Her aim was a bit shoddier, but that didn't matter when she had so much power. One cultist died, while the other managed to raise a sphere wall of defense with an use of Dona.

It didn't matter much, undel Heitor's guidance, Priscilla and her flaming sword hit the Dona like a meteor, burning away the Shamak near it, and the crystals that Emilia had made. Naturally, this opened up the Cultist's defenses...

And Heitor was right behind Priscila.

He swung at the Finger, who raised a sword to defend himself. Nonetheless, with the factor of surprise, Heitor had more than enough strength and speed to bat it away, and then cut the finger's head off with a second slash.

Level up!
+1 Skl
+1 Lck
+1 Def

+1000 Gold!

A satisfactory result, though Heitor felt a bit of shame at not being able to get loot out of every single finger... Each one had some kind of drop after all. In the end however, concessions would just have to be made in the name of the greater good. For example, Petelgeuse still had a droppable Arms Scroll, but Heitor killing him would mean losing this battle.

How unfair.

But in the end he was still rather happy. "We are in the final stretch, let's finish this." Petelgeuse would fall today, beneath the shining sun.

He wouldn't let the Archbishop retreat even if he was wounded!

So they began making their way to the final battle. Heitor was actually feeling tired at this point, but since he was close to the end, he just panted and kept going. Even as he fell a bit behind, with his ability he saw the beginning of the fight...

Between Petelgeuse and the queen.

"My paradise...! I won't let you filthy hands taint it!" For such a crazy title as queen, she didn't look all that special.

Petelgeuse was genuinely angry. "My filthy hands? That's, that's, that's...! Simply absurd considering your existence!" The queen was lifted up to the sky, Petelgeuse was definitely using his hands.

He continued. "Heritage of the Witch of Greed... your false preaching is the foulest heresy! On the name of love, with my proof of love, with my hands of love...! Die."

The queen was squeezed, until she didn't resemble a human anymore.

It gave him a pause for a moment, but Priscilla dashing at Petelgeuse with the power of the sun snapped him back into action. She wasn't kidding when she told Emilia she wouldn't have a chance to talk.

Petelgeuse did not turn around to counter her, but he certainly felt her coming. The heat of Yang Sword Vollachia warning him of her arrival.

So he knelt down, and put his palms on the ground. "Ul Dona!" A sphere of earth rose to surround his body.

Priscilla did crash through it... but her leg was grabbed, and she was sent flying back.

Heitor immediately reorganized with his abilities. "Ferris, heal her! Julius, guard her, use your spirits!"

It seemed Petelgeuse had been afraid of the Finest Knight's spirits in the last battle, so perhaps that would work as a nice shield for Felix while he took care of Priscilla. She need to be in-top shape to take care of Petelgeuse, after all.

While the Blue and the Finest Knight went to their positions, Heitor gave his next orders. "Lady Crusch, Lady Emilia, let's put the pressure on the Archbishop, but remember to not kill him!" Priscilla had to deal the final blow.

He put a hand on his sword, and began charging a Luna. Crusch did the same with her own sword, concentrating wind on it.

Emilia had no need for petty things like charging. "Al Huma!" Several icicles... no, several pillars of ice were launched at Petelgeuse.

Had she forgotten the whole talking thing!? That could kill anyone!

Petelgeuse's invisible hands clashed against the pillars, holding some in place, and cracking against others. With a grunt of effort, he launched those who hadn't cracked back at them.

Crusch swung her sword. "Here!" The wind clashed against those pillars, cutting them apart.

Heitor had a hunch Petelgeuse's attack wasn't over however, so he moved towards Emilia and Crusch, swinging his sword around... and Luna connected with something, cutting it apart.

Petelgeuse had been sneaking his arms to their location together with their ice, hoping to catch them off-guard.

The mad man didn't seem too shocked by their offense. "So everyone came here to kill me... how diligent! I approve! One should keep chasing, and chasing, and chasing something that they want no matter what! Dreams come true with enough effort!" What was he, a shounen protagonist!?

He glared at Emilia. "I'm surprised though... how are you here? You weren't supposed to be here..."

She glared right back. "I took a ride on a dragon carriage!" W-what a simple answer! "Now I have a question for you... What happened to you, Geuse?"

The man's eye twitched. "Haven't I already told you before little lady? I am Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti—."

She interrupted him. "Changing your name doesn't mean anything." Priscilla would get angry if she currently wasn't knocked the fuck out. "You're Geuse. I want to know how... you became like this. That's all."

He squinted his eyes. "You... how? I don't get it, so how? You took the path of sloth, so... How!? How are you here!? How are you asking me questions, and, and, and...!"

She took a deep breath. "I just walked back a little, and took a different path. That's all. P-please do the same." So this is what she wanted to talk about...

Heitor should have figured it.

Petelgeuse grit his teeth. "You walked back!? Things can't be taken back, they...! They... cannot! Slothful! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth! Sloth!"

Emilia once again, cut him off. "With love, anything is possible."

Petelgeuse's eyes widened. "Love...? That's right, it's love, but...! Love! Corrupting love! Deadly love! Invisible love...! I don't care for love that takes me off the righteous path. I must be diligent. Diligence!"

He scratched his hair. "To change from Sloth would be...! If I could I would already have done so in the first place! Isn't that obvious!? Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. I don't have love anymore...!"

Even through his inane rambling, Emilia had not lost heart. "Please don't give up! Don't say things like how you can't do it—!"

He growled at her. "I can't! I can't! I can't! If I could have, I would have done it! I! I! I! Isn't it slothful that someone can live like this?" He hit his head on the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

And then he did again. And again. And again...

The Archbishop started crying. "Give me love...! Satella, shower me in lost love! Please! Please! Please...! Take my legs, take my heart, take my everything...! My brain trembles, trembles, trembles, trembles...!

A look of acceptance passed through Emilia's eyes. "I... don't get it at all." She pointed a hand at him. "But maybe I shouldn't. Now... please die. El Huma!" Icicles were fired at the man.

Contrary to her words however, she did not mean to kill him. The icicles hit everywhere around him, almost as if trying to restrict his movement. Emilia's real goal however, had been to simply destroy any sneak attack he might have been planning, that is to say, cut any hands they could not see.

The battle started once again... but a new problem arose.

The fingers who had been battling with the undead had finally arrived to aid the Arcbishop. These elements of chaos could have shifted the battlefield into Sloth's favor, so...!

"Lady Crusch, deal with the finger on the right, I'll deal with the one in the left!" Naturally letting Emilia fight Petelgeuse by herself would not be a good idea.

But he wasn't going to do that anyways. "Julius, Lady Priscilla, kill Petelgeuse!" Blue had finished healing their trump card.

Could he get away with teasing Priscilla for being taken out in a embarrassing fashion after the fight was over...?

Probably not, so instead of wasting his time thinking of a flustured, cute, and non-existant Priscilla, he clashed blades against the finger.

In that instant, things changed once again.

C-Rank Sword Achieved!

If at E he was a amateur who only knew the basics, and at D he was a competent swordsman... At C he felt like a true master.

Dozens of ideas on how to break through the finger's sloppy defense came to his head. In the end, he actually moved his body down a little, and grabbed a sword from the ground which had been left by a dead cultist.

He swung that new sword, which promptly shattered, but that was fine. With his next blow, using the Rapier, he took the finger's life.

+1000 Gold!

Crusch had already done the same with her own enemy, so all that was left now was...

"No! Love! Shine upon me, love! Shine upon me!" A laughing Petelgeuse.

Did he not understand the situation he was in? Surrounded by Julius and his spirits, and Emilia's ice, he was a dead man. So... did he not understand what the Yang Sword Vollachia could do?

Priscilla raised her sword. "The only thing that shall shine upon you is the Sun! It's flame shall scorch your existence completely, no trace of sin left!" She swung.

A burst of flame erupted in the area, evaporating Emilia's ice that had been holding the Arcbishop... and everything else.

"Love...! Love—!" With those final words, Sloth ceased to exist.

Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti, Archbishop of the Witch's Cult representing Sloth, became ash and cinder. Body, mind and soul.