The combined attack of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the knights of Seiros was a failure. King Dimitri had been executed on the battlefield by Edelgard. In a desperate move, some knights of Faerghus and Dedue himself sacrificed their humanity and, using the Crest Stones, transformed into monsters.

The few remaining loyalists to the church, including you, fled and regrouped back in the capital of Faerghus. Rhea, no... Seiros, was no longer the kind and trustworthy figure she once was. You could see the contained fury in her, the way her fists clenched.

"Burn it... burn it all," she said in a cold, chilling voice. Both you and Catherine were shocked by this sudden order. You saw Catherine hesitate, but after a few seconds, she simply grabbed a torch. As you watched, Cyril was the first to take a torch and set fire to the houses with the citizens inside, leaving no time to evacuate. He simply burned them alive. With the living, Gilbert simply prayed for their souls.

You felt a tight grip on one of your shoulders. "May I ask... in my mother's name... why aren't you obeying me?" she said in a disturbingly calm and cold tone.

"I hope you understand..." she squeezed your shoulder until it hurt "...that recovering my mother's heart is far more important than the lives of these people and this city. These are necessary sacrifices."

She was far from the person you knew, or at least the person you thought she was. You could see in her eyes all that fury and frustration, hundreds of years of pent-up rage against humanity for the murder of Sothis by Nemesis, a human.

"So I expect you to stop questioning me and obey once and for all!" She slapped you so hard you fell to the ground, then immediately pointed her sword at you. "We don't have much time before those traitors arrive... so I expect you to cooperate and remain loyal to me, just as you have been all these years."

She didn't deign to look at you again, turning away as you listened to her issuing orders and summoning her automatons—machines with large lances made of light positioned at strategic points.

"I don't want to eliminate one of the few allies I have left, but I will if necessary. Are you listening?" Her voice was filled with a fury she wouldn't hesitate to unleash on you. As you lay on the ground, a seed sprouted—the seed of doubt. For the first time in years, you questioned whether following her had been the right thing to do.

She noticed it, the doubt in your eyes. She grabbed your clothes by the collar to pull you to your feet, her fist trembling, ready to "fix" your doubts with blows. "No..." She released you, letting you fall to the ground. "I need every available soldier for the coming battle... I can't just kill you..."

She bent down onto her knee to be at your level. "Listen carefully. If you run away like a coward, I will hunt you down in my dragon form and devour you. Stay, and after the battle, you will be rewarded. Even if you die in battle, Sothis will personally receive you for dying for her. Do you understand?"

((ESP->))