The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

Feelings (Byleth)

Aelfric was gone.

He transformed into an umbral, a dragon-resembling creature made from both Aelfric and Sitri's body, and stood before the Knights and the Wolves. The beast's face resembled a skull, looking like it had five eyes before its face rotted into a skull. The beast had two horns that both looked like they were from skulls as well as his wings. It also had a red mane on its neck similar to a lion, with the same-colored veins on its body running all across in various directions. After the transformation, the beast let out a roar across the chamber.

"We told him not to attempt the ritual and he didn't listen!" Rhea shouted, slightly upset. "He must face the consequences of his actions! Attack!"

Byleth ran to the umbral beast to attack it when he roared to summon some phantoms of Aelfric across the battlefield. One of the phantoms nearly shot Byleth with magic before he could strike the Umbral Beast. Byleth looked to Jeralt. "Father, help me deal with the beast. Everyone else, deal with the phantoms!" He wasn't aware that the beast would be able to summon more, but getting them out of his way could help.

Jeralt came to his son's aid. "I got you," he said, proceeding to throw a javelin at the phantom of Aelfric that nearly shot his son. "Come on."

Byleth followed his father to attack the umbral beast. He swung his sword at the beast's foot to knock it off-guard as Jeralt threw a lance into its chest. The beast cried out in pain and tried to strike Jeralt with its giant claws. As Jeralt moved out of the way, Byleth swung his sword at its claw. Instead of giving a giant cry of pain, the beast put its foot onto the ground and used its other claws to take the lance out of its chest. It dropped the lance to the ground and struck Jeralt with its claw as he tried to ride away.

"Father!" Byleth called as he saw his father fall off his horse.

"I'm okay," Jeralt pleaded. "Keep attacking the beast!"

Byleth saw the umbral beast's claw coming closer to him, looking as if he were to grab him. He let the beast grab him, his plan to take advantage and fatally injure him. However, the beast held Byleth tight in his claws, tighter than expected. The beast put Byleth in its mouth as if he were about to eat him when Byleth took his sword and stabbed him in his upper mouth the chance that he got. Crying in pain, the soundwaves burst Byleth out of the beast's mouth, nearly plummeting to the floor.

Constance looked over amidst the action between the others and the phantoms to see Byleth get knocked out of the beast's mouth. She used her magic to keep him in midair, allowing him to get down slowly. "Can't imagine what pain you'd go through if I didn't save you," she said.

Byleth let out a smile. "Thanks, Constance."

"Not a problem," she said.

Byleth looked to his father as the beast continued to cry in pain. "I need another sword," he said. "Do you have any?"

"Only one," Jeralt said, handing him a sword with the symbol of the Knights of Seiros on it. "It's the Knight Captain's Sword, given to the best captains of the Knights of Seiros. If you can, don't lose it."

Byleth looked to his father. "But I'm not the captain."

"Don't doubt yourself. If you keep going, you will be one day."

Byleth smiled slightly. "Thank you."

The beast leaned more forward to the ground as it continued to scream in pain from the sword that was still stuck in its mouth. Its damaged foot and claws were nearly glued to the floor as it used its other claw to try and get the sword out of its mouth. Byleth ran over and struck its elbow, the beast's reflexes forcing its claws out of its mouth without the sword within. He then plunged the Knight Captain's Sword into its other foot, then nearly sliced off its arm, taking the bloodstained sword out with a roaring in pain beast once again.

Jeralt smiled. "Good job, kiddo." He was able to get up and mount his horse once again to join the fight.

The beast snarled, then unleashed fire out of its mouth to try and hurt them and melt the sword out of its mouth at the same time. It was an idea that didn't last for long, as the silver sword stabbed within its mouth began to somewhat melt, making the beast taste melting silver. The beast couldn't keep itself standing any longer and fell to the ground, keeping its head up in the air to prove it was still alive.

"Looks like the beast can't do anything," Byleth observed. "When I stabbed its mouth, I made sure to not jam the sword all the way in case the beast resorted to firing at us. That way, the silver would melt in its mouth. Now that its body is damaged, the beast can't do anything until we kill it."

"Good," Jeralt said, smiling at his son's intelligence. "Strike the final blow, my son!"

Byleth unsheathed his sword and walked up to the beast, ready to deliver the final blow. He remembered who the beast used to be— a man who was kind to him and his family, who acted almost like a foster father to him when his own was on his duties and his mother was dead. He lifted the sword slowly with the guilt in his eyes building up. He came closer to the beast's chest, plunged his sword into it, and gave it a quick slice until its organs dropped from its body and the beast lay dead. Its black blood burst from its chest and covered the Knight Captain's Sword. The phantoms on the battlefield instantly disappeared, and Byleth ran as the umbral beast's body lost consciousness and could no longer keep its head up, forcing it to fall into the pool of blood.

"We've defeated the beast," Jeralt said happily. "All thanks to my son."

The crowd began to cheer for Byleth, a new slayer of beasts. When he was young, he remembered his mother telling him stories of old dragon and beast slayers who would rise their swords up in victory near or over the carcass of the monster, smiling or cheering for themselves. Byleth rose his sword in victory near the body of the umbral beast.

But the thing is, he didn't smile.