i don't want to live in a world without you

Chapter 11

If she can just make it through these next battles, then everything is going to come to an end, at long last. The odds have been tilted more and more in favor of the Adrestian Empire, and with a decisive victory in Fhirdiad, they can put an end to it all, once and for all. The rest of the Kingdom's strongholds have fallen, and the Alliance is no longer in the picture. The Church of Seiros and the Kingdom are indistinguishable at this point, with the way that they really on one another, and if Dimitri can be defeated, then so can Rhea, at least in theory.

There is, of course, the matter of Rhea's monstrous abilities, but they are so close now that they can't waste time dwelling on the potential difficulties surrounding that fight. They will simply have to give it all they have, and hope that by the time Rhea shows her face, that they will not be so worn out by the battles up until now that it hinders their ability to destroy the Immaculate One.

Perhaps they are gambling quite a bit at this point, but even in her position, assisting with battle strategies, Byleth is not sure if they have any other options. They have proven their strength time and again, but nobody has any real experience battling the Immaculate One, and so, there is not much that they can build on, no hints that they can use to form a better strategy. They will simply have to give it all they have- she, Edelgard, and even Hubert, have to agree on that, ready to put an end to this war, which has already gone on for far too long.

"And then," Edelgard says hopefully, "we can start to focus on making real changes. Both outside of the Empire...and within."

It will hopefully be the last time that Byleth has to fight people that she knows from her days at the monastery, back when the Church still controlled the land. She knows that Dimitri will defend his kingdom, and that Dedue will be at his side, as he has always been. Rhea will surely have Catherine and Cyril there to defend her, and Gilbert will remain loyal to his king and to his "goddess" until the end, even knowing that his own daughter falls on the other side.

But Byleth will not be alone, either. Always, she has leant her support to Edelgard, just as Hubert does, and she has her students, those that she chose, who remained loyal to her in the end, and the students that chose her , transferring to her class so that they could continue to follow her until the very end. Her fellow professors, the knights who chose to leave the Church because she and Jeralt did.

And of course, she has her father, as she always has, the one person she will always be able to count on and depend on, who has sworn to protect her the same as she has sworn to protect him. They are so close to finally being able to have the peaceful life that they have been waiting for, and when the war is over, though she knows that it will be some time before they know true peace, she hopes that they will one day be able to truly be together as lovers are, even if it is somewhere far away from here.

The two of them have wandered for as long as she has been alive, so not staying in one place does not sound all that unappealing, after being rooted to Garreg Mach for so long, and there are places outside of Fodlan that she has never seen, and has become much more interested in, after meeting some of the people that she has at the monastery. There is a lot that she wants to see, so perhaps after this, with Jeralt at her side, she will be able to.

But before any of that can happen, she first has to face off against Dimitri, and Rhea herself. She first has to bring down the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Church of Seiros, all in one go, and though she is hardly doing any of this alone, it will still be difficult, no matter how many numbers that they have on their side.

At the very least, she can count on Jeralt to remain at her side.

~X~

Jeralt knows that these fights are wearing on his daughter, that she is giving this everything that she has, and that she is worn out, tired of having to fight familiar faces, tired of watching those around her fall, and tired of this war. But still, she keeps fighting, making him proud as she sticks to her convictions, never allowing herself to falter, no matter how it may wear on her.