This is it, the final battle. It'd been a long road to get here but it was finally coming to an end. With the ready signal from the western force of the Imperial Army, Krynn's Vanguard along with Edelgard Von Hresvelg and the rest of The Black Eagles and their elite force moved in.
Before beginning, Edelgard gave the Church of Seiros one last chance to surrender, "Rhea! Members of the Curch of Seiros. Surely there's no reason to continue this fight. What could possibly be gained by shutting yourselves inside the capital of a kingdom without a king? I will give you this one chance...and no other. Throw down your weapons and surrender. Unlike you, I have no desire to unleash wicked atrocities upon this world." A few moments passed without response. Their silence spoke volumes. Edelgard decided to wait just a moment longer to see if they would at least allow the innocent civilians who had nothing to do with this war to safely evacuate, as she had done when she took Garreg Mach.
On the other side, Catherine stood with Lady Rhea as they prepared for battle. Catherine spoke first. "Lady Seiros. The Imperial Army is calling for our surrender. Is it wise to ignore them? Perhaps we could leave Ansalon and devise another plan..." Rhea retorted "We shall not surrender. We must not lose! Even if I must split the heavens, we shall not yield to the wicked ones." Catherine pledged her loyalty "Understood...I will do as you command. You have my fealty no matter what, until my last moment of life." Rhea's eyes darkened "Now, Catherine. Set fire to the city. The Imperial Army will burn in the flames of eternal torment!" Shocked, Catherine tried to refuse "What?! No, you can't do that!" "Catherine! NOW!" Rhea snapped. Defeated, Catherine conceded. "As...as you wish. But is there truly no other way?" Rhea hissed back, now completely revealing how unhinged she had really become "I have no patience for foolish questions! I shall sacrifice as many lives as it takes! That apostate who insists on taking everything from me...will be crushed by my own hands!" With a ghastly roar, Rhea transformed into her true form as The Immaculate One .
An imperial soldier ran to inform Edelgard that the city had been set aflame. Edelgard was shocked and at that point had no other choice but to start their attack. The battle ensued and ended quicker than expected. Palanthas' defenses were stacked to the brim with soldiers, commanders, and magical constructs that towered over even the tallest buildings one has seen. Six of these constructs obstructed Krynn's Vanguard's path to their true target, The Immaculate One. With some quick thinking and strategy, Armantaro was able to send everyone over to The Immaculate One in one fell swoop while Orla took a path up the East side to reach the beast. Armantaro, ever the MVP, also banished five of the constructs that had closed in on their position once The Immaculate One's roar called them to her.
With everything they had, Krynn's Vanguard attacked The Immaculate One while dealing with the immediate threats around them. A few people got knocked down, but with some cunning, they were able to keep everyone alive. The Immaculate One and Edelgard had some choice words. "So it's true. You don't value life at all. Isn't that right, Immaculate One?" Edelgard put emphasis and taunting sarcasm into the name. "Nonsense! Fools who do not accept their own sins are undeserving of salvation! You are the ones who betrayed! You betrayed me, and you betrayed my mother!" Truly unhinged and believing she is a god, The Immaculate One was off the deep end. "I did not betray you or her. I never believed in you to begin with." Edelgard ended the conversation there continuing to fight.
Towards the end, Edelgard was out of breath, and they were starting to get overwhelmed. She made one last statement "When we stand strong and people reach out for each other...there's no need for gods. Rhea, your reign of tyranny is over." The Immaculate One let out one last ditch breath attack that Edelgard evaded before jumping in the air and split The Immaculate One's skull open with her axe. Green, somewhat viscous blood poored from the wound as she fell to the ground defeated. Taking in the moment that everything had gone silent and the retreating and captured soldiers footsteps faded into the distance. A set of footsteps from the castle got louder. A woman in black armor and a cape draped over covering most of her armor and any arms she carried appeared, a smug look and slow-clapping. "Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" she chuckled "Did you enjoy my little distraction? It was quite the adventure wasn't it?" She stood by the head of The Immaculate One as her blood pooled around the woman's feet. With a couple fingers, she scooped up some of the blood near the wound and brought it to her lips to taste. Her face contorted slightly "Still as terrible as ever." She whispered "I'd fight you all here...but your far to weak. It'd be a bloodbath." she paused "Ah! But you have that small little Slithering Dark problem or whatever they're called...ants to me. Until we meet again. Ta Ta!" She smiled obviously trying to provoke some reaction from Krynn's Vanguard. She walked off, dropping a bead of black magic at her feet. The magic swirled like a tornado, black and red around her and rose to obscure her from view before it dissipated and she was gone.
With so much in front of them, will Krynn's Vanguard be able to gain enough strength to take down who they can only assume is Takhisis? Or will the Dark Queen be too powerful for them to even attempt to stop?