[h2][center][color=crimson]Edelgard von Hresvelg[/color][/center][/h2]
[center]Level 1 [color=crimson]Edelgard[/color] (4/10) -> (6/10)[/center]
[center]Word count: 863 words [/center]


As they traded blows, both Edelgard and Beloved felt the damage their foe was dealing. For Beloved, each strike was little more than a chip in its marble form, but Edelgard had allies healing her, greatly slowing Beloved’s progress in defeating her. Roaring with corrupted fury, it leaned down and grabbed the Flame Emperor bodily, lifting her up and squeezing her. Edelgard let out a cry of pain even as her Featherstaffs poured on the healing, but the few that could take their attention away from the featherswords holding off Corrupted reinforcements could not take away all of the damage. 

Beloved slammed Edelgard into the ground, hefting its ax and swinging it to summon a magical meteor swarm, which the Feathershields had almost no time to react to. A number of Featherswords and Featherstaffs died in the attack, though one quick Shield managed to reflect part of the attack with its Reflect Magic. Beloved was not deterred, however, and it lashed out with a kick to Edelgard, which she had much less time to react to.

Barely hefting her shield in time, Edelgard was nonetheless knocked off balance and exposed to a follow-up attack, which crashed her into the floor with meteoric force. Beloved roared in triumph, stepping over and past Edelgard to attack the Featherstaffs and Feathershields that had been helping her. They scattered, giving ground to warn the rearguard of the impending threat, though each knew that Edelgard would not be felled by such a blow. 

True to form, she rose once more, fury blazing in her eyes as she watched Beloved swat a Feathershield away like a gnat, the angel crashing into the Citadel’s wall and slumping as it dissolved into ash. She stalked forward, pointing at the marble colossus and launching a fireball at it. The magic struck true, fire licking at Beloved’s back and earning a bellowing shriek of surprise as it turned to face Edelgard. The assembled angels took that moment to swarm Beloved, Swords taking to the air to crash into its back and head, Bows firing arrows like machine guns at its back and joints, while the Shields held back the Corrupted lines and Staffs kept the group alive, mending wounds and firing blasts of energy between bouts of healing. 

The swarm of foes caused Beloved to lash out with magic once more, but this time the Shields were ready, and the Black Eagle Strike Force showed the Corrupted exactly what it meant to be lead by an Emperor. With a single cry from a Sword, the shieldbearers and melee frontliners seamlessly swapped places, the Feathershields hefting their shields and using everything they had to block as much damage as they could, while the Bows got out of dodge, flying up and away from the impacts of the meteor swarm. The Staffs stayed to heal the survivors, and Edelgard took the opportunity to strike. 

Beloved’s massive frame meant that it could close distance much quicker than Edelgard, but it also meant that Edelgard had plenty of target to hit. As soon as Beloved was distracted, she lowered her shield and struck, Aymr crashing into Beloved’s heel, again and again. Her Featherbows launched fusillades of arrows into its face, while Edelgard chopped a gouge into its leg from behind. Soon, the Corrupted champion fell to its knee, giving Edelgard her chance. She dropped her shield entirely, kicking it aside so as not to let it be damaged, and she leapt onto Beloved’s back. She dug her boots into its body, finding whatever purchase she could as she used Aymr like an ice ax, pulling herself onto the Corrupted champion with a grunt. Freeing her ax, she lifted it as high as she could, and struck with all her might, slamming the blade of her False Hero’s Relic into the same spot she’d hit with a fireball earlier.

The piercing [i]crack[/i] of marble breaking was like music to Edelgard’s ears, and she smiled as Beloved thrashed beneath her, its elbow lashing out wildly to try and knock her off. Instead of colliding with her, it met a [url=https://i.imgur.com/q9Pcwdf.jpeg]barrier[/url] and halted. Edelgard smirked as her second Crest saved her, and before Beloved could recover, she struck again, Aymr cracking through and punching a hole in the monster’s back. Within lied an angry, glowing red pustule of corruption, and Edelgard raised her ax to strike once more, but Beloved rallied as its inevitable demise drew closer, thrashing its body wildly and bucking Edelgard from its back.

The Corrupted champion rose once more, roaring in demonic fury, and leapt backwards before launching yet another barrage of magical meteoroids at the Black Eagles. Yet again, the Shields took defensive positions, but this time the Corrupted were more ready. They slipped past the Swords, abandoning the melee they’d been locked into, and spread out, targeting the defending Shields, the dodging Bows, and the healing Staffs. The battle went from a well-organized fight to a chaotic flailing of weapons, and Edelgard found herself wading back into the fight, taking down Corrupted left and right to free up her angels. [color=crimson]”Do not falter, Black Eagles! This will take everything we have! For Lady Palutena!”[/color]