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Description
How did it come down to this? Was there some other path that could have been taken?

After defeating Edelgard von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire at Enbarr, the Leicester Alliance marched onto the home turf of Those Who Slither in the Dark, on the night of the full moon, to take advantage of Marianne's gigantism in assaulting the base. The Titanuses were taken out with relative ease with Marianne and Linhardt acting the vanguard, allowing for Claude, Byleth, and Hilda's forces to cut into the heart of the enemy base, but as the bulk of the army was ready to infiltrate, a piercing screech rang out through the night, turning the blood of hardened men cold. Spikes of bone and darkness rained down from the sky, viciously cutting into the Leicester and Slither army alike, and a pounding was heard approaching over the crater, signaling an intent for combat. A large, slender hand reached over the cliff, followed by another, before wings of darkness spread long, and a deranged, commanding laugh echoed through the air, a massive figure propelling itself into the battlefield in its wake.

It was Edelgard von Hresvelg. Having returned from the cold grasp of death. Left twisted, mind broken, a shell of her former self, demanding carnage in this broken, monstrous form that barely resembled who she once was.

Marianne screamed at her friends to get inside now and take the fight to Thales, as she crashed into the giant, monstrous empress, who was taking joy crushing the screaming Slitherers who could not fight under her heel - even gleefully throwing some in her mouth to play with before she ultimately swallowed. She locked arms against Edelgard, who was in a hysterical laughing fit - Marianne's teeth clenched as she fought back against the beast's strength, her hypnotizing red eyes staring directly into her soul. The laughter eventually ceased, and Edelgard spoke.

"Marianne von Edmund..." she mused, "To think that the one so quiet and mousey would be one of the biggest thorns in my side..." Marianne growled, feeling the strain in her arms as Edelgard leaned into her. "Tell me, do you not see it? How right I was, in the end?"

"R-Right about what?!"

"You. Your Crests. Look at the damage you wrought throughout the campaign you and your little friends started. Do you not see how different you are from them? The ones you call your 'comrades'?" Edelgard extended her neck towards Marianne. "You are nothing more than a monster... A monster created by Crests. Crests are a poison. They take, and take, and take and take and take and take from people - loved ones, homes, lives, all gone in a flash due to this sin in our bloodlines..."

"Y-You're wrong! This is my power! I won't... Let it be used for-"

"You think I don't know? About your parents?" Marianne gasped, her eyes went wide, and she felt her spine bend backwards as she yelped in pain, Edelgard gaining ground. "Oh yes, I know - I was told by Hub- Hub- You - You killed them. That's on you. It's your body, your curse. They will all blame you, not Maureeeezee..." Marianne felt like she was going to cry - losing badly, remembering the fate of her parents, all at once being told down to her by a demon staring from the moonlight she once cursed...

But then, a fury. A flame erupted within her.

"You are beast..." Edelgard rambled on, losing her ability to communicate in what seemed like spurts of mental delerium. "You should have joined me - all of you. You will all diediedie here today, and I will build my-"

"...The hell up..."

"Hm?" Marianne pushed back, intense rage in her eyes.

"I said shut the hell up!! You have no right to call me a beast after what you did! After all the people you hurt! You aren't an emperor - you're a spoiled child who was wronged, and has been throwing a temper tantrum for years! Don't you dare stand there and act like you know me! You have no idea of the friends I made along the way who helped me leave my negative perception behind - while you shut yourself off from the world! I'm not the monster, Edelgard - you are! You always were!" For a moment, Edelgard looked stunned about having been yelled at, directly to her face, but that look of shock melted all away, and a twisted grin curled upon her lips.

"Haha... HaHa! AHAhAHAhaHAHAhaHAH!! I-I- M-MonSteRrr...! I am - I Am a monSter! And I will KilLLllL!! KiLl All OpPOSsers!!!"

"Just try it!! I'll send you to the Goddess myself so you may repent for your sins!" Having leapt from Marianne earlier before Edelgard's assault, Linhardt hid behind debris, clutching his shoulder that was nicked by one of Edelgard's spines, waiting for the chance he could strike to distract Edelgard and allow Marianne to get the final blow. As he watched his partner fight back the former star-student-turned-beast he once shared a classroom with, Linhardt couldn't help but think back to the times back at the Officer's Academy, when Hubert said he was going to regret his decision. He very well might if he attacks - Linhardt just watched Edelgard eat people for gods' sake - but as his eyes focused on Marianne's struggle back against the dark monster, he was filled with a sense of hope that she was going to win, and his mind cooked up one thought, which may just be his last:

"If I make it out of this, I swear to the goddess, I am going to marry that woman."

I guess this might finish up the Curse of the Giant Beast storyline that me and YourMaskedDitto did? I don't want to say "finish" exactly, after all, we could very well expand on the world the tale created in different ways, but at least for what I wanted to do, I think this might be it, at least something I could feasibly pull off - I'd like to end it with Edelgard's demise being crumbling to ashes in one final frenzied blitz, countered by Marianne, but absolutely no way in hell I could pull that off in XPS unless I really want to kill myself with busywork. Anyways, not much else to say on the content - I will comment on it being interesting that Edelgard's mouth bones in her monster form and eyes completely articulate, despite them never actually moving in Three Houses, amazing all the stuff they put on these models that they never use, I dig it.

Model shoutouts go to Ambros489 for Marianne, ShinyAegislash for her Dancer body, Edelgard's monster form, Linhardt, and the Titanus, and RyuAensland for the setting, thanks again.

Description
How did it come down to this? Was there some other path that could have been taken?

After defeating Edelgard von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire at Enbarr, the Leicester Alliance marched onto the home turf of Those Who Slither in the Dark, on the night of the full moon, to take advantage of Marianne's gigantism in assaulting the base. The Titanuses were taken out with relative ease with Marianne and Linhardt acting the vanguard, allowing for Claude, Byleth, and Hilda's forces to cut into the heart of the enemy base, but as the bulk of the army was ready to infiltrate, a piercing screech rang out through the night, turning the blood of hardened men cold. Spikes of bone and darkness rained down from the sky, viciously cutting into the Leicester and Slither army alike, and a pounding was heard approaching over the crater, signaling an intent for combat. A large, slender hand reached over the cliff, followed by another, before wings of darkness spread long, and a deranged, commanding laugh echoed through the air, a massive figure propelling itself into the battlefield in its wake.

It was Edelgard von Hresvelg. Having returned from the cold grasp of death. Left twisted, mind broken, a shell of her former self, demanding carnage in this broken, monstrous form that barely resembled who she once was.

Marianne screamed at her friends to get inside now and take the fight to Thales, as she crashed into the giant, monstrous empress, who was taking joy crushing the screaming Slitherers who could not fight under her heel - even gleefully throwing some in her mouth to play with before she ultimately swallowed. She locked arms against Edelgard, who was in a hysterical laughing fit - Marianne's teeth clenched as she fought back against the beast's strength, her hypnotizing red eyes staring directly into her soul. The laughter eventually ceased, and Edelgard spoke.

"Marianne von Edmund..." she mused, "To think that the one so quiet and mousey would be one of the biggest thorns in my side..." Marianne growled, feeling the strain in her arms as Edelgard leaned into her. "Tell me, do you not see it? How right I was, in the end?"

"R-Right about what?!"

"You. Your Crests. Look at the damage you wrought throughout the campaign you and your little friends started. Do you not see how different you are from them? The ones you call your 'comrades'?" Edelgard extended her neck towards Marianne. "You are nothing more than a monster... A monster created by Crests. Crests are a poison. They take, and take, and take and take and take and take from people - loved ones, homes, lives, all gone in a flash due to this sin in our bloodlines..."

"Y-You're wrong! This is my power! I won't... Let it be used for-"

"You think I don't know? About your parents?" Marianne gasped, her eyes went wide, and she felt her spine bend backwards as she yelped in pain, Edelgard gaining ground. "Oh yes, I know - I was told by Hub- Hub- You - You killed them. That's on you. It's your body, your curse. They will all blame you, not Maureeeezee..." Marianne felt like she was going to cry - losing badly, remembering the fate of her parents, all at once being told down to her by a demon staring from the moonlight she once cursed...

But then, a fury. A flame erupted within her.

"You are beast..." Edelgard rambled on, losing her ability to communicate in what seemed like spurts of mental delerium. "You should have joined me - all of you. You will all diediedie here today, and I will build my-"

"...The hell up..."

"Hm?" Marianne pushed back, intense rage in her eyes.

"I said shut the hell up!! You have no right to call me a beast after what you did! After all the people you hurt! You aren't an emperor - you're a spoiled child who was wronged, and has been throwing a temper tantrum for years! Don't you dare stand there and act like you know me! You have no idea of the friends I made along the way who helped me leave my negative perception behind - while you shut yourself off from the world! I'm not the monster, Edelgard - you are! You always were!" For a moment, Edelgard looked stunned about having been yelled at, directly to her face, but that look of shock melted all away, and a twisted grin curled upon her lips.

"Haha... HaHa! AHAhAHAhaHAHAhaHAH!! I-I- M-MonSteRrr...! I am - I Am a monSter! And I will KilLLllL!! KiLl All OpPOSsers!!!"

"Just try it!! I'll send you to the Goddess myself so you may repent for your sins!" Having leapt from Marianne earlier before Edelgard's assault, Linhardt hid behind debris, clutching his shoulder that was nicked by one of Edelgard's spines, waiting for the chance he could strike to distract Edelgard and allow Marianne to get the final blow. As he watched his partner fight back the former star-student-turned-beast he once shared a classroom with, Linhardt couldn't help but think back to the times back at the Officer's Academy, when Hubert said he was going to regret his decision. He very well might if he attacks - Linhardt just watched Edelgard eat people for gods' sake - but as his eyes focused on Marianne's struggle back against the dark monster, he was filled with a sense of hope that she was going to win, and his mind cooked up one thought, which may just be his last:

"If I make it out of this, I swear to the goddess, I am going to marry that woman."

I guess this might finish up the Curse of the Giant Beast storyline that me and YourMaskedDitto did? I don't want to say "finish" exactly, after all, we could very well expand on the world the tale created in different ways, but at least for what I wanted to do, I think this might be it, at least something I could feasibly pull off - I'd like to end it with Edelgard's demise being crumbling to ashes in one final frenzied blitz, countered by Marianne, but absolutely no way in hell I could pull that off in XPS unless I really want to kill myself with busywork. Anyways, not much else to say on the content - I will comment on it being interesting that Edelgard's mouth bones in her monster form and eyes completely articulate, despite them never actually moving in Three Houses, amazing all the stuff they put on these models that they never use, I dig it.

Model shoutouts go to Ambros489 for Marianne, ShinyAegislash for her Dancer body, Edelgard's monster form, Linhardt, and the Titanus, and RyuAensland for the setting, thanks again.