While it is a crossover between Fate/Grand Order and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the latter is considered to be one of the darkest entries since Genealogy and the Fate series is no stranger to tragedies, there are plenty of sobering moments in this story.
Per troping policy, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
Main Chapters:
- Chapter 27:
- Lonato's Rebellion has been even harder on Ashe than it was in the original. Because of the Mad Enhancement weapons given to his army by Lemegeton, Ashe is forced to see the villagers that he knew in the Gaspard region being reduced to rabid Berserkers that the knights and students are forced to put down.
- Ashe attempts to desperately plead to Lonato to abandon his mad quest for revenge. It's clear that Ashe doesn't want to fight his adoptive father. Unfortunately, Lonato is having none of that, willing to attack Ashe simply because the boy refusing to join in him in his army.
- Although brief, Lonato seems to be remorseful when he fatally stabs Lysithea in the chest.
- Chapter 28:
- We get into Lysithea's perspective as she's slowly dying, struggling to remove the blade stuck in her chest, only to be too weak to do anything and her fingers getting cuts from the attempt. Despite being fully aware that she won't have long to live because of her dual Crests, Lysithea regrets that she couldn't do more with the limited lifespan she has. Worse, she fears that let Goetia down by dying. It's a good thing Goetia decided to intervene when he sensed Lysithea was in danger.
- Ashe tackles Lonato after the latter stabbed Lysithea, only for Lonato to eventual overpower Ashe and starts beating the boy up, calling him ungrateful for siding with the Church. Even Catherine was horrified at Lonato's willingness to kill Ashe, begging Lonato to spare Ashe and kill her instead since she's the one who turned Christophe in.
Lonato: ... You killed my son and stole another from me. I've already mourned one son... I can mourn one more.- Despite willing to beat his adoptive son to death, Lonato's death is treated with much somber. He doesn't go out in a fight or defending his army, he gets beaten to death by an enraged Goetia after the demon makes quick work of his army, leaving him for last. Catherine can't help but pity Lonato's fate.
- Chapter 29: Goetia learns about Lysithea's limited lifespan near the end of the chapter, lamenting that even though he saved her life, she'll still eventually pass at a young age.
- Chapter 30: Despite knowing Lonato tried to kill him, Ashe still mourns for his adoptive father.
- Chapter 31: When they briefly encounter each other at the infirmary, it's clear Ashe has become uncomfortable around Goetia, since he's the one who killed Lonato. He even freezes up when Goetia just passes by him as seen in Chapter 33.
- Chapter 39: Although Goetia knows the result would end badly for him, he still helps Byleth and Sothis in proving the assassins' innocence after they managed to convince him. While he managed to prevent several people from being wrongfully executed, he is effectively placed under house-arrest within the confines of the Monastery till suspicion around him eases. Granted, he did break into the dungeons by using the exact method the true perpetrator (Lemegeton) used on the assassins, but both Sothis and Byleth feel that he's being punished more than being rewarded. What's worse, Goetia's lessons are effectively put on halt during his sentence— the one thing Goetia actually enjoys.
- Chapter 53: While the chapter initially appears harmless as the characters recap to Rhea and Seteth about the events in Abyss, Goetia's shown to be at his wit's end. Ever since his house-arrest, he's forced to confront the fact that other than working in Garreg Mach as an Assistant Libarian, he really has no drive and purpose. Not helped by the fact that it has recently dawned to him that he's no longer the apex of life he was back as Demon King Goetia and the knowledge he might as well be the last of his kind. Combine with the patronizing talk he had with Rhea in private and forced to swallow his pride to get his lessons back, the thing that broke the camel's back for Goetia is Claude asking him about Solomon. Being reminded that his creator was the reason he lost everything, Goetia finally lashes out on Claude for his incessant questions.Goetia: Is that why I'm here!? Yes! That is why I'm here! I'm here because of Solomon! I'm here because he ruined everything! I'm here because he's dead! I'm here because they're all dead! Because everything we built is dead and turned to dust. Do you understand? Can you grasp that simple concept? I'm not here because Fodlan intrigued me, or because it's special or because any one of you is interesting. I'm here because they're dead. They're all dead. My race is dead. All that remains is me and I'm condemned to wander the world like this for the rest of my days.
- This gets even sadder because while Goetia believes that he is the only survivor of his race, readers will know that Lemegeton is around Fodlan as well, and the following chapters reveals that Sitri has been possessing Aelfric. The tragedy from this is the fact, as shown with the climax with Sitri, Goetia and the Demon Pillars have grown too much apart that they have become fundamentally different from each other— no longer sharing the same goals or ideals that opposition against the other is inevitable.
- The conclusion of the Cindered Shadows arc ends on a bittersweet note: Goetia and the others managed to kill Sitri and put an end to its rampage, but Sitri's betrayal, being forced to kill one of the (supposedly) last of his brethren and being mortally wounded by the Pillar in a last act of spite has left Goetia deeply scarred from the aftermath. So, it isn't surprising that by the time he wakes up after recovering from his wounds near the end of Chapter 60, Goetia is left depressed.For a split second, his fear of death was overridden by an even greater fear.
The fear Sitri was correct and he was becoming Solomon.
In the moment before he lost consciousness, a small part of him wished to never awaken from their slumber. - Chapter 65 has Goetia suffer a breakdown in the company of Flayn and Lysithea, and seeing just how utterly broken and lost he is after he killed what he thought is the last surviving Demon Pillar — especially when his rant put into perspective that he had just killed someone who he had known for 3000 years for the sake of humans he'd only known for a few months — is gut-wrenching, because it reminds us that as a Beast, Goetia truly does love humanity. Not helping matters is the fact that Goetia actually cries and attempts to make it stop, yet for all his powers in magic and commanding the world to do as he sees fit, he is actually powerless to stop his own body from crying.Goetia: You think I would allow it to continue on!? We all came to a consensus on how to best right the wrongs of the world! All of us! We all agreed on a single solution! We all did and that was when I was more than this! You think I would, for a second, allow something I deemed to be wrong to continue onwards!? That I would not try to correct it!? I tried. I tried! I - we - devoted everything to correcting it! We spent years preparing for it… it would have made everything perfect and then it… Then it was all gone… They were all gone… She was gone… The only one who would still understand everything about my worries… everything about me… and I drove my fist through his heart and you all… And you would all thank me for killing them… as if that it was something to be proud of… You want to know what worries me? What concerns ail my mind? I killed… I killed them… I killed them… Three thousand years… I threw away three thousand years… for you.
- Chapter 76 is the Flashback Episode detailing Byleth's birth... and Rhea's chilling panic and fury over Sitri's impending death. Throughout the flashback, she constantly tries to insist and think to herself that Sitri will be fine and nothing will go wrong. When she holds a newly born Byleth in her arms, she tries to insist the baby is fine and is just sleeping despite finding no heartbeat. When reality is starting to sink in for her, she angrily yells for the physicians to Get Out!, with the narration making it clear she is on the verge of collapse.
- While Rhea recounts her story to Jeralt, Flayn, Seteth, Goetia, and Byleth, Goetia quickly recognizes Sitri's symptoms as anemia which, while fatal, is treatable and could have prevented Sitri's death. The only reason the physicians couldn't treat it is because the Medieval Stasis Rhea enforced upon Fodlan ensured medical science couldn't progress that far, meaning that Rhea herself is partially responsible for Sitri's death and Byleth being stillborn.
- The aftermath of Rhea's story is a double whammy. Not only does it thoroughly shatter whatever bond she had with Jeralt, neither Seteth nor Flayn are happy with her. Jeralt even flat-out threatens to leave Garreg Mach and take Byleth with him. The only reason he doesn't is because Byleth doesn't want to abandon her students.
- Seeing that her plan failed from the very beginning and her actions only hurt her close allies and alienated her from her remaining kin and Sothis, the once proud Rhea secludes herself in her quarters from shame and guilt for many days. Things are really dire for Rhea when Goetia, or the "heathen foreigner" who can't even bring himself to mock her current state despite being pushed around by her paranoia and manipulativeness, has to be the one to pull her out of her despondency.
- Chapter 84 sees Byleth questioning Goetia about Demi-Servants. While she struggles to get the answer out of him, she eventually succeeds and Goetia makes it very clear he finds the existence of Demi-Servants abhorrent not because they offend him, but because they are literally made to house a Heroic or Divine Spirit and nothing more. While this brings to mind his feelings toward Mash and how he felt his plans would have benefited her, this unfortunately also leads into an argument regarding Lysithea, who parallels Mash in that she doesn't have much time left to live because of the Crest experiments. Byleth remembers Sitri's words during their battle and realizes Goetia could heal her, which leads to the following exchange:Byleth: ... Even Lysithea?
Goetia: ... My actions in saving her from Lonato at the time were born of-
Byleth: No… she's ill. And you know but you haven't done anything yet. But you could and… you don't because it isn't worth it to you? [...] ...You're a self-centered bastard.- Goetia's pride and confusion over his newfound humanity prevents him from properly communicating with Byleth that lead to their fallout. Byleth is left disappointed in Goetia and comes to believe that he is a selfish person who doesn't even care for those who showed concern for him. Readers would know that is far from the truth— Goetia loves humanity, the only problem is that he can't express it properly. Either he shows it a condescending manner or through his twisted actions, so expressing care in way humans can understand is foreign to him. The worst part is that he doesn't even have a rebuttal for this, just staying silent as Byleth leaves.
- From Byleth's perspective, Goetia was someone she trusted as a confidant with her secrets in hopes of learning more about her origins because he was always honest with her. Now knowing he omits important information from her because he wouldn't be personally affected at the time, Byleth starts to question whether he even cared for her as a person or because he sensed she was Sothis' vessel. But the thing that broke the camel's back was the realization he knew that Lysithea, someone he was supposedly attached to, was ill and didn't do a thing to help her even though he could cure her. This leads to her leave Goetia, coldly calling him a "self-centered bastard".
- The battle against Miklan ends with Sylvain being the one to kill him. And because the Evlogia helped Miklan wield the Lance of Ruin with no ill effect, it means Sylvain had to kill his still human brother. Even after everything his older brother put him through, there was no sense of joy from ending his former tormentor, Sylvain being somber and expressionless during the entire ordeal.
- Lemegeton arrives at an Alymran village that was devastated by Maurice not too long ago, wiping out a majority of the inhabitants and even would've taken more had Lemegeton not healed the survivors. The worst part is that Lemegeton was indirectly responsible for village's destruction because of his plan of getting rid of Miklan's body using Demonic Beasts to eat it, resulting in Maurice doing the deed and caused him to travel far from his domain. All this was to prevent his king from discovering the Evlogia, which becomes entirely pointless when Goetia discovered it through other means.
