Working our way through the Draco Sanctuary and the first one we run into is Leo. Huh, I wasn't expecting to fight him alone. He gives his backstory of how he used to be from a small central eastern village, and Rutger saved them from a bunch of bandits, so he swore his loyalty to him until the day he died. So when Rutger died first, he didn't know how to handle it, so he accepted Alberich's offer. Leo isn't nearly as tough by himself, and I'm guessing Xeno is next.
Sure enough, Xeno is waiting for us on the other side of the sanctuary. Everyone acts like we fell into a trap even though all he did was stand there, and we beat Leo before him, too, so we knew he was here! Xeno apparently feels guilty for bringing Rutger back from the dead. He tells us the story about how he was sent as an assassin to kill Rutger ten years ago, but even after he beat Xeno down in one shot, he invited him to be part of Zephyr and destroyed the organization who had sent him. Like Leo, he puts up a decent fight, but he goes down fairly easily.
When we reach the altar, Rutger is waiting for us with the Palatinate Knight. Fie approaches the fight with a bracer's mentality, and Rutger is pleased that leaving her in Sara's care turned out to be the right choice. Rean asks him why he's here, and Gaius says he knows Rutger knows what awaits all immortals who are defeated in the Rivalries. Ash is upset that the Jaeger King would let himself be used as a pawn of the Black Workshop, and he can't exactly deny it. He's not really in favor of what Osborne and Alberich are doing because the end of the world is bad for business. Fie says he's doing this because he's a jaeger, and jaegers don't fight for what they believe in. They follow the money, plain and simple. It's the only way of life they know.
First we've gotta beat Rutger in regular combat. Dude has a crapton of HP! Feels like he uses his S-Craft a bunch, too, but after a long battle, he goes down. Now it's time for the Rivalry itself. Rean is a bit reluctant at first, but Fie tells him that no matter what happens, she'll have no regrets. She's done her part. The Palatinate Knight is good at dealing damage, but with it being a 2-on-1 battle, we prevail in the end. Rean tries to channel power back to Rutger to keep him from dying, but he ain't interested in that. He knows it's his time to bow out, and he couldn't ask for a better way to go out. Plus, he lived long enough to see Fie grow up, and he tells her that she changed his life for the better. Fie thanks him and calls him dad, and Rutger says that's the best farewell gift he could've gotten. With that, he fades away and the power of Zector enters into Valimar, which changes his appearance.
With that, the chapter ends with an S rank, aw yeah! That's all for tonight.
