- Main articles: Last Hope/Script (Eirika) and Last Hope/Script (Ephraim)
When the group reaches Rausten Court, L'Arachel reunites with Pontifex Mansel, her uncle. Eirika and Ephraim introduce themselves, and inform Mansel of the circumstances of Magvel and the Demon King. Mansel contemplates the situation, and decides to grant L'Arachel Rausten's Sacred Stone; however, in response to her haste to take it with her, he suggests they stay and rest, to which they accept.
In Eirika's route, L'Arachel consoles Eirika over her encounter with the Demon King; L'Arachel states that Lyon cannot be saved, but asks what he would have wanted her to do, then suggests they go eat. In Ephraim's route, Tana consoles Ephraim if she is alive; Ephraim attempts to push her away, but Tana refuses to let her bonds with Ephraim and Eirika break, and Ephraim realizes he got as far as he did with his friends. If Tana is dead, L'Arachel consoles Ephraim instead; Ephraim refuses to show weakness and intends to keep his thoughts about Lyon to himself—L'Arachel states that some burdens must be shared, and Ephraim agrees and thanks her for speaking with him.
At the entrance of Rausten Court, a soldier is on patrol at night; Riev begins to taunt him from the darkness before a Grado soldier attacks and kills him, and Riev begins an assault on Rausten. Another soldier informs Mansel of the siege; L'Arachel volunteers her and her company to defend the castle, and they begin a battle.
As the battle begins, Riev orders his soldiers to take Rausten and destroy its Sacred Stone, and he relishes his opportunity to wreak vengeance upon Mansel for excommunicating him. The twins resolve themselves to face Lyon and the Demon King in an upcoming battle.
Once the invasion is repelled, the twins celebrate their victory. In Eirika's route, she thanks L'Arachel for her encouragement earlier; In Ephraim's route, he thanks Tana for her words, or L'Arachel's for hers if Tana is dead. L'Arachel then takes them to the Sacred Stone chamber and retrieves Rausten's Stone; Eirika and Myrrh suggest they make haste, and the group leave. Before the group can exit Rausten Court, however, Mansel stops them; he grants them Rausten's Sacred Twin relics, though he asks they be returned once the Demon King is defeated. Additionally, if at least four of the NPC Knights survived the battle, L'Arachel complements the soldiers' performance and requests their continued defense of her uncle, and they grant the twins a Light Brand.
This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody.
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This chapter contains fog of war so it's best to bring along a Torch, Torch Staff or a unit with enhanced visibility. An easy way to grab the spoils in the chests on the western side is to warp a unit into the locked room from the starting position just above it. A Rogue, Thief, or Assassin with a lockpick would be ideal, as they would be able to unlock the door when they are finished opening the chests. They can then they can make their way south and stand against the interior wall, allowing you to get a better view of the large stairway where masses of enemies, and their master Riev, are gathered.
Be thoughtful about the unit that you place at the southern bottleneck. If you plan to clear the area and take out Riev you will need to strike a balance between killing enemy units quickly (aim for at least six units per turn) and making sure that your unit that is on their kill streak doesn't die due to an accumulation of chip damage. While there are a few Mage Knights that spawn, most enemies will deal physical damage, so a unit with high defense is your safest bet. Some Pure Water or a Ward Staff might be helpful here if your defensive unit does not have a lot of resistance.
Some of the units you positioned in the northwest should move east to take care of the reinforcements that spawn from the northeast. Be careful as there are several Snipers that spawn from this direction, so flying units should carry a Fili Shield if they are to be used. The units that start in the throne room should clear the interior hallways of enemies before focusing on the bottleneck at the southern entrance. A small group of units can then be sent to the southeast interior to deal with the reinforcements that begin to spawn there on turn 9. Thiefs carrying a lockpick will spawn on western and southeastern sides of the map on turn 6, and another thief will spawn on the southeastern side on turn 7. Be sure to have the chests emptied by then, or position your units accordingly to prevent their escape. The middle chest on the eastern side contains 5,000G so if that is stolen you will be unable to recover it.
If you manage to keep at least four NPC Knights alive at the end of the chapter you'll receive a Light Brand. The Knights on the eastern side of the map are generally easier to keep alive as they are further away from enemies at battle start. Just remember that Generals and Warriors will appear from the southeast corner near the end of the battle (turns 9 through 12), so you will need to station units there capable of dealing with them. Alternatively, you can rescue them using a mounted unit or use a Rescue staff to bring them out of harm's reach. Keep in mind that the enemy will prioritize attacking the NPCs over your own units, and the NPCs will attack any enemy units that walk into their range, usually resulting in their death.