Early into the next morning, Cetanu and Ashe were training, preparing for the mission later that morning. "Professor, what are we going to do about Edelgard?" he asked, and Cetanu rose a brow.
He lowered his stance and exhaled. "What brought this on?" he asked, and Ashe sighed. "That small girl, Bernadetta, spent last night in my room. She felt comfortable that I could keep her safe. I didn't feed from her though, I couldn't bring myself to do it." he said.
Cetanu closed his eyes, sighing. "What would you do?" he asked, and Ashe hummed. "All Edelgard wants is the truth. We can help Bernadetta by telling her." he said, and Cetanu tilted his head. "You would tell the future Emperor of Adrestia that there are two Blood Demons walking about Garreg Mach casually?" he asked.
Ashe understood where Cetanu was coming from. Someone with the authority of Edelgard wasn't to be trusted with that information. Cetanu shook his head. "I will agree with you on one count. Trying to keep it a secret from the others is quite a pain, and I also wish for Bernadetta's safety." he said, humming.
"If we find any enemies within the Holy Tomb, you have free reign. If you wish to feast on their flesh in front of everyone, I will not hold you. My focus will be on eliminating our enemies. Otherwise, feel free to casually tell them as we patrol the Tomb." he said, and Ashe nodded.
"As for Bernadetta's safety, I am not sure how to guarantee it. I can't just go to Rhea about this, nor Seteth. If one of us could forge documents, I think it could buy us some time." he said, and Ashe blinked.
"I can forge documents to an extent. What would you propose?" he asked, and Cetanu smiled. "Just that. A Proposal. I must gather the others for the mission, but what you can do is get Bernadetta on board with our hoax. Forge documents calling for a betrothal between Bernadetta and Dimitri." he said, and Ashe blinked.
He realized that it was actually genius. The extent that Edelgard would have to go to to prove that the documents were fake would buy them time, and, while they worried about their authenticity, they'd leave Bernadetta alone for that sole reason.
With most of the Lions gathered at the Training Grounds, the class noticed that Cetanu and Dimitri were absent. "What's taking the two of them so long?" Sylvain asked, still shaking the last feelings of slumber from his body.
Ashe smiled. "They're just discussing strategy I bet. You know how enthusiastic the Professor is about combat." he suggested, trying to divert their attention. Felix frowned, shaking his head. "Perhaps the boar just refuses to get out of bed." he said, and Ashe chuckled at the remark.
"You want me to play along with that?" Dimitri asked, walking towards the training grounds with Cetanu. The ebon merc nodded. "Ashe will get Bernadetta on board, but you must understand that no matter who figures out what me and Ashe are, Edelgard can not. I don't trust that girl." he said, and Dimitri nodded.
"So what should I do? Pretend to be infatuated with her?" he asked, and Cetanu shook his head. "Just spend time with her when she consents. Stitch tears in clothes, let her fire arrows at your armor, listen to her. All we need is for it to be believable." he said.
As they reached the training grounds, Dimitri sighed and nodded, almost reluctantly. Cetanu turned to the larger group. "We will be heading to the Holy Tomb in but a few hours. Meet me at the entrance to the Tomb after you suit up and grab what you need. Seteth tells me it's a vast area, so bring a horse if you need to." he explained, his eyes focused.
"If there is anyone in the Tomb trying to touch the body of the Goddess, they are to be killed. Nothing less. Spare no one. I mean it." he said, his gaze focusing on the few students who seemed hesitant in Zanado. They all nodded, scattering to prepare.
Waiting at the entrance to the Tomb, Cetanu pondered the Edelgard issue. Should he take a drastic measure, or should he play it safe? One misstep could be the beginning of a war between the Adrestian Empire and the Church. The Alliance and Kingdom would likely aid against the Empire, but it would still be a horrific war.
"Are you worried that some people would die?" Sothis asked, and Cetanu nodded. "The awakening of my emotions has caused me to grow much more worried about the lives of others. Edelgard seems to care much less than I, and that makes her a massive problem." he said, and Sothis sighed.
"Honestly, you're letting a little girl get to you like this? I don't care if she's the next Archbishop, she's just a girl a couple years younger than you. I'm sure you can handle her." she said, and Cetanu tilted his head.
Cetanu flexed his hands, and Sothis seemed to take that the wrong way. "No! Do not do anything of the sort! You want to be 'normal' so much, cast such villainy out of your mind!" she scolded, and Cetanu merely smiled outwardly, and Sothis cringed in fear.
"Hey Professor!" Sylvain said, being the first to make it to the Tomb. He rode up in a light suit of armor, atop an armored horse. He had a lance strapped to the horse, easy to grab and strike with.
He hopped down from the horse and sighed. Cetanu looked to him, realizing that he didn't often have much personal time with his student. He normally left it to Asmodeus, as the two were both flirtatious cavaliers.
"Sylvain, say that someone was trying to find out one of your secrets. Someone with more power than you. What would you do?" he asked, and Sylvain made a face that showed his confusion. "I'm not sure." he said, humming.
"I don't really care what people know about me. I'm my own person, Professor, and no amount of dirt on me will change who I am and what I want to do in my life." he said, and Cetanu began to laugh. He found it rather amusing that Sylvain had such knowledge. It was quite the surprise.
The rest of the Lions filed in slowly, and Ingrid was also on a horse. With Sylvain back on his horse, the group, as one, entered the tomb.
They walked through a small, poorly lit path. There was a sharp left turn in the Tomb, and a bright light coming from what Cetanu assumed was the main chamber. He approached cautiously, turning the corner and frowning.
He began counting, odd bandits and soldiers in plague masks, scattered about the massive tomb. Cetanu countered upwards of forty of them, the Lions outnumbered about five to one. Cetanu began formulating strategies as he looked about.
Then, he saw him. In the center of the Tomb, proudly atop a black horse in horned armor, was a knight. His armor was the darkest of black, spikes shooting out from the shoulder and a tattered cape that laid loosely from his back.
He wore a mask, a demonic face and massive horns adding to his mystique and presence. And in his hand was a huge scythe, the knight looking less like an enemy commander and more like the grim reaper, a figure that signals death for all who see him.
"Split into two groups. One goes east, the other west. I will go north and deal with the masked knight. Move!" he called, and they all nodded, splitting into two groups, Cetanu moving forward first.
This time, Cetanu was armed with only an axe made of Steel. He was glad he chose this weapon, because it's curved head could be used to great effect against the scythe.
"Stay back. If you do not wish to die… you will flee now." The masked knight called, a booming, magickally altered voice that again added to his air of evil. Cetanu glanced to the left, seeing Sylvain, Felix, Ingrid, Mercedes and Annette moving though, Ashe, Dedue and Dimitri to the right.
One of the mask wearing soldiers, who Cetanu could tell were mages, called out. "Hold them back men! I'm close to destroying the barrier around the Goddess' coffin!" he called, and Cetanu realized that he'd have to move quickly.
To the east, Dedue, Ashe and Dimitri moved in a three man group, Dimitri slamming his axe through a bandit, Ashe launching an arrow over Dimitri's shoulder and into the eye of one of the mask wearing mages.
With a large metal shield in his hand, Dedue covered Dimitri, shielding him from a flying ball of fire. Ashe continued to launch arrows, his speed better than before. "Thanks, let's keep moving!" Dimitri called, slowly reaching the back of the Tomb.
Cetanu rolled away from the lance, the knight charging him from his steed. Cetanu began to watch his opponent's movements, parrying a jab from the scythe with his axe. He had to get rid of that horse.
Channeling his magick into his left hand, he waited for the next charge from the black knight. When he parried the scythe, he shoved back, forcing his grip on the axe high and allowing him to throw a magickally charged punch at the horse.
Struck in the throat, the horse reared up, it's neck flailing as the knight dismounted, the animal crashing to the ground and bleeding from the mouth and nose. The knight and Cetanu both lowered their stances, the duo almost in sync.
The both moved forward at the same time, clashing blades, Cetanu at a disadvantage in everything except speed. Cetanu shoved forward, the force causing them both to slide back. Using his free hand, Cetanu swiped upwards, launching a wave of energy through the ground. The black knight moved to avoid it, Cetanu capitalizing on his exposed side.
Cetanu came down, striking his armor and making his foe stumble back. Cetanu moved to strike again, his opponent launching a bolt of lightning and searing Cetanu, sending him reeling back. Cetanu shook his head, realizing that he was being attacked, dropping the axe and channeling magick into both of his hands.
Cetanu lifted his hands up as the dark knight swung his scythe, the demon dropping to his knees, the reaper's death blow striking naught but air. His fists connecting with the ground, a massive wave of energy, almost like a Raging Storm condensed into a small area, struck the knight, sending him off his feet and crashing to the ground.
The knight cursed as he rolled to his feet. "Perhaps… you are the one I seek." he said, more to himself. He clenched his scythe again, and Cetanu rolled his shoulders. That lightning bolt caused a lot of damage that wouldn't likely fade before the end of this battle.
With the entire class fighting together again, the moved against a horde of bandits and mages, Ingrid and Sylvain using their mobility advantage to aid in tearing down their foes. However, the mage in the back grew impatient.
"The seal will break anyway! Move!" he screamed, his men bailing out of the way as he loosed a massive ball of flame at the Lions, who narrowly avoided it, being set upon by the seemingly rehearsed attack.
A sword found it's way into Ingrid's thigh, the shock causing her to fall from her horse and hit the ground. Sylvain moved to protect her, but a bolt of lightning seared the flank of his steed, sending him crashing to the ground.
With the bandit moving in on Ingrid, Felix moved to protect her, parrying blades with the bandit. He cast a glance back to Ingrid, who simply tried to scramble back past a row of smaller coffins, almost unable to use her leg.
One of the coffins exploded open, and a bandit wielding a dagger rose, Ingrid realizing she was defenseless. Felix called out to her, being struck in the arm by a rogue slash as an arrow found it's way into the man's left eye.
Ingrid looked to Ashe, who didn't seem to be the most pleased. Dimitri picked up on this, calling for a change in formation. "Dedue, Sylvain, Annette, protect Felix and Ingrid so Mercedes can heal them! Me and Ashe will stay on the offensive!" he called, his classmates, no, his comrades moving into formation.
With just Ashe and Dimitri on the offensive, the shorter male abandoned his bow for a sword he pilfered from a deceased enemy. The two made quite the tandem, thinning down the number of opponents to less than their own. However, Dimitri seemed to grow slightly weary, his decision to wear slightly heavier armor catching up to him.
Ashe looked to his leader, his friend, his King. "Fall back Your Highness! I can handle it!" he called, parrying blades with one of the bandits, kicking him back.
Dimitri refused to listen, burying his lance into the abdomen of one of the bandits. The only mage left was the leader, who turned back to the barrier surrounding the single largest coffin.
However, this bandit wasn't going down without a fight. With a dying grip, he held onto the lance, throwing Dimitri off as another bandit came from the flank and struck his armor. He struck again and again until the armor gave way.
A snap was heard, and Dimitri's left arm went limp, the Prince roaring as he twisted his lance, freeing it from the grip of the bandit, whose innards were torn asunder.
The man battering Dimitri's arm moved for another strike, but he was snatched up, Ashe yanking him back and disarming him in one fluid motion. The man grit his teeth, yelling as he threw a wild haymaker.
Ashe struck, punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground. He was weary, he was tired, and most importantly, be it the memory of Bernadetta sleeping serenely in his bed as he read books, or his own inner Demon taking over, he dropped his knee into the man's chest.
He grabbed the man by the face, his mouth growing heavy as he inhaled. He dove down, slamming his fangs into the man's throat as he struggled in a fear stricken daze.
Mercedes' magick stopped, the students assigned with protecting the injured completely dumbfounded at the sight, the man's body unable to escape the clutches of the boy feasting on it's life force.
"Good job dealing with the riff raff." they heard, turning to see Cetanu, blood trailing him from wounds across his body. He simply walked past Dimitri, Ashe and the rest of his students, seeing the final mage move to the coffin, it's protective spell broken.
Ashe let the man go, panting as he realized that he'd given in to his most vile urges. Blood was still on his tongue, his fangs red and heavy as he rose to his feet. There was something about feeding on the life force, the blood of one of his enemies at the end of a long battle that made him feel a sense of elation. He simply looked to the ceiling, exhaling a thin red mist of blood.
The man began cackling insanely as Cetanu approached silently. "The Goddess' body is ours!" he cried, freezing up as he looked in the coffin. "A… a sword?" he mused, confused as he pulled the odd blade from the coffin.
He turned to Cetanu, holding the blade out weakly. "I don't know what this is, but don't make me use it on you!" he called, and Cetanu simply continued walking forward. The man crept back, realizing that he was completely outmatched.
The man charged Cetanu, coming down with the blade. The blade, an odd, bony thing that was somewhere between white and gold, seemed to pass through Cetanu without a single scratch. "Wh-what happened?" the man asked, and Cetanu smiled.
"Give me the sword." he said, and the man scoffed. "Never!" he called, and Cetanu's smile remained. "You saw what my students did to your forty odd men. You will die today. All you must do is decide how." he said, and the man charged again.
Cetanu caught the blade in his hand, and suddenly, he felt a rush of energy. He pulled the blade from the man's grip, realizing that this blade, whatever it was, belonged to him.
The man put up a thick barrier, and Cetanu simply took a simple stance. He lifted the blade overhead and came down, shattering the barrier and sending the mage flying back.
The Blue Lions were slightly disturbed by their Professor, who seemed to relish in scaring, dominating and defeating the mage. It was an odd thing to do, as if he was trying to draw something out of the mage.
Cetanu slammed the blade into the floor, walking up to the man, grabbing him by the throat and hoisting him into the air. "The sword wants me to make this quick." he said, and the man seemed to quiver. Suddenly, the man screamed in horror, feeling an immense amount of pain from his innards as his ribcage exploded from his chest and morphed.
It was a horrific display, the ribs extending and twisting their shape into a small flower, his innards and the blood within him simply seeping out as Cetanu laid him down gently on his back. The Lions couldn't see what look was on his face, and they didn't truly want to.
Cetanu pulled the sword from the ground, placing it through a loop on his belt. "We're done here." he said, heading to leave without a word to any of his students.
When the Lions exited the Tomb, they noticed that Catherine and a few of the Knights of Seiros were waiting, as if they were about to enter the tomb. Cetanu looked to his students.
"Mercedes, Sylvain, take the injured to the infirmary. The rest of you go as well to get checked on. I want all of you to rest and meet me in the dining hall two hours before sunrise. Move." he said, his students leaving according to his orders.
Catherine frowned. "What happened in there?" she asked, and Cetanu sighed. "About forty something of em. Their all dead. However, they were able to break into the Goddess' coffin. Found this." he said, drawing the sword.
The blade hummed, beginning to glow a bright color as soon as Cetanu held it out. He tilted his head, and Catherine frowned. She knew something he didn't, and he wasn't a big fan of that. "You should report to Lady Rhea as soon as possible. We'll clean up here."
When Cetanu entered the Audience Chamber, he noticed that he interrupted a conversation between Rhea and Seteth, who looked to him with a sense of surprise. "Professor, are you alright? You're wounded." Rhea said. Cetanu bowed before her, noticing that he was still bleeding a little. "Your concern is the only assistance I require." he said, sighing.
"I came to report. Me and my class ran into nearly fifty armed men and mages. They seemed to be after the body of the Goddess or something within the Holy Tomb." he said, and the two green haired leaders looked to each other.
"You suppressed them, I hope." Seteth said. Cetanu nodded. "Of course. My students did quite a good job, and suffered minimal injuries that should be able to be patched up and heal within a week or two. However, there was one enemy that worries even me." he said, and he sighed.
"There was a knight, a black garbed, skeleton masked monster of a warrior with a huge scythe. I was able to match him blow for blow, hence my injuries, but without someone at least as strong as I am, he might pose a threat. He fled after I damaged his mask, but he was awfully formidable." he said, and Seteth nodded.
"I'll have the Knights of Seiros stay vigilant. Did anything else of note happen?" he asked, and Cetanu nodded. He reached down to his waist, and drew the odd sword that he wrenched from the enemy mage. As soon as it left his hip, Seteth and Rhea's jaws went slack.
Cetanu exhaled lightly, the blade beginning to glow as soon as he focused on the weapon. "Wh-where did you get this!?" Seteth asked, and Cetanu tilted his head, spinning the blade and placing it back on his hip. "It was within the large coffin in the back of the Tomb. The enemy mage was convinced it would allow him to defeat me. However, it was quite the opposite." he said.
"As soon as I began to wield this thing, my magickal understanding seemed to heighten. A form of magick that I was struggling with was suddenly slightly easier to understand and use. It also glows oddly when I use it, and had this odd hole in it." he said, and Rhea smiled.
"That… is the Sword of the Creator. It is a Hero's Relic of incredible power, and in ancient times was used by the evil King Nemesis. Even amongst the Hero's Relics, it is an unstoppable holy weapon with no equal." she said, and Seteth.
"Which is precisely why, regardless of your peculiar ability to use it, we must take it and place it under constant watch." he said, and Rhea narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.
"It has been so long since that blade has surfaced, much less one can use it. As long as you swear to never turn it upon us, I will entrust it to you." she said, and Cetanu rose a brow.
Seteth found this just as absurd, if not more so. "Rh- Lady Rhea! You must reconsider leaving the Sword of the Creator in the hands of a stranger! For all we know, he could be allied with those who seek your downfall." he said.
Cetanu leveled the blade against Seteth, who turned to him, a look that was have enraged and have worried on his face. "I would never turn my blade upon Lady Rhea. Nor will I allow anyone else to." he said. He turned to Rhea, jabbing the blade into the ground and taking a knee. "I swear that this blade shall never be raised against the Church, or the Goddess." he said, and Rhea.
With Cetanu dismissed, Seteth looked to Rhea, a frown on her face. "Leaving that thing in his possession was a mistake. He's nothing but trouble." he said, and Rhea only chuckled. "You must have faith, Seteth. Perhaps he can right the wrongs done by those that have wielded that blade in times past." she said, noticing that Catherine was approaching them, an odd look on her face.
She bowed, looking to Rhea and sighing. "Whatever he told you is true. There were plenty of bodies and blood down there, and a couple of things that were really… off." she said, and Seteth folded his arms. "What was off about them?" he asked, and Catherine rubbed the back of her neck.
"One of the bodies, probably the leader, was laid on his back with his ribcage somehow, someway twisted into the shape of a flower. It was like some foul magick forced his body to kill him." she said, and Rhea and Seteth looked to each other, a silent look with many meanings.
"That is most worrisome, but Professor Cetanu assured us that the Sword of the Creator was what caused his magick to perform as such… I assume. What else was the problem?" he asked, and Catherine narrowed her eyes, as if worried about something else.
"One of the bandits was… he was bitten. There were bite marks on his throat, and when we moved his body, it was light. There wasn't a single drop of blood in him. He was drained dry, and there was no blood around his body." she said, sounding more and more worried.
Rhea felt a chill go down her spine at this. A body forced to mold against it's will, and a bloodless corpse with a bite mark upon it? There had to be some other explanation. She swore that she dealt with THAT a very, very long time ago.