As the days before their mission passed, Cetanu found himself weighing his options. He had been introduced to someone that was assigned to accompany them, a man named Gilbert.
He was an older man, with long orange hair and a study frame that was accustomed to swinging a large axe and wielding a shield, something that he had witnessed when the man trained with Dedue. However, he had spoken to Dimitri, and learned something rather interesting about Gilbert.
Apparently the man was actually Gustave Dominic, Annette's father. Apparently after the death of King Lambert, the Knight resigned from his position and began to wander about, leaving his family behind, feeling a sense of shame. Cetanu was glad to have a friendly face here, but the issue was actually in the numbers.
He had no idea how many thugs, rogues and bandits Miklan had at his disposal atop his own training and survival skills. Cetanu realized that they might be just as overwhelmed in terms of numbers as Zanado, and he would like to avoid any missing organs. And then there was the other glaring issue.
They were short one. Ingrid had left, and over the days and weeks she seemed more comfortable and happy around the Eagles, while still being nervous whenever Cetanu or Ashe were in the area. She seemed alright around Victor however, and Cetanu wondered how she'd react if she found out exactly what Victor was.
He wondered how he'd patch up the lack of numbers he had, and he came to a single conclusion. With his brothers scattered on mission after mission, and his father far too important and busy to accompany him on a simple bandit extermination, he realized that he'd have to ask for help from an outside organization.
His first thought was to ask Claude, as the flamboyant archer was rather fond of Ashe, and would likely make a good teammate for Dimitri should Ashe be otherwise occupied. He knew that Victor was out of the equation, as the War Ghoul was far too concerned with random things about the Monastery, acting as Cetanu's eyes and ears in essence.
So, this led him tonight now, his feet carrying him through the underground streets of Abyss. He had already decided that Constance wasn't of much interest to him, and that Hapi's odd monster summoning would be a bit of a problem. This left Balthus and Yuri, and he was wondering if he'd be able to get either of them to work with him.
He assumed that Balthus would attract attention, supposedly being a man with many bounty hunters after him and such. He figured that he'd ask anyway, wondering what kind of response he'd get. He was glad to find the two standing aside, placing a bet on quarreling drunks for some reason.
"Quite the way to pass the time." he said, and they looked to him, Balthus keeping a smile on his face. His smile soon vanished however, one of the drunk men being struck in the face with a mug and hitting the ground. Cetanu guessed that whatever the wager was, Balthus lost because of that.
"Damn it!" he cursed, glancing to the other Blood Demon. "What's up? You normally don't come alone." he mused, and Cetanu nodded, watching the drunks be carried off as the situation diffused and everyone went their separate ways.
"I was wondering if the two of you would like to accompany me as… extra bodies on our next mission." he said, and the two glanced to each other. "That's quite the offer. Why does someone like you need our help?" he asked, and the blue haired demon looked to the taller man.
"I'm not sure how much you know, but one of my students left my class once she figured out what me and Ashe were. My class is supposed to wrestle a Hero's Relic from a disowned noble in a week, and I was wondering if one of you, or both, would be willing to fill that empty space. Of course, I could always negotiate you becoming a full fledged member of my class." he said, and they looked to him like he was insane.
"You think that you can convince Rhea to put us on the books? I don't think so Bud." Balthus stated, and Cetanu looked to him. "Me and Rhea are...close. The only obstacle would be her stooge, Seteth." he mused, more to himself. Balthus sighed.
"It all sounds pretty good, but I'm gonna have to pass. It's a bit much for me. If you want me to take out a guy incognito, or for a nice sum of gold, sure, but being a chaperon for some kids isn't my style." he said, and Cetanu nodded, his eyes passing to Yuri.
He noticed that the Artist was rather quiet, as if he was pondering something. This was infact a chance for him to interact with the Prince of Faerghus directly, and of course to be around the other Blood Demons. He loved his fellow Ashen Wolves, but they did get a bit boring after a while.
"You mentioned a Hero's Relic. Which one?" he asked, and Cetanu hummed. "The Gautier House Relic, the one called The Lance Of Ruin. Apparently Sylvain's older brother snagged it and holed himself up in Fraldarius territory after being disowned. We are supposed to wrench it from his corpse." he said, and Yuri rose a brow.
"And how does Sylvain feel about this?" he asked, and Cetanu shrugged. "He's unreadable recently. I can tell that he's torn. Part of him wants to feel bad that he's being put in the place of an executioner for his brother, who he pities, but he also wants to do this because of how much of a thug his brother has become. It's odd." he mused, his brow raising.
Cetanu could always try and persuade his purple haired friend. "Of course, I'm sure it's nothing you couldn't remedy. Us Fleshcrafters aren't the best at comforting people, what with the flesh crafting and all." he mused, and Yuri hummed.
"Will you allow me to feed from him if I get hungry?" he asked, and Cetanu tilted his head. "Why would you ask me? I'm not the one being drank from. You need to ask Sylvain." he said, his protective instincts flaring slightly.
"If you wish to feed from one of my students, you may. However, if I find out that you did so without their consent, I will penalize you." he said, and Yuri narrowed his eyes. What did he mean by that? "Is that a threat?" he asked.
Cetanu's dull colored eyes were locked on Yuri. "It is not. It is a statement. You are free to do as you please, but if you don't ask them if they are alright with it before you feed, and I find out, I will take those beautiful features of yours and twist them, and wring you out like a wet towel."
With there being an hour before the next class started with the Monastery's specialized Combat Professor, Jeritza Von Hrym, the students were all gathered for lunch, finding the day to be rather pleasant. However, they all thought something was a bit odd.
Everyone had heard about the mission that the Lions were assigned, and both the Golden Deer and the Black Eagle found Sylvain's attitude to be odd. He was incredibly calm, and even still flirtatious, when they assumed that he'd be as shaken up as Ashe was when they were sent when they were sent to Gaspard. It was rather odd to see someone react so little to the statement that in a week, they'd be sent to kill their own brother.
This odd focus was broken by the footsteps of Cetanu, who was accompanied by a beautiful young man with purple hair, his well structured uniform complimenting his bright eyes, his figure lean but one that was obviously used to combat.
"I'm surprised that your big plan is to waltz into the Audience Chamber." Yuri said, and Cetanu looked to him as they passed by the Golden Deer, Cetanu offering Claude a nod. "It's a habit of mine actually. Makes Seteth pretty mad sometimes." he mused, the duo slowing down when they got to the Black Eagles' table.
Cetanu ran a hand along the edge of the table, his eyes passing over all of them to rest on Edelgard. "Afternoon, Princess. I trust that you've been putting our training to use?" he mused. Yuri found this rather unusual, but he wasn't aware of all of the details.
Firstly, Bernadetta was engaged to Dimitri, and Ferdinand was bound to Cetanu as a 'Revenant'. He had placed two weights on the Princess without her noticing, his knowledge of a third weight something that brought him immense amusement.
The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, nodding to the demon. "I have, Professor. Is this a new student of yours?" she asked, her eyes passing to Yuri, both of them locking their lavender eyes. Cetanu wondered if Yuri's magicks, those that Artists specialized in, would work on someone like Edelgard.
"You could call him that. This is my friend Abaddon's nephew, Yuri Al Aubin. He was working as a mercenary in Fraldarius territory to scout out Miklan's hideouts and do a headcount. He's… a special student of mine, much like Ashe." he said, and he watched the emotions pass over Edelgard's face.
"Pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I hope we'll have a chance to get to know each other better." he said, casting a lecherous gaze to the future Emperor. Cetanu looked to his fellow demon, the duo having quite the chemistry when it came to situations like this, where they made people guess what they were.
"I would also like to thank you for the reading materials you acquired for me. they've been a big help now that I've… encountered four more of those things." he said, and his eyes moved to Ingrid.
He saw the fear in her face, and he knew that she understood the meaning behind his words. He thought it was rather amusing, honestly, but a part of him was kind of sad. He'd gone from nurturing the young pegasus knight to taunting her new classmates and scaring her. He briefly wondered if he was the monster she viewed him as.
The trip to the Audience Chamber was rather amusing to Cetanu. He found himself happy in some fashion most of the time, and he liked that. He was glad that the emotion he experienced the most was a positive one, as his life was filled with so much negativity.
He looked back to Yuri as they walked the last hall towards the steps to the second floor. "Tell me, how many lives have you taken?" he asked, and Yuri looked to him, finding the question rather odd. "I never kept count. I'd assume a hundred or two. Why does it matter?" he asked, and Cetanu sighed. He wanted to find another kindred spirit, and he realized that with the amount of death he'd seen in his life, that would be rather hard. "I was only wondering." he mused, more to himself.
"What about you? The tales I hear about you say that you almost enjoy killing people." he said, and Cetanu frowned at that. He didn't actually enjoy ending lives, it was just something he'd done so much that it no longer bothered him. It wasn't something he wanted to do, or enjoyed.
"I don't enjoy it. Death and violence only beget more death and violence, Yuri. The only thing I can do is simply walk the path that the Goddess has made for me from the bodies of those she deemed unworthy to kill me." he said, and Yuri blinked.
That was quite an odd way to look at it. Two people fighting to the death, and he viewed the winner as the one who was better to the Goddess? That people died in battle against him not because he was essentially a war machine, but because the Goddess liked him more? What an odd man. "So the stories don't like about you killing thousands of men, huh?" he asked, the Artist seeing an odd sadness in Cetanu's eyes as he shook his head.
When Rhea watched Cetanu enter the Audience Chamber, she noted that he didn't have his normal swagger, his sarcastic snark that irked Seteth so. Instead, he held a more serious aura, a slightly sad look in his eyes as he approached her and dropped to one knee.
"Your Grace, I have found someone I wish to accompany us on our mission. This is my brother Abaddon's nephew, Yuri Al Aubin." he said, and Rhea cast her gaze from her devout professor to the young man he brought with him.
When she looked to him, she immediately recognized what he was. She wasn't oblivious to the obvious, and it was obvious that this purple haired child wasn't human. She could almost smell it on him. He reminded her of someone she'd long forgotten, someone who was always enraptured with that which was deemed beautiful.
"Professor, I'm not sure what your plan is here, but I'm not a fool." she said, and Cetanu smiled while his face was still obscured by his down turned head his and hanging hair. He rose to his feet slowly. "What do you mean, My Lady?" he asked, Yuri rather hesitant.
He could feel a wave of negative emotion, almost a torrent of killing intent coming from the white garbed Archbishop. She was without Seteth at this time, the blue garbed man normally her primary guard, and the primary thing that kept her from acting on her own.
"I am fully aware that this young man is a Blood Demon." he said, and Cetanu held back a smile. There it was. Proof that she knew what he was talking about all those moons ago, when he first asked her about it. He inhaled, realizing that this was his moment.
"I am aware of that. However, I believe that he is someone who could be an asset to me, the Blue Lions, and to the Monastery as well." he said, and Yuri looked to him. "I never agreed to helping out the Church." he said, trying to keep his composure.
Cetanu glanced back to him, a smile on his face before he looked to Rhea and bowed. "I would like to request your permission to have him join my class on this mission." he said, and she inhaled. "Are you aware of what Blood Demons are, and what they can do, Professor?" she asked, and he nodded.
"Of course. I am aware that Yuri is an Artist, and that he poses no threat to those that can resist his charms. Of course, he doesn't need fancy magicks to charm me." he said jokingly, Rhea finding Cetanu's ever shifting attitude odd.
He had a similar attitude all those moons ago when he returned to the Monastery, after he'd healed young Ashe. She hesitated, feeling a chill run down her ancient spine. If he knew of Blood Demons, all the way down to what clan this purple haired boy was from, then he must have had a Blood Demon help, or even Embrace Ashe.
"Say I grant you this permission. How can you guarantee that you can control this demon?" she asked, and Cetanu smiled. "I am stronger than him. I wield the Sword of the Creator and greater magick than he has right now. However, I must be completely honest and make a request." he said, and Yuri looked to him.
"You aren't serious?" he asked, and Cetanu looked to him, an odd look on his features. "If this mission goes well, and we return with no casualties, I would like to request your permission to add Yuri Al Aubin, Balthus Von Albrecht, Hapi and Constance Von Nuvelle, the group known as the Ashen Wolves, to my class. I trust them, and have tested them, and would like to make them official students of mine."
Rhea's composure slipped. Her eyes cast Cetanu a deathly glare, something that made Cetanu's face spread in a huge grin, the veins in her hands rising to the surface as her intertwined fingers turned a bright white. Cetanu could feel it. This was the warrior within, the almost deitic combatant that he so wished he could fight. He'd thought about her almost every day, and he wanted nothing more than for her to strike him right now.
"So...you are aware of Abyss, Professor?" she asked, and he nodded. "I have. We Blue Lions have visited often to provide whatever aid we can and such. The only other aware of Abyss to my knowledge are Claude and Hilda. No one else outside of my class is aware of Abyss or that the Ashen Wolves are Blood Demons." he said, and she sighed, trying to calm down.
"And was it one of them that cursed Ashe Ubert of his deathly illness and wound?" she asked, and Cetanu looked her in the eyes, their eyes sharing a similar gaze in different colors. "It was not. None of the Wolves possess that power." he stated, and she frowned.
She had to take a risk to learn exactly what happened. She wanted to know, much like everyone else, but she wanted to know who it was because they were likely responsible for all of the odd occurrences in the Holy Tomb.
"I will grant this request on one condition." she said, and Yuri blinked. It worked? The woman wanted to kill them mere moments ago, and now she was willing to agree to Cetanu's ridiculous request? Exactly how good was this guy?
"Who healed Ashe Ubert? His miraculous recovery has sowed discord in members of the Church, who are afraid that the Goddess is favoring a street urchin from Gaspard instead of the Church faithful." she said. Cetanu inhaled.
"The one who healed Ashe was a Fleshcrafter. A child born directly from the ancient Blood Demon called 'The Fiend'. He was healed by the Embrace and his arm was restored via Fleshcrafting." he said, and she narrowed her eyes.
She assumed as much. The Fiend was her first child, her least sophisticated and yet closest to successful attempt at reviving her poor mother. To hear that this monster, this formless, vile creature had taken the form of a human female and given birth was rather upsetting. This child would have to be dealt with sooner or later.
"I'm surprised you haven't noticed it actually, My Lady." Cetanu said, and she snapped out of her trance, looking to him. "Ashe's recovery, the Holy Tomb, and now this? Surely you can connect these dots?" he asked, and she narrowed her eyes. What exactly did all of those things have in common?
The realization hit her like a divine bolt of lightning. "You don't mean..." she trailed and Cetanu nodded, dropping to one knee and bowing before her again. "Of course, My Lady. Perhaps you were unaware when you did it, but the woman that carried Jeralt's child was The Fiend, the progenitor of the Fleshcrafters. My Mother."
