April: Cornered

Byleth spoke, "Did the priest ever say how he got those powers?"

The man gave her a strange expression. "Why of course. Velezark granted them."

Byleth amended, "No; I mean, did he ever say how Velezark granted the abilities."

The priest dove into the depths of his memory. "No. However, after he came out of the room, everyone was concerned because he had gaping wounds over his body. It was thought that Velezark attacked him."

Khalid questioned, "Did anyone else have these abilities?"

The man shook his head. "Not that I know of. If anyone did, they concealed their powers well."

Annette subtly sought another route to get what they needed. "Thanks for sharing. Did this priest ever have any children?"

The man affirmed, "Yes, of course. There's still the family line today."

Shiro blurted, "Can we talk to the descendants?! We gotta go get them!"

The man inquired, "Why? I'm here answering all your questions, aren't I?"

Caeldori interrupted, "We'd like to know more about this individual, so a descendant would be able to help us a bit more. Can you please point us in the right direction?"

The priest led them to a room further in the building. "Here's where-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHY DID YOU INVITE THEM HERE?! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!" They party turned to an aggrieved man with messy brown hair and pointed eyebrows.

The priest was taken aback by the newcomer's anger. "What? I just . . . they needed guidance. I only helped-"

The newcomer shouted, "Silence! No strangers are allowed, yet you dragged in armed ones, at that!"

The man said, "They are not violent. They are looking for you."

The newcomer rolled his eyes. "Ugh. What do they want?"

Shiro leapt forward, naginata raised in the air. "We caught you, evildoer! Now you can no longer pose a threat to the Outrealms!"

The newcomer muttered under his breath, "Nonviolent, eh," He demanded louder, "What is the meaning of this?!"

Caspar yelled, "You've been the one manipulating the Outrealm portals and causing funky things! Before Dorothea got the power to open portals to new worlds, we were completely reliant on the Divines for transporting us between worlds!"

The newcomer scoffed. "What makes you so certain I'm this culprit you've been tracking down?"

Sophie chimed in, "We found documents proving that the evildoers used Velezark's power to manipulate the Outrealm portals! We realized that he must've made a blood pact with a human, and we found out that you're his descendant. It's all over."

Soleil cheered, "Your time's up, buster! Now to pay the price!"

The newcomer let out a deep, creepy guttural guffaw. "That's all circumstantial and no proof."

Caeldori's eyes narrowed. "Then you'd have no problem coming with us to King Darios to straighten this whole mess out?"

The newcomer brandished a thunder tome. "I didn't say that at all." He summoned lightning down on Caeldori, which thankfully, Severa expertly parried with a sword.

Severa locked eyes with the rogue clergyman. "Aiming at my daughter was a huge mistake." She rushed up to him and smacked him with the edge of her sword. "Some mistakes are costly."

The Twilighter mole declared, "Even if you kill me, there are more. Once I realized that Sharena brat gave Dorothea the blood of Askr, I knew it could be done. We can keep this little game of ours going for eternity."

Gustave retorted, "It matters not. Then we'll hunt you down one by one. By the Divines, I will smite you all!" His thick armor clanked against the ground as he brought his axe down on the Twilighter, who promptly dodged.

The older priest fled from the battle, afraid to face the younger and deadlier threat. Bright embers flickered at Dorothea's fingertips. "How did you know that we were going to Askr?"

The Twilighter smirked. "Oh come now. The answer is obvious, is it not? There's a spy amongst you. One of your precious band has been seduced by the darkness! But which one? Oh, which one? Will you ever know, or will you be wiped out before that information comes to light?"

Sophie's mind started racing. "No! That can't be true, can it? None of us would do something like that!"

Ferdinand unsheathed his lance. "I have heard enough blather from you! You dare sully our honor?" Ferdinand charged while Linhardt slipped behind the Twilighter to trap him. Sensing that he was trapped, the cornered Twilighter tensed up and shrank against the wall. Ferdinand quickly dispatched him. "One less criminal out there."

Caeldori looked at the corpse, horrified. "Why did you do that?! We could've gotten more information out of him!"

The grim expression on Ferdinand's face slipped off and he became frazzled. "You are right. I acted rashly."

Annette sighed. "What's done is done. Does anyone have any idea where our next lead is?"

Dorothea stared at her hand where the blood transfusion took place. "I don't feel any different. Would I if the Outrealm portals were back to normal?"

Byleth shook her head. "I doubt it. Sharena or Alfonse never mentioned anything like that."

Upon hearing the dying excitement, the priest poked his head out to see if it was safe. "Ah. Thank you for disposing of him. Had any of us realized his true intentions-"

Dimitri cut him off. "It's alright. Did this person see anyone that acted suspicious in any way? Any strangers?"

The priest racked his brain. "There was someone he talked to late at night. I always assumed it was someone who needed help on some way who was too embarrassed to show her face in the light. Now after witnessing everything, I think it's safe to assume that she was up to no good. One time, I had to walk past them to get to the restroom. As I got near them, I heard the woman say something about having to go to a place called 'Plegia' to muster up a reasonable force."

Camilla smiled. "Thank you for all your help. It looks as though we should head there next. Hopefully we'll get a clue about who the other bearers of Velezark's blood are."

Dorothea feigned enthusiasm for her comrades' sake, but she couldn't help but notice her boyfriend's odd behavior when the Twilighter stated there was a mole. Could Ferdinand really be against them?