Chapter 21: Preparation for problems.

The Monastery was on high alert, the bustling of armed knights was prevalent throughout the entire Church. Goetia had been hearing the ruckus for nearly an hour before he opened up the door to his room, moving outside and walking further down the corridor. It was both impressive and incredibly annoying how he could hear the entire commotion even from within his room.

Exiting the building, he looked around to see a full platoon of knights march past the housing area and towards the direction of the main gate.

He raised an eyebrow and hummed in acknowledgement, it confirmed in his mind that something of importance was occurring. It likely related to Lord Lonato's rebellion in some way, although he hadn't been expecting the Church to take this this seriously for some time. There must have been a more present issue at hand.

There was a gnawing curiosity within him, it didn't really matter to him what had gotten the Church into such a rush, however he still felt mildly intrigued as to what it was. The choice between merely turning around and going back to his room and setting up a bounded field to muffle the outside sound or investigate to see what had whipped the Church up into a frenzy bounced around in his mind for a few moments before he made his choice.

Turning away and moving in the direction of the classrooms, he figured that he may as well inform himself of what the situation. If only for the sake of knowing, he supposed.

"I didn't expect to see you out and about." Sothis crossed her arms as she floated around him, raising an eyebrow at the tanned man she cupped her chin "Did you find something interesting?"

"I was merely curious as to the situation of the Church." Goetia replied to the Goddess "The Knights have been preparing all morning, so it attracted my attention."

"I see." Sothis nodded her head, then a sly smile came to her face "They annoyed you enough that you got out of your room just to see what all the fuss was about."

"A...crude statement." Goetia replied with a sigh "However, I cannot fault its validity." he looked back at Byleth "I assume it relates to the news regarding Lord Lonato that has been circulating for the past week?"

"Citizens have been worked up into a frenzy." Byleth replied "We had a staff meeting about it yesterday. The rebel army attacked a nearby fort."

"Of the knights?" Goetia raised an eyebrow "I hadn't thought them to be so bold."

"Routed the knights too." She explained, Goetia's other eyebrow joined its counterpart in raising up his forehead. "Messenger came back to explain it. Church is currently assembling all its available knights to march out and meet them."

"It would appear Lord Lonato's rebellion was pre-planned then." Goetia mused "The time it has taken him to prepare an army capable of dealing with a fortified location, even if only minor, has been far too rapid to be anything but. Especially considering the majority of his force would consist of inexperienced peasants."

Byleth, for her part, shrugged "Caught them off guard perhaps. Or were better trained."

"Possibly." Goetia conceded, he hadn't paid too much attention to tactics over the years of observing humanity, so he couldn't claim to be a masterful general when it came to warfare. "In any event, that answers my query regarding the sudden alertness of the Monastery."

"Going to help?"

"No." He shook his head "I have no true interest in witnessing another conflict I have no stake in. More than that, it falls outside of my role as observer."

"You seem to pick and choose when you become an Observer." Sothis replied, crossing her arms and a frown playing on her features "Whenever something doesn't interest you, the excuse of 'I am merely an observer' comes up so you are no longer obligated to help. However, the moment something that you hold interest in occurs, you suddenly are at the forefront."

"Mitigating circumstances." He replied with a wave of his hand, lip twitching downwards "There is more than one method of observation and not all are as uninvolved as you would imagine."

"I still find it odd."

"If you were in my position, would you use your abilities to cut down droves of uneducated peasants over an ideology not your own?"

"…No." Sothis shook her head "I have difficulty adjusting to the idea of allowing children into battle, and without having met any of them, I cannot claim that these rebels deserve death."

"Exactly." Goetia nodded "Why should I, a foreigner in these lands, use whatever power I have at my disposal to debase myself to such an extent that I become a cleaner of others problems. I am indifferent to both sides." scoffing, he looked away "I have watched humans murder eachother over lesser reasons than this and have stayed my hand, for what reason should this be any different?"

"That makes you seem cold." Sothis narrowed her eyes "There is a difference between being a bystander to tragedy and being and actively permitting tragedy."

"Permit?" Goetia spat out the word as if it was something disgusting "Permit? I permit nothing. Even if I did act in those few instances, what would it have changed? Those I saved would have died anyway. Either killed for another reason, perhaps an even more trivial one, or of a completely unrelated event. Or merely just old age."

"For some who seems to be so powerful, you seem to have little problem in finding any excuse to not use that power." Was the scathing response in return "Do you actively enjoy watching humans struggle and die?"

That, Sothis came to learn, was the wrong thing to say to him. His eyes changed from a subtle red to glowing in an instant, his lip curled into a snarl with his left hand clenching into a fist. "Do not test me, Spirit." he hissed out, his voice dropping several octaves and seemingly echoing within the room "My inaction is not born out of indifference. None will lament the passing of human life more than I." he exhaled, controlling his building rage "But there is little I can do. I cannot change their minds, nor can I wave my hands and solve every issue." his rage had become cold, the light in his eyes dying down.

His flickered his gaze away from the stunned Sothis and back to Byleth, noticing her hand had dropped to the hilt of the dagger strapped to her hip. Evidently, she had done so instinctively, as when she became aware of the sensation of her hand gripping something, her eyes lit up in surprise and moved to the dagger. Releasing it suddenly.

Sothis face returned to a more inquisitive one "If you feel so strongly about it, then why not do something?"

Goetia couldn't help it.

He laughed, a horrible, broken and empty laugh. He didn't care how it looked to anyone, his left hand clasped onto the front of his face, hiding his expression as he laughed at the words she had spoken. How could he not laugh at them? It was such a painful joke.

"Ha…" He finished with a wheeze, slowly lowering his hand from his face as he beheld their expressions. Sothis had furrowed her brows and was looking at him with a small amount of concern, Byleth's face had remained impassive as always, save the hint of confusion in her eyes, likely at what prompted his reaction. Goetia's face turned blank. "It doesn't matter what I do. They'll still die in the end." he replied in a flat tone "They'll die, and I'll remain." pausing, he let out a scoff "Well...perhaps not for much longer than them."

"Are you-"

"Save your concern for those who need it." He cut the goddess off "Regardless. Its not my place to interfere anymore. I can lament their passing, I can pity their lives, but I need not save them anymore...They are far too stubborn for that."

Sothis cocked her head, scrunching up her face "That does not make much sense."

"No...I suppose it does not." He rubbed his brow "It vexes me even now...But still, my killing of rebels won't change anything." returning to his original point "Whatever issue they had that was enough to turn them against the Church is not my concern."

Staring at him for a few more moments, Sothis eventually shrugged her shoulders "I suppose that is fair. Admittedly, I only have a stake in this because of the link I share with Byleth." she gestured at the blue haired girl "Although perhaps it is because I feel this Monastery holds the answers to my riddles that convinces me to lend my aid."

"Whatever the reason, you have motivation." Goetia explained "I do not."

"What about Lysithea?" Byleth asked, tilting her head "What if she gets hurt?"

Goetia jolted as if someone had slapped him. He furrowed his brow, his eyes squinting at Byleth for a few moments before he let out an incredulous scoff "What about her? She has enough power to avoid harm, she does not need my aid."

"What if she does get hurt?"

His eye twitched, there was a bizarre feeling in his chest at the notion of Lysithea being injured or dying. One he had not experienced since he observed Mash Kyrielight. No, it was different. He had come to understand Mash, but in the end, he had not set aside his goal to accommodate for her wishes.

Now he was thinking about Mash, an even uglier emotion boiled within him, something he couldn't name but left him feeling almost sick. Intertwining Mash's fate with Lysithea left him...conflicted.

He could merely argue that he was projecting Mash onto Lysithea, but that didn't quite do it justice. Their personalities were so opposed to eachother. Mash was shy, often naïve while Lysithea was confident in her own abilities, if suffering from a feeling of bias. She wanted to be recognised for her own knowledge, rather than her blood. Mash wanted only to safeguard the person who had held her hand.

Yet, he couldn't help but compare the two.

He shook his head clear of the thoughts, burying the ugly feelings in his chest and looking back at Byleth, opening his mouth to voice his opinion that Lysithea was not likely to be injured in a mere skirmish with dirt farmers. Except he couldn't, that ever encompassing fear of Death struck him yet again.

He lowered his hand, staring blankly at Byleth, then his eyes flicked over to a smirking Sothis. The Goddess having picked up on his dilemma and thoroughly enjoying watching him be caught flat-footed for the first time.

"Lysithea...will be fine." He settled with "I cannot act as a guardian for her in all situations...nor would she want me to."

"Hmmm...I see." The Goddess nodded her head "I suppose that makes sense, although there was a little hesitation in your answer there." smirking, the Goddess floated over until she was in his face "Feeling a little attached are we?"

"Not to whatever extent you would imagine. It is merely a matter of preference." Goetia dismissed. Sothis gave him a flat look in return before she sighed, floating away from him and back towards Byleth.

"Well, if you say so, I won't argue with it." There was still an amused gleam in her eyes, however. For some reason, that irritated him. Clicking his tongue, he turned his attention back to Byleth.

"Regardless of that, how are your studies progressing?" He swiftly changed the topic, the womans eyes lit up and she slowly furrowed her brows.

"Can cast quickly, but still end up missing sometimes."

"Because you're throwing the spells around like skipping stones across a lake." Sothis rolled her eyes "I keep telling you to be patient."

"But I might not always have the luxury of waiting in a battlefield, I might need to cast immediately."

"Casting immediately doesn't help if you miss four out of five throws."

"...It was three out of five."

"Are you really going to be pedantic over this?"

"She speaks correctly." Goetia nodded in Sothis direction "While it is impressive that your casting time is short, it is useless as if your spells miss. You would be better off waiting to aim."

"Do you?"

"I have experience that supersedes the need for aiming." He scoffed "However, there is a marked difference between the pair of us. You will eventually reach that level."

"How long?"

"Long."

Byleth furrowed her brows "But you look young."

"I am, relatively." That wasn't a lie, his body was only a few months old. His mind was a completely different story, but there was not need to go into detail on that particular topic "In any event, has Professor Hanneman made progress with your Crest?"

"Not yet." She shook her head "Says he hasn't seen one like it before, and suspects it might be a new one."

"Truly?" Goetia raised an eyebrow "Intriguing. Although there is the possibility it is an older Crest that simply wasn't given the correct conditions to manifest."

"There was another one?"

"The only Crest I am aware of which does not have a current holder is the Crest of Flames." He paused "However the Crest of Macuil would also fit the description, as the Saint had no reported relatives."

"So, it is either a new Crest or a long forgotten one." Sothis mused "It is most peculiar mystery."

"I would assume you are accustomed to such things."

"True, but that does not mean they irritate me any less." Rubbing her brow, the Goddess yawned "My goodness, I am most tired. I suppose I shall retire for a nap." with her parting words, the Goddess faded out of existence, her eyelids slowly falling shut as her expression turned peaceful.

"Regardless, I only came here to fulfil a curiosity, and I have." He nodded to Byleth, turning away from her "If you will excuse me."

"Bye." She called back to him, turning around and moving back to her desk, preparing the next set of activities for her students to complete. Then paused, turning back around "Wait!" she called out, Goetia stopped, turning back to her and tilting his head.

"Yes?"

"I was going to run a drill on fighting mages. Could you participate as an opponent."

"...Me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"So they don't underestimate them." She replied blandly "You said you could enhance yourself, would be useful for the students to prepare for any possibility."

"Expect the unexpected." Goetia surmised, he let out a brief hum of thought as he mulled over the request. It was certainly one with merit, although he doubted the students would ever encounter an individual like himself in the future. "It...has merit." he acknowledged "Although I would consider myself far outside of their league."

"Exactly."

"Ah, you want them to come to terms with fighting an opponent they have no chance of victory against."

"My Father is a well known mercenary...apparently." She frowned "They don't expect to win against me because of that." nodding to him "So if they fight you, who specialises in spells."

"They would come to terms with the fact that there are opponents that can outclass them in all categories, not simply sword arts." He finished "...Very well, although I would need a base line to hold back on."

"Nothing permanent."

"Understood." Goetia nodded back, turning around "I will await your call for assistance." this time, he left the classroom without interruption.

Goetia barely got a foot out of the classroom before a voice called out behind him "Ah! Young Goetia!" he stopped, turning his head around to see Hanneman approach him "I was just on my way to your room."

"Is there something that you wished to discuss?" Goetia asked, turning his body to face the Professor fully.

"Yes, there was." Hanneman affirmed "I had hoped that you would be willing to come with me to my study, I realise that, in my haste to analyse Professor Eisner's Crest, I overlooked the potential that you possessed one as well."

Goetia knew he wasn't going to be registered with a Crest. Not in the way they were expecting, more than that, he no longer possessed any form of magical Crest, if he ever did as the amalgamation of Demon Gods to begin with.

At this point, he was debating whether or not he would either deny the man, or humour him and get it out of the way. "I do not possess a Crest." he replied with "Unfortunately, any research you conducted on me would be wasted."

Hanneman's shoulders slumped "Ah, a pity. Although there is another thing I would like to ask you."

"Oh?"

"I was wondering if you would be open to giving a brief seminar." Goetia blinked at the man, slowly furrowing his brows.

"A seminar?"

"Indeed, I have one on Crests coming up soon and I was wondering if you would be willing to discuss the Crests of your home during it." Goetia raised an eyebrow as he thought about the suggestion. The Crests of his home, there were fundamental differences between the two.

"They are dissimilar to the Crests you are familiar with." Goetia explained "Their only common trait is the sharing of name and inheritance through blood, although there is a choice in the process as to whether or not the child can receive the Crest."

Hanneman cupped his chin "Oh? So you mastered the ability to isolate the Crest?"

"They were constructed by humans." Goetia explained "Rather than from Divine blood, although there is still an element of 'pedigree' within the Crest itself, however."

"Are certain Crests valued differently to others?" Hanneman mused, then squinted his eyes "No...I suspect that those Crests that have been around the longest are treated more favourably than newer ones."

"Perceptive." Goetia replied "You would also be correct, Magi valued Crests with long history to them, there was also an element on racial bias within their central association. Not too dissimilar to that within Fodlan."

"Unfortunate." Hanneman frowned "There is no greater obstacle to learning than wilful bigotry of others, I dare say that even those in Almyra must have some knowledge that could prove useful...although I make no claims."

"Nor should you." He nodded back to the man "However, like I said, the Church might have issues with my statements. They would likely consider it blasphemy that humans attempted to create 'copies' of the Goddesses gift to them." despite the fact that there were Crests that were around longer than Fodlan's recorded history.

"I suppose they would." There was an undercurrent of disappointment in the man's voice before he seemed to gain an intrigued look in his eyes "One more thing, I understand you have been tutoring the heir to House Ordelia."

"I have." Goetia nodded, it wasn't exactly a secret, although he was somewhat perplexed as to why Hanneman had brought it up "Is there an issue?"

"None at all." Hanneman waved his hand "Although I would ask that you do treat her well, the same goes for your other pupils too, students have a habit of mirroring their teachers mannerisms."

Goetia didn't think he had much in the way of mannerisms that could be copied, or at least none that he was actively showing. Then again, he supposed that his retrained emotions could count as one, although Lysithea did not seem to be one to even be capable of emulating that.

"It would reflect poorly on me if their education was lacking." He replied with a wave of his hand and a small frown "And would likely abuse the modicum of trust the Church has placed in me by even allowing their continued tutoring at my hand."

"Perhaps." Hanneman nodded "But I suppose it is up to you, however I do understand your concern, and I suspect that the Church would have some choice words about the Crests you speak of, even if they do only share the name."

"It is no great loss." Goetia dismissed "I have little doubt that the Black Eagles would have learned much from learning about Magic Crests, although I was intent on teaching them to my students, should they develop and interest I would not be adverse to explaining them."

"Thank you for the offer." Hanneman bowed his head "I will make sure to look for you should the opportunity present itself, in the meantime, I have more research to conduct on Professor Eisners Crest."

"On that subject, have you considered that it is an older Crest?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"As oppose to a new Crest, it is possible it is one that had merely remained in the background until now."

"You suggest a Crest that was unable to manifest fully." Hanneman cupped his chin "Yes...yes that could be the answer I seek, although I believe I am already close to uncovering the mystery of its origins. Regardless, I thank you for this suggestion, it might be that it harbours some truth to it."

Goetia shrugged "I merely make a suggestion, had I the time, I would have conducted the research myself, however I am currently occupied with other activities."

"Of course, although I suspect they are equally rewarding."

"I have no complaints." Goetia replied "I shall take my leave of you, I suspect I will soon be needed elsewhere."

"Oh?" Hanneman blinked "Important duties?"

"Byleth believes it would do the students some good of they were to spar with me." Giving a non-committal shrug "It is logical for them to battle foes who are skilled in areas beyond swords and spears."

"That it does." Hanneman nodded "Perhaps I shall think of something similar." chuckling he backed away and waved at Goetia "Until next time then, have a pleasant day, Young Goetia."

"You as well." Goetia nodded back to the man, turning away and moving off back through the Monastery. He would await the in the Library until Byleth felt as though she had need of his abilities.

"Which is why Goetia will be your sparing opponent." Byleth introduced the one armed man to her class, most of the blue lions held looks of minor confusion, however Felix and Ingrid regarded the man with a calculating expression.

"With no sword?" Felix scoffed "One would need only close the distance and he would be finished."

"Provided you could." Goetia replied back in a bored tone of voice, that caused Felix to narrow his eyes.

"This is why we are doing this exercise." Byleth explained "You will have to learn not to underestimate your opponents, Goetia has agreed to hold back-"

"Just out of curiosity." Sylvain interrupted with a raised hand and slightly perturbed expression "How much is he going to hold back?"

Byleth turned her head to the man, Goetia stared back at her for a few seconds before he shifted his gaze to Sylvain "You will recover within the day."

"Thanks?"

"We will be performing different tactics." Byleth stepped forwards "First will be one on one engagements and then we will move onto group battles."

"Group?" Dimitri tilted his head "Are you going to assign Goetia to a team?"

"No." Goetia shook his head "It will be group engagements against myself."

"That's rather overconfident of you." Ingrid pointed out with a frown "I sincerely hope you aren't underestimating us."

"I am not." Goetia replied truthfully, which only served to further wound the pride of those who had it. It was a subtle jab at best and a blatant insult as to how he viewed their skills at worst.

The truth of the matter was that he really wasn't underestimating them in the least. He could restrict himself to his most basic spells and still he would have been able to outmatch them. Not that he was going to boast about that. Although he hadn't been in combat against humans for a while, so he wasn't sure if his old habits were going to come through or not.

He admitted to himself that, yes, they probably were.

"Who shall go first?" Byleth asked for volunteers, there was a brief moment when no one moved, then Sylvain stepped forwards.

"May as well." The red haired boy gave a sly grin "Do I get a reward for volunteering?"

Only Sothis, floating behind Byleth, managed to catch the brief flicker of annoyance pass through Goetia's eyes. She instinctively withheld a chuckle. While she was no fan of watching children get beaten up, she had the sneaking suspicion that there would be some amusement to be had with this.

Ingrid gave Sylvain a disgusted look, making it painfully obvious she wanted to hit him there and then. Byleth, for her part, regarded him with the same unchanging expression that she always had before replying "Your reward is you get to go first."

Sylvain blinked, then chuckled "Not much incentive there, but I suppose I walked into that one." moving over to the training rack, he picked up a wooden spear and gave it a brief twirl before marching back to the sand pit.

The Blue lions were all shepherded off to the side while Goetia and Sylvain stood in the centre of the training room, a few metres apart.

"Start when you're ready." Byleth called out.

"Don't go for my face." Sylvain asked with a wry smile "Its my best feature."

Goetia raised an eyebrow "As you wish." he tapped his foot on the ground, the sand in front of Sylvain shifted for a split second.

It was the only warning he got before a pillar shot forth and slammed into his gut with all the force of a mule kick. Sylvain instantly had the air knocked out of his lungs as he shot backwards, unceremoniously falling onto his back and coughing heavily.

Several Blue Lions winced at the injury, their eyes watching the pained expression on Sylvains face as he tried to get oxygen back into his lungs, then they looked over to Goetia, the man staring at them with the same blank expression their professor held.

"Who is next?"

Somehow, they found that to be more intimidating.

AN: Yo, Goetia lends a helping hand. What a nice guy…

Wait, he's just beating up kids. But yeah, next chapter is going to be more of their training (Aka Goetia wailing on children) and then we'll move further along to the rebellion section which, if you paid attention to the dialogue earlier, is more competent than expected.

Either way…

Back to the Omakes!

Omake: Back Home Again VII

That man was born a King.

However, he did not seek omnipotence and sought only knowledge.

Being given Miracles of God, he used it only once.

His ten rings hold dominion over all Magecraft.

His eyes can see the past and Future.

His summoning spell has Seventy-two Demon Gods at his service.

The name of the summoning spell is Goetia.

The King of Mages, lauded as having nothing impossible for him and the proof of origin of summoning spells…

However…

"I cannot overlook this."

"I cannot continue to overlook this…"

"The Kings Cruelty."

"Despite his gaze resting on such tragedy, he did nothing but have a thin smile on his face."

"This…"

"...Demon…"

"Despite having the grasp of everything at his fingertips, the King did absolutely nothing."

"He was a King who but smiled."

"We all thought...we cannot allow this man to be."

"I would reach the apex of it all...I would end it, the tragedies…"

"My eyes would behold suffering no more…"

"I would create what he failed to accomplish…"

"I would take up the mantle he abstained from."

"For that purpose...I would incarnate myself."

"I would become…"

.

.

G̵̨̡̜̬̼͉̫̲̣̤͕̣̯̪̓̈́̆̈͒͒̐͐́͊̋̀̒̒̕͜ǒ̸͙̲͉̇́̿́͒͗̚͝͝e̴͙͈̿̅͊̌́̃̚t̴̘̱͎͍͓̖̹̞̲̠͙̙̓͛̋͛̓̀̊̕͜͝͝͠i̸̢̧̘̭̭͎̫̤͛́̆̚͠a̸̘̻̺͑̀͒̔͋̈́̃̊̍̐͆͑̚̕,̸̛̝̼̞̖̂͋͑́̊͋̃̽́̓̽͒̚ ̴͚̯̳̖͚͓̒͑̏͊͑̆̚͜K̸͇͖̦͓̰̍́̎͆̕͝ĭ̷̧̡͙̟̪n̶͇͉̱͚̖̿̒̊͑̏͋̉̐́̃͠ġ̷̳̤̝͓̻͇̋͘̚ ̶̩̗̮͉͇͉͎͉͚̯̟̰̰͌̈́̈́̔ͅơ̸̧̘̬̭̦̟̰̥̠͚̗̝̊̋͒͗͑̌̽̋̎̀̕͜͝͝f̷͕̬̟͇̘̰̃̓͑͗͜ ̸̛̱̲̼͉̯̳̀͑̕͜͝Ḏ̶̛̤̬̳͌̓̐̉͑̾̂̈̀͝ȩ̶̜͎̝̗̘̩͚̬͕̋m̶̻͖̭͔͙̼̠͈̘͚̰͈̙͚̌̍͋̄ò̶̡̖̜̥̞̫̜̘̮͚̮̳̳n̸̢̡̛̯̠͖̼͇͇͔̫̞͋̊͗͐̔̈̓̃́̓̓̍͜͠͠ ̵̳̝̯̳͔̘̗̱̙̟̗̥̥̼̿͂́̉́͗̏̂̊͂̔̑͝͠͝ͅG̶̰̖͓̀̉̀̀ó̶̦̥͖̟̙̭̙̭̭͈͓͕̈͂͐̂̄̔̀̓͋̚d̸̦̃s̶̛͈͚̯̘̫͇̻͆̆̀͊͒̊̎̑̍̚

.

.

Ritsuka awoke with a start, panting heavily in the aftermath of the dream. He furrowed his brows "That voice…" he muttered, that was Casters voice. That was Casters dream...but…

"Solomon…" He definitely recognised Solomon, the man on the throne, although he had a completely different feeling to the Solomon he had encountered in London. As if they were two different people. Holmes had suggested that perhaps it was an imposter, although they couldn't be sure.

What relation did Caster have with Solomon? It was clear that the two were different people, although the only difference he could see was of the hair. Physically, there was very little difference between them.

He groaned as he rubbed his forehead, none of it made sense to him.

"Awake are you, Mongrel?" Came the annoyed voice from the hallway, Ritsuka widened his eyes and shot to his feet.

"K-King Gilgamesh?" He swallowed "I...I didn't hear you come in! I apologise for the display!"

"Tch, don't raise your voice so loudly." The King scowled "I would rather Siduri not come down here."

Ritsuka winced "S-sorry."

"No matter, I have learned that you have an individual back at Chaldea who was capable of matching the King of Mages." Gilgamesh scowled "Why is he not here? Are you purposefully attempting to weaken our position?"

Ritsuka paled rapidly "N-no, King Gilgamesh...its just that…" he swallowed trying to figure out how to break the news to him.

"Spit it out, Mongrel."

"Your...umm...Your Archer self didn't want him here." He explained, Gilgamesh regarded him blankly for a few moments before raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

"Hoh? And why did my younger self not wish him here?"

"He...didn't say." Ritsuka cringed "He just said not to have a mere beast stumbling around his kingdom."

Gilgamesh scowled "Tch, bring me this Caster. I shall judge whether or not I will permit him in my Kingdom."

"O-of course, King Gilgamesh." Ritsuka bowed his head and shot out of the room. The Living Gilgamesh watched him leave with a thoughtful frown. What a peculiar thing for his past self to say.

The pillar of light shot into the air as Caster ray shifted into the Singularity. He looked around the Throne room blankly before his eyes fell upon the individuals in front of him.

His Master and Mash were stood off to the side, awkwardly waving at him, while Gilgamesh, the living one, stared him down along with Ishtar, Quetzalcoatl and Jaguar man.

For a few moments, no one said anything.

Then Gilgamesh burst into laughter on his throne, at one point he gripped his sides as the laughter continued "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!"

Everyone in the room stared blankly at him, save Caster who maintained a flat expression.

"Ha….I see." Gilgamesh wiped a tear away from his eyes "So that is how it is...To think they could get a Servant of your calibre on their side." he rubbed his brow, cracking a smirk "Perhaps I would have been more receptive to Chaldea had you been there in the beginning, if only because of the sheer entertainment value you hold."

Caster scoffed "Perhaps in the same way I find you calling yourself a 'Caster' amusing, King of Heroes."

"Fool, I am a comedic genius." Gilgamesh exclaimed "Regardless, I can see why my younger self would have issues…" his eyes turned to Ritsuka and Mash "And you know not his true name?"

"Um...No." Ritsuka shook his head "Sorry, King Gilgamesh, Caster...doesn't want to talk about it."

"Hm." The King grunted, his head lazily resting on his hand "I suppose it will do. At least he is somehow better aid than the fool over there." he lazily waved in Ishtars direction, the Goddess scowled in response.

"That's a pretty ungrateful thing I heard there." She responded, crossing her arms "For someone who gave me thirty percent of their treasury, you seem to have no issue insulting me. Perhaps you feel as though your treasures aren't worth all that much."

Gilgamesh's eye twitched in response, although he elected to ignore her, focusing on Caster "You have been informed of the issue?"

"I am aware it is merely the Gorgon utilising Tiamat's authority." Caster replied "Although her authority alone would not be enough to create Kingu."

"Ho?" Gilgamesh smirked "You suspect something then?" he asked in a knowing tone. Caster really did dislike those eyes of his.

The joke wasn't funny then and it was less amusing now.

"Merely that Tiamat, in some capacity, is already present here. Or Kingu was created by another."

"Maybe it was Solomon?" Ritsuka guessed, Gilgamesh paid close attention to Casters reaction, when he got nothing, he merely frowned and sent a glance towards the Master.

"Who is responsible is irrelevant, as it stands. The Gorgon is most present threat. With the Grail and Tiamat's borrowed authority in her possession, she is something that requires a swift hand to deal with."

"Did someone say a swift…" Merlin trailed off as he entered the room, sending a blank glance towards Caster for a few moments "...That's a little weird, but alright." he then ignored the man like he didn't exist "But I have an amazing plan."

"…"

"Well, don't all clap at once." Merlin dryly retorted "I won't be able to regale you with it."

"You plan to have Quetzalcoatl throw the axe of Marduk at the Gorgon's temple to gain entry to it." Caster rattled off, Merlin gave him a sour glare "Of course, the three Goddess alliance would forbid direct action against her, so you intent to have the axe target yourself and then you will merely change the vector to suit your purposes."

"...Why did you go and spoil it like that?" Merlin pouted.

"Wow, Merlin!" Mash smiled at him "That's a pretty amazing plan!"

"I know, right!?" Merlin beamed at her "I am something of a genius."

"Something of a fraud." Caster coughed into his hands, Merlin's expression flattened in response to the jab.

"But...won't they act to stop us?" Ritsuka asked "They'll probably be ready to attack."

"Indeed." Gilgamesh leaned into his throne "Which is why the Caster there shall remain behind with Quetzalcoatl and the fool in the pyjamas."

"Eh?" Ritsuka blinked "Caster will?"

"Of course." Gilgamesh's eyes fell on him and then gained a subtle glare to them "Considering his position, I would consider it a penance of sort."

Caster stared back at the golden King for a few moments before turning back to Ritsuka "I shall be fine, Merlin is...capable enough to be of marginal use to you."

"That's hurtful." Merlin cried "I'm at least up there on a nine out of ten. I'll have you know I technically qualify for a Grand Class."

Goetia gave him a scowl in response "I could qualify for a Grand Class, that does not mean I could be summoned as such."

"Ha!" Gilgamesh let out a bark of laughter "A mere change to my use of weapons and I qualify for a Grand Class as well."

"Wait so…" Ritsuka blinked as he stared at them "All three of you could qualify for Grand class?"

"No." They all answered at the same time.

Ritsuka and his party left the gates, Goetia remained atop the wall as he watched them depart. The presence of an individual behind him caused him to cast a glance over his shoulder "I was expecting this later."

"I suspect we shall not have time." Gilgamesh responded "Still, it is most peculiar to have one such as yourself even qualify for any other class. Although perhaps it was the Kaleidoscope that allowed this."

"Circumstance allowed for this opportunity." Caster replied "Nothing more."

"Hm." Gilgamesh grunted "Find your answer then."

"I did."

"Good." He nodded again "It would be a troublesome waste of my time to be force to kill you, even if you hold responsibility for the state Uruk is in."

"We are two separated entities. I cannot comprehend my actions then just as you cannot comprehend the actions of your child self." Caster responded with a frown "...Although perhaps it is different, now that I understand. Not that it matters, I am merely fulfilling my role as a servant."

"Indeed." Gilgamesh nodded his head, turning away "No matter, so long as you keep Kingu distracted, and aid in the rest of this crisis, we shall consider it even."

"...Not yet." Caster shook his head, staring off into the distance "Not yet…"

"...I see." Gilgamesh responded quietly "All to protect the wish of a man you hate?"

"Even if I hated him, he realised what I lacked." Caster looked to the sky "He realised what he lacked. I am a reflection of what he could have been, what might have been his objective. I really did fail him in the end, that is my penance...I will set it right."

"Do you disagree with his objective?"

"...I can still see the sense behind it." Caster admitted "Even now, I can still argue it was a path for salvation...but that was what he realised before me. They never needed to be saved to begin with, that was just how they were." he turned his head to stare at Gilgamesh "For better or worse, I can understand your viewpoint now. Yours...and his."

"...Is that so?" Gilgamesh looked over his shoulder "Very well, he who could have been King of Men. I will see how your penance will be paid in the end."

Goetia turned away, staring back over the horizon. Towards his kin. There was one thing he would have to try, at the very least. He would speak with her...he doubted it would change much. He was unique in that he wasn't her child in any capacity.

But perhaps that was what she needed to listen too…

Not that it would change anything in the end. He still held onto his plan, and his debt would be paid.