Chapter 36: The Rite
He stands upon the furthest reaches of the temple. He stares down at being in front of him, the culmination of all his sins. The end result of that which he set in motion three thousand years ago.
That man. That coward whom I could never understand no matter how close we were.
No matter everything else. I am him and He is me.
So why does it not make sense towards the very end?
He stares at me.
His eyes shining with some life which…
I wonder how I missed that?
Perhaps that was it. He looks almost unrecognisable now.
Those shining orbs as if they have found something. Those eyes which beheld countless tragedies without changing once now gleam with something new.
What was it he saw…
"Shame of my years. Beast born from my corpse. Here and now, I shall pass judgement on your evil with my own hands."
It's almost laughable.
No. It is laughable.
That this man could see anything as good and evil.
If he were still alive he would have just watched me and done nothing.
So for him to stand before me now and claim my actions as evil and for the first time commit himself to judge anything...it is arrogance untold.
"It is God who punishes men. The King just regulates them. That sadness of others does me no harm. All humans are creatures who reach that conclusion."
He spoke these words to me so long ago. It is beyond hypocritical for him to call my actions evil when he ignores suffering for all time.
And yet he stands there and states he will carry out his judgement with such passion I had never witnessed.
Why now…
Why...why did he have to show it now?
And why...why couldn't he have shown this passion in life?
What is it he saw that made this next action possible.
"Ars Nova."
He fades away. The cries of the Master fall on his deaf ears. Even in his final moments, Solomon ignores suffering of others. He would never change even until the end. So why did he die with such relief?
Where did this passion come from?
And why did I never have it?
His eyes snapped open in an instant, body jerked upright and red orbs scanned his room quickly.
"That was…" His voice left his throat as a dry mutter, his left hand moved up to cradle his forehead "A dream...is that what they are to experience?"
And why did he have to dream of that? 'What a horrible thing to dream of.' His mind darkened as a scowl came to him. That was the last thing he ever wanted to relive. That accursed failure at his temple. That time where he could no longer empathise with the man whom he had been made a shadow of.
A heavy knock on his door brought his attention towards it, his vision still blurry from only just awakening. Sleep had been something that had taken some used to, although he'd never had issues with it before.
However, he'd never had a dream before. If they were all going to be like this – vague haunting mockeries of his final failure – then he would rather do without them. His own mortality was a reminder enough without having to see Solomon's visage in his sleep.
Dragging himself out of bed, he quickly made his way towards the door. Still dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts and opened up the door to greet whomever was present.
"Final-" Sothis voice cut off, her eyes going wide and fixing themselves upon him. He raised an eyebrow at her and then looked over to Byleth, her hand still raised in preparation for another knock but hung frozen in the air. Her eyes staring at him, then slowly looked down towards the rest of his body and back up.
They fell short of his face, darting to focus themselves on his right side. Sothis eyes also tracked over there and her face slowly composed itself, her eyes softening with something. Some emotion he couldn't discern.
He followed her gaze towards his right side and clicked his tongue "I forgot my visage is unsightly by human standards."It was one word for it. He was missing his entire right arm from the shoulder down, his skin from his ribs down to his hips was scarred heavily, patches of discoloured skin which held a pattern reminiscent of a horrific burns covered him. Stretching across his right side towards the centre of his chest and just below his collarbone.
Byleth had seen burns before but never something quite like this.
At least on a living person anyway.
"Does it hurt?" Goetia blinked at her sudden question, frowning in response.
"Would it matter if it did? You were already aware of my missing limb." Her eyes remained focused on it before he let out a quiet sigh with a hint of irritation "They are not detrimental to my health, if you must know."
"That isn't an answer." Sothis crossed her arms "Although I imagine you won't answer either way, will you?"
"What did you come here for?" He pointedly ignored the small Goddess, instead focusing his attention on Byleth. The Teacher shook her head and returned her attention to Goetia's face.
"Seteth wants to see you." She responded with "Says its for Rite of Rebirth."
Goetia gave a single nod in response "Very well, I'll be along shortly." he made to close the door before he paused and looked back at Byleth with a raised eyebrow "Why did he not deliver the message himself?"
"Offered to do it for him." She replied smoothly "He also needed to work on final preparations before he goes away. Happened to be near him at the time."
"Interrupt your nap?" Sothis spoke with an amused gleam in her eyes as she leaned back on nothing, kicking her feet up "Not very pleasant, is it?"
"I prefer being awake." Goetia's eyes turned to her for the first time during the conversation "However, I find that my personal preference for being functional is not one often shared by others."
Sothis face very slowly dropped from an amused smirk to a blank look "...Are you saying I'm not helpful?" she flatly accused.
"I am merely stating that your time could be better spent elsewhere." He replied with an innocent tone of voice "Which does not involve napping. Considering you have no physical body to speak of, there is no reason to assume you require rest of any type."
"I still get tired."
"Obviously." He scoffed "However, that appears to be nothing more than a product of your own psychological needs."
She sputtered "A-are you saying I'm making myself tired?"
"On a subconscious level." Goetia replied with an entirely disinterested look, before his mouth curved into a minute frown "It is disappointing that you were unaware of it until now, however I am learning to manage my expectations as of late. Admittedly, it is of little surprise." he paused for a few moments "Given your personality."
"Wha-" Byleth found it rather surprising how affronted Sothis could sound at this moment, she'd never heard the ghost girl caught so off-guard before. Curiosity won over and she craned her head behind herself to see the girl. She blinked once.
If Sothis didn't have a body. That meant she didn't have any blood.
So how did her face manage to go so red?
"You-" The girl continued to sputter through a reply before Goetia cut her off.
"Regardless, your message has been acknowledged." He moved to close the door again "I will leave you to your other business." the door shut in Byleth's face with a quiet click which seemed to spur Sothis out of her shocked state and into a new frenzy.
"No you don't!" Sothis cried out indignantly, rushing to the door only to bounce off a thin red barrier around it, recoiling with a shocked expression before her eyes glowed with what could only be rage. "Open this door you coward!"
"He can ghost proof his room?" Byleth muttered under her breath, stunned at the revelation. Sothis clearly heard her as she span around and fixed the Professor with an affronted look.
"I am not a ghost!" She all but shouted "Open up this door for me so I can give him a piece of my mind!"
"...But I have class…" Byleth quietly responded "What if I'm late?"
"Grrrrr!" The impressive impression of a wolf had Byleth rather stunned "Fine!" Sothis snapped, spinning around to face the door again "We'll settle this later! Mark my words!"
Byleth turned away from the door, soon making her way through the hallways and towards the Blue Lion class, they had to prepare for their patrol near the entrance to the Divine Tomb, or something along those lines.
She wasn't great when it came to the names of places.
Although she her mind kept darting back to moments earlier, she hadn't quite been expecting that. Goetia had the image of a man who would rarely get physical and would only do so when he was truly passionate about something.
So why he had a six-pack was something of a mystery to her.
Goetia gave a dull look in response to the statement, his posture was still relaxed although now held a hint of irritation within his red eyes, Seteth took the obvious tonal shift in stride without breaking eye contact or even looking perturbed in the least.
"Mandatory." He flatly responded, the obvious question had Seteth nod his head, the man shifted aside some of the documents on his desk so that he could rest both his arms on the surface.
"It is." He affirmed "The Rite of Rebirth has always been so for all those employed at the Monastery and your absence from previous sermons held by the Archbishop have already been noted by a growing number of the clerical staff." a weary sigh escaped his lips "In truth, this is just so the other clerics have less reason to dislike you."
Goetia's lip curled slightly "You do not actually believe I care for their opinions of me, do you?"
"No, I suspect you don't." Seteth agreed easily "However, that does not change the fact that you are expected to attend for the Rite. If the students were not occupied with patrolling the Monastery, they would also be in attendance as well." the man's right hand raised itself from the table to cradle his forehead "I realise this might not be ideal for you, but I've found that members of the Academy have been forced to accept such things as of late."
"...So it seems." Goetia sighed "...Very well. I will be in attendance."
Seteth released a light sigh of relief "I thank you for understanding." pushing himself up from his desk, the man straightened out his clothing "Now, if you will excuse me. I have some final preparations to finish and need to find Flayn."
The tanned man gave a single nod and turned away, quickly exiting the office and almost barrelling over a small green haired person. The girl released a small squeak as she narrowly avoided a collision and span around to Goetia's left "Oh!"
Goetia paused and stared down at Flayn with a flat look, Seteth was the next person out of the room where he beheld his family member "Flayn?" the man raised an eyebrow "What are you doing here? I told you I would collect you later."
"I felt it would be necessary if I saved you a further trip, brother." Flayn replied with a satisfied look on her face before turning her eyes to the other individual present "Good morning to you, Goetia." she bowed her head lightly "I hope you are planning on participating in the Rite of Rebirth today, I realise that it might be out of your comfort zone-"
"Flayn." Seteth cut her off with a sigh "Goetia is attending the Rite-"
"How wonderful!" The girl exclaimed with a pleased look on her face, completely juxtaposed by Goetia's complete lack of enthusiasm "I am most certain you shall have a wonderful time. I shall unfortunately not be present as I will be with brother and the Archbishop but I have ever confidence you will enjoy the ceremony!"
"...I'm sure." Goetia dryly retorted as he looked back towards Seteth and gave the man a single nod "Farewell."
Seteth responded with a nod of his own. Goetia turned away from him and quickly moved through the room before disappearing through the open door.
Flayn pouted "He did not seem as excited as I hoped he would be."
"That is likely because it is mandatory for all Monastery personnel to attend." He casually responded as he walked past Flayn "Now come along, I still have some final instructions to deliver and as long as you are here I shall ensure you do not leave my sight."
"I am not a child prone to getting lost, brother." Flayn huffed crossing her arms "Especially considering the age of my 'peers' in comparison with myself."
Seteth stopped and gave her a blank look "Yes, but until you become older than myself, you will forever be my d...younger sister and responsibility to look after."
"That is not how time works!" She blurted out with wide eyes "I shall never be older than you!"
"Indeed." Seteth's lip quirked into a faint smile "Then I suppose you will have to grow used to my desire to ensure your safety."
"Promised day, huh?" Claude exhaled as he walked alongside Lysithea "Wonder if something will happen."
"I would rather nothing happen, young Claude." Manuela's voice chided him from the front of the line, the boy maintained his relaxed stance as she looked over her shoulder towards him "And for future reference, the correct course of action when discussing such things as guards patrol routes is to ask myself rather than Goetia."
"Yes, Professor." Claude nodded his head "...Can't say it didn't work out though, no?"
Manuela gave him a single raised eyebrow – to which he responded with an amused smile – before she looked away from him and returned her attention to the front of the queue before speaking in a louder tone "Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, we have been tasked with protecting the area around the vaults for the duration of the Rite of Rebirth. You will split into teams of two and each patrol your designated location before moving onto the next one." she sighed "You will also be gifted a horn with which to alert others should you encounter any activity you deem suspicious."
Her eyes fell onto Lysithea and Claude "Not if you see an oddly shaped shadow." she paused "Or because you feel the literal need to blow your own trumpet."
Lysithea bristled at the insinuation while Claude let out an amused laugh "Really Professor? Do I seem the kind of guy that would do something like that?"
"…"
"...What's with all these stares guys?" Claude looked around with a strained smile "What? Is your faith in me really that bad?"
"...Moving on." Manuela continued on without turning back "This patrol will continue until the Rite ends or until our mystery assailants have been captured." she paused "If they exist." she paused and turned around "Are there any questions?"
Leonie raised her hand "What about the other classes?"
"The new Professor seems to be following a strategy similar to our own and will be patrolling another part of the Monastery for the duration of the Rite." Manuela answered back "The Black Eagle house will be around the Cathedral itself and be protecting the citizens who are currently taking part in the hymns." she paused before a fleeting smile came to her face "Although whether or not they'll even be needed is something I'm not sure of."
"Are the Knights present as well?" Ignatz asked, tilting his head.
"No." Manuela bit her lip "But the Rite of Rebirth is technically a mandatory event for all staff...including Assistant members."
There was a brief silence as the class failed to understand what she meant by that, and then they did. Claude looking as though he was going to laugh.
"I pity the poor guy who tries to start a fight in the Cathedral with sparkles around."
"Which is why we give blessed thanks to our most Noble Saint of Seiros the Divine, may she forever guide our thoughts to be in line with the Goddess. Praise be."
""Praise Be."" The hall answered back towards the Deacon as they continued to read from their prayer book.
"It is on this blessed day where we shall all cast our voices to the Heavens, that the Goddess herself might give thought to our words and shine her Holy Light down upon us. Praise Be."
""Praise Be.""
"We are all of us, Children of the Goddess and it is through her Divine Mercy that we continue to walk upon this land which she crafted for us, her chosen."
The sight towards the back of the hall could be described as nothing less than comical.
The entire Black Eagle House was lined up as the final row behind all of the faithful with Hanneman and a single addition next to them.
Goetia's face was still blank, save the slight twitching of his eyebrow at times, as the man continued his sermon.
"In this time, we must all of us reach out…" The man extended his hands into the air "And clasp onto the gifts she has given us, for it is in these moments where her miracles truly shine forth as it is in this Monastery...Nay! In this Sacred ground – her home on this land – that we educate those who will carry out her Divine Will!"
Goetia's brows crinkled slightly.
"Now brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers and even those who have come form afar!" The Deacon passionately exclaimed "Join me so that we may all bless this day as another of the blessed and so that the Goddess Herself will witness the love we hold in our hearts for her and that, no! We of Fodlan have not forgotten her Will! We have not forgotten her warmth! And that we love her as she deserves her love! Praise Be!"
""Praise Be.""
Being here felt ugly for Goetia. The only Temple he'd ever truly been in was the one to Yahweh. He'd seen other religions, he'd seen the Gods of other religions but the only one that truly meant anything to him was Yahweh. The God who had made his existence possible to begin with.
Was he going to join these people in praising their Goddess? No. He had nothing to praise her for and having met her, he'd yet to see her do anything praise worthy. Perhaps reversing time itself was mildly intriguing but it was only a few minutes at best at the moment, hardly approaching the level he'd been capable of.
"I ask you all to join me now in a moment of prayer." The Deacon clasped his hands in front of himself. "So that we may all be joined in this time of gathering and harmony and to send our thoughts to the Goddess so that she might walk amongst her children once more. Praise Be."
""Praise Be.""
Goetia cast his sight towards the Black Eagles stood to his left and right, the majority of whom were still sporting their perfect masks they had no doubt been trained to wield since birth. Giving a cursory glance he was mildly surprised to see than Linhardt was still conscious, although that might have been because falling asleep in this type of ceremony – especially while being the guard of the citizens – would have been seen as poor form.
He was curious as to what Byleth and Lysithea were doing at this point, he knew that they were both with their classes for their respective duties in guarding. Perhaps nothing would have occurred but it would have stopped him from feeling this current discomfort. Perhaps it was a difference in understanding that made this entire affair dull for him. He knew for a fact where he had originated.
Even if he had never met God, he didn't need to in order to understand that he had in some small part originated from the Heavenly Father. The humans here had no such understanding, they gave praise to the Goddess as their deity of worship but it was still something to discern for him whether they had been created by her or if her role had been similar to the Olympians.
A frown quickly came to him. That was a disturbing thought to entertain, the idea that Sothis was of a similar origin to the Greek Gods was an image he would rather now dwell upon. Even if it was likely untrue it did not change the possibility. He quickly dismissed the idea, Sothis lacked any evidence that she had once been a sentient ship and there would no doubt have been evidence of such a thing. There was nothing to suggest some major calamity had befallen the world which had regressed them in technological strength.
The new line of inquiry entered his head, causing him to distance his mind from his current surroundings.
There was no evidence to suggest contrary to it either. Sothis authority over time when she was likely a physical entity would have been astounding and the magical energy required to manipulate that in any grand capacity would have been monumental.
He shook his head. It was likely little more than speculation at this point. Sothis was probably little more than a Divine Spirit. His lips thinned into a line as he thought back to his original inquiry, it was unlikely that Byleth and Lysithea were encountering anything of note.
He imagined anyway.
"...This isn't as interesting as I thought it would be." Claude exhaled through his nose as he wandered through the corridors, Hilda gave him a flat look as she walked alongside him before shrugging.
"I don't mind it all that much." She admitted while giving a faint smile "The less intruders means the less work I have to do." she paused before shrugging "I suppose that means I also don't attend the Rite of Rebirth but...well…" trailing off, the girl coughed and looked to the side "Standing still in one place for so long would get a little boring."
"Perish the thought Hilda Goneril gets bored." Claude rolled his eyes "Doesn't like to put in effort but hates it when nothing happens."
"Hey!" Hilda pouted "No one likes getting bored." her lips curved into a smirk as she stabbed a finger at him "Especially you Claude."
"...Fair enough." Claude admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, sporting a half smile "But then I suppose life is anything but boring as of late."
"Tell me about it." Hilda grumbled "I've barely had a moment to relax for more than a couple of hours."
"Longer than usual you mean." The boy snickered "You still somehow manage to get others to do all your work for you."
"Hey!" The twin tailed girl frowned "I don't make them do anything." she asserted while buffing out her chest and smiling "I simply ask nicely and they do so out of the kindness of their hearts."
Claude gave her a knowing look before he looked away and started whistling.
"I know that look!" Hilda accused with narrowed eyes "It doesn't make what I said any less true."
"Never worked on me though, has it?"
Hilda smirked "That's because I've never used my A-game on you." she chuckled "Besides, I doubt it would work anyway. You'd probably find some way to trick me into doing the work I was trying to avoid."
"Probably." Claude unabashedly nodded his head "I am a 'schemer' or so they say."
"A schemer so great that everyone knows he's a schemer."
"See, that's the problem!" Claude snapped his fingers and gave an exaggerated groan "How can I ever trick people with my schemes if everyone already knows that I'm a schemer!?"
"You don't." Hilda replied with a satisfied smirk "And I don't think my method would work for you."
"You sure?" Claude raised an eyebrow and stared down at his legs "I mean...I've gotten some pretty supple skin, I'm sure someone might fall victim to me seductive techniques."
"Pfft!" Hilda looked away, covering her mouth to prevent the laugh from leaking out "Y-yeah right!"
"I could do it!" Claude boasted "I bet I could seduce someone."
"Sure you can!" Hilda got out in-between chuckles "And I could clean the entire monastery by myself."
"Anything is possible if you put your mind to it." Claude adamantly proclaimed as the pair rounded the corner and came to a halt, the both of them staring ahead and down the hallway. "...This ain't good."
"No." Hilda replied with wide eyes, still staring ahead of herself "Claude...blow the horn."
"Way ahead of you." He muttered as he went for the instrument on his hip "Guess we figured out their target…" he grimly remarked.
Hilda could only nod her head as she continued to stare towards the door to the Vault.
The entire structure having been ripped from the wall, the heavy metal doors looked as though they had been crumbled by a battering ram and the inner sanctum of the vault exposed to the outside. The girl frowned "Shouldn't someone have heard something?"
With the amount of damage and the tight conditions, it was inconceivable that they wouldn't have heard anything.
"I don't know…" Claude held the horn up to his lips "But it ain't right, that's for sure." he blew with all his might, the deep reverberating bass of the horn echoed through the corridors.
Claude lowered the horn and frowned, Hilda had made a good point. The damage done to the vault was neither precise nor delicate. It looked as thought someone had just ripped the Vault from its hinges and strolled inside.
He briefly wondered if Dimitri's patrol was becoming as interesting as his.
"Move up left flank." Byleth ordered as she ducked behind a pillar, a fireball clipping off the stone just near her as she did so. Her eyes flicked over to Ashe, the blue haired boy ducked behind a nearby tomb. "Ashe." she called out to him, the boy looked up and saw Byleth motion with her head behind her and in the direction of the mage.
Ashe nodded his head and moved his hand to the arrows on his back, quickly nocking one into his bow and taking a deep breath. The bow rolled out from behind the tomb and drew the bow string back as far as he could, taking aim towards the mage. The man immediately swung his attention towards Ashe, holding his hand out and forming a symbol in front of it in preparation for a spell.
The arrow left the bow at high speeds, instantly covering the distance between himself and the mage before striking him in the left shoulder. The man let out a pained shout as he recoiled from the arrow and fell to the ground, crawling away and into cover. Ashe cringed.
He was getting better at archery but that was supposed to be a kill shot.
Byleth watched the mage go down with a blank expression before turning her eyes back towards – what she imagined to be – the Divine Coffin.
...Or something along those lines.
Her eyes flickered over to where the mounted Knight was still on his horse, the blackened steel armour and horned skull helmet seemed to impassive scan the surroundings of their wearer without making a move. From their complete lack of motion, she could only assume that the black knight had little interest in getting involved.
Something she was perfectly alright with. Even if she could take him in a fight, it would take time to beat him and keep her entirely occupied on him while her class were left to fend for themselves. Shaking her head, she peered around the pillar she was hiding behind and scanned the complement of enemy forces.
Mostly mages who seemed to be dressed similar to clerics from around the Church, although there were a few melee fighters present as well alongside a small complement of a dozen archers. It didn't look like a well-co-ordinated raid either, likely because they'd been caught by surprise.
Byleth took in a short breath before springing to life and darting from out behind her pillar, the closest target to her – a large man wielding a two handed iron axe – instantly spotted her and let loose a bellowing cry before rushing towards her. Byleth remained blank faced as the man closed the distance and swung towards her head, the mercenary rolled under the strike and span on her heel. Swinging her steel sword towards his ankles and slashing them open, the man dropped onto his wounded leg with a cry of pain before she thrust her sword through the back of his neck and quickly pulled it out, allowing him to fall forwards without making further sounds.
Clashing steel accompanied the arrival of the other Blue Lions following after her while Ashe and Annette covered their right flank with spells. The ginger haired girl let loose a fireball towards the nearest archer and forced the man to throw himself to the ground to avoid being struck by the attack.
Felix parried the swordsman's thrust to the side before delivering a quick jab into his throat with his free hand. The man's eyes bulged as he stumbled backwards, dropping his sword and clasping at his neck. Felix gave him a dismissive snort before thrusting his sword through the raiders heart and kicking the body away.
Following up from behind him was Sylvain, the red haired young man blocked a sword with the wooden handle of his spear before pushing it to the side. Pulling the handle backwards he slammed the butt of his spear into the centre of his attackers nose and forced them to let out a pained cry as they retreated from him. Dimitri ran the man through with his steel spear from the side before pulling it clean – ignoring the splatter of blood across his face – and turning to Sylvain with a raised eyebrow.
"I believe the plan was to avoid rushing ahead?" He jested with a half amused, half serious tone about him "Getting caught out will be the end of you." he rushed to say as he pushed Sylvain and himself to the side and into cover behind another tomb just as the scraping sound of arrows bouncing off against stone reached their ears. "There are still archers in this battle."
"Yeah, I know." Sylvain replied, giving Dimitri a mildly disturbed look.
"Hm? What is wrong? Why do you look at me like that?"
"You...er...got a little something…" He gestured to his cheek where Dimitri had the bloodstain.
The blonde boy stared at him in confusion before raising his left hand and dabbing his cheek, pulling it away and seeing the red liquid "Oh...do forgive me, I tend to get focused in battle."
"No worries...just...clean up, yeah?"
"Indeed." Dimitri chuckled, turning away from Sylvain "It would make for a poor appearance if I showed the heavy signs of battle, no?"
"Yeah...probably."
"Down!" Ingrid tackled Annette to the ground as a fireball shot over their heads, the blonde girl quickly grabbed her by the scruff of her clothes and dragged her into cover as more arrows rained down around them "Be careful!" she scolded the girl "Your robes won't do much against attacks like that."
"I know...sorry." Annette muttered before steeling her expression "Still have to do my part to make sure we don't get surrounded."
"Just try not to die while you do it." Ingrid reminded her as she span around and tightened her grip on her spear, her eyes snapped down as a shadow crept closer to the pillar they were hiding behind. Ingrid hugged the cover to reduce her presence as the man seemingly paused in preparation for a strike. Ingrid watched as the arm of the shadow drew itself back, recognising the intent.
The man appeared from around the corner and swung his weapon at neck height, only for his sword to slam into stone. He had barely a moment to realise what happened before Ingrid thrust her spear from her crouched position and pierced through his collarbone, a gurgle escaped the man before she pulled her spear free and allowed him to fall backwards.
Annette stared at the brutal display with wide eyes as she coughed into her hand, looking away with a slightly sickly look about her. The girl quickly shook her head to dismiss the image from her mind and focus herself on the battle, spinning her body up and raising her hands towards the enemies on the opposite end of the mausoleum, her palm glowed with a symbol appearing before it and a fireball flung itself free of her and towards the targets again.
The axe wielder she had been aiming at stumbled and attempted to dodge to the side, far too slow as the fireball impacted his shoulder and exploded. The force of the impact sent the man cartwheeling through the air and slamming into one of the stone coffins.
Annette cringed and ducked back into cover "D-do you think the Goddess will be angry if we accidentally damage any of the coffins?"
Ingrid stared at her before frowning "Worry about the Goddess later...but I imagine since we are protecting them from desecration she will overlook any damages on this occasion. However, be careful just in case."
"Which is why in the light of the Goddess and the Words of Seiros – the Divine Saint – I invite you all to join me now in prayer." The Deacon clasped his hands before him "I repeat these words to you 'Blessed are we who bathe in the Goddess Divine Love, we who are the inheritors of her World and her children. Let us give thanks to our beloved Goddess so that she might lay her guiding hand upon Fodlan once more and walk amongst her children.' Praise Be."
""Praise Be.""
The Rite had been going on for nearly two hours at this point and Goetia found he was beginning to experience a strong desire not to be here. He would occasionally scan his surroundings and notice the Church guards and Black Eagles move from spot to spot as they continued in their duty of guarding but beyond that, very little of import had happened.
His eyes then darted over towards a guard stood near the door, the man in steel plate armour craned his head to the left as a Cleric approached him and whispered something in his hear. The armoured man seemingly jerked in surprise before giving a nod of their head and sweeping their gaze towards the other Knights stationed around the Cathedral interior.
The Knight beckoned his hand over to himself, drawing the other knights towards him as he turned and – as quietly as possible – made his way out of the Cathedral along with the dozen knights he had with him.
Goetia let out a quiet hum of acknowledgement then turned away to face the front again, his eyes briefly capturing a glimpse of Edelgard noticing the movement of the guards and sporting a brief frown on her face before it quickly settled and she turned away again.
He briefly pondered whether it was Von Riegan or Byleth who had been proven correct, he was aware that the latter was assigned to protect the Holy Mausoleum in case of attack while Von Riegan was protecting the vault. It wasn't too great of an interest to him at this point, but it did provide him something else to think upon as oppose to enduring the preaching of the Seiros Church.
"We're closing in on the casket." Dimitri peered around the corner towards the dark mage currently attempting to breach the coffin, his eyes took stock of the remaining forces currently protecting the man. "I could...seven fighters, two archers and three mages left Professor." he ducked back down "However, it is technically only two considering the third is attempting to breach the coffin."
Byleth nodded her head, quickly peering over her shoulder to see the Black Knight still mounted on his horse, having not made a single move for the entire battle thus far.
Shaking her head, she quickly broke cover to determine the enemies positions before returning behind the safety of the pillar. "You and Felix deal with axe fighters. Dedue takes mages on the left. Ashe and Annette take out archers, Ingrid and Sylvain cover flank and Mercedes…"
"Mercedes?" Dimitri pressured her for a further explanation.
"Mercedes can heal." She decided on, she hadn't seen the girl do much in the way of combat so that was the best she could think of.
"Understood." Dimitri rolled out of cover and broke into a sprint towards the other Blue Lions before sliding across the ground and ducking behind the tomb next to Felix. Byleth watched as he passed along the commands – she could tell because of the ugly sneer Felix now sported – and assumed a ready position.
After waiting a few more moments, Byleth broke cover and threw herself into a roll. Ducking under the arrow which whizzed just above her head and breaking into a sprint towards the nearest swordsman the moment she returned to her feet. The brown haired man in chain armoured swung his weapon towards her as she approached.
Raising her own sword, she locked blades with the man before swinging her boot upwards between his legs. The man's eyes bulged as the boot connected and she could have sworn she hard several people intake a sharp breath soon after. His sword arm recoiled from her as a result of the strike as she pushed it to the side and exposed his front to her before slashing her sword across his neck.
His body dropped down with a gurgle as the sounds of clashing steel echoed out behind her as the students followed in her wake. Her eyes quickly fell onto the mage in front of the casket, the light in front of his hands had gradually began to intensify as he continued to weave whatever spell he was using.
Noticing the gap now present in the enemy lines, she broke into a sprint towards the man. Swinging her sword upwards, she parried away an axe meant for her head before reversing her grip on her sword and thrusting it through the attackers gut and ripping it clean within the span of a few seconds.
Clearing the remaining distance with little time, she virtually flew up the staircase towards the coffin, sliding to a halt as she caught sight of the mage wearing a full body white robe with a pointed hood and a black raven shaped mask. The man's spell fizzled out before a sphere around the casket collapsed into nothing.
"I've opened it!" The man exclaimed, resiting his hands on the lid and pushing it ajar before his form stilled "Wha-what? A sword?"
Byleth didn't really listen to what he said, instead opting to jump down and rush towards the man.
Goetia noticed the departure of a great many number of the remaining Knights still in the room. It would appear that something was indeed occurring elsewhere in the Monastery, at this point a majority of the other Black Eagles had noticed the minor disturbance as well, all sporting concerned expressions as they looked about eachother.
"Steady class." Hanneman quietly muttered "Remain focused, if there is such an attack we must be prepared to act on a moments no-"
A blaring siren screaming off in the distance cut the Professor off and caused a majority of the individuals in the Cathedral to duck low and cover their ears at the sheer volume of the noise. Goetia remained blank face save the slight cringing of his expression. He had heard louder and he knew the sound well enough.
It was his Boundary Field around the Goddess Tower alerting the Monastery to an assassination attempt. The Knights who had been in the process of leaving froze at the sound before instantly breaking into a sprint which carried them out of the room and no doubt in the direction of the tower. They'd likely been warned ahead of time to prepare for any loud noises coming from the tower.
Still, Goetia would admit some level of surprise that someone would be bold enough to attempt to assassinate the Archbishop.
Also stupid enough to do so but they were hardly to blame for being ignorant to the woman's true nature.
In any event, it would appear that someone was bold enough to-
His eyes flew wide and his head snapped down to his feet, or rather something below his feet. He could feel it, just a trickle but it was there. A frown quickly came to his face as he recognised the power, brief as it was, before it cut out.
It was Byleth's Divine Core responding to something that wasn't her temporal authority. It was brief however, which meant it was either the use of a spell or something like a physical enhancement. Either way, it would appear that something quite interesting had occurred recently.
He'd probably ask her about it when she returned.
AN: I think we all know what was happening downstairs. Also someone raided the Church's vault and walked out with something...or did they?
Who knows!
But the mystery – and break away from canon – continues on! Coming up next time!
The Holy Grail Divine Chalice and the cooler mole people.
Omake: Mistaken Identity
"Which brings us to the end of the topic." Goetia finished writing on the board and turned around to the class "Are there any further questions on the topic at hand?"
The Golden Deers looked around before shaking their head.
"Then I will expect you to be able to recount this information at our next lesson." He went on, earning a few groans in the back "Oh, and Lysithea?"
"Yes, Teacher?" The girl looked to him with a slightly puzzled expression.
"You performed adequately during the mock test, ensure these results are consistent."
"I will." She nodded "Thank you for the advice, dad-"
Her mouth snapped shut and her eyes flew wide.
Goetia paused, his eyes entirely fixed on the white haired girl who was gradually turning a brilliant shade of red.
Claude's head slowly craned over to Lysithea, his lip quivering in amusement "Dad?"
"I-I-I-" The girl sputtered as she looked around the room, noticing many of the other Golden Deers were now staring at her with equal parts amusement "I meant...I meant...er….wait! I didn't mean that! I meant Teacher! Teacher!"
"No, no!" Claude interrupted her with a wide grin "You definitely...Hey, Sparkles!" he turned to Goetia "How do you feel about-" he paused midway through his sentence, eyes going wide and mouth slightly ajar.
Goetia had a distant look in his eyes "...Dad?" he muttered to himself quietly "A-apologise...I need to…" vanished in a beam of light, leaving behind the entire class to stare at the spot he had departed from.
"I think you broke him." Leonie snickered "I swear he was embarrassed too."
"N-no!" Lysithea fervently denied "Come back da- I mean Teacher! I didn't mean to call you father!"
The Blue Lions stared at Goetia as he materialised out of no where, stalking towards the corner of the room and sitting himself down, raising his left hand to cup his chin.
Byleth stared at him in silence for a few moments before speaking "Do you need something?"
Goetia blinked and looked towards her "...What do you know about being a mother?"
Sylvain released a violent cough into his hands in a vain attempt to cover up his laughter, repeatedly slapping his hand against his chest to try and calm himself down. Byleth ignored the reaction, staring at Goetia with a puzzled look "...Why?"
"Lysithea recently called me 'Dad' and if I am to be a paternal figure, I wish to be one that gives her a positive influence." He explained, earning mild sighs of relief from the class "...Although I find myself stumped. My own experience with my progenitor is not one I would consider positive."
"Goetia…" Dimitri raised his hand, giving the man an understanding smile "I believe Lysithea has just had a slip of the tongue as oppose to proclaiming you her new parent."
"Is that so?" Goetia pursed his lips before nodding his head "...Hmmm. Yes, that seems more logical."
"Do not be worried." Dimitri waved his hand "It can happen to the best of us."
"Yeah." Ingrid chuckled "I once called my fencing instructor dad by mistake."
"I've been called mother a few times by some of the orphans around the Monastery." Mercedes giggled "It makes me happy but I think they're just looking for guidance."
"I'd call you mommy." Sylvain muttered under his breath, then let out a hiss of pain when Ingrid kicked him under the table.
Byleth made an 'O' shape with her mouth and nodded her head "The Archbishop called me mommy."
"...What?" Dimitri spoke in a strained voice "I-I'm sure it was just an unfortunate one off-"
"Repeatedly." She frowned "She says how she's been a bad girl sometimes…"
"W-well I-"
"It was when we met last time." Byleth recounted with a perfectly straight expression "She said she was a 'naughty girl' and that she should probably 'be punished' but I didn't know what to say." her expression turned slightly confused "What was I supposed to do?"
"...Spank he-OUCH!" Sylvain leapt from his chair and clutched his leg, Ingrid sending him a murderous expression.
Dimitri felt trepidation in his heart "P-professor...what did you do?"
"...I told her to go to bed early without supper." She nodded "...That's what the voice in my head told me to do."
The class watched as Goetia sent and incredulous look towards something just above Byleth's shoulder before sighing.
"This has been little help for me." The tanned man stood up "I shall deal with this another way."
Before anyone could offer an argument, Goetia vanished in a flash of light. Byleth stared at the spot he had vanished before turning back to the class "Moving onto page thirteen."
Seteth leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes, it was the first time he'd managed to go more than two days without some insane catastrophe interrupting his personal time. Perhaps he would finally be able to-
"What do you know about Fatherhood?"
Then again, perhaps he wouldn't.
His eye cracked open to see Goetia staring at him with a slightly puzzled face.
Seteth exhaled loudly "Goetia...why did you come to me?"
"Flayn directed me." He replied "I inquired her about being a mother and-"
"You what?"
"She had no advice to offer and instead told me to seek you out." He carried on without breaking pace "I sought the advice of Byleth but she instead regaled me with the Archbishops disturbing Oedipus complex."
"...Goetia, I do not know what that is." Seteth sighed, moving his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose "What – exactly – are you asking of me?"
"...How do I be a good father?"
"...Sit down." Seteth pointed at the chair "I suppose this is one of the less problematic issues you have brought to my attention. The first thing to discuss is jokes..."