Chapter 38: Ugliness of truth

The aftermath of the Rite of Rebirth had been more than a little troublesome in Seteth's opinion, to the extent that he had once again been forced to call a staff meeting. Although this one was far more restrictive in its membership.

"I'm pleased to see you all present in short order." Seteth nodded to the group in greeting as the doors closed behind him "Although it is unfortunate that the contents of the meeting are rather dire." moving through the room, Seteth headed towards the head of the table before seating himself down. "It shall just be me, the Archbishop is still...recuperating from her ordeal."

He raised his hand in the direction of Catherine to cut her off "She is fine, Catherine." the woman relaxed "Now then – as I'm sure you can all imagine – this meeting relates towards the attack on the Monastery which occurred yesterday. We're still currently interrogating those that you-" he nodded towards Byleth "-captured in the Holy Mausoleum. Thus far they have been remarkably quick to point fingers...the contents of which are troubling." he grimly remarked, his face turning troubled before he shook his head and leaned forwards.

"Regardless, the attack on the Holy Mausoleum was thwarted and the defilement of the tombs was prevented, however whether or not you have heard rumours of it until now makes little difference as I shall explain the situation fully." Seteth took in a deep breath "The attack on the Goddess Tower itself still has no named mastermind, indeed many of the perpetrators are still pleading to their innocence."

"Seriously?" Catherine gave a disbelieving scoff "They were caught with the weapons still in their ha-" she paused before frowning "It isn't more of those weird cursed swor-"

"No." Seteth denied the possibility with a single shake of his head "The weapons were handled with care and examined thoroughly to determine if they held the same enchantment as the swords Lonato used during his rebellion. For all intents and purposes...they are simply ordinary steel daggers."

"So they have no excuse then." Catherine growled "Trying to attack the Archbishop and then plead innocence? The nerve." shaking her head, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled "We can already assume their guilt, so I say we just execute them already."

"As much as I wouldn't word it quite so harshly." Alois commented from his spot at the table "Dame Catherine does raise a good point, I assume there is a reason that the attackers are still sitting in a jail cell rather than facing the headsman's axe?" looking around, he was met with similarly befuddled looks.

Seteth slowly nodded in response "Indeed, that would have been the usual punishment for such a crime...however the aftermath of the attacks is what troubles me. The prisoners not only claim to have no memory of ever attacking the Goddess Tower, they have no memory of ever leaving their original families." his expression turned troubled "I had reports of one woman an hour before the attack claiming her husband had gone missing, he turns up later with a knife in hand having tried to get into the Goddess Tower."

Hanneman locked his hands together and gave a thoughtful hum "That does indeed sound rather suspicious. How many of the others went missing before they were apprehended?"

"All of them." Seteth answered "And all within an hour before the attack on the Goddess Tower. I am currently of the opinion that they were perhaps all in communication with the same individual who aided in orchestrating this attack."

"What about their families?" Catherine leaned forwards "Do they know anything?"

"They are either extraordinarily talented actors or are indeed as shocked about their behaviour as their family members are." He sighed "As it stands, thus far only those from the Holy Mausoleum have been of any true aid." He turned to Alois "Speaking of, I believe it would be best if you began to assemble the Knights, it seems this conspiracy had far reaching implications."

"Understood." Alois nodded his head.

"Back to the matter at hand, the crimes of the attackers remain clear and there can only be one such punishment for this." Seteth's features darkened "Their execution is scheduled for one week from now."

"Not soon enough." Catherine muttered quietly to herself, although it was just loud enough for Seteth to overheard with his heightened senses, the man sighed lightly before preparing to deliver the next batch of terrible news.

"Moving on from this, as some of you might have heard there was a third attack upon the Monastery yesterday." He saw Jeralt's expression tighten "...This one was successful."

Dead silence spread across the room, he watched a litany of emotions play upon Catherine's face from shock, anger and finally horror. "I heard about it but it succeeded!?" she blurted out, earning a raised eyebrow from the attendant, she winced and composed herself "I mean, the attack was successful?"

"The Vault was breached without anyone hearing and was pilfered." His lips thinned "While I cannot reveal what was stolen, I can only say that it is of the utmost importance that we discover whomever it was that stole it and ensure its rapid return. Shamir is already investigating possible entrances to the Monastery and the time in which the break-in occurred."

Alois frowned, furrowing his brows before he spoke up "Forgive me if this is a stupid question but...shouldn't someone have heard them?" he fidgeted in his seat "I mean, the Vault has spells around it to prevent someone from teleporting into it, right? So they would have had to have gone through the large door."

"You are correct." Seteth replied "They did take the direct approach, as for how they were able to do so without anyone learning of this...is not something I can confidently give an answer to." sighing, the man reached up and rubbed his face "For the meantime, the Knight's will find themselves somewhat busier than usual, however I would like for the Professors to ensure that the students do not become overly agitated with the increase in the knight's presence. Explain that they are simply running drills until we can provide an official statement."

"If that's what you think is best." Manuela gave a half-hearted shrug, leaning back against her chair and pursing her lips "Although you're not the one who has to deal with Claude Von Riegan."

"I'm certain you will be able to manage, Manuela." Seteth gave her a patient look before shifting his focus to the others at the table "This is all for now, if you will all excuse me. I have an investigation to finish." pushing himself away from the table, Seteth rose to his feet and swiftly moved across the room towards the door.

Byleth remained seated for a few moments, her lips quirked into a faint frown as the voice in her head spoke up.

"How strange, they have no memory of attacking the Tower?" Sothis floated in front of her, tapping a finger upon her chin as she narrowed her eyes "It seems a most peculiar thing to forget doing, more than that to proclaim ignorance after being caught thusly is rather pitiful as far as excuses go."

"Do you think they aren't lying?" Byleth wondered as she stood up from her seat, making her way towards the door to exit the room. "They could be lying."

"That is true but it still feels as though it is a laughable attempt, much like a child caught in the act." Frowning, the girl shook her head "No, something feels to be amiss here."

Byleth hummed to herself in thought, even to her it felt strange. Having been caught she would have expected the assassins to remain silent as to avoid answering questions however, to flat out claim they had no knowledge whatsoever of even making the attempt on the Archbishop's life felt far too outlandish – even for her – to accept.

"Then we are of the same mind." Sothis made a tight face "It seems we might require outside aid...and there is one I suspect might lend assistance." she paused. "Some of his words from your lesson stuck with me. He mentioned hypnosis, did he not?"

Pausing, Byleth's eyebrows slowly crawled up her forehead. "Isn't that too convenient for them?"

"Perhaps." Sothis admitted "But it might at least be worth the attempt to discuss the matter with him." a sly smile came to her face "Besides, dear Seteth told you not to mention it to the students. Goetia has no such position, does he?"

He didn't. Byleth admitted to herself. Her eyes narrowed.

Perhaps Sothis was as impish as her form suggested.

"How rude!"

"And it was quite loud!" Flayn continued to recant her story with her expression turning far more mischievous "Seteth very nearly looked ready to jump out of his skin and au-Archbishop Rhea…" the girl snickered, leaning in closer for a conspiratorial whisper "I've never heard her make such a high pitched 'eep' before!"

Goetia continued to stare blankly at her, tapping a single finger against the desk of the table before raising an eyebrow "I find myself at a loss as to why you immediately sought to inform me of these personally humiliating stories."

Flayn pouted "I simply felt it best to engage in small talk."

"And you are not concerned with the possibility that I might let slip these anecdotes to the student body?" He received an unimpressed look in response before Flayn's lips quirked into a smug smile.

"We both know you're not one for gossip."

"Admittedly true." Goetia begrudgingly agreed "However, my point remains. I fail to see what reason you have to tell me such things."

Flayn's mood took a visual damper as she fidgeted in her seat before letting out a loud sigh "I just couldn't keep quiet about it but I knew if I told Claude then he wouldn't be able to keep silent and then everyone would know and then Seteth and Rhea would know that I told them."

"That is true." Goetia nodded his head "So to satiate your desire to spread triviality, you decided to inform myself with the full knowledge I would not care in the least."

"When you say it like that it sounds so strange." Flayn harrumphed "Well, I cannot also say I didn't want to see if you would have any sort of amused reaction at my brother and Rhea's reaction." her eyes narrowed with a glimmer of hope in them "Did you find it amusing?"

"I found it incredulous." He responded in a bland tone "Although I will admit some surprise that the likes of the Archbishop and Seteth could be caught by surprise by something as simple as an alarm."

"Anyone can be caught by surprise if a loud noise goes off when you are not expecting it." Flayn shrugged "Although I will admit that Seteth and Rhea might seem quite unflappable at times."

Goetia raised an eyebrow "Indeed."

"Nevermind that." Flayn leaned forwards "I heard that something happened in the Holy Mausoleum with Professor Byleth and the Blue Lions!" excitement danced across her face "What happened?"

"Why would I know?"

"Because Professor Byleth was involved." Flayn answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, the matter of fact the way she spoke briefly caught Goetia off-guard.

He also couldn't say she was wrong, if it had been any other Class he likely would have ignored the attack on the Mausoleum entirely. Flayn must have seen something she wanted to in his lack of an immediate answer because her smug aura seemed to intensify.

"So you do know…" She leaned back into her chair, still smiling "And I noticed you did not deny my statement."

"Because it is true."

Flayn blinked once before she sighed in disappointment "I feel as though you might not have caught my meaning, but I suppose such is to be expected from young love."

"I believe I am older than you." Flayn froze, her eyes went wide as a strangled gasp left her throat.

"R-right! O-of course you are!" She hurriedly answered, clearing her throat and straightening out her coat "Y-yes...well...Moving on." her expression steeled itself, returning to her unusually serious demeanour "So...what happened?"

"She found a Heroes Relic in the tomb which she can wield without a Crest Stone."

Flayn stilled, staring at Goetia for several seconds before she leaned forwards "Pardon?" grabbing the edge of her seat, she scooted closer to Goetia whilst looking left and right across the library before leaning closer to him, her voice dropping into a low whisper "Did I hear you correctly?"

"Yes."

"She can wield a Heroes Relic without a Crest Stone?" Flayn muttered to herself "But that is-"

"Impossible given the design of the weapons?" Goetia cut her off, giving a half-shrug "Evidently not. Unless there are special circumstances surrounding her." His eyes scanned her reaction to his words for any tells that she might have been aware of the true nature of Byleth.

"That must be it!" Flayn's expression became one of pure shock, Goetia flattened his features. Then again, she might not have any knowledge about it at all. "Perhaps she was blessed by the Goddess?" she paused "Unless...hmm...I'm sure Seteth and Rhea would know more than myself."

"That is likely." Goetia replied immediately, Flayn sent him a flat look.

"I realise I am correct, but you could have at least made an attempt to disagree with me."

"You want me to pander to your delusions that you aren't fallible?"

Rolling her eyes, Flayn scooted away from Goetia "If you wish to be that way, so be it." she then paused, looking around the Library "It is rather quiet today, is it not? I would have thought there would at least be some more of the other Clerics helping you."

"Tomas is away for his own personal errands. As for the others, Seteth has called a general assembly of the Clerical staff to take place within the hour." Goetia shrugged "It might relate to the possibility of an insurgence."

"W-what!?" He cringed at her reaction, giving her a side-eyed look of mild annoyance "How can you possibly believe such a thing? The Church would have a traitor!?"

Given what their actual Librarian was, he wouldn't put it past the Academy to contain more than one traitor or individual with ulterior motives.

"Is it really that great a surprise to you?" Goetia levelled her with an unimpressed look, at her defiant expression he sighed "How disappointingly naive, the attack not only occurred on a day in which the Holy Mausoleum was open to the public but also at a point where the guards would not notice their entrance. Were it not for Byleth's ability to see through the ruse and make sure to guard the entrance, it is very likely the attack would have succeeded."

He turned his full attention to Flayn, resting his elbow on the table and propping up his head with his arm "All of which would require someone with intimate knowledge of the Church with access to guard rotors and points of entry, as well as knowledge of the warding used around the Mausoleum."

Flayn remained silent as she took in the information, biting her lip "That is...To think someone would do such a thing…"

"That is how humans work. They continue to find new ways of disappointing you." He shrugged "Admittedly I am less affected by this than you are, pilfering a Holy site for relics is hardly what I would consider unheard of."

"Well, it is quite unheard of in Fodlan!" Flayn crossed her arms "Something like this has not happened in…" she trailed off, looking away "A long time."

"Then complacency has dulled your senses." He shrugged "Regardless, they failed in their objective to raid the Mausoleum." tapping his cheek, his lips curled into an intrigued frown "And yet the attack on the Goddess Tower itself was nothing short of pathetic." he hummed "Although as a distraction it did serve its purpose."

Before Flayn could offer a reply, the door to the Library opened. Both Goetia and Flayn turned their attention towards the door as Byleth strode in, instantly locking her eyes onto Goetia and swiftly clearing the distance of the room with vigorous strides.

"Have you need of something?" Goetia inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Byleth nodded once "The assassins who targeted the Tower." she replied with her usual bland tone before her lips thinned "They don't remember attacking it."

"Do they not?" Goetia gave a shrug "How odd. I assume the gaps in their memory go from the time before their attack to waking up in a prison cell."

Byleth nodded once while Flayn frowned. "That is most peculiar, I do not see how they could forget such an abhorrent act." turning her attention to Goetia, she continued on with a puzzled expression "Perhaps your defenses hit them harder than you thought?"

Goetia stared at her in silence before looking to Byleth "What is to be done with them?"

"Executed next week."

"How wasteful." Goetia scowled "And killed by ignorance too. I assume the fanatic was quite adamant on their execution and dismissed their attempts at rebuttals?"

Byleth's eyebrows rose slightly higher up her forehead. For her, that might as well have been an open-mouth look of surprise.

"Fanatic?" Flayn blinked in surprise "What do you mean?"

"The Knight with the Noble Phanta-Heroes Relic." Goetia waved his hand, ignoring Flayn's look of surprise at the blunt admission he had insulted Catherine so obviously "So why did you seek me out?"

Byleth shook her head, fixing Goetia with her usual blank expression "Lesson last week. You talked about hypnosis."

Goetia's red eyes seemed to shine slightly brighter after she said that, his lip twitched upwards with his posture shifting to give her more of his attention. "I did. Self-Suggestion was the first step taken along the path to understanding hypnosis as a form of Magecraft."

"Do you think they might have been hypnotised?"

Goetia remained silent, studying Byleth before leaning back into his seat "It is a strong possibility. Although I would need to examine them to be certain." he raised his hand to stop her "But what if they have been hypnotised? It is only my word – and while you might not care – against the word of the dozens of knights and students who saw them. My status as a foreigner would likely be dissuaded and my efforts to make their innocence known ignored."

Flayn frowned "But if what you say is true...I-I could speak on your behalf-"

"Your opinion would be dismissed as a naive child by all by Seteth and Rhea, even if they did believe me that hypnosis was that powerful to begin with."

"What if you demonstrated it-"

"And become a suspect?" Goetia frowned "My position is already tenuous enough as it is without some band of primates believing that I'm sending assassins after the Archbishop." he leaned back into his chair "If my suspicions about there being a traitor or group of traitors who leaked the information about the Mausoleum are correct, that would make me a greater suspect. If the Church cannot even trust its own, what hope do I have?"

"How about saving innocent lives?" Sothis sneered at him as she floated down, her face awash with visible disappointment "Or was your claim that you disliked seeing the suffering of humans as ostentatious as your hair?"

Goetia's eyes locked onto Sothis, glowing bright red before they flickered over to Flayn. The girl let out a slight 'eep' when he made eye contact with her.

Muttering an incantation under his breath at inhuman speeds, Flayn's eyes began to teeter slightly before her eyelids slid shut, her body slumping over with her head making a quiet thud as it hit the table. The girl already fast asleep.

Goetia pursed his lips. He'd been sure to use the most powerful spell he had available for sleeping. It did also confirm that their human forms greatly limited the ability of their draconic nature, he suspected he wouldn't have been able to put a dragon to sleep as easily.

Looking back to Sothis, he exhaled "You assume I have not seen humans persecuted for crimes they were innocent of a thousand times before now?" he scoffed "I see no reason why this particular instance should warrant an intervention."

"A thousand times before now, is it?" Sothis scoffed "And how often did you attempt to help them?"

"...It would have made no difference whether I acted or not."

"I'm sure that is a very comfortable excuse you tell yourself at night." Sothis mocked with a smile which didn't reach her eyes. "It must make it very easy for you to ignore their deaths because 'It wouldn't matter anyway' without even making an effort to try."

Goetia glared.

"Don't get so stroppy with me now." Sothis dismissed, pushing through the irrational fear she had somehow developed. Right now, she was far too incensed to listen to her logical aspect telling her that provoking Goetia was a bad idea. "Throwing a tantrum won't change anything." Her eyes narrowed "You've seen this a thousand times before? And does it ever get easier to watch? Perhaps you get to kick back and relax while saying 'there they go again! Those silly, silly humans but oh well, not like I can do anythin-!'"

Goetia shot to his feet, Byleth flinched and Sothis went silent.

"Don't." His snarl was venomous "Assuming for a moment that I do as you ask, what exactly would be done to stop the rampant paranoia which would no doubt emerge?" he inquired with his expression still set in an angered scowl "Because if some peasant scraped off the side of the road can he hypnotised and thrown at the Archbishop, then who is to say that the same cannot be done for the guards?"

He received no answer.

"Exactly." He growled "You might not like it, and I might not like it but this outcome is more preferable to a horde of frightened paranoid knights roaming the Monastery and conducting drumhead trials for anyone they think might be trying to hypnotise them."

Sothis expression remained blank "And all it takes for a little aspect of false calm are the lives of half a dozen innocents. Quite the small price to pay, isn't it. Especially if you're not the one paying for it."

"Spare me your ethical arguments." Goetia scoffed "Such words spoken in this location of all things are worthless. The fact they dismissed the possibility of the attackers not acting of their own volition is proof enough they aren't interested in-"

"They didn't consider the possibility!"

"Then their narrow-mindedness will cost the lives of innocent people." His lip curled into an ugly smile "Welcome to the History of Humanity, girl. You'll find it won't change that much. Ten years, a hundred, a thousand, it doesn't matter. They'll continue to find new excuses to slaughter each other for the pettiest of reasons and it doesn't matter how much you or I dislike it, that's what they'll do because it's in their nature and leaving the likes of you and me alone to sit back and watch them mindlessly kill themselves for however long we live without an ability to do anything. Because that's how they want to live."

Sothis stared back at Goetia before she gave an ugly snort "Look at these pitiful humans. So ignorant of their own nature which I have clearly seen through. I will lord over their failings as proof of my own superiority and make no attempt to correct them whatsoever because such a thing is beneath me." her lips curled into sneer "I'm sure that's a very comfortable life you lead."

"...Saving their lives won't matter." Goetia replied in a calm tone, his earlier anger seemingly vanished and replaced with an icy persona "Whether they die now or in fifty years, what difference does it make?"

"That argument might have held weight before you intervened to save the young Lysithea."

"A...lapse in judgment." Goetia replied, the hesitance was noticed immediately by Sothis. Her eyes narrowed like a hawk "It was…"

"Oh?" Like a shark smelling blood in the water, she closed in on him "Why should it matter? Whether now or in fifty years, she'd still end up dead wouldn't she?" Sothis shrugged, turning away "So maybe you should have just let her die."

"T-that is not…" Goetia's expression tightened, looking away as that ugly feeling in his gut intensified ten-fold. "It was…"

"Or is it that you just don't care about anyone besides those you personally know?"

"That isn't it." Goetia huffed "They are...it is all of them that I…"

"Really?" Sothis snorted "It doesn't feel like all of them."

"I-it matters not." Goetia affirmed to himself "Even if I aid these ones, it does not change the fact that there are still hundreds, if not thousands out in the world who will not receive the same mercy you ask me to grant now. If I interfere here I will have to interfere elsewhere…"

"And is that so wrong?"

"It isn't…" Goetia looked away from them. "That isn't helping them...not how I want to."

"Maybe." Sothis slowly nodded her head "But it is better than leaving them to die."

Byleth remained stationary, staring at Goetia as he looked away from them, his breathing had quickened slightly with his eyes continuously darting around.

The girl reached out with her left hand, placing it on his shoulder.

Goetia's head turned towards the limb, staring at it for a few seconds then gradually rose up to her.

"Please." She spoke a single word. She didn't need to utter the rest.

Goetia stared into her eyes, the ugly feeling in his gut continued to build until it reached his heart.

It was excruciating.

It was ugly.

So very ugly.

Why did he have to feel this? Why? Why!?

He didn't know these people, they offered no reason to spare their lives from persecution. There was nothing different about millions he had seen die for lesser reasons. It wouldn't hurt any less and he would never be numb to the pain of failure but that's what they wanted.

They didn't want his help.

These people weren't even like Lysithea, she had mild value as an object of study, indeed from the very beginning she was nothing more than a ■■■■■ to him.

So why should he do anything to-

"It pains me to ask, but I must know!"

"Why do you continue to fight!?"

"Why do you refuse to submit to me!?"

"Why do you keep fighting so hard!?"

"Why...?"

"That's obvious…"

"...To live."

Byleth watched the moment Goetia seemed to come to some form of answer, his eyes coloured themselves with something.

Something which troubled him.

She wasn't that good at reading people but even she could tell he was troubled.

Closing his eyes, Goetia exhaled loudly before looking towards her.

He opened his mouth and gave his answer.

AN: Oh Goetia, it never works out.

But this was more so Goetia asked to get involved in saving someone he has no true relation with in any sense.

It's unfortunate for him in every sense of the word.

Anyway...the next Omake.

Omake: Madness wherever he goes.

Seteth could tell something was wrong the moment he had been summoned.

How?

His summoner had a peculiar shaped body.

For starters, it was a comically oversized head with a tiny body which barely reached his hip. The fact the person next to her shared the same proportions had him slightly worried.

However, it was early moments. Despite their appearance, he was certain that this orange haired girl would be able to display a great deal of competence.

"Ehhh...four star."

Aaaaand the first words out of her mouth were a blunt dismissal, the girl frowned and stared at him as if he were some great disappointment.

"Senpai…" The lilac haired girl – Was she supposed to look like an eggplant? - offered her best condolences "He doesn't look silly, so maybe he's an ultra-rare four star? You did get him during a swimsuit rate up-"

"Oh Mash…" The ginger girl chuckled, reaching over and daintily rubbing the girl's chin "He's not an ultra rare four star...he's like getting Fionn when rolling for Ereshkigal. He doesn't even have a swimsuit. But I appreciate you trying to cheer me up...yes…very good."

Seteth already had a bad feeling about this.

The bad feeling he had experienced earlier didn't come close to actually telling him how bad his situation was.

Not even close.

"Bad civilisation!" Altera howled out whilst waving her sword around like a mad woman "Applying rate up banners for swimsuits as just a scam to sucker people into buying Saint Quartz!? FGO is a really bad civilisation after all!"

Seteth remained seated in his chair, watching as Altera proceeded to vaporize the entire left half of the Chaldea cafeteria.

Rolling his chair back slightly, Seteth remained stone faced as Gudako rushed past him whilst wearing what looked like an odd pair of goggles.

Once again she was chasing the Director all the while crying out for Mash at the top of her lungs.

The sad fact of the matter was that this was a slow day for him.

He'd only been here a week as well. Between the legendary rants about 'Gacha' swiftly followed by Altera going on a rampage, Seteth had come to discover a very simple system by which to manage.

He just stopped thinking about it.

His attempt to actively unsummon himself through meditation alone was met with astounding failure, unfortunately Gudako was a hoarder. He spent two days in the Second Archive after that stunt along with several other individuals he was in no rush to meet again.

After being released, he was granted the freedom to stay in the actual Chaldea provided he didn't try to leave again. Because he had been the only four star Servant Gudako had gotten through her spending he was in an unfortunate situation of being a prize she didn't really want but couldn't afford to get rid of.

It was not an enviable position and he just knew it would be worse if he tried to speak.

"Seteth, you aren't looking well." The sincere voice of concern was like a ray of light in the darkness.

"No Jeanne...I suppose I am not." He admitted with a slow nod "It has been challenging."

The chibi Servant gave him an understanding smile "Worry not, we're all comrades here. Whether it be through sword of arm or strength of spirit, we servants shall forever remain…" she trailed off, sniffing slightly "S-sorry, these words were just so powerful…"

"...It's fine."

The attempt was what mattered in Seteth's eyes.

Even if she did look like a child's drawing come to life.

"Here." Jeanne handed him a phone "I think it's best you get used to FGO as well, I'm only something of a beginner but I'm happy to walk you through the first few quests to give you an understanding of the game."

"...Thank you." He nodded his head. It would be strange, but he was sure he would manage-

"And so, for the crime of summoning Merlin on your first roll with only three quartz, we find you guilty." Gudako rattled off while holding a burning torch.

With him tied firmly around a stake whilst covered head to toe in pitch.

"Have you any final words, Golden Ruler?"

"...I know this is Goetia's fault somehow and I would like to offer my most sincere apologies for whatever I did. I just ask that he never brings me here again."

"...Alright." Gudako shrugged.

Then hurled the Torch onto the bonfire.

Seteth allowed himself a sigh of relief moments before it made contact, he'd be free of this-

The fire went out, the man blinked owlishly at the dead torch and then looked over to Gudako, the girl's face was frozen for a few seconds before she looked up.

"Looks like Maintenance is kicking in." She shrugged, then gave Seteth a wide smile "A sign of the developers! I'm never letting you go for as long as I have this game!"

Forget Goetia.

He wanted to know if he was truly such a terrible child that Sothis would punish him like this!?