Chapter 44: Cold, Cold Heart

Yuri heard Hapi enter before she spoke, ironically it was the girl not wanting to speak that often that gave her away. Balthus lacked any notion of the word subtlety and Constance loved the sound of her own voice when it came to introducing herself.

Which left only Hapi.

"What can I do for you, Hapi?" He voiced aloud as he sorted through the documents on the desk in front of him, they had all been reports from his above surface contacts about the goings on in the Monastery. Something about Goetia's name had triggered a sense of remembrance within him, as if he had seen or heard of the same at some time before.

"I was just a little curious as to what had you so focused on, Yuri-bird." She replied back in her usual apathetic tone, a slight hint of intrigue within it "Is it the surface travellers?"

"It is…" Yuri agreed with a hum as he continued to sift through the documents and reports "Or the more recent arrivals to be exact." he elaborated, Hapi gave a mild blink in surprise before she tilted her head in thought.

"Does that mean the mutterings of a Church Knight down here are true?" She asked with surprise, Yuri wasn't surprised. Word travelled quickly in Abyss and word of a Church Knight - no matter how low ranking - being down here was news that couldn't travel any faster. It might have only been around ten minutes, but in Abyss that might as well have been a week. "And you're letting them help?"

"They actually were here to shadow someone else." Yuri revealed before he found what he was searching for "There we go. Knew that name was familiar to me." he grabbed the report and turned around to face the red haired girl, his eyes still fixed on the report in his hands "Great Tree Moon, 23rd. New arrivals at the academy. Jeralt the Blade Breaker and his daughter, Byleth Eisner. Byleth has made a new Professor of the Blue Lion house." he raised his hand as he noticed Hapi about to ask a question "Third arrival. Strange foreign man with glittery golden hair and tanned skin. Has been made assistant Librarian."

Hapi blinked, "That was quick."

"Yes it was." Yuri muttered, lowering the report and turning back to his desk "And here is the other one. 25th of Garland Moon. Knights have returned from Lord Lonato's rebellion. Details are hard to uncover, talk of magic fog and a man who fought the Blade Breaker and won-"

Hapi's eyes widened slightly at the news.

"-apparently they retreated soon after. Details regarding Lord Lonato sparse. Mutterings of Knights are that Goetia - the new assistant librarian - attacked the rebelling army and aided in wiping them out, killing Lord Lonato personally." he looked up and hummed "Seems someone is making waves."

"I'll say." Hapi commented, then frowned "But what does this…" she trailed off, staring at Yuri intently "They are here, aren't they."

"That they are." Yuri nodded his head and smiled sharply "And apparently, someone in the Church isn't so big a fan of him right now. That Church Knight isn't here for us. He's here for him."

"So the Church thinks he's dangerous." Hapi remarked, then nodded her head "He does sound it by what you said. It could also be an exaggeration though."

"Yes, it could be." Yuri admitted easily with a shrug "But isn't it more exciting to think there might be a grain of truth in there." he stood up straight "Besides, they're here now and apparently might be willing to help out."

"Help from the two newest arrivals at the academy and both of whom are apparently well known?" Hapi raised an eyebrow at Yuri "Seems rather fortunate for us."

"Well, the way I see it, Abyss could do with some good luck." The man pointed out wryly "Although probably best to keep an eye on them just in case." he added on, turning back around to look through his reports "Still…someone under the watchful eye of the Church and currently being shunned." he chuckled, "A wonder it took him so long to find this place."

"Hmmm." Hapi merely hummed in response before shaking her head "Whatever you say, Yuri-bird…You're not going to ask me to introduce myself to them, are you?"

"Well, it would be polite." Yuri chuckled "It would probably also save them right now. I understand that Constance has taken an interest in his magical abilities and considering what she is like…" he trailed off meaningfully "He's in the library if you want to see them for yourself."

The extensive collection of books and documents in this lower library far exceeded what was available in the library above in the actual Monastery. It did not surprise him that such forbidden documents would be found in a place shunned by the Church however.

For the time being, this made much more interesting reading. Or at least it would were it not for the mild annoyance he currently had to deal with. Judging by the expression on Linhardts face, he similarly shared the same irritation that currently boiled within him. His red eyes flickered to the blonde girl as she continued to speak.

He'd actually tuned her out at some point but her determination had to be commended. She was as steadfast as she was annoying.

"If it is a matter of payment then I can assure you that once House Nuvelle reclaims its noble status you will be well reimbursed for your tutelage." Constance continued on, looking completely unshaken by the total lack of interest Goetia was displaying in her. "Is it a question of competence perhaps? I am quite the prodigal Caster. I will have you know I actually spend much of my time creating new spells-"

That actually earned her a sideways glance out of the corner of his eye. Did he finally meet someone actually willing to experiment with new types of magic in a place like this? If that were that case, it was downright pitiful. When she noticed the movement of his eyes, she took that as a sign of victory and moved to capitalise on it.

"Ohohohoho!" She released a rather loud and obnoxious laugh "I knew that would interest you. Indeed, I am quite the magical pioneer-" he doubted that very much "-and I daresay you would not find another like me in a lifetime of searching-" he was certain that was false "-which would make it your greatest honour to be involved in tutoring me."

"Goddess above." Linhardt muttered out as he dropped his head into his hands, Constance sent him a disapproving look out of the corner of her eye before she returned her attention to Goetia.

"Well? What say you?"

He stared at her out of the corner of his eye for a few more moments before returning his attention to his book. Constance stared at him for a few moments longer before she realised he had just flat out ignored her, the girl looked torn between outrage and shock at the dismissal.

"I see." She frowned "Is this because House Nuvelle has fallen on hard times? I assure you that-"

"Your House and its standing mean nothing to me." Goetia cut her off before she could continue - she idly noted in the back of her mind that the page of his book flipped itself rather than him moving it - his voice betraying nothing "Whether or not I tutor you is not up for discussion. It remains my choice and I am also forbidden from tutoring students by order of the Church."

Constance frowned and sent a glance towards Harold, the man was actually reading through a book of his own. Although this one was titled 'The Daring Adventures of Kasaki Sojirou, the Pigeon Slayer' the man seemed to enjoy it though.

"It is my understanding that I am not a student of the Academy." Constance pointed out, Goetia nodded his head in affirmation.

"You are not. However, my other students are. I will not disregard their own restrictions so that I might teach you just because you attempt to bluster your way into my good graces with promises of payment or claims of competence." He turned to look at her for the first time during the conversation "I will decide who is and is not competent enough to be taught. Until such a point as I determine you to be worth my time, I suggest you keep your boasting to yourself."

Constance stared at him in dead silence, her eyes wide and her mouth agape in shock. Linhardt had actually looked up to gawk at the two, his eyes dancing between the pair with a hint of shocked amusement within them before they finally rested on the girl in question.

Tightening her expression, Constance pursed her lips before she gave a cool smile "Then I suppose you will simply have to look forward to a demonstration of House Nuvelle's genius in the art of magic so that you might see how fortunate you are to be chosen." the girl did an about face and marched out of the library at an impressive pace.

"Hey…" Goetia turned his attention to Harold, the man staring at him with a hint of worry "Wasn't that a little…rude?"

"I'm agreeing with a Knight of the Church." A new voice called out by the entrance to the library, Goetia turned his attention to the tanned girl with bright red hair and equally crimson coloured eyes which were just a shade lighter than his own. "This really is a sign of strange times." she lamented as she stepped into the library and looked Goetia up and down. "A simple 'no thank you' would have sufficed." she accused him with narrowed eyes.

"Which would have only invited further attempts to win over my support." Goetia replied in an equally sharp tone "She cares not for what my magecraft represents but only for the power it would allow her to wield."

The girl raised an eyebrow "And I suppose magic is not used for power because…?"

"Because power without thought is meaningless." Goetia dismissed "In the short time we spoke, she made her desire to restore her family name quite clear. However, she appears to have no plans on how she would accomplish this goal. How does the restoration of her House link to my ability to move rapidly between locations?"

The girl remained silent "Alright…so?"

Goetia gave her a mildly disgusted look "She has an end goal with no clear manner to reach it."

Linhardt raised an eyebrow at Goetia "How come you didn't ask me what my end goal was?"

"You further research for the sake of knowledge and publishing." Goetia replied almost instantly "I determined that your end goal would relate to the understanding of Crests, which study based magecraft can be utilised for."

Linhardt blinked in surprise "How did you know that?"

"You spent considerable time with Hanneman in the after hours of lessons. Considering his profession, it is easy to determine where your interests lie."

The boy just shrugged "That's not wrong…What about Dorothea?"

Goetia's eyes flicked back to him "Charm based magecraft." was all he offered as a way of an answer. Linhardt stared at him in silence for a few moments then gave a begrudging nod of the head in response.

"Alright, forget I asked anything then."

"So if Coco was to come back with a clear plan?" The girl asked, while tilting her head in puzzlement.

"The answer would still be no for the reason I offered previously." Goetia replied "She is not my student and it would be unfair to my already existing pupils."

The girl shrugged "Alright then. I'm Hapi, by the way."

"Goetia." He responded with a faint nod, then squinted his eyes at her for a few moments. His pupils flashed red as a transparent glowing circle manifested itself above his left eye before it looked her up and down.

Hapi shivered at the odd sight and the feeling of vulnerability. There was always a method by which you could understand a lot about someone by the way they looked at you. Hapi would never claim to be a master at understanding all the intricacies of people, oftentimes quite the opposite. However, there was always a specific glint in peoples eyes when they spoke to you.

It was how she was able to tell the precise moment Goetia had stopped viewing her as human. There was a coldness in his eyes as he examined her right now, as if she were some manner of strange bug he'd spotted or perhaps something of mild interest. It was not the first time someone had looked at her with such inhuman eyes.

It was because of those past experiences that she could spot the signs. She doubted anyone who hadn't experienced something similar would see it for more than disinterest. She found herself rooted on the spot, her mouth snapping shut as the cold red eyes continued to gaze at her. After what felt like an eternity, they shifted away from her and back towards his book.

"I suspect we will speak again." He voiced with a finality, indicating that he firmly believed the conversation over. Hapi was glad he felt that way but left more concerned about what it was that he saw.

"Right." She instead replied in a quiet voice, turning away from him and almost fast walking out of the room and leaving the three alone. She wasn't quite sure how someone like him ended up in the Church, but it made perfect sense. His eyes held the same coldness that came from just using someone for something and then disposing of them. Although from the sounds of things, the Church was gearing up to get rid of him too.

That was an ironic twist if ever she'd heard one. Either way, the idea of being alone in the same room as him was something she made a note of to avoid.

"How peculiar." Goetia remarked as he sent another glance at the door the girl had left from. Linhardt looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a face tinged with a trace amount of interest.

"How so?" He asked, "She seemed to just want to introduce herself quickly and leave." the boy remarked as he continued on, leaning back into his chair "No real interest for all that floundering about that other nobles seem to do."

"Her introduction meant nothing to me. I referred to her nature." Goetia revealed, cupping his chin "What an odd thing…You said you fought her, yes?"

Linhardt blinked then nodded his head once "She managed to summon some manner of worm from the ground." he revealed, then frowned "No…it did not have the feel of a summoning spell at all, now that I think of it. Or at least any summoning spell I am aware of."

"Is that so?" Goetia hummed absently, turning back to his book. "Intriguing." it was certainly peculiar. He even went so far as to examine her origin. A partial awakening as well, although judging from the manner in which her body had been structured she had likely been experimented on. Still, the summoning of Monstrous Beasts was not something to be scoffed at any rate. Considering they were still potent familiars.

Further examination of the girl would likely reveal quite how she was able to attract them to him, he doubted Linhardt would be of any further aid but that was of no fault of his own. It was purely ignorance instilled in him by this society which affected his rate of information gathering. However, he could tell that the girl's origin was in part related to calling out.

A partial awakening - a rather clumsy one as well - and a body designed to release this call outwards so that it would instinctively attract Monstrous Beasts. He internally scoffed, if she had the capacity to form contracts with them…

He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts from his mind. She was a peculiar fascination and nothing more, the fact she was here either indicated that she was an escapee from some Magus workshop or had been rescued. He doubted she was a reject otherwise she would be dead. It just furthered his assumption that there were all manner of bizarre individuals found here.

At least she had the sense to leave him be, as opposed to the other one. Being harassed by someone claiming to be a pioneer of this type of magic was hardly inspiring words if her only issue was the fact she lived in some filthy underground ghetto. Attributing her lack of fame to her family no longer being well-recognised Nobles was an excuse. If she were truly a pioneer of the arts, then she would have found some method of navigating around the problem.

No, her goal seemed to be just utilising whatever magecraft he taught her to resurrect some extinct lineage which would likely be gone again in perhaps two hundred years. Hardly a goal that he cared for. As for Lysithea…

Lysithea held interests beyond her own family. He had…high hopes for her usage of his magecraft.

"Hey Sparkles…" Claude's strained voice came through from the entrance to the door, the man didn't so much as look up from his book as the Golden Deer entered "Hey, Linhardt."

"I wonder if I shall ever have the time to read these works in peace." Linhardt mumbled to himself in a slightly irritated tone of voice, Goetia could in part relate to the constant interruptions.

"What do you want, Von Riegan?" Goetia asked in a blank tone of voice as his book flipped through another page.

"I was actually coming to ask to see if you two had found anything good." Claude pointed out, then directed his attention to Goetia "...Also you and Teach have been avoiding eachother since you got down here-"

"A difference of opinion as to my restrictions." Goetia cut him off quickly "Nothing more and certainly none of your concern."

"Alright." Claude raised his hands in surrender as he paced around the library "But you should probably talk about it again…considering we might end up fighting someone down here together. Best not to let personal issues get in the way of that."

Goetia's eyes flashed up towards Claude "I am more than capable of multitasking."

"I think you should speak with the Professor if it bothers you." Harold commented from behind him "I always find that talking things out is much better."

"See!" Claude snapped his fingers and pointed to the gatekeeper "That guy agrees with me."

"If I speak with Byleth again, it will be on my own terms. Not at your insistence." Goetia replied with a frown, "That aside, you were curious as to what I have discovered?"

"...Yeah." Claude admitted with a shrug "I mean, you and Linhardt have been in here a while and I'm always interested in the Church secrets." he finished with a wide smile, Harold blinked and lowered his story book.

"Ummm…should I be here for this?" Looking towards him, the Golden Deer leader shrugged his shoulders.

"I mean…as long as you don't try and rat me out." He joked with a faint smile, Harold pursed his lips and looked back at his book.

"You know…my mind really wonders when I read, sometimes I just space out." He offered, waving his hand "I'll just get back to it."

"Your discretion is appreciated." Claude nodded to the man, then returned his attention to Goetia. "Anything interesting?"

"So far?" Linhardt shrugged "I've found a great deal of religious works from ones I've never even heard of before." he offered, turning his attention to Claude "So it depends on how interested you are the concept of other Gods." he chuckled raising a small book "I've found one of this older ones here. A lot of comments about some very intriguing ideas." he set the book down and moved his hand through the piles of old papers in front of him "There are also a few notes here of old metal giants roaming the monastery underground."

Claude blinked "Metal giants?"

"Golems, most likely." Goetia explained away "Curious as to why they are no longer in use but that is likely something relating to the Church itself."

"That sounds like an interesting conversation to be had." Linhardt shrugged, then looked back at Claude "But so far, that is all I have uncovered. Then again, these are the first few books and papers I have gotten ahold of so I am sure something interesting will be found eventually." he sighed as he turned back to his books "If I am ever granted the peace to read them anyway." he paused before looking over a pile of papers next to him "Also if I can find some manner of translation for some of them." he added on, staring at the language with squinted eyes. It was not a form of script he was familiar with at all.

Claude blinked at him, then turned towards Goetia "So…"

"I have been reading these books for a grand total of a eight minutes, Von Riegan." Goetia remarked with a flat expression "If you were to inquire later, my answer would change radically depending on where your interest actually lay." he pointed out, then gestured to the book in front of him "This in particular book currently discusses the existence of other Gods in Fodlan and evidence of their being."

That earned him a nod of the head from Claude "I can see why that probably wouldn't be in the main library." the boy admitted, then looked it over "Found any interesting Gods yet?"

"I have only just begun reading." Goetia pointed out "And once again, that would depend upon your definition of interesting. The presence of other Gods within Fodlan at some point in time does not surprise me, however it is whether they still exert their influence over the land which is another matter entirely." he went on "In regards to the Duscur Gods, they are all but assuredly wiped out or have since left with the destruction of Duscur as a place and culture."

Linhardt stared at him with a hint of interest "You believe the Duscur Gods are real?"

"You do not?" Goetia raised an eyebrow "The existence of the Goddess of Seiros does not mean all other Gods cease to exist. It simply makes her yet another Divine with a vested interest in the continent of Fodlan. If the Duscur Gods did nothing to prevent the destruction of their worshippers it means they either cared little for them, were unwilling to directly engage with the Goddess of the Seiros Church or have already departed this land."

Claude cupped his chin "Does that mean you believe that the other Gods exist out in the world as well? I assume you had plenty of your own."

"The pantheons of Gods and Divine Spirits were vast in their own right." Goetia explained "However, they rarely intermixed with eachother. In the events they did, it was a case of the same God working under a different title."

Harold blinked and lowered his book "You mean they would just disguise themselves?" the man frowned "That doesn't make sense…why would a God need to hide their name?"

"It was less a case of hiding their identity and more assuming an identity the culture crafted for them." Goetia replied "Their role and personality did not change, simply the name they were worshiped under."

"Ohhh." Harold nodded his head "Like if the Goddess was known with a different name in Dagda?"

"Yes."

"Alright then." The man smiled, going back to his book "I mean…I probably shouldn't be encouraging the worship of other Gods but you aren't denying the Goddess existence or saying we shouldn't worship her…" the man frowned "So…I guess it's okay?" he paused, "I've never actually met someone who didn't believe in the Goddess before so I don't really know how I'm supposed to respond to this sort of thing to be honest." he admitted with a hint of anxiety.

Claude stared at him with obvious surprise. "I thought you'd be all 'The Goddess of Seiros is the one true God and all others are fake' sort of thing." The boy puffed out his chest and put on a deep and mocking voice as he spoke before he settled down "I mean, some of the other Knight's are."

Harold reached up and scratched his cheek with a gloved hand "I mean…one of the Seiros teachings to be loving to all because we're her children, right?" he looked around for assurance "So just insulting people seems a little…I don't know." he frowned "I guess I never thought about it all that much to be honest."

"Well that's a nice attitude to have."

"Way I see it, you can worship whoever you want as long as you don't bother other people endlessly." Linhardt grumbled to himself as he went back to reading "I'm fine with quiet worship."

The conversation entered a dulled phase as few offered anything else, when Goetia saw Claude make to leave he rose from his chair, silently following after him as he left the room.

"Von Riegan." Claude jolted, turning around as he saw Goetia standing behind him.

"Jeez, Sparkles." Claude placed a hand over his head "Give a guy a little warning next time…I didn't even hear you stand up." the boy shook his head, lowering the hand again "So what's up? Something private we need to discuss-"

"Byleth did not want me here." Goetia bluntly stated, earning a wince from the boy. "Why did you send for me?"

Claude let out a light chuckle, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck "Well…at first I could understand Teach's reasoning. We weren't really sure what was going on through the hole so it made sense not to bother you." Goetia stared at him in silence "Then when we found out what was going on…it just made sense to send for some help and I won't lie, you're pretty much all we really have left."

Goetia tilted his head.

"It took me all of five seconds to figure out that the people down here don't like the Church." Claude explained "They tolerated us because-"

"The reasoning is not lost to me." Goetia sharply cut him off "Why did you send for me when you knew it was against her wishes?"

Claude blinked "Because I thought you'd want to get out of the library." he shrugged "And I really did think we could use your help. I just…didn't know why Teach wasn't going to call for you once it became clear that something more was happening."

Goetia frowned, looking away. Her reasoning was still lost on him, some misguided effort to keep him safe. He was here now, the option to whether or not he would actually lend aid was still something to be decided.

"Are you gonna help, Sparkles?" Claude asked, bringing Goetia's attention back to him "Because normally you only really offer to help if you're interested or y'know. Sprinkles is involved." he added on with a searching expression.

"Lysithea is my pupil and the well-being of any student is a teacher's priority." Goetia responded instantly, his eyes briefly flashed with confusion as he saw Claude suddenly sport a wide smirk.

"The fact you could instantly tell Sprinkles is my nickname for Lysithea is amazing to me." The boy mirthfully explained, then shook his head and placed both his hands on his hips "Aside from that, what did you and Teach talk about anyway?"

Goetia frowned "Why do you care?"

"Well…I did technically have you brought down here with her ignorant…" Claude pointed out with a moderately guilty expression "So any confrontation you might have had may or may not be my fault."

The tanned man scoffed in response "You made a logical decision to call for my aid in the presence of an unknown situation with those who are hostile to the Church. The location is also of passing interest due to its abundance in forbidden literature from which I can expand my understanding of this continent." Goetia waved his hand, frowning "The fault lies with Byleth and her ill-conceived notion that I was in need of her protection."

Claude blinked "She didn't want you down here because she was protecting you?"

"Indeed." Goetia shook his head dismissively "As if I am in need of protection. I am far from some inept child in need of coddling."

Claude blinked, those were…weirdly familiar words. As if his manner of speech had been lifted directly from one of Lysithea's rants about being younger than everyone. The boy let out a sudden noise of understanding. "You really are a student and teacher…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He hurriedly answered "Anyway, so you're mad over Teach trying to keep you out of harms way?"

"It is 'protection' I did not ask for."

"I'm fairly certain commoners don't ask for noble protection." Claude wryly pointed out "They still get it."

Goetia stared at him with a flash of incredulity "Are you comparing me to some peasant and Byleth to a feudal lord?"

"...Why is that what you picked up on?" Claude asked aloud, shaking his head and gesturing to the man "Look, she obviously thought she was doing you a favour-"

"That I did not ask for."

"-normally you don't." The boy went on, sighing "Look…I'm really not all this good at heart to heart stuff. Way I see it, she thought she was doing you a good turn but you're mad she went over your head to do it."

That was a grossly oversimplified manner of describing it. Goetia thought to himself as he stared at Claude, her actions all but screamed she did not trust in his ability to take care of himself.

"I don't suppose you could just try and move this until we don't have to worry about anyone trying to break into this place?" Claude asked with a hopeful expression.

"You mean move a possible confrontation until a better time presents itself." Goetia surmised, pursing his lips and slowly nodding "It is not the right moment for such a conversation. Besides…I have decided to lend aid on this occasion to this place, until you determine what it is that interests them."

Claude blinked "That's great." he exclaimed "I'm sure it'll be interesting."

"It would be pointless to come to this place and allow it to be destroyed before I have learned all I can from it." Goetia explained with a disinterested tone of voice "Until it no longer serves my interests, I will prevent its destruction."

"Well…that's a less charitable reason but somehow it doesn't surprise me in the least." Claude admitted with a shrug and a resigned look on his face. "Ah well, I knew what I was walking into anyway."

Yuri strapped the scabbard to his waist as he noticed the more recent additions to Abyss enter the hallway in full. The Students, Teacher, Librarian and single knight were certainly a standout sort of group. It was mildly amusing how simple curiosity had managed to bring such a rag-tag band together.

Goetia and Byleth exchanged barely a glance as they moved towards Yuri, the man waved away the guard at his side as they all approached him.

"I was wondering if you'd all get together for a big meeting before long." He commented, then smirked "I was on my way to ambush some mercs we've spotted heading through the tunnels." his eyes scanned the crowd "Considering you've offered your help, I suppose we can rely on your aid?"

Dimitri blinked at the sudden news "Your enemies have been spotted?"

"Very good!" Yuri spoke in an exaggeratedly praising tone before his features turned back to being casual "Yes, I sent up some scouts before our bookkeeper and his friend arrived-" he pointedly looked at Goetia and Harold "-and they've returned with news that they spotted some mercenaries closing in." he sighed "Seems they discovered another entrance after we closed off the last one."

"So swiftly?" Byleth frowned "How?"

Yuri shrugged "No idea. Abyss is a big place and the town has been around here a lot longer than the people. There's probably hundreds of different entrances that we haven't even discovered yet."

"What about the people who live here?" Ashe asked with a sudden panic "Don't we need to evacuate them?"

Yuri shook his head "We're moving them out of the way of the direction the mercs are headed but they'll be back soon anyway. No need to bother with a complete evacuation." he looked over his shoulder "Besides, they should be coming back any second now…"

"Huh?" Ashe blinked "Who will?"

"Why did you have to send me?" Hapi complained as she stepped into the hallway, Constance following behind her "No matter what we do, we're all just going to die in the end anyway."

"Yes." Goetia commented from behind Claude and Hilda "Pitiful. Isn't it?"

"..."

"...Right." Yuri blinked at the sudden interruption, turning his attention to Hapi "Sure, but if we do nothing we'll die a whole lot sooner." he pointed out, earning a roll of the eyes from Hapi "So did you camouflage the corridor?"

"But of course." Constance boasted with a confident smirk on her face "Our decoys shall keep those scoundrels from chancing upon our living quarters." she paused. "Do note that I am the bait upon your hook, should we fail, I will be left dangling in the wind." she remained silent for a few moments before she barked out a laugh "But it seems nothing can be done about it, therefore I shall humbly assume the starring role in-"

"I can come with you if you want, Lady Nuvelle." Harold offered, raising his hand.

Constance paused, slowly turning her head to stare at the man for a few moments in silence, Harold looked around before noticing that all the other Abyssians were staring at him. The man silently gulped before he slowly lowered his hand "B-but that's your choice…"

"That's probably for the best." Yuri remarked "They might get scared off if they see a Knight of the Church with her and we need to find out whose being this and what they're after." he frowned, looking over his shoulder "Now where is-"

"They're coming from the eastern entrance." Balthus announced as he appeared without much fanfare.

"The east…" Yuri nodded his head, smiling sharply "Just as planned. We're well placed, all we need to do is lure them further into Abyss."

Ashe blinked in surprise "Further?" he looked around in confusion "Why would you want that?"

"They know the terrain better." Byleth explained before Yuri had a chance to reply "Easier to ambush them."

The violet haired boy nodded his head "That too, but also if they come directly into the heart of Abyss and we take them out, we can claim it was self-defense if the Church gets involved." Yuri went on, crossing his arms and shrugging "This just works out better both ways."

"Hope you guys are ready." Balthus turned a wide smile towards them before pointing at Goetia "Lookin' forward to see if you can back up your tough talk pal. Takes a real man to try and square up to the King of Grappling!"

Yuri blinked, staring at Goetia with a raised eyebrow "You tried to square up to Balthus?" he let out a huff of amusement "I'm not sure if you're brave or stupid."

Dimitri nursed a phantom bruise under his rib. He could attest that it was probably neither of them, having been punched by Goetia and seeing what he could do to someone up close…he wasn't entirely sure that Balthus could beat him in a fist fight.

"Talk of Goetia aside, we would be more than willing to help you prevent harm from befalling the innocents of Abyss." The Prince spoke in a confident manner "Just tell us what we might do."

"We could always do with more bodies to throw at our enemies." Hapi shrugged, "Thanks for volunteering."

"How many do you need alive?" Goetia asked, looking towards Yuri.

The man blinked at the sudden question before he remembered the reports he had read "We need someone who looks important." He elaborated "Everyone else…" he meaningfully fell silent.

"Hm." Goetia grunted in response. He still had no idea how far this whim of his would take him, right now he was affronted at the belief he was incapable of taking care of himself.

"If we're all done waiting around here then." Yuri turned on his heel, "We should go prepare our welcoming for our guests…" he chuckled to himself.

The others soon followed after him as they descended further into Abyss.

AN: Fun times all around guys. You know what this means, Next Chapter will be one where Goetia kills people again.

Let's face it…that's what most of you look forward to most of all.

Omake: The blind leading the blind.

"He was - without a shadow of a doubt - the worst subordinate ever." Goetia bluntly stated as he shifted through the papers "There was barely a moment where he did not fail in some pitiful capacity which embarrassed every single one of us."

"Tell us how you really feel Sparkles." Claude joked, Goetia looked up and blankly stared at him.

"I did." The former Beast replied with squinted eyes "Everything I said about Flauros was brutally honest. He makes Manuela appear competent at times." he sighed, leaning back against his chair "Sometimes, I fear that perhaps I was made King not because of my power, but because I had more than two braincells I could rub together."

"I don't know what a braincell is."

Goetia sighed "Somehow it follows me through, wherever I go." he muttered to himself, looking back at Claude "Regardless, that is my answer as to who I would never want to receive help from."

"Interesting choice." Claude nodded his head "My pick would be Lorenz. Mainly because he'd say 'This is why I should be heir to the Alliance!' or something like that." he exhaled "Sometimes, I think he's waaay too full of himself."

"Flauros was like that sometimes." Goetia admitted, then frowned "...I'm starting to notice that many of my former subordinates are problematic in some way or another. Raum had an odd obsession with Outer Gods even when he was part of the collective."

"What the heck is an Outer-"

"It would often take great effort to convince him to keep his bizarre opinions to himself when relating to their presence." Goetia continued on, completely ignoring Claude "I am now fully of the belief that if he were to be left to his own devices he would bring about a catastrophe."

"You're losing me-"

"Then there is Zepar." Goetia's frown deepened. "He was the biggest fool aside from Flauros. I would oftentimes place him under observation by several other Pillars purely for the fact that if he were left unsupervised he would cause problems just be being there at the time." he reached up with his left hand and scratched his chin "...Now that I think of it, Barbatos died far more times than any other Pillar did."

Claude scrunched up his face "Wait…what are you talking about now?"

"Amadusas lost his host almost immediately…" Goetia continued on with an expression of growing horror "Amon was overruled by the Egyptian Pharaoh and Haagenti was turned into pancake batter-"

"Wait a damn second here!" Claude sputtered "What was that last one!?"

Goetia was now looking as though he understood the entire nature of the universe and found its nature wanting "Wait…was I just surrounded by incompetent idiots?" he asked himself as he stared down at the table with bewilderment "I do not believe that there was a single Pillar who ever achieved a goal I laid out for them to do…Flauros couldn't even plant bombs correctly in the facility he helped run."

His head fell into his hands "Oh dear Solomon…I was in London and I could have just killed the Master then and there…all I did was just trap his soul in a prison."

Claude was now struggling to wrap his head around the bombshells which had been repeatedly dropped in the span of around a minute.

"I could have just blown him up with a spell." He moaned "It would have taken less than a second. I could have just killed him and grabbed Mash, sustaining her existence long enough for me to get the answer I needed would have been childs play…"

"Are you alright?" Claude found himself asking, Goetia was still staring at the table.

"I as as stupid as the rest of them, wasn't I?" Goetia muttered to himself "The second they arrived in my temple, I could have just used the Band of Light to vaporise Chaldea…"

He let out an explosive sigh "This means that Bael was right…Somehow that's worse, all Bael did was rant about hating people and such things. He was always far too angry about everything."

"I feel like we got way off topic there." Claude coughed into his hands "So…who do you think is the worst Church subordinate?"

"Hm?" Goetia blinked "Oh, Rhea."

Claude blinked several times "She's the Archbishop though."

"Unfortunate for the Church then, isn't it."

"But…she's basically the subordinate of the Goddess herself."

"Sothis has taken issue with that." Goetia replied "However, she isn't actually aware she's the Goddess yet, therefore it is amusing to witness her complain about her own subordinate."

Claude blinked several more times at Goetia sentence before he opened his mouth to reply "...What?"