Chapter 59: And then there was silence.

Jeralt often hated long trips with little to do. He hated them when he was a mercenary captain and he hated them now. Worse now considering he had been strong-armed into being a knight once again by Rhea.

His lip twisted in dissatisfaction as he glanced at the woman riding alongside him. Catherine had a rather positive opinion of the Archbishop. Actually, to call it positive would have done it a disservice, the dame practically worshipped the ground that the Archbishop walked upon. Jeralt wouldn't have been surprised if she did worship the ground that Rhea walked upon.

The man let out a long sigh as they moved through the forest path, approaching the direction that Garreg Mach lay in. They would be there soon, at least within the next few hours. Subduing the Western Church had taken slightly longer than expected and he'd been more than a little anxious to get back.

He was most certainly concerned for the wellbeing of his daughter, not that he suspected that Byleth was in physical danger. She could take care of herself, what he was worried about was leaving her alone with Rhea. That much was something he was worried about, Rhea had an interest in her that was difficult to miss to those who knew her and Jeralt suspected that she hadn't been fooled by his lie at all.

She probably knew that Byleth was Sitri's daughter and he wasn't in a rush to leave her alone to do anything more to his kid but it wasn't like he could make public accusations towards her on the subject either.

His eyes slowly drifted upwards as his horse plodded along. He really could have done with visiting at least one tavern before he started the journey back, putting down insurrections and settling disputes between the two Churches was dirty work. He was getting very sick of doing other people's dirty work like that, dealing with bandits or protecting convoys was much more black and white.

Some people want to steal and then they suffer for it. You might say that they were only stealing because they had to but the moment you took up a sword and decided to kill someone else for some riches you were fair game. Less simple with insurrections because their reasons were much more logical on both sides.

He didn't trust Rhea in the least so he could see why the Western Church was seriously dubious about her, in the same token he couldn't approve of planning her assassination either. He didn't dislike her that much.

"I can't wait to be back in a proper bed." He heard Catherine groan before the familiar click of bone fluttered past his ear, he glanced at her again and noticed her cracking her neck.

He couldn't help but smirk in response "Does the forest floor not agree with you? I thought it got rather comfortable after the first few days." he chuckled at the dry look she sent him "Come on, never tried to use a log as a pillow before? Maybe drag some leaves over yourself as a blanket?"

Catherine regarded him with a raised eyebrow "Uh-huh. Fancy words for a guy who had one of the biggest tents."

Jeralt barked a laugh "Truth enough." he admitted, he did have the larger tent by virtue of being a commander of the whole operation. "But I'm old, you gotta make sacrifices for your elders."

Catherine's lip slowly morphed into a predatory grin "Maybe you should stay at home next time, old timer." she joked back, Jeralt felt his smile vanish in the place of a blank look "Kick your feet up by the fire…I'd hate to have to explain to the Professor that instead of being wounded in battle we had to drag you back on a cart because your back gave out."

Jeralt rolled his eyes at her and shook his head "I'm not so old that I won't get off this horse and teach you a few new lessons kid." he grumbled good heartedly.

"A spar with the Blade Breaker?" Catherine sounded more excited at the idea "Now that's something I could go for."

"He'd win." Shamir - who had been silently moving alongside them - finally spoke up. Earning a betrayed look from Catherine and a nod of approval from Jeralt. The woman remained blank faced, even as Catherine whirled on her.

"Wha-thanks for the vote of confidence." Catherine grumbled before shaking her head "But lets face it, I'd probably win."

"Hmmm." Shamir just hummed in response as she inclined her head slightly "He's got more experience in fighting."

Catherine raised an eyebrow "I've got plenty of experience in fighting!"

"Sorry, I meant fighting dirty." Shamir reiterated "For me and him, it's just fighting."

That got the dame to close her mouth, a flash of understanding passing through her eyes as she turned to look straight ahead "Oh, right…that sort of fighting." she mumbled the words with a hint of disapproval, then glanced at Jeralt out of the corner of her eye "Seriously?"

Jeralt shrugged "When your back is against the wall, you just fight however you can in the hopes to survive. Whether or not you bit some guy's throat out-" that got Shamir to give him a raised eyebrow "-or put your thumbs in their eyes-" Catherine frowned "-all that matters is that you lived and they didn't. Anything goes."

Shamir merely hummed in a way that said 'told you so' to Catherine. The woman growled and looked away again.

"I'd win in a fair fight."

"Oh yeah, I'm not gonna debate that for a moment." Jeralt admitted unashamedly "You have a Heroes Relic and I don't and from what everyone else says, you're a prodigy. You've also got more than a couple of years on me so you're more spry." that earned him a chuckle "But that's my point. I'd never try to fight you fair."

"I'll take that as a victory." Catherine smirked back at him, her tone shifting back into a smug one as she stared ahead "Hear that Shamir? The Blade Breaker said he wouldn't be able to take me in a fair fight."

"He also said he wouldn't fight you fair." Shamir dryly responded from the side, giving the woman a passing glance from the corner of her eye "Neither would I, so you'd still end up losing."

Catherine merely rolled her eyes in response "Whatever, you two just need to…admit…that…'' she trailed off, eyes fixed ahead of them as they crested the edge of the forest and out into the open. However, her eyes were locked on what lay ahead of them, her breath caught in her throat as her orbs soon flickered with confusion "What the…?"

Jeralt stared ahead and saw it too. The town at the base of the monastery and what looked like a large contingent of knights digging graves outside of it. To say nothing of the cart they had covered up sitting next to them, it was only at a distance so he couldn't make out specific individuals but the fact there was more than one cart indicated that there was something wrong.

His eyes hardened "Yah!" He called out, cracking his horse's reins and speeding it up, he could tell that Catherine was similarly in a rush given how he heard her incensed voice call out soon after followed by the heavy thudding of horse hoofs behind him.

Seteth groaned as he awoke, eyes flickering left and right and sight gradually returned to him. Soon finding himself staring at a familiar mop of long green hair sitting at his bedside "F-Flayn?" he weakly called out, the figure jolted in surprise and then rushed up from their seating position and loomed over him.

"Father!" Flayn called out to him with no small sense of joy, Seteth could make out the red and puffy skin beneath her eyes indicating that she had recently been crying. "Manuela!" she then called over his body towards a figure to the left of him "Seteth is-"

"I heard." Manuela called back "But if he's awake right now then you're needed with the other wounded." her voice responded back just as swiftly without giving Flayn a chance to carry on "Quickly now!"

"Y-yes, of course." Flayn nodded her head, giving Seteth one final glance before she flung herself towards him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in the crook of his neck "...I'm glad you're awake, father." she sniffled into his shoulder before releasing him and stepping away, moving around the bed and further across the medical tent.

Seteth blinked in response, only just realising what she had called him "Wa-"

"She's definitely a daddy's girl." Manuela joked as she came into vision, the woman looked tired and was wearing something that was more appropriate for a physician, a pale white cloak with some splotches of blood upon it. "But enough about that, you're awake…" she let out a sigh of relief "That's good."

"Where-?"

"Medical tent." Manuela replied, her lips drawn into a sardonic smile "My office isn't fit for all these…guests." she replied before her expression dropped and she leaned back "No…none of that right now, we're camped out just outside the town right now along with all the other wounded knights and clerics."

Seteth stared at her before he tried his best to look around, Manuela stopped that by placing a hand on his shoulder "None of that right now, you're wounded and while I'm happy you've healed a little faster than the others, you're still in no position to be moving."

The man released a dissatisfied grumble before he slumped back into his bed and then stared up at the woman as best as he could "How many…?"

"Wounded or dead?" Manuela asked with a raised eyebrow, she released a sigh and shook her head "Honestly, you can't not be worried for a moment can you?" Despite that, her lips quirked into a barely amused smile before she leaned back "As for injured…fewer than I would have liked. We're still counting but we're looking at…around thirty-five knights and perhaps twenty-three clerics."

Seteth furrowed his brow, that didn't sound as bad but he couldn't quite ignore the worry building up in his chest "And…dead?"

"...Fifty-five knights and around seventy-clerics." Manuela responded slowly, she released a long and tired sigh "Whatever that thing was…it caught them as they were leaving the evening commune…"

Seteth's eyes were tightly shut, his expression scrunched up "...By the Goddess."

"It…" Manuela shook her head "Whatever it was is dead now."

"Anyone else injured?"

"...Cyril took a nasty bump from some flying debris before he got carried out, the population of fish in Garreg Mach has also been reduced to zero as well." At Seteth's bemused look, she clarified further "Fighting ended up destroying the pond…a few of the buildings got damaged."

"The students?"

"Safe with no injuries amongst them." Seteth breathed a sigh of relief at her words "Quite so, small miracles indeed."

"The Arch-"

"I've still got other patients to tend to." Manuela interrupted him "Someone else will be down to try and explain the situation to you but I suspect that it will be the Archbishop herself, she was…" the woman blinked twice and rubbed her arm along her forehead "Suffice to say that she pulled out quite the surprise, as did the Professor and…Goetia." The way she winced at his name was not lost on Seteth. "They're all alive…least last I checked."

"I see." Seteth exhaled and leaned back into his bed "Then…that shall be enough for now…Manuela, you can focus on the more injured knights and leave me."

Manuela stared at him for a moment before she gave him a tired smile "I was planning on doing that anyway but at least now I have your permission."

Seteth laughed and then winced as pain assailed his ribs, the man ended up coughing instead.

"Try not to laugh as well." Manuela wanted him much too late "Flayn has been a little saint, rushing around and healing as best she could." her smile softened "You must be very proud of her."

The man remained silent for a moment "You…know…"

"I would be surprised if there wasn't a person in the Monastery who now didn't." Manuela replied gently before she shrugged "Whether you will find one who is actually surprised? I don't know about that. You make for a better father than you do an older brother." with those final words, she walked out of his line of sight and further down the tent.

Closing his eyes, Seteth leaned back into his bed and focused himself to the task of healing his body. The sooner he was out of this bed, the sooner he could work on fixing whatever damage had been done, if that was even possible. It was - however - good news that Rhea was still alive, it meant that there might still be some hope for the Church after all.

The town at the base of the Monastery was nothing shy of a camp, dozens of tents lined the outer perimeter of the town with the occasional knight being seen to patrol them with what looked like some of the most pitiful defensive emplacements Jeralt had ever laid eyes on.

Made worse by the fact that the perimeter was clearly undermanned, Jeralt could count on one hand the amount of knights he had seen thus far and the end results didn't look good in the least. It pointed towards one inescapable conclusion, the Monastery had been attacked while they were away dealing with the Western Church.

Jeralt felt his teeth grit against one another, it would have been a perfect time to attack the Monastery while most of the knights were away subduing the Western Church, especially considering the detachment that had been left numbered no more than two hundred strong.

As they passed by the pseudo entrance, Jeralt's horse gradually came to a halt as one of the knights approached them with his hand raised to signal them to halt. The man continued to approach, moving around so that he stood alongside Jeralt's horse looking up at him.

"Captain Jeralt." The relief was palpable in the man's voice, then looked past him and nodded to the others "Dame Catherine, Shamir. We were told to expect you back soon but…I suppose your timing couldn't be better."

"Agree to disagree." Jeralt replied curtly, pointedly gazing towards the direction where the knights were focusing some of their efforts, the dark tents that no doubt housed some of the wounded and then on the opposite side of the town there were the efforts to dig a series of graves for the knights. At least they were all getting individual ones rather than a mass grave. "What happened?"

The man stilled for a moment, taking in a deep breath before he replied in a slow and practised tone of voice "Demonic Beast attack, they came up from beneath the monastery and attacked the academy."

Jeralt stared at the man "...Demonic Beasts?" he replied slowly as she squinted at him "From beneath the Monastery."

The man nodded his head, then gestured further ahead "The Archbishop and several others were able to repel their attack while the Monastery was evacuated, Seteth is currently wounded and receiving treatment."

Rolling his jaw, Jeralt grimly nodded his head in response "Who is in charge then?"

"The Archbishop at the top of the Monastery has been commanding the efforts to repair the damage alongside Captain Alois." The man replied before he gestured around them "Sergeant Harold has been instructed to oversee the protection of the town for the time being, we lost most of our company in the attack…" he trailed off before shaking his head and stepping aside "The stables in the Monastery were destroyed, sir." he informed Jeralt "Therefore they will have to remain here. I was ordered by the Archbishop to inform you to seek her out the moment you returned."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Jeralt grunted as he dismounted from his horse.

"You're not going without me either." Catherine chimed in with a tone of voice that brokered no argument, so Jeralt didn't even make an attempt to do so.

"I'll stay here." Shamir commented from their side "See what needs doing."

"In that case, I'd suggest you speak to Sergeant Harold." The man informed her with a polite - if a little tired - tone of voice "He'll probably have some request for you, ma'am." he turned back to Jeralt "Sir." With his words delivered, he moved away from the group.

"Bronwen!" Jeralt barked, the knightess behind him trotted forwards and looked down at the man from atop her horse "See to it that the knights are to make camp at the base of the monastery, organise them properly and help out with whatever needs doing. Find Sargeant…whatever his name was and follow his commands, got it?"

"Yes sir!" The woman barked in response, nodding her head and turning her horse around to parrot the orders to the troops.

Turning back towards Catherine, Jeralt could see she also sported a concerned frown.

"Lady Rhea is probably fine." Jeralt commented as he started to march along the main road through the town, his glances left and right saw a great deal of the citizens helping out with the knights as best they could with little things. Delivering water or carrying food.

Many of the merchants that had been in the Monastery were also present, he spied the familiar red hair of Anna amongst the crowds and he held no doubt that she was taking advantage to raise her own profits.

At least her wares were of good quality so it wasn't like anyone could really complain.

"I know…" Catherine replied back through gritted teeth before she huffed and looked forwards with clear irritation "It's just that…I should have been here!" she growled out, clenching her hands into fists "And how in the valley of torment do Demonic Beasts burst from the ground!?"

"Damned if I know." Jeralt grunted in response "Suppose someone will tell us when we get to the summit." he grimaced "More worried about the brats."

Catherine looked to him out of the corner of her eye "The academy's or yours?"

"...Both." He admitted after a moment's hesitation "But mostly mine." he added on afterwards, Catherine didn't look surprised by the admission as she had probably been expecting him to make it from the beginning.

"She seems competent, I'm sure that she could handle a couple Demonic Beasts." Catherine replied with a wave of the hand before she stabbed a thumb into herself "I could."

"...Well, if you could then she definitely could." Jeralt responded back with a wide smirk, even as Catherine sent him a suspicious glare "I'm a father, I'm allowed to boast about my kid. Not that she needs it though…I'm sure she could take you in a fair fight."

"...Oh, well if you're so sure about it-"

The two argued with each other for the duration of their journey to the top of the hill, continuously bantering about who could actually best who in combat before they eventually settled into a different topic.

"You served Lady Rhea years before me, right?"

"I did." Jeralt confirmed with a tense nod of the head, his eyes were distant "...Why do you ask?"

Catherine frowned slightly "I'm just…wondering why you would leave?" she asked with clear confusion in her voice as if the concept of giving up the opportunity to serve the Archbishop was utterly alien to her.

Releasing a light sigh, Jeralt reached up and rubbed his brow "It was many years ago…I didn't feel like sticking around there at the time." he replied as he looked up "...Too many unpleasant memories, took me years before I could even look in the direction of a Church."

"...Oh, I see." Catherine murmured in reply, thinning her lips and shaking her head "Alright then so what about…" she trailed off, slowly falling to a halt and raising her eyes. Jeralt mirrored her actions, the pair of them now staring at the large metal gate that used to hang above the path.

The metal bars had been bent and warped, splaying outwards as if something had been punched through it.

"...That's worrisome." Jeralt grumbled as he advanced once again, stepping through the gate and into the area where the market had been before giving a heavy frown "...Must have been one heck of a fight here." he commented, placing his hands on his hips and looking around as Catherine joined him.

"Filthy animals." She growled in clear annoyance, her hands clenched into fists at her side "How did they get so close to the Monastery to begin with?"

"Depends on what they were dealing with…" Jeralt muttered as he stared at one of the far sections of the wall that had a large chunk gouged out of it.

"Captain Jeralt! Dame Catherine!" A boisterous voice called out, the pair turned their attention to the far end of the courtyard as Alois practically threw himself down the stairs and rushed towards them with an expression of pure relief "Thank the Goddess you are here! I'm sure you can tell but we could really use a hand with the damages."

"I'll say." Jeralt grunted in response, crossing his arms and frowning heavily "Demonic Beasts?" asked while raising an incredulous eyebrow "That not only managed to catch the entire monastery by surprise, but also just walked past the entire town down there?" he gestured a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the path "What happened here Alois?" his eyes narrowed "What really happened?"

Alois froze, his eyes darted between the two of them with clear hesitance in his orbs before he released a long sigh "I'm…afraid I'm not allowed to discuss it with anyone Captain Jeralt." his expression warped in discomfort "Not even the two of you, that is for Lady Rhea to decide."

Catherine made an annoyed sound by his side and crossed her arms in irritation "If this wasn't a Demonic Beast attack then that means that someone out there tried to attack the Monastery itself. Tried to attack Lady Rhea!" she snarled "Where are they now?"

"Dead." Alois responded quickly, then looked between the two of them "How much…have you been told already?"

"That Lady Rhea and several others repelled the Demonic Beasts." Jeralt answered with a tenseness in his voice "Where is my kid?"

"She is safe." Alois reassured him, raising his hands in a placating manner "The Archbishop herself is overlooking her healing, along with…erm…Goetia's recovery." he winced at the word before shaking his head "I assume that your troops are in Hillfar?"

Jeralt gave a single nod in response.

"That's more good news." Alois smiled "We'll need them to help with the rebuilding efforts, we've already started some of them but…well…" he cringed "We weren't exactly suffering from a surplus of manpower at the time."

"And the students?"

"Still here for the moment." Alois replied with a sigh of exasperation "Although how long that stays that way isn't known right now, the classrooms avoided damage but the dorms were…destroyed."

"Where the heck are they staying then?"

"The town, the Church is paying for their stay in a local inn." He winced "I'm told it's…going well. Sergeant…umm…Harry?" he scrunched his face in thought as he reached up and scratched his chin "Harrison? Hardin? Oh dear, I'm usually better at remembering names than this." he sighed before shaking his head "Anyway, the Sergeant is currently overlooking their safety as well as the safety of the town."

"Fine, fine." Jeralt waved his hand while his other one pinched the bridge of his nose "Just take us to Lady Rhea…"

"Right away, Captain Jeralt." Alois saluted him before lowering his hand back to his side. "And in case I have not already said so…I am beyond relieved that you are back now, Captain."

The damage didn't get any worse the further they went on and Jeralt made sure to pay attention to the massive scorch marks sliced across the ground and up the walls along with the holes that were just large enough for a tall man to pass through, as if someone had punched their way through them.

It lent further credence to the fact that the Church hadn't been attacked by a Demonic Beast but rather something else entirely. He figured he would find out soon enough, either from Rhea or he could just ask Byleth. She'd probably tell him everything that happened.

Jeralt paused, finding himself staring at what was the hall entrance and pointedly looking up at the hole in the ceiling. The lack of debris on the floor indicated something had been punched up and through the roof or it had already been cleared away. However, the presence of debris littering the floor from the large hole to his right quickly disavowed him of that notion.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, he could swear that Catherine was positively shaking with rage and indignation, no doubt because this attack occurred at a time where she was in no position to do anything about it. Jeralt had to hand it to Rhea, she knew how to pick them when it came to personal guards. The woman was a fanatic, plain and simple.

Shaking his head, he turned back around and started to jog up the steps and moved around a part of them that had been punched inwards, then moved around the burnt section of tiling that looked suspiciously humanoid in design.

As they moved up the steps towards the audience chamber, Jeralt couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension. Throughout all of his time here, he'd yet to see anyone directly mention Byleth's condition. Alois had alluded to Rhea taking over healing her but he hadn't actually said how she was injured and in what way.

The tall man strode into the hallway adjacent to the audience chamber, frowning at the distinct lack of guards but dismissing it them being assigned to aid in the rebuilding efforts.

"Where are the guards?" Catherine grunted from his side in dissatisfaction "Lady Rhea might still be in-"

"I'm sure she was the one who dismissed them." Jeralt cut her off before she could blow up into another rant, moving forwards as he did so and staring at the closed doors, with a frown he raised his hand and rapped his knuckles against the wood rather loudly to call out whoever was inside. "Lady Rhea? It's Jeralt."

"J-Jeralt?"

The man in question blinked at the tone of voice, sounding much like a child who had their hand caught in a biscuit jar. For a moment he thought he was hearing things, however when he looked over his shoulder and noticed the utterly dumbfounded expression of Catherine's face, he could tell that he hadn't been hearing things.

"...Yeah. Jeralt." He coughed out and then frowned at the door "I was told to report to you when I arrived. Catherine is here as well."

"She is?" Rhea called back through the doors in surprise before she gave an audible sigh, clearly trying to regain her composure "That is good news. Catherine?"

"Yes, Lady Rhea?" Catherine was against the door before Jeralt had even registered her, the woman standing to attention with a stony expression on her face "I saw the damage of the attack and heard you personally repelled it. Are you injured? Do you need any help-"

"I-I am quite well, Catherine." Rhea's muffled voice called back in an attempt to reassure the Knight "For the time being, the knights are to aid in the rebuilding efforts of the Monastery, tell them that their first order of business is to bury our dead and then to work on repairs to the hall."

"Yes, Lady Rhea." Catherine called out in affirmation "Are there any other orders? Captain Alois alluded to it being some other danger than Demonic Beasts?"

There was a silence for a few moments, Jeralt frowned as he could hear muffled voices on the other side and leaned closer to try and hear them better. He could make out Rhea's voice easily enough however the second voice was unfamiliar to him.

"-try and get rid of him, we aren't done yet!" The harsh whisper came out from the unknown voice, distinctly feminine but sounding different as though it was echoed in a room far larger than the one they were in.

"I'm trying, but they are-"

"Just…" The voice gave an annoyed sigh "...Tell them to come back later while you explain everything."

"Yes, yes…" Rhea voiced back in a tone that very much sounded like a scolded child, Jeralt resisted the urge to laugh, instead settling for a grumbling humming noise.

"You are correct, Catherine." Rhea voiced back through the doors "However, explanations can come later when our position is more stable. I can promise you that."

"As you say, Lady Rhea." The Knightess accepted the words without even a moment's hesitation, Jeralt rolled his eyes at her before his expression hardened.

"Lady Rhea?" He called back through the door "Where's my kid?"

"...T-the Professor?" Rhea's voice came out in a quiet whisper before she coughed loudly "She is well. There are no lasting injuries to her body that have not been healed."

"That's good." Jeralt breathed a sigh of relief "...Can I speak with her then?"

"...She is…not here right now."

"...Alois said that you were overseeing her healing personally." Jeralt replied as he crossed his arms and was now glaring at the door "So where is she?"

"She is…"

"Rhea." Jeralt curtly spoke, not even attempting to feign respect as he took a single step closer and placed his hand on the door "I'm coming in-"

"You can't!" Rhea barked out "It's not…" she trailed off, unable to find an excuse as to why Jeralt couldn't enter the room.

As Jeralt started to push the door open, a hand clamped down around his right arm and halted his movements. His eyes dangerously flashed towards Catherine as she looked back at him without a hint of fear but instead grim determination.

"Let. Go." Jeralt ordered in a gruff tone of voice, Catherine made no such attempt to release him.

"Lady Rhea has ordered that you cannot enter." Catherine responded in a stern tone of voice "So you cannot enter."

"I wasn't asking for permission." Jeralt growled back "Now let me go."

"No." Catherine shot back swiftly, tightening her hold on his wrist and pulling his arm away from the door "You are not allowed entry."

"My kid is somewhere and no one is telling me where." Jeralt snarled back at her "So right now, I'm a little on edge. Now I'm walking through that door."

"The Professor is under the care of the Archbishop right now." Catherine growled back "She is fine. So there is no reason for you to-"

"Oh, I've got plenty of reason to worry if Rhea is the one looking after her." He scoffed loudly and dismissively, Catherine's eyes narrowed dangerously at him as her jaw rolled.

"...Are you implying something?"

"Maybe I am." Jeralt wrenched his arm free of her hold easily and clenched his hands into fists "Now I'm walking through that door and finding my child."

"And Lady Rhea-"

"I don't give two shits about what she-"

"Enough!" Rhea's voice barked through the doors with a certain intensity to it, the pair of them paused in their movements and snapped their attention towards the door "Catherine, leave us."

"But-"

"Leave. Us."

Catherine stepped back "...As you say, Lady Rhea." she shot one final venomous glare towards Jeralt before she turned around and marched back the way they had came, Jeralt watched her leave with an annoyed look on his face before he rounded on the door.

"Rhea."

"...Jeralt." Rhea sighed "You…may enter."

With a satisfied - but still annoyed - grunt, Jeralt placed both hands on the door and pushed inwards, opening up the door and exposing the inner sanctum of the audience chamber. He raised an eyebrow at the bed lying in the centre of the room with the familiar figure of Goetia lying atop it.

Jeralt pursed his lips, now understanding why they might want privacy.

Considering there was a hole in the man's chest about the size of an apple directly over his heart, Jeralt figured he had accidentally walked into a funeral proceeding. While he hadn't known Goetia all that well, Byleth seemed to speak with the man frequently enough that he supposed they were friends.

This was probably going to impact her badly, she hadn't truly been close to anyone except for him. At least, not to his knowledge. Even amongst the mercenaries, they didn't seem to intermingle much which is what led to them calling her a demon.

If he ever got his hands on the man who called his daughter a demon, he'd be more than happy to show the man what an actual demon looked like.

"Sorry." His tense expression dropped as he stared at the corpse "I didn't know you were…busy."

"No…it is quite alright." Rhea looked up towards him with a noticeably strained expression on her face, her eyes darting to the side before returning to him. Jeralt followed her line of sight and then did a double take.

"What the-?" His breath caught in his throat as he stared at Byleth sitting in a chair on the side of the room, she had a noticeable frown on her face that looked more than a little worried about something. Jeralt wasn't sure which he was more surprised by, the fact she was actually showing such a heavy emotion or the fact her hair was now bright green and her eyes were a matching colour. "Kid? What the…" his eyes snapped to Rhea "What did you do?"

"She did nothing." The echoing voice called out, Jeralt slowly craned his head back towards his daughter and leaned back with wide eyes. Byleth saw his expression and cringed ever so slightly, raising her hand and resting it on her face "This is not an encounter I was looking forward to…in truth, I was hoping that I would have figured out how to leave."

Jeralt continued to stare at her with an uncomprehending expression, his mouth opened and closed repeatedly before his expression slowly worked itself into a perfect mask. Staring at Byleth with an utterly blank expression, which only seemed to unnerve her even more.

"Why couldn't you have come later?" Byleth whined in a voice that wasn't hers, her expression shifted into a more worried one before she shot an annoyed glare towards the body and pointed at it accusingly "And why can't you hurry up and heal yourself!"

Jeralt stared at the body in silence for a half second before looking back at Byleth "...Who…are you?"

The girl froze, biting her lower lip and turning towards Jeralt "I…am…" she sighed, then stood up from her chair rather awkwardly and faced Jeralt with a rather brave expression, clearly preparing herself for some sort of response from him "...I am Sothis, Goddess of all Fodlan and Chief Divine of Time." she paused for a moment, then gestured to herself "I am…also trapped in your daughters body."

"Get untrapped. Now." Jeralt snapped at her before he could help it, then glared at Rhea and stabbed an accusing finger at her "What did you do to her?"

Rhea flinched, looking between the two of them before she nervously licked her lips "Jeralt…" she spoke in a calming tone as she rose from her own seat, extending a hand to him in a gesture to calm down "I can explain…but you need to calm yourself."

"I'm feeling a little beyond calm, Rhea." Jeralt growled as he placed his hands on his hips and shooting a glare at 'Sothis' "I want to know what the fuck is going on and why my kid doesn't have their voice and what happened to their hair!"

Rhea cringed once again, tension flooding her body and her shoulders hunching together "Jeralt…before we begin, I must tell you that I know."

Jeralt gave her an odd look "You know? Know what?"

"I know she's Sitri's child." Rhea responded in a gentle voice "And I know you left because you harboured…doubts towards me, taking her with you."

Jeralt clenched his jaw, staring into Rhea's eyes while his own were firm. He had been expecting this for some time and it had come at a more inopportune moment "...Alright. Yes." he admitted after a moment "I left because I thought you did something to my child." he meaningfully shot 'Sothis' another look before returning his eyes to Rhea "...Well?"

"...Your concerns were…not unfounded." Rhea responded slowly before she raised both her hands as Jeralt looked ready to launch himself across the room towards him "Everything I did, I did with Sitri's consent!"

That seemed to give him pause for a moment, his expression shifting through several emotions before it evened out "...Explain."

"I can't." Rhea responded almost guiltily "Not because I do not wish to but because it comes at a very…unfortunate time." she gestured towards Byleth "Suffice to say, the Professor is still awake within her body…as I have been informed by mo-" she caught herself before she could slip, her expression shifting for a moment "...By the individual in her body."

"Sothis." The aforementioned individual corrected, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes and Rhea "And if half of what Goetia said is true, then you're the reason I am in this body to begin with."

"That was not my intention." Rhea argued weakly "At least…not for you…" she sighed and rubbed her forehead "The stone was supposed to give you life not…"

"Whatever." Sothis grunted in response, shaking her head and turning to face Jeralt with thin lips ``Suffice to say that this situation is not preferable to myself either. The child is awake in my head and is…" she scrunched up her face and looked off to the right of herself, seemingly staring at empty air for a moment "Really?" she raised an eyebrow before she gave an annoyed click of the tongue and faced Jeralt again "Apparently I am to tell you not to spend the next few days in the tavern."

"...Right." Jeralt grunted, then pointed at her "And how long…how long is this going to be a thing?" he settled on, giving Rhea one last pointed look that indicated he was going to get those answers from her eventually.

"I don't know." Sothis responded, Jeralt felt he should have been anger but the sincere turmoil on his daughters face indicated that whatever was possessing her did clearly feel regretful for their current situation "It is…I have been trying to return control to her for at least a day now but it has not prove easy…worse when I do not know how I achieved such a feat to begin with."

"Figure it out fast." Jeralt snapped at her, the turmoil vanished from Sothis face and was replaced by clear annoyance.

"I have been trying to do so for some time!" She snapped back, stabbing a finger in his direction "The process is not sped up by anger, else I would not be trying to puppet her body around as we speak and she could be here to deal with this inane situation and I could avoid hiding away like some manner of mouse!"

"Fine!" Jeralt growled and then looked at Rhea "Just…" he sighed loudly, tension leaving his body like a flood and his head falling into his hands "...Am I getting my kid back?"

"Yes." Sothis answered before Rhea had a chance to, Jeralt spared her a glance out of the corner of his eye, lowering his hands back to his side "You shall. I am not in the habit of stealing bodies…" she grimaced "I believe that there has been enough of that as of late."

Rhea shamefully looked away, biting her lip in the meantime while Jeralt's eyes flickered between the two of them. "What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"...The attack on the Monastery…was conducted by…Aelfric." Rhea revealed, prompting a widening of the eyes from Jeralt, she continued on before he could have a chance to speak "Or some creature parading around in his body for the most part…he became a monster and attacked the Monastery."

"What the…Aelfric?" Jeralt breathed out in shock "Him? But that…what?"

"It would seem that his lament for Sitri was…taken advantage of." Rhea stated with clear regret in her voice "He was taken advantage of and used to slay those he had once called friends. I…am sorry. I know you were close as well, perhaps more so than he and I were."

Jeralt remained silent, staring at Rhea for a few moments before his lip wavered ever so slightly "...Hah…everything that you touch…" he shook his head, giving her an ugly look before he turned around and marched towards the exit "What else are you gonna take from me?"

"Jeralt please-" Rhea called out as she rose to her feet, trying to stop him only for the man to whirl around and glare at her.

"No!" She flinched at the volume of his shout "You-! My wife! My kid! My friends! M-my life as well!" he punctuated each exclamation with a thump on his chest "Is there anything of mine that you won't take away?!" he pointed at Byleth "Am I even going to get her back or do I have to rely on whatever freak is puppeting her body!?"

"How dare-!?" Rhea's tone shifted in an instant, her eyes narrowed into slits and her teeth were bared at the man "You have no knowledge of what you speak! You are entitled to your anger but don't you dare ever think to-!"

"Hey!" Sothis barked at her, Rhea's jaw snapped shut and her eyes went wide before she looked down as if she was a child. Sothis glared at her for a few more moments before she sighed and turned to Jeralt "...I promise you. You will have your daughter back. Believe it or not, I do owe her a great deal."

"Hmph." Jeralt grunted in response, giving another shake of the head and marching out of the room without another word.

When the pair were confident that he was out of earshot, Rhea slumped down into her seat and stared down at the ground "...Mother, I-"

"Stop calling me that." Sothis cut her off before she even had a chance to speak further, the statement - as always - had her flinching as if struck but refusing to raise her head to look the Goddess in the eye. "I don't know you. Frankly, I am not currently sure I want to."

Rhea's head snapped up, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape "M-mother, I…" she choked out "Wait…it's not…"

"Don't." Sothis raised a hand, cutting her off and giving her a stern expression "For now, work on healing him." she pointed towards Goetia "The moment he is back up, I can return to being incorporeal and then we can get some answers." she paused for a moment "Before all that…are you the reason I am in the child?"

"Yes." Rhea didn't even hesitate to answer, Sothis rolled her jaw for a moment before she clicked her tongue.

"Thought so." She muttered to herself, looking Rhea up and down before she turned away from her "I am going to return to my sleep. Awaken me if something important happens and only if something important happens. If the children ask…" she trailed off, searching for an answer before she looked back at Rhea "Byleth is saying to tell them she is away on an important mission and will be back at some point."

"Moth-" Rhea cut herself off, swallowing the word and opening her mouth again "Sothis…your memories…they are-"

"Non-existent?" Sothis gave her a sardonic smile "I know that, at least I know I'm a Goddess though…whatever that is supposed to mean to me now." she growled, marching off into Seteth's office and slamming the door behind her, leaving Rhea alone in the same room as Goetia.

The Archbishop remained silent as she looked away from the door and then towards the man, she stared at his prone form and the slowly rejuvenating hole in his chest. She felt her lip curl downwards as she glared "...What poisonous words did you spout to her?" she hissed at him before she paused and looked away "...You don't even know, do you?" she realised before shaking her head, lowering it into her hands "...Oh Mother…"

AN: Officially? We got attacked by a Demonic Beast.

Unofficially? Everything went to shit.

Next chapter we're covering the students and…other interested parties.

But yes, it has been about a day since the attack and yes, Harold got promoted.

By virtue of the higher ups being dead.

Omake: Diplomacy Sucks

"Stop complaining." Robin smirked at the man as she sorted out his collar "You'll be fine."

"No I won't." Romani replied with a whimper "I'm not very good at these sorts of things." he muttered quietly, prompting Robin to step back and raise a disbelieving eyebrow at him "What?"

"I don't…" Robin gave a dramatic sigh before she rolled her eyes and leaned back into her chair, turning towards the blonde sitting next to her "You sort him out."

Lissa raised an eyebrow "What do you mean? How do you expect me to deal with him?"

"I'm right here, you know." Romani muttered quietly, an amused snort at his side caused him to shoot a dull glare to the blue haired boy sitting on his right. Chrom schooled his features instantly, gazing out of the window of the carriage soon after with an expression on his face that could only be described as stony.

It would have worked if there weren't clear signs of mirth in his eyes, indicating that he was struggling to hold in his amusement as to the situation.

Romani crossed his arms and leaned back "Whatever, do we even know anything about this place we're going?"

Robin took the opportunity to jump on this topic, the albino girl grinned and leaned forwards "We got this info from one of Anna's sisters across the Kaleidogate."

"World gate." Lissa corrected with a roll of her eyes before she gave a mischievous grin towards Robin "You don't need to pander to him."

Robin waved her hand dismissively "Kaleidogate sounds much better than 'World Gate'." she responded before shaking her head "Anyway, Anna said that this world on the other side of the gate has only just come out of a civil war that rocked them for the last couple years. Apparently they're rebuilding and when Anna came to them with a lucrative deal, they were approached and asked if she could pass along a message."

"Which eventually came back to us." Chrom nodded his head in response, thinning his lips before they morphed into a sad smile. He could empathise with their position, considering they had suffered from the affects of the Fell Dragon's vicious campaign against them as well and the efforts to repair, he knew full well it was not an easy endeavour. "Which I suppose would make sense, what of their wider world?"

"The East has only just started to be incorporated into their region." Robin rattled off without any effort on her part "A big continent called Almyra, apparently they had been…not at war but they weren't friendly either, mainly skirmishes along the border for a few centuries."

Chrom nodded his head in response before raising an eyebrow "And they have called off this effort?"

Robin smirked "Yep! Seems that the new leader of the country that borders them is actually half-Almyran."

"That must have been quite a surprise." Romani couldn't help but blurt out, prompting a smirk from Robin.

"It sure was, for me as well." She chuckled before closing her eyes "Anyway, we should be approaching the meeting location soon. They said they were gonna build up a nice little tent for us all to meet in at the Kaleidogate."

"You are fidgeting." Goetia chided the white haired girl as he stared down at her dress, reaching out with his left hand and sorting out the hem of her furred collar and adjusting it so it was level "Stop it."

"I can't help it." Lysithea replied back "I have never been involved in such situations like this."

Goetia raised a lone eyebrow.

"With Claude being involved." She added on before she sighed "I suppose I should be happy that the Kingdom agreed to help."

Goetia snorted and looked away with a wry smile "I'm sure that your presence did nothing to affect the young King's decision."

Lysithea flushed ever so slightly before she coughed "I-I do not know what you infer, Teacher." she paused for a moment "Perhaps it relates to the increased presence of the Church following the arrival of the new Archbishop?"

Goetia's wry smile slowly tapered off "...I have no knowledge of what you insinuate."

The two were silent for a moment.

"Hehehehe."

"Pfffftahahaha."

Before they both started to quietly laugh, moving around the large tent towards the assembled table "As it stands, they should be arriving shortly,"

"What do you think they will be like?" Lysithea asked as she followed after him, walking across the table until they came to their own seats. "From what little information we have to go on, Ylisse sounds very similar to Fodlan in some aspects."

"Which part?" Goetia asked "The existential threat to all life or technological advancement?"

Lysithea regarded him with a flat look "...Really?"

"Is my humour not appreciated?" Goetia lamented with a shake of the head "It would seem my former apprentice has become disrespectful since she parted from my tutoring service."

The girl rolled her eyes at him and sat down in her seat "Nothing like that, I just feel as though your brand of humour is rather morbid at times. I feel like some of your jokes could take years off my life."

"Ha!" Goetia barked out a laugh before he quickly schooled his expression "Hypocrite."

"I am your student."

"Hm. So you are." He looked over her shoulder before he extended his left hand towards the tent flap as it opened "And your King has arrived."

"To my knowledge, the Ordelia territory is Alliance." Dimitri's voice called out as he entered, his eyebrow was raised as he crossed his arms "But I suppose that is not quite what you meant."

"Ignore him!" Lysithea all but shrieked in embarrassment "He speaks tomfoolery! Von Riegan has corrupted him!"

Goetia gave Dimitri a pointed look "As she says, I have indeed spent too much time around Von Riegan. However, that does not detract from my statement. When do you intend to propose?" he bluntly asked, prompting a strangled gasp from Lysithea and a strained smile from Dimitri.

"You are oddly insistent on that front." The blonde remarked in a curious tone, then tilted his head "Why?"

"So when I am asked why I tried to strangle the King of the Holy Kingdom, I can provide a legitimate excuse." Goetia responded in a toneless voice with an equally blank expression.

Dimitri blanched.

"Stop fidgeting." Lissa chided Romani as she pinched his arm, the man made a whimpering noise "You're a former King, aren't you supposed to be used to this sort of thing anyway?"

"I just turned off." Romani quickly explained "Just shut down and let my Clairvoyance do all the work, it did wonders."

"You are incredibly lazy, aren't you?" Robin commented with a chuckle as she stepped out of the carriage behind them, then looked up at the rather large tent ahead of them with the assembled contingent of knights and pegasus riders. "Huh, the more things change the more they stay the same."

"I suppose this must be a similarity between our worlds." Chrom commented with a sense of amusement, his hands placed on his hips "I suppose wyverns and pegasi are useful no matter where you go."

"I wonder if they have dragons." Robin asked herself, then looked around "Do you think we should ask? I know Nowi would appreciate it."

"Lets leave that for a later topic with them." Romani reminded her with a strained expression, "We're just here to make sure that we can establish some peaceful discussions and…you know…not start a war with anyone."

Robin paused for a moment before she nodded her head "You're right. I volunteer Roman as our chief ambassador."

"I second that notion." Chrom cheerfully exclaimed as he patted the man on the back.

"Third!"

"What!?" Romani blurted out, his face going pale "B-but I-"

"Come now, Roman!" Chrom grinned wider "You are the one with the most kingly experience amongst us, I am almost certain that it shall go splendidly!"

Romani looked around, noticing everyone giving him wide and encouraging smiles, the man then slumped his shoulders and turned to face the knight approaching them, the man wearing a very welcoming expression.

"Greetings!" He waved to them as he approached "I am Knight Captain Harold of Garreg Mach Monastery, and you are all the visitors from the Kaleidogate, aren't you?" he asked as he looked around at them.

"That's us." Robin nodded her head, gesturing to herself "Robin."

"Lissa."

"Chrom."

"Romani." The strawberry haired man introduced himself with a nervous smile before shaking his head and looking around "Nice to meet you."

"And it is a pleasure to meet you as well!" Harold exclaimed back, despite his loud voice there was a clear earnest nature to his tone of voice that made it obvious he was being genuine. "Come on, everyone is already waiting, I'll announce your arrival."

"What the heck did you say to them, Sparkles?" Claude whispered to Goetia as he sat next to him, leaning on his elbow and nodding down the length of the table "Dimitri refuses to make eye contact with you."

"I made it clear I was awaiting his proposal to Lysithea." Goetia responded casually, looking ahead towards the area where the delegates from Ylisse were expected to arrive. "He merely inferred something from that statement that was threatening in nature."

"Which part?"

"The part where I threatened him."

"Idiot." Sothis grumbled from his side, her head thumping against the table.

"I'm not making you a new body if you break that one."

"I'll break it over your head…idiot." She shot back without any real heat, then rolled her head to the side and stared at Byleth "Well? What about you?"

"I just want to be a bridesmaid." Byleth responded in a simple tone before she frowned ever so slightly and looked towards Goetia "You can't knock her father out just to be the best man."

Goetia clicked his tongue in a subtle manner.

"Shouldn't you be happy for your student?" Sothis asked with a hint of amusement as she sat back up, crossing her arms and smirking at the man "Think of her in a lovely wedding dress…think of the children they could have as well! All those inquisitive young minds for you to indoctrinate."

"Better me than you." Goetia turned to her, his lip twitching upwards ever so slightly. "At least I learned how to walk before I was thousands of years old."

Sothis flushed "I could smite you, you apostate!"

"You could try." Goetia grinned at her in victory.

"Don't bully Sothis." Byleth warned him before her own lip twitched up in amusement "She has delicate feelings."

"You're both heathens!"

Claude was busy laughing, thumping his fist against the desk repeatedly.

Harold marched into the room "Announcing the arrival of the delegates from Ylisse!" that quietened down the group "Exalt Chrom, Princess Lissa, Advisor Robin and Advisor Romani!"

Goetia's brow twitched for a brief moment, his expression flickering slightly.

The tent flap opened again, four figures stepping into the room.

The first was a blue haired man decked out in a royal blue plate around with a pale golden shoulder cape with a sigil embroidered into it. The second was a young blonde girl with her hair down into twin tails and wearing a simple pale yellow dress and a silver tiara. The third figure was a short albino woman in a dark coloured robe.

The final figure was a man with strawberry hair, emerald green eyes, dark brown robes and pale skin.

Claude squinted at him.

No, it was rapidly paling skin, there was a marked difference.

"Introducing the delegates of Fodlan!" Harold called out, gesturing to the other side of the table "King Dimitri of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, President Claude of the Lecister Federation, Archbishop Byleth of the Church of Seiros, the Goddess Sothis of the Church of Seiros and-"

Goetia shot to his feet, cutting off whatever Harold was going to say and slamming his hands on the table.

Romani flinched.

"...Solomon." Goetia hissed out through gritted teeth.

"W-whaaaa?" Romani gestured to himself then looked away, raising his right hand and hiding his face "N-no?"

"Lower the hand Solomon. I can still see you."

"...I don't want to."

"Lower the hand or I'm coming over this table and lowering it myself."

"...You can't do that."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Solomon. Now lower the hand."

"...I don't want to."

Goetia's brow twitched.

Romani edged towards the entrance of the tent, intent on making a rapid escape.

Goetia hurled himself over the table.