Chapter 127: It might not be a cough
It was slow work, slower than he would have liked.
But he was accustomed to the distractions as of late and this was hardly one he could remove without repercussions.
"I'm surprised."
He was not.
He answered the stray comment with an uninterested hum and continued to tap away at the marble, chipping smaller and smaller sections as he pulled out the rough shape of a head. He had long since garnered the appearance of something that looked vaguely humanoid from the stone, but at this point he was working away at the finer details.
Though he was sure that the origin of Seiros' surprise was his method.
Perhaps because he had forgone the usual technique and attempted something slightly different. Goetia would, however, say that he was rather satisfied with the current progress he had made with unpractised hands.
It was hardly as though he had done so to start a conversation.
"You claim this is the first time you have used your hand?"
"Why would I lie?"
Seiros, irritatingly enough, just chuckled as though he had told her some amusing joke and continued to fix him with a rather intense stare. He paused only briefly to glance in her direction and raised a brow, an unspoken question as to what she was looking for and what she hoped to find.
It was an unspoken question that went unanswered, as the silence of the woman endured.
Breaking eye contact with her, he returned to his work and shifted the position of the chisel before willing the hammer to move once again. Delicate taps removed small sections and had nothing more than stone dust falling to the ground, broken occasionally by a pause and by him brushing it with a minute gust of wind before he continued.
"Surely you can understand some measure of doubt? It is hardly as though one would expect you of all people to use your hands, so to speak, when you can achieve the same result much faster with the use of your magic."
Placing her knuckle under her chin and bracing her elbow with the other hand, the woman shifted her head and tilted it to one side, raising a brow at him that seemed almost accusing but far from malicious.
"Unless you intend to tell me you do this for all of the many toys that you have crafted, but I doubt we would see a single strand of your golden hair fluttering through the gates of the monastery if that were the case."
Goetia grunted once more. "I would not attempt something of this level of importance if I did not hold confidence that my own physical methods were capable of producing a satisfactory result…"
He paused for a moment to allow his words to settle.
"...And I was curious as to how simple the task would be."
Dead silence followed his statement.
It was the truth of the matter, it had been nothing more than a whim brought about when Anna made a comment in regards to his products and he was left somewhat curious if he could achieve the same level of skill with his hand and a mere substitute. It was not as though he lacked the knowledge, per say, he had watched thousands of statue makers over the millennium.
Watching and analysing their movements was nothing more than a mere twitch of the proverbial finger in terms of effort on his part.
He lost nothing.
And any mistakes could be fixed with the aid of Sothis.
So, truly, he was in no danger.
"I can imagine you would make many enemies within the arts community for that little comment."
Scoffing, he pulled his hand away and glanced towards her with a shake of the head. "As though I would need fear them. If they cannot achieve my level of skill, when I have done nothing more than observe, then they are undeserving of even calling themselves artists in the first place. I am of the impression that art has always been related to whims rather than obligations."
He turned back and continued to work.
"And I did not think you would have such ties to such groups."
Seiros smiled. "Do you suppose that all the many portraits of myself just appeared overnight?"
"I am aware you would need to stand there and have the patience to endure it." He admitted. "But that is wholly unneeded for me, this is purely for your own interest…or an effort to escape the duties you have assumed from Seteth."
There was a slight twitch in the air and the irritation, and indignation, from Seiros spiked after that comment before it bubbled away into a simmer. He spared her a glance and noted that although she was smiling at him, there was little doubt that it was a patently false smile which hid away what she was actually feeling.
"...You do not need to fake your smiles, it offends me."
Just like that, the smile dropped. "And I would prefer you not read my emotions with your magic."
Goetia raised a brow as he worked, "And how did you come to the conclusion that I did such a thing?"
Seiros was giving him a pointed look.
Hmph, perhaps his methods were obvious?
Or she had made a blind assumption and just so happened to be correct, he was unsure which of the two would truly suit her. Thus he elected to dismiss the entire section of conversation and instead change his thoughts to other topics that were mildly more interesting to him than a discussion about art.
"Word from Manuela?"
Seiros shifted in her chair, face settling into a worried frown. "Nothing that can be considered good news. We received a message from her early in the morning, it seems as though the entire village has come under the influence of this illness and she cannot make sense of what it is…though she has had some concerning theories."
"Any you wish to share?"
With a brief pause, Seiros looked at him. "Are you truly interested or will I be wasting air on nothing?"
"It is hardly as though I am in a position to do anything in regards to what information you bring to me, though I would prefer to be informed as to the potential origins of some new pathogen. I am aware of the lingering reputation of the Kingdom's problem."
Grimacing at the reminder, the woman nodded slowly. "Very well. She believes that there might be some link between the illness and with magic itself, though she cannot say for certain and has only just begun to look into that possibility."
Goetia nodded slowly. "Is that so? A concerning theory, but just that. Keeping yourself alarmed on account of nothing more than speculation is unlike you."
"And you claim to be an expert?"
"I, apparently, know more than most."
"...I suppose that much is quite true."
"Yes," He replied, feeling his own face settle into a scowl. "most unfortunate."
The words were rewarded with some aggrieved huff and a sharp folding of the arms, he could feel the eyes boring into the side of his head and the gradually intensifying glare within them, but it was hardly as though he felt aggression from her in the least. It was a situation more comfortable for the both of them, he supposed.
"Is it possible?"
"An illness linked to magic? Most certainly." Seeing no reason to deny the obvious, he nodded his head. "Is that not what black magic is linked with?"
"The reactions of dark magic are much more immediate."
"True." Goetia would allow that, briefly pulling his hand away and frowning in thought.
If he was not careful, he would find himself drawn into this same speculation that could well end up feeding into the paranoia of Seiros. He shook his head after a few moments and then returned to work.
"But such things would not go unnoticed and for this length of time, a curse would be apparent. It is more logical that this is nothing more than some previously undiscovered plague or some mutated existing illness which has found refuge in the village. It is hardly as though Remire had the suitable facilities to counter any real sickness of worth such as this."
Seiros shifted. "You speak as though they are to blame."
"There are many at fault." Goetia replied carefully. "I cannot make wild accusations and assumptions about what I have not personally witnessed. It might well be the origin of this lies with some carless fool or it could have been a case of poor chance. What is done is done. Manuela clearly has some competence or you would not have sent her without help."
He turned and frowned directly at the woman.
"Stop concerning yourself with that which is beneath your concern or understanding."
Seiros gave a sharp smile. "That was almost comforting."
Disgust flickered over his face. "I am continually astounded by your low standards that common sense is comforting."
In the face of his words, she just smiled a little bit wider and with a touch more mirth in her gaze, he elected to ignore her and shift his attention back towards what was actually important in the first place.
This was why he was making slow progress.
Well, progress slower than he otherwise would have made.
"...How have the Golden Deers been fairing under your tutelage?"
How had they been fairing?
"Have you received complaints?"
"No."
"Then you already have an answer."
Seiros sighed and leaned back into her chair, folding one leg over the other and looking at him with the same sort of expression he would have expected to find on Sothis instead. Though such similarities were expected on account of their relation, that was no invitation for Seiros to assume the role of 'vexatious Goddess' in the absence of the spirit.
Raising an eyebrow, she waved a hand towards him. "This can be considered an informal conversation, rather than a demand for progress. I have done much the same with the other professors over the years."
Goetia nodded. "And I am sure that they were quite content to regale you with long-winded stories which amounted to very little things of worth. I am telling you what you are required to know. I am teaching them. I am ensuring they are learning. I am tending to their mental wellbeing-"
He cut himself short and turned his head sharply when he saw the glint of something in her eyes.
Yet the questions he expected to be flung at him never materialised.
That gave him brief pause.
Slowly, he turned his head towards her and raised a brow, she met his gaze with nothing more than an innocuous tilt of the head.
"...You are not hard of hearing."
"I am not." Seiros agreed. "But I am no so rude as demand you spill the secrets of a youth experiencing trouble."
Goetia felt his brow twitch at a reminder of something else. "And yet you were content to let slip elements of my heritage in front of the students to degrade me?"
Perhaps it was something that should not have been spoken.
It was hardly as though it still bothered him.
The comment just slipped out.
Seiros flinched as though he had struck her, turning her head away from him and pinching her brows tightly. Her eyes closed and she inhaled sharply through her nose, a silence fell across the tent, broken only by the sound of renewed hammer strikes.
"...I did not apologise for that display, did I?"
"I did not demand an apology." Goetia admitted with a shrug. "And I do not care."
"It was wrong of me-"
Goetia held back a sigh. "That was not an invitation-"
Either uncaring or unhearing of what he was saying, she spoke over the top of him and continued with her words.
"-and it was beneath me to do so. I weaponised your past in a way that was disgraceful."
"I told you," He reminded her. "I do not care."
Seiros nodded. "But that does not mean I am uncaring. That did not make it any less cruel and it was certainly…No, I have said what I needed to say."
"'Needed to say' is inaccurate phrasing." Goetia corrected, another chip of the hammer. "It was something you wanted to say."
"Perhaps." She admitted quietly.
More silence followed.
"...We truly did hate one another, didn't we?"
Goetia stopped and turned his head. "We? I found you annoying and obstructing but I did not hate you. If I had, I would have killed you."
With a quiet snort, the woman glanced towards him with a touch of a smile on her lips. "I cannot claim to have the same freedom to do such wantonly selfish acts as that…but I truly did not like you and made no secret of it, I think."
"Once again, not completely accurate." Correcting her was becoming bothersome. "You concealed it well enough that I did not have rocks thrown at me."
"...They would not have…" She trailed off and grimaced when she clearly came to the same conclusion had had come to long ago.
Yes.
They would have thrown rocks at him if it became common knowledge that Seiros hated him.
"...Have you ever hated someone?"
Goetia stopped and turned his head. "What brought this on?"
Seiros shrugged. "Curiosity? It sounds as though it is easy to be disliked by you, but hard to be hated."
…Maybe it was.
He shifted on his chair and lowered his hand down to his lap.
Hating someone…
"...Had you asked me that same question months ago, I would have answered it without hesitation."
"...And now?"
"Now?" Goetia looked up and stared at the half face in the statue, staring at it and closing his eyes. "...Now I am unsure what I hated in the first place. It is clear I never knew completely what Solomon was like and…I am finding myself reminded of him in those that I do not hold any negative feelings towards. If I do not hate them…why do I hate him?"
Lysithea's face sprung to the forefront.
He had to fight back a sigh at the comparison between the two of them.
They had the same wish, more or less.
But without the same options.
If Lysithea were forced down the same path, would she showcase the same level of detachment as the King of Mages or…?
…No, this was a line of thinking that was utterly pointless.
He straightened in his chair and opened his eyes, raising the chisel and willing the hammer forth again.
"...And of the one who worked against you?"
"Fujimaru Ritsuka?" Goetia was surprised to hear her bring up the person, but perhaps he should not have been.
It was not impossible she was presented with the same image as Nemesis.
Goetia frowned at the internal comparison.
"They are not Nemesis." His words came out sterner than he expected, it was not as though the comment was illogical.
He could see the thought process.
A silence followed, the clear surprise on her face, and he turned his head.
"...They were just an ordinary person fighting to live."
"...Then they truly were not like Nemesis."
This topic of discussion was bordering on being depressing, far from what he had been willing to tolerate from a prolonged conversation with Seiros.
He would have been partial for a change in conversation, and if she would not provide one then he would do so himself.
"How fares Flayn?"
There was a jolt of surprise and a flicker of intrigue from the woman as his question registered with her, if she at all cared for the previous conversation topic, it was made abundantly clear she was not willing to remain upon it as she swiftly adopted a more relaxed expression.
"You could ask her, she would be honest with you."
Goetia nodded his head. "And she would be as honest as her personal bias allows. I have noted a tendency to downplay her own achievements, such a thing being rather common within youth."
"...She is over a thousand years old."
He pointedly raised a brow. "Youth in comparison to myself."
Understanding crossed her face, though it was combined with mirth. "Yes, I suppose I should have realised what you meant, and I suppose if you were to ask Seteth, he would certainly hold a far more biased view than her on the other end."
"Quite." He flatly responded.
Ignoring the fact that he was rather sure that questioning Seteth in regards to his daughter would invite some manner of misunderstanding between the two of them. The very last thing on his mind was to, once again, confirm that he was no interested in pursuing romantic relations.
"And I am aware that you would keep some measure of awareness of Flayn within the Monastery."
"And it has nothing at all to do with the fact I might find the topic far more appealing than the previous one?"
Goetia huffed. "That is coincidental. I have little interest in the previous conver-"
There was a knock at the door, ending what else he was going to say as the pair of them turned their heads.
His senses reached out beyond and then he shifted his focus away from the sculpture.
Unexpected.
Rising from the seat, he moved across the length of the room and towards the door, taking it by the handle and pulling it open, but just enough so that the person on the other end would have enough time to realise their disguise once again and avoid an unfortunate slip.
It would be better for the both of them.
Kronya was already opening her mouth before her eyes flickered just to his right and then widened a little, then her gaze shot back to him as his own eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Am I to assume that you have recovered the documents I asked for?"
There was a pause far longer than there truly should have been.
Amateur.
The disguised woman looked briefly confused before her eyes widened in understanding and she rapidly bobbed her head up and down, visibly fixing her expression into a stoic mask, all while trying to keep her eyes focused upon him but not within his own gaze, and certainly avoiding looking to Seiros.
"I…" Wetting her lips, started her sentence only to stop it, anxiety creeping into her gaze.
"The Archbishop cares little for how you conduct yourself, be at peace of mind that you are beneath her notice."
Seiros cleared her throat politely behind him. "I would appreciate it if you did not attempt to slander me to the clergy. Though I might not involve myself with every minute detail, that does not mean I care for those under the employ of the Church any less or think myself better than-"
Goetia turned and looked at her with a flat expression.
"What is her name then?"
Seiros flattened her gaze. "...I have never been formally introduced to her, Goetia. Avoid trying to entrap me in such a way."
"...Wiebke." Kronya managed to get out and he was impressed with how strained her voice was, it disguised the venom rather well and it seemed as though it had the either intended - or unintended - effect of making her appear nervous.
Rather than hateful.
Oblivious to all of this, Seiros offered an almost motherly smile as she rose from her seat and bowed her head to the girl. "In that case, it is a pleasure to meet you, sister Wiebke."
Patting down her attire, the Archbishop moved across the room and passed the pair of them, speaking as she went. "And I believe I have allowed time to escape me, I shall return to my duties before Seteth sends out a party to chase me down…Have a pleasant day, Goetia."
She stopped just outside the room, then turned back and inclined her head. "And Flayn has taken to the classes most comfortably. I am…relieved to see that she is in such high spirits."
"I have rarely seen her in poor spirits." He grunted back, but it was an answer that was at least welcome. He pointedly flicked his gaze to Kronya and gestured to the interior of the room.
"As you were, Rhea."
She turned without a word and retreated back through the hallways the way she had come.
Kronya stepped into the room, he closed the door behind her and paced towards the statue, taking up a small tarp and covering over his progress before he shifted his attention to the girl and noted that she was very clearly nervous once again, whatever hatred she held for Seiros fled and she was looking as though he was seconds away from torturing her again.
…That might have been close to the truth, depending on what she had to say to him.
But he was curious.
"...You are permitted to speak freely of Seiros as you wish."
Distrust was immediate and evident, a mixture of disbelief as well as the woman shifted back and forth on the balls of her feet. Swallowing thickly before she spoke. "...Why?"
He raised a brow. "Why would you not? It is hardly as though she is present to hear your words and I find myself somewhat curious as to what your people actually think of her."
Kronya was still silent, the terror remained and her lips were sealed shut.
Hmph.
Her choice, he supposed.
"You had information for me, I believe."
"...Solon is…doing something…"
Goetia very slowly turned his head and stared at her, his eyes narrowing and his lips curling downwards.
"I find your words vague." He responded. "And incomplete. Elaborate."
She winced and shuffled back and forth, eyes dancing down to her hands as she picked between her fingers and hurriedly nodded her head.
"H-he didn't tell me exactly I just…I overheard a conversation between him and Myson…"
"I see." Goetia took in a breath. "So you have brought me gossip."
She flinched.
"Sit down."
She froze on the spot, eyes flying to him and then widening, taking a half step backwards and opening her mouth. "W-wait! I-It was important! I sw-swear it-"
"I did not ask for pleas." He cut her short, her jaw clamped shut with an audible click. Nodding his head to the chair where Seiros had been. "Now. Sit. Down."
This time, she complied with the order and looked almost on the verge of tears.
Perhaps he would have been more concerned with her terror if she had not attempted to kill him.
Twice.
With a flick of the wrist, he dragged his own chair until it was opposite her and lowered himself into it, adjusting his robes as he did so and leaning down upon it almost lazily. His elbow propped up on the arm of the chair and his knuckles supporting his cheek, he gazed across at her and kept his expression apathetic.
"...Start again and speak clearly."
Kronya nodded her head swiftly, pushing back tears and wetting her lips.
"I was…performing my assigned duties." She explained. "And I happened to be near Solon when he got a call from Myson. They were talking about…about something. Some experiments and how they had a breakthrough because of a fresh supply of blood or-or something."
Blood?
Likely from someone with a crest, he doubted they would use regular blood.
Still, it was at least worth knowing.
He did not doubt there would be a great many unclaimed scions of nobles who had been fathered in some fling of passion, or other such reason.
"They were talking about…about how they had tested it on regular people and it was going well…"
His eyes narrowed, but not on her.
His mind turned elsewhere.
A test was being conducted at this very moment?
The timing was rather curious, especially as there was the illness in Remire village happening with seemingly alarming progression.
And they suspected magic was the cause?
The two might well be related.
"...Did they mention a location?"
Kronya looked more hesitant now.
"I shall assume that as a no."
Her silence was answer enough.
Pulling his hand away, he leaned back into the chair and sighed. "Unfortunate, but no matter. Did you overhear specifics of the experiment?"
"They…" She took in a slow breath. "They said they had an idea that…that if there was an imbalance? Imbalance in the blood then…"
Goetia frowned and straightened.
"An imbalance?" He parroted the words back, but it was more for his own benefit.
It was certainly a curious choice of wording.
An imbalance?
"In what?" Goetia pressed further, Kronya bit her lower lip and glanced around before taking a breath.
"S-something about the m-magic in someone's body or-or something like that? T-they said it would be starving them so they'd always need more or-"
He held up his hand and silenced her.
Slowly he lowered it down.
"...They spoke of an imbalance."
She nodded her head rapidly.
"An imbalance between the magical requirements of the body…and the magical energy they could provide for themselves?"
She nodded once more.
Goetia slowly leaned forwards, his hand curled around the arm of his chair and he fixed her with a pointed look.
"Make no assumptions and speak nothing but certainty."
Her eyes widened, she pressed herself further back until she could no longer retreat.
"Do you understand?"
"Y-yes." She croaked in a whisper.
"You are absolutely certain that they discussed an imbalance between magical energy within the body and the need for magical energy."
"Yes." Kronya repeated again.
Goetia slowly rose out of his chair as he found the explanation more and more alarming as the seconds ticked past.
"...If what you have told me is true." He spoke slowly. "Then your people are fools beyond my wildest comprehension."
He flung the door to the room open and marched outside.
He needed to find the letters from Manuela, with luck she had noted down the symptoms of this illness.
It was something that required absolute certainty before he acted.
Seteth flipped through the paper and frowned minutely, the only form of reaction he actually gave to what was presented to him.
Byleth watched him rather closely and waited for him to do or say something else, in the seconds that ticked past her patience was rewarded with absolutely nothing.
In effect, she was just staring at a man who was about as emotional in this moment as a stone statue.
Setting the paper down, he leaned back into his chair and then locked his fingers together, staring across his desk towards her and then slowly raising an eyebrow at her. It was a very slow crawl at that, watching the sliver of hair climb higher and higher up his temples before finally coming to a halt.
"Is there a problem?"
"...Is there a problem?" Seteth repeated the words back to her with no sort of inflection upon them, pursing his lips and then inclining his head ever so slightly to the right. "I have been reviewing the training regime you provided for your students and brought you here to provide evidence for the eyewitness testimony-"
"He is definitely protective about Flayn at the moment." Sothis commented between his words.
'Absolutely.' Byleth concurred in her own mind.
This was definitely about her training plans and the fact Flayn must have let slip during a conversation between the two of them about how her day was going.
It was the only thing that could explain this sudden visit.
"-in regards to your teaching."
Byleth very slowly nodded her head. "Has there been a complaint?"
She knew the answer to that and to the credit of Seteth, he did not miss a single beat.
"It is not so much about complaints from the students themselves, I do not doubt that many of them have a great deal of experience in such physically demanding exercises when it comes time for training."
He leaned forwards, placing his fingers over the parchment on his desk like a claw and sharply twisting it about before sliding it towards her.
"What concerns me, first and foremost, is the demands for waking."
Byleth leaned forwards.
Yes.
First light.
"Early rise means you can function better later on."
Seteth's brows pinched. "...And how did you come to this conclusion?"
"Experience." She paused, then corrected herself. "Personal experience."
With his shoulders slumping from her words, he drew his arm back.
Byleth felt it more pressing to cut to the chase.
"This is just because you're worried about Flayn."
Ah, now he stumbled.
Seteth jerked so suddenly in his chair that she was certain the thudding sound echoing out was nothing more than his knee slamming upwards into the underside of it. He gave no visible reaction to that, either the noise or the impact, and instead jerked backwards as if she had just insulted him.
His eyes narrowed in warning and his lips drew rather thin.
She watched him without blinking, daring him to challenge her words.
He, very wisely, decided that he would not.
Satisfied with that, she folded her arms and took in a small breath before speaking. "Flayn has made some good progress and I am pacing her properly. There is no need for you to be too worried about what she is doing. Her interests lie in healing and at most she is willing to learn the necessary skills for self defence."
If there was one thing worse than a student who didn't listen, it was an unwilling student.
That sounded like decent enough wisdom to her.
"Or common sense."
'Quiet.'
"Hmph. Someone has gotten rather bold-"
A loud crack from behind them silenced that sentence, this time she was the one who was thrown off guard, if only briefly.
Hand flying down to her waist, her fingers curled around her knife and yanked it free of the sheathe, whipping around to the door which had just been flung open with such force she could now see a hairline fracture running across it, she narrowed her eyes and tensed herself for sign of an assassin or-
Goetia stormed into the room and immediately charged towards the bookcase as though it had personally offended him.
Her brief visions of thrusting a knife into the neck of some would-be assassin were halted and she instead straightened out and stared with some level of bemusement.
Eyes switching between the door and to him as he stomped right up to the bookcase containing letters, journals and what she assumed were maps.
Goetia dropped down to a crouch and without words, he started to push aside everything in a rather clumsy and violent effort to search. Taking only brief moments to examine whatever found itself under his gaze before dismissing it as though it was unimportant. Her head tilted, she heard some rapid footsteps and glanced away from him and stepped towards the doorway.
As expected, his explosive entrance had drawn no small number of eyes as a few knights who happened to be nearby were stepping closer and not so subtly holding their weapons a bit tighter than before.
She held up her hand in a sign to tell them to wait, which was clearly enough as they stopped advancing and looked slightly less alarmed.
"Goetia."
Seteth, to his credit once more, did not sound as angry as she assumed he would have been for someone who just had the door to their office blown open.
"I will be demanding an explanation now." And it was a demand spoken with a voice that brokered no argument, she could see him glaring daggers at the back of Goetia's head but still kept himself restrained back.
Goetia flicked a hand over his shoulder.
Byleth heard a very subtle creak emanate from the damaged door, shifting her eyes to it and spotting…absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
The door was fixed.
Because of course it was.
"I was not asking for you to fix the door, Goetia. I was asking for an explanation as to what - exactly - you think gives you the right to barge into my office and start sorting through my files without-Goetia."
She took a mental step backwards from the exchange and decided to just let it play out.
More than anything, she was feeling some growing sense of alarm.
It was not common for Goetia to be so undeterred and the last instance she could recall was when he had declared Sothis was some metal thing from space.
"A Machine God, I believe he called me."
Yes.
…Whatever a 'machine' was.
As though it took him some pained effort, Goetia rose to his feet and stepped away from the shelves, turning his neck very slowly towards Seteth.
His expression betrayed very little as to what was running through his mind, his eyes briefly flickered towards her and it was only then that she realised he had actually noticed she was in the room at all.
She could tell as such from the slight furrowing of his brows before they evened out.
It was as close to surprise as he was ever going to show.
Which meant he really had been in a hurry.
"What's wrong?"
Goetia drew his lips thin. "Manuela sent correspondence to you on her dealings in Remire, yes?"
It was a question posed to Seteth rather than her, but she immediately assumed the two where linked.
Remire?
Weren't they in the middle of some sort of plague? Why was he so concerned about that?
"Corre-yes." Seteth responded slowly, finding his footing and tilting his head. "She has been sending regular reports, I have informed the Archbishop of all that has been necessary for-"
"Yes, she implied as much during a conversation." Goetia hurried him along in a rather surprising display of impatience. "But where do you keep them?"
"...And why are you so interested?"
Goetia twitched. "I need to see the symptoms…There was a mentioning of some possible link with curses and I have…decided to examine the possibility further."
Seteth exhaled. "I had thought you yourself had made it clear that-"
"You should be more concerned with what happens if I am proven correct in my concerns." The snap response left Seteth silenced. "Where do you keep them? Did she even think to write as such-"
"Yes." Seteth snapped back this time, but did not raise his voice as Goetia did. "She did. I am, quite frankly, startled by where this sudden burst of interest has come from…"
Even as he said that, he moved down to his desk and pulled away at some of the drawers.
Byleth took the brief silence to step closer to Goetia and drop her voice into a whisper.
"...Another familiar thing?"
Goetia rolled his jaw. "...Potentially and if it is the case, then it is imperative to act quickly and deal with the situation before it escalates."
Escalates.
Sounded bad to her.
Sothis manifested just between them and fixed Goetia with a hard look. "How damaging would this escalation be?"
"...It would warrant my personal intervention." He paused briefly, then looked between the two of them and then past them to Seteth. "Or any of the phantasmal presences within the Monastery to be absolutely certain that none of the bearers escape the quarantine of Remire, if any have already done so."
Slowly, the tension left his body.
"Though I shall reiterate that it is nothing more than a-"
"Here."
Seteth cut him short with a call across the room, Goetia moved between them and ducked his head just an inch to the right to avoid walking through Sothis - which was very considerate of him - and quickly took the letter from the man. Flipping it open and peering down with an intense focus.
Byleth stepped around to his side to get a better view, squinting at the words on the paper.
Delirium.
Dehydration.
Weakened muscles.
Rapid decay.
A lot of the words there were barely registering to her beyond what they actually meant, she leaned back and folded her arms. Furrowing her brows as she tried to make sense of what the words actually meant and why anyone would actually be concerned about them in the first place. At least in the way that Goetia spoke of.
That just sounded like being ill to her.
…Not that she had ever gotten ill, but anyone she ever saw complain about being ill described being the exact same way-
"Gather what knights are present, would be my advice, and then immediately head to Remire."
She blinked, then snapped her eyes to Goetia and stared at him.
He dumped the letter back on Seteth's desk and did not slow his urgency in speaking.
"Once you arrive, enforce the quarantine with greater effect and find one of the victims. Offer them no more than a few drops of blood and see how their condition changes. If it shows improvement, then-"
Seteth raised a hand and cut Goetia short. "Speak clearly so that I might make sense of your words, else I shall not be doing anything. Now, what is the reason for this radical course of action-"
"Because it is the only way of truly confirming my suspicions, though the symptoms Manuela described are certainly leading credibility to the theory…" Goetia paused for a moment, then gestured to Seteth.
"What would you suppose would happen if someone who was not suited for a crest would suddenly receive one?"
Seteth blinked and straightened. "Excuse me?"
"In simple terms, those with Crests have a higher capacity for absorbing magical energy from their environment. I would assume it to be a holdover trait from the original holders, yes?"
Seteth very slowly nodded his head.
"Now suppose you have a crest - or something that demands as much magical energy to fuel it - and yet your body is unable to absorb the necessary amount of magical energy for it. Your blood is no longer able to provide enough strength. Leaning too heavily in one manner or the other produces deficiencies, such a fatigue, rapidly decaying body, shorter lifespans-"
"Yes."
Cutting in sharply, Seteth nodded his head.
"I am aware of what transpires if someones body is not suited for a crest and yet they possess one, and what…"
He slowly trailed off, then glanced down at the paper on the table.
Byleth looked as well before she felt something click inside of her head.
"...Rapid decay." She voiced the words she was sure they were both thinking as well, turning back to Goetia and fixing him with a hard stare. "You're saying they are the same."
Goetia inclined his head and nodded. "Though I doubt they have given the entire population of the town a crest - such a thing would be near impossible - I do not doubt that someone has managed to simulate the necessary demands for one in some capacity, or they have rapidly increased the manner in which their body burns through their lifeforce and they are now suffering from what could be described as starvation."
"...You have encountered such things before?"
"It is…an old issue which has plagued my land for some time." Was the slow response they received, one mixed with a rather disgusted frown. "And one not easily removed either. The fortunate news is that they have not yet shown signs of aggression, as one would expect when faced with starvation and frequently taunted with food right before them-"
Byleth blinked rather openly at that, unfolding her arms and stepping forwards. "Food?"
Goetia nodded. "Everything that lives contains magical energy. The most efficient way of gathering it comes from other living things. In this case, it would be through consuming the blood of one who is well practiced in the magical arts…such as the clerics you have sent to examine the illness."
The room was silent.
Feeling the weight of his words start to settle on her, Byleth shifted her eyes towards Seteth to try and measure what his reaction was.
He was staring down at the paper on the desk, then he leaned forwards and rested his knuckles on the wood, pushing down until something cracked.
Whether it was his bones or the wood, she could not tell.
"...How certain are you?"
Goetia was quieter this time. "It could be…paranoia on my part, but experimentation on the body in any capacity in an effort to change something runs the risk of…an incident such as this. An extreme that can lead too far - or a failure in accounting for the individual - can rapidly lead to the creation of a self-destructive monster."
"But you would not know until you saw them."
Slowly, Goetia nodded his head. "No. Not until I examined them myself."
"...You are capable of rapid movement." Seteth stood back up. "You have my permission to venture to Remire and confirm these results for yourself. If your suspicions are proven correct we shall discuss this matter further and what steps are to be taken."
Goetia frowned and for a moment, she thought he might argue.
"I'll go with him." She spoke up, then turned towards Seteth in case he had something to say about her sudden suggestion.
He just nodded his head. "As you wish, so long as it remains nothing more than a brief visit. I would not have you both suddenly removed without warning."
"We are more than capable of dealing with an escalation." He stepped beside her.
There was only a brief instant where she felt the sudden shift in the air as his eyes flashed red.
It was a journey that took them no more than a single second.
A spell keyed to the unique signature of Manuela and, as he had hoped, they had been carted towards the exact location of her.
He stepped away from Byleth and turned his head towards the origin, immediately catching sight of the woman with her back to them, hunched over the unmoving body of a patient. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked above.
It was not a unique sight, there were many others present who appeared to be in a similar predicament and he could see the clerics who had accompanied Manuela tending to them as best they could, but the fact they were currently lining the ground atop cloth, rather than within a building or even a tent informed him that the entire village was suffering from the affliction.
Which was a scale he was rather…impressed with.
If only for the speed in which it had spread, but the delay in taking time to come into effect was…
"Hmm?"
Manuela lifted her head and looked over her shoulder, perhaps feeling something amiss, and then caught his eyes and jerked to her feet. "What in the-?!"
A rather surprised shout came from her as she whipped around full and broke her focus between himself and Byleth respectively, clearly not knowing which of them she was supposed to address first.
He opted to take the decision from her hands entirely and ignore her, instead focusing on the patient she had been tending too.
Stepping forwards and then dropping down to one knee, he reached his hand forwards and then pressed it flat against the temple of the human. Already he could feel their skin below healthy temperatures, but the biological functions were as poor as he expected. The lack of magical energy available in the body meant that it was starting to shut down in order to feed whatever required the sudden fuel.
His brow twitched as he heard some voices from behind him, those of Manuela and Byleth.
Likely the latter explaining their presence to the former.
Good, that saved him time.
But he was still searching, the answer was not immediately present.
He stopped and shifted his focus.
…Muscle density had increased by a not insignificant factor.
A factor of five, and that was during a state of poor health.
The immune system had also received an additional improvement, it would be expected for Manuela to make no progress. She was, it seems, quite correct in the assessment that the problem lay with magic.
But perhaps not in the way she could have anticipated.
In this case, he could not level any blame upon her, this was an entirely unprecedented situation, he supposed.
Brain paths had been created.
They were operating faster than baseline human capabilities.
An improvement in reaction and thought processing, it seemed.
It was, in effect, a general improvement in the human being before him and yet there was not an ounce of the nanomachines which would support this. Rather, the improvements were still below what those with major crests could achieve. Even at his height, this human in particular would still be less than a third as strong as Dimitri.
No, it was not about a full comparison.
This would explain the increased demand for magical energy and yet…there had been little alteration to the blood composition.
Yes, that would serve as a suitable answer.
Pulling back his hand, he slowly rose to his feet and initiated a blanket assessment of the entire town.
Results were compiled and compared against the first individual.
Taking into account age, health, history and sex.
His eyes opened up.
There was an element in their bodies which he had not immediately noticed, but it was showing up when compared against the clerics.
It was the minute presence of a trace amount of inhuman blood, yet it was so thin that it was not something he could instantly identify, but he could say without absolute certainty that it did belong to the same race as Seteth, Flayn and Seiros.
He turned about and walked towards Manuela and Byleth.
The latter spoke first.
"How bad?"
Goetia stopped and debated how to answer. "...It was not as dire as I had feared, but the problem remains."
He turned to Manuela. "They will all collectively perish within the coming week. Perhaps those of stronger health will last longer, but it is not a physical ailment. I believe you suggested there was an origin in a spell?"
Manuela caught herself quickly, reined in her surprise and nodded her head. "Yes, it had been one theory…are you saying that is the case?"
"Of a sort." Goetia nodded. "I assume you have noticed some minor difference in these patients compared to others?"
She nodded again. "Their skin was a bit tougher and they didn't show any physical symptoms beyond serious fatigue and dehydration. Though even getting them to drink water wasn't achieving much."
"Nor will it." Shaking his head, he inclined it backwards. "They have undergone some manner of…spell, but it has been rapidly improving their baseline abilities. If they were in peak physical condition, they would be prime specimens and above those of ordinary standings."
"...Excuse me?"
Her disbelief and incredulity were palpable.
Byleth was similarly offering a feeling of confusion before she twitched. "Is this like…that other guy?"
"The one whose body was lost? No." He answered quickly. "They are still far below his level. The closest approximation would be those under the influence of Lonato, but I cannot determine any signs of madness in the brain. But that does not change the fact there is an element in their blood which is the cause of this."
Manuela pinched her brow and shook her head. "No…wait…you said this was improving their bodies? Then how…?"
"The change is rapid." He pressed on. "Too rapid. They have the benefits but have undergone none of the preparation. Their bodies have not been designed to handle these changes and are tearing themselves apart trying to provide energy to sustain them. As it is rooted in a magical enhancement, it requires magical energy. They cannot provide fuel for these changes, which is why-"
"The body is effectively consuming itself." Manuela caught on quickly, features darkening and her brows furrowing tight. "Akin to starvation. Small things start failing first until eventually…"
She shook her head and cleared away that thought.
"How can they be helped?"
Goetia stopped for a moment, then rolled his jaw. "...Provide them with magical energy, I am aware of methods to allow such things. The most common would be the consumption of blood."
Manuela looked rather disgusted at the suggestion. "...Another?"
"That is the most immediate suggestion available, but I would not recommend it."
"I should hope no-"
"Because I have no way of knowing if there is some further danger within the minds of these individuals as of yet." Goetia cut her short. "And I would recommend keeping them stable but inert until the element can be removed from their blood and reassurances can be made that they are no present danger."
Manuela straightened.
Byleth stepped forwards. "Like Lonato?"
Goetia glanced her way and nodded his head slowly. "Perhaps not as apparent, but this is not some case of an accident. There is a cause and a motive behind this. One that it would be pertinent to quickly uncover. There is doubtless an individual at play, but whether they are in a group or merely acting alone is not yet known."
Manuela huffed. "And this explains why you are suggesting to keep them in this pained and decaying state?"
He turned on her. "The second they are introduced to the concept of consuming blood, it will very quickly take root in their minds, even if only on a subconscious level. Human beings will do desperate things to avoid perishing and even more when they are starving."
Raising a hand, he pointed towards the bodies while keeping his eyes firmly on Manuela.
"How long do you suppose you could fight off nearly a hundred physically enhanced ravenous, bordering feral, humans before they tore you apart at the joint to consume you? More so when they moved beyond this village in search of others to quench their unending thirst."
She was silent, he lowered his arm.
"This is my most merciful suggestion." He warned. "The alternative is having you return to the monastery while I exterminate-"
Manuela's eyes narrowed to near slits. "Absolutely not."
The hiss in his face was ignored.
"Then this is the best solution that we currently have available."
He turned and glanced back at one of the bodies. "...It is not contagious, I can establish a bounded field to provide just enough magical energy to keep their bodies at their current level of deterioration while a solution is found to remove the element from their blood."
"Can you not just wave your hand-"
"Wave my hand." The words were delivered in a flat tone of voice. "...Hardly."
Was that the complete truth?
Given that he had not even looked into the possibility, it technically was.
Yet this was an opportunity he was not wholly willing to let slip through his fingers for a more…subtle examination.
His eyes darted to one of the closer individuals before he pointed. "I will take that one back with me and examine them. I understand that Hanneman has some experience in the field of crests and blood, yes? It might be that this current predicament lies closer within his own capabilities than with yours."
Whether Manuela took his words as an insult was not something he truly cared to linger around for, instead he broke away from them once more and moved down to the individual, a man of twenty-seven years. There were no prevailing health concerns that would cause alarm.
Which was suitable for his needs.
Sothis knew Goetia was lying.
Or if he wasn't lying, then he was not telling the complete truth.
It was something she did not voice openly, but she had noted his hesitation before he answered.
It was not the same sort of pause he would give as though someone had insulted his capabilities.
That pause had been different, almost forced.
Perhaps he could just 'wave his hand' and help these people or perhaps he could not, yet he was showing a rather curious level of investment in something that had previously been uninteresting to him.
There also existed the question of how he knew of this in the first place.
"...What inspired his change of heart?"
Goetia did not look away from where he was casting his magic spells, but he did show some small level of acknowledgement towards her.
"I was made aware of some of the symptoms." He replied slowly. "...Someone had overhead a discussion regarding it and informed me because they believed I might be a concerned individual, or because of my growing reputation for being capable above the regular sort."
Sothis huffed and folded her arms. "Yes, a shining beacon of charity."
He turned and sent her a look. "...You find the time to complain when I offer no aid, and when I stand to offer assistance you will hurl mocking comments towards me?"
She flattened her features. "That is hardly the case."
A raised brow was her answer.
Rolling her eyes, she floated closer towards him and leaned forwards. "You do not know if you could heal them with a wave of your hand, do you?"
"Are you doubting my-"
"You have not even checked."
"...And how did you come to this conclusion?"
Sothis folded her arms. "You gave up much too quickly, and you did not launch into a long winded explanation about why it would be possible - or difficult - for you to do before you responded. I know you enjoy explaining it so that everyone can be made absolutely aware of why you are incapable of something."
Finishing her sentence with a twitch of a smile, she nodded her head towards him.
"You just said 'hardly' and then left it at that. Not quite the usual answer, was it?"
Goetia slowly turned from her.
"Should I be alarmed that you have such free time to watch me?"
"...Could you?"
"...I would need to examine the manner in which the blood has been bonded to the new variable and see how the removal would affect the body but…perhaps." He turned and sent her a look from the corner of his eye. "I would have a greater chance than most of removing it if I understood what had been done. The work does not appear as complicated as I would have otherwise been lead to believe."
Right, that was what she was expecting the first time around.
But he was not doing that and was instead taking one of them back with them.
So…what was the reason for it?
Cupping her chin, she pinched it between her fingers and tried to find how this would somehow be interesting for Goetia.
Why he would go about this the long way rather than just doing it here and now.
Education for the people of Fodlan? It was a possibility.
She doubted she would get an answer though, but there was something she needed to ask.
"Are you truly going to try and help them?"
Goetia waved a hand towards the spell he had just woven. "I was not lying when I said my original purpose would have been to exterminate the town."
"I did not think you were, and you painted a rather unsettling image." It was quite a savage thing he had described and she could see how that would certainly warrant a rather swift response, even if she could not find herself truly stomaching the ease at which he would talk of such things.
But no, that wasn't what she wanted to hear.
"Goetia…Are you truly going to help them?"
He went silent before dropping his shoulders and sighing, more out of some exasperation as though he was dealing with something troublesome.
Good.
She was fine with being troublesome.
"...It is in the best interests of my immediate goals that I discern a way to remove the unwanted element from the blood of the victims. It coincides with another matter I have some…vested interest in."
He turned his head and looked at her.
"...Does that answer satisfy you enough to leave me in peace?"
Sothis searched his expression.
He was telling the truth.
"I am satisfied." She replied, then smirked. "But~"
She turned her head and glanced over her shoulder, Byleth was moving back towards them from where she had been speaking with Manuela a little more.
Once close enough, she called out to them.
"She was asking if there would be any problems with teleporting him so far."
Goetia furrowed his brows. "Why would she ask you?"
Byleth shrugged. "She assumed I had lots of experience with it."
"...And what did you say?"
"It never bothered me before."
"...I see." Goetia seemed to not have any more words for that, turning away and stepping backwards from the small glowing symbol in the ground. "I have completed the bounded field. It has been contracted to every individual currently afflicted and is feeding them enough magical energy to stop the decay. All Manuela needs to concern herself with is their biological needs while myself and Hanneman examine the victim."
Byleth nodded her head, then stopped for a moment before she stepped closer towards him.
Goetia caught the movement and shifted his gaze to her, raising a brow slowly.
Raising her hand, Byleth placed it on his back and pat him twice.
Sothis stifled her laughter.
"...Good work."
With a slow turn of the head, the tanned man stared down at the hand on his back and then blinked twice at it. His brows pinching together before he sent a look towards Byleth.
Sothis was making note of the fact he was not trying to step away from the contact.
But he didn't look as though he really grasped what was going on.
"I have not done anything worth thanking yet."
"You're going to help the people here." Byleth pointed out, removing her hand from him. "And your spell is going to help them. It is good work."
"A stop-gap measure at best, they will continue to-"
"Just accept the praise."
"You are praising half complete-"
Byleth just turned around and walked away, ending the conversation before Goetia could try and argue it further.
Sothis did laugh at the face Goetia wore this time, looking utterly baffled as to the fact that Byleth had apparently just decided to walk off on her own and leave him without being able to argue his point further.
He was staring at her retreating back before slowly turning his sights upon her.
Raising her hands in surrender, Sothis muffled her laughter and shook her head. "I have taught her none of that, you are the one who makes accepting praise and compliments into a long-winded affair."
"...You are her direct influence." Goetia announced. "Therefore you are to blame."
"That is unreaso-"
Goetia turned around and walked off.
Sothis dropped her arms and stared unblinkingly into the distance.
"Children."
She said to herself.
"All of them."