Chapter 35: A learning experience
Goetia opened up the Library door and raised an eyebrow at what he found "You're early."
"I felt it best that new students set a proper example." Lysithea spoke with a smug look on her face as she gestured to the others in the room, namely towards Linhardt and Dorothea – the latter giving him a smile and a wave while the former looked as though he was once again asleep on his feet – while the students already accustomed to her behaviour all seemed non-pulsed by the reaction. "So I assembled everyone early to ensure they do not miss anything off…" she trailed off as her eyes fell on Linhardt "I-is he asleep?"
Dorothea looked over at his face "Yes. Yes he is." her face split into a patient smile as Lysithea's eyebrow began to twitch "You get used to it."
"Oh dear." Mercedes cupped her hand over her mouth, now staring at the boy with some small degree of concern "He isn't ill, is he? Not getting enough rest can be very hazardous to your health."
"Oh, I'd say he gets more than enough rest." Dorothea absently remarked with a coy smile "But I can wake him up if it's not a probl-"
"Svegliare." The girl was cut off when a pulse of white light stuck Linhardt in the forehead, the boy's eyes snapped open and looked around wildly "What happened?" he asked, any sense of drowsiness gone before a frown came upon him "Wait...what...huh?" he pat himself down, frowning heavily before he rubbed his eyes "Why aren't I-"
"I've cursed you." Goetia spoke up in a tone of voice which was completely disinterested when compared to its contents "You'll be unable to sleep for the next eight hours." he paused "...Your welcome."
"U-unable to-" Linhardt's face morphed into one of genuine shock "But that's-"
"Huh." Dorothea blinked as she looked at Linhardt and then back to Goetia before looking towards Lysithea "I had thought you were exaggerating, but he really is quite impressive. A few seconds into his first lesson and he's already cured Lin of his sleeping habit."
"I would hardly call cursing me a cure." Linhardt's voice came out strained before the boy released a sigh "However, I suppose I should be partly grateful. Even if it was an order from the House Leader to come here, I did have some motivation to learn something new. At least I do not need to concern myself with missing it now."
"I wonder if he could cure you of your sleepiness?" Byleth idly wondered as she stared at the boy.
"I am not letting him do anything to my precious sleep!" Sothis hissed back in her mind, choosing not to manifest this time "And I very much doubt he can do anything to me anyway." the girl remained silent for a few more seconds before seemingly realising something else "Do not ask him about curing me."
Byleth's lips thinned, she wasn't going to anyway. It wouldn't have made much sense for her to do so. If Sothis were awake more often, then she'd have less time to herself.
"I heard that!"
"Pointless discussions of narcolepsy aside-" Goetia marched past the assembled gathering and towards his own desk towards the front of the Library "-I trust you were given the basic notes from your peers?" he directed the question towards the two new students.
Dorothea nodded along while Linhardt blinked and furrowed his brow "That was the small paper on magecraft being different to magic, yes?"
"It was."
"In that case, yes." He nodded his head "I did read over the basic notes that Lysithea provided me...in part."
The white haired girl's eyes snapped to him and narrowed "What do you mean 'in part'?"
"If you'll recall, I have only recently been liberated from the Demon of Drowsiness-"
"You-!?" Lysithea sputtered in indignation "After all the effort I went through in preparing those notes for you and you fell asleep while reading them?"
"I understand the basic principles." Linhardt argued back "It's really quite interesting-"
"So how did you fall asleep!?"
"Because-"
"Can we start now?" Leonie cut the pair off with an annoyed look on her face "Some of us want to learn."
"As blunt as she states it, Pinelli is correct." Goetia pointed out with a mild frown "I have no intention of entertaining irrelevancy if it is my own time being wasted. Keep conversations related to the lesson at hand and discuss other topics elsewhere." Lysithea flinched and held a guilty look on her face while Linhardt nodded his head "Be seated or stand, I care not which." he waved his single hand dismissively at the class, all of whom elected to be seated.
"For the interests of the newer members I have been tasked with evaluating from the Black Eagle House-" Goetia briefly glanced over to Dorothea and Linhardt "-We will be examining one of the basic principles of Magecraft which is commonly practised amongst youngest students." he paused "It will likely be more useful to some than others." red eyes very pointedly focused on Linhardt.
The green haired boy raised his hand in questioning, Goetia gave a single nod of ascent "It is not related to what you have done to me, is it?"
"Hardly, although the effect on you can be mimicked with it." He admitted easily "For the purpose of today's lesson, we will be examining the basics of Self-suggestion and hypnosis."
"Do you mean with coins?" Dorothea asked innocently with a slightly amused look about her face "Because I think there was someone in the town that could do the same thing...or so they said anyway."
"Hypnosis has no need of coins for the more skilled users." Goetia scoffed "Nor coins at all, the coin is more for the magus than the target. Regardless, hypnosis has a great deal more value than being a street art for peddlers."
"You mentioned Self-suggestion." Linhardt picked up on the first word, cupping his chin and holding a thoughtful look "Do you mean to suggest people hypnotise themselves?"
"They do." Goetia nodded "Usually with the desired effect being to learn skills or to induce a state of focus upon the mind, it is why certain spells in Magecraft have Aria's – better known as Incantations – to them. It is a form of self-hypnosis to focus the mind entirely on the spell at work. As such, Magi who have long incantations for specific spells will be able to focus their minds and achieve a greater result." he paused as he looked around the room "The power of the spell does not change, however. It remains at a fixed point but the purpose of the incantation is to allow it to reach is pinnacle existence."
Linhardt tapped his desk repeatedly as he mulled it over in his head before he eventually realised something "The Self-suggestion provides the caster with a greater understanding of the spell?"
"It is a clearer image of the end result than an understanding." Goetia corrected "Incantations can aid in a spell being categorised into different classes. Most of which will determine the type of Magecraft that is being employed at the extent to which it will affect the others around the caster." he waved his hand, the a writing board floating up behind him with a piece white chalk "Those of single action spells are used by a simple activation of mana. Typically simple spells which do not require great understanding to cast." he paused "However, Mystic eyes would also fall into that category although I have yet to see anything of that type here."
"Mystic eyes?" Lysithea titled her head in questioning "What are those?"
"They are as described. A type of ocular orb which can exhibit a set mystery, some are more common than others however they are all defined by their ability to interfere with the outside world through their sight alone." He paused before a frown came to him "They are also categorised within their own boundaries due to effect and purity to them. Suffice to say that they are irrelevant for now."
"Will you discuss them later?" Linhardt asked, leaning forwards in his chair and now looking mildly intrigued.
"...If there is a desire for it." Goetia answered "However the likelihood of you encountering a set of Mystic eyes is slim."
The chalk wrote out 'Single Action Spells' upon the board before it moved downwards.
"Below these would be single verse spells. Typically made up of a sentence or a single word at the very least and are among some of the most common thaumaturgy utilised because it can be realised with ease by the caster."
"Is that why we sometimes chant 'Fireball' when casting a flame spell?" Mercedes tilted her head in questioning "Because we know what it will do?"
"In part, although I doubt that it was because you realised the significance." Goetia answered "The spells utilised by Fodlan would still fall under single action spells but the more advanced ones such as…" his expression tightened "Excalibur-" the class stared at him with curious looks at the way in which he spoke the word with such a complete lack of respect for the spell "-would require a one verse incantation for you at your current level to use." he paused "It is closer to the 'Invisible Air' skill used by another individual although it is – admittedly – much more potent."
"So we cannot use the spell quickly because we do not understand it." Linhardt surmised, cupping his chin "I imagined that was why the more skilled mages can cast spells of that magnitude with ease but I had assumed it was because they had much more experience but it also relates to clarity of mind?"
"That is – in part – why the incantation exists to focus your mind." Goetia paused "However, despite their power the spells of Fodlan are not complicated Mysteries to understand. As such their uses are limited towards single focus effects which gradually increase in intensity but nothing else."
"That seems an awfully fancy way of saying Fodlan magic is simple." Dorothea noted, Goetia grunted in response.
"Because it is simple. It's primitive and lacking in any kind of grasp." Goetia paused before he furrowed his brows and looked away "Although some of the warding I saw around the Goddess Tower looked to be of mild promise when compared to the rest of the magecraft you have available to you."
"What about the Luna spell?" Lysithea asked suddenly "You never commented on that one."
"The creation of an imploding area of curse magecraft in the form of a Lunar body." Goetia remained silent for a few moments "...Admittedly it is quite powerful and something closer to what I was more accustomed with."
"I'm sensing a 'but' coming." Leonie whispered to Mercedes causing the fluffy haired girl to giggle slightly.
"But it is still lacking in power and the forces it employs are still based entirely within curse arts." He paused "However the lack of widely practised use due to Dark Magic being considered a 'lesser craft' means that the Mystery surrounding the spell is greater than others. It enhances the spells purpose of bypassing defensive spells and armour."
"So...A spell is more powerful because fewer people know of it?" Linhardt asked.
"The results are more potent, yes." Goetia nodded "However I have noticed the effect has minimal effect on the spells utilised here. Partially because they do not originate from the same school of thaumaturgy I am more familiar with. It does relate to the concept of Mystery. The greater the lack of understanding, the greater hold upon the world it has."
"That just makes it sound as though it is better to be ignorant."
"It is usually why specific Magi families will keep their spells a closely guarded secret to ensure that the mystery they study does not lose its potency." Goetia admitted "As for ignorance, there are benefits and downsides to having a greater understanding of the world at large. Although the effects of such things are not the topic of today's lesson."
"You were discussing hypnotising people?" Dorothea offered.
"I was." Goetia nodded his head "Hypnosis would fall into the category of a single verse spell, unless you had form of Mystic Eyes available to you, then it would be a single action spell and would require little more than channelling magical energy into the organ."
The chalk board began to scribble down notes which the students began to copy "Considering the previously mentioned lack of Mystic eyes, there is no reason to document such things. Self-Hypnosis is one of the most basic skills a Magus will learn to focus their mind and it is what today's lesson will be about."
His eyes flickered over to Dorothea and Linhardt "If you are incapable of using even the most basic of spells to perform self-suggestion then there will be no further effort on my part to teach you." red orbs swept over the other students "For others, this will be the opportunity for you to demonstrate an ability to better focus your own spells either those of Fodlan's magecraft or my own."
As for why he was covering something basic at this stage rather than earlier, it was because he had already been confident that Lysithea, Mercedes and Byleth would have been capable of casting spells without the need for self-hypnosis.
He'd had no expectations in Pinelli so her ability to cast spells was something of a marginal surprise although that likely related to the capacity that all those in Fodlan had towards magecraft. Although it appeared that without a Crest, the young girl was still a step behind her peers.
For Linhardt and Dorothea his expectations were bare minimum. The boy likely had some small talent if only he could solve his narcoleptic habits. For the girl…
She'd probably be more suited to hypnosis magecraft designed to be used on others in any capacity. Regardless of the fact it was a basic craft that most Magi possessed. If she couldn't hypnotise herself she'd never succeed in hypnotising someone else.
"For now you will focus your mind upon the creation of a personal aria which you will relate entirely towards the activation of your own magical energy." He explained further "It cannot a phrase that you will utter frequently and must come from deep within yourself. Most magi will also focus upon a mental image designed to elicit a reaction from themselves. As such these mental images are usually quite visceral in nature."
Leonie raised an eyebrow "Visceral?"
"The stronger the reaction of the mental image, the more focused the mind becomes." Goetia explained "As such this will become a mental image that you will forever envisage as a part of the activation of your own magical energy. One of the simplest forms of focus is an awareness of pain."
"You want us to hurt ourselves?"
"No, I want you to imagine someone has hurt you or is about to." He replied without missing a beat.
"Do you do that?" Linhardt curiously asked, Goetia released a scoff in response.
"I have no need of such basic mental trickery." He waved his hand and caused the board he had been writing notes on to slowly lower itself back onto the desk "Do not put me on the same pedestal as more common magi."
Dorothea raised an eyebrow at the boast which was – for lack of a better word – unimaginably arrogant of him. He wasn't even making an effort to hide it which reminded her very much of some of...Who was she kidding? It reminded her of nearly every Noble she had met without only some being the noticeable exception to this.
She paused as she realised something. Despite being a simple traveller and dressing in simple robes, Goetia was not only well spoken but conducted himself in a similar manner to the other nobles about the academy. Casual dismissal of anything that he didn't find remotely interesting to him was just one of the many qualities he seemed to have in common with them.
It did make her wonder if Goetia was a noble of some variety.
"Obviously." Lysithea nodded her head, completely taking in the boast without a hint of doubt "I assume you mastered such trivial skills years ago."
Goetia stared at her for barely half a second before he answered "I never needed to use them to begin with."
"O-oh…" Lysithea pursed her lips "Alright. So we need to create an image in our minds that will focus ourselves on the process of activating a spell?"
"Without the activation of a spell." Goetia clarified "You are merely forcing your mind to focus on the Od within your body-"
"Od?" Byleth spoke for the first time in a rather confused voice, tilting her head to the side "Why is it odd?"
Goetia froze and slowly stared at her, his expression indiscernible "Od. It is the title of magical energy found within living creatures. It is referred to as mana when found within the air."
"Difference?"
"Od is related to lifeforce while Mana is not." Goetia clarified "Mana is typically found in greater abundance as there is more air in the planet than there is in your body."
"Oh…" Byleth slowly nodded her head with a slight look of understanding "Makes sense."
"Returning to my original point." Goetia stared straight ahead once again "You will be spending the rest of the lesson attempting to create a mental image to trigger the activation of your Od used to channel a spell however the casting of the spell is unnecessary. As each mental trigger is unique to each magus you will be unable to request for assistance. It should also be a trigger that you will become accustomed to otherwise it will lose its effect on you."
He remained silent for a few seconds before he spoke again "Begin."
"Now?" Linhardt stared at him in surprise, Goetia offered only a nod in response.
"No sense in complaining about it now, Lin." Dorothea muttered as she closed her eyes and tried to focus inwards, although the shuffling and surprised grumbles she heard from around her signalled that she was not alone in that regard. Although the instructions were terribly vague to her. Create a mental image that would allow her to focus entirely on her magical energy and one that would elicit a strong reaction from her while also not being common?
She had many things that would draw out such a reaction but she couldn't exactly use any of those considering that Gotie had said it would lose its power of focus. Quite the conundrum. Still, he had said that it was something that mages would first learn. If others could do it then she could as well.
"A strong mental image, huh?" Sothis mused in Byleth's head, earning a minor flinch from the teacher at having a voice in her head briefly break her concentration. "Don't pretend as if you can understand what is going on." The girl chided in her ear with a sigh "I'm in your head, what sort of strong mental image can you concoct anyway?"
Byleth had no idea. Goetia had said that they were unique for everyone so clearly she had to think of something. She had been able to cast magic before but she hadn't really thought of anything at the time. Maybe that was why her spells hadn't been as good as some of the other mages?
"Most likely." Sothis hummed "It is sensible to assume that having some manner of focus on your own abilities helps you to better yourself. I assume your sword play was much the same?"
'Sword play?' Byleth mused in her head for a few moments. A mental image which would create a strong reaction from her. Maybe getting stabbed? She thought on that image for a few moments before she frowned internally. Goetia had said it would have to be something that wouldn't be common place. People tried to stab her frequently so it wouldn't work.
"I suppose I should not be concerned that you consider the threat of physical bodily harm to be 'too tame' for a reaction." The girl's amused voice snickered "Perhaps something less bodily damaging and more emotional is necessary?"
That...would be problematic.
It had only just occurred to Goetia that perhaps attempting this lesson at this point would have unintended consequences. He had only done so to determine if Dorothea and Linhardt could actually focus their minds on the task with a mild form of self-hypnosis. Although he had recalled that Byleth also had a Divine Core to consider.
Then again, she had previously been tapping into it to rewind time but those had been mild bursts which few could likely have detected and even if they had they had shifted backwards before the burst of magical energy had even occurred. It would at least be good practice for her to actively use her vast magical potential in a manner which did not relate to touching upon a True Magic.
His eyes shifted over to Lysithea, he had high hopes for her. She had been focusing the mana in the air without a trigger thus far. He could assume that once she gained a greater focus on the manipulation of the magical energy within her body she would become closer to her full potential.
For what little time she could exploit it anyway.
The previously impassive expression shifted ever so slightly, eyes crinkling as he looked away from the white haired girl. His mind kept forcing him back to the reality that Lysithea was going to die.
He already knew that. All of them in this class would die one day, he still hadn't brought it up to her. It had been gnawing at the back of his mind since he had found out, she shouldn't even have been here to begin with. She should have known what was going to happen to her and yet she still fulfilled her obligations as dictated to her by simply being a noble. Why didn't she just reject them? She was never going to be around long enough to complete them anyway. She had – at best – another twenty years of life left in her.
Why hadn't he brought it up?
He couldn't find it in himself to care-
Something shot through his chest. That ugly feeling again. He grimaced, they were becoming more and more frequent and even focusing his attention on teaching was doing little to stem the tide of these emotions he felt. There were just…
So many of them.
His eyes flickered to Linhardt. The boy was clearly doing something correct and relatively fast as well. He was already beginning to channel Od through his body, it was trace amounts and only the barest hint that his concentration was paying off but it was at least there.
He frowned as a thought occurred to him, if Byleth did activate her Divine Core then that would attract the attention of every phantasmal in this Monastery. Moving past the chairs assembled in a line, he quickly made his way towards the entrance to the library. Tomas hadn't been as frequent with his visits as of late – either because of his other activities or because of actual duties to the Monastery, he didn't care which – and the other Monks were busying themselves with the Rite of Rebirth preparations.
It had effectively left the Library in his hands and he had appreciated the solitude at times, more importantly it meant he would be able to set up a small bounded field to contain any indication of a Divine Core being accessed if Byleth did trigger it.
With a quick wave of his hands he shut the doors quietly before chanting over them. It was only a simple bounded field to contain her divinity should she tap into her Divine Core, it would never have been able to conceal the Divinity of a full God but Byleth was a Vessel at best. If she had attempted to channel the power of a full deity she would likely burst into flames.
He turned back towards the others and paced over to the front of the room again, it was likely going to be a lengthy process for someone to discover their mental trigger. If that were the case, he could at least find something to read while he waited.
He waved a hand, a book slowly floated down from the shelf at the top of the Library and towards him before setting itself down on the desk at the front of the room. Moving around to his chair, Goetia sat himself down and began to read through the pages. The 'Comprehensive History of Fodlan from the Prophet Seiros to the Present' was still an ongoing work and currently on its fifth volume. It was at least marginally useful in allowing him to understand Fodlan's history.
Even if the authors of the Historical volume were clearly affected by their own personal bias towards the faith. They had written off Brigid 'spirits' as heathen belief's and superstition. It was more than likely that there were nature spirits living in Brigid or close to the region. He paused as a thought occurred to him, there was a girl from Brigid, he believed, currently in the Black Eagle House.
Perhaps she knew of the Spirits of her peoples, it would be prudent to be better aware of the other mystical creatures living in the world. There were also the Duscur Gods although with the destruction of their culture and their people scattered to the wind following the Kingdom of Faerghus annexation of the country then it was likely that those Gods could no longer directly interfere in this plane of existence.
Or if they could it would be very limited interference.
'This is annoying.' Was the single thought that ran through Lysithea's mind. It was easy enough for her to cast magecraft already but somehow finding a mental trigger which resonated with her was quickly becoming something vexing. She had attempted to take her Teacher's advice and think of something visceral that would cause a reaction.
Her experience under a scalpel had already ruined that type of shock value.
There was nothing else she could think of. Something that would draw out a reaction from her but would be rare enough that she would never truly get accustomed to it? There were very few things she could get genuinely angry about and being treated like a child was one of them, but Claude did that regularly so that option was out as well.
Then there was…
An epiphany struck her as she focused on that particular mental image. It would draw out a reaction from her every time and she'd never get used to it!
Goetia flicked his eyes over to Lysithea when he sensed her magical energy building and flooding through her body, he released a small hum. That was faster than he thought it would take, although Lysithea was quickly becoming something of a prodigy. Her presence quickly expanded outwards – likely the result of two crests working in harmony – and caused some of the other students near her to flinch at the sudden temperature drop. Of course, Lysithea soon began to develop beads of sweat on her forehead.
Still, her ability to develop a mental trigger within ten minutes was more than acceptable. Although Linhardt had been able to achieve it before her. Somehow.
Lysithea's eyes snapped open and she exhaled, panting heavily as her skin flushed and her presence faded away.
"Hmph." She looked up to see Goetia staring at her with barely an emotion on his face, she dared to look around the room and found the other students still with their eyes closed and concentrating. "Adequate." she blinked, eyes snapping back to Goetia before he slowly looked back down to his book.
Adequate.
He said adequate.
Her face threatened to split into a proud smile. He very rarely complimented anything! He'd criticise it often or just never say anything but he rarely complimented someone! That meant she'd done something right.
Her mental trigger still hurt her but she supposed that was the point.
She would never get used to the idea of someone stamping on a cake in front of her.
Linhardt opened his eyes, looking around the room with an odd look. He'd never been awake in a lesson this long – although he personally didn't think cursing someone to remain awake really counted – but he supposed it was worth it. It was quite interesting and he believed he had found his own 'mental trigger' as Goetia had described it.
Falling out of bed.
Because despite how often he would sleep, that had never happened to him.
The two hour lesson had concluded and by its end, Goetia would admit a begrudging sense of surprise that virtually all of his students had been able to discover their own mental triggers – even Dorothea – with the notable exception of Byleth. That had been rather disappointing to say the least although he personally believed that the presence of a second consciousness in her head may have played some small part in it.
Regardless, Linhardt and Dorothea had been able to meet the bare requirements he needed in order to teach them further. The girl managed to take to the self-hypnosis reasonably well along with Lysithea, so he supposed that she might have had an affinity towards suggestion based magecraft.
She was apparently a singer at some point although he wasn't entirely sure about that part. There were multiple forms of Magecraft based upon song so it wasn't as though she had nothing to learn. Although he was curious as to what she would use it for.
He would probably ask later.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're blaming me for something." Sothis narrowed her eyes at Goetia accusingly "You think its my fault that she couldn't find a mental image, don't you?"
"That had been my first hypothesis." He admitted without a hint of shame in his voice, Sothis clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes at his blunt declaration "However it would also seem that she has limited experience to draw upon crafting a mental trigger."
Byleth blinked at him while Sothis let out an amused snort and looked down at the Professor "He means you don't have much of an imagination." she translated, Byleth let out a small noise of understanding and nodded her head.
"You will have time." Goetia waved his hand dismissively "And it was likely for the best you did not immediately learn to channel the magical energy in your body."
"Why?"
"You are host to an entity which can rewind time." He bluntly replied "You cannot even fathom the amount of magical energy that would require and you do so repeatedly in short order." he paused "Admittedly is still limited by your own reserves and I do not believe you can rewind time more than an hour."
"Haven't tried." Byleth frowned "...Should I?"
"That would be best." He nodded his head "Allowing your own body to acclimatise to your borrowed Authority would allow you better control over it. As I was saying, your magical energy is leagues above the other students." he gestured to where Lysithea had been sat before they departed "You were able to feel the amount of magical energy she channelled, no?"
"Is that what that was?" Byleth blinked "Thought it got warmer."
"The girl almost came down with heat stroke." Sothis squinted at Goetia "Did you know that would happen?"
"Yes." He frowned "She wouldn't die."
"I am glad to know you have such a high criteria for student safety." Sothis rolled her eyes "But you're saying that if she had managed to activate her own magical energy-"
"There is a very good chance anyone around her would have passed out." Goetia replied instantly "And Byleth may or may not have suffered from an instant heat stroke."
The girl in questioned blinked slowly "...Oh."
"So what should she do?" Sothis tilted her head "Nothing?"
"A cold bath." Goetia shrugged "That is usually what Magi do when they attempt to activate their magic circuits for the first time."
"Oh." Byleth nodded "How come I haven't felt like that before?"
"You weren't attempting to channel your entire life force through your body." Goetia blandly replied "It is like I stated, Fodlan's magecraft would fall into single action or one verse spells. Despite their power it is a fast reaction and barely felt on the body until the caster's magical reserves begin to dwindle."
"So...should I try again?"
"You might, although I would prefer you do so in a location I could place a bounded field around."
"Why?" Sothis gave Goetia a suspicious look, the man didn't so much as blink at her.
"Because everything that has the ability to sense magical energy is going to see feel her release the equivalent of a tidal wave upon them." He replied back "That will undoubtedly attract unwanted attention."
"...That's fair." Sothis shrugged, releasing a yawn "I'm going back to sleep." she faded away from view and left Byleth and Goetia alone.
"...I should go." Blyeth spoke after a few moments of silence.
"...Indeed." Goetia nodded "I assume you have other plans?"
"...Training with Blue Lions."
"For the Rite of Rebirth?"
"Yes."
"Hm." Goetia nodded his head "I won't keep you."
"...Bye."
"...Farewell."
Chapter 36: The Rite
He stands upon the furthest reaches of the temple. He stares down at being in front of him, the culmination of all his sins. The end result of that which he set in motion three thousand years ago.
That man. That coward whom I could never understand no matter how close we were.
No matter everything else. I am him and He is me.
So why does it not make sense towards the very end?
He stares at me.
His eyes shining with some life which…
I wonder how I missed that?
Perhaps that was it. He looks almost unrecognisable now.
Those shining orbs as if they have found something. Those eyes which beheld countless tragedies without changing once now gleam with something new.
What was it he saw…
"Shame of my years. Beast born from my corpse. Here and now, I shall pass judgement on your evil with my own hands."
It's almost laughable.
No. It is laughable.
That this man could see anything as good and evil.
If he were still alive he would have just watched me and done nothing.
So for him to stand before me now and claim my actions as evil and for the first time commit himself to judge anything...it is arrogance untold.
"It is God who punishes men. The King just regulates them. That sadness of others does me no harm. All humans are creatures who reach that conclusion."
He spoke these words to me so long ago. It is beyond hypocritical for him to call my actions evil when he ignores suffering for all time.
And yet he stands there and states he will carry out his judgement with such passion I had never witnessed.
Why now…
Why...why did he have to show it now?
And why...why couldn't he have shown this passion in life?
What is it he saw that made this next action possible.
"Ars Nova."
He fades away. The cries of the Master fall on his deaf ears. Even in his final moments, Solomon ignores suffering of others. He would never change even until the end. So why did he die with such relief?
Where did this passion come from?
And why did I never have it?
His eyes snapped open in an instant, body jerked upright and red orbs scanned his room quickly.
"That was…" His voice left his throat as a dry mutter, his left hand moved up to cradle his forehead "A dream...is that what they are to experience?"
And why did he have to dream of that? 'What a horrible thing to dream of.' His mind darkened as a scowl came to him. That was the last thing he ever wanted to relive. That accursed failure at his temple. That time where he could no longer empathise with the man whom he had been made a shadow of.
A heavy knock on his door brought his attention towards it, his vision still blurry from only just awakening. Sleep had been something that had taken some used to, although he'd never had issues with it before.
However, he'd never had a dream before. If they were all going to be like this – vague haunting mockeries of his final failure – then he would rather do without them. His own mortality was a reminder enough without having to see Solomon's visage in his sleep.
Dragging himself out of bed, he quickly made his way towards the door. Still dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts and opened up the door to greet whomever was present.
"Final-" Sothis voice cut off, her eyes going wide and fixing themselves upon him. He raised an eyebrow at her and then looked over to Byleth, her hand still raised in preparation for another knock but hung frozen in the air. Her eyes staring at him, then slowly looked down towards the rest of his body and back up.
They fell short of his face, darting to focus themselves on his right side. Sothis eyes also tracked over there and her face slowly composed itself, her eyes softening with something. Some emotion he couldn't discern.
He followed her gaze towards his right side and clicked his tongue "I forgot my visage is unsightly by human standards."It was one word for it. He was missing his entire right arm from the shoulder down, his skin from his ribs down to his hips was scarred heavily, patches of discoloured skin which held a pattern reminiscent of a horrific burns covered him. Stretching across his right side towards the centre of his chest and just below his collarbone.
Byleth had seen burns before but never something quite like this.
At least on a living person anyway.
"Does it hurt?" Goetia blinked at her sudden question, frowning in response.
"Would it matter if it did? You were already aware of my missing limb." Her eyes remained focused on it before he let out a quiet sigh with a hint of irritation "They are not detrimental to my health, if you must know."
"That isn't an answer." Sothis crossed her arms "Although I imagine you won't answer either way, will you?"
"What did you come here for?" He pointedly ignored the small Goddess, instead focusing his attention on Byleth. The Teacher shook her head and returned her attention to Goetia's face.
"Seteth wants to see you." She responded with "Says its for Rite of Rebirth."
Goetia gave a single nod in response "Very well, I'll be along shortly." he made to close the door before he paused and looked back at Byleth with a raised eyebrow "Why did he not deliver the message himself?"
"Offered to do it for him." She replied smoothly "He also needed to work on final preparations before he goes away. Happened to be near him at the time."
"Interrupt your nap?" Sothis spoke with an amused gleam in her eyes as she leaned back on nothing, kicking her feet up "Not very pleasant, is it?"
"I prefer being awake." Goetia's eyes turned to her for the first time during the conversation "However, I find that my personal preference for being functional is not one often shared by others."
Sothis face very slowly dropped from an amused smirk to a blank look "...Are you saying I'm not helpful?" she flatly accused.
"I am merely stating that your time could be better spent elsewhere." He replied with an innocent tone of voice "Which does not involve napping. Considering you have no physical body to speak of, there is no reason to assume you require rest of any type."
"I still get tired."
"Obviously." He scoffed "However, that appears to be nothing more than a product of your own psychological needs."
She sputtered "A-are you saying I'm making myself tired?"
"On a subconscious level." Goetia replied with an entirely disinterested look, before his mouth curved into a minute frown "It is disappointing that you were unaware of it until now, however I am learning to manage my expectations as of late. Admittedly, it is of little surprise." he paused for a few moments "Given your personality."
"Wha-" Byleth found it rather surprising how affronted Sothis could sound at this moment, she'd never heard the ghost girl caught so off-guard before. Curiosity won over and she craned her head behind herself to see the girl. She blinked once.
If Sothis didn't have a body. That meant she didn't have any blood.
So how did her face manage to go so red?
"You-" The girl continued to sputter through a reply before Goetia cut her off.
"Regardless, your message has been acknowledged." He moved to close the door again "I will leave you to your other business." the door shut in Byleth's face with a quiet click which seemed to spur Sothis out of her shocked state and into a new frenzy.
"No you don't!" Sothis cried out indignantly, rushing to the door only to bounce off a thin red barrier around it, recoiling with a shocked expression before her eyes glowed with what could only be rage. "Open this door you coward!"
"He can ghost proof his room?" Byleth muttered under her breath, stunned at the revelation. Sothis clearly heard her as she span around and fixed the Professor with an affronted look.
"I am not a ghost!" She all but shouted "Open up this door for me so I can give him a piece of my mind!"
"...But I have class…" Byleth quietly responded "What if I'm late?"
"Grrrrr!" The impressive impression of a wolf had Byleth rather stunned "Fine!" Sothis snapped, spinning around to face the door again "We'll settle this later! Mark my words!"
Byleth turned away from the door, soon making her way through the hallways and towards the Blue Lion class, they had to prepare for their patrol near the entrance to the Divine Tomb, or something along those lines.
She wasn't great when it came to the names of places.
Although she her mind kept darting back to moments earlier, she hadn't quite been expecting that. Goetia had the image of a man who would rarely get physical and would only do so when he was truly passionate about something.
So why he had a six-pack was something of a mystery to her.
Goetia gave a dull look in response to the statement, his posture was still relaxed although now held a hint of irritation within his red eyes, Seteth took the obvious tonal shift in stride without breaking eye contact or even looking perturbed in the least.
"Mandatory." He flatly responded, the obvious question had Seteth nod his head, the man shifted aside some of the documents on his desk so that he could rest both his arms on the surface.
"It is." He affirmed "The Rite of Rebirth has always been so for all those employed at the Monastery and your absence from previous sermons held by the Archbishop have already been noted by a growing number of the clerical staff." a weary sigh escaped his lips "In truth, this is just so the other clerics have less reason to dislike you."
Goetia's lip curled slightly "You do not actually believe I care for their opinions of me, do you?"
"No, I suspect you don't." Seteth agreed easily "However, that does not change the fact that you are expected to attend for the Rite. If the students were not occupied with patrolling the Monastery, they would also be in attendance as well." the man's right hand raised itself from the table to cradle his forehead "I realise this might not be ideal for you, but I've found that members of the Academy have been forced to accept such things as of late."
"...So it seems." Goetia sighed "...Very well. I will be in attendance."
Seteth released a light sigh of relief "I thank you for understanding." pushing himself up from his desk, the man straightened out his clothing "Now, if you will excuse me. I have some final preparations to finish and need to find Flayn."
The tanned man gave a single nod and turned away, quickly exiting the office and almost barrelling over a small green haired person. The girl released a small squeak as she narrowly avoided a collision and span around to Goetia's left "Oh!"
Goetia paused and stared down at Flayn with a flat look, Seteth was the next person out of the room where he beheld his family member "Flayn?" the man raised an eyebrow "What are you doing here? I told you I would collect you later."
"I felt it would be necessary if I saved you a further trip, brother." Flayn replied with a satisfied look on her face before turning her eyes to the other individual present "Good morning to you, Goetia." she bowed her head lightly "I hope you are planning on participating in the Rite of Rebirth today, I realise that it might be out of your comfort zone-"
"Flayn." Seteth cut her off with a sigh "Goetia is attending the Rite-"
"How wonderful!" The girl exclaimed with a pleased look on her face, completely juxtaposed by Goetia's complete lack of enthusiasm "I am most certain you shall have a wonderful time. I shall unfortunately not be present as I will be with brother and the Archbishop but I have ever confidence you will enjoy the ceremony!"
"...I'm sure." Goetia dryly retorted as he looked back towards Seteth and gave the man a single nod "Farewell."
Seteth responded with a nod of his own. Goetia turned away from him and quickly moved through the room before disappearing through the open door.
Flayn pouted "He did not seem as excited as I hoped he would be."
"That is likely because it is mandatory for all Monastery personnel to attend." He casually responded as he walked past Flayn "Now come along, I still have some final instructions to deliver and as long as you are here I shall ensure you do not leave my sight."
"I am not a child prone to getting lost, brother." Flayn huffed crossing her arms "Especially considering the age of my 'peers' in comparison with myself."
Seteth stopped and gave her a blank look "Yes, but until you become older than myself, you will forever be my d...younger sister and responsibility to look after."
"That is not how time works!" She blurted out with wide eyes "I shall never be older than you!"
"Indeed." Seteth's lip quirked into a faint smile "Then I suppose you will have to grow used to my desire to ensure your safety."
"Promised day, huh?" Claude exhaled as he walked alongside Lysithea "Wonder if something will happen."
"I would rather nothing happen, young Claude." Manuela's voice chided him from the front of the line, the boy maintained his relaxed stance as she looked over her shoulder towards him "And for future reference, the correct course of action when discussing such things as guards patrol routes is to ask myself rather than Goetia."
"Yes, Professor." Claude nodded his head "...Can't say it didn't work out though, no?"
Manuela gave him a single raised eyebrow – to which he responded with an amused smile – before she looked away from him and returned her attention to the front of the queue before speaking in a louder tone "Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, we have been tasked with protecting the area around the vaults for the duration of the Rite of Rebirth. You will split into teams of two and each patrol your designated location before moving onto the next one." she sighed "You will also be gifted a horn with which to alert others should you encounter any activity you deem suspicious."
Her eyes fell onto Lysithea and Claude "Not if you see an oddly shaped shadow." she paused "Or because you feel the literal need to blow your own trumpet."
Lysithea bristled at the insinuation while Claude let out an amused laugh "Really Professor? Do I seem the kind of guy that would do something like that?"
"…"
"...What's with all these stares guys?" Claude looked around with a strained smile "What? Is your faith in me really that bad?"
"...Moving on." Manuela continued on without turning back "This patrol will continue until the Rite ends or until our mystery assailants have been captured." she paused "If they exist." she paused and turned around "Are there any questions?"
Leonie raised her hand "What about the other classes?"
"The new Professor seems to be following a strategy similar to our own and will be patrolling another part of the Monastery for the duration of the Rite." Manuela answered back "The Black Eagle house will be around the Cathedral itself and be protecting the citizens who are currently taking part in the hymns." she paused before a fleeting smile came to her face "Although whether or not they'll even be needed is something I'm not sure of."
"Are the Knights present as well?" Ignatz asked, tilting his head.
"No." Manuela bit her lip "But the Rite of Rebirth is technically a mandatory event for all staff...including Assistant members."
There was a brief silence as the class failed to understand what she meant by that, and then they did. Claude looking as though he was going to laugh.
"I pity the poor guy who tries to start a fight in the Cathedral with sparkles around."
"Which is why we give blessed thanks to our most Noble Saint of Seiros the Divine, may she forever guide our thoughts to be in line with the Goddess. Praise be."
""Praise Be."" The hall answered back towards the Deacon as they continued to read from their prayer book.
"It is on this blessed day where we shall all cast our voices to the Heavens, that the Goddess herself might give thought to our words and shine her Holy Light down upon us. Praise Be."
""Praise Be.""
"We are all of us, Children of the Goddess and it is through her Divine Mercy that we continue to walk upon this land which she crafted for us, her chosen."
The sight towards the back of the hall could be described as nothing less than comical.
The entire Black Eagle House was lined up as the final row behind all of the faithful with Hanneman and a single addition next to them.
Goetia's face was still blank, save the slight twitching of his eyebrow at times, as the man continued his sermon.
"In this time, we must all of us reach out…" The man extended his hands into the air "And clasp onto the gifts she has given us, for it is in these moments where her miracles truly shine forth as it is in this Monastery...Nay! In this Sacred ground – her home on this land – that we educate those who will carry out her Divine Will!"
Goetia's brows crinkled slightly.
"Now brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers and even those who have come form afar!" The Deacon passionately exclaimed "Join me so that we may all bless this day as another of the blessed and so that the Goddess Herself will witness the love we hold in our hearts for her and that, no! We of Fodlan have not forgotten her Will! We have not forgotten her warmth! And that we love her as she deserves her love! Praise Be!"
""Praise Be.""
Being here felt ugly for Goetia. The only Temple he'd ever truly been in was the one to Yahweh. He'd seen other religions, he'd seen the Gods of other religions but the only one that truly meant anything to him was Yahweh. The God who had made his existence possible to begin with.
Was he going to join these people in praising their Goddess? No. He had nothing to praise her for and having met her, he'd yet to see her do anything praise worthy. Perhaps reversing time itself was mildly intriguing but it was only a few minutes at best at the moment, hardly approaching the level he'd been capable of.
"I ask you all to join me now in a moment of prayer." The Deacon clasped his hands in front of himself. "So that we may all be joined in this time of gathering and harmony and to send our thoughts to the Goddess so that she might walk amongst her children once more. Praise Be."
""Praise Be.""
Goetia cast his sight towards the Black Eagles stood to his left and right, the majority of whom were still sporting their perfect masks they had no doubt been trained to wield since birth. Giving a cursory glance he was mildly surprised to see than Linhardt was still conscious, although that might have been because falling asleep in this type of ceremony – especially while being the guard of the citizens – would have been seen as poor form.
He was curious as to what Byleth and Lysithea were doing at this point, he knew that they were both with their classes for their respective duties in guarding. Perhaps nothing would have occurred but it would have stopped him from feeling this current discomfort. Perhaps it was a difference in understanding that made this entire affair dull for him. He knew for a fact where he had originated.
Even if he had never met God, he didn't need to in order to understand that he had in some small part originated from the Heavenly Father. The humans here had no such understanding, they gave praise to the Goddess as their deity of worship but it was still something to discern for him whether they had been created by her or if her role had been similar to the Olympians.
A frown quickly came to him. That was a disturbing thought to entertain, the idea that Sothis was of a similar origin to the Greek Gods was an image he would rather now dwell upon. Even if it was likely untrue it did not change the possibility. He quickly dismissed the idea, Sothis lacked any evidence that she had once been a sentient ship and there would no doubt have been evidence of such a thing. There was nothing to suggest some major calamity had befallen the world which had regressed them in technological strength.
The new line of inquiry entered his head, causing him to distance his mind from his current surroundings.
There was no evidence to suggest contrary to it either. Sothis authority over time when she was likely a physical entity would have been astounding and the magical energy required to manipulate that in any grand capacity would have been monumental.
He shook his head. It was likely little more than speculation at this point. Sothis was probably little more than a Divine Spirit. His lips thinned into a line as he thought back to his original inquiry, it was unlikely that Byleth and Lysithea were encountering anything of note.
He imagined anyway.
"...This isn't as interesting as I thought it would be." Claude exhaled through his nose as he wandered through the corridors, Hilda gave him a flat look as she walked alongside him before shrugging.
"I don't mind it all that much." She admitted while giving a faint smile "The less intruders means the less work I have to do." she paused before shrugging "I suppose that means I also don't attend the Rite of Rebirth but...well…" trailing off, the girl coughed and looked to the side "Standing still in one place for so long would get a little boring."
"Perish the thought Hilda Goneril gets bored." Claude rolled his eyes "Doesn't like to put in effort but hates it when nothing happens."
"Hey!" Hilda pouted "No one likes getting bored." her lips curved into a smirk as she stabbed a finger at him "Especially you Claude."
"...Fair enough." Claude admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, sporting a half smile "But then I suppose life is anything but boring as of late."
"Tell me about it." Hilda grumbled "I've barely had a moment to relax for more than a couple of hours."
"Longer than usual you mean." The boy snickered "You still somehow manage to get others to do all your work for you."
"Hey!" The twin tailed girl frowned "I don't make them do anything." she asserted while buffing out her chest and smiling "I simply ask nicely and they do so out of the kindness of their hearts."
Claude gave her a knowing look before he looked away and started whistling.
"I know that look!" Hilda accused with narrowed eyes "It doesn't make what I said any less true."
"Never worked on me though, has it?"
Hilda smirked "That's because I've never used my A-game on you." she chuckled "Besides, I doubt it would work anyway. You'd probably find some way to trick me into doing the work I was trying to avoid."
"Probably." Claude unabashedly nodded his head "I am a 'schemer' or so they say."
"A schemer so great that everyone knows he's a schemer."
"See, that's the problem!" Claude snapped his fingers and gave an exaggerated groan "How can I ever trick people with my schemes if everyone already knows that I'm a schemer!?"
"You don't." Hilda replied with a satisfied smirk "And I don't think my method would work for you."
"You sure?" Claude raised an eyebrow and stared down at his legs "I mean...I've gotten some pretty supple skin, I'm sure someone might fall victim to me seductive techniques."
"Pfft!" Hilda looked away, covering her mouth to prevent the laugh from leaking out "Y-yeah right!"
"I could do it!" Claude boasted "I bet I could seduce someone."
"Sure you can!" Hilda got out in-between chuckles "And I could clean the entire monastery by myself."
"Anything is possible if you put your mind to it." Claude adamantly proclaimed as the pair rounded the corner and came to a halt, the both of them staring ahead and down the hallway. "...This ain't good."
"No." Hilda replied with wide eyes, still staring ahead of herself "Claude...blow the horn."
"Way ahead of you." He muttered as he went for the instrument on his hip "Guess we figured out their target…" he grimly remarked.
Hilda could only nod her head as she continued to stare towards the door to the Vault.
The entire structure having been ripped from the wall, the heavy metal doors looked as though they had been crumbled by a battering ram and the inner sanctum of the vault exposed to the outside. The girl frowned "Shouldn't someone have heard something?"
With the amount of damage and the tight conditions, it was inconceivable that they wouldn't have heard anything.
"I don't know…" Claude held the horn up to his lips "But it ain't right, that's for sure." he blew with all his might, the deep reverberating bass of the horn echoed through the corridors.
Claude lowered the horn and frowned, Hilda had made a good point. The damage done to the vault was neither precise nor delicate. It looked as thought someone had just ripped the Vault from its hinges and strolled inside.
He briefly wondered if Dimitri's patrol was becoming as interesting as his.
"Move up left flank." Byleth ordered as she ducked behind a pillar, a fireball clipping off the stone just near her as she did so. Her eyes flicked over to Ashe, the blue haired boy ducked behind a nearby tomb. "Ashe." she called out to him, the boy looked up and saw Byleth motion with her head behind her and in the direction of the mage.
Ashe nodded his head and moved his hand to the arrows on his back, quickly nocking one into his bow and taking a deep breath. The bow rolled out from behind the tomb and drew the bow string back as far as he could, taking aim towards the mage. The man immediately swung his attention towards Ashe, holding his hand out and forming a symbol in front of it in preparation for a spell.
The arrow left the bow at high speeds, instantly covering the distance between himself and the mage before striking him in the left shoulder. The man let out a pained shout as he recoiled from the arrow and fell to the ground, crawling away and into cover. Ashe cringed.
He was getting better at archery but that was supposed to be a kill shot.
Byleth watched the mage go down with a blank expression before turning her eyes back towards – what she imagined to be – the Divine Coffin.
...Or something along those lines.
Her eyes flickered over to where the mounted Knight was still on his horse, the blackened steel armour and horned skull helmet seemed to impassive scan the surroundings of their wearer without making a move. From their complete lack of motion, she could only assume that the black knight had little interest in getting involved.
Something she was perfectly alright with. Even if she could take him in a fight, it would take time to beat him and keep her entirely occupied on him while her class were left to fend for themselves. Shaking her head, she peered around the pillar she was hiding behind and scanned the complement of enemy forces.
Mostly mages who seemed to be dressed similar to clerics from around the Church, although there were a few melee fighters present as well alongside a small complement of a dozen archers. It didn't look like a well-co-ordinated raid either, likely because they'd been caught by surprise.
Byleth took in a short breath before springing to life and darting from out behind her pillar, the closest target to her – a large man wielding a two handed iron axe – instantly spotted her and let loose a bellowing cry before rushing towards her. Byleth remained blank faced as the man closed the distance and swung towards her head, the mercenary rolled under the strike and span on her heel. Swinging her steel sword towards his ankles and slashing them open, the man dropped onto his wounded leg with a cry of pain before she thrust her sword through the back of his neck and quickly pulled it out, allowing him to fall forwards without making further sounds.
Clashing steel accompanied the arrival of the other Blue Lions following after her while Ashe and Annette covered their right flank with spells. The ginger haired girl let loose a fireball towards the nearest archer and forced the man to throw himself to the ground to avoid being struck by the attack.
Felix parried the swordsman's thrust to the side before delivering a quick jab into his throat with his free hand. The man's eyes bulged as he stumbled backwards, dropping his sword and clasping at his neck. Felix gave him a dismissive snort before thrusting his sword through the raiders heart and kicking the body away.
Following up from behind him was Sylvain, the red haired young man blocked a sword with the wooden handle of his spear before pushing it to the side. Pulling the handle backwards he slammed the butt of his spear into the centre of his attackers nose and forced them to let out a pained cry as they retreated from him. Dimitri ran the man through with his steel spear from the side before pulling it clean – ignoring the splatter of blood across his face – and turning to Sylvain with a raised eyebrow.
"I believe the plan was to avoid rushing ahead?" He jested with a half amused, half serious tone about him "Getting caught out will be the end of you." he rushed to say as he pushed Sylvain and himself to the side and into cover behind another tomb just as the scraping sound of arrows bouncing off against stone reached their ears. "There are still archers in this battle."
"Yeah, I know." Sylvain replied, giving Dimitri a mildly disturbed look.
"Hm? What is wrong? Why do you look at me like that?"
"You...er...got a little something…" He gestured to his cheek where Dimitri had the bloodstain.
The blonde boy stared at him in confusion before raising his left hand and dabbing his cheek, pulling it away and seeing the red liquid "Oh...do forgive me, I tend to get focused in battle."
"No worries...just...clean up, yeah?"
"Indeed." Dimitri chuckled, turning away from Sylvain "It would make for a poor appearance if I showed the heavy signs of battle, no?"
"Yeah...probably."
"Down!" Ingrid tackled Annette to the ground as a fireball shot over their heads, the blonde girl quickly grabbed her by the scruff of her clothes and dragged her into cover as more arrows rained down around them "Be careful!" she scolded the girl "Your robes won't do much against attacks like that."
"I know...sorry." Annette muttered before steeling her expression "Still have to do my part to make sure we don't get surrounded."
"Just try not to die while you do it." Ingrid reminded her as she span around and tightened her grip on her spear, her eyes snapped down as a shadow crept closer to the pillar they were hiding behind. Ingrid hugged the cover to reduce her presence as the man seemingly paused in preparation for a strike. Ingrid watched as the arm of the shadow drew itself back, recognising the intent.
The man appeared from around the corner and swung his weapon at neck height, only for his sword to slam into stone. He had barely a moment to realise what happened before Ingrid thrust her spear from her crouched position and pierced through his collarbone, a gurgle escaped the man before she pulled her spear free and allowed him to fall backwards.
Annette stared at the brutal display with wide eyes as she coughed into her hand, looking away with a slightly sickly look about her. The girl quickly shook her head to dismiss the image from her mind and focus herself on the battle, spinning her body up and raising her hands towards the enemies on the opposite end of the mausoleum, her palm glowed with a symbol appearing before it and a fireball flung itself free of her and towards the targets again.
The axe wielder she had been aiming at stumbled and attempted to dodge to the side, far too slow as the fireball impacted his shoulder and exploded. The force of the impact sent the man cartwheeling through the air and slamming into one of the stone coffins.
Annette cringed and ducked back into cover "D-do you think the Goddess will be angry if we accidentally damage any of the coffins?"
Ingrid stared at her before frowning "Worry about the Goddess later...but I imagine since we are protecting them from desecration she will overlook any damages on this occasion. However, be careful just in case."
"Which is why in the light of the Goddess and the Words of Seiros – the Divine Saint – I invite you all to join me now in prayer." The Deacon clasped his hands before him "I repeat these words to you 'Blessed are we who bathe in the Goddess Divine Love, we who are the inheritors of her World and her children. Let us give thanks to our beloved Goddess so that she might lay her guiding hand upon Fodlan once more and walk amongst her children.' Praise Be."
""Praise Be.""
The Rite had been going on for nearly two hours at this point and Goetia found he was beginning to experience a strong desire not to be here. He would occasionally scan his surroundings and notice the Church guards and Black Eagles move from spot to spot as they continued in their duty of guarding but beyond that, very little of import had happened.
His eyes then darted over towards a guard stood near the door, the man in steel plate armour craned his head to the left as a Cleric approached him and whispered something in his hear. The armoured man seemingly jerked in surprise before giving a nod of their head and sweeping their gaze towards the other Knights stationed around the Cathedral interior.
The Knight beckoned his hand over to himself, drawing the other knights towards him as he turned and – as quietly as possible – made his way out of the Cathedral along with the dozen knights he had with him.
Goetia let out a quiet hum of acknowledgement then turned away to face the front again, his eyes briefly capturing a glimpse of Edelgard noticing the movement of the guards and sporting a brief frown on her face before it quickly settled and she turned away again.
He briefly pondered whether it was Von Riegan or Byleth who had been proven correct, he was aware that the latter was assigned to protect the Holy Mausoleum in case of attack while Von Riegan was protecting the vault. It wasn't too great of an interest to him at this point, but it did provide him something else to think upon as oppose to enduring the preaching of the Seiros Church.
"We're closing in on the casket." Dimitri peered around the corner towards the dark mage currently attempting to breach the coffin, his eyes took stock of the remaining forces currently protecting the man. "I could...seven fighters, two archers and three mages left Professor." he ducked back down "However, it is technically only two considering the third is attempting to breach the coffin."
Byleth nodded her head, quickly peering over her shoulder to see the Black Knight still mounted on his horse, having not made a single move for the entire battle thus far.
Shaking her head, she quickly broke cover to determine the enemies positions before returning behind the safety of the pillar. "You and Felix deal with axe fighters. Dedue takes mages on the left. Ashe and Annette take out archers, Ingrid and Sylvain cover flank and Mercedes…"
"Mercedes?" Dimitri pressured her for a further explanation.
"Mercedes can heal." She decided on, she hadn't seen the girl do much in the way of combat so that was the best she could think of.
"Understood." Dimitri rolled out of cover and broke into a sprint towards the other Blue Lions before sliding across the ground and ducking behind the tomb next to Felix. Byleth watched as he passed along the commands – she could tell because of the ugly sneer Felix now sported – and assumed a ready position.
After waiting a few more moments, Byleth broke cover and threw herself into a roll. Ducking under the arrow which whizzed just above her head and breaking into a sprint towards the nearest swordsman the moment she returned to her feet. The brown haired man in chain armoured swung his weapon towards her as she approached.
Raising her own sword, she locked blades with the man before swinging her boot upwards between his legs. The man's eyes bulged as the boot connected and she could have sworn she hard several people intake a sharp breath soon after. His sword arm recoiled from her as a result of the strike as she pushed it to the side and exposed his front to her before slashing her sword across his neck.
His body dropped down with a gurgle as the sounds of clashing steel echoed out behind her as the students followed in her wake. Her eyes quickly fell onto the mage in front of the casket, the light in front of his hands had gradually began to intensify as he continued to weave whatever spell he was using.
Noticing the gap now present in the enemy lines, she broke into a sprint towards the man. Swinging her sword upwards, she parried away an axe meant for her head before reversing her grip on her sword and thrusting it through the attackers gut and ripping it clean within the span of a few seconds.
Clearing the remaining distance with little time, she virtually flew up the staircase towards the coffin, sliding to a halt as she caught sight of the mage wearing a full body white robe with a pointed hood and a black raven shaped mask. The man's spell fizzled out before a sphere around the casket collapsed into nothing.
"I've opened it!" The man exclaimed, resiting his hands on the lid and pushing it ajar before his form stilled "Wha-what? A sword?"
Byleth didn't really listen to what he said, instead opting to jump down and rush towards the man.
Goetia noticed the departure of a great many number of the remaining Knights still in the room. It would appear that something was indeed occurring elsewhere in the Monastery, at this point a majority of the other Black Eagles had noticed the minor disturbance as well, all sporting concerned expressions as they looked about eachother.
"Steady class." Hanneman quietly muttered "Remain focused, if there is such an attack we must be prepared to act on a moments no-"
A blaring siren screaming off in the distance cut the Professor off and caused a majority of the individuals in the Cathedral to duck low and cover their ears at the sheer volume of the noise. Goetia remained blank face save the slight cringing of his expression. He had heard louder and he knew the sound well enough.
It was his Boundary Field around the Goddess Tower alerting the Monastery to an assassination attempt. The Knights who had been in the process of leaving froze at the sound before instantly breaking into a sprint which carried them out of the room and no doubt in the direction of the tower. They'd likely been warned ahead of time to prepare for any loud noises coming from the tower.
Still, Goetia would admit some level of surprise that someone would be bold enough to attempt to assassinate the Archbishop.
Also stupid enough to do so but they were hardly to blame for being ignorant to the woman's true nature.
In any event, it would appear that someone was bold enough to-
His eyes flew wide and his head snapped down to his feet, or rather something below his feet. He could feel it, just a trickle but it was there. A frown quickly came to his face as he recognised the power, brief as it was, before it cut out.
It was Byleth's Divine Core responding to something that wasn't her temporal authority. It was brief however, which meant it was either the use of a spell or something like a physical enhancement. Either way, it would appear that something quite interesting had occurred recently.
He'd probably ask her about it when she returned.