Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 102: Mana Ties, Part Fourteen

Lianna could barely keep track of what was happening.

The fight erupted, chaos unfolding on the dimly lit streets. Nareem, wearing a sly grin, lunged towards Lianna with uncanny speed, his daggers gleaming menacingly in the faint light. Lianna, adrenaline coursing through her veins, swiftly brought her bow to the ready position, eyes focused on Nareem’s every move.

Nareem’s attacks were a flurry of swift, calculated strikes.

Lianna only narrowly evaded his strikes, feeling like each slash was only a hair away from cutting her. Her bowstring sang as she sent arrows whistling through the air, each aimed with precision. In response Nareem twisted and turned, moving around the projectiles with ease.

Athene suddenly stepped in with a resolute stance.

[Oh, thank God. I don’t think I could have lasted much longer.]

Sword and shield raised, she intercepted Nareem’s relentless advance. The clash of steel echoed as Athene defended Lianna, her eyes burning with determination.

Despite Athene’s efforts, Nareem was still relentless.

His attacks came from unexpected angles, and his agility seemed boundless. Lianna felt the weight of the situation, a mixture of fear and determination welling up within her.

[Would the smart thing to do here be to just turn and go?] Lianna wondered. [But...] She looked at Enverna and Zura, both of whom were helping to fight Kate and Jack. [What would happen to them?]

Lianna’s focus sharpened as she gauged Nareem’s movements.

Anticipating his next strike, she vaulted backward, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp blades. Athene, seizing the opportunity, swung her sword with practiced precision, forcing Nareem to defend against her onslaught.

The battle raged on, each moment filled with intensity. Lianna’s heart pounded in her chest as she faced the relentless assault, her mind racing to strategize and counter. Athene’s unwavering support bolstered her resolve.

Suddenly, after narrowly avoiding Nareem’s relentless assault, found herself facing a new adversary.

Kate Aligon, the Scoundrel’s chosen, appeared before Lianna.

[Huh!?]

Apparently, she’d managed to squeeze out from under the others’ pressure and was now looking to end Lianna’s life before they caught up.

Her swift movements and calculated strikes kept Lianna on her toes.

Kate lunged forward, two swords gleaming in the sunlight. Lianna, with quick reflexes, dodged to the side, narrowly evading the deadly blades. Before she even had her feet set, Kate was attacking again.

[I... can’t... keep up!]]

She used some sort of spell, then. An ability that saw her raise her palm up and emit a light almost as bright as the sun above, that Lianna turned away from.

It was likely only because Lianna reacted so quickly that the girl didn’t end her life then and there. Kate went to slash her neck but Lianna dropped the arrow she’d nocked and parried the strike, using her bow to block the blade.

Still, Kate landed a small cut on Lianna’s abdomen. In a hurry, she lifted her blades and one of them dragged up the side of Lianna’s face. Both scrapes stung badly, but Lianna couldn’t stop or they’d turn into more than just scrapes.

Kate’s attacks were relentless, a storm of flashing steel that demanded Lianna’s full attention.

With a burst of speed, Enverna intervened, the wood of her spear meeting the daggers in a clash of forces.

Lianna, taking a moment to breathe, watched as Enverna skillfully parried Kate’s strikes. Each clash resonated through the air, creating a symphony of metal on metal. Enverna’s movements were calculated, a dance that seemed to anticipate every move Kate made.

Seizing the opportunity, Enverna, with a swift twist of her staff, disarmed Kate temporarily, her swords falling behind her. Kate backed off as she picked them up, creating a gap between both parties.

Lianna, grateful for the respite, readied her bow once more.

Enverna, undeterred, engaged Kate with a series of precise strikes. The air hummed with energy as the two women exchanged blows. Kate, determined to reclaim the advantage, countered with acrobatic maneuvers, attempting to outmaneuver Enverna.

Lianna, now with the breathing room she needed, assessed the unfolding skirmish.

Enverna’s intervention had provided a crucial moment of reprieve, allowing Lianna to recalibrate her strategy.

[I want to use {Lover’s Intuition} but I barely have time to think, let alone speak!]

The world itself echoed that sentiment as Lianna’s eyes met Jack’s, who’d briefly overwhelmed Zura and Desmond and was now walking toward Lianna, a simmering tension between them.

"You’re a fool," Jack sneered, his voice carrying the ominous undertones of The Demon, as Lianna could hear her voice speaking through him once again. "All of this is pointless. Try as you might to stop it, you will not stand in our way."

Lianna’s eyes widened.

[... Our way?]

Jack launched out a bolt of lightning that nearly blew Lianna’s head off. Lianna notched an arrow on her bow. She drew the string back, aiming at Jack with unwavering focus. The arrow sailed through the air, aiming for the heart of The Demon’s chosen.

However, Jack’s response was swift and formidable. Dark energy crackled around him, and with a gesture, he deflected the arrow mid-air. The projectile dissolved into nothingness, leaving Lianna momentarily exposed.

Before she could react, Jack unleashed a surge of demonic magic. The dark energy coalesced into a searing bolt aimed directly at Lianna.

She barely managed to sidestep the attack, the residual heat singeing her clothes. The intensity of Jack’s power was overwhelming, and Lianna realized the gravity of the threat she faced.

Just as Jack prepared to launch another assault, a figure stood before Lianna.

Xi, wavy blonde hair flowing in the wind, stood with her hands by her hands and her eyes set on Jack, acting as a wall.

Jack clicked his tongue.

Desmond pushed Kate back. The girl nearly bumped into Jack.

Athene headbutted Nareem. With a red drop slowly sliding down his face, Nareem stood beside his two allies.

Both parties ended up standing opposite each other, all of them breathing heavily from the exertion.

"Huh... This isn’t going too well. See ya!"

Just like that, Nareem, ever the opportunist, chose to abandon his allies.

Without a word, he turned and swiftly ran away, disappearing into the shadows.

"H-Hey!" Athene began to run after him, but stopped, realizing how vast the difference in speed between them was. She’d never catch up.

Jack, sensing the shifting tides, also vanished, drinking some sort of elixir before Lianna could stop him with an arrow, leaving Kate to make a quick decision.

She hesitated for a moment before following her retreating comrades, leaving the battlefield behind.

In the blink of an eye, the confrontation was over, and all eyes turned to Lianna, who stood at the center of the aftermath.

Xi, maintaining her composed demeanor, spoke first.

"I don’t know if you noticed, but Jack absorbed the Forger’s corpse, becoming even stronger. He won’t be easy to deal with."

Desmond approached Lianna with a contemplative expression.

"Admittedly, I still don’t know if leaving the artifact with you is the right call."

Lianna nodded solemnly.

"I understand the doubts, but I promise to study it, to understand its nature and potential. I think that together, we can find a way to harness its power for good."

Xi, Desmond, Athene, and the others exchanged glances, their expressions reflecting the weight of the decision they were making. After a moment of silent contemplation, Xi spoke again.

"Very well, Lianna. We will trust your judgment, for now. You will not get a second chance, though."

"Should you falter, I will not hesitate to intervene," Athene added.

Finally, the standoff concluded, and the followers of the constellations, with their varying loyalties and doubts, began to disperse.

Xi led the way, her followers trailing behind her. Athene, Desmond, and the rest followed suit, leaving Lianna with her small group.

Enverna approached Lianna, her expression a mix of relief and concern. She hugged Lianna tightly, whispering:

"That was close. Too close."

"Yeah," Lianna agreed, the fight playing back in her mind already. "We... We need to get a lot stronger, don’t we?"

"Think so," Zura spoke up, arms crossed. "Honestly, if I didn’t have this much meat on me I probably would have died.

Lianna looked over at her. Multiple scratches graced her form, along with a deep stab at her right shoulder and left leg. She was clearly the one who’d caught the most damage out of everyone.

Well, aside from Arthur, of course.

[Jack absorbed him...] Lianna sighed as Enverna finally backed off. [We won, but Jack’s still getting more and more powerful. Shit.]

Thankfully, Lianna did have something in mind.

It was a mechanic she’d made little use of so far, simply due to how everything around her had grabbed her focus, but now was the time.

Arthur’s weapon, a hammer, was lying on the floor. Lianna picked it up and scanned it.

Striker

{Weapon}

{Unique}

{Class Req: None}

{Stat Req: STR: B+}

{Val: 1000 Tokens}

[The Player Shop,] Lianna thought. [Every now and then I’d look around and see a bunch of cool stuff that I couldn’t buy. Between what’s happening now, though, and what’s set to happen in the future, it’s about time I start building an armory up.]