Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 155: Children of Mana, Part Thirty-Eight

{Lianna}

{December 26}

Lianna woke up to some rather insistent knocking on the door.

Enverna was still in her arms, sleeping away peacefully. Lianna slipped away as subtly as she could and then went to answer the door.

"Yeah?" She asked, opening it casually.

"I..."

Miss Taylor was there.

Oh, and Lianna was naked.

As was Enverna, who then sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes and sleepily murmuring:

"Huh? Is it already morning?"

Miss Taylor blinked.

Then, calmly, she said:

"I’ll give you a moment to get ready. But," she added, "your presence is required quite urgently."

With that, Miss Taylor reached over and closed the door herself.

Leaving Lianna to hang her head in shame.

"Lianna?" Enverna asked, having not processed what just happened at all.

"Uh... It’s n-nothing," Lianna fought through her blush, "let’s just get out of bed."

---

It was all over the news.

Athene, the Judicator’s Follower, was in Garriden. If Lianna was at all unsure about the importance of this fact, Caroline was making sure she and everyone else in Mel’s inn were aware.

"This is incredible!" Caroline exclaimed, sounding positively gleeful. "The Judicator’s Follower is just a step beneath the High Priestess in terms of power in Garriden. Everyone in the city was heartbroken when we found out the latest Follower was someone from Telvan, but, now, she’s here!"

"Yep," Lianna nodded along. "I reached out to her."

Now, in truth, Lianna wasn’t aware Athene’s status as the Judicator’s Follower was that important. But, she had suspected that the church would have some reaction to her being here, in addition to everyone else.

[How many more Followers need to team up against them before they decide that, maybe, they’re on the wrong side?]

"You?" Caroline asked, wide-eyed. "She came here because of you?"

"As did all of us," Miss Taylor responded for her. "This really shouldn’t be so surprising."

And yet, it clearly was.

Caroline looked away, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Lianna looked around the table.

Xi, Desmond, Zura, Enverna, and Vayn were all taking this information in, thinking of ways to use it.

Desmond spoke up.

"Did you tell her to come here?"

"I did," Lianna nodded.

"That’s not good. We should go get her ourselves."

"What do you mean?"

"Chances are, the church knows she’s here too and is going to head out to fight her right now before she can actually group up with us. I’d be surprised if they haven’t reached her yet."

[Crap, he’s right!]

Lianna paled.

She should have thought about this.

[No way the church just sits around and waits for us to come up with our little strategies. We need to go get her!]

"Come on," Miss Taylor said, walking over to the inn’s exit. "Let’s make sure our latest batch of reinforcements is alright."

---

{Athene}

Athene had barely finished arranging her belongings in the quaint house she owned in Garriden when a sharp knock echoed through the quiet abode.

Her gaze flicked towards the window, curiosity mingling with caution as she approached the door.

Peering through the window, Athene’s eyes narrowed slightly as she spotted several figures clad in the traditional garb of the church standing on her doorstep.

Athene’s scowl deepened as she observed the group of church members from her window.

Their presence outside her home in Garriden, coupled with the urgency of their visit, sent warning signals flaring in her mind.

Without hesitation, Athene donned her sturdy armor, pulling it out of her Inventory, the familiar weight settling around her like a protective shell.

As she stepped out of her home, her expression was steely with resolve, determination etched in the lines of her features.

Athene intended to confront the church members head-on about the troubling rumors of resurrecting Saren, a notion she found both blasphemous and dangerous.

"I-"

However, the instant that one word made its way out of her mouth, chaos erupted in a flurry of motion.

Arrows whistled through the air, cutting across the distance between Athene and the church members with deadly precision.

The unexpected attack caught Athene off guard momentarily, the impact of the arrows against her armor sending vibrations through her frame.

[You... Insolent...!]

Reacting swiftly, Athene raised her shield and her sword, gritting her teeth.

"I will keep one of you alive," she muttered. "The rest of you, however, will pay dearly for this disrespect."

The battle began pretty much immediately.

The assault from the church members didn’t give her time to think, only react, and her movements were precise, honed through countless battles and rigorous training.

She lunged forward with calculated aggression, her sword cleaving through the air as she targeted the nearest assailant.

The clash was swift and decisive, Athene’s skill evident as she dispatched two enemies in quick succession, their surprised expressions frozen in disbelief before giving way to death.

As the skirmish unfolded, spells crackled through the air, weaving deadly patterns toward Athene.

She dodged around them with great grace. Even then, she wasn’t sure all of these spells would have even hit her if she hadn’t dodged. A few projectiles, conjured by trembling, nervous hands, went flying right past her.

The church clearly hadn’t sent their best.

Athene was completely on top of her game, though. Each movement she made was purposeful, each step calculated, as she pressed the advantage against her foes.

Amidst the chaos, one of the church members, perhaps realizing the futility of their mission, threw down their weapon and raised their hands in surrender.

Athene’s eyes narrowed, her attention briefly shifting to the surrendered combatant.

[... This one. I’ll keep you alive,] she thought, recognizing the potential for extracting valuable information or leveraging a future advantage.

Just as the battle seemed to be nearing its end, a familiar presence approached the scene.

In the distance, Athene could see Lianna and her friends approaching.

Unfortunately, if they intended to stop this violence from happening, they were a little too late for that.

They only managed to reach Athene’s position as she was beheading her last opponent, leaving that one individual alive and the others as mere bodies littering the road.

"Greetings," Athene said, cleaning her blade with her wrist. "I’d ask why you came here but, judging by the looks on your faces, you likely guessed this might happen, no?"

"Uh..." Lianna looked around, her eyes falling on one body after another. "Y-Yeah... We kinda had an inkling..."

"Well, it happened."

Athene put her sword away.

Walking up to Lianna, she said:

"Now, how about we discuss that business you mentioned in your letter? Oh, along with that poor fool over there, of course," she pointed at the person she’d left alive.

"Sure." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

---

{Jack Caldwell}

At the pinnacle of the same church in which he absorbed Olin, Jack sat in silent contemplation, the world below a mere canvas to his ambitions.

His mind, a cauldron of schemes and machinations, was momentarily interrupted by a voice that seemed to echo within the depths of his consciousness.

The voice, soft yet resonant, spoke words that slithered through Jack’s thoughts like tendrils of smoke.

It was, of course, the Demon.

"Soon, Jack. Soon, all that you endured in your youth will be repaid in full. The suffering you endured will be but a drop compared to the deluge that shall befall this world," she told him, her words sounding as sweet as honey to his ears.

Jack listened intently, his brow furrowing slightly at the cryptic promise of reward mingled with vengeance.

He spoke inwardly, his mind addressing the unseen speaker.

He had some concerns to share.

"Are you certain those two women will not be a problem?"

"..."

The Demon remained silent.

Jack continued.

"The interference from Lianna Velcross and her allies grows concerning. I just got word that another traitor’s Follower has arrived as well. Do they not pose a threat to our designs?"

The voice, imbued with an air of unwavering conviction, responded with assurance.

"Trust in Saren, Jack. Trust in the plan that has been woven since time immemorial. Their meddling is but a temporary obstacle, a ripple in the vast ocean of destiny."

Jack’s expression remained stoic, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon beyond his window. The mention of Saren brought a mixture of reverence and apprehension.

"I will see it through," Jack affirmed, his voice a whisper in the silent chamber. Yet, even as he vowed his dedication, the image of Lianna lingered in his mind like an ominous specter, a reminder of the uncertainties that lay ahead.

The woman’s voice, a melody of assurance and menace, echoed one final time before fading into the recesses of Jack’s mind.

"Embrace your destiny, Jack. Embrace the chaos that will birth a new world."

With a sigh that carried the weight of unseen burdens, Jack returned to his meditation, his thoughts drifting between visions of grandeur and the shadowy figures of opposition that danced at the edges of his ambitions.

The game was set, the pieces in motion, and Jack braced for the clash of wills that would shape its fate.