Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 23: The Birth of Darkness, Part Three

Lianna felt electricity encircling her body. It was strange, though. It didn’t hurt but it also made her feel light-headed as she gazed at the horrifying sight ahead.

That single boy, standing over the bodies of his 3 friends, held up a hand in front of Lianna, Vara stepped forward.

"U-Uhm, ma’am, I don’t think-" Lianna began to voice her educated opinion, but Vara cut her off.

"Lianna, Enverna, back away. Tell the driver to take you back to Telvan. I’ll handle this."

Lianna didn’t want to doubt her but, even as powerful as she was, Lianna had it on good authority that whatever was set to happen here could not be prevented.

[Shit, shit, shit... I want to tell her that we need to leave, but then she’ll ask why and I can’t just tell her that my quest says this is an unwinnable fight.]

Lianna considered her options. Beside her, Enverna watched on in relative horror. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

[Maybe...]

"Instructor Vara!" Lianna called out, stepping forward. "I have an Instinct that lets me see others’ statuses!"

The boy raised a brow, hearing her say this. She didn’t want to admit such a thing in front of an enemy, but if this was what it took to get Vara to back off, then Lianna would do it.

Vara did not turn to look at her, but Lianna knew she was still watching her through the use of her mana sense.

"This enemy... He’s not someone you can beat."

"Perhaps not," Vara replied. "But, Lianna. Look at him. Do you think he plans to just let you go now that he’s seen you? I have to clear the way for you two."

[What?]

Lianna’s confusion vanished, however, when she noticed something that sent shivers down her spine.

The boy up ahead, who’d murdered these other Players and was now exuding a Fiendish aura, wasn’t looking at Vara.

He was looking at Lianna and Enverna.

[Oh.]

Lazily, the boy walked a couple of steps toward Vara.

Vara brought her catalyst out. The boy tilted his head.

"... You finally came. I was beginning to grow tired."

Again, Lianna was confused.

This time, her puzzlement came from the fact that the voice that had just left his lips was that of an older woman. It boomed, filling the makeshift arena, sounding strangely distorted.

"Which Constellation sent you?" He asked, his eyes fixed on Enverna. "Quite the bold move to have you come here. They must be feeling rather arrogant."

[He knows we’re chosen?]

"Hm. Be sure to curse your Constellation’s name in the afterlife. Blame them for feeding you to me."

He twitched.

Or, at least, that was what it looked like to Lianna.

In reality, he’d just cast some spell faster than Lianna could even see it. A spell that Vara intercepted.

An amethyst lightning bolt crashed into a golden barrier Vara created, exploding in front of her.

Enverna ran over to where Lianna stood, positioning herself between the ongoing fight and her partner as though she could stop the blast Vara had just protected her from.

It finally sunk in, however, for Lianna that this was not a battle she and Enverna could help with. Hell, they’d be lucky to make it out alive at all.

Instructor Vara tried to retaliate, launching a series of spells on her own. Spears made of light materialized in her hands that she launched at him, only for the boy to protect himself with a barrier of his own.

A powerful stream of water poured out from Vara’s hands next. The water crashed into the barrier next and, if the sound that came out as a result was anything to go by, that spell had been pretty strong. Still, nothing.

"Lianna, Enverna, go." Once again, Vara gave them that clear instruction. "I... I am not confident I can continue to-"

Before she finished, the boy sprang from his position.

Blazing a path toward them, he moved in a flash. Vara intercepted him again, stopping his charge with the same barrier-creating ability. This time, however, Lianna noticed something.

A line of blood trickled down from Vara’s right wrist, falling off her elbow and landing on the dirt.

Then, Enverna ran forward.

[Wait, no!]

Lianna couldn’t do much to help or to stop her. She was just too slow.

Enverna used her Instinct, producing a water trail that followed her spear as she went to slash at the enemy.

Before it even happened, Lianna could see what was going to come next. The boy responded by producing a blade and moving to slash at Enverna, aiming the blade at her wrists.

A hand went flying, soaring up into the air and falling back, just a step in front of Lianna. It did not belong to Enverna, though. It was Vara’s, as she’d pushed Enverna out of the way at the last second, but did not have the time to pull her own arm back.

Enverna stumbled back, nearly tripping on the falling extremity, staring down at Vara’s stump.

"I-I..."

At that moment, Vara unleashed a spell of her own.

Five spheres appeared over her, like miniature celestial objects, before quickly flying forward, rushing toward the nearby target.

A shield of some sort protected the boy, however, without him having to move a muscle. It must have been a powerful attack, though, as he hesitated to step forward again.

Suddenly, Lianna could feel Vara’s gaze on her as the woman half-turned.

"Lianna," she said, speaking to her specifically. "Take Enverna out of here. You’re seeing this, right? I don’t know why, but... My magic just can’t get through his defenses."

To reiterate that point, she cast another spell. This time, one massive sphere, almost like a miniature planet, appeared above her. She launched it at the opponent and, like all her other attacks, the spell failed to even crack the boy’s barrier.

At that moment, the quest from before appeared in front of Lianna’s eyes.

{Protect Enverna during the Birth of Darkness}

[Protect Enverna...] Lianna thought, inhaling sharply. [Instructor... I’m sorry.]

This time, Lianna stood between the enemy and Enverna.

"Lianna? W-What...?"

"We have to go."

She pulled on her harshly, dragging her back. Enverna was certainly strong enough to stop her, but right now, she felt weightless.

"We can’t!" Enverna protested. "We... We have to help!"

Although she said that, she didn’t pull away from Lianna at all. No, it wasn’t something she said with conviction but, rather, there was a request in her eyes.

A request for Lianna to tell her that they didn’t have to leave. That they could stay and fight and help.

But, Lianna couldn’t tell her that. She wasn’t fond of lying, after all.

So, she kept pulling her, running away from the fight.

Until, behind her, magical explosions rang out, one after another. Lianna didn’t see them, as she kept her eyes on the path leading out of there. Enverna, however, did, as she kept her head turned back the whole time.

They both caught sight of the awful fate their instructor met in that forest.

The boy used some strange spell that began to siphon each of the human bodies around him. Both living and dead. Vara tried to fight back, casting all manner of incredible, powerful-looking magic, but none of it left so much as a scratch on her opponent.

[... Is his trait stopping her magic from hurting him, maybe?] Lianna wondered.

In that moment, Vara finally stopped trying to attack and simply turned around in hopes of running away. The pull from the spell the boy cast was too strong, though.

He held out his hand and each of the bodies, Vara’s included, began to shrink, all being sucked into his palm.

Both Lianna and Enverna watched their instructor disappear that way. Enverna did not stop Lianna from carrying her as far away as she could and the boy did not give chase.

Before long, the sounds died out and there was a deep silence in the air. All Lianna cared about, though, was the fact that she could see the truck that had taken them there in the distance.

... And yet, that image, the image of Vara turning around and trying to run away before being absorbed, had already been burned into Lianna’s memory.

Almost like the System itself was taunting her for being powerless, or perhaps congratulating her for following her orders, words appeared over her head.

{Quest Complete!}

Once they were sufficiently far away, Lianna let Enverna touch the ground again.

The girl fell to her knees.

Lianna breathed heavily, looking back to make sure they hadn’t been followed. Adrenaline was still flowing through her body in abundance.

"Lianna..." Enverna muttered quietly. Her silver eyes looked up at Lianna, begging for some form of clarification. To be granted any understanding at all as to what they’d just witnessed. "Wh- Why...?"

Unfortunately, even with her quest, Lianna did not have much to offer.

[... What the fuck just happened?]