Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 39: The Highest Bidder, Part Fourteen

{Mel}

The late hour typically found Mel lounging in front of the television. That was pretty much all she did these days.

Well, that and debate whether to accept the ominous offer she’d been given a while back that lingered on her Status screen. The history behind the message advised caution, so she hesitated.

Yet, amid her usual pondering, thoughts of Lianna persistently infiltrated her mind. The recollection of their recent encounter left an indelible mark, setting her lips abuzz with an inexplicable warmth.

Indeed, Lianna truly was most of what Mel could think about. Her lips almost felt like they’d been set on fire.

However, in just a moment, she would find that her nightly routine was about to change greatly.

An explosion shattered the tranquility, jolting Mel from her contemplations. Muffled sounds outside morphed into unmistakable signs of chaos, punctuated by distant screams.

[... Huh?]

Cautiously, Mel stood up from her couch. She heard another explosion in the distance. Turning her TV off, Mel opened the door leading out of her dorm and peaked a the halls outside.

Now that she was outside, those sounds that had been muffled and quiet before were now loud and clear. She could hear a few people screaming.

Mel was staying in room 3F-110, far from the first floor where everyone would most likely be if something happened. She leaned over the hall’s railing and snuck a peek at that area.

[What!?]

Various other recruits were sprinting away from something. Running through the halls on the first floor, as more of those ominous sounds blasted in the distance, it became abundantly clear that something was attacking the Watchful’s headquarters.

Mel’s first instinct was to crouch and hide. No one was coming up to her floor, so she hoped whatever was coming wouldn’t see her just yet.

[Where are the teachers? The administrator?] Mel wondered. Surely, one singular force couldn’t just burst into the guild hall and wreak havoc like this without being taken down.

However, she soon remembered something. The reason the guild hall had felt quieter than normal tonight. The reason why Lianna had declined her invitation.

[The gala...] Mel realized. [Is... Is everyone there?]

By "everyone" she meant the strongest members of the watchful. And, if she was right, then two things were now plain and clear.

One, why no one was here to stop the attacker(s), and two, why the attacker(s) had come in the first place.

Mel thought about standing up and running. She considered it, her body pleaded for her to do something. To run in some direction like everyone else was doing. To try to save herself.

But, as she was about to stand up and do that, she heard a commotion coming from the opposite side of the building, where the others who hadn’t left the guild hall had now tried to flee.

Mel looked over the railing again, finding that many of the other recruits were standing out in the open, unable to keep moving forward.

[Is something blocking their path?]

Again, Mel fell to the ground, curling up into a ball with her knees against her chest.

A message appeared over her head. The same one that had been there for the last two years.

{The Tyrant wishes to make you an offer}

{Would you like to hear it?}

{Yes} {No}

Mel closed her eyes, trying to ignore it, knowing what that offer would likely entail from the little research she’d done about The Tyrant.

She didn’t want to cross that line, but it seemed like she didn’t have a choice.

[Please,] she thought, feeling tears pop up at the corners of her eyes. [Someone... Help.]

---

{Lianna}

Having managed to exit her situation with Athene, Lianna was now pacing back to the main hall, where all the other guests were.

She found Enverna chatting with a few strong-looking players. Although she clearly looked cautious, she didn’t seem too uncomfortable, so Lianna did not go and approach her. She didn’t want to inadvertently stop her fiance from building connections.

That said, she had no real clue as to where she needed to go next.

[She let me go, but it’s clear Athene doesn’t want me anywhere near the auction before it actually happens. If Jack was going to make an attack, where would it be?]

Two quick answers popped up.

[It would be at the auction itself, or... Right here. Everyone’s pretty much already arrived, though, so what could he be waiting for?]

At that moment, a message popped up.

{Quest: Prevent the ascension of the Storm Fiend}

[Uh, yeah, I know,] Lianna thought. [I’m-]

The message disappeared. Then, again, it popped up.

{Quest: Prevent the ascension of the Storm Fiend}

Lianna tilted her head.

[Are you trying to-]

Once again, the message disappeared and then immediately popped back up again.

{Quest: Prevent the ascension of the Storm Fiend}

Lianna’s eyes widened.

[... Are you trying to tell me that it’s happening right now?]

As soon as that thought appeared in her mind, the pop-up notification faded away.

This time, it did not return.

Lianna inhaled slowly, closing her eyes.

All of the sounds around her, the various conversations taking place, all of them were pushed into the background as she tried to think about what could be happening, and why The Lover was so desperate.

Then, she realized something. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Immediately, she wanted to go and grab Enverna. There was one possibility that she had failed to take into account. However, at the same time, she wasn’t entirely confident in her assessment of the situation.

[... I need to check,] Lianna thought. [But, if I’m wrong, I will probably not have the time to come back here. Envy,] Lianna thought, [she’s going to have to handle any problems here herself.]

With that in mind, she walked over to where Enverna was chatting with her new friends.

"Greetings everyone," she said loudly and firmly, making sure the conversation paused long enough to give her the opportunity she needed. "Don’t mind me, I just wanted to tell my fiance something."

She didn’t want to put Enverna on the spot like that, but she knew that putting it that way would shock the others enough to give her more space.

And she then took advantage of that space by leaning in and whispering:

"I think I forgot something back at our dorm. I’m going to go have a look. Be careful, please."

"But..." Enverna began to argue but she was cut off.

Lianna placed her hands on the girl’s elegant cheeks and gave Enverna a gentle kiss that was just a little too close to her lips for both parties, but she mainly just wanted the interaction they just had to look less suspicious.

"Go ahead and keep my fiance entertained, guys," Lianna giggled, bowing. "Thank you for watching over her."

On that note, she marched away, with one place in mind.

[What’s happening at the guild hall?]