The Goddess' Champion

"Hahahahaha! that was so fun!" Zamira ran behind him and yelled in euphoria, they had just outrun a noble elf who's likely above the nascent magus rank!

A soft drizzle accompanied the moonshine with their silhouettes hastening across the corners towards Andre's house, they had already passed by the meeting spot and as expected the family wasn't there.

"Don't make too much noise, Zamira! We're in the middle of an empty street, she could be nearby." Constantine reprimanded and only then did Zamira come into realisation, but her smile didn't stop showing itself.

"I'm sorry! it is just, I hadn't had this much fun ever!" It was as if someone was tingling her, she just wouldn't stop laughing.

"Fool, what's so fun about risking your life?" He smirked as they ran across the empty streets, aside from some eavesdropping eyes in the windows, this late at night there was no one around.

Eventually, the drizzle turned into rain, scarce clouds covered the moon and except for the street lights, darkness covered the world.

So much so that the dark silhouettes around were completely concealed as they looked at the duo.

[Be careful, there are people around, on top of the buildings, but they're not attacking you...]

'...' Constantine's gaze roamed all over the buildings and yet he failed to see any of them.

*CHAA!!!*

A lightning strike fell suddenly, lighting up the city as he finally visualised some of them.

Dark cloaked individuals with white void masks.

"You don't think it is fun?" Zamira asked suddenly, it seemed like the girl was oblivious of the fact that they were being watched.

"Not at all."

"Then, why are you smiling?~" She asked with a giggle of her own, that previous confidence didn't vanish, but it had decreased to a degree.

"Of course, because my plan was a success. Make haste, we're not by ourselves." He pointed to the top of the buildings discretely and she nodded in acknowledgement, ready to take out her sword just in case.

The rain poured harder together with several thunder strikes across the skies, a small storm.

They weren't too far from Andre's house when it happened.

[+10.000 Karma Points]

[Careful!] Zebellia's frantic voice resonated and he realised that once again he was being messed over, but where would it come from!?

His gaze moved to the skies and then he saw it coming as if time had slowed down.

Zamira's eyes shone with a purple light for a moment.

"Constantine!"

*CHAAA!!!*

*BOOOMMM!!*

An explosion of white lightning blew them away and produced a lot of debris until the spectacle of lightning subsided.

A lightning strike had fallen exactly where he had been but while the rain fell on them, Zamira tackled him, taking him away from the strike and having both of them fall on the wet pavement.

"..." He panted from the running and his blue eyes locked on her purple ones, she was on top of his body.

"... a-are you okay?" She asked after some seconds of awkward silence.

Constantine was baffled, how did she see that lightning strike come?

"Are you okay?" She asked again, worried this time since he didn't answer.

"Are you insane, Zamira, you shouldn't have jumped into a lightning strike like that, how did you even evade it!?" He pushed her away and scolded her, she could have died!

[You could have died too, that was by no means a flash of common lightning, that was a bolt of tribulation lightning, but... how interesting... that sword] Zebellia's voice resonated, she sounded tired.

As a matter of fact, Zamira had not evaded the lightning strike.

If one looked closely, sparks of light could be seen coursing through the sword on her back.

"I... d-did it by instinct, you could have died too!" Zamira yelled back, not liking that he was scolding her instead of praising her. She then looked at her numb hands in bewilderment before Constantine pulled her away from this place, afraid that those eavesdropping silhouettes would turn wicked once given the chance.

What happened just now?

She saw the lightning come down and hit Constantine... she then instinctively jumped towards him, only to notice that no lightning had fallen at all.

'Was it some sort of illusion? Am I tired?'

The two ran in silence until reaching the building where Andre and his family lived.

"In any case, don't try to save me like that again." He said dismissively and started to try and see how to open this door.

What he didn't expect, however, was for his subordinate to not answer with a 'yes'.

"I will try to save you if I ever have the chance, regardless of what you say." Zamira answered resolutely with her eyes focusing on him,

however, when he turned back in surprise at her retort, it was as if half of her bravado vanished as she struggled to not shiver.

"So, you're going to disobey my orders?" He asked coldly.

"Only in this regard... In every other situation... I will do what you tell me to." She began but by half of it, became unable to meet his gaze head-on and turned away.

Constantine sighed and knocked on the door.

"Stubborn girl, I hope you know I can't do the same for you..." He spoke naturally, not a bit of melancholy in his voice.

He had been given a second chance to meet his wives, with Aurelianne... 'Sorry, I can't waste my life to save you, I can only hope you get strong enough and we never reach that junction.'

Zamira smiled in understanding, feeling a little bitter still, but that was her desire.

"Hmn, I wouldn't expect you to."

No words were exchanged between the two as he knocked on the door several times, each harder, but Zamira's eyes wouldn't drift away from his body.

'Should I blast the door open? or I could try to reproduce the key.' He thought inwardly, but that was merely a distraction from what his main thoughts were.

'She saved my life... I think...' He sighed, he could have evaded that lightning strike, but Zamira had been surprisingly faster.

[It has something to do with that sword, but I can't point out what it was, I only saw the sword consume the lightning strike]

'What happened exactly?'

[It was the trial, be careful since it could happen again.]

'I need you to explain to me, Zebellia, was that you? if you don't explain to me how it works, I can't trust you...'

[I don't need your trust, Constantine... how the trial works is not something for me to explain, it will seek the best moments to punish you according to your karma, that's all you need to know, sometimes I can stop it, sometimes I can't...]

'When can you, when can't you why are you stopping it?'

[If the trial is determined to punish you, I can't stop it... in all other circumstances, I can prevent it. As for why? Suffice to say that without my assistance, with such a great amount of bad karma, you'd be dead already, the first day you stepped in Sandoria.]

'...' Constantine clenched his hands, not liking that at all.

...

"You're back!" Andre opened the door for them shortly after, he hurriedly pulled the two of them in before looking outside to see if there was anyone close, when he saw nobody, he sighed in relief and closed the door.

His gaze hadn't moved up above where dozens of cloaked figures could be seen, when he closed the door, they all dispersed.

'Reporting, A Hybrid elf at least in the peak of the Nascent Magus Rank and... The Fallen Queen, Kurohana's Cursed Thunder in the hands of a human. Both in the Town of Loup.'

'Unscarred.'

**

**

"Are you two insane!? The scarred cult moves around at night, even if they won't normally attack in the city, it's dangerous, he doesn't know but you should, Zamira!" Andre was frantic, he kept looking towards the door and windows as if afraid someone would barge in any second.

"Sorry, we were forced to come out this late, it wasn't intentional."

"Don't worry too much, Andre, we are okay, in fact, I only came here because I imagined you'd be worried about us." Constantine reassured them but Sophia staggered to hold his hand as she looked at his body covered still in rain and dust.

"Dear Saviour we were so worried! Anya, go and prepare a bath for them, they're covered in dust!" She hurriedly said and the girl nodded but Constantine stopped them once again.

"No need, we won't be staying for long, we came just to reassure you and I don't want to impose." He took Sophia back to the bed, this woman didn't know how to properly rest.

"Are you planning to come out again!?" Andre couldn't believe it, it is as if his warning went through one ear and came out the other.

"We had some issues but managed to seal the thingy, I have something important to talk to you, Andre, if it's not inconvenient, I'll come tomorrow afternoon with Zamira." He ignored the man while Zamira started thinking about what hotel they could stay in, after what they had previously faced, the scarred cult didn't seem so scary.

"You can come whenever you want, in fact, you should stay here! we will sleep on the sofa! the house only has three bedrooms so..."

"Are you mad? If you sleep on the sofa how are you going to 'catch up'?~"

!!!

Andre and Sophia's faces turned into tomatoes.

"W-We can keep it quiet." Andre scratched his head and it was Anya and Malik's time to close their eyes in shame.

"D-Dear!?" Sophia held her palpitating chest amidst the laughter of both Constantine and Zamira.

"Hohoho~ I'd rather not, anyway, we will be back tomorrow, here, take this, it is your part of the spoils." Constantine extended Andre's hand and placed a Big pouch of coins in it.

Andre and Sophia were momentarily awed but they thought the coin was filled with copper coins and they were more than happy with that.

Zamira and Constantine left a part of ashamed Andre and Sophia before going in their way.

...

"Aren't you happy, dear?~ he was kind enough to give you a part of it, told you so." They had discussed this already and she had previously told Andre that their saviour would likely give him a chunk of the stalactite's price since he was so kind.

"Yes!" Andre was happy, even if he only got a small bit of what the blood of Sandork was worth, he'd still be content with that.

He still thought the bag was a little heavy, copper coins weren't this heavy, not paying any kid to that he opened the pouch and the two of them looked inside, ready to rejoice.

Malik and Anya too wanted to see how many copper coins there were inside.

When they saw what was inside, however, four bangs were heard of bodies hitting the floor, the four passed out and they wouldn't wake up until tomorrow morning.

**

**

"I know a hotel where we can stay, it opens twenty-four seven." The pair ran through the rain once again, even if the scarred cult wouldn't attack inside the city, many cases of disappearances were common.

"then let's run, the rain is getting heavier!" Constantine smiled and allowed himself to be led by her, they soon reached an empty district filled with lights, and when he saw what hotel Zamira was talking about, his eyebrows twitched.

...

"Could we have two rooms, boss..." Zamira said as if she was acquainted with this person already.

The old man instead looked at them as if they were monsters, coming this late at night, since it was Zamira he could only sigh.

"Okay, twenty copper coins the night~"

...

They entered the rooms and Constantine's previous eye twitch turned into full-blown ticks.

Broken bed, water coming through the gaps, the windows are broken and the cold wind is coming in!

"Here it is... do you like it?" Zamira smiled and rubbed her wet hair.

"I refuse to sleep in this shithole!" How could he, the emperor, sleep in this rundown place!?

"Ah!?"

"There must be something better than this, goddam!" Without thinking twice he pulled the dumbfounded lady away.

...

"Look, this one must be quite nice." Constantine smirked and entered the twelve-story hotel filled to the brim with shining lights while Zamira vehemently tried to run away but couldn't.

"And expensive too!" A woman who had spent her entire life saving and surviving indeed.

"Madame, my lord... are you sure you have enough money to pay for our premises?" The man looked at both of them with a gaze mixed between contempt and disgust.

"Shut your mouth and tell me how much it is..." Constantine said in a 'casual' manner, but his tonality and sentence were enough to irk the attendant.

"It's twenty silver coin for each room for a nigh." He spoke with further contempt.

Zamira was about to turn and around and pull him the hell out of there, but Constantine wasn't about to spend a night in a dripping hotel.

"Here, I want five nights." He presented two golden coins!

"F-Five! Dear customer, we!-" The attendant's behaviour changed as if he had seen the Emperor's face upfront!

"Go and bootlick somewhere else, I want my breakfast brought early in the morning."

"Yes!"

"Do you have 'cheesecakes' here?"

"C-Cheesecakes, sorry I don't think we have that on the menu."

"You don't, useless bunch, then just bring me whatever cake you have in the morning, got it? And it better be tasty!"

"Yes sir!"

...

While walking to their rooms, Zamira swallowed a mouthful at her master's discontent expression, everything because there was no cheesecake.

"H-How can you get so ominous over cake?"

"Got a problem with cake?"

"Not at all!"

No matter what, she wouldn't joke about his desserts.