'Is Karlia going to be okay?' I asked myself as I looked above me.
It had been a few seconds since she shot up into space to confront a Constellation, and I couldn't help but worry.
'I should probably go too. At the very least, if I strike when the Constellation is fixed on Karlia, I might be able to secure our escape.'
No. Who was I kidding? Like a Constellation wouldn't be able to see me coming a mile away.
'Hold on… I can't allow myself to think that way!'
Constellations weren't omnipotent. They governed certain aspects of existence.
If I played my cards right, then maybe—
"I'm back, Lewis." I heard Karlia
My entire thoughts froze in place the moment I heard Karlia's voice.
"H-huh?" I mechanically shifted my head and turned in the direction of the voice that called my name.
Surely enough, it was Karlia. She looked the same. Her lustrous crimson skin and pretty face, accentuated with a charming smile that made my heart skip a beat.
A wave of relief washed over me as I found myself jumping in her direction.
"Karlia! I was so worried!" I cried out, sinking into her embrace.
My head landed on her soft, cushion-like chest, and I buried my face inside, while hugging her tight.
"Haha! Did you miss me that much?" Karlia chuckled as she rubbed my dark hair.
It honestly felt like she was treating me like a kid, which was kind of embarassing… because we were surrounded by everyone.
But I didn't mind at this point.
'They're not even conscious, so I guess that's fine.'
"Of course, I missed you." For a moment there, I had gotten this creeping fear that somehow I would lose Karlia.
The last time she went against a poweful foe—The Nether—he trapped her in an eternity of suffering.
Why wouldn't I be worried that something like that could happen again?
"T-that stupid Constellation. I hope you taught her not to mess with us again." I sniffed, digging deeper into her plump chest.
I half meant that as a joke. I didn't know what Karlia did, but I couldn't detect Libra any longer.
Perhaps Karlia managd to reason with them.
"Of course. I made sure to teach her not to mess with us again. You don't need to worry about her any longer."
I raised my head from her chest, staring at Karlia with disbelief.
My jaws literally loosened and fell as soon as I saw her face and noticed she was telling the truth.
"Ah… is that so?" I murmured.
Karlia wasn't lying, but it still took me some time to fully comprehend her words.
Perhaps because it seemed too implausible.
"Yep. So don't worry." She brought my face back to her chest, and I gladly followed her lead.
It was our moment.
So, even if what I just heard didn't make any sense, I decided to just take it in stride and focus on what was more important.
"Ah, I was also thinking… we could invite her to our wedding."
WAIT… WHAT?!
********
[Moments Later]
After calming down to listen to the total account of what happened straight from Karlia's mouth, I realized two things right off the bat.
One was that Karlia had become freakishly strong.
Heck, she was stronger than anyone I had ever seen or heard of—I think.
Even Neron wouldn't be able to fight with a Constellation and beat one so easily. Maybe he could win against one, but I didn't think it would be an easy fight.
I came to the Nether Realm to save this woman, but not only had she just saved me, but she was capable of more than anything I could even think of doing.
Karlia had become a god.
As for the second thing I realized… it was jealousy.
I wanted to reach such heights too!
If a creation like Karlia could do it, then maybe… maybe I could too.
However…
"Are you ready to be tortured indefinitely for eternity?"
… Once the conditions for that came up, I knew my answer already.
"No thanks."
I decided to simply live vicariously through Karlia.
"Marriage is all about making two into one, right? That means your power is technically our power…"
Once I decided to rationalize things that way, I realized my jealousy was quelled a little.
It wasn't what I initially wanted, but compared to the odds stacked against me, this was the closest I was going to get.
And, to be honest, having an overpowered woman as a devoted wife… that didn't seem too bad.
Who would be able to mess with us now?
Plus, while I would never tell her this, having her possess so much power… made her more attractive as well.
I didn't know how to explain it.
It was like falling in love with both Karlia and Magic all at once.
And in the end, wasn't that what all of this was about? Finding a balance between Magic and Love?
Well, I found my balance alright.
Karlia was simply HER.
'She has so much to teach me!'
*********
[MEANWHILE…]
Libra shamefully appeared before her brethren.
It was in a blank space, a space that was very similar to the Rot, but reseerved exclusively for the Constellations.
A place beyond the reach of the other universes, where laws like space and time were nonexistent.
In this realm, Libra foound hersle face to face with her brethren.
All eleven of them.
"G-guys… I-I have a messa—"
"We saw everything, Libra." Leo was the first to speak as he watched his sister approach the bunch.
The rest remained silent as they kept their gazes fixed on her. However, it seemed Leo was the most impatient of the bunch.
The next action he took was instant.
~WHOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!~
In a flash, he closed the distance between Libra and the rest of the Constellations.
Fumes appeared from his nonexistent lips, and his flaming body contained so much energy that Libra could feel a stifling presence just with him being in front of her.
Constellations had equal ranks, but when it came to power, they had different specialties. As a result, even a Constellation like Libra could feel Leo's overwhelming presence.
"You…" He growled in a low tone.
Libra closed her eyes and kept her head hung low.
She knew how badly she had sullied the name of the Constellations. Not only had she lost to a creation, but she had the gall to return here.
To make matters worse, they had been watching the whole thing.
How could she ever live down the shame?
"You…" Leo raised both hands, his tone growing louder.
Libra kept her eyes closed, though she could still sense everything happening around her.
She already knew she was in for an eternity of chastizement.
"You… you really suffered a lot, didn't you, Libra."
'E-eh?' Libra thought in confusion.
The hands Leo raised wrapped themselves around Libra as she was pulled to him in a warm embrace.
"We saw it all, Libra. You suffered so much. We could hardly bear to watch." Leo was sniffing at this point.
She couldn't belive it.
Leo wasn't chastizing her? No… he felt sorry. He felt bad for her!
What of the others? What sort of expressions would they be making? Would they shower her with condescending looks, even if Leo let her off easy?
"Libra, uwaaaaahhhhh!"
"You really did your best!"
"We were rooting for you all along, but we understand."
"We're so sorry, Libraaaaa!"
Libra was shocked by what she saw.
Not just one or two. No… all the Constellations were sympathizing with her.
They had teary eyes, and their faces were all scrunched up in sadness and empathy.
Usually, a strong person hated it when people showed them pity. Especially if the person had pride to match their strength.
However…
"Y-you guuuyyyyyssss!!!"
… Libra found the pity of her brethren to be comforting.
Before she realized it, she was bawling her eyes out, hugging her big bro Leo as she cried.
The other Constellations closed in on her and patted her back while some offered words of encouragement.
"I-I thought I was going to die. I was so scared… uwaahhh… s-sh-she was too strong."
They petted Libra and offered her more words of encouragement.
In her entire existence, Libra had never felt so much warmth.
It made her feel so happy to have her family by her side when she needed them most.
There was just one question on her mind.
"Y-you guys watched the whole thing, right."
"THAT'S RIGHT." They all responded.
In that case…
"Why didn't any of you come to help me out?"
The bombshell landed, and for a moment, there was silence. No Constellation spoke, and Libra awaited the response of her brethren.
Even Leo, who had been hugging her, finally let go and shrunk back… as did everyone else.
Their faces paled, and they had distracted gazes.
"We… we were scared…" One Constellation finally croaked out.
"I-If we had gone… we could have died too…" Another blurted out.
"I… I don't want to die too." Leo finally cried out.
At this point, it was Libra who was speechless.
Her own siblings… she couldn't believe her eyes when she watched them display such pathetic sides of themselves.
"Ah…" Libra's hollow voice rang out.
She now understood why they didn't overwhelm her with condescending words when she arrived here.
Just like her, they too were disappointed in themselves.
They had seen their sister being beat up by a random stranger, yet none of them had the will to rescue her.
They were all too scared stiff to do anything.
"Y-you guys… you must have suffered a lot!"
They were just like her.
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
They were all like one another—the Constellations.
They cried together, shared their eperiences together, and together they all made a pact.
Never to cross the one named Karlia, and her man Lewis.
*
*
*
[A/N]
This chapter was very fun to write for me. One of my favorites in a while.
I don't even know why. Lol.
Thanks for reading!
