Alitia: Welcome to Millenia

XXXIV: Strategy Meeting

It wasn't until the next morning that the group had been given the chance to talk to Anneliese. She and Jesper had been sent home for the night, but they were now allowed to return and speak with the girls who they had attacked. Even Nebula was dragged over from Sacred Heart to talk about everything that had happened the day before.

The group of eight girls sat across from Nebula, Anneliese, and Jesper in a large meeting room at Alitia Zylphia had lent them for their important discussion into the matter of the Possession Master and his sudden yet brutal assault.

"The Possession Master followed you through the portal you left the café on Friday night with. He caught you and Jesper together and decided to possess you and send you towards us to fight us. He wanted you to take us down once and for all since he had faith in the power of Rune," Iris began.

"Rune had taken him out of fights multiple times and had generally been a thorn in his side. It was too much for him to deal with, so he took out two birds with one stone," Tanith murmured, one hand on her chin. "He sent Rune to attack us after possessing a hero who had previously been our saving grace. If Rune was out of the picture, it would be easier to fight us. All it took was one crucial moment of us being vulnerable for us to be taken out once and for all, and Rune was supposed to be the one."

"I still need to know why you decided to do something like this," Iris frowned, turning to face Anneliese. "I didn't get the chance to hear an answer last night, so I'm going to get it out of you now."

"I heard about the Possession Master causing issues, and I didn't want him to hurt any of you anymore. It was too much for me to just sit aside and watch, so I decided to do something about it. However, sneaking out of the palace was a bad idea. It would put the entire kingdom into a panic. If I was going to do it, I would have to do it in secret and make it look like somebody else was helping you. So, I disguised myself as Rune, the hero of legend and my ancestor, to come and save you from the Possession Master," Anneliese explained.

"Doing that... It's not good though. It goes against the beliefs of the Church of Loduke. Rune is a legendary hero, and dressing up as him and taking his name is not something to be taken lightly," Iris frowned, shaking her head. "I guess it's not quite as bad since you're still his descendant, but... The point is, this could get you in a lot of trouble if it gets out. Hell, if your parents hear, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. It's not something you should have been risking."

"I know it was a large risk, but I couldn't help it. If I had stayed back and acted like nothing was happening, you and your friends all would have died, whether it be at the Sacred Heart raid, the trap set by the Possession Master's minions, or if he had decided to launch a sneak attack on you while you were at the café that night. If I hadn't been around, at least one of you would be dead by now, so I don't regret my decision. I may have had to go against my home planet's religion, against the wishes of everyone I knew, but at least I was able to keep all of you safe," Anneliese declared, not an ounce of uncertainty to be found in her voice.

"Anneliese, I..." Iris let her voice trail off. She shook her head. "I understand why you did it, but I'm still worried about you. You can't keep doing this. You're an heir to an entire planet. You can't just throw yourself in danger to keep us safe. Besides, we've grown a lot since the beginning of the year. We can handle ourselves now."

"All of you having Isolis isn't enough to stand up to the Possession Master. He's so much more powerful than you realize. No matter how strong you all are, things aren't bound to go in your favor unless you can manage to gain a huge advantage, and that would be through luck. Even my Illunae isn't enough to fight back against him," Anneliese pushed with a frown.

"We're going to find a way to win this. He's not going to stop hounding us until we take him out or vice versa, and we don't have any choice on the matter. You can still get away. I suggest that you run while you still have the chance," Helena sighed, shaking her head.