Chapter 1439 Protector
Two souls were separated galaxies apart from each other. Each one was a fragment of the same origin, thus causing both to be in an incomplete state without the other's existence.
The river of time continued to flow forward, and the Earth acolytes could not just stay idle and wait for a miracle to happen to Emery.
—
79 BC, Earth time.
It had been six years since they were one-sidedly summoned to the Magus Academy, and about six months since their supposed graduation from said institution.
Just a few hours ago, despite her strong reluctance, Klea forced herself to let go and left Emery in the hands of Morgana and the Khaos dragon. Hence the reason she was currently seen flying high above the clouds on top of her thunderbird with a small black cat sitting on her shoulder.
After soaring through the blue expanse for almost half a day, she finally arrived at her destination. Her eyes glistened as she gazed upon one of the biggest and most crowded cities on Earth. The City of Rome.
Since she had absolutely no intention of drawing attention to herself, Klea ordered her thunderbird to land in a clearing hidden in the woods a few miles from the outskirts of the city before calling it back. From there, she casually hitched a ride to enter the city.
As she gazed at the bustling heart of the Roman Republic, Klea was talking to herself.
"Now where can I find you… hopefully, you didn't get sent off to another distant war." 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒏𝒆𝒕
When she thought it would take some time to find the one she was looking for, to her surprise, she found him immediately as soon as she arrived at the city gate. In the form of a statue that was three times the height of the city gate.
[Julius Kaesar, Consul and Protector of Rome]
Those were the words written on the pedestal of the statue.
Even though she was slightly startled, Klea was not surprised that Julian had risen as a powerful figure in Rome. In fact, it would be strange if he didn't do it with the strength he had. What surprised her more was when she felt something unusual about the statue.
Klea was immune due to her powers, but the statue seemed to give off some sort of aura that slightly pushed on her thoughts. It seemed capable of making all mortals worship at the sight of it.
Seeing what her dear friend has accomplished in such a short time while wanting to distract herself from thinking about the situation in Britain, Klea decided to play a trick and surprise her friend.
Before her ride entered the city, she quickly used her advanced Spirit Reading to conceal herself from detection. Then, she sneakily made her way towards where the particular famous Consul of Rome supposedly resided, one of the most luxurious buildings in the city.
It didn't take long for her to perceive his exact whereabouts. Excited that she finally found him, Klea quickly went and entered the room only to find him lying in bed, naked with a beautiful woman.
"!!!"
The surprise momentarily broke her concentration, which caused her position to be revealed to the similarly naked young man.
"Who is there!!? Show yourself!!"
The fierce shout, however, was quickly replaced by a joyful smile as he recognized the intruder.
"Klea!! You have returned?! I'm so glad that you're finally here!!"
With a smile on her face, Klea responded, "Yes, I'm glad too. But please, put something on first."
Julian stopped in his tracks hearing that. He looked down and sheepishly smiled, "Ahaha, where are my manners?" After he put his robe back on, he then took the time to introduce the woman he was sleeping with.
"Klea, let me introduce her to you… This is my wife, Kalpurnia."
Klea smiled in surprise when he told her that during the six months they were apart, the Roman didn't waste a single moment and even married a woman. And to her greater surprise, the woman before her was in fact Julian's second wife.
"Two wives in six months?… you are trying to compete with our dear Lord Izta?"
"Hahaha… No… no.. it's not like that"
Even though the woman named Kalpurnia was his wife, it seemed that their marriage was not what she expected. Klea saw how Julian easily disregarded her and told her to leave so as not to distract their conversation.
Just as their conversation was about to continue, Klea showed another surprised look when she sensed a group of figures approaching the room. They were all heavily armed and each and every one of them were extremely powerful individuals the likes of which Earth never had. Led by one strong warrior – of Rank 8 – a saint level, to be exact.
Those were Julian's Praetorian Guards, created by his clay artifacts. As for the high-rank warrior, the man was called Mark, a Nephilim-raised local who was now the Roman's most trusted general.
"Don't worry about them," said Roman when he noticed her observing the Praetorian Guards.
"They are here to protect me from a peeping tom like you." He chuckled. "That said, come, follow me, let's chat somewhere else."
Julian casually led Klea to the garden outside his residence to resume their talk. He looked at her with a smile and said, "Emery sure did it, didn't he? Tell me, where is he now? Where are the others?"
Silence fell before Klea started to explain what had happened. The joyful atmosphere around the Protector of Rome dissipated with every sentence Klea spoke. From the death of many acolytes, the condition of Chumo, up to Emery's predicament. The bad news piled on each other, eventually compelling Julian to crush the garden table in front of him.
He took a deep breath to calm himself before saying, "It's okay.. I'm sure he will be fine. Moreover, we still have twenty years…" Staring at her, he added, "He will be fine, Klea. Don't you worry."
They were simple words, but said by a friend like that gave off a very warm feeling to her.
Klea then elaborated on her reasons for coming. Apart from telling Julian the news, she planned to go see the Abbot and Fjolnir in hopes of improving herself by training with them. There was also the matter about the tomb of the First Man, which might have something that could help them.
"So, will you come and accompany me?" Klea asked.
Julian seemed to think about the offer for a while before surprisingly declining. "I actually have my own plan." Seeing the confused look on her face, the Roman smiled and beckoned with his hand. "Let me show you what I mean."