Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 160: Should I Know About This?

Akali's expression soured even more.

She felt like Logan was getting more ridiculous with every sentence.

But Logan simply reached a hand to the side. A faint glow curled around his palm as he used Elemental Mastery, calling to the wind element flowing through the air.

Softly, he said, "Janna… are you there?"

Akali watched him with narrowed eyes, not sure what he was doing.

Logan called again, "Janna?"

Three seconds later—just as Akali was about to ask what the hell he was playing at—a tangible breeze appeared.

A teal wind gathered in Logan's palm, shaping itself into a lovely little teal bird.

The bird continued to condense until it looked almost real. Its pretty blue-green eyes held clear intelligence… and a trace of stern, divine authority.

Akali froze. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Because the bird spoke.

"I'm here, Logan. What is it—are we sending Singed out now?" Janna lifted her head, looking at Logan as she spoke.

Then she curiously scanned the room, releasing a thin wash of power—just a faint shimmer—to sense the local aura of Ionia.

And in the next instant, she tucked her head down and shrank into Logan's palm like she wanted to disappear.

Because in that brief moment, Janna had sensed far too many powerful existences.

To the far north, she felt three overwhelming presences—and one of them had even noticed the sensing power she'd just released, turning its attention on her in a single cold, instant appraisal.

For a heartbeat, Janna felt as if a pair of emerald-green eyes had appeared behind her, staring straight at her.

And what it was staring at wasn't the little fragment of her that had manifested in Ionia.

It was Janna's true self—back in Zaun.

But the presence only looked once. Then it withdrew its power and vanished as if it had never been there.

To the west, Janna sensed something evil and obscure—something she couldn't see through, only recognize as a mighty existence lurking behind a curtain.

And to the east, she sensed an unreal, drifting pressure—like a blade's presence so sharp it felt almost intangible.

In short, with her strength not yet fully restored, Janna realized she couldn't beat a single one of these beings.

Which made her wonder…

If Ionia had so many terrifying existences—so many beings that might as well be called gods—how had Noxus ever managed to push Ionia back in the first place?

If even one of these beings stepped out, Noxus shouldn't have been able to set foot on Ionian soil.

Meanwhile, Akali had no idea what Janna was thinking. She just pointed at the bird, staring at Logan in shock.

"Th-That bird… it talked?!"

"Her name is Janna," Logan said to Akali. "She's a deity of Zaun."

Then Logan looked at Janna and shook his head. "It's not time yet. I didn't call you because of Singed and Orianna."

"I need you to help me prove something."

"…"

Janna's wise eyes shifted as she stared at Logan, stunned.

Prove something… wow. That was a word she hadn't heard in a while.

While Logan was away from Zaun, she'd almost forgotten what it felt like.

And the moment he said it, Janna immediately pictured a giant mess flying straight toward her face.

Sure enough, Logan's next sentence wasn't aimed at her at all—it was aimed at the Ionian girl in front of him.

"Akali," Logan said calmly, "everything I told you came from her."

He didn't really have a choice. If he could contact Ahri and have Ahri appear, that would obviously be better—Akali had no reason not to recognize the great Spirit Blossom savior.

Ahri was basically a household deity in Ionia.

A god people worshiped during the Spirit Blossom Festival.

But… he didn't have enough energy points. Ever since leaving Zaun, the only way Logan could refill his energy was through Jinx. To "go in" even once, he'd need to build up at least three points first.

So Janna it was.

No matter what—Janna was still a deity.

Akali eyed Janna suspiciously. "A deity? Seriously?"

Janna paused, then let out a small sigh and introduced herself anyway.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, child of Ionia. I am Janna—Zaun's deity."

As she spoke, a faint but undeniable authority seeped from her.

Faith across the Twin Cities had been recovering, and as belief accumulated, Janna's strength had grown steadily. She still wasn't back at her peak—at her peak, she'd been worshiped across entire coastal regions.

But even now, with only the Twin Cities sustaining her, she'd recovered about forty to fifty percent of her power.

And that was more than enough.

Because that was forty to fifty percent of a demigod.

Feeling that pressure, Akali swallowed and accepted it. After all, she'd never felt anything like this from Shen.

"So… all those things were told to you by this deity?" Akali asked, still watching Janna carefully.

"Yes," Logan said without blinking. "All of it."

Janna: "…"

"You're a deity of Zaun, but you can know things about Ionia?" Akali asked curiously.

The little teal bird sighed. She had absolutely no idea what she was supposedly "knowing," but she still forced herself to nod.

"I… know a little," Janna said.

Akali immediately leaned forward, urgent. "Then do you know how to repair the gap between the Spirit Realm and the material realm? The war damaged Ionia's balance—forest spirits in many places have gone feral. If you have a way, please tell me!"

The little bird turned her head and stared silently at Logan.

…Is that something I'm supposed to know?

Before Janna could die on the spot, Logan cut in smoothly.

"Janna told me before that Shen's method is outdated—and honestly, it makes no sense," Logan said quickly. "The way he maintains balance is basically just killing. If there are too many living beings in the material realm compared to the Spirit Realm, he kills people in the material realm. If it swings the other way, he kills spirits."

"That's not balance," Logan continued. "That's domination."

The goddess lowered her head in silence.

When had she ever said that?

Also… who was Shen?

"I also think it's stupid," Akali sighed. "But it's the only way we've found to deal with a Spirit Realm outbreak."

"He always says that what one realm does is constantly destroying the other," Logan said, following her lead. "But what are you supposed to do about it? Kill everything? Sure, then the world would be quiet—but what would be the point?"

With Janna "involved," Logan had basically described Shen's approach so accurately that Akali's guard dropped another notch.

Because Logan was right.

Shen carried two blades.

A steel blade for the material realm, and a spirit blade for the Spirit Realm.

A crude, violent approach—like pruning a tree. The moment a branch grew the "wrong" way, Shen would cut it off without hesitation, all to protect the trunk.

To Akali, it was senseless.

Compared to lofty talk about realms, Akali cared more about the people around her. She cared about the material world—because that was where she lived.

And that was exactly why, even after inheriting the title of Fist of Shadow, she still chose to leave the Order.

"Then what's the real solution?" Akali pressed.

"Janna is still thinking," Logan said without shame.

Akali looked to Janna.

The victimized goddess nodded weakly and said, "Yes… I'm still thinking."

Akali's eyes lit up. "If there's anything you need me to do, just say the word!"

"…"

"Logan, I'm going back," Janna said, only looking at Logan now.

"Alright," Logan nodded.

Inside, Logan let out a quiet breath of relief.

Once again, Janna had saved him from a problem.

From the look of things, there was no chance of taking Akali straight back to Zaun—but keeping her near him for now should be doable.

After all, even the Kinkou Order probably didn't have much direct contact with actual deities… right?

Well—Shen might.

He really could walk between realms.

But he probably wouldn't tell Akali those things. It would only burden her for no reason.

"The deity already left?" Akali asked.

"Yeah. She went back to Zaun," Logan said. "What came just now was only a strand of her consciousness. She's the wind goddess. The Wind Technique I use was taught by her."

Without Janna's consent, Logan had just dumped another enormous mess on her head.

Akali stared at Logan and said seriously, "I believe you now. But you still need to be careful. Try not to use the Wind Technique—it'll cause trouble."

"I was already suppressing my power," Logan said. "I just didn't expect you to show up. And your eye for details is way too sharp."

Akali blinked—then laughed.

"So where are you planning to stay?" Logan asked, looking at her.

If he had the choice, he'd actually prefer Akali stay at the repair shop, but… Jinx would never agree.

Same age. Pretty. Stranger.

Any one of those was enough to make Jinx start a fight.

Living with a terrifying wife meant Logan had to stay humble.

Akali smiled. "I'll just pick a tree and sleep there. This place isn't like the Placidium area—the forest spirits here haven't been affected. They can still communicate, so finding shelter is easy."

"Alright," Logan nodded. "I teach two classes a day. If you feel like listening, you can come."

Then he stood, walked to the door of the treehouse classroom, pushed it open, and called out, "Come in."

Outside, Wen shot to his feet and climbed the steps in long strides, entering the classroom.

When he came in, he gave Akali a respectful nod first. Then he looked at Logan with unmistakable reverence.

"What did you want to talk about?" Logan asked.

Wen was direct. "I want the two of you to join the Navori resistance."

"Sorry," Logan shook his head. "I think you misunderstood something. I'm not Ionian."

Wen froze.

Black hair, dark eyes, and those features—Wen had considered plenty of reasons Logan might refuse, but he really hadn't expected that one.

He looked like this… and he wasn't Ionian?

Wen then glanced at Akali.

Akali—now with her mask back on—just shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm not interested in getting tangled up in a fight between the resistance and the Brotherhood. I just left one organization. I'm not in the mood to join another."

Wen took a deep breath.

He was a field commander. Social maneuvering wasn't his strength.

He spoke straight. He didn't know how to dress things up.

Since both had refused, Wen didn't waste words. He simply said in a low voice, "I'm not good with words. But my leader will come to Bondweave Village soon. When she arrives… could you give her a chance to speak with you?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Irelia is coming?"

"Yes," Wen nodded. After a few seconds of gathering his thoughts, he continued, "We're not like the Brotherhood. Our leader will prove that. Even if you're not Ionian… you can still join us."

"We'll talk when she gets here," Logan muttered.

What is going on?

This is getting crowded fast.

But… Irelia was coming?

If the Twin Cities wanted to establish ties with Ionia, then Irelia really was a strong potential partner.

In unity, personal strength, leadership—she was exceptional.

Once she truly made peace with everything, her personal prestige could even surpass Karma's and make her Ionia's beacon.

After all, Irelia's counterpart wasn't just anyone.

She was Ionia's answer to Swain.

Noxus followed Swain—then Ionia would follow Irelia.

If Logan could build a good relationship with Irelia, then the magical devices Jinx wanted to bring back to Ionia would become a lot easier to deal with.

Seeing that Logan hadn't shut the door completely, Wen finally relaxed a little.

As for Logan not being Ionian—Wen honestly didn't care that much.

Because the times had changed.

If an outsider was willing to help defend Ionia, then in Wen's eyes, that outsider could be Ionian too.

As for Akali…

Wen truly didn't know how to persuade her.

He could only hope that once Irelia arrived, her personal charisma would be enough to sway Akali.

On that point, Wen was confident.

Irelia had a particular kind of presence—something that made people trust her, follow her, believe in her.

So… once she came, unless something went wrong, these two might become allies of the resistance after all.

That was what Wen thought.

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