'I need to escape. I need to escape. I need to escape. I need to escape.' Elysia's mind was filled with these thoughts.
People were looking at Elysia and they were judging her for her actions. Their gaze felt far too heavy on Elysia's back.
'It's just the residual trauma from the past. The people are not looking at me and they do not care what I do now. I am no longer that small kid and useless kid I was.'
But it was difficult to convince her mind of this fact. Even though Elysia knew that she was safe and with a trusted party, her brain could not understand that in her current state.
That was why she hated to be in the same place at the same time as Adam and Eve. she always became the object of criticism as soon as she stepped near them.
'I love them but this feeling makes me hate them as well. I just want my brain to shut down for a minute.'
"Are you alright? You looked pale before but your face looks white now. Do you want me to go and bring you something to eat?"
Sara's words were the knife that cuts through Elysia's mind. Sara's voice was familiar enough to reach Elysia but unfamiliar enough to not cause her distress.
The clearer Elysia's mind became, the more aware she became of her surroundings. (And also of the hand she was clutching tightly in her grasp.)
"Ah, sorry. Did my grip hurt?"
"Hurt? Elysia, I am bleeding because of your grip. I think it's a little past hurt at this point."
Sara's words were teasing but Elysia could feel the wetness under her hand. The red was standing out quite prominently over the light grey of Sara's clothes.
Seeing the red spread over Sara's arm caused Elysia to feel sick and she even swayed on her feet.
"Woohhhhh, sit down now. I don't think you are alright at all. Lord Sorias, please get us a bottle of water right now. Elysia looks to be sick."
Sara's concern shined visibly through her eyes. Her whole body was expressive and earnest.
'I can see why Sara became important for Adam and Eve in my visions. She expressed herself and is earnest. She's not like me.'
Elysia felt a surge of jealousy but even that was not enough to curb the nauseating feeling she was feeling.
"I am not a servant who will do your bidding. But I will follow along with you just once."
Lord Sorias seemed to be in a tense mood. He seemed agitated and Elysia had a feeling it was because of her.
A familiar was innately connected with their master. As such, Elysia's current situation would affect Lord Sorias as well.
"Yeah, I get it. Now hurry up and go fetch us some water."
Elysia heard a muffled 'Darn youngsters. They have no respect' but it faded as Lord Sorias walked further and further.
Once he was out of range, Sara turned toward her and finally helped Elysia sit in an upright position.
"I won't ask what happened to you all of a sudden since I have no right. But you should tell me if something is wrong with your health. I don't want my chances at freedom to be impacted because you were too sick to carry out our plan."
"How sharp. Aren't you worried about me?"
Elysia could tell that Sara was putting up a front to hide her worries. But Sara's words were also earnest in their desires.
The girl was worried about Elysia but it was not enough to out Elysia's well-being over her own life.
"Don't be foolish. I'm worried about you because you are my ticket to freedom. We don't know each other enough to develop personal feelings yet."
'How earnest of Sara to admit it. Most people would have tried to console me by telling me that they cared about me.'
False words were more often heard than not in these situations. A kind word said in one's time of need went a long way to establish a connection.
And Elysia was sure that Sara knew all that but the elder still chose to be honest.
'I like this honesty. I wish everyone was this honest with me and did not try to hide their feelings. False hope hurts much more than cold indifference.'
Elysia's mind was wandering all over the place. Being able to focus was a difficult task.
That was why Elysia was startled when Sara's body broke out into a growl. It was finally enough to kick start Elysia's instincts and her focus snapped into place.
Elysia was finally knocked out of her temporary state of uselessness.
"What's wrong?"
Elysia asked the question just as she felt the familiar sweet smell of the rot around her. It was not quite prominent but it was not easy to hide either.
Wild animals had started to break at the subtle change in smell around them but the humans were unaware of the danger they were in.
"That madman is making a move in the daylight. Everyone present in this plaza is in danger."
Sara's words were accompanied by a low growl in her voice. Her purple eyes were peaking from behind her dark-brown locks and looking at the side ally.
Elysia could barely feel the start of a magic spell forming inside that ally and it instantly piqued her interest as well.
The mastermind was taking a huge risk by attacking in the broad daylight like this. It made Elysia curious about his end intentions.
"Sara, I am going to check it out. You should follow me after a few seconds."
"No, I should be the one to go. You are still not feeling 100% and sending you in there would be akin to suicide."
Elysia could understand Sara's worry about sending her in there alone. Elysia was a ticking time-bomb most of the time but she was the better alternative out of the two present choices.
"Sara, I understand your worries but don't forget who the real target is here. We need to make sure that the mastermind doesn't get his hands on you."
Elysia could see Sara finally backing down. Elysia's words made too much sense for her not to back down.
But that did not mean Sara was totally on board with this idea. She still felt worried about sending Elysia in her stead.
"Worrying unnecessarily about me won't change a darn thing. We still need to be careful in how we handle this situation because there are too many people around. Don't worry, I will send a word to the Dirac guards to assist us."
Elysia seemed to have it all figured out already but Sara was still worried about the outcome.
Lord Sorias was still missing from their group and the guards seemed unaware of what was going to happen.
"Fine. I will give you five minutes before I come after you. Do not keep me waiting."
Sara finally agreed and gave in. She knew that once Elysia had made up her mind, there would be no going back for her.
That was the worrisome thing about stubborn teenagers - they never listened to reason and waited around. And no matter how much Elysia tried to pretend to be an adult, she was a teenager.
'I should try and find Lord Sorias in the meantime. I have a feeling I would need his help.'
Sara finally decided to leave her post and find the elder beast. She could pick up on his scent from even this far away.
But Sara did not make it very far before she felt her surroundings get hazy.
'No, not hazy. Someone is releasing some kind of fog. I better be careful.'
The fog almost smelled like the one Sara had developed for survival but it was not quite the same.
Various shadows had started to move around the plaza, but there was a considerable difference between these shadow Bauks and the one Sara had faced before.
"M-Monster. Hurry, run away."
These Bauks could be seen by humans as well which caused a mass panic. People were running around, uncaring who they were knocking over in their haste.
There was no longer any law or order in the area and the guards looked stunned at the rudeness of this action.
"Fuck this shit."
Sara could feel the shadows zoning in on her location and she quickly took off toward the direction where Lord Sorias was.
'The guards better take charge of this situation soon. I don't think I can run away from these Bauks anymore.'
Everything inside Sara was calling for her to retaliate. She knew she could take these monsters with ease and come out victorious but it would also cause a lot of property damage.
Even normal people might get caught up in any raged spell magic Sara would need to deploy.
"Lord Sorias, we need to do something."
Sara cried out as soon as she was in an audible range. Any normal person would not be able to pick up her voice but it was quite loud for a beast.
And as expected, Lord Sorias did hear her and his eyes sharpened with anger at seeing her.
"Where is Elysia? Did you leave her alone?"
Those were not the first words Sara expected to hear when she reached Lord Sorias. The forest lord didn't even seem concerned about anything other than Elysia.
'Wow. I knew that bonded familiars cared about no one else but their masters but isn't this too extreme? A lot of lives are at stake here and Lord Sorias can think of only Elysia?'
"Elysia went after the mastermind. She asked me to come after her soon but we need to take care of this situation before we go after her."
"Don't care. Lucas's stupid guards can get this situation handled without my help so I will follow after Elysia."
Lord Sorias's uninterested attitude rubbed Sara the wrong way. For some reason, she could not help but feel like she should resent him for putting Elysia first before the normal people.
But as soon as the thought passed through Sara's head, it also gave her a pause.
'That was not my thought. It felt like someone was trying to influence my thinking. I've never cared about the normal people before.'
This was true. Sara had even put normal people at risk with her actions in the past so she had no right to speak to Lord Sorias like that.
But there was a presence in the back of Sara's head that was still trying to argue against letting Lord Sorias follow after Elysia.
'Shut up. I will do what I want to do. And right now, I want to save Elysia.'
Sara knew very well that Elysia was the key to her freedom. Eve had only agreed to help her out because of Elysia. And the mastermind could also use Elysia against her by making everyone her enemy.
Besides, the Dirac guards and the royal guards have already started taking charge of the situation.
"Lord Sorias, let's go and find Elysia now. We cannot let her get hurt."
Sara's mind reminded her that she was being selfish but she did not care. It was her life and she did not owe these people anything. Sara was a victim as well in this scenario.
'Besides, the sooner we find this mastermind, the sooner these people can live in peace.'
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