'No wonder.'
'No wonder she has been acting weird ever since this morning. So she was suffering from a fever, huh, and a pretty high one at that.' Satoshi told himself, bashfully stealing glances from Emma, who had been leaning her whole body on him. She still clutched Satoshi's arms, hence the redness on Satoshi's face.
Once they reached the infirmary, Satoshi put Emma on the bed. There was no one by the nurse's office, and then he realized that the Nurse was probably in another infirmary in the building, tending to Kim Jin Seok, who was gravely injured during their match.
Emma started breathing heavily, and her breathing became ragged as well. Satoshi was surprised that she was able to last this long, enduring the pain while acting as if she was all right.
"What did you do," Satoshi mumbled, procuring a wet towel and putting it on Emma's forehead. It was good that she was already sweating profusely, but at this rate, Satoshi had to tend to her sweat; otherwise, she'd be drenched before she knew it.
Satoshi gulped. There was no way she'd wipe Emma's sweat off. 'Why are you thinking about that, Satoshi?! Just take care of her in the meantime. We'll deal with anything as we go along.' Satoshi berated himself, getting the urge to slap himself after thinking of something lascivious.
"Satoshi?" Emma weakly groaned.
"What is it?"
"Water."
"Water?" Satoshi confirmed before getting water from the nearby water dispenser. It was cold, but he knew Emma wouldn't mind drinking cold water.
Emma relaxedly eased herself onto the bed with a deep exhale, closing her eyes as she did so. She glanced at Satoshi, who was worriedly staring at her, and a smile appeared on her face.
For some reason, her mind drifted to when she first met Satoshi. Back then, she was desperate and asked for Satoshi's help to save her world. He managed to defeat one of the main threats that plagued their village. But that wasn't enough. One of these days, Emma had to return and rid her world of the beasts that were unleashed to destroy her world.
And in order to achieve that, she had to grow stronger. She couldn't just rely on Satoshi forever. If she kept on being dependent, then there was no way she'd save her world.
Nevertheless, she found herself dependent on Satoshi most of the time, making her feel a modicum of guilt. But one thing that crossed his mind was how kind Satoshi was. He never complained, even though she had been on the receiving end of Satoshi's generosity.
"Why are you smiling like an idiot? You know you have a fever, right?" Satoshi asked, dipping the towel in cold water once again before slapping it onto her forehead.
"Hehhe~ it's nothing." She responded. "Do you remember that time? When I appeared out of nowhere?"
"Oi, don't say that. You might trigger a death flag if you continue speaking about that." Satoshi warned her, gently covering her mouth before she spoke another word.
Emma nodded, grabbing Satoshi by the hand and putting it on her chest. She had no idea why she did that, but it made it easier for her to breathe after doing so. As for Satoshi, she averted her gaze from Emma, his face turning into a nice shade of bright red due to the suppleness he felt on the palm of her hand.
"Ah, right! From time to time, you visit your home planet, right? How was it? Have you gotten rid of most tamed beasts?" Satoshi asked. "You know, if you need any help in your subjugation, or taming, you can tell me. I'll find the time to go with you."
Emma felt the urge to decline Satoshi's offer since she had troubled him enough already. But after pondering about it a little deeper, she realized that the opportunity was too hard to pass up. After all, she'd be able to spend some alone time with Satoshi if she obliged.
"Sure, I'll tell you next time." She continued.
...
Meanwhile, in an unknown dimension,
After seeing a familiar face, Jana turned around, only for the young man to grab her by her hand before teleporting her into an unknown dimension. Everything around her went by in a flash, and it all happened so suddenly that it was already too late by the time she could react.
One moment, she was in the midst of a crowd by the halls of the American Dome. The next moment, she found herself in a dimension that resembled a desert. It was barren land as far as the eye could see, and she had no idea whether she was still on Earth.
"Jonathan?! What are you doing here?! I thought our master banished you?!" Jana gritted her teeth in frustration as she summoned her Scarlet Scythe.
"Oh, Jana? You're here; what a coincidence." Jonathan unwrapped the bandage on his wrists. His guard was totally down, implying he had no reason to be wary of Jana.
"What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?!" Jana called out, immediately integrating with her Representative. She was at the ready, watching every movement Jonathan made so she could brace herself.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to catch up. How are you doing? You're as beautiful as always, you know." Jonathan continued.
"If this is about your banishment, know that Yun Zhe and I had no say in it. Even if we wanted to let you stay, our Manager's decision was final." Jana reasoned out, almost choking on her breath since she could sense overwhelming power enveloping Jonathan. "And after what you did... after you killed them... there's no way we'll let you stay. Even if our Manager asked for it, we can't be with the likes of you. You murderer."
"Wow, you're hurting my feelings here. Couldn't you just say that you miss me? Then again, you and Yun Zhe had something going on, so... I guess you don't want me in between?" Jonathan said.
Swish.
Jana detected Jonathan's movement, but it was faster than anticipated. Before she could swing her Scarlet Scythe, Jonathan instantaneously appeared in front of her, blocking her Scarlet Scythe with his fingertip.
"You know, I've always wondered why no one could beat me. Even before I was told about my potential, even before I was told that I'm a Disciple, no one could defeat me." Jonathan heaved a sigh.
"You should've seen the surprised look on my face when I realized I'm not the only Disciple ever to exist. I thought I could finally fight to my heart's content at that moment. I thought the Disciples were special."
"I felt that they were the most powerful people on the planet. But no... the lot of you are weak. I barely touched the others during our fight, and they exploded like cluster bombs. How? How can all of you be so weak?"
While Jonathan was relaying his monologue, showing no shred of remorse, Jana decided to make a move. She swung with all her might, using her Scarlet Scythe's ability, knowing that the strike would hit Jonathan. He was standing too close to her, so there was no way he'd be able to dodge it.
Swish!
"I see. You're still as weak as ever. How can all of you be considered Disciples when you're this weak?" Jonathan asked, snapping his finger and deactivating the wind blade produced by the Scarlet Scythe.
"What do you want?" Jana repeated.
Up until now, Jonathan still didn't answer Jana. His expression darkened, and he snapped his finger a second time. "Now that I think about it... the First Selection is bound to happen soon. I guess I should take my rightful spot as a Disciple."
Fwoosh~!
Straining his ankle, Jonathan charged at Jana without reprieve, forming his hand into a blade and aiming it right at Jana's heart. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Somehow, a part of him still wanted to stop. He knew that it was never too late to look the other way and spare the girl in front of her.
'No... their spirits won't rest in peace if I'm weak. I can't be weak. I can't afford to be weak.' He repeated in his mind.
Taking a step back, Jana realized what Jonathan intended to do. It was quite faint, but she sensed a hint of killing intent from Jonathan. Once again, she swung her Scarlet Scythe, using everything she had to ensure that her attack would connect.
Clang!
Jonathan's hand hit the dull side of the Scarlet Scythe. He extended his hand and snapped his finger a second time.
In an instant, Jana was forced to deactivate her beast integration, and the Scarlet Scythe fell from her grip. Seizing his chance, Jonathan continued his attack.
Squelch!
The sound of squelching flesh and broken bones was heard. Mortified, Jana looked in horror as Jonathan pierced her chest and grabbed her heart, holding it out before squeezing it, blood dripping from his hand.
"For a moment back there, I thought your heart would be cold. What a surprise, it's warm." Jonathan still had that darkened expression as he watched Jana puke blood before she collapsed to the ground.
"I'll send Yun Zhe your regards, you murderer," Jonathan muttered before throwing her squeezed-out heart right on her face.
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