Elisa clicked her tongue as she took hold of her head.
[Something wrong?]
"Nothing. Just... Don't worry about it." She smiled weakly.
Mark stared at her for a bit.
"So anyways, this is nice and all but..."
Her shaking hands let go of her head.
Truthfully, the pain she felt was unbearable.
Many, many times had been spent screaming because of it.
The only reason she could somewhat handle it was that it'd been happening for a long time.
"Shouldn't we get going? I'd like to get to the outside as fast as possible."
[There are still some things I need to do.]
"No. If I join your side, we can make it outside. I can tell..." She pointed in a certain direction. "The exit is that way. We just need to defeat the Boss Monster."
Mark was surprised that she could tell, but he didn't let it show.
Having such a monstrous face made the task a bit easier.
"Why the hurry?" The Fire Spirit asked, his interest piqued.
"Nothing, just..." She tried hiding her shaking left arm. "I just want to be out. The fake light, the low level of Mana, I'm sick of these. So..."
[I'm not rushing in there unprepared.]
[We have time.]
"We don't have time." Her irritation gradually became harder to contain and hide.
[Why do you think that?]
"I don't think it. I know it."
'Huh.'
Mark pushed himself off the ground.
[I'll get to it then.]
"No. We need to go. Now."
He stared at her for a bit.
[You'll have to wait.]
"I CAN'T!" Elisa suddenly shouted.
Levi's eyebrow twitched. He stood up.
"My Lord said to wait..."
Levi walked up to her.
"So you will."
A smile Mark had seen before was drawn on Elisa's face.
A dangerous smile.
'Back off, Levi.' He ordered.
And the Guard immediately did so.
[It's not that we don't have the time.]
[It's you who's running out, right?]
Elisa clenched his teeth as she lowered her gaze.
"Yes." She admitted. "So let's get to it before I-" Elisa noticed the way Levi was staring. "Why are looking at me like that? We can go at it if you want. I'll carve you up a new one."
The Guard averted his eyes, ignoring her.
She was seething.
"A new what?" The Fire Spirit maliciously asked.
"A new face. Cause I do not like his expression. A bore. Empty, boring, and lifeless. That's what you are, right?" Elisa smiled again.
A smile Mark didn't like to see at all.
It reminded him of a certain Guardian.
A smiling Guardian.
Sigh-
[I'll allow it.]
Both Levi and Elisa turned towards Mark at once.
"WHAT?" She shouted.
[Not a fight to the death though.]
[Both of you stop immediately once we tell you to.]
"If that's my Lord's wish, I shall do my best."
"I'M SORRY, WHAT?"
Mark turned to face her.
And his gaze was cold.
[You're consciously fighting the Corruption, right?]
Elisa's hand twitched.
[You can't have a moment of rest, or the Corruption will spread.]
[It's something like that, right?]
She clenched her fists and her teeth.
[I partially know what that's like.]
"Haha! Good one. You've already used up that argument. And your repetitive use is making me question the previous one."
Mark scratched his head for a moment.
[I don't care whether you believe me or not.]
Elisa jumped back.
"So we're back to this, huh?"
[We're not.]
"Why should I fight then?"
Mark stayed silent for a bit.
[To prove that you can be useful.]
No matter how wide she smiled, her anger couldn't be hidden.
"The longer this takes, the less useful I'll be against the Boss Monster. And my ability to..." She didn't finish her sentence.
The Fire Spirit simply spectated the situation, waiting for an opportunity to add fuel to the fire.
[You previously talked about the fucker who used the Corruption Magic.]
[Who was it?]
Elisa stared with disbelief.
"What does that have to do with this? I can remember his face..."
And she did.
His face appeared inside her mind. The face that has haunted her for so long. And her body started trembling.
"That'll be enough for me to find him. And kill him."
It was unclear whether it was her wrath or fear that made her tremble.
Elisa had whispered the last part in a low voice.
Just not low enough for the words to escape Mark's hearing.
'Nia?'
[Your Title "Gaavah's Follower" is waking up from its slumber.]
[What is it?]
'You know who she's talking about?'
[I do.]
'Will you tell me?'
Draconia found no reason not to.
[Not many can freely use Corruption Magic.]
[Amongst those few, he is one of the best users of such Magic.]
'Mm. And he's-'
[On our side.]
'Our, huh?' Mark thought to himself.
[He's a General under Gaavah, just like I am.]
Sigh-
Mark had already grown tired of the situation.
[Are you feeling sorry for her?]
Mark was surprised by the question.
More than that, he was surprised by the wording.
In a way, Draconia was too.
[Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for her?]
That's what she initially wanted to ask, but decided otherwise for some reason.
Mark didn't answer, and turned towards the seething Elisa instead.
'Corruption Magic can make others go mad. I've seen its effects plenty of times. She said the others went mad because of it. Which means that she very well could too. She's already mentally unstable. Clearly unstable. I can't risk it. I can't risk having a ticking bomb on my side. But if she can keep it together against Levi then... No. That's not good enough. But if they fight first and she loses control then...'
I won't feel as bad devouring her.
Mark shook his head before he could arrive at the conclusion he was heading towards.
Elisa sat on the green grass once more.
She brought her knees closer and enveloped them with her arms.
'No.'
The intensity of her trembling had decreased.
'That's not me. It's not coming from me. It's...' Mark thought to himself
Elisa stared dead ahead, with her chin resting on her knees.
'Tsk.'
A nervous chuckle escaped her mouth.
"To be honest, I'm scared. I've been scared for a while now, constantly scared."
Uneasiness, uneasiness.
"Scared of those I once knew changing. Scared of those I once knew dying. Scared... Of those... I once knew. They saw me through that window. Multiple times. Want to know what they did?"
None uttered a word.
"Every single time. No matter how loud I called out to them. No matter how many times I shouted their names. Their first action after noticing me was always..."
She took a short pause, as memories raced inside her mind.
"To grab their bows and arrows. I'm scared. I'm scared damn it. I'm scared of..."
She didn't want to utter those words.
As if uttering them would make them true.
As if uttering them would make them real.
And Mark didn't want to hear them.
"I'm scared of losing myself damn it."
A tear went down her face.
"And I just... I... I have no idea what to do. Focusing on getting out of here. Focusing on running away. Focusing on that guy... I mean who knows how I would even find him? It would be impossible. The world is large and... I just have to focus on something, otherwise..."
Elisa fell silent.
'Tsk.'
Despite resisting, despite telling himself that those weren't his real feelings, despite telling himself that those feelings were nothing more than the remnants of a meaningless ancient past, despite all of that, Mark felt sorry for her.
He felt sorry. And he hated that.
A cool breeze passed over the peaceful plain.
And a purple Aura started oozing out of Mark's body.
