Ch 33: My memory is flawed? [pt2]

"Hmm, looks like that elf would not last long either. She was an interesting specimen who managed to last this long on her willpower and feelings of revenge. But if you take that away from her, there is not much left for her."

Lea stopped walking and looked behind her back. Sara stopped walking as well, but he looked annoyed rather than worried.

She understood the hidden meaning behind Lea's words, and her desire to smack Lea rose.

"Lea, was that elf infected with the rift energy? Was she rift-stricken, and you did not tell us until now? How far along is she? She's a danger, and…you realise you set a rookie to look after her. Emily had no idea how to deal with all this."

Sara felt sorry for Emily, but she had not expected herself to become this angry over what Lea did.

This was not the first time Lea had set someone up like this. She habitually took such risks, most of which did not pay off well.

"Sara, are you angry at me? Were you not the one who said that people needed to face tough situations to learn their lessons? You are contradicting your own words."

Lea reminded Sara, and she knew that Lea was right. She had said those words to Lea and a lot more bullshit. But she had spoken those words as a motivational speech when she had far less knowledge.

Back then, Sara had wanted to know everything and learn everything. She hoped it would make Lea turn toward her and respect her.

"I know that I said those words, Lea. But there is a time and place for a lesson. You left a rift-stricken human inside the base. Do you know what could happen to us if that elf explodes? It can cause a resonance and-"

An alarm blazed around the building, alerting everyone that something was wrong and they should be on standby.

These alarms were only blazed during times of emergency. So, this meant that something significant had ended up happening.

"This way. I can feel the presence of the rift getting stronger. Someone is about to enter the third stage of rift-struck and is about to convert. Let's go and check it out."

Sara was not even surprised when Lea spoke these words cheerfully. Her joyful face made it seem like she was talking about flowers, not human death.

But this was how Lea was, and Sara had come to terms with it. It was her carelessness for not checking things and letting Lea plan everything.

"Wait! This is the medical wing. Why would this energy signature be coming out of the medical wing of all places?"

Sara questioned, but it was too late for her to get an answer from Lea. Lea had already spread up and thrown the door of the medical room open. There, on the floor, were two bodies tangled up with each other.

The old doctor lady stood in the corner of the room with an unconcerned look. But she changed her expression and body language when she noticed she had company.

"Looks like my task is over now. You can take it from here. These old bones are not what they used to be. They cannot take so much excitement in my old days. I do not have the energy to deal with them."

The old doctor looked unconcerned that someone was being estranged before her. She only cared about her patients, and that was the elf.

It was twisted and downright cruel, but Sara had no time to think about these things. She quickly ran toward the pair before her and tried to knock the elf out. But her sedative did not work.

Instead of looking calm, the elf looked mad and decided to change her attack target. She let go of Sara's neck and swiftly headed toward Sara.

Sara was agile, so she managed to get out of the way. But the rift had given the elf unbelievable reflexes, and she matched Sara.

"Darn it! What the hell is happening here? Lea, help us out here. You need to detain the elf-"

The elf turned toward Lea and noticed the familiar face. The rage inside her busted open, and she changed targets once more.

But this time, she did not even get to close the distance between her and Lea. Emily had regained her breath, and she was annoyed. She jumped the elf and pinned her down using her superb strength.

Emily's breath was ragged, and she looked tired. But she managed to secure her position on top and stop the elf from doing anything serious.

"Nicely done, Emily. I knew that you could do it if you tried your best."

Lea praised as she kneeled before the pair. She placed her hand on Maria's head, and the elf tried to bite her.

The influence the rift had on her was massive. There was no way to drive the rift away from her. At this rate, the elf would need to be killed before she killed someone else.

"Emily, keep holding her down. I will make this quick for Maria."

Lea promised before she took out a pure black sword. It was beautiful, and it shined when the light hit it right. Emily had never seen anything this beautiful before. 

But she quickly understood what this sword was for when it reached Maria's neck. 

That sword never hit Maria's neck. Blood seeped out of the wound that the sword created, but Lea managed to hold her strength back and not cleave off Emily's hand.

"Emily, what are you doing? You could have lost the use of your hand forever if you were not careful. Why would you risk doing something this stupid?"

Sara asked as she quickly bandaged Emily's hand. Blood refused to stop sipping out of her wound, and Emily was losing a significant amount of it.

"I don't know why I did that either. I just wanted this elf to live and know that life is worth living. She was doing so well, and then she suddenly…I cannot help but feel that it was my fault. My words caused her to trip over."

Sara understood Emily's guilt, but Lea did not. She wanted to carry out her mission and eliminate the rift-stricken.

But Emily's presence in between them both made things awkward. There was no order for Lea to hard Emily as well.

And unnecessary bloodshed between humans was to be avoided at all costs. Lea did not want to betray one of the codes she had lived by.

"The second Maria decided to let the rift take over; she was no longer considered a human according to law. Do you still want to risk protecting such a monster? It will only end up hurting you in the end."

Lea asked as she looked toward Emily. She did not understand humans and their emotional attachment,

Emily was willing to fall into the dangers of rift disease if she was not careful. But it did not seem as if she cared about it.

Or rather, she seemed unaware of what the final consequences of her actions could be. She was an emotional fool who would have difficulty surviving in the wild.

"I will…take responsibility for Maria. I am the one who saved her life and drove her to this point. I want to help her out as well."

Emily looked determined. She was still waiting to learn about the tough road she was willing to take. But it was not Lea's job to ensure she knew what she was doing. Her job was to ensure human survival.

"Very well then. I will report this to the higher-ups by the end of the day. I am sure they will have much to say about your decision."

Emily stiffened as soon as she heard those words. She already knew what would happen once she reported this incident - the security would take Maria's way and kill her.

They would also inform her family, causing Emily to drop out and be dragged back home. These were all the endings she wanted to avoid.

Finally, Lea left, and Emily sighed in relief. Lea's presence had made her feel scared for the first time, and Emily had felt as if she could not breathe.

"You are not going to report Maria in, right? Don't look too surprised. I could tell from your face that you were going to defy Lea. Thankfully, it does not seem as if Lea noticed."

Emily did not even realise Sara had been in the room. The cat-girl was too quiet and sad.

She also sounded as if she understood what Emily was going through.

"Is this the part where you tell me I am stupid for having hope and wanting to help a rift-stricken person out?"

Emily asked whole, holding Maria down harder. The elf was starting to struggle, and Maria was losing her strength.

"No, I will not criticise you. I know another idiot who tried to do something similar when I was young. I guess I am making up for not helping back then. So here, this medicine should help you out. It's a temporary solution, so do not rely too much."

Sara tossed the small vial and walked out of the room. Her work here had been done.