"Haaa... haaa... haaa..." Aerie was a crumpled heap on the floor, and her hands were clamped over her head. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and she could feel the cold sweat trickling down her back. Every inch of her body trembled with fear as she cowered, afraid that she would meet the same gruesome fate as the others.
Just as Aerie was huddled on the floor, her senses heightened, and she heard the door creak open behind her, causing her to jolt upright and spin around, her heart racing with fear.
"What are you doing on the floor?" Aerie heard footsteps approaching, but her mind was a jumbled mess of fear and confusion, unsure of who or what was behind her until she turned around and saw that it was Ellia.
As Aerie struggled to focus her blurry vision, she heard a voice that seemed vaguely familiar. Slowly, she raised her head and saw Ellia standing over her, tilting her head in confusion as she gazed down at Aerie.
"Second Lieutenant?" Aerie's voice was shaking as she spoke. "Was it you who shot them?"
"Yea." Ellia nodded. "I saved your ass."
"Ahhh... it was you..." Aerie breathed out a heavy sigh of relief as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, her body relaxing at the realization that there was no bullet about to pierce through her skull.
Aerie's mind was suddenly seized by excruciating pain as if a thousand lightning bolts had struck her all at once. The intensity of the agony was beyond measure, surpassing anything she had ever experienced.
"AHHHH!" Aerie's anguished cries pierced the air as she clutched her throbbing head in a vice-like grip, trying to quell the torment that ravaged her mind. Cold droplets of sweat trickled down her pain-stricken face, mingling with her tears and bearing witness to the intensity of her suffering. The world around her faded into a blur of agony, and all she could do was surrender to the overpowering pain.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Ellia hurried to Aerie's side and crouched beside Aerie, her eyes scanning Aerie's face with a look of deep concern.
"Make it stop! Please!" Aerie's voice was strained and raw. Her teeth clenched so tightly that it felt as if they might shatter. She pleaded with palpable intensity.
'She's showing signs of PTSD, but why the hell is she feeling pain?! Is it shock?'
"It seems that something is interfering with her mind," Ruth said.
"How do I help her then?"
"You cannot. Not without hurting her."
Ellia's breath escaped her in a tired sigh as she plopped down onto the ground, her bottom hitting the floor with a thud.
...
Back in the colosseum, at the V.I.P lounge. Exactly two minutes ago.
In the dimly lit corner of the bustling cafe, James and Layla lounged by the sleek bar counter. As James savored the rich, velvety aroma of his steaming cup of coffee adorned with creamy swirls and extra sugar, Layla delicately sipped on her pristine white tea, its fragrant steam wafting upwards like tendrils of mist.
"I didn't think you would come here," Linda spoke.
"That's because I found such an interesting student. I couldn't help but bet on her." James chuckled.
"Oh? Are you the one who bet on Ellia Arison?" Linda's eyes narrowed, casting a searing gaze toward James as her lips curled into a snarl of disapproval.
"The billion?" James smirked as if he found it funny. "You think I have money like that?"
"I thought you hacked the system."
"I'm not that good." With a heavyhearted sigh, James hung his head low and shook it in resignation, his breath escaping him. "I also don't want to get into further trouble."
"Then is it that someone actually bid a billion credits on this Ellia girl?" As Linda arched her eyebrow inquisitively, a hint of amusement flickered in her eyes. She raised the steaming cup of tea to her lips and took a sip.
"Maybe..." James muttered, "But just who..."
"Humph! Whoever did bid a billion on nobody is a fucking dumbass!" With a fierce scowl etched across her face, Linda spewed a stream of insults without realizing that her words were directed towards none other than the Empress herself. Little did she know that the Empress was sitting right behind her.
"A nobody?" James questioned. "Oh, I guess you still haven't looked into my student."
"Hmm?"
'Don't you remember the Arisons?" James flicked his wrist, summoning a luminescent holographic screen that hummed to life before him, displaying a glowing news article with the headline, 'Empress bestows nobility upon the Arisons!' With a quizzical tilt of his head, he turned to Linda and posed his question.
Linda scrunched up her features in concentration, her eyes narrowing as she delved deep into her mind in search of a forgotten memory. As she wracked her brain, furrowing her brow in frustration, a glimmer of recognition flickered in her eyes. Suddenly, the memory flooded back to her like a rushing river, washing away all traces of doubt and uncertainty. "I remember now! It was such a big deal, but almost everyone forgot about what happened. It's been decades."
"Yea, Ellia Arison is next in line to become the next duchess," A smug grin stretched across James's face, a mischievous twinkle dancing in his eyes as he reveled in the knowledge that he had a student of such remarkable caliber. "And you're stuck with babysitting a bunch of kids, not to mention there's only one boy in your squad. I wonder how bad everything is.
"Shut up! So what if this Ellia girl is the next Duchess? It doesn't matter! Let's see what she's doing right now!" With a ferocious snarl, Linda slammed her hand down upon the table, sending tremors coursing through the surface as she summoned a glowing holographic screen of her own. Fueled by anger and resentment, she fixed her gaze upon Ellia, her eyes narrowing her eyes as she began to spectate her.
"What? Where did she get such a good sniper from? Are energy rifles even allowed?" James furrowed his brow in confusion. His eyes trained on Ellia as she lay prone on the blanket of snow. Her fingers gripped her rifle as she leveled it toward the towering walls of the abandoned hospital.
"What is she even aiming at?" Linda let out a derisive snort as she cast a sidelong glance toward Ellia, who remained fixated on her target with a steely resolve. Even James himself seemed baffled by her actions, his furrowed brow a testament to his confusion. Linda shook her head in disbelief, her eyes narrowing as she pondered the reason behind Ellia's bizarre behavior. Just why was she taking aim at the hospital walls with such intensity?
With a deft flick of his wrist, James summoned a new holographic screen, the image of the abandoned hospital flickering to life before them. As they peered at the screen, their eyes widened in shock and surprise at the sight of Aerie standing alongside two young boys.
"Is she able to see them through the wall?" Linda questioned. "Did she have her eyes modified?"
"No... I don't think so." James answered as he didn't remember reading anything about vision modification in Ellia's papers.
In a sudden flurry of motion, Ellia fired her rifle twice in rapid succession. The two boys standing beside Aerie crumpled to the ground in an instant. Without missing a beat, Ellia pivoted on her heel, firing another two shots towards the upper floor stairwell as two more figures emerged from the shadows. Linda could only watch in stunned silence as the scene unfolded before her, her mind struggling to reconcile the image of the beautiful and innocent-looking Ellia with the deadly marksman who had just dispatched four individuals without batting an eye.
As the echoes of the gunshots faded into the frigid air, Linda's mind raced with a sudden realization. Her thoughts flickered back to the conversation she had between Jona and Kai. They had spoken of a person who matched Ellia's description in every way: someone their age yet capable of unspeakable violence.
"Well, I guess she is pretty skilled." Linda couldn't help but admit as she watched Ellia walk into the abandoned hospital through the screen.
"You guess?" James smirked.
But just as Linda was about to lash out at James, they began hearing desperate and painful cries from the screen.
It was Aerie, rolling on the ground as she clutched her head in pain.
"What's going on?" Linda asked as she felt that something was going wrong. "Why is she in pain?"
"I don't know..." James spoke as he stood up from his seat. "I have to get her out of there."