[An: Bonus chapter 2/3]
Kana smiled and gently tapped Aoi's back with her finger. She was also surprised by her sudden actions. "Aoi, the top level is very hot. Will you be okay, or should I send you back?"
Aoi's smile disappeared as she pouted her lip. "It would be better to be with Kana, but if it is too hot, I will not do well..."
"Then how about until it gets too unbearable, you can stay with me?" Kana asked. She did not want to make Aoi suffer, which was why she had decided it would be best to send her back, but seeing that little depressed face made Kana feel bad.
"Then let's do that..." Aoi flew over and sat on Kana's shoulder. She then scooted over and cuddled up to her neck, hugging it.
Kana decided to first check her surroundings more before heading back up. The room she was in was very large. But when she looked closer, she realized this was also the entrance to the building. She found it strange that Aoi was able to form down here, but the air itself was very cool, a large contrast to that of the top floor.
She walked over to the front doors and whipped the condensation off the windows. What she saw surprised her even more than meeting Aoi. Stretched out in front of the building was a street with many vehicles lining the roads. Kana went to reach for the handle to open the door when Aoi suddenly yelled out: "Don't! If you open it, you will die."
"Hmm? Why is that?" Kana asked. She didn't see anything out there that would harm her.
"There is a strange smell in the air outside. When I was first born, I was actually not born in this building. I was further away. After being born, I decided to explore the area, but as I did, I started feeling sick. All the other buildings I checked were open to the air outside. But this building seemed to be sealed off. I phased into the building, and only then did I start to feel better after spending time here. I had tried a few more times to go outside, but each time I began feeling sick again. I tried to go to the higher floors, but it became too hot. So I have been stuck down on this lower floor for who knows how long." Aoi explained.
"So there is something wrong with the air. I wonder if this is the reason why there are no skeletons lying around..." Kana muttered to herself out loud.
"There are a lot of dead people out there. I saw stacks of dead people in some of the buildings." Aoi replied.
Kana shivered just thinking about it. She was not scared of dead bodies or anything, but just the fact that there were piles of these dead bodies means that something very serious happened here, and she hoped she was not contaminated by it. With this thought in mind, she took out the device that Dean William gave her. She sent a bit of magic power into it, making the device light up.
"Hello? Miss Kana?" Dean William's voice could be heard coming from the device.
"I need to evacuate as soon as possible and then be put into quarantine. Anyone you send needs to have something to protect them from the surrounding air covering their entire bodies and something to breathe clean air from." Kana was not sure if this world had such things, but she knew it was going to be needed.
"..." Dean William was silent. On the other side of the device, his brows furrowed. It was not the first time something like this happened. But he was worried that something would happen to Kana. "I will send a team out within the next two hours."
"Mmm… I will be waiting patiently." Kana let out a sigh and found a chair in the lobby of the building to sit on.
"You are not going back topside?" Aoi asked.
"No. I will be waiting for the academy people to come and take me back. I can not risk staying here any longer. If there is something in the air that causes not only you an elemental to feel sick, then there might be something in the air even in here. I will need to get a full medical check-up to make sure I am fine." Kana explained.
"Kana will be okay?" Aoi suddenly became worried. She had finally met someone and melded with them, but now her new friend may end up sick.
Kana felt Aoi's mood drop and smiled as she said: "Even if there is something wrong with me, I should be fine. The academy has many smart people who can figure out how to cure me if something is wrong."
"If they can't… And you end up like the bodies out there, then I will flood the entire world..." Aoi's voice became low and turned ice cold. It was so chilling that even Kana felt a shiver run down her spine. Kana was not sure how strong elementals were, but if Aoi was saying she could, Kana did not doubt her.
"Aoi, even if something did happen to me, I would hope you will not do such a drastic thing. If anything, I would hope you could help out my sister Ceilie. Out of the people in my family, she would need you the most. Can you promise me this?" Kana asked. If something ever did happen to her, she knew out of everyone, Ceilie would be the one who would need someone by her side the most. Although she has Tilia as well, Tilia was still a princess and had the royal family who loves her, while Ceilie would most likely end up alone.
Aoi lowered her head as she thought for a moment before saying: "If that is what Kana wishes for, then I will follow this Ceilie if anything ever happens to you after I have destroyed those who have harmed you."
--An: So many votes already this week! Thank you all so much for your support!--