[AN: Bonus Chapter 4/7]
A dark, dingy room with moss covered walls. The flashing lights from explosions off in the distance were the only things allowing light into the room through the small barred window. And within this dark, dingy room, Kana sat staring up at the ceiling, contemplating on what she should do next. "They took the cuffs off me as they pushed me into the room, but they have yet to come back since then. From the looks of it, this room is not guarded by any magic, so I can easily break out, but I have no idea what kind of weapons these people have. Aoi..."
Kana summoned Aoi, who stood in the air in front of her pouting. "You locked me up for so long.."
"Sorry, I had to make sure you would not get hurt during all of this. Aoi, I know you're mad at me, but can you take a look out that window and see if it is a solid wall or not and check if there is anything that looks like a weapon around here?" Kana asked. It was only then that Aoi realized that Kana was locked up.
"Mmm… I can!" Aoi flew up to the window, and just as she was about to pass between the bars, her little face slammed into an invisible wall. "Ow!?"
"Aoi! Are you okay?" Kana asked as Aoi floated backwards, rubbing her little nose.
"There is something there blocking me from passing through..." Aoi whined as she flew down to Kana's shoulder and sat down on it.
"I see… It is not made of magic, yet it still keeps even an elemental in. What kind of technology do these people have." Kana muttered. Kana leaned her head against the wall and sprawled her feet out across the floor as she continued to ponder what she should do next.
After about an hour of sitting there, the sounds of footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. The door to the room Kana was confined in opened, a young humanoid with antennas on her head and insect wings on her back walked into the room. She had a strange device in her hands that was blinking with red, red, green, and purple lights. "Can you understand me?"
Hearing the girl speak in a language she could understand caused Kana's eyes to widen in excitement. "Yes! Can you understand me?"
The insectoid girl smiled and nodded her head. "I apologize for making you stay in such a place. But we had to take precautions. My name is Mary. I would like to ask you to follow…."
Mary's eyes landed on Aoi, who was just lazily lying on Kana's shoulder, yawning. "This… This is…. Why do you have a monster on your shoulder!? What are you!?" Mary's smiling face quickly turned to one of fright.
"Hmmm?" Kana was confused until she looked down at the spot Mary was staring. "Oh? You mean Aoi? She won't harm anyone. Aoi, say hello."
Aoi stretched her little arms before flying up into the air, looking at Mary. She raised her little hand and waved at Mary. "Hello."
"Ah? Yes, hello." Mary was in a daze since she had never seen or even heard of a monster who could speak! "Are you sure she will not attack?"
"As long as no one tries to attack her or me, she won't. Aoi is a good girl." Kana replied. She still did not understand why Mary was so scared of Aoi. Aoi is small and cute.
"Then… P-Please follow me. My commander wants to speak to you and ask a few questions." Mary shuttered slightly as she turned to leave the room. Kana followed after her as Aoi decided to use the top of Kana's head for a seat.
The hall was long and dark, with only a single light that swayed back from the ceiling. After climbing the stairs and going through another door, the hall she stepped into was much brighter but was still made of the same grey stone as the floor below. They walked down the hall through a few twists and turns before finally arriving at a metal door. Mary knocked on it before opening it. "Sir, I brought her. But be prepared..."
"Be prepared. Why would I need to be prep…." A middle aged man with a five o'clock shadow sat behind an old wooden table with a small lamp on it and a few documents sprawled across it. But right now, his eyes were locked onto the blue figure on Kana's head. "This..."
"Old man, it is not nice to stare. You will make Aoi blush!" Aoi became shy as her little blue cheeks turned a tinge of red.
Kana did not know whether to laugh or cry. Why was Aoi suddenly blushing? The middle aged man let out a cough as he cleared his throat. "Ahem… Excuse me. Please sit. I hope you can understand me correctly."
Kana nodded and sat down. Only then did she finally ask: "Can I ask why I am here?"
"My name is Commander Branson. I do apologize for how you were treated. You have to understand that we of the Jokasins Empire have been at war with the Firlong Nation for many, many years. Although you do not look like someone from Firlong or from our Jokasins Empire. To be honest, I do not even know how you are still alive since the air here is polluted with a virus that will either kill someone outright or turn them into a grotesque blob we call plagues that will roam around feeding on corpses. Only those who have undergone circuit merging are able to live above ground. Anyway, since our translator devices are rare and easily broken, we had to get one from another unit which took time. Until we had one, we had no choice but to treat you as an enemy and observe you." Commander Branson explained.
"I see..." Kana could not blame them for being strict on this since she did appear out of nowhere. "So what will you do with me now? Am I free to go?"