The villainess shall be mine

"It seems like there's nothing inside. Well, it's probably because those could make the ship fly died first," Adam said after examining the entirety of the ship's interior. "And this thing is huge, but we have another problem because of that."

Blanca didn't say anything and was quiet since after she saw Adam's demonstration of power. She was in a way amazed, but somehow, she was also scared of him and what he might do if he suddenly changed his mind.

From what Blanca could see, Adam always had plans, and she didn't what Adam had in mind for her, but after their exchanges, she concluded that sometimes his appearance and facial expressions, even his words, didn't match his actions at all.

'It's as if he is saying something different while thinking about something completely different,' She thought to herself.

Because of that, Blanca wanted to know if by any chance Adam was more trustworthy than he looked. However, this also meant that he could be more dangerous than he appeared to be, and in both cases, Blanca still had to put on a poker face and try to work alongside him until they managed to leave this planet.

'I can't tell him what really happened unless I am sure of his true intentions. He seems to be rather reasonable with his questions, and he didn't try to hide his intention. His arguments are also reasonable,' Blanca thought as she looked inside the compartment of the ship and saw a few bodies that she instantly decimated with her power.

Like before, Adam's voice was transmitted through her helmet and she could hear him talking.

"Yeah, how are we going to get this ship out of this place? We are underground right?" Blanca said, stating the obvious but also the biggest problem of all.

"Let's discuss that with Liu and Zax later. They should have understood the importance of this ship by now. Well, we are lucky to find one in this state, so we will get it out of here even if we have to make a hole in that ceiling. That will take time though, so instead, we should look for the reason why they were confident about having a ship in this place. There must be another way," Adam said.

"I see, but what do you mean by the importance of this ship? Didn't you already explain that to them? They are not that stupid, I think," Blanca asked.

"I know, but unlike you, we were just gone for a few hours, so of course, things changed a lot in this world while we disappeared for almost a year. I said before that help will be coming, but looking at the state of thing, it seems like there only forty percent for such a thing really happen," Adam explained, talking as if he was making an argument.

"Yeah, you are right. Still, why didn't you explain that to them?" Blanca asked.

"If I told them everything in one go, it was highly probable that their mental state would be affected. I know that they are strong, but the fact that they had already gone through a very traumatizing experience made it more dangerous for them to learn the whole truth," Adam said. "Well, they still needed to face the reality sooner or later though, so I decided that it would be better if they do it by themselves."

Blanca was surprised by Adam's answer because she didn't think that he would care that much about Liu and Zax. She didn't know if Adam's way of doing things was the best, but she knew that Liu didn't want Adam to care for everything for her, so by doing this, Adam would give her the ability to decide for herself to some degree.

"Can I ask you a question?" Blanca said.

"What do you want to know? Don't worry, I decided that you are not a threat to us from what I could observe today," Adam said.

"No, it's not about that. Well, I think that I can somehow trust you too, but what I want to know is something more personal," Blanca said.

"Okay, I think it's not bad to have a constructive discussion."

"Well, you said that you are from this planet, but since I met you, I never see you look worried. Are you trying to put up a façade too?" Blanca asked.

"A façade? You might be right… However, I can't let my emotions lead to our death."

"I also understand that, but sometimes… I feel like I am beginning to forget the purpose of my actions as I continue to suppress these emotions."

"Are you talking about your sister?"

"No… Well, yes, but also my mission…" Blanca said.

"Well, you can't be mentally strong and emotionally unstable at the same time, then expect to perform a hundred percent of your ability when you need to do so," Adam explained. "But what is sure is that all of your worries would be meaningless if you die meaninglessly."

"Worries?"

"You worry about things because they are important," Adam said. "So in my opinion, we need to survive first before we can worry about anything else."

"… You are right."

Adam's point was debatable, but it was also true considering their circumstances. However, Blanca still wondered if Adam felt the same as she did. Her world was also about to be destroyed and she needed the Tree fragments to save everything that she cared about.

Nevertheless, as she traveled from one universe to another, she began to be more focused on finding the Tree fragments and the difficulties that she had to overcome in every world that she visited. In the end, she began to feel that at some point, she began to drift away from her goal.

'I can't even go back home now…' Blanca thought, but she couldn't ask Adam to help her, knowing that he was also struggling to keep his emotions in check, or at least, that was what she believed, looking at the man in front of her.

"Well, let's go back for now," Adam said after they made sure that they disposed of all of the bodies inside of the ship and inspected the whole interior for the second time.

*****

:::[Third Person POV]:::

While Adam and Blanca were still inside the hidden area, Zax finally managed to make a communication device out of the parts that Adam brought.

"I did it! We should be able to contact the others now, I can't wait to talk to them," Zax said excitedly and looked at Liu.

"Okay, let's try it," Liu said.

"Aren't we going to wait for Adam?" Zax asked.

"Why would we wait for him? In the first place, we should be the ones to contact them and not Adam," Liu said. "We can't leave everything to him, and we should at least make sure that the others are coming."

"You are right," Zax replied, "Let's do that."

After that, Zax inputted a code and the communication device began to vibrate and made a particular noise.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

While waiting for someone to talk through the device, Zax felt impatient, and Liu who sat with her arm crossed next to Zax began to tap continually her arm with her finger.

"It's connected," Zax said.

"…"

They waited for someone to speak but for some reason, no one said a word.

"Yelena, are you there?" Zax asked, knowing that at times like this, Yelena should be the one who was worried about Liu the most.

"Is that you, Miss Liu?" Someone spoke through the communicative device, and unlike what Zax and Liu expected, it was a man's voice that they recognized, but at the same time, it made them more puzzled.

"Uncle Haozu?" Liu asked, recognizing the voice. "Is my father present?"

"No, he isn't, but is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Wait a minute, I will activate the hologram," Haozu said. "Are you fine? Where were you all of this time? What happened to you?"

"…" Liu was a little bit taken aback by Haozu's reaction. "Yes, I am doing fine for now, but as you can see, we need some help. Where is Yelena? I need to talk to her first," Liu said.

"About that…" Haozu sounded like he was struggling to find the right words.

"Is she not with you? Did my father send you?" Liu asked, and she began to feel that something was weird.

"Miss Liu, while you were gone, a lot of things changed, and Yelena… Well, she is now at the Empire," Haozu said.

When Haozu said these words, Liu began to feel more and more impatient and it showed on her face. She believed that Yelena had reported back to the Empire after she was abducted, but she didn't think that her father would send Haozu in such a short time, and even if they did, it wouldn't make sense for Yelena to go back.

"I was only gone for a day…" Liu mumbled as if she was trying to make sure that they were on the same page, but then she remembered about the huge monster outside and the state of the city. She thought that it was weird, but she also believed that it was the result of the monster's invasion.

"What? Miss Liu, you were missing for almost a year now…" Haozu said. "Your father… Well, even if we want to rescue you, it would be difficult. The empire restricted all access to the whole territory of Kepalta, and due to the incident that occurred months ago, it's a miracle that you survived…"