I will not die a Villainess's death

Elysia waited around for Lexus to come back from the elder's meeting before joining him. Lexus was the youngest member of the meeting but he was also the head of the most powerful family.

As such, his words not only carried weight but were also the best source of trustable information Elysia had.

"So, what was decided inside? Does any of the elders know why those monsters showed up?"

Elysia asked, her voice showing eagerness to know. She could not contain her excitement as she asked for the answers.

But Lexus had a frowning face that likely meant that he did not have the answers that Elysia wanted from him.

"I did bring this topic up but no one had any idea. The only thing that we were able to conclude was that the energy of this world became unstable once those monsters appeared here."

Elysia fell silent at the news, her mind moving a mile per minute.

This single sentence had a lot of possibilities attached to it so it was not even clear which theory they should target.

"Does it have anything to do with my appearance in this world? Did it make the connection between energy unstable?"

Elysia asked because she wanted to know. She felt guilty already and her stomach was twisted around in nervousness as she waited for the answer.

"It's likely not your fault. The time of energy fluctuation is times much earlier than your arrival. In fact, it might even be able to be tracked back to my brother's disappearance."

Elysia fell silent after that. She could not blame Noctis in front of Lexus. She did not blame Noctis period since he had not disappeared from this world on his own accord.

This felt like someone had planned all this to happen. There was no coincidence or fate involved but a string of effects that were triggering after one another.

"For now, let's sum it all up as an accident from our side and wrap this matter up. We need to give the children's families an excuse."

Elysia's heart was heavy but she agreed with Lexus. Normal people did not need to fear or think over what was going to happen. They deserved all the peace they could afford.

"How are the injured students doing? I was going to stop by their room but then I decided not to. Should we go and visit them together?"

Elysia asked and she watched as Lexus wavered at her question. He wanted to come with her but he was too shy to reply to her offer.

Moreover, Lexus had never tried clicking with those his age and this was the perfect time for him to make some new friends.

"Come on, follow me. I won't be here forever so I want you to have a few reliable humans around you who can support you. You should also meet Serina since she admires you."

Elysia pushed Lexus and he went along with her push with an unhappy expression. He was going to complain all the way and Elysia braced herself for that noise.

"W-Why would I want to meet children? And why should I meet Serina? Even if she did a good job out there, she is still a kid for me and…hey, let me go, Elysia."

Elysia pretended not to hear Lexus as he yelled at her. She kept on dragging, trying her best to forget the guilt she felt for the attack earlier.

She knew she was told that it had not been her fault but she could still not make herself believe that fact. The more she thought back at it, the more on edge she felt.

In the end, the only way to distract herself was to think of something else.

_________________________

"Here we are. Now, remember to be nice to the other children and they will become your friend in no time. And also, smile a little. A small smile goes a huge way in reassuring people and…."

"Are you done? I told you that I do not want to 'play nice' with these kids. I do not want to have anything to do with them either. I am just here to accompany you."

Lexus denied Elysia's attempt to make him socialize, but the mere fact that he had come this far for Elysia could not be denied.

She had a strong emotional hold on him and she was going to utilize it to make sure Lexus had friends in his life.

"Fine, don't make friends if you do not want to. But you should still smile while you still can. The world is not a nice place and it can easily cause you to become depressed."

"Elysia, stop trying to give me life lessons. Just because you have Noctis's soul in your body does not mean that you are my brother. Don't try and…."

Elysia was sure she had a bitter smile on her face as she tied to grin through the pain she felt.

She was not sure if these were her emotions or the ones that Noctis's soul was influencing her into feeling. But Elysia felt her chest hurt after she heard Lexus speak.

"I'm sorry, that was too harsh of me. I will try not to think of such things unconsciously again because they are not true. You have been much more of a family to me in the past year than anyone else had my whole life."

The pain did lessen as Elysia heard Lexus's apology. It didn't magically make everything better but it was a start nonetheless.

"I did not take your words to heart. Now then, shall we go in?"

For the rest of the evening, Lexus behaved just like Elysia had wanted him to. He was civil to the children and did not rise to their provocation.

He even seemed to be having fun on the surface but Elysia could tell that something was eating him on the inside. His complexion was too pale to be considered normal.

But whatever was eating him from the inside, he did not share with Elysia. And she did not force him to share with her either.

They were both happy to pretend that everything was alright.

But the stalemate finally broke a week later. It was all due to a sudden attack on the central city by a huge beast.

A rift had opened up in the sky but no one could pinpoint the location it had started at. It showed nothing but a blank blue vortex when you looked at it.

The only thing that passed through were the insect-like beasts that were falling from the sky.

"My god, what is that? Had the apocalypse finally come for us? What should we do now?"

Students around Elysia ran for their lives as they tried to kill the insects. Some of them died while others managed to stay alive long enough to hurt the students.

A lot of normal citizens had been killed off already and it was a struggle for survival out there.

Elysia also headed out to help the normal people. She had enough power to take care of a single city with her core strength. But she also had the magic of her home world on her side.

And somehow, these insect-like monsters seemed susceptible to her magic much more than the core's energy.

"I cannot get a reading on these monsters. They are not native to this dimension. In fact, their energy feels so similar and yet distant."

The scientist turned toward Elysia as he said that but then he faltered in his words due to Lexus's glare.

No one could say anything bad about Elysia without Lexus not interfering in the middle.

"So that creature has a similar energy to me? Then, maybe on the other side of this gate lies my home. I should go and check it out."

There as no guarantee that it was Elysia's home on the other side. And she was taking a huge risk by checking it out like this.

But Elysia knew she had to do something or she would regret it for the rest of her life. She could not allow innocent people to be killed on her account.

"Elysia, please think it through first. There are many people who had come to for relationships with you here. Are you going to abandon everyone else here?"

Lexus asked as he stood up. He was the only one who seemed to have found a fault with Elysia's decision and he will likey be the only one as well.

Others pretended to like Elysia for Lexus's sake but she could tell that their feelings were not genuine. And she could not expect others to feel like Elysia was dear to them.

"Lexus, I know I have a lot of precious people and memories here that I need to protect this place. And you also knew that this day would come."

Elysia tried to make Lexus feel better but he suddenly cried out. His tears were uncontrollable as he sobbed and it caused Elysia to panic.

She was so out of her depth now and it was terrifying. What was wrong with Lexus all of a sudden?