Red hair. Tiny figure. Tiny distorted figure. All he could see was red.

No. No. No…

His world spun, but he compelled himself to approach her, taking heavy steps. Scan! He cast the analytics spell, refusing to accept her death.

She was strong. It was difficult to accept how she could have been defeated so easily by mere human enemies.

He racked his brain, searching for an explanation. Yet, he couldn't dismiss the fact that even stronger magic casters had fallen by metal bullets that could be bypassed by a basic Protect.

Suddenly, her hand flickered.

"Thundaga!"

A surge of magical electricity coursed through his already trembling body.

Shaking off the shock, Zyma resumed his defense stance, carefully assessing his attacker.

"Oh... Oh gosh... Are you okay? I'm sorry, I thought you were another terrorist... Here, let me heal you," she stood up quickly and reached out her arm to cast Cura on him. "Please keep it off record… Thank Hyne, you were in full HP," she smiled awkwardly.

He froze momentarily, unsure if she was an illusion, until the warm green glow of her healing spell washed over him. He quickly regained his professional composure.

"Careful! If it were squishy Devie stepping through that door, you could have killed him," he commented.

He wanted to reprimand her for scaring him to death, but found no good business reason. He assessed the surrounding and found two unconscious terrorists at the corner. She did what she had to to lure in the terrorists.

"I'm sorry, it was dark," Acma muttered. "Have you seen Trepie #23 on your way here?"

"She's conscious. Devie has taken her to safety. Let's get back. Can you walk?" Zyma coldly replied.

"Thanks Hyne!" She smiled in relief, "I'm fine, just some bruises."

Zyma nodded slightly, turning towards the unconscious terrorists, but he was interrupted by Acma.

"Um... wait. Can I borrow your jacket? Mine was taken, and... I'm kind of cold," she rubbed her arm.

Without hesitation, Zyma immediately took off his cadet uniform jacket and gave it to her. "Reckless... You're sure you haven't drained too much blood?"

"No," she promptly protested. "You can Scan me, I'm fine."

Zyma sighed, then applied Sleep Powder on the remaining terrorists. That way, they would remain unconscious throughout the journey back. Scooping up both terrorists into his arms, he tilted his torso to balance their weights. "Alright, let's go."

"Um... do you need any help?" Acma rolled her eyes at Zyma's display of strength. She knew he was capable, but carrying two bulky terrorists through a narrow passage was no easy feat.

"Shut up and follow me closely. The woman is unconscious, but there may be a few more lurking around," Zyma commanded.

Together, they traced back their marks until they reunited with Devie and Raddie.

"Acma! You're alive!" Raddie exclaimed, his voice tinged with both fear and relief. He gently held her shoulders, his gaze scanning her from head to toe, contemplating whether to embrace her. "Are you hurt?"

"I wasn't, but I am now," Acma chuckled, appreciating Raddie's concern.

"I was terrified when I heard that you were down here with at least three terrorists," Raddie admitted. "I'm afraid I can't see you again…"

"Ahem..." Zyma cleared his throat, his voice interrupting their reunion. "Need some help here! Focus, cadets!"

Raddie finally releasing his grip on Acma and joined Devie in assisting Zyma with the captured terrorists. "I'm sorry, Senior Zyma!"

Zyma pointed in a direction. "There's another woman that way. Take her with us too."

"Roger!" Raddie quickly followed the direction pointed by Zyma.

"Wait! I'm coming with you. She has my jacket!" Acma exclaimed.

Ha… Zyma's gaze lingered on Acma's back, adorned in his cadet uniform, as she hastened to join Raddie.

Garden Committee's office.

"When I returned to find Trepie #23, they had already stabbed her and taken her healing kit," Acma began recounting the events to the committee. "I was eavesdropping, and gathered that besides the woman, there was another terrorist, which I believe was the leader. They found me and threatened to kill Trepie #23 if I didn't comply with their orders. I lied to them, that I'm just a medic without weapon, claiming my blood type was O and that I had a siphon to transfer blood to anyone injured on their side if they spare Trepie #23's life. I notice the woman was bleeding quite a lot, potions wouldn't help, so she definitely would need my blood," she continued.

"I demonstrated how my blood could safely transfer to Trepie #23 to save her and gain their trust at the same time. I knew our blood types were compatible. The man then tied my hands with my lasso and connected the siphon between me and the woman. Together, we headed toward their leader. It didn't take long for my blood to clot in the woman's system, causing her to lose consciousness. I seized the opportunity to escape deeper into the maze. Knowing my way around my lasso, I freed myself, and then used it to lure the terrorists into my hiding chamber. I incapacitated the leader first, and Zyma found me shortly after I had taken down the other man. But what I couldn't understand was that the leader didn't seem as injured as our intelligence had indicated," Acma concluded, leaving a mystery hanging in the air.

"The woman," Raddie answered, "was actually the leader of the terrorist group. She had disguised herself as a subordinate. I discovered that after watching the footages over and over again."

"Oh..." Acma realized, her eyes widening. "That's why the man stayed by her side the entire time and didn't chase after me. I suppose once Zyma made his way into the chamber, he eventually left her and found me."

"Very well, it seems we have all the necessary information," Xu remarked, glancing at Nida. "Is there anything else we need to address?"

"I believe that covers it. The villagers have all been rescued and treated. Aside from minor injuries and trauma, they should recover without complications. Our client has been officially signed off the mission as a success," Nida reported. "Trepie #23 is recovering quickly. Dr. Kadowaki said she can resume her operational duties in a few weeks. Overall, good job everyone! Please wait for the final decision on the seed exam results in a few days."

As the meeting came to an end, people started to leave the room.

Zyma approached Acma and whispered in her ear. "Men's room."

"What?" She rolled her eyes.

"Business," he replied, then made his way to the door.

That jerk never stopped driving her crazy. It was as if he were a magnet, and she was inevitably drawn to him. Who on earth meets in a restroom to discuss work?

She waited until everyone had left the room, then waited a bit more before leaving herself. She glanced left and right. Once she was certain that no one was in the hallway, she knocked on the men's room door on the same floor.

The door swung open and Zyma pulled her inside before locking it.

"Ouch! Let me go!" she squeaked in pain.

"Take off your clothes.''

"What? No!"

She yelled at his absurd request but then realized she was in the men's room, so she lowered her voice.

"What is wrong with you?"

"I need to examine you. I'm sure you are hiding your wounds. I traced your blood trail. It was your blood. And it was a lot of blood." he explained. Seeing her face's expression changed, he asked. "What? You want to become a SeeD so much to even hide an open wound? Or are you shy?"

"For Hyne's sake! You haven't changed one bit. Next time, just explain all of that before telling a girl to come into a men's room and take her clothes off, okay?''

"Oh... I see... I'm sorry. Noted. You know I'm not… I'm sorry, really."

He scratched his head. She chuckled inwardly. How did he manage to have girlfriends in the past?

"It's okay. You're lucky I know you too well," she smiled, shaking her head and looking at the ground.

"So? Explain yourself. I have tons of reports to fill in before the review meeting," he crossed his arms.

"Fine," she smiled mischievously, pulling her sleeve up a little to reveal a blood bag beneath her cadet uniform. "I wasn't bleeding for real. I've learned my lesson. I keep a supply of my own blood, extracting 100cc a day, and voila, extra blood bags! I'll redesign your siphon to include an extra storage chamber and a motor pistol to accelerate the transfusion rate. Timeth also has a brilliant idea, that he can enable it to precisely control the desired HP. If I can set my HP to 1 within seconds, then perform my Duo Limit Break with a dark GF like Quezacotl…"

Zyma scoffed. "You're... unbelievable."

Acma wasn't sure if that was a compliment, as there was a tint of disappointment in his eyes.

"You think you're being clever? Out of all the martial arts training I taught you in the past six months, despite how many times I told you not to rely on your Limit Break's crisis, you still resort to suicidal moves one way or another. I don't know what to say, Acma. You'll cut your life short, I'm sure of it. I regret showing you my siphon trick."

"I..."

"You're not going to stop using it, are you? You'll continue to be reckless," he interjected. "The thrill of being a badass, having everything under control, is addicting."

He walked toward the door and twisted the knob, about to leave her.

"Whatever you do, promise me, don't die my watch."

"Tch... What is it that you're doing?" Acma began to shed the first tears after their mutual ending. "I'm tired of your games, Zyma. Don't die under your watch? Why do I need to promise you anything? If I'm nothing to you? Are you sure you're treating everyone the same? Is this 'talk' solely business? Oh, I forgot, I'm not allowed to ask questions. Never. Ever. You'll probably just walk away now. You'll leave me alone. You just don't care how I feel…"

She covered her face to hide the tears rolling down uncontrollably.

"I don't..."

Before Zyma could say something, the door was pushed open, causing Acma to startle and retreat into a toilet stall.

"Oh, sorry," Nida walked in.

"Sorry," Zyma said hastily, then left the restroom.

He waited outside. After a while, Nida came out, but she didn't.

He walked in, and found the window wide open.

Empty.