Selim hated nothing more than people who looked down on everyone else, like the man before her, but for Sophia’s sake, she had to restrain her temper a little.
For her, controlling her own emotions was as natural as breathing.
Her light red eyes swept over the High Goth man, then turned helplessly to Sophia with a shrug.
“Maybe you’re right, my dear Sophia.” Her voice was laced with deliberate mockery. “All I see here is a self-indulgent fool.”
The man ignored her sarcasm, downing the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Selim wasn’t surprised by this reaction. She changed her tone ever so slightly, as if expressing a subtle regret.
“No wonder Sharn…”
Before she finished, she caught, out of the corner of her eye, the man’s hand clutching the wine glass suddenly stiffening.
The fish had bitten.
“Forget it, just a foolish woman. Sophia, let’s go, this place is starting to turn my stomach.” Selim turned her wheelchair, making her intention to leave clear.
Sophia had no interest in the High Goth man either, so she obediently pushed Selim out of the bar, which reeked of cheap air.
“Where are we going now?” Sophia asked.
“Just keep going forward.” Selim raised her hand and pointed at a path leading into the dense forest outside the city, the ground carpeted with fallen leaves.
She needed to give the man following them a chance to trail behind; the deserted forest was the perfect place.
“But over there… there’s nothing, is there?” Doubt crept into Sophia’s voice.
“Or…” Selim twirled her finger gracefully, now pointing toward the brightly lit downtown area, “should we try that new high-end dessert shop?”
“Are you paying this time?” At the mention of “high-end,” Sophia couldn’t help but frown.
“Eh?” Selim feigned innocence. “Weren’t you just hinting that you’d treat me?”
Sophia didn’t say anything, but her steps honestly turned back toward that quiet, deserted path at the start.
“Actually, I think a walk is pretty nice too.”
Looking at Sophia, who seemed to shrink a little, Selim couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, the corner of her mouth curving in an almost imperceptible smile.
You think I can’t handle you, little one?
Sophia clearly didn’t want to be labeled as stingy. After hesitating for a while, she finally mumbled,
“If you really want dessert… I can actually make something pretty good myself, and it’s cheaper too.”
Her voice grew softer and softer.
Selim immediately noticed Sophia’s embarrassment.
But no matter what, it was a gesture of kindness, and Selim decided to respond properly.
“I’ll remember that.” There was a trace of anticipation in her voice. “Dessert made by your own hands, Sophia… I really wonder what that would taste like.”
“It should… be alright, I think…” Upon hearing this, Sophia’s voice grew louder; she was at least a little confident about that.
The two of them chatted idly as the forest breeze brought a chill, making it feel as if they really were just out for a walk.
Suddenly, Sophia stopped in her tracks, her body tensing. She lowered her voice and leaned close to Selim’s ear: “Someone’s following us.”
“Don’t worry, I know who it is.”
This was the moment Selim had been waiting for.
“Mr. Bart, you’ve followed us long enough. Don’t you plan to come out and have a chat?”
Selim’s voice echoed through the empty forest, but only the rustling of leaves answered her.
A long moment passed, and still, no one appeared.
“Heh.”
She sneered inwardly. The other party was even more arrogant than she’d thought. Since his attitude was so clear, there was nothing more to be said.
『Soul Contract』
Selim’s power spread out silently, touching Sophia.
“Don’t resist, dear.” Selim gently touched Sophia’s lower back, signaling her not to be nervous.
At her words, Sophia relaxed her guard against the sudden power enveloping her.
A strange sense of their senses blending together surged forth, as if her consciousness briefly overlapped with Selim’s.
Within this peculiar sensation, Sophia also felt Selim’s battle-ready tension.
Her left foot kicked back at her scabbard; her right hand drew her sword in one smooth motion. Like a mother panther, Sophia slipped into a fighting stance, waiting for the first clash.
Whoosh! Something round shot through the air, not at a person, but at the ground before Selim’s wheelchair.
In the next instant, a burst of white mist erupted, obscuring the vision of both Selim and Sophia.
Under the Soul Contract, Sophia immediately realized the attacker’s target wasn’t herself, but Selim behind her.
Yet, the situation didn’t fluster Sophia. Gripping her sword, she slashed through the thick fog, a wave of magic energy tearing a gap in the mist.
Clang! Steel collided.
Sophia struck first, her blade landing precisely on a shadow in the mist, forcing her hidden opponent to parry with a dagger.
The moment her opponent blocked, Sophia twisted her body and side-kicked.
With a muffled grunt, the black shadow was sent flying, crashing hard into a pile of leaves.
“Stop hiding! Come out!” Sophia held her sword in one hand, heroic and poised, its tip aimed straight ahead.
The mist gradually thinned, and a figure struggled to stand up.
Even with his face covered, the distinctive High Goth pointed ears peeking from the fallen hood allowed Sophia to recognize him at a glance.
It was the drunken High Goth from the tavern.
“Sophia… I know you,” the man rasped, voice thick with hatred. “I never thought a Demon Hunter would stoop so low as to be a lapdog for human Capital!”
“What? Are you jealous?” Before Sophia could reply, Selim laughed lightly and answered in her stead.
Though it was meant as mockery, Selim had to admit his words hit closer to home than expected.
“I’m not a dog…” Sophia tried to explain, but the man, like a wounded beast, pounced again! With no time for talk, she raised her sword to meet him once more.
Both were Moonlight Tier, but Sophia was clearly stronger.
Yet, with the “unarmed” Selim behind her, she couldn’t use her full strength.
Bart’s goal was to capture Selim alive, so he didn’t dare go all out near her, either.
Their blades and blades clashed back and forth, sword and dagger flashing through the forest—locked in a stalemate.
Selim had neither the interest nor patience to watch them keep fighting.
As a former PVP Expert, Selim caught the instant when Bart’s old strength faded and new strength had yet to gather during his attack.
Her innate skill [Soul Extinguish] instantly detonated all its stacks.
A formless soul-shock made Bart’s movements halt abruptly, his gaze going vacant for a split second!
With her rich combat experience and the support of the Soul Contract, Sophia coordinated seamlessly with Selim. Seizing the fleeting opening, she flipped her wrist, and the heavy pommel of her sword whistled through the air, smashing down onto Bart’s nose.
Crack! The nauseating sound of bone breaking.
Bart screamed, sent flying again, blood spurting through his fingers as he clutched his face.
At this point, Bart knew it was over.
Despair and pain welled up inside him.
His wife, Sharn, had been missing for almost half a year. He’d given everything, tried everything, and found nothing.
The crushing sense of failure and hopelessness nearly broke his spirit, forcing him to drown himself in alcohol.
Only when he heard “Sharn” from Selim’s mouth did his last flicker of hope reignite.
He knew, back at the tavern, that Selim was after him.
He understood that facing the “vicious” Selim head-on would only make him her plaything.
His only hope was to take a risk and kidnap her, to gain even a sliver of initiative.
Even knowing Selim’s words were bait to lure him out, he still willingly walked into the trap.
But now, Sophia was a wall he couldn’t overcome.
“Sharn, wait for me.” A final trace of madness flashed in Bart’s eyes as his trembling hand reached into his coat, pulling out a glass vial filled with scarlet liquid.
He’d already bitten the cork off; the potion was about to enter his mouth.
“Pfft~ Hehehe~” Selim’s clear, girlish laughter, tinged with a hint of mockery, rang out especially clearly in the silent forest.
She watched Bart, wiping away a tear of mirth from her eye, and spoke slowly,
“If I were you, I would never drink that thing.”
“Are all High Goths this foolish?”