The battle was nothing worth mentioning. Against a monster unable to fight back, and a savage “kin” to boot, it could only perish on the spot in bitter regret.
The original design of the ‘Mother of Lustful Souls’ was to encourage these monsters to devour one another, thus cultivating powerful Soul Eater Walkers.
But now, this very trait ended up benefiting Selim instead.
Crunch… crunch…
It had already turned into pure soul energy, filling up Selim’s experience bar.
Having lost the source of power that formed its foundation, the entire Dream World began to collapse and disintegrate.
“Selim, don’t be afraid, hold on to me. Mama will definitely protect you.”
Sharn didn’t care about the world collapsing like the end of days. She only reached out and clung tightly to Selim’s little arm, afraid the girl would vanish again.
“It’s all right. Everything’s over now.” Selim responded to Sharn with a gentle smile. “Once you open your eyes again, you’ll leave this nightmare behind.”
Sensing the speed at which this world was falling apart, Selim spoke calmly, “See you in a moment, Lady Sharn.”
“Selim, what do you mean by that?” Sharn was a bit taken aback, unable to understand why Selim was still so calm and collected even as the world crumbled—and why she had stopped calling her ‘Mama’.
Selim gave no further answer. As the Dream World completely shattered, the red Flesh Fruit in the real world also began to react violently.
It howled in pain, toppling to the ground like a tree being felled.
Its huge sac burst open, viscous juices splattering everywhere, and Selim and Sharn fell out from within.
Sophia and Bart each rushed forward to catch Selim and Sharn, respectively.
“So sticky, it feels awful.”
Lying in Sophia’s arms, Selim found the slime on her body absolutely repulsive, and couldn’t help but shake her arm gently.
“If you fling any more of that filthy stuff onto me, I’ll throw you down.” Sophia rolled her eyes at Selim, but her arms around her showed no intention of letting go.
“Eh?” Hearing this, Selim instead pressed herself even closer, rubbing against Sophia like a slippery little fish. “Sophia would never do that, right?”
The slime was like a lubricant, letting Selim squirm around in Sophia’s arms with impunity.
She nuzzled contentedly.
“Pa!” A crisp smack sounded.
Sophia gave Selim’s butt a light but firm slap. “Stop wiggling! I’m going to drop you!”
Selim hadn’t expected Sophia to actually spank her. Though it didn’t hurt, the strange feeling made her blush a little.
You can’t even tell who’s on top and who’s on bottom, huh? I’ll let you know the difference between 1 and 0 later.
“Let me down. I still have enough strength to stand.” Selim let go of Sophia’s neck with both hands.
At her words, Sophia smoothly lowered Selim’s legs to the ground, only releasing her when she felt Selim could stand on her own.
Smack!
The instant Sophia’s hands let go, Selim’s hand flashed out and landed a quick slap on Sophia’s perky behind, giving it a squeeze as well.
Sophia’s bottom was pleasantly springy, the kind of feel that could only come from years of training.
“You!” The stinging sensation made Sophia whip around and glare at Selim.
“What are you looking at?” Selim straightened her back, speaking with righteous confidence. “You can spank me, but I can’t spank you? Now we’re even. Heehee.”
She flashed a triumphant V-sign.
Sophia said nothing, merely raised her hand.
Seeing that the other might be planning a dishonorable counterattack, Selim immediately backed down, arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes squeezed shut. “Eh? Sophia, are you bullying me again? That’s not fair!”
Selim had no choice but to close her eyes and brace herself to have her bottom smacked again.
A gentleman’s revenge may take ten years.
Selim decided to jot down this grudge in her little mental notebook and repay it tenfold someday.
But the slap she expected never landed. Instead, she felt a gentle hand stroking her head.
“I’m glad you made it back safely.” Sophia’s voice had a trace of tenderness that was hard to detect. She rubbed the top of Selim’s head.
“You’re willing to risk your life for someone else—that’s got a bit of the Demon Hunter spirit. But you should think of yourself more, don’t be so reckless next time…”
“Hehe.” Selim snuggled closer to Sophia’s side. “If I was the one in danger, would you come save me, Sophia?”
“Hmph!” Sophia folded her arms and turned her face away. “As if I would.”
Selim blinked, smelling the stubborn pride hidden in Sophia’s hard words.
“But if you ever got into trouble,” she said, looking directly at Sophia’s profile, her voice clear, “I’d definitely come to your rescue.”
Selim launched a direct attack.
The effect was overwhelming.
The tips of Sophia’s ears turned slightly red, though she kept her tone obstinate. “There’ll never be a day when I need you to rescue me. You should go check on the person you saved.”
Hearing this, Selim turned her gaze to Sharn.
“My head hurts,” Sharn muttered, clutching her forehead as she slowly got up from the ground.
Suddenly remembering something, her gaze swept anxiously around, quickly locking onto Selim, who was laughing and chatting with Sophia.
“Selim!”
Sharn stood up and rushed toward her.
“Wait, wait, darling, hold on.” Bart frantically shrugged off his cloak and draped it over Sharn, preventing her from standing naked in front of everyone.
“Tch.” Sharn kept her gaze locked on Selim, not sparing a glance for the figure blocking her path. Instead, she seemed a little irritated.
She pushed aside the head in her way with both hands. Bart, like some stray dog by the roadside, was shoved to the side.
Sharn strode quickly to Selim’s side.
Selim shed her playful attitude with Sophia and spoke up, “Lady Sharn…”
Sharn didn’t say a word. Instead, she did something that caught Selim completely off guard.
She opened her arms and embraced the slightly petite Selim.
“Selim, my Selim.” Her voice was choked, her arms squeezing tight.
“Uuuuu…”
Selim was instantly engulfed in a warm, soft, abundant embrace, surrounded by the scent of a mature woman.
But this also robbed her of the right to breathe, leaving her nearly suffocated.
Sophia had seen enough. She decided to intervene and prevent a suffocation-by-chest incident. Before Selim could pass out from lack of oxygen, Sophia stepped forward.
“That’s enough, you madwoman in nothing but a cloak.” Sophia grabbed Selim by the collar and yanked, separating the two.
She protectively deposited Selim behind her, like an animal defending its food.
“Cough! Cough, cough! Haa… haa…”
Freed from Sharn’s grip, Selim gasped for breath.
“I really thought I’d suffocate to death just now. That was scary!” Selim patted her chest, still shaken.
“Sorry…”
By now, Sharn had sobered a bit, suppressed memories gradually resurfacing and helping her make sense of everything around her.
Watching Selim gasp for breath, she awkwardly clutched her cloak tighter to avoid exposure.
“It’s all right, Lady Sharn.”
Selim briefly recalled the pleasant sensation from moments ago. If not for almost suffocating, she might have enjoyed it even more.
“The nightmare’s just ended. I get it.”
“Lady Sharn…” At the title, Sharn looked a little downcast. “May I make a small request?”
“Could you… call me ‘Mama’ one more time?”
Selim glanced at Sophia, then turned back.
To Selim, this was the perfect chance to brainwash Sophia, nudging her to accept more intimate demonstrations in the future.
“Disappointing a beautiful lady is not my style.”
“So…”
Selim cleared her throat and spoke slowly, “Mama Sharn… welcome back.”
She gave Sophia a ‘take notes’ look at the same time.
“Mm!” Hearing this, Sharn finally calmed down, the pain in her heart gradually soothed.
“Um…”
Bart, who’d been standing awkwardly to the side unable to get a word in, finally found his chance now that everyone else had finished talking. He raised his hand carefully.
“How about from now on, we each address things our own way?”
“I’ll call Miss Selim my liege, and Miss Selim can call me ‘Dad’?”
Selim didn’t answer. The look she shot at Bart was tinged with danger.
Tired of living, are we? For a man to dare take advantage of Selim like that?
Selim couldn’t help but wonder if she should find a chance to get rid of Bart. Sharn alone would be quite enough.
Thud!
Sharn raised her fist and brought it down hard on Bart’s head.
“And you think you’re fit to be Miss Selim’s father? You couldn’t even protect anyone—dying so fast and all!”
“What does that have to do with me?” Bart huddled on the ground, clutching his head in grievance.
After lecturing Bart, Sharn turned back to Selim. “Miss Selim, thank you for your selfless help. Please forgive his rudeness.”
“If there’s anything I can do, just say the word.”
Watching Sharn finish scolding Bart, Selim nodded in satisfaction, striking Bart from her mental list of the nearly-departed.
After all, she was the Goddess of Pure Love, not someone who’d join the Tauren tribe on Thunder Bluff for no reason.
“Miss Sharn, to be honest, I didn’t help Bart rescue you out of selflessness. In fact, I was after a piece of equipment to give my friend Sophia.”
“What equipment?”
“An Armored Pauldron, the one that can also gather other elemental magic.”
“Oh, so it was that.” Sharn let out a sigh of relief. “I have full authority over it. If Bart refuses, I’ll break his legs.”
“And there’s something else.” After receiving confirmation, Selim continued.
“Why were you captured here? And about our common enemy—the Order of the Blood Players—how much do you know? I think sharing information is very necessary.”
“They’re a bunch of lawless lunatics.” At the mention, deep sorrow and intense hatred flickered in Sharn’s eyes.
“I discovered one of their secrets… and got caught when I went to investigate further.”
Everyone drew closer, ready to hear the secret Sharn was about to reveal.