A small, silver-white head peeked out little by little from around the corner.
Crimson eyes cautiously scanned every corner.
In the dim alleyway, aside from a pile of quietly lying timber, no ferocious men suddenly leaped out.
Strange, they actually didn’t chase after me…
The girl pricked up her ears and listened.
At first, she could faintly hear those chaotic footsteps, but they grew fainter after a short while, until, after a certain breath, they vanished completely from her ears.
She let out a light sigh of relief.
It seemed those idiots had lost her trail entirely.
But that was to be expected.
She’d lived in the slums for four years; when it came to the terrain here, they couldn’t hold a candle to her familiarity.
She pulled back, touched the bread in her bosom, and a smug expression appeared on her small face.
“Home! Home!”
The suppressed cheer echoed softly in the deep alley.
But just as she took a small step forward, the girl’s diminutive body suddenly stiffened in place.
A premonition of being targeted by some fierce beast emerged without any warning.
The next moment, she ducked low without hesitation!
Swish!
The sharp sword edge barely grazed over her head, scraping open her hood and taking a few strands of long silver hair with it.
“Oh? She actually dodged it?”
A slightly surprised voice rang out.
Who? Who’s attacking me? Did those idiots catch up?
Bailis turned her head in terror, only to see a figure entirely shrouded in black, holding a sword and standing right in front of her.
It seemed… not one of those idiots from earlier.
The girl racked her brains, trying to recall whose things she’d stolen recently or whom she’d offended.
Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught a cold gleam flashing on the sword, scaring her into retreating several steps with a patter.
However, the person showed no intention of continuing the attack, simply standing there and watching her with interest.
Bailis swallowed hard, slowly shuffling her steps backward in an attempt to distance herself from this figure who exuded “danger” from head to toe.
“I advise you not to entertain any ideas of escape.”
The person spoke again, their voice sounding slightly muffled, perhaps due to the mask.
“If you don’t want your head chopped off with one stroke, then stand there obediently.”
Recalling the chill that had brushed her scalp when the sword grazed overhead, the girl very obediently halted her steps.
“Um, is there some misunderstanding between us? I don’t seem to know you…”
“No matter.”
Even with the mask on, Bailis could tell he was smiling.
“It’s enough that I know you, Miss Witch.”
The girl widened her eyes as if she’d heard something unbelievable.
“You you you—”
She pointed a finger at the person, so surprised that she stuttered for a moment, only managing to untangle her tongue after half a day.
“How do you know! No no no, that’s not right!”
The girl suddenly slapped her own face, then glared fiercely.
“You’re the witch—your whole family are witches! Idiot, fool, pighead!”
Caught off guard by this reversal, the person scratched their head in confusion.
“Did I recognize the wrong person?”
They fumbled in their bosom for a bit, pulled out a piece of parchment, and began comparing it to the girl in front of them.
In her heart, the girl secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate for her quick wit.
Honestly, when the word “witch” had popped out of that person’s mouth, Bailis had really wanted to turn tail and flee in panic.
She’d even thought it was those church knights coming to kill her again!
But upon recalling that sword which had appeared like a ghost from behind, she decided she couldn’t run like that.
Only a fool would turn their back to a terrifying enemy wielding a sword!
At worst, she’d just fight head-on—if she couldn’t win, then she’d try to escape!
However, to avoid truly attracting those bastard church knights with noses keener than dogs, it was best to keep the commotion as small as possible.
So, she decided to gamble, betting that this person had blurry vision and a poor memory—
“No mistake, you are definitely the witch.”
The person suddenly looked up and declared this.
The smile that hadn’t even fully formed on the girl’s face collapsed.
She was still a bit unconvinced, but upon seeing the face revealed when the person removed their mask and hood, she suddenly froze in place.
“You’re the one from earlier…”
The golden-haired youth put away the parchment and smiled faintly.
“I’m ‘Nord.’ First… oh no, it should be our second meeting, this unknown little witch…”
Before he could finish, several bright flames appeared out of thin air, hurtling straight toward the youth!
But “Nord” simply twisted his body to the side, and the flames could only graze past him, flying behind and blasting clusters of black marks onto the ground.
“She actually attacked without any hesitation…”
“Nord” raised an eyebrow, seeming a bit surprised.
“As expected of a witch, I suppose.”
In those few seconds while “Nord” dodged, the girl had already run what she considered a safe distance, turning back to shout at him:
“Are you an idiot? Who would stupidly stand in place waiting to be chopped by a sword after their identity is recognized?”
“Nord” blinked.
“That’s true.”
“Flame!” The girl shouted loudly, a viscous, ominous aura surging forth, swiftly twisting the surrounding fire elements together.
In an instant, several scorching flames formed in her hands, and with a forceful wave, they flew toward the youth.
This time, “Nord” didn’t dodge; instead, he casually swung his sword, extinguishing the flames midway.
“Eek!” Seeing this, the girl shuddered in fright and turned to continue her escape.
Fighting was out of the question—at a glance, he didn’t look like someone she could beat.
But “Nord” seemed to have no intention of letting her go just like that.
Bailis glanced back several times, seeing the distance between her and “Nord” closing rapidly.
She now deeply regretted choosing such a long, endless alley for her escape.
No, at this rate, I’ll definitely be caught!
Bailis, think of something—think of something quick!
Seeing the sword drawing closer and closer, she could even catch the metallic sheen flashing on it when she looked back.
Gritting her teeth, she shouted that word loudly:
“Wind!”
“Hmm?”
The burly man made a puzzled sound from his nose.
With that astonishingly sized great axe strapped to his back, he gazed toward the distant sky that had suddenly turned red.
Had the slums caught fire?
His nose twitched slightly, his brows knitting together immediately.
No, this didn’t smell like normal flames.
Could it be a mage?
He hesitated for a moment, then dismissed the idea.
Impossible—those were noble mages; how could they possibly appear in such a dirty, chaotic, and stinking place?
Then who could it be?
He narrowed his eyes, his hand unconsciously reaching for the great axe’s handle.
Morales suddenly had a premonition that his efforts over these many years were about to come to fruition.