Her tightly clenched fist flew forward, striking at the voice's origin. She hadn't put much thought into her action, reacting primarily on instinct, but judging by the tone, she refused to believe that it didn't have anything to do with her predicament. Even if she was proved to be wrong, then so be it. She didn't believe anyone could remain unmoved if she were to plead with a tear in her eye.

Unfortunately, her fist would never reach its intended target. Instead, multiple fluffy white appendages tightly wound around her arm, stopping her strike mid-flight and preventing the slightest motion. Although soft to the touch, they were akin to steel wires around her body.

Sofia frowned at this loss of freedom but remained calm. She shook her head, driving away the lingering drowsiness that remained from her long, inward journey. Her gaze darted all around her, taking in these new sights. Although she seemed indifferent on the surface, she remained vigilant as she didn’t recognize the owner of that voice.

“Hey! How is that any way to thank the one who looked after you?” said the voice after a moment of silence.

The voice originated only two or three steps in front of Sofia, coming from the owner of those fluffy appendages. On a closer look, Sofia identified those as tails. Four, to be precise. At the other end of those tails was a young, spunky girl who seemed no older than fourteen. Sofia made no assumptions, as demons tend to look younger than they indeed are. As far as she knew, she may be a century old.

The girl wore exotic pink garments, resembling the clothes of the man who had led the way, while her long ivory hair was tied in a bun. The tails sprouting from her back were the same colour while her perky fox ears swung back and forth in the wind. She seemed akin to snow on a summer day: refreshing yet ephemeral.

The young fox girl looked at Sofia with interest, laced with a hint of playfulness and mischievousness. She indeed seemed to be no older than how she looked.

Sofia's gaze left the mysterious girl and scanned her surroundings. The bare-chested man had disappeared, along with the unconscious Felix, yet Mina and Emil were still present. They were seated not far away, watching the scene with bizarre looks on their faces. Obviously, they hadn't expected Sofia to resort to violence so quickly. It was a stark contrast to her usual demeanour.

Sofia shrugged, unbothered; she couldn't care less about these two. Since Felix seemed to be absent, what was the use of pretending? Still, they must have awakened some time ago for them to be so at ease with this new girl. Or, maybe she was the only one stuck in that space? Either way, she would know the answer soon enough.

Seeing the look of unwavering calmness on Sofia, the fox girl’s expression darkened, pouting at the thought that her new toy seemed to be boring. Sofia was undisturbed by the young fox girl's theatrics but remained vigilant. She tugged lightly on her arm, prompting the girl to let go, which, to Sofia's surprise, was released with a cute 'hmph' coming from the girl.

Sofia at least recognized that the girl meant her no harm, but it would take much more than that to overwrite the years she had spent trapped. Sofia’s gaze wandered some more. All around her was the same dark forest that seemed so distant in her memory by now. Little by little, her concept of time was corrected as if the years she had lived in captivity were now but a hazy dream.

The forest was peaceful and quiet, but in the distance, she could hear the sound of the wildlife returning to their burrows, at least what remained of it. Once she determined her surroundings were safe, she locked eyes with Emil. Although she had many questions, she refrained from voicing them out. She probably wouldn't believe the answer anyway.

As if knowing her inner turmoil, Emil was the first to speak, "I don't know how long we were out of it, but I've just woken up slightly before you. If you want an accurate account, you should ask Mina. From what she was willing to tell me, she remained awake the whole time. This strange phenomenon only affected you and me."

Sofia frowned at this revelation. Did Mina get exempt from it because she wasn't human? That seemed the most logical explanation. As if corroborating her thoughts, the young fox girl said, "You were lost in the Haze. It took me a lot of effort to bring you back."

The Haze? Sofia ruminated on the name. The name was apt, as it indeed felt like she was trapped in a hazy dream that she couldn't extricate herself from. Yet, sometimes it felt too real to be a dream, especially when she... never mind. Sofia shook her head and returned to the matter at hand.

“How long?” she asked, almost to the room at large.

“How long you were trapped? Just a few hours,” the fox girl said while tilting her head cutely. “Just long enough for me to reach you from the village.”

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"I assume that's where Felix is and where we are headed?" Emil said, looking at the girl with suspicion in his eye.

The girl only smiled in response. Despite her charming features, her smile at this moment was eerily creepy, a mixture of playfulness and disdain. Sofia noticed that this look was solely directed at Emil. The girl had an entirely different expression when looking at herself or Mina. She wondered what happened between the two while she was out of it.

She looked toward Mina for an answer, but the little girl seemed oblivious to the world around her. Sofia didn't blame her. She had just watched her whole tribe perish, then obtained revenge in no time through no actions of her own. They were then whisked away with no real choice in the matter; she probably didn't know how to feel about the whole ordeal.

Sofia had no intentions of intervening between Emil and the fox. She wouldn't care as long as they didn't involve her in their dispute. However, she had wasted enough time and was still worried about Felix's current state. It wasn't long ago that a flaming tail had pierced his heart. It would be a miracle if such an action had no lasting consequences.

“When are we setting out for this village of yours?” Sofia asked dryly, interrupting the staring contest between the two.

“We can leave at any point,” the young girl said as she shrugged. “Just as long as this guy is dealt with.”

"What do you mean?" Sofia said, frowning. She hadn't expected the girl to turn hostile all of a sudden. Why bring him all this way just to stop him from going further?

"The Haze is more than just a natural occurrence," the fox girl continued. "It also serves as a filter for those who may bring harm to the village. If not for the Elder's guarantee, even you wouldn't be allowed any further."

“Is it because we are human?” Emil asked.

The fox girl glared at him but then softened just as fast before sighing, "No. That other guy passed the test just fine. There's no real metric to judge if an individual will bring harm to the village. Just call it the forest's whim if you want. Either way, you're not going any further."

There was a moment of silence between the group. Surprisingly, despite this revelation, Emil's expression was still impassive, as if it didn't matter much to him whether he was allowed in or not. Like he could force his way in at any time, which made Sofia ponder.

What’s the real reason he chose to follow Felix? Also, Felix seemed to have noticed his ulterior motives yet still allowed him to follow. Is there some history between the two? Felix seemed to get more intriguing with each passing moment.

A small fleeting smile graced Sofia's thin lips but disappeared just as fast as it appeared, returning to a cold, indifferent look that the young fox girl didn't fail to notice. That charming smile sent a shiver down the fox girl’s spine, and her back was drenched with cold sweat. She didn't know why the Elder wished to meet this woman.

Although Sofia was much more beautiful than the average woman, comparable to those of her clan, she was still just a human, no different from the rest. There was nothing that could catch the Elder's attention.

The Elder had lived for countless years through the rise and fall of myriad nations; what hadn't she seen? Yet, this slight sense of dread might offer a glimpse into why the Elder wished to meet her. The fox girl shook her head. It wasn’t for her to dare question the Elder’s intentions.

“You've got two choices in front of you," the young girl told Emil. "You can remain right here, under guard and supervision, of course, while your companions follow us to our village. Once their business is done, you can then be reunited."

“And the second?” Emil asked without batting an eye as if he had already expected such an outcome.

“You just leave. Either way, you’re not going any further.”

As she ended her sentence, she raised her hand slightly. A sound emerged, hidden within the dense foliage surrounding the clearing where they stood. Countless small balls of light emerged from the greenery, scattering their radiance in their direction. Even under the sun's light, their glow still overpowered the astral object high in the sky.

Sofia could feel the temperature rise with each passing second as a multitude of flames hovered over the bushes. Below them, she noticed a small amount of multi-coloured fur which dove beneath the thicket.

Obviously, the young fox girl had made arrangements. She wasn’t foolhardy enough to face alone the companions of the man who bested that foul beast. While she very much doubted that they would prove as dangerous as that man was, she saw no reason to take any chances.

Surrounded on all sides, Sofia remained calm and composed. Obviously, this didn't concern her one bit. Instead, she grew rather curious about Emil's reaction to this ordeal. To her disappointment, he simply rose and chose to leave.

However, before he left, he turned and addressed Sofia, "Tell him I'll be waiting for him in Redwaters. If something prevents him from going there, then we'll just be bound to see each other either way."

“How can you be sure?” Sofia asked, not at all believing that Felix would seek him out.

“Oh, he will,” he replied with a look of certainty. “Tell him Crimson is looking forward to the next time they meet.”

With that said, the man simply left, diving away into the dense forest. Sofia's thin eyebrow rose in surprise. She wondered if he knew the way out. He wouldn't just lose his way and be trapped in this forest until he died, right? Either way, it had nothing to do with her. Still, the name Crimson rang a bell.

It wasn’t until a moment later that the memory struck her. She jerked her head back toward where Emil had exited, but he was already long gone. She did remember faintly hearing the name come out of that devil's mouth. Felix seemed to be acquainted with her. Now, she grew curious. Anything related to Felix always seemed important to Sofia; she wondered why.

She put it out of her mind for the time being. She would have her answers sooner or later.

“Let’s go,” she said as she patted the absent-minded demon girl on the head, prompting her to raise her gaze. Mina looked around as if seeking Emil and Felix, yet both were gone. She grew restless, unsure of what happened, yet Sofia only smiled in return. Sofia wondered what to do with that child. She never has had much experience with children.

Oh well, let's take it one step at a time, she thought as they followed the fox-eared girl deeper into the forest.