Confused, the elf tilted her head as the man's words reached her ears amidst the dense forest, illuminated by the lights of the red and green moons. However, as quickly as her bewilderment kicked in, she managed to regain her composure and snapped herself back to the present moment. She stared at the man and emerged in her thoughts. It was the dead of night, yet a naked man was standing here in the middle of the crash site. No injuries? No remaining clothes? No one else? Just he and his name. Nothing made sense.

Gabriel looked at her while his gray eyes were shining out of curiosity for this young woman he just met.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“… My name is Sophia.” She answered after not noticing any hostilities from his question.

“Sophia…” He repeated what she said innocently.

“Are you a Reborn?”

“A Reborn?”

“Never mind.”

His answers only brought out more questions. Judging from how he responded, he was either an idiot or a good actor, she thought. Then, she looked at her pet, which wasn't on high alert. But she still didn’t let all her guard down yet. Then, her fox suddenly jumped out of her hands and walked, before stopping and sitting under Gabriel. Its almond-shaped black pupils gazed sharply at him. But its gaze illustrated fascinatingly like a child.

“Reborn?” Gabriel’s eyes shined bright as his hand reached down and petted Fluffy.

“No, silly. He is Fluffy.” Sophia approached him, stopping about 1 meter away.

“Fluffy…” His pupils dilated while looking at Fluffy.

“… You are something, aren’t you?” Sophia looked at Fluffy and Gabriel.

“No, I’m Gabriel.” He said, tilting his head.

She chuckled and removed her cloak, revealing a green hunting suit and leather armor beneath. The vibrant green of the suit shimmered like leaves in sunlight, complemented by the sleek brownish leather armor. The armor fit snugly around her chest and shoulders, without restricting her movement. A belt adorned with small pockets and a sharp knife hung at her side, while two gun holders encircled her thighs just below her waist.

“Here, wear this, you pervert.” She gently threw the cloak into his hands.

Gabriel caught the cloak and looked at it puzzled, before clumsily wearing it and covering his “special” place. Sophia rolled her eyes and smiled slightly at such a sight. Even a good actor couldn’t display such stupidity and clumsiness.

As Sophia’s long ears suddenly twitched at a noise behind her, she turned around to find a hooded figure. Although the figure hurriedly tried to flee, she caught a brief glimpse and recognized the person. Covered by the red hood, his old and wrinkled face, there was no doubt that he was the cultist and her prey, and he wouldn’t get away this time. She started chasing after the man, with Fluffy by her side.

The man maneuvered through the dense forest, crushing branches and hitting trees at each turn as his red hood flew in the wind. Meanwhile, Sophia and Fluffy ran through the trees and bushes without making any sound, like a pair of foxes hunting a helpless rabbit.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What if he saw me chasing him? He would lead me to a place far away from where they hid the girl.” She said as she quickly climbed onto the tree.

Sophia continued to skip through the trees like a squirrel and kept an eye on the man, leaving her companion on the ground to chase him on its own. After a while, he stopped. While he was breathing heavily, he looked behind him and saw nothing except from him and the forest.

“Did they follow me?” The hooded man quickly examined the tree before smiling a bit.

“He didn’t see me and Fluffy…” Sophia thought, “Fluffy will strike first and then…”

Sophia carefully took out the black Glock pistol on her right gun holder. She held the gun within her eye’s sight while continuing to watch the man’s movement closely. Her fingers moved swiftly around the gun, examining it and unlocking two of the firing pin and the trigger safety. She held it tightly in her hands and aimed at the man. Suddenly, from behind, another black cloak man came forth from behind him.

“What were you doing?” The black hooded man asked.

“I went to the meteorite site, but then I saw the girl whom we got away from last time.”

“Damn it! Is she around here?”

“I think she lost me.”

“Sophia! Fluffy!” Gabriel popped up from the bushes in front of the hooded men and looked around. “You aren’t Sophia.”

“Sophia!?” Both men asked.

“Did he follow me all the way here? Ah yes, I left him there.” Sophia thought.

“Change of plan, this whole forest will be burned down starting with him.” The black cloak man aimed his palm at Gabriel. “[Fireball]”

From the man’s palm, a sphere of flame gradually manifested, lighting up the area like a miniature sun. Gabriel looked at the ball, confused. Sophia ground her teeth while sweating profusely. Then, she snapped her fingers, sending a signal for Fluffy to jump out and bite the red man’s hand. As it jumped out, a blue energy surrounded it, turning it into a grown fox.

Fluffy’s fangs clamped into the man’s flesh as blood came out, and he screamed in agony. His eyes filled with annoyance while he was constantly swinging his arm around to throw the fox away.

His companion was shocked and tried to help him, but then Sophia shot him through his right leg. He fell down, hugging his leg and biting his lips. Meanwhile, Gabriel just looked shocked and dismayed at everything happening around him.

“That elf is here!” The man stopped biting his lips and screamed out.

“Stop shooting or your pet will get it.” The other man said as he aimed the fireball at Fluffy and examined the surroundings.

Despite still holding her gun tightly to her hand, Sophia refused to take another shot because Fluffy was endangered.

“DIE!” The black cloak man said as he threw Fluffy aside and released the fireball to Sophia before she could shoot him.

Sophia jumped down from the tree and curled her body into a ball, landing on the bushes with minimal injuries, but the fireball ignited the trees. Fluffy was standing on the ground, hurt yet still able to fight.

Despite only being here for a few minutes, Gabriel couldn’t help but feel anger toward the man who caused such destruction to those he met and the place he stood on.

From Gabriel’s body, brilliant yellow energy started to burst out and engulf him. It circled around him before turning into a halo hovering above his head. A pair of white feather wings sprouted out from his back. He looked at the culprit of the fire.

Sophia and the injured cultist lying on the ground couldn't even mutter a single word at such a sight.

“It can’t be- It’s an angel!” Before the dark cloak man could even finish his sentences, Gabriel flew toward him, grabbed him, and soared upward.

As Gabriel held the man’s cloak, the cultist kept asking and begging for forgiveness. But then Gabriel stopped midair, he stopped for a moment before looking at the angel’s face. Despite the radiant light from the halo and the moons, he could only see the unmoving lips above him. There wasn’t any smile, no expression, and then the angel released his grip.

The man was dropped onto the burning trees of his doings, yet his eyes were still fixed on the being he witnessed. No scream, no beg, and just silent staring as he fell to his death.