This web... it's the web of a Forest Araneid! Eight centuries of experience told Sophia everything about this species' webs and habits. The Forest Araneid is a medium-to-large spider living in the northern Citalia forests, near the cities of Milani and Dulingnia. The female is about the size of a dire wolf, roughly 1.5 meters long. The male is much smaller, about the size of a large housecat or a small dog. The Forest Araneid isn't especially powerful—its venom isn't remarkable. It relies on intelligence (equal to a domestic dog) and is the smartest of all spiders.
Forest Araneids spin nearly invisible, extremely sticky webs between the trees, impossible for most creatures to detect. Even Sophia's infrared vision and acute hearing were no help. Just like their kin—bats and spiders—bats' echolocation can't detect such fine webs; the strands are too thin to reflect sound accurately. So, some large spiders are natural predators of bats. Bat flight is less maneuverable than a bird's; thick enough webs can easily snare a bat and hold it tight to be devoured by giant spiders.
Therefore, vampires have a primal loathing for spiders and webs. Although vampires don't end up as prey like bats do, the feeling runs deep—all vampires sense a kind of crushing dread at the sight of a spider, the same as a bat ensnared in a web. In Dominax Castle of Sylvania's Valhaz Duchy, not a single thread of web can be found.
In all her eight centuries, Sophia had practically never touched a spider web. She couldn't have—her magic was just too formidable. Even without magic, she wouldn't have hit the web, except she turned to boast to Isaac at the wrong moment. And if Bloodwing's flight hadn't been restrained by the collar, she'd never have been caught by such a trivial web. And that collar? Isaac put it on her. Both reasons, Isaac's fault. In her mind, Sophia killed Isaac a hundred times over with every cruel trick in the vampire's arsenal.
Sophia had only ever faced two or three true dangers in her entire life, so she wasn't even inclined to consider just how dangerous this situation really was—she was too busy, in her mind, mutilating a man who looked exactly like Isaac.
But now, a massive female spider, dire wolf-sized, crawled along the web towards her. Forest Araneid webs are strong—enough to restrain a tigress. But to Sophia's ogre-strong legs, they meant nothing. The only reason she was still stuck was her upper arms were tied at the elbows; even if her legs could move, it did her little good. If Bloodwing was free, she could have ripped the web apart with the cloak, now boosted by bandit blood. But that cowardly fool Isaac, when he got flung away, panicked and clung tightly to Bloodwing, tearing the cloak off her! Kill him another hundred times!
But Sophia didn't have time to keep butchering Isaac in her mind. Spiders were, to her and her kind, among the most hated things in existence. Raised among humans, Sophia loathed spiders ten thousand times more than any other vampire.
"Hey, hey, hey, you—don't come any closer! I hate spiders most of all!" Sophia used her high vampire's innate ability to communicate with evil creatures, telling the mother spider she wanted nothing to do with it.
But the collar suppressed her power. Her intent was delivered, but not the intimidation or command. The spider hesitated, then kept crawling closer.
"Don't come closer! Don't come—aaaahhh!" Sophia panicked like a noblewoman terrified of bugs, kicking out blindly and snapping one of the spider's legs clean off.
"Damn! These spiders are smart—if they fail once, they never go near my legs again!" Sophia panicked further, having lost her one chance to finish it with a kick.
The spider, leg twitching, understood the danger and began spraying silk at Sophia's long legs. This would be nothing for a high vampire—Sophia flicked her legs, easily tearing the silk, as if mocking the spider's inferiority.
But the mother spider was relentless, spinning more silk. Sophia kept tearing, but the constant motion meant she kept pulling the crotch-rope, the friction making her gasp and press her thighs together to relieve the stimulation.
The spider spotted an opening. As Sophia paused, it sprayed a dozen more layers of silk on her legs. Realizing the danger, Sophia tensed to tear free. Even a dozen layers ripped, but not as easily as before; the strands split slowly, bit by bit. The spider, sensing this, sprayed even more silk—finally, the countless layers overpowered Sophia's leg strength, and her legs were bound tight.
"AAAAHHH! Disgusting web! You little beast actually tied my legs! AHHHH I HATE SPIDER WEBS!" In the face of her deepest fear, Sophia had completely lost her imperious, queenly composure. She shrieked like a spoiled heiress.
Not satisfied, the spider wrapped a few more layers, then crawled up onto Sophia. As soon as it touched the sanctified rope, there was a fizz of burning protein—the spider jerked back.
"Hahaha! Filthy thing, you're the dirty one—see, you got burned by the rope!" Sophia hurled insults, as if she herself weren't also being burned by that same sanctified rope.
The spider learned. This time, it cocooned Sophia with silk first, blocking off the rope, then climbed up, binding her into a cocoon.
"No, no, no—I'm not yours to touch! No! Not there!" This spider, clearly experienced with human prey, drove one leg between Sophia's thighs and two against her breasts.
"AAAH! I—I'm actually being...by a bug—ah, don't—!" The spider assaulted all her sensitive spots, and, already bound by rope, Sophia's body went wild under the spider's attack, gasping uncontrollably.
"If...if I wasn't magic-sealed...I'd burn you—just give me back my powers—aaah!" The spider ignored her, and, after binding her tight, sprayed the cocoon with acid. Normally, a spider wouldn't use acid on live prey, but Sophia's relentless insults must have provoked it.
"You...idiot, you think your acid can digest...a highborn...aaah!" The spider climbed to her face to silence its noisy prize.
That moved its legs off her sensitive spots. This was her chance.
"AH-WAAH-WAAH-WAAH!" A piercing shriek erupted from Sophia—one of the Dominax family's bloodline abilities. Even with the collar, she could use the ultrasonic blast. It sent the mother spider flying off the web.
"Filthy spider bitch, feel my wrath!" But she realized the collar's suppression was severe. A full-power sonic cannon could level a castle. Just now, it barely even stunned a mother spider.
No time to think—this was her greatest fear! She panicked completely: "Isaac, help meeeeee!!!" The power of a vampire's voice echoed through the forest. Isaac was sure to hear it.
Luckily, there was only one spider—wait, no, there were two more little males in the trees...
"No, no, no, no, no!" Another sonic blast obliterated one, but the other crawled behind her head. With the collar suppressing her, Sophia's head was stuck, unable to aim another blast.
"I—I'm actually being—mmph mmph!" The male spider wrapped silk around Sophia's mouth, silencing her. Now it could safely cocoon her head.
"Mmph? MMPH!" Sophia howled in fury. A mere cat-sized spider had sealed her noble lips? Utter humiliation!
The male spider finished binding her mouth, then swaddled her head, cutting off sight and muffling her ears until she was down to human levels of perception. Now she was blind, deaf, and tightly bundled—a white, wriggling cocoon on the web, like a maggot struggling vainly.
"Mmph! MMPH!" Like any terrified noblewoman, Sophia utterly lost her composure, writhing in blind, frantic panic. She'd been violated, bound, and humiliated. If only someone—anyone—would rescue her, she'd do anything.
The male spider didn't want to eat Sophia like the mother would. It snipped the web holding her head and hung her upside down, then stuck her head to the ground with more silk, while her legs and body stayed suspended.
The spider crawled over her, endlessly stimulating all her sensitive spots. Without clothes—the acid had dissolved her conjured outfit—the rope burned her bare skin, making the sensations even sharper.
"MMPH! OOOOH! OOOOOOOH!" Her cries went unheard.
The male spider didn't give her time to process. It crawled between her legs and forced its arthropod organ inside her.
"MMPH! AAAAH! MMMPH!" Her first time, to a spider??
The spider lacked human skill, but after so long abstinent, Sophia's body was hypersensitive. Even that was enough to send her over the edge.
Forest Araneid males also implant eggs, but theirs must contact another animal's eggs to hatch; otherwise, they breed only defective monsters. Still, the spider deposited eggs in Sophia.
"MMMPH!" Realizing her first time had been with her most hated creature, Sophia was overwhelmed by shame, fury, fear, and self-loathing.
The male paid a price—its organ was seared off by the sanctified rope, making further mating impossible. Unable to mate, the male was destined to be eaten.
That didn't help Sophia. The barbed, severed spider organ inside her got pinched tighter every time she wriggled, causing intense pain and tearing.
"MMPH!"—that was all she could do. The "gelded" male spider grew bored, cut the silk holding Sophia's head, hoisted her up by her hips, and bit her bare ass for good measure.
"MMPH!" Her rear stung with pain. Then the spider spun dozens more layers, swaddling Sophia into a thick, mummified cocoon. She couldn't even squirm—completely immobilized. Soundless, senseless, hopeless, Sophia was lost in darkness and despair, praying desperately for rescue.
Meanwhile, Isaac, flung clear, still clutching Bloodwing, managed to escape injury. He heard Sophia's cry—oddly less a call for help than a spoiled noblewoman's order to a servant.
What's going on? Isaac wondered. But recalling his knight's vow, he forced himself toward the sound.
Soon he encountered the wounded mother spider, crawling desperately for its life. Isaac drew his sword, Moonlit, but hesitated, wishing it were longer. Suddenly, the blade extended itself into a segmented whip over ten meters long.
What the—this sword is incredible! Isaac, no expert with whips, swung anyway. The weapon flawlessly executed master-level strikes—Moonlit stored the skills of Sophia and the legendary demon hunter Van Dyne.
Snap! The holy whip struck the filthy spider, exploding with blue light and instantly vaporizing it.
That was easy! My first real kill! Isaac grinned, then noticed two white cocoons hanging overhead. Could Sophia be inside? He doubted it—how could such spiders capture her?
Still, maybe it was another human—Isaac, for all his faults, was a righteous man at heart. He gently drew down both cocoons with Moonlit.
Finding a male spider on one, he lashed it with the whip and it was destroyed.
He cut open the thick cocoon to reveal a petite girl, eighteen years old, about 1.63 meters, with black hair and cute freckles. She was unconscious but alive. Isaac performed mouth-to-mouth (with some groping), but she didn't wake. He laid her flat, fondling her modest chest and butt.
Next, he sliced open the other cocoon, the one that had struggled fiercely, and discovered, beneath the purple hair, his lady Sophia. He cut her free.
"Dominax Lady, are you—" Isaac wondered if she'd really been in trouble, or if this was another act.
"Oh, I was just testing whether you'd come to my rescue. If not, I'd have broken free and killed you myself." Sophia feigned calm, though inwardly, she was deeply grateful. She watched Isaac for any sign he'd realized the truth.
Isaac considered, then moved to cut her remaining bonds. "Shall I...?"
"Wait—where's the male spider?" Sophia's eyes showed real fear.
"That little one? I whipped it to death with this," Isaac said, brandishing the whip.
"You really are a hero, Isaac! That male spider was evil!" Sophia tried to act like she was delegating, not scared. Noting his use of the whip, she added, "Only the pure of heart can use that weapon's full potential, or so they say. Guess monster hunters are full of shit!"
Isaac wasn't sure if he should be proud or insulted.
Returning to business: "Shall I finish unbinding you, or will you break free yourself?" Isaac wanted to test her.
"Uh, wait—pick me up first, and cover me with my cloak!" Sophia had forgotten how many times she'd fantasized about killing Isaac.
Isaac, realizing she was naked, wrapped her in Bloodwing. Sophia blushed—no one who saw her naked had ever lived, except possibly Isaac (though she planned to erase his memory later).
"Uh, miss, this girl is still out from lack of air—can you help her?"
"I could, but why should I?" Sophia disliked wasting her magic on what she saw as lesser beings.
"Because you owe me for saving you," Isaac replied.
Annoyed, Sophia agreed. "Fine. Pry her mouth open."
Isaac complied. Still bound, Sophia hopped over and extended her fangs.
"What are you—?" Isaac thought she was about to feed.
"Idiot, I'm making spirit blood for her!" Sophia snapped.
"Spirit blood? Isn't that—"
"Yes, only vampire royals can make potions from their own blood directly. Even high vampires need alchemy to do it. I'm a genius—none of those ancient vampires are on my level. With the collar off, I could make elixirs of immortality!"
Isaac wasn't interested in immortality.
Seeing his indifference, Sophia fumed. "Idiot! I can make love potions, panaceas, invisibility draughts—anything. For things like healing, I don't even need magic, just my blood."
"Then please, save her."
"Not unless you look impressed!" Sophia demanded praise.
Isaac exaggerated his awe: "Oh, Lady Sophia, your talents are amazing! Please, save this poor girl!"
"That's better." Sophia smiled, dazzling Isaac. She bit the girl's lip, letting a few drops of healing blood flow. The girl instantly revived.
She saw herself being mouth-to-mouth'd by a cloaked woman and recoiled.
"Hey, no need to freak out—we just saved your life. You were wrapped in spider silk, we were giving you CPR," Sophia explained.
"Really? Thank you!" The girl bowed. "Why do I feel so good?" Her skin was smooth, even her freckles and pimples were gone.
"Who are you two?" she asked, still wary.
"I'm Isaac, this is—"
"Sophie. Isaac is my servant. We were traveling, got caught by Forest Araneid, and he rescued us both."
"That spider was a Forest Araneid?" The girl screamed. "Their males—"
"Yes, did it get you?" Sophia asked, knowing Araneid eggs could be fatal.
"No... I'm fine, thanks to you!" the girl replied. "My name is Georgina, from Waterwheel Village. Please come to my home!"
"We have business. Is there a cave nearby?" Sophia asked.
"Yes, I can show you." Grateful, Georgina led them on.
She asked Sophia, "But, Sophie, were you—"
"Of course not, they ran from me. I got caught on purpose," Sophia lied.
"Caught on purpose?" Georgina asked, puzzled.
Sophia wanted to end the topic. "We have things to do. Isaac, get out the dagger."
Bloodheart's gem could store magic, like a super scroll. Sophia had pre-loaded it with fire spells, emergency outfit magic, and Julius family cutting spells. She couldn't use them while sealed, but Isaac could.
"Isaac, hold the dagger, focus on it, then focus on my body under the cloak."
Isaac obeyed.
"Now, repeat after me: &#￥@&U&￥%￥@...##$$." Sophia spoke the activation for the fire spell.
Nothing happened.
"You idiot! Even a fool could cast this spell, but you—!"
Georgina intervened. "Shall I try, Sophie?"
"Fine, show him."
Georgina followed the instructions. Fire flickered beneath the cloak, burning away the silk. The smell of singed protein filled the air.
"Nothing much, just a little trick," Sophia taunted Isaac.
Georgina wasn't offended; she recognized Sophia as a noble. Instead, she continued following orders, helping Sophia conjure new clothes.
Back in her skin-tight leather, gloves, and boots, Sophia was satisfied. Georgina led them to the cave.
"Sophie, is it really here?" Isaac asked, lighting a torch.
"Of course. I've found it. To the left, there's a dead adventurer with four gold coins."
Sure enough, Isaac found the coins.
Suddenly, Sophia blew out the torch with ultrasound.
"What was that?" Georgina and Isaac panicked.
"Forest goblins," Sophia said in the darkness.
Forest goblins, unlike the plains variety, are evil, treacherous, sadistic, and lustful—kidnapping women as sex slaves before killing and eating them. They can see in darkness, but nothing like vampires.
Five goblins crept toward Sophia, weapons ready, leering.
"Hey, boys, want to tie me up and drag me home as a sex slave?" Sophia taunted.
"YAAAH!" The five lunged with lassos, aiming to make her their plaything.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Five heads exploded under Sophia's heels.
"I don't drink goblin blood," Sophia muttered.
"What happened?!" Georgina shrieked at the noise.
"Don't worry, I just killed some goblins. Stay quiet!" Isaac reassured her, holding her close.
"Isaac, you're a true hero!" Georgina said, clutching his hand.
Sophia heard two larger figures approaching: "Well, well, ogre-goblins." Two-meter brutes.
One charged with a club; Sophia dodged and kicked its neck, snapping vertebrae. The ogre, enraged, charged again. Sophia jumped, landing a kick to the skull.
The second ogre, seeing its comrade fall, roared. Sophia mocked, "If you defeat me, what will you do with me? Ravage me?"
The ogre charged Sophia. At the same time, Sophia heard chanting twenty meters away: "Goblin shaman, still as treacherous as ever." A fireball flew from a tunnel. Rather than dodging optimally to the side, Sophia leaped up and kicked the charging ogre into the best spot to take the fireball's blow.
Clang—a huge iron cage fell from above, trapping the ogre tightly.
"Lustful goblin shaman, you want to force me into your trap with a fireball, then have your way with my perfect body?"
Sophia's sharp eyes in the darkness saw fear in the goblin shaman's eyes as he turned to flee. "You won't escape, lustful shaman." The darkness became Sophia's perfect cover, while the goblins had no idea where she was. The hunters became the hunted. "WAAAH!" A sonic blast hit the shaman, knocking him flat.
He wasn't killed by the weakened sonic blast from the collar, so: "WAAH! WAAH!" Another, then another—five, ten times—until the unfortunate shaman's body was blasted to pieces.
A flurry of sword and heel sounds followed. Soon the cave was silent again.
"What happened?" Georgina and Isaac had no idea what was going on.
"All done, relight the torch." Sophia's voice returned.
Isaac lit the torch and feigned having just fought a hard battle: "Phew, that was close! Good thing I keep fit. Otherwise, you two ladies would have been in real danger."
"Yes, Isaac, if not for you, I'd have become the goblins' sex slave, left to their abuse, humiliation, and rape." Sophia played along.
"Oh, heroic Isaac, are you hurt?" Georgina looked at Isaac with shining eyes, idolizing him.
"Sophie, there might still be danger in this cave. Be careful," Isaac signaled Sophia.
"I think it's safe now; we can proceed boldly. Besides, with Isaac here, we're safe." Sophia hinted the danger was gone.
"That's right, I feel secure with Isaac!" Georgina blushed as she looked at Isaac.
They advanced to the end of the cave, collecting loot from dead adventurers on Sophia's instructions—adventurers lured by Sophia's rumors of a universal key, and all perished here. Isaac wondered: could goblins really have killed so many adventurers?
At the end of the path was a treasure chest. As they approached, a huge suit of armor appeared, floating in the air.
"You who trespass—""Georgina, can you leave this dangerous place for a while? The rest of the cave is safe." Sophia paid no mind to the menacing armor, only wanting Georgina out of harm's way."O-okay…" Georgina, not afraid of the dark, quietly left for the cave's depths.
"I am the guardian of—""Silence, in the name of Dominax."
At the words "in the name of Dominax," the armor instantly fell silent.
"Sorry, guardian, I shouldn't have killed you and bound your soul here." Sophia apologized to the silent armor, as if this soul-bound guardian had been a result of her curiosity and mischief centuries ago. Sophia had left the soul here to guard the universal key, to see if any human adventurers could find it—or more bluntly, to see who would die, the guardian or the intruders. Most of the dead adventurers were clearly bisected or pulverized—not the work of goblins.
The armor still said nothing."I'm sorry. Rest in peace, in the name of Dominax."
The armor vanished, its spirit dissipating before Sophia and Isaac's eyes.
Sophia turned to Isaac, intending for him to open the chest with his free hands. But her eyes, which could see into the spirit world, spotted something terrifying.
"Watch out!" Sophia cried. Isaac lunged forward. The giant armor reappeared, but this time, pitch black.
It was a wraith—a soul formed from deep hatred.
"Sophia von Dominax, I curse you!""Come for revenge?" Isaac asked Sophia, terrified of the wraith: "You shouldn't have bound it here! Four hundred years, trapped by you—what would you do if you were caged for centuries?"
Sophia tried to bluff. If the wraith didn't know her current state, it might believe she could still obliterate it with a wave of her hand: "Wraith, I was wrong before. You can rest now. You don't want your soul erased from existence, do you?"
"You're tightly bound, powerless. Dominax, your end is here." The wraith raised a sword three men tall, seeking vengeance for its four centuries of imprisonment.
It slashed down. Sophia could only dodge. If she wasn't bound, even without magic or bloodline powers, pure martial skill would be enough to destroy it. But now, with only her legs at 80% strength, and crotch-rope friction so sensitive it made her leak, she was no match. Worse, the wraith could shift to spirit form, immune to physical attacks—Sophia's kicks would just pass through.
Sophia could dodge the attacks—she was the strongest vampire, her movement ghostlike.
"Isaac, Moonlit! It's the only thing that can harm it here!" Sophia shouted. Magic weapons like Bloodheart or Evelyn could hurt wraiths, but Bloodheart was too short, and less effective than Moonlit against evil creatures. Evelyn required Sophia's blood to fire. Isaac understood.
But Isaac was frozen in fear by the scene:"You're kidding—this thing could level the capital's walls in a few swings…"
Sophia knew: if the wraith smashed the cave too much, the whole place would collapse. She glared with blood-red vampire eyes, ordering: "By your lady's command, draw Moonlit—attack!"
The look of terror was beaten by Sophia's authority. Isaac finally drew Moonlit, torch in the left hand, legs shaking as he moved up. A single slash cleaved through the armor—Moonlit cut it like paper, no resistance at all.
"Ahh! Holy energy!" The armor turned to attack Isaac.
The giant sword slashed down, but Moonlit only stored combat techniques, not footwork—Isaac was just a puppet for Sophia and Van Dyne's moves. If the enemy moved or attacked him, Moonlit was no help.
Whoosh! Bloodwing wrapped Sophia's left foot, blocking the blow for Isaac. The wraith's giant strength sheared the foot clean off; the cloak started to repair itself. Sophia's left foot was cut off, but she had saved Isaac.
"Hit the gem in its helmet with the whip!" Sophia, fighting pain, shouted.
Isaac willed Moonlit to become a whip, lashing at the helmet. Master-level skill hit instantly; the holy whip pierced all the wraith's defenses, smashed through the helmet, and struck the gem at its core, shattering it.
"WAWAWAWAWA~~~" The wraith dissipated.
Isaac collapsed to the ground. Sophia, missing her left foot, also sat down: "Go open the chest for me…"
Ten minutes later...
Isaac, princess-carrying Sophia—fully wrapped in Bloodwing—left the cave with Georgina.
Sophia was in a foul mood; Isaac had seen her lose her left foot, exposing her vulnerability. Isaac was even starting to suspect Sophia couldn't read his mind anymore; his stray thoughts went unpunished. He'd witnessed all her past mischief and her creations' out-of-control actions. Worse, her toy had confessed she was helpless without magic. Now, missing a foot, she was totally dependent on this man. Had her nightmare come true...?
Sophia and Isaac planned to rest at Georgina's home in Waterwheel Village until Sophia recovered, before heading back to the Kingdom of Gruns.
Georgina's father, a blacksmith, offered Isaac a suit of armor as thanks for saving his daughter. Isaac declined—he'd served in the army; real heroes didn't go around burdened by dozens of kilos of armor. It was too heavy and hot. Instead, Isaac accepted several gold coins. After a dinner at Georgina's, Sophia's foot eventually grew back. Isaac also finally learned how to use the magic stored in Bloodheart, restoring the over-knee boot on Sophia's left foot.
To avoid attracting attention in Waterwheel Village, Bloodwing formed a hood, also blocking sunlight. Outsiders saw Sophia and Isaac as travelers, and Georgina's tale quickly spread: Isaac the hero was now a village legend.
———
Night fell, Waterwheel Village.
Afu was a thieving, sticky-fingered man. After a night of stealing, he spotted a cloaked, hooded woman lying unconscious in the road—the very beauty who'd arrived that day. Afu, delighted at his luck, decided to tie her up. To his surprise, she was already bound. Even better! Afu slung her over his shoulder, taking her and his stolen loot home.
He pondered how to enjoy the beauty. As he started undoing his belt, the "unconscious" woman spoke: "So, you're not a gentleman, are you? When you find a fainting lady, you carry her like baggage instead of in a princess hold? That's your hospitality?"
"You... shut up, bitch, I'll have you first!" Afu was startled—was this a trap? But she was bound, so what could she do? He grabbed her to throw her to the ground—
"Yes, rape me first, right?" The woman suddenly twisted off his shoulder with agility, closed in, bared her fangs, and bit into his neck.
———The next day..."Did you hear? Afu was attacked by a vampire.""He was a thief—good riddance.""Died with his pants down? Must've been a female vampire!""There's no such thing as female vampires.""I bet the blacksmith's daughter, Georgina, is a vampire.""Don't talk nonsense—the blacksmith would kill you.""Maybe it's that hooded woman who arrived yesterday?""The blacksmith said she came with the hero.""Maybe she's just the vampire's servant?""Hey, don't talk, she's right there!"
Villagers gossiped. Sophia, at the village edge in her hood, listened to every word with her superhuman hearing.
"Lady Dominax," Isaac approached Sophia, "why did you kill?" His tone was angry and confused.
"I need to feed Bloodwing—otherwise we can't fly back." Sophia answered directly.
"I swore never to betray human morality! You kill us so casually! I can't travel with you anymore!" Isaac was not satisfied.
"I intentionally walked outside at night to see if anyone with evil intent would approach. I don't kill good people." Sophia usually didn't explain herself to "lesser beings," but for the first time, she tried.
"I'm a lecher too! Does that mean I deserve to be killed? That thief didn't deserve death! You said he lusted after you, but you baited him! Are we nothing to you?" Isaac finally exploded.
"No, it's not that," Sophia was stung—many people have evil inside, but without temptation, might never act on it.
As she searched for a reply, she sensed a movement. Turning, she saw Georgina, hands over her mouth, staring in shock.
"No—you're not!" Georgina fled in tears.
"Isaac!" Sophia yelled, "Go after her, or we'll be exposed!"
Isaac, realizing the urgency, shot Sophia a glare and ran after Georgina.
She was soon caught. Isaac tackled her and, as she sobbed, "No, Isaac, you're not that kind of person, you're not conspiring with vampires!"
Isaac, at a loss, tied her hands behind her back. Georgina wore a village girl's skirt—Isaac didn't lift it, but bound her legs together, skirt and all. Then he tore a strip of cloth and gagged her, leaving her sobbing and moaning. Isaac threw Georgina over his shoulder, checked that no one saw, and carried her back to Sophia at the village edge.
"What should we do?" Isaac asked Sophia, worriedly eyeing the bound, struggling Georgina. He blamed Sophia for killing Afu, but knew she wouldn't harm someone like Georgina.
"We have no choice. I'll just take a little of her blood, all right?" Sophia, surprisingly, asked Isaac's permission.
"Fine, but don't hurt her."
With agreement, Sophia bent down: "Sorry, Georgina."
Her fangs grew and she took only a small amount of blood, creating a three-second anti-collar field. Georgina saw a pair of red eyes—she understood: Afu was a vampire, faked his death with a corpse, and tried to kill her to keep his secret. The hero Isaac and his mistress Sophie chased Afu away and never returned.
———One day later...
In a twin room at an inn in the big city of Lyonnesse, not far from Gruns' military camp.
"Do I really have to wear this?" Sophia asked Isaac, who held a set of shackles.
"To stop you from preying on the innocent, your feet must be chained."
"I could still—""No, you can't. Your own wraith said so." Isaac destroyed her last hope.
"Fine, I guess I'm really your prisoner now, Isaac." Sophia returned to her usual flippant tone.
"My lady, I must protect you and everyone else—sorry." Isaac stayed serious.
In her heart, Sophia thought, "You say you'll protect me, but you're always the first to panic."
"Isaac, don't look so grim, tell me a joke." Sophia tried to lighten the mood.
Isaac did, telling a silly joke: "Frogs can hop."
Sophia laughed, but then something strange happened—the shackles' chain shrank, forcing her legs together, finally fusing into a single shackle that bound her legs tight.
"Damn!" Sophia shouted, Isaac baffled.
"These shackles—they're cursed with a lewd spell!""What?""Some mages make special play-shackles. Whoever puts them on is set as 'master.' The master can use a trigger phrase to adjust the chain length—like your frog joke, which is clearly a fusion phrase!""So what do we do?""Try other phrases—there must be one to reverse it, or lengthen the chain!""Okay—""Ugh…this is hard…""What is it?""Nothing…just try more phrases!"
Isaac kept spouting nonsense phrases, not noticing Sophia struggling to hide her pain—her gut was cramping from the giant meal she'd eaten days earlier, and now she couldn't even walk…
"Fire lizard eats cactus, kiwi flies, rooster killed a pebble…" Isaac kept trying random words, while Sophia strained to maintain a straight face…
———Is this the end?Not yet.
The same day Sophia's feet were chained, back in Citalia, Waterwheel Village…
A girl of about 21, 1.7 meters tall, full of heroic spirit, arrived at Waterwheel Village. She wore a flat-brimmed, nearly conical, high-crowned hat—a classic demon hunter's hat. With the brim shadowing her face, her features were unclear, but from a distance you could see the dark wine-red hair under the hat. She wore a brown-black coat and brown leather pants.
On her back was a silver repeating crossbow with a massive revolver-like drum, holding sixty silver bolts. At her belt: a hand-and-a-half sword with a crossguard, and a demon hunter's whip. On her tight leather shirt, beneath her C-cup chest, hung four flintlock pistols. Her belt held more daggers, and her thighs two hand crossbows, each with an auto-loading device: press the bow against it to cock and reload, the machine snaps a folded bolt into place. The left crossbow loaded with silver, the right with steel tips.
The girl now sat in a tavern, hat set aside, revealing a striking, heroic face. Her wine-red hair hung just to her shoulders. With a high nose and emerald eyes, she had shed her coat to show off her cool, sexy outfit—a black high-collared shirt with a diamond-shaped cutout above the chest, trimmed with black lace, exposing the upper curves of her D-cup breasts and collarbone. The sleeves were classic loose, elbow-length Renaissance-style linen. A red leather corset cinched her waist, with more daggers. Brown leather pants hugged her legs, highlighting her figure.
A finely-crafted longsword lay on the table. Opposite her sat Georgina, who she'd treated to dinner in exchange for information.
The red-haired woman questioned Georgina, whose story about the late, unlucky Afu was full of logical errors—though Georgina herself was convinced.
"No other way," the woman said, taking out a vial and a gold coin. "Drink this, and I'll give you a gold piece."
Georgina drank, but her story didn't change.
"No trace of spellcasting or tampering? Top-level mind manipulation? Is it supreme magic or bloodline power?" the woman mused.
"If it's supreme magic, it must be Julius?Or—bet it's bloodline power?" She flipped a coin.Heads."Bloodline, then. Only three families in the world have unknown bloodline powers. One can't possibly be in Rosenland.""So it's either Safisanis, or Dominax?""If it's Dominax, then my target is near.""Thanks, Georgina." The girl flashed a hunter's smile, stood up, donned her coat, slung the crossbow, and took her hat.
"My prey, here I come." She sheathed her sword, shouldered her gear, and strode out.
Villagers gossiped:"Who is that woman?""With the high-crowned hat? Avoid her, unless you want disaster.""She's the kind that brings calamity.""How do you know?""Look at her crest.""She's too far—I can't see.""That woman is a Belmont."