Chapter 28: The Dancer Without Her Mask...

The snow crunched beneath Nox’s boots as he carried Audrey.

The huntress was draped over his shoulder like a particularly attractive sack of potatoes that was also dangerously drunk.

"Mmh..."

Audrey mumbled something incomprehensible.

Then she tried to hug a streetlamp.

Missed.

And ended up hugging Nox’s neck instead.

The demon sighed.

"You were definitely drugged."

"Mmh..."

"And you’re also very drunk."

"Mmhh..."

"And you’ll probably remember none of this tomorrow."

Audrey smiled in her sleep.

Nox shook his head.

Then continued walking through the snowy streets of the village.

The night was quiet.

The lanterns still illuminated the roads.

And after all the alcohol, gambling, scams, and the masked dancers’ performance...

The only thing he wanted was to return to the inn and sleep for a very long time.

Then two figures appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

Nox raised an eyebrow.

They were the two bald men.

Big, broad, and wearing the exact same expression of complete idiocy.

"What a surprise."

Both men smiled.

And a third voice spoke from the shadows behind them.

"Who the hell thinks he’s taking my merchandise?"

Nox slowly turned his head.

A thin silhouette emerged from the darkness of an alley.

Elegant.

And somewhat drunk.

The demon immediately felt a tremendous amount of disgust.

’Ah. One of those.’

It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

The two bald idiots had drugged Audrey, planned to take her away, and were now upset because someone else had beaten them to it.

His hand slowly moved toward one of the knives hidden beneath his coat.

But there was a problem.

He couldn’t put Audrey down.

The huntress could barely stay conscious.

"Think carefully about what you’re about to do."

One of the bald men smiled.

"Put the girl down."

"We won’t hurt you."

Nox let out a laugh.

"Sure."

The other bald man nodded.

"We promise."

The demon stared at them for a few seconds before speaking.

"I’m not leaving my friend with a bunch of damn perverts."

He pointed his dagger at them.

"Bald bastards."

Both men started laughing.

Even the man in the alley chuckled.

"You hear that?"

"The masked guy wants to play hero."

One of the bald men stepped forward and reached for the knife.

Probably thinking it’d be easy to take it away.

A serious mistake.

[Grand Hunter’s Agility]

The skill activated.

Nox twisted his body, avoided the grab, and his dagger sliced through the bald man’s hand.

Several fingers flew through the air and landed in the snow.

The bald man froze.

Looking at his hand.

Looking at the fingers on the ground.

Looking at the blood staining the snow.

Then he turned pale.

"Huh?"

The blood wouldn’t stop pouring out.

"HUH?"

And finally he screamed.

"MY HAND!!"

Nox immediately pointed at the second man.

"Don’t come any closer."

The other bald man took half a step back.

But the voice from the alley rang out again.

"You’re stopping because of that?"

The man laughed.

"Don’t be pussies. It’s just a cut."

The two bald men looked at each other.

And decided to completely ignore Nox.

Their target was Audrey.

Both rushed forward, trying to grab her.

And at that exact moment...

A figure appeared from above.

A kick slammed into both men.

They were launched several meters through the air.

And crashed into a shop sign.

Wood shattered.

Snow exploded everywhere.

And silence fell over the street.

Nox blinked.

A woman landed in front of him.

Black hair.

An elegant figure.

Bright eyes.

And beauty capable of stopping any man’s heart.

The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Then smiled.

"Are you alright?"

Nox recognized her immediately.

It was her.

The dancer.

The same woman from the stage.

Misty.

Without her mask.

And she was even more beautiful up close.

"Yeah."

Nox answered without looking away.

"I think so."

The woman smiled.

"I’m glad to hear that."

Then she gave a small bow.

"My name is Mistral."

She shrugged.

"But everyone calls me Misty."

Nox smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

"Wait a second."

The woman turned toward the alley.

"I’m not finished yet."

Then she disappeared with a leap.

Leaving behind a gust of wind.

And she was gone.

For several seconds, only the sounds of impacts could be heard.

"WAIT!"

"OW!"

"NO, NO, NO!"

"AAAH!"

More impacts.

More screaming.

More pain.

Then Misty returned.

Dragging an extremely skinny man behind her.

Bruised.

Battered.

And completely terrified.

She dropped him onto the snow.

Nox looked at him.

"That’s the guy who was threatening us?"

"Yes."

Nox blinked.

"What a disappointment."

The man tried to protest.

But couldn’t.

He was missing several teeth.

Nox shook his head.

"He looks exactly like someone who’d hide behind two giant bald guys and try to kidnap women."

Misty burst out laughing.

"I was about to say the exact same thing."

Both of them looked back at the man.

The guy seemed to want to disappear.

Misty sighed.

"Sorry about the trouble."

She crossed her arms.

"Things like this don’t usually happen around here."

Nox raised an eyebrow.

"Is it really that obvious we’re not from this village?"

Misty smiled and completely ignored the question.

Which answered it.

Nox laughed.

"Fair enough."

The woman observed him for a few seconds.

"By the way, you never introduced yourself."

Nox froze.

For a moment, he almost said his old name.

"Ty..."

He immediately corrected himself.

"...Nox."

Misty tilted her head slightly.

"Nox."

She repeated the name.

"That’s interesting."

"Oh?"

The woman smiled.

"It reminds me of a story I used to hear before bed when I was little."

Nox laughed.

"I can’t believe someone used stories about demons as bedtime tales."

Misty started laughing.

"You’re right. Now that I think about it, it was pretty strange."

They shared a small laugh.

Then the woman looked at the two bald men.

And the beaten-up thug.

And sighed.

"I need to clean up this mess."

Nox nodded.

"Sounds fun."

Misty smiled.

"But I hope you enjoy your stay."

She pointed toward the frozen lake.

"If you need anything..."

She tucked her hair behind her ear again.

"...you can find me near the lake every morning."

Nox nodded.

"I’ll remember that. And thanks."

Misty glanced at the knife beneath his coat.

Then smiled.

"Honestly..."

She pointed at the weapon.

"...I think you could’ve handled it yourself."

Nox looked at the dagger.

Then at the two bald men.

Then at the toothless thug.

And finally back at her.

"Maybe."

Misty smiled.

Then took a step back.

"See you later, Nox."

"See you later, Misty."

A gust of wind swept through the street.

And the dancer began walking away.

Meanwhile, Audrey was still hanging over Nox’s shoulder.

Completely asleep.

Making strange little noises.

"Mmh..."

Nox watched Misty disappear among the lights of the village.

Then adjusted Audrey on his shoulder.

And continued toward the inn.