Chapter 184 - - First Contact

"Can you stop crying now? I really don't like seeing you sad." Talon said as he extended his hand to wipe the tears from Sophie's face, only to realize the mistake he had made and quickly pulled his hand away.

"Ehem, sorry."

"It's fine…" Sophie wiped her face herself as she looked down awkwardly.

'I almost forgot that Sophie doesn't like her face to be touched or to touch anyone's face. She never told me why. But, from what I know, it has to do with something that happened to her when she was young.' He thought to himself.

This was the only thing he didn't know about Sophie and the only thing she refused to tell him about no matter why he asked. Even when they had their first kiss, she couldn't hold his face at all. That was the first time he realized that Sophie had some kind of trauma from that small gesture.

'I guess it's pointless to try and guess why. It's something she wants to keep a secret so I have no right to be curious.' He thought to himself as he turned around.

"Well, let's get this over with before leaving. This place stinks." He said.

The girl nodded her head as they finally started moving again. This time, they were walking next to each other at a way smaller distance than before. All the tension and awkwardness vanished and were replaced with a serene atmosphere.

A few minutes passed before the two ended up at the end of the tunnel. A huge pit was right in front of them.

"We're here…" Talon murmured as he stepped forward. "I can't feel my Azure Flames anymore. They have completely died off."

"Did all the rats die?" Sophie asked.

"Most likely. I can't feel the presence of any rat nearby." Taking a peek into the pit, all Talon could see was an empty field filled with water.

"Yeah, as I expected. Nothing is down here." Talon said as he turned around. "It's completely clear."

"Great!! We succeeded!"

"We might need to send a few scouts the explore the rest of the tunnels in the future to make sure they're completely clean. But, yeah, for now, it's a success."

Extending her hand, Sophie excitedly high-fived Talon. "Team Talon-Sophie finished the mission! We're the best!"

"Haha, since when did this team have a name?" Talon chuckled.

"Since now. It's official. Write it down." Sophie smiled back.

"Is this a historical moment of some kind?"

"It is, it is! Like, the moment our legend was born. A legend that will change the entire world!" Sophie exclaimed.

"You read too many of my dad's books. Now you're talking like him." Talon retorted amusedly.

"Hey! That's not true. Wait, did he release a new book?"

"The last time he released a book was a year ago."

"Oh, that one, I did buy it. It was a pretty good read."

"Wait, you did buy it? It didn't succeed though. I'm sure you're the only fan left that dad has." Talon rolled his eyes before he started walking again.

"Your dad's books are really good. He has an amazing ability to create beautiful worlds through words. His books would've been huge hits with some luck." She said.

"I wonder…" The young man murmured.

'My dad's books are indeed not bad. He is just stubborn in his own ways and that stopped him from actually succeeding. Sigh…' Just remembering the struggle his father had to go through made him feel a headache.

"Anyway, let's leave," Talon said as he put all of those thoughts at the back of his head.

***

With that, the duo went on their way back to the exit. Since the string was still attached to Sophie, the journey back was really swift. The trip took them an hour at first, but the comeback was barely a few minutes.

When they emerged from the manhole, Talon threw the mask away as he inhaled and exhaled with a relieved look on his face.

"Finally, fresh air! I can't believe how much I missed this." He said.

"Me too… *Inhale* This is like heaven." Sophie replied with closed eyes. "I'm relieved everything went smoothly. It almost could've been a disaster."

"Yeah…"

'It oddly went as I wanted. This is very rare as every single time I try to do something, something bad happens and ruins the plan. Well, I guess with how strong we're getting, the chances of failure in easier missions became more unlikely to happen.' Talon thought to himself as he turned around.

At that moment, he suddenly felt something buzzing in his back pocket.

"Hm?" Looking back, Talon realized that the buzzing was coming from one of the radio devices he confiscated from Sophie's guards. Since he knew that sooner or later, the base would notice their disappearance, they would naturally try to communicate with them. That's why he kept one of these devices on him just in case.

'It took them a week to realize that… How well did Sophie hide her disappearance?' He wondered as he gave the girl a glance. 'I guess she's an expert when it comes to sneaking out of the house and meeting with me, I'm not shocked she pulled this off.' He thought to himself as he pulled the device out and threw it to Sophie.

"Here, answer it." He said.

"Hm? Ugh, should I really do that?" She asked as she scrunched her face. In reality, Sophie didn't want to contact the base since she knew what they would say.

"Your dad is probably worried about you. Besides, I want to talk with the human society in Gwangju if possible."

"... Are you sure, Talon?"

"Oh, you have no idea how sure I am." He replied as his eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. "I have been eager to talk to them for a long while now."

'After what they did to us a few weeks ago, I can't wait to hear what they have to say.' He thought in his head.

"Ok…" Feeling Talon's aura grow colder, Sophie quickly answered the call.

"Hello?" She said.

"Oh! Hello? Is someone there?! Hello?!" A panicked voice responded from the other side.

"It's Sophie Jones. Yes, I can hear you loud and clear."

At that moment, Sophie heard some rustling noises from the other side before another voice spoke in the device.

"Oh lord! Sophie, is it really you?! My dear god! Where are you?! Are you fine?" The voice was very familiar to Sophie.

"Dad?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's me, Sophie! Oh god, I almost had a heart attack when I didn't find you in your room or anywhere around the base! Where did you vanish?!" His tone was loud and shaky from panic and relief.

At that moment, Sophie looked up as she exchanged eye contact with Talon. The latter nodded his head calmly.

"I have gone out to find Talon." She said.

"What?! Wait, Sophie, are you in Seoul right now?!"

"Yes." She replied.

"Oh my god… I don't know what to say anymore… How reckless can you be?! I never thought you would sneak out just to go this far away from the base! You could've died!"

"You already knew what I was going to try to do when you told me that he was alive." She said with a shrug.

"Yeah… I had a hunch you would try, but I thought you would quickly realize how dumb of an idea that is and refrain from it."

"Well, here I am."

The man went completely silent for a few seconds as if he was contemplating something. "Why? Why are you so adamant about him? Why do all of this for him? He isn't even wor-"

"Dad!" Before her father could even finish the sentence, Sophie yelled with a powerful tone. "Don't you dare say another word?" She threatened him coldly.

Her tone which was respectful and kind before turned cold and ruthless for a second. It almost sounded like she was threatening an enemy rather than her father.

"..." Talon watched the interaction silently.

"She has a very short temper for someone that is as energetic as she is," Acrypha commented casually.

"Yeah, she always had that temper. She isn't someone that can easily get angered. But, when she does, her character flips in a second. It's really fascinating to watch." He replied.

'He has an amazing ability to catch the eyes of the most unique women… I guess I can also be counted on that list…' Acrypha thought to herself secretly.

"Ok, ok, I won't say anything, calm down. But, you need to come back this instant."

"No, I can't."

"What do you mean? You need to come back home this instant!!" The man yelled angrily. "It's dangerous out there."

At that moment, Talon stepped forward as he extended his hand to get the radio device. Sophie handed it to him confusedly.

"Hello, Mr Jones. This is me, Talon."

"Oh, so you were there the entire time, kid? Great, she doesn't listen to me but she certainly likes to listen to you, would you convince her to come back?" The man said.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about Sophie. She's in safe hands. I will take good care of her." Talon replied as his tone grew a degree colder while talking to the man. "I will bring her back to you soon."

"What are you talking about?! Did you lose your goddamn mind, kid?! Tell her to-"

"I said calm down, Mr Jones." At that moment, Talon's tone shifted from slightly cold to an emotionless terror. Even through the device, the man felt his body shudder in fear.

'Huh? What is this feeling I got from hearing his voice?!' He gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

"Now, listen carefully. We have a far more important matter to discuss."

A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading ??

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