It's so hard being a hero!

The red light of the magic circle suddenly surged, turning the entire basement blood red.

The girl's body suddenly twitched.

She opened her eyes, but her pupils were unfocused, and her mouth was wide open as if she wanted to shout, but no sound came out.

Within the magic circle, the red lines began to spread across the girl's body.

Then, the girl finally made a sound.

It was a scream that did not belong to the human world, as if her soul was being peeled away from her body bit by bit.

"what!"

The screams echoed in the basement, turning into layers of reverberations.

The girl struggled violently, flailing her arms and legs wildly.

But those red lines, like living chains, held her firmly in the center of the magic circle.

The middle-aged woman ignored the girl's screams.

But she continued to sing.

"Come on... come on..."

She murmured to herself, her voice trembling.

The girl's struggles grew more intense, and her screams became increasingly shrill.

Then, something terrible happened.

A pink energy began to flow from the girl's eyes.

Next comes the nose, ears, and mouth.

Pink energy surged from all seven orifices simultaneously, as if it were being drawn out of the body by something.

The energy condensed in the air into a thin ribbon of light, one end connected to the girl's body, and the other end drifted toward the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman took a deep breath and inhaled the pink energy into her body.

As the power entered her body, her skin began to become smooth, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes slowly disappeared, and her dull complexion regained its luster.

Her long, golden hair became thicker and shinier, and the dry ends regained their vitality.

She visibly transformed from a woman in her forties into someone who looks younger.

When she opened her eyes again, she had become a woman in her thirties.

She looked down at her hands, at her smooth skin, and couldn't help but burst into maniacal laughter.

"Hahaha……"

Laughter echoed in the basement, mingling with the girl's increasingly faint screams, creating an extremely eerie harmony.

"It's wonderful."

She closed her eyes, greedily savoring the surging power within her.

The girl behind him had stopped struggling.

Her body is aging rapidly.

His smooth skin became dry and wrinkled, and large patches of brown hair fell out, revealing his white scalp.

Her body was shrinking; the once plump girl's figure became emaciated, like a dried-up corpse.

Her eyes were still open, her pupils completely dilated, and a trace of saliva clung to the corner of her mouth; she was on her last breath.

The middle-aged woman turned around, glanced at the girl on the ground, and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

She knelt down and reached out to stroke the girl's dry cheeks.

"Don't be afraid, it will end soon. Your youth, your beauty, and your vitality will become a part of me. You should feel honored."

The girl's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

The middle-aged woman stood up, preparing to complete the final step of the ceremony.

However, at that moment...

"boom!"

The iron gate behind her was blasted open by a powerful magical force.

The middle-aged woman was shocked and quickly turned to look behind her.

Amidst the rising dust, a figure walked in.

He was a silver-haired boy.

The blue eyes looked exceptionally bright in the dimly lit basement.

His features were exquisitely handsome, and his lips were slightly pursed, showing a hint of disdain.

He was wearing a black belted coat, dark trousers, and ankle boots. He looked clean and neat, like a young master from a well-off family.

The silver-haired boy entered the basement, glanced at the dying girl on the ground, and frowned slightly.

Then his gaze shifted to the middle-aged woman who was getting younger, and he looked her up and down.

"cut."

He uttered a single syllable, his tone full of disdain.

"Why do people who secretly learn forbidden magic always prefer to find such dark and damp places?"

The middle-aged woman's expression changed drastically; someone had actually found her hiding place.

"Who...who are you?"

Her voice was icy, and she secretly began to gather magic power.

The silver-haired boy did not answer her.

He tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the magic circle on the ground.

"So it really is Lilith's power?"

His tone was as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were confirming something.

"She really is everywhere."

The middle-aged woman's pupils suddenly contracted.

This boy, who looked no more than ten years old, was able to see through the source of the power she was using at a glance.

"who are you?"

Her voice rose, tinged with alertness.

The silver-haired boy then turned his gaze to her.

"I?"

He pointed to his face, then a bright smile appeared on his lips.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Sophia, and I'm a kind-hearted passerby."

Chapter 13 Lilith's Followers

That's right, this silver-haired boy is Sofia five years later.

She recently turned twelve.

But you can tell from her attire that she has been treating herself as a man for the past few years.

To be precise, she can pretend to be a girl when necessary, but normally she still only wears men's clothing.

"Sofia?"

The middle-aged woman frowned, searched her memory, and confirmed that she had never heard of this name before.

"Never heard of it? That's normal."

Sofia shrugged, her hands in her pockets, as casually as if she were taking a stroll in her own backyard.

"I'm just a passerby, you don't need to have heard of me."

The middle-aged woman's face darkened.

She could sense an aura about the other person that made her instinctively uneasy.

That unease didn't come from overwhelming power, but from something deeper.

It's like a mouse meeting a cat, or prey meeting its natural enemy.

"How did you find this place? And how did you get in?"

As she questioned him, she began to gather magic power in her hands.

"How did you find it?"

Sophia's gaze swept over the dying girl on the ground.

"I can smell the disgusting stench from your homeowner from three blocks away."

The middle-aged woman's pupils contracted sharply upon hearing this.

"How dare you speak of Lady Lilith like that...?"

Before she could finish speaking, the noblewoman made her move.

Black magic surged from her palm, transforming into dozens of tentacles that swept towards Sofia.

This is the Shadow Cage of Dark Magic. Once entangled, the power of shadow will invade the body, paralyzing the target's limbs and bones for a short period of time.

She certainly wouldn't let Sofia leave here alive.

Sophia stared at the overwhelming swarm of shadowy tentacles, her expression unchanged.

She didn't even take her hand out of her pocket.

He simply raised his right hand, palm facing forward.

A golden magic circle unfolded out of thin air in front of her.