Nova picked up the two tickets, feeling a sense of relief wash over her.

  Then, Nova went to buy a cart. Although she and her sister didn't have much stuff, they might need it ter at the farm.

  Nova pushed the cart towards home, looking at the potholed streets, the pickpockets lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity, and the bustling crowd of people living less-than-ideal lives, hawking goods, bargaining, and working. These ordinary people made up the city. Although the inner city was home to the rich and nobles, Nova had hardly ever seen those people, as if they didn't exist.

  Nova caught the scent of milk and a hint of sweetness. Yes, she had arrived at the entrance of Min Cake Shop, a cake shop run by a married couple, now managed by their daughter and son-in-w.

  In addition to traditional cakes, they also sold popur cakes from outside the city and created their own new fvors of cakes and desserts.

  Mitty loved the cakes here, so Nova would come here with Mitty to choose cakes for Mitty's birthday and some holidays. As for Nova's birthday, Nova wasn't too fond of cakes, so Mitty would try to cook a new dish on that day, with mixed results.

  "Welcome." The bell at the door rang, and a woman with a noticeably pregnant belly said, "It's Nova. Isn't Mitty coming?"

  "She's at home. I'm here to buy some cake for her," Nova replied. "Where's your husband, Lisa?"

  "Jamie? He's busy in the kitchen. He won't let me do any work since I got pregnant," Lisa said, sounding like she was compining but more like showing off.

  "Jamie's a good husband. Then I'll take the apple cake. I can pack it myself," Nova said.

  "You're a good brother too," Lisa said with a smile, handing Nova a cloth bag. After Nova packed the cake and paid, she said goodbye and left.

  After leaving the cake shop, Nova took another look at the store. She had noticed that every time she brought Mitty here, Mitty would always look back at the shop absentmindedly as they left. Nova knew Mitty liked the shop's cakes, but beyond that, Mitty was also envious, envious of the family's happy life.

  But soon, Nova knew that they too would have this kind of ordinary, small, yet happy life. Even if it might be a bit dull, Nova believed that Mitty wouldn't show that slightly sad look in her eyes, the kind of look that made Nova's heart ache.

  'The cake will probably be fine if we keep it for a while and eat it at the farm. No, Mitty will probably eat it on the way.' Thinking this, Nova was soon pushing the cart to their doorstep.

  Nova parked the cart, picked up the cake, and walked towards the door. "Mitty, are you ready to go?" she asked, opening the door.

  'Something's wrong!' Nova suddenly smelled a strong scent of blood, and an unfamiliar odor mixed in the air behind the wooden door.

  An icy chill climbed up Nova's entire body, but she quickly steadied herself and pushed the door open.

  "Mitty, I've got your favorite cake!" Before entering, Nova put on the magical neckce she had taken from the thug leader and gripped her small knife.

  Her initial composure shattered as soon as she stepped inside. She saw the room was in chaos, with many loaves of bread scattered all over the floor. Grandma Mabel was back, but there was a rge bloody hole in her chest. She y on the ground, clutching a broom tightly in her hand. She was dead, like the bread on the floor, waiting to rot.

  And Mitty had holes torn in her neck and shoulder, bleeding profusely. She was leaning against the wall, still alive. Seeing Nova, she coughed and tried to call out, "Brother, cough cough, hurry..."

  The cake in Nova's hand fell to the ground, turning into a sweet, muddy mess. "Mitty!" Nova surged forward, desperate to reach her sister.

  Just as Nova was about to reach out and grab Mitty's hand, she spun around abruptly and threw the knife in her hand. It flew towards her rear like a streak of iron lightning.

  The knife sliced through a dark shadow, but immediately made a "bang" sound and bounced off to the ground.

  "Hehehe, how did you find me, you little brat?" The shadow chuckled. The darkness then split open, and a person emerged as if a bck mouth had opened and spat out a tongue.

  It was a man with a terrifying appearance. His face was covered in the folds and scars of burns, but he didn't try to hide his horrifying looks. The man wore a brown beret and a bck robe. The surrounding darkness gathered around him like wings, then folded away after he appeared.

  Nova didn't answer, continuing to charge at him.

  A bck circle suddenly appeared beneath the bck-robed man's feet, and bck thorns grew from the circle, stabbing towards Nova like spears. Nova's body moved with an incredible fluidity, dodging the bck thorns as she ran, only receiving grazes on her shoulder and thigh.

  Close enough! At this moment, a glove resembling a bear's paw suddenly appeared on Nova's hand, and she struck the bck-robed man with all her might.

  "Bang!" The immense force was blocked by a suddenly appearing bck shield, and the impact shook the surrounding wooden furniture, making it hum.

  "Is this your ability? To create magical items?" The bck-robed man looked at Nova with interest. "But the items you create can only be used by you, right? And..."

  The bck-robed man unfurled bck wings like those of a bat behind him, then lunged at Nova like a gaping maw, trying to bite her. The glove on Nova's hand disappeared, repced by a ring with a cat's head, and she quickly rolled away, nimbly dodging the attack.

  "You can only use one at a time, right?" The bck-robed man seemed to chuckle at having seen through Nova's trick. "Pardon my rudeness, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Leo Bckwood. You can also call me by my title, the Shadow Weaver. I'm a Demon Hunter from the Demon Hunter Bureau of Purple City." The bck-robed man, or rather the Shadow Weaver, patiently introduced himself. He enjoyed the process, observing Nova's expression with great interest. But Nova only took a couple of breaths to steady herself before assuming a fighting stance again.

  The Wildcat Ring was a silver ring with a miniature cat's head embedded in it. Its effect was to grant the wearer great flexibility and agility.

  "What I want to tell you is, I'm very lucky today." The Shadow Weaver waved his hand, and several bck whips shot out from his sleeves, shing out at Nova. Nova dodged with all her might, but the whips were too fast. Even a graze tore away a chunk of her skin, and when they struck a wooden cabinet, they cleaved it in half.

  "Today, I'm super, super, super lucky," the Shadow Weaver began to grind his teeth, making a constant gnashing sound.

  "I actually encountered a boy like you, hehehe." The Shadow Weaver's mouth started to drool. "Do you know? All the clergy have gone to the celebration today. They should be enjoying the food and wine right now."

  "So, we have plenty of time to py together." The Shadow Weaver's originally hideous face became like a wriggling meatball in this smile. "And you know what I like to eat the most?"

  Nova tried to approach the Shadow Weaver from the side, then switch to the Bear Paw Gloves.

  The Bck Bear Paw Gloves were fluffy gloves that resembled bear paws. When worn, they could unleash powerful palm strikes capable of shattering rge rocks.

  But it failed. As she approached, a bck spear suddenly sprouted from the ground. Nova immediately switched back to the ring and backflipped to dodge the attack, only grazing her scalp.

  "What I like to eat the most is boys' testicles." Finally, he couldn't help but say it. "Especially when you're tied up, biting off those warm balls from your body..." Suddenly, a rge mass of bck shadow appeared beneath the Shadow Weaver's feet. The shadow surged towards Nova like a small tsunami, shattering the floor and sending wood splinters flying.

  "This is my exclusive feast!" He spread his arms wide, shouting in a trance-like ecstasy.

  Nova pushed off with all her might, reaching the ceiling. She switched to the Bck Bear Paw Gloves and punched a hole in the ceiling, quickly climbing through.

  "Boom!" The bck wave smashed through the wall, but before Nova could catch her breath, she saw bck circles seeping upwards from the floor. The circles instantly transformed into bck pilrs, and the Shadow Weaver emerged from the pilrs.

  "Continue, my precious boy." The Shadow Weaver slowly approached Nova, seemingly having recovered from his earlier frenzy.

  "You talk too much," Nova finally spoke. "Has anyone ever told you your face looks like a ball sack, you disgusting ball sack face?"

  "Oh my," the Shadow Weaver was slightly surprised, then said with even more interest, "The more you're like this, the more curious I am about the taste of your balls."

  The bck shadow adhered to the Shadow Weaver's hand like living mud, and he reached out. The bck mud transformed into a rge hand reaching for Nova.

  "A stubborn boy like you must have very juicy balls!" the Shadow Weaver shouted.

  Nova could only continue to dodge, but she was still grazed by the bck hand, and the force sent her flying into the wall. Blood trickled from the corner of Nova's mouth. She felt like her entire body was about to fall apart.

  "Oh, don't stop," the Shadow Weaver approached Nova, who was leaning against the wall.

  'Even with the Wildcat Ring, I can't get close to him, and the Bck Bear Paw Gloves can't break through his defense. The Hound Neckce only enhances my sense of smell and gives me fangs to bite. Unless I get very close, there's no chance. And I only have these three accessories...' Nova thought, gasping for breath, strategizing. Her ability only allowed her to generate three accessories at a time. 'Mitty... I have to hurry!'

  The neckce on her neck glowed, and Nova's entire body turned red, like a red haze, like blood, like the fmes of anger.

  She immediately began to run around the room, while the Shadow Weaver grew dozens of bck thorns from behind him, stabbing at Nova.

  The room was riddled with holes, and light poured into the dark room from the holes.

  "Haha, this is more like it!" The Shadow Weaver became excited, constantly waving his arms, summoning bck thorns to attack Nova's position. "The more you move, the saltier and tastier your balls will be."

  Nova became faster and faster, even running up the walls. In this high-speed evasion, she found an opportunity.

  Nova pushed off the wall, rushing towards the Shadow Weaver along the ceiling, then jumped off the ceiling, leaping towards the Shadow Weaver at a speed that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

  "Shut your fucking mouth!" Nova, wearing the Bck Bear Paw Gloves, clenched her fist and struck the Shadow Weaver.

  The Shadow Weaver suddenly shot a bck thorn from his feet, piercing Nova's arm. Nova's right arm was like a piece of roasted meat skewered by a bamboo stick. But this was the opportunity Nova had been waiting for!

  Nova's gloves disappeared, and she immediately opened her palm, scattering white powder towards the Shadow Weaver's eyes.

  "What?" The bck shadow instantly formed a mask over the Shadow Weaver's face, blocking the powder. But Nova immediately equipped the Bck Bear Paw Gloves on her other hand and struck the Shadow Weaver. This blow finally nded, and the Shadow Weaver flew away like a kite with its string cut.

  But Nova knew this attack might not have been effective, because she felt like she had hit a piece of steel instead of a human body. The Shadow Weaver had used the bck shadow to defend himself before Nova's strike nded.

  'I should take Mitty and run now!' Nova immediately decided, then jumped down through the hole in the second floor.

  "Mitty!" Nova saw that her sister was still slowly breathing, her eyes barely open, but she tried her best to look at Nova when she appeared.

  Nova immediately prepared to pick up Mitty and escape through the back door of the kitchen. If they could just get into those dark alleyways, there might be a chance to escape.

  Just as Nova was about to touch Mitty, several bck spears pierced through her thighs, bringing blood, pain, and despair.

  Nova couldn't support her body and barely propped herself up with her arms. Her legs were almost completely unusable.

  "Continue." The Shadow Weaver slowly walked over. He was covered in a bit of dust, his bck robe was slightly torn, and there was a small cut on his face, but he was essentially unharmed.

  Nova looked up at him, then turned to look at Mitty.

  Tears, like water squeezed from a wrung-out cloth, flowed from Mitty's barely open eyes. "Brother..." A hoarse voice came from Mitty's mouth, sounding as if it had been cut by a knife.

  "Mitty..." Nova felt a sense of powerlessness engulf her. She tried her best to stand up, but the emptiness in her legs seemed to mock her. 'You can't. You can't do it.'

  'I must stand up. I must defeat this guy. I must protect Mitty. Because I'm her brother.' Nova's mind was almost bnk, with only these words repeating like a mantra.

  But before she could even prop herself up, several bck thorns pierced through Nova's palms, arms, and shoulders. Nova colpsed completely.

  "Is it time for the main course?" The Shadow Weaver was getting impatient. He stared fiercely at Nova, then forced a smile through his rage.

  "Mitty..." Nova, like an ant with all its legs severed, curled up and crawled towards Mitty.

  "This is so touching." The Shadow Weaver cpped his hands. "Hurry up, hurry up, kid. Hurry up and crawl."

  The distance felt like an eternity to Nova. Blood flowed from the holes in her body like a stream. Because of the neckce she had used earlier, her blood was flowing especially fast and was incredibly hot, but it cooled quickly after dripping onto the shattered floor.

  Nova finally reached Mitty. She desperately raised her head and hugged Mitty with all her remaining strength. Mitty also weakly embraced Nova.

  "I'm so kind. I'm actually fulfilling you pitiful siblings' wishes," the Shadow Weaver said gleefully. "Now it's time for you to fulfill mine."

  The Shadow Weaver took a step towards Nova, while she held Mitty, unmoving.

  The bck shadow concentrated in the Shadow Weaver's hand. He transformed the shadow into a sharp bde, preparing to pierce through both of them.

  Just then, Nova suddenly turned around. Her arms were miraculously healed. Wearing the gloves, she pushed off the ground with force, flying towards the Shadow Weaver.

  "What the hell?!" The Shadow Weaver was shocked, then looked at Mitty leaning against the wall. "You have healing abilities?!" He couldn't believe that the healer he had been longing for was right here. Ever since he became a Demon Hunter, he had been searching for a healer to restore his severed testicles from his youth.

  Nova's punch was about to hit the Shadow Weaver, but the Shadow Weaver instantly transformed the bck sword in his hand into a gauntlet, blocking Nova's attack. Then, he grabbed Nova's wrist tightly.

  "You think this is enough to..." Before the Shadow Weaver could finish speaking, Nova's gauntlets turned into a neckce with a hound's head, and she opened her mouth, biting the Shadow Weaver's neck hard.

  'Devour! Activate!'

  Bayard:Mitty liked going to Min Cake Shop so much not only because she loved eating cake, but also because the Min couple were among the few people in the city who wouldn't show disgust towards the two poor children. They would even specially give them extra small cakes. Besides envying that kind of life, Mitty also longed to become a good person like that family. Also, the Shadow Weaver lost his 'eggs' in the past because his mother sold him to a male prostitute brothel...