8 The Devil Wants Me

The old man had a slightly irritated expression on his face but he seemed to have been expecting Helliot's arrival anyway.

"A fellow devil?" The old man gestured at Sophie.

"No. She's a succubus. We're going to have dinner once I finish my work with you," Helliot said with a pleased smile.

I'm not a succubus, Sophie wanted to say but she couldn't get out the words from her throat. She was still confused. What the hell was happening?

"Hehh... She's pretty. I suppose it's nice to see a pretty face before I die," the old man said with a wry smile.

With a wave of Helliot's hand, he was now holding the man's contract. Helliot adjusted his eyeglasses.

"As per the contract you signed, we have upholded our deal of giving you immense wealth and let you enjoy it for 30 days. It is now time for you to give us your payment," Helliot said.

The old man shrugged.

"Fine with me. I did all that I could in those 30 days and I'd give up my soul again if I could," the old man said with a shrug.

"Thank you for not making this hard. Rest assured, you won't feel a thing. Pleasure doing business with you," Helliot said.

Helliot raised his hand on the man's face. A glowing red circle filled with magic symbols appeared in the air.

"In the beginning, there was only darkness. Then there was light but you turned away from it. Now, the darkness welcomes you with open arms. In the end, you became one with the darkness," Helliot said.

Sophie could hardly breathe as she saw a human-like black shadow come out of the old man's mouth. The shadow went straight to the red magic circle and then it vanished.

It was over.

The old man collapsed on the floor. Even without checking, Sophie knew he was no longer alive.

"Sophie, we can go now."

He was dead. This stranger who was just talking a while ago was now dead on the floor in front of her.

"Sophie?"

Helliot lightly touched Sophie's arm.

"No!" Sophie screamed with her eyes shut and her trembling hands covering her mouth.

"Oh my. I am so sorry. I didn't know. I shouldn't . . . Let's get out of here first," Helliot said.

He quickly held her by the shoulder and teleported them out of there.

*

*

*

The two of them were now at an outdoor park with a small playground in the middle. They were the only people in the park. Helliot had found a bench for them to sit.

"Sophie, I am so sorry. I didn't know it would disturb you that much. I should have told you what the soul extraction looked like. It must be so different for you when you only extract energy, right? Judging from your reaction, you must have never extracted too much energy to see a dead human," Helliot said.

Sophie's mind was now whirling with all the information Helliot was telling her. She was now sure. He wasn't a human and he thought that she wasn't one too. He really did think that she's a succubus!

"You must be hungry though. What are you craving for? I'll take you anywhere you want," Helliot said. His voice was still gentle and he looked so worried for her.

"Why?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, Sophie?" Helliot asked.

"Why are you being so kind to me? I don't understand," Sophie said.

The two of them had just met at a café. He followed her to her workplace and even posed as a human there. He even intimidated her annoying coworkers. Why did he do that?

Helliot had an embarrassed smile on his face.

"I . . . couldn't help myself. You're the most beautiful, kindest, and most intelligent woman I've ever met," Helliot said.

Sophie's eyes widened.

No one had ever said that to her before.

Sophie chewed on her lip. It was so hard to believe that moments ago she had just seen him extract a man's soul.

"I'm not that kind," Sophie said.

She had not yet told him that he had just misunderstood. She wasn't a succubus. She wasn't sure what gave him that wrong idea. Would he kill her if he finds out that she isn't actually a succubus?

"I'm not sure if we should still see other," Sophie said, frowning.

Helliot looked horrified.

"I'm so sorry. I was rude, wasn't I? I shouldn't have shown you that scene. I was just so excited to have dinner with you and I wanted to get it over quickly. I wasn't thinking," Helliot said.

"No, you weren't rude. In fact, you've been so truthful with me from the start," Sophie said and buried her face in her hands.

"Sophie, please," Helliot said.

"We're too different, Helli," Sophie said.

"I don't care that we're different," Helliot said, feeling like he was losing her with every second that ticked away.

"You can just go back to your daily life before you met me," Sophie said.

Helliot felt like his heart was being squeezed out of life.

"I don't want that. I really like being with you, Sophie," Helliot said pleading with her.

Sophie felt that whatever decision she would make this night would change her whole life. She could feel his sincerity. No one had wanted her so much like this. She never knew her parents and her relatives wanted nothing to do with her. She had always been alone and when she met Helliot, it felt like she had finally found someone she could lean on to.

"You'll hate me. I'm not telling you everything you should know," Sophie said.

Helliot shook his head.

"You don't need to. I won't pry on your secrets. You can tell me the things you only want to tell me," Helliot said.

"Won't that be unfair to you?" Sophie asked.

"No. Why would I expect you to tell me everything about yourself? I'm the one who wants to be by your side. I'm not in any position to tell you what to do or what to share with me," Helliot said.

Sophie laughed softly.

"You're a devil aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"You don't sound like one at all," Sophie said.

"Well, can't a devil be sweet to the woman he's interested in?" Helliot asked in his devilish smile.