She opened her eyes and traced the sound to its source. What she saw had her eyes widen in surprise.
She saw the man who was about to assault her holding a short blade in his hand. The blade was currently stabbed in his shoulder as blood dripped from the wound.
Confusion filled her eyes as she couldn't fathom the reason he would do so. She was clearly at a disadvantage earlier, totally at his mercy. He could've taken this chance to deal with her however he liked. She couldn't comprehend why he would harm himself instead of just venting it out. She suddenly remembered him talking about not being who she thought he was. Maybe it was not all false.
As her confused and somewhat relieved eyes observed him, Anom took a deep breath before pulling out the blade from his shoulder. Blood spluttered out, some of it falling on the girl's smooth cheek.
The cut was not very deep but the pain was sharp enough for him to abandon the urges raging within him, giving him enough time to regain control over himself. Putting the knife down, he quickly applied pressure on the wound with his other hand. Next, he channeled his internal energy and focused it on the wounded area.
Just as the bleeding stopped, he lost strength in his arm which he was using to hold himself up.
"Ahnnn!"
A surprised cry came from the soft surface that Anom found himself on. A familiar fragrance entered his nose. But this time, instead of getting horny, he found himself craving a rest on the soft and fragrant surface.
But he knew that was not possible.
"Urgh." Gathering his strength, Anom tried to get off the girl. But his body seemed to like this resting position as he couldn't muster any strength to even slide sideways.
Huff... Anom stopped his movements and continued resting on the warm surface while trying to think of something.
Suddenly he felt a tremor. More accurately, it was the 'mattress' he was resting on which was quivering.
Raising his head with difficulty, Anom spoke to the girl, "Ah, I'm sorry but I can't move."
Her face flushed red, twisted with suppressed rage. Her lips twitched, seeming like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Let's do it like this," Anom suggested. "I will push towards this side, you just have to apply some force and I'll be off. Okay?"
The girl gave a stiff nod, but her eager expression clearly conveyed how annoyed she was with this position and couldn't wait to push him off.
Both of them got ready and Anom began to move his body from side to side.
"What are you doing?" His movements made their chests rub against each other, making the girl feel uncomfortable.
"Gaining some momentum." Anom replied plainly, but a keen listener would have discovered a tinge of enjoyment in his tone.
"..."
"Now!" Anom moved his whole body towards his left side. At the same time, the girl also applied force to push him off using her shoulder. Teeth clenched, she applied all the force she could muster. It was clear how badly she wanted to get some space.
But maybe because of her excitement or maybe because she couldn't control her strength properly, she applied a bit too much force, which would have been fine if not for her still holding onto Anom's waist.
Anom was already surprised by the amount of force she used and as he prepared himself to be flung away, a sudden tug at his waist reduced the force.
His back connected to the floor but before he could sigh in relief...
"Whaaa?!" With a sudden impact, a squishy surface came crashing on his chest. Only then did he realize the source of that weight which had stopped him from getting flung away.
Looking up he saw a pouty face carrying an irritated expression. The girl tried to get off his chest, but despite her being able to use more strength than Anom, she failed to command her body to her desired actions.
"Looks like we'll have to stay like this for a while." Anom chuckled. "Now you can take your 'revenge' on me and use me like a pillow, just like I did before."
But his attempt to lighten the situation only served to remind the girl of what had happened before, making her embarrassed.
They both remained silent for a while before the girl finally gave up the idea of wasting any more strength and closed her eyes to focus on her recovery.
After taking a look at her calm expression, Anom also decided to assess his own situation.
His mental energy travelled around his energy channels, trying to find the remnants of both the drugs. Although he had overcome the effects due to pain, it would not be a good idea to let the drug roam in his system. He had to clear the remnants to prevent any unexpected situation and also lighten the load on his immune system.
Just like that, he spent about an hour before he could finally breathe out in relief.
Opening his eyes, he first took a look at the girl, only to find her sleeping. Her breathing was even, unlike the erratic rhythm from earlier. Her expression was calm but her cheeks were still slightly flushed while her eyebrows quivered at irregular intervals.
Anom looked around, but without any source of light, he could only estimate the time. From the meeting with Selvo in the morning till his coming back and getting tangled up in this mess, he guessed it to be around afternoon.
He had already recovered his strength but he was in no hurry to move. He had some things to ask from the girl and it would be better if she rested for a while. He didn't want to wake her early lest she became cranky, ruining his chance for a peaceful talk.
His thoughts began to wander as he began to recall all that he had gone through after coming to this world. He experienced some interesting events just in the short period he had been here. Although not enough to overpower the adventures he has experienced in his original world, all these events gave him a taste of the exciting life he would be experiencing in the future.
He also recalled the people he had met after coming here. His interactions with some of them were also unforgettable.
Suddenly, he realized that he had somehow changed. All the interactions he had with all the people he had met till now had him realize that some of the aspects of his personality had undergone a change.
Now that he was doing self-reflection, he found that the changes he was undergoing might affect him in more ways than he could control. Although it was a good thing that his original nature was coming out without getting suppressed, it might also affect him in a bad way. Some of his experiences have enabled him to develop his own unique state that remains unperturbed regardless of the situation he faces. Now that he was going through some changes on a mental and emotional level, he was afraid that it might affect his skill-set as a whole.
'That won't be good.'
Although hypothetical, he didn't want to take a chance with consequences that he might not be able to handle.
As such, he decided to sort this out before anything problematic pops up. Deciding on a plan, Anom closed his eyes and focused on his soul to get in touch with the greatest expert he could find in the whole wide world.
Swoosh!
Anom felt as if all the stress he had undergone while dealing with the assassin girl and the drugs had been washed off.
As he enjoyed the feeling of the familiar warmth enveloping his soul, Anom finally arrived in the Soul World.
"Want a cookie?" What entered his sight was Della having a glass of hot milk along with a plate full of cookies.
Anom sat opposite to her and grabbed a cookie. Taking a bite of the crunchy treat, Anom enjoyed the sweet taste before asking, "What do you think?"
"Hm?" Della placed the glass back on the table and looked at him. A thin layer of creamy milk formed a white moustache above her sexy lips, which, along with her airy and confused expression made her seem very cute. This kind of thing would not have been possible with the previous Della, but Anom's memories have provided her with a lot of different perspectives. She had even started adjusting her behavior according to his preference.
Anom shook his head and chuckled. Leaning forward, he wiped her moustache off with his thumb. His hand then moved towards her soft cheeks. Caressing them slowly, he spoke, "Don't give me that clueless face. You always know everything that I know, or might not know." Their souls shared a bond and with her being the stronger party, it was too easy for her to access his soul, not to mention his memories. Besides, he never tried to hide anything from her.
"Tsk. You're no fun." Della pouted. This was another thing which the previous Della would never do.
She continued, "I was waiting for you to realize this on your own. And you reached this junction even earlier than I had expected."
Anom had already expected this, hence he was not surprised. "What should I do now?" He asked.
"Why do you think it is a problem for you to accept this new personality of yours? This is also you, and it's not like your old self is going to vanish."
"That's not the problem." Anom explained, "You know how important it is for me to be in the right state of mind to do my job. These new emotional fluctuations are dulling my senses... Keeping your emotions in check is an ability which can allow you to overcome many tense situations and get an edge over your opponents. What do you think the result would be if I got affected while doing something serious? If this continues like this, I'll lose my edge. And I have handled everything till now by relying on my own skills... My thieving skills are something I have developed by dedicating a portion of my life, and while they might not be the best, I'm still very proud of the foundation I've built!" Anom paused for a bit and added, "It's my own unique style, and I don't want to loose that."
Della kept her eyes on his stubborn expression and couldn't help but smile. Just as she was about to speak, Della noticed a peculiar expression overcome Anom's face.
"Is there anything else?"
Anom hesitated for a bit, then sighed. "What am I hesitating for? You are the only one I can tell everything without exception after all."
While Della enjoyed his sweet answer, Anom continued, "It never crossed my mind... or maybe it did, but I've been avoiding it all along." His face had a guilty expression which was something rare for him to show.
Della stood up from her seat and walked over to him. Without giving Anom any chance to speak, she directly sat on his lap.
"You want to ask why I didn't stop you from flirting with Crystal, Luna and... maybe Loreana too, right?"
Hearing her spell it out so easily, Anom felt even more guilty. He couldn't decide what to do, as giving up on any of them was not a solution.
"But," she continued, "why should I stop you?"
"Huh?!"