21 Black Fox

"Why are you yelling? You're also a thief. Humph!" Black Fox's beautiful eyes narrowed as she snorted, clearly offended by Ace's reaction. She wasn't acting like her usual cold self.

Ace takes a deep breath and calms down. He knew from the start that this girl wasn't ordinary but didn't imagine she was crazy.

Who wants to be a thief if they have a second choice?

Initially, he didn't want to be a thief, but with this system, he had no option but to choose this road. Now things have changed, and Ace doesn't dislike being a thief. On the contrary, he was grateful to the system for giving him this chance to become someone extraordinary.

"Why?" Ace wanted to know just why she wanted to be a thief.

"My mother was a thief and from the Shadow Devil clan. One of the top ten clans of All-Devil Continent." Black Fox replied with some pride in her voice, but her eyes also hinted at deep sorrow.

"Y-you're a... DEVIL?"

Ace thought this world was going crazy.

A real devil was right in front of him! How could he not think it was crazy?

First, Ace discovers someone from the number three race of this world, a Hunter who happened to be his adopted Lil Sis, and now he meets someone from the Devil Race. The Number One Race in this world.

"No, silly, let me finish first. My mother was a shadow devil, but my father was a human. I'm a half-shadow devil and half-human." Black Fox cleared Ace's misunderstanding.

"And why are you telling me this?" Ace was startled. It was probably a great secret, but she was telling him like it was nothing.

"I think, for working together, we should trust each other. Since I know about you, you should also know about me." Black Fox nodded thoughtfully as she wrapped her hands around her ample chest and looked even more attractive.

"So you're a half-devil and half-human. Wait! What this has anything to do with forming a partnership with me?" Ace was perplexed.

"You're so silly! Just let me explain first." Black Fox told annoyingly.

'She's unmistakably a crazy girl.' Ace thought in frustration but didn't say or show it to his face. Because he was afraid she would start repeating something meaningless.

"So my father was a human, and my mother was a devil. He saved her from human cultivators when they chased and attacked her. After that incident, they fell in love." She started her story again from the start.

Ace didn't speak this time. He also finds it quite interesting because it was scarce for a devil to fall for a human. Devils never mate with other races. It was an extremely rare case.

"After they made their decision to stay together forever. They settled in a 1-Star city because there, they would be safe and live peacefully, and no one could find out about my mother's identity and my father's past.

"However, two years later, after I was born. A group of cultivators came. They were not from the lands of cities. They were searching for my father because before he met my mother, he was a high-ranking officer of some great power, but he betrayed them and ran away with my mom.

"But they still find him in the end, even in this barren place with some kind of strange treasure. My mom has no choice but to show her origin of the shadow devil clan, and they find out about my mother's secret.

"They were four of them, and they were all as strong as my father. After bitterly fighting, one of them was killed by my father. Seeing my father killing one of their men, the two who were fighting with my mother used a treasure to sneak attack my father. But my mom saw it first and used her body to block it. That treasure was poisonous, and my mother died after getting hit by it.

"My father saw my mom getting hit by the poisonous attack and died and madly fought to avenge her, and he killed the one who used that poison attack. But another one sneak attacked him from behind.

"My father fights an intense battle against both of them, but in the end, those two men have some kind of strange ability, and they escape from my father with their life. But my father was also gravely injured and fell into deep despair after losing my mother.

"He quickly takes me here to river flower city to seek shelter from his friend. After some time, my father's wounds were healed. But he was afraid that those two men would come back again. He also wanted to take revenge on that power behind them because they killed my mom, so he left me behind with his friend and said he would return after a year.

"After my father's departure, I was left alone here. But my father's friend took care of me for over a year. But sadly, he was not a kind-hearted person and had ulterior motives.

"When he assumed my father died while seeking revenge, he was not afraid anymore and showed his true colors. For some Ruby coins, he sold me to Grant Family, young Miss." Shadow fox finished her story and became extremely distressed while talking about her parents, especially her mother's unfortunate death. 

Ace has a thoughtful expression on his face after hearing her tragic story.

'Her past is more painful than mine.' Ace thought morosely,

"So why did you find me?" Ace softly asked. He didn't look at her with hostility like before.

"After that hateful man sold me to Lyla Grant, who's also Asher's mother. She first wanted me to become Asher's maid after she saw my appearance and gave me training.

"I was just four years old, but I'm a haft-devil, and I had extremely high awareness since I was young. That is how I remember those events clearly. However, I was afraid of others abandoning me after my mother's death and my father's disappearance moreover, that man sold me afterward. Therefore, I did what Lyla told me and learned how to be a good maid.

"But when I turn seven years old, my shadow devil clan 'Blood Memory Heritage'  begins to awaken. Although I gained memories of some skills and cultivation techniques from my shadow devil lineage, I was confused at that time and told about these memories to Lyla.

"She didn't believe me at first, but when I showed her one of the lineage skills, she immediately took me to her family head and told him everything. That old man was extremely knowledgeable and immediately guessed that I was a devil because, in this world, only the devil possesses the blood memories heritage.

"He wanted my lineage memories, and I was naïve, so I told him everything. But my memories were incomplete, and he discovered he couldn't cultivate my devil clan skills or technique. He does some tests and discovers I'm not a pure-blooded devil and loses interest in me." Black Fox's eyes turned cold as she continued.

"Later, I found out that when a devil turns seven years old, it starts to inherit memories from its ancestors through blood this is what they all called Blood Memory Heritage. Precisely what kind of memories they got solely depends on the devil's blood density.

"That's why devils are the No.1 Race of this world. They don't need any techniques or skills. They just need the density of their bloodline to be high, and they can awaken their ancestor's full memories of cultivation. But I was only half-devil, so my skills and techniques were incomplete." Black Fox becomes dejected in the end.

Ace didn't know what to say after hearing the Black Fox story. He felt pain in his heart for this girl and felt an unknown feeling he never experiences before.

"Grant Family's Head lost interest in me after confirming that I'm only half devil. But he didn't let me roam around freely. After I showed him my skills, he knew I was a natural-born Assassin and very dangerous because I was a shadow devil.

"Hence, he planted this black mask on my face. It is like a slave mark but much more advance. Slave marks can control a person with force, but if that person were to become too powerful, the slave mark would shatter.

"But this mask is like a high-level slave mark. It can't be undone by normal means, so I am joining you to form a partnership. Only you can help me!" Black fox touches her mask. It was a vicious curse, and she always wanted to escape from these people's clutches but was powerless to do so.

"So, you want me to find out a method to undo this slave mask?" Ace now has some idea why she wanted to partner with him. He was still a little confused 'why him' though?

"I don't want you to find a method... Because I already know how to undo it. I only want you to get it for me." Black Fox mysteriously answered.

"Where is it then, and what will I get after getting it for you? Since it's an equal deal, you have to give me something, right?" Ace sympathized with her, but it didn't mean he would risk his life for sympathy.

"I prepare MYSELF!" Black Fox giggled as she performed a more seductive posture to show her delicate curves.

"Stop joking around and tell me seriously, or I can't help you." Ace retorted while breathing hard.

He nearly fell from his chair after hearing 'Myself' and seeing her sexy posture. His heart was beating fast for some reason. He had never felt this kind of feeling before.

"NO! I'm serious! Didn't I say before I always wanted to be a thief like you? After you free me from this hell hole, I'll be your partner in crime and join you to become a great thief." Declared Black Fox, and it seemed she was dead serious about becoming a thief.

"You know what? You are crazy! Why would you want to be a thief? Even if you want to be one, you can be one but alone!" Ace barked in frustration. He simply can't deal with this crazy girl anymore.

"The reason is very simple my mom was also a great thief. She was escaping after failing a theft, and that's how my father found her. She used to tell me stories of her adventures and how she stole from bad guys who bullied innocent people. I was fascinated by her stories and always wanted to be like her."

Black Fox's foxlike eyes were shimmering like stared when she told her grand dream to Ace, "I want to become a Great Thief who steals from bad guys!" 

Ace nearly swore out loud after hearing her words!