Chapter 117: Judgment of Heavenly Fire

Confronted with Martha, whose mental state had spiraled out of control, Alice dared not employ the Devil’s Claw again. Accumulating further mental damage could lead to irreversible consequences.

A furious Martha charged forward. Drawing on her previous experience battling the Killer, Alice swiftly retrieved a potion bottle from within her dress and hurled it towards Martha.

The potion bottle shattered in mid-air, and a poisonous mist immediately billowed out, enveloping the demonized Martha.

The toxic mist irritated Martha’s eyes. She roared, clutching her face.

Yet Alice did not press her advantage. Instead, she gestured for Jeanne Decker to retreat with her.

“The paralytic needs some time to take effect. We should avoid direct combat for now,” Alice explained.

She had thrown a paralyzing potion at Martha this time. After being forced to use unconventional methods to subdue Jeanne Decker earlier, Alice realized her means of simply subduing an opponent were too limited.

Learning from that lesson, she had concocted a paralyzing poison mixed with her own blood. However, unlike with a lethal poison, she had to carefully control the concentration of the paralyzing agent to avoid endangering Martha’s life.

Depending on the amount inhaled, the paralytic effect might also be somewhat limited.

Jeanne Decker snapped back to attention, looking at Alice. “Is there truly still hope for her?” she asked.

“I can’t guarantee it, but it’s not without hope,” Alice replied concisely. “Careful, she’s recovering.”

Martha charged again, the previous toxic mist only serving to enrage her further.

Alice immediately retreated to avoid conflict with Martha, but Jeanne Decker, surprisingly, stepped forward.

“Hey!” Alice exclaimed, startled, unsure why Jeanne Decker was acting so rashly.

Jeanne Decker summoned a Holy Shield forged from divine light, holding it before her. Martha, bewildered, saw the glowing shield and immediately swung her claws at it.

The Devil’s Claws raked across the Holy Shield, yet it remained completely unharmed.

A mindless Martha began to furiously assault the Holy Shield, clawing and striking. Jeanne Decker struggled to maintain the shield, confident that her Divine Protection could withstand this level of attack.

“I just need to hold her like this, right?” Jeanne Decker turned to Alice for confirmation.

Alice paused, then understood. Jeanne Decker intended to cooperate with her to save Martha.

With Jeanne Decker, the Paladin, attracting aggro and damage upfront, Alice no longer needed to expend effort maneuvering around Martha.

She observed Martha, waiting for her movements to slow. Once she was certain that the Witch’s premonition did not sense a threat, she acted, circling around Jeanne Decker’s Holy Shield to approach Martha from the side.

Martha sensed Alice’s intent to attack, but by then, the paralytic potion had taken effect. As she struggled to raise her claws, Alice had already extended her hand, piercing Martha’s body to touch her threads of fate.

Alice extracted Martha’s voodoo doll, the threads of fate shimmering faintly before it. Alice clenched the voodoo doll in her hand, and this amplified power immediately affected Martha.

Like a noose tightening around her, Martha’s arms pressed tightly against her body, unable to stretch out.

Then, Alice kissed the voodoo doll in her hand. While not directly kissing Martha prevented her from absorbing Martha’s stamina, the voodoo doll could transmit the debilitating curse of the Kiss of Death to her.

Martha, who had been howling moments before, fell silent, her head drooping heavily. The debilitating curse, combined with the paralytic potion’s effects, instantly stole her consciousness.

Alice and Jeanne Decker moved forward simultaneously, catching Martha as she began to fall.

“Give her to me.”

Alice pulled Martha into her embrace, switching her ability back to “Abyss” and transforming into her demon form. The red crystal’s power still lingered; she needed to maintain this state to have the strength to quickly transport Martha to the Mad Hatter.

Jeanne Decker stared at Alice, finally unable to hold back. “Why did you choose to save her?”

She had always assumed the Witch’s intervention was purely to eliminate the Killer. Yet, in that fleeting moment, the Witch had risked the Killer’s escape to turn back and stop Martha.

Jeanne Decker knew well that after Martha’s claws had grazed her, she had fallen into a momentary confusion due to the Devil’s Claw’s mental damage. In that state, if the frenzied Martha had pounced again, and the Witch hadn’t turned back in time to stop her, Jeanne Decker would have instinctively stabbed with her longsword.

The Witch prioritized saving a life over executing the Killer. Jeanne Decker even had a vague feeling that the Witch’s two appearances seemed to be… primarily to help her.

“Please tell me, have we truly met somewhere before?” Jeanne Decker asked, staring intently at Alice.

Alice’s heart stirred. Jeanne Decker had finally noticed.

“I told you it’s your imagination.” Alice evaded Jeanne Decker’s gaze, lifting Martha into her arms. “Saving someone doesn’t require a special reason. You would do the same, wouldn’t you?”

She repeatedly reminded herself that she and Jeanne Decker were no longer people of the same world.

Jeanne Decker opened her mouth to speak further, but at that moment, the sharp whistle of an arrow cutting through the air pierced the silence. A crossbow bolt struck Alice, sparking against her demonic carapace.

“What?” Alice was unharmed, but startled.

“Aim for the blasphemer! Fire!” A furious roar echoed from the distance.

More crossbow bolts converged on Alice like a concentrated rain. Alice reacted swiftly, spreading her wings like a shield to cover herself, simultaneously protecting Martha in her arms with her body.

Jeanne Decker turned in surprise, seeing a troop of knights galloping towards them in the distance.

A shiver ran through her. She realized the attackers were Paladin reinforcements, and, fatefully, they had arrived at the worst possible moment.

In the eyes of the Paladins, Alice and Martha, both transformed into demons, were nothing less than heretical blasphemers. They would even mistake Alice for the Killer!

“Stop! Cease fire!” Jeanne Decker cried out, waving her arms. “She isn’t the Killer—”

She was puzzled by the knights’ actions. Even if the Paladins mistook Alice for the Killer, they should have received intelligence that the Killer held a hostage.

Charging directly like this, it seemed they completely disregarded the hostage’s life—this was entirely uncharacteristic of the Knights Order!

“Jeanne, get away from there immediately!”

The leading knight, clad in full plate armor, raised his sword and shouted. Jeanne Decker recognized the voice as that of her mentor, Count Dunois.

Jeanne Decker gasped, realizing what her mentor was about to do!

Count Dunois pointed his sword directly above Alice. As his domain expanded, a white halo flashed into existence there, illuminating the entire night sky!

Fifth-tier Paladin ability, “Blazing Sun Knight”: Judgment of Heavenly Fire!

Alice looked up in horror, seeing scorching flames erupt from the halo, raining down upon her and Martha.