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Join the ServerClutching Martha, Alice ran wildly, not daring to slow her pace. The demonic power wasn’t sufficient to allow her to fly quickly with Martha, and the relentless pursuit of the knights would undoubtedly prove to be a significant problem.
Fortunately, as she ran nearly a mile in the direction the Jabberwock bird had indicated, she heard no further sounds of hooves.
This outcome struck her as somewhat surprising. She doubted Jeanne Decker possessed the strength to forcefully halt the knights; could Jeanne Decker have truly persuaded them so easily?
Though deeply concerned for Jeanne Decker, Alice knew she couldn’t afford to dwell on it now. Her immediate priority was to locate the Mad Hatter.
The Mad Hatter had specifically sent a messenger, informing her that he would intercept the Killer. Therefore, his position shouldn’t be too distant.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she spotted a flash of firelight in the distance, illuminating the night sky. This was followed by explosions, terrifying, beast-like howls, and the screams of humans.
Alice gasped, stopping abruptly.
‘It sounds as though a battle is unfolding ahead,’ she thought.
Yet, a mere skirmish with the Killer couldn’t explain this situation. Firstly, the screams suggested more than one person, and given the Mad Hatter’s rank, he should utterly overwhelm the Killer, rendering such a fierce battle unnecessary.
The Mad Hatter was fighting other forces!
No wonder the knights hadn’t pursued her. They must have known where she intended to go, and an ambush had already been laid there!
Alice stood frozen, enveloped in confusion.
It seemed the Mad Hatter had encountered forces from the Church or the Knight Order. Rushing into such a battlefield would naturally be the worst course of action, but Martha’s condition was critical. Alice had to rendezvous with the Mad Hatter as quickly as possible.
After more than ten seconds, the commotion in the distance suddenly subsided.
‘The battle… is over?’
Alice felt her heart leap into her throat.
She hesitated for a long moment, glancing down at Martha in her arms.
Martha was unconscious and wouldn’t rampage again for the time being. However, the side effects of the Soul Crystal persisted, and her body was still succumbing to the demonic corruption.
At this rate, her body wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
Alice pondered, then ultimately decided to take a gamble.
She cradled Martha and rushed towards the site.
****
In the wilderness, the corpses of Inquisitors and the remains of demons lay strewn across the ground. The Mad Hatter stood at the center of the carnage, extracting a soul from one of the Inquisitors, then playfully tossing a demonic coin.
He removed his mask, flicked a finger, and sent the Soul Crystal soaring into the air, then tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and caught it.
The battle had left only minor injuries on him, but after consuming this soul, his wounds completely healed.
“Going mad and wiping out the Inquisition without leaving a single soul behind, what a splendid deal, hehe ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” He threw his head back and laughed maniacally.
Killer Jack sat slumped on the ground, staring at him in terror.
He had witnessed the brutal battle firsthand. The deranged Mad Hatter had twisted the entire space with the Gate of the Abyss, preventing the Inquisitors’ abilities from functioning normally. During this time, he commanded his summoned demons to slaughter the Inquisitors one by one, while he personally confronted the Grand Inquisitor.
In less than a minute, the Inquisitor faction collapsed. The overwhelming power of the Third Rank created an insurmountable gap against the lower and middle ranks. The two Senior Inquisitors ultimately sacrificed their lives to secure an escape for the wounded Grand Inquisitor.
Thus, the outcome was clear.
This was the leader of the Tea Party, single-handedly repelling the executive officer of the Inquisition, along with two squads led by Senior Inquisitors!
At this moment, Alice arrived nearby. Through her demonic night vision, she saw the horrific scene from afar.
It was clear the Mad Hatter had won the victory.
However, she could tell that the Mad Hatter’s current madness was deeply unsettling.
Normally, the Mad Hatter’s eccentric behavior was merely an expression of his mischievous personality and dark humor. Yet, this Mad Hatter’s madness now carried a distinct hysterical edge.
Even without her witch’s foresight, she instinctively sensed that approaching the Mad Hatter in his current state would be ill-advised.
But having come specifically to meet him, she dared not leave, choosing instead to observe from a distance.
“Hehehe, one, two, three, four, five, brave warriors slay monsters, if monsters can’t be slain, they’re only fit for killing mice, how many mice to kill? Let me count…” The Mad Hatter suddenly began chanting a strange nursery rhyme, then nonchalantly started poking the corpses on the ground with his cane, carefully counting them.
“One, two, three, four, five…”
Watching this scene, Alice felt a shiver of dread. This utterly cruel madman was nothing like the Mad Hatter she knew.
‘Could this be the madness he once spoke of, the madness he acquired from gazing into the abyss?’ she wondered.
‘Does this mean the Mad Hatter unleashed that madness during the recent battle?’
Just as Alice was still speculating, the Mad Hatter, his back to her, paused abruptly after counting to the fifth corpse. He froze in place, utterly still. “Ah!”
Alice was puzzled by the Mad Hatter’s sudden halt.
Then, the Mad Hatter twisted his head at an angle impossible for a normal person, his bloodshot, reddened eyes locking directly onto Alice.
In that instant, Alice felt her blood run cold.
“There’s still a little mouse,” the Mad Hatter said, a cruel, deranged smile plastered across his face.
Alice’s heart nearly stopped. The Mad Hatter, in his frenzied state, had detected her from such a distance!
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!” The Mad Hatter suddenly spun around and began sprinting madly toward Alice.
“A-a-a-a-a-a-h!!!” Alice shrieked, an undignified sound she had never made before, for she was experiencing the most profound terror of her entire life—a terror far greater than any bestselling horror story on the continent.
Clutching Martha, she scrambled backward, turning to run, but her legs gave out, and she lost her balance, collapsing to the ground.
“Ha ha ha! Ah ha ha ha!” The Mad Hatter’s maniacal laughter, fueled by the thrill of the hunt, was already right behind her.
Alice abruptly sat up and turned, seeing the Mad Hatter standing before her, his eyes glowing with a molten red light.
“Wait a moment! It’s me, Mad Hatter!” Alice dispelled the veils of her demonic transformation and witch’s dress, attempting to recall the Mad Hatter’s sanity.
But it was futile. The Mad Hatter, oblivious, raised his right hand, which had already twisted and deformed into a demonic claw, laughing wildly as he shouted, “The sixth mouse!”
In that moment, Alice finally fully understood what the Mad Hatter had meant when he said the consequences of his losing control would be unimaginable.
The massive demonic claw, large enough to crush a human skull like an apple, swung directly down towards Alice’s crown.
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