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Join the ServerEve first lit the pyre, following the execution protocol. This was merely a formality, however. She intended to follow Prince Kleiman’s instructions, later summoning additional flames to hasten Jeanne Decker’s end.
The Church had condemned Jeanne Decker to death by fire, and she had to burn. As an Elementalist, Eve’s summoned flames were far hotter than mere firewood, capable of melting steel and ending a life in mere seconds. By her hand, Jeanne Decker would suffer less.
Jeanne Decker felt the heat rising around her. Closing her eyes, she softly murmured, “The glory of the sun is with me; a paladin shall never fall.”
Uttering these words, an unprecedented calm settled over her. In her final moments, gazing at the rising flames, she inexplicably recalled the day she had impulsively rushed forward to protect the witch and Martha from the very same fiery execution.
‘Where are you now?’ she wondered idly.
Regardless, there was no way that person could appear here to save her this time.
The clock tower’s bells continued to toll. It was noon, twelve o’clock, the longest chime of the day.
Jeanne Decker knew it was her own death knell.
Everyone present subconsciously counted the chimes, from one to ten, then eleven, and finally, twelve!
Eve raised the gathered flames, preparing to hurl them at Jeanne Decker.
Then, the bells continued to chime: thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…
Eve froze in astonishment, and Jeanne Decker, equally bewildered, opened her eyes.
The ‘death knell’ was still ringing: sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…
Soon, people realized these chimes weren’t coming from the clock tower, but from deep within their own minds.
Where did this death knell originate? And for whom did it toll?
Prince Kleiman suddenly sensed something amiss. He abruptly lifted his head, gazing up at the sky.
Directly above the execution scaffold, a colossal magic book hovered in mid-air.
‘The Gate of the Abyss!’
“No way…”
A wry smile spread across Prince Kleiman’s face, hidden beneath his mask.
His mentor, Grand Inquisitor Nicola, was still bedridden with injuries, which was why Kleiman had stepped forward today to oversee the execution.
He had heard tales from Nicola about the Mad Devil summoning the Gate of the Abyss. He had never imagined he would witness it firsthand today.
None of them had anticipated that organization would actually intervene to save Jeanne Decker, much less that the Mad Devil, who had touched upon the divine, would personally make an appearance!
Eve also noticed the towering gate. Without hesitation, she immediately hurled the flames she had summoned towards it. The flames transformed into a bird of fire, surging towards the portal.
She always acted faster than she thought, never wasting time if she could strike first.
The enormous fireball, capable of melting steel, assailed the gate. However, a twisted force field seemed to surround the dark portal. As soon as the firebird approached, it was forcibly torn apart by an invisible power, dissolving into scattered sparks that were then sucked into the gate’s crevices.
Witnessing such a bizarre sight for the first time, Eve’s eyes widened, and she stood stunned.
‘It’s the real deal,’ Kleiman swiftly concluded.
Jeanne Decker was equally perplexed, having no idea what this hovering object above her head was.
At the same time, an enforcer participating in the patrol strode towards the execution scaffold, dramatically clapping his hands with exaggerated force.
The Inquisitors present all turned their gazes towards this eccentric ‘colleague.’
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed members of the Inquisition, do you ever experience this frustration? Day after day, the monotonous and tedious work in the corridors and passageways slowly erodes your passion!” the man declared, approaching them with a voice full of theatrical enthusiasm.
“Today, I shall create a little surprise for everyone! Hehehehehe.”
“What’s with that flamboyant guy?” Eve whispered, lowering her voice as she spoke to her superior.
“It seems…” Prince Kleiman replied slowly.
“A surprise, huh? Someone’s here to stir up trouble!” the Mad Hatter exclaimed, disguised as an enforcer, throwing his hands out.
“…They’re all here to cause trouble,” Kleiman finished his sentence.
Eve wasted no time. She pointed back at the newly lit pyre, and the flames immediately surged. This time, a python made of fire erupted from them.
Elementalist could create mimetic creatures from their preferred element, imbuing them with a degree of autonomous action.
However, the Mad Hatter calmly snapped his fingers. The distorted force field around the Gate of the Abyss reactivated, and the fiery serpent’s form instantly collapsed into scattered fragments. The dispersed flames surged upwards, drawn into the portal.
Subsequently, dark abyssal energy spilled out from the gate, cascading down near the execution ground. Jeanne Decker watched in horror as these black liquids flowed around her feet, then transformed and solidified into several monstrous and terrifying demons.
‘The Gate of the Abyss! The Army of Chaos!’
The demons immediately sprang into action, pushing aside and knocking over the burning pyre around the scaffold. Thick smoke rapidly spread.
Using the cover of the smoke, the demons charged in all directions, repelling the approaching Inquisitors, and the scene instantly devolved into chaos.
One demon rushed towards Eve and Prince Kleiman. Just as Eve prepared to confront it head-on, Kleiman suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her, turning and running.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Eve shouted in annoyance.
“Stay away from that gate! Our abilities will be distorted near it!” Prince Kleiman calmly yelled.
With the lesson of the Mad Devil’s earlier actions, he certainly wouldn’t underestimate the gate’s power.
The demon’s speed far surpassed that of a human. In just about twenty steps, it closed in on their backs.
With one final lunge, it swung its claws, wreathed in corrosive flames, showering the two with fire.
Suddenly, a cage appeared without warning, enveloping the demon. It not only blocked the corrosive flames but also caused the demon to crash violently against the cage’s boundaries.
Kleiman turned, giving it a cold glance. Away from the Gate of the Abyss, his activated ‘Ferocious Imprisonment’ was something this sixth-tier demon could never break.
“Burn,” he simply commanded Eve.
Eve pointed at the demon, and a searing white light erupted from its body, completely engulfing it and instantly filling the entire cage. Under Kleiman’s instruction, her flames could enter but not spill out of the cage, turning it into an execution ground for the demon.
When the flames dissipated, the demon had vanished without a trace.
“Excellent teamwork. It seems you two are in charge here.” The Mad Hatter strode towards them, removing his long grey robe and, as if by magic, producing a tall top hat which he placed on his head. “Care for a little game?”
“Alright! Who’s afraid of whom!!!”
“I’d rather not…”
Eve and Kleiman gave completely different answers.
After a moment’s delay, Eve sharply elbowed her superior. “Can’t you show a little backbone?!”
Meanwhile, Alice Liddell used her demon claws to ambush and incapacitate an enforcer, then, amidst the chaos, approached the pyre.
Jeanne Decker, locked to the scaffold, eyed her suspiciously. Alice Liddell pulled off her mask and, through her veil, whispered to Jeanne Decker, “Don’t worry, it’s me!”
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