Chapter 95: The Divination of Doom

Five minutes before Jeanne Decker encountered the Killer.

Having just returned home, Alice Liddell carefully put away her belongings before opening a locked cabinet. From within a box, she gingerly retrieved a tattered, blood-stained dress, spreading it across her table. Then, she placed the Magic Mirror upon it.

Today, she was once again tasked with divining the Killer’s whereabouts for the Mad Hatter. After days of consecutive failures, she harbored little hope for success.

Yet, a duty was a duty. She placed her hand on the Magic Mirror, honoring her promise to the Mad Hatter.

Soon, a mist began to swirl within the mirror’s depths. Alice Liddell, almost instinctively, waited for it to dissipate, as this had been the outcome of her divinations for the past several days.

However, in mere seconds, the mist swiftly enveloped the entire mirror surface—a clear sign of a successful divination.

Alice Liddell let out an unconscious gasp, her spirits soaring with sudden joy.

‘It actually worked!?’

It seemed the Mad Hatter’s task could finally be completed today.

Once the Killer’s movements were pinpointed, and the Jabberwock bird released, the Mad Hatter would receive the message and surely begin his pursuit immediately!

Alice Liddell’s eyes were fixed intently on the mirror. She knew she had to relay the entire prophetic vision to the Mad Hatter.

A new scene began to vaguely materialize within the mirror, yet the mist still hadn’t fully cleared. Alice Liddell could faintly discern two figures shrouded within it.

‘Strange,’ she thought. ‘Why is the image appearing before the divining mist has completely vanished? And this mist looks a little different from usual.’

Curious, Alice Liddell held up the Magic Mirror for a closer inspection.

Just then, the mist within the mirror began to stir, as if moved by a breeze. Alice Liddell suddenly realized the white fog was emanating from the scene itself; the divining mist had long since dissipated.

Disturbed by the wind, some of the mist cleared.

Alice Liddell saw that the scene in the mirror was set on a familiar-looking stone bridge. Two figures stood upon it.

A chill instantly coursed through Alice Liddell’s veins.

“Jeanne Decker?” Her eyes widened in horror.

Of the two figures in the mirror, one was a man in a tattered cloak, his hands covered by black, spiky carapaces that tore through his garment. This was the demonized Ripper Killer.

Alice Liddell recognized the other figure at a glance: Jeanne Decker.

Jeanne Decker’s chest.

It was soaked with blood. Her sword lay discarded some distance away, and foamy blood erupted from her mouth.

‘Jeanne Decker… is going to die?’

Alice Liddell’s mind buzzed with disbelief.

‘Why is this happening?’

The Killer withdrew his blood-soaked claws from Jeanne Decker’s chest, clutching a still-beating heart in his hand.

Jeanne Decker collapsed feebly, her eyes already devoid of life.

Clutching the Magic Mirror, Alice Liddell cried out, almost uncontrollably, “No!” At the same instant, the Killer in the mirror threw his head back and laughed maniacally:

“Behold the face of your church! Your Saint is now dead by my hand!!! Ahahahahahahaha!!!”

As his deranged laughter echoed, the image in the mirror gradually faded, and mist shrouded the surface once more. Then, Alice Liddell’s own pale face appeared in the Magic Mirror.

Cold sweat permeated Alice Liddell’s entire body.

Alice Liddell felt Jeanne Decker’s life.

‘She’s going to die.’ The thought alone left her mind completely blank.

‘No, calm down! Especially now, I must remain calm! If such a future has been divined, then it must be changed!’

Alice Liddell clenched her jaw, forcing her brain to work. Time, place! She quickly seized upon these two crucial points.

Yes, she needed to know the time and location first.

The exact time was uncertain; events divined were not fixed in time but would occur at some point in the future.

The Mad Hatter’s original plan was to ambush the Killer once Alice Liddell divined their whereabouts, waiting until they appeared. Even if they missed them, there would be an opportunity to track their movements.

As for the location…

Upon reflection, that stone bridge seemed familiar… ‘That’s right, it’s nearby!’

Alice Liddell suddenly remembered. It was a stone bridge over the nearby Golden Stream, one she had crossed several times. It made sense there was mist; during this season, mist often drifted over the Golden Stream in the early mornings and evenings.

At this realization, Alice Liddell’s heart sank.

‘Speaking of which, if Jeanne Decker were coming from the academy, she wouldn’t pass by the Alençon Manor’s location!’

However, to get from this apartment to the main avenue, one *would* have to pass by there.

And just moments ago, Jeanne Decker had escorted her to this apartment before leaving on her own…

‘It’s today!!!’

Alice Liddell jolted awake, turning to look at the wall clock in her room.

It would only take a few minutes to walk from here to that bridge. In other words, the future indicated by the divination might unfold in mere minutes. Jeanne Decker might be about to encounter that Killer!

‘Damn it! Even if I notify the Mad Hatter now, it’s almost impossible for him to arrive in time!’

If left unopposed, Jeanne Decker’s death was a future that would almost certainly come to pass!

Without hesitation, Alice Liddell sprang up and rushed to the cabinet, frantically rummaging through it for her vials of potions and her witch’s gown.

Although Queen Isola and Duchess Liddell had both warned her against personally confronting the Killer, she had no other choice now. To save Jeanne Decker’s life, she had to interfere with this future herself.

She took the dormant Jabberwock bird from her purse and awakened it. The bird immediately flapped its wings, hovering before her, ready for her command.

As Alice Liddell swiftly changed into her witch’s gown, she relayed her message to the Jabberwock bird. Though the hope of the Mad Hatter arriving in time was slim, Alice Liddell still felt compelled to inform him.

“Alright, go find your master quickly!” Alice Liddell told the Jabberwock bird the moment she finished dressing.

With the full message received, the Jabberwock bird let out a strange cry, transforming into a wisp of black smoke that shot out the window and flew away at high speed.

Afterward, Alice Liddell drank another dose of beast-transformation potion.

The liquor-like potion flowed into her stomach, and a sensation of boiling blood instantly filled her entire body. A succubus’s wings sprouted from Alice Liddell’s back.

Simultaneously, her gown transformed according to her will, becoming a full-length robe that concealed her entire body, complete with a veil.

While a succubus’s power didn’t allow for high-speed flight, it did grant the ability to float over buildings. This would allow Alice Liddell to cross blocks directly and rush straight to the scene.

‘Please be safe, Jeanne Decker!’

Praying in her heart, she confirmed no one was outside her window, then leaped out, flying towards the rooftops and vanishing into the dim twilight.

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