Unwavering Love for Alice

The light from the Spirit Powder dispelled the thick night, temporarily providing the three of them with barely usable illumination.

However, the severed arm that suddenly flew up was cleverly positioned in Ed's blind spot. As he swung his shield to smash the arm beneath his feet, he didn't have time to defend himself. Upon hearing the warning, he could only awkwardly shrink his body and hide behind his shield.

Although Aaron didn't know what would happen if he was grabbed by this arm, the mere thought of being caught by two severed arms was quite horrifying.

What was that painting style called, where the arm was severed at the elbow and flew around in the air?

At this moment, Sart had to sprinkle another pinch of Spirit Powder and point at the two arms, "Starlight above, seal."

The two severed arms, about to grab Ed, were entangled by a ball of blue light, instantly losing their strength and weakly colliding with the shield.

Even though Ed was a seasoned warrior, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"It might be the Avenger Rune; this cultist is at least Silver Tier!" Sart shouted again.

If the standard from Bronze Tier to Silver Tier was finding a way to utilize extraordinary energy, then upon truly understanding extraordinary energy, a rune would automatically condense.

Or, perhaps, the condensation of a rune itself was proof of advancing to Silver Tier.

The effects of runes were myriad, but most were related to one's own abilities.

Take, for example, the two severed arms that flew out for no reason. Sart speculated that they were likely related to the "Avenger" rune, which was also a relatively common rune among cultists.

This rune would leave a mark on the recipient. Upon the recipient's death, it would directly draw upon their remaining life force and soul to counterattack the killer, with the form of the counterattack being equally varied and unpredictable.

For the cultists of the Crawling Hand Cult, the "Avenger" rune would often cause the severed arms of the deceased to break free and attack again.

At first glance, this rune didn't seem powerful, as it was a sort of mutually assured destruction rune that required the price of life and soul. However, as long as this rune fell into the hands of cultists who didn't value human life...

This was precisely why Alice had been so eager to have the attendants retreat at the beginning—in combat with cultists, ordinary people would not only be useless but could very well become materials for the enemy's spells.

"Watch out, it's past!" Alice shouted a reminder, charging back from a distance.

She had taken the lead, venturing into the darkness first, and had indeed come face-to-face with the Crawling Hand. However, she hadn't expected the Crawling Hand to want nothing to do with her, directly releasing an Earthbound Hand to restrain her.

Although she quickly broke free from the restraint, the Crawling Hand had already bypassed her and headed straight for Aaron and the others.

As Alice's reminder echoed again, illuminated by the surrounding blue starlight, Aaron saw a dark, spider-like shadow crawling rapidly towards them.

However, he couldn't help but look a second time and realized it wasn't a spider at all, but a withered human hand!

It was entirely dark blue-black, its five fingers working in unison, running nimbly on the ground, exuding an ominous aura.

The moment Aaron clearly saw its appearance, his vision blurred, and he saw the withered human hand leap out of nowhere, directly lunging at him.

The scene was so vivid that he could clearly see the dust falling from the palm and the long, dark fingernails, yet he had no time to react.

Even before the hand made contact, he felt as if his neck was being gripped, immense pressure crushing his throat.

Was I attacked?

The sensation was so real that he couldn't help but gasp for air.

But the air around him seemed to betray him. No matter how hard he tried, how much his chest heaved, he could only exhale and couldn't draw in any air.

"Starlight above, dispel."

Just as he was becoming disoriented from lack of oxygen, he finally heard Sart's voice.

A beam of blue light descended before his eyes, and he felt the immense pressure that had been coiled around his neck vanish into thin air. The air around him began to flow again.

Aaron, still shaken, gasped for air.

But the next moment, he froze.

The feeling of his neck being choked was indeed real, because his own hands had, without his knowledge, clamped down on his own neck!

Aaron instinctively looked at his hands, which felt so real and familiar, yet so unfamiliar.

In an instant, he felt a cold current spread through his spine, sending a chill down his back.

He even had a fleeting illusion, a feeling that these hands had become someone else's.

"Calm down," Sart glanced at him when he had a moment, seeing Aaron's ashen face, and said softly, "No matter what you see, believe it's just an illusion. The cultist's aura is trying to distort your perception."

"But why are my hands..."

"It's because you've only just advanced to Black Iron Tier and haven't gotten used to extraordinary energy," Sart said quietly. "This is the nature of the Crawling Hand. Once you perceive it but can't resist its illusory guidance, you'll be compelled to strangle yourself. Although it's just a projection, it possesses the same characteristic."

As he spoke, he grabbed another small pinch of Spirit Powder from his pocket. Seeing the dwindling spice, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Aaron watched Ed, hidden behind his shield, skillfully parrying the Crawling Hand's attacks, hearing only the dull thuds of blunt impacts on his one-handed shield or the sharp scraping sounds.

"Make way!" Alice finally arrived at this moment, her silver longsword emitting a blinding glow, illuminating the surroundings.

Taking advantage of the Crawling Hand colliding with Ed's shield, she swung her sword without hesitation.

She didn't hold back!

Aaron only saw the dark blue palm, utterly unable to withstand the silver light, being cleanly sliced in two with no room for retaliation.

But the sword's momentum didn't cease, striking Ed's shield heavily.

Bang!

Aaron didn't know how powerful that strike was.

But Ed, the middle-aged man with a one-handed shield and sword, clad in half-plate armor, was sent flying backward like a rag doll, as if struck by a sledgehammer!

He stared dumbfounded, watching Ed's figure fly away, only to crash heavily onto the ground, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Was this what they called "I'll even hit my teammates when I get serious?"

If Alice's eyes hadn't turned red, he would have thought she was also controlled by the Heretical Cult.

Or maybe, she was actually a berserker?

Aaron swallowed subtly, cautiously inching closer to Sart.

Even more terrifying was that she was his fiancée.

Firm attitude, unwavering loyalty until death...

Well, it should be unwavering loyalty until death, the kind that would kill him if he broke off the engagement