Kill it, then speak with dead

"By the name of the eternal Blood War,

by witness of the Pact of the Nine Hells,

your true name is etched in brass,

and my power flows through your blood."

As she chanted the contract prayer aloud, Ahli looked down at Eruien kneeling at her feet, her seductive face brimming with a smug smile.

Eruien's will had completely yielded;

their souls had formed a connection;

the power of the Nine Hells was pouring into Eruien's body.

"Toying with mortals is so much fun. At last, I've gotten myself an excellent toy. I'll definitely have to flaunt him in front of that bitch Mizora later! Hehehehe~"

The more she laughed, the smugger she became, nearly throwing her head back to the sky.

Then, the beautiful Cambion noticed a tattered sack drifting through the air.

Looking closer, she saw that two nearly transparent energy hands were holding the sack.

At that moment, the two energy hands pulled open the mouth of the sack, stretching it as wide as possible.

Higher up, another energy hand tossed a ring set with an emerald-green tourmaline into the sack.

"Who's so bored that they summoned so many Mage Hands?" Ahli had no idea what was about to happen and merely stared blankly at the sky.

Only when the sack landed at her feet and began contracting, swelling, contracting, swelling like a living thing—with the frequency growing faster and faster—did she realize something was terribly wrong.

Ahli let out a shriek. Infernal flames enveloped her body as she prepared to teleport away.

Even as she fled, she did not forget to take her new toy with her.

But that brief delay came at a terrible price.

Boom!

The spatial collapse reaction broke past its critical point, and the immense magic power stored within abruptly exploded.

Where the Packhorse Sack had been, a dazzling, multicolored sphere of energy more than six feet in diameter appeared, spinning rapidly like a star cluster.

Before Ahli's body could be fully covered by infernal flames, her exposed wings and tail were pulled by the immense forces of teleportation magic and the star cluster's gravity, producing a tearing sound that made teeth ache.

After she vanished with Eruien, a pair of bleeding wings and a severed tail that was still wriggling were left behind on the ground, before they were sucked into the energy sphere with a whoosh.

Still, Ahli had managed to keep her life.

The other two Cambions still carrying out the contract ritual had no time to react. In an instant, they were sucked into the energy sphere without even letting out a scream.

Then, every object within a twenty-foot radius—grass, leaves, branches, shattered stones, dirt, and even the air—was drawn into the energy sphere.

Fortunately, the spatial collapse reaction lasted only ten seconds. Otherwise, the consequences would have been impossible to contain.

Meanwhile, Miss Wuke had already quietly rescued the three members of the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad.

They retrieved their weapons and lay in wait. Once Marvin detonated the Dimensional Bomb, they immediately launched their attack.

The three Cambions led by Ahli had been the leaders of these devils. With two dead and one injured, the remaining devils were leaderless and could only be slaughtered.

Miss Wuke displayed the formidable strength of a level-eight mage. With a wave of her hand, she fired four [Mercuria's Light] spells, burning four Bearded Devils into charcoal.

Mercuria was the second layer of Mount Celestia, where Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon God, resided.

[Mercuria's Light] directly drew upon the golden radiance of Mount Celestia and condensed it into rays to attack enemies. Among second-circle evocation spells, it was one of the most effective against fiends and undead.

The remaining imps fought as they fled. After eight were killed, they scattered in panic.

The group did not pursue them, instead choosing to catch the big fish: Ahli.

As she fled, the massive gravitational pull had torn off her wings and tail. Blinded by agony, she made an error in her spell and teleported less than a hundred feet away.

When the blood-soaked, beautiful Cambion tried to struggle free and flee again, Slicked-back Hair struck her with a [Command].

Before casting, Slicked-back Hair had deliberately blessed himself with the [Enhance Ability] divine spell, raising his Wisdom.

Wisdom was the primary attribute of clerics. The higher it was, the more powerful their divine spells became, and the easier it was to sense the presence of deities and communicate with them.

Combined with Ahli's severe injuries and weakened state, Slicked-back Hair's [Command] finally succeeded. At a single shout of "Grovel," Ahli helplessly obeyed and dropped to the ground.

The dwarf warrior ran over on his short little legs and pinned Ahli's neck firmly to the ground with a kneeling hold, leaving her unable to move.

The half-elf rogue arrived shortly afterward, took out a coil of hemp rope woven with silver threads, and bound Ahli tightly.

"Moradin's beard! I really thought I'd be dragged into Hell like that she-devil threatened, turned into a devil, forced to fight in the endless Blood War, and never drink another drop of alcohol for the rest of my life!"

The battle was finally over.

Even the thick-nerved dwarf warrior let out a lingering sigh of relief.

Earlier, while the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad had been happily gathering herbs, the Sacred Eternal Sun Squad had also arrived at the Druid Herb Garden.

The three discovered that the so-called hero, Eruien, was in a very bad state and showed signs of losing his mind.

Slicked-back Hair decided not to make contact with him. He took the herbs they had gathered, called over Marvin, who was still at the camp, and prepared to retreat.

But events changed far too quickly. Two Cambions and a large group of devils suddenly poured out of a portal. After a fierce battle, the three were captured.

What followed was Ahli revealing her true face, Eruien completely breaking down, and then yielding to temptation.

After surviving the ordeal, the three saw Marvin lightly leap down from the cliffside under the effects of [Feather Fall] and immediately surrounded him.

The dwarf warrior charged ahead on his short little legs, leaped up, and gave Marvin a fierce hug.

"I swear by Moradin, even if you drink juice every day from now on, I won't have a single complaint! We owe it all to you, Marvin!"

Marvin felt his body tilt.

The dwarf in heavy armor weighed as much as a solid iron ball. If not for his [Sturdy] feat, he would probably have thrown out his back.

Toad and Slicked-back Hair also ran over, throwing their arms around Marvin's shoulders as they celebrated the victory.

"Gentlemen, don't forget that there is still the fate of a fiend here waiting for us to decide." A clear, elegant female voice interrupted the men's celebration.

Slicked-back Hair immediately regained the polished manner of a cleric of Waukeen and gave Miss Wuke a bow.

Miss Wuke's effortless display of wiping out four devils had truly stunned him.

A powerful, beautiful, peculiar—mainly because of her hairstyle—female mage who had also saved his life deserved every bit of respect.

"Lady Yinfennar." Slicked-back Hair glanced at Ahli. "We are already more than satisfied just to have gained our freedom. Her fate should rightly be decided by you and Marvin."

Ahli was bound tightly by silver rope that restrained devils, and combined with her excessive blood loss, she had completely lost the ability to resist. As for the toy she had only just acquired, the side effects of teleportation had already rendered him completely unconscious.

Looking at the Cambion who was now entirely at her mercy, Miss Wuke revealed a cruel yet elegant smile. "Marvin, kill her, then take the body back to Friendly Arm and use Speak with Dead to extract information. What do you think?"

"Agreed." Marvin nodded.