Just as Abner had guessed, the scenes the Mirror Apostle had shown—of the Devil Cat killing Orange Cat and capturing Fors, Helene, and Fanny—were illusions. Lion Leon had intercepted the connection between the Mirror Apostle and the stray cat and deliberately sent him false images.
In reality, the devil-transformed stray cat was losing its fight against the three women.
At the start, after believing it had torn Orange Cat apart, it had grown so smug that it acted as though Helene and the others were already its next meal.
"When your enemy loses Wisdom to Arrogance, you become the wise one." This was the core effect of the Hand of Wisdom glove Abner had given Helene, derived from a Briber's ability.
So after Helene taunted the Devil Cat, which was over two meters long, just a few times, it dropped its guard against Fors and Fanny entirely. It threw itself at Helene, hurling Sulfur Fireballs and all manner of Language of Foulness attacks as though they cost nothing.
As a Pyromaniac, Helene had good physical strength and abilities. Bribery also weakened those attacks, while Lion Leon, hidden nearby, had piled a series of buffs on her. Miraculously, she held her own against the Devil Cat. With only a few superficial wounds, she fought it to a standstill.
Her performance made the Provocation even more effective. The Devil Cat was so intent on tearing out Helene's organs that it failed to notice Fors on the other side, holding up a Marionette that consisted of nothing but a head and pointing it at the cat...
Only when its thoughts grew sluggish and its movements began to stutter did it realize what was wrong. By then, it was too late!
The moment the Devil Cat fell under initial control, three Mechanical Dolls unleashed