Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Lin Ze raised his foot without hesitation and aimed squarely at Harrow's shin, treating him to a rendition of "I Quietly Listen to the Sound of Bones Cracking."
Harrow cried out in pain and instantly collapsed to the ground. Even then, he remembered to grab his crutch-no, his cane.
"Traveler, are you all right?"
Seeing the "bad guy" knocked down, Paimon immediately flew over. She anxiously looked Lin Ze up and down as she said:
"That jerk! He grabbed you and wouldn't let go, and he said all sorts of weird things. He must have done something bad to you! Traveler, you don't look any different, but we should still be careful. We need to arrest him and make him explain everything."
Paimon glared furiously at the "villain" lying on the ground, her eyes blazing.
Paimon's protectiveness warmed Lin Ze's heart. He gently stroked the little one's head. "Yes, Paimon's right."
Delighted by his approval, Paimon immediately flew forward to Harrow. He had tried and failed to stand through the excruciating pain and was now glaring at Lin Ze. She angrily stamped her feet and waved her arms at him, looking ready to strike.
"Tell us the truth! What did you just do to the Traveler?! Otherwise, Paimon won't go easy on you!"
Harrow paid no attention to little Paimon's warning, but Ammit's sudden reversal had filled him with deep unease, like a dark cloud looming over his heart.
He relied on the power of judgment Ammit had bestowed upon him. He believed in the perfect world she would create after punishing every criminal. But if her power of judgment was flawed, if his standard for identifying sinners wavered, how could he be certain that the people he had sent away