West City Guard Station.
Inside a room on the second floor.
Holt did not go straight to Catherine, but paced back and forth in the room, pondering deeply.
Although he had believed Colin's words, there were still doubts about the matter.
The biggest doubt was—why did Orlando and his two companions die under the falling rocks?
According to Colin, it was probably Catherine's doing.
But if she did it, how did she manage?
It was much harder than directly killing the three of them.
If it were him, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
But for Catherine, also an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, to have Orlando and his companions die under falling rocks seemed incredible.
"Maybe, Colin hasn't told the whole truth either," he speculated quietly after much thought.
If that were the case, then everything would make sense.
After all, people are selfish, and their words tending to favor themselves is normal.
However, all of this was still speculation; the concrete truth would require further investigation...
...
On the other hand, Colin was walking on the road, his steps somewhat hurried.
"I wonder how things are back home after being away for so long."
He was eager to return to his own courtyard, primarily because he was hungry.
Before he set out for the Dark Forest, he had brought some dry food made by Renee, but it had gotten soaked and become inedible.
Now it was the afternoon of the second day, and he was already very hungry.
Boom—
Suddenly, there was a sound of thunder in the distance.
Colin looked up at the sky.
The weather on the island was even more unpredictable than in the mountains. It had been clear just a moment ago, but now the sky was gradually being covered by dark clouds. It looked like it was about to rain.
He quickened his pace.
Once he advanced to an Advanced Wizard Apprentice and learned Flying Witchcraft, traveling would no longer be so arduous.
He crossed the main street, turned into an alley, and walked for a few more minutes.
Boom—
As another peal of thunder sounded, torrential rain poured down!
Colin frowned and continued forward.
However, at the next intersection, he gradually slowed his pace.
Crack!
A bright bolt of lightning streaked across and suddenly illuminated the dim world.
It also illuminated the figure of a woman veiled in front of Colin.
"...You didn't die?" the woman asked indifferently, sounding somewhat surprised. Yet, the expression on her face was stiff and peculiar.
It was somewhat reminiscent of certain over-surgeried women from his past life, seemingly having lost control over their facial muscles.
"Thanks to you," Colin replied coldly without changing his expression.
"Heh... heh... heh…"
But to Colin's surprise, after he spoke these words, Catherine froze in place like a crashed machine, her eyes toggling between anger and confusion, and a heh-heh sound continuously escaped her lips.
"She's… gone mad because of what I said?" Colin felt momentarily bewildered.
Woosh!
A Fireball suddenly hurtled towards him.
"Crazy woman!"
Colin cursed quietly, but he was prepared; with a swift sidestep, he dodged to the side.
The Fireball passed by his left side, bringing with it a wave of heat.
Colin took out a metal arrow, ready to strike back.
Boom!!
Unexpectedly, Colin was struck from behind with a heavy blow!
After the fireball, the size of a human head, brushed past him, it incredibly swerved and hit him again.
"Heh... cough, cough..."
Catherine coughed violently, her eyes regaining some clarity.
After returning to the city, she slowly began to notice something unusual about herself.
She hadn't expected the Chiwen Gang's final curse from Bellet to be so vicious. Her condition was getting worse, and it seemed she could no longer hold on...
Hiss.
A barely detectable noise whispered through the air.
Then, with a "plop," Catherine's abdomen suddenly burst open with a hole the size of a fist.
Ding!
A metallic arrow continued its trajectory unabated, embedding itself deeply into the stone wall behind her.
Thud.
Catherine spat out a mouthful of blood, lowered her head to inspect her wound, then looked back incredulously at Colin not far away.
To think she hadn't held back just now—although it wasn't lethal, she shouldn't have remained unscathed.
But she had no time to think anymore!
Her severe injuries had already disrupted the temporary balance within her body!
Buzz—
A bizarre rage accompanied by an unsettling whisper rushed into her brain.
The lucidity in Catherine's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by endless fury and madness.
Wham!!
Dazzling flames rose from her body, forming an ethereal halo.
The torrential rain could not extinguish the seemingly thin orange-yellow flames; instead, it evaporated instantly, dispersing into a ring of mist.
Sizzle—
At that moment, anyone with acute hearing could detect several faint noises beneath the sound of the rain.
Gray-black darts arranged in a net-like formation, shooting continuously towards Catherine.
Sizzle!
The darts successfully penetrated the ethereal orange-yellow flames around Catherine's body but had melted into molten iron, losing their hardness and hence their penetrating power, and were blocked by the inner defenses without causing much damage.
Although heated to high temperatures, for someone adept in fire manipulation like Catherine, this temperature was clearly insignificant.
Colin's brows furrowed, but they quickly relaxed as his pupils contracted!
Through the ethereal flames, he noticed a horrific transformation in Catherine!
"Tsk."
Behind Colin, at a street corner, a wizard in a black robe uttered a "tsk" through the curtain of rain.
He turned to his companion and said,
"It seems Bekeley was indeed killed by her... Flesh Curse. Don't know what this woman did to make Bekeley willing to endure such pain to curse her..."
"Whatever she did, we should clean up Bekeley's mess now... If the Guard Team comes later, it won't end well," his companion responded indifferently.
"What's the rush, it's pouring; who would patrol in this? Her curse is about to detonate, a rare scene indeed."
"Ah, there it comes!"
His companion looked disdainful yet begrudgingly watched.
Through the rain curtain, everything became hazy.
Thud!
Even as Catherine's body swelled into a huge, dark-red tumor, eventually exploding under the Flesh Curse,
It looked... more like a burst of blood-red fireworks.
"...Truly beautiful!" the black-robed wizard exclaimed ecstatically.
"..."
"Let's go, let's hurry up and deal with that kid, or we might be too late."
"You're just too..." The black-robed wizard began to sneer, but his voice got stuck in his throat.
Not far off, through the rain curtain, a figure was braving the rain, flying towards them.