They are all characters I control.

"That thing can enhance the light element magic power in the body for a short period of time, thereby obtaining the healing and strengthening effects unique to light element magic power."

William himself was a victim of having his blood drawn from him, as he was the material used by Mother Martha to create the Philosopher's Stone.

"If you use it once or twice, you might gain great power, but that is essentially overdrawing your body."

"Each use will drain the body dry, and forcibly increasing the light element magic power in the body will also cause the body to weaken faster."

"The reason why these heretics' bodies are either quite old or have turned into children is also because they are suffering from the side effects of taking the Philosopher's Stone, which forces them to turn into children."

As for Sister Martha, she seemed never to have aged or become a child.

It's probably because she never took a large amount of the 'Philosopher's Stone' at once, thus not overdrawing her body. She simply kept injecting herself with the light element magic that prevented aging in a low-level manner.

Naturally, that blood belonged to William.

Although William could live without blood, the loss of blood in his body caused him to age considerably.

It's incredibly lucky that William has survived this long, which proves that he is indeed powerful enough; otherwise, he would have died of old age long ago after losing so much light elemental magic.

"Hahahaha, you all have no idea." Mel looked at the crowd in front of her, a mocking expression on the little girl's face.

She casually crossed her arms and leaned against the tree behind her, glancing at Sister Martha.

Mother Martha did not stop her from speaking at this point.

But Mel wasn't foolish enough to reveal the answer directly. "How do you think we found this place? Is Eleanor some ordinary guy?"

"Fool, do you really think we'd chase you all the way here for a mere vice-captain of a knightly order?"

"You guys are really brainless. Would Martha do something so pointless, keeping an insignificant, unremarkable guy for so many years?"

"Besides, since you have an old monster who has lived for over a hundred years by your side, you should understand that the things this old monster creates will be of poor quality?"

These words drew everyone's attention to Eleanor.

Indeed, just as Mel said.

Eleanor's body must be special; at the very least, there is a rather decisive 'Eleanor' inside her.

When Eleanor first encountered them, when she was trapped in the town with Knight Commander Will, Scarlet Witch Dorothy witnessed Eleanor consuming the Philosopher's Stone.

Rather than attributing the powerful energy to the Philosopher's Stone, it would be more accurate to say that it activated Eleanor's own power.

“No matter what you say, Eleanor will not use the blood of her own people,” William said, interrupting everyone’s thoughts.

His words instantly made things much simpler.

Yes, they do need to find a way to escape the encirclement of these heretics; their current strength is indeed insufficient.

But these 'Philosopher's Stones' were made from the blood of her own companions, and Elinor's eyes became incredibly resolute at this moment.

"No need for further words, come on!"

Eleanor gripped her sword and charged towards the nearest heretic.

The battle continued, and after their previous attempt to get Eleanor to eat the Philosopher's Stone failed, Sister Martha and Mel also gave up trying to persuade her.

The attack, which had paused briefly, resumed. Although Eleanor was very determined, William was also giving it his all.

However, the backlash from Megan's previous teleportation spell has not been completely eliminated, and Scarlet Witch's stand-in, Grace, is not good at using magic.

The situation remains the same as before; there are too many enemies, and they have all consumed the Philosopher's Stone.

Such numbers and strength could easily overwhelm their four-person group.

Eleanor dodged to the side, her longsword sweeping across and precisely slicing into her opponent's wrist.

The heretic screamed, his claws slipping from her grasp, but another hand was already reaching for her throat. William's sword thrust in from the side, the tip striking the man's elbow joint with a crack, dislocating the bone.

Eleanor seized the opportunity to stab the man through the shoulder with her sword and kick him to the ground.

The two of them were so in sync, it was as if they had been training together their whole lives. This was the result of Eleanor and William training together during this period.

But more people surged forward. Three, five, seven.

Eleanor's breathing became more and more rapid, her hand on her hand was already cracked, and blood flowed down the hilt of her sword.

She cleaved the heretic charging at her head with her sword, but was struck on the shoulder by an attack from the side, and staggered backward.

William stood in front of her, his longsword deflecting two incoming blades, but a third slashed his arm. Blood splattered on the snow, a horrifying sight.

“Father!” Eleanor helped him up.

"It's alright." William gritted his teeth, switched the longsword to his left hand, as he could no longer lift his right hand.

The same goes for the other two; Megan and Dorothy are both on the verge of collapse.

Sister Martha looked at them and sighed.

"Why struggle like this? Eleanor, come back with me."

Chapter 110 If you can't beat them, switch to someone else

Eleanor gritted her teeth, her hand gripping the sword trembling.

This isn't fear, it's exhaustion.

Twenty-odd heretics who had consumed the Philosopher's Stone attacked in waves, one after another. She and William fought back-to-back for three rounds, and seven or eight enemies fell, but more than a dozen remained standing.

She glanced at William; his right arm was bleeding, the sword in his left hand was dulled, and his face was as white as snow.

Megan leaned against the cave entrance, holding the dead cat. The blood at the corner of her mouth was the result of using magic even though the injuries from the previous magic backlash had not yet healed.

Dorothy fared even worse; she was kicked by a heretic and is now crouching on the ground, clutching her stomach.

Although she was Scarlet Witch's double, Sister Martha and Mel showed her no mercy. After all, even if they killed her, it would only be a molting skin, and Scarlet Witch would still be alive.

The situation before them was clear, and Eleanor knew they couldn't win.

This is not a battle that can be turned around by simply "holding on a little longer".

The opponent's numbers, stamina, and recovery speed are all superior to theirs.

Sister Martha hadn't made a move yet, and neither had Mel. They were simply waiting for Eleanor to exhaust herself, waiting for her to give up.

Eleanor closed her eyes; she had another solution.

She had experienced a similar situation before.

That was back in my hometown, when I was trapped in the basement and faced an attack by these armed heretics.

At that time, Sister Martha was deliberately waiting for herself to eat the Philosopher's Stone. As a result, William had a major outburst, and the "evil god" who controlled her body unlocked Megan's identity, which allowed them to get through the crisis.

At this point, Eleanor has no choice but to ask that 'evil god' for help.

Otherwise, we'll all die here.

More importantly, Eleanor learned that William was her father, and she couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if William were captured by Mother Martha again.

In this way, his feelings toward that 'evil god' seemed to have become irrelevant.

[Eleanor: Are you there?]

The barrage of comments popped into my head.

Claire was watching this scene from Ophelia's room when she saw the message and paused for a moment.

Eleanor never contacted him.

It wasn't because she didn't know how to use the bullet comments, it was because she didn't want to beg him.

After activating 'Mental Bond', Eleanor knew how to communicate with Claire. So why was this guy contacting her now?

There's really no other way, but the truth is there really is no way.

They had absolutely no chance to fight back in the current situation, and if nothing unexpected happened, they would be pinned down by Sister Martha and the others.

It seems that Eleanor also knows how to back down.

Claire: Say it.

[Eleanor: I can't beat them, you're just watching, aren't you?]

Claire: What are you talking about? I don't understand.

[Eleanor: I know you were watching. I was watching your every move, so don't play dumb.]

Claire: Oh? Really? I could tell too. You're definitely in trouble.

[Eleanor: Can you help me?]

Claire did not answer immediately.

He stared at Eleanor in the picture; her hands were trembling, she had a wound on her shoulder, and blood at the corner of her mouth.

Such a female knight of the church is very fitting for her identity.

[Claire: Weren't you so tough before? You wouldn't eat the Philosopher's Stone, you'd bear it yourself.]

Eleanor: ...I won't eat it.

Claire: So?

[Eleanor: So I want you to help me.]

Claire remained silent for a moment.

He glanced at Ophelia, who was fast asleep beside him, her long silver hair spread out on the pillow, her breathing even.

Was she really asleep, or was she pretending? I don't know.

But Claire didn't have time to deal with her right now; anyway, when she controlled Eleanor, her true form wouldn't have any flaws.

Claire: I can help you, but I won't make the same choice as you.

[Eleanor: What choice?]

Claire: I'd eat the Philosopher's Stone, I'd eat that stuff, and I'd even eat 'Primordial Blood' if it were purer.

Eleanor's comments paused for a moment.

Although she didn't care whether the evil god ate the Philosopher's Stone or not, the problem was that the evil god controlled her body.

So this guy can control his body and eat the 'Philosopher's Stone'.

[Eleanor: Are you crazy? Didn't you hear what William said? Eating that stuff will corrupt your body and twist your consciousness—]

Claire: I know.

[Eleanor: You knew you still wanted me to eat?]

Claire: Because you're too weak. In your current state, you can't even protect William, so who else do you think you can protect?

[Claire: Besides, I myself am a 'god of evil.' You've already called me a 'god of evil,' so how could a second me spring up after I eat you?]

Claire: I don't care about your status as a church knight, that's your problem. All I care about is achieving my goal. As long as that stuff solves the problem, that's all that matters.

Eleanor remained silent.

If she were the only one in danger, then it would be alright.

The problem is that Eleanor wasn't alone; she also had William, her father, and Megan, not to mention Dorothy.

Seeing this 'evil god' say he would control his body to eat the 'Philosopher's Stone', Eleanor didn't refuse outright as she had before, but still hesitated when she looked at William beside her.

[Eleanor: ...You've eaten it?]

[Claire: I've eaten it. More than once. The time in Forest Valley Village, the time in Grayrock Town. How do you think I survived? With your fancy swordsmanship?]

Eleanor bit her lip; she knew he was telling the truth.

Those fragmented memories—her sudden appearance in the village, her sudden appearance in the town, her sudden disappearance from the Knights' prison—were all his doing.

Eleanor stared at the words, her fingers gripping the hilt of her sword tightly.

[Eleanor: I want to save everyone, I want to save William, please help me.]

Claire stared at the line of text, somewhat surprised that this guy had actually agreed.

I originally thought she would struggle and argue a lot, but she actually agreed.

This made Claire smile.

Claire: Okay, I'll help you.

Eleanor: ...