They are all characters I control.

Eleanor closed her eyes, then opened them again.

In those deep blue eyes, hesitation and struggle receded like the tide, replaced by an ultimate tranquility. It wasn't that they had given up; they had come to a realization.

William glanced back at her. "Eleanor?"

She didn't answer; her expression changed.

Claire took over the body.

He gripped his sword tightly and flexed his wrist. Eleanor's body was riddled with wounds, her magic depleted, her left arm unable to be raised, and blood still seeping from the base of her thumb.

But after his consciousness entered, the wounds were still there, but the magic began to flow slowly.

It's not healing, it's exploitation.

Squeeze out the last bit of strength from your body.

“Step back,” Claire said.

William was taken aback. "You—"

"Step back."

William didn't ask any further questions. He recognized that look—not Eleanor's. It was that person's look.

Claire raised her left hand, her fingertips tracing a dark red line.

[Intermediate Explosive Rune - Black Smoke]

Thick black smoke exploded from his palm, instantly engulfing the few heretics charging at the front.

Chapter 111 First, teach a set of skills

Claire had a habit of setting off smoke before a fight.

Of course, it's also because no one would have thought that there were such rune inscriptions.

After all, not everyone possesses enough magical and mental power to use rune inscriptions that are inherently impossible to succeed at and also involve negative elemental perception.

Only Claire, after inheriting all her elemental perception attributes as negative, could use such a rune imprint.

Even with light magic, Eleanor wouldn't be able to use it if her own light elemental magic wasn't strong enough to correct and fill Claire's negative elemental perception.

At this moment, Sister Martha, Mel, and the armed heretics were also in a panic when faced with the sudden appearance of black smoke.

Coughs, screams, and the clanging of metal mingled together.

Even though Claire had used this strange magic once before in the basement, neither Sister Martha nor Mel understood when such magic would be used.

Naturally, this is also because Claire and Eleanor's current substitution for each other is completely random.

Previously, Sister Martha and Mel could predict when Claire and Eleanor would be replaced, which was fixed, but after activating 'Mental Bond', it became much more flexible.

Faced with the sudden burst of black smoke, the encirclement of the armed infidels was thrown into disarray, and gaps appeared.

Before the smoke cleared, Claire plunged her longsword into the black smoke, precisely piercing the shoulder of a heretic and flinging him into the snowdrift behind her.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

We can't be greedy anymore; it's time to know when to stop.

"Let's go!" Claire shouted.

William helped Megan up and they ran up the mountain.

Dorothy followed behind, clutching her stomach but not stopping.

Just as everyone was beginning to evacuate, Mel rushed out of the black smoke and thrust his dagger straight at Claire's throat.

Claire dodged to the side, the blade grazing her dagger before slashing at her wrist. Mel sheathed her sword to parry, and the two exchanged three blows on the snow, neither gaining the upper hand.

“You really are a terrible ‘guy’.” Mel looked at Claire with admiration in his eyes. “There’s a town in Lin Valley, and you’re still here in this old home. It’s really nice to see you.”

Claire didn't answer; she couldn't possibly ignore this girl who looked like a little girl and seemed to have no fighting ability.

Even if you can fool others, you can't fool Claire.

Even back in that small village, when Mel faced me at my peak after consuming the Philosopher's Stone, she still planned to consume the Philosopher's Stone to fight against me.

That wasn't arrogance or conceit, but rather Mel's own confidence in his own abilities.

Compared to the old village chief, Mel himself is the most powerful.

Otherwise, given the chaotic state of the 'Church of Life,' Mel, who remained in her little girl form, would have been overthrown long ago.

If the blood of church members can create the Philosopher's Stone, then why can't the blood of the heretics who consume the Philosopher's Stone every day also be used to create the Philosopher's Stone?

Even after that, Mel maintained an incredibly calm and composed demeanor throughout his performance.

When she encountered Dorothy, the Scarlet Witch, ambushing Commander Will in the town, she was reluctant to approach Dorothy, but she wasn't particularly afraid either.

Mel's confidence stemmed from her own strength, and she also gambled on Eleanor's kindness, traveling such a long distance with the church knights.

When fleeing Eleanor's hometown, Mel also blocked the teleportation magic.

This little girl is definitely not a simple character. For Eleanor, Sister Martha might be the most terrifying enemy, and Scarlet Witch Dorothy is indeed a troublesome fellow.

But to Claire, the man before her, Mel, was the one who had never shown any power and had been hiding his true strength all along.

"What? You don't want to talk to me? Don't want to talk to me? Are you still going to pretend to be a female knight?" Mel tilted her head and looked at Claire, who was facing her seriously, but Claire still had that innocent little girl smile on her face.

Claire didn't want to get entangled with this girl for too long.

He conjured an arc of electricity in his left hand, which wrapped around Mel's wrist, the current spreading down his arm. Mel groaned, and the dagger slipped from his grasp.

Claire didn't give chase; she turned and ran.

"Chase them!" Sister Martha's voice came from behind.

The black smoke that had been released earlier had mostly dissipated by now, and the heretics caught up.

William ran in front, Megan was being dragged along by him, and Dorothy followed behind.

Claire covered the rear, casting runes as she ran. Black smoke, earthquakes, and arcs of electricity continuously dispersed behind her.

As for escaping, the longer the better.

While not expecting to shake off the opponent, being able to move around and avoid being surrounded is the only way to survive.

William suddenly stopped. "You all go."

Claire turned to look at him. "What did you say?"

He wasn't surprised by this; what he had to say was that Eleanor was William's daughter.

Just as Eleanor tried to protect William from being captured, William did not want Eleanor to be captured.

For Claire, William was also an old acquaintance, one of the few people she knew who was still alive.

“I said you should leave.” William turned around to face the infidels who had come after him.

His right arm was still bleeding, and his left hand gripped the chipped longsword.

But he stood there with his back very straight.

Eleanor: William! He—

Claire: I know.

Without Eleanor saying a word, Claire stepped forward and tried to pull William back.

This old guy isn't immortal like Claire; his physical condition is completely frozen at the time when he killed the Archbishop of the Goddess Church during his prime.

William is already so old, and he keeps having his blood drawn.

If he had covered the rear, there would have been absolutely no chance of him surviving.

William wanted to commit suicide to buy time for Eleanor and the others.

"Don't worry about me! I don't have much time left! Even if I escape, my body is already on the verge of death. Now I want to do what I can still do!"

Turning to look at Claire, who was trying to pull him back, William looked into her eyes and understood something.

He realized that the Eleanor in front of him was not his daughter.

Or rather, it wasn't the daughter who had been training with him these past few days; at this moment, Eleanor was the one who had taken control of her daughter's body and rescued him from the basement.

Although I didn't know the other person's identity before, and I wasn't sure why the other person would save me, since it wasn't Eleanor herself.

But at this moment, he had some guesses about "Eleanor's" identity.

He only knew one person whose fighting style always surprised and caught people off guard, just like the one before him.

"Thank you, Claire, for protecting my daughter."

"From now on, I entrust my daughter to you!"

“I know you’re not a bad person, and I admire your efforts. It’s just a pity that you’ve been slandered by some people, but I’m glad to see you’re still alive.”

Chapter 112 An Incomplete Reunion

William's voice echoed across the snow.

The name Claire, spoken by William, was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in circles.

[Eleanor: Claire? He called you Claire?]

Eleanor's thoughts exploded in her mind, filled with shock and confusion.

[Eleanor: Claire…Emperor Claire? It’s you? You really are him?]

Eleanor trusted William implicitly.

I had already thoroughly understood this father's character in the days leading up to this.

Although William was not eloquent and did not like to talk, every time he spoke, he said something correct. He was a typical church knight, a fact that earned him the respect of Eleanor, who was also a church knight.

Therefore, at this moment, the person William calls out as the 'evil god' controlling his body is Claire.

Given William's past experiences fighting Claire and the rumors that Claire was not dead, it's easy for Eleanor to connect this to the evil god emperor Claire.

Claire did not answer Eleanor's question.

He stared at William, whose aged, wrinkled face held no fear, no anger, only a serene peace.

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Claire said with a smile.

William smiled. "More than a hundred years have passed, and your eyes haven't changed."

Claire, of course, could not agree to that at this point.

Even though Megan and Dorothy were a little further away and couldn't hear their conversation.

Even so, with Eleanor still around, Claire found it increasingly difficult to conceal her identity the more people she met.

“Alright, let’s talk about this after we leave here.” Claire grabbed William’s arm. “Now come with me.”

"I do not go."

"Your daughter is waiting for you."

“I know,” William said softly, “but she doesn’t need a father who’s a burden to her.”

"You are not a burden."

“That’s me.” William shook his head. “I’m old and can’t fight anymore. Even if I escape today, I won’t live for more than a few days. Rather than die in a hospital bed, I’d rather die here. At least that will give you a chance to live.”

Eleanor's imagery did not appear in Claire's mind.

Clearly, Eleanor, like her father, was not good with words and did not know how to say them.

There was nothing she could do at that moment; the very act of bringing Claire out was beyond her control.

"Besides, I am also a church knight."

"To die fighting against heretics is an honor for me as a church knight, and it is my lifelong pursuit."

"Compared to being locked in that dark basement, not knowing when I would be bled to death, I am more satisfied now than ever before, and I also long to die here."

Eleanor fell even more silent.

She was also a church knight, so she naturally understood the wishes of church knights.

But facing her father, she still spoke to Claire.