They are all characters I control.

Claire didn't look at Dorothy. He knew she was still alive; after all, Grace's body was just a substitute for the Scarlet Witch, and Dorothy couldn't die.

But William's strength had exceeded expectations.

Ordinary weapons couldn't hurt him, and runic magic could only cause a temporary slowdown. His body was healing rapidly, and the white mark from before had disappeared.

Claire took a deep breath, touched the ground with the tip of her sword, and magic flowed through her body.

[Intermediate Burst Rune - Black Smoke] Activated.

Thick black smoke exploded from his palm, engulfing William. William roared from within the smoke, wildly waving his claws, but losing his target.

“Megan! Keep going!” Claire shouted.

Megan's sobs grew louder; this time it wasn't a disturbance, it was an attack.

William's body stiffened abruptly, and a faint grayish-white layer appeared on his dark red skin—the effect of a mental attack that directly impacted his soul.

William's legs began to tremble, and a crack appeared in the emptiness in his eyes, as if something was struggling inside.

Claire did not hesitate.

He rushed forward, and his longsword pierced William's chest.

The blade penetrated half an inch, but was stuck by the muscle and could not go any further.

William lowered his head, looking at the sword at his chest, then at Claire before him. In her pure black eyes, emptiness and madness flashed alternately.

“Eleanor…” his voice was hoarse, like the wind blowing through withered leaves, “Go…go quickly…”

Dorothy slid down from the tree, clutching her chest, blood still trickling from her lips. "I can't beat him. He recovers too quickly."

Claire gritted her teeth.

He knew, of course, that he couldn't win. William's body, corrupted by the Philosopher's Stone, was no longer human.

His strength, speed, and recovery ability far surpass those of a normal knight. Moreover, Claire is currently using Eleanor's body, and is injured, depleted of magic, and without her original weapon, not even her rusty broken sword.

[Eleanor: He remembers me! William remembers me!]

Claire: Yeah, so what? William is controlled by Sister Martha now. Even if he remembers you, he can't control his body.

Eleanor: ...I'm sorry.

Claire: We need to weaken him first. His body is too powerful. We need to stop the fight first.

Eleanor: Then you can eat the stone.

Claire: You don't need to tell me, I'll handle it myself.

Claire looked down at the sword in her hand, then at the dark red monster with exposed fangs in front of her.

That was William, the knight who once wore silver armor, shouted "bonds" and "friendship," and became stronger the more people around him.

The knight, now transformed into such a monstrous form, remains incredibly powerful and formidable, reminding Claire of the feeling she had when she fought William years ago.

The problem is, Claire's body isn't her own.

He was also unable to use as many elemental magic spells as he had in the past.

There is no doubt that Claire is indeed facing a crisis.

Mel stood beside Mother Martha, watching this scene with a slight smile playing on her lips. She took out a dark red crystal from her bosom and twirled it between her fingers.

"Hey, do you want this?"

When Claire looked over, Mel curled the corners of her mouth.

“You’ve eaten it in Forest Valley Village, and you’ve eaten it in Grayrock Town. You should know that this stuff won’t work on you.” Mel’s voice was soft. “You won’t lose control, you won’t twist. Your body will perfectly absorb its power.”

Claire looked at her. "What do you want?"

“I don’t want anything.” Mel tilted her head.

This guy's words are unreliable. Claire is not unaware that if Eleanor were to consume the Philosopher's Stone, Sister Martha might use some method to control her.

However, William was extremely threatening and terrifying at this moment, and it would be difficult to stop him.

While Claire pondered, William, still writhing in agony under the influence of mental magic, began to rage and rage in all directions. Clearly, in his current state, William would find it difficult to escape Sister Martha's control.

Mel tossed the Philosopher's Stone over, and it landed in the snow at Claire's feet. "Eat it. Only by eating it can you save him."

Claire looked down at the Philosopher's Stone, then at William in front of her.

William's legs were already unsteady, Megan's mental attacks continued, and his consciousness struggled between lucidity and madness.

“Eleanor…” William called again, “Let’s go…”

Claire picked up the Philosopher's Stone.

Eleanor: You...

Claire: I said I'd eat if things went wrong.

He put the Philosopher's Stone into his mouth.

Cold. Not burning, not excruciating pain, but a cold, serpentine energy surged into my limbs and bones. Just like before in Forest Valley Village and Gray Rock Town.

The power of the Philosopher's Stone entered his body, and Claire indeed felt a chilling wave of consciousness invading the depths of her brain.

Just as Claire was preparing to resist this consciousness, the strange power was suppressed by the holy marks on his chest before it could erode his consciousness.

Claire's body began to glow.

It was not a dark red, corrupt light, but a silvery white, holy light.

Chapter 115 This is the Emperor's Props

A burst of silvery-white light erupted from Claire, illuminating the entire hillside.

That wasn't the blasphemous, dark red, corrupting light that emanated from William or other armed heretics after they consumed the Philosopher's Stone.

It was a holy, intense light, as if it could burn through the sky.

The light surged from his chest, spread along his limbs, and condensed into a thin, flowing silver-white film on the blade of the longsword in his hand.

Mother Martha's pupils contracted sharply. "Impossible."

Clearly, things didn't go as she had hoped.

Claire ignored her. He gripped his sword tightly, facing William.

William broke free from the stun of the mental attack, his pure black eyes fixed on Claire, a low growl escaping his throat.

Although William briefly regained his senses, it was only temporary.

At this moment, William, who was still under control, pounced again.

This time, Claire didn't dodge.

He stepped forward, and his sword clashed head-on with William's claws.

"Clang—!" The sound of metal striking the cuticle exploded on the snow, sending sparks flying.

William was knocked back a step, and so was Claire.

William was originally able to easily defeat Claire, but at this moment he was unable to replicate the difference in strength he had shown earlier.

However, Claire was also somewhat dissatisfied with this.

[Claire: Hey, can you stop being so tense?]

Eleanor: I'm sorry...

[Claire: If you're so scared, and if it's affecting me so much, why don't you do it yourself?]

[Eleanor: I'm just worried, worried about the effects of the Philosopher's Stone...]

[Claire: So didn't I tell you? I'm in control now, not under your adoptive mother's control, so what are you still worried about?!]

[Eleanor: To me, even you, this evil god, are someone to be wary of...]

[Claire: Not bad, you've got some brains. I like this kind of person—wanting to guard against me but helpless, and having to rely on me to do the dirty work for you.]

[Eleanor: ...Don't seriously injure William.]

Claire: You don't need to tell me. I'll handle it myself. I'll decide what to do based on my own situation. You just need to watch from here and not interfere with me.

Eleanor: I understand.

Although Eleanor was somewhat unhappy about being reprimanded like this, she was also well aware that she was not yet able to handle the current situation.

Even though he could fight those heretics, he still couldn't bring himself to harm Sister Martha, nor could he raise his knight's sword against his father who had lost his mind.

This is the result of her being educated by Mother Martha; those past memories and the so-called sense of integrity and the desire to protect her family constantly linger in her mind.

Even if Eleanor is controlled by this 'evil god' and reprimanded by him, she must accept and adapt to it.

However, Claire was equally surprised at this moment, even though he had just seemed to have the upper hand in reprimanding Eleanor.

But he didn't expect that Eleanor would actually affect his performance.

The thought of Eleanor involuntarily surfaced in his mind, causing his fighting movements to slow down and him to unconsciously withdraw his strength.

At this moment, the battle with William can only remain at a stalemate.

This is clearly due to the effects of the Philosopher's Stone and the divine seal within his body; the Philosopher's Stone can indeed control and corrupt the mind of the user.

The problem is that Claire is also an 'outsider' inside Eleanor.

To gain insight into Eleanor's mind, one must first get rid of Claire, another 'outsider,' which results in a confrontation between the two outsiders.

However, Claire didn't make any effort; he simply took the Philosopher's Stone as if nothing had happened.

This is not because Claire's willpower and mental strength are particularly terrifying, although that is one of the reasons.

But the fact that Sister Martha, who was clearly trying to control Eleanor, ate the Philosopher's Stone also revealed why Claire had no reaction to it and was not affected by it.

That is the divine seal on Claire's body. This seal not only seals Claire's magical power and physical strength as the evil god emperor, but it is also the reason why Claire can easily eliminate the effects caused by the 'Philosopher's Stone' within her body.

No matter what kind of magic falls on Claire's body, even if it is holy magic, the power of the holy seal will be removed.

The power left behind by the saintess can resist some of the magical interference with Claire's body.

Before this, it was this same power that had been eliminating any magic that affected Claire, even though Claire was currently controlling Eleanor.

Claire never expected that this power within her would actually come in handy during battle.

Once he understood this, he no longer needed to worry about any influence from the Philosopher's Stone, as the Divine Seal would mercilessly expel all interference with his body.

This means he can consume all the Philosopher's Stones without any worries or side effects.

However, on the other hand, when the magic of the Holy Seal is enhanced and activated...

This also enhanced Eleanor's magic power at this moment. While the power of holy magic was strengthened by the Holy Seal, Eleanor also gained a certain ability to interfere with her own body even when she was being controlled by Claire.

This effect was somewhat troubling for Claire, because Eleanor's own enhancements interfered with his ability to control the body.

Just like before, Eleanor's desire not to hurt William was transmitted to Claire's mind at this moment.

Although it still couldn't give Eleanor complete control over her body and free her from Claire's control, it was indeed a problem.

If Eleanor grows up further, she may gain control over her body even earlier than Leah.

At least, Claire won't have as much control over his body as she used to.

But when that time really comes, there probably won't be that many times when I need to intervene.

Given the current situation, with the berserk father William and the scheming foster mother Sister Martha behind the scenes, this predicament must be resolved immediately.

Claire swung her longsword, aiming for William's face.

Even the irrational William was much more sober when Claire attacked him. He no longer met her head-on with his previous actions, but instead raised his hand to defend.

The attack instantly overwhelmed William, causing him to stagger and be knocked back.

After stopping Eleanor, Claire began to exert her normal strength again.

Even William, who had gone berserk after consuming the Philosopher's Stone, was now in a state of constant retreat.

“Impossible,” Sister Martha said again, cracks beginning to appear in the calm of her voice.

Looking at the situation before him, the mastermind who had meticulously planned this whole time was utterly shocked.

Is there another ambush in Chapter 116?