“What?” A chorus of gasps filled the air as everyone turned to look at Zoe—Camilla was connected to two souls, and since one had already vanished, and it was unlikely that a devil would simply make empty threats, only one possibility remained.

Elhia reacted even faster. As the chief steward exclaimed, she had already taken action. The main tendril, capable of crushing a Terrorbeast's torso, swept towards Zoe, pinning her to the ground. The force was evident in the shattered stone slabs behind her, showing that this attack was not holding back in the slightest.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Zoe's mouth.

Then, a strange silence fell over the hall.

Undoubtedly, Elhia's actions were to prevent the devil from seizing Zoe's body and launching a sudden attack—mind resonance compensated for the lack of sensory control. If a God's Punishment Witch managed to unleash a Magic Restriction Domain, even a small opening could cause significant damage.

Especially since most of the witches present were unprepared to treat Zoe as an enemy.

It had to be said that Elhia, as a former commander of the Holy Saints Army, was far more experienced in combat than most.

However, Zoe did not struggle in the way they imagined, nor did she fight desperately at the cost of her life. From the devil's declaration to being pinned down by the tendril, she remained motionless like a puppet, showing no signs of being possessed.

"Has the devil's soul really transferred into this body?" Roland finally broke the silence after a while.

"I've never encountered anything like this before..." Camilla still looked shaken. "Mind resonance can be understood as a bridge, but it's still just another form of communication—abandoning the original body and directly invading the connector's heart, how is that even possible?"

"Is there a way to confirm it?" Tilly frowned.

"Unless it speaks up on its own," Elhia loosened the tendril slightly, but maintained the confinement. "The possibility is indeed high. A soul cannot exist without a vessel, otherwise we wouldn't rely so heavily on the Underground Abyss—self-annihilation is not impossible, but even if the devil did that, it wouldn't benefit it in any way, so we must prepare for the worst."

"I might have a way," Roland considered. "What if we incorporate Zoe's light pillar into the Dream World..."

"I disagree!" Wendy immediately objected. "For you, any risk should be avoided."

"That's right, what if the enemy takes over your body?" Nightingale echoed. "It's not a loser from the Soul Battlefield, but a true high-ranking devil!"

"The risk is not uncontrollable," Roland slowly pondered a countermeasure. "If it can really enter the dream, the location will definitely be fixed. As long as we arrange for a team of God's Punishment Witches to enter the dream together, we can completely destroy it before it can react. Besides, the Dream World is completely different from mind resonance. No matter what happens inside, it won't affect reality. Once we wake up, the dream's time will freeze, and any outsiders will be forcibly expelled. So even in the worst-case scenario, if Zoe disappears and the devil replaces her, we can get confirmation."

"But..." Nightingale bit her lip, turning to Anna. "You should persuade him too."

"I don't object to him doing it," Anna said unexpectedly.

"Why?" Wendy and the others were taken aback.

"Because that's how he saved me," she replied earnestly. "If someone had tried to dissuade him with similar arguments back then, I would probably have died on the gallows long ago. Now, if I were to be the one to dissuade him, I wouldn't be able to convince myself. Besides, I trust Roland's judgment—he must know that he is no longer alone."

As she spoke, the two exchanged a smile, their expressions filled with understanding and trust.

"..." Elhia was silent for a long time. "No matter what the outcome, I thank you on behalf of Zoe."

"And I'd rather hear her say that herself," Roland nodded.

"I'll go arrange for the most combat-capable companions to come over," Pasha said gratefully.

"Also, let's continue the resonance before entering the dream," he said, pretending to be relaxed. "Didn't Zoe say not to break the mind resonance unless she indicates to stop? If it's a contest of minds, it's not certain who will lose."

*******************

"Hey, female, guess what your little bug partners are planning to do right now?"

Zoe glanced at the high-ranking devil, then shifted her attention back to her body.

Her chest rose slightly, though the movement was almost imperceptible, it was still much more pleasing to the eye than that rough male body. Her limbs were intact, the sensation was clear, but her unkempt hair obscured her forehead, just like in the Dream World...

"Ha! They'll definitely be on high alert, surrounding you!" The devil, who called itself Cabradah, mocked. "Once they figure out the situation, you have a 30% chance of being imprisoned, tied to an iron bed like a lowly worm, soaking in excrement all day long. Of course, there's a 70% chance of being executed directly—after all, you often did that four hundred years ago, cutting off the rotten flesh to stop the spread."

Zoe looked around, seeing only endless darkness. But it wasn't pure darkness—if there was no light, she shouldn't even be able to see herself, but in her vision, both she and the devil were clearly visible in detail.

"Hey, are you dumbstruck, or do you think silence will save you?" Cabradah's voice became agitated. "My patience is limited, you better understand your situation—we won't truly die here. If you put all your effort into pleasing me, I might let you suffer less!"

"I thought devils wouldn't talk so much," Zoe tore a strip of cloth from her sleeve and tied up her long hair. "If it were me, even if I learned the language of the bugs, I wouldn't chatter in front of them all day."

"It doesn't matter if you're stubborn, you'll be screaming soon enough," the devil chuckled. "I can feel the power of your soul, it's stronger than most bugs. Using you as my last opponent, Cabradah, is not a bad choice."

"And then? After I'm executed, how much better off will you be? Is all this just to vent your anger on me?"

"What's wrong with that? Fighting! Slaughter! Torture! Advancement! Bug, this is the attitude a higher being should have! Are you telling me I should kneel down and beg for your forgiveness?" Cabradah roared, "What's so scary about death? Our souls will be absorbed by the source of magic, and when our race reaches the top, we will surely return to the world!"

"Then you better hurry," Zoe said expressionlessly, "They might make their move soon."

"Don't worry," Cabradah revealed a sinister smile, "You don't understand the mysteries of magic. In the stream of consciousness, time becomes slow and controllable. Even a blink of an eye can be used as several years—since it's the last slaughter, it has to satisfy me."