"Ability...failed?" Nightingale looked at Maisie in surprise. "Was she injured by a high-ranking devil?"

"...Goo.!" Maisie's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.

"What?"

"It was..." She repeated her answer, and this time everyone finally heard Maisie's words clearly, "It was me who pecked her, goo..."

"Huh?" Roland and Nightingale exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes. Then, they almost simultaneously asked, "What exactly happened at the time? Tell us everything from the beginning."

After understanding the whole story, Roland frowned deeply.

A powerful devil that looked extremely similar to a human, even a distant gaze could cause intense fear, and even though Lightning was flying at supersonic speed at the time, she was still spotted by the other party? Compared to this information, the news that demonic beasts and devils were fighting fiercely in the snowfield, and that skeletal monsters could be used as weapons, seemed less alarming.

To wake up Lightning, Maisie pecked her hard on the chest, allowing them to escape. Otherwise, if they continued to fly, she would have crashed into the enemy's arms sooner or later.

There was no doubt that the reason the wound couldn't heal was not because of Maisie. Not to mention that she didn't have such ability at all, even if she did, she certainly wouldn't want to hurt her closest partner.

Then the reason could only be found in Lightning.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly—before setting off, he had repeatedly told her not to venture into dangerous places alone relying on her new abilities, and that returning safely was the most important thing. But she still couldn't control that impulse, which was probably the nature of an explorer inherited in her blood.

However, at this moment, he couldn't bring himself to blame Lightning at all. The most urgent thing was not to find out who was at fault, but to find out where the problem was.

Roland then asked Nightingale to call Wendy, Lily, Agatha, and Sunset. In addition to doing further examinations, they also planted a Symbiotic Seed to prevent accidents. After the group worked until evening, Lightning finally woke up from her coma, and the comprehensive physical examination also had preliminary conclusions.

"You mean, her body is completely normal?" After listening to Agatha's report, Roland turned his head and glanced at the little girl who was curled up in Wendy's arms with a pale face. "This can't be considered unscathed, right?"

"The previous coma was caused by physical exhaustion and fatigue caused by prolonged flight. The Symbiotic Seed can also prove this—Sunset did not feel any discomfort. This shows that her low state is caused by mental panic, and has nothing to do with her body itself. In theory, she can recover after a few days of rest."

"Then what about the wound?"

"This is exactly what I want to say next," Agatha lowered her voice, "Her problem lies in magic power—when I checked with the Balanced Magic Stone, I felt a trace of feedback that didn't belong to her."

"What...do you mean?" Roland was stunned.

"You should know that although magic power is everywhere, to use it, you must first turn it into your own—this is what we often call cohesion. Whether it's an air vortex or an ideograph after advancement, they all belong to this category. Devils are no exception, except that the magic power they possess is completely different from that of witches, reflecting on the Balanced Magic Stone, like the difference between clear water and rotten juice." She paused slightly, "And the strange feedback I received is almost identical to that of a devil."

Roland immediately felt that things were getting tricky, "You mean, the devil has invaded Lightning's magic power—without direct contact?"

"How is that possible?" Nightingale questioned, "In the Mist World, I can easily distinguish different types of magic power. If she had been invaded, I should have been able to see it at a glance."

"Compared to Lightning's own magic power, it is too subtle, and it is quite normal to be overlooked," Agatha shook her head, "But this is only a perception from the Balanced Magic Stone. As for whether it is really the invasion you mentioned, Your Majesty, I cannot be sure now."

Roland quickly realized the meaning of her words, "Devils have never shown such abilities before?"

"If it's just being affected within the range of sight without relying on contact, similar abilities are not uncommon. For example, a Heart Fear Devil is the most typical example. It is not uncommon for high-ranking devils to have similar characteristics. After all, they obtain power through magic stones, rather than being destined at the time of awakening. But I have never heard of this effect of making wounds unable to heal," Agatha pondered, "Assuming that a part of the magic power really comes from the devil and is attached near the wound, then everything makes sense."

Indeed, if this was caused by the enemy's ability, it could also explain why Nana Wawa's treatment suddenly became ineffective—she could heal devils, but that didn't mean she could ignore the enemy's malicious power. Roland asked in a deep voice, "Then what is the solution?"

"I don't know yet," the Ice Witch said bluntly, "In theory, getting close to the God's Punishment Stone can eliminate the magic power effect, but the fact proves that this ability is obviously not that simple."

"Since it acts on the wound, what if we cut off the surrounding area of the wound and then treat it?"

"I suggest you don't do that. If it keeps expanding with the wound, things will be difficult to recover. At least now, Lightning's wound will not affect her safety," Agatha denied, "In the next few days, it is best to let her live in the Third Border City first and continue to observe for a while. Pasha and the others know more, and maybe they can think of a way to dispel it."

"I understand."

Roland nodded and slowly walked to the bedside.

Seeing him, Lightning lowered her head, her voice as if she was about to cry, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry...I..."

"You don't have to say anything," Roland reached out and touched her head, "Rest assured, I will definitely heal you."

Lightning's body trembled, as if she was trying her best to hold back her tears. After a long time, she responded almost imperceptibly.

"Yeah."

...

Three days later, Roland received new progress from Taqila.

He immediately set off, taking Nightingale, Wendy and others into the Third Border City hidden deep beneath the North Slope Mountains.

Pasha greeted him at the entrance of the hall.

"How is Lightning?"

"She has recovered a lot. Elaine has been by her side these days, telling her new stories about the dream world, which has almost made her forget her encounter with the high-ranking devil." Pasha said with a smile, "Today she even flew a few laps with Maisie in the hall. The small wound on her chest will not affect her actions at all."

Hearing this, Roland breathed a slight sigh of relief. In order to avoid worrying Thunder, only a few witches knew about Lightning's encounter. But if she doesn't show up for a long time, it will inevitably cause everyone's worry, and it will be difficult to hide it then.

"Have you found out what ability this is?" Wendy asked impatiently.

Pasha swayed her tentacles, " Celine has reread all the documents left by Taqila, and still hasn't found any matching records. Therefore, we can be sure that this should be a newly born ability of the devil. However, the fact that there is no identical ability does not mean that there are no similar abilities—in fact, the consequences it causes are quite similar to a rare special ability."

"What is that?"

"We call it a curse," Pasha replied word by word.