The hole in Cate's chest was mind-jarring. Mary saw through it, her face a mask of shock. Jordan and the three remaining people she had brought along moved toward Cate, who refused to fall to the ground even after having a hole carved into her chest. Cate looked around as she waited for death.
"You should have known your place and handed over the spell the moment I asked for it. Your arrogance has now led to your death, a horrible death at that. There will be no one to mourn you. You will not be buried, and all records of Catherine Staranse will be purged. You will be forgotten. Before that time comes, your corpse will stay in this place and become food for beasts. In this way, you can thank the gods for having given your life some value at the very end," Jordan said as she moved closer to Cate.
Her followers were all smiling, having achieved their goal. Even though two of their comrades had been killed, this did not concern them much. Jordan had offered these people great wealth in exchange for helping her kill her bastard sister, and now that Cate was breathing her last, these people were, of course, happy.
Cate did not fall, and even staggering was not an option for her. She was unwilling to die, and this unwillingness birthed a despair that appeared on her flawless face.
Mary brought out a healing potion and poured it on Cate's head. Jordan did not stop her. No matter how powerful a healing potion might be, there was no way to close the hole in Cate's chest. Her death was a certainty that could not be shaken, even by the power of a god. Even if she were to get powerful healing materials such as vampire blood and seven-leaf clovers, there was no way for Cate to live.
For a long time, Jordan had lived with a pain that she hated very much since it was not her fault. Her father had cheated on Jordan's mother, and this was how Catherine Staranse was born. This had broken the relationship between father and mother, and Jordan was the one to pay for this fractured family. On many nights, Jordan heard her mother crying in the dark, and these memories had gone on to haunt her into adulthood. She had hated Cate even before she met the woman. When Jordan finally met Cate, she made up her mind to kill the young woman and forever put this chapter behind her.
Jordan did not know that the woman she wanted to kill was not the real Catherine Staranse but Medusa, who had borrowed this name for her own plans.
Jordan grabbed Cate's face as though trying to see how special the woman was. She was not impressed. Just as she was about to say something witty, Jordan felt something wrong in the world. She felt that if she did not leave this place immediately, she would not be walking away from it.
She turned around and used her spear to cast a spell that allowed her to teleport away in an explosion of fire. In the next moment, tendrils of blood shot out of Cate and entered the three people who had been left behind by Jordan. These were the magicians that Jordan had brought to help her fight Cate.
The tendrils of blood came out of the hole in Cate's chest. They moved at an incredible speed, and before the three magicians could think of escaping, the tendrils shot into their bodies. Each person had about one hundred thick tendrils of blood burrowing into their bodies in a manner that was beyond gruesome. Terrible screams filled the world. Mary was so shaken that she moved backward, her heart still beating like a war drum.
"כִּי הַדָּם הוּא מְקוֹר הַחַיִּים, וּבוֹ יִתְעַנְּגוּ הָאֱלֹהִים. בְּכֹחַ דָּמִי וְרוּחִי אֶקְרָא לְדַם הַקַּדְמוֹנִים לָתֶת לִי חַיֵּי נֶצַח. יְהִי סִפּוּרִי לְאוֹת לְאֵימָה וְיָגוֹן. בִּרְצוֹנִי אֶתְאַחֵד עִם חֵטְא רִאשׁוֹן לְכַוֵּן עוֹלָם."
Cate chanted in an eerie manner.
Mary was very knowledgeable and she knew many languages.
She was able to make out a little of what Cate was saying.
"For the blood is the source of life, and in it shall the gods delight.By the power of my blood and my spirit, I call to the blood of the Old Ones to give me eternal life.Let my story be a sign of terror and sorrow.By my will, I will unite with the first sin to establish eternity."
Mary understood that this was a spell of some kind, but she had never heard of anything like this.
Cate's eyes glowed with a red light that soon flooded her body. After that, everything went back to normal. She still had a hole in her chest, but at the same time, she seemed to have gained new life. The tendrils that had burrowed into the bodies of the three magicians began sucking up their blood and channeling it into Cate. The blood moved through the tendrils in a manner akin to gulping down water.
The magicians screamed and struggled. They cried out for mercy and then begged for quick deaths. In the end, they lost all will to fight back and glared at Cate as though cursing her to a fate worse than death. They died with their eyes wide open and their bodies appearing worse than mummies that were thousands of years old.
Using the tendrils of blood, Cate threw the bodies to the side. In her eyes, they had lost all value. The tendrils returned to her body. Right before everyone's eyes, the hole in Cate's chest began closing itself. Her flesh wiggled and moved about until it stitched itself closed. Not even a scar was left on her chest.
Her skin remained flawless, and it even seemed to be healthier than ever before. She had a blush on her face, and her eyes were filled with life. She was glowing with life force. Cate looked at Mary and smiled brightly at the shaken young woman. "Let me finish off this nuisance. I will explain later." After saying this, Cate channeled the magic of the world and teleported away in an explosion of brown wind that appeared like a small sandstorm.
The sound of her departure filled the world, and a few seconds later, the wind appeared right next to Jordan, who was fleeing through the forests. Jordan was covered with sweat and blood. Her face was contorted with fear. She had seen what Cate had done to the three magicians, and Jordan was willing to do anything to avoid a similar death. When she saw Cate appear within arm's reach of her, Jordan almost screamed her lungs out.