Rose is down.

Rose is down?

From the perspective of Barbara and the people of Wildfire Town, they saw Rose fall headfirst, and then... the previously orderly desolate beasts began to become restless!

Fleur's expression changed drastically. She took a step forward and gave a harsh kick to Rose's "corpse," cursing, "Damn it, get up quickly! I don't want to be devoured alive by your pets!"

The desolate beasts losing control meant Fleur was the first to suffer, not the people of Wildfire Town.

Just then, Rose's "corpse," which had no signs of life, suddenly gasped for air, and as he reopened his eyes, his body bounced off the sandy ground. The half of his face on the ground was covered in sweat and sand.

A small pendant resembling a puppet talisman around Rose's neck made a soft cracking sound and shattered into dust.

This is the "Substitute Death Puppet" from the "Puppet Fire Series Magic."

This was not magic cultivated by Rose himself.

It was a precious magic artifact crafted by a Grand Mage in the Magic Guild who specialized in the "Puppet Fire Series."

It's also the most important and valuable magic artifact that Rose obtained by accumulating merit executing various tasks for the Magic Guild over the years.

It was because of this puppet pendant that Rose got to live again.

Or rather, he had actually died once, truly losing a life, and now he indeed only had one left!

The desolate beasts that were on the brink of losing control calmed down as Rose stood up again.

Those invisible reins reconnected to the back of each desolate beast's neck.

Rose held the other end of the reins tightly in his hands once more.

But Rose's expression, as he held the reins, was incredibly grim!

Fleur saw the desolate beasts regaining stability, sighed in relief, then frowned at Rose, "What happened to you? You lost a life, right? How did you lose to that girl Barbara?!" Her tone was full of confusion and a hint of dissatisfaction.

Rose ignored Fleur. He didn't hear Fleur's words at all.

His eyes filled with rage, he stared relentlessly at Barbara, who was still half-kneeling on the ground and panting heavily, grinding his teeth as he asked, "When... did you... 'mark' me?!!!"

He finally felt it: he had been marked.

Having already been killed once, if he was still oblivious, he wouldn't be Desert Speaker Rose, but rather Desert Speaker Fool.

However, Rose still couldn't understand: how was he marked? When was he marked? Also... that was the "Soul Flame Butterfly" from the "Heart Fire Series," right? How did it hit me? How did the magic power surge at that moment of impact happen?!

"Could it be because of the enhancement from the 'Orange Flame Warm Fire'?"

Rose couldn't help but speculate.

But he immediately shook his head, dismissing his speculation.

The Eight Strange Fires are indeed formidable, each with immense power and unique characteristics.

But the Eight Strange Fires are flames that become increasingly powerful as the user's tier rises. For mages at Tier Three and below, the enhance in magic power brought by the Eight Strange Fires is actually limited.

Given that, what is the reason? Why?!

Seeing Barbara slowly stand up, though struggling to even stabilize herself, Rose snorted and stopped questioning.

This has already become more than just a simple task assigned by the Magic Guild.

Looking at the breathless Barbara, the rage in Rose's eyes faded.

Replaced by a strong killing intent!

"If I really want to kill her, it might be a bit troublesome.

But I need to cripple her, I must completely cripple this girl!" Rose had made up his mind.

Losing a valuable "Substitute Death Puppet" isn't acceptable.

What Rose truly couldn't stand was the fear at the moment of death.

His anger, his overwhelming killing intent, were all actually... remnants of fear!

Those who have truly experienced the feeling of being killed will undergo a change in mentality.

Historically, more than one mage or flame warrior saved by a "Substitute Death Puppet" has developed varying degrees of psychological problems, even changes or distortions in personality.

"What did you say? You've been 'marked'?!"

Fleur initially flinched upon hearing Rose say he was marked.

Even though she wasn't a mage and didn't know much about the magic domain, she understood: a mage specializing in soul magic in the "Desolate Language Series" being marked by an opponent without realizing it means something significant!

Suddenly, Rose took a deep breath and pointed a finger at Barbara.

This time, Rose used a Desolate Language Magic meant to cripple or even kill Barbara, not the humiliating "Hammer of Enslavement."

He used a Desolate Language Magic: Silent Steel Line.

Desolate Language Magic is the magic of sound.

When intent to kill is genuine, it operates silently.

Desolate Language Magic is also the magic of connection.

A soul thread, like a steel wire condensed from soul power, suddenly cut towards Barbara with Rose's motion!

Fleur, witnessing this, couldn't help but be startled: "Hey, wasn't our task from above to capture her alive?"

She wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.

Though the Silent Steel Line's power wasn't as great as the "Soul Flame Butterfly," it wasn't too far off.

The key is that the hit rate of the Silent Steel Line is indisputable!

"The Silent Steel Line?"

From Barbara's perspective, she could see the soul thread rapidly slicing through what to others was invisible.

This is one advantage brought by "Heart Fire Magic," which allows one to see invisible soul magic. This is something practitioners of the Desolate Language can't do.

But Barbara knew she couldn't dodge this strike.

"Think, think, Barbara!"

Barbara kept telling herself not to give up.

The soul flame butterfly, paired with Andrew's unknown marking, exceeded Barbara's expectations in power.

She truly believed that if given one more chance to act, she could reverse the dire situation and defeat Rose.

The truth was, however, she had not a speck of magic power left in her body.

The moment of explosive power from Water and Fire United drained all of Barbara's magic reserves in an instant.

"Alas, looks like there's really no way this time."

Barbara thought, a bit unwilling yet helpless.

Strangely, facing imminent death, Barbara this time, instead of panic and powerlessness felt a sense of calm and acceptance, unlike when she was ambushed by Humboldt.

"...Because this time, I've truly done my best."

Barbara thought.

The shadow caused by the knights' deaths because of her now lessened significantly in her heart. Barbara truly regretted not staying to fight alongside the knights, not giving her all to try to save, to fight, to help, something she never attempted.

At that time, she had run away.

She called it sparing the knights' sacrifice from being in vain. But in reality, she felt guilty for not having stayed with them and putting in her utmost effort; she believed that she might have saved at least one or two knights!

"This time, I didn't back down. I gave it my all."

Barbara thought bittersweetly.

A gust of wind swept through.

The impending doom seemed to not arrive even after a wait.

She opened her eyes again, looking confused.

She saw an invisible wall she couldn't see even with her "Heart Fire Eyes" blocking the direct path of the soul thread, forcibly stopping it!

"What happened?" She thought out loud.

A familiar voice, slightly panting and somewhat exasperated, spoke to Barbara, "You set up a magic barrier using the Magic Laboratory, almost made it impossible for me to get out of there!"

Barbara turned her head in a daze, seeing someone standing next to her. Who else could it be but Andrew, who had been missing for three days?

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