Apinae saw this chance to break free by using her fire spells to burn the vines. Immediately, she rushed to the side of the downed Alpha Crucis, still stuck in the tree.

  She examined the tree and figured out what she needed to do, “all right, I got you!”

  Apinae took a few steps back and stepped her fingers. Immediately, the tree was engulfed in flames. The branches and the bark disintegrated in a matter of seconds. Finally, Alpha Crucis was free as she fell to the ground.

  Apinae checked on her as she saw Alpha Crucis trying to get up, "hey, take it easy. You just got stuck in a tree."

  But Apinae would witness the strength and resilience of Alpha Crucis as she got back up to her feet while immediately clutching her shoulder in pain.

  "Yeah, you took a nasty shot there. What were you thinking?" Apinae criticized.

  Exhausted, Alpha Crucis didn't say a word as she tried to look for her weapon. She turned around and saw it lying there. Gingerly, she walked over to it and picked it up. With a loud sigh of disappointment, she resigned to her failed assassination attempt.

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  Apinae tries to cheer her up, “For what it’s worth, you took a huge chunk of him.”

  Alpha Crucis would glance at the wiccan, “You said you are a daemon knight?”

  "Yup! Malefica Obscura Apinae. At your service!” She greeted me with a cheeky smile, holding a peace sign.

  Alpha Crucis gave her a blank stare. Mainly, it's because she was tired and was disappointed that her target got away.

  "Looks like you need to go to the hospital. Come on, and I'll help you." Apinae offered.

  “I need to contact the Aethereal Queen...” Alpha Crucis said.

  "You can do that when we're at the hospital! I got a phone!" Apinae said.

  “HQ is about--”

  "Not even close to where you need to be. The hospital is just around the corner." Apinae interrupted.

  Alpha Crucis tried to walk but used her Sabre Rapière to stand.

  Seeing enough, Apinae helped her walk, “Hey. I would rather you be embarrassed than dead, my friend.”

  Along with that, Apinae helped Alpha Crucis get to the nearest hospital.

  Even though Alpha Crucis didn’t give the degenerate the killing blow she deserved, it was obvious that she had a lot of work to do if she ever wanted to be in the same league as the Holy Mother.

  Alpha Crucis will learn from this, make a full recovery, and become stronger. But the lingering question that will remain is to why do Maria spare his life and why did Maria spare hers?

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