At Martha's skill level, Decay could not be used as an area-of-effect attack that will naturally weaken the body, just as the Vampire orc did. But wielding it and concentrating the attack into one area was still possible.
The outstanding battle instincts of Martha believed that she could damage these creatures, and she did.
But despite these amazing feats, her death was still sealed.
Death Ripple was no longer active as Martha was running out of magic points.
The pain that caused the dracanae to lose their concentration was no longer there, and they began to harness their force energy.
At the very start, Martha allowed her Path of Combat to be guided with Foresight. Her will and focus remained on one question, and that was 'how can I buy my knight's time?'