Sophia clung to her brother, crying loudly.
Haye Yew, in his grief, banged his head fiercely against the wall, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
Princess Jean and Rue hugged each other and cried, while Yehken and the Lyken brothers had red eyes, looking at Eddie, hoping he could perform a miracle.
They believed Eddie could bring back the nameless tavern waitress, who deserved to be a person more than some others.
But Eddie was unable to revive her, and there was nothing he could do to bring her back to life.
Little Wenli stopped Eddie's attempt to use the Soul Capturing Pearl, but she also did not take any action.
She tilted her head, looking at the deceased waitress, blinking her large eyes as if contemplating a solution.
When everyone pinned their hopes on her, Little Wenli whispered to Eddie, indicating that she had no solution.
Sophia hugged Little Wenli, crying desperately, urging her to think again, believing she could find a way. Yehken and the Lyken brothers also looked at Little Wenli with hope for a miracle.
Princess Jean, holding Rue tightly and gripping Eddie's arm, was extremely anxious, just like everyone else. They all knew that Little Wenli wouldn't shake her head unless she was certain there was no way, but they still hoped for a miracle.
Little Wenli, overwhelmed by Sophia's tears, looked at Eddie and gestured something. Eddie, surprised, took Little Wenli from Sophia's embrace and asked with hope.
"Do you have a way?"
Little Wenli bit Eddie's finger, drawing blood, and then applied the blood to the waitress's forehead, drawing a mysterious rune. Everyone watched in silence, not wanting to disturb her.
Eddie recognized the rune but couldn't recall where he had seen it.
Little Wenli then drew a contract symbol on the waitress's forehead. Princess Jean knew that contracts between humans were impossible, according to ancient laws.
Humans can only contract with beasts, not with other humans.
Little Wenli continued to draw runes with Eddie's blood along the waitress's face, neck, shoulders, and chest, finally drawing a large rune formation over her heart. She then tearfully kissed Eddie's finger, seemingly about to cry.
Eddie didn't mind losing a bit of blood for even a glimmer of hope. He comforted Little Wenli, "It's okay, don't cry."
Little Wenli gestured for fire, seemingly intending to incinerate the waitress's body.
Yehken and the Lyken brothers rushed to get alcohol and oil, but Little Wenli shook her head, indicating that Eddie should do it himself.
Realizing she wanted him to use the Phoenix Nirvana Fire, Eddie wrapped the waitress's body in a sheet and prepared to take her to a safe place to use the fire.
He opened a teleportation scroll, creating a gateway to the duel space where he had fought Tucker.
Yehken, Hessian, Princess Jean, Rue, Sophia, and the others followed Eddie into the duel space, where the bodies of Tucker and the other giants still lay uncorrupted after several days.
Eddie warned everyone to keep their distance as he prepared to use the Phoenix Nirvana Fire.
Despite being unable to fully unleash his innate power, the force of his aura was like a hurricane, blowing everyone away as he carried the waitress further away to safely use the powerful fire.
The significantly heavy Hessian was also blown away by the shockwave, leaving him speechless with shock.
They knew Eddie was strong, but they never imagined he was at this unimaginably powerful level! Princess Jean, who knew Eddie's strength, was somewhat less surprised, but Rue and Sophia were astounded, their mouths agape in disbelief.
Seeing Eddie about to further unleash his power, Sophia quickly summoned her Grimoire.
Hessian, clumsily summoning his, finally managed to bring out his Grimoire after much effort.
With the protective barrier in place, Eddie no longer had to worry about harming Rue and the others with the Phoenix Nirvana Fire.
Eddie tried to condense the Phoenix Nirvana Fire in his palm.
The fire, easily controlled in the Innate Realm, was now difficult for him to summon.
Little Wenli encouraged Eddie to be patient, hugging his leg quietly as she waited.
As ancient golden runes appeared around Eddie, a ball of Phoenix Nirvana Fire finally emerged in his palm.
In just a second, the tavern waitress's body was reduced to ashes.
Some rune-like shadows seemed to burn for two seconds in the fire, but as Eddie's fire disappeared, her physical body completely vanished, as if she had never existed in this world.
Even Innate powerhouses couldn't withstand the Phoenix Nirvana Fire, let alone an ordinary woman.
Eddie was stunned, regretting that he didn't even have time to reconsider as the waitress's body was incinerated in less than a second.
Seeing the resurrection ritual fail, Little Wenli couldn't hold back her tears and cried for the first time in Eddie's arms, deeply grieved.
She thought she not only destroyed the chance of resurrection but also wasted Eddie's blood. She couldn't accept her failure and cried inconsolably in Eddie's arms, drenching him with her tears.
"It's okay, don't cry. This is her fate, not your fault," Eddie consoled, though he was also deeply saddened.
Resurrection was never something that could be forced; the waitress's inability to be revived was her destiny, not Little Wenli's fault.
Sobbing, Little Wenli cried heartbreakingly.
This was her first time crying in front of Eddie, completely unlike her usual demeanor as a little warrior goddess. Eddie sighed softly, caressing her back and gently kissing away her tears.
Despite their best efforts, they couldn't succeed. The tavern waitress lived a life of sorrow and misery, and even her only chance at rebirth was lost.
Her entire life, she lived amidst tragedies...
Eddie watched as everyone cried together, shaking his head.
He gathered the bodies of Tucker, Windstorm, Golden Dragon, and the ancient behemoth, and prepared to leave this sorrowful place with little Wenli, who was still sobbing in his arms.
Suddenly, a hidden volcano underground erupted.
Boom!
The ground shook and fiery red magma spewed into the sky.
Eddie was astonished. These volcanic traps were set by Tucker to ambush him. They would never erupt without someone triggering them. Why were they exploding now?
Boom, boom, boom, boom…
Ten hidden underground volcanic traps erupted in succession, spewing blood-red magma.
Eddie couldn't react in time. Rue suddenly screamed in alarm, "Quick, come here, look at this, over here! There's a shadow... look!"
Eddie followed the direction she was pointing and saw a strange shadow, formed of fire and thick smoke, darting through the magma, occasionally diving in and out, seemingly playing joyfully.
"What is this?" Eddie noticed that the shadow, made of 30% fire and 70% smoke, somewhat resembled the barmaid.
This shadow didn't have a physical body, it was vaguely formed of fire and smoke, constantly shifting and changing shape. One moment it soared into the sky like a column of smoke, the next it plunged into the magma like a fireball.
The magma didn't harm the shadow's body, instead, it seemed to enhance its energy.
The volcanic smoke and magma gradually became part of the shadow's body after it dove in and out.
Eddie realized that on the shadow's forehead, which appeared and disappeared, was a familiar symbol, and her body also faintly showed a series of rune patterns...
Indeed, this was the transformation of the barmaid. She wasn't dead but had become a 'Smoke Woman,' composed of smoke and fire. She was neither human nor beast, and it was hard to categorize her.
However, everyone cheered. As long as the barmaid could come back to life, it didn't matter what form she took.
Little Wenli was the happiest of all. She hugged Eddie's neck excitedly, exclaiming with joy.
Although the resurrection ritual was not entirely successful, it wasn't a complete failure either. Some of her ideas were right.
At least, the barmaid, for whom Eddie had shed much blood, was still alive, at least in spirit, even if her body was utterly destroyed!
"She... she doesn't seem to recognize me..."
Jean called out a few times.
The Smoke Woman, formed of dense smoke and flames, twisted her body and approached Jean, her eyes burning with intense flames.
She stared at Jean for a while, then turned her head away, completely unrecognizing. She now seemed like a child with no memory, only caring about her own playful enjoyment.
"It's okay, as long as she's happy!" Eddie smiled. Perhaps this outcome was the best for the barmaid.
If she retained her memories, it would only add to her pain.
Now, free from the constraints of a body, she could play without any bounds. Not remembering anything, not understanding anything, might actually be a form of happiness.
Rue nodded in agreement with Eddie's words, thinking it was for the best.
Sophia's tear-streaked face now bore a smile, like the clearing of skies after rain. She hugged Eddie's arm with a bit of coquettishness, "Brother, let's take her back home with us. Even in this state, it's okay!"
"Let her live here, she belongs to this place. Bringing her back to the Dragon Ascend Continent might not be a good thing!" Eddie gently stroked Sophia's head, declining the suggestion.
"Wouldn't she be lonely here by herself?" Sophia asked, a touch of reluctance in her voice.
"Don't worry, we'll come to visit her when we can..." Eddie, holding little Wenli in one arm, unfolded a teleportation scroll with the other, preparing to leave.
The Smoke Woman, engrossed in her own joy, saw Eddie holding little Wenli and suddenly rushed over, her blazing eyes fixed unblinkingly on Eddie.
Eddie waved at her as a farewell gesture, but she suddenly drew closer, staring intensely into Eddie's eyes, even extending a flaming finger, reaching straight for Eddie's eyes...
Jean gasped in surprise, then quickly realized, "Eddie, she still has some memories, she remembers your eyes!"
The Smoke Woman suddenly retracted her hand, transforming into a dense smoke and soaring into the sky.
At a great height, she became a fireball, diving into the nearest volcano and joyfully playing in the magma. It seemed she had no impression of Eddie at all, and her previous reaction was just a fragment of memory, insufficient to affect her mind.
Everyone sighed softly, but Eddie just smiled.
As he turned to leave, the Smoke Woman swiftly spun around and followed him, then flew in front of Eddie, looking into his eyes.
"Eddie, try calling her, she might be your battle beast... give it a try!" Jean suggested, feeling that the current Smoke Woman could no longer be called 'human.' She might belong to the elemental class of battle beasts.
"How could that be possible, humans can't form contracts with other humans, it's absolutely impossible!" Eddie also knew that warriors could only contract with battle beasts, not humans.
"Just try, her forehead has runes and contract patterns!" Not only Jean, but everyone witnessed this fact.
The Smoke Woman could not be considered human now; her memory was gone, and her body was made of smoke and fire.
The only thing that remained was her soul. Why she became like this, nobody understood.
Perhaps the old fox or Ivyfran might know the reason. The best thing now was to take her away.
Eddie tried with his heart and found a faint connection of thoughts. He tried to summon her, but felt a resisting thought, rejecting him.
The Smoke Woman, staring at Eddie, suddenly got frightened, turned into a smoke column, soared high into the sky, and disappeared into the magma in an instant. Confused, Eddie summoned the Silver Grimoire and flipped it open, only to be stunned.
Indeed, on the previously blank page, there was now a figure of a Smoke Woman made of dense smoke and fire.
"Fire Smoke Ghost," an ethereal, elemental class, Silver Level, life-guarding battle beast, intangible and unreal, with special skills 'Ethereal,' 'Dense Smoke,' and 'Burn.'
Everyone leaned over to look and were all dumbfounded. How could a normal person transform into a life-guarding battle beast?
They didn't know that Eddie actually had many life-guarding battle beasts, but they had never seen one transformed from a human like the Smoke Woman.
What surprised Eddie the most was that he couldn't control her, proving she had high intelligence and knew how to refuse.
She might be as intelligent as the Blood Queen, and if properly nurtured, her potential would be limitless.
"Well, it's good this way!" Eddie felt that having a conclusion was good enough, as there were many other things that were incomprehensible.