She couldn't accept dying like this, so broken and ugly.
But her consciousness was slipping away, fading from her body, leaving only the ghastly image of her twisted face behind.
At that moment, Andre and the others slowly gathered around, watching as Phoenix transformed from a young girl into an old woman, her last breath slipping away.
Andre let out a weak cough and sighed.
"I guess I really am getting old. I'm exhausted after just a bit of exertion."
Shaking his head in frustration, he added, "But that old hag Phoenix was incredibly powerful. Whether it was her spells or the way she transformed herself, it was all so strange."
Alex understood that Andre was referring to the bizarre rapid aging he had witnessed, a reaction that made sense since he hadn't been informed about the elixir involved.
Noticing Andre's waning strength, Alex pulled a bottle of tonic from his belongings and handed it over.
"You saw how hard her magic was to handle," he said. "That woman who studied black magic went to great lengths to keep her appearance, so it's no surprise some weird magic was involved."
Andre took the potion in a big gulp, then nodded.
"Honestly, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that the young, beautiful woman we saw was really Phoenix, one of the club's founders. Otherwise, we might have been fooled into thinking she was about to curse us when she came out of the mud just now. Thankfully, you acted quickly."
"Yeah," Alex replied, "with someone that dangerous, you can't afford to let your guard down."
He looked around and sighed.
"It's a shame no one survived, and the car almost flipped over. This was all such a rush, but at least it ended with her captured."
"Thanks to your quick reaction, we caught her before she could escape," Andre joked.
Then, glancing at the wreckage before them, he shook his head.
"What a nice place it was, and now it's full of holes and turning into a swamp."
He struggled to pull his shoe free from several inches of rotting muck and wiped it against a nearby wall with a grimace.
Alex just sighed, knowing that the Aurors assigned to clean up this mess were in for a tough time.
After giving it some thought, Alex shifted his focus back to Phoenix.
There were probably many valuable things connected to these wardings that had lasted for centuries, items that might have helped her escape at crucial moments.
But Phoenix responded quickly, saying that other useful things were likely still in the bedroom on the third floor.
It was time to see what they had gained.
With that in mind, Alex approached Phoenix's body.
To prevent any last-minute tricks, he didn't immediately touch the corpse.
Instead, he sent out a few 'scouts', casting spells like 'Maliciousness' and 'Detection Curse' into the air without using a wand, to make sure nothing unexpected would happen.
Once he was sure it was safe, he carefully pulled the weapon, Voltbrand, out of Phoenix's chest.
Gripping the hilt of An Mie's sword again, Alex felt a noticeable swelling, a clear sign that the sword had grown stronger after absorbing Phoenix's life and magical energy.
This was troubling because the others had been some distance away earlier and were distracted by the sudden change in Phoenix's body.
They hadn't noticed anything unusual about Desolation.
Otherwise, facing such a bloodthirsty weapon, Andre and the others might have become suspicious.
After removing Desolation, Alex took the body of Phoenix.
Upon inspection, he found she was carrying almost nothing except a wand and a necklace around her neck, aside from the tattered nightdress she wore.
The pendant that had saved Phoenix at a critical moment was now just a broken chain and buckle.
The black gemstone that was once set in the buckle had been activated by a spell and shattered into pieces.
It was uncertain whether the fragments could be used to decipher the spell inscribed earlier.
Having packed up Phoenix's body and relics, Alex stored Desolation away and turned around.
At that moment, the Schmidt brothers, who had been hiding in the back, came forward, looking pale and shaken.
Alex was a bit puzzled; these two usually kept to themselves and seemed uninvolved, but now they looked so distressed.
Still, he said thoughtfully, "Thank you for your hard work tonight. We've settled Phoenix; let the Aurors handle the rest."
Then he glanced at Andre, adding, "Mr. Andre, please inform the Aurors who are guarding outside."
"I have to head up to the third floor to clean up Phoenix's relics and see if I can find any clues from them," Alex said.
Hearing this, Andre realized that Alex hoped to gain some advantage from Phoenix's remains, but he didn't comment.
After all, their main goal tonight was to deal with Phoenix itself, and this mission had been initiated by Alex.
He had put in the most effort, so if there were any rewards, they should rightfully belong to him.
Naturally, Edmund and Allen didn't object.
In fact, they found Alex's claim of "hard work" a bit ironic; after all, they had basically just watched from the sidelines the entire time, unable to even engage with a wizard of Phoenix's caliber.
They had relied entirely on Alex and Andre to handle everything, only stepping in without holding back when needed.
Thinking about it, Edmund couldn't help but admire Alex and Andre's skills.
These two had truly opened his eyes today.
Alex's incredible thunder magic and swordsmanship, combined with Andre's devastating blade storm, were something else.
If their opponents had been facing them, Edmund doubted he would have lasted ten seconds.
With genuine sincerity, Edmund said, "Mr. Wilson, you're too kind. We didn't really help you at all during this mission.
It was you two who took down Phoenix, the murderer of my child. I want to thank you before it's too late.
How can you even talk about hard work?"
"To repay your kindness, we'll seriously consider your position within the family. From now on, you'll be friends of the Schmidts. And we treat friends with our full support. Mr. Wilson, Director Andre, if you ever need help, just say the word."
Edmund's words were straightforward, without any beating around the bush.
Even Andre could tell the Schmidt family was ready to back them fully in whatever came next.
Edmund's decision wasn't made lightly.
It wasn't just fear of their power, but careful thought.
Above all, the strength these two showed was the most compelling reason.
Spending resources to build friendships with powerful individuals is never a loss for the family, especially when it comes to wizards as strong as Andre and Alex.
What impressed Edmund even more was Alex's performance.
He had never seen someone his age display such intelligence, decisiveness, and strong leadership skills all at once.