The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch-Chapter 82 - Whispers of "Instigator" Ciel (2/3)
Ciel wouldn’t doubt the potion’s authenticity, even without the accompanying Reconstitution Ritual.
On critical matters like this, neither the simulated nor the real Ciel would joke around.
Ciel held up the potion vial and gently swirled it.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
The tentacles inside drifted as if alive within the pale pink liquid. Seemingly noticing Ciel’s movement, they all pressed against the side of the crystal vial closest to her, like a school of fish spotting food.
Ciel looked at her reflection in the mirror. She placed her hand on the cap, slowly applied force, and watched her reflection pull out the stopper.
As the cap opened, a hallucinatory fragrance instantly filled the washroom.
Ciel raised the potion vial, tilted her head back, and drank the potion down in one gulp.
The tentacles writhed, entering Ciel’s mouth along with the potion, like fish returning to the sea, splitting into several paths within her mouth.
Some tentacles shot directly from her mouth into her nasal cavity, tearing through flesh as they swam upstream, racing towards Ciel’s brain.
Others descended down her throat to her vocal cords, directly merging with them along with the potion.
“Cough, cough...” Ciel couldn’t stop coughing. She lowered her head slightly over the sink, large amounts of blood mixed with unidentifiable clots pouring from her mouth and nose.
The hallucinatory fragrance in the washroom vanished, replaced by the thick, metallic smell of blood.
Intense pain erupted from her brain and throat, making Ciel feel like she was about to pass out.
Fortunately, she had died many times. While it didn’t increase her pain tolerance, it had somewhat raised her threshold for fainting. She didn’t pass out directly from the pain.
This potion... why is it so torturous...
Ciel looked at the bronze sink, now clogged with blood clots, her vision gradually blurring.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Ciel felt she truly couldn’t bear it anymore, the pain ceased in an instant.
Simultaneously, memories and knowledge not her own abruptly appeared in her mind as the pain vanished.
This is...
Ciel reviewed the knowledge and memories in her mind. Just like after drinking potions upon completing previous Reconstitution Rituals, this was knowledge on how to use the abilities.
This... is it over?
Where are the whispers?
Ciel took a clean towel nearby, wiped the blood from her face, her expression slightly puzzled.
She closed her eyes and carefully sensed.
Indeed... she could faintly hear some whispers, but they weren’t severe enough to interfere with her thoughts.
No... her consciousness must have been altered, but as an “Instigator,” she couldn’t perceive these internal changes, simply finding them normal.
Ciel looked up at the mirror before her.
Her reflection grinned, revealing white teeth still flecked with some blood.
The smooth advancement filled Ciel’s heart with joy.
Humming a familiar tune from her past life, she cleaned up the blood in the washroom, slung the canvas bag over her shoulder, and opened the washroom door.
Just as she opened the door, Ciel saw a silver suit of armor standing not far away. The armor was facing the washroom, seemingly having been watching Ciel the entire time.
“Are you a pervert?” Ciel asked curiously.
After speaking, Ciel’s nostrils flared slightly as she inhaled, still seeming to catch the faint scent of blood.
“Where was the tea kept again? I’ll brew some tea to rinse my mouth... Want some? Oh right... you can’t drink. Sorry, sorry.” Ciel smiled, walked around Nia, and headed towards the kitchen.
“You... drank the potion?” The metallic buzzing sound came from within the armor. “I sensed it just now...”
Ciel’s pace quickened, Nia following closely.
Nia instinctively felt that the current Ciel was very different.
She watched Ciel rummage through the kitchen, eventually just pouring and drinking a glass of water, then holding water in her mouth while looking at Nia.
After a long moment, Ciel swallowed the water and said, somewhat displeased, “You should have told a joke just now.”
“A... joke?” Nia found herself struggling to keep up with Ciel’s train of thought.
“Tell a joke. If I laughed, the water would have sprayed out my nose, rinsing out the blood inside... By the way.” Ciel seemed to remember something, looked towards Nia, and said, “You know about the Divine Advent Church matter, right?”
“I know everything.” Nia nodded. She was currently thinking about how to persuade the Ciel before her to rest properly.
She had clearly drunk some kind of potion, but Nia didn’t know which one yet.
After all, Ciel had at least six first-tier potions in her possession.
“On the 23rd, the Divine Advent Church’s ‘Radiance Bishop’ will come... The Redemption Society, the Church of the Savior Goddess, the Deton Group will all get involved. It’ll be quite lively then...” Ciel shook her head slightly as she spoke, her expression turning somewhat serious. She continued, “But muddying the waters like this creates a problem.”
“That is, the ‘Radiance Bishop’ might notice something amiss beforehand, go into hiding, and investigate secretly—all because we don’t know the ‘Radiance Bishop’s’ identity.”
Hearing this, Nia nodded slightly.
Ciel was right. The waters were muddied, but without coordination between the different organizations, the ‘Radiance Bishop,’ who was expected to appear, might easily detect abnormalities.
Moreover, who could guarantee there weren’t Divine Advent Church spies within those organizations, especially the Redemption Society and the Deton Group?
The regional general agent was already compromised like a sieve; who could be sure about the internal situation of the Deton Group?
However, the plan’s purpose was originally just to stall the Divine Advent Church’s investigation. As long as they stalled, it counted as success.
Afterwards, they just needed to gradually shift the suspicion involving Avena away.
“You think Avena is no longer threatened now, don’t you?” Ciel looked at the silver armor before her and suddenly spoke.
Nia’s body tensed slightly.
“‘Missionary’ Kitty had already begun investigating Adele. By now, she should have discovered that Sherlon didn’t create the virus himself. She would soon shift her focus to Adele.”
“Adele reported it, Adele made the cure, Sherlon’s belongings are all with the Redemption Society and the Church of the Savior Goddess, the sealed artifact has also been taken by the Church of the Savior Goddess...”
“Just kill Adele, and the trail goes cold.” Ciel’s dark red pupils flickered with an eerie light. The armored fists before her slowly unclenched.
Suddenly, Nia clenched her fist again, stepped forward, grabbed Ciel’s collar, and lifted her entirely off the ground.
“‘Instigator’!” Even through the metallic resonance, Nia’s voice couldn’t conceal her unrestrained fury. “You drank the ‘Instigator’ potion?!”
Nia felt that if she weren’t an armored life form right now, her back would definitely be drenched in cold sweat.
