The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch-Chapter 86 - Dismembered "Radiance Bishop" (3/4)
Ciel temporarily set aside thoughts about the Other Side. Her understanding of it was still limited, making it impossible to figure out.
She looked again at the cultist Bishop named Braque in the distance. After hesitating for a moment, she issued a mental control command to the summoned spiritual being.
Although the Bishop seemed to have completely misunderstood her identity and showed no aggression, he was, after all, a third-tier “Radiance Bishop.”
The slightest misstep, if he noticed anything unusual, Ciel could potentially be controlled by him in an instant, even directly brainwashed, branded with the “Sadhana Mark,” and turned into a cultist.
Only by completely controlling him could Ciel feel at ease.
After Ciel issued the control command, the spiritual being kneeling before her slowly turned its head towards Braque.
Seeing the spiritual being turn, Braque immediately lowered his head, avoiding direct eye contact.
This was not only for his own safety but also out of respect for the Holy Spirit.
A mortal gaze directly upon the face of the Holy Advent was blasphemy... He wasn’t a proxy like the Saintess. Braque was quite self-aware.
But soon, Braque noticed something was wrong.
He looked down at his own shadow. From within his shadow, a pale white arm slowly emerged.
Braque instinctively tried to control his white shadows but found they wouldn’t obey his commands at all, as if he had completely lost all transcendent abilities.
His body stiffened. He watched helplessly as a terrifying head covered in cracks emerged from within, meeting his gaze from his own shadow.
The next second, the terrifying maws on the head opened simultaneously. Countless slender, white-jointed, insect-like legs emerged from the cracks, waving as they reached for his head.
“Ah!!” He screamed. Control returned to his body. He stumbled back several steps, eyes wide, staring at the shadow beneath him. But the terrifying head and monster had already vanished.
Braque raised his hand to touch his cheek. There were no wounds, as if nothing had happened.
Good... nothing happened, it was just my hallucination...
Braque looked at his arm covered in cracks and the insect legs protruding from them, slowly letting out a sigh of relief.
He stretched the pair of insect wings on his back, looked again towards the red-haired figure on the platform, his eyes filled with fervent reverence.
Meanwhile, Ciel watched Braque in the distance, frowning slightly.
Ciel hadn’t seen the spiritual being make any move, yet Braque suddenly started bleeding black blood.
The insect wings on his back, the terrifying cracks on his face, and the dense insect limbs reminded Ciel irresistibly of “Radiance Bishop” Hugh from before.
She could sense that Braque had been thoroughly corrupted by the potion. With just one command from her, Braque would instantly collapse, consumed entirely by the potion, becoming a third-tier mindless killing machine.
But Braque himself... seemed oblivious to this.
He didn’t seem to realize he had become a half-human, half-monster creature.
“Braque, come here.” Ciel addressed Braque.
Simultaneously, the spiritual being beside Ciel moved under her control, positioning itself in front of her.
Ciel noticed that of the six pairs of insect wings behind the spiritual being, three pairs had already dissipated, leaving only the upper three pairs.
The wings dissipated over time, and their dissipation rate increased when the spiritual being used its abilities.
Against Nia earlier, the wings hadn’t dissipated this quickly...
Could it be that Nia’s spirit, or rather, the extent of her potion corruption, far exceeded Braque’s?
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“Radiance Bishop” Braque’s corruption manifested as insectification; “Source of Pestilence” Sherlon’s corruption manifested as becoming a barnacle-like hard-shelled monster; “Crown Guard” Nia’s corruption feature... was the full body steel transformation?
Ciel didn’t know how much of Nia’s original body remained. If her body was completely corrupted into silver armor, did that mean she had completely lost control?
Nia’s situation might be more dangerous than she initially thought. Her spirit could be easily corrupted by spiritual beings, and her body was already severely assimilated by the potion...
Did Avena know about this? If she did, why keep such a dangerous entity, constantly on the verge of losing control, as her guard?
Perhaps there were hidden secrets behind this that Ciel didn’t know yet, possibly related to Avena leaving her family and appearing in Berren City.
Ciel pushed aside these thoughts and looked at Braque kneeling before her, lost in contemplation.
The current situation had clearly achieved Ciel’s initial goal.
That was to eliminate all cultists in Berren City, then use their power against them, sacrificing them to kill the visiting Divine Advent Church Bishop investigating the situation.
Reality could progress according to this plan, reaching this stage.
But after killing Bishop Braque?
A Bishop died in Berren City... Would the Divine Advent Church truly not send more people to investigate?
Wouldn’t this just become one of those situations where killing the small one brings the big one?
It couldn’t solve the problem permanently.
The Deton Manor cultists had to be dealt with, Kitty, who had already traced things back to Adele, had to die, and this Bishop couldn’t be left alive either...
She had to orchestrate a perfect “accident” from beginning to end, resolving all three troubling issues flawlessly without anyone suspecting her.
Solve the problem before it happens.
Ciel stared at a point in front of her, her gaze unfocused. Her index finger tapped rapidly against her chin, creating a dense tapping sound in her mind.
Even she didn’t notice that under these circumstances, a smile of keen interest played on her lips.
“Instigator” Ciel seemed to find the process of figuring out how to reasonably kill everyone rather amusing.
She suddenly thought of something interesting, her eyes refocusing on the kneeling Bishop before her.
“Braque, tell me how you joined the Divine Advent Church, including your public disguise, and all the tasks you are currently assigned...” Ciel looked at Braque and asked with a smile, “Tell me everything.”
“As you command, Your Highness the Saintess...” Braque lowered his head, speaking indistinctly, starting from how he joined the Divine Advent Church, answering Ciel’s questions one by one.
