The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch-Chapter 88 - Instigation, Ritual, and Bloodletting (4/4)
The woman who crawled out from under Kitty’s desk earlier, the first-tier “Gambler” Georgine.
She had ample reason to seek revenge against Kitty. With just a little instigation from an Instigator, she could immediately be converted into an asset.
Ciel noted the address on the list, stuffed the envelope back into her satchel, changed direction, and headed towards Gem Avenue.
At 1 AM, Clock Tower Alley still echoed with factory noise, and homeless people could be seen wandering the streets. But Gem Avenue in the Gem District was comparatively brighter.
Most residents here were workers from the jewelry processing plants or employees working in the central district. Although not noisy at night, the areas near bars were brightly lit and bustling.
However, people mostly walked in groups of two or three. Ciel, being alone, attracted quite a few stares, making her feel uncomfortable.
To avoid the common occurrences of being hit on, Ciel ducked into an alley and climbed onto a rooftop.
The numerous, exquisite row houses provided excellent footholds, allowing her to traverse the buildings more easily than in Clock Tower Alley.
The physical enhancement from 【Mage Hunter】 didn’t seem very significant to Ciel, possibly due to her already high 【Dexterity】 level.
But in reality, Ciel’s current strength and physical fitness already surpassed most average adult males.
It was just that her base physique was a bit poor. Even with system skill bonuses, it hadn’t reached an absurd level.
Soon, Ciel stopped at number 144, near the end of Gem Avenue, the area closest to the Gem District’s jewelry processing factories.
Ciel stood on the rooftop of number 144, the simulation interface unfolding before her eyes.
She walked to the edge, looked down at the small fourth-floor terrace below, and leaped.
Clang—
Her hard boot soles landed on the railing with a crisp sound. Through the uncurtained window, Ciel saw the room inside.
A woman lay in bed, seemingly woken by the sound, sitting up with her back to Ciel.
Home.
Good.
“No.1.” Ciel silently selected the number one slot in her mind. Her figure distorted, and Ciel’s form changed.
【No.1】
【”Instigator” Ciel】
【00:29:59】
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A system interface lingered before Ciel’s eyes, along with a constantly decreasing countdown timer.
Ciel’s Fate Point balance also dropped from 172 to 167.
She raised her hand, touched the mask on her right cheek, then directly pulled open the unlocked window curtain and spoke with a smile, “Don’t move... Georgine.”
Georgine’s body froze. Her intended movement to turn around stopped, as if sensing some terrifying presence.
The “Instigator” potion, “Art of Conversation,” “Nemesis,” the mask with the damaged “Other Side Page”... under the combined pressure, the transcendent Georgine couldn’t even manage to speak, merely sitting on the bed, trembling uncontrollably.
Ciel climbed through the window, landing softly on the carpet inside with a muffled thud.
“Don’t be nervous, Georgine. I came to bring you wonderful news...” Ciel sat down behind Georgine with a smile, casually observing the room’s decor while saying, “This room you rented, is anyone else here?”
“Oh right, you can speak now.”
Georgine, sitting on the bed, swallowed hard.
She had no idea what was happening. She just wanted to return to her home in the city for a rare good night’s sleep, but suddenly felt an indescribably terrifying fluctuation.
This person who walked into her room possessed an oppressive aura far more terrifying than Kitty’s, forcing Georgine to obey her words.
Simultaneously, what terrified Georgine even more was discovering she couldn’t muster any desire to attack the other party—as if even the thought of “resistance” had been stripped away.
Is this... a sister from the Church? Or a passing Bishop who sensed my aura?!
This oppressive feeling that prevented her from turning around, in her view, could only be brought by a Bishop.
“My room... just me... Lord Bishop...” Georgine managed to speak with difficulty. Soon, she didn’t realize her own lips had lost their color.
Bishop?
How did she mistake me for a Bishop?
I only said two sentences.
This must be the 【Sadhana Emblem】 taking effect.
Does it also work just by being in the inventory?
Ciel’s lips slowly curved upwards.
Doesn’t this mean cultists will worship me as a Bishop wherever I go?
If other churches have similar items, maybe I can ask the system how to expand the inventory later, line up these emblems in my inventory. Wouldn’t I be invincible then?
Do whatever I want!
“Georgine, I came to ask, what is your opinion of Kitty?” Ciel asked with a smile.
Hearing the mysterious Bishop behind her mention this, cold sweat instantly streamed down Georgine’s face.
“I, I, I... Lady Kitty is a priestess I deeply respect. She has made many contributions to the Church... We all hold her in high esteem. She works tirelessly for the Church here...” Georgine spoke faster and faster, but her words sounded like a memorized template.
“You want to kill her, don’t you?” Ciel interrupted Georgine abruptly.
Georgine froze completely, feeling as if her brain had been struck by a heavy hammer.
Am I... suspected of betrayal?
At this point, Georgine threw caution to the wind. She rolled off the bed, crawled to kneel before Ciel, kowtowing while saying tearfully, “I absolutely harbor no such thoughts, Lord Bishop. I truly respect Lady Kitty... Please, you must believe me.”
“Oh no no no, Georgine, what have I done to make you so afraid to speak the truth?” Ciel chuckled and shook her head. “I was just going to ask you for a small favor. If you agree, I can pretend I don’t know about this.”
“This morning, before you go to Deton Manor, I will bring you some things... You just need to follow the pattern in the drawing, temporarily clear the card room, lift the carpet, and sprinkle them in the card room directly above the sanctuary...”
“This is a necessary ritual for summoning the Mother Goddess’s divine servant. You... will complete it properly, won’t you?”
“As long as you complete this ritual, you will attain a status higher than Kitty’s, even gaining direct access to the divine servant...”
“If you wish, I can even transfer you away from Berren City, directly to Bliss City.”
“Are you... willing?”
Ciel’s combination of threat and reward completely disoriented Georgine. With almost no resistance, she lowered her head deeply and said, “I will complete the task, Lord Bishop.”
“Remember, do not speak of me to anyone... On the 23rd, I will go directly to Deton Manor to personally inspect the results.”
The voice above her disappeared. After a long time, when Georgine’s legs were numb from kneeling, she looked up again, but saw no one.
Meanwhile, Ciel had already run back at full speed to her original home in Clock Tower Alley, carrying some newly purchased items.
She returned to her room, drew all the curtains, and by the faint candlelight, looked at the wooden tub, large teapot, several large hot water bags, and a few dinner knives before her, taking a deep breath.
The teapot, hot water bags, and knives were just purchased.
And the wooden tub was the one Ciel originally used for bathing.
10 Fate Points for 1000g of blood was a bit too expensive for Ciel.
Her blood was truly more precious than gold.
Redeeming the blood needed for the spiritual summoning might not even be possible with all her remaining Fate Points.
So she decided to follow the example of “Instigator” Ciel from the simulation and bleed herself.
With seven minutes remaining before the 30-minute transformation effect wore off, Ciel decided to bleed her “Instigator” self, not wasting any time.
Initially, she could directly use “Echo of Time” to draw more blood.
After “Echo of Time” ended, the “Temporal Disorder” negative effect would only occur within this transformed save file.
Moreover, regardless of which save file “Temporal Disorder” switched to, as long as it wasn’t her original self, Ciel could continue bleeding until the wooden tub before her was full.
Ciel removed her clothes, stood inside the half-height wooden tub, and slowly crouched down to prevent blood from splashing out.
She held the pocket watch in her left hand and a dinner knife in her right. After taking a deep breath, she pressed the button on the watch.
A phantom timer appeared before Ciel’s eyes, indicating the watch’s ability, “Echo of Time,” had activated.
She held the sharp dinner knife, pressed it against her carotid artery, lowered her head, and slowly drew it across.
Spurt—
Under immense pressure, blood gushed out, hitting the edge of the wooden tub and slowly flowing down the side.
Time passed minute by minute, but the speed of the blood flow continuously decreased.
Ciel raised the knife, slit her wrist, femoral artery... Finally, as her heartbeat gradually weakened, she slowly inserted the knife into her heart, draining the last drop of flowing blood.
Thump—
Ten seconds passed. A flash of silver-white light passed. Ciel, who had been leaning back in the tub, barely alive, instantly returned to her state from ten seconds prior.
Ciel leaned against the tub, her breathing becoming heavy. The blood at the bottom hadn’t even covered her ankles yet. The blood collection speed was much slower than Ciel had imagined...
How much time did her simulated self spend constantly bleeding... how bored must she have been?
But fortunately, as long as the procedure was followed correctly, this bloodletting was completely harmless to Ciel.
She just wondered if she could use this mechanism to dig out her own heart... Would the heart simply disappear? Or would she grow another one?
At this moment, Ciel, still in the “Instigator” transformed state, let her thoughts wander.
Just being able to leave behind blood already felt absurd enough to Ciel... as if she had created so much blood out of thin air.
She had reason to believe that if her heart could be redeemed from the system interface, then a heart dug out during “Echo of Time” could also be retained.
Unfortunately... this was her exclusive sealed artifact.
Otherwise, she could let others use this artifact while she harvested their materials, allowing for infinite profit...
Ciel raised her hand, lightly flicked the knife tip across her neck, felt her limbs gradually grow cold, and slowly waited for the arrival of “Temporal Disorder.”
The blood rose past Ciel’s ankles.
