### Chapter 85: Confronting the Divine Advent Church “Radiance Bishop” Directly
Ciel’s gaze slowly shifted away from the system interface, her mind beginning to replay the mories from the last simulation.
After each simulation ended, she would subconsciously review the events in her mind, ensuring she rembered every detail.
This review sparked a slight sense of fear deep within Ciel.
The “Instigator” potion... was far more malevolent than she had imagined.
The side effects of the potions she had previously consud were all within her tolerance range.
The “Avenger” and “Judicator” potions subtly influenced her personality, making her more aggressive and prone to extre actions.
But these extre actions generally aligned with Ciel’s interests. Even upon returning to reality, Ciel didn’t feel excessive psychological discomfort.
Because they rely amplified Ciel’s desires into more persistent obsessions, without compromising her core interests: family and friends.
The “Gambler” potion, aside from the influence of the “Sadhana Mark,” simply made Ciel more willing to gamble on low-probability events, making her less cautious.
Currently, the “Gambler” potion had the least impact on Ciel.
But the “Instigator” potion...
It actually made Ciel actively instigate Nia to kill Adele, even exploiting Nia’s weakness—Avena—to coerce her into doing things.
She killed everyone in Deton Manor without any psychological burden, regardless of whether they were innocent.
Finally, to test the summoned spiritual being, “Instigator” Ciel chose to directly confront the third-tier Nia without any hesitation.
“Instigator” Ciel appeared cheerful and easygoing, but in reality, under the potion’s influence, her moral compass was extrely low. For the sake of her plan, she could even instigate others to kill her own friends...
Ciel had no doubt that if Nia had actually been successfully instigated back then, her “Instigator” self would have stood by, smilingly comnting on Adele’s corpse...
Yet she hadn’t felt the potion’s whispers. Compared to other potions, the “Instigator” potion’s influence seed almost negligible.
But her way of thinking had completely transford into that of an “Instigator”... Her thoughts and the potion’s thoughts were almost perfectly synchronized.
Did the potion perfectly fuse with her the mont she drank it?
Was this a good thing, or a bad thing?
Ciel sighed softly, pushing thoughts of the “Instigator” aside.
Besides this, another matter from her mories piqued her interest.
It was the spiritual being she had summoned last.
Now, no matter how hard Ciel tried to recall, she couldn’t rember its appearance or what it had said to her.
In her mory, the spiritual being had beco an unobservable mosaic. No matter how she tried to rember, she couldn’t retrieve any details.
That thing she summoned... was definitely not simple.
Ciel’s confidence in dealing with that Divine Advent Church Bishop increased slightly.
She slowly stood up. A slight wave of dizziness made her body sway montarily, but she quickly steadied herself.
“Hoo...”
Exhaling slowly, Ciel sat back down.
Now was not the ti to rest.
Ti continued to tick forward. The sooner she found a way to prevent that “Radiance Bishop” from investigating her, the more secure she would be, and her real self would have more ti to adjust plans.
Firstly, the thod of sacrificing everyone in Deton Manor in the simulation was absolutely out of the question.
Currently, besides the cultists, so ordinary mbers of Deton Manor were normal people, attendants unaware of what was happening.
Beyond the manor staff, there were also minor nobles, rchants gambling there, and transcendents buying items or accepting requests.
“Avenger” Ciel had bombed a Holy See square, but that was only to draw out Sherlon. In reality, Ciel wouldn’t actually bomb that square.
But this ti, the ultimate goal was to deal with the visiting “Radiance Bishop.” Ciel couldn’t possibly sacrifice everyone in Deton Manor in reality...
That seed even more cult-like than the cultists themselves and would inevitably attract investigation from various factions, completely contradicting Ciel’s desire for a peaceful life.
But if she only sacrificed the cultists of Deton Manor... would that be enough?
It might not be...
Ciel leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.
Divine Advent Church... investigation...
Ciel rembered that in the last simulation, Kitty had revealed sothing.
Avena hadn’t been exposed yet because the cultist planted near her hadn’t been able to return to Avena’s estate to gather intelligence.
Besides Deton Manor, there were quite a few cultists in Berren City...
Maybe, hold a gathering.
Find a reason for Kitty to gather all the Divine Advent Church cultists in Berren City and sacrifice them all at once...
This would ensure all the cultists possessed the “Sadhana Mark,” allowing for a clearer targeting of the previous spiritual being, preventing the sacrifice from being intercepted by other entities.
The more Ciel thought about it, the more feasible it seed.
However, there was one prerequisite: she had to use the “Instigator” save file to ensure Kitty completely obeyed her.
Although “Gambler” possessed the “Sadhana” mark, without backup, she couldn’t guarantee she could bluff Kitty every ti.
If possible, Ciel wanted to handle this alone. The fewer people knew, the better.
Avoiding exposure to more organizations or churches was what Ciel desired.
Next, it depended on whether the simulation timing would cooperate.
Ciel directly opened the simulation interface. The date displayed for the Future simulation made her pause slightly.
【Future: 3 Days (Saint Year 741, June 23, 13:00) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)】
Three days later? 1 PM on the 23rd?
Exactly one minute before the Radiance Bishop arrives?
Isn’t this timing a bit too precise?
Ciel even suspected the system’s timing was pseudo-random, or perhaps just the system’s own twisted sense of humor.
Just one minute, impossible to prepare everything... or is it?
Ciel abruptly stood up, grabbed her canvas bag from the bedside table, and took out the familiar notebook and a pencil.
She indeed didn’t have enough ti to prepare everything... but her simulated self could prepare it all for her.
Ciel walked back to the sofa, sat down, opened the notebook, leaned over, and began writing in Chinese on a blank page at the back.
【I need you to find an opportunity to obtain and drink the “Instigator” potion】
【Rember! Do not instigate Nia!】
【No one needs to guard outside the manor this ti, you can complete this task alone】
Ciel’s pencil tip paused slightly, then continued writing.
【Find a chance to persuade Avena to stay with Adele at Avena’s estate. Do not take any other action. Avena’s ho is temporarily safe】
【Next, you need to drink the “Instigator” potion, find Kitty, and instigate her again using the sa thod. Regardless of how, find a way to make Kitty gather all cultists from Berren City and its surroundings】
【Simultaneously, you must clear Deton Manor of everyone who is not a cultist. Rember, clear the premises, do not kill them】
【Deton Manor staff can be given paid leave. Others can be deterred from visiting by announcing temporary closure】
【You can use all my abilities, which certainly includes Spiritual Summoning... but you don’t need to summon personally. Wait for to arrive, let perform the sacrifice】
【One more thing, regarding items redeed from the sub-system, do they actually work when you redeem them? Find a chance to test this and find a way to tell the result】
Ciel stopped writing, hesitated for a mont, then added another sentence.
【Rember, do not use the “Instigator” ability to instigate anyone other than mbers of the Divine Advent Church. Rember】
【Also, you are forbidden from contacting sister. Do not involve her. After drinking the “Instigator” potion, copy this paragraph ten tis】
Ciel reread the text she had written, confird there were no ambiguities, then put down the pencil.
It wasn’t that she was overly cautious, but the nature of the “Instigator” forced her to be careful, using “rember” several tis throughout the text.
She genuinely feared her simulated self, after drinking the “Instigator” potion, might seek so amusent and pull a stunt.
This would not only affect Ciel’s judgnt of the outco but could also lead to entirely unforeseen developnts.
The Future simulation started only 1 minute before the “Radiance Bishop’s” arrival. Ciel would have to imdiately begin the spiritual summoning upon arrival, leaving no ti for anything else.
This ant Ciel couldn’t check the notebook to understand what her simulated self had done.
Therefore, she had to ensure her simulated self followed the notebook’s instructions precisely, avoiding any interference, otherwise, it could lead to Ciel misjudging the situation in reality.
After all, Ciel couldn’t guarantee the simulation timing would always fall before the 23rd. What if she could never simulate before the 23rd again, or couldn’t reach 1 PM on the 23rd within 24 hours?
Without personally experiencing it, relying solely on written records would always leave a sense of uncertainty.
Ciel placed the notebook in a prominent position before her, sat watching it, and opened the simulation interface.
After selecting the Future simulation, the character selection screen appeared.
Ciel scanned the save files, hesitated briefly, then settled her gaze on the “Instigator” file in slot No.1.
This simulation likely wouldn’t involve any combat... or rather, if combat occurred, Ciel’s plan would have failed.
If combat happened, using the “Judicator” save ant death, and using the “Instigator” save also ant death. It was better to use the “Instigator” save directly and use its abilities to try and avoid combat altogether.
After clicking the “Instigator” save file, a silver flash exploded before Ciel, gradually engulfing her vision completely...
...
【Future】
【Saint Year 741, June 23, 13:00】
【Countdown – 23:59:59】
“Lady Ciel... Lady Ciel?”
“Lady Ciel... what’s wrong?”
Urgent voices sounded beside her ear. Ciel slowly opened her eyes and saw a peeled grape being held to her lips.
At this mont, she was lounging crookedly on the stone throne. On either side, a maid wearing a red chip mask attended to her with lowered head. One maid humbly held the grape to Ciel’s mouth.
Ciel’s height normally prevented her feet from reaching the ground while sitting on the throne, but now they rested on sothing soft.
Looking down, she saw a maid prostrated on the floor, Ciel’s feet resting on her back, allowing for a more comfortable posture.
Ciel: “...”
This is the cultist circle, the backyard of Berren City’s Divine Advent Church branch, not your ho.
Why are you enjoying yourself like this?
She looked up. Before her, densely packed rows of Divine Advent Church cultists knelt, all wearing uniform black robes. Kitty, at the front, stared intently at the maid Ciel was stepping on, still speaking, “Lady Ciel, why have you stopped talking? Shouldn’t the scripture reading begin?”
At this mont, Kitty looked as if she desperately wanted to kick that maid aside and take her place under Ciel’s feet.
Ciel waved her hand. The three maids collected their things and retreated to the bottom, kneeling behind Kitty.
While waving, Ciel noticed she was holding a clean white handkerchief. Sothing seed written on it in Chinese.
She unfolded the handkerchief slightly with one hand and saw the words written on it.
【Items redeed from the sub-system are usable】
【Pity I can’t play longer】
【(^^_)】
Besides the two short lines, there was also a smiley face drawn, its abstractness rivaling the system’s.
“Heh.” A smirk touched Ciel’s lips. She casually crumpled the handkerchief and tossed it aside.
My turn to play.
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