"Don't rush to thank me, next is the question and answer session. I hope you can answer truthfully, without concealment."
Crests's facial muscles twitched, as if wanting to display a smile, but his jaw and mouth were hidden in the shadows outlined by the upright collar, making his expression unclear.
His dark green pupils stared intently at Angel, as if wanting to see through her soul, see through whether she was lying. His pupil color also became deeper, almost pitch black.
"Tell me about your insights from mastering the 'Assassin' potion."
Angel took a deep breath, her mind filled with the excuse she had modified and perfected countless times - "gaining inspiration from Ms. Daly."
"This has to start from when I heard about Ms. Daly's..."
"Stop," Crests interrupted Angel's statement. "Ms. Daly Simone is upstairs, I can hear these words from her personally. What I want to know is about you, your 'own' insights. For example, how did you summarize the 'Assassin's' principles?"
My own insights about "Assassin"?
Angel understood, threw aside those clichés in her mind, reorganized her language, and said: "During the battle with Mrs. Sharon, with Ms. Daly and Mr. Leonard's help, I luckily killed her. At that time, I felt a kind of... although I really don't want to say this, but I did indeed feel it then - the pleasure of killing."
She didn't describe the battle process in detail, because this senior deacon, before coming to examine the two Night Watchers who submitted special applications, must have already thoroughly read all reports about them, and certainly already knew the battle situation then.
Crests nodded knowingly as she expected, signaling Angel to continue.
"Then there was the operation tracking the Antigonus family notebook through sealed artifact '2-049'. In this operation, I was ambushed by an assassin on the wanted list, killed him in counterattack; subsequently, with Klein's assistance, eliminated a 'Secret Order' member trying to seize the notebook. In both battles, I experienced the aforementioned pleasure of killing..."
"Based on these several battles, I summarized the 'Assassin' principle of counterattacking and killing opponents under their unexpected attacks, becoming an assassin who waits for prey, pretending to be the target."
"While comprehending this point, I felt I had truly mastered the potion's power, experiencing that special, wonderful feeling..."
Angel told the "Sword of the Goddess" in detail about her process of digesting the "Assassin" potion, except for concealing that "tiny bit" of truth about already knowing the Acting Method.
Crests nodded, his eyes returning to dark green, his gaze becoming much gentler. From it, Angel didn't sense hostility or scrutiny, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"From the various battle reports sent from Tingen to the Holy Cathedral, I can see you're an outstanding Night Watcher. This is certainly due to the abilities the potion gave you, but more importantly, it's your own exceptional talent and keen intuition. Believe me, this talent already surpasses the vast majority of Night Watchers."
Crests sighed.
"You used this talent and intuition to summarize your own experience. So, did you share this experience with other teammates?"
"Yes, I thought this experience would help quickly master potions and reduce the probability of losing control. Why wouldn't I share it with my teammates?"
"All teammates?" Crests pressed.
"Mm... yes, all Extraordinaries, not including clerical staff. When communicating with Klein, I found he also had insights about this, which is why we submitted special applications together."
Angel thought that Klein would be next to receive examination, so she helped him "lay groundwork" with Crests in advance.
"Very good, excellent. You're someone who's good at sharing experiences with teammates."
Crests's eyes crinkled at the corners. Angel guessed his mouth under the collar was curved upward in a smile.
"Next is the final procedure."
He picked up a metal briefcase from beside his high-backed chair. The case was silver-white, about a meter long, somewhat flat, like a weapon case containing firearms.
Only then did Angel realize there had been a case beside Crests. Just before he picked up the case, she had completely failed to sense the case, ignoring this object's existence.
Placing the case on his knees, Crests's pupils again became pitch black, his right hand pressed virtually, and the invisible barrier on the case surface collapsed and shattered.
At the same moment, all surrounding light disappeared. The gas lamps on the walls could only illuminate themselves, but the scattered light seemed to be absorbed into the metal case, leaving only Angel and Crests sitting opposite, along with this case reflecting silver light.
This... is somewhat similar to the examination session just now? Is this the "Sword of the Goddess's" extraordinary ability, or the characteristic of the object in the case?
Angel had some understanding, watching Crests open the metal case with a "snap," turning the case to face her, revealing a pure white short sword inside.
The sword was less than a meter long, the blade material like white bone, quietly emitting pure white light. In the now lightless environment, it was like a bright moon hanging high in the night sky, attracting Angel's gaze.
Looking carefully, the smooth blade was densely covered with layered markings and symbols. The more closely she examined, the more it seemed there were even more markings within the symbols, making one want to count them one by one, to slowly study each one.
...
Bang—
Crests slightly moved his high-backed chair, creating friction noise with the floor, making the case and the short sword inside leave Angel's focal point, allowing her to awaken from inescapable thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Angel averted her gaze, not daring to look at this pure white short sword again.
"Sword of the Goddess"... acknowledged by a "holy relic"...
Angel suddenly remembered Dunn's evaluation of this senior deacon.
It seemed the holy relic was this eerie short sword.
"Place your hand on the sword, follow me in reciting the oath, make the vow."
Crests said.
Angel followed the instruction, stood up from the high-backed chair, walked toward the only light-emitting "holy relic" in this lightless environment, bent down, and pressed her right hand toward it.
A cold feeling spread throughout her body through the contact point, but she didn't feel piercing cold.
"Higher than the starry sky, more enduring than eternity, Evernight Goddess."
She heard Crests recite in Hermes.
"I swear by my true name and my spirituality to You."
"I, Angel, from now on, will absolutely never reveal corresponding details of the 'Acting Method' to those who don't know it."
Acting Method... indeed, this is what Ms. Daly called "making an oath"...
Angel's thoughts flowed, then she followed the senior deacon in reciting the oath in Hermes.
"And truthfully answer three questions from the person before me."
"If I violate this, I submit to Your punishment."
"Please witness my oath."
Halfway through reciting, she had already discovered something wrong. An oath like "truthfully answer three questions" that put one at others' mercy - normally she absolutely couldn't say such words. But the arm pressing on the holy relic seemed to transmit a magical power, making Angel follow step by step, completely reciting the oath with the "Sword of the Goddess."
Vaguely, she felt the connection between herself and some existence in the infinite distance had been strengthened through the oath.
"Praise the Goddess."
After finishing the oath, Crests drew the crimson moon on his chest, and Angel followed suit.
Then this senior deacon closed the metal case cover again, pressing his right hand on it as when opening, rebuilding the invisible barrier around the metal case, isolating the gravitational force from within that attracted all light.
The dim but warm light from the gas lamps once again filled the alchemy room.
"Good, the oath is established. I think you should also be able to feel the connection with the holy relic, so I hope you can answer the following questions truthfully."
Unlike the previous request for Angel to answer truthfully, this time Crests's tone was particularly serious, reminding her of what Daly had said when mentioning "oaths."
"First is the first question."
The senior deacon's eyes, which had returned to dark green, looked toward Angel, his gaze burning.
"When did you become an 'Instigator'?"
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