Because he had once helped Cullen knock out and hypnotize Lydia, Ebner was already quite practiced in this area. With ease, he caused Bianca—who was only at Sequence 7—to completely lose awareness of the outside world and fall into a deep sleep.
Next, he used his self-developed "Item Detection" technique to scan for any Beyonder items on her body, just in case the lady was carrying something that might awaken her.
However, after a thorough search, Ebner only removed a mask from her face and found nothing else.
As the mask came off, Bianca's disguise failed. Her hair returned to a reddish-brown color, and her stunningly beautiful face was revealed.
"As I thought—she's the military attaché from the embassy, Bianca." Ebner nodded after observing her for a moment. "But she's really down on her luck. Aside from this disguise 'mask,' she doesn't even have a single charm..."
"Hmm... maybe everything she had was confiscated when she was caught by Roselle's inspector."
A few months ago, when he infiltrated the embassy to disrupt a seal, he had seen this young lady once, so he recognized her appearance.
After removing her Beyonder items, Ebner activated the "Pure White Eye," then sat down on the edge of the bed, lifted her body into his arms, and began carefully examining her for any unusual traits.
A few minutes later, he laid her back down and reflected:
There are no visible traces of contamination on her body, but when I probe deeper, I can faintly sense a touch of 'calamity.' Also, I can feel that something within the Pure White Eye shares an uncanny similarity with her...
Yes, it's that aura that emerges every time I activate the Pure White Eye at banquets or balls...
This is something I only recently noticed through repeated comparison.
Heh, I suspect that the transmigrator predecessor Giuseppe Castilla had the same experience when he activated the Pure White Eye. That's why the Red Angel thought Bianca's aura resembled Giuseppe's "abnormal luck."
But I can't directly uncover the nature of this aura—it's heavily obscured!
The Pure White Eye is shielding me on my end, while Bianca herself has some mysterious power concealing her uniqueness...
That power is of a high level and extremely subtle, which is probably why even Closfia didn't notice anything unusual.
Only someone like me—with cheats—can glimpse a fragment of the truth...
But I remember Xio once said that her superior, Her Highness Vera, realized Bianca was special after just one meeting!
Looks like Her Highness has her own aces too... I wonder what her goal is in keeping Xio so close. She doesn't seem hostile, at least.
With that thought, Ebner looked at the quietly sleeping Bianca again and began thinking about what to do next:
According to the intelligence Closfia gathered, to draw out the special power within Bianca's body, one must become her "master"... and have relations with her...
But I can't just take advantage of her for the sake of investigating her uniqueness. That would make me scum.
Besides, I have zero interest in testing whether I can withstand Bianca's "misfortune."
So... I'll have to use that method instead?
As the thought crossed his mind, Ebner made his decision.
He dressed Bianca, then picked her up and vanished from the bedroom.
The so-called "method" was based on a mystical technique Ebner had once conceptualized.
When he advanced to "Mysticism Magister," he had automatically obtained three special techniques that required no ritual, no preparation, and could even be enhanced over time.
Among them, "Shield of Glory" had been used many times and had protected him from several mental or dream-based attacks.
"Scholar's Detection" wasn't particularly useful on its own, but when paired with the "Scholar's Communication" technique he'd previously mastered, it served as a covert communication method between him and Edwina for a while.
The only one he had always kept at a distance was the so-called "Underwear Theft Technique."
However, when he first obtained that technique, Ebner noticed that it had a very high growth potential. At higher Sequences, it could evolve into a conceptual level ability—allowing him to steal not just "secrets," but also "defenses" or "facades," thereby exposing what had been truly hidden.
In principle, this was actually mimicking the "decryption" ability of high-Sequences in the Error pathway.
While Ebner couldn't yet elevate this technique by himself, by leveraging external items—like the "Time Worm" left behind by Amon's clone, or the Error Card in Klein's possession—and combining them with a ritual, he could at least attempt it.
That was the backup plan Ebner had prepared in advance.
However, considering that stripping away the protective layer within Bianca might trigger unrest in the Sefirot-contaminated portion of her body, he planned to perform the operation in a "hidden" environment.
He had already chosen that hidden place: the world within Groselle's Travels.
Thus, after arriving at the "Ritual Chamber" beneath the Surrey Family's ancestral home in Tosk via the teleportation altar at Grape Vine Manor near Trier, Ebner set up a ritual and borrowed both the Black Emperor and Error Blasphemy Cards from Klein. Then he carried Bianca into the imaginary world of the travelogue.
Upon returning to the snowy world, Ebner didn't linger. He immediately summoned the bone dragon and flew toward the deeper region known as the "City of Miracles," Liveseyd.
Bianca was most likely contaminated by the Sefirot. Her special power might not be strong, but its level was definitely high. Bringing her here, Ebner intended to toss her into the Dream Labyrinth Tower and use the Sea of Chaos to suppress her if anything went wrong.
After landing in the central hall of this dragon city, Ebner laid Bianca on the ritual platform he had prepared, then bent down and placed the Error Card on the opposite side.
As for the dead Time Worm, he held it in his palm to serve as a vessel for the "protection" he hoped to steal. This Time Worm had originally been left behind by Amon's clone at the "Kabassky" base and was later offered to Ebner by Seyrow.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Ebner began taking out the ritual materials one by one. Following countless rehearsals in the "Learning Space," he carved the corresponding symbols and incantations.
Once everything was ready, he adjusted his condition slightly and activated the secret technique.
Immediately, a piece of underwear appeared in his hand.
As expected, the less you understand about the "protection" surrounding a "secret," the higher the failure rate... This technique actually reinforces the conceptual link, making it more specialized than high-Sequence Marauders, yet the success chance is still low.
But I have time. I can try again and again. Eventually, I'll get lucky.
As this thought echoed in the hall, Ebner showed no embarrassment. He tossed the underwear aside and continued his attempts.
After about a dozen tries, just as Ebner activated the technique once more, he felt a strange force gather within the Time Worm in his palm. At the same time, a terrifying aura burst forth from Bianca on the ritual platform.
In an instant, the entire "Hall of Honesty" was engulfed in an ominous presence, as if the apocalypse had descended.
Ebner dared not delay. He quickly "extracted" a portion of the aura and performed a "decryption" on it. Then, just as the sense of annihilation reached a critical point, he "returned" what he had stolen to her.
Instantly, the malevolence dissipated without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened.
City of Calamity... Key of Light... Tenebrous World... Knowledge Moor... Nation of Disorder...
She was actually contaminated by five different Sefirot simultaneously. But within Bianca, the City of Calamity clearly dominates, which is why her passive ability manifests as calamity.
At the same time, the triggering conditions of that ability are defined by the other Sefirot...
The Tenebrous World determines the "channel"—namely, having relations and releasing desire. The Nation of Disorder sets the "target," meaning the so-called "master." The Key of Light adjusts luck to shape the "environment," making it easier for disasters to occur. As for the Knowledge Moor, I couldn't discern its role. Maybe it's a balancing agent?
Makes sense. If the experiment eleven years ago truly connected with the sealed Sefirot, it's unlikely only one would contaminate a person. At most, it would be like this—guided contamination.
Also, through the decryption and analysis, I uncovered another secret: the other four survivors are just like Bianca. Each has one Sefirot that dominates, while the rest offer balance...
It's just that their dominant Sefirot differ...
Heh, this method of balancing Sefirot feels very familiar... So Roselle really did have a hand in that experiment! He was at least a participant—even if he was technically "dead" at the time.
Of course, I can't rule out other transmigrator seniors... but my gut tells me Roselle's the prime suspect.
Hmm... now that I think about it, I may have been wrong about Miss Abby. Her "pain" probably isn't led by the City of Calamity, but rather the "curse" of the Tenebrous World—turning her own suffering into a curse that inflicts pain on others.
The Pale Admiral, as I previously judged, is likely dominated by the Nation of Disorder.
As for the survivor known only by name—Lofia—based on her ability to restore objects, it's likely that the Key of Light dominates in her case.
And the fifth survivor, whom we know nothing about, is most likely dominated by the Knowledge Moor... Perhaps I can start tracking her from that angle.
Lastly, none of their current potion paths align with their main contamination. That's probably intentional on the part of the Sefirot—they just want pawns to seize the initiative before the apocalypse, not cultivate future threats.
Finally, I gained partial knowledge of a ritual. It requires gathering the five survivors, but its full effect remains unknown. It vaguely points to the God's Casket...
I'll probably have to uncover the "secrets" of the other survivors using the same method before I can fully assemble this ritual...
The long-term mission Lilith assigned me is to investigate the God's Casket—that is, the secrets hidden inside the box taken from the Book of Calamity, and the whereabouts of what was inside...
If I want to truly uncover the truth, I'll have to piece together the secrets of all five survivors.
Sigh... Abby being an enemy isn't a big deal... but how am I supposed to convince the Pale Admiral to cooperate?
One misunderstanding, and that Pale Justice sword might come swinging my way!
As the echoing thoughts faded from the hall, Ebner let out a sigh, packed up the ritual supplies, picked up Bianca, mounted the bone dragon, and flew away from the City of Miracles, Liveseyd—exiting Groselle's Travels—leaving behind a single piece of underwear quietly "lying" on the floor of the Hall of Honesty.
(End of chapter)