The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch-Chapter 99 - Unescapable Misfortune (2/2)

“Mm.” Ciel nodded and turned to leave.

Behind her, the dull thud of a knife stabbing into flesh sounded.

Three, two... zero...

The painful whispers in Ciel’s mind slowly dissipated, slightly soothing her mood.

She arrived at the stables, saw the carriage parked aside, and the thin horse tied up inside, sleeping.

A new problem presented itself to Ciel.

She didn’t know how to ride a horse, nor how to “assemble” the horse and carriage together.

And... who knew if, during a fast carriage ride, this horse would suddenly go mad and charge Ciel into a ditch.

After thinking for a while, Ciel came up with a perfect solution.

She returned to the inn, opened the room door, and woke her sister, who was still sound asleep.

After telling her sister they needed to return quickly, Lichie didn’t ask why, just dazedly gathered her things, went downstairs, and boarded the carriage with Ciel.

Inside the carriage, Ciel drew all the curtains. Lichie, woken up halfway through her sleep, leaned her head against the curtain and quickly fell asleep again.

A black shadow emerged from the shadow beneath the carriage. The shadows looked at each other, then walked towards the sleeping thin horse nearby. Chains were thrown out, piercing into the thin horse’s shadow.

Almost instantly, the horse died, its shadow torn away from its flesh by the burning chains.

The black chains tethered the shadow horse, burning with black flames, to the front of the carriage. A black shadow then took the driver’s seat, holding the chains, manipulating the thin horse, turning it bit by bit, driving out of the small town, following the railway tracks towards Berren City.

Late at night, a terrifying carriage without a horse pulling it rushed directly into Berren City under the cover of darkness.

Some drunkards still out late saw this scene, but after a brief moment of terror, they dismissed it as a drunken hallucination and didn’t think further.

Ciel took Lichie back home. After telling Lichie she needed to go out to report the accident, she left Lichie behind, controlled the carriage, and headed towards Creek Hill outside the city.

The locations of the others were uncertain, but the position of that Deton Group commissioner, Lucy, was mentioned in the notebook.

The notes said she had been investigating almost constantly at Deton Manor outside the city. Apart from that banquet, she hadn’t even entered the city.

But her path was third-tier “Favored,” related to luck itself. Ciel’s intuition told her this person was highly suspicious.

Ciel’s carriage slowly stopped at the entrance of Deton Manor. Deton Manor was now completely cordoned off.

A Deton Group employee wearing a green chip mask, standing guard outside the gate, approached respectfully, bowed towards the carriage, and said, “Deton Manor is still under renovation. May I ask who Your Excellency is...”

A horseless carriage rushing to the Deton Manor entrance—clearly a transcendent.

Although the green-chip employee wasn’t a transcendent himself, he had received similar training, allowing him to maintain a respectful demeanor when encountering such scenes.

“Where is Commissioner Lucy?” Ciel asked bluntly after getting out of the carriage. “I need to see her.”

“Commissioner Lucy? She’s in the underground sanctuary. May I ask who you are...” The employee asked cautiously, trying to confirm Ciel’s identity.

Ciel’s current “Judicator” save file was still wearing the church robes Uris had specially prepared for her.

Thus, Ciel didn’t hesitate further and said directly, “Judicator’s Court, here to investigate the Divine Advent Church.”

[Translator’s Note: Judicator’s Court, or previously The Inquisition. I’ll use Judicator’s Court from here onward. I’ll find some time to update the term in the previous Chapters as well.]

Only then did the green-chip employee, through the faint moonlight, clearly see the Church of the Savior Goddess robes the girl wore. He quickly stepped aside and said, “Do you need me to lead you there?”

“No need.” Ciel shook her head and walked directly towards the manor interior.

This green-chip employee didn’t look familiar, likely having come from headquarters with the commissioner.

Regarding the structure and secret passages of Deton Manor here, Ciel might even be more familiar than him.

Ciel walked to the manor entrance, while the green-chip employee followed respectfully at a distance.

Just as Ciel stepped into the manor, a series of loud noises erupted.

Rumble—

The massive vibrations traveled several miles, making Ciel initially think an earthquake or explosion had occurred.

Ciel turned her head towards the source of the vibration.

“That direction is...”

Ciel ran quickly towards the left. Members of various factions currently surveying the main hall also heard the commotion and swiftly rushed towards the side corridor.

Ciel took the lead, directly kicking open the door to the card room.

This was the source of the vibration and noise, the previous ritual site, above the dome of the underground sanctuary.

But now, the dome had completely collapsed. Even the adjacent walls were damaged. With the door opened, inside was a huge, dark pit leading directly down to the underground sanctuary.

“What happened?”

“A cave-in?”

“Here! Goddess...”

“My heavens...”

The green-chip employee’s mouth hung half-open. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he shouted, “Lucy! Commissioner Lucy is still down there!”

“What? There are still people down there?”

“Quick, head to the secret passage! It shouldn’t have collapsed!”

“Check all secret passages, prepare to go down and rescue!”

The crowd became noisy, heading towards different secret passages.

A black shadow emerged from the shadow behind Ciel and jumped directly into the dark abyss.

The next moment, Ciel’s figure distorted and vanished, replaced by a black shadow standing in her place. Ciel’s main body had already appeared within the ruined underground sanctuary.

The ground was littered with broken stones and the crushed figures of the cultists sacrificed into mummies.

Four black shadows quickly spread out from Ciel’s position, beginning their search. At this time, many transcendents holding kerosene lamps and torches had already descended through the secret passages and started searching for wounded.

“Here! Commissioner Lucy is here!” A shout attracted Ciel’s attention. She quickly walked towards the source of the sound, pushed aside the crowd gathered there, and looked at Commissioner Lucy.

A massive stone pinned her lower body. Her head looked as if it would be crushed, the forehead completely caved in.

“Blergh...” A mouthful of blood spewed from Lucy’s mouth.

“Really... unlucky... ah...” A blood-stained gold coin slipped from Lucy’s hand, rolled on the ground, revealing the image of the knight and dragon on top.

“Quick, find a ‘Physician’!”

Ciel stood aside, watching Lucy’s breathing gradually weaken.

Wasn’t her...

Or was it that she wasn’t the only one encountering this misfortune in Berren City?

Were there others also experiencing misfortune?