Ariel quickly checked Caelus's condition.
[Status: Mana Poisoning 94% (High Risk)]
94%.
It had jumped by 14 percent when the machine exploded. It was a dangerous level right on the verge of an overload, but his reaction was far too violent for that number.
It isn't simple mana poisoning.
It seemed like the machine had triggered something.
Ariel knew full well that approaching Caelus right now was practically suicidal. But she did not stop.
She reached into her pocket. The cool, soft touch of fabric met her fingertips.
[Item: Administrator's White Gloves (S-rank)]
[Effect: Upon equipping and touching the target, forcefully calms the target for 3 seconds, ignoring their rank.]
[Caution: Consumable item. Destroyed after a single use.]
It was an item she had received as an awakening reward during the sacred relic incident. After her awakening, the inventory function unlocked, allowing her to store and retrieve items from her status window.
To think I'd end up using this here.
Ariel slipped the thin, white silk gloves onto both hands. They looked like ordinary ceremonial gloves on the outside, but the moment she put them on, a prickle of divine power spread from her fingertips throughout her entire body.
"Wild beasts only quiet down once they get used to a human's touch."
Ariel opened and closed her fists, checking her glowing white hands.
Mana swirled wildly around Caelus. The wind pressure grew so intense that it was hard to open her eyes. Caelus was desperately clinging to his sanity, but it did not look like he could hold out much longer.
There was no time.
"B-be careful!"
Ian's shout came from behind, but Ariel stepped into the vortex without looking back. At that moment, a sharp surge of mana grazed her whole body.
A stinging pain spread across her skin, but the divine power flowing from her gloves purified the mana wherever it touched.
The crashing waves of mana and the divine power repelling them in real time clashed right above her skin.
[Item durability decreasing: 88%]
I can still hold out for now.
Just as Ariel took another step forward—
"Get out… Get out right now…"
Hunched inside the vortex, Caelus groaned, repeating the same words over and over.
Even at a glance, he was a total mess.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if they would burst at any second, and the veins on his neck and arms wriggled like earthworms. Red blood trickled from his bitten lip, dangling precariously from the tip of his chin.
And then, she felt the energy hidden within that dark red mana.
…It really is Junhyuk Yoon.
The closer she got, the clearer it became. The nauseating disgust she felt was no illusion.
Did you wake up in this world like me, too?
Just then, a voice like scraping stone drifted out.
"…You."
Caelus, who had been hanging his head, slowly looked up at Ariel. His eyes were half out of focus.
"You're still… not gone…"
He growled like a beast.
However, Ariel saw it.
With every step Ariel took toward him, Caelus curled himself even deeper against the wall.
Instead of reaching out to attack, he gritted his teeth and smashed his fist into the floor.
"You must be… dying to get killed…!"
"Oh, you're still surprisingly coherent."
Ariel smirked.
It's been a while. Time to do some actual work for once.
"Don't… come any closer…!"
"Alright, dear customer. Stay still."
Ariel pulled her gloves tight.
"Beginning purification."
"I said don't come near me…!"
"It's fine. You won't die."
Ariel took another step closer.
"Ugh…"
Perhaps because his focus faltered during their brief exchange, an even more ferocious energy surged from Caelus. Just as the dark red mana rushed forward like a wave to swallow her, Ariel quickly reached out her hand.
Flash.
[Item durability decreasing: 72%]
The moment the mana touched the white gloves, it parted to the sides and scattered into mist.
"Customer, didn't I tell you to stay still?"
Ariel crouched down, coming within a palm's distance. Dark red eyes losing their sanity were right before her. Hot, unstable, and dangerous.
I really hate physical contact, but… if that dark red mana really is connected to that bastard Junhyuk Yoon, I might as well do it right.
Ariel raised her gloved hand high into the air.
Alright.
Higher.
Much higher.
Now, it's time for revenge—or, purification.
The white glove hovering in the air flashed brightly.
And then.
SMACK!
A crisp, sharp sound echoed through the reception room.
Ariel's palm delivered a clean strike straight across Caelus's cheek.
At the same time, the raging mana settled down as if by magic. The warped space snapped back to normal, and the mana crystals floating in the air crumbled into dust and scattered.
"Ugh…?"
Caelus's head was snapped to the side. Ariel's palm remained pressed flat against his cheek. A brief silence settled over the room.
His hazy, unfocused eyes slowly began to regain clarity.
"Your Grace…!"
Alfredo shouted in urgency, unable to clearly make out the situation through the thick cloud of dust. Ian, on the other hand, stood staring blankly past the rubble as if he had lost his mind.
"Huh?"
Ariel tilted her head.
Caelus's eyes were trembling unsteadily.
"Looks like you're still not back to normal, dear customer."
Ariel raised her hand high once again.
Caelus's eyes widened.
"W-wait!"
SLAP!!!
A second slap landed squarely on Caelus's other cheek, snapping his head right back forward.
At the same instant, a blinding white light exploded from Ariel's palm.
[Item 'Administrator's White Gloves' destroyed]
[Overload suppression completed]
* * *
A small, chilly room filled with a bleak draft. Iron bars were embedded in the window, and the only furniture consisted of a hard chair and a worn-out table. Outside the door, the heavy footsteps of armed guards occasionally echoed back and forth.
"What is this, a prison instead of a waiting room?"
Right after suppressing the overload, Ian and Gion were dragged off somewhere, and Ariel had been isolated here alone, left unattended for hours. Anxiety slowly began to creep up on her.
She looked down at both of her hands. Her palms were still stinging.
…Did I hit him too hard?
She had slapped the empire's one and only grand duke across the face with two full-swings. And extremely satisfying ones at that.
No. That was self-defense. And technically a medical procedure, right?
Ariel tried hard to rationalize it as she wiped her palms against her skirt. However, the sensation lingering at her fingertips refused to fade easily. It wasn't because of the impact. It was because of the hair-raising anomaly she had felt when touching Caelus's mana.
It was different.
It was definitely similar to the wavelength that bastard Junhyuk Yoon emitted when he overloaded. That sickening, stomach-churning disgust.
However, Caelus's was colder and purer. Like a crystal frozen after filtering out impurities to the absolute limit and packing them tightly together.
Though it feels vile all the same.
Ariel shook her head to shake off the unpleasant feeling.
Don't tell me I'm getting kicked out again after going through all that trouble to stop an overload?
She had already been driven out of the central region all the way to the north. If she got kicked out here too, her only destination was the snowfields. Dying alone in the wild would be guaranteed.
Ariel rested her chin on her hand over the table and let out a sigh.
Honestly… I was terrified.
She had been so scared that her legs were shaking. Diving into something that would have been overwhelming even with her S-rank body from her past life, all while being a mere D-rank—it was complete madness.
Yet what swallowed up that terror was the anger that welled inside her the moment she felt Junhyuk Yoon's energy. If not for that rage, she might have turned tail and run.
In my past life, I used to laugh when B-ranks and C-ranks trembled…
Experiencing it firsthand made her realize just how terrifying it was for the powerless to face a disaster bare-handed.
Compared to that, the saintesses of this world have it so easy.
Purification here was simple. All they had to do was stand at a safe distance and pour out divine power to wash away corruption.
On the other hand, guiding in her past life had been different. It was precision work—matching her wavelength with the target's to untangle twisted circuits and finely tuning unstable stats.
However, rank in this world was determined by how much divine power one could hold. That was why Ariel was judged as lowest-rank. Her vessel was no bigger than a teacup.
Even if she was lowest-rank by the standards of this world, Ariel still retained the instincts from her past life.
That was how she managed to purify the cursed holy grail. The head bishop and the highest-ranked saintess strained against the tangled thread, grunting with effort—while she simply found the knot's critical point and gave it a gentle nudge. To someone who used to handle an esper's brainwaves, the circuits of this world's holy grail were nothing more than a toy.
Since the Order couldn't comprehend it, they framed her with ridiculous accusations and banished Ariel to the north.
Because a lowest-rank achieved what high-ranking clergy couldn't, they chose to act as though it never happened rather than acknowledge it. After all, they were people who valued their pride more than life itself.
"Ha… Out of sheer spite, I am definitely reaching C-rank no matter what."
Ariel banged her forehead lightly against the desk and gritted her teeth.
Just in case, I need to prepare a backup plan.
Knock, knock.
Ariel gently tapped on the door.
"Excuse me."
The pacing footsteps of the guard outside came to a halt.
"Could you give me some paper and a pen? I'm bored."
There was no answer. Ariel stood in front of the door and waited a moment. Soon, a sheet of paper and a magic pen with built-in ink slid through the gap beneath the door.
"Thank you."
Ariel sat down and picked up the pen. The contents were already organized in her head. She wrote quickly yet meticulously.
"Done."
Ariel gave a triumphant smile, folded the paper in half, and slipped it into her pocket.
That was when it happened.
Click.
The sound of the door opening rang out. Ariel snapped her head up.
Is this the decision? Am I getting kicked out?
The person who walked through the opening door was the head butler, Alfredo.
"His Grace has awakened."
His expression looked strangely complex. It was a face mixed with wariness, probing curiosity, and an indescribable fluster.
"I have been ordered to bring you to him."
What was bound to come had finally arrived.
Ariel swallowed hard and stood up from her seat.
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