The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 43

「Future」

「Saint Year 741, July 20, 6:25 PM」

「Countdown – 23:59:59」

Ciel opened her eyes, staring once again at the familiar ceiling above her.

Aside from the faint musty smell, a strong stench of blood hung in the air.

Blood?

Ciel reached down to touch the floor, her fingers meeting a sticky, viscous substance. It was only then that she realized she wasn’t lying in bed.

She stood up quickly, and thick, fresh blood dripped from her fingers. Her pupils dilated as she took in the scene.

By the flickering light of a dying candle, Ciel could see the entirety of her room—

From her desk to the area where she had been lying, a massive pool of fresh, uncoagulated blood spread across the floor. Bloody footprints trailed in chaotic patterns across the planks, and the walls—once covered with faded, yellowing white wallpaper—were streaked with bloody claw marks.

Her shadow instantly emerged from beneath her feet, coiling protectively around her, scanning the surroundings for danger. But apart from the quiet dripping of blood, the room was completely silent.

Her eyes landed on the desk. There, in the middle of the blood pool, lay a notebook, its pages soaked with blood, giving it the appearance of old, cracked leather.

Ciel stepped carefully through the blood, her shadow pressed close to her back. Reaching out, she carefully flipped open the cover.

It was her notebook, unmistakably so…

What had happened here?

Because the notebook had been thoroughly soaked in blood, Ciel had to peel the pages apart delicately to avoid tearing them.

Thankfully, the blood hadn’t seeped into the earlier pages, and the writing was still legible.

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 6:00 PM】

【One minute after finishing my journal entry, I tried opening the system.】

【I compared it to the system interface drawn in the notebook. They looked almost identical, but the system didn’t respond to any of my questions. It didn’t talk a lot like you described, but for some reason, I hadn’t noticed this earlier or realized anything was off.】

【I found the differences between the sub-system and the main system interface, primarily in the “Simulation” section. You had drawn three tabs: “Future,” “Past,” and “Old Days.” But my interface only has a blurry, unreadable section. I tried sketching it, but when I finished, I realized I had scribbled nonsense. I’ve decided to complete the tasks outlined in the notebook before attempting anything further.】

So the sub-system and the main system interface are indeed different. And just like in the simulation, the sub-system doesn’t answer questions.

It seems this method of distinguishing reality from simulation worked. This version of herself in the simulation had already realized she wasn’t in reality.

Ciel turned to the next page.

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 11:30 PM】

【I went straight to Sir’s Bridge District, No. 15, to see Avena again and asked her for Adele’s location.】

【After finding Adele and using the two notebooks to convince her to take me to High Priestess Uris, I gained their trust. By the time all of this was done, it was 11:30 PM.】

【Directly delivering the information instead of relying on Avena as an intermediary was indeed more efficient. High Priestess Uris sent an urgent report to the Holy See that very night and expected a response by the following day.】

【Before the widespread outbreak of infection, Uris prepared to search the area with Adele. I, however, was left behind—for lack of transcendent abilities, it was deemed too dangerous for me.】

Ciel flipped to the next page.

【Saint Year 741, June 19, 6:30 PM】

【Thank the Goddess, after Uris reported the deaths of four dehydration patients in the church hospital, the Holy See finally issued an order to “resolve the issue as quickly as possible.” They even dispatched a bishop to assist with the investigation before the outbreak could escalate. The bishop was expected to arrive the following evening—a marked improvement in efficiency compared to last time.】

【After obtaining investigative authority, Uris sought help from the Redemption Society to speed up the search and prevent further deaths. They began a discreet investigation starting from the Clock Tower Chapel as the center, aiming to avoid alarming anyone while awaiting the arrival of the church’s elite.】

The entries grew more concise, indicating that everything was proceeding according to plan without any unexpected incidents.

Ciel carefully turned to the next page. Here, some blood had begun to seep into the pages, causing them to stick together. She had to peel them apart cautiously.

The handwriting from this point on became hurried and erratic, as if written in a great rush.

【Saint Year 741, June 20, 6:57 PM】

【To avoid alarming anyone, the usual prayer day on the 20th went ahead as planned. Most of the congregation gathered in the plaza in front of the Clock Tower Chapel for prayers—】

【The dehydration disease… came early.】

【The people praying in the plaza were all drained into husks. Only High Priestess Uris managed to sense the surrounding anguish in time to escape with her life, but she was left gravely injured.】

【She handed me her church insignia, instructing me to wait for the church’s elite. To avoid succumbing to the suffering around her and losing her sanity, she took her own life shortly after leaving.】

【I can feel my own dehydration symptoms worsening… I don’t know if I’ll survive until you arrive—if I die early, will you still make it here?】

【I think I’d better try using the sub-system’s simulation. Wish me luck.】

The writing filled the rest of the page. Ciel flipped to the next one.

【I’m watching the system interface as I write this, documenting the changes in real time. The text on the simulation tab isn’t written in any language I’ve ever seen. Just looking at it makes me nauseous.】

【I’m about to click into it.】

【The simulation costs ten points, and the sub-system deducted the points… but why didn’t I enter the simulation?】

【Wait… something’s wrong… I’m seeing…】

【The walls and floorboards around me are disintegrating. My vision pierces through the walls, revealing what’s behind them… The changes are intensifying. I can no longer see most of the buildings, but the light is growing stronger.】

【I can’t find the notebook anymore. I don’t even know if I’m still writing.】

【Radiance… I see something grotesque that I’ve never seen before…】

【Underground】

【Circular rings】

【The church】

The blood-soaked, frenzied writing sent an increasing buzz through Ciel’s head. The veins in her temples throbbed as if they were about to burst, and she could hear her own heartbeat accelerating.

The fragmented text seemed to form a vivid image, flooding her vision.

Her desk and the blood on the floor began to blur. Everything in front of her was consumed by dazzling, multicolored light. A powerful, uncontrollable urge to praise whatever she was seeing surged through her mind. She saw grotesque monsters and countless shimmering spirits, her gaze piercing through layers upon layers of buildings to focus on a distant black-and-green circular disk, like a giant pupil…

Suddenly, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her. The vision vanished, and her surroundings snapped back into focus. She realized she had torn the page she was holding into shreds in her panic. All that remained were the bloodstained fragments of the final, chaotic words.

Breathing heavily, she balled up the torn page, blood and all, and stuffed it into her pocket.

Knock, knock, knock—

A knock came from downstairs.