"The Honkai Eruption will indeed occur in Nagazora City. And most likely, it will happen earlier because of the technology we've provided. As for them—let's not even debate whether the Will of the Honkai exists. Even if it does, you'd still need a method to communicate with the Imaginary. And even if you could communicate, the Will of the Honkai isn't some gullible Trisolaran from the Common Era. If it were that easy, Conductor wouldn't need the [Wallfacer Plan]."
Though it wasn't exactly her field, [Expert] analyzed the situation with crisp clarity.
"Since Conductor called for [Occultist], then come out for a moment, [Scholar]."
Expert had never been good with eerie environments like this. No matter how firmly she believed in scientific theory, fear was fear. Belief was one thing, emotion another. So she wasted no time and quickly switched to Occultist.
Compared to Expert's work within the boundaries of science, [Occultist] preferred exploring matters beyond its limits. Yet as Expert often said, Scholar's technical skill was no less than her own.
Academic research demanded openness and independent verification. But the uncertainty inherent in mysticism often reduced professional study to methodological agnosticism.
That was the difference between the two.
The long-absent Occultist did not act immediately. Instead, she sat to the side and observed for quite some time.
Watching the girls exhaust themselves in their chaotic ritual, Scholar let out a soft laugh.
The girls turned at the sound.
Smoke coiled through the room. A voluptuous girl sat upon the podium seat, posture straight and composed, hidden within the shadows. With a snap of her fingers, soft lighting illuminated her face through the mist, casting a dreamy glow upon her features. Though she was not tall, there was a distinct sense of being looked down upon.
One of the girls, a woman with a tattoo branded upon her neck, stared at Vill-V warily.
"...Vill-V? Why are you still here? So it was you interfering with our ritual!"
Faced with the unreasonable accusation, Occultist Vill-V replied slowly,
"The stars have already fallen. The sin is named greed."
"I am Scholar who overlooks the stars, admonishing the evils of mankind."
"When night descends and constellations shimmer across the heavens, moonlight reveals the sin of hidden avarice. At this moment, I warn you—observe the world with caution, revere the mystery of the cosmos with devotion, and grasp the precious opportunities of life."
Her words carried wisdom and solemnity. There was something saintly and pure in her tone, like a nun delivering scripture. It lingered in the heart.
"What nonsense are you rambling about? Get out!"
The tattooed girl rose and shoved Vill-V.
But the instant her hand touched forward, it passed straight through Vill-V's chest.
As the girl lost her balance and began to fall, a hand seized her wrist firmly and steadied her.
She turned her head—only to meet Vill-V's gentle smile.
A chill ran down her spine.
"Y-you... what are you trying to do?"
"Darkness diminishes reason. There is no need for self-reproach."
Vill-V's crimson lips parted softly, her voice like a devil's temptation.
"Didn't you wish to summon a god?"
The other girls refused to back down, chattering anxiously.
"Let her go!"
"Yeah! What's wrong with that?"
Vill-V did not release the girl's wrist. Instead, she smiled faintly and pointed at the floor with her other hand.
"This childish scribble is what you call a ritual to summon divinity?"
"Ugly. Defiled. Rude. Ignorant."
"Ah. Forgive my lapse in composure."
Her smile vanished completely.
Whenever the subject turned to gods, Scholar was easily stirred.
She lowered her head in pained regret, one hand pressed against her chest, voice heavy with sorrow.
"To profane the divine in such a manner, and still seek to summon it... I grieve for your foolishness. It is like watching a troop of baboons howl before a sacred idol."
The torrent of condemnation left the four girls stunned.
Anger flared.
"Who do you think you are? You think you understand rituals?"
Vill-V slowly lifted her head. Her gentle smile returned. Under the candlelight, her eyes appeared bewitching and sinister, and the girls instinctively fell silent.
"Allow me to reveal the origin of ritual. Only by offering yourselves entirely to the divine can [contact] possibly be achieved."
"Black dog's blood. Animal bones. Candlelight. Soil. None of these can replace your flesh, nor your soul."
As she spoke, she drew the girl's wrist toward her chest. With a crystalline fingernail, she lightly traced the artery at the girl's wrist.
The girl's entire body went icy cold.
"The supplicant must offer the essence of her own being."
Vill-V lifted that slender finger and gently brushed it across the girl's lips.
"With reverence, drink of the [Water of Oath]..."
The girl swallowed.
Her lips felt freezing, as though she had pressed them against ice.
Terrifying images flooded her mind, like vengeful spirits demanding her life.
Yet this was only the beginning.
Vill-V's voice remained calm, but beneath it lay faint delight and restraint.
"The distorted ritual you have prepared originates from a simple and ancient ceremony."
Releasing the wrist, she walked toward another long-haired girl and lifted a strand of her hair gently.
"This beautiful hair must be burned, in place of the [Fire of Sin]."
She moved to another girl, who had collapsed to the floor in fright, breathing rapidly.
Lowering herself, she helped the trembling girl to her feet.
"Oh my, look at all this blood on the floor. Your skirt is stained... Are you afraid?"
"That is good. I have seen the end of days. At that time, people's eyes held nothing but dullness and numbness. If you still know fear, it means you still possess the will to flee."
She patted the girl's shoulder gently, as if encouraging her, ignoring the tremor in her body.
"Yes. We should clean up the blood first."
From her waist pocket, Scholar withdrew a vial emitting blue-violet fluorescence.
She poured it onto the floor, dipped a pale finger into the liquid, and traced strange symbols in rhythmic motion.
Something astonishing occurred.
The blood on the ground seemed to come alive, surging toward the glowing reagent.
It gathered, was absorbed, and as more was drawn in, the fluorescence dimmed, eventually transforming into a blackish-red gelatinous mass.
Using a beaker from the clubroom, she scooped up the churning substance.
"I believe this spirit-binding elixir should be drinkable... Perhaps you might even see the dog."
"According to Expert's explanation, a portion of it has entered the quantum domain."
Vill-V extended the beaker toward the girls.
"Which of you will drink it? Go meet your 'Dog God.'"
Two of the girls turned pale, trembling uncontrollably, fear flickering in their eyes.
One hugged her arms tightly around her chest.
"Mom... I didn't know spirit rituals were this scary. I don't want to die..."
Another sobbed,
"Waaah... I-I won't date Junior Kevin anymore, okay?"
The remaining two had already fled the room the moment they witnessed the bizarre spectacle.
Seeing this, Occultist Vill-V shook her head lightly, somewhat disappointed.
"It seems your souls cannot bear such weight. Very well."
"[Contact]. [Communion]. [Offering]. [Descent]..."
"If you cannot even complete the first gesture of praying to the stars... how could you hope to stand before a god?"
"What a pity. I had wished to test a new hypothesis."
With a sigh, Vill-V set down the beaker and clapped her hands.
"Alright, children, stop crying. I'll tap the electronic wooden fish for you later. For now, cheer up and clean the classroom."