If a calm bystander had truly witnessed this entire process, they would certainly be unable to remain calm any longer.
Because it was truly inconceivable.
Once Syl broke free from the influence of the physician card later, she might learn something through the system's description.
The marvelous skill [Calamitous Fate], after absorbing the potent hallucinogen from the noble's dagger, used her own blood to further enhance the effect, instantly merging it with her bloodstream.
Then, it allowed the blood carrying the enhanced hallucinogenic effect to vaporize and dissipate into the air, leaving no one nearby who breathed it in immune.
The noble closest to Syl was the most severely affected; he danced and laughed wildly, repeatedly stabbing his own body and hands with his sword. With every strike, the hallucinogen on the blade drove him deeper into madness.
But Syl paid no heed to her surroundings at that moment. She didn't even feel the pain from the slash on her back, focusing solely on completing the masterpiece in her hands.
Soon, Syl finished her work and withdrew her hands, her black gloves covered in indistinguishable bloodstains.
Tearing off her right glove, Syl casually and skillfully sliced her own palm with a scalpel.
Plasma dripped from her fingertips onto the child's hand. Only when the blood had stained the white sutures black did Syl pull her hand back. The wound in her palm was already rapidly writhing and healing.
"What a perfect surgery... Is this left hand attached backward? And the right hand is sewn on upside down? Whatever, as long as it works." Syl gave a gratified smile, removed her other bloody glove, and reached up to straighten her mask.
"Hmm?"
Syl's movement to adjust her mask stiffened.
"Shit! What has the physician card done with my body this time!?"
Coming to her senses, Syl looked at the chaotic scene around her—reminiscent of a wild public square dance—in shock, wondering how these people could be so hyped without a DJ.
Syl's clean hands looked completely out of place amidst the surrounding bloodstains, and the frenzied crowd made her scalp tingle with unease.
"Disperse! Dammit! What on earth is happening in there? I command you to disperse immediately!" Shouts from Patrol Officers rang out from outside the circle. They brandished their sabers, but not a single person obeyed their orders.
"Oh no!" Syl only had enough time to stuff a 10-currency note into the kid's pocket on the ground; the physician card's instinct compelled her to do so.
Then, Syl quickly gathered the scattered tools from the ground and stuffed them all into her bag; there was no time to clean them now.
"You in the mask! Stop right there!" A Patrol Officer, who had finally managed to squeeze his head through the crowd, spotted Syl inside the circle.
Seeing that nothing was left on the ground, Syl jumped to her feet and dove into the crowd in the opposite direction.
Strangely, as Syl approached, the onlookers who had seemed completely irrational suddenly made way for her in unison, as if driven by a natural, subconscious sense of obedience from deep within their genes.
After Syl passed through, the crowd closed ranks again, remaining impenetrable and continuing their frenzy until the hallucinogen diluted in their blood was completely absorbed, metabolized, and excreted.
Of course, they would all lose their memories of this period, thinking they had just blacked out or had a strange dream.
After exiting the crowd, Syl aimed for a small alley and ducked inside. She took out her wallet, pocket watch, and map from her pockets and placed them on the ground. Once she confirmed no one was around, she reverted directly to her original form.
"Phew... That was close..."
Syl reached out to wipe the non-existent sweat from her original form, then picked up the items from the ground and put them back into her black robe.
At the same time, she didn't forget to take off her glasses, carefully wipe the lenses with a handkerchief, and put them back on.
The outside world is so scary... Syl could see that the physician card's fusion progress had reached 30%, an increase of 10%, though it was still a long way behind the clown card.
She could only say that it truly lived up to being a blue card... When the physician card's desire to help people manifested, Syl was completely unable to suppress it, especially when it was engaged in "artistic creation."
Syl didn't even dare to think about Edward, the man who had been sewn together at the very beginning and looked more like a monster than a human. Living like that... perhaps dying would have been easier.
The sudden incident just now had left Syl with no desire to continue wandering around.
She reached out to wrap her black robe tighter around herself and quickly retraced her steps, heading toward the Holy See.
On her way back, Syl passed by the place where the accident had occurred.
She could see that a carriage had already come to take away the noble who had nearly stabbed himself to death, and the child who had been lying on the ground was nowhere to be seen.
As for the surrounding crowd, some had left and others had dispersed, while those with weaker resistance had fainted on the spot. The scene was a complete mess.
Patrol Officers were questioning people everywhere, asking if they had seen a weirdo in black wearing a silver plague doctor mask. It seemed that not only the clown card, but even the physician card had made it onto the Police Department's "Honor Roll."
"And the nobles of this world... Are they all this arrogant and profligate?" Syl muttered, somewhat speechless.
Recalling how Old Granny Kaili had previously checked if she was on the side of the nobles, Syl got a sense that the nobility probably wasn't very well-regarded.
So why would a Mage appear as an undercover agent in the Church? Why couldn't the Church detect the Mages hidden within its ranks? And what kind of conspiracy did the organization behind it all have?
Mystery after mystery weighed on Syl's heart, giving her a bit of a headache.
Sorting through her thoughts along the way, Syl had almost reached the Holy See.
But upon reaching the entrance of the Holy See, Syl discovered an awkward situation.
*Grumble—*
Having not eaten, Syl's stomach let out a faint cry of protest.
"System... So food isn't shared between forms...?"
"Keep dreaming. [Soybean smile sweat emoji.jpg]"
There was no way to go buy food now; it was already nine o'clock. It seemed she would have to get someone to bring her some snacks later.
Currently, Syl felt that eating snacks was more enjoyable than eating a main meal. Could it be because her stomach had changed?
By the time she reached the Holy See entrance, most of the clergy had already returned to the Monastery to rest. Only a few bishops and clergy members had their own rooms within the Holy See and remained there.
Syl took off her glasses and walked inside.
The Holy Knight at the door, upon seeing Syl, gave a respectful Church salute and let her pass.
Once inside, Syl prepared to head toward the dining hall to see if she could get something to eat.
But as soon as she entered, Syl saw Archbishop Aishala sitting on the steps with her knees hugged to her chest, staring blankly at the glass dome above.
Who knows who she was waiting for.
"Archbishop Aishala?" Syl called out softly, then walked toward her. "Are you waiting for me?"
As Syl approached, Aishala slowly looked down at her. Upon hearing Syl's question, Aishala stood up and brushed off her black robe.
"No."
With that, she headed upstairs, seemingly having no intention of paying Syl any mind.
If Aishala hadn't been unable to resist stealing a quiet glance at Syl just as she reached the corner of the stairs, Syl almost would have believed she didn't want to talk to her.