"I have a bad feeling about this."
Back at the school, Sonaya (possessing the girl formerly known as Gray Mountain) felt a sudden pang of dread that made her knit her brows.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" a classmate asked.
"No, it's nothing. I just felt like I forgot something important, but it's probably fine."
Sonaya shook her head. This host's body was decent, but her social standing was low. In this world, status wasn't determined by talent or "Mystery," especially since the ambient mana was so thin. She had to follow this girl's daily routine to avoid suspicion.
She possessed powerful hypnotic and mental manipulation abilities, but they were a drain. She could only maintain control over four or five people at a time without needing to supplement her energy by consuming souls or lust.
Why is the 'Mystery' in this world so pathetic? It's such a pain!
Sonaya cursed the world again and mentally pinged the "Brother" she had under her control, ordering him to use his "Creations" to scout the city's supernatural forces. If she weren't so cautious, she'd be on a killing spree, gorging on souls already.
Wait... thugs have been having their souls drained near the school recently?
She frowned at the report. According to her host's memory, the police were supposed to be competent. So why were people dying and no one noticing? It seemed the rules of this world were more flexible than her host believed.
She cast a subtle mental shroud so she could read the "Brother's" deeper memories undisturbed. She had assumed the siblings' knowledge was similar, but it turned out the brother knew much more about the city's underbelly.
Tsk. Was this girl living in an ivory tower? Her brother knows so much more about the darkness. Lucky girl... she never had to face the ugly truth.
As she delved deeper, she saw a name: Alistair.
Alistair... strong social background, powerful 'superpowers.' But wait, his power... an armored soul summon? I don't remember a spell that does that. And that 'Super-Acceleration'? Moving so fast he can't be seen? That's too powerful for a world this stagnant.
Sonaya watched the memory of the brother's encounter with Alistair, her unease growing.
And those two sisters he was with... something is off. They looked panicked, but they had a hidden trump card. Was it their own power?
She noted that Alistair was closest to Mina Morita and Kasumi Haruno. Mina, in particular, gave her a visceral sense of "danger."
If the brother felt a 'primal fear' from her, the gap in strength must be massive. That Mina girl... she has a method of cultivation for the 'Mystery.'
Sonaya touched the crescent moon earring clipped to her ear to steady herself. As a soul specialist, she had managed to retain a significant portion of her memories, though it cost her mana.
She wasn't a fighter. In the old days, her elder sisters always stood in front. Her only real combat experience was against her own youngest sister.
The battle that turned fifteen sisters into fourteen.
The Abyss's corruption had tried to turn them into mindless monsters. If one's spirit wasn't strong enough, they became "Abyssal Creatures." Only Sonaya, the mental specialist, had sensed the change in their youngest sister. The corrupted sister had sensed her gaze, and a "Civil War" had broken out.
In the end, Sonaya couldn't bring herself to kill her sister. The youngest, in a brief moment of lucidity, had chosen to "shatter" her own soul. But to the world, it looked like Sonaya had forced her sister to commit suicide and then absorbed her power. Her reputation for terror was born that day—the girl who could make tens of thousands of soldiers self-destruct.
Later, they were all sealed into artifacts. Sonaya remembered most of them.
Including Second Sister's Shield.
She looked at the "Badge" Mina wore in the memory, her grip on her earring tightening.