"Hmm. So, this is the vessel you've chosen for me."
Eliza remarked as she observed the newly appeared Expert Ranker inside the western Array Eye. She looked a bit unsatisfied. She then turned her gaze to Layla.
"Could you not have found someone more suitable? She seems rather lacking," Eliza expressed her dissatisfaction. Layla was about to respond, but Lady Zee's voice interrupted.
"Where... where am I?" Lady Zee questioned, glancing around the unfamiliar surroundings.
Hmmmmmm!
However, before Lady Zee could say more, her senses were engulfed by a Sage's power. She was rendered motionless, looking helpless and weak.
"You don't quite trust me, do you?" Eren stared at Sage Eliza, understanding her intentions. The mummified Sage chuckled before responding.
"Fufufu. I was merely ensuring that the 'goods' are as good as promised, little kitten. After all, transitions can be unpredictable. No need to get so worried."
Eliza replied, retracting her powers. She sensed a slight irregularity with the vessel chosen by Eren and Layla but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
'This… This is still doable. No matter what trap this brat has set for me, I'll overcome them once I regain control of the body. A Master Ranker's soul won't be strong enough to resist me,' Eliza thought to herself, determined to proceed with her plan.
Eliza's self-assuredness was unwavering. Eren wasn't concerned about her double-checking Lady Zee. Their relationship was built on a skewed form of trust, and if the chosen vessel showed no anomalies, it would be more suspicious than otherwise for Eliza, who would have expected surprises. Finding anomalies in Lady Zee assured Eliza. If she had found none, she would have changed the initial plan altogether.
If Eren truly understood Layla and Eliza, which he believed he did, there was a possibility that the two witches had kept extra vessels as backups in case something happened to Lady Zee. These spares might have had lower compatibility with Eliza than Lady Zee had shown. Otherwise, they would have employed one of their backup vessels instead of Lady Zee.
When Eliza withdrew her Soul Sense, Lady Zee felt like she had been suddenly pulled out of a raging fire, finally able to breathe again. With a horrified expression, she looked at the source of her distress and nearly cried out in shock and fear. However, she couldn't regain control of her voice in time. All that emerged from her mouth was a muffled, barely audible screech, akin to a cat's hiss.
"Heeeeeeeessssssss!"
In her panic, Lady Zee began frantically scanning her surroundings, seeking an escape from this nightmarish situation or someone to seek help from. She had never felt so helpless in her life.
As a Cultist Ranker, she had navigated life's challenges with a determined spirit. But this was different; it might not shape her into a better Ranker but lead her to becoming a deceased one.
Glancing in a specific direction, Lady Zee saw a young man standing outside the Runic Array, silently observing the ritual she had unwillingly become a part of. Due to being inside the Array Eye and having just encountered Eliza's Soul Sense, her vision remained blurred, preventing her from immediately identifying the man. Yet, she sensed that she knew him well.
"You... over there... Help..."
Before Lady Zee could implore the young man outside the Array Formation for assistance, Layla began to take control over Lady Zee's body. It felt as if Lady Zee had lost command over her own limbs and her central nervous system had been commandeered by someone or something else.
With trepidation, Lady Zee watched as the Little Witch produced a palm-sized stuffed doll that bore an eerie resemblance to her. Layla opened the doll's mouth, and inexplicably, Lady Zee was compelled to mimic the action, causing her to open her own mouth.
'These damn witches are up to no good,' the butcher thought to himself.
Eren, as a silent observer, noted that these witches employed unusual techniques, clearly not originating from Anfang. It seemed they were drawing upon their knowledge from Labh Salem for this peculiar procedure. Voodoo Magic!
"Here, you need to drink this," Layla said to Lady Zee, her voice carrying an air of authority. She didn't wait for a response and directed a levitating vial of potion toward Lady Zee.
Though it was against her will, Lady Zee's hand moved on its own accord, catching the vial. Her face reflected a blend of shock and unwillingness, but her hands seemed to act independently. Lady Zee uncorked the vial with a flick of her hand and downed its contents in one go.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
Lady Zee had consumed an Astral Projection potion, the concoction Eren had obtained from Dan Carren, Lensa Carren's great-grandfather. Typically, this potion was used by Rankers to separate their souls from their physical bodies, enabling them to delve into profound epiphanies. In the Lazarus Project, however, it was employed to extract Lady Zee's soul without causing harm to her physical form.
Lady Zee was compelled to drink the potion against her own wishes. Following this, she was made to sit cross-legged and close her eyes.
Meanwhile, Layla extracted a set of needles from her ID Storage and started puncturing the doll she held in her hand with them. Simultaneously, Lady Zee felt as if she was being pricked by various needles at crucial points on her body.
She was then coerced into circulating the mana within her body while processing the Astral Projection Potion. With this completed, Layla made the doll in her possession vanish into thin air.
Subsequently, she caused multiple stalks of Simbelmyne's flowers to levitate toward Sage Eliza. These flower stalks encircled the northern Array Eye within the altered Soul Seed Insertion Formation, allowing Eliza to inhale their fragrance.
"Master, this one's for you," Layla produced another vial containing the distilled essence of the Simbelmyne's flowers that she had prepared earlier, and she directed it toward Sage Eliza.
The Witch of the Enderflames caught the vial with her mummified hand. Without further ado, she continued her own Ranking Technique. Eliza was expected to consume the potion at the right moment when Lady Zee's soul detached from her physical body.
