Even though the cold, insult-like words that the System spewed with its dry, mechanical voice were enough to plunge anyone into the extreme of discomfort, Michael tried to break the ice and soften the atmosphere to converse with Elliot.
"You are truly amazing, Elliot!.. We survived thanks to you and your persuasive intelligence.. This is truly mind-blowing.."
Michael’s words came out disjointed and somewhat confused; despite that encouraging and motivating tone he threw toward Elliot, that person in their hybrid form remained still.
And even after the System screen vanished.. she remained staring blankly into the empty space where that four-sided screen had manifested, as if she were somehow trying to pierce through the air with her vision to see it again.
Elliot didn’t look at all like she was in a state of victory euphoria or that mental high that is supposed to overwhelm a person after just succeeding in snatching a truth like this.. and a hidden piece of information from this System.
The features of her androgynous face were distant and somber.
Because of this suspicious gloominess, Michael intensified his encouraging attempts to bring his friend back to reality: "My friend.. what are you thinking about so deeply?! We need to prepare quickly for what will happen in the next step.. Don’t tell me you actually believed the misleading words and psychological tricks of this wicked System?!"
Michael’s hand reached out to grab Elliot’s shoulder, shaking her gently and softly to wake her from her daze.
Only then did Elliot turn to him with exhausted eyes, letting out a hot sigh loaded with heaviness, stepping back a pace to move away from Michael’s hand.
She turned with lingering eyes toward the wooden table, heading with steady steps toward those transparent waxy pills and the ceramic cup full of suspicious yellow liquid sitting next to them in the suite.
Under Michael’s scrutinizing and astonished gaze, Elliot lifted one of those waxy pills with her fingertips, then carried the cup with her other hand, bringing them close to her eyes to inspect them meticulously.
Michael approached with cautious steps until he was right in front of the table, looking at the waxy spheres while swallowing his saliva with difficulty and apprehension: "Don’t tell me you are thinking of swallowing them now, Elliot!.. Maybe the effect of soul possession isn’t instant or direct, but we still have plenty of time before the forced appointment at which we are supposed to consume these poisons.."
Elliot shook her head in regret, looking at Michael, whose face was starting to clearly show signs of tension and confusion due to her mysterious actions.
"Do.. do you think, Michael, in one way or another, that these pills in our hands right now do not possess the same ferocious effect that we are certain exists?"
Elliot asked in a faint tone, and continued.
"Think about it with a little scrutiny.. We are comparing these samples to the pills that appeared in the novel’s volumes, which were certainly upgraded and fully crafted versions."
Michael’s face went blank and his eyebrows knitted in astonishment mixed with fear; his friend’s words to him were far more terrifying and anxiety-inducing than giving him reassurance!
"This is not something we can simply assume its lethal effects might be less or weaker, Elliot!" Michael replied in a strained tone, and added: "In fact, if it comes to their composition being different from what we know in the novel, this simply means we are experimenting in the dark and have no evidence or guarantee of anything!"
Elliot shook her head in denial, wiping her finger across the waxy edge of the pill: "Think about the magical logic of the matter.. I firmly believe these pills still fall into the experimental phase. Look at this yellow activating liquid attached to them which we are inevitably supposed to drink to swallow the pill.. This liquid had no presence whatsoever in the original novel draft! And I lean toward the demon maid’s claim—that we won’t be able to return to our original personalities without drinking it—being pure garbage and deliberate intimidation.. If they possessed the magical ability to erase our personalities and alter them forever that easily, they would have replaced our souls with souls completely and permanently loyal to them without the need for all these complications!"
"I agree with you on this part.." Michael said as he scratched his chin in thought, then added: "But couldn’t this yellow liquid be just a neutral protective substance to limit the severe side effects of the waxy capsule? Maybe they are trying to protect our sacrificial bodies from damage caused by those side effects!"
Elliot smiled at Michael with a faint sarcastic smile, as if she had just listened to a silly joke.
"Michael.. Have you forgotten that these cursed pills were at their core therapeutic magical medicines and drugs?" Elliot said mockingly, and continued breaking down the matter: "Maybe you are right on some side.. But if this liquid was a real medicinal drug, why didn’t they announce it clearly and directly? I think they simply fear that we have any medical background or knowledge of the ingredients’ properties, which might make us realize this liquid isn’t a medicine, but a catalyst that facilitates the process of the possessing soul embedding itself, and then we would immediately refrain from drinking it!"
Michael nodded his head agreeing with this sound psychological analysis, despite his heavy awareness that these explanations remain within the framework of speculations and hanging hypotheses.
Elliot took a deep breath as she looked at the ceramic cup and the waxy pill residing in her palm: "I think.. despite my lack of absolute certainty, that the best and smartest thing we can do right now is to take the full risk, and not drink this yellow liquid at all with the waxy ball!"
Michael looked at Elliot, who was holding the cup and the pill firmly. Michael inhaled as much of the suffocating suite air as he could, then exhaled it at an accelerated slow pace, feeling a wave of inner calm and surrender running through his veins, before shaking his head with firm agreement:
"Alright, Elliot.. I agree with you. But where can we dispose of this suspicious liquid without leaving a trace that betrays us?"
A faint smile drew on Elliot’s feminine lips. "I don’t know specifically, but I remember from the sector’s geography that there are restrooms designated for demon servants not far from our suite.. I think we can dump the liquid there and pour it into the toilet; because if we pour it in the restrooms designated for our suite, the guards might detect its chemical trace in the drainage channels specific to the sacrifices!"
Michael agreed to the plan immediately, and the two began setting the optimal tactic for a quick sneak into the servants’ restrooms without drawing the eyes of the giant guards.
First, Elliot began testing the technical parameters of her spatial skill and the cooldown rate of the portals; discovering that the required time gap to reactivate the skill was a full five seconds between each use and another.
It also became clear that she could not manifest more than one spatial portal at a time, which would begin to fade and close automatically after about twenty seconds of forming in midair.
And upon activation, it was possible to pass through the portal, teleporting and returning about five times approximately before the portal closed permanently on its own.
And after Elliot and Michael tested the limits of this spatial ability precisely and settled on the available range, they exchanged a firm look and both nodded to each other, deciding to move forward with executing the stealth plan and pouring the suspicious liquids inside the servants’ restrooms.