Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

What fun would it bring to her to do these things?

People are fundamentally selfish, Abrana always believed this, but if someone's behavior conflicts with the principle of selfishness - then they must be intending to deceive someone.

——From the biggest swindler in Casimir.

Who are you trying to deceive in this way?

Abbrana, but quite curious.

Perhaps this is also Draco's bad habit, he has a strong curiosity about things he doesn't understand, and even wants to take away things he is interested in. It is said that ancient Draco liked gems and gold coins, so he would hoard a large amount of gold and silver treasures, and was even once synonymous with wealth.

Greed seems to be something engraved into Draco's bones——

And now, she is also very interested in Noah - so, she plans to hide Noah before her sister finds her, although her sister probably doesn't have the courage to snatch things from her.

But perhaps this was also a kind of keeping one's wealth to oneself in a certain way - she thought, at least before she lost interest, she wanted to have Noah Kyrielight all to herself for a while.

My silly sister will surely understand, after all, she has never rebelled against me.

With a strange smile on her lips, Abrana stepped forward and lifted Noya's chin with her fingers, looking at the calm girl, and then looked at Kuro who was about to take action but was stopped by Noya with a gesture.

"Don't worry, loyal guard, I won't attack your master." She said with a smile, "I hope we can get along well."

Noya stopped Craw because she was afraid that she would do something wrong. At least now, this Draco named Abrana did not have any hostility towards her. It was better to say that he had a strange feeling towards her... This kind of feeling was felt by Margaret and Craw. Of course, Noya did not doubt that she liked her as much as Margaret and Craw did. She was not a great beauty who could charm everyone with her face, so Noya judged this feeling as [possessiveness].

...As for the reason, it's probably related to my own abilities.

If the other party had been monitoring him, they'd probably be aware of his unique abilities. At least the ability to detect a wide range of objects with the [Eye of God] should be quite appealing. As for his other Originium skills, aside from shadow spells, his mental abilities were relatively subtle and probably hadn't been exposed yet.

But it is not certain how long he can hide. Although Noah is so weak that he is about to collapse, his mind is still very clear - if he wants to escape, he must at least wait until his body recovers.

Otherwise, even Kuro would not be able to ensure his own safety in the presence of so many people.

In addition, Abara did not show any hostility, so fighting with Abara now would only cause more trouble.

That's why she stopped Kuro. Abrana and Noah were both people who came from hundreds of minds, so it was natural for them to maintain a tacit understanding.

Of course, that was another matter for Kuro. She really wanted to break Abrana's dirty hands that had touched Noa...

After Noah and Kuro said they would not resist violently, Abrana kept her promise and did not make any excessive demands on them. She did not even confiscate their weapons. She just asked her subordinates to take Noah to her secret base. Originally, the members of the Deep Pool wanted to cover Kuro and Noah with black cloths to go through the process, but covering a blind person with black cloth was a bit humorous. As for Kuro - who would dare to cover her with black cloth?

Shenchi's secret base is located in a valley outside Xiaoqiu County. There is a small mountain village here. Shenchi's base is in a cave under a hill on the side of the village. Noah roughly determined the situation near the base just from the information she heard. In order to show her cooperation, she surrendered all her communication equipment except weapons. She didn't know how long she would stay in Shenchi's position, but Noah's easy-going personality played a big role.

After being assigned to separate rooms, the seemingly friendly members of the Deep Pool told Noah that food and water would be delivered regularly, and that except for not being able to leave the camp at will, they could move around freely in the camp, among other rules.

Shenchi's camp was more modern than Noya had imagined. They were not just a bunch of scattered soldiers. Also, she had noticed that the soldiers in Shenchi were all wearing uniforms. This was obviously a closely connected, hierarchical, and well-organized organization, not terrorists.

Noah even felt that the Deep Pool was gradually becoming regularized... but it was still hidden among the mountains and forests.

The land of Victoria is too vast, and few people know how much underground is hidden under this land, like a deep pool. Maybe there is no deep pool, but there will be shallow pools, or deep lakes and other organizations.

Judging from the conflicts he had noticed between the Victorians and the Tara people, this was not simply hatred that was incited, but the ignition of a powder keg that had accumulated over the years.

She was a little worried about the horn and bagpipes, but she had done everything she could now, and she just hoped that everything she did would not be in vain.

Outcast and Jenny must be very anxious...

However, there's no point thinking about this now.

Noah lowered her head and listened to the sound of the wind. After a while, she heard a series of rhythmic footsteps.

She looked up.

"Ms. Abrana, you've been visiting every day these days... Has the work reached a stage?" The subtext of Noah's words is actually that you are quite idle. This Deep Pool camp is obviously not the only one. Logically speaking, as the leader of Deep Pool, she should be very busy with such a large scale. However, this guy has often come to find her since he brought her here.

I don’t know if I’m really idle or if I’m just too efficient at work.

Facing Noya's sarcastic words, Abrana smiled and retorted, "No matter how busy you are, you can't ignore your guests, right? And as it happens, I plan to bring you some news that you're sure to care about. I just wonder if Miss Noya is willing to listen to me explain it to you in detail, bit by bit...

"...I'd like to hear the details." Noah took a deep breath. There was some teasing in what she said just now, but Noah was not the kind of little girl who would get angry when teased, so she answered calmly.

"The Hill County incident is officially over. Rhodes Island has withdrawn from Hill County, as has Deep Pond. Deep Pond didn't harm most of the people there—the Storm Troopers also evacuated safely and completely. Although a group of people tried to find a blind girl along the way, we handled it very cleanly, so they probably don't know your whereabouts."

Abbrana recounted the outcome of the Hillshire incident, "In addition to the good news, there was some bad news, although it was terrible - Hillshire was abandoned by the Victorian military."

"..." Noya's palms clenched subconsciously, but her expression remained unchanged. "Is it because of the contamination from the Originium dirty bomb?"

"Perhaps," Abrana said with a smile. "Official information is very ambiguous. Although Victoria's intelligence department is not very professional, I still know some information. Do you want to hear it?"

"...Okay, what do you want to know?"

There is a wonderful tacit understanding between Noah and Abrana. If Abrana wants to know something from Noah, she has to exchange it with information, and obviously, this is valuable information in her eyes.

"Okay, but let me tell you exactly what happened first, okay?" Abrana knew Noah was surprisingly honest, so she spoke first. "After the Storm Commandos returned to the Victorian military, they were immediately investigated. The captain, codenamed Bugle, was held responsible for Colonel Hamilton's death and was dismissed. While the rest of the team wasn't forced to retire, they all signed their retirement applications."

"...As expected." Noah sighed. She had always suspected that Colonel Hamilton, who was obviously a racist, could be sent to such a place. Obviously, this was intentional.

Victoria's military is by no means a pure and innocent place.

Perhaps, people like Ms. Horn are the outliers.

"Okay, so what do you want to know?" Noah nodded. As a businessman, she decided to give back information of corresponding value.

Of course, the premise is that she is willing to provide this information - otherwise she will shake her head and let her choose another one.

Fortunately, so far, Abrana has not asked Noah to refuse to provide any information. Basically, the information is some very strange information, or in other words... information related to Noah himself.

"Then tell me about that Radiant Knight you often mentioned before—" Abrana said with a smile, "She is very important to you, right?"

"...That depends on your criteria. As a close friend, I certainly like her. In fact, I admit that I have some impure feelings for her. But, for the time being, it's impossible for us to be together." Noya paused, then spoke her heart out. "In her heart, Casimir is more important than me. I understand her heart and her noble character, so I won't force her to make a choice. And I don't want to stay in Casimir either—the result is that I'm traveling alone."

"Really? So to you, Radiant Knight is the woman from your past, right?" Abrana teased with a smile, her tone like an old friend. "You really are so affectionate, Miss Noa."

"...This has nothing to do with you." Noah didn't want to refute anything, because there was no point in refutation. These words were obviously teasing her, and answering seriously would only make her look inferior.

"It's true that your previous woman has nothing to do with me, but you are my guest now, so I want to know your thoughts, not based on any objective conditions." Abrana opened her eyes. "For you, do you love that Radiant Knight?"

“…” Noah didn’t answer. When she didn’t want to answer, she would just shut her mouth and remain silent.

"Okay, then the next piece of information..." Abrana didn't force Noya to speak, "The next piece of news is about Rhodes Island."

“…Rhodes Island?”

"Yes, the news I just received is that the Rhodes Island ship was attacked—"

Noah frowned, "That's all?"

"Of course, they're keeping their mouths shut about this matter, so we have no way of knowing what exactly happened. But the fact that the Rhodes Island ship was attacked is definitely true. After all, we can't hide the fact that they're carrying out repairs." Abrana said with a smile. "The good news is that we haven't found any casualties yet. However, since they're so nervous, they must have lost something important, right?"

"…What do you think it will be?"

"That's another question." Abrana raised a finger. "One piece of information for one piece of information. That's your rule, right?"

"...Yes, what do you want to know?"

"——How did you manage to make my sister change?"

Chapter 26: Control

“…” After Abrana asked this question, Noah was silent at first, then shook his head, “I didn’t change your sister.”

"Really? Then why did she burn the Orator herself? If she hadn't been so determined, those six wouldn't have been defeated so easily, right?" Abrana asked with a smile. "Is this the first time you've lied? No, you wouldn't lie so easily. If my sister hasn't been changed by you... at least not in your eyes, then what exactly did you do to make her do it?"

"...That depends on how you understand [change]."

"Well... that's it. You don't want to tell me the details, but you look guilty. What did you do? What terrible thing did you do? Did you threaten her? No, you don't have any leverage to threaten her. Although my lovely sister looks weak, she is actually not someone to be threatened. And the situation at that time didn't give her any reason to take action. I'm really curious. Can't you tell me?"

"This is my biggest secret. I won't tell anyone except those closest to me." Noah shook his head. His Originium skills brought him more than just benefits. If others knew about it, he would be exploited. After all, his Originium skills were unique and rare, and few could defend themselves against them. Just like planting a spirit seed in Ravshine, even Draco, who was proficient in Originium, would be unable to resist.

His ability is like running water and air, omnipresent and pervasive. Noah understands how dangerous and coveted his ability is.

So she would never tell Abranah, who was an ambitious person from beginning to end, about her abilities. This was her judgment that Abranah was not an easy person to deal with.

"So you mean you won't stop me from guessing, right?" Abrana looked at the girl in front of her, a smile on her lips. "Interesting, very interesting, the power to instantly change my stupid sister, what on earth did you do? I'm really curious."

"If you are really curious, why don't I do to you what I did to your sister, maybe you can change your ways?" Noah snorted coldly and issued a threat, but this threat was like baring fangs and claws in front of a wild beast. Although Kuro was indeed a very dangerous character, it would not be difficult for him to kill Noah instantly. His flame had never met an opponent, unless it was his sister who was no less powerful.

Of course, it was only after her sister found her own way that she could realize what her flame was.

"Really? I'm actually quite interested." Abrana looked at Noah's threat and felt a strong interest instead. She just sat in front of Noah, opened her arms, and closed her eyes. "Come on, do to me what you did to my sister."

"...You really are a lunatic." Noah was stunned at first, then speechless. He had never heard of such a request before. There were actually people who wanted to be controlled by him... "If you want to play tricks on me, there's no need to do that."

"Oh, you don't want to do it, or you can't do it?" Abrana asked with a smile, "You can do it to my sister as a matter of course, but you won't do it to me. Isn't that a bit unfair?"

"There's no need to be so ambiguous. I'm just worried that the moment I attack, I'll turn into a piece of charcoal—" Noya could already sense the flames threatening to burst forth from that defenseless place; she could even feel the heat. "You won't let me do it. You're just testing how quickly my ability can be activated, or whether you can detect it yourself. If you had noticed anything amiss, you would have killed me, right?"

"Ah, it's like my mind is being read, but I'm genuinely curious—and you're right, no matter how powerful a spell, it will be dispelled upon the death of the caster—that's an iron rule." The main reason Abrana was willing to face Noa this way was because she was confident she could kill him the moment she noticed something was wrong. At this distance, even Kuro couldn't have missed.

This is Draco's fire, a fire that burns everything and no one can stop it.

No matter in terms of launch speed, temperature, or firepower, it is unmatched by other Originium techniques. Noah, who has experienced Ravshini's body, also understands this.

Draco's racial talents are so powerful that compared to other races, it is almost like a human against a Gundam.

However, Abrana may have underestimated Noah, because she really just didn't want to do it. Planting seeds is not a difficult task, and few people can detect it. It's just that although she developed this spell to forcibly control others and used it on Ravshini, it was precisely because of this that she realized the horror of this spell. This spell can subtly change the consciousness of others and turn people into puppets in their hands.

As long as there is a slight mistake in his control, Lavshini's consciousness is likely to be washed away by his own memory, and eventually even covered up, and then Lavshini will really cease to exist.

Only the consciousness of the second Noah will be resurrected in Ravshini's body, becoming another Noah with Ravshini's memories.

As for whether the spell will be lifted after one's death... I don't know. It is indeed an iron rule that the spell will be lifted after the warlock's death, but that is based on another iron rule that the warlock needs to maintain the spell.

If this technique can work on its own, does the death of the original body matter?

You can even set it up so that once your original body dies, you will be reborn in the individual who planted the seed... Then anyone who you planted the seed in will become your resurrection coin.

Brainwashing, possession, forced operation, memory overwriting——

I don't look like a knight at all. Okay, I'm no longer a knight, but this is not what a person should do.

The more she understood her abilities, the more she realized how terrifying they were. She carefully controlled her talents, as if she was treating a time bomb that could explode at any time.

Noah restrains herself and is in a rather passive state in the development of her abilities. The Witch King Herhunzoren once said that if she was willing to let go and develop her talents, she could definitely become one of the strongest warlocks on Terra. However, Noah has always been unwilling to truly bring her talents to the fullest.

This was obviously not the approach that Herhunzollon liked. She just felt that Noah was too conservative, and conservatism would not lead to progress.

Now, Noah's ability even developed a new function by accident. Then, in order to control this ability, Noah began to study how to make it as harmless as possible, so that he would not be unable to resolve it after accidentally activating it.

What a waste... What a waste...

Herhunzollon sighed. If his apprentice could give up this control mentality, she would have been the most powerful sorcerer long ago.

Alas, having too much self-control is also a shortcoming of Noah's. After all, this self-control also means that she will set limits for herself at any time and place, and even subconsciously suppress her own abilities.

"In short, I won't do it. Please don't try it anymore. It's a very dangerous thing, both for you and me." In fact, Noah has every reason to change this body, or even exchange Abrana's consciousness with his own. In this way, he can obtain not only a strong magical talent, but also a physical talent that is no weaker than Vaiven, and a high-quality body without mineral disease. As for the original body...whatever happens to it.

She originally had the ability to leave her body, so it wouldn't be a lie to say that her spirit ascended.

It's just that she doesn't want to do that -

If I really cross the line, what will happen next time? If I do it once, there will be a second time. After I do this, no matter what the reason, I will rely on this method. What if the next time I am about to die, will I still find a host to parasitize?

The spirit will deteriorate. In this endless parasitism, it is conceivable that Noah will eventually live just for survival.

How is that different from a parasite?

She didn't want to and wasn't willing to become that kind of thing, so she remained trapped in this body, always maintaining her self as Noah Kyrielight.

Even though she is no longer a knight, she still has a bottom line in her heart.

Perhaps even Herhunzollon did not expect that in a sense, he was one of the reasons why Noah did not dare to cross the bottom line. After all, he was once known as the wise king, but in the later period he became obsessed and became the mad king.

It was common for people to go crazy studying Originium techniques, and she didn't want to end up needing to be defeated by Margaret...

Abrana, who could see that Noah was not joking, put away her relaxed smile, because she really felt threatened by the warning just now.

"Interesting. You possess this ability, yet you suppress it so desperately. Aren't you tired of living like this?" Abrana didn't understand Noah's behavior. She believed that natural abilities should be squandered to the fullest, otherwise it would be a waste. She couldn't understand someone like Noah, who had the ability but didn't use it, but she was deeply curious. "Or do you think your control is a sign of self-discipline? No, Noah Kyrielight, you're wasting your talent."

"True talent should be used where it's appropriate, otherwise it's just pure willfulness," Noah retorted. "If using your power will only make the world worse, then you shouldn't use it. It's just a waste. You should know where you can best be used."

"Are you trying to lecture me?" Abrana narrowed her eyes, a hint of threat in her tone. "Miss Noa Kyrielight, I do respect you, but that doesn't mean I can let you lecture me at will, right?"

"I'm not lecturing you, I'm warning you." Noah imitated the Witch King's tone and said, "Uncontrolled power is not power, it's just an outlet."

The reason why Draco, who was born with power, had such a bad reputation in Terra was mostly because these naturally powerful Draco lacked the self-awareness to restrain themselves. Without this self-awareness, they vented their power and became the most dangerous existence in Terra.

Even though he knew that warning would be useless, Noah still had to say it.

"Your flames will eventually lead you to destruction, Abrana. If you continue to squander your power without restraint, the stupidity and arrogance in your bones will destroy you." Noah's tone was filled with unquestionable power.

"It seems we can't agree on the control of power?" Abrana narrowed her eyes and smiled once more. "Then let's change the subject. As for you, I certainly can't convince you, and you can't convince me either. This kind of communication is meaningless."

"Indeed." Noah nodded. "Miss Abrana, I haven't finished listening to your story before - you can continue."

"Don't you think I'm making up a story this time?"