Green pressed his palm against the white-haired scholar's face. The man froze at once, as if caught by a spell of paralysis. Even his eyes stopped moving.
Green sat across from him in the carriage. As Green raised his hand, the scholar sat upright, but his eyes were empty, like a dead man's.
The scholar was only Low Formal Rank, far below Green in mental strength. Green stripped away his soul and read his memories with ease, encountering almost no resistance. The memories remained largely intact.
Green then sent a sliver of his Split Soul into the body before vanishing again...
With a thump, the carriage wheel rolled over a stone, jolting the cabin.
Dr. Vincent swayed, his head spinning. He adjusted the monocle over his right eye. Green, now inhabiting the doctor's body, straightened and glanced out of the carriage.
This temporary body was old and weak, and its low rank made Green uncomfortable. Its reflexes and muscle strength had badly declined. Apart from his mind, Dr. Vincent was frailer than an ordinary man his age. Perhaps that was the price of devoting his life to research.
The carriage soon followed the mountain road to the castle gates.
The coachman shouted arrogantly, "Open up! It's Dr. Vincent's carriage!"
The name worked. The heavy cast-iron gate creaked upward, and the carriage passed beneath it into the castle, stopping before the main building.
A middle-aged man in a butler's tailcoat was already waiting. Smiling respectfully, he opened the carriage door for Green. "Dr. Vincent, you came all this way at night? Is something important? Things aren't safe out there. Lord Number Zero specifically instructed us to protect you."
Green nodded slightly. "It's fine, Butler Sinboggs. I know what I'm doing." His expressionless manner matched Dr. Vincent's usual behavior, so the butler