The Starry Sky Calendar divided the lunar phases into the full moon, waning moon, and blood moon. Each cycle was one month, with the blood moon lasting the shortest time-only three days. At Simon's words, Vanessa froze for a moment, rapidly working out the dates in her head.
The day of the Family Annihilation Case... the day Eleanor attacked the Canteen... the lunar phase...
"Hiss..."
"They were both during the blood moon!"
Thinking it over carefully, [it] in the Family Annihilation Case had lurked for a long time before it could act, yet after Elsa came into contact with [it], [it] had begun trying to seize control that very afternoon.
Precisely because that day had been within three days of the Family Annihilation Case, while the blood moon still lasted!
"No wonder..."
Vanessa muttered, then looked at Simon again. "Then how do we expel or kill [it]?"
"I don't know." Simon's voice turned bitter. "I came here to find a way to deal with [it]. All I know right now is that [it] has a strong tendency to devour its own kind."
Vanessa knew that much. [It] inside Eleanor had become irritable and uncontrollable precisely because it had sensed one of its own kind. Eleanor had originally been gradually bringing [it] under control with the help of the Night Watch Bureau's underground chamber.
Behind them, Elsa leaned alone against the stone wall.
The dim light cast her shadow onto the stone wall behind her. Had Vanessa activated [spirit vision], she would have seen the human-shaped mark gradually overlapping with Elsa's shadow.
The instant the two overlapped completely, Elsa's entire body stiffened, and her pupils rapidly lost focus.
She twitched silently and lowered her head, as though she had fallen unconscious.
A moment later, she let out a long breath and