Chapter 19: Rose Bar
"Is that so?"
The smile on Sylvia’s face grew more pronounced.
"If we continue following this lead, there’s a high probability we’ll fall right into those people’s trap."
"So, what is it that those guys are really after?"
"Gathering numerous forces in the City of Alova to incite chaos?"
"Then, once the city truly descends into chaos, what do they plan to do?"
"A treasure buried beneath this land?"
"Or..."
At this moment, her deep purple eyes reflected the moonlight shining in from the window, making her expression look all the more eerie:
"A ritual?"
"Ga?"
"A ritual?"
Lakdevo tilted his head, uttered a confused sound, then fell into thought.
A few seconds later, he slowly spoke:
"Master, in my memory, the third transformation ritual of the Priests of the End seems a bit like this—"
"Foretelling and proclaiming a great catastrophe."
"But in the current Alova incident, Apostles and even evil gods have already become involved. That level seems to far exceed just a third transformation ritual."
"Could it be the result of the Priests of the End undergoing a fourth transformation?"
Sylvia instinctively began tapping her fingers on the desktop.
"Impossible."
Lakdevo shook his head.
"The Priests of the End have no fourth transformation."
"Hm?"
Upon hearing this, the puppet girl was clearly taken aback.
"Why?"
"Master, only extraordinary paths directly under the Nine True Gods possess a fourth transformation."
"For all other paths, the limit is only the third transformation."
"If they want to forcibly obtain the status and power of an Apostle, then there’s only one possibility—"
"To walk the same path as those evil gods, and ultimately become a hidden being."
As she listened to Lakdevo’s explanation, Sylvia said nothing, continuing to tap on the tabletop.
A few seconds later, her voice rang out:
"Then, to walk the path of an evil god—does it require a ritual?"
"It does."
Lakdevo nodded.
"They also need to draw upon the extraordinary powers of the Spiritual Realm, so a ritual is essential."
"So, Master, you suspect that the one behind all this is a soon-to-be-born evil god?"
"It’s not impossible."
Sylvia nodded, then continued:
"But everything he’s done has been so deliberate. Even we can easily draw such a conclusion—there’s no way the Orthodox Churches wouldn’t be able to figure it out."
"Therefore, this outcome is very likely another form of misdirection."
"Alright, regardless of everything else, we now have only one target—"
"Hunt down the leader of the Full Moon Sect, the one known as the 'Child of the Moon'."
"As for the rest, we can discuss it later."
"At worst, we abandon the land of Alova and go preach elsewhere."
With that, the puppet girl stood up, looked toward the empty street outside the window, and spoke calmly.
At the same time, the aura around her began to shift—
The originally deep and mysterious feeling was fading, replaced by coldness and deathly stillness.
It was the aura of the God of Death.
This was one of the gains she acquired after hanging her own star in the Spiritual Realm and crafting a convincing disguise.
To an outsider, the figure standing here looked exactly like a servant of the God of Death, rather than an evil god from beyond the stars.
Under Lakdevo’s extremely shocked gaze, Sylvia walked toward the door:
"Let’s go. To the Brick District."
"Since that letter left on the table provided us with a precise address and a name, there’s no reason for us not to go."
Before that, she had made no other preparations.
Because there was no need.
Anyone capable of watching her in the shadows without being noticed was either a top-tier evil god or one of the Nine True Gods.
Beings of that level would not meddle in affairs of this scale.
Previously, her greatest reason for acting covertly was the fear of exposing her identity as an Apostle of an Outer God.
But now, having already used the "skin," she no longer needed to worry about that.
…
A pale carriage moved along the wide street.
As they headed south, the number of pedestrians gradually increased. Most of them, however, were staggering drunkards.
Inside the carriage, Sylvia took a neatly written piece of stationery from her pocket and made a final check of the address.
After confirming it was correct, the gray-haired girl opened the door and stepped out.
At the same time, she recalled once again the information written on the letter:
"Divoman Wood, nicknamed 'Golden Lion', leader of the 'Dork Party', currently residing on the second floor of the 'Rose' Bar."
Dork, in the Kingdom of Savia’s dialect, meant "wildness."
And the Rose Bar was a property of the Dork Party.
Stepping into the still-operating bar, a pungent mix of alcohol and sweat hit Sylvia’s nose, making her unconsciously frown.
This, in fact, puzzled her somewhat. Even though she was a puppet, she still possessed the senses of touch, smell, and even taste.
Suppressing her nausea, the girl headed toward the staircase guarded by two bouncers.
However, under the influence of the "Authority of Sloth," the two of them didn’t even notice her presence.
At this moment, the two bouncers were boasting to each other, their vulgar words causing Lakdevo to cast a look of disdain.
"Ga!"
As they passed by, Lakdevo let out a mocking cry, but still failed to draw their attention.
Upon reaching the second floor, the unpleasant smell diminished significantly.
Then, following the intuition granted by her spirituality, Sylvia walked up to a tightly shut door.
Through it, faint sounds of heavy breathing could be heard from within.
She raised two fingers and gently knocked on the door—
"Knock knock knock!"
"Who is it!"
"Don’t bother me right now!"
The next second, a rough voice came from inside the room, the tone clearly filled with annoyance.
Seeing this, the corners of the girl’s mouth curved upward, and she lifted her hand to knock again.
"Who the hell is it?"
This time, after the man responded, the sound of approaching footsteps was clearly heard, interlaced with some muttered curses.
However, none of those sounds could spread down the corridor, as a thin layer of black gauze had already enveloped the entire area.
A few seconds later, the door opened. A strong man wearing only shorts and bare-chested stood inside, his gaze tinged with irritation as he looked out.
Then, he saw an exceptionally delicate face.
In that instant, Sylvia caught a flash of amazement and filthy lust in his eyes.
But the very next second—
The emotions in his eyes shifted abruptly. Terror instantly replaced everything else, and he staggered back two steps in a row:
"You… who are you?"
"No, no! What *are* you?!"
Sylvia didn’t answer his question. Instead, she shifted the joint at her neck slightly, then stepped into the room.
Casually, she closed the door behind her.