Chapter 21: Detention
"Me?"
Divoman opened his mouth, as if to say something.
But in the very next second, he instantly lost consciousness and collapsed forward.
At the same time, a translucent, scaled-down human figure appeared in Sylvia’s hand.
Without hesitation, she thrust her finger straight into the figure’s head.
This was an Apostle-level ability from the domain of the God of Death, capable of extracting a target’s soul and reading its memories.
It was essentially a simplified, advanced version of "spirit communication."
"Not a good person, but not too bad either."
After reading the memories, Sylvia made this comment, then casually tossed the soul aside.
A few seconds later, Divoman slowly got up from the floor, his eyes filled with fear and pain.
Wounds to the soul reflected back onto the body proportionally!
"Alright, you now have two choices:"
Sylvia looked at him with a half-smile and said:
"One, go through what just happened again, and have tonight’s memories erased by me."
Hearing this, Divoman instinctively shuddered.
Then, she quietly waited for him to respond to the second option.
"Two, pledge your loyalty to me."
"I just so happen to need a representative in the Lower District."
For now, she had not decided to completely abandon the City of Alova, so expanding her influence elsewhere was essential.
It was just that recruiting an ordinary person this time seemed a bit beneath her?
But that didn’t matter—she was not afraid of losing status in others’ eyes, for her true nature stood unshaken.
One must know that every action of a god carried meaning, and there would always be believers to interpret their doctrines.
After saying this, the doll-like girl rested her chin on her hand, her gaze deep and faintly amused as she looked at Divoman.
The sturdy man with yellow hair swallowed hard, then quickly dropped to his knees:
"I am willing to submit!"
"Very good. A wise choice."
Sylvia nodded in satisfaction, then rose and walked to the door:
"When I need you, someone will contact you."
"Until then, do your part properly."
"Also, I don’t want anything about me to be known by others. Understand?"
At this point, Sylvia paused and turned her head.
At that moment, it seemed like dazzling starry characters flashed in her eyes, mirroring the ones in Divoman’s as he looked up.
Sylvia’s edict, complete.
"Yes..."
Divoman wanted to show his respect and submission, but after a long moment, he didn’t know how to address her.
In the end, he could only use a more general term:
"My lady."
"Hmm."
With a lukewarm reply, Sylvia walked out of the room and descended to the gradually emptying first floor.
However, a foul stench still lingered in the air.
Just then, a drunk happened to pull a coin from his pocket and slap it onto the counter.
It was a copper Luther, a common currency across the Western nations.
In the Western nations, there was one and only one type of currency: the Luther. A single copper Luther held a face value of one.
However, in addition to coins, the Church of Radiance and various national governments also issued paper bills with various denominations—the highest being one hundred Luthers, the lowest being five Luthers.
There were also silver Luther coins with a face value of one hundred, and gold Luther coins worth one thousand.
Of course, these values referred only to their nominal worth, not necessarily their actual value.
After glancing that way, Sylvia pushed open the door and walked out as if no one else was around.
This action left the drunken man behind her confused as to when the door had been opened.
Once again seated in the pale carriage, Sylvia leaned back against the seat and spoke softly:
"Let’s assume—no, there’s no need to assume. We are people from the Church of Radiance, following the trail of Macas, which led us to the Rose Bar, and from Divoman, we began searching for traces of the Full Moon Sect."
"Then, we discovered that aside from engaging in some illicit dealings, Divoman had no real issues."
"Until, after a thorough inspection and investigation, we noticed a small clue—"
"Divoman’s mistress was an Awakened, and of the Deathbringer path no less."
"That’s how we found our breakthrough point through her."
Sylvia paused for a moment, then continued:
"This seems quite reasonable and aligns with how we would expect events to unfold."
"But if we look at it this way, the setup in Macas’ home stands out as more forced, as if—"
"A new force had deliberately disrupted the mastermind’s plan behind the scenes."
The doll-like girl turned her gaze to the window, looking at the moon which had taken on a new appearance ever since her purple star had risen, and allowed the corners of her lips to relax.
"Squawk!"
Lakdevo let out a cry, but offered no opinions or insights.
…
At 3 a.m., Sylvia returned to St. Ruls Cathedral.
She passed through the main hall, descended the staircase, and walked along a straight corridor, arriving at the door to her office.
At that moment, she noticed a bright light shining from the room next door.
It was Loruze’s new office.
The Radiant Bishop only rested six hours a day, and always chose the afternoon for sleep.
Not only him—the Knights of the Tribunal also worked in shifts, ensuring that at least half of them were always available for night watch duties.
She then raised her right hand and knocked on the door twice.
When Loruze’s voice answered, "Come in," Sylvia pushed the door open and entered.
"Your Grace."
Upon seeing her, the Radiant Bishop immediately rose and bowed respectfully.
But the doll-like girl merely waved her hand, signaling him to stop.
At the same time, her right hand grasped the air, and a sound like flowing water instantly rang out.
In the next second, a tear opened in the room’s shadow as if ripped apart by some force, and a naked female figure tumbled out from within.
"This..."
At that moment, Loruze widened his eyes, looking at the woman—her skin now deathly pale—with a peculiar expression.
"She’s from the Full Moon Sect," Sylvia said simply.
"I didn’t directly search her soul for memories, since she’s an Awakened, and a member of the Full Moon Sect as well."
"They’re also skilled in manipulating souls. I was concerned about triggering a contingency they left behind, which might cause her soul to self-destruct."
"Therefore, what you need to do is detain her in the Court of Radiance. There’s no need to interrogate her—just wait for my further instructions."
After speaking, Sylvia shifted her gaze to Loruze.
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Receiving his reply, the doll-like girl nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and headed toward her own office.
Now, it was time for her to unleash her imagination—to create a power capable of bypassing or dismantling the traps left by the Full Moon Sect!
Seeing the increasingly sinister smile forming on his mistress’s face, Lakdevo, perched on her shoulder, tilted his head and let out a confused sound:
"Squawk?"