Chapter 23: Not a Saint
The second basement level beneath the Court of Radiance in St. Ruls Cathedral consisted of a long corridor, lined on both sides with rows of prison cells.
What left the deepest impression on Sylvia were the scattered diamonds throughout the area, along with the pure white symbols flowing among them.
At the same time, there was no other source of illumination in the entire Court of Radiance.
She felt a slight sense of awe at this.
This was merely the Court of Radiance of a central cathedral in one city, and yet it was inlaid with such a vast quantity of diamonds.
Then how many diamonds did the Church of Radiance—whose influence spanned all the western nations—possess?
And how had they acquired these diamonds?
She did not know.
However, she had previously asked Loruze about it, and vaguely remembered that the Radiant Bishop had said it was a gift from the gods.
But these things were not something she needed to concern herself with for now. Her primary objective at this moment was the member of the Full Moon Sect.
Just then, the puppet girl’s footsteps came to a stop.
She turned her gaze to a cell on her left, and at the same time, toward the woman imprisoned inside.
At the moment, the woman wore a white robe, concealing her curvaceous figure.
Perhaps having heard the footsteps, the woman, who had been resting with her eyes closed, slowly opened them.
But the instant her gaze met Sylvia’s, fear instantly surfaced on her face.
Seeing the woman’s reaction, the corners of the puppet girl’s lips slowly curved upward, and she lightly pressed the hexagonal prism key in her hand against a pure white symbol etched on both the iron door and the doorframe—
“Pa.”
A crisp sound rang out, airy and mysterious.
Then, she took out a ring of keys from her cloak and inserted one into the lock—
“Click.”
With that, both layers of security restraining the supernatural prisoner were released, but the woman inside the cell made no movement, simply curling up in the corner.
“Are you very afraid?”
Pushing open the iron door, Sylvia stepped inside at a leisurely pace.
She stood before the woman, looking down at her from above.
Unfortunately, the woman did not respond.
Seeing this, the puppet girl pursed her lips in boredom, then placed her hand on the woman’s head and gave a forceful upward tug.
The next second, the woman collapsed to the side without making a sound.
“Hiss.”
At that moment, an unpleasant sound came from behind Sylvia.
It originated from the cell opposite, and carried both surprise and a touch of fear.
Sylvia paid it no mind. Instead, she inserted her deep purple glowing fingers into the woman’s soul in her hand.
At the same time, wisps of starlight bloomed from her fingertips, piercing into the soul ahead of the purple light.
“Very good.”
Scenes flashed rapidly before her eyes, and the corners of her lips curled upward.
“Just as expected, a rat from the sewers.”
Having obtained the information she wanted, Sylvia flicked her wrist and tossed the soul back into the body it originally inhabited.
“Ah!”
The moment the soul merged with the body, a shrill scream rang out.
Sylvia raised an eyebrow at this.
That wasn’t right. Was the reaction really supposed to be that intense?
When she had done the same to Divoman, his face had only twisted in pain—and Divoman was just an ordinary person. The woman before her, on the other hand, was a supernatural being.
Casting a slightly disdainful glance at the woman, Sylvia turned and left the cell, restoring both layers of the security mechanism as she went.
At the moment, she had no particular thoughts on how to deal with this woman. As for the woman’s eventual fate, she would leave that to the Tribunal of St. Ruls Cathedral.
Just as she was about to leave the second basement level, a voice suddenly came from her side:
“Wait!”
Hearing the voice, Sylvia tilted her head slightly and looked toward the cell now on her left.
Through the iron bars, a somewhat weathered face came into view.
“What is it?”
Her voice was rather lighthearted, carrying a hint of amusement.
Although she had used the Authority of Sloth here, she hadn’t completely concealed her form—she had merely hidden the inhuman features of her body.
Moreover, the cloak she currently wore was a pure white one provided by Loruze, embroidered with the sacred emblem and identification patterns of the Church of Radiance.
Under the influence of the Authority of Lust, she also radiated a vague, indescribable aura, which echoed with the pure white symbolic markings on the surrounding walls.
Therefore, in the man’s eyes, she appeared like a radiant saint.
Only, this "saint" seemed to employ rather violent and cruel methods.
“I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned!”
“I’m just an adventurer—I have nothing to do with the cultists!”
“You can’t just lock me up like this!”
The man in the cell spoke loudly, though perhaps having just witnessed what Sylvia had done to his “cellmate,” his voice lacked some conviction.
“Oh.”
Although his words piqued Sylvia’s interest, she wasn’t in the mood to inquire in detail.
She had already obtained several important clues about the Full Moon Sect and didn’t have much time to spare.
So, she responded indifferently and continued walking toward the stairs at the end of the corridor.
“Hey!”
“You have to believe me!”
“My name is Anwendeika Rilk! I’m a member of the Southern Cross Constellation!”
“I got it.”
“We’ll talk later.”
Sylvia didn’t turn her head as she walked forward, only lifted her right hand and gave a casual wave.
At the same time, a question mark flashed in her mind:
Southern Cross Constellation? What’s that?
…
Returning to the office, Sylvia nodded toward the plump crow Lakdevo, who was still squatting on the back of a chair.
“Caw!”
“Master, did you find anything?”
“Yes.”
Sylvia waved her hand, motioning for him to fly onto her shoulder.
Immediately after, she turned and walked out, speaking as she went:
“She didn’t come from Ulpus like the owner of that diary, but rather, like Macas, she’s an undercover agent the Full Moon Sect planted in major cities across the western nations.”
“Her mission is to maintain the communication and supply routes between the Full Moon Sect and the City of Alova.”
“A week ago, the Full Moon Sect team from Ulpus made contact with her.”
“Caw!”
Lakdevo, who had landed steadily on Sylvia’s shoulder, let out a cry to indicate he understood.
At that moment, the puppet girl, already heading back toward the surface, continued:
“On Tuesday, she arranged with that Full Moon Sect team to deliver a batch of basic living supplies to their temporary hideout at eleven o’clock this Thursday morning.”
“And that location is a section of the sewer system in the Lower Brick District.”
“Caw!”
Lakdevo let out a thoughtful caw, then said:
“Isn’t that today?”
“And why eleven in the morning?”
Sylvia’s lips twitched slightly as she replied:
“They follow the belief that ‘the most dangerous place is the safest place.’”
“But that’s not the point.”
“Caw? Then what is?”
Lakdevo tilted his head.
“The point is—she doesn’t have time at night.”
Sylvia explained with a blank expression.
“……”