Chapter 27: Child of the Moon
December 22nd, 837 of the Common Era, Thursday, 11:00 AM.
Kingdom of Savia, Plant District, City of Alova, Stadcon District, Dockside Warehouse.
The brick-and-stone warehouse had no lights kindled; the cold air spread within.
At the deepest part, more than ten people stood silently, their gazes fixed in the direction of the entrance.
At the same time, beside them, a cloaked figure sitting to the side slowly raised his deeply bowed head, revealing a featureless face.
At this moment, he made a gesture as though listening intently.
"What is it, my lord Child of the Moon?"
The "statue" standing at his side suddenly came to life and spoke.
"I sense a presence approaching."
"The other party seems to be in the River of the Dead."
The Child of the Moon's voice was low and slow, but each syllable he uttered was enough to send chills down the spine.
As his voice fell, an illusory sound of flowing water gradually rose, and the cold within the warehouse began to pierce deeper than just the flesh.
"Very perceptive."
At that moment, an ethereal and illusory voice sounded from an unknown source.
"Who might you be, sir?"
The Child of the Moon slowly straightened his hunched back, and within his pale gray eyes, a trace of deep purple quietly emerged.
"Me?"
That voice continued, though for some reason, it carried a faint note of weariness.
"Consider this a bit of early promotion."
"I am a servant of original sin, an apostle who walks the earth carrying out the will of the Lord of Seven Sins."
As the voice fell, everything around began to grow illusory and profound—
It was a sevenfold overlapping starry sky, it was the starlight flickering within, it was seven deep and obscure stars embedded upon it!
At the same moment, a figure stepped out from that layered starry sky—
She had long pale gray hair and a pair of deep purple eyes.
Upon her exquisite face was an expression that seemed to scorn all things. On her exposed skin, joint after joint betrayed her inhuman nature.
"Sylvia?"
The moment he saw her, the Child of the Moon narrowed his eyes and uttered a name.
"Oh?"
Sylvia looked at him thoughtfully, then a mocking smile slowly appeared on her face.
"So, it’s true—you have informants inside the Church of Radiance."
"But it seems their rank isn’t high, otherwise you wouldn’t have made such a foolish misjudgment."
"Tch, looks like my first warm-up has failed."
Hearing her mockery, none of the Full Moon cultists present acted rashly; instead, all of them looked at her with utmost vigilance.
They understood the significance of a Level Zero Forbidden Object, and thus had no intention of provoking this being before them without understanding her intent.
Soon after, the Child of the Moon spoke in a low voice:
"I believe there is no conflict between us. Then what is your purpose in visiting us?"
He placed heavy emphasis on the word “visiting”.
"Truly no conflict?"
Sylvia looked at him, a faint smile tugging at her lips, though her interest seemed to have waned slightly compared to before.
The next second, before the other party could answer, she waved her hand dismissively.
"Forget it. I don’t have time to prattle with you right now."
"Lakdevo, are you sure this is your target?"
As her words fell, a fat crow flew out from the layered starlight.
"Indeed, my esteemed master."
At this moment, the crow spoke with a hint of excitement.
"Very well."
The moment he saw Lakdevo, the Child of the Moon immediately guessed her purpose.
That was...
An apostle of the God of Death!
The ferryman atop the River of the Dead, a member of the lower chamber of the River Council!
"Sir, it seems you intend to oppose me."
The Child of the Moon slowly rose from his seat, his eyes now completely dyed deep purple, staring emotionlessly at Sylvia.
"Yes. Enough talk."
The puppet girl showed a rare trace of impatience.
"Very well. Very well."
The Child of the Moon nodded blankly.
The next second, deep purple light suddenly erupted. The black river water shattered the boundary between reality and illusion, surging into the warehouse.
"Is it coming?"
At that moment, starlike flames seemed to ignite in Sylvia’s eyes, and her aura rapidly changed.
She then raised her right hand, and dark currents laced with starlight surged in her palm like a vortex.
The next second—
"Boom!"
A massive roar exploded as the black current in her outstretched hand rapidly expanded, like a maelstrom in the deep sea, roaring with the fury of a storm as it clashed with the River of the Dead breaking into reality.
This was the power of Gluttony!
The Abyss of Gluttony that could decompose both matter and magic into the most fundamental spirituality and devour them!
Now, the clash between the Abyss of Gluttony and the River of the Dead emitted a sound that chilled the spine.
But the two did not remain in a stalemate. In less than a second, the black river water had already vanished without a trace.
Sylvia clenched her right hand into a fist, and the expanding Abyss of Gluttony instantly disappeared.
At the same time, the corners of her mouth slowly curled upward.
Because before her, both the Child of the Moon and the Full Moon cultists had already vanished.
"Escaped already?"
She spoke in a low voice, as if talking to herself, or perhaps to Lakdevo perched on her shoulder.
Now, her voice no longer carried that weary tone.
But did you truly think you could escape?
With that thought, Sylvia slowly raised her outstretched right hand higher, as if grabbing hold of something—then suddenly yanked it downward—
"Buzz!"
Sloth, represented by black gauze, formed a domain governed by its master!
A tremendous roar erupted as shadowy threads, fine as black gauze, instantly spread across the space.
Appearing along with it were over a dozen people.
"Escaping just like that?"
Sylvia looked at the pale-faced Child of the Moon and spoke with a hint of mockery.
"Sir, I believe the conflict between us hasn't yet escalated to a level requiring a battle to the death."
The Child of the Moon said in a low voice, his gaze shifting toward the crow crouched on her shoulder.
"A battle to the death?"
Sylvia looked at him and shook her head.
"No, you are not worthy of that."
"I don’t believe you possess power on the level of an Apostle. You merely hold a rank without the strength to match."
"Enough. I’ll say it one more time: I don’t have much time. Stop wasting mine."
With that, and without waiting for any reply, she curled a finger of her lowered left hand, while her right hand lifted once more—this time not conjuring the vortex of the Abyss of Gluttony, but summoning a plain-patterned, silver-black flintlock pistol.
At that moment, the dark barrel pointed straight at the Child of the Moon, whose joints bore visible marks of being constricted—
"Bang!"
The trigger was pulled, and a pitch-black bullet traced a graceful arc through the air, aimed at the sluggishly reacting Child of the Moon.
Pride: absolute force!
Lust: control of the flesh!
Used in tandem!
Though the Child of the Moon immediately rendered his form illusory and shifted sideways, the pitch-black bullet curved midair and still struck his right arm.
In an instant, his right arm exploded, shattering into a spray of red and white matter that splattered in all directions.
Within the debris were also faint traces of something transparent and deep purple.
That was his soul!
One shot—just one shot!
It shattered not only his right arm but a part of his soul as well!
This was Pride. This was Original Sin!
The next second, a blood-curdling scream roared forth, as though from the depths of the River of the Dead:
"Awooo!"