Chapter 22 | Reincarnated as a Heretical Nun

Was there a situation?

Could those vampires really have come to seek revenge on her?

Olivia immediately snapped out of her meditation, her expression tense. She clutched several talismans in her hand, warily scanning her surroundings.

Knowing that her role as bait carried a certain level of risk, she hadn't just made talismans for Ronan and the others; she had also crafted several for herself to use in combat. At this moment, she instinctively gripped the talismans in her other pocket.

She looked around the carriage. The long stretch of Aus Street was silent. Because this world lacked things like streetlights, the street under the night sky was as dark as an abyss. Even where the moonlight touched, it only made the scene look more eerie.

She looked left and right but saw nothing wrong. She whispered in confusion, "Where is the situation?"

"Toward Morning Dew Park," Melanie whispered back.

Morning Dew Park?

The park was behind the carriage, so she couldn't see it from her current angle. She had to step out of the carriage, landing softly on the ground. Using the carriage as cover, she peeked her head out and carefully looked toward Morning Dew Park.

The park was shrouded in darkness, but outside the park, the crimson glow of the moonlight allowed her to faintly see the benches and trash cans.

Next to one of the trash cans, a person dressed in black clothes and trousers was standing there. Although she couldn't see clearly, the figure appeared to be a man. He was stealthily tucking a slip of paper under the trash can.

This was...

Olivia barely managed to keep her expression from changing, but the corner of her mouth couldn't help but twitch.

The man's actions gave her an incredibly strong sense of déjà vu.

Specifically, the trash can he chose was the exact one she used for secret communication with the Rose Legion.

Could this guy be from the Rose Legion? Was the note he just placed under the trash can some new instruction for her?

Why did Melanie have to be the one to notice this?

Olivia felt a sense of dread and could only say, "It's not the vampires. They would likely attack me directly rather than fiddle with a trash can. I suspect this guy might just be a drunkard. We don't need to pay him any mind."

Although Kaliron was quiet most nights, the city didn't lack nocturnal drunks. After all, there were always people feeling frustrated by various things, and when people were unhappy, they wanted to drink, using alcohol to numb themselves.

Melanie, however, disagreed. "A drunk? I don't think so; I don't smell any alcohol. But you're right, this guy shouldn't be one of those vampires."

Olivia secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "So we don't need to bother with him, right?"

"No, even if he isn't a vampire, his behavior is very suspicious. Did you notice? He secretly placed a note under the trash can. This behavior reminds me of how many heretics communicate with each other. They always like to leave the messages they want to convey in an inconspicuous place, waiting for their comrades to retrieve them," Melanie provided her analysis.

'Lady Melanie, please stop analyzing...' Olivia felt her scalp tingle.

If she had nothing to do with the Rose Legion, she would have been more than happy to discuss this issue deeply with Melanie, or even capture the target for interrogation. The problem was that her relationship with the Rose Legion was murky at best. Letting Melanie think further on this would be bad.

'The heretics from the Bloody Sickle haven't shown up, the Dreamwalker Ronan and the others are looking for hasn't shown up, but someone from the Rose Legion shows up? What kind of luck is this?'

Olivia couldn't help but complain in her heart.

She didn't even know how to respond to Melanie anymore because Melanie's words were already filled with suspicion.

"I think this guy is very likely a heretic. Even if he probably isn't our original target, as members of the church, we cannot act as if we didn't see him. Olivia, go and capture him," Melanie ordered.

"What? Me?" Olivia pointed at herself in shock.

"Yes, because I'm not sure if the vampires from the Bloody Sickle are watching you from the shadows, so it's not convenient for me to expose myself. This kind of thing can only be handled by you. Hurry, that guy is about to leave. It'll be too late to call Ronan and the others back," Melanie urged.

"I'm just an Initiate..."

"But you have many talismans, don't you? I saw them in your pocket."

"...Fine."

Olivia really couldn't refuse. Refusing any further would be too suspicious. If she were labeled as suspicious by a chanting nun, her career as a nun would likely come to an end.

'My talismans were clearly in my other pocket; did Melanie notice them anyway? The perception of a chanting nun is truly too powerful.'

At this moment, Olivia could only steel herself and head toward Morning Dew Park.

The man in black was about to leave after placing the note, but at that moment, he seemed to sense something was wrong. He suddenly turned around and looked in Olivia's direction.

As he turned, Olivia saw his face clearly by the moonlight. It was an ordinary face with brown hair and brown eyes—the kind that wouldn't be noticed in a crowd.

'Could this guy recognize me and shout out my identity? That would be fatal.'

Olivia's nerves were stretched to the limit.

To avoid any accidents, she spoke first: "Who are you, and why are you out so late? Also, your behavior just now was very strange. What were you doing?"

If the man knew her, she only hoped that such words would make him realize something was wrong, so he wouldn't say anything he shouldn't.

"You saw?" The man's expression changed as he stared at the nun before him.

"Of course. You put something under the trash can..."

Before Olivia could finish her sentence, the man immediately pulled a dagger from his trouser leg. Under the moonlight, the reflection on the dagger was particularly obvious.

He lunged forward, charging at Olivia with a murderous look in his eyes, clearly intending to silence her for good.

This reaction startled Olivia, but then she felt a slight sense of relief.

His actions proved one thing: he didn't recognize her. Even if he really was delivering an order for the organization, he was likely only responsible for placing the note there.

'With Melanie watching, I have to take him down first. As for what comes after... what a headache.'

Olivia didn't know what to do next, so she could only deal with the situation at hand.

She took out a Holy Sword Talisman. Tearing a corner of it, a dense surge of magic power spread out in front of her. Immediately, an incandescent light emerged and gathered, quickly transforming into a sword of intense light, its tip pointing straight ahead.

The Holy Sword Talisman was the only talisman Olivia could currently craft that possessed direct offensive capabilities.

Seeing such a sword appear, the approaching man in black immediately stopped. After cursing under his breath, he also pulled out a talisman and quickly activated it.

In the next instant, accompanied by the sound of grinding steel, a cavalryman appeared in front of the man. It was a cavalryman composed entirely of bronze. Both the rider and the horse had the texture of bronze, and the rider held a bronze spear, thrusting it forward with force.

At that moment, Olivia also launched the holy sword.

Boom!

The two collided. The holy sword was instantly shattered and dismantled, but the bronze cavalry was also sent flying. The bronze rider fell from the bronze horse, its bronze armor shattered into pieces, and the bronze horse tumbled to the ground, covered in large cracks.

Seeing this, Olivia quickly pulled a handful of talismans from her pocket. This action made the man in black, who was about to circle around and charge, stop dead in his tracks.

"How can an Initiate have so many talismans?"

The man in black felt he had run into some rotten luck. He was clearly just performing a simple task; how did he run into this?

He quickly turned around and rushed toward the trash can where he had left the note at top speed, wanting to take the note back. Since the church had noticed this place, the note naturally couldn't be left there.

"Stop him! Use the Wind-Chanting Talisman to blow the trash can away so he can't reach it," Melanie's voice reached Olivia's ears.

Olivia actually hoped the man would take the note, or at least destroy it so no trace remained. But since Melanie had given a specific combat instruction, she couldn't pretend she hadn't heard.

She could only take out the Wind-Chanting Talisman, aim it at the trash can, and activate it.

In the next moment, the trash can was blown into the sky by a gust of wind, leaving the man who had rushed underneath it staring wide-eyed, completely helpless.

At this time, Ronan appeared on the street not far away. He happened to be close enough that after sensing the commotion, he rushed over immediately.

"What happened?" Ronan continued to approach, his pace very fast, directly blocking the man's retreat.

In front of a Sensate, an Initiate like this man no longer had any chance of escaping.

Olivia sighed inwardly and said, "I found someone suspected of being a heretic. I don't know his background."

Upon hearing this, Ronan rushed to the man's side. He was so fast that even though the man retreated immediately, Ronan was in his face in an instant. Then, Ronan grabbed the man's arm and, with a bit of strength, gave him an over-the-shoulder throw, slamming him heavily onto the ground. The man let out a cry of pain.