As Georgina tore the talisman open, a vast cloud of pitch-black sand materialized out of thin air, howling as it swirled toward Olivia.
Olivia didn't know what would happen if that sand touched her, but she wasn't slow to react. She immediately tore open a talisman she had prepared.
It was a Wind-Chanting Talisman!
As the talisman tore, magic surged. A gentle gale immediately blew toward the oncoming sand, slowing its momentum. Pushed by the two opposing forces, the black sand churned incessantly, rolling forward and back, unable to close the distance to Olivia for the time being.
Seizing the opportunity and bolstered by a Lightness Talisman, Olivia vanished into the kitchen.
"Not good!"
Georgina’s expression shifted instantly.
She moved to pursue Olivia, but Mirabelle acted first. Grabbing a dining table, she hurled it at Georgina with a burst of strength, forcing the woman to divert her attention.
Thud!
With a heavy crash, Georgina was knocked to the ground, looking utterly disheveled.
...
Inside the kitchen.
Various basins, bowls, knives, and forks were scattered about. Some vegetables sat on the shelves, and unwashed meat clung to the cutting board, surrounded by the buzzing of flies.
Following Rose’s description, Olivia abandoned all ladylike grace and kicked aside a wooden pickle barrel. Beneath it, a lid resembling a manhole cover was revealed.
She moved quickly, grabbing the handle. With a deep breath and a surge of strength, she yanked the lid open, revealing a pitch-black passage below.
A distinct, foul stench wafted from the tunnel, making her frown instinctively. Within that stench, the metallic scent of blood permeated the air.
Olivia didn't hesitate; she moved to leap inside.
But at that moment, her entire body shuddered. A strange power suddenly flooded her being. The entire world seemed to turn viscous, and everything in her field of vision transformed into blocks of black and white.
It was the Oblivion Pocket Watch!
Ashley Hewitt had used that forbidden artifact again!
Unlike before, however, Olivia was now clearly aware that she was walking outward against her will. She stepped out of the kitchen and saw Mirabelle, Georgina, and the obese cook—all three were likewise walking back toward the exit.
She knew everyone was being forced back to their starting point.
While she and Mirabelle would surely regain their memories quickly and rush back, Georgina and the cook would be standing in their way once more.
How troublesome.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, the enemy used the Oblivion Pocket Watch again. I'm being affected and forced back to the start. Is there no way to interrupt this?'
【Master, perhaps you could try meditating. This power acts upon the spiritual level, and meditation is also a spiritual act. Furthermore, Master, your meditation method is of an exceptionally high grade.】
Olivia immediately began to meditate. Even though she was in a strange state and walking outward uncontrollably, it didn't hinder her ability to enter a meditative state.
She felt clusters of golden magic particles emerge from the surrounding space, rapidly being absorbed by her. In the process, her mind grew increasingly clear. The black-and-white world in her eyes quickly regained its original color, and the viscous sensation in the air vanished.
Meditation really worked!
Or rather, meditation using the Radiant Meditation Method really worked!
Before long, she halted her departure.
Ignoring the others who were still walking away, Olivia spun around and charged back into the kitchen. Reaching the underground passage, she leaped inside without hesitation.
As she fell, she already had a talisman pinched in her hand. The moment she felt her feet hit the ground, she tore it open to activate it.
Since learning her opponent was Ashley Hewitt and knowing she was performing a second advancement ritual for a vampire, Olivia knew exactly what kind of talisman would harm her most effectively.
The answer was... a Flash Talisman!
A vampire's second advancement ritual had to be conducted in absolute darkness. If it wasn't dark enough, the ritual was destined to fail. And the failure of an advancement ritual would inevitably inflict massive backlash damage upon the transcendent performing it!
In the underground space, an intense light erupted, as if the Radiant Goddess herself had descended, illuminating every corner with piercing clarity.
With a single sweep of her gaze, Olivia saw the entire cellar.
A bat pattern, drawn with ink mixed with transcendent materials, occupied a large area of the floor. A dismembered bat had its body parts placed at various points of the pattern; the blood was still fresh.
Besides that, there were the figures of three children and a woman in her twenties.
"Agh!"
Ashley let out a blood-curdling scream. Her hair was a mess, her face contorted, and veins bulged prominently as if they were about to burst through her skin. Blood flowed uncontrollably from her eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth—even her pores were oozing blood. She shrieked in agony, rolling back and forth on the ground as if facing unimaginable torment.
Olivia didn't care how much pain Ashley was in.
Her gaze fell upon the three children.
One child's skin had already shriveled, looking like a skeleton wrapped in human skin. One could barely tell it had been a girl, but her form was now horrific, emitting a powerful stench.
Clearly, this was Jemina, who had died a week ago.
Nearby was another child, right at Ashley's feet. A fresh hole in his neck was still bleeding. But even without that wound, the child would not have survived; his body was stiff, his face a ghastly blue, devoid of life. Though not as shriveled as Jemina, he had clearly begun to shrink.
This was Edmond, who had died three days ago.
Finally, there was a little girl who had fainted on the ground nearby. She was curled into a ball, shivering even in her unconscious state, seemingly trapped in a terrible nightmare.
It was Leila. She was still alive!
Ashley's second advancement ritual hadn't progressed to the point of killing Leila yet.
This brought a small measure of relief to the anger in Olivia's heart, and a faint glimmer of solace flashed in her eyes. Of course, her rage was still surging, and her irritation had not been effectively soothed.
She finally turned her gaze toward the wailing Ashley.
The failure of the advancement ritual had brought a massive backlash, driving Ashley to the brink of madness from the pain. She clawed at her hair, rolling around as her howls sounded like the roars of a terrifying wraith.
Olivia rushed forward and raised her foot. Without hesitation, she put all her strength into a vicious kick to Ashley's head. A dull thud echoed as Ashley was sent tumbling across the floor.
Currently devastated by the ritual's backlash, Ashley was weaker than an ordinary person and completely unable to resist Olivia's assault.
Olivia didn't waste words. She raised her fist to strike, then felt it would only dirty her hands. Instead, she raised her foot again and kicked savagely. One kick after another, every strike landed squarely on Ashley as Olivia vented her suppressed fury.
She was a normal person.
As a normal transmigrator, she possessed the standard moral values of her previous life. While she might not be a champion of justice, she certainly wouldn't become a minion of the devil. She was just an ordinary, normal person with normal emotions.
Thus, seeing innocent children treated this way filled her with shock and rage. Precisely because she was a normal person, her heart felt stifled, and she needed to vent it all out.
Though this world of supernatural powers was surely full of danger, darkness, and bloodshed, no matter how the future might change her, she was a normal person now. She only wanted to do what a normal person should do.
After kicking Ashley for a while, Olivia was still unsatisfied. She exhaled, first picking up the unconscious Leila to move her away, placing her in a large basket in the kitchen.
Then, she found several knives and returned to the cellar.
She was a normal person.
A normal person, of course, wasn't a bleeding-heart saint who thought killing someone who deserved to die was inappropriate.
If someone deserved to die, then they should die.
That was what it meant to be a normal person.
Olivia stepped forward, concentrating all the indignation, anger, and frenzy in her heart into the sharp blade in her hand. Aiming carefully, she thrust it forward with all her might, burying it deep into Ashley's neck.
The torn wound caused Ashley's blood to spray out, staining Olivia’s nun habit and the back of her hand red.
She was doing what she had to do.
She was a normal person.
Rate on N.U.
