Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1954: The Return of Miss Pawo

The red moon that just fell from Shard’s hand only attacked the massive creature in the water. Shard didn’t know if Miss Danester’s parting blow had severely injured it, but fortunately, the creature also tried to continue swimming toward the shore after that strike.

The "Calamity Card: Shadow of the Deep" in his hand was ready for use; Mrs. Lemer, transformed into a Dark Merman, could exert maximum power in this rain-soaked lakeside battle scene. However, Shard still had some concerns about using the card hastily.

Suddenly, he felt the badge on his chest emit heat, and before he could turn to look, he heard a shout from behind:

"Edict: Return!"

In the next moment, the water ghosts trying to reach the shore all turned back into the water, and Shard even saw that some of the rain in front of him was floating upwards.

"Oh, you’ve returned?!"

Shard turned around and said in surprise. The Red-Haired Duchess walked over with a smile and gave Shard a hug:

"I’ll stay here to deal with these things. Weren’t you going to rescue Megan? Don’t get delayed here."

"But there’s still... under the water..."

"Don’t worry; you are never alone."

In the distant darkness, a small mechanical boat had suddenly appeared on the green lake surface. Professor Miller Stuart, the Thirteen-Ring Dean of Xerxes Higher Medical Academy and the "Iron Punisher," stood at the bow, inquiring about the origin of the red moon from the lady behind him; Miss Danester, the "Red Moon Witch" of Saint Byrons, gazed toward the shore, as if she could directly see Shard’s figure; Professor Gou Siter, the Thirteen-Ring Spirit Summoning Sorcerer of Zaras Literary Academy, looked seriously at the island, somewhat surprised at the presence of a soul within it.

But nonetheless, the first team to break into the island through special means of transport had finally arrived.

"I’ll buy you some time, keep going."

The witch on the shore kissed Shard’s wet forehead and then stepped into the sky. Behind her, the Twelve-Ring Life Ring shone with Spiritual Light, guiding the three professors on the boat while she crossed her left and right index fingers, aiming at the massive creature underwater:

"Edict: Stasis!"

Not daring to waste any more time, Shard leapt into the lake. In the blink of an eye, he appeared twenty meters away, avoiding the dense group of Water Ghosts.

He dared not carefully look at what exactly the massive creature lurking underwater was. However, his "Heart of Stone" could clearly hear the sound of three hearts beating within it, while the perception from the sorcery "Underwater Breathing" allowed him to feel the mechanical vibrations inside the creature.

The professors from the Three Major Academies had already begun using an Arcane Technique with Miss Galina. The dull sounds from the surface of the water marked the start of the battle. Meanwhile, beneath the water, Shard swam like a fish, constantly diving until he eventually opened the door standing at the bottom of the water.

"Huff~ Huff~"

The drenched Shard reappeared on the second floor of the Edwards’ Old House. Shaking off his wet hair, he looked down at the pinky finger on his right hand holding a sword under the bright light. Earlier, when sensing Megan and Audrey on the second floor from the third floor, he had stumbled into a trap. Now that he had finally returned to the second floor of the old house, it felt like Megan and Audrey were in the first floor:

"The basement, right?"

Although it might be another trap exploiting Shard’s psyche and Megan and Audrey might truly be on the first floor, Shard still chose to go directly to the basement. The thread on his pinky had become irrelevant, the badge around his neck was insignificant; he trusted his feeling at this moment more.

His sixth sense told him, the Witch was in the basement.

The brightly lit old house was still empty. It only took about a dozen seconds for him to briskly walk from the second floor to the first floor. Shard knew exactly where the basement was. However, when he descended the stairs to head there, he saw someone who didn’t belong here in the mansion’s foyer.

This foyer was quite different from Shard’s family’s narrow hallway; though termed a foyer, it was quite spacious. When Shard entered earlier, there were numerous dancing guests here. Now, beside the phonograph that continued to emit sound, stood a familiar lady to Shard.

With pale gold hair, wearing a black and red gown, eyes sharp, and accompanied by a large book with a silvery-white hard cover floating beside her. Miss Pawo from the "Truth Society," the current president and once a candidate chosen for Knowledge and Wisdom, just appeared before Shard.

The news brought by Iluna was indeed correct; she was now at the Seventh Ring, and seemingly not far from the Eighth Ring either.

Shard halted and caught the item thrown by the smiling lady in front of him. Looking down, he found it to be a familiar-looking key.

"This is the one key we’ve obtained out of the thirteen keys."

The female sorcerer said as she lifted the needle from the phonograph. The music that had filled the entire building finally halted.

"You’re faster than expected; I thought I’d have to wait another ten minutes to see you. I wanted to see what kind of power you could wield in the most ordinary state. I guess you are not Thirteen Ring, but certainly not ordinary. I didn’t expect your allies to come so quickly. United as One... Is your ability to have everyone assist you also a form of United as One? Or perhaps it’s called the power of unity?"

She smiled as she took down the black record, slipped it into the floating book beside her, and then said to Shard:

"I originally wanted to see what path the traitor of the Prophet’s Society chose. Now it seems he’s destined to fail, so I won’t watch that ugly scene. The key is yours, I’ll take this record, at least I haven’t come here for nothing. Please perform well later, I’m very much looking forward to what you’ll do this time."

"Did you manage to get hold of all his records?"

Shard asked, and Miss Pavo nodded slightly:

"Even though he’s crazy, he does at least have a sense of commitment. We’ve fulfilled what we promised, so he gave me the records. In some aspects, he really is a genius. He even wanted to invite me to his banquet, tsk tsk~."

She didn’t offer further comment, but instead asked Shard:

"God Summoner, do you know why I specifically waited for you here? Actually, I didn’t have to show myself."

"It’s definitely not just so I can congratulate you on becoming the President from the Vice President."

The female sorcerer curled up her lips:

"If you were willing to talk to me like you do with those witches, maybe we could become friends.

However, I know you’re short on time, so I’ll be brief: Laplace Howard also has ties to the Blood Spirit School, and they’ve collaborated significantly in human alchemy. Correspondingly, the Blood Spirit School has also assisted that diviner, like tonight, getting those witches to leave the inn at the last minute with the Puppeteer’s Script."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Don’t rush, just one sentence: that diviner might tell you something quite surprising tonight, and once you’ve learned it, you might be willing to come to us, hear our research, and see our truth."

She gestured to Shard not to speak:

"God Summoner, this won’t be our last meeting. I hope you can defeat that madman. Though Howard is indeed very talented, I’d still prefer dealing with a normal person like you. This kind of madman is just too rational."

She waved to Shard and turned around, disappearing like a phantom.

Shard frowned as he looked at the key in his hand and continued in the direction of the basement.

A rumbling sound came from a distance, as if more people had arrived on the island. As Shard reached the door of the basement, the whole house suddenly shook, as the island’s quake hadn’t ceased since the inn appeared here.

The basement door was, of course, locked. After opening the locked door, everything inside was still in darkness.

He took a deep breath, finally unable to suppress the anger he’d held in all night:

"I want to see what it is this time."

Passing through the door, after an instant of dizziness, rain fell from the sky, soaking the already drenched Shard. Dark Vision quickly let Shard realize he was standing in a clearing in a lightless woodland he’d never visited before.

"Enhanced Spatial Awareness!"

The surrounding terrain immediately appeared in Shard’s mind, revealing that his current location was in the hilly woodland area of the island’s south. He’d never been here before, nor had Megan and Audrey ever talked about the specifics of this area.

The Enhanced Spatial Awareness identified the "door" back to the mansion for him. Turning to look in the northeast direction, a rough wooden door stood at the edge of the clearing in the rain mist. The darkness couldn’t hide from Shard’s eyes, and he clearly saw countless tiny gaps in the space before the door continuously appearing and closing, like eyes opening and closing.

Meanwhile, as he raised the Night Watchman, this space phenomenon, almost on the brink of collapse, swiftly spread across the entire clearing, forcing Shard to cautiously evade the gaps.

At the same time, the standing door opened, and out stepped a Circle Sorcerer dressed exactly like and even with the same physique as Laplace Howard, though it had no face.

The life ring emerged behind, a somewhat fragile ring that undoubtedly belonged to a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, yet it was mysteriously entwined with roots, similar to the Edwards Brothers at the cemetery.

"Similar breathing frequency, heartbeat frequency, spirit fluctuations, and elemental stability. Aside from the mixed-up soul and lack of a face, there’s no difference from Laplace Klein Howard."

"A human alchemist made an identical replica of himself?"

The powers granted by the Witch Council had yet to be used, and Shard was just one step away from the banquet. Since Miss Pavo of the Truth Society had already appeared, this was likely the last obstacle before him, and Shard knew what he had to do.