Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1725 - 1724: Demon Hypotheses

The invisible force manifested as a crimson whip, lashing out without causing any damage to the bed, quilt, or clothes, but precisely striking the wondrous soul within the body.

A scream of pain escaped Megan’s mouth. She flipped over and lay down on the bed, making muffled sounds. Shard then felt the badge on his chest cycling with heat, indicating that Megan and Audrey were constantly switching back and forth.

"Are you okay?"

Shard worried there might be a problem, reaching out to help Megan up, only to discover that her body had become scorching hot.

"Oh~"

In a moan, the lady with skin all over her body tinged with a pink hue instead grasped Shard’s hand. She struggled to turn her head to look at Shard, allowing him to see her face drenched in cold sweat, and those seemingly glowing eyes.

Shard couldn’t precisely describe the emotion within those eyes, excitement, joy, pain, struggle; it was too complex:

"Again."

She said hoarsely, gripping Shard’s hand like a vise, refusing to let go. He could feel Megan and Audrey’s palms sweating profusely; her entire body was trembling.

"What?"

"This feeling... it’s been so long since I’ve felt so real, the sensation of my soul being touched. I truly felt my soul, felt the intimate connection between soul and body, the cycle between soul and elements... once more, harder, one more time."

"Is this alright?"

Shard hurriedly asked the "her" who had suggested this:

"This doesn’t seem right."

"She" said gently, even with a hint of amusement in her tone:

[This arcane technique comes from the Messenger of Death, specifically aimed at managing those souls unwilling to depart. It works best for individuals like her whose soul is muddled due to fusion, making her more lucid and her soul resistance stronger.]

"Again!"

Megan’s hoarse voice repeated, and Shard even felt pain in his wrist being grabbed. Her eyes contained a pleading look, and the action of biting her lip made Shard’s heart race.

He increasingly felt something was amiss; this was surely not something learned from the Book of Pink.

Megan had already started urging:

"You wouldn’t be..."

The crimson whip descended, and Shard was glad he had cast the Silence Charm beforehand, even more grateful that upon returning, he hadn’t transformed Mia back from a toy.

In summary, in the Witch’s bedroom on the yacht, in the ten-minute encounter when only Shard and the Witch were present, only the two of them knew what truly happened. After it ended, Megan took a quick shower before appearing in the dining room. Upon sitting down beside Shard, her face was slightly flushed. Although she continually avoided eye contact with Shard, her eyes occasionally sneaked peeks at him.

Shard fulfilled his promise, inviting her for lunch that day.

He used a brand new ruby to cast [Fiona’s Housekeeper], and on the other side of time, the Dragon Maid faithfully completed the task. Along with the gourmet meal, a small card appeared, featuring not only Dragon Language Runes wishing a pleasant lunch but also a line drawing of the Dragon Maid bowing.

"The relic just said it met you thousands of years ago; how old are you exactly this year?"

After lunch, as Shard prepared to return to the group study session with the well-fed cat in his arms, the Witch, sending Shard off on the deck, finally asked. She was curious about this but didn’t force Shard to answer.

Her tone was gentle, with a kind of expression in her eyes that wasn’t there before:

"You’re not younger than me, are you?"

She joked, so Shard also laughed and said:

"My age? No, I’m definitely younger than you. I’m about one year old this year."

"What?"

Megan blinked, then realized Shard was joking too.

"I mean 21, maybe 22. Due to certain reasons, I’m not entirely sure about my birthday. I no longer have any relatives, so I can’t verify that information."

After confirming she was indeed older than Shard, Megan didn’t pursue the topic further. She wrapped her arms around Shard’s neck and kissed him again.

Once she released Shard, he turned the well-fed Mia back into a toy, then she pressed her lips together and said:

"See you next week, next week, I will definitely take you to the island."

"See you next week, Megan, oh and Audrey. Get some good rest, don’t cast spells too frequently lately. Although now I know my Arcane Technique can heal you, that technique... hmm..."

The two exchanged a glance, and the Witch blushed slightly. So, Shard gave her another hug, then threw the Crystal Shoes in front of her and returned to No. 6, Saint Delan Square.

The Witch sighed deeply, remembering what happened in the room before lunch, and couldn’t help but blush again. That intense feeling of the reality of the soul, the mix of pain and pleasure, she even thought would drive her and Audrey temporarily mad.

She couldn’t imagine how she managed to say, at that moment, for Shard to do it again.

Moreover, they glimpsed their own souls from it, and further glimpsed the path to the Twelfth Rank, which they had thought impossible due to the instability of their souls.

(Young Iluna in prayer...)

As expected, Shard was indeed late for this group meeting.

Because of the long delay at Green Lake, by the time he hurriedly got on the carriage at the doorstep, even though he urged the driver to go faster, when he got off the carriage at Rontgen Avenue, it was already 1:40 PM.

When Shard knocked and entered the drawing room, Priest Augustus, Luviya, and Dorothy had already arrived. Luviya, having left No. 6, Saint Delan Square in the morning, knew Shard was going to the Green Lake Region, so she informed the others that Shard was probably delayed dealing with some matters. Therefore, although Shard was late, no one found it strange.

It was the 26th day of the Sowing Moon, May was just around the corner, which was mid-spring semester, so there weren’t many matters to attend to.

As usual, they shared their weekly gains, and after handling personal academic matters using the doctor’s manuscript paper, the meeting ended at 3:30 PM.

With time still early, Lecia, who was actually Dorothy, realized there were still two to three hours left on the Day of the Red Butterfly, she said goodbye to Shard to find Lecia, who was actually Dorothy. She also realized that she would be seeing someone off at the train station this evening, regretting the precious hours of the Day of the Red Butterfly wasted.

Luviya had matters to attend to with Iluna, while Priest Augustus planned to return to the church for the afternoon service. However, Shard informed the priest that he wanted to discuss some matters with him later. The priest understood, as Shard had new leads on the search for skulls.

"I encountered the ’Reward of Avarice’ again."

After sending others off, Shard, who stayed alone, told the doctor about what happened in the morning, focusing on the information provided by the blue Giant Spirit related to the demons on the island:

"A sinister curse, a massive maze, an insoluble path, these were the descriptions it gave at the time."

"If that’s the case..."

Shard sat on the sofa, while the doctor, hands behind his back, took a couple of steps in front of the desk, his face showing an excited expression:

"Although it’s not very detailed, there are indeed suspected connections.

The demon of Spatial Fragments - Shabar, whose true form is unknown even to me, most commonly appears as a skinny, dark-skinned man but generally only targets those with Spatial Talent, rarely interacting or cooperating with humans. This demon is extremely strong, you or I alone probably wouldn’t stand a chance against it;

The Maze Demon - Yaruu, with a true form of a glowing black metal cube, regardless of the form it takes, it always holds a similar object and enjoys creating mazes to trap souls. This being was sealed for a long time and isn’t particularly adept at combat. If it really is it, the challenge would be how to lure it to reveal its true form, as it is quite cautious;

The Lost One - Masala, a succubus with goat horns, a bull tail, and donkey hooves, yes, the kind you’re thinking of. Enjoys tempting lone travelers, causing large-scale spatial disruptions, and toying with desperate and broken souls. It is extremely skilled in close combat, wielding Demon Gold dual blades capable of reaping life like a scythe. I know your swordsmanship is excellent, but don’t engage it head-on lightly."

He, like last time, provided three possibilities:

"But we also can’t rule out other less well-known entities. I need more detailed information to determine who it really is. When it comes to Spatial Power, things can get very complicated. You must be careful."

"I understand, Doctor. It’s just that the person cooperating with the demon this time might not be as simple as Ston Osenfort."

The blue-eyed middle-aged doctor nodded seriously:

"Though those Ancient Evil Spirit Demons are powerful, being sealed or weakened may lead to them being exploited by humans. In the distant Third Era, the most terrifying were actually those who had the power to control Evil Spirit Demons... sometimes, humans can be far more terrifying than demons."

After saying goodbye to the doctor, Shard quickly took Mia to the Dawn Chapel to find Priest Augustus.

The priest and Shard spoke in the church corridor, and Shard’s information was straightforward:

"Half a skull."

He repeated what he learned from the little girl’s soul accompanying Durut Giles:

"But it’s not certain if it’s exactly half, it could also be a small portion."

"A skull, huh."

Priest Augustus squinted slightly:

"This is remarkable. Shard, this situation might be more than you expected; the Edwards Ancestor you described is very likely utilizing the power of the skull. It’s not impossible, I have that kind of premonition."