Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 436: Means of Confronting Demons

"With this, my savings are close to 2,300 pounds, it's time to refurbish the third floor. However, I still need to find reliable workers... Perhaps the church can offer assistance."

Putting Princess Angelina out of his mind and having finished breakfast, Shard tidied up the documents Detective Sparrow had left behind, intending to officially start on handling the "search for a doctor to cure eye diseases" and "find Miss White's runaway sister" commissions before Daknis arrived in Tobesk.

These two commissions were actually not urgent at all; Detective Sparrow had already found an ophthalmologist, and that runaway lady was just having a tiff with Miss White and was hiding in her own apartment in the Northern District of Tobesk, not in any danger at all.

Having confirmed next week's plan, Shard left the lazy cat to watch the house and took a carriage to the Dawn Chapel. On a Friday morning, there were not many people in the chapel, and Priest Augustus, who suddenly had free time after Holy Prayer Day, had time to meet with Shard.

Upon hearing that Shard wanted to find a team to refurbish his house, the Priest was more than happy to help. The chapel had a regular contract with a refurbishing team, and he directly gave Shard a business card to contact them himself.

After taking the card and thanking him, Shard asked the Priest in a low voice:

"Priest, does the church have any particularly effective methods against demons?"

"Demons?"

The Priest was taken aback.

"Not the demon kind from exotic species, but rather the strange ones, like evil spirits."

Shard explained, and Priest Augustus immediately showed an expression of terror:

"Shard, what have you encountered? Quick, come with me to the main sanctuary to pray, being tainted by such things will definitely lead to serious trouble."

He tried to pull Shard up by his sleeve, but Shard hurriedly shook his head:

"No, no, I haven't been so unlucky as to encounter such a rare evil object. Priest, I just want to know, if it's confirmed that a person is possessed by an evil spirit demon, how can one deal with it?"

"Do you care about the life of the possessed?"

The Priest asked, seeing that Shard was really all right.

"I couldn't care less, better if they're dead."

"Then you should apply to the church and let the High Ring Sorcerers deal with him,"

the Priest suggested a very practical solution.

"What if I want to deal with a similar enemy myself?"

Shard asked again.

"What exactly have you come across?"

The Priest was quite worried, but seeing that Shard was not willing to say, he still offered his own advice:

"Someone possessed by a demon, whether they're directly consumed or form a symbiotic relationship, is not something a Low Ring Sorcerer can easily deal with. But these peculiar things are extremely afraid of the power of True Gods. Take note, I'm not boasting, they really are extremely afraid. So if you can lure them into the temple of True Gods, they will be greatly suppressed."

But in the temple of the Evil God, the Lord of the Crimson Spiral, Daknis was under almost the same suppression as everyone else, which indicates that the special damage effect against evil spirit demons is not possessed by all deities, but is unique to True Gods.

"The chapel... I'll note that down. What else?"

Shard took out his notebook to record, seeing his serious demeanor, Priest Augustus continued:

"Furthermore, Divine Arts and Divine Rituals have exceptionally effective results against demons. If such evil fiends appear in the material world, even if the Academy discovers them first, they will let the church handle it, because the church's methods are more effective."

"Divine Arts..."

Shard nodded again. So the Sunlight Gun was able to harm Daknis not only because it belonged to a real Chosen One, but also because it was a High Rank Divinity that is particularly outstanding against evil spirits.

"Is there anything else, such as knowing a demon's true name, or using refined salt to sprinkle on them?"

Shard asked again, and the Priest immediately shook his head:

"Those are the ludicrous fantasies of country bumpkins, belonging to ridiculous superstitions, even more laughable than using garlic to fight the Vampire Kind. Magicians study the true Mysticism; you can't believe in those things. Certain Relics are incredibly effective against such terrifying things, but you can't find those things..."

Priest Augustus was frowning, as if contemplating carefully, and Shard didn't disturb him. After a full ten minutes of silence, the Priest whispered:

"Since you're not willing to tell me exactly what you've encountered, I won't insist. But I can prepare a very effective Magic Potion against demons, and I've named it the Weak Angel Potion... It really is very effective. Shard, do a task for me, and I can prepare a bottle for you."

"Certainly, no problem."

Shard immediately nodded, but the name "Angel Potion" piqued his curiosity. The naming of magic potions by magicians is very meticulous; every potion's registration and patent application go through strict scrutiny, and there is no exaggeration in their names.

Magicians, though in the field of Mysticism, still maintain a rigorous academic atmosphere. Therefore, Shard couldn't imagine what kind of potion would be deserving of the name "Angel Potion."

"Priest, what do you need me to do? Investigate, kill, smuggle, steal, play cards, I can do all of these!"

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"No, no, no, there's no need for such exaggeration,"

the Old Cleric immediately stopped Shard from continuing, gesturing for him not to speak of such matters in the church:

"I will provide the ingredients for the Magic Potion. You need to meet me at this location tonight at midnight; I need your assistance with a minor matter."

The cleric wrote down an address and handed it to Shard. Glancing at it, Shard realized that it was a country graveyard to the north of the city. Although it wasn't the one Mr. Copus watched over, it was still the kind of nameless rural burial ground that belonged to a small village outside the city.

"Alright."

Although he didn't understand what he had to do, Shard nodded nonetheless:

"Do I need to prepare anything in advance?"

"Are you afraid of corpses and ghosts?"

the cleric asked.

"Of course not, ghosts are nothing compared to the things I've faced,"

"That's good. If all goes well, we should complete the task in two hours. Meet me under the dead tree at Hanged Ghost Alley outside the city at midnight. Oh, and if it's convenient, bring your cat with you. Of course, it's fine if you don't."

Shard didn't really care about the request to bring a cat. What concerned him more was who would name a secluded path "Hanged Ghost Alley."

If possible, Shard would absolutely not want to approach such a place at midnight.

To combat evil demons, aside from the methods provided by the cleric, there was actually another way, which was to use a demon to fight a demon. Although Shard didn't know how much power the demon inside Dr. Schneider had, he was certain it was much stronger than the demon inside Daknis.

After all, even Shard, who was sensitive to spirits, couldn't feel anything strange about the doctor when he saw him.

But the demon inside Dr. Schneider was like a ticking time bomb, and Shard had no idea when it might explode. If he were to involve the doctor in this matter, resulting in the doctor's demon undergoing the next phase of transformation, Shard would definitely feel guilty.

Therefore, after leaving Dawn Chapel, Shard thought it over and decided not to seek advice from Dr. Schneider. If possible, he even wanted to try everything to prevent Daknis from encountering the doctor.

But Tobesk was so large, and the doctor didn't have a profession that required running around like a detective, so Shard hoped his concerns were unnecessary.

After returning home, aside from Dorothy's visit in the afternoon, bringing a message from Lecia, no other guests visited No. 6 Saint Delan Square that day.

The blonde girl informed Shard of Her Highness the Princess's train travel schedule, while Shard expressed his frustration at having no business lately.

"Even though there's no business, haven't you made a lot recently? From Miss Galina."

Shard felt that Dorothy said this on purpose, which made him suspect whether the spirit sitting opposite him at the coffee table was Dorothy or Lecia.

"True, I've made a lot, but my detective business isn't progressing."

He was unusually troubled and decided to think of some other ways to advertise himself soon. The reach of newspaper ads was limited, and as an outlander, he planned perhaps to distribute flyers or post small ads.

"Oh, Dorothy, speaking of which, it's Queen Diana's birthday at the end of the month. Miss Galina suggested I give this to the Queen, and I'd like to ask for your opinion too."

"A gift? What are you planning to give?"

Dorothy was quite curious.

So Shard stood up and went to his study, then brought out a round pearl the size of half a fist.

After placing it on the table, the orange cat that had been sniffing around in the kitchen immediately bounded over and happily curled up on it like it was laying eggs. The soft cat immediately took on a curved shape but was promptly removed by Shard.

"Oh~"

As she looked at the pearl with a perfect circle, Dorothy, like all women who had seen it before, uttered a moan-like sigh. She reached out to touch the pearl as if to verify that it wasn't an Illusion Technique conjured by Shard.

Staring at Shard with wide green eyes:

"Is this the pearl you told me about the day you returned? I didn't expect... it to be this big."

"Yes, and I'm quite sure it won't be associated with the Merman. Their pearls are golden and a bit larger than this one."

Shard ran his fingers through his hair:

"I wasn't aware of the Queen's birthday before, but Miss Galina said there's been some political turmoil in Tobesk lately and urged me to present the gift as soon as possible. So, I'd like to ask you, what's been going on recently? Isn't it just a prince who got arrested?"

"Galina did well this time; her advice is very useful for you. Oh, my detective, although your political sensitivity is quite high, you still don't know enough about the Royal Family. Every prince and princess who takes charge of state affairs will naturally form deeply entrenched factions within Tobesk. It's not just a prince this time; a whole political group is going to suffer.

Dorothy said, knowing most things that Lecia was aware of: Experience tales at novelbuddy

"You've already declared your political stance by saving the Queen. This time is a good opportunity—if you can gain the Queen's favor once more, not to mention a knighthood, the next time you do something significant, you could even be granted a title of nobility."