Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 466 - God of Gambling and Demon Hunting Seal

Since he had gained more information about that "game of life" in times past, Shard became actively involved in conducting an investigation.

And the method of investigation was naturally to commission others to help him gather information. This was an inevitable matter, for Shard had no direct channels for intelligence. Unless the Silvermoon Library, referred to by the librarians as "the repository of all knowledge," opened its doors to him, Shard could only honestly seek help from others.

On Monday morning, as Priest Augustus had just finished breakfast in the chapel's dining hall and was thinking of taking a walk in Dawn Square to aid his digestion, he saw Shard hurriedly alighting from a carriage:

"Oh, Detective, you've come so early; surely you're not here to listen to the sermons, are you?"

The Priest was in a good mood, standing at the church entrance in his robes and even joked with Shard. He greeted Shard and talked him into going inside the church for a conversation. As they walked down the corridor, Shard discreetly handed the Priest the Holy Emblem that Mr. Riddle had drawn, somewhat worried about passing an Old God's Holy Emblem in a True God's chapel, an act of blasphemy:

"Priest, I'd like to commission you to help me find the Old God corresponding to this Holy Emblem."

"Holy Emblem?"

Priest Augustus glanced down at the strange lines, and a sensation of chaos and a hint of discomfort confirmed to him that this was not a mere doodle:

"This is... Oh, it's this one!"

"Priest, you recognize this?"

"Of course, this is the long-gone Old God known as 'The Restless Black Hunter,' or also called 'God of Gambling.' In fact, even today, there are still scattered believers of this Deity. Although the order has long since vanished, gamblers pass down His stories by word of mouth, and His divine statues and Holy Emblems can occasionally be found in underground gambling dens."

The Priest elaborated, then asked curiously:

"I heard from Annette that your luck in Roder Card games has always been quite good; you surely don't need to seek help from this Deity, do you?"

"No no, not Roder Cards."

Shard immediately shook his head:

"I want to know more about The Great One."

"I can't help you with that."

The Priest shook his head regretfully, looked around, and then said in a lowered voice:

"The Order of this Deity has long vanished, and the Church has very few records of Him. Recently, the Church found materials left by the worshippers of the Old God, the Creator of Innocence, but it isn't often that such 'treasures' are found."

"I see... What would happen if I attempted to cheat in front of this Deity?"

Shard didn't dare admit that he wanted to cheat in a gamble with a Deity. He merely wished to try to join the game himself; although he had only experienced life in this world for a mere two months, it was certainly more exciting than Mr. Riddle's experiences.

"If that Deity hasn't yet departed, you could refer to the fates of those well-known blasphemers in history for the consequences of cheating in front of The Great One."

Which meant certain death, making it clear to Shard that it would be better not to entertain any crooked thoughts about this gamble.

Seeing that Shard had no further questions, the Priest went on to say:

"It just so happens you came to see me today, I have prepared the Weak Angel Potion I promised you last time. Come with me to my workshop to get it."

Priest Augustus's Potion Workshop was a basement rented from a friend on a street next to Dawn Square. The two chatted as they walked and, on a Monday morning, there were not many who could leisurely stroll through the streets like them.

After all, everyone has to live, and both the Old Cleric of the church and Shard, who could live for a month on a single commission, clearly did not belong to what was considered normal.

The two discussed the upcoming prayer event to be held by Dawn Chapel and talked about the church's plan to book the Draleon Royal Opera House for the weekend to invite troupes to perform an opera based on 'religious stories'.

And as a local, devout believer, Shard could naturally get a ticket directly from Priest Augustus if he wanted to go.

"Does the church often hold such... cultural events?"

It took Shard a while to find the right words to describe. A boy selling newspapers approached them but withdrew when he saw Priest Augustus's attire—the church already subscribed to newspapers.

Yet, the priest still smiled and called the boy over, buying a copy of the Steam Bird Daily with the change from his pocket. Today was Monday, and there was a new installment of Dorothy's detective stories which she had proudly claimed to be a real success on Saturday.

Even Shard was now fond of following Dorothy's serialized stories. It wasn't because he wanted to see others praise him but rather to see how Dorothy adapted those tedious detective records.

The priest folded the newspaper and tucked it under his arm as he continued to explain:

"We frequently hold similar activities. The sermons and preaching that were popular in old times are hardly sufficient for this era. The prosperity of the steam industry has made people wealthier and created a greater need for spiritual guidance. So, besides the most important festival activities every year, the Church of the Five Gods organizes a variety of assembly activities every once in a while."

"Unsatisfied and unbalanced, I understand," Shard nodded, but he didn't delve too deeply into the topic. Instead, he asked:

"Besides organizing opera viewings, what other activities are there?"

Seeing Shard's keen interest, Priest Augustus explained with a smile:

"Psychological counseling, mutual aid societies, or organizing to make cookies in the chapel that the church then delivers to slums or city welfare homes. Oh, and every six months, we organize gatherings for young believers whose family situations we thoroughly understand, giving them an opportunity to meet each other."

This could be considered a matchmaking activity, and children born to believers who married each other were likely to become devout followers themselves.

Priest Augustus, however, did not invite Shard to these events, as the old man vaguely realized that Shard had a special relationship with the two Female Sorcerers in his group.

The two also discussed the Circle Sorcerer of the Truth Society they had encountered the previous week at the end of Hanged Ghost Alley in the Nameless Graveyard. Priest Augustus had handed him over to the church, which of course conducted further interrogation, hoping to gain more information about the Truth Society.

Unfortunately, perhaps because Shard's Great Sin Chain had pierced the soul twice, even though he was revived through ritual, his wisdom and thought processes were still somewhat confused.

The church, after examination, concluded that his soul had become distorted and attributed this to the dreadful resurrection ritual. As for more news about the Truth Society, it was currently only possible to deduce from the private letters of the captured Circle Sorcerer, but breaking the encryption of those letters written in the Ancient Language also took time.

The Truth Society, being the kind of organization it was, wouldn't have sent just one person to act in Tobesk; the church believed he must have had companions still in the local diocese.

"So, don't use that chain of yours unless it's necessary," the priest warned Shard as he fumbled for his keys to open the door:

"Just seeing that chain, I can almost feel the sin. I believe you can control your power, but I worry others won't trust you."

As he stepped over the threshold and entered the underground chamber, a strange, indescribable bitter odor filled the air, a scent resulting from Priest Augustus frequently concocting magic potions there. The temperature in the basement was considerably higher than above ground, likely due to the furnace in the corner still glowing with embers.

The "Weak Angel Potion" that Priest Augustus had prepared for Shard now rested on the test tube rack of the experimenter's stand. When handing the glass tube to Shard, he complained that further advanced potion courses required more precise chemical instruments, and acquiring such devices was a great hassle. Saint Byrons's prices were exorbitant, the Draleon National Precision Instruments Institute was difficult to access, and although some departments of the Mechanical Academy in the University District would take custom orders, their turnaround time was extremely long.

The "Weak Angel Potion" looked like a tube of transparent liquid, indistinguishable from water by appearance. But upon contact, a voice immediately signaled to Shard that he was experiencing a "miracle."

Shard gripped the test tube and instantly felt a warm temperature, akin to holding a comfortably heated hot water bag on a winter's day.

While not the same kind of item as the "Sunlight Gun" brooch crafted by Iluna, the elements and spirit contained within Priest Augustus's magic potion were almost more powerful than the pin.

"To use it against a demon, the most direct method is to pour it into the demon's mouth. However, considering that most evil spirit demons are not in human form, they may not have a mouth or other orifices, so you could also douse it on their bodies,"

Priest said as he leaned on the table, explaining to Shard:

"I don't know exactly what you're up against, but with one dose of this, even if it doesn't completely banish the foe, it will undoubtedly have a significant impact on them."

"Would it be useful to pour this on my weapon?"

Shard asked curiously, taking a sniff from the uncorked test tube, detecting a mild grass scent. It was fortunate that Mia was currently engrossed in "adventures" at home and had not followed him out, otherwise the cat would certainly have tried to swipe it.

"Certainly, it would endow the weapon with holy light damage for a limited duration. Moreover, dropping the liquid on your eyelids, nose, and ears would enable you to detect traces of evil entities with invisibility capabilities."

Priest mused for a moment:

"It's a difficult potion to concoct, and I can only provide you with this much in the short term. If you can't manage on your own, remember to ask me for help, oh, I mean, ask the church for assistance."

"Of course, Priest."

Shard didn't mention his companions and said, somewhat embarrassed:

"Priest, the potion you provided is too precious, and my help wasn't much. So, do you need anything else..."

"You don't need to say that, our group should be helping each other. Besides, you're fighting demons, which is a just cause. If I took payment from you, I would be seen as avaricious."

Priest Augustus stopped Shard from continuing and Shard could only keep his gratitude inside, thinking he'd find a way to repay the priest in the future.

Meanwhile, he took out the mark for expelling demons he had copied from Mr. Riddle's body, wanting to ask the priest if he knew what it was.

Though he expected the priest might need to consult some resources, to his surprise, the priest furrowed his brows. Not only did the priest recognize the holy emblem of the deity, but he also recognized this:

"Oh? Where did you see this mark? I suppose you're not well-versed in basic heraldry, as modified versions of this symbol are often used in many blessing ceremonies."

"I saw it in... an ancient book that described methods to fight demons. The book mentioned that this mark could expel demons. Priest, is this the imprint left by a relic?"

"Yes, oh Detective, I never expected to see this from you."

Priest Augustus asked Shard to sit down and have a conversation:

"As you know, the evil spirit demons are twisted and horrifying entities that survived from the ancient Third Era. Although intelligent beings of that time feared them, the mystical system of that era was not completely without means to combat them. A group of people who aimed to hunt demons gathered together, and the mark you saw was the seal they wore. Back then, this was a considerably powerful alchemical item."

"So did that group of people continue to exist? Like, in the dark turbulence of the Fourth Era, the witches' Fifth Era, and our current Sixth Era, is there still such a group? Do they have some sort of organization?"

Shard asked curiously.

"They disappeared toward the end of the Third Era or the beginning of the Fourth Era for various reasons. The metal seals that had survived transformed into relics, the very things you're looking for. As for how many of those seals remain, I do not know, but what I do know is that they are 'Keeper of Secrets Level Relics' named 'Demon Hunting Seals.'"

"Only Keeper of Secrets level?"

Shard expressed his surprise.

"Because the sole purpose of the seal is to grant the object branded with the mark the power to resist demons. Other than combating demons, it serves no purpose, and even its two negative traits are related only to demons. If a Circle Sorcerer does not make contact with it over a long period, once a sorcerer touches it again, it will directly attract demons. Moreover, possession of this seal increases the likelihood of encountering demons,"

Priest explained.

"Then where are these seals now?"

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"I do not know."

Priest shook his head:

"But there is a belief that when demons appear, these seals will also manifest, the last gift the Demon Hunters of the Third Era left for posterity."

"That just makes things more difficult."

Shard thought to himself that now, including both the church and the Academy's magician groups, all were searching for traces of Daknis. At this point, regardless of the route Shard took to find the "Demon Hunting Seals," other organizations would come to know of it.

Unless a seal literally ran into Shard, he couldn't see how else he might have any chance to acquire it.

"Oh, Shard, about this magic potion, remember not to tell anyone that you got it from me,"

Priest Augustus suddenly added.

"Even Dr. Schneider and the others should not know?"

"Yes, no one should know,"

Priest emphasized seriously.

"No problem, I've already got enough bizarre items on me as it is,"

Shard nodded, aware that this magic potion was certainly no simple concoction.