Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 703 - : Enemies Reunited

“So that’s how it is! No wonder he ran so fast! I knew it couldn’t have been my doing… But if Armand Bernhardt is here, then who was it that ignited the flames on the first floor, grievously injuring the man covered in black hair?”

No matter who set off the flames on the first floor, Shard had no intention of leaving the room right away. Since he had encountered a trader, he might as well engage in some trade.

When he expressed such a wish, the gaunt creature immediately said in an exaggerated tone:

“I guess you must be a more generous guest than that vampire just now.”

“No need to flatter me, do you have this?”

Shard rummaged through his pocket and took out the Pirate’s Blood Money, and the creature in front of him immediately nodded:

“Blood money, of course, but how much do you need, guest?”

“How much do you have?”

“There’s one in the Mansion’s treasury, and I have one in my personal collection. If you want them, I can offer you a very good price… What about taking on 1.1 perfect moments of Sloth on my behalf?”

Although it sounded like a small amount, “perfect” level sin was enough to alter an ordinary person’s disposition. Even a Circle Sorcerer couldn’t take on so much sin without affecting their own soul. While there was a chance to obtain a Spirit Rune from it, “sin” was a serious contaminant, and even a strong soul should not lightly allow such a degree of impurity within.

“Though those two Blood Coins are Relics, your asking price is too high. Can you lower it? I feel like 0.1 moments might be acceptable.”

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Shard tried to haggle but the creature by the window shook its head, showing no interest in bargaining.

“Then how about switching Sloth for Gluttony? I’m even willing to take on more.”

Shard’s Gluttony originated from the Evil God known as the Lord of the Blood Feast; more sin was not an issue for him.

But the creature by the window still shook its head.

“You should at least give me a chance to negotiate, right?”

This time, the gaunt creature with large ears finally spoke up, its murky eyes fixing on Shard:

“If you agree to this trade, I can give you this lamp.”

It pointed to the kerosene lamp perched atop the bamboo pole, looking very similar to the one held by the old man who led Shard in, but more archaic.

“I can’t give you the flame inside the lamp, but it can collect Kindling Flame. Even the most powerful flames can’t destroy it.”

Which is to say, the purpose of this lamp was merely to collect flames. Translated to Relic levels, it would probably be the lowest, Poet-Level.

“No, no, no, what do I need this lamp for? How about this, I’ll take on 1.1 moments of Sloth for you, in exchange for two coins… In addition, tell me a way to leave Sin Mansion under the current circumstances.”

Shard thought the creature would still disagree, but after hesitating, it actually nodded:

“That’s possible.”

“Hmm?”

Now it was Shard’s turn to be puzzled, but the gaunt creature stared at him with its frighteningly large eyes:

“Do you want to back out?”

“No, we can trade right now.”

The transactions in Sin Mansion couldn’t involve lies, that was probably the only good thing about this accursed place.

Firstly, Shard handed over the parchment that recorded his own sins to the other party, and after both sides confirmed it, the trader wrote the words “1.1 marks of Sloth·Perfect” on it.

Almost simultaneously, Shard felt a change within himself. The Whisper Element was unnaturally strengthening, and it was as if a hand reached out, touching his innards directly, a sensation of stepping on excrement in an alleyway, which made him show a look of disgust on his face, but this change indeed granted him power.

Two conflicting emotions surfaced in Shard’s heart at the same time. And a more direct impact was that the influence of Sin Mansion on him had intensified once again. What was originally a slight headache now became even more intense than the pain in his wrist when it was fractured. The building was accepting him, when this acceptance reached a certain limit, he would officially become a part of the Relic.

“I don’t feel any problems with my personality for the time being, it’s a pity I can’t use ‘Dark Dungeon’ to check on the shadow beneath the trapdoor…”

Thinking this, he opened his palm, letting the trader place two Blood Coins in it.

“What about a way to leave?”

“Normal methods won’t work for leaving now, but there are two abnormal methods.”

He grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth, and extended two thick short black fingers:

“First, go to the third floor and confess your sins to the master of the mansion, and you’ll be able to leave. Second, head to the underground wine cellar. There’s a secret passage in the wine cellar, but that path is not easy. Spirits of sin guard the way and won’t allow you to leave easily.”

It paused for a moment:

“And recently, the master has entertained a distinguished guest, tasting wine in the cellar. If you don’t want to die quickly, do not engage with any other presence in the wine cellar.”

Shard furrowed his brows, although he had obtained the two coins, both exit strategies sounded unreliable. In the end, fearing the power of the mansion’s master, Shard decided to leave through the basement, facing anything was safer than confronting the inner master of a location-type Relic.

Without further delay, he left the room and went directly down the stairs to the first floor, not encountering the man with a face full of black hair who had been throwing the kitchen knife earlier.

After arriving at the first floor, the distortion of the corridor was even more severe than the upper two floors. Moreover, the carpet, walls, and oil paintings and fixtures all bore burn marks, the air smelled of charring, and the residual heat from the fire had not completely dissipated. It was as if there had been an actual gas explosion here; even though location-type Relics themselves were not easily changed by external forces, this one had still been greatly affected:

“There should be guests apart from me and Armand Bernhardt on the first floor, and the other party is stronger than both of us combined.”

The entrance to the underground wine cellar could be reached by walking around the corridor from the front of the mansion to the back.

He looked up at the charred ceiling but didn’t show too much curiosity, instead moving quickly along the corridor. The fire that had just occurred on the first floor was indeed alarming, among the cracks in the walls there still lingered embers, the flickers of which proved that the fire that burned everything was not ordinary flame.

“Could it be a Relic-level flame…”

The heavy footsteps ahead interrupted Shard’s thoughts. At the corner of the corridor appeared the large human-shaped creature with a face full of black hair, wielding two sharp blades once more.

And not only had his injuries completely healed, but black lines like Rune Shackles had also appeared on his skin. This appearance was very similar to Shard when he was devouring the Flesh of Desire beneath the Aphrola Mansion; these represented the power of Karmic Sin.

“So how am I supposed to beat him now?”

Shard turned to run, but the blackened kitchen knife was already flying towards him.

“Spatial Stabilization Aura – Lagre’s Leap!”

The forces to stabilize and transcend space were almost used simultaneously, and Shard’s body shifted about half a meter to the right in an instant. The terrible knife grazed his scalp as it flew past.

“I do have the power of si—no, Karmic Sin!”

The distant monster reached out, and the knife embedded in the floor behind Shard flew back to its hand. But as the knife passed by Shard, he, with both hands on his sword, clanged the knife away.

As the enemy tried to summon the knife again, Shard took a deep breath, allowing the Ring of Fate on his back to fully manifest, his strongest combat state:

“Great Sin Chain!”

A chain as dark as if it could absorb light snaked out from his sleeve, wrapping around the trembling kitchen knife with a clattering sound. And as the knife was pulled back to the hand of the enemy, the chain coiled around the handle extended all the way to the enemy’s front.

The chain, as agile as a tentacle, entwined from the handle around the opponent’s right wrist. Before the other hand could tear the chain away, it had already wrapped around the hairy arm.

“It works!”

The Spirit within him flowed rapidly, signifying that the chain’s binding was effective. Although it had only wrapped around one arm, the enemy’s power was clearly weakening.

Both sides wrestled with each other using the chain, and the Great Sin Runes representing Gluttony and Greed on the chain vibrated under the tension of the two forces.

Shard hoped to entangle the enemy’s entire body with the chain, while the man with the face full of black hair seemed intent on pulling Shard closer to give him a deadly strike.

“Now is the time—Moonlight!”