Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 874 - 874 Shard's "Greed

The dense ominous clouds almost caught the eyes of the people outdoors in the surrounding areas. The Circle Sorcerers in the center of Huntington City almost all sensed that terrifying power.

On the roof of the nearly pitch-black mansion, in the next moment, a red light burst forth in front of them.

Emma Sylvia felt the hand holding her loosen. The fire glowed before her eyes, and she widened her gaze as she saw Shard step forward. In that gale and darkness, fine cracks spread across his body, and the red glow, like burning embers, trailed faint sparks with the wind.

Feeling the temperature of that glow up close, she was completely certain it was the "Fire of the Primordial."

"That's..."

Shard understood what was inside the brass box and what was about to happen next. Miss Sylvia reached out to stop him, but Shard just flung his item-filled coat toward the Grand Witch.

Shoving the leaf into his mouth, under the panicked gaze of the Witch, the horrified looks of the Priest, the Vampire Kind, and the Princess, Shard leaped into the clouded sky.

Thunder roared, and the pitch-black lightning in the clouds finally converged into a black thunderbolt, striking down.

Even the people fighting in the courtyard unconsciously looked up at the roof, saw the figure engulfed in fire colliding with the thunderbolt.

Boom!

After the deafening noise, silence reigned once more. The terrifying spiritual pressure vanished, and the ominous clouds dispersed, revealing the radiant starry sky again. Only the buzzing in their ears proved that what had just happened wasn't an illusion, and only the Circle Sorcerers could see the faint lightning still flickering under the starry sky.

Thud!

With smoke rising from his body, Shard heavily fell from the sky onto the roof. At this moment, the moonlight of the three moons illuminated his prostrate form, and scorching white smoke rose from his singed body, his clothes completely charred.

The events that transpired in that instant left the young Grand Witch at a loss, but she still bent down, picked up Shard, and disappeared from the rooftop.

"Ugh..."

Mr. Benhart hesitated, looking at the now peaceful roof, then asked,

"Who were those two just now?"

The middle-aged Priest of the Peace Church slowly shook his head, walking to the edge of the roof to peer around, ensuring that the Truth Society, Cultists, and the two unidentified individuals had all left.

"Your Highness, do you have anything on you?"

The Priest asked the Princess who was pretending to be terrified. She immediately shook her head,

"I don't know, but you can check my personal belongings. I have no contraband."

Her Spellcasting Materials were all in Miss Sylvia's possession, so she wasn't afraid of being searched.

"We'll discuss this later, but Your Highness, please remember, those two gentlemen did not appear tonight. Their identities... are somewhat sensitive."

The Priest pointed at Mr. Benhart and said, and the Princess immediately nodded.

"We'll leave first."

Mr. Benhart also said, then signaled Viscount Lamadi to leave with him. But the Viscount respectfully bowed to the Princess,

"Your Highness, I am Johnson Ramadi, at your service."

After confirming that Princess Margaret knew who he was, he then left with Mr. Benhart, who felt that the Viscount's action was rather undignified.

"Truth Society?"

The Priest murmured to himself, then he and Princess Margaret together waited on the rooftop for the church's reinforcements to arrive. On the other side, Miss Sylvia had already returned to her resting room with Shard's charred "body."

The Grand Witch, trembling all over, placed the "body" on the sofa. As she reached out to feel his breath, she saw the fingers of the charred body suddenly twitch,

"Oh~"

Shard sat up straight under the gaslight, startling Miss Sylvia.

"How are you?"

The Witch carefully asked, then saw the soot-covered Shard open his eyes, his gaze bewildered for a moment, then he exhaled a puff of smoke,

"Cough cough, not bad."

He started coughing loudly, then gasped for breath, and nervously touched his mouth, ensuring that he had completely chewed and swallowed the Ever-Youth Leaf. He had to admit, the healing trait of this Relic was truly outstanding.

As he moved his hand, the black "shell" on his body cracked, revealing smooth, normal human skin underneath again.

He looked at his arm, confirming that his expensive suit was entirely ruined, but luckily, the wedding attire Lecia had prepared for him for next week was still untouched.

But then he paused, touching his head, and indeed found that his hair had been singed black,

"This is bad."

"If you're worried about your hair, don't worry, I can help. Witches are good at growing hair."

Miss Sylvia said softly, causing Shard to finally let out a sigh of relief.

[Outlander, you have gained insight into "Thunder," "Wrath," and "Storm."]

A voice echoed in his ears as Shard calmed his violently racing heart, still feeling the sensation of being struck by that pitch-black thunder:

"Is it confirmed to be a divine power?"

[Yes, judging by the power of that thunder, the relic [Divine Punishment of Wrath] contains at least a drop of divinity. From your perception, it is most likely the divinity of the Evil God [Fury Storm].]

"So it is as expected."

Shard had charged towards that thunderbolt because he was the only one among them with "divinity" resistance; a full strike from that Angel-Level relic was not something easy to block. Additionally, he wanted to feel that power more closely.

It now seemed that, before figuring out the matter of the "Lake Goddess," he had encountered a second drop of divinity.

"Miss Sylvia!"

Shard suddenly said, startling the young witch out of her thoughts. Compared to Granny Cassandra, she indeed was not as mature.

"I'm here. Are you okay?"

She asked worriedly, remembering how Shard had risked his life to face the thunderbolt head-on. Looking back, if it weren't for him, even though she was a Tenth Rank Witch and a Ten-Ring Sorcerer, she would have faced big trouble.

"I'm fine, feeling quite well, but I do need a bath."

He looked towards the witch, suspiciously asking:

"What exactly does Princess Margaret have on her that makes the Truth Society go to such lengths? Is it that book of "Immortality Magic"?"

"No, it only contains two lines of a Fragment of Poem Chapter, which though precious, isn't worth such a high cost from the Truth Society."

Miss Sylvia said, her eyes flickered down, and her cheeks immediately turned pink:

"You... put on some clothes first."

She threw the outerwear Shard had given her for safekeeping back to him, and Shard then noticed that all his clothes had carbonized under the thunder strike, leaving his skin as he stood up:

"Sorry, sorry."

He reached into his pocket for his spare clothes. The Grand Witch slightly turned her head and lifted her right hand to block her side view, indicating avoidance.

But as Shard rummaged through his items, the middle and ring fingers of her right hand slightly parted, and her lovely, shy eyes peeked through the gap:

"Oh~ truly a man"

Her face turned even redder.

After putting on his clothes, Shard informed Miss Sylvia that she could turn around. Though the young Grand Witch still had a blush on her face for some reason, Shard had no time to ponder why:

"Tonight has been interesting. The Truth Society hired the local [Pantanal Voodoo Society] to provoke a fight between the Voodoo Society and the Church, revealing clues about the Evil Creatures of Pantanal. They themselves are searching for an unknown object. Huntington City seems to be about to fall into chaos, and the Church will not let the Voodoo Society off. Miss Sylvia, it seems your visit to Tobesk won't be very peaceful either. That Miss Pawo from the Truth Society will probably target Princess Margaret again."

"It's alright, she is at least a sane madwoman."

Miss Sylvia seemed reluctant to look directly at Shard. She reached for her handbag, searching for a magic potion to treat Shard.

"With you by Princess Margaret's side, plus Xerxes' sanctuary and the Church's protection, there shouldn't be any problem, and Tobesk still has Miss Galina."

Shard sat on the sofa, placing his new shoes on the ground.

"Inviting you to this banquet, I didn't expect such things to happen. If it weren't for you blocking that thunderbolt in the end... Miss Galina's praise of you is not an exaggeration at all."

Miss Sylvia said softly, handing a bottle of pink magic potion to Shard. Since Shard didn't know if he had any other injuries, he uncorked it and drank the potion, which had a cherry flavor with a hint of mint and tasted quite good:

"It's nothing; protecting beautiful ladies is my responsibility."

The young Grand Witch smiled, feeling as if she began to understand why the formidable Countess Galina Cavendish was so "enamored" with Shard.

Despite conversing with Miss Sylvia, Shard's thoughts had already drifted onto another matter.

Putting on his shoes, he looked out of the window. After the black clouds dispersed, the brilliant star river glittered above the mist. The air quality in every city he had visited was better than that of Tobesk:

"I initially came to this city due to the rumors of the 'Lake Goddess.' Unexpectedly, without finding the Lake Goddess, I discovered this from the cultists. Troubles keep increasing."

He thought, feeling that the lit-up Huntington City resembled a giant crouching in the Dark Plain.

Miss Sylvia also came to the window with him, watching outside. She was following the movements of the Church Ring Sorcerers. After that thunderbolt, the Ring Sorcerers from the Pantanal Voodoo Society were already retreating, but the Church didn't let them go.

[So, do you find it troublesome?]

She asked with a soft laugh in the gentle evening breeze from the window. Shard's eyes widened slightly:

"Troublesome? Of course not."

His eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at the darkness in the night sky. Divinity of the Evil God, divinity of an unknown deity, now both clues were right before him:

"I want both divinities!"