Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1773 - 1772: Outpouring Fury

"Half? What use is half? Don’t you know the weight of His Excellency the Speaker’s voting rights? And what about you? What exactly is your relationship with Shard now?"

Megan asked again, the Balanced Grand Witch still unwilling to reveal "that" secret, hoping to savor the fresh meat alone for a while:

"Our relationship, can’t you see it? Just as you thought, except for that matter, our relationship couldn’t be any closer."

She put down her wine glass and embraced Shard’s arm:

"I’m the first witch to know Shard. If no one else progresses faster, I will not only be mocked by Emma and the others, but also looked down upon by the Witches of the Fifth Era."

"What does this have to do with the Witches of the Fifth Era?"

Audrey asked suspiciously, Miss Galina winked at her:

"I’ll tell you about this later, it’s a complicated matter. But one thing can be said—Shard is indeed a God Summoner, you guessed it yourself. So far, all of the Chosen have been related to him."

"When you mentioned that long list of titles just now, I guessed it... Are Iluna Beath and he also in a romantic relationship?"

She asked patiently, this matter is very important.

Hearing this question, Miss Galina couldn’t help but laugh. She wanted to make a remark about her anonymous student, but Shard saw that she wanted to tease Iluna, so he preemptively said:

"Yes. I and another Female Diviner helped Iluna complete the ritual of the Balanced Chosen. You could say, except for betraying the Church, Iluna is willing to do anything for me."

"Actually, betraying the Church, Iluna might be negotiable too."

The Red-Haired Witch quietly added and then said:

"The Chosen of Darkness, Ivan Daknis, was killed by Shard and Iluna working together; Joey Barton, the First Chosen of Death, lost his qualification because he was defeated by Shard in death."

"Then what’s the relationship between Sister Delphine and Shard? You wouldn’t say that the nun, who always has a stern face, has her eye on Shard too, right?"

Audrey pressed on, and the Duchess thought for a moment:

"I’m really not sure what Sister Delphine thinks, but if you asked her to choose between the Council and Shard, she would definitely choose Shard."

Audrey thought for a moment, unexpectedly looked at Shard:

"The flame you once bore on the chains was the Fire of the Primordial? You inherited the Primal Fire?"

"Yes."

"Then I understand, for the Spiritual Practice Order, as long as you don’t plan to extinguish the Primal Fire, that Sister Delphine is willing to do anything for you... After Balance, Darkness, and Death comes Knowledge, oh, that’s unnecessary to mention, Shard surely participated in the Battle of Pantanal, and the authority of Knowledge and Wisdom disappeared too. Finally, there’s Earth, the ’Guardian of the Earth’ isn’t as cold as the instrumental person of the Earth, right? Besides Ciris Lathes, because she’s the daughter of one of those souls, it’s not very easy for others to actively approach them, isn’t it?"

Shard explained briefly:

"I helped the Guardian of the Earth solve a major problem, consumed some dirty things to purify the Earth, I can tell you more about it in detail later."

"In summary, Megan, Audrey, that’s how things stand. Shard is pursuing the Chosen, and he’s been doing quite well. Although it’s unclear exactly what he intends to do, it’s not in conflict with the interests of the Council."

The Duchess sat there, reaching out her hand to the brown-haired girl across from her:

"Do you want to report Shard to the Council? Or do you want to join us in keeping this secret?"

"How could I possibly do anything against Shard?"

Audrey retorted, looking at Miss Galina’s hand, and then hesitantly asked:

"So, the first girl Shard said he met... was it you?"

"I’m not that lucky."

Talking about this topic, the Duchess also felt a little melancholic:

"It was a girl with beautiful purple eyes, although her level wasn’t high, her means were quite impressive. You’ll have a chance to meet her in the future."

Then the two hands clasped together, and Shard took a slight breath of relief at this scene, but still, he said:

"Megan, Audrey, it’s indeed my fault for keeping the fact that I know witches a secret for so long, I apologize."

"I think someone else should apologize to me."

Audrey looked at Miss Galina, who smiled and asked:

"I feel like someone should apologize to me as well, after all, Shard is my Knight, but someone..."

Bang!

The sudden sound made Miss Galina stop talking—it was gunfire. They simultaneously looked towards the direction of the banquet hall downstairs, and the Duchess closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then indicated to Shard and Megan not to worry:

"I knew before leaving Tobesk that this trip wouldn’t be smooth, but I didn’t expect that on just the second day... Wait here for me, I’ll handle it."

With that, she stood up and quickly walked away.

Just after the door closed, Audrey stood up, bypassed the coffee table, and sat beside Shard. Her golden eyes looked at him, and the guilty Shard pursed his lips:

"I..."

"I don’t care about that. You’re so honest and loyal. This must be Galina’s idea."

She reached out to embrace Shard:

"Now I understand why you said you wanted to tell me your identity today. It’s so much better than I imagined."

Shard also embraced her, although he was still thinking about finding a way to formally apologize, as she was truly quite upset just now.

But at that moment, the window on the side wall of the lounge crashed open with a bang~, and a man in a black coat and a jester’s mask swung inside through the window holding a rope.

He rolled smoothly on the carpet to dissipate the force, and upon standing up, saw the embracing couple staring at him in shock.

This was an ordinary person, who clearly hadn’t expected anyone to be here. As he reached for his gun, Shard was already the first to draw his gun and stand up:

"MI6? Or Grey Glove?"

Shard repeated the sentence in both Delarion and Casenric, but the stranger who broke into the room obviously gave no answer. The stranger decisively pulled out his pistol, aiming forward, only to drop it with a scream as a thrown dining knife pierced through his entire right hand.

He staggered back a few steps, then turned and grabbed the rope, jumping out of the window. The manor house surroundings offered no chance for him to jump to other building rooftops, but someone upstairs seemed to have pulled the rope directly upward.

"I’ll go up and take a look."

Shard said, and Audrey also stood up:

"I’ll go with you. I need to vent some emotions. Let me see, who is it this time."

Illusion Technique masked their bodies, then Shard transformed into a Red Butterfly, and Audrey became a Glimmer, flying out of the window together.

At that moment, the rope was just pulling the man towards the roof, so the two also arrived at the rooftop and saw the man, with the dining knife still in his hand, being supported by another man wearing a black top hat and tailcoat, evidently also a guest at the masquerade.

The man in the black top hat appeared to be about thirty years old, with somewhat androgynous features. He was a Circle Sorcerer of the Seventh or Eight Rings, and although he failed to spot the Butterfly Swarm and Glimmer under the moonlight, he immediately received a cue from his companion:

"Hurry, people are in the lounge!"

The man with the top hat didn’t hesitate, first taking out a piece of transparent silver cloth to cloak the two, and after becoming invisible, he grabbed his companion and flew into the air.

Flying isn’t a rare ability for Circle Sorcerers, and as they advance into High Rings, even without specifically learning flight, they gradually acquire similar skills. For example, Shard’s Red Butterfly Incarnation, though slower, is safer compared to ordinary flying abilities. So, seeing the other party fly at this moment didn’t surprise Shard too much.

"Shadow Orb."

The Red Butterfly coalesced into Shard in mid-air, the Darkness concealing the Shadow Orb silently flying toward the pair in the air.

The man in the tailcoat sensed something and turned, releasing a transparent Shield, but as Audrey standing in the air sliced a Light Trace with her finger, the Shield shattered neatly. The Shadow Orb flew toward the Circle Sorcerer’s back, but he directly shielded himself with his wounded companion, receiving Shard’s Arcane Technique instead.

Amidst a clattering sound, somewhere above, the Great Sin Chains had already darted skyward, and with Shard stepping onto the rooftop floor, yanking forcefully, the man in the top hat indeed landed, quickly entangled by a second Great Sin Chain waiting on the ground.

"I’ll handle this."

Audrey stood in front of Shard, so Shard nodded and retrieved the chains.

Of the two who landed, the ordinary man hit by the [Shadow Orb] had his body stone statue split in two upon impact. The man in the tailcoat, disheveled, got up and without hesitation, summoned his Ring of Fate.

The Seven Rings revealed among the Steam Mist, Desecration-[Discord] and Enlightenment-[Victory] together emitted Spiritual Light.

His hands formed a virtual grip as scattered light consolidated into a crystal-like double-barreled hunting rifle.

"Quickly now, this is Rose Manor, the Church’s people are coming."

Shard said softly, and Audrey flipped her hair without even summoning her Ring of Fate, and two overlapping voices rang out:

"Knowledge is..."

Her glowing right fist swung forward, followed by two diamond-like giant fists appearing on either side of the man about to trigger the hunting rifle:

"Power!"

After a muffled sound, the floating metallic Ring of Fate shattered, dissipating into the Steam Mist. The Eleventh Rank Grand Witch took a deep breath, waved her hand to bring the dining knife back into her hand, and then left the rooftop with Shard. Less than five seconds later, the rooftop door opened, and the Church’s Circle Sorcerer team arrived, only to see the shattered stone statue and the crushed man.