Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1782 - 1781: The Story of the Reunited Witch and Ghoul
This time, Shard didn’t make a mistake. Although the chains in his right hand were evaded by the ghoul with a posture beyond the limits of an ordinary human, the chains in his left hand successfully locked the ghoul’s left leg. However, the ghoul immediately cut off its own foot with its claws, staining the expensive carpet with black blood, then struggled again to escape, but this time it had no chance.
"Spatial Stabilization Aura! Don’t go, I really mean no harm!"
Shard threw himself at it again, and the ghoul rolled on the carpet to dodge, leaping towards the ceiling with a roast chicken in its mouth, but was pulled down immediately by Shard.
The two then rolled into a tangled heap, and Shard ignored the stench on the other party, trying to lock its limbs and engage in a physical struggle. Unexpectedly, the ghoul had similar thoughts and attempted to lock Shard using ground fighting techniques, fully confident in itself.
While the two were focused on their struggle, the tightly closed door at the end of the carpet was suddenly pulled open from the outside. Before Shard and the ghoul could look up, the power of spatial imprisonment affected them both simultaneously.
"Who is daring enough to do this? Don’t you know where you are?"
A woman’s scolding voice rang out. Although she hadn’t appeared yet, the strong force had already made the tangled man and undead tense up.
Black high heels stepped out from the left side of the door, followed by a beautiful woman in a purple dress with long black hair, who strode in with a fierce presence. Her appearance was more dazzling than the brightest flower in spring, and even in her fury, it didn’t diminish her beauty.
Miss Emma Sylvia maintained the spellcasting seal posture with her left hand, scolding angrily:
"Who are you, really? The Drowning Cult? The Truth Society? Or the Tyranny Club? No, no matter who you are, since you dared break in here, then don’t think you can... hmm?"
Only then did she see clearly the situation in front of her.
She saw Shard suppressing the ghoul with his body, while the ghoul, restrained by chains, had a steaming roast chicken clamped in its mouth. "Spatial Grand Witch" Miss Emma Sylvia was momentarily stunned. She had imagined many scenarios of reuniting with Shard in the Green Lake region, but never this scene.
"Good morning, Detective... need some help?"
"Of course, please help me. Mr. Green, stop struggling, I really don’t want to hurt you!"
In short, although frequent spatial spellcasting caused unexpected spatial anomalies, fortunately, this spatial shift wasn’t very far, and it happened to be relocated to the estate where Princess Margaret was staying. Naturally, Miss Sylvia didn’t think it was a coincidence because she was conducting experiments on spatial rifts in the underground level earlier, which might have been why Shard and Ghoul Elder Green appeared unexpectedly.
This location was the City of Glass on the South Shore of Green Lake — Mikaela Ironworks City. The head of the Casenli delegation this time was Duke Simir, who is a distant relative of the Anjou Royal Family and can be considered Margaret’s uncle. But unfortunately, the Duke arranged for the Great Prince of Casenli, Samuel Anjou, to stay with him, while arranging for Margaret to stay in a different estate.
This wasn’t because Duke Simir believed Samuel Anjou would be the next King or felt Margaret’s abilities were inferior to her brother’s. It was purely because the Duke was a supporter of traditional views, disliking the involvement of women from the Royal Family in politics.
But Margaret didn’t care about these matters; she had already held a ceremony to officially become an apprentice of Witch of the Earth Miss Benanis. With Miss Benanis and Ciris leading the "Golden Dawn Opera House" in Velindale City, they had completed her initial education. Now Her Highness the Princess was fascinated with the power of witches, putting aside thoughts of vying for power for the time being.
However, coincidentally, this morning, Margaret needed to attend a meeting, so she left, leaving only Miss Sylvia and a few maids in the house. Otherwise, Shard and the ghoul’s appearance just now would have stirred up a much larger commotion.
There was no time for Shard to greet Miss Sylvia after their long separation, so he asked if there was a suitable place to speak. Then, with the ghoul tied with chains on his back, he followed the witch through the corridor to the basement, which was also her and Margaret’s laboratory.
Shard once again activated the [Spatial Stabilization Aura], and Miss Sylvia set up a ritual to prevent spatial movement. After confirming through the question "blink if you agree" that the ghoul would not try to escape again, Shard finally released his chains.
Sitting on a bench against the wall, the ghoul under the dual ritual of "Space Imprisonment" and "Undead Killer" finally took the roast chicken out of its mouth.
Though its appearance was terrifying, its expression and the rationality in its eyes representing intelligent life were the same as a normal person’s. Nicholas Green sighed, his murky yellow eyes looking sharply at Shard, then asked in an extremely hoarse voice:
"Did you just say you know Helena and Soren?"
He finally was willing to speak.
Shard stood in front of the ghoul talking to him, while the curious Miss Sylvia sat not far away at the experiment table, where an alcohol lamp was still heating a liquid with a green fluorescent hue.
Shard did not completely let down his guard, but he felt some psychological relief with the Grand Witch behind him.
"Yes, they are my friends. They are still running your family’s inn, and I also know about Edward’s situation."
Shard asked puzzledly:
"I don’t understand, why did you try to run earlier? I said I wouldn’t hurt you."
The ghoul gnawed at the roast chicken for a few bites before continuing to answer:
"Whether you harm me or not has no relation to whether I speak to you. Although I’ve been living underground for a long time, it’s not like I’m unaware of the recent happenings on both sides of Green Lake. You’re either from the church or a member of another Circle Sorcerer Organization. I don’t want to associate with you; yes, I don’t want to associate with anyone."
"Why not?"
"Because you are definitely not a match for the ancestors."
The murky yellow eyes looked like a beast’s, but the soul behind them possessed complete rationality:
"My transformation into this appearance is inseparably connected to the ancestors. After dying and reviving in the coffin, I accidentally discovered an ancient tomb while digging through the soil, where I found a complete set of alchemy and magic potion equipment, along with corresponding book knowledge."
While chewing on his food, he asked Shard:
"Sir, do you really think this is a coincidence?"
He answered his own question:
"I’ve been dead for over twenty years, I know the family’s past earlier than any of you. You won’t be able to outmatch the ancestors, simply won’t."
He shook his swollen head, and didn’t forget to take another bite of that roast chicken:
"So, I try not to interact with anyone, only wait for the day of the family’s reunion to come."
"You’re a pessimist."
Shard remarked:
"I’ve seen quite a few descendants of the Edwards Family. But except for you, everyone is trying to prepare for the last matters, planning various countermeasures against the ancestor. Why are you so pessimistic?"
"Because I’ve seen the ancestor."
Ghoul Nicholas Green’s words suddenly shocked Shard and Miss Sylvia.
"What?"
The Witch couldn’t help but stand up:
"You’ve seen the Thirteen-Ring Diviner? Inside the island or outside?"
"Outside, in the ancient grave I dwell in."
He didn’t lie to the two of them:
"It was the second winter after I awoke, he came to see me willingly, and informed me of some family past. At the time, I was like the living family members you mentioned, wanting to resist him, but he subdued me easily. That was when... I understood his Power."
The ghoul let out a long breath, his body trembling from innate fear. But in truth, undead creatures shouldn’t have emotions like fear, so the current state of Nicholas Green probably has something to do with the Thirteen-Ring Diviner’s experiments.
"He talked with me for a long time, gave a rough sketch of the Edwards Family history, and asked me if I wanted to go back with him. I didn’t agree and he didn’t force me, instead letting me live in that ancient tomb, occasionally helping him with tasks, and said one day he would return."
"What tasks?"
Miss Sylvia asked.
"Every few months, I help him steal specific corpses from the public cemetery in Green Lake City, and replace them with other corpses. Since the total number of corpses remains unchanged, and I’m only operating underground, shifting the stolen corpses through the underground to the water ghosts waiting in the lake, no one has ever noticed."
He didn’t hide what he had done:
"Are you going to blame me for stealing corpses? Let me emphasize, I don’t eat humans, nor do I eat corpses, I only eat beef, lamb, chicken, and duck."
After speaking, he took another bite of roast chicken.
"I need the list of corpses you’ve stolen. Also, did your ancestor say anything else?"
Shard focused on the main point, the ghoul nodded but did not immediately say:
"You must promise to let me leave afterward. I still live near the cemetery, if you want to find me, call my name at the broken house."
"No problem."
Shard nodded; he originally didn’t intend to restrict the freedom of the Green Siblings’ father. As for stealing corpses, although it’s certainly wrong, one can’t demand too much from a non-human ghoul.
The ghoul didn’t require Shard to swear, and instead directly said:
"The ancestor said a lot back then, I’ve gradually figured out some things over the years. He intends to increase the family’s... variety."
"What?"
Shard didn’t understand this sentence, whereas Miss Sylvia slightly frowned, and the Grand Witch obviously thought of something:
"Is he planning some kind of large-scale ritual? Family members are ritual symbols, so there need to be enough varieties?"
