Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 235 235

"But what is the price of using it?"

Shard wasn't blinded by the description of the necklace's function, even though it was essentially a greatly weakened version of "Divine Afterglow State."

The Grand Witch replied:

"To use this necklace, you must bear an amplified version of the Witch's Curse. While wearing it, any male who comes into skin contact with you will experience severe allergic reactions that can threaten life and uncontrollable headaches. Of course, this curse has no effect on the Witch herself. Therefore, it's best to put it on only when using it, and definitely avoid direct contact with the Silver-Eyed One."

"Is that all? It doesn't seem very dangerous."

She smiled at Shard:

"Of course not, the necklace itself carries the Witch's resentment and curse. If the curse is triggered, the user's Ring Sorcerer level will jump directly to twelve, and then they will lose their mind and attack anything until death. But don't worry, the effect has been temporarily suppressed by the Council, so you definitely won't have a problem using it."

"Oh, that's really quite something... Miss Galina, please allow me to express my thanks."

"No need for thanks, it's just a loan. However, this is my personal jewelry; I can lend it to you, but you cannot let anyone else use it. Do you understand?"

Shard nodded; he understood the request—after all, it was personal jewelry:

"No problem, I will use it myself."

Then Miss Galina asked:

"Would you like to try out its effects? Male servants are not allowed on the second floor of the manor, so you don't need to worry about triggering the curse."

Shard nodded and carefully attempted to put the necklace around his neck. But, having never worn such a thing, he failed several times and finally, Miss Maid helped him fasten the clasp at the back of his neck.

Shard expressed his embarrassment with a thank you, then looked up at the sky.

Drifting snowflakes fell from the heavens, and Miss Galina, surprised, reached out to catch them.

Shard glanced at her, making sure she had not detected anything unusual, and continued to work the Maze Lock.

This action wasn't reckless but a test to see if the secret of the Maze Lock would also be seen through. If discovered, he would explain it straight away; it wasn't an issue if Miss Galina knew this secret. If she couldn't detect it, Shard would realize that the Magic Maze Lock, in its incomplete state, would not be easily noticed.

As the Maze Lock continued, the light inside the room suddenly dimmed, and the wind whirled the snowflakes around in the sky. All three looked up at the ceiling, but what hung there was the night sky with the Silvermoon.

However, this scene lasted only three seconds before ending, and Shard, pale-faced, stopped the Arcane Technique. The effect during the period of wearing the necklace was about two-thirds the enhancement of ringing the "Judge's Holy Bell," the latter having directly allowed him to summon the Matchstick Girl, while the former could only change the environment on a large scale.

"Quite nice, very nice indeed."

Saying so, he extended his hand to take off the necklace. But once again, he failed to do so, and the Miss Maid held back her laughter and reached out to help him once more.

"As long as you are satisfied, take the necklace with you, and return it to me after the event. Don't worry about being recognized by others; I have never worn this necklace while acting on behalf of the Witch Council. Its enhancement is not very significant for a High Rank Ring Sorcerer."

Miss Galina said this and then added suddenly:

"Oh, Detective, don't... Tifa, bring the jewelry box from the bedroom."

Shard paused in the act of stuffing the necklace into his pocket, then realized that it was somewhat improper to put someone else's personal jewelry directly into his pocket.

Miss Maid left the room, and Shard brought up the topic of the Evil God again:

"Miss Galina, there is something I must confirm. Are you certain that the arrival of the Evil God, 'Lord of the Blood Feast', can be stopped by the Church? I wouldn't want to come out of the underground ruins with my companions only to see... the whole of Tobesk turned into a part of a dining table."

The events at Lakeside Manor had made quite an impression on Shard.

"I cannot promise you with one hundred percent certainty, but there should be no accidents this time."

The Duchess said, seeing Shard's still worried face, she continued to explain:

"The True God Church has been dealing with similar matters since its inception, from the latter part of the Fifth Era to the year 1853 of the Sixth Era, only twice under the Church's surveillance have mistakes been made allowing the descent of an Evil God, and those two times indeed resulted in heavy losses, so much so we had to call upon the True God to resolve it... I have also checked internally within the Council, and the ritual that allows the 'Lord of the Blood Feast' to descend in Saint Form, a human vessel and the grand crimson banquet are necessary conditions. The Church is confident in taking Mr. Lawrence into custody during the banquet, and the grand banquet will also be promptly disrupted by the Church, so there is no way it can be successful no matter what."

"But Mr. Lawrence is just a vessel prepared with the help of 'Blood of Mercury', what if the cultists have a backup plan?"

Shard was still worried.

"Then the Church has other methods as well."

The Grand Witch had great confidence in the Church.

"But even if the banquet is stopped, the concept of 'banquet' in the ritual doesn't necessarily mean a real banquet, what if they find another way to conduct the ritual?"

"If so, they must create an impact across the entire city on a scale equivalent to a 'Blood Feast', but that is almost impossible."

Miss Galina answered, seeing Shard's face still fraught with worry, she knew that the incident at Lakeside Manor had left a deep impression on him.

The voice suddenly lowered:

"The Church has a last resort, they have prepared an Unclassified Level (Level 0) Relic."

Shard raised his head in astonishment and looked at the witch, who nodded:

"Under no circumstances are you to tell anyone else about this, I haven't even told Tifa. Yes, there is a Level 0 Relic in Tobesk right now, specifically designed to deal with the appearance of Saints, brought and guarded personally by the recent Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer 'Sunlight Greatsword'. Mere mortals cannot stand against Deity, but Deity can contest with Deity. It is a weapon left by a departing Old God, with great sacrifice, it can temporarily imprison a Saint Form Deity within a certain area to buy time for the True God Church to call for the help of the True Gods. The True God Church is never short of people willing to make sacrifices, so Detective, what you need to consider is the banquet and your own actions. It is the work of the True God Church to prevent the descent of an Evil God."

"What exactly is that Unclassified Level relic?"

Shard asked.

"I do not know either, it's a secret of the Church. I only know of its existence in Tobesk through intelligence obtained by the Council."

She sighed and looked towards the door:

"Since Tifa hasn't come back yet, let me tell you something else... actually, I can't say anything about it, it's even more secret and important than the Level 0 Relic. Anyway..."

Miss Galina looked awkwardly at Shard and after a long time, she said softly:

"Anyway, if you encounter any strange Church Female Sorcerers lately, remember to tell me."