Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Actually, the presence of wind meant nothing special, since in a world where mysticism exists, it could be that the merfolk were using arcane techniques to generate sea breezes to enhance the atmosphere of the ritual.

Knowing that behind the broken wall there would undoubtedly be several merfolk and Circle Sorcerers, Shard didn't even dare peek behind him, but cautiously pressed against the wall, trying to listen to the sounds from the other side.

For a long while, all he heard were whispers. He barely made out that they were prayers to the Evil God, the Lord of the Crimson Spiral, the voices blending together; at least ten people were praying simultaneously at different speeds.

Unfortunately, the "Bordeaux Candle" that allowed invisibility had been used up in the last mission. Not daring to peek out, Shard thought of using the arcane technique "Echo of the Past" to listen in.

The cellar was usually deserted, so within the last 48 hours, the only people who would have spoken here were likely from the Crimson Cult.

The arcane technique did work, but all Shard could hear was the cultists cursing the True God Church for being so despicable, having planted a team of Circle Sorcerers at the banquet in advance, and discussing the wonderful life the merfolk would lead underwater at Coldwater Port City after the Sea Return ceremony.

The two speaking even delved into an in-depth discussion on how to prepare dishes featuring seaweed.

Shard patiently continued listening until he heard a different voice:

"High Priest, those two humans have arrived."

The speaker's throat made continuous gurgling noises, clearly a merman.

Footsteps followed, and they met at the breach in the wall, where Shard was standing.

"Good evening, friends of the Crimson Cult."

This voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"Humans, no need for such politeness. Can our dealings still continue?"

This must have been the Priest of the Crimson Cult presiding over the ceremony here.

"Of course, the church's sudden pursuit left us with nowhere to hide; we had no choice but to try and leave Coldwater Port as soon as possible."

That was the companion of the somewhat familiar voice:

"We had thought of coercing Lady Aphrola to get us a ship to the New World, but didn't expect her to have a Circle Sorcerer from the True God Church by her side. The deal is still on. The Blood Spirit School will provide you the technology to nourish merfolk with human flesh, and you help us leave Coldwater Port and provide the Poet-Level Relic 'Fish Training Ring', which enables sentient beings to master human language."

The group then walked into the breach.

Shard realized that the somewhat familiar voice was that of Daknis.

"The Chosen One has actually mixed up with the merfolk..."

Typically, where The Chosen One is, trouble is likely, and the first Chosen One, Iluna, when she encountered the cultists, directly caused the Evil God to descend upon Tobesk.

Though the gravest consequence in Coldwater Port might just be the city being submerged by a tsunami, knowing that The Chosen One was here made Shard somewhat anxious.

"Going back now to find Miss Aphrola would delay us by at least twenty minutes. And with dawn approaching, there's no time to inform the witch, or I won't be able to retrieve the merfolk's documents in time. So, I still need to see what they're up to."

While he was still thinking about how he could safely enter the breach behind the wall, he unexpectedly heard footsteps again. But this time, it wasn't from the past; someone was currently walking out from the interior of the breach.

Shard hastily hid next to a barrel rack, then saw a man in a grey robe and hood walking out.

He could tell it was a man, because after looking around, he began to urinate against the wall.

Imagining the face Lady Aphrola would make knowing a man was peeing in her wine cellar, Shard slipped off his ring and silently controlled the silver mist that drifted towards the man.

Once the mist had completely enveloped him, Shard sneakily looked around twice, then raised his swords, bent his waist, and tip-toed into the breach.

About a dozen seconds later, Shard, with some blood on him, dissolved the surrounding silver mist while wearing the man's robe.

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The body beneath his feet bore the incomplete visage of a merman, indicating its low status within the Crimson Cult.

Fighting back disgust, Shard smeared the slimy mucus from its face onto his own. He then uneasily applied the mucus to his clothes before folding the body as best he could and stuffing it into a canvas from the shelf, like a toy into a pocket.

Having done all this, he tiptoed slightly to make himself appear as tall as the man he had just seen, then donned a hood and lowered his head as he walked into the breach behind him.

Despite the dryness of the cellar, as soon as his body entered the area behind the breach, the moist air changed Shard's breathing pattern.

He had never been to such a damp place, where the moisture in the air felt like it could condense into droplets and fall to the ground at any moment. Only true bodies of water could be more humid, Shard could not fathom how such humidity could occur naturally.

With his head hidden under the hood, Shard walked briskly forward. His destination was clear as several people dressed like him were sitting ahead.

Before him was a wall covered in disgusting moss, constructed of pale gray damp bricks, in a space not much larger than two-thirds of an entire floor of the Shard house.

Beneath his feet was a layer of black standing water lit by luminescent moss on the walls, candles, and countless glowing beads on the high dome. The uneven floor beneath the water was lined with stone benches, and every so often, a squared hole was carved out of the wall for unknown purposes.

The pale gray stone walls and dome above had some faint patterns. Taking a careful look around, Shard was certain that this was some sort of small chapel.

From the professors' conversation he had eavesdropped on a few hours earlier, he realized that beyond the breach in the wall was a secret religious meeting place established by the mermen before the Aphrola family purchased the manor.

With this understanding, Shard no longer looked around aimlessly but quickened his pace toward the front, joining a group of about a dozen people in gray cloaks seated on the chairs in the damp little chapel. He chose a seat at the back, not moving forward in an attempt to see more.

The gray cloaks were interesting; they had no patterns on the surface, but the hems looked as if they had been torn. Everyone here wore robes like this, likely a peculiar style of clothing decoration by the mermen.

After Shard took his seat, he finally had the chance to observe the front of the damp chapel. There was no divine statue, only a seemingly bone-made holy emblem shaped like a spiral, with a merman symbol at the center of the spiral.

In front of the holy emblem, three similarly fat old men, holding books and with severely disfigured faces, were praying in a whisper to the Evil God "Lord of the Crimson Spiral."

Shard had thought from outside that there were dozens of people whispering, but it turned out there were only three.

The books they held were the "Mystery of the Ocean," which Shard had seen in Mr. Jude's safe. However, the three books now appeared were made of leather, clearly containing the evil knowledge of the cult.

Looking to the side...

"Hmm?"

Shard quickly lowered his head as the person in front of him suddenly turned around and then looked back in confusion at his companion. Underneath the hood was a half-merman face, which paused on Shard for a few seconds before sniffing and turning away without a word.

Apart from the disgusting mucus, the "Scales of the Drowned Fisherman" on Shard also made the cultists regard him as a peer. It seemed, though the scales had exposed Shard in front of the witch, they were quite useful in the damp chapel, making it worthwhile to have borrowed them from Dorothy.

Shard continued to observe carefully; the three fat mermen holding the books were on a raised platform, so no water covered the floor beneath them. He could see concentric semicircles emanating from the center merman on the ground. Black ink left seahorse-shaped desecration runes on the floor, which Shard attempted to decipher, realizing they not only praised the Evil God but also celebrated the ocean and death.

He could only see part of the ritual. There must be more ritual traces within the small chapel.

"However, if there's any book that contains the knowledge of mermen, that 'Mystery of the Ocean'... Mr. Jude's might not be complete, but the ones here definitely are,"

Not taking Mr. Jude's book last time wasn't a mistake for Shard because if Mr. Jude's book had contained the complete Sea Return Document, the church should have been able to find a way to break the ritual immediately after exterminating the mermen in the old street.

His eyes continued to scan the surroundings; only three praying mermen stood in the damp little chapel, and aside from the dozen or so gray-robed mermen seated on the long benches, there were also two individuals in black robes with indistinct faces, likely the Crimson Cult's own Circle Sorcerers, distinguished by different colored clothing.

The only two not wearing robes were sitting in the first row of seats on the far left of the chapel. Shard recognized Daknis's back instantly, and the person beside him must also be a member of the Blood Spirit School.

"Aside from me, there are four Circle Sorcerers here; if it really comes to a fight, even with the witch's ring, I can't take them all on..."

His right hand cautiously retreated into his robe, touching the steam bomb hanging at his waist. Although Lecia hadn't specified the model, in such an underground space, the explosion might not bode well for the Circle Sorcerers, but those merely resilient mermen would definitely be finished.

"If only I knew a Sorcery like 'Corpse Explosion.'"

Then he thought of the two bodies in his pocket and suddenly had an idea.