Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Before Miss Feliana left yesterday, she suggested that Iluna consult a witch who mastered the power of balance. Coincidentally, the symbol behind Miss Galina's chair in the Witch Council was "Balance."

Iluna did not object immediately, and Miss Galina did not urge her but glanced at Shard.

After serious thought, Iluna gathered her long hair and looked at Shard as well before whispering,

"Sorry, I like men."

The Witch Council was very mysterious and low-profile; even the Church could not confirm that these women, who claimed to be witches, indeed possessed the powers of the Fifth Era. The common perception outside was that the Witch Council was known as the "Handkerchief Enthusiasts Society," so Iluna was somewhat worried about her safety.

"You can rest assured,"

Miss Galina smiled,

"I don't like men."

Iluna looked even more worried.

"But I also don't like girls with little figure like you, look at my maid."

She took Tifa's hand, and Miss Maid smiled shyly at Iluna, who stared at her and then looked down at herself.

"Rest assured, I guarantee you with my honor, Miss Galina is not a bad person."

Shard finally spoke; regardless of Miss Galina's intentions, if Iluna could follow her further on the path of "Balance," it was actually a good thing. After all, from Daknis's performance, the potential of The Chosen One was indeed terrifyingly tremendous.

"Well, okay, Lady Galina Cavendish, but I must emphasize that I will not call you teacher, nor will I reveal any secrets about you to the Church. As compensation for learning, if you need me to do something, I won't refuse as long as it doesn't compromise my morals. Oh, and you also cannot mention my matter to anyone."

Iluna said, and Miss Galina nodded:

"That's fair. I'll send you a letter in a few days to discuss your study plan."

She then said to Shard,

"Look, Detective. Although I didn't personally kill Daknis as the Council requested, at least I've got a promising student."

"I was just about to ask, what happened to Luviya?"

Iluna asked curiously:

"Didn't Shard mention in the letter yesterday that she would join us in hunting Human Pus?"

"She... needs to rest now."

Shard explained this way, and Iluna nodded her head without thinking much.

Miss Galina seated across Shard wore a smile.

It was tantamount to suicide for a normal person to drip "Human Pus" into their own eyes. However, Shard's "Echo of Blood" had the automatic function of eliminating dangerous components from body fluids, and since Human Pus had discarded all its power to barely escape, it was in its weakest period, which is why he dared to do so.

Of course, having Miss Galina's care near him was also a very important reason.

The amount of pus he collected wasn't much, probably enough to maintain the effects of Arcane Technique for just over an hour. So after dropping Miss Galina off at Yordle Palace, Shard, along with Tifa and Iluna, used a carriage to move around the city.

Starting from the south of the city, a red glimmer formed a thin halo-streaked line in the air, indicating the movement trajectory of the Human Pus.

Shard was not sure if the severely weakened power would affect the intelligence of the opponent, but judging by the direction of movement, the Human Pus was actually heading towards the Tobesk City Center where Yordle Palace was located.

"Could it be that because Daknis brought it to Yordle Palace and met a Member of the Royal Family, it already planned its next host?"

He shared his findings with his companions, but Iluna waved her hand, signaling Shard not to worry:

"The True God Church and the Cavendish Royalty have an agreement, the Church protects the safety of the Royal Family, the weakened Human Pus cannot break through the Church's security."

"Miss also received no messages, last night at Yordle Palace everything was normal,"

Tifa also added.

The red halo moved from the southern part of the city into the University District, but before it continued north into the core urban area, it abruptly turned directly east.

Consequently, the carriage carrying the trio diverted from the University District to the eastern part of Tobesk, and after almost crossing half of the city, Shard saw the somewhat familiar Rontgen Avenue streetscape:

"No way..."

He came here every Saturday afternoon.

The traces left by the Human Pus in the air almost straightly entered the Schneider Psychological Clinic located in the middle section of Rontgen Avenue. As the carriage passed in front of the clinic, due to shock and surprise, Shard didn't even manage to stop the carriage in time.

Eventually, the carriage carrying the three stopped at the intersection of Rontgen Avenue and Smith's Market Street. After careful consideration, Shard did not let Iluna and Tifa get out of the carriage with him:

"Wait for me a moment, I need to handle some matters."

He alone carried the "God's Gift Box"; he had to determine what exactly happened between the Human Pus and the doctor.

"What's wrong? Did you find the target? Why didn't you let us follow?"

Iluna was perplexed, and Tifa was also unwilling to let Shard act alone.

"He might have encountered some trouble, but it's nothing major."

He said with some concern, took out his notebook, wrote down the address of Dr. Schneider's Clinic, closed the notebook and handed it to Tifa:

"Hasn't my performance in the Dark Realm convinced you yet? None of you should follow me. If I don't return within half an hour, you can give the notebook's address to the Church and let them send a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer to solve the issue."

He took the umbrella Iluna had used earlier from the side storage box.

"Shard..."

"Don't worry, I can handle it."

He jumped out of the carriage, opened the umbrella and looked toward Schneider Psychological Clinic on Silver Cross Avenue.

Perhaps the demon within the doctor was not as powerful as the force of Human Pus, thus suffering from a deeper possession; perhaps the doctor had long been in contact with Human Pus, and he was actually a villain; or perhaps it was something else entirely. But Shard wanted to face what was coming on his own, even if Bill Schneider indeed had problems, he would deal with them alone.

"The doctor's luck shouldn't be that bad..."

As this thought crossed his mind, Shard suddenly felt that he should have anticipated this:

"The doctor wasn't in the city yesterday afternoon either; couldn't it really be such a coincidence he went to the south of the city?"

The people at the psychological clinic recognized Shard, who visited often. He inquired and learned the doctor was indeed in the clinic and happened to have just finished with a patient and was likely writing medical records.

"Not suddenly going out of town, that's a good sign."

With these thoughts in his mind, he met Dr. Schneider on the second-floor reception room. The gas lamps inside had not been turned on. Because it was still raining outside, the room seemed especially gloomy. The doctor was sitting at his desk frowning while writing something, the gas lamp in front of him the only source of light.

Bill Schneider looked no different from usual. On the contrary, on seeing Shard, he was surprised and thought he was in trouble:

"What brings you here? Please sit, oh the gas lamp in this room is malfunctioning, shall we talk in another room?"

"This is fine. Doctor, I'm not in any trouble."

Shard closed the door behind him and looked toward the bright gas lamp. He walked over in silence and extended his right hand to the standing doctor:

"Long time no see, Doctor."

"What do you mean, long time no see? Didn't we just work on the Mind Crystal on Tuesday night?"

The doctor asked in astonishment, very puzzled by Shard's attitude, but still shook his hand.

[Everything's normal.]

Shard breathed a sigh of relief internally.

The two sat down on the sofa. The pitter-patter of rain hit the windows, and the gloomy light seemed even more feeble by the time it reached the room on the second floor of the clinic.

Listening to the rain, Shard, sitting across the coffee table, didn't know what to say. Seeing Shard acting like this, Dr. Schneider grew even more concerned:

"Shard, it was I who led you onto the transcendent path; you can always trust me."

The doctor spoke very earnestly. Perhaps for him, this was just another ordinary Sunday morning.

Shard hesitated, nodded slightly, reached into his pocket, and took out the [Demon Hunter Seal]:

"Doctor, I have a ring here. Would you please wear this on your finger?"

The doctor instinctively bent forward, reached over the coffee table wanting to take the ring Shard was holding in his palm. But halfway through, seeing what exactly was in Shard's palm, the middle-aged man's expression suddenly froze.

He slightly opened his mouth to look at Shard, then slowly retracted his arms, placed both hands on his knees, hunched over, and sat there. His head bowed, he seemed to have aged ten years all at once.

Shard pursed his lips, looked at the ring in his hand, and wore it on his finger. For a moment, neither man spoke, but neither was at peace either.

The sound of the rain seemed to grow louder, and the light within the room seemed to grow even darker, the glow from the gas lamp appearing ever more distant from them.

It took a while before the doctor stood up and came to the window under Shard's gaze. It was the first day of September, not strictly autumn, but the rain had added a desolate sense to the air nonetheless.

Outside the window, Rontgen Avenue was bustling, even though it was drizzling and a Sunday. Even though the window was closed, the noise on the street could still be heard amidst the sound of the rain, but this noise had nothing to do with the two men in the room.

"Detective, what do you know?"

The doctor asked, his back to Shard.

Shard, sitting on the sofa, didn't stand up or answer the question. Instead, he asked his own question:

"Doctor, is Human Pus here with you?"

The doctor looked out the window while Shard turned his head to look at the doctor. The weather in Tobesk was strange, the outside misty and blurry like a water-stained oil painting of a faded street. The doctor dared to keep his back to Shard at such a close distance. If Shard intended to attack with Arcane Technique, the doctor was surely doomed.

Upon hearing "Human Pus," the doctor's shadow flickered slightly, and he nodded gently:

"Yes, I... ate it."