Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 696 - The Terrifying Home

He grasped the tongue with his left hand, yanked forcefully, and dragged out the nearly corporeal evil spirit hiding in the stairwell.

This soul seemed to come from a much more distant era; it crawled on the ground, its limbs were bent backward, and its body was covered in repulsive pustules, each bearing a different face.

The overall visage was indescribable, and whether the black mucus dripping onto its footpads was real or not was unclear. That horrific appearance was enough to make any self-proclaimed resolute adult collapse; it was not something that should exist in the sunny world of the living.

“Come here!”

As he pulled on the tongue, the Great Sin Chain emerged from his sleeve, climbing along the tongue to bind this terrifying creature.

But the pustule above the evil spirit’s navel burst in that instant, and an evil ghost with the appearance of a scissor-wielding woman sprung out, cutting the tongue short.

The crawling black evil ghost immediately moved down the stairs, dragging along the white fog and grim green light. The scissor-holding, bloodied-faced woman spirit, in contrast, charged at Shard, only to be met by an irate Shard lashing with the black chain, piercing the soul directly with the chain.

The power of the Great Sin infected the spiritual body, causing the soul unable to bear the profound power to collapse instantly.

“So the source of those evil spirits was that pustule-covered fiend. Where exactly did it come from?”

After putting on his shoes at the door, Shard took Mia and pursued down to the first floor.

From the white fog and the light, it seemed that the opponent had not entered the first floor but had passed straight through the foyer, using the spirit’s characteristics to pass through the door into Saint Delan Square.

Shard pushed open the door and burst into the chilly autumn night. Around the square, the elegant black gas lamps glowed dimly, and all the neighboring residents had turned off their lights. In the distance, rowdy voices could be heard—on such an autumn night, who knows which drunkard was having a disagreement with a patrolling officer.

Looking up at the moon above Saint Delan Square and quickly stepping down the three-tiered steps under the rain eave, he made a swinging motion, repelling the evil ghost lurking under the eave.

This time, it was not the sword moving Shard’s hand, but Shard had apparently learned the movement; the sword was gradually imparting its combat knowledge of cold weapons to Shard.

Looking at his own rain eaves, Shard stepped back a few steps to formally enter the square, watching the terrible creature cling to the wall and ascend, then suddenly lunge at Shard from above.

“Hmph!”

Shard hurled his longsword, and as the Evil Ghost changed direction mid-air in the moonlit night, it was still impaled by a second blade summoned by the “Blade of Chaotic Time.”

Cracks immediately appeared in the Spiritual Body, preventing it from controlling its movements again. Then, a two-handed greatsword emitting the glimmer of Silvermoon cleaved downward:

“Moonlight Greatsword!”

Using Lagre’s Leap to appear in the air, Shard swung his sword and cleanly severed the head of the Evil Ghost. After landing on his feet, his left hand, adorned with the Mind Crystal Ring, struck fiercely at the falling Soul Shards:

“Psychic Shockwave!”

A muffled thud sounded in the air, yet it was not loud enough to attract the neighbors’ attention. As the black Evil Spirit crumbled completely, the other Evil Spirits imprisoned within its body’s pustules were simultaneously released.

Dismissing the greatsword from his hand, he straightened his arms and slapped them down vertically in front of him with a snap. After separating his left and right hands, a dazzling arc of light, parallel to the ground, silently flew forward, annihilating all the souls that had just been freed. These pustule-bound Evil Spirits didn’t seem very powerful; they only acquired unique abilities through manipulation.

“Guide to Death!”

Before the black Evil Ghost fully vanished, Shard touched its Soul Shards with Arcane Technique. Instantly, blurry and fragmented memories flooded his mind. Due to the severe damage to the soul, there was very little useful information, but a few familiar scenes of No. 6, Saint Delan Square, led him to a terrifying conclusion.

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Those scenes were not of his current home, but of No. 6, Saint Delan Square from a far more distant era:

“That black fellow, was it originally the master of No. 6, Saint Delan Square? This isn’t a foreign spirit but one that was already in the house? But… where was it hiding? I’ve lived here for three months, and I haven’t discovered anything.”

He petted the cat on his shoulder, then looked toward his home where the thick fog was gradually dissipating from the walls. Under the moonlight, No. 6, Saint Delan Square stood quietly, its wall shadows coexisting harmoniously with the bright gaslight, with an open door leading into the dark and deep entrance hall.

The familiar home now seemed somewhat horrific.

He bent down to pick up the Night Watchman’s Longsword, its glimmer now gone, indicating that the place was safe.

“But… is it really safe?”

He walked up the steps with caution and placed his hand on the wall between the front door and the milk box.

[All seems normal.]

“But where did that Evil Spirit come from? Moreover, the Mirror Ghost that appeared during Dorothy’s promotion ceremony, could it also have been originally in the house…”

Shard pondered this as he stood at his doorstep, hesitating to enter. The gaslight from the square illuminated one side of his face and also cast an orange sheen on the lively cat’s fur on his shoulder.

With a furrowed brow, he carefully stepped into the dark entrance hall. Instead of going upstairs, he first went to the basement to check, ensuring that the problem wasn’t with the “Space” and “Darkness” doors down there.

Returning to the second floor, the “Traveler’s Gate” in room number two stood normally under the moonlight, yet Shard did not continue back to the bedroom in room number one to sleep:

“It’s two in the morning… for tonight, I’ll stay somewhere else.”

Feeling awkward to disturb Luviya, and knowing that the landlady of Dorothy Apartments would never allow a man like Shard to stay the night, and a visit to Dr. Schneider at this ungodly hour would probably scare him again.

So, packing up his clothes, Shard took Mia in a carriage to Three Cats Inn in the Lower District for the night. Among the prizes for winning the championship of the Big City Players was a voucher for Three Cats Inn. The innkeeper, Mrs. Sangmi, of course, recognized this prize and, upon greeting the young Detective who arrived in the middle of the night, curiously glanced at the elongated object wrapped in cloth in his hand and jokingly inquired whether he wanted to experience the inn’s nightlife special.

A weary Shard turned to look at the girls dressed in simple clothes, either sitting or standing by the wall, shook his head indicating he just wanted to find a place to rest himself and the cat:

“Whatever it is that’s invading my house, I’ll make sure it pays!”