Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1751 - 1750: Parasitic Fetus

The night had not yet ended, and the figures of Shard and Megan suddenly appeared within the reeds by Green Lake. Both quickly looked around and only sighed in relief after ensuring no Church people were nearby.

Megan did not release Shard’s hand but held him tightly. They stood there in the depths of the reeds, embracing silently. It was a while before Megan released Shard.

She looked into Shard’s eyes and stepped back two paces, then turned around. First, her jacket was removed, and then, with a rustling sound, she unbuttoned her white shirt.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Shard hastily said, casting an Illusion Technique to cover the surrounding area, "Divinity Overflow" state hadn’t ended yet, Red Butterfly Illusion and Moon Shadow Illusion overlaying each other, making it impossible for anyone to see through.

The brown-haired lady completely ignored Shard. She finally undid all the buttons but did not completely take off her clothes, instead, she turned her head to look at Shard, then bit her red lip, letting the upper half of the shirt drop, revealing snow-white shoulders, the upper half of her white back, and the edge of a pink and white bra.

Shard immediately turned his head to avoid suspicion, but was reminded by the "voice" in his ear:

[Look carefully.]

So he looked at the witch’s back, then slightly furrowed his brow. On the back, smooth and silky like milk, there was actually a scar. This scar shouldn’t exist; Grand Witches possess a trait tending towards "perfection," with every part of their body perfect and flawless – he had confirmed this with Miss Galina.

If it were a small, healing wound, it might exist, but such a large scar shouldn’t be there.

Megan said nothing, just turned her head to look sideways at Shard with her back to him. Shard, seeing the scar on the perfect skin, gradually became serious.

The palm-sized scar increasingly resembled a face. As soon as he thought this, the face became more three-dimensional and detailed, bearing more resemblance to both Megan and Audrey’s faces:

"This is..."

"Yes, parasitic fetus. A rare condition with an incidence of one in 500,000, even considered a curse in some backward regions. During pregnancy, parts of the complete fetus may parasitize another or several incomplete fetuses. Audrey and I were originally twins but absorbed each other in our mother’s womb."

She continued to look at Shard sideways:

"At the time, our souls were newly born and confused, so it was unclear who absorbed whom. But the souls emerged before the physical absorption, occupying the same body. This, even as an ordinary person, made my soul’s strength and spiritual power twice, or even more than twice, that of a normal person, yet caused years of soul pain and mental instability."

Though he guessed a similar reason, seeing it for real, Shard was quite surprised:

"Can I touch...?"

"No."

Audrey said almost without hesitation, but it wasn’t that she took control again; rather, the "scar" uttered the sound.

Even possessing vast experience with bizarre things, Shard couldn’t describe his shock at this moment. Megan’s sideways glance carried sadness, and the scar on her back slowly vanished, restoring her back to perfection and flawlessness.

She redressed, turning while keeping her back to Shard, fastening her shirt buttons with both hands in the reeds:

"This scar can transfer anywhere desired, so no one besides my father, mother, and my Thirteen Rings friend has detected it, but the scar cannot be removed. Originally, the scar was just a scar, serving no other purpose, but just now, after you re-distinguished us with Angel’s Power, the scar gained the ability to speak. It’s ugly, right?"

"No, not at all ugly."

Shard hastily shook his head:

"If you don’t believe me, you could show it again, let me touch it, and I’ll prove it."

The brown-haired girl’s tone improved somewhat, but she remained with her back to Shard:

"Sometimes you’re straightforward to the point of being annoying... Thank you, thank you for everything you’ve done."

"What is the state of your souls now? Completely separated?"

"No, our souls can never be completely separated. Audrey and I were already one in our mother’s womb, before birth. We are tied together in this world; we were one. As for the current status of our souls and new powers, I don’t want to explain now. I’ll tell you after we return..."

She paused, then softly said:

"I’ve fastened all the buttons; the reason I’m still with my back to you is that I hope you’ll embrace me from behind. Do I need to invite you explicitly?"

"Oh, sorry."

Shard finally reacted, took two steps forward, and embraced the girl wearing the white shirt from behind. Their two warm bodies hugged together, putting an end to this dangerous night.

The sky was still black; the lunar eclipse would last a while longer before ending. The embrace lasted only a short time before Shard released Megan. The Female Sorcerer, puzzled, turned to look at him, only to see Shard carefully saying:

"I’ve sensed that my teacher has arrived, I need to dispel the illusion to meet her, hiding all the time won’t work."

"Your teacher?"

Since Miss Danester and Shard hadn’t spoken just now, neither Megan nor Audrey were clear why the rumored "Red Moon Witch" had come here.

"I just used the alchemical item she gave me, I can’t just pretend nothing happened."

"Well then, I didn’t expect I would meet your teacher first."

Shard temporarily canceled the Illusion Technique, and Megan’s heart skipped a beat. She then realized since Shard had no parents or relatives, his teacher should be his closest elder. Instinctively wanting to dodge, she was caught by Shard on the wrist:

"Stand behind me without speaking, don’t worry, she’s not a bad person."

"Actually, I hope when you evaluate me, you would use words better than ’not a bad person.’

The faint sound of high heels on water was drowned out by Miss Danester’s voice.

Shard and Megan looked towards the source of the voice, seeing a tall woman with dark red hair wearing a black long dress and blue high heels, walking from the reed marshes facing Green Lake. After passing through the reeds, Miss Danester curiously looked at the brown-haired girl behind Shard, then at the coat she was holding and the hastily buttoned shirt:

"You...

She teased Shard with a smile:

"Did I interrupt you?"

Megan looked at the female sorceress who appeared before them in shock, instinctively shrinking entirely behind Shard, as she clearly recognized who this was.

"No interruption, I was just healing her."

Shard explained and then blinked his eyes:

"For some reasons, Miss Danester, please do not mention my name for now."

The red-haired sorceress raised an eyebrow slightly:

"You haven’t even told the girl behind you who you are. My student, I thought that having another High Ring Female Sorceress behind you was surprising enough, yet you even hid your own identity from her."

Shard caught the disapproval in Miss Danester’s voice about his private life:

"Um... I’ll tell her on Friday."

Then seriously expressed his gratitude:

"Miss Danester, the book you gave me was really a big help. I also appreciate your coming directly from Saint Byrons to help me."

"It’s nothing, after all, you’re my only student, aren’t you? Besides, it was because of me that you had to face this situation."

She casually waved her hand:

"Actually, I arrived early, yes, I was already here when you held up the sun and moon dueling with the Mirror Keeper. But the guys on Green Lake Central Island released some troublesome things to obstruct us, I was delayed a bit in the village near the lake with a witch from the Witch Council, a church team, and the diviners from the Prophet’s Society... I think you did quite well."

Since Shard had just used her power, it wasn’t something he could hide:

"Miss Danester, your power is strong, plus I recently met an angel who gave me their blessing, otherwise I definitely couldn’t have defeated the Mirror Keeper on my own. Oh, that last huge Moonlight Light Wheel I threw was also thanks to the angel’s blessing. Praise the angel!"

Megan tightly grasped Shard’s clothes at the back, listening to him blabbering, worried that he’d be disliked by his teacher.

The Academy Librarian showed a half-smile expression:

"An angel... but your final attack indeed was beautiful, very beautiful. I look forward to the day when you can replicate that spell on your own."

Her lips slightly curled up as she studied Shard’s face, for some reason finding it increasingly captivating:

"Additionally, the Arcane Technique - Fall of the Red Moon that you just used was theoretically the item’s maximum level, which means it’s almost entirely aligned with my own power. I really don’t know whether to praise your adaptability to the moon’s power, or your composure in any situation that allows you calmly to spellcast."

As for the sun that appeared with the Red Moon, although originating from Iluna’s Arcane Technique, the Sun Church has too many similar Arcane Techniques for throwing large Light Orbs, so it wouldn’t arouse much suspicion.

"It’s your teaching that was good."

"Stop praising me, I haven’t taught you that much... Let the girl behind you put on a coat, I see she’s shivering."

Miss Danester kindly suggested, but in fact, Megan was trembling out of fear of her. It’s worth noting that not long ago, Megan and Audrey were fugitives wanted by both the church and the academy.

Shard gently nodded, turned around, and draped the coat over Megan, but actually, Megan needn’t worry about being discovered. During the time Megan’s spirit dominated the body, even Shard needed to be within 1 meter to perceive the witch’s identity, let alone others.