Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 700 - : Anomalies within Sin Mansion

“An earthquake?”

The vibration was not very strong and did not affect one’s ability to stand firmly on the ground. However, as the building itself shook, Shard heard what seemed like the sound of an explosion from the second floor. At the same time, the faces in the horrifying portrait paintings on the wall all uniformly looked downward, as if something was wrong below.

“What’s happening? Is Sicarl Mountain having another earthquake, or has something gone wrong with this building?”

A new change had occurred in Sin Mansion; as the ground vibrated, the malice within deepened.

“This way.”

The old man with the lantern didn’t seem concerned with the strange vibration, and Shard’s query remained unanswered.

He led Shard to the left and, after opening the third door, gestured for him to enter and wait:

“The traders of the mansion will be here soon; please, wait a moment, guest.”

Once Shard had entered, the door was closed by the stooped old man.

Shard took a look around the room. It was a fairly spacious bedroom, complete with a canopy bed draped with pink curtains and sheer, a desk, a wardrobe, and other pieces of furniture that looked like antiques. There were even two small doors on one side leading to a washroom and a walk-in closet; Shard had seen similar room layouts at Miss Galina’s estate and at Aphrola Mansion in Coldwater Port.

The room was still dim, illuminated only by the gas lamp on the desk, which had an exceedingly classic design, starkly different from the popular style of 1853. Shard didn’t approach the desk but instead turned and gripped the doorknob, finding the door locked after testing it. Yet he could open it using the “Key of the Door.”

“Now it’s just a matter of waiting. According to the experiences of the Circle Sorcerers who have walked out of here, soon a trader will inquire what I want to obtain from the mansion. Among the options that shouldn’t draw attention in the list, there’s one that involves leaving this place at the cost of increasing one’s own sins.”

Thinking this, he walked over to the desk. A piece of paper was turned upside down on the desktop, and Shard was taken aback as there had seemed to be nothing there when he entered. His eyes had already caught a trace on the paper, on which a long-haired woman sitting in a rocking chair had been outlined with very fine pencil strokes.

The woman’s body occupied less than one-fifth of the paper, but her hair took up almost a third of it. Because it was a simple line drawing, the woman’s face had only the basic features; yet when Shard looked at the face, it surprisingly began to smile.

“Hmm?”

A sense of deadly crisis made Shard subconsciously raise his sword, this time reacting even faster than the sword itself.

Clang!

The dark tresses shooting from the painting, aimed like an arrow to pierce Shard’s forehead, were blocked by the blade of the Night Watchman’s Longsword.

“No, that’s not right, the information said this stage was completely safe, didn’t it? I haven’t done anything against the rules!”

Thinking this, he plunged his left hand into the air, drawing out that bright yellow longsword, and with a flick of his wrist, he severed the dark hair that was attempting to ensnare the Night Watchman. Compared to a greatsword, this kind of longsword was better suited for such movements.

Shard swiftly stepped back, squinting his eyes at the paper:

“Firestarter!”

Basic Sorcery: Firestarter. As Shard’s Circle Sorcerer level had increased, it was no longer just capable of making a sheet of paper smoke. Additionally, due to the boost in Shard’s abilities by the Sin Mansion, along with the Elemental Wine he had consumed at the Divine Banquet, the power of his sorcery had greatly intensified, so the Whisper Element-infused paper ignited instantly.

But as thick black smoke billowed out, an withered green hand emerged from the paper:

“This obviously isn’t part of the normal trade procedures of the Sin Mansion, what in the world is happening? Has the Relic gone out of control?”

Chains extended from Shard’s right sleeve, coiling around the hilt of the longsword in his hand. The Night Watchman vibrated violently, as if repulsed by the Great Sin Chain, but ultimately it did not break free.

“Hah!”

He fiercely threw the silver sword, its blade precisely stabbing into the palm of the hand that had emerged from the paper.

A shrill scream nearly pierced Shard’s eardrums. Black ink flowed out of the green hand, and the gushing ink even extinguished the burning paper.

The hand violently broke free from the blade, and the white paper with black edges violently shook as it rose high into the air. As the paper trembled intensely, black tresses surged out like a river.

“While I do like girls with dark hair, obviously not in this way,” he quipped.

Pulling on the Great Sin Chain, he retracted his longsword and swiftly retreated to the corner of the wall to avoid the squirming, fallen hair. Being a physical entity, it was hard to inflict much damage with a burst of Moonlight, and the other Arcane Techniques in Shard’s repertoire from the Moonlight Series didn’t have the capacity to damage in a large area, so—

Steam whistles blared, bells tolled. Amid the surging Steam Mist, a corner of the Ring of Fate became visible, and the Spirit Runes of Feliana’s Witch Light flickered with a Brass Aura:

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“Feliana’s Witch Light!”

He extended his right hand forward, golden glimmers irradiating the surging black hair with a melting intensity. As black smoke rose continuously, the hair rapidly disappeared.

At the same time, Shard raised his left hand toward the sky, slashing out with Silvermoon’s light. Moonlight severed the hair entwined around the paper and then vanished, but immediately after, the Night Watchman was thrown again.

This time, the blade went straight through the paper.

Another piercing scream rang out. As Shard’s ears started ringing and he felt a headache coming on, the paper exploded into fragments, the black hair disappeared, and the longsword fell to the floor, returning the room to silence.

The chains rattled noisily as they retracted along the floor, and as the hilt followed the chains back into Shard’s sleeve, he grasped it once again.

He vigilantly observed every corner of the room to guard against any other attacks, but there were no more anomalies in the room.

Only the self-igniting scraps of paper on the floor bore witness to the fact that something had indeed launched an attack on Shard just moments before.