Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

As Miss Annette made her way through the garden, she realized that there were no longer any sounds of merriment in the manor, not even the chirping of insects on a summer night. It was only when she got closer to the mansion that she saw the guests who had attended the garden party lying unconscious on the ground, although there was no immediate danger to their lives.

It seemed there was no longer any need to wear masks.

Shard used the "Echo of Blood" again to observe and found that each person was marked with blood-colored patterns, except for himself and Miss Annette. This world was indeed very dangerous for ordinary people.

"Although the ritual hasn't fully begun, its power has already started to affect the surroundings. This was unexpected by both the association and the True God Church, but it's better this way, since we won't have to worry about ordinary people when we fight."

Miss Annette explained.

The closer they got to the mansion, the more they could smell a sickly sweet scent in the air. Upon actually reaching the perimeter of the mansion, they even saw that the vines crawling up the walls had sprouted bizarre blood-red flowers. Miss Annette even casually picked two, claiming that they were rare supernatural materials.

While Shard was hiding behind the hedge "contemplating life" and waiting for things to end, unrest stirred inside the mansion. Although Lady Lassoya of the 'Blood of Mercury' was unexpectedly trapped by the doctor and others, and the man in the burgundy suit was seeking revenge on Shard, the followers of the Evil God, the "Lord of the Blood Feast," had also entered Lakeside Manor.

In fact, the cultists were in charge of the main parts of the ritual of the Evil God's arrival, with 'Blood of Mercury' merely providing assistance.

One side coveted an artefact of the Evil God, the other yearned for the Evil God's arrival, each getting what they needed.

The Circle Sorcerers of the True God Church were the first to encounter the cultists, who triggered the ritual prematurely when things took a bad turn.

Dr. Schneider, on the other hand, had made contact with Lady Lassoya first, as after all, he only knew that this gender-ambiguous individual was a member of the 'Blood of Mercury'.

Because of this accident, Dr. Schneider now found himself face to face with Lady Lassoya on the third floor of the mansion, while the True God Church's squads were on the lower floors, battling the cultists. Priest Augustus and Miss Luisa, who wanted to find the doctor, were consequently forced to remain on the third floor.

Miss Annette's departure from the mansion was not to evade battle, but because she had a scribe-level "Relic" in her hands that required two Circle Sorcerers to use.

"Are we going to use this Relic to defeat Lady Lassoya?"

As they hurried along, Shard asked the female diviner about their plan.

"Of course not. We're going to use this Relic to identify the nodes of the Evil God's arrival ritual and destroy the main nodes. Otherwise, once the Evil God arrives, no matter how many people we defeat, we won't be able to escape. The presence of the 'Lord of the Blood Feast' would destroy the entire Tobesk. Every time this Evil God appears, a Blood Feast ensues, devouring at least an entire city."

Miss Annette seemed quite familiar with the layout of Lakeside's manor house. She led Shard into the building through a service passage used for bringing in kitchen vegetables from the back of the house. Using the servants' stairwell, they avoided the uninformed first and second floors and went straight to the third floor.

Emerging from the staircase into the corridor, the increasingly dense blood fog surrounded them, the opulent passage seemed to be adorned with gold, but in reality, it was only the elegant gas lampshades on the walls that were deliberately casting such glimmers. A red carpet extended from one end of the corridor to the other, and the walls were hung with exquisite and expensive portrait paintings.

The doors were all made of yellow solid wood, which, along with the smooth floor tiles and wall tiles lining the corridor walls, showcased the owner's wealth.

The silence was profound, as if not a soul was present. Shard instinctively felt danger in the silence of the third floor, as if an indescribable entity in the shadows was peeping at people in the light, a sense of danger even more terrifying than the man in the burgundy suit.

Find exclusive stories on empire

Even though the "Lord of the Blood Feast" had not yet appeared, his power was already unconsciously affecting the mortals.

```

"The Evil God summoning ritual is taking place on the third floor, which is why the manor owner Little Clown, deceived by the cultists, had everyone on the third floor leave in advance. Right now, Circle Sorcerers from the church are downstairs, and within the Tobesk Grand Diocese of the Church of the Five Great Deities, there are Thirteen Ring Sorcerers.

Even though they do not know that the ritual was started ahead of schedule, based on past experiences, they will arrive within fifteen minutes."

Tobesk City is the capital of one of the largest human kingdoms, the Draleon Kingdom. This place is a true archdiocese, where even a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer is stationed, Sari Pilot—the 'Iron Right Hand' under the Lady of Creation, a gentleman over fifty years old.

"So, how much time do we have until the ritual fully comes into effect?"

Shard asked.

"Seven minutes."

"Hmm?"

He blinked, doubting he had heard correctly, but Miss Annette confirmed that he hadn't misheard:

"Yes, we are very unlucky. Now, only we are able to stop the ritual. Fortunately, both the Blood of Mercury and the cultists are tied up, so no one will obstruct our actions—we are safe."

She noticed that Shard had stopped:

"Detective, are you scared?"

Shard shook his head:

"I am just surprised, why have we become the saviors? Logically speaking, this is a task for the church."

Miss Annette's purple eyes revealed a hint of amusement; she did not show a trace of fear:

"They have been deliberately tied up, and the other party did not expect a Circle Sorcerer from the Academy to be here. Detective, we live in this city, we live in this world; we are part of it. Some things can be avoided, but this is not one of them.

The Evil God summoned by the ritual is not appearing in a holy form through human possession, but in its actual form… This is a disaster no one can escape from."

"I know, since I came with you, I won't run away."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The female Diviner showed a soft smile:

"If it weren't for an incident of this level, of course, we would run. But this time, there truly is no escape. But don't worry, we are just doing what we can as best as we are able. It's just unfortunate that we've been pushed to the forefront. We are now the only ones who can act freely, which sounds dangerous, but, in fact, it is quite safe.

It's the Circle Sorcerer squads from the True God Church who are undertaking the most dangerous tasks."

She stomped her foot, with her heel-less high heel, signaling to the people fighting below.

Shard looked down at her foot, and because he wore a mask, the action was especially noticeable, so he received a slap from the embarrassed woman.

In the fashion of this era, ladies could even have their evening gowns cut to expose a small part of their backs, but revealing their legs was something only courtesans did. Naturally, staring at a lady's feet was also considered quite impolite.

```