Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 640 -

Chapter 640: 640

Chapter 640: 640

The current situation was choosing two out of twenty-one, a probability significantly lower than the twenty-nine out of five that Shard had to choose from.

However, the girls had to keep choosing no matter what.

The sister in the white dress reassured her worried sibling not to be afraid, and just as she was about to speak, Shard knocked on the table, signaling her not to open her mouth.

He frowned again and sipped the liquid in his cup, the demon’s Blood Brew was not harmful to the body; it was just bitterly hard to accept:

“Saint, you said that if I brought more blood, I could exchange it for a better blessing at the end.”

“Yes,”

The blood-sucking deity knew what Shard wanted to say, and He stared at the Outlander at the other end of the long table:

“So, you want to forsake the gift I offered you, to help this pair of twins?”

Shard glanced at the two girls with the corner of his eye:

“Yes.”

It wasn’t only because he felt compassion for them, but also because Shard was truly unwilling to accept the blessing from the deity before him. After all, the other party was an Evil God, and casually accepting power from an Evil God was not a choice normal people should make.

Of course, if the other would directly give him a drop of Divinity, Shard wouldn’t refuse no matter what. But that was clearly not possible now, so Shard chose to exchange the opportunity bestowed by the Evil God to help the girls.

“I can agree to your request, but think carefully, I originally wanted to give you some power related to the ‘Blood Moon.'”

The Saint’s eyes seemed to express another meaning:

“Yes, one third of the Blood Moon.”

Shard hesitated only for a moment before shaking his head directly:

“Power can be obtained at any time, but I still want to help them… Could it possibly be Divinity?”

He still greedily asked, but the Saint didn’t get angry; instead, He smiled:

“If the treasure you bring is delicious enough, I absolutely won’t be stingy with that power. Unfortunately, it’s interesting enough, but not delicious enough.”

“Then can I ask a question?”

Shard was very straightforward:

“Why, strictly speaking, isn’t it the Sixth Era?”

The twin girls did not understand these two segments of conversation.

The blood-sucking deity directly shook His head:

“I cannot tell you that, after all, it is only the Fifth Era now, how could I possibly know about things from the Sixth Era?”

He spoke in the language of Draleon.

“Very well, then I voluntarily forsake the blessing you wished to give me, to make their remaining choices a bit simpler.”

Shard didn’t say to let the twin girls straight through the final segment of the banquet, because the deity hosting the banquet certainly wouldn’t let them off so easily.

“Sir…”

The girl in the black dress spoke softly, the first time anyone dared to interrupt during the deity’s speech at the banquet:

“Actually, you don’t have to…”

“No need to say more, I am willing to help you just because I have met you, just remember to thank me in your hearts,”

Shard glanced at the girls, who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen—much younger than the youngest girl Shard was familiar with, who was Angelina Cavendish:

“I don’t know what kind of people you will become, or what you will do in the future. But if you can retain a memory of me, remember to seek Miss Mana Feliana after becoming witches, that would also be helping me.”

The two girls nodded together, and the deity spoke,

“Since you willingly forsake the gift, let us then play one last game.”

After the snap of fingers, a bronze-colored six-sided dice tumbled messily beside Shard’s right hand, and when it stopped, the number facing up was six:

“Try your luck, it’s your turn to throw. Multiply the number by two, and that will be the number of remaining bottles.”

Even in the worst scenario, the girls would only need to select two from twelve bottles.

Shard picked up the dice and narrowed his eyes slightly:

“God, I do not doubt your fairness, but will you manipulate the outcome of this dice?”

“Oh, unexpectedly suspicious guest, I haven’t even mentioned that you bear the God of Gambling’s blessing, and yet you doubt my impartiality?”

Shard nodded, thinking that what He said made perfect sense.

He casually tossed the dice onto the table where it clattered a few times before spinning to a stop with the number one facing up, meaning only two bottles remained. They had to choose two out of two, and the liquor banquet concluded.

Shard knew he was quite fortunate, but still could hardly believe that the deity across had let the girls off so easily. He looked up to speak, but the Saint had already started talking:

“Look, girls, this gentleman here is indeed lucky.”

The deity acknowledged the result as if it was expected.

With a meaningful smile, the blood of the unfortunate struck by Thunder Strike, along with the blood of Priest Augustus, rose automatically and filled their glasses.

Both types of blood were in fact human blood, which aside from being somewhat nauseating, had no side effects when consumed.

The girls solemnly raised their glasses to Shard, who also lifted his own glass, now down to the last sip, toasted the twin girls through the air, and they all drank down their Blood Brews.

“Your wish is to sever that ancient covenant, so as not to fulfill the sealing duty, thus staying together forever.”

The deity softly spoke:

“The blood you brought is precious, but not enough to fulfill such a complex wish. However, I can give you the power to seek help from other deities.”

A mist of blood rose and gradually gathered in front of the twin girls. The dispersing blood mist slowly converged and eventually before the girls, it transformed into a fluttering Red Butterfly.

Shard frowned slightly, having just investigated the Red Butterfly himself and was surprised to encounter it again in his past timeline.

The Red Butterfly, composed of blood mist, eventually landed on the table in front of the girls and went from appearing as a living creature to a complete inanimate object. The Red Butterfly split from the center into two halves:

“Each of you take one half, which will allow the fate that was destined to befall both of you to be delayed momentarily. Before the Red Butterfly vanishes, you can seek out the Twin Gods, those deities of balance, opposition, and guardian powers for twins. Here is information about Them. I believe finding Them won’t be hard, and in light of this blood butterfly, They will help you.”

A parchment fell beside the now bifurcated Red Butterfly, and Shard didn’t show any inclination to check it. After all, in his time, the Twin Gods had already departed, and this knowledge was divinely given to the girls; he figured he could only see blankness if he attempted to look.

“However, I must remind you,”

The deity showed a meaningful smile again:

“If you simply wish for the Twin Gods to help you sever the duties of the ancient covenant, that will likely be easy. But if you seek the power to stay together forever from Them, then They might offer you all kinds of intriguing choices. After all, the Twin Gods are Duality, not double entities like yourselves, and Their vision of twins is different from yours.”

When speaking of “Duality,” He even glanced at Shard.

The double doors of the now blood-red hall opened, and the girl in the black skirt and the girl in the white skirt each picked up half of the Red Butterfly, while the parchment was taken up by the white-skirted girl as the elder sister.

They stood holding hands, bowed slightly to the deity as a sign of gratitude:

“Thank you for your generous gift, but regardless, we must try. God, please allow us to offer sacrifices to You in the future in thanks for this favor.”

After thanking the deity, the girls did not leave immediately, but bowed in the same fashion to Shard:

“I am Grace.”

The girl in the white skirt introduced herself.

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“I am Helen.”

The girl in the black skirt introduced herself.

“This is our name, and we have decided to abandon the surname given by our family, to live for ourselves alone, so please forgive us for not being able to tell you our surname. Thank you again, really, thank you very much, sir.”

Shard shook his head slightly. He neither approved nor opposed the girls’ decision to abandon the responsibility of guarding the seal; thus, he made no comment:

“I helped you simply because I met you, ladies. It’s your own good fortune. Live well. And…”

He suddenly frowned:

“The place your family is responsible for sealing, it isn’t the borderland of life and death, is it?”

[You really do jump to conclusions.]

“She” said with a laugh in Shard’s ear.

“No, it isn’t.”

The girls shook their heads together:

“It’s an evil object from a subspace.”

Shard nodded:

“That’s good, it seems I was mistaken… I cannot judge others’ actions, but if you gain strength later, remember to find a way to deal with the place that needs sealing. You have escaped your fate; if possible, don’t let more twins in the future repeat that dreadful destiny.”

The girls nodded to each other, looked at each other, and then each untied the ribbon binding their headbands. Grace in the white dress had a white hairband, and Black-skirted Helen had a black one, each decorated with a butterfly in their respective colors.

They tied the two hairbands together, mixing the black and white butterflies, and then handed them to Shard:

“Sir, I know you wouldn’t want a gift that is too precious.”

This was discerned from Shard’s refusal of the Demon Hunter Seal from the elderly man who had left.

“These are ornaments we’ve carried with us since we were young. We hope they can accompany you and wish you luck.”

Shard hesitated for a moment and accepted the modest gift:

“Alright, you should leave this place now.”

“Goodbye.”

Grace and Helen, holding hands, quickly walked through the door behind Shard. The door closed with a jarring noise, but normally, whenever Shard came in, opening the door had hardly made any sound.

In the hall, only Shard and the Saint remained, looking at each other:

“So, can the banquet end now?”

Shard asked softly, holding the intertwined hairbands.

All the Blood Brew had been drunk, but the deity across must declare the end of the banquet for Shard to leave. This key from the year 3014 of the Fifth Era, though not bringing much gain to Shard, gave him many interesting tales.

If it could end peacefully just like this, that seemed not too bad.

“No need to hurry, I can answer one of your questions.”

The bloodthirsty deity said with a smile:

“No need to ask, I will answer directly.

I will tell you a fundamental rule, when you come to a time not yours, the power of the Father of the Infinite Tree always protects you, hence regardless of whom you face, as long as you do not provoke them first, a deity like me cannot strike to kill you. The Ancient Gods may have left, but They are forever present.”

Shard suddenly understood, so the Evil God in front of him had always been using him for some amusement, without causing any real harm:

“I was indeed wondering about that, but why tell me at the end?”

“Because you are leaving, and knowing this, won’t your future journey be more interesting?”

The deity said with a smile:

“Even though you have refused my boon, your presence indeed made this banquet far more interesting, so here’s a small gift for you.”

He didn’t give Shard any time to refuse; a red glimmer went straight into Shard’s right eye:

“When you use your Arcane Technique ‘Echo of Blood,’ you will be able to clearly distinguish any of the Vampire Race; they cannot hide from you.”

This was adding a new trait to the “Echo of Blood.”

“Thank you for your generosity, but are you really not interested in my blood at all?”

“Yes.”

The Saint said earnestly:

“Maybe you don’t understand yet, but when you do, you will realize that I am interested in the blood of any mortal thing, but just not in yours.”

Shard nodded, rose to leave. This was the 23rd minute of his entry into Night Manor, the first time he had left without using up all the allotted time.

“Additionally.”

As Shard rose, he couldn’t resist asking:

“Do you know the outcome of the other four attendees of the banquet?”

This belonged to the future now.

“Of course, I know.”

“Then…”

“They are all dead.”

“I see…”

“Mortals are fated to die, everything ultimately perishes. Did you think you could meet them in the distant future?”

The deity asked, and Shard thought for a moment beside the chair, then shook his head:

“Yes, everything has its end, all will die… By the way, the blood of the Magma Community you tasted, did it have Phoenix blood in it?”

“Yes.”

“It seems the Spiritual Practice Order really does have ties to the Phoenix of Sicarl Mountain. The so-called Ancient One sealing the mountain summit passageway is likely an ancient Phoenix. Oh, this could also explain the relic-level flame in Sister Delphine’s hand, guiding me through the Interstice. I remember feeling that flame seemed so familiar (chapter 598); now that I think about it, it was similar to the fire I saw in the Dark Realm (chapter 522).”

He thought to himself while saying aloud:

“Then, again…”

He nearly said “Goodbye,” but Shard focused his attention just in time, as he certainly didn’t want to meet this Evil God again:

“With this, fare thee well, your banquet was really nice, very tasteful.”

He bowed to the deity by the table.

“Thanks for the compliment, then leave, unexpected guest.”

He then watched as Shard walked through the double doors into the mist, until the mist vanished.

The deity sat alone in the blood-red banquet hall within the ancient Night Manor, a smug expression on its face. Fangs slightly protruding from the corners of its mouth, it tapped the table and said with a smile:

“So, until next time.”