Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 801: Revised: The Escaping Butterfly

Chapter 801: Revised -801 The Escaping Butterfly

As they descended the mountain, Shard realized where he was.

This was the woodland where he and Mia hid on the night the True God Church besieged the Truth Society. If his guess was correct, their destination should be the frozen lake—Bena Lake.

Passing through the misty woodland and following the blood-colored shadows of the two girls, they indeed reached the shallow beach by the lake again.

The edge of the woodland was close to the lake. On the slightly narrow mudflat, hundreds of black-robed figures lay prostrate on the ground. Thin wooden stakes stood by the lake, each with various sizes of mummified corpses. The corpses on the stakes closest to the center embraced eight relics, and the Blood Thorn Scepter in Shard’s hand was the ninth one.

Grace and Helen supported each other as they stood by Bena Lakeside, gazing towards the direction where the black-robed figures were worshipping—the direction of the lake. In the mist, the lake water, which should have been crystal clear, turned blood-red in the blink of Shard’s eye, only to return to its original color with another blink.

In the middle of the lake floated something indistinct. Upon closer look, it was a coffin—the same one Mr. Benhart had purchased at an auction.

Pictured above the heads of the prostrate people were small bat emblems, and each person softly prayed, facing blood and the Blood Moon.

It was ten minutes to midnight. Although the thick fog obscured the night sky, a faint glance upwards revealed the enormous red full moon, faintly visible amidst the white mist. ƒreewebɳovel.com

As Shard emerged from the forest to the lakeside, all sounds around him vanished. The lakeside was eerily quiet and solemn, even the omnipresent undead had disappeared, leaving only the intertwined whispers and prayers, echoing repeatedly.

The lapping lake water sounds provided a backdrop to it all, with the scents of blood and wine in the air.

This space seemed completely isolated from Sicarl Mountain.

A sudden clear bird cry shattered the silence, the sound instantly spread throughout the entire Sicarl Mountain Region. Amid the ground’s tremors and the mountain’s rumbling, Sicarl Mountain’s crater, which had been erupting since earlier, spewed thick black smoke again. From within this smoke, a brilliantly fiery Phoenix spread its wings, flying towards the giant cocoon above the city.

“The Phoenix has come to help. It seems we’ve reached the end… Grace, Helen!”

Shard hastily ran over:

“Come with me!”

The prostrated vampires did not stop Shard, allowing him to cross the mudflat and grasp the cold hands of the two girls.

They stood dazed, staring at the water in the lake’s center, unmoving even as Shard tried to pull them:

“Sir… please leave. We know our fate.”

They together gazed at the calm lake surface. With every blink, the water’s color alternated between normal and blood-red. The surrounding white mist rapidly stained crimson, and the Blood Moon within the mist grew clearer.

Shard sensed a terrifying gaze already fixed on Bena Lakeside. If they didn’t leave now, it would be too late.

“You can’t defeat it. We… the issue of the Interstice is about to be resolved, our mission is ending… is this the end?”

Grace, in a white dress, quietly asked.

“This is indeed the end, sister. After more than five thousand years, it’s finally ending.”

Helen, in a black dress, said tearfully.

Shard couldn’t believe that the girls who once vowed to be together forever would give up the will to live and willingly become the prey of an Evil God. Looking closely, their eyes were a wine-red color, seemingly reflecting the full red moon:

“This is not the end. Girls, I could save you thousands of years ago, and I can save you now.”

Kissing the ring on his finger, the Yellow Moon Spirit Rune flickered with spiritual light:

“At least, let me try. If the Blood Moon can confuse you, so can the Yellow Moon—Muddle!”

The Moonstone Ring emitted an ambiguous warm yellow light. Grace and Helen were startled, but promptly, the surrounding blood mist transformed into crimson shackles, binding them tightly.

“I knew it would work—Moonlight Greatsword!”

Despite the terrible state, Shard fought off weariness and soul fatigue to unleash Silvermoon’s light to shatter the crimson shackles. However, the blood-red traces still clung to the two, not because a mortal ritual easily restricted the Angel-Level Relic, but because the Deity had marked them from the beginning, from that banquet.

“Hurry!”

Shard grabbed Helen and Grace by their hands, unable to speak to them as they regained their consciousness, turning to leave.

However, someone wouldn’t let them go.

The prostrated vampires continued their quiet prayers, awaiting midnight’s arrival. From the dense forest, two High Ring Vampires emerged expressionlessly:

“Sir, this matter does not concern you. Please leave.”

Momentarily releasing Helen, the Great Sword that appeared in Shard’s right hand represented his resolve. Having come this far, he was determined to give it a try. Helen and Grace couldn’t use their power at that moment, and Shard knew he couldn’t defeat a High Ring Sorcerer, but he needed to buy some time:

“Girls, you go first.”

The High Ring Vampires remained silent, their Eleven Ring and Ten Ring Rings of Fate glimmering in the blood mist.

The blood-red traces on the black and white dresses became more pronounced. Grace and Helen understood the implications of Shard staying. They grasped Shard’s shoulders, he had done so much for them, they would give him their last bit of strength even if their souls shattered:

“Sir, meeting you has been our greatest…”

But before Grace could finish her words, a golden light shone from the side. In the light, a familiar middle-aged woman’s voice appeared:

“Giving up so soon? You all leave together, I’ll handle them.”

From the forest emerged a woman in a deep blue long dress, seemingly in her forties or fifties, yet still radiantly proud.

Shard was taken aback; it was as if time had returned to the last banquet many years ago. The twins, seeing that figure, felt a surge of grief, sadness, and all the grievances of their lives welled up in one cry:

“Teacher!”

Meeting after two eras, tears unconsciously rolled down their cheeks.

The spirit that appeared now was the middle-aged Witch from the Divine Banquet. She had become the twins’ teacher after the banquet. She also participated in the great battle at Sicarl Mountain during the Fifth Era when the Twin Gods descended.

According to Miss Samuel from Zaras Academy, she was taken in by the Zaras Academy after that battle.

Shard could never have imagined that she would also appear here.

“My students.”

The Witch’s glowing spirit gazed at them with a gentle expression, her spirit so powerful:

“To awake from the long slumber of the Interstice and see you again, I am very happy. Leave with this gentleman; though the road ahead will be perilous, I hope you can go on.”

She picked up a tree branch, gently brushed it, and then threw it to Shard. When Shard caught the branch, it turned into a glowing treasure sword, its power comparable to the Night Watchman in his regular state.

In the Sixth Era, she sought power and participated in the banquet. Indeed, she touched the highest achievements of the Witch System after that.

“Sir, please protect my students and let the butterfly fly freely.”

“Madam, take this.”

Shard threw the Blood Thorn Scepter to the middle-aged Witch, who then faced the two High Ring Vampires.

Though reluctant, Helen, still tearful, was pulled by her sister Grace, following Shard into the dense forest.

“Did your teacher die in Sicarl Mountain?”

Shard asked, and the black-skirted Helen nodded:

“After the battle at Sicarl, the teacher was taken in by Zaras Academy. After recovering, she was officially introduced to the academy by Miss Samuel and helped establish the framework of the Zaras Literary Academy in the centuries that followed. But by then, we had already become calamities wandering the world and couldn’t visit her. Before her death, she came here and saw my sister and me one last time… she died in front of us.”

She choked up and said:

“Since then, I don’t remember how long it has been since I last cried.”

Grace gently embraced her sister, and Shard nodded silently, leading them through the mountains:

“We’ll talk about the rest later. Now, we’re heading to the Nature Chapel in the city. The Church of Nature is ready for the God Summoning; as long as we enter the chapel, even if He comes, you will be safe.”

With a loud rumble, something seemed to spew from the black-smoked Sicarl Mountain mouth. At the same time, the surrounding fog-filled forests turned into dead trees for a moment before reverting to normal, as if reality and the Interstice had completely overlapped for an instant.

“The Interstice is making its final resistance.”

Grace said, holding Shard’s left hand with a sorrowful yet determined expression:

“Sir, the road ahead will be very difficult.”

Countless mists floated from the city and mountains towards the giant cocoon over Milestone like chains. Finally, a large crack appeared on the surface of the cocoon, and a giant black hand broke through from within, reaching out amidst eerie screams only audible to Circle Sorcerers.

Professor Pigman and the Phoenix immediately launched attacks, easily subduing the hand, but this was only the primal power before the cocoon’s hatching.

The city and mountains flashed with spiritual light, marking the final stage of the Holy Tree Scar ritual. Solving this giant cocoon would ensure the ritual’s success. Countless flares flew from the mountain top, middle, and base towards the city’s sky; the Interstice ritual was nearly complete, and the main force was returning to reality to defeat the final Undead Aggregation.

Maybe Iluna was among those flares, but Shard could not join this final battle:

“It’s okay, it will be okay soon.”

He comforted the increasingly weak girls. Though far from the ritual site, the earth beneath their feet turned crimson towards their escape route from the lakeshore. Blood mist followed, with a swarm of bats chasing the three of them through the fog.

The desecrated silver spiritual light flickered in the air, and the blood even corroded the Interstice’s power. The Interstice of Life and Death was a Level 0 Relic, but the eerie ritual by the lakeside was a genuine God Summoning Ritual.

The Vampires were summoning the Evil God—the Vampire God.

Even from within the dense forest, they could see more limbs protruding from the giant cocoon over the city. Not only human limbs but also animal limbs, exotic species, and even indescribable monstrous limbs. The cocoon was cracking, and nearly half of the Whisper Elements from the Interstice were being transferred to the cocoon through the white mist.

The hatching of the giant cocoon was inevitable. Once born, it would be considered a Subspace Evil Object exceeding the Thirteen Rings.

The light from the Cathedral of the Five Gods transformed into chains wrapping around the cocoon, slowing its hatching process. Countless attacks bombarded the cocoon, weakening its power before it could be born.

Not only the Church’s Circle Sorcerers but also Witches, the Phoenix, and even Sister Delphine joined the fight—Shard recognized the fireball in the sky. The power from the Fifth Era and the mountain’s flames shone with brilliance not meant for this era, fighting alongside mortals against the final enemy.

Sister Delphine floated in the air, her right hand still holding the flaming Ashes, while her left hand wielded a black scythe from the Chosen by Death’s power. Iluna, holding the Watchman, rode a half-transparent Spirit Horse in the sky, with a bone whistle hanging from her neck.

The principal of Saint Byrons, the “Silver Guardian” Professor Pigman, had his Ring of Fate turned silver. The High Ring Sorcery “Silver Key” opened a forbidden space, where an invisible hand from the void crushed the greenish corpse’s appendages reaching from the cocoon.

However, he was not fully engaged in the battle, subtly observing the city and mountains as if anticipating something.

Inside and outside the Interstice, within and beyond the city and mountains, the firelight seemed to flicker in every corner, the spiritual light of the Four Elements illuminated the Midshire Fort Parish. As midnight approached, the battle reached its most intense and final moment.