Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The two did not linger on the topic of "God Summoner". Although Shard only admitted having the Night Watchman Longsword, this essentially confirmed his identity. However, it was not yet the time to be completely transparent about everything; he still chose to wait for all the witches to gather in Moon Bay before revealing matters involving his core secrets.

Nonetheless, Shard was somewhat thankful that he suddenly transformed into a dragon last night. This way, the Countess’s attention was entirely captured by the "dragon" and she didn’t notice his act of summoning thunder with the sword before transforming. Shard had initially worried she might figure out something from that, but now it seemed that the "Adel’s Principle of Return" released through Shard’s hand still differed significantly from that of the Grand Witch of Time.

"The multitudes of colors contained in light lead to dragons of diverse hues. Although the ’Moonlight Dragon’ is merely an effect of your transformation spell, no one can deny that it’s indeed a dragon."

The reddish birthmark on the brow continued to tremble with the frown:

"You first claimed to have the power of a Red Dragon, and now you’ve turned into a ’Moonlight Dragon’. Are you truly not the Chosen of Light? The moonlight is truly enchanting."

"Perhaps you should suspect I’m the Chosen of the Moon."

The "her" in his ear also chuckled slightly, and Shard shook his head:

"There’s no need to discuss whether I am The Chosen One; I simply can’t be. But after last night’s events, I believe all forces will start moving."

"Indeed, an unusual dragon has appeared in Moon Bay, and a new story of the Chosen One has begun. The shadows of ancient races hang over the lands of Moon Bay. Who can say where Fate will cast its olive branch this time?"

She spoke as though performing opera:

"The church and those illicit organizations vying for slots of the Chosen One are needless to say, but the Seven Great Families of Moon Bay will also respond. They are not concerned with the transcendent world far removed from ordinary people, but rather whether they will be destroyed in the prophesied disaster. Our ancestors received blessings; generations of our forebears enjoyed power and wealth, and now it’s our generation’s turn to bear the cost."

It wasn’t an expression of discontent; in fact, she eagerly anticipated the arrival of this day:

"The family’s bloodline destined me to face this, and I’ve always been anticipating the prophesied fate’s arrival. I am a Diviner; glimpsing the future and understanding fate is my mission. When the destined disaster descends upon Moon Bay, I will make our choice on behalf of the Belindel Family at the moment of destruction."

Seeing her so full of spirit, Shard inquired further:

"You seem quite certain that the prophecy will come true?"

The Blonde Witch nodded slightly, placing her hand on her right shoulder:

"Especially since you placed the relic here, the starry sky is further revealing its mysteries to me. Moon Bay City is destined for disaster, and the Star of Death hanging over the entire city seems like the sun in the night sky. But, given the current circumstances, perhaps those family archives they wouldn’t originally open to me might now allow a peek, seeing we’re all faced with trouble."

"And who might be the Belindel Family’s allies?"

The witch looked at the man before her and spoke softly:

"Where are there any true allies? But if I must say, the Wood Family should be trustworthy."

The impact of last night’s battle wasn’t something the witch could explain to Shard in a few sentences. Whether it was the three dragons attacking the port or the projection of the Evil of the Deep Sea appearing offshore, these were events not seen in the material world for hundreds of years of peace. The emergence of the silver "Moonlight Dragon" had already prompted the church to suspect that the God Summoner knew the secrets of the Chosen One earlier than anyone else. The appearance of high ring sorcerers from the Dragon Feast Cult also made the church realize that this seemingly fallen cult group still wielded considerable power in today’s steam age.

Citizens were discussing the dragon and the prophecy, while the church was worried about the potential manifestation of the local seven Chosen Ones and the associated global disaster yet to reveal itself.

The Countess also warned Shard not to cause significant disruptions in the city any time soon. The church’s nerves were extremely tense, and the sorcerers within the city were all waiting to capture cultists from the Dragon Feast Cult to vent their frustration. No one wished to draw special attention from the church at such a time.

Thus, although she had managed to acquire a map of the sewer near the Crowley Steam Bath for Shard, she still advised against exploring it today:

"The church suspects those cultists are hiding in the sewer system and is currently combing the whole city. If you go today, you’re likely to encounter the church’s forces."

Shard stayed with Miss Belindel until eleven in the morning. They weren’t at the manor the entire time; they set out for the city council after nine, with Shard acting as a secretary attending the Moon Bay City Council meeting.

During the meeting’s break, Earl Martin Edington and the elderly Earl Leonard Hawthorne approached Bella Belindel to discuss last night’s events. The aged earls did not underestimate Miss Belindel’s capabilities due to her age or gender; they highly respected her abilities:

"Should we find a time to gather? If the city indeed faces disaster, the honorable Seven Families also bear the responsibility to guard it."

The three earls looked towards the resting Council Hall, viewing this city as their domain, and firmly believed that the legend would manifest. Therefore, within a brief conversation, they arranged to hold a banquet this Thursday evening under the pretense of celebrating Earl Hawthorne’s granddaughter’s full moon. Once the two earls departed, the Countess in a black dress and veil turned to Shard and said:

"You can’t trust a word they say, not even the punctuation. If their power and assets weren’t potentially endangered, even if half of Moon Bay City’s population perished, they’d just laugh on the podium with ’I’ve always felt the city’s urbanization was too severe’ etc. Like... accompany me to the banquet on Thursday, please, and serve as my dance partner if we need to dance."

Shard recognized this as a formal invitation to a banquet:

"Of course, it would be my honor, madam."

Shard nodded and said, while the Countess looked quite worried:

"There are more and more things happening recently. Fortunately, I still have Matilda and you by my side. If I hadn’t asked Vanessa to bring you over to help, I wouldn’t even know how to cope with the current situation. Look at that person over there."

She pointed to a man in black seated in the first row on the far right of the Council Hall, who was conversing with a man wearing a wig whom Shard didn’t recognize:

"That’s..."

"A visitor from Velindale. Velindale has never given up on revoking Moon Bay City’s special independence, bringing the power of the Seven Great Families back to the Anjou Royal Family. Now, with tensions soaring between the northern and southern regions, Moon Bay has once again become the focal point on the border. Now the Seven Great Families not only have to face that legend but also political pressure from the direction of Velindale...there’s even a rumor that the Grey Gloves Ace, Grey-headed Eagle, who kills without blinking, has arrived here."

She sighed, and seeing Shard’s odd expression, she asked again:

"I remember you’re a double agent, you wouldn’t know the Grey-headed Eagle, would you? More than a decade ago, he assassinated quite a few people in Moon Bay, which nearly canceled the Moon Bay City independence referendum at that time. All the Seven Great Families were involved back then. I was still young, but I remember how everyone was on edge at every gathering. Luckily, we eventually got through it."

"The Grey-headed Eagle, yes, I do know him, we’re colleagues."

He was embarrassed to mention that the place where he sleeps every night now is the same place where the Grey-headed Eagle passed away last summer.

After bidding farewell to Miss Belindel at the entrance of the City Council after eleven o’clock, Shard hurried to Spider Alley. The originally scheduled meeting time with Mr. Benhart was half-past ten, and he was an entire hour late to arrive at the Spider Inn, good thing the Vampire Viscount was also late.

Albert Bainhart arrived ten minutes later than Shard, and when he sat down opposite Shard, he kept apologizing:

"I’m sorry, I was delayed by other matters this morning. You know about last night, I had a friend who was caught in the crossfire near the docks, and I went to visit him this morning."

"I just arrived too. Last night was indeed thrilling. Mr. Benhart, let’s postpone our plan to explore the sewers today until tomorrow; today isn’t really suitable for that kind of thing."

"No problem."

The Vampire Viscount also knew that the Church was conducting a citywide search today:

"Last night..."

He lowered his voice a bit, glanced around before asking Shard:

"You wouldn’t have coincidentally been there, would you?"

"Why would you think that?"

Shard asked with a cup of cheap black tea in hand, to which Mr. Benhart replied matter-of-factly:

"Oh, you’re in Moon Bay, and something major happens, of course I would think of you first. Remember the events in Milestone and Huntington? So, last night you..."

Seeing Shard nod slightly, he took a sharp breath and tentatively asked:

"Then, the dragon rumored to be as large as a mountain..."

"It did appear, but it probably wasn’t that big. Also, at the time, an evil object’s phantom appeared."

Shard briefly described the events of last night in the third person, and Mr. Benhart listened with his hand over his mouth, clearly realizing that the young man across the table was not just a bystander. After listening, he took a gulp of his drink, muttering "I knew it" and "seems like I shouldn’t stay in Moon Bay for too long."

Shard reassured him:

"Last night’s Moonlight Dragon wasn’t the one from ancient Moon Bay legends destined to destroy the city; that dragon actually protected the city."

"But since the Dragon Feast Cult can produce three dragons, there should be more. Why does it feel like since last autumn, wherever I go, trouble follows?"

The Vampire Viscount complained gloomily, while the "her" inside Shard’s heart playfully asked:

[How do you know that the one who ultimately destroys this city isn’t that Moonlight Dragon?]

"Because I am..."

He paused and then sighed as well, for he couldn’t deny that possibility.