Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The ink-colored sword mark struck the enormous head directly. As the sword mark, shimmering with starlight, flew out from the back of the head, the head split into two halves at the spot and dissipated into the darkness amid increasingly ear-piercing howls.

But soon, with the surging darkness, another gigantic head emerged from the depths. Landing on the ground, Shard once again charged forward with his sword. This battle was likely to last for a long time.

"Do you understand Ancient Runes? Come over and help."

Luviya pulled on Emilia’s sleeve, handed her a piece of chalk glowing with blue light, and quickly explained how to arrange the runes. The elf girl then crouched down to write the runes on the ground, but her pointed ears could still hear the loud clashes and fighting sounds coming from outside.

"The ’Friendly Neighbor,’ like the Cursed Letter and Ghostly Afterimage you encountered before, is essentially a powerful curse born from people’s resentment and fear. In theory, as long as sentient life exists and harbors fear, these already-formed curse-type relics are difficult to fully contain. Don’t be misled by how Shard is fighting wonderfully outside. No matter how many times he wins, he can’t drive this thing away. So, when you encounter a relic in the future, think more about what its core truly signifies."

Luviya was still gently instructing her:

"Of course, this doesn’t mean Shard’s current efforts are useless. Without him holding the line outside, we wouldn’t be able to complete the ritual so easily here. This is probably your first time dealing with a Sage-Level Relic, and it’s a valuable experience. As for whether to inform the Academy about this matter later, it’s up to you. Shard and I do not lack this honor... Furthermore, outside the Academy, while such things are not common, they are not something one encounters only once."

The elf girl with pointed ears nodded but didn’t make a decision immediately, merely speeding up her actions. She knew Shard was buying them time.

With Luviya around, nothing went wrong afterward, and the ritual that Emilia couldn’t understand was soon completely inscribed on the walls and floor. The elf girl then hid again behind Luviya, watching as she reached out to open the room door.

Creak~

The beam of light exposed from the crack in the door was somewhat overwhelming for Emilia. But soon, the light engulfed them both, and as their vision returned, they found themselves in a sunny and vibrant, unfamiliar apartment.

Truth be told, having just been in that eerie, horrifying corridor, Emilia felt even more in danger under the sunlight than safe.

She held tight to Luviya’s hand, afraid they might be separated for various reasons. But for now, there was no danger, only Mr. and Mrs. Goodman sitting in the sun, conversing on two bamboo chairs.

A small white-painted table was placed between the two chairs. The apartment’s male owner had his legs crossed, reading an unrecognizable newspaper, while the female owner had a yarn basket on her lap and was knitting a sweater.

"Seems like new neighbors have moved in next door?"

The man’s voice came from behind the newspaper.

"Yes, I’ve heard they’re bumpkins from the countryside. The woman even brought me some pancakes at noon. Ha~ who would eat their stuff, yuck~"

The knitting woman said while busy with her work.

The bright space suddenly went dark, and when the light appeared again, everything was the same as before. However, the bright sunlight outside the window had dimmed a lot, the man’s once brand-new newspaper became crumpled, and the woman’s knitting yarn turned from white to blood red.

"Did our new neighbor attend the district housewives tea party yesterday afternoon? How was she?"

The man asked again from behind the newspaper, and the knitting woman responded in a complaining and mocking sharp tone:

"Bumpkin from the countryside, knows no one, poured all the sugar into her coffee. Yuck, what’s money good for, they’ll crawl back to their muddy den sooner or later."

The room turned dark once more, and when light appeared for the third time, the only remaining glow illuminating them from outside was the twilight orange-red light of dusk. The man still had his legs crossed, hiding his face behind a paper filled with horrifying, twisted text, while the woman continued knitting, with blood constantly dripping from the yarn basket.

"Did the new neighbor come for help today?"

Again, the man spoke first, but unlike before, his originally magnetic voice had become hoarse.

"Yes, yes, while preparing dinner, that woman asked me to lend some salt."

The woman spoke as if something was stuck in her throat.

"Did you give it to her?"

"Of course, yuck~ guess what else I put in the salt shaker?"

In a fit of low laughter, darkness descended again, followed by a faint light shining into the dark room from the window. Both the man and woman were shrouded in large shadows. Emilia, feeling her whole body trembling, clung closely to Luviya. Though the three scenes were but simple conversations, she inexplicably felt her heart turn cold, her Sixth Sense frantically urging her to leave this place.

The man retained his leg-crossing posture, with the previous terrifying scribe now turned into a blood-dripping human skin scroll. The woman, seemingly undaunted, continued her knitting work, the yarn basket unmistakably a gruesomely skeletal object, and she was sewing what appeared to be a long-deceased infant.

"Our neighbors seem to need some help lately. I’ve noticed the plants in their garden withering away."

"Yes, they indeed need help. I’ve noticed all sorts of cockroaches, centipedes, and rats breeding on their land."

"Why is this?"

"Why is this?"

The laughter, a mix of hoarse male voice and sharp female voice, made Emilia feel dizzy, almost on the verge of fainting.

In this dizziness, darkness descended once again. It was only when the dim gaslight’s glimmer reappeared that Emilia vaguely realized she was standing with Luviya in the hallway of No. 6, Saint Delan Square.

Outside, it seemed to be night, the gaslight in the hallway also appeared exceptionally dim. Knock, knock. The door opened automatically before she realized what was happening.

Mr. Goodman and Mrs. Goodman stood outside under the wall lamp with radiant smiles.

She tightly grasped her sister Luviya Luisa’s hand, while Mr. Goodman smiled and said:

"Mrs. Hamilton, you’ve been living here since you moved from the countryside, but you haven’t visited us yet. My wife and I want to invite you over."

Shadows squirmed like tendrils behind the pair outside the door, with a weird rustling sound echoing in the dark. But Emilia blushed at the address "Mrs. Hamilton," only then realizing it wasn’t meant for her.

"I’m sorry, my husband isn’t home right now, he’s still at work."

Emilia heard her sister Luviya say, while the elf girl condemned her own unethical behavior in her heart. The "kindly" Mrs. Goodman shook her head with a smile and said:

"It’s okay, Mrs. Hamilton, you can bring your sister to our house first. We’ve prepared a lavish feast for you both. Once Mr. Hamilton returns from work, we will invite him."

Although Emilia didn’t know why she felt a bit scared of these city neighbors, instinctively, she didn’t want to leave home. She wanted to remind her sister but found herself unable to speak.

The haze of confusion deepened in her dizzy head. In the momentary silence she didn’t notice, Luviya calmly asked:

"Are you inviting just the two of us? Can we bring our cat along?"

"Cat?"

In Emilia’s muddled mind, the image of the orange and white cat suddenly appeared. But somehow, she also thought of another silver cat, though she couldn’t recall if that silver cat was also a pet.

Mr. Goodman and Mrs. Goodman maintained their smile but didn’t answer the question.

Luviya continued, her tone calm:

"Since you made the invitation, I must tell you, I may be the lady of this house, but I am not the only woman here. Shouldn’t the others also be invited?"

"Are there others?"

This time Mrs. Goodman spoke, she was very enthusiastic:

"Where are they now? We can call them over too."

"In Midshire Fort, at the Cassandra Auction House, Grace White and Helen Black."

A hint of laughter appeared in Luviya’s calm tone:

"They’re a very beautiful pair of twin sisters, my husband quite likes them."

"I’ll go invite them."

Mrs. Goodman said, stepping back into the darkness. While Emilia, with her confused mind, suddenly recalled new memories, she thought of the man her sister married, who was quite the philanderer:

"It seems there are many people at home, but luckily the house is large, so there’s no need to worry... something feels off."

Mrs. Goodman didn’t leave for long. Emilia, lost in chaotic thoughts, hadn’t sorted through her disorganized memories when Mrs. Goodman staggered back from the darkness. She looked unchanged from before, but Luviya distinctly felt she was gravely wounded:

"Couldn’t invite them?"

Luviya asked with a smile, lightly squeezing Emilia’s left hand, hoping the confused girl would soon regain her clarity:

"Since you couldn’t invite the others from the house, we really can’t go out casually. The master of the house isn’t back yet, and we dare not leave without him. He’s a very small-minded man, usually smiling warmly and speaking gently, but if we disobey, he really will take action... Quite a few girls at home have suffered his whip often for it."