Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 261 Moonlight Greatsword

Shard, Miss Annette, Miss Beyas, and the Silver-Eyed One all entered the range enveloped by the Sublimation Incantation.

With wings sprouting from its back and vines entwined around its body, the mutated monster roared towards the heavens amidst the blood-red dusk. A blood-colored greatsword appeared in its hands, and it raised the sword high, aiming at Shard, who had finally managed to draw the longsword from his shoulder.

The construction of the Sublimation Incantation was complete, the blood-colored halo completely engulfing everything around, as if dragging all into the blood-red dusk of the setting sun. Yet strangely, the giant tree and the divine statue of the holy emblem farther away still existed, as if the oil painting of the blood-red sunset had awkwardly been patched with another piece of art.

This made everything in front of them even more bizarre; the giant tree glowing with faint blue luminescence and the stone divine statue looked on quietly under the blood-red dusk.

Blood light erupted upwards from the sword blade in the tall vampire's hands, as if it could pierce through the sky, cleaving towards where Shard stood. Shard took a deep breath, his eyes reflecting the skyward blood color, his heart, however, was extraordinarily calm, ready:

"Lagre's Leap."

His figure disappeared, and the blood-colored greatsword swinging down completely missed.

The monster, dragging the greatsword, turned around, carving marks onto the ground of the ruins. It saw Shard reappear in front of Miss Annette, with both Miss Annette and Miss Beyas supporting him.

The three stood amidst the ruins of the blood-red dusk, while the light of the setting sun illuminated their faces. It seemed this moment could be their last.

With that one slash, the control-lost vampire's power greatly diminished, but the Sublimation Incantation had yet to end.

"Ever-Youth Leaf."

Shard whispered, the wooden tendrils almost reaching his face from the wounds on his body.

"What?"

Miss Beyas asked, then immediately realized and stuffed the leaf she was temporarily holding into Shard's mouth.

Chewing a few times, Shard crushed the leaf and swallowed it. A chilling sensation spread from his esophagus to his entire body, completely replenishing the Spirit that was depleted by the intense fight; the wound on his shoulder turned itchy and numb as the wooden tendrils gradually receded.

The Ever-Youth Leaf itself had a potent healing effect, coming from the highest-tiered "Tree," its power naturally could suppress that from a lower-tiered "Tree." World Tree, higher than any other in this world.

For the severely mutated vampire, the blood-colored greatsword descended a second time. Shard, now fully recovered, was prepared to obstruct it, and to counter the Sublimation Incantation, wasting a drop of Divinity didn't seem like a loss, but it was then that Miss Annette extended her hand.

She grabbed the Holy Bell from Miss Beyas and swung it hard, her fingers forming a strange pose. The Pentagram ritual array appeared above their heads, and the purple light surprisingly suppressed the blood-red dusk summoned by the Sublimation Incantation for a moment.

The greatsword collided with the Pentagram, taking a full three seconds to shatter it. Delayed by those moments, the three managed to evade in time. But Miss Annette's face turned pale as she spat out a mouthful of blood, and Shard touched her, the "False Immortality" taking effect, for that hit had not been light on her.

The blood-red dusk was still ongoing, seemingly the state of the control-lost Circle Sorcerer could maintain the Sublimation Incantation longer.

It roared, amidst the blood fog, beneath the blood-colored sunset, the blood-colored greatsword was raised above its head for the third time.

"I'll handle it!"

Miss Beyas exclaimed, taking the Holy Bell from Miss Annette and shaking it gently, gritting her teeth as she threw out her right hand's golden thunder forward, only to have it easily shattered by the blood-colored greatsword:

"Is this the end?"

"Of course not."

Shard stood in front of the two ladies, gritting his teeth as he watched the descending greatsword. But he still didn't use his Divinity because a transparent female figure in a robe had abruptly appeared beside him.

[It wasn't me; it was the person who was peeping at you earlier in the tomb chamber.]

The figure didn't speak, only handing Shard a candle before vanishing again. Shard looked at what he held, and it was indeed the Maze Candle, which had vanished earlier without a trace.

"What does this mean... I get it!"

Raising the candle high, its flame shining, the brick walls of the maze seemed to erode the dimming sunset, abruptly surrounding the three of them. But this still wasn't enough; the third sword came down, and the maze of brick walls shattered like bubbles.

The dusk of the sunset became somewhat blurred, the power of the Sublimation Incantation could support one last strike.

"Detective!"

Miss Beyas attempted to pull the almost energy-drained Shard behind her, but she couldn't budge him despite several tugs. Miss Annette, sustained by "False Immortality," tried to raise her hand again, but she couldn't even summon the Ring of Fate.

The eerie blood light flickered in the dim sky, the high-raised sword not falling immediately but instead stalling as if gathering strength.

"Is there any way left?"

Miss Annette's weak voice rose from behind:

"If there's no way, you go first. Your Spatial Leap ability can avoid this."

"There's still a way."

Shard gritted his teeth and said, looking down at the Maze Candle in his hands:

"You said that the maze created by the candle shares similar properties to a Maze Lock,"

[Yes.]

"Miss Annette, Miss Beyas, don't be too startled in a moment."

He placed the last Ever-Youth Leaf into his mouth, gently shook the Holy Bell with his left hand, and grabbed the necklace around his neck. Behind him, the Ring of Fate shimmered with the light of Little Match Girl. Letting go of the Holy Bell, he then gripped the long candle, and in the spinning Ring of Fate behind, the Spirit Runes of Little Match Girl burst with Spiritual Light.

The illusory shadow of the maze of bricks and stones appeared once again but immediately vanished. The Maze Candle in his hand burned fiercely, consuming at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"It really works! This candle can enhance the Maze Lock!"

Neither Miss Annette nor Miss Beyas understood, but seeing the candle as if it was about to merge with Shard's hand, they realized the out-of-control Maze Candle could actually aid Shard.

"What Maze Lock?"

While asking, they saw snowflakes draw an arc in front of them as they fell.

"Snow?"

The two ladies looked up in surprise to find that part of the sky above was no longer the fearful bloody dusk but a snow night with Silvermoon hanging above.

The deep night sky was stitched together with the blood-red dusk, and the distorted vista instinctively made them uncomfortable. Looking back to their surroundings, behind the trio was the snowy street in the long night; in front of them were ruins under the bloody remains of the dying sun.

"Maze Lock, so that was what happened before..."

But even with the empowerment from the Maze Candle, Judge's Holy Bell, and Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace all at once, the Maze Lock still couldn't fully unfold and could only temporarily suppress the last of the Sublimation Incantation. Instead, it was Shard who, with strength far beyond that of a First Ring Sorcerer, felt as if his body was about to burst from the surging Spirit and elements.

The light of the Maze Candle that burned to support the Maze Lock – Little Match Girl, allowed such a scale to manifest, but it would be completely burned out in roughly thirty seconds. But that was sufficient. Under the enormous Silvermoon of the snow night, Shard finally understood where hope for victory lay.

Behind him, Miss Beyas was a bit lost in thought, as countless memories rushed to her mind at this moment. Almost instinctively, she reached out her hand to rest on Shard's shoulder, her golden power offering assistance.

This was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, feeling the power within the descending Blood-Colored Greatsword. Shard suddenly looked up to the night sky above, where the reflection of Silvermoon shined in his eyes.

At this moment, the scene of standing on a ridge in a dream, looking up at Silvermoon, seemed to overlap completely with the current moment. Quite naturally, his right hand reached into the air, his eyes gazing forward.

The towering monster held the Blood-Colored Greatsword with both hands, its power amassed to the apex, and finally cleaved forward—this would be the last force of the Sublimation Incantation.

"Balance!"

The voice of Miss Beyas rang out perfectly by his ear, the golden fluctuation touching everyone present:

"Detective, it's up to you now."

Snowflakes floated past his face, and the silhouette of the little girl with a basket flashed by Shard's side. He once wanted to save the innocent, and now, he was to do the same:

"This time, I will save you all, too."

Feeling the empowerment the Maze Lock brought to his own body, his eyes reflected Silvermoon, his right hand glowing.

Miss Beyas and Miss Annette both felt the sharpness of the silver light. Even the monster wielding the sword seemed puzzled by the supreme radiance emanating from Shard's palm.

After a brief moment, Shard's right hand drew a pure silver sword hilt from the air, glinting with a dazzling luster.

Brilliant, radiant, sanctified, the two ladies behind could find no better words to describe it. It was as if this were a Holy Sword used by ancient heroes in fairy tales, or like a Divine Artifact bestowed by a deity to mortals to slay demons.

With Silvermoon hanging high overhead, the leaf, Holy Bell, necklace, Maze Lock, and balance—five forces combined to momentarily free Shard from the constraints of a First Ring Sorcerer. Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

The Blood-Colored Greatsword in front of him had already swung down. In that instant of palpitation, Shard thought of many things.

The intense aura of the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer's Sunlight Greatsword, the behemoth of a sword that seemed to want to destroy everything, the enormous Silvermoon he looked up at in his dreams, the moon disk shining on him in the snow night, and... her laughter.

He closed his eyes:

"Smile for me."

Her laughter, still so soft, seemed to appear right beside his ear, as if she was right behind him, embracing him.

Following his inner feelings, Shard completed the construction of a new Arcane Technique. The long adventure of the night would end here, everything was finally coming to an end.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the blood light that was almost about to cleave his skull the next second. His voice was deep and steady, but to the two ladies behind him, Shard seemed to have transformed into a mountain.

That sword was finally fully drawn by him from the air:

"Moonlight Greatsword!"

At the junction of the blood dusk and the snow night, the silver light met the descending blood light.