Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1931: Fire in the Mist

"I’ll head home as well."

After Haley left, Shard said to Miss Aphrola:

"The fog is coming soon. I need to make some preparations. I’ll be back quickly."

The witch nodded gently, watching Shard walk towards the basement without looking back.

Shortly after they left, within half a minute, the vast white fog originating from Green Lake Central Island finally spread to the location of the Green Lake Hotel on this rainy night.

Having thick fog in near-storm weather is difficult to imagine, but the fog quietly drifted over this way. Slowly but irresistibly, it eventually engulfed the entire neighborhood where the Green Lake Hotel is situated.

Before this, no one knew whether the Green Lake Hotel could actually block the invasion of this white fog, so the girls on the first and third floors were prepared. In the initial half minute, the walls and doors and windows displayed excellent resistance. And outside on the street, the fog was not as terrifying as imagined; although the glimmer of the gas lamps was reduced to a faint halo, compared to the dense fog on Green Lake Central Island, the fog here was quite light.

However, the hotel’s resistance to the fog only lasted for half a minute before the fog, symbolizing the fragility of space, slowly entered the interior.

Though the fog itself poses no harm, its appearance indicates that space is no longer stable. Miss Aphrola on the first floor watched the fog appear and was about to organize the girls to retreat to the third floor when she suddenly felt the indoor temperature rise rapidly. Then, a warm light appeared from behind her.

As she turned, she saw Shard holding an old lantern in his hand, with a light in the wick shining like the sun. The light wasn’t strong, but where it shone, the dense fog surprisingly receded.

The fog made Shard’s body appear somewhat hazy, and inexplicably, Miss Aphrola felt for an instant that the person standing behind her wasn’t Shard Hamilton but a deity similar to the True God "Lantern Bearer." She suppressed the tremor in her heart, watched Shard’s face becoming clearer, instinctively licked her lips, and internally chastised herself for her thoughts at the moment.

"Sunfire."

Unaware of what the witch in front of him was thinking, Shard simply introduced.

Because he hadn’t anticipated that the fog from the island would invade the Green Lake Hotel, and he wasn’t certain if Sunfire could actually disperse this fog, he hadn’t prepared in advance. Just now, seeing the dense fog about to arrive, he recalled several instances during the Time Expedition where flames seemed to always construct safe realms in scenarios like darkness and fog, so he decided to try it.

"I intend for the basement girls, along with Laster, Mr. Soren Green, Durut Giles, and myself to come up. But those girls said they would guard the Ritual Core until the last moment, and the other three also wanted to remain below. I’ve constructed camps with Arcane Technique - Traveler’s Camp for them and divided some flames into the bonfire, so there’s no need to worry about them for the time being."

The ritual in the attic of No. 6, Saint Delan Square, although it can continuously produce "Water of Moonlight" and "Sunfire," currently only Shard, Iluna, and Sister Delphine can directly contact this flame almost equivalent to the sun.

Fortunately, "Traveler’s Camp" is Shard’s own Arcane Technique, so he can consume some Sunfire to fuse into that bonfire. Since last winter, he has been collecting this flame, and now he has quite a bit in stock.

As he spoke, he handed the old lamp containing a portion of Sunfire to Miss Aphrola:

"We don’t need these on the second floor. So, should we stay on the first floor or go to the third floor to gather with Miss Sylvia?"

Going to the third floor together would undoubtedly enhance safety, but it would also mean completely abandoning the first floor. In the fragile space situation with the white fog prevailing, potential errors could arise.

"We’ll stay on the first floor. Since the basement girls have this courage, I surely have it too."

"Light," said the Grand Witch, and the other girls gathered together and said:

"We’ll fight to the last moment, the witch’s glory is eternal."

The overlapping voices were particularly powerful, and Shard nodded, once again consuming some Precious Metal. Besides that lantern, he constructed a new Traveler’s Camp and fused a small portion of Sunfire into it, providing them a larger safe area:

"These white fogs will consume Sunfire, but these flames are enough to sustain until daylight. Now that the white fog has arrived, seven forty-eight is fast approaching. I’ll head to the third floor this time and won’t come back down. Miss Aphrola, be cautious."

Hevy Aurora showed him a smile:

"I know, you’re always so reliable. Stay safe, Shard. I wouldn’t want Galina to come back later and complain that I didn’t take good care of you."

Just as she was speaking, in places where the light of the bonfire and lantern couldn’t reach, a strange twist appeared in the fog. Subsequently, Miss Haley Aflora, holding a gold ring, stumbled out of the fog:

"These fogs hindered me from returning from the Council. Her Excellency Isabella has already contacted Miss Galina. They’re alright, just encountering some minor troubles, but afraid they won’t be back soon."

"Is this reassuring enough?"

Miss Aphrola said to Shard, who gave a slight nod:

"Be careful downstairs."

After bidding farewell to the girls on the first floor, they proceeded to the third floor where the white fog had also invaded the corridors and rooms. As Shard arrived, the girls guarding the third floor had gathered together, standing at the door to Dorothy’s room.

Even the Priest Augustus and Dr. Schneider had come out of the room, both frowning and observing the mist in the air. The doctor had previously ventured onto the island with Shard to search for Lecia, but Priest Augustus was encountering this dense fog for the first time.

Seeing Shard emerge from the mist, Miss Sylvia waved at him. Shard tossed out two small gold bars, wincing slightly while pointing to the ground:

"Traveler’s Camp."

The burning bonfire materialized in the corridor, and then Shard slightly cupped his hands to reveal the Sunfire absorbed into his body.

The cat, in a false sleep in Angelina’s arms, immediately widened its eyes but before it could react, the flame was already sent into the bonfire by Shard.

The original flame was quite bright but suppressed by the mist, unable to illuminate a larger area. With the addition of Sunfire, the glimmer immediately expelled the white fog, illuminating most of the corridor including the sealed window at the end.

The bonfire constructed by Arcane Technique would not blacken the ceiling or produce smoke, and as soon as that warm flame appeared, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"A warm fire, with this, even if the fog appears there won’t be a problem."

Miss Sylvia smiled and nodded at Shard, directing the girls beside her to re-establish defenses in the corridor and resume monitoring the nailed-up window.

Except for Dorothy’s room, all doors were closed. Although the roaring bonfire created a safe zone within a certain range, the dense fog creeping in through door cracks and from the other end of the corridor still made everyone uneasy.

"It’s seven thirty-eight now."

Shard said:

"Only ten minutes left."

As he spoke, he looked at Megan, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed in front of the room’s door. The witch also happened to see Shard at that moment and nonchalantly shrugged:

"No matter what, you can bring me back, right?"

As her voice fell, another deafening hum echoed from outside the building.

Although the corridor windows were blocked, the windows in Dorothy’s room remained usable. Without even having to approach the window, one could see a gigantic object gradually becoming clearer amidst the white fog, approaching the city center within the darkness.

It was hard to describe the enormity of the creature, larger than the tallest building in Green Lake City. The white fog obscured most of its structure, but the parts visible displayed features including aspects of dragons, winged lion beasts, a three-headed dog, and octopus-like structures.

It moved silently through the city, the rain and mist concealing the sounds of destruction. Unintentionally emitted noises from unknown organs constituted the source of the harsh buzzing heard earlier.

Lecia was the first to see the creature but quickly turned away after a glance, nearly falling if not supported by Dorothy. She remembered to immediately cover Angelina’s eyes, whose face turned pale, while the Little Princess covered Mia’s eyes.

"Meow?"

"Everyone, don’t look outside!"

Miss Sylvia exclaimed loudly:

"This is a true ancient evil entity sealed within the subspace! No one should look outside! It’s terrible, such a thing actually showing up!"

Before this night, both the Church, Witch Council, and other Circle Sorcerer Organizations had predicted the eventual emergence of ancient subspace-sealed evil entities as spatial disturbances worsened.

The Green Lake Region had a long history of human civilization, with five such ancient existences having their sealing times specifically recorded. Although the identity of this ancient entity was unknown, its appearance in the city was indeed unexpected.

"Hevy went out."

The fog extending into the city wasn’t as thick as on the island, thus Shard could see several beams of light soaring into the sky. Amidst the piercing sounds of the unknown ancient existence, High Ring Sorcerers engaged in combat with that monster.

These lights soaring into the sky included Miss Aphrola and several High Ring Ladies whose names Shard couldn’t recall. As the monster’s path clearly led past the Green Lake Hotel, Miss Aphrola had no choice but to intervene.