Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1975: Ashes That Bear the Flame

To devour an Ancient Evil Entity with a human body is absolutely impossible, yet this peculiar body of his seems forged precisely for this purpose.

The bottle fully enters the body, his aura becomes strong again, and the Brass Life Ring riddled with cracks reappears behind him. Subsequently, numerous small black hands emerge from the center of the Ring and fill the cracks, making the ring look even more eerie.

"By using my body to suppress the power of the ’Door in the Bottle,’ you only need to defeat me in this state, which is tantamount to defeating it, rendering it weak without confronting this terrifying evil object directly."

Laplace Howard spoke while striving to suppress the convulsions on his face. He was indeed using his body to suppress the Ancient Evil Entity, but even so, Shard and Sister Delphine noticed the evil object’s power gradually affecting his body, corroding his mind. A thump, thump, thump sound continually arose from within him, not at all like a heartbeat, but rather like the sound of a door being struck.

Flames surged fiercely as if they sensed new firewood to ignite. Yet, the Diviner, with just a mouthful, swallowed the incoming flames, making the twisted and bizarre aura around him even stronger.

"I’ve locked this evil object within my body. Defeat me."

He clutched his chest, speaking to the two before him, but his eyeballs had, at some point, turned pure white:

"Of course, should I win against you, it would mean my journey has not reached its end."

"Initially, you wouldn’t have planned on bringing the Maze Demon - Yaruu here to lock it away at the end as well, would you?"

Shard asked, and upon the other’s nod, finally understood why that demon exclusively carried a ’Master Key.’ Evidently, both sides were plotting against each other, and the Evil Spirit had been on guard against its collaborative partner from the start.

Whether Laplace Klein Howard truly wanted to eradicate the evil object - Door in the Bottle after his defeat or merely sought another chance for himself, or whether both ideas existed, it was no longer important.

Numerous small black hands connected with black lines surged from his back in all directions, and as he floated skyward in the sea of flames, the odd Ring of Fate behind him transformed from circular brass to square brass. With the Fate Ring growing larger, Shard realized it had indeed become a towering door behind him.

Shard looked at Sister Delphine:

"I can’t beat him; this form of his... can you?"

The nun shook her head slightly, the eyepatch with intricate patterns reflecting dazzling light in the sea of flames. Shard had never seen the elaborate patterns on that elegant accessory so clearly but soon shifted his gaze upon "her" reminder. Such staring would be an impolite act towards the nun in front.

"But don’t you have a way?"

The nun asked softly, though in fact, it was an affirmative sentence.

Shard hesitated, unsure if he should use that method, so Sister Delphine lowered her head and added:

"I am the Nun who shields the flame, and you, the Hero of the Flame. We are inherently one and the same."

Convinced, Shard formed a pink glimmer in his hand, which transformed into another ’Love God’s Sting,’ and the nun received it.

He then stepped back several paces, inhaled deeply, and once again harnessed the new power through the great flames absorbed via the nun:

"Maze Lock: Clock Tower Lovers!"

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Behind Shard, the sea of flames seemed cleaved into a path by someone’s sword, and as the flames retreated to both sides, Sister Delphine raised her head slightly to ’see’ the black stone bell tower at the end of the path behind Shard, unbeknownst when it had risen.

Flames enveloped the path; flames licked the tower. Below the bell tower, the seven-ring Life Ring shimmering behind Shard, Miracle - ’Charm,’ Enlightenment - ’Clock Tower Lovers,’ and Enlightenment - ’Flesh,’ simultaneously shone with dazzling Spiritual Light.

The sea of flames did not transform into the Fairy Tale Town of Snowfall, yet the bell tower, Shard, and Sister Delphine aligned into a single line, and the cracked red earth beneath their feet transformed into a neatly paved road of stone tablets.

The nun slightly lowered her head so none could see the expression on her face. Her back faced the Diviner, her front faced Shard and the bell tower, hands grasping the ’Love God’s Sting,’ she slowly pierced it into her chest.

Gray stone emerged at the site of penetration, and with a rustling sound, the nun transformed into a sculpture wearing a silver eye mask, then dissolved directly into a pile of ashes on the ground. Upon the ashes, the eye mask lay quietly, like a silver crown, reflecting the dazzling flames of the surrounding fire.

But then, a large hand wrapped in gray cloth and covered in fiery red cracks picked up the eye mask.

Standing over three meters tall, donning tattered knight armor, wrapped in gray cloth, even the edges of the skirt armor shimmering with bright red embers, Shard affixed the eye mask to the upper end of his left arm. As he swung his arm, ashes rustled down continuously from his body, and from his palm, he pulled out a longsword encased in gray stone shell, with sparks and cracks immediately spreading along the blade.

Burn scars covered Shard’s body, as though he turned into burnt-out ashes.

He forcefully flung the longsword forward, leaving fiery traces suspended in the air for a long time, while the stone shell on the surface of the Angel-Level Relic[Ashes]peeled away, revealing fire-red cracks similar to those on Shard’s armor and gray cloth. The sword rapidly enlarged within the flames until transforming into a Flame Greatsword fitting Shard’s current form.

Holding the sword in his right hand, his left hand forming an empty grip, flames rose from his palm. He fiercely crushed the flame, engulfing himself with blazing flames which shortly dissipated, but the severe burn marks on his body were entirely ignited. The surrounding flames ceaselessly provided him with Spirit, and the roaring sea of fire seemed to cheer and celebrate for him at this moment.

This was his home turf; Sister Delphine’s suggestion was very correct. In this state, he couldn’t possibly lose to anyone.

This was the fourth time today Shard had used the power of "Maze Lock: Clock Tower Lovers," following separate fusions with Iluna, the Seven-in-One and the Red Butterfly, simultaneous fusion with Chosen of Space and Chosen of Balance, yet the fusion with Death’s Chosen Sister Delphine brought Shard an especially distinct feeling.

Hot yet cold, his soul seemed pressed by a charred piece of wood, but that wood faintly held some unextinguished flames.

The "Fire of the Primordial" existing in Sister Delphine’s soul and body had finally directly touched Shard’s soul for the first time.

Mr. Edmund of Coldwater Port said it was an Unclassified Level Relic, Sister Delphine said it was an Angel-Level Relic. Yet under Shard’s powerful soul perception, he distinctly felt even an Unclassified Level Relic[Time of Retrospection]did not possess such mighty power as this tiny flame.

His towering form stepped forward on the stone tablet path, glancing up towards the hovering Laplace Klein Howard. Sword edge pointing upwards, the sea of fire obediently transformed into thousands of chains, entangling with the black little hands behind the Diviner.

Shard stepped upwards fiercely, treading on flames away from the ground, rising into the air. Without requiring any complex Spellcast or preparation, his left hand grasped a silver-white "Thunder Spear" from the sea of flames, hurling it at the incoming black little hands.

Once the silhouette of the Diviner was revealed behind those black little hands, he wielded the Greatsword in his hand, leaving fire traces in the air as he slammed toward the enemy before him, the latter controlling those little hands to continue battling the sea of fire trying to consume him, while summoning a shield resembling a brass door before himself.

Clang~

Sparks flew as, with a great roar, the giant Shard smashed the Greatsword against the shield, forcing a dent in the brass door shield before him.

Having failed to effect with one strike, he wielded the Greatsword continuously to smash, Laplace Klein Howard retreating under the increasingly powerful onslaught. Not only had the Ring of Fate behind him transformed into a standing door, even a symbol of "door" appeared on his brow.

Strange black lines surged from his brow over the body, some drifting off the skin touching the air, but quickly burned by the surrounding flames. If not facing Shard with Sister Delphine in such a state and environment, this would undoubtedly be another fierce battle.

"God Summoner, Shard Suren Hamilton, this time I have lost to you."

His echoing voice transmitted, yet it couldn’t halt Shard’s action of wielding the sword against the shield.

"The Ultimate Death of the world, certainly shall and will arrive in the Sixth Era; we don’t have much time left."

Smashing down, the brass door thoroughly pierced by the Greatsword. The sword swung at the Diviner’s essence, who reached out to meet the sword; igniting flames and black blaze simultaneously burst, even pushing back some fire in the sky:

"My path has already failed, but what makes you think, you will certainly succeed?"

The Greatsword slicing through the black light, stirring his body into fragments with flames, but from the brass door standing behind the corpse, another Laplace Klein Howard came forth.

"Arrogance is the original sin of intelligent beings. Do you know, beyond you and me, how many people silently strive to reverse the destined Apocalypse? Would you like to hear the stories of all people?"

Shard swung another blow, Laplace Klein Howard stepping back directly hiding behind the brass door transformed from his Ring of Fate. The Ashen Greatsword struck that door, vibrating~ causing both to retreat amid the flames, Shard feeling his palms tingle from the shock.