Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1017 Desire Multiplying Demon

Dorothy returned to Feather Quill Street to pack her clothes, which wouldn’t take much time since Lecia had already stored their daily attire at Saint Delan Square. No. 6, Saint Delan Square doesn’t have many advantages, but it is spacious and has plenty of room.

Shard left Mia at home but did not return to the Three Cats Inn. Instead, he took a carriage to Rontgen Avenue in the Tobesk Eastern District, where he met Dr. Schneider, who had just finished with his last patient for the afternoon and was about to have dinner.

"Demon?"

In the study on the third floor of the psychological clinic, the doctor, after listening to Shard’s story of "Victor’s Box and the Demon," repeated incredulously:

"Here? In Tobesk City?"

He pointed at the floor:

"Something like this?"

"Yes, demon."

Shard nodded, indicating that the doctor shouldn’t bother preparing tea as he wouldn’t stay long:

"I’m quite certain it is indeed an evil spirit demon lingering from the Third Era, but it doesn’t seem particularly powerful..."

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been driven away so easily. Compared to the Flame Demon sealed in Sicarl Mountain, this demon is indeed weak:

"Of course, it might also be because it’s not good at fighting."

Dr. Schneider stroked his chin in thought, unable to believe such good fortune. Shard took a cloth toy from his pocket, restored it to its original form, and placed it by the side of the sofa:

"Look~" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

He once again took out the Holy Water Bottle and placed it on the bench. Seeing the holy water inside almost immediately begin to boil, Dr. Schneider frowned deeply:

"Which number Holy Water is this?"

"Number four."

"Bought from Priest Augustus? I recently bought a batch too. The Old Cleric somehow found a supply channel."

The doctor muttered, asking Shard to wait a moment. He left the room and soon returned with a pepper shaker and a salt shaker.

The pepper shaker was small, as pepper is a rather expensive spice. The doctor twisted the lid and lightly tapped it twice over the bench, shaking out some black powder through the small perforations on the lid.

The salt shaker was large. The doctor scooped a spoonful with a small steel spoon, then spread it evenly over the bench with the bottom of the spoon.

Shard and the doctor, who was kneeling on one knee, observed the salt. In just a few dozen seconds, the white fine salt began to turn black. As a peculiar stench emanated, Shard held his breath, but Dr. Schneider cautiously leaned forward, wafting the smell into his nostrils with his right hand:

"Indeed, it’s the stench of a demon. Although I can’t be a hundred percent sure, I think I have an idea who it is."

He straightened up and, with Shard’s consent, released black Flame Demon flames from his hand, burning the entire bench. There was no smoke, only some rough black crystal stones left on the burnt floor, which the doctor collected.

Anything imbued with evil spirit demon power is extremely dangerous, even more so than relics, so it must be destroyed promptly.

"The Proliferation Demon—Vanny. Grows stronger by spreading desire, makes lax contracts with mortals, fermenting desire through them, while growing increasingly powerful."

Dr. Schneider explained, not looking at ease:

"Although it’s not as strong as the Arsonist—Sophix we once encountered, this evil spirit, which survives on human hearts and desires, is much harder to deal with. It’s the same type as the Human Pus we encountered before. Of course, Human Pus is much older and more powerful than it."

"So, are there any famous stories about the Proliferation Demon in past eras?"

Shard asked, and Dr. Schneider shook his head:

"It doesn’t indulge in destruction but disguises itself as humanoid creatures, active in cities and the countryside. By spreading and multiplying desires, it corrupts originally pure souls. In the mid-Fifth Era, during its last appearance, it even corrupted an entire human city-state, creating tens of thousands of demon minions. Shard, don’t think it’s weak; evil spirits that can spread desires, drawing power from them, are often the most powerful demons."

"Can it be dealt with?"

Shard inquired, and Dr. Schneider huffed, nodding with confidence:

"Dealing with it is no problem. From your description, Vanny should have only recently broken free from the seal in the last hundred years, so its power is still relatively weak. High-class demons wouldn’t resort to tactics like duplicating coins; the efficiency is too low. Powerful demons either seek out so-called ’heroes’ to corrupt or plan schemes capable of harvesting the souls of at least tens of thousands at once. The fact that it’s acting this way suggests its power has waned to a certain limit."

The doctor walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back:

"Since you came to see me during dinner time and not in the evening, it indicates you have other plans tonight. I’ll go to room 413 of the Three Cats Inn by myself later to investigate. Don’t worry about me; if Vanny really hasn’t left, it’s actually a good thing."

In dealing with demons, this middle-aged psychologist seemed particularly confident:

"If the relics left by demons weren’t completely safe, I wouldn’t give them to you. I destroy most items, leaving only a few for tracking. As long as he hasn’t left Tobesk City, I’ll find him within a week. If we’re lucky, we’ll depart for demon hunting this weekend; we mustn’t let it escape."

"Doctor, apart from myself, there are two other girls targeted by that demon. Do you have any means of protection against demons? Something effective in the short term would suffice, especially since Vanny’s a bit injured; his condition shouldn’t be good."

Dorothy and Lecia’s safety is assured, primarily considering Princess Margaret.

"Vanny’s injured?"

Dr. Schneider asked curiously, wanting to know how Shard accomplished it. So, Shard hooked out the badge hanging around his neck. The badge had only half appeared from his collar when the doctor, who had just sat back down on the sofa, leapt up and rolled behind the sofa:

"Alright, alright, no need to take it out. Just seeing that badge gives me the feeling of being scorched by the noonday sun in midsummer."

The doctor said with lingering fear:

"Is this a divine item of the Church of the Five Gods?"

He was quite surprised:

"I’ve only heard of divine items of this level; even a regional bishop might not have one. Those constantly offered in the papacy aren’t necessarily stronger than this. If Vanny was foolish enough to contact you directly, he might indeed have been seriously injured by this thing. Actually, this itself can protect against demons."

The doctor reminded, but now the bone badge made by Priest Augustus had merged with the "Witch Detection" badge. If Shard were to give this to Princess Margaret, once Miss Sylvia appeared, the princess would first be scalded slightly and then immediately guess there was something dubious about the detective.

"Is there another way?"

Shard asked, and the doctor thought for a moment:

"I can give you an alchemical item I made myself. It won’t be very effective against powerful evil spirit demons like Human Pus or Arsonists, but it should have some effect on this Proliferation Demon."

The so-called "alchemical item" was a pitch-black strip of cloth, seemingly made of burlap. Although pitch-black, upon careful inspection, one could see some dark rune traces in the black. This was an alchemical item made by Dr. Schneider using dyeing techniques; being a correspondence student of the Mechanical Academy, he had to master forging, chemistry, dyeing, metal cutting, heraldry, and other knowledge.

Besides the strip of cloth boxed up, the doctor also gave Shard a wooden key.

"Time Key?"

Shard asked in surprise.

"It was used to pay off a debt in a black market transaction a few days ago, so I’m giving it to you. Only you in our group can use this, consider it the fee for bringing news of the demon. Once we find the demon, we can discuss the spoils of war."

Shard thought for a moment and then pocketed the key:

"I should be at home these days; Doctor, tell me immediately once you find the demon, don’t delay this."

"Don’t worry; I’m more anxious than you."

The doctor laughed. He and Shard separated at the street corner of Rontgen Avenue, taking different carriages to their respective destinations. Although Dr. Schneider wasn’t particularly lucky, Shard had faith in his capability of catching demons.

When Shard hurried home from the east of the city, the blonde girl had come back with clothes. When Shard reached the second floor, she was humming a lively tune while cooking in the kitchen.

Hearing Shard’s footsteps, the cat squatting on the dining table watching Dorothy cook ran to the door but soon returned to the kitchen.

Lecia’s carriage would soon come to pick up Shard, so the two had dinner at home together. At the dining table, Shard told Dorothy the demon issue should soon be resolved; he was quite confident about it. The blonde girl, however, was not overly concerned; instead, she inquired about the Time Key in Shard’s hand, asking which era it corresponded to this time.

"This must be a key from the Fifth Era. The seller said it corresponds to the early Fifth Era, around the year 1000 or so. I’m not too interested in the exact time; after all, once used, I will know everything."

He poked Mia with the key on her back; after the key touched the cat, Shard even turned it slightly, making the cat meow discontentedly, probably complaining that Shard was disturbing it again during mealtime.

Winter nights always came early, and when the gas street lamps on Saint Delan Square lit up, the snow had stopped. Dorothy personally tidied Shard’s clothes and urged him to leave early, not letting Lecia wait too long.

This urging left the Outlander puzzled, but he still set off around 6:30, meeting the carriage sent by Lecia at the alley entrance of Hunter Street, and the carriage brought him directly to the side door of Queen Maria’s Opera House.

The waiting servant led Shard through a concealed side staircase directly into a box that only royal members could use. When Shard arrived, although tea, snacks, and fruits were already prepared in the box, Lecia hadn’t arrived yet.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fre(𝒆)novelkiss.com Only