Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The sir was shouting wildly, his restrained arms pulled by the two people behind him, almost rushing to Shard's face. And the words used by the "Evil Fiend of the Outer Realm" were not from this era; it was a language so ancient that Shard had to think for a moment to translate it.

Shard frowned slightly, holding the cat that had been awakened. The sleepy-eyed cat looked at the madman, its amber eyes full of curiosity. It crawled out of Shard's arms, jumped onto the coffee table, but for now, no one cared what the cat wanted to do.

And after cursing Shard, the mad sir roared at everyone again:

"You don't understand, none of you understand! It's coming, this really is the last chance!"

His eyeballs in the sockets spun so rapidly as if they would fly out; Shard had never known a person's eyes could perform this trick:

"Quickly praise termination with me, praise the world with me! Thanks to the gods, thanks to everything, thanks to all that has passed, thanks to me, thanks to you, thanks to everything of everything!"

As he spoke, he gave up rushing at Shard and instead laughed out loud with his head thrown back:

"The Roder Card is truly great! Just like the believers of the Blood Feast, eager to become food for the gods! Oh earth, grant me power! Oh ocean, transform into light with me! Oh sky, let me fly freely..."

Shard understood the latter part, it was from the climax aria of the famous opera "Dickens' Tragedy," even illiterate city gangsters could hum a few lines.

"When I saw him at the farewell dinner in Tobesk City, I really didn't expect... Has the sir gone completely mad?"

Shard turned to ask Miss Danester, everyone was watching Sir Plisha, who was still singing with his loud voice. One must admit, he indeed has immense singing talent.

"Yes, either he's saying crazy things or reciting or singing like this. Of course, most of the time he sits quietly talking to himself."

Miss Danester said somewhat regretfully, then raised her voice and asked in Casenric language more familiar to the sir:

"Lakin Feo Prisia, do you recognize this gentleman in front of you, do you still remember Shard Hamilton?"

Upon hearing Shard's name, Sir Plisha, who was singing with head tilted back, glanced at Shard holding the cat again. The madness in his eyes seemed to fade a bit, he opened his mouth wide, took a deep breath, and suddenly rushed forward, even forcing the two Inner Ring Sorcerers holding him to move forward:

"You...!"

The madman widened his eyes, his bloodshot gaze which could kill a person, Shard would probably have to wait for Priest Augustus to pull him out from death if that were the case:

"I know you! I know you! You are..."

Shard displayed an expression of compassion as he watched Sir Plisha approach closer.

"You will not end well!"

He spoke rapidly, his voice becoming extraordinarily deep, and repeated the sentence:

"You will not end well, only you will not end well..."

The two Inner Ring Sorcerers behind him seemed to suddenly lose strength, letting him directly rush to Shard, but still holding his arms. At such a close distance, Shard could even count the number of bloodshots in the sir's eyes. "She" could sense Lakin Prisia's oddity, and at this moment, the sir seemed to suddenly wake up and finally made a move that surprised everyone.

Bang!

He abruptly turned sideways, falling to the ground, kneeling in front of the coffee table, then nearly crazily placed his head against the edge of the table, shouting loudly at the orange and white domestic cat standing there not knowing what was happening:

"Oh! Such a beautiful cat! Haha, kitty, kitty~"

Mia shrank her small head, retreated in fear a few steps, while Sir Plisha continued speaking with his face against the coffee table:

"Oh sun~ such a warm sun. You finally appear before me, please shine on me, shine on this poor soul!"

Saying that, he surprisingly began to cry. At this moment, Mia was completely scared and scurried towards Shard, then actively burrowed into the inside pocket of his coat.

So the crying sir also turned to Shard, raising his tied arms high and shouted loudly:

"Oh almighty supreme and warm sun~ please protect me! Praise the sun! You are so elegant! You are so beautiful! You are so thriving! Please let your warm light shine on me. Even a tiny bit! I will praise you! Praise you..."

Although he was praying to Shard, everyone present could see he was actually praising an ordinary but very beautiful cat.

Shard held Mia, adjusted his position on the chair, trying to distance himself from Sir Plisha, while Miss Danester said softly:

"That's enough, it seems meeting an acquaintance doesn't help."

The Inner Ring Sorcerers grabbed the sir's arms, trying to take him away, but the sir was still crying and shouting prayers:

"Praise the sun! Praise the sunlight! Praise the warmth! Praise... No, you won't end well! You are the most ridiculous! Only you! Only you! The path beneath your feet is truly a path with no good ending... Praise the sun, praise the moon, praise the earth, the feast is about to begin, let me go, I need to gather the offerings, I must attend the feast! I must gnaw the soil, I must..."

The Silence Charm isolated all sounds, and Sir Lakin Prisia was taken away.

The atmosphere at the scene was noticeably awkward; the two deans and Professor Garcia got up and left, evidently knowing Miss Danester had words to say to Shard.

Thus, the library's center returned once more to the familiar sight of Shard sitting opposite Miss Danester, only this time, there was an added presence—a cat.

"It did look quite strange just now."

The Female Sorcerer picked up her teacup, not hiding anything from Shard:

"I don't know if your source of information is well-connected, but since this summer, the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, the 'God Summoner,' has been appearing across various parts of the Old Continent, causing quite the... significant events. He is quite similar to you, both adept in Silvermoon and Space-Time powers."

"I've heard of that name after the Summer Lakeside Manor's God Summoning Ritual incident... So, the Academy suspects I'm the God Summoner?"

He laughed, pointing to himself, while Mia gave a "meow."

"I'm quite honored to be suspected of being such a formidable person."

Miss Danester nodded:

"Indeed, there's a possibility, given you've been living in Tobesk City all along, and the situation there hasn't been peaceful this year. As for the God Summoner, there was the God Summoning under the Tobesk Silvermoon, the defeat of the colossal mermaid's Floating Corpse in Coldwater Port, the moonlit duel with the Evil God in Midshire Fort, and just recently... during the battle at Pantanal."

Automatically, the teapot poured tea into the empty teacup, which floated towards Shard:

"But from the recent situation, he reacts to you the same as he does to everyone else. Sir Lakin Prisia seems to have completely lost his mind, yet sometimes, the words he speaks seem strikingly sensible... a rational madman."

[From the recent contact, Lakin Prisia remains a Five-Ring Sorcerer, and the power of Angel Bloodline still exists but is suppressed by the same source of power. The Church of the Five Gods has the power to summon other Cherubs.]

"She" quietly whispered in Shard's ear, as Shard pretended to take a sip from the teacup. Miss Danester's taste was quite remarkable; the tea leaves chosen for the red tea were even better than Detective Sparrow's selection.

[Additionally, he seems to have become a kind of Omniscient.]

"What?"

Shard asked in astonishment in his heart.

[Complete madness has led to his mind being unrestrained, allowing him to see knowledge that mortals shouldn't see, further driving his insanity.]

Shard asked no further questions—Lakin Prisia was already completely mad. Even if he knew all the secrets of this world, people couldn't use any means to inquire about his knowledge.

Once Shard put down the teacup, Miss Danester continued to the next topic:

"If you're interested in the topic of the God Summoner, we can discuss it later. The main purpose of inviting you to the Academy this time, I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, I brought it."

Shard took a box out from his pocket, and upon opening it, a bright yellow Treasure Bead lay within. Miss Danester smiled, reaching behind her to beckon, and the Wordless Black Book flew from a distant shelf.

The book opened and was placed on the coffee table between them. With the Rings of Fate from the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer and the Five-Ring Sorcerer manifesting, the glow of Silvermoon and Red Moon simultaneously illuminated the pages of the book.

"Remember to remind me later to browse the 'Sublimation Codex' for you, to search for the 'Sublimation Incantation' of the Inner Ring."

As she spoke, the [Source of Chaos] had already been thrown out by Shard. The chaotic moonlight had barely appeared when Miss Danester slightly furrowed her brow. Fortunately, the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer's psychic resistance was extremely strong and wasn't greatly affected.

And this relic, which had been sleeping at No. 6, Saint Delan Square for a hundred years, did not hover above Shard's head but instead seemed to be attracted, floating towards the Wordless Black Book and suspended above it.

Absorbing the relic's Spiritual Light requires a ritual. Shard had read the relevant knowledge in Feliana's Notes. Yet, before he could prepare the ritual, the moonlight of the [Source of Chaos] was already projected onto the blank pages below, and with the originally obscure ink marks resembling tadpoles and snakes wriggling, the ink recombined and reassembled.

The book automatically floated upwards until it swallowed the [Source of Chaos] into its pages.

Shard's Silvermoon and Miss Danester's Red Moon were both Enlightenment Spirit Runes, thus the light of their glows was brass-colored. However, as the black book itself emitted the light of the Yellow Moon, their glows respectively transformed into sanctified silver and crimson red.

The three-colored moonlight blended into one on the Black Book. Miss Danester waved a hand, isolating any observation from the outside. The overhead lights gradually dimmed, leaving only the gigantic brass astrolabe with scattered silvery-blue glimmers.

In the darkness, at the place where the tri-color moonlight intersected, a large expanse of rune light and shadow projected from the Wordless pages into the air, allowing Shard, Miss Danester, and even Mia to see the content of these words.

This time, there were no riddles nor hints for the next clues to be found. The most complete information about the Silvermoon Library left behind by the Ancient God appeared before the two.

"Finally, it's been found!"