Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1951: Terror at the Inn

Ten minutes ago, at the Green Lake Hotel, the girls who bid Shard farewell were worried about his safety, but they knew that ensuring their own safety and holding out until the Grand Witches arrived was the most important thing they should do.

The rain was still pouring down, but thanks to the effects of the three bonfires and the Magic Camp, the first floor of the hotel remained dry and refreshing.

Although Tifa’s level wasn’t the highest there, because of her status as a Witch Apprentice, she acted as the actual person in charge of the hotel and coordinated the hotel’s defenses along with the other Witch Apprentice, Miss Haley Aflora.

The black-haired Head Maid was currently at the Eight Rings, but due to Miss Feliana’s previous blessing, she could use this power to unconditionally advance to the next rank at any level, except for the jump from Twelve Rings to Thirteen Rings (Chapter 534). This meant that in the most dangerous moment, she could directly become a Ninth-tier Witch Apprentice and a Sorcerer of Nine Rings.

Although an apprentice’s Witch Rank was inherently weaker than a true witch of the same level, this meant she had a trump card to temporarily turn the tide of battle.

As for the weakest in the hotel, Angelina, she dutifully held onto the small Mia she hadn’t let go of all night, sitting on a chair by the bonfire.

Currently, there were no monsters approaching around the hotel, and she wasn’t needed to help, so she sat there warming herself by the fire, hugging the cat, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lecia handed her a cup of hot tea. Surprised, Angelina thanked her, remembering that her sister had never poured her tea before.

"It’s very dangerous, isn’t it?"

Lecia said, sitting beside her, looking at the cat in her arms. Mia also looked at her, and for a moment, person and cat stared at each other. The cat licked its paw and then turned its gaze back to the flames.

The seventeen-year-old Little Princess nodded gently:

"Yes, it’s very dangerous, so I want to gain power as soon as possible so I can help Shard... and you. I heard that Miss Iluna Beath is also seventeen?"

Lecia smiled:

"I’m glad you weren’t scared. You’re indeed a girl of the House of Cavendish, but don’t compare yourself to Beyas; she’s not an ordinary girl. However, if you could think of me first, and then Shard, I would be even happier."

The Little Princess nodded gently, though in her heart, she thought that if her sister encountered trouble, she’d definitely think of Shard first before thinking of her as her sister.

Though they had lived together since childhood, the sisters seldom had such chances to converse. Talking with Angelina, Lecia felt a bit puzzled, realizing that perhaps she had indeed neglected Angelina in the past.

Just as she was about to ask her if she heard the sounds again, a deafening dragon roar suddenly resounded outside in the night’s rain.

Then came the exclamations from the girls outside the door. Soon, two blood-soaked girls were carried into the first floor and were placed near the bonfire by the door. Those girls who had been resting hurriedly fetched magic potions and arranged for healers to treat them.

The wind and rain outside grew fiercer, and Angelina even felt that she could sense the vibrations caused by raindrops battering the hotel walls.

She wasn’t qualified to go out and help, or even to look outside through a window to see what was happening. The Little Princess hugged the little cat, sitting by the fire, not even noticing when her sister went to the door to help.

"Was that sound a dragon?"

She murmured softly to herself, squeezing the cat a bit tighter, making the orange and white cat squirm in dissatisfaction.

At this moment, it was as if she was taken back to those banquets she had attended since childhood. Clearly, everyone else could attend the banquet hall, but she alone was required to sit aside and watch her siblings socialize.

The repressive emotions in her heart grew stronger, and as she lifted her head to ask if they needed her help, she realized there was no one beside her. Most of the female sorcerers had already rushed out. Through the small window, various strange lights burst forth outside, mixing with the roar of the dragon and the sound of rain. Those who remained inside gathered around the severely injured girls, desperately trying to pull them back from the brink of death.

Angelina knew she should just sit there like a stone, not bothering anyone. But her anger toward herself reached its peak in that moment of calm. The tormenting pain in her soul seemed ready to be forged by the flame into a blade that would pierce her soul.

"But it’s still not enough."

She told herself in her heart.

"Meow~"

The cat meowed, and Angelina looked down to see the cat looking up at her. Its amber eyes were filled with innocence as it meowed again:

"Meow~"

Others might not care, but the Little Princess, who knew little about the Supernatural World, always felt that Shard’s cat possessed extraordinary abilities. She didn’t know what exactly Mia’s abilities were, so following the storyline in tales, she naturally assumed the cat was trying to warn her.

So she carefully stood up, holding the hem of her dress, and glanced around, seeing only the trembling shadows of people under the flickering bonfire, with no sign of anything amiss in the surroundings.

"Kitty, what are you trying to tell me?"

Because there was no one around, the Little Princess used some immature words when addressing the cat. The cat being held "meowed~" again, and Angelina, who didn’t understand cat language, of course, couldn’t comprehend its meaning. And even if she did, she probably wouldn’t understand it, as Shard, when turned into a cat, never understood Mia’s sounds.

However, she still tried to decipher the cat’s voice. She knew she would certainly fail, but this was just something she gave herself to do, to make herself not appear so lonely and useless.

In a sudden flash of inspiration, or perhaps some coincidence within coincidences, she merged the sound of the burning campfire from the surrounding background with the cat’s meow. The blazing fire made her think of the sun, and at that instant, the part of the campfire with the most heat seemed to be sensed by her.

In an instant, overwhelmed by such strong inspiration, she felt she understood during the illusion of her entire body about to be ignited:

"Perhaps the cat’s meow is saying, use flames to illuminate the shadows."

She was unsure if this thought came from herself or was conveyed by the voice in her ear. But she still cautiously bent down to pick up a piece of firewood, and suddenly spun around and swung it behind her, just in time to illuminate the stairway entrance, where the demon—Pride Edwards—silently descended from upstairs.

"Ah?"

Angelina blinked, somewhat doubting if this was an illusion. But when the irrational demon truly lunged at her, she realized she had inadvertently discovered the enemy infiltrating the hotel.

Death seemed to be right before her eyes, but before the cat in her arms erupted, the hand on Angelina’s shoulder pulled her and the cat away from the campfire at the last moment.

Thus, the completely irrational demon fell whole into the campfire in the camp. Even with his entire body wrapped in hard black armor, he was still injured by the golden glimmer in the flames representing the sun’s power. After getting up, he leapt out of the window, surprisingly not continuing to attack the defenseless first floor of the hotel.

Feeling her intense heartbeat, Angelina looked behind her to see her sister watching her with concern. The Little Princess pursed her lips, sniffled under that gaze, and almost burst into tears holding the cat.

[Communication.]

Someone was indeed speaking beside her, but she was desperately controlling her emotions, so she didn’t hear it.

Outside the window, Pride Edwards, severely burned by the unexpected power of the "Sunfire," had already disappeared into the woodland. In the sky, a dragon spewing black flames and growing three horns continued to battle with the girls in the air. On the night of hunting demons, she had the power close to thirteen rings, but as the demon was dead, and she was freshly healed from heavy injuries, she indeed couldn’t quickly gain the upper hand against these ladies with an average level of just seven rings.

When Lecia held her tearful sister’s hand to the window, they happened to see a black object crashing into the dragon at an unusually fast speed through the rainy mist.

The object looked like a table, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a black coffin. Though the coffin was not large, after colliding with the dragon in the air, it sent it flying to the ground.

With a rumbling sound, countless trees fell in the rain. Meanwhile, the strange coffin slowly descended, but before touching the ground, its lid opened, and the doctor and cleric jumped out of it.

The Old Cleric completely ignored the nearby Black Dragon, immediately leaning against a tree trunk and vomiting upon landing.

And in the mixed darkness of night, no one could clearly see the black shadow behind Dr. Schneider, reaching out to the fallen Black Dragon.

Even in the rain, the stench and smell of sulfur couldn’t be concealed. By the time all the female sorcerers landed back on the ground, the Black Dragon had already disappeared into the woodland.

"She got away. The opponent has the ability of spatial movement, I’m suppressed on this island."

The coffin transformed into a black cube, collected by the doctor. He and the pale-faced Priest Augustus braved the rain toward the hotel’s main entrance, unimpeded by the female sorcerers in the hotel who mostly knew them as Shard’s friends.

Still, the two didn’t stay to rest. The doctor seriously asked Dorothy:

"Where did the detective go? Why isn’t he here? Though we were lost in the fog for quite a while, we moved swiftly and should have been the first to enter this island, right?"

"Yes, you are the first. Shard set off ten minutes ago... Is the priest alright?"

The golden-haired girl looked worriedly at Priest Augustus, who barely gestured:

"I’m fine, just a bit... seasick."

Thus, Tifa arranged for someone to get a magic potion, and after drinking it, the priest’s expression improved significantly:

"We’ll bring him back. Although we were the first to enter through special means, others should appear shortly. Don’t worry. We will help Shard now."

So the doctor said to the priest:

"Let’s continue onward. I’ve been here in dreams and reality; I know the way."

"No, let me lead the way, it’s the last step, and I don’t want to get lost. Also, I absolutely, absolutely won’t ride your transport again. I’m so old now, I can’t endure that sort of torment anymore."

Saying this, they turned and ventured back into the woods, heading toward the distant mist where Edwards’ Old House could be mysteriously seen with lights.