Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1786: 1785: Lemer and the Dark Merman

Capítulo 1786: Chapter 1785: Lemer and the Dark Merman

“Ah~~~~”

The piercing scream attacked Shard’s eardrums as the moonlight was extinguished. The gurgling sound disappeared, and the sharp scream first shattered the remaining glass of the buildings around Saint Delan Square, then even suppressed the wailing of the gale.

Blood flowed from Shard’s ears. He endured the severe pain in his head and faced the towering monster behind the building, slashing out silver moonlight with the long staff in his hand:

“Moonlight Slash!”

But the arc of moonlight only flew halfway before being shattered into light particles by the dancing invisible tentacles in the dark, at the position of the rooftop. Shard’s eyes had adapted to the darkness by now, revealing that what he initially thought was merely space behind the merman was actually a mass of festering tentacles numbering in the tens of thousands, appearing like a pair of massive black wings behind the mountainous dark figure.

In the completely dark world, witnessing this sight could cause the weak-minded to immediately fall into endless madness. Shard bit his tongue, estimating the remaining amount of spirit, knowing he probably only had one chance.

The moisture in the air was increasing, and the dancing tentacles behind the merman pointed their ends at the square. In less than two seconds of charging, tens of thousands of black water arrows were shot toward the square, which served as a duel arena.

“Moonlight Greatsword!”

Shard held the Holy Silver Greatsword in his left hand, and a golden shield appeared in the darkness. The scattered light formed an eggshell shape, protecting Shard as the incoming water arrows completely destroyed the remaining intact tiles of the square with a rumbling sound.

The black water arrows, imbued with properties of corrosion and destruction, bombarded the shield, creating countless cracks. Shard, along with the Sigil Shield, was forced to retreat uncontrollably due to the impact, even as he tried to pierce the ground with his left-hand sword to control the retreat. His boots scraped the ground until his feet touched the ground, cutting two straight marks across the ruins of the square—

Thud~

Until the back foot supporting his body hit the broken fountain behind him, Shard finally stopped retreating at the cost of completely shattering the fountain’s base in the darkness.

“Lagre’s Leap!”

He looked up, and his body appeared in the air above the endless arrow rain. Grasping the only opportunity, Shard raised his right hand, drawing a round ring with the magic wand:

“Moonlight Ring: Second Form!”

Buzz~

Amidst the scorching steam mist, the Six Rings Life Ring appeared complete behind him, illuminating the square in the darkness. The vibration of the spirit and air emitted a hum that resonated through space. The light trace left by the wand in the air quickly gathered into a Moonlight Ring, which grew larger and larger with the continuous rotation of the wand until it covered half of the square.

Meanwhile, the merman’s shrieking sounded again from the darkness. As the water arrows beneath Shard’s feet rose upward, the buildings across the square were destroyed from bottom to top, and the hand of the giant merman shadow was sweeping horizontally in the air.

These entities from the Age of Apocalypse in the bygone era could all be called evil creatures. Although their power levels were not as exaggerated as the “Evil Creatures of Pantanal,” they were definitely not something ordinary people could come into contact with.

If it weren’t for the special environment of the apocalypse, the power of these calamity evil creatures would not directly affect the environment, and Shard would certainly not be a match for them.

At this time, his “Moonlight Wheel” charge could no longer stop. The exaggerated size and attack power of the “Moonlight Wheel: Second Form” exacted a large consumption that did not allow him to use it a second time shortly. Therefore, facing the giant hand and the countless water arrows whistling from the darkness, he had no choice but to take it head-on.

Thus, as the huge light wheel in his hand buzzed toward the front in a vertical flight, Shard was simultaneously hit by the attack of the giant merman.

The light wheel vertically cut through the shadow, as the sanctity of the moonlight was the nemesis of darkness and shadows. Amidst wails, the shadow collapsed. Shard’s clothes were corroded by black water, resulting in five or six penetrating wounds on his body even though he avoided it at the last moment.

With a rumbling sound, he was directly slapped onto the building at the side of Saint Delan Square by the giant hand. The buildings that survived the Age of Apocalypse had become incredibly robust, and surprisingly, they did not collapse under such bombardment.

The Ring of Fate was forcibly disappeared. The severely injured Shard, in the state of “False Immortality,” fell from the height, along with the building debris, to the edge of the square. Yet, he still managed to support himself with his hands and look toward the sky. The darkness had not dissipated, and the whispers in the dark affected him more seriously in his scattered and heavily injured state:

“Still alive?”

His severely injured body began to heal under strong self-healing power, but it was not nearly enough. The spirit consumed by the full-force strike of the “Moon Wheel” was already insufficient for another powerful attack.

On the pit-riddled square, foul black slime was everywhere. Shard gestured behind him, summoning the pink perfume bottle that had fallen when he fell, which flew into his hand.

For this relic brought into this time, he certainly did not choose [Night Watchman], but opted for [Perfume Bottle of Desire]. Although the Night Watchman was exceedingly powerful, in the special apocalypse environment, consumables were obviously more important.

Ever since recovering from his serious illness, Shard had experienced two Nights of the Red Butterfly, many thrilling nights, and special interactions with Megan and Audrey. At this moment, the liquid in the perfume bottle emitted an ambiguous glow in the darkness. Confident in his current resistance to toxins, Shard drank half the bottle at once, causing his skin to turn pink.

He felt as if a feverish flame was rising from within his soul, and then he uncontrollably leaped up from the ground:

“Water Summoning!”

Clear streams of water descended over his body from the air, while the Blessing of the Deep Sea Drowned took effect. Simultaneously, he grabbed a handful of black soil from the ground to fill a penetrating wound on his body; the Active Soil turned into flesh and accelerated the healing of the injury.

While recovering, he walked barefoot towards the square, and an ordinary human-sized silhouette also approached from the other side of the square.

“Second Phase… is it…”

He beckoned again, and the black wooden staff that had fallen nearby swiftly flew into his hand.

The glow at the top of the staff illuminated all around, revealing the true identity of the enemy. Indeed, it was a pitch-black merman, with a fusion of a fish’s head and a human’s body. As it walked, its body dripped with black, corrosive liquid. Illuminated by light, its wriggling shadow shook and continuously devoured objects on the ground, akin to a dark abyss capable of consuming everything.

The merman was relatively small, suggesting that it was a weak-looking woman in human form. At a close glance at the grotesque face, Shard finally recognized who the evil creature in front of him had once been:

“You are… Mrs. Lemer? (Chapter 174)”

Mrs. Lemer had come to No. 6, Saint Delan Square last summer to commission Shard because of an ad he had placed in the Steam Bird Daily, asking him to investigate whether her sailor relative, Jonathan Lemaire, who had inherited her estate, was part of a scam.

Later, Shard discovered that Jonathan Lemaire was also a Circle Sorcerer and found his safe house in Coldwater Port City. From there, he learned about the Curse of the Song of the Mermaid and encountered “Miss Princess,” who had returned from her visit to Velindale City, i.e., Lecia. This led to the subsequent shadow incident in Coldwater Port, the merman’s conspiracy, and the Crimson Cult’s Sea Return ritual.

That was a year ago; the woman who inherited the estate had her life improved significantly afterwards. During the Year-End Festival, Shard even received a greeting card from her. But Shard was certain that, due to his thorough investigation, Mrs. Lemer herself never went to Coldwater Port City.

He couldn’t have anticipated that, at this point in time which no longer exists, this woman who had once raised her child alone would turn into such a terrifying merman:

“Tree Father arranged for me to meet an acquaintance… Without my Sixth Era, Mrs. Lemer actually went to Coldwater Port and turned into a merman? Without my Sixth Era, how many more tragedies are there?”

She was now more than just a merman; the dark and shadowy forces entwining her were more terrifying than the frenzied Angel-Level Relic, Dark Realm’s strange shadow creatures and Lower Demons combined. Viewing her from the “Demon Vision” perspective made it clear that her body was entangled with countless wraith spirits and Demon power, more severe than the situation with Chosen of Darkness Ivan Daknis back then.

“This time the enemy corresponds to the Dark calamity?”

There was a conspicuous slash wound across the centerline of the merman’s body, evidently caused by Shard’s earlier “Moonlight Wheel”. She staggered toward the similarly staggering Shard, then abruptly transformed into a solid black beam of light that charged at Shard’s head.

“Moonlight Slash·Third Form!”

Shard also lunged forward with a vigorous thrust, holding the sword staff crossed at his chest, his body transformed into a cross-shaped light trace flying forward. Thus, the black light and silver cross collided before the damaged and tilted statue of a maiden, shadow clashing against Silvermoon, black stream and silver light splattered in all directions.

In just a brief span of five seconds, Shard appeared in the light, struggling to uphold resistance, his feet grounded firmly. With the Power of the Red Dragon activated, he bent forward, arms crossed before him, attempting to repel the advancing black light.

He saw countless wraith spirits gripping every part of his body, felt the darkness and shadows devouring his very existence.

“Step back!”

Thus, his left hand holding the Moonlight Greatsword was first engulfed by the shadow, followed by the silver moon ray attached to his right hand, Yggdrasil’s Staff, gradually dissipating.

By now, Shard’s feet had sunk into the ground, spider-web-like cracks spreading across the earth from the position centered at his feet. The previously absorbed Earth Origin allowed him to struggle to keep his body from collapsing, yet that mass of darkness already corroded his hands, progressively edging closer to his upper body.

“This darkness…”

The surface of his flesh began to melt, seemingly as if an abyss gaping open before him, countless hands reaching out wanting to engulf Shard in the dark. But his eyes had now brightened with a glimmer:

“I have long held, courage against the dark!”