Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 96 Crow Ink

"I only said I was helping the mayor find the murderer, and what I needed was the freedom to move freely around the town. I never said the two things were related."

Hearing Suren's words, Aiselin was stunned. She recalled what Suren had said in the room and realized that, just as Suren said, he had never said that the two things were related; it was entirely her own preconceived notion.

Thinking about this, she became even more puzzled: "Then why...?"

Suren shrugged, not answering her question, but instead picked up the kerosene lamp and walked deeper into the town.

Etherine frowned; she knew Suren was being mysterious again.

She could only sigh helplessly and then quickly followed him.

The two walked side by side on the town's dilapidated stone-paved road, using the dim light as a guide.

"Are you just wandering around town? Will you have time to look for the killer later?" Looking at the unhurried Suren, Etherine couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"It's simple, the killer is old Tom," Suren replied casually.

"what?"

Aiselin asked with some suspicion, "How did you know?"

"Billy's remains had multiple stab wounds, which indicates that the killer was skilled with knives and had a left-handed dominant hand, which matches old Tom's description."

Suren glanced at Etherine and continued seriously, "Based on the body's temperature, his time of death was around 7 p.m., therefore, old Tom is the prime suspect."

Most importantly, Old Tom cut the carrots in his stew tonight into diagonal slices instead of rolling cuts. A normal chef wouldn't cut them like that, unless he's feeling uneasy or has something to hide!

Suren continued speaking rapidly, leaving Etherin bewildered.

After Suren finished speaking, Etherine asked in shock, "Are you really a detective?"

Looking at Etherine's expression, Suren finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You've probably been reading too many novels."

Hearing Suren's words, Etherine finally recovered from her shock. Only then did she realize that Suren's words were full of loopholes. Her ears turned red, and she glared at Suren angrily.

Seeing this, Suren stopped joking and said with a smile, "In a world full of extraordinary power, what need is there for reasoning? Besides me, Ms. Cooper should have already discovered the truth, which is why she went back to rest in peace."

At this point, Suren glanced at Etherine and said, "It's surprising that Miss Sterling hadn't considered this direction at all."

"Hmph, I can have similar abilities if I want to."

Aiselin snorted coldly, seemingly somewhat unconvinced. She drew her dagger and brandished it a couple of times, saying, "But what the 'Shadowweavers' need most is assassination skills."

"I see……"

Suren understood immediately. Although Aetherine's words were brief, they made Suren think of many things: 'So that means her powerful melee abilities and near-immunity to control abilities are replaceable.'

However, more detailed information would likely only be available after Suren joins the "Eternal Oath Knights".

Just then, Suren suddenly felt a strange sense of being watched; it was a warning from his "Source of Knowledge".

Suren then turned to look at Etherine beside her, only to find that she did not react at all.

Without hesitation, Suren left a water stain on the ground, then grabbed Etherine's hand, and almost instantly, the two disappeared from the spot.

Just after the two disappeared, a figure arrived at the water stain, and a sigh echoed in the quiet street.

……

The world in the mirror.

After Suren pulled Etherin into the mirror world, Etherin realized what Suren was doing. She instinctively pulled her left hand away, but before she could even ask a question, she was captivated by the strange sights in the mirror world.

The surrounding scenery was the same as the outside world, but it had a strange, ethereal, and hazy quality, as if everything was an illusion.

Aiselin gave Suren a deep look, silently pondering, "So this is the secret behind his disappearance. But where exactly is this place?"

Suren shrugged, leaving only the words "Follow me!" before setting off to search for an exit.

Seeing this, Etherine could only follow in Suren's footsteps.

Soon after, Suren found an exit, which was a shop window of a house.

Suren extended her right hand to Etherine, saying nothing, simply watching her silently.

Etherine frowned, then understood what Suren meant. Even though she was a little unhappy, she could only hold Suren's right hand.

Then Suren pulled her along the light and they walked out of the mirror world.

Etherine felt dizzy and her vision blurred. She was back on the dimly lit street, with only the kerosene lamp in Suren's hand emitting a dim yellow light.

"Just now..." Etherine hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask the question that had been on her mind.

"We were just being followed, but luckily I was prepared." Suren chuckled lightly, saying nothing more. He released Etherine's hand and walked in one direction. "We need to hurry. I wonder when that follower will find us again."

Etherine sighed softly. She knew that Suren wasn't going to explain the strange world she had just seen, but thankfully she was used to it.

She followed Suren, still somewhat puzzled: "What are you looking for?"

Suren did not respond; instead, she quickened her pace.

A few minutes later, Suren found his target—a statue.

Etherine examined the statue closely and found that it was the same as the two statues they had seen when they entered the town, which were the ancestors that Mayor Hamilton had mentioned.

She turned to look at Suren, only to find him staring intently at the statue, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, Suren turned around and walked in another direction, leaving Etherine with no choice but to follow.

In the darkness, only the sound of two footsteps could be heard.

After an unknown amount of time, Suren stopped, and Etherine was stunned as she looked at the newly appeared statue in front of her.

"What's going on? Why are there so many statues in this city? And what is Suren looking for?"

Her doubts deepened, but Su Lun refused to reveal anything, which made her inexplicably irritated.

Looking at the newly appeared statue before him, Suren smiled and turned to ask, "Before our battle in Loren Town, you were able to find me, which means you must possess some powerful reconnaissance skills, right? Was it that raven?"

"It's called 'Raven Ink'."

Etherine corrected Suren, feeling a little puzzled as to why Suren had suddenly brought this up. However, she honestly replied, "Through a specific ability, I can share vision with 'Raven Ink,' and combined with its excellent eyesight, it's enough to conduct large-scale reconnaissance."

"That's strange, aren't ravens supposed to have poor night vision?" Suren asked, somewhat puzzled.

Etherine scoffed and said, "This is a world full of extraordinary powers, and you're still thinking like an ordinary person."

Suren chuckled to herself; this little girl was quite vengeful.

He stopped arguing with Aceline and instead asked, "Is there a way for me and Raven to share the same field of vision?"

"That's possible..."

Aiselin brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said hesitantly, "However, this requires you to establish a temporary contract with Raven Ink, and it needs to approve of you. After all, a contract requires the consent of both parties."

Suren frowned. He wasn't very confident about gaining the animals' trust, but he always had to try, so he nodded anyway.

Seeing that Suren had made up her mind, Etherine put her right fingers to her lips and whistled a clear tune.

Not long after, a huge raven flew down and landed on Etherine's left hand.

Suren looked at the "Raven Ink" in front of her and found that it was larger than she had imagined, with a body length of nearly one meter.

Even in the dim light, its black feathers shone with an unusual hue, reminding Suren of the phrase "multicolored black."

'This raven must be an extraordinary creature by now...' Suren muttered to himself.

Etherine patted Raven's head; at that moment, it was as docile as a puppy.

After a few simple gestures, a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes. She chuckled and said to Suren, "It seems that Ravenmoth likes you quite a bit, so we can proceed with the ceremony."

Then she raised her left hand, and Yamo spread its wings. Suren subconsciously stretched out her left hand, and the giant bird landed steadily on Suren's left arm.

"So heavy!" That was Suren's first thought.

He barely managed to support Ya Mo's weight with a strain of his arms, and couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself: 'Estherin acted so nonchalantly, yet I almost embarrassed myself. My physical abilities are indeed far inferior to Estherin's.'

At this moment, Etherine was unaware of what Suren was thinking. She waved her right hand, and a phantom contract pattern burning with flames appeared in the air.

Then Suren felt his "source knowledge" being drawn in.

"Today, under the witness of the great god of oaths, Raven and Surenchen establish a temporary bond oath, becoming comrades-in-arms, vowing never to abandon each other in times of crisis, until the two reach a consensus to sever the oath."

As Aiselin recited the contents of the contract word by word, a solemn expression appeared on her face, and Suren found her to be incredibly reliable.

'This must be the enhancement brought by the Origin Knowledge of Oath users. Are all Oath users born leaders?' Suren pondered to himself.

As Etherine finished reading, Suren felt a mysterious connection established between himself and Yamo. He felt that his physical body had been strengthened, and even his eyesight had improved. This was perhaps the power brought about by the contract.

However, to Suren's surprise, he did not gain access to Yamo's vision.

Just as he was about to ask a question, Etherine gently waved her hand, and the burning contract pattern reappeared. Then, Suren felt a bond connecting him and Raven, and could even clearly feel the joy Raven felt.

Seeing the stunned Suren, Aiselin reminded her, "'Chain of Oaths' only lasts for ten minutes. If you want to do anything, you'd better hurry up."

Suren nodded, then followed the link and conveyed his thoughts: "Look around Verdun and find the locations of all the Hamilton statues."

Upon receiving the command, Ya Mo soared into the sky, creating a gust of wind.

Then, Suren activated the power of the bond, and a picture appeared in his mind. The feeling was very strange, as if he and Yamo were one.

"This ability is truly astonishing. If it were two extraordinary individuals, they would be even more powerful. No wonder the Eternal Oath is the most united underground organization."

Suren was somewhat moved, and then he pondered in his heart: 'This is only the ability of an Awakened One; if it were an Agent or even a Critical One, they could create an incredibly powerful team.'

Just as Suren was pondering, Crow Ink was also flying over Verdu, its speed much faster than that of other birds.

Suren put aside the complicated thoughts in his mind, handed the kerosene lamp to Etherine, then took out a notebook from his ring and began to draw in the notebook by the dim light.

Ya Mo was extremely fast. In just three minutes, he had already surveyed the entire Weierdu. Fortunately, Suren's thinking speed was also extremely fast, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to remember the location of the statue.

After completing his mission, Ya Mo returned to Aislin's side. Aislin took out some fruits and vegetables from her waist, fed them to Ya Mo, and then casually waved her hand, severing the contract between Suren and Ya Mo.

Then she patted Yamo's head and gave it the order to move around freely.

As Raven disappeared into the night sky, Etherine turned to look at Suren's notes.

"Secret Knowledge" only enhanced Suren's thinking speed, not his drawing speed. Therefore, after Ya Mo completed the reconnaissance, he had only drawn one-third of the content.

Fortunately, Suren had an amazing memory. With the help of his memory, Suren quickly completed the drawing of the positions of all the statues.

Etherine looked at the notebook in Suren's hand, which contained a sketch that roughly depicted the shape of the town of Vildu.

The black dots marked on the map likely represent the distribution of Hamilton's ancestral statues in Wiltow.

Etherine was increasingly confused as she looked at the statues; she didn't understand why Suren was so interested in them.

Suren's pen didn't stop; he used the pen in his hand to connect the black dots one by one.

As more and more lines appeared on the paper, a general outline gradually became clear, and a sense of seriousness crept into Etherine's purple eyes.

As Suren finished his final stroke, Etherine couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "Is this a magic circle from the Libra Church?"

Indeed, despite the crooked lines, it is still very clear that the paper contains the magic circle required for the "equivalent exchange" ritual.

Suren nodded in satisfaction. He put the papers away, stood up, and was about to say something when the pain in his body made him frown.

Etherine, standing in front of Suren, also felt something strange—the sensation of her life force being stripped away from her body!

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, shattering the town's silence.

The target was Suren, but Suren did not dodge. The bullet grazed his shoulder and hit the wall behind him.

This means that Suren's [Secret Blessing] has taken effect!

Etherine threw the kerosene lamp toward the gunfire, then stepped back and disappeared into the shadows.

Suren looked at the man before him through the burning flames and sneered, "Mr. Hamilton, are you really confident you can defeat two Awakened Ones?"