Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 100 The Truth Behind the Invitation

Just as Suren was carefully observing the building in front of her, Etherine whistled. The raven circling overhead seemed to have received some command and flew away into the distance in the blink of an eye, disappearing from sight.

"This should be the burial ground that Aetherine mentioned earlier; it looks like the headquarters of the Eternal Covenant."

Suren's heart skipped a beat, but he did not rush forward.

In Suren's view, it is unlikely that the headquarters of the "Eternal Oath Knights" would only have illusion magic as a protective measure.

Sure enough, Aiselin didn't move forward directly either. Instead, she closed her eyes and began chanting syllables that Suren had never heard before. Her voice had a strange rhythm, as if some mysterious being was whispering to her.

As Etherine chanted, Suren seemed to feel something around her disappearing.

After Etherine finished reciting, she nodded to Suren and strode forward, with Kayla following closely behind.

Seeing this, Suren stopped and followed their pace.

Arriving at a massive metal city gate, Etherine seemed to remember something. She leaned close to Suren's ear and whispered, "By the way, when you see my mother later, don't say anything careless! Especially about those books of mine..."

Suren looked at the girl in front of her with some surprise, then chuckled and said, "Okay, okay, I understand."

"snort."

Seeing Suren's expression, Aiselin snorted coldly, then placed her hand on the door. As a pale blue light shone, the door in front of her swung open without any apparent resistance.

Suren couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Automatic doors? That's quite convenient."

The three of them crossed the city gate and entered the city, and the gate behind them slammed shut with a loud bang.

The interior of the mortuary was not quite what Suren had imagined. Upon entering, there was a spacious corridor with radiant stone lamps hanging on both sides, illuminating the entire corridor as if it were daytime.

A long red carpet was laid in the corridor, and various oil paintings hung on both sides, making Suren feel as if she had entered a palace.

"For an underground organization, this is far too extravagant!"

Suren couldn't help but complain in his heart that the style of the headquarters of the Eternal Oath was not quite what he had imagined.

Led by Etherine, Suren and the others walked through the corridor to a place that resembled an archive room.

The room was filled with bookshelves and shelves on both sides, which were filled with various books and files.

In the center of the room were several long tables, and a few people were discussing something around the files on the tables.

Suren noticed that their clothing style was very similar to that of Etherine, both wearing lightweight leather armor for easy movement, with black cloaks over them.

Upon seeing Etherine, the group of people who had been discussing the matter all stood up and bowed.

Etherine simply nodded and led Suren to the head of the long table, where a dark-haired lady was sitting. She was the same woman dressed as a knight-errant that Suren had seen before.

Her attire today was similar to before, except that she wasn't carrying her signature large bow.

Noticing the arrival of Aiseline and the others, she stood up and said to Aiseline with a smile, "Welcome home, our little Aiseline."

Her gaze then passed over Etherine and lingered on Suren's face, somewhat surprised: "And who is this?"

Suren then remembered that his disguise was not yet off. He waved his hand gently, removing the [Secret Appearance Thousand Faces] and restoring his appearance with black hair and brown eyes.

The black-haired woman paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, "So it's you. Does that mean you've made up your mind?"

"Yes, Miss Sterling convinced me, but it's just a collaboration for now." Suren nodded slightly, emphasizing the word "collaboration."

The black-haired woman nodded, extended her right hand, and said, "Hehe, after all, officially joining an organization does require careful consideration. By the way, let me introduce myself, I am Alyssa Thorne."

After shaking hands with the other party in a friendly manner, Suren asked curiously, "Don't we need to sign any kind of contract?"

"No rush, there's one more thing to do." After saying that, Elisa stood up. "Mr. Suren, Etherine, please come with me to meet our leader—Lord Violet Sterling."

Suren was slightly taken aback, but quickly came to her senses and followed Elisa's steps.

The three walked down the brightly lit corridor. Suren asked Elisa with some curiosity, "Ms. Thorne, you should be an Agent now, right?"

"Yes, I was already an agent before little Aetherine came to the Eternal Oath," Elisa said without hiding anything.

Suren nodded, thinking to himself, "Looking at it this way, my [Secret Appearance Thousand Faces] disguise is indeed of very high priority; ordinary agents can't see through it. Aiselin was probably able to see through it by using some kind of item."

As Suren pondered this, he suddenly realized a problem:

"Wait a minute, Aetherine looks like she's in her early twenties now, but even if Elisa entered the extraordinary world in her teens, at a normal pace, she should be in her forties by now. She doesn't look it at all!"

Noticing Suren's expression, and seemingly guessing what Suren was thinking, Elisa said with a smile, "Actually, I'm almost ninety years old."

"Uh." Upon hearing this news, Suren was at a loss for words.

Seeing Suren's expression, Etherine, who was standing to the side, found it rather amusing to see him so embarrassed.

Elisa continued, "After becoming an Agent, your body will no longer be made of flesh and blood, and your lifespan will increase significantly. You will naturally learn about other changes after you become an Agent."

She turned to look at Suren, a hint of appreciation in her sharp eyes: "At your previous pace, even without an improvement in your color rank, three years would have been enough time for you to accumulate the necessary points to advance to the level of an Agent."

Upon hearing this, Suren's heart stirred, and she replied, "But I don't even know the requirements for an Executor's advancement."

Elisa understood the implication in Suren's words, and she smiled sassily: "Once you reach a cooperation agreement with the Eternal Oath, you will naturally obtain the relevant information."

Before Suren could even feel happy, she changed the subject: "Of course, that's on the condition that you help us complete some tasks."

There's really no such thing as a free lunch.

Suren smiled helplessly, but this was within his expectations.

……

In one of the rooms of the mortuary, a blonde woman sat at a desk piled high with documents, quietly reading a letter, seemingly deep in thought.

"Knock knock knock".

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she said, "Come in."

Then, Su Lun was led into the room by Elisa.

To Suren's surprise, unlike the opulent surroundings of the castle, the chief's room was unexpectedly simple. There were almost no decorations in the room, and weapon racks with various weapons were placed on both sides. The overall style of the room even seemed somewhat retro.

At that moment, Violet, smiling, said from behind the desk, "You must be Suren Chern?"

"Yes, Ms. Sterling." Suren bowed and then looked at the leader of the Eternal Oath.

Her long, golden hair was piled up behind her head. Her face looked somewhat weathered, and a noticeable scar on her left cheek made her appear even more menacing. Her gray-blue eyes shone with a sharp light, and she resembled a lion. Even when she was smiling, she exuded an aura of majesty that made it hard to breathe.

Suren even had the illusion that the person standing in front of her was not the leader of a secret organization, but a queen.

At Violet's prompting, Suren sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

"So it seems Mr. Suren has decided to cooperate with our Eternal Oath?"

Violet maintained a gentle smile as she spoke, but her tone carried an undeniable air of authority.

Suren nodded slightly, but still asked under pressure, "But I need to know why they came to me?"

He paused, looked directly into Violet's eyes, ignoring her sharp gaze, and continued, "And why do you value me so much, even requiring a personal audience with you, Chief?"

Violet stared intently at Suren, and seeing that he showed no hesitation or hesitation, she nodded approvingly: "As expected of the 'Child of Destiny,' your mindset already surpasses that of most extraordinary individuals."

"The chosen one?" Suren's heart sank; this was the second time he had heard this term.

Before Suren could even ask a question, Violet posed the first: "What are your thoughts on the Church?"

Suren frowned. Although he didn't know the other party's intention, he still answered directly: "A false order, a real dictatorship."

Violet was taken aback, then burst into applause: "You are far more outstanding than I imagined, Mr. Suren."

She extended her right hand and clenched her fist tightly: "Overthrowing the rule of the Church and establishing a truly orderly nation—this is the ultimate creed of the Eternal Covenant Knights!"

Our goals are aligned, Mr. Suren. Working in harmony with the Eternal Covenant, upholding our beliefs, let us together overthrow the Church!

Her voice echoed in Suren's ears, filled with a powerful infectiousness. For a moment, Suren even had an urge to take the oath along with her.

In that instant, the Book of Secrets in Suren's mind trembled, pulling Suren out of his daze, and his eyes regained their clarity.

Suren knew this wasn't Violet actively influencing him with her abilities, but rather the natural affinity of a "sworn" ability user. Even so, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"Violet is far more approachable than Aetherine; she's at least an operative!"

Seeing that Suren was able to break free from her influence, Violet's admiration deepened: "Although I don't particularly like Casper Finn, I have to admit that his advice is indeed very useful, such as his recommendation of you."

"Kasper Finn?"

Suren's heart skipped a beat as she recalled the flamboyantly dressed man, and she asked, "The leader of the 'Weavers of Fate'?"

"Yes, I think you've already seen him." Violet nodded.

Suren was still a little puzzled: "But it's just his side of the story, you don't need to value me so much, do you?"

Violet shook her head slightly, her expression now somewhat grave: "You have no idea how terrifying he is. That man advanced to the level of a critical being a year ago!"

Upon hearing this, even Elisa, who was listening in, couldn't help but gasp in surprise. Aiselin, standing nearby, asked with some doubt, "Mother and Teacher Elisa have also reached the Agent level. Given enough time, they could also become Critical Beings, right?"

"No, Aiselin, becoming a Critical Elemental is much harder than you think. To become one, your color gradation must reach scarlet; even orange-yellow won't do!"

Elisa's expression was somewhat solemn: "You should know that in the past thousand years, only two Crimson Transcendent beings have appeared within the Libra Church. They are the former Pope and the current Pope."

Suren was startled, but then found it quite reasonable: "If becoming a critical being simply requires accumulating time, then after a thousand years, critical being would be everywhere."

Violet then added, "Moreover, the Critical Ones are far more powerful than you imagine. To put it another way, if Casper wanted to, he could even influence the fate of a city in an instant."

"destiny……"

Suren's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately asked, "So he saw my future?"

"I don't know about that. He's a cunning person and never shares his plans with others."

Violet shook her head slightly, her gaze falling on Suren, her eyes gleaming with an ambiguous light: "In his prophecy, you are the chosen one, you will bring disaster to the church, and you will lead the Eternal Covenant to victory."

Suren frowned, her mind racing.

"It seems that the ring Casper provided was indeed a great help to me and showed him goodwill."

However, it's impossible for someone to help others unconditionally, especially since that doesn't fit the style of the weaver of fate; he must have ulterior motives.

But Suren knew very little about Casper, and no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out the other's intentions.

He looked up at the leader of the "Eternal Oath Knights" before him, and another question came to mind:

"Does Violet truly trust Casper completely?"

"She doesn't seem like the type to act based on some so-called prophecy. Casper must have shown her something to gain her trust."

"Judging from this, she's definitely hiding something!"

After much deliberation, he decided to formally establish a cooperative relationship with Eternal Oath, since it wouldn't do him any harm at this stage.

Violet nodded in satisfaction after receiving Suren's agreement, and the two parties then signed a cooperation agreement.

The contract did not restrict Suren's freedom; he only needed to help the Eternal Oath Knights when they needed it, and Suren had the right to refuse.

The Eternal Oath Knights will also provide Suren with corresponding rewards and offer him some conveniences in normal times.

After establishing the cooperative relationship, Suren asked the question that had been on his mind: "Lady Violet, I heard that you have reached some kind of cooperation with the 'Church of Eternal Silence'? But isn't the destruction of all churches a tenet of the Eternal Oath?"

Violet glanced at Etherine upon hearing this, and Etherine instinctively straightened her back.

Violet didn't criticize her daughter, but said gently, "It's not just the Church of Eternal Silence; the Shield of Watchers also cooperates with us."