Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 21 Manuscripts and Transactions

Professor Devonte paused for a moment, adjusted his glasses, and after a brief hesitation, decided to be frank:

"You should be able to see that my abilities are the same as those of the extraordinary individuals within the Libra Church. If I join the church, I will be considered a saint."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly at this point: "But now I'm nothing more than a 'tainted one.' I became a superhuman by chance and learned the essence of this ability—'equivalent exchange.'"

"It is precisely because I understand the essence of ability that I was able to advance to 'Awakener' more quickly." He paused here, giving Suren a deep look. "If I'm not mistaken, you're not a 'Battlefield Alchemist' either."

Suren shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

After all, he hadn't used his abilities once since they set off, and with the fact that he was able to kill that giant wolf, it would be truly strange if Professor Derwent couldn't see through it.

However, the information provided by the professor was also very valuable, and the church's capabilities and rules did indeed meet the standard of "equivalent exchange".

Based on the professor's own account, Suren also came to a conclusion: the prerequisite for achieving a bluish-gray hue is to understand the nature of the ability.

Suren immediately tried to fix the information as "secret knowledge", but found that she could not fix it. This was unlikely to be an error in the information. It was more likely that too many people knew about it.

Although Suren didn't want to admit that he was a frog in a well, the facts were undeniable: there were probably quite a few people who knew this information.

Just as Suren was about to speak, she noticed the professor's hands resting on his lap, his knuckles clearly defined, and the various colors that remained on his fingers from long-term experiments.

This is exactly the same hand that Suren had shown in his previous revelation.

Suren stroked his chin, finding it somewhat absurd, given the coincidence, but the truth was undeniable.

So Cole's purpose is very clear: it's entirely because of the value behind the professor.

Suren asked, seemingly casually, "Professor, are you familiar with the Prometheus Manuscript?"

Professor Devon was startled. He looked at Suren and saw only a pair of deep eyes staring at him.

For some reason, he recalled the horrific scene of Cole's death. The young man in front of him was unremarkable in appearance, but the intelligence he displayed was chilling.

On second thought, Suren was actually a kind of "tainted one," and the two of them had just gone through a life-or-death experience. Whatever Suren's purpose was, he wouldn't harm him in the short term. With this in mind, Professor Derwent's expression softened, and he nodded, readily acknowledging ownership of the manuscript.

His gaze lingered on Karl, who was still unconscious, his eyes unfocused, as if recalling something: "Besides basic theoretical knowledge, I actually have a particular fondness for studying history. The more I learn, the more I doubt the Church. It was for this reason that I obtained the manuscript by chance."

He then turned to Suren and made a promise: "I hope this can remain a secret between the two of us. In exchange, I can provide you with alchemy services for free. Of course, you will need to prepare the main core materials yourself. It's a fair trade."

Suren pondered for a moment. The professor was somewhat vague, and he must have withheld a great deal of detail: the origin of the manuscript, the professor's connection with the "Society of Classical Wisdom," and information about the "Gate of Truth"—none of which he mentioned.

However, Suren himself did not reveal anything, and compared to him, the professor was already quite kind.

Although Suren was very curious about the contents of the manuscript, the risk of falling out with the professor was too great, and the alchemy services of an awakened being were very tempting—which meant cheap bullets and "blasphemy."

Ultimately, Suren agreed to cooperate with the professor, and the two also agreed on a unified story regarding the incident, in order to deal with Karl and the "Deathbird Brotherhood".

After establishing a brief alliance, the tension between the two eased.

Taking this opportunity, Suren discussed her doubts with the professor: "According to church records, 'demons' are products of hell, but the so-called 'demons' we encountered today look more like animals. I noticed you've been recording information about them; is your research related to this?"

The professor looked at Suren with surprise, seemingly not expecting Suren to think so deeply. He nodded: "Yes, I have been studying the nature of 'demons'."

The giant wolf I just saw confirmed one of my conjectures: these so-called demons are more likely to be native animals of this plain, formed after being corrupted by some kind of force.

Despite their powerful abilities, they still retain the habits of their original creatures, which further proves this point.

The professor opened his notebook and continued, taking notes as he spoke: "Furthermore, I discovered that the abilities of these demons are very similar to those of superhumans, and may even be of the same origin."

This also explains why the materials they possessed were so valuable.

Suren nodded; the professor's conjecture confirmed his doubts. However, compared to pollution, Suren felt it was more like a blessing, because these animals didn't need to follow any rules when using their abilities.

What puzzled Suren was that this could not explain why humans had mutated into "demons".

The professor closed his notebook and sighed, "Even so, the research has made little progress, and I still can't figure out the source of these demons' abilities."

Carl, who was under the tree opposite, finally woke up. He supported himself with his right hand and tried to stand up.

"hiss……"

Seemingly aggravating his wound, Karl's arm suddenly lost its strength, and he sat back down heavily, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

With Suren's help, Carl finally stood up. He looked at Cole's gruesome corpse and almost vomited.

After a period of rest, Karl accepted the professor's and Suren's explanation.

The professor helped Carl up, while Suren dragged Cole's body, and the group walked towards the carriage.

More than four hours had passed since the others left. The driver paced anxiously around the carriage, terrified by the occasional howls coming from the surrounding area.

"Hey, come help me!" The voice from behind startled the coachman so much that he almost jumped up.

He turned around and saw Professor De Went supporting a young man who was accompanying him, while another young man was dragging something heavy.

The driver jogged over, and only when he got closer did he realize that the young man was dragging a corpse with its head mangled and a very faint bloodstain behind it. He immediately felt a churning in his stomach and squatted down by the roadside to vomit.

Suren turned to look at the professor: "Professor, the driver you hired doesn't seem to have a very good mentality."

The professor raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. He simply glanced at the corpse in Suren's hand.

Karl didn't hold back. He clutched his ribs, grimacing and yelling, "Surren, you look like a butcher who just came out of the slaughterhouse. It makes me want to vomit."

Suren waved his hand. He didn't want to take Cole's body with him either, but he had to bring it back to the "Deathbird Monks" to give them an answer.

On the way back, Karl looked at Suren, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked the question that had been bothering him:

"Surren, did you already suspect something was wrong with Cole?"

"Karl, we're both newcomers. Why would a seasoned hound like him volunteer to join us? Mr. Lawrence practically said there was something wrong with this guy. If you still think there's nothing wrong with him, then you're out of your mind!" At this point, Suren sighed and continued helplessly, "If I hadn't been prepared, we would all be dead there. You need to be more careful in the future."

Karl's face was a little red. Compared to Suren, he was indeed a bit inexperienced. Suren didn't blame Karl, after all, this was Karl's first mission in a strict sense.

Some time later, the driver delivered the three people and the corpse to the police station and then fled as if he were escaping.

Inside the duty station, Lawrence, Edmund, and Corrigan were talking about something.

With a bang, the door was kicked open, attracting the attention of the three. Professor Devont and Suren carried Cole's body and slowly stepped over the threshold, as if they were carrying a piece of luggage.