Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 110 The Evil Deeds of the Church

"The Memory Exchange?" Suren was somewhat taken aback. "Even if you're targeting the Church, shouldn't you attack places that have a greater impact?"

Aiselin gave a cold smile: "In your memory, what kind of place is the Memory Exchange?"

Suren paused for a moment, and couldn't help but think of those ordinary people who, driven to desperation by hunger, exchanged their memories for gold pounds.

Thinking about this, he said, "In my opinion, that place must be an institution used by the church to exploit the lower classes."

"You're only seeing the surface," Etherine shook her head. "Have you ever considered what value these commoners' memories hold for those nobles?"

She turned her head and looked at Suren: "Spending gold pounds just for worthless memories? Just for that insignificant skill?"

"You mean there's another purpose behind it?" Suren, prompted by Etherin, also came to her senses.

Etherine stood up and looked through the window of Suren's room at the towering cathedral that represented the Libra Church.

Then, she slowly said, "The three major functional departments under the Libra Church, the Hammer of Contracts, the Seal of Alchemy, and the Blade of Heavenly Creation, operate in different fields. The Memory Exchange is a branch of the Hammer of Contracts."

Currency, business operations, and transactions are almost all under the jurisdiction of the Hammer of Contracts. How could such a department allow the existence of such an inefficient memory exchange?

Suren watched Aiselin's retreating figure, a strange feeling creeping into her heart: 'This way of speaking is nothing like the usual Aiselin; it's more like her mother… Is she imitating her mother's way of speaking?'

Etherine was unaware of what Suren was thinking. She turned around, her gaze enigmatic: "Actually, the exchange of memories isn't just one-way."

Suren was startled and couldn't help but ask, "You mean, those nobles are also selling their memories?"

But why? Suren couldn't quite figure it out.

and many more!

Suren suddenly realized that she had overlooked a problem.

"My previous understanding of the Libra Church's superhuman abilities came from information provided by the Death Bird, but the records regarding concept exchange only went up to the Awakened..."

Thinking of this, Suren quickly asked, "Are the agents of the Libra Church capable of exchanging a person's entire memories?"

"You've finally figured it out." Aiselin nodded. "Your guess was correct."

"Damn it," Suren couldn't help but curse inwardly.

He now knew the true purpose of the Memory Exchange: the so-called exchange of memories for gold pounds was just a pretext; the real goal was to allow nobles and commoners to exchange memories.

When a person's mind is filled with another person's memories, is he still himself?

With this thought in mind, Suren then asked, "Can superhumans also use this method?"

"No, after all, the memories of extraordinary individuals contain a vast amount of knowledge, making their value difficult to measure." Aiselin refuted Suren's conjecture. "Moreover, the application of extraordinary abilities depends entirely on source knowledge, which is not something that can be exchanged."

"So, this service is only available to ordinary nobles who don't possess extraordinary abilities?"

Suren was puzzled: "But the Church has absolutely no reason to do this. The entire Duchy of Equilia is under the Church's control. Even if these nobles disappear, it won't affect their control over power in any way."

"Unless..." At this moment, Suren seemed to realize something, and he couldn't help but think of the Church's series of measures to block technology and distort history.

"Unless, what they need is not control, but stability; what they need is unchanging routine," Etherine continued, picking up where Suren left off.

Only then did Suren understand the true purpose of the Memory Exchange: to help elderly nobles prolong their lives, thereby ensuring the continuation of families that had existed for centuries.

After all, there are many uncertainties in handing it over to future generations. It would be better to change bodies and let experienced people continue to run the family business.

Suren sat back down on the stool and couldn't help but sigh: "So why is the church so stubborn? Why is it so afraid of change?"

"I have no idea."

Etherine glanced at Suren, then clenched her fist: "It is precisely because of the Church's actions that we, the Eternal Oath Knights, are needed! Only by destroying the Church and establishing a new order can we change all of this!"

Suren looked at Etherine's solemn face, but saw a hint of hesitation in her purple eyes.

'She didn't seem that enthusiastic...'

Suren didn't reveal her true thoughts, but instead changed the subject: "So what's your plan? Since this memory exchange is so important, I imagine its defenses must be quite tight."

Etherine nodded:

"That's why we chose the day of the celebration, when the exchange's defenses will be reduced by more than half. And we've already obtained the internal defense blueprints of the memory exchange."

At this point, Etherine took a map from her waist and spread it on the table.

Suren looked closely and saw that it was a floor plan of a facility, with many annotations showing the composition of its internal defenses.

However, Suren still had some doubts: "Is this map reliable? Could there be a trap?"

Etherine smiled gently: "Don't worry about that. The source is absolutely reliable, and I've already verified it beforehand."

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to reveal details, Suren did not dwell on the matter further: "So what is your purpose? Even if this attack succeeds, the Memory Exchange will still continue to exist, won't it?"

"You're right, so our goal this time isn't just to raid the exchange, but for it." As she spoke, Etherine took out a document and handed it to Suren.

Suren took it and saw that it was a document about blasphemy against creation.

The document details a blasphemous artifact called the "Phantom Crystal," which can influence the mind of others for a short period of time, similar to hypnosis, causing them to execute the commands given by the holder.

The most terrifying thing is that the subconscious mind of the person being affected will completely believe that their actions are of their own free will.

However, it has many limitations. First, it lasts for only five minutes. Second, it can only target ordinary people and can be resisted by the source knowledge of superhumans.

"I see! I was thinking that the contract for exchanging memories required both parties to agree on equal value, and that both parties had to be willing to participate in the possession. With this item, everything makes sense..."

Having figured all this out, Suren also understood the purpose of the Eternal Oath Knights: as long as they took away this blasphemous creation, the Memory Exchange would have no reason to exist!

In this way, it became virtually impossible for nobles to perpetuate their families by replacing others.

This also indirectly undermines the church's means of maintaining social stratification.

Thinking of this, Suren continued, "So you should have already formulated an action plan?"

"That's right!"

Etherine stretched out her finger and drew several routes on the map:

"After the outer protective array of the Memory Exchange fails, we Shadow Weavers will be mobilized, led by Teacher Elisa, to attack the exchange along these routes."

Upon hearing this, Suren felt a sense of unease: "Outer protective array? So you didn't come to me for this, did you?"

"You guessed right, but there's no reward!" Etherine rarely joked with Suren. "Only you could do this!"

Suren pointed to herself, somewhat puzzled: "Me?"

Etherine nodded:

"Yes, I still remember clearly the scene of you sneaking into my group that night. At that time, we all regarded you as a member of the Knights, without any suspicion!"

"All you need to do is use the same ability to infiltrate the Memory Exchange and destroy the protective array."

Suren suddenly realized that they were after his [Identity Web].

Currently, one can enhance the strength of the [Identity Web] by borrowing the levels of other core secrets.

The enhanced [Identity Web] can last for a full half hour, and even the proxy cannot see through it, making it more than enough to complete the task Athena mentioned.

However, infiltration still carries some risks, and Suren wouldn't risk his life; he needed to know more details.

After learning about the members inside the Memory Exchange, the specific methods for closing the magic circle, and the details of the operation, Suren thought it over again and agreed to Aiselin's arrangement.

With the existence of the "Mirror World," Suren was quite confident; at worst, she could simply use the mirror to escape.

Seemingly relieved by Suren's approval, Aetherine relaxed considerably, and Suren then asked, "Besides destroying the magic circle, what else do you need me to do?"

"If all goes well, you can destroy those memory contracts from the memory exchange." Aiselin pointed to a room on the map. "The invalidation of so many contracts will be enough to give the church a headache for a while."

Suren's heart skipped a beat, and she thought of Herbert's father; the other party's contract should also be there.

The two then talked for a long time about their future plans, and it soon became late at night.

Suren took out his pocket watch and saw that it was already eleven o'clock, so he asked, "Why don't you stay here tonight? There's a guest room here."

Etherine tilted her head, confirming that Suren really didn't have any other intentions and was just sincerely inviting her to stay the night, then chuckled and said, "No need, I have to go back and prepare for the plan three days from now. You should get some rest."

"Alright, then be careful on your way." Seeing this, Suren didn't try to stop her any longer and watched her leave.

After seeing Etherine off, Suren returned to the second floor and plopped down on the sofa, thinking of Herbert's father.

Based on the information provided by Etherine today, Suren can easily draw a conclusion: Gilbert Taff has most likely been possessed by a nobleman.

Only in this way can we explain why Gilbert was able to successfully cross social classes.

But this raises a question: would a nobleman who possesses another's body commit suicide because of his wife's death?

Moreover, that wife was someone Gilbert married before the memory swap, which is highly illogical.

With this in mind, Suren decided to search for the contract that Gilbert Tauf signed back then during the operation three days later, hoping to find some clues.

Suren's intuition told him that the Herbert family was hiding some secret.

……

Time quickly moved to the next day.

Suren did not go out that day, but instead focused on studying the resonance ritual.

It must be said that this resonance ritual is indeed quite difficult.

Suren had only spent a few hours researching the Ascension Ritual, but the Resonance Ritual was completely different.

After all, the ascension ceremony only requires the correct materials and magic circle drawing, and appropriate modification of the ritual incantation to complete.

Suren tried to construct a resonance ritual using the same method, but there was no response at all.

"Perhaps my thinking is wrong. After all, the resonance ritual requires the use of extraordinary power. Perhaps, like the essence of extraordinary power, its core lies in borrowing it?"

With this in mind, Suren made another attempt.

After drawing the magic circle, he regarded it as a transit point, and then infused the extraordinary materials in his hands with the source knowledge, attempting to borrow the power of the Book of Secret Knowledge.

Unlike the previous failures, this time the magic circle actually responded!

In Suren's eyes, the Book of Secrets was being flipped through rapidly, and at the same time, the magic circle in front of him was emitting a dazzling azure light.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, the extraordinary material in Suren's hand shattered, and the light of the magic array disappeared.

Suren failed again.

However, Suren was not particularly disappointed; on the contrary, she was quite pleased.

After all, this experiment at least proved that Suren's approach was correct.

"However, when I failed just now, I vaguely thought I saw a glimpse of a tentacle..."

Suren carefully recalled the scene just now, and a guess came to her mind: "Could it be that because my power is a mixture, I still need to borrow the power behind the 'Mirror Demon' to perform the ritual?"

Suren couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, because he had absolutely no idea what the power behind the "mirror in the mirror" was.

Moreover, the presence of "ghosts in the mirror" signifies a significant risk.

After much deliberation, Suren decided to make a simple attempt to utilize the mysterious power behind the "Evil Spirit in the Mirror," but not to borrow it completely; he would mainly rely on the power of the "Book of Secrets."

If it continues to fail, we can simply give up on building the resonance ritual for the time being.

……

The following afternoon, in the Bretton Woods district.

Suren and Charles were standing in front of a manor when Loft rang the doorbell.

Before long, a butler dressed in a formal suit opened the door and politely led the three into the house.

Looking at the magnificent manor and the busy gardeners around it, Suren couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that Herbert's father left him a considerable inheritance. How can an ordinary detective afford to live in such a luxurious manor?"

Soon, led by the butler, the three arrived at the reception room, where a red-haired lady was sitting at the coffee table.

Charles tipped his hat: "Good afternoon, beautiful Ms. Claire."

Suren stared blankly at the other person's beautiful face. Wasn't this the red-haired girl who sold him "Crimson Wrath" that day?