EnCoffin Me Chapter 10
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 10
After getting back at him over breakfast, Alexio felt satisfied. Dealing with the lunatic had been surprisingly easy, ever since something had gone wrong in his head. Seeing the lunatic staring at the report in his hand, Alexio just passed it over without a second thought.
“Want to see?”
The saint's hand twitched slightly, but in the end, he couldn't resist the temptation of【crossed out】going back to do his scrapbook after reading【crossed out】learning about the target's data. He took the report and quickly memorized it, reading ten lines at a glance. Then, with a blank expression, he returned the report to Alexio, as if he had only given it a cursory glance.
Unfortunately, the center hadn't tested for certain vampire abilities. Otherwise, the report would have been more complete.
“So what's the matter with you? Did you find out?” Alexio asked.
“…It's a retrospection,” the saint replied, his expression somewhat complicated. Clearly, the results confirmed he had indeed lost something. “It's not just memory. My physical state is also showing signs of retrospection. The time-space magic left traces on my body.”
Alexio didn't know much about this kind of magic either. It was a highly advanced field developed by humans to counter other races. Vampires had no use for it, especially the high-ranking ones. So long as they survived the deadly transformation, they would gain power beyond human comprehension.
“Can it be restored?”
“Needs further observation.”
Alexio looked at the saint's slightly grave expression and couldn't help but smile. The saint glanced up at him, seemingly confused.
“It's nothing.” He stood up from his seat. “You've got the same blank expression, but you're a lot easier on the eyes now.”
Logically speaking, the previous lunatic had a better relationship with Alexio, but Alexio actually found this saint, who remembered nothing and whose memories stopped at the time he was receiving trainings in the Holy Temple, much more comfortable to be around. He had never truly understood what the former lunatic had been thinking or what he wanted. Looking at him had been like staring into a fire that constantly changed shape.
He had to admit, he had been a little… afraid of that lunatic.
“Actually,” the saint paused, “you could tell me… what happened in the past…”
“I won't do that,” Alexio cut him off. “It's not the same.”
He lifted his eyes, the pupils a remarkably beautiful deep rose color. Such eyes were a symbol of evil among humans, but under the soft light of the medical department, they were surprisingly beautiful.
“It's one thing for you to remember it yourself, and quite another for me to tell you.” Alexio walked past the saint slowly, giving his shoulder a pat. He felt the man tense under his touch and couldn't help but chuckle.
“And even if I did tell you, would the current you dare to believe it?”
They hadn't rebuilt the trust they once had. The lunatic's current inaction was likely a calculated decision, and probably had a lot to do with that Federal Dark Creatures Protection Act he'd read cover to cover overnight. Alexio hadn't looked at it too closely, but the maximum penalty was definitely a death sentence.
As expected, the saint fell silent. Alexio walked past him, heading off to give Zhu Heng the medical report.
Andrei was also inside Zhu Heng's office. The white-haired unicorn brightened immediately when he saw Alexio and greeted him warmly. “How did the results turn out?”
Alexio handed him the report without a word and settled onto the soft couch, picking up the cup of tea Zhu Heng had poured for him.
“I don't need a guardian.”
Andrei, whose thoughts had been seen through, quietly picked up the other cup of tea with a forlorn expression.
“Everything looks healthy,” Zhu Heng said after reading the report. “I'll contact Ellie to revise your meal plan. I heard you have a fondness for regular food as well? We'll do our best to accommodate you.”
Alexio's heart bloomed with joy. He could finally eat something decent!
Zhu Heng chuckled at his reaction. “Based on the report, you've passed the recovery phase. Your need for fresh blood won't be particularly high in the future, so you'll need to eat other things… How about I make you some soup tonight to celebrate?”
“You can cook soup?”
“I know a bit.”
Alexio had no objections. Their eating habits might be different, but who could say no to food from the eastern faction?
“Also, there's something I'd like to discuss with you.”
As Zhu Heng spoke, he glanced at Andrei. The unicorn gave a slight nod.
“What exactly was the conflict like between the light and dark forces ten thousand years ago? I heard from Andrei that you used the word ‘hatred’ during your argument with Mr. Lucius. That's an... extremely strong word.”
Finally, the question came. Alexio had expected it to be asked much earlier. These people had likely delayed it out of sensitivity toward the emotional fragility of dark creatures. Alexio didn't need such cautious handling, but he still appreciated the consideration.
Still, what needed to be said had to be said.
He leaned back comfortably on the sofa, holding his cup as his fingertip slowly traced the rim.
“Hatred is indeed a strong word, but to describe the relationship between the two forces with this single word would be putting it far too mildly.”
He seemed to think seriously for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
“I'd rather call it a blood feud.”
Andrei straightened his back. He felt a sense of heaviness emanating from the vampire opposite him, as if shadows were gathering around Alexio. His red eyes, half-shrouded by the steam rising from the tea, held no trace of warmth.
They were cold and sharp crimson, like blood frozen on the edge of a blade.
“It's hard to explain the relationship between the two forces. Maybe I should just tell a bit of history. During one of my slumbers, it seems some human kingdom was founded. By the time I woke up, it was already on its fourth generation. That queen was named Delvie, a devout follower of the Holy Temple.
“I remember her because her kingdom overlapped with my territory. She was crazy religious, so she went on a full-blown purge across the whole country. No dark creatures were safe in her territory. She even slapped fat bounties on their heads. That chubby manticore at the Center, its kind had their tails hacked off and stacked high enough to build a watchtower. And indeed, she did exactly that.”
Alexio saw the shocked expressions of the two light creatures across from him and figured the history he'd just recounted might've been a bit much for them.
But the worst part was still to come.
“Not only that, but any citizen reported to have even the slightest connection to dark creatures would have their entire family slaughtered. She rejected the dark so fiercely that she turned the blade on her own kind. I think that alone tells you all you need to know about the level of conflict between the two sides.
“She even earned herself the title, the Bloodthorn Queen, because the Holy Temple's emblem was a bird's nest woven from thorns.”
“And then what happened?” Andrei asked in a deep voice, a hint of anger coloring his snow-like eyelashes. “Such a reign… such slaughter… That queen's kingdom couldn't have lasted. It must've fallen within her own generation.”
Alexio nodded, acknowledging that Andrei was right, but then he slowly shook his head.
“Humans are remarkably resilient, and those who believed in the Holy Temple were even more so. To many, that purge was seen as an act of devotion, a reflection of the queen's faith and the will of her kingdom. They believed they were undergoing divine trials, proving themselves pure people who would surely ascend to heaven after death.”
Andrei's breathing grew heavier. To hear such history, even ten thousand years later, was insane. Light and dark were never inherently opposed. They could coexist, each contributing to the world's balance. That was how they had always lived.
“And I was the one who ended that insane purge,” Alexio said quietly.
Naturally, he hadn't gone in person. He'd sent a fourth-generation fledgling instead. For a mere human queen, deploying a fourth-generation vampire was already a gesture of magnanimity, a sign that he simply wanted the farce over with quickly.
He finished the last sip of tea, bringing the story to its end.
“The vampire killed the queen, and the kingdom collapsed. The fourth-generation vampire was then slain by a Holy Temple's hunter. As a prince, I couldn't just let it go. So I tore down the silver cross atop the Holy Temple's grand cathedral, stomping the Holy Temple's dignity into the ground. In response, they activated the hunter they had trained specifically to target me.”
“That was in Year 3164 of the Blood Moon Calendar, the first time I met that lunatic… Lucius.”
The weight of that history left them silent for a long while. Zhu Heng was the first to recover, quietly refilling Alexio's cup before letting out a soft sigh.
“Vengeance begets vengeance…”
“That's how it was, but no one could stop. So I once said to Lucius that if we wanted a complete end… it would take fire raining down from the sky.” Alexio tested the new tea. It was too hot, so he tried a piece of pastry instead. “And in the end, the firestorm really did fall. Everything was wiped clean. A full reset.”
But something about this fresh start didn't feel quite right to him. Sensitive, delicate dark creatures being coddled by doting and overprotective light creatures, including humans, was this really the right way to begin again?
The doting and overprotection came just as he thought.
“Let's stop here for today,” Andrei said gently, lovingly pushing the plate of pastries towards Alexio. “Don't be sad, it's all in the past. Eat a little more.”
Alexio: ……
Worried that revisiting such a tragic past might leave psychological scars, Zhu Heng asked a few more questions just to be sure. Then, after packing up the remaining pastries and handing them to Alexio, he reassured him multiple times that he'd make the best soup that evening. He even called Ellie to come pick him up, acting every bit like a kindergarten teacher seeing a child off after school.
This, this, this was not achieving Alexio's goal at all! His intention was to prove that he was terrifying, that the two sides were terrifyingly opposed, and that he was not cute at all!
“I'm scary too, grr,” Zhu Heng placated him with a cheerful smile. “Ellie's waiting at the entrance near where you did your check-up. Don't forget to ask the nurse for a piece of candy. Good kids get one after completing all their tests.”
“……”
Forced to return, Alexio was once again met with praises and encouragements to start streaming. He had no interest in candies, so he headed straight for the exit. From a distance, he could already spot Ellie, and beside her stood… the lunatic?
Oh, right. The lunatic would shut down if he got more than a kilometer away from Alexio. They hadn't figured out the cause yet, so he couldn't return alone.
The saint sensed Alexio's presence even from afar. He turned around reluctantly, lips pressed together, and called out.
“Wait.”
The saint gestured for Alexio to hold out his hand. Pulling his own hand from his pocket, he kept it clenched at first, then slowly loosened his fingers over Alexio's palm—
One, two — two candies wrapped in gold foil fell into Alexio's hand.
“Your candies. The doctors told me to bring them to you.”
“Two pieces?”
“Too childish. I'm not eating them.”
The saint's explanation was brief and to the point.
Alexio held the two candies. His mood, which had been slightly down due to recalling that history, suddenly lightened. He stuffed the candies into his pocket, thought for a moment but didn't expose the lie, just snickered inwardly.
Who are you kidding? You clearly like sweets.