EnCoffin Me Chapter 121
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 121 Reversal (5)
“So, I plan to hang the vampire who kidnapped the bishop on the city wall,” Alexio concluded.
It was another rainy day. Alexio had a bit more free time lately, so he came out to vent. He was shelling nuts, not paying much attention to Lucius' expression, but the young man, who was leisurely writing on a sheet of paper, slowly stopped.
Lucius forced a smile.
“You hate him that much?”
“I don't hate him…” Alexio raised an eyebrow, but before Lucius could breathe a sigh of relief, Alexio pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the wooden table. “I'll kill him!”
“……”
After their rainy-day meeting ended, Lucius quietly returned to his residence. The place extended underground, and without bothering to light a lamp, he walked down. At the end of the corridor was a spacious basement, where three or four Holy Temple bishops squatted like carrots.
Lucius: “……”
He was done for.
Should he erase all these carrots' memories and send them back to the Holy Temple? But before that, he decided to be cautious and see how these carrots would behave first.
“My biggest regret is that I never disciplined Alexio strictly enough,” Carrot #1 murmured under the influence of mental magic. “If I could go back, I'd give him double… no, triple the homework! Vampires are terrifying, and he has to lead the charge against them!”
Lucius: “……“
Good thing I asked!!!
He calmly put that group of carrots back in the storage and then summoned Cravenson, who seemed to handle everything. The first thing he asked about was Theo's current situation. No matter what, Lucius never let his guard down around his nominal father. He also had an idea. If he could build a good relationship with Alexio, maybe they could team up to take down Theo once and for all.
Now?
He probably hated him for getting extra homework!
“Mr. Theo has moved to a smaller castle,” Cravenson reported. “Other than that, nothing much. He stays indoors all day, but his mood seems good.”
Lucius reversed his thoughts. If Theo wasn't happy, then he must be. Since Theo was this happy, something unfavorable for him was about to happen. Keeping a calm expression, he dismissed Cravenson, then returned to the basement and pulled out a carrot.
“How do you train your personal hunters? Tell me.”
Nearly two hours later, Lucius emerged from the basement. With a flick of his cloak, he transformed into a black bat and flew toward the Holy Temple. He had heard some disturbing news. The thought of something strange being forced into his little hunter's beautiful red eye made him want to twist the Holy Temple and shove it into a sewer with Theo.
Theo: ???
But this time, Theo had indeed started his plan. His so-called seclusion was just a ruse. He had already arrived at the Holy Temple because his troublesome child's beloved hunter was there.
The second-generation vampire showed a faint smile.
If he killed that little hunter, his annoying child would probably feel pain. This would be his small revenge for the destruction of Blood Moon Castle.
Alexio was completely unaware that two vampires were about to visit. He was told that a bishop would come to his room that evening to discuss his recent studies, so he had to return to his room immediately after dinner. For some reason, he felt a vague sense of unease, which only triggered his procrastination. He dawdled in the cafeteria, reluctant to finish his last bite.
However, the head chef was strict and refused to give him an extra portion.
So, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Alexio slipped quietly into the kitchen and indeed found some leftover cake. Although it wasn't as good as the cookies Lucius made, Alexio was satisfied enough. After grabbing the cake, he carefully avoided others and found the empty room he often stayed in. This room was primarily used to store candles. He lit one, then sat comfortably by the window, enjoying his extra meal in the dim, flickering candlelight.
Theo had already landed quietly in Alexio's room. He stayed hidden in the darkness, and once he was certain no one else was there, he gradually emerged. The room was simply furnished, in line with the Holy Temple's austere style. The hunter his child admired didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary.
Actually, if Theo had cared to search the room, he could have found the contraband Alexio hid in various places. But arrogant as he was, Theo didn't bother. Instead, he waited in the room, planning to kill the little hunter the moment he returned.
A bat slipped through layers of barriers and landed quietly beside Theo.
“Master, Lucius is heading toward the Holy Temple.”
Oh? He was coming too?
Theo thought it over and suddenly smiled. He sent the bat to monitor Alexio, to keep track of his movements and block his return if necessary. Then, using a magical image he had seen before, Theo transformed into Alexio's likeness. He adjusted his expression in the mirror, feeling it suited a saint well.
At his child's pace, he should be arriving soon. And wearing this disguise would surely lower his child's guard. If he struck suddenly…
This trouble born two thousand years ago might finally be resolved.
It was a sudden plan that could potentially achieve good results, but during its execution, the plan took a slight detour due to a certain saint's procrastination.
Alexio opened his mouth to take a bite of cake, but his heart suddenly stirred. He stood up and looked out into the night.
He had a vague premonition, one that stemmed from the name that had spanned his life day and night. He spent his waking hours studying the other's interests and methods, and his nights dreaming of his reputation and presence. Because of this, he was more attuned than any seasoned hunter in the Holy Temple. It meant the other had arrived.
Unlike that day when the silver cross was broken with great fanfare, his destined one now moved stealthily, drifting faintly toward his perimeter.
He hadn't been fully brainwashed by the Holy Temple. From the moment the priest who took him from the village tried to alter his warm childhood memories with the water nymph, the Holy Temple was destined to lose his trust. After enduring so long under oppressive study, his ingrained belief was that ‘the Holy Temple is a son of a b*tch.’ However, he wasn't entirely unaffected. Even without the Holy Temple's demands, he was certain to challenge that vampire who had invaded his life merely by name and a single encounter.
He pursued.
When he came to his senses, he had already chased outside the Holy Temple's grounds, running through the streets after curfew. Warm lights from nearby houses cast comforting glows, and he moved between light and shadow, beginning to suspect he was being deliberately led. The elusive presence lured him deeper into the darkness until there was no light at all. He ran through the wilderness on the city's outskirts, through a sparse forest. Alexio abruptly stopped, but still stepped into shallow water.
More laundry to do! That bastard!!!
He pulled back onto the bank, face cold, lifting the hem of his cloak. From the dead tree leaning into the water, a winged black shadow descended. Its broad bat wings flapped twice before retracting behind its back. Lucius was deeply satisfied with how easily he'd lured out his destined one.
If he could lure him out today, he could lure him into a coffin tomorrow. No doubt about it.
“You meant to lure me out. What's going on?” Alexio asked coldly, clearly displeased. Lucius thought for a moment, relieved that his kidnapping of Alexio's teacher hadn't been discovered, and finally exhaled slowly.
“Of course,” he said without rushing closer. “Because I heard a little rumor. About how the Holy Temple controls the hunters.”
He got straight to the point. Alexio, suppressing the urge to turn back and storm the Holy Temple, listened quietly and then took a deep breath.
“Thanks for the information. I haven't been this angry in a long time. The last time was when I was forced to do extra assignments because my etiquette teacher was replaced.”
“……”
Lucius fell silent.
“I want to ask you something else. Have your kind recently kidnapped several Holy Temple priests and bishops?” Alexio paused. “I'm not trying to get justice for the Holy Temple. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”
I merely want to get justice for myself!
Faced with a life-or-death question, Lucius kept his expression unchanged, but his mind was racing. In a flash, he decided to shift the blame to someone else. No matter what, he couldn’t let it land on his own head!
“There's nothing I can't tell you,” he said slowly, cleverly planting the blame, “It's Theo, my nominal father, a second-generation vampire who delights in the suffering of others.
“He recently… heard about the Holy Temple's plan to cultivate hunters for specific purposes. He's curious about this method of training.”
Alexio gritted his teeth. Without Lucius needing to say more, he pieced together the rest of the logic himself. The second-generation vampire's curiosity about this training method naturally involved kidnapping several Holy Temple teachers, which directly caused Alexio's workload to skyrocket!
He didn't stay angry for long. He firmly recorded Theo's name in his mental blacklist, then belatedly remembered a question.
“According to you, the Holy Temple should have acted tonight. But since I wasn't in my room, why didn't they search everywhere?”
Lucius dodged the blame just in time and his expression darkened slightly at Alexio's question.
It was strange indeed. Why was that?
Meanwhile, inside the Holy Temple, Theo disguised as Alexio opened the door to find five, six, seven, eight bishops waiting. Among them was an archbishop whom he remembered wielded a certain forbidden spell. If he could get through this without conflict or injury, he hoped to avoid giving his child any reason to gloat.
Confident in his disguise, Theo answered the series of questions. The archbishop smiled, gently stroked his hair, and bestowed a blessing of holy light.
“God will look upon you with favor, my child.”
As the holy light shone, Theo suddenly felt a sharp sting in his left eye.
Theo: Why does it hurt?