EnCoffin Me Chapter 19
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 19
Alexio received his usual morning wake-up call from Ellie.
He rolled around a bit on the comfortable bed. The first thing he did every day upon waking up was to turn on his lightbrain and check for any new information. He would lie there and browse for about half an hour before slowly getting up to wash.
But today was a little different. Lying on his back with the lightbrain on his chest, he didn't rush to check anything. Instead, he stared into the darkness above him.
Last night, he vaguely recalled some past events.
He didn't like mentioning that man's name, his vampire father, a true madman who took joy in other people's suffering. Of course, Alexio had only learned the man's true nature later on. He had once respected that man, and even believed, at least a little, that the affection he received had been genuine.
But it hadn't been, not even a little. He had only been… a toy?
It wasn't until much later that he clearly understood the immense malice that man harbored when he first mentioned Lucius. As usual, the man had sat by the thick curtains, the windows closed because it was daytime. But Alexio remembered clearly how the deep red roses had been blooming profusely in the sun out in the garden.
【Alexi】, the second-generation vampire king had said with a soft laugh, 【the Holy Temple has found you… a little playmate.】
【He'll be raised to become a powerful human. Maybe he'll die halfway through, or maybe he'll make it to the end and stand in front of you. Maybe you'll hate him, or maybe you'll like him… How interesting.】
Alexio also found it interesting, but his interest came from the heart. As that man spoke, he could almost picture how the Holy Temple's hunter would be carefully cultivated into an excellent specimen, finally appearing before him on a moonlit night, sharp, poised, and raising a blade.
This was certainly interesting enough in the long and tedious life of a vampire.
【Raising a personal hunter… what a charming idea.】The man took a sip of black tea. He slowly lifted his gaze, revealing mismatched eyes, one black, one violet.【But a few little things have already died because of it, and the hunters who killed them became heroes.】
【Maybe the idea isn't so foolish after all… Alexi?】
【Yes, Father.】Alexio lifted his head.【I'll keep an eye on it. Do you think now would be a good time to set up a target and test how fast the Holy Temple can train someone?】
【Good idea. Go ahead. I'm going to dine now.】
The man summoned a blood servant, who had been completely broken and domesticated, head bowed low. At the crook of a vampire's finger, the servant would offer up their neck without hesitation.
【Care to join me?】 the man asked with a smile.
【No, Father.】 Alexio was still thinking about the hunter who would one day appear in his life.【I'll depart immediately.】
He turned to leave in a hurry, but suddenly remembered something and stepped back. There was still one more thing he wanted to—
The man in the room glanced at the thick curtains. The heat of the sunlight outside was still relentlessly seeping in, enough to cause him pain. It was a blindingly bright day, yet it posed no obstacle to Alexio's movements. Eyes darkening, he stared at the perfectly sealed curtains, then abruptly twisted the neck of the blood servant kneeling at his side.
【…Enviable.】
Alexio stood silently at the door for a moment. In the end, he didn't say what he'd meant to and simply turned to leave.
He had been about to ask: since some vampires had already been killed by those specially trained hunters, should he strike first? Or… should he just treat him as a playmate and watch him grow?
Maybe he wouldn't kill him yet.
He was a little curious what kind of person he would become.
…A lunatic! At least he completely turned into one later on!
Alexio sprang up from bed, pulled up the chat with the lunatic, and transferred the money in one second! He was certain the lunatic would be checking the daily news at this hour. Alexio was ready for battle! This time, he would win!
【The recipient has accepted your transfer.】
Alexio froze.
What… was that supposed to mean?
He stared at the screen for a while. No matter how long he looked, the transaction that usually bounced back and forth between them had, this time, been truly accepted. It wasn't a sign of compromise or surrender. Alexio knew that lunatic too well. He wasn't sure if the current lunatic held the same thoughts as the former lunatic, but one thing never changed. Lucius was, to the core, very decisive.
The reason he accepted the transfer was simple. He didn't want to be involved anymore.
What did that bastard mean by that?!!
“Even in the coffin, you still can't sleep?” Zhu Heng asked again. After receiving an affirmative reply, he let out a worried sigh.
“Your body has undergone years of training and has developed a high resistance to medication. If possible, we'd rather not increase your dosage.”
Lucius lowered his eyes. Of course, he was exhausted, but he just couldn't fall asleep.
“If I still can't sleep before I leave the center, then increase the dosage.”
Zhu Heng sighed again. “I'm concerned about your mental state. With this level of prolonged sleep deprivation… are you really okay?”
This time, the saint remained silent for a long while.
“I remembered some things again,” he finally said. “I know those things happened in the past, and maybe things changed afterward, but I still can't stop myself from caring.”
“……”
Zhu Heng said nothing. He knew that, at this moment, the only thing he needed to do was be a good listener.
“What do you think of the word ‘playmate’?”
Zhu Heng thought for a moment. “I think it's a fairly ordinary word, similar to friend or companion, but it seems… you don't see it that way.”
“No.” Lucius nodded. A faint shadow passed through his sky-colored eyes. “To me, that word has always been the same as toy.”
“…Did you hear that word again in your memories?”
“Yes.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
That day's routine consultation came to an end. As usual, Lucius took a few sedatives, hoping they might work tonight. As he stepped through the door, the feigned gloom in his eyes completely faded. He turned and cast one last deep glance at the door.
Zhu Heng hadn't noticed anything yet. But eventually, something would slip through the cracks.
Since returning from the military, Lucius had continuously probed multiple people on his suspicion list, including the old marshal and Ellie. The suspected resurgence of the Holy Temple after so many millennia had shaken him at first, but he quickly regained his composure and began investigating possible infiltrators beside Zhu Heng.
Because he knew the Holy Temple too well, he understood how terrifyingly vast and relentless it was. Even in vampire castles with airtight security, they had managed to plant spies with painstaking effort. The werewolves' snowfield, the fiercely exclusive eastern faction, the dark elves' underground cities, the hell fortresses of the fallen angels — all had the Holy Temple's tendrils.
If they considered someone an enemy, the Holy Temple would stop at nothing to destroy them. They knew human lives were short and fragile, but this was irrelevant. They could build their forces for generations, father succeeding son, brother succeeding brother, wife replacing husband, and young children would be cultivated into usable new blood. The most valuable ones, if born at the wrong time, would be frozen, hoping to see the light of day again in a hundred years, even if…
Some were frozen to death.
It was because he understood just how terrifying the Holy Temple could be that he stayed so sharply vigilant. No, he had no intention of returning to the Holy Temple of this era. It was no longer his home. Even if it bore the same emblem and upheld the same doctrines, the Holy Temple of his time had stood for righteousness. In this era, it was clearly no longer pure.
Lucius glanced at the lightbrain on his wrist. The screen still displayed the transfer confirmation. He could already imagine how that vampire would be throwing a fit after seeing it. Maybe he was on his way here right now.
The lightbrain buzzed softly. A message from Ellie popped up. She sounded nervous.
Ellie: The paperwork for the house is done… but… are you sure this is okay? QAQ
Lucius: Thank you. It's fine.
Ellie: Even though the house is technically within the area Alexi designated, I'm still worried…
Lucius: This is the consequence of low work efficiency.
【Lucius recalled a message.】
Lucius: I'll talk to him.
Ellie: ……
Ellie didn't respond again. Lucius lowered his wrist and had lunch in the cafeteria at the conservation center. He had another appointment that afternoon. The presentation format for the primordial myth project had been finalized as woodblock prints, and he was to serve as the narrator behind the scenes. For that, he needed to make a trip to the recording studio.
Halfway through his meal, the saint, for the first time ever, glanced at the time on his lightbrain again.
How come he's not here yet?
His eyes darkened slightly as he turned his fork.
Had he gotten distracted by something else again?
As he was thinking this, he suddenly blacked out and collapsed instantly.
He hadn't guessed wrong. Alexio, bursting with rage, had been racing toward his location when he ran into a staff member along the way. The staff member had just come out of Cafeteria Three and had specially brought some limited-edition egg tarts for Alexio.
Three large boxes, eight tarts in each, the aroma mouthwatering.
The easily distracted vampire immediately forgot his anger. Cradling the egg tarts, he at least remembered not to stray more than a thousand meters from the lunatic, and found a quiet corridor nearby. There were a few scattered benches along the central hallway. He sat down and decided to finish the egg tarts before going to deal with the lunatic.
“Awooo!” A wolf cub's cry came from nearby. The moment the cub saw Alexio, he refused to be carried any further by his caretaker, Dalph. His wriggled out of her arms, tumbled to the ground, and charged toward Alexio on his four stubby little legs.
“Awoo! Awoo!”
The wolf cub squatted at Alexio's feet, clutching at his pant leg. Alexio glanced down at him in silence, then finally picked him up and set him on the bench. He even shared some of the egg tarts. The cub clearly liked the limited-edition treats too. He buried his face in one with a happy whimper, smearing custard all over his snout.
Alexio calmly ate from his own box, but suddenly felt something off. He looked up—
The last box of egg tarts had been dragged to the far end of the bench. Clutching it was a pale, skeletal hand. The moment they sensed Alexio's gaze, the hand trembled. But instead of letting go, they yanked the entire box into their arms! Then the culprit yanked up their hood and bolted!
What the hell was this?!
“Wait! Put my egg tarts down!” Alexio wasn't about to let this slide. He gave chase at once. With his teleportation ability, he instantly reappeared in front of the thief, only to realize the disaster.
He'd gone over a thousand meters! The lunatic was out of range!
He grabbed the thief, intending to teleport back, but the cloak came loose, revealing a black-haired, black-eyed girl. Her eyes were pitch black, with a ghostly blue soul flame flickering in each pupil. She stared up at him, shrinking back with tears in her eyes.
Alexio froze.
She was a…
Lich girl.