EnCoffin Me Chapter 36
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 36
After Theo finished his conversation with the ‘typing-impaired’ saint, he deeply felt like he might have developed comma PTSD. He didn't want to see that punctuation mark for a while. If anyone dared to use it in front of him, he'd chop off their head.
He glanced at the water nymph. The creature was clearly wise enough not to make a sound. Once Theo left the room, the water nymph surfaced, looked around to make sure no one was near, then flicked her fish tail lightly on the water.
Water nymphs were extremely sensitive to human emotions. Theo looked unhappy, which made her happy.
Zerita relaxed by the edge of the pool, her silver ear fins slightly spread. The old damage had long since healed, leaving some unsightly gaps. She reached out to touch them, pressed her lips together, but did not cry.
The long-term mental control sometimes made it hard for her to think clearly. So whenever her mind was lucid, she treasured the moment. She dove to the bottom of the water, then resurfaced, holding a small star-shaped shell. She lay on her back in the water, blowing a string of bubbles, treating the little shell as the moon and the bubbles she exhaled as stars.
Zerita smiled, quietly repeating the words she had heard most in recent days.
“Mr… Alexio… Mr… Alexio…”
“…Mr. Alexio!”
“Mr. Alexio, please slow down.” The staff steadied the small boat to help Alexio and Zhen board. This ancient watercraft required formal training to operate, especially since modern technology now allowed many vehicles to hover directly on the water's surface.
Zhen asked him to temporarily keep silent about the dark creatures they were going to meet. The staff complied easily, only smiling and saying, “That gentleman doesn't like modern machinery nearby, so we have to use this old-fashioned method.”
Alexio had no objections. He fiddled with the gray veil device he had just put on, finding it rather novel. Both he and Zhen were sensitive to light. This little gadget specially developed by the conservation center was quite useful. If something like this existed in Alexio's time, the vampire race might have dominated everything.
Oh, as for the lunatic. In exchange for taking over next week's housework, except cooking, he got the lunatic to stay unconscious for a while. He applied a protective layer, and since the lunatic had his own decensive magic, it shouldn't be a problem.
The small boat cut through the waves. Zhen sat at the bow, pointing out several dark creature settlements on the sea to Alexio. Large flocks of divine kingfishers flew and nested on either side of them. Where their nests floated, the water remained undisturbed even when boats passed by.
After passing through the divine kingfisher isolation zone, the boat staff moved carefully, as if afraid to disturb anything. Zhen returned to sit beside Alexio and lowered his voice.
“The sea serpents are here.”
Even among all the dark creatures, sea serpents were known for their terrible tempers. Their flames wouldn't be extinguished by water, and they burned year-round to mark their territory. They were notoriously possessive about their domain. As soon as they entered this area, the staff activated the cloaking device.
“Don't worry,” the staff said with a smile, “This boat has excellent protection and won't easily capsize.”
Alexio paused, then stood up.
“What if a sea serpent crashes into us?”
“Hahaha, in that extreme case, of course the boat would capsize.”
Expressionlessly, Alexio thought he'd better steady the small boat to prevent the sea serpent, which could surge up from dozens of meters underwater, from flipping it over. Timing it well, he lifted his left foot and delivered a not-so-heavy stomp down.
“Boom—”
Water splashed dozens of meters high on both sides. The sea serpent, which had intended to rush up from the bottom and flip the small boat, immediately rolled back into the deep water. It floated dizzily with the current for a while before slowly righting itself. The sea serpent was completely baffled. It was sure it had collided with the boat, so why did it feel like it had slammed into a rock at full speed?
Unconvinced, it followed the boat for a while longer. To be safe, it called its mate.
How did things end up like this?
Alexio stood expressionless, enjoying the sea breeze. He only wanted to keep the boat steady. Why had it ended like this?
Something seemed to fly overhead. Alexio looked up and saw a drone for aerial filming. The drone noticed the boat and the dark creatures on board, lowered its altitude slightly, and the cameraman's voice came through, greeting them in a friendly manner.
“Good morning, everyone! We're filming a documentary about dark creatures today. We won't disturb your normal… whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa?!!”
The overhead shot scared the cameraman so much he almost dropped the remote. He thought he was seeing things and kept zooming in, but the image remained clear in his eyes. The cameraman held his head in disbelief.
The aerial shot showed the fragile little boat slowly moving forward, surrounded by the emerald sea, creating a poetic scene. Yet beneath the boat, dozens of massive dark shadows trailed behind, enough to make anyone with a fear of the deep sea or giant creatures drop to their knees on the spot.
What was happening?!
The answer was simple for Alexio. The sea serpent that had bounced off the boat and failed its first attack refused to give up. It came back with its mate and was defeated again. Still unwilling to admit defeat, the sea serpent couple called in relatives from far and wide. Word spread from sea serpent to sea serpent, and no matter how many gathered, none could overturn the boat. Eventually, this formed the spectacular scene before them.
Sitting on the boat, Alexio appeared calm on the surface but was actually quite panicked inside.
He pretended to admire the scenery, then turned his head to see a bruised sea serpent's head rising gently from the water, with sharp, jagged ear fins on both sides. Catching Alexio's gaze, the sea serpent suddenly flared its fins wide, revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
Sea serpent: super fierce.jpg
Alexio quietly turned his head away, feeling the constant pounding beneath his feet but remaining as steady as a mountain.
Just as they were about to leave the sea serpent's territory, the first sea serpent grew anxious. It summoned its mate and decided they would teach the people on this boat a lesson no matter what.
However, sitting on the boat was a third-generation vampire who had experienced faction wars. Even two heavily weakened sea serpents were something Alexio had to treat carefully, lest he accidentally unleash too much force and cause a disaster.
At the territory's edge, the two sea serpents burst from the water, diving toward the comparatively tiny boat! The staff froze, dropping the oars in shock. Thankfully, the protection system was activated. Even if the boat tilted, they could safely wait for rescue. But what happened next shocked the staff—
The sea serpents twisted in midair, diving toward each other just enough so their massive bodies formed a rugged arch. Splashes caught the light, creating a rainbow. The swallow rays, mistaking it for a school of fish, spread their broad fins and circled nearby… Alexio, who had caused this scene, slowly unclenched his fists and brushed the tangled hair at his temple, damp with seawater sprayed by the serpents.
Good. He had used his mental power to briefly bind the two sea serpents together without harming them.
“Alexi, did you see that?” Zhen hurried to the bow, staring at the rainbow hanging in the air, then turned to him with bright eyes.
“I've worked at the conservation center for years and never seen sea serpents so fond of someone. They even built an arch just for you!”
Alexio : “……”
The sea serpents were furious.
They finally left the sea serpents' territory. Even those fierce sea serpents couldn't follow any further. The sea serpent couple twisted their bodies together, let out a hiss toward Alexio's direction, and sank into the deep water. The other sea serpents whispered among themselves, deciding it was better to go down and watch the joke, so they happily followed.
The sea surface gradually calmed. This part of the sea was unusually quiet. The two enormous, colorful coral formations drifted closer to Alexio and the others. The corals had a semi-transparent, rubbery texture and looked remarkably elastic to the eye. Both were a mesmerizing rainbow hue, glistening delicately under the sunlight. Unfazed by the sway of the waves, they stood utterly motionless. Only when closer did it become clear that these two coral clusters grew on a small island spanning several square kilometers.
Zhen stood with his hands behind his back and looked at Alexio, seemingly very excited to keep him in suspense. Alexio played along. At Zhen's eager invitation, he was the first to step onto the island.
The sand beneath their feet was incredibly soft, perhaps too soft. Alexio hadn't seen such a creature in many years and felt a flicker of nostalgia as he reached out to touch the two striking coral formations on the island.
“Alexi, hold on tight!” Zhen called out. “Don't be afraid. The president is coming!”
No sooner had Zhen spoken than Alexio felt a violent tremor underfoot. Large patches of golden sand slid away, revealing a soft, gray-black layer beneath. The two corals began to tilt backward, as if about to rise from the ground, or perhaps…
Something was slowly lifting its head.
Alexio kept his balance and recalled the name of this dark creature.
The giant fish, Ceto, one of the largest known dark creatures, with enormous eyes, a catfish-like body, and two coral-shaped, colorful horns growing from its head. They often floated silently in the ocean. Over time, debris settled on their backs, and trees grew, causing stranded sailors to mistake them for islands. Terrifying rumors claimed Ceto disguised itself as an island to lure victims ashore, only to drown and feast on them.
Of course, this was nonsense. It was ridiculous to think that a creature of Ceto' immense size could be satisfied by a mere few people. To obtain sufficient nutrients, Ceto usually floated in areas where elements gather, reducing its daily activity to sustain its life over long periods.
Ceto had fully surfaced now, gazing toward Zhen on the boat. Zhen pointed above his head, and Ceto understood. It slowly lowered itself. Alexio leapt back onto the boat, facing this colossal, nearly divine dark creature.
“This is our president,” Zhen said with a smile. “Over a decade ago, when our organization was still in its infancy, I invited him to join, and Ceto agreed. Ceto is massive and good-natured, so we elected him as our leader. Plus… look closely between those two horns, isn't there a crown?”
Alexio was about to glance at the so-called crown when Ceto suddenly dipped its head. A shining object fell from the giant fish, landing precisely in Alexio's hands.
The crown was silver-gray, flecked with sparkling particles like frost lightly dusted over it. At its center sat an ice-blue gem carved with a moon and beast's fangs. Alexio's grip tightened slightly around the crown.
It was indeed a genuine crown—
The Crown of the Wolf King.