EnCoffin Me Chapter 37
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 37
Alexio held the crown for a moment. After dropping the crown, the giant fish's huge body slowly sank. Its two coral horns were half-submerged, washing away the dust and plants clinging to them underwater before it rose back up in front of them. A line of whitecaps rocked the small boat slightly as Alexio gazed into the giant fish's enormous eyes.
“Where did this crown come from?”
The two coral horns of Ceto trembled slightly, as if thinking. After a long pause, a deep voice sounded directly in Alexio's mind.
【Picked it up underwater.】
Ceto answered obediently, seeming quite simple and sincere.
【Do you like it? It's a gift for you.】
But Alexio didn't want to take advantage of him.
“I'll trade with you. What do you need?”
The two coral horns trembled again, clearly thinking. This huge creature was slow to ponder, but Alexio patiently waited for several minutes before seeing the horns suddenly perk up with excitement.
【Could you… come onto my back again?】
【I want to take you for a swim.】
【Because even if someone comes onto my back, they'll get scared if I move, so then I won't dare to move.】
Ceto said this, his two coral horns drooping to the sides, looking wronged and a bit dejected.
This was too simple. Alexio agreed without hesitation. The staff nearby looked worried, but he knew this resurrected vampire was always strong-willed, so he handed Alexio the protective gear and prepared for rescue just in case. Then he rowed the small boat to a relatively distant spot.
“Wearing the protective gear, it should be fine…” the staff said, tense and cautious.
Zhen lowered his head and watched Alexio as he left the boat, then casually handed him the protective gear. He looked up. Ceto was so huge that Zhen could only see Alexio seemingly holding onto Ceto's horns, letting the giant fish sway gently. The waves reaching their boat were already huge, so it was easy to imagine how turbulent it must be on the fish's back.
But Alexio wasn't scared at all.
The waves were so massive that the staff started retreating again after activating the protective shield, while telling Zhen to sit tight. Zhen sat obediently but kept his eyes fixed on Alexio's direction.
Zhen actually wanted to join the fun, but hearing the staff murmuring prayers and pleas nearby, he stayed put. He was one of the most popular and beloved dark creatures. He was grateful for their love, so he always did his best to meet their expectations by keeping up with regular livestreams, avoiding dangerous stunts, and staying fun and cute.… All these labels made him a national-level dark creature. He thought he should be happy with such a result.
But at that moment, Zhen felt envy.
The giant fish had stopped frolicking. The staff immediately rowed the small boat back, but Alexio didn't hurry to get off. He glanced at Zhen, who was sitting obediently.
“Want to come up and play?”
Zhen suddenly looked up to see the giant fish lowering itself until the vampire was at eye level, extending a hand towards him.
“Come up. I'll watch over you. It'll be fine.”
The staff almost cried. This time, even the usually obedient Mr. Zhen was rebellious, climbing onto Ceto's back and leaving the staff alone in the boat, praying to all kinds of gods from east to west.
Luckily, there was the protective gear. That gear really was reliable…
Wait! There was only one set of gear!
That day, Ceto was very happy, Zhen was very happy, and Alexio… Alexio thought it was alright. He'd rather ride a sea serpent, as they swam much faster and were more thrilling, but considering the fragile hearts of the staff, he held back for now.
“Be careful.” He grabbed Zhen's collar and carried him back to the boat, then leaned down and softly said to the giant fish, “I'll come find you again tonight. Wait for me here.”
After saying that, he jumped back onto the boat, leaving a stunned Ceto behind.
This was definitely one of the happiest days in Ceto's life!
Alexio, of course, wasn't without purpose. He wanted to know exactly where Ceto had gotten this wolf king crown. It wasn't a replica but a genuine artifact from ten thousand years ago. The moment he held it, Alexio could tell it was authentic. After all, he had worn it himself for several years long ago.
The small boat drifted slowly on the way back. Zhen, tired from playing, was dozing off. Alexio supported him as he gazed at the crown.
Helgodon… Kossinia… and the wolf cub he had raised thousands of years ago…
“I have a question,” Alexio said to the staff. “What exactly is beneath the Emerald Inner Sea?”
“We don't know,” the staff replied apologetically. “The reason the conservation center was built here has a lot to do with the Emerald Inner Sea. When we discovered this place, many dark creatures were already breeding along the shore and in the water. The dark energy here is incredibly dense, so many more dark creatures were relocated here afterward, which led to the construction of the conservation center.
“To protect the original aquatic dark creatures, no instruments or equipment are allowed underwater for exploration. At most, we can conduct patrols from above.”
Alexio understood and grew more certain of his guess. He planned to verify it at night. If he was right, then this wolf king crown truly belonged here.
Oh, he thought, it'd be best to bring the lunatic along. Some of his magic was very useful.
In a room filled with defensive magic like an impenetrable fortress, Lucius also looked up. He walked to the window, silently gazing at the calm, greenish sea.
He no longer shut down from the distance limit.
After the night the wedge was pulled out from his eye—
“…You suspect that beneath the Emerald Inner Sea lies the Sea of Undead, or at least its remains?” Lucius put down his fork, his expression growing slightly serious.
“Why?”
“Two reasons,” Alexio stopped eating and spoke earnestly.
“First, the dark energy around the Emerald Inner Sea is unusually dense, and no other nearby place shows similar conditions. According to elemental distribution theory, this should be illogical.”
That made sense. Lucius nodded slightly.
“The second is… this.” Alexio placed the wolf king's crown on the table. The moon and the beast fangs carved from ice-blue sapphire were indeed the emblem of the werewolves. The saint examined the crown carefully for a long moment, then looked back up at Alexio.
“Why don't you suspect that beneath the Emerald Inner Sea might be the werewolves' snowfield?”
He accepted the crown's authenticity, but questioned why the werewolves' royal heirloom would be found in the Sea of Undead.
Alexio fell silent for a long time this time. He stood and walked to the window. Evening had come. He had returned from the conservation center to their home. Looking at the vegetable seedlings that had broken through the soil and grown half-tall, his red eyes seemed to reflect that vast snowfield.
“I hadn't planned to tell you too much before your memories returned, but to explain clearly, I have to say some things.
“I carried that crown into the Sea of Undead myself, along with Helgodon's remains.” Alexio placed his hand over his left chest, as if paying respect to a departed friend. “He was the true Wolf King. Before he died, he requested his remains be given to the lich, to continue contributing to the dark forces. I thought he deserved a crown, so I made a new one for the werewolves. This one belongs to him.”
The saint remained silent. Alexio seemed to feel he'd spoken too heavily, so he lightened his tone.
“Anyway, I wore this crown for several years. Making a new one isn't difficult.”
The saint still said nothing. He looked at the vampire's profile. Standing to Alexio's left, he couldn't see the tattoo of roses entwined with a sword but only felt the sadness settled deep within him.
He closed his eyes briefly.
“What was I doing back then?”
He was afraid to hear a terrible answer, afraid to learn how glorious his past self had been in hunting down Alexio.
But then Alexio turned to him and smiled, pointing to the cloak draped over the sofa.
“That. Hand it over.”
Lucius obeyed. The vampire took the pure white cloak lined with silver and shimmering gold thread. He gave it a gentle shake, stirring a slight breeze, then wrapped it around himself.
As the last light of sunset faded, night took over. The vampire in the saint's cloak gazed ahead, his eyes glowing in the dark.
“I thanked you for giving me that cloak back then,” he said, then after a moment added, “By the way, next time you cover someone with a cloak, don't pull it over their head too.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lucius, expressionless, reached out a hand in front of him.
“Then give it back.”
“…Why are you such a jerk?!”
After a brief struggle, especially since the lunatic still couldn't beat him, Alexio claimed his ‘spoil of war’!
Alexio: …All my past gratitude just evaporated, okay?!
He had already sent a message to the lunatic earlier, setting up a teleportation point at the conservation center. So without alerting the center, Alexio and Lucius smoothly moved there, where Zhen was waiting to meet them.
“The people have been sent away,” Zhen said confidently, then handed over a sheet. “This is the aerial patrol schedule for the Emerald Inner Sea.”
Alexio glanced at the schedule, feeling daunted by anything requiring memorization. Lucius looked at him, eventually took the form himself, read through it at a glance, nodded, and handed it back to Zhen.
Alexio stared at him in shock.
Impressive.
“I don't know what you two plan to do, but be sure to stay safe,” Zhen smiled. “I'll wait here for your return. If anything changes, this knot will come undone.”
Zhen handed Alexio a knot made of red string. He had an identical one in his own hand. If one came undone, the other would too. Zhen had originally considered it a small toy, but using it for something serious now made him slightly excited.
Alexio nodded. Zhen told Alexio to untie the knot if they ran into trouble, so he could alert the staff. But Alexio doubted the conservation center could handle anything he and the lunatic couldn't.
Under the cover of night, the patrol drones flew overhead. Without hesitation, Alexio plunged into the water, the saint following closely behind. Thick dark energy surged from all directions, confirming there was truly something beneath the surface. Lucius handed one end of a long chain to Alexio. Alexio recognized it as the very thing pulled from his eye. He never expected the lunatic to fashion it directly into a weapon.
They exchanged a glance, no words needed, and dove down together.