EnCoffin Me Chapter 46
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 46
Alexio gazed at the sunlit path, at the end of which Zhu Qing was openly mocking him, ridiculing the weakness of the vampire race. He found it somewhat funny, but as the ruined buildings and the deceased flashed one by one before his eyes, his heart thoroughly hardened.
He raised his left hand. The night bird that had been resting on his left shoulder took flight, disappearing into the shadows. His own livestream had already ended, but Zhu Qing's illegal broadcast was still running. The viewers watching seemed to understand what he was about to do. Even though those streaming from both feeds were enthusiastically explaining his combat prowess, they, they couldn’t help but feel a pang of dread, not for the ‘fragile’ dark creatures, but for Alexio, who was a vampire.
【Xixi! Calm down! The military is already circling from behind!】
【Just keep him there, Xixi! He can't run! That bastard!】
【Argh, I'm so angry at that guy's smug face!】
【What happens when a vampire is exposed to sunlight?】
【It's like being burned alive, supposedly.】
On Zhu Qing's side, Zhu Heng also tried to stop Alexio from taking the risk.
“Alexi, don't do it!”
Faced with so much goodwill, the mockery and curses once hurled by the vampires behind him no longer mattered. Alexio still genuinely loved this world. He had received kindness from many people, and he felt he should repay it. He would make himself the strongest fortress and the sharpest blade for this world and its people, protecting them, and leading them forward.
He stepped forward and stood in the light.
【! ! !】
Brilliant sunlight poured over the vampire's black hair, forming a halo-like glow. This species, born to dwell in darkness, now stood bathed in sunlight. At first, he shut his eyes slightly from discomfort, but soon after, his deep rose-colored eyes opened fully.
What a stunning sight! The young vampire stood embraced by the light as he fixed his gaze on Zhu Qing. The flapping of the night bird's wings still echoed in the darkness, but Alexio stood in the sunlight, surrounded by floating, glowing sprites, as if preparing to dance to his words.
As if favored by a god.
That was what Zhu Qing thought.
Alexio felt a faint warmth from the tattoo on his right eye. Every time he stood in the light, the tattoo would assert its presence this way, as if diligently trying to ward off the suffering brought by the sun. He was quietly grateful. He looked up at Zhu Qing's shocked expression.
“You look surprised,” he said calmly. “It seems you don't know about divine favors.”
There was no need for further pre-battle pleasantries. Zhu Qing's abilities, at best, matched those of a fifth-generation vampire, and power among the vampires declined drastically with each generation. On top of that, Zhu Qing clearly knew nothing about divine favors. It seemed the Holy Temple in this era hadn't learned much either.
“Divine… favor…” Zhu Qing murmured the words in a daze. In that moment of distraction, Alexio was already moving toward him. His half-cape fluttered to the side. His speed picked up quickly, revealing the terrifying swiftness unique to the vampires. To him, the long corridor was only a few breaths wide. And with magic, he could go even faster.
In the next second, he vanished before Zhu Qing's eyes.
He had used spatial magic.
Zhu Qing was horrified. He swept both guns around, crisscrossing beams of light sharp enough to drive back any creature attempting to approach. But nothing appeared. His reflexes were quick, and he immediately turned toward a side corridor. Whoever he found, he needed a hostage, someone he could control. At the very least… at the very least…
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of a black cloak. Before his sluggish brain and body could respond, a sharp pain had already pierced his chest. The vampire was holding a black scythe. He slightly loosened his grip, careful enough to leave Zhu Qing alive.
Zhu Qing crashed into the wall with a heavy thud, coughing up blood. Alexio didn't follow up. He gave the camera Zhu Qing had brought a brief glance, then without hesitation, brought the scythe down and destroyed it, completing his earlier promise to deal with the illegal stream. Then he spoke.
“Helgodon, what are you waiting for?”
The massive silver-white wolf tensed. With a low growl, his ice-blue eyes locked onto Zhu Qing, who appeared too injured to move. Alexio didn't give him any instructions, only watched silently as Helgodon approached with cautious steps. Then, in a sudden flicker of movement, Alexio's lashes twitched slightly. At that exact moment, Zhu Qing sprang up again.
Abandoning his ranged firearms, Zhu Qing drew a short blade and lunged into close combat.
He had chosen Helgodon as his target. If he was lucky enough to break through, he could seize the lich as a hostage and use that to escape.
Helgodon was caught off guard. When Alexio was present, he usually relied on him instinctively. But now that Alexio had chosen silence, he was momentarily flustered. Zhu Qing had previously caused him a certain degree of psychological trauma. Even though he was as weak as an ant under Alexio's hand, Helgodon still saw him as a formidable threat.
But then, the ancient songs of his ancestors began to echo once more through his blood.
The rugged song of the snowfield carried the rhythm of glazed crystal and the melody of blades, just barely missing the desperate war howl of a werewolf—
A low roar burst from the giant wolf. The sound seemed to generate a shockwave, forcing Zhu Qing to stumble backward several steps. His mind felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. He wiped beneath his nose, his fingertips stained dark red with blood.
“That's【Battle Roar】,” Alexio said, watching the giant wolf closely as he gave instructions. “Use it sparingly. It consumes magic, and werewolves don't have a large reserve of magic.”
He finished speaking, noticing Helgodon's aura rising steadily. He couldn't help but smile.
It seemed no further explanation was needed. Werewolves grew quickly.
Helgodon drove Zhu Qing back.
But he did not defeat him. Zhu Qing remained strong enough to lead the attack. For Alexio, it was enough that Helgodon had overcome his psychological trauma. He was even very satisfied. Before Alexio's arrival, these two children had already done well.
Alexio's fingers twitched. Large, blooming shadow roses suddenly burst forth from Zhu Qing, who was madly charging towards the exhausted giant wolf. The petals were so red they looked as if they would drip blood, and dark shadow vines began to entangle his limbs, eventually binding Zhu Qing completely to the ground.
By now, except for a few isolated areas, nearly all the intruders in the conservation center had been contained. The situation had basically stabilized. Alexio quietly watched Zhu Qing struggling wildly on the ground. He felt Zhu Heng walked up beside him. Unexpectedly, Zhu Heng didn't plead, but merely remained silent.
“He's a shen. I think you must have recognized that, just as you identified my race the first time we met,” Zhu Heng said with a faint, bitter smile. “Zhu Qing left home years ago after wounding his parents. I never expected…”
He was silent for a moment before speaking again.
“Regarding the Zhu clan, don't worry. I'll speak to them. Zhu Qing was involved in such a heinous incident, so he should be brought to justice.
“Actually, I often wonder if perhaps I neglected him. I…”
“No, Doctor Zhu.” Alexio shook his head. When Helgodon attacked earlier, Zhu Qing was still cursing — cursing Zhu Heng, cursing Helgodon, cursing Alexio.
“It's not your fault. He's just… jealous.”
Alexio's gaze seemed to pass through Zhu Heng, seeing his vampire father from his memories. The man always smiled gently, like a true gentleman. Yet beneath that calm mask, the fire of jealousy had quietly raged, growing until it demanded Alexio's death.
“Jealousy is an incurable disease,” Alexio said softly. “I know that all too well.”
Zhu Heng fell silent too. He looked at Zhu Qing, who was lying on the ground, and felt that today's sunlight was exceptionally bright. The overflowing light around him reminded him of how he felt when he was ill — not a pleasant association.
…It did seem a bit too bright?
Alexio noticed it too. His keen eyesight caught every minute detail on Zhu Qing's body. He saw spots of light creeping up Zhu Qing's skin, spreading like the marks of decay. Zhu Qing's eyes grew unnaturally bright, as if filled with a desperate hope. Suddenly, he lunged at Helgodon, ignoring his own injuries, and gripped the giant wolf's throat tightly.
“Ha… hahahaha!” Zhu Qing laughed maniacally. Helgodon sensed something was wrong and began to struggle with all his strength. The glowing patches on Zhu Qing's body started climbing onto Helgodon, enveloping him in searing heat. The wolf, whose ancestors had lived in the freezing snowfield, cried out in anguish—
“Helgodon! Turn your head to the left!”
Alexio struck! His scythe precisely severed both of Zhu Qing's arms. Blood splattered onto Helgodon's fur. The giant wolf stumbled but managed to dodge to the side. Zhu Heng shielded him from behind, staring in shock toward Zhu Qing.
“Why… how could there be photopathy…”
Fortunately, Alexio's strike was timely. Helgodon remained unscathed. Zhu Qing, now without arms, lay on his back laughing wildly.
“Do you think… you've won?”
He laughed uncontrollably, and as he laughed, blood gushed from his wounds. He stared at Alexio with eyes that seemed about to burst from their sockets, uttering each word with venom, “I thought I could go back… but why did you appear… Mr. Theo's plan cannot fail. All of us, all of us will have to…”
His last words in this world were a nearly whispered sigh.
“Sacrifice our lives.”
His body was completely consumed by the patches of light, transforming into a bird-shaped being radiating intense brilliance. The glowing bird let out a piercing cry. In the void overflowing with light, countless mutated light creatures were drawn and swarmed forth. Except for Zhu Qing, every surviving mercenary mutated, and in an instant, they instantly filled the center that had just been reclaimed.
Alexio's pupils trembled slightly, but it had nothing to do with the battle. What unsettled him now was the name of someone long dead.
“You said… Theo?”
Theo suddenly awoke from a brief nap, gasping a few times before slowly sitting up, one hand supporting his head.
He had been dreaming again. This time of the rose garden bathed in bright sunlight, where a vampire broke off a fully blooming rose. However, when he tried to approach, to get a closer look at the vampire's face, he was shocked to find himself burning in the sunlight.
Theo snapped awake, the burning sensation lingering on his skin.
Unable to sleep any longer, he looked out through the porthole. The dark blue sea stretched silently beneath the night sky. This area, a private sea zone provided by a wealthy merchant who blindly trusted him, was absolutely safe for him. It lay about 150 kilometers from the main conservation center, beyond the range of the Holy Temple's teleportation magic. It unlikely to be searched by the military. Here, he waited calmly as more and more dark creatures were teleported in.
The dream unsettled his mood. Just then, a communication came. The last leader from the southeast branch had defected to their side. A series of good news diluted the negative emotions brought on by the dream. Theo decided to leave this sea zone and return to his Moon River Manor, where pristine white roses bloomed. Of course, he would take the best dark creatures he had acquired from this trip with him.
He leisurely played with the red string he had confiscated from Zhen, winding it around his fingers, while loyal subordinates arranged all the details for his departure. Soon, his most faithful deputy knelt before him to report that everything was ready. Theo then rose, his expression tender as he reached out to hold Zhen, who had been brought here.
“My child, you will begin a new life.”
Under the night's cover, the griffin soared through the sky on powerful wings. The various buffs granted by the saint kept it from feeling any fatigue. Instead, its fighting spirit grew even stronger. Yet the saint riding on its back remained calm and composed. The Holy Temple's specialized tracking spell could follow a target for hundreds of kilometers. No matter how well hidden, he had a method to counter every kind of concealment.
Like a bloodhound sensing its prey's scent, it would hunt relentlessly to the ends of the earth—
This was a hunter of the Holy Temple.
Still, Lucius felt a faint twinge of emotion. He had only been willing to play these cute games with Alexio, but now he was tasked with tracking someone else.
He was displeased.
The griffin dipped down to the sea, and Lucius began pulling it upward to avoid detection. Fierce winds whipped through his tied-back platinum-blonde hair, and his gold-threaded cloak seemed to conceal the sharp talons of a raptor. He climbed to the utmost height, moonlight shimmering over him. He closed his eyes gently, and beneath the griffin's feet, an immense, intricate magic array took shape.
It was a form of spatial magic that deployed two symmetrical magic arrays simultaneously, with the other concealed just above the target within arm's reach. The remarkable thing was that this magic array preserved the momentum from the compressed space, allowing him to dive with tremendous speed from high above, closing the distance to his target instantly.
Lucius personally favored this style of combat where he could obliterate his target in an instant like a thunderclap, so swiftly that not even a dying wail would be heard.
The griffin paused briefly at its highest point, then at Lucius' command, it passed through the magic array and instantly appeared above an aircraft.
“Radiance.”
The saint spoke calmly as he cast protective spells over himself and the griffin. He had already made out the outline of the aircraft. The surprise attack was over. What followed would be a thorough sweep. To conserve his magic reserve, he dispelled his disguise. Suddenly, under the cover of night, the sea surface was illuminated by a blazing silver-white star—
“Boom—!!!”
Like a falling comet, fragments of the aircraft exploded outward. A massive explosion reverberated throughout the entire sea zone. Some flames ignited, only to be extinguished the moment they plunged into the sea, their light flickering cold and lifeless in the saint's eyes.
The massacre had begun.