EnCoffin Me Chapter 48
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 48
In the previous era, there was a prevalent belief that a person's divine favor was related to their soul, while the appearance of their domain was linked to their entire life experience. Alexio did not know why he had been granted divine favor, but his domain was indeed almost a reflection of his final month as a human.
He stood at the highest point. Behind him, the waxing red moon slowly sank toward the west, while no sunrise appeared in the east. The city was filled with his enemies, and outside the walls stretched eternal gray wasteland.
The name ‘Theo’ had left an impression on him, bringing back memories of when he first became a vampire. That day was marked by the same red moon. In the royal city, the invaders feasted, and Theo finally harvested the blood of the most despairing soul he had long desired. As for Alexio… Alexio was just an insignificant pawn at that time.
He lay back in a pool of blood, enduring the intense pain brought on by the second-generation vampire king. He nearly gave up, but in the end, he survived. When he stood again, he was the third-generation vampire Alexio, having slaughtered the invaders and forever locked this royal city deep within his heart, later manifesting it completely in the form of his【Domain】.
No one would come in this eternal city of perpetual solitude.
No one would come...
No one would come...
I told you, no one's coming! Stop knocking, you lunatic!
The empty city echoed with the sound of knocking on the city gates. The two massive gates had been meticulously forged over many years by countless craftsmen. They were not only strong enough to withstand conventional siege weapons but also possessed formidable magical resistance.
Now, those two perfect gates were making noise.
Alexio's melancholy from recalling past memories vanished. He was baffled. How exactly did the lunatic knock on the gates? With his hand? Inside his domain, Alexio had absolute authority. With just a flicker of his thought, he saw the lunatic outside.
The platinum-blonde saint was riding atop a griffin, a half-cape hanging down. His clothes were still clean and neat, showing no sign of having endured a great battle or a long journey. He placed his hand on the griffin's head and gently patted it. The griffin then breathed a ball of fire that struck the gate, producing a ‘duang duang duang’ knocking sound.
“……”
Alexio couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. He sent a message to Lucius.
“Aren't you supposed to be powerful? Why not just knock with your hand?”
The saint showed no expression. He tilted his head slightly in confusion.
“So you'd knock… on these gates with your hands?”
“…?”
“Won't your hand hurt?”
As if knocking with griffin flames wasn't just as strange! Was this knocking or attacking?!
Alexio took a deep breath. Good, this was a familiar conversation. To avoid getting angrier, he decided to just let the lunatic in.
The long-sealed gates opened with a deep rumble. Through the swirling gray dust, the saint riding the griffin burst out of the haze, flying toward the tower where Alexio stood, subtly scanning the surroundings.
Although the domain was open, the basic structure still looked like the conservation center, except the outer walls were covered with creeping shadow roses. The moment he stepped inside, the obscure sensation Lucius had felt when the domain activated earlier returned. Lucius guessed this feeling might be connected to the gods.
He didn't dwell on it and guided the griffin toward the highest platform. Upon arrival, he lightly leapt down while the griffin landed a little lower.
“I heard Marshal Olsen say on the way that the center has many new kinds of light mutants,” he said, observing Alexio's expression. The vampire showed no sign of unease. “It seems clearing them out wasn't a problem for you.”
“Mm. See the red moon behind me?” Alexio said. “When this red moon sinks below the earth, all the enemies I've marked will be wiped out equally. The process might take some time, so I evacuated most of the people in the center before activating the domain.”
Lucius didn't turn around. Behind them, the red moon was steadily sinking. Alexio heard him quietly ask, “Are you afraid?”
Alexio looked up at him. The saint still showed little expression, but those sky-colored eyes were clear.
“I think you are afraid. Of whom?”
“I'm not…” Alexio didn't want to admit it. But seeing that the lunatic didn't press him and calmly turned back, he suddenly felt that no matter how much he tried to hide it here, this lunatic would find out one way or another!
“Alright, I'll be honest. It's because of Theo.”
Saying it out loud brought an immediate sense of relief to Alexio. For ten thousand years, he had never spoken of this fear. Even when he finally won that grueling battle between father and son, he had told himself there was no longer anything to fear. But the name ‘Theo’ had long since become a deep and heavy shadow over his heart.
“Ten thousand years ago, he was my vampire father. During the first half of my life, he held control over the entire vampire race.” Alexio found the words coming more easily as he spoke. He began to recall many things, so many events buried under that immense shadow.
“He was a madman. I knew it from the moment I was turned. Arrogance, vanity, an overwhelming jealousy, and a need for control, that's what made up Theo. And worse than all of that, he had absolute power.
“Do you understand? People always fear the unpredictable. And among all unpredictable beings, madmen are the most terrifying.”
The saint suddenly spoke.
“Am I more terrifying than him?”
Alexio paused, then laughed.
“No, you're not. At least not to me. Why would you even compare yourself to that madman?”
“Because you're always calling me lunatic, so I started to feel a little competitive.”
Alexio was speechless for a moment, then said solemnly, “Stop comparing yourself to people worse than you.”
Lucius took a moment to process Alexio's words. Slowly, his expression went blank.
He understood. Alexio wasn't afraid of him, but there was probably no one more of a lunatic than him.
“…Thanks?”
“You're welcome!”
“……”
The red moon was about to sink below the horizon. In this city full of enemies, Alexio felt a rare sense of calm. He glanced at the saint beside him and noticed he was sketching something in a notebook. Sensing Alexio's gaze, the saint tilted the notebook slightly in his direction.
…A floor plan? He'd only flown one lap, and he already drew a floor plan?
“This…” Alexio couldn't help but ask, and received the usual answer.
“This is my homework.”
“……”
After the bride training courses, the Holy Temple actually taught architectural drafting too. If the lunatic told him tomorrow he was debuting as an idol, Alexio wouldn't be the least bit surprised. The Holy Temple must have also offered singing and dancing lessons!
Alexio looked at the floor plan with reverence. Then suddenly, he noticed there seemed to be something beneath that page. Reaching out, he pulled the paper over and flipped to the next one.
Cat knocking on door.jpg
Cat falling down.jpg
Cat with airplane ears.jpg
Cat crying loudly.jpg
“……”
Did the Holy Temple teach you how to draw just so you could sketch sticker packs of your archnemesis?!
He stayed silent for so long that even Lucius began to feel a little uneasy. But Alexio remained perfectly calm, pointed at a blank space on the page, and said, “Add one more here.”
“…Add what?”
“Cat beating you to death.jpg.”
As the red moon completely set, a phantom river seemed to flow through the city. Wherever it passed, every marked light mutant turned to ash. The radiant bird, transformed by Zhu Qing, let out a sharp, mournful cry as it beat its wings desperately, flying toward Alexio. But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't escape the river's pull.
Starting from the tips of its wings, the creature gradually disintegrated, dissolving into the gray river. The city gates swung wide, and the river, half-immersed in the red moon, swept all impurities cleanly out.
This was the power of one favored by a god.
The sticker Lucius drew also came true. With perfectly symmetrical bruises on his face, he stood beside Alexio to greet the arriving forces from the military and the center. Now that the interior of the conservation center had been cleared, the military could finally move in en masse. They brought in new medical and repair teams, ready to evacuate the wounded and begin restoring the facility.
Amid the orderly bustle, Alexio searched the crowd for familiar faces. Among the passing personnel, a hand suddenly shot up and waved excitedly in his direction.
“Alexi!”
It was Ellie. Right after she'd triggered the alarm in time, she had followed the emergency drills Alexio had previously conducted in the center, quickly gathering any dark creatures and staff she encountered along the way and retreating to the shores of the Emerald Inner Sea. As their group grew, the sea serpents and giant fish spotted them and rushed to assist along the shore.
“Dalph is fine too. She's tending to the wounded dark creatures in the back. Mr. Zhen is with him.”
Alexio had already heard from the lunatic about Zhen's suspected domain manifestation. Just as he was about to go check on the situation, a sudden commotion rippled through the crowd nearby. Medical staff rushed back and forth, shouting for equipment and medication. It looked like someone was in critical condition. Alexio glanced at Ellie, who shook her head slightly. There shouldn't have been any seriously wounded along the shoreline, at least not from what she remembered.
At that moment, Alexio sensed a surge of overwhelming light power rising from that direction. His heart tightened. Without hesitation, he moved forward and used his mental power to lock a newly forming light mutant in place. The humanoid creature struggled fiercely, only to be cut down on the spot by the lunatic who arrived right after.
In the shaken crowd, Alexio spotted Lucy and Helgodon. Lucy was clutching a scaled hand tightly, channeling dark energy with all her strength, but her power wasn't enough to resist the overwhelming force of light. A second light mutant was already beginning to descend from the void.
Alexio had already guessed whose hand Lucy was holding.
“Lucy, step back.”
He moved to take the lich's place, checking on Zerita's condition. The elemental imbalance was severe, far beyond what a mere injection of dark energy could alleviate. The rampant light element had already scorched her body from within, and even with large amounts of dark energy, her system showed little response to rebalancing.
Without further hesitation, Alexio planted a shadow rose. Layers of shadowy vines wrapped tightly around Zerita, halting the violent process of photopathy for the time being. The shadow rose thrived by absorbing light. As long as the dark energy within it remained intact, Zerita's condition would remain temporarily stable.
“Lucy, did something attack your group?” Alexio asked. It was the only plausible explanation he could think of, but to his surprise, the lich shook her head.
“No, there was no attack. Zerita suddenly fell ill. But as a dark creature, she shouldn't have been infected.” Lucy stared at the girl, now cloaked in layers of roses, her heart aching to see one of their own in such agony.
Alexio turned his gaze to the side and noticed that Zhu Heng seemed even more distressed. He wasn't sure what kind of relationship the man had with Zerita, though he vaguely remembered hearing that Zhu Heng had taken care of her back at the southeast branch of conservation center. Just as he was about to speak, Zhu Heng beat him to it.
“Can the photopathy affecting Zerita be transferred to me?”
His voice trembled slightly, and that familiar feeling of despair surged back. Theo had never intended to save this child. In fact, he had deliberately injected her with an overwhelming amount of light element, maintaining a superficial balance through some twisted method. Judging from how badly her body was deteriorating, Zerita's photopathy was clearly designed to attract light mutants. It was an insidious trap, and exactly the kind of contingency Theo was capable of leaving behind.
In the end, Theo intended to use Zerita as a living bomb, set to detonate at the perfect moment.
Transferring the illness to Zhu Heng was something a shen could do, but it was far too reckless. In the world that had emerged ten thousand years later, every individual's right to choose was protected. The shen clan, with their extraordinary abilities, often found themselves the center of attention, so the Federation had enacted laws specifically to protect them. A shen had the right to transfer illness onto themselves, but also the right to refuse such moral coercion. After all, the idea that a shen could fly into the sun and burn away disease was just an old fairytale. The world ran on principles of balance. To ease another's suffering, a shen had to bear it personally.
Alexio wasn't thinking about laws. He simply knew that letting a light creature like Zhu Heng shoulder this burden would very likely cost him his life. He was just about to speak when the silent saint beside him suddenly opened his mouth.
“In our era, elemental therapy was very popular,” the saint said, lifting his gaze. His sky-blue eyes met Zhu Heng's directly. “Not the crude extraction and infusion methods used today, but a system refined through nearly a thousand years of experimentation. It's quite complete.”
Hope lit in Zhu Heng's eyes as he listened to the saint's calm promise.
“By principle and by conviction, both Alexio and I would spare no effort to save any dark creature. So, please be at ease.” He wasn't finished. “But Doctor Zhu, now that Zerita's matter is resolved, may I take up some of your time to discuss your future?”
He turned slightly, meeting Alexio's gaze for just a moment. No words were needed. Alexio immediately understood what he meant. He turned to the gathered medical staff, instructing them to start the standard photopathy treatment. He also asked them to arrange regular infusions of dark energy to keep the shadow roses alive. Then he shrank the roses further, until they bloomed only across her chest.
The white-cloaked saint gestured politely to Zhu Heng. Two individuals who were clearly from the military stood silently not far away. Zhu Heng said nothing, the tension in his chest from worry over Zerita finally easing just a little. He followed the saint to the side.
Alexio knew Zhu Heng was about to face accountability. It was inevitable. Even if his intentions were good, Zhu Heng ultimately had to take responsibility for his actions. Without lingering on it, Alexio quickly checked on Zhen and the other wounded dark creatures. By the time everything had settled down, the sky had already begun to darken.
Some of the rooms in the center had already been cleaned out. Alexio's original room was, by luck, one of the few left untouched. He let the three children stay there, tidied himself up a bit, exchanged a few words with Ellie, and then headed out to meet Andrei.
When it came to the attack on the conservation center, no one was more qualified than him to speak on the matter. He would need to appear at the upcoming press conference.
He hadn't gone far when his lightbrain beeped. Someone had sent him a message.
【Pupil: Cat knocking on door.jpg】
【Pupil: Are you there?】
【Pupil: (Video)】
【Pupil: This is a story from your era. Whether it should be made public, I'll leave entirely to you and him.】
The ‘him’ naturally referred to the lunatic.
Alexio watched the video in silence. After a long pause, he began to type out a reply.
【Alexio: Who exactly are you?】
【Pupil: I'm just a single eye.】
This simple answer was worth pondering. But Alexio didn't dwell on it for long. He chose to give his consent. After all, it would be helpful for what he needed to do in the future. Then he added another message.
【Alexio: Take down your sticker! Or else…】
【Alexio: Cat beats you to death.jpg】
【Pupil: awsl!】
【Pupil: Stealing sticker.】
【Alexio: ???】
He meant take them down, not steal his reaction stickers!