EnCoffin Me Chapter 6
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 6
The saint's gaze wavered slightly as the vampire with black hair and red eyes appeared in the clear sky-blue of his own. He studied the figure, comparing it to the descriptions from the Holy Temple and the rumors he had pored over for so long.
So this was Alexio, the third-generation vampire prince, the one he was hunting.
The last sentence was still in doubt.
Alexio couldn't help baring his fangs, though they were shorter than an ordinary vampire's and not particularly threatening. Still, the gesture betrayed his great anger. This was the first time since resurrecting that he had so clearly shown personal emotion, even if it was a negative one.
Countless ways to thrash his enemy played in Alexio's mind. For example, he could immediately spread his wings and use the enormous impact to slam this lunatic against the wall. The lunatic wouldn't sit idly by and would definitely open his domain. But as long as Alexio drew blood from him, then it would be his home turf.
But…
His fangs pressed against his lips, sending a sharp pain. Using the pain, Alexio took a deep, deep breath and then slowly exhaled. This mimicry of human physiology worked. His fury was temporarily cooled.
“Explain yourself clearly,” the enraged vampire said. “I will honor our pact and give you a chance to explain.”
This was what he had agreed on with the lunatic back when the lunatic couldn't yet be called a lunatic, and was still perfectly normal… or at least, what Alexio considered normal. Even in his normal state, the lunatic was far from likable, but he had been a reliable friend. Both of them had once felt lost in the world they existed in.
【I think we can at least agree on one thing.】
Beneath the shattered rose window, in their secret meeting place, the saint once said.
【No matter what happens from now on, even if you commit the greatest evil, I will hold back all my anger and listen to your explanation.】
What had he replied back then?
【…What you can do, don't think I can't do.】
He could do it!
Andrei had already stood up. Judging from Alexio's intense emotions, a battle seemed likely to occur. Even though one side had been a resurrected being from the light forces, protecting Alexio remained his top priority.
But unexpectedly, Alexio suppressed his anger himself and even asked to hear the other's explanation.
This was rare. Tragedies caused by momentary emotional outbursts happened all the time. If both sides could just sit down and talk, irreversible consequences could be avoided. Alexio's willingness to calm down was truly rare.
The saint's beautiful sky-blue eyes quietly watched the vampire, betraying no emotion.
“Why suddenly start a war? Were your previous promises of peace meant to deceive me? Didn't we discuss it and made a pact to avoid war as much as possible… Do you still think the hatred between our sides isn't deep enough?!”
Alexio felt the shame of betrayal. This was the question he cared about the most. As for the matter of dragging him into the coffin, that was something only a lunatic would do, and Alexio didn't intend to ask further.
But there was one more thing he had to ask, even though it was… even though it was…
“That blood crystal…” Alexio's voice dropped low. He glanced at Andrei and Ellie, who were still in the room.
Although somewhat uneasy, the two respectfully withdrew from the room, leaving only Alexio and the saint.
Alexio's eyes flickered. This question was too shameful for him.
“That blood crystal… what did you mean by that…”
“What?” The saint finally spoke, seemingly genuinely confused about what he was referring to.
The vampire's red eyes snapped wide open. Moving at a speed barely perceptible to normal eyes, he closed in on the saint. The saint reacted just as fast. Just as Alexio's fingertip was about to touch his chest, the ornate musket wrapped in faint golden patterns was aimed at the vampire's heart.
This direct move that turned the situation into a standoff confused Alexio. Given the lunatic's abilities, he should have dodged Alexio's assault and even counterattacked. His domain was notoriously difficult.
In other words, he felt the lunatic was… weakened?
“Don't play dumb! You know exactly what you did! How could you send that blood crystal into… into me…” Alexio couldn't bring himself to say it aloud. He was on the verge of exploding, strongly suspecting the lunatic was deliberately playing dumb to provoke him.
That blood crystal that had melted on his tongue had clearly been put there by this lunatic using… using the tip of his tongue…
But the saint still just looked at him quietly.
“I don't understand what you're talking about.”
“You!”
Alexio felt like he was about to explode on the spot. This time it wouldn't be just a test. He was really going to make a move!
The saint paused to think for a moment, then spoke slowly.
“But I have never truly met you. I have simply spent a long time learning about you from every angle, including wildly imaginative adventure novels to self-aggrandizing biographies… In fact, I've absorbed and even memorized all the information that claimed to be related to you.”
The saint slowly lifted his sky-blue eyes and met the vampire's red gaze directly.
“Everything I have studied, magic, swordsmanship, calendars, logic, astronomy, mathematics, only has value because of your existence. To hunt you, I am willing to pay any price and use any means. That is my current state, but…”
At last, the saint's expression grew serious.
“Why do they say dark creatures are… precious and adorable?”
Alexio even forgot to retract his fangs. He stared blankly at the saint who seemed genuinely puzzled. He wondered if he was being played again, but the lunatic's scriptwriting skills were nowhere near this sophisticated, and the way he looked at him was also different. Before, when the lunatic looked at him, his eyes always burned with fire.
Based on what the lunatic said, Alexio formed an absurd guess.
“You haven't met me yet?”
“Yes.”
The saint answered readily, trusting his own judgment. He had already awakened when the vampire opened the coffin, but he hadn't attacked rashly. The Holy Temple had taught him to plan before acting. He didn't know what kind of unforeseen event had occurred to make him, a secret treasure of the Holy Temple, fall into the hands of a vampire. However, since the vampire hadn't made a move, he could secretly remain vigilant while gathering information.
However… his hunting target seemed just as confused at first.
He even tried to shake him awake to shatter their worldviews together.
Alexio found it ridiculous. He didn't know much about the Holy Temple's arrangements, and most of these arrangements would never come to fruition anyway. So, he could only roughly estimate the years when he and that lunatic were both likely awake… approximately over a hundred years.
Those hundred years were real hundred years, but if calculated precisely, it might be several hundred years in total. Because vampires often fell into slumber out of boredom or other reasons, the Holy Temple would freeze the hunters it carefully raised until the vampires awoke and resumed activity.
Human life was ultimately too short. The only way to fully utilize the value of a hunter specially trained to target a particular vampire was through this method.
“It seems you already have an idea,” the saint said firmly.
“Your memory has a problem.”
Alexio stared at him for a moment, then slowly withdrew his hand, as if he wasn't afraid the saint would suddenly shoot. Only after pulling back did he realize he should have been more on guard against this lunatic.
But since his hand was already withdrawn, he kept a stern face and acted as if nothing was wrong.
The saint paused and slowly lowered his gun. The weight of this firearm was different from the one he usually used, which made him even more certain that something incomprehensible had indeed happened to him. After waking up, the so-called people from ten thousand years ago would never be able to provide him with answers. Only the vampire before him could.
“To be precise, counting only the time you've been awake, you've lost nearly a hundred years of memory.” Alexio did mental calculations trying to convert the human calendar from ten thousand years ago, but with several kingdom changes and his frequent slumbers, he naturally failed.
“Are you still familiar with the vampire calendar?”
The saint paid attention to the word ‘still,’ implying he had been familiar with it in the past.
“Familiar.”
It was part of his lessons.
“The year I first saw you was Blood Moon Calendar 3164. At that time, I went to break the silver cross atop the Holy Temple's main cathedral. The Holy Temple sent you to stop me.”
Later than the time scheduled by the Holy Temple, the saint pondered. This was probably because the vampire hadn't appeared publicly for a long time.
But he was still curious about one other thing…
“Did you break the silver cross down?”
Alexio, who had been diligently trying to recall the year, suddenly felt exhausted. The lunatic had already started to focus on the wrong things.
“I broke it right in front of you!” he answered irritably. The saint's lips tightened. He was surely making a mental note.
He also wanted to cut ties with this petty, neurotic lunatic on the spot!
A cautious knock came from outside the door, likely because those outside were worried a fight had broken out inside. Or, to be more precise, they were afraid the precious dark creature might get hurt. Alexio had no idea just how fragile these people thought dark creatures were. It hadn't been that long, and yet they were already fretting. He had no choice but to speak faster.
“We'll discuss the details later. The year we went into slumber was Blood Moon Calendar 3501, around All Souls Day. If you have doubts about your physical condition, have them arrange an examination for you. I saw a similar item in the contract before.”
He finished speaking hastily and opened the door. Besides Andrei and Ellie, there were actually several staff members wearing special dark clothing outside.
Alexio's sharp eyes caught the tools they had hidden.
Were they planning to… break the door? Break in and beat up the lunatic?
“It looks like you're fine,” the white-haired unicorn smiled slightly, “That's good. The atmosphere between you two earlier wasn't very good. According to our center's protocol, the interaction time between dark creatures and dangerous individuals should not exceed ten minutes.”
Alexio: “……”
He glanced at the ‘dangerous individual,’ whose every strand of hair proclaimed his allegiance to the light forces. Sure enough, the saint also pursed his lips, looking as baffled as he was.
You two are on the same team, aren't you? Don't start fighting among yourselves!