EnCoffin Me Chapter 60
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 60
After several months of adjustment since the resurrection and then the crushing battle at the conservation center, Alexio finally set out once again on a journey to a distant land.
The reason for saying ‘once again' was because ten thousand years ago, Alexio himself enjoyed traveling and had visited many places. This trip to the northern front was just another routine journey for him. Not to mention, he was accompanied by many others this time, which brought a small touch of novelty to someone who was used to traveling alone.
He held his lightbrain, editing and revising, but the sentences he planned to say to the lunatic never quite satisfied him. Or rather, it was the subject he intended to bring up that made him lack confidence in receiving any positive response.
【Do you want to live forever?】
It sounded too much like a blessing. Not appropriate, not appropriate.
【Can I bite you?】
‘Bite’ was very different from a ‘First Embrace.’ That was too vague.
【Do you mind if I become your father?】
“……”
Alexio dropped the lightbrain in despair. For now, he gave up on thinking about the question.
He looked out through the porthole and saw the distant, sparkling snow-capped mountains stretching endlessly. Under the clear sky, the entire snowfield was as translucent as a dream. Suddenly, he felt a strange sense of familiarity and nostalgia, an emotion very much like the one he experienced when he met Pupil. Alexio tilted his head. He didn't think this feeling was just an illusion. Deep within that snowfield, something had to exist.
“What are you looking at?” The saint approached him, probably because he had been standing by the porthole too long. Following his gaze, the saint's eyes narrowed slightly.
“Alexi.”
Alexio turned toward the sound, only to see a bright white line slowly descending from the snowy peak. When it reached the ground, it spread into the sky and was sweeping toward them. At first, Alexio thought it was an avalanche, but he quickly dismissed the idea. It was too light to be an avalanche. That was a…
Light burst.
“Lucy!” Alexio called to the only lich among the three present who could hover. The lich immediately grabbed his coattail, and Alexio led her toward the hatch.
“Lucius, take the others down. Lucy and I will go first.”
“Mm.”
The hatch opened, and a biting wind rushed in, whipping Alexio's cloak up and down. The wind was too strong for Lucy to fly steadily, so he picked her up, and his shadow wings began to unfurl from his back. Before the wings could fully spread, Alexio leapt from the aircraft. After a sudden drop, the bat wings opened, carrying him swiftly toward the light burst.
In the current world, there was already a fixed operating procedure for dealing with light bursts. The military used specialized devices to capture stray dark elements, mitigating the effects of the burst. Afterward, they replenished the area with dark energy to lower the chances of another occurrence. This was why frontline dark creatures were so vital. Their presence naturally increased local dark energy levels. Whether for blocking or neutralizing light bursts, they were undeniably more effective.
Previously, Zhen who had arrived at this front line had played exactly that role. Most dark creatures before had also helped the military in this way. But Alexio had no intention of following the old path.
Why go through such a troublesome conversion? Dark creatures themselves were not just buff-generating devices. Their physical strength, combined with the innate dark attributes they possessed in this era, allowed them to confront the light burst head-on.
Alexio lowered his altitude as the wind had calmed, then released Lucy. The lich immediately spread her bone wings and hovered steadily in the air. She had practiced flying many times and was now perfectly stable. Below them lay the military camp, seemingly preparing for battle. Someone spotted them and sent a signal to order them down, but Alexio ignored it.
This was why he insisted on operating independently. Their mission was entirely to break the existing conventions.
Inside the military camp, the young commander who had replaced Marshal Olsen looked through his binoculars and saw the vampire and lich in the sky. They ignored the ground signals and instead rushed straight toward the area where the light burst was occurring. The commander's expression immediately tightened.
“This is too dangerous! Even with Prince Alexio here, Miss Lucy is still just a child!”
He was about to dispatch ground troops to assist when someone beside him stopped him.
“That special unit has the authority to operate independently,” Andrei said. Their aircraft had already landed, and the personnel had dispersed into the camp. He had come straight to explain the situation to the officer now in charge of the northern frontline.
“But…” The young commander watched the two small dark figures fly deeper into the region. The long-standing ingrained belief of protecting dark creatures still echoed in his mind, yet another voice spoke.
“This operation is fully authorized.”
“Marshal Olsen!” The young commander bowed deeply in respect. Since the old marshal said so, he could only comply, at most assigning extra personnel for protection.
A somewhat childish roar broke out as the wolf cub transformed into a massive silver wolf. He glanced once at Alexio flying above, then planted his paws and lunged forward with a sudden burst, drawing gasps from the onlookers.
Ahead of him was the overwhelming force of the light burst.
Alexio noticed Helgodon catching up. He adjusted his strategy slightly, quickening his pace with Lucy to reach the area above the light burst. The air was thick with bright elemental energy. Ordinary people would be burned here, but dark creatures were immune. The dark energy naturally circulated around them, forming a seemingly fragile but remarkably effective shield. This only strengthened Alexio's conviction that dark creatures should be the main force opposing the light bursts.
He told Lucy to erect her bone prison to block the light burst as best she could, then shifted his gaze to Helgodon on the ground.
“Helgodon, follow me!”
The silver wolf howled. The vampire's bat wings folded inward, then with a terrifying burst of speed, he sliced like a sword into the tide of light. Wherever he passed, the brilliance shattered like melting snow. Alexio narrowed his eyes. The intensity of the light burst was indeed significant. Lucy's bone prison probably couldn't withstand it head-on. He still needed to weaken the light burst further for it to serve as effective training.
He slightly slowed his speed, letting Helgodon, who was charging forward through the light burst, run ahead of him. Alexio turned, the black scythe appearing in his hand. Calm and measured, he gauged the power of the light burst, then swung in a wide arc, striking the ground.
“Let's… break it here.”
He stated it matter-of-factly, with the surging, retreating tide of light behind him. From the spot where his black scythe struck the ground, vast patches of shadow roses began to sprout, instantly blocking the raging light burst. The bright elements squeezed together, emitting sharp, whistle-like sounds as they surged skyward. But no matter how high the light flew, the shadow roses grew just as high, completely stopping it!
Like cutting water with a knife, only a residual wave ultimately drifted toward the lich.
For Lucy, this was a level that required significant effort to handle. Alexio sheathed his black scythe and flapped his bat wings a few times, catching up to Helgodon still sprinting ahead. He lowered his flight and called out instructions, “Your breathing's ragged! I didn't tell you to tank the whole time! Learn to dodge appropriately!”
With Alexio escorting him, Helgodon, facing a light burst for the first time, showed incredible bravery. He adjusted his breathing and steps, better channeling his dark energy, all of which helped him run farther. Anyone watching from above would be shocked to see the silver wolf charging through an entire blazing field of light, dark energy swirling around him like a blade tearing through a pure white curtain, led by the vampire.
Alexio spread his bat wings, ensuring no light from above would touch Helgodon. This charge was just a test. If the enemy pressed from above, Helgodon wouldn't be able to keep going, so Alexio had to act as an umbrella for now.
But…
The closer they got, the more distinct that familiar and nostalgic feeling became. The faint, distant werewolf song was barely audible amid the overwhelming noise of the light burst, yet it lingered persistently in Alexio's ears. Helgodon below let out a howl full of special meaning. Alexio lowered his altitude, and Helgodon called softly to him.
He heard the song too. To him, it sounded more like a long, drawn-out call.
The incoming light burst had begun to weaken. Eventually, Helgodon stopped, panting, and Alexio landed beside him. The light burst had dissipated, and together they looked out at the clearly defined mountain range before them.
“We'll go in sooner or later. For now, let's head back.” Alexio didn't think today was the right time.
They retraced their steps, filling the path with dark energy. Although the main force of the light burst had been scattered, stray beams of light still posed a threat. Alexio saw some bright energy shot high into the air before falling like meteors. By the time they reached the military camp, Lucy had completed her task. The bone barrier stretched for miles, blocking the lingering aftershocks. Only a few light meteors continued to fall.
The camp's critical area was shielded. Lucius stood outside the barrier, eyes fixed on the direction Alexio had flown off to. Finally, he spotted the two returning figures and relaxed his intense gaze slightly.
One of the light meteors began to descend toward him. His fingers twitched but he made no move.
Alexio immediately noticed the meteor falling toward the lunatic. He had seen the power of these things many times on the way. It would leave a crater on impact! Seeing that the lunatic hadn't reacted right away, Alexio's heart jumped. He instantly teleported behind him.
Placing his hand on the lunatic's shoulder, Alexio fully spread his massive bat wings, folding them above their heads. The meteor struck the wings and shattered instantly, scattering into tiny points of light.
“Didn't you see that?” Alexio sounded a little annoyed, but the saint remained calm.
“It wouldn't have been a problem even if it hit my head. I would have devoured it.”
Alexio imagined it and admitted to himself he kind of wanted to see the lunatic get hit on the head.
“I'm starting to regret it.”
“…Schadenfreude,” the saint chided lightly, almost casually reaching out to grasp the main wing bone. From where he held it, he gently stroked downward, finally hooking his fingertip around the tip of his wing.
Alexio snapped his wings closed in an instant.
“What are you doing?”
“Just touching.”
“I'm not letting you.”
“I already did.”
Alexio couldn't help but laugh angrily. Why didn't the lunatic just touch his fangs? He'd definitely snap at him if he tried.
The saint's eyes suddenly brightened.
“Come here?”
“…Stay back!”
Alexio sighed in his usual way, then glanced around. Lucy and Helgodon were both resting. But where was Zhen?
“He should be off screening for moles now,” Lucius said calmly. “As soon as we landed, we requested to build a separate camp. The military sent some people who will be staying with us long-term. Zhen is with them.”
Alexio relaxed. Zhen's abilities were unique, especially the recent improvements. It was perfect for rooting out traitors.
“Looks like I can finally get a peaceful night's sleep,” he said with a smile.
At that moment, Zhen was indeed inside their newly built camp. He was still dressed in the traditional outfit of the eastern faction, his hair tie gleaming. After wandering around the camp and greeting everyone, he squatted beside a soldier tidying up the temporary camp.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Zhen said cheerfully. “Ah, a dark creature. Maybe once we get to know you, we'll take you away. Then you won't have to stay in this damn place any longer.'”
The soldier's expression stiffened as if his thoughts had been read. He instinctively reached for his gun, but someone already aimed a weapon at him.
“Don't move!” Noah said grimly. “Military reinforcements are on their way.”
Realizing he'd been exposed, the soldier seemed to make a decision. But before he could act, he froze in place. His gaze dropped to the ground, where patches of unmelted snow lay, along with Zhen's tasseled sleeve.
“Don't even think about suicide.” Zhen smiled as he flicked his sleeve, the tassels swaying cheerfully in the soldier's eyes.
“Just stand here quietly and wait for Alexi to come back… Alexi!”
As soon as Alexio entered the camp, he sensed a subtle, obscure aura and raised an eyebrow slightly. Zhen ran up to him, eager to report.
“Alexi said no weak ordinary people should be present in the domain. There are none here. The entire camp is already enveloped in my domain!”
His domain grew more terrifying the more life it contained. Before this trip, he had awakened【Mind Reading】. As long as the opponent wasn't vastly stronger than him, he could hear their thoughts. His【Control】skill wasn't quite polished yet. Just like earlier, he needed Noah to help startle the target so that in their moment of distraction, he could seize full control of their body.
He looked up, seeking praise, and sure enough, got a head pat. He was immediately satisfied.
“But there's a traitor among the northern frontline soldiers who wants to capture the dark creatures…” Zhen's eyes widened as he sharply realized something.
“Mm.” Alexio responded, narrowing his red eyes. “The possibility that this light burst is man-made has intensified. To create and sustain such a massive light burst, there might be something interesting hidden within these snowy mountains… What do you think?”
He asked Lucius for his opinion.
The saint said nothing, only reaching into his pocket and pulling something out, handing it to Alexio.
“Found around the camp.”
Alexio took it, examined it briefly, and immediately recognized the name.
“Everdark stone?”
It was a mineral from the previous era, characterized by its ability to—
Store dark energy.