EnCoffin Me Chapter 71
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 71
It was rare for Alexio to actually remember that he needed wings. Neither he nor the lunatic had any magic left, so using his bat wings was the fastest way out of the pit. The crushing gravity had faded, the rain of lightblades had ceased, and Delvie was either dead or barely hanging on. It was the perfect time for them to go up.
But…
Alexio bit down a little harder. The lunatic had already let go of his hands, making it easy to grab his clothes for leverage. Blood flowed freely from the puncture on the side of his neck. Alexio kept telling himself that he'd take just one last sip and then he'd stop. After all, it would take some time for his wings to grow, so he could drink just a little more.
And like that, bit by bit, he kept drinking until now. Even though he was full to bursting, he still wouldn't let go.
“You've had enough, Alexi.” The saint gently stroked the messy hair at the back of his head.
“You're full now. You can't keep drinking.”
“Mmm…”
“Aren't you tired from biting for so long with such short fangs?”
“Mmm… mmm…”
Two soft sounds, clearly indicating displeasure. Lucius didn't say anything more. He returned to that earlier state, where mind and body were both completely at peace. Nothing else existed. Just the two of them. The darkness flowed above their heads like a river, and the flickering everdark stones were like glowing sprites drifting within it.
He liked this undisturbed world, liked being alone with Alexio, and even liked Alexio's slightly short fangs. It meant they had to press even closer together during this blood-drinking ritual. That was why he deliberately waited a while, until Alexio had clearly drunk too much, before pinching his cheek to make him let go.
“You're stuffed. That's enough for today.”
He stroked from the back of Alexio's head down to his spine. His hand paused slightly near the upper back where he felt the sharp skeletal wing that had already torn through the clothes. The skeletal wings were still growing. With a belly full of energy-rich blood, they developed quickly, flesh filling out around them as they slowly unfolded.
Alexio licked the bite mark and released his hold, but he still looked a little tipsy. He was starting to regain clarity, cradling his head and trying to pull himself together. He slapped his own cheeks a couple of times to speed things up. Suddenly, his body jolted, because the lunatic had grabbed the base of his bat wings.
“Let go! What if they grow crooked?” He flapped the thin, still-developing wings, trying to shake off that annoying hand. But the lunatic refused to release him.
“I'm just touching. Just a gentle touch.”
“Did someone grope your teeth when they were growing too? If my wings grew crooked, would you pay for it? Let go!”
Alexio kept flapping his wings, stirring up wind on the ground. His wings grew larger and larger, until they finally reached the size where he could reach the lunatic. Without hesitation, he smacked him right across the face with a wing!
“I said let go! Are you addicted to touching?”
The saint remained silent, and still didn't let go.
“You drank a lot of blood just now.”
Was he trying to use that as a blackmail? Alexio raised his eyebrows immediately. He had already thought of a countermeasure. Why not just buy the lunatic's blood? Cash or credit, he could handle either. Such was the financial power of Alexio, the former third-generation vampire prince and a current rising influencer on Pupil!
Lucius seemed to think it over for a moment, and to Alexio's surprise, he actually nodded.
“Alright. Just so you know, this isn't me showing off, but the former Holy Temple treated me like a priceless treasure.”
“……”
“Cash? Card? Touching the wings?”
One very questionable payment option had just snuck in!
Alexio didn't want to choose any of them. He was planning to dine and dash.
“Tsk tsk…” The saint clicked his tongue. “A third-generation vampire prince, a famous Pupil influencer, trying to skip out on the bill…”
Something snapped in Alexio's mind again.
“Stay down here by yourself!” he sneered. “I'll go take care of Delvie and the others, then come back to pick you up. Hm, by then you'll probably have recovered, so might as well climb up on your own!”
The lunatic was completely drained of power. His domain had already vanished. Alexio flared his wings and broke free from his grip, taking a few quick steps to try and launch himself upward. But the saint had anticipated this. A long chain, the one pulled straight from his eye, spun through the air and forcibly dragged Alexio back down, binding him in place once more.
“Didn't you say you were out of power?” Alexio was furious. Damn lunatic, playing dirty with him!
“It's humility to say ‘none’ when there's still a little left.”
It's treachery!
Alexio tried hard to fly upward, but his bat wings hadn't fully developed yet. In the end, he was yanked back down. He was just about to launch into a tirade about how unbelievably shameless the lunatic was, when he suddenly felt a faint warmth on the bones of his wings. It made him shudder.
It was like a soft… kiss, falling gently on the wing.
He whipped his head around. The lunatic's face was as expressionless as always.
“What?”
Alexio opened his mouth, then opened it again. In the end, red-faced and furious, he smacked the saint across the face with a wing.
“You drank my blood, planned to leave me down here, and now you're hitting me with your wing,” the saint said blandly, beginning to recite, “A third-generation vampire prince, famous Pupil influencer…”
“…I'll take you up.”
The saint was satisfied. He opened his arms, and although Alexio was seething, he still had to pick him up. His bat wings began to flap. These massive wings possessed an innate magic that required no energy, similar to the magic found on a fallen angel's wings. This magic enabled winged races to ascend without needing to be excessively light.
“Why don't you like showing your bat wings? They seem more stable than the shadow wings,” Lucius asked.
Alexio was silent for a moment, then replied indifferently, “…Because it hurts when they get torn off.”
The saint's arms tightened around him instantly, and a chill rose in his sky-blue eyes.
“…Theo?”
“Mm, I fought him more than once. That time was just… a minor scuffle between the two of us. I lost and got one of my wings ripped off. It took me more than half a month to recover,” Alexio said lightly. “That's why I kept telling you not to face Theo alone. It's not because I don't trust you. It's because he's a pain to deal with.
“I don't really know what's going on with Theo now, but he definitely died. I even scattered his ashes. So… is he one of those returned souls too?” Alexio fell into thought. He wasn't good at pondering complicated matters, so he instinctively turned to the lunatic.
“What do you think?”
Now that their relationship had improved, the lunatic's brain was basically his brain. Perfect!
“Returned souls may not be controllable,” the saint said calmly. “Souls that once stood with us might return, and so might the ones that stood against us. Only then can it be considered fair.”
He also remembered earlier, when he was attacked by Theo's domain, the hint he had heard from Pupil. That so-called “seeing” the transgression of the God of Slander… It felt like he had been given a key piece of information. Pupil clearly favored Alexio, and yet Alexio knew nothing about any of this.
What exactly had he done in the past?
Alexio nearly forgot to flap his wings. They began to descend slightly before he quickly beat his wings a few times to regain their height.
“You mean, even the gods who supposedly stand on our side can't fully control the situation?”
Lucius nodded slowly. “The restrictions placed on gods may be far greater than we imagine.”
Alexio thought for a moment… then thought some more… and finally gave up on thinking altogether.
“Whatever. If the other side returns, I'll just kill them one by one.”
Lucius chuckled. He trusted in Alexio's strength, and that meant he had to do his part as well. The faint glow of the night mare horns at the top of the cave was already within sight. But just as they were about to fly out of the pit, Alexio suddenly came to a halt.
“Hey, Lun… Lucius. Look at the cave wall.”
Lucius looked in the direction he indicated. The fully charged everdark stones glowed brilliantly, but their light ended abruptly about half a meter below the rim of the pit. Above that line, the stones hadn't had time to recharge. He stared at the clear boundary, frowning slightly.
“It's receded,” Alexio said flatly. “I remember clearly that my dark energy had filled nearly all the everdark stones, leaving only a thin ring at the top. Now, part of that energy is gone.”
It was as if a stopper at the bottom of this pit had been pulled out. This boundary line, marking where energy remained and where it had vanished, began to descend, and continued to descend even as they watched.
“I always thought it was strange,” Alexio said. “Why would a pit like this be filled entirely with everdark stones…” He glanced toward the pitch-black depths below, the place they had just flown up from. Something there seemed to be silently shifting.
“Let's get out first,” Lucius said concisely.
The two of them landed outside the pit and turned to look back. That waterline-like divider continued to fall, and vast stretches of everdark stones dimmed and began to shatter. Alexio once again heard that faint, indistinct calling. The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. He summoned several shadow bats, focusing his senses.
【Soon... very soon…】
【I shall… awaken…】
The last trace of energy finally drained away. After a pause of several seconds, a deep and resounding rumble began to echo. Cracks split the walls of the pit, and the night mare horns tumbled downward along with some rubble. Alexio braced himself. Reflected in his deep rose-colored eyes was the sight of the fissured pit bottom. A subtle chill wafted upwards, brushing lightly against his cheek. He reached out and caught a glowing speck of light with a trailing shimmer that curled gently in his palm.
It was a sprite.
The glowing sprites were blown out by the cold wind, drifting sporadically throughout the mine. Their own light illuminated the surroundings. Colorful crystals and gems were born wherever they touched, and the crystals gradually extended outwards, brilliantly colored and exquisitely clear, refracting the many hues of the gems. In moments, the entire mine was transformed into a wonderland of crystal and gemstone.
“What… is this…” Alexio murmured.
The bottom of the pit finally split open completely. From the cross-shaped fissure, a crystalline, vibrant, and colorful light radiated. The glow pulsed rhythmically, like the heartbeat of a living creature. Clearly, after consuming Alexio's dark energy, the being at the bottom of the pit was finally awakening.
Lucius suddenly yanked Alexio backward, shielding him with his cloak. A moment later, a torrent of sprites erupted wildly from the pit, glowing and singing in unison, as if in jubilant celebration of a god's return.
【Ten thousand years… at last…】
【I walk this world once more…】
【Ha… hahaha…】
That immense voice burst into laughter, so loud even Lucius could hear it. The rumbling grew more intense as the mine began to collapse. They ran toward the exit, pushed and lifted by a swarm of sprites. Several flew ahead to guide the way, leading them safely past every dangerous fork. Wherever the sprites passed, gemstones and crystals bloomed. They raced forward along this dazzling, luxurious path.
【Leviathan… Qizhi… my brothers…】
【Where are you now…】
All along the way, Alexio continuously withdrew the dark energy he had spread outside. He snatched up a shadow rose, then reached for another, but the sprites, impatient and nearly frantic, were about to lift him off the ground themselves. Still unwilling to give up, Alexio stretched out his hand.
“Just one more! One more! Let me recover a bit more energy!”
Lucius: “……”
Trust Alexio to have the nerve to bargain with the sprites.
The sprites seemed collectively exasperated. In the end, they had no choice but to dispatch a few to gather shadow roses specifically for Alexio. Cradling an armful of the flowers, Alexio felt his strength gradually returning, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Alongside countless crystals and sprites, they finally burst out of the mine.
Alexio instinctively shielded his eyes from the sudden light. The rumbling continued behind them. He looked back and saw that the entire mountain range was shaking. Snow was cascading down, rocks and earth were falling, and the grand voice was still laughing heartily, calling out to its brethren. It now rose once more, its form emerging from the very spine of the mountains.
At last, it revealed its full form before Alexio—
Thick mountain ranges formed its spine, while molten blood coursed through a crystalline body. It rose to its feet, stretching slightly. Eight wings of glacial crystal unfurled like fans. Around it, the sprites swarmed, shouting and celebrating in a frenzied tide.
Today was the day of awakening.
The firstborn of the goddess, the elder brother of Leviathan and Qizhi.
Behemoth of the earth.