EnCoffin Me Chapter 73
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 73
Lucius' liberation command, like Aamon's, was of the highest caliber. The surrounding dense light elements became his strongest backing, allowing his power to recover much faster than Alexio's. The holy spear, residing in his soul and born from his own power, made an especially brilliant and grand appearance.
The saint hovered in the air, the tip of his spear aimed at the hunter on the ground. Aamon felt as if he had been locked onto by a blazing sun. No matter where he fled, he couldn't escape the intense blaze. After sizing up the situation, Aamon gritted his teeth. He had no choice but to face the fight head-on.
“【I must kill】!”
He activated the holy sword a second time. The wound on his shoulder, bitten through by a werewolf, still throbbed painfully. Aamon, having received similar training, knew clearly that the hunter opposing him would never let him off. Hunters had no sense of honor. At critical moments, they could abandon comrades, even defect to the enemy, all for the sake of ultimate victory.
The stronger one was, the colder they became. That was the way of the Holy Temple hunters.
The holy sword ignited, releasing a fierce gust of wind. Aamon poured every ounce of his strength into it. He had to fight with his back against the wall. The overwhelming pressure caused his skin to crack, blood dripping onto his white cloak and streaming down his face. He heard himself roar, fighting with everything he had against this traitorous hunter!
Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!
He looked so disheveled, while the saint above remained pristine and calm. Lucius even freed one hand to brush a speck of dust from his shoulder.
Traitor! The traitor who sided with the vampire! Even though he was destined to kill the vampire, he still sided with the enemy!
Traitor!!!
“…Hmm?” The saint in the air let out a puzzled sound. “What's that expression on your face?”
What expression? What expression could he possibly have? Look closely! He was sneering! He was filled with hatred!
“Like you're about to burst into flames. It's ugly. You've lost the dignity of a hunter.”
Who had really lost their dignity?!
“I guess whatever I say now won't get through to you.” The saint spoke slowly. Then, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face, but his eyes remained icy cold.
“Wait, I know you'll listen to whatever I say now.”
Shut up… shut up!!!
Aamon listened as the voice from the radiant saint descended, tearing through every mask he had built.
“My destined one… is wonderful, isn't he?”
Aamon let out a roar. He lifted his bloodshot eyes and swung his holy sword with his bloodied arms. The sword light, imbued with all his power, surged towards the sky, but that detestable voice kept falling, falling, right into his ears.
“Sorry, I forgot. You're too weak to deserve a destiny.”
After the final words fell, Lucius released his grip. The holy spear dropped and collided with the holy sword's light. In that instant, a blinding radiance filled everyone's vision. Alexio lifted his cloak to shield his eyes. After a long moment, he lowered the cloak and looked toward where the lunatic had been. The sky there was empty. He frowned slightly, then patted Helgodon's head as a signal, before teleporting directly to that area.
He looked around. Strong light elements were everywhere. The lunatic seemed to be on the ground. He quickly folded his bat wings and descended through the intense light, spotting the lunatic leaning close, whispering something into the ear of the hunter whose name he didn't know.
“Lun… Lucius!” Alexio called out. “What's with all the noise?”
Hearing his voice, the lunatic slowly stood up, about to say something. But Alexio keenly noticed the fallen hunter nearby stirring. In an instant, he teleported beside the lunatic, then grabbed him and rapidly pulled away using spatial magic.
His judgment was precise. The next second, a violent explosion erupted near the hunter!
“Cough… cough…”
As the smoke cleared, Alexio released his grip on the lunatic and looked at the spot where the explosion had been. He had expected to see a bloody corpse, but there was nothing. Lucius walked over to examine the ground, pointing at faint patterns on the dirt.
“A scroll. The same kind Theo used back then,” he said, showing no frustration. “And this time, the opponent left no teleportation array behind. Even I can't track them.”
Alexio clicked his tongue. The Holy Temple's endless tricks were truly a headache.
“But…” The lunatic gave him a faint smile. “I don't think there's anything to worry about. He's badly injured, and I've broken his will.”
Alexio blinked. Really? Breaking someone's will, that sounded impressive. Did the Holy Temple have psychology courses? If so, why hadn't the lunatic treated himself first?
Seeing his disbelief, Lucius just smiled faintly and then reached out his hand.
“Come, let's go over to that battlefield.”
Alexio looked at his hand, hesitated for a moment, then took the cat out of his arms and placed it in Lucius' hand.
“……”
“I want to give him a name.”
“……”
“Don't be upset. Why are you upset again? I even let you hold the cat.”
Lucius took a deep breath. Sometimes, he really couldn't outsmart Alexio.
“What name do you plan to give him?”
“U… how about that? The letter U.”
“…Why?”
“Because he was lying in the pile of corpses in that exact shape.” Alexio even bent over to imitate it. Lucius, holding the cat, couldn't help but smile.
“Suit yourself.”
“Then it's settled!” Alexio said cheerfully. Suddenly, he remembered a question.
“Did you say anything to that hunter just now? You provoked him into detonating.”
“Nothing special, maybe…” Lucius thought for a moment, uncertain. “Maybe he's just psychologically fragile? I even made him cry earlier.”
“……”
Yeah, right! Whatever, keep it to yourself!
Alexio snatched the cat back and stomped off angrily. Lucius watched his back for a while, then gradually wiped the smile from his face.
His eyes took on an unusually cold sky-blue color.
【No matter how much you envy, he is still my destined one.】
As he spoke, he bit into the word ‘my.’
【Mine alone, and none of your business.】
Aamon was sent back to the Holy Temple as a complete loser. He lay weakly on the carpet and noticed shards of broken porcelain scattered around, as if someone had already vented their anger here. He also caught a faint scent of blood that wasn't his.
“You wasted a scroll.” A soft voice said. The curtains suddenly drew open. Theo stood by the window against the light, his collar and cuffs undone. Clearly, the chaos here was directly related to him.
Aamon struggled to support himself. He tried to kneel on one knee before Theo, but failed and remained lying on the floor.
“You performed so well at the night mare farm. I thought you were ready for promotion, which is why I entrusted you with such an important mission. And what is the report you give me?” Theo smiled faintly and spread his hands. “An almost completely wiped-out Judgement Legion? A mine lost to the military? And… this pathetic dignity, like a puddle of mud?”
The hunter trembling on the ground shivered.
“After discovering that Alexio had left the military camp, why didn't you immediately pursue him? If you had, you would have caught him at his weakest in the mine. Why… why didn't you?”
Theo's voice suddenly rose sharply. The only remaining cup beside the hunter shattered. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
“You want more achievements. You want to stand higher. There's nothing wrong with that. But you ruined my plan!”
The room fell silent for a moment. Theo seemed to have calmed down, his tone softening once more.
“If it weren't for the good news that just arrived, I would have killed you by now, you useless thing.”
“Very… sorry…”
Aamon heard the door open and a few people come in, accompanied by the weak cooing of a baby. He slowly lifted his head and saw several researchers in white lab coats approach Theo. The lead researcher, barely able to contain his excitement, said, “We brought the child for you to see.”
He carefully handed over the baby. Theo smiled as he took the child in his arms and soothed it. The baby sniffled softly.
“Has the testing been completed?”
“Yes! It's a heritable trait!” The lead researcher's hands trembled with excitement. “After so many years and countless days and nights of research, we finally understand the exact amount of dark energy to inject. A healthy mother has given birth to this healthy child. For generations to come, we will no longer need dark creatures!”
Theo smiled as well. He gently stroked the crying child's head without a trace of anger.
“Dark creatures can stay around a while longer. Aren't there many people who like watching their livestreams? Let them live, but in a way that conserves more resources than now. I'm thinking… what if we build a huge zoo at the conservation center?”
The lead researcher immediately praised enthusiastically.
“That also counts as protecting biodiversity. Your vision is truly remarkable!”
Theo's mood improved further. He handed the child back to the researcher and gave instructions, “Not only human mothers, but mothers of light creatures must be tested as well. The Holy Temple's goal is the liberation of all life on earth. We will adapt to this world full of light. We are walking the path to paradise.”
The researcher was moved to tears and clasped his hands reverently over his chest.
“Praise our god… praise our god… the true paradise will come in our generation…”
Theo smiled faintly. Since waking, he had adapted to the Holy Temple atmosphere as fast as possible and firmly regained the power he once held. This was not difficult for him, especially since he had divine favor. His mental domain was incredibly useful. Now the entire Holy Temple revolved around him.
Theo did not find it unacceptable to be the Holy Temple's leader, because he now possessed power, intoxicating power, never diluted or taken by Alexio. He had finally returned to the pinnacle of power. His faction was neither light nor dark. It was only himself.
As long as all his desires were fulfilled, that was enough.
Thinking of the time Alexio had seized power from him, Theo's smile faded slightly. He carefully wiped his hands clean after touching the baby, then dismissed the researchers. He glanced at the hunter still lying on the ground, walked over, and made him look up.
“This time, I will forgive you. But you must ensure there won't be a next time.”
“I…” The hunter's voice trembled as he tried to respond, but Theo interrupted him.
“I don't need your answer.” He smiled faintly, then spoke words tinged with the murky purple of【Slander】. “From now on, you don't have to think about any achievements beyond Alexio. You must remember—
“He is your only target, your fiercest rival, the dream you chase your whole life… You must kill him. Kill him by any means necessary!”
The【Slander】took effect. Theo stood upright and stopped looking at the hunter's vacant eyes on the ground, signaling the researchers to drag him away.
“Cure him. Use any possible modifications on him,” he ordered, then smiled at what he had just done.
How interesting. His ability could easily produce a hunter in a short time, one that the Holy Temple usually spent years cultivating.
The researchers dragged the hunter out. The last dark-haired researcher kindly closed the door behind them, leaving Theo alone in the room. He returned to the window and gazed at the roses blooming fiercely under the sunlight. On the windowsill lay a communicator originally used to contact Lucius. Now that Lucius had revealed his treacherous nature, Theo acknowledged that he had stumbled twice in the same place.
He picked up the communicator, intending to destroy it immediately.
【Lucius: Alexio is cursing up a storm, telling me to send you a message.】
Theo froze. He stared at the screen, curious about what Alexio would say to him.
【Lucius: He told me to send—】
The communication paused for a moment, as if the other side was taking a deep breath, and then—
【Lucius: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,】
“……”
His trauma was acting up again!