Silent Crown Chapter 115

It was an afternoon in the downtown district. The shabby tavern’s door was pushed open. The smell of smoke and cheap alcohol that spilled out was thick enough to suffocate someone. In the noisy bar, the men smoking while playing cards turned and looked at the entrance.

A silhouette of a man stood under the harsh sunshine by the door. He had a cane and wore a bowler hat. Being so well-dressed, he seemed out of sorts here. However, everyone shivered involuntarily when they saw him. Through the murkiness, there seemed to be a pair of breathtaking eyes staring at them.

Across the long distance, they could see their own reflections in the eyes. Their reflections were pale like a corpse that had fallen into an abyss.

Deep inside the tavern, an old man with his back to the door turned around and saw the figure. He was stunned momentarily. Then he immediately waved, motioning for everyone to get out.

When everyone was gone, the newcomer sat opposite him, took off his hat, and laid it on the table.

“Long time no see, Mr. Ghosthand,” Ye Qingxuan said.

Ghosthand looked deeply at Ye Qingxuan. The hairs on his neck stood as if he saw something extremely eerie. After a short few days, Ye Qingxuan had…become even stronger. Even Ghosthand was gradually growing afraid of him.

“Mr. Holmes, you have recently become much scarier.”

“This is not what I want.” Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. “To be honest, I’d rather go out with sunglasses, but even then it doesn’t work.”

“It seems that you have gained a lot in Avalon’s Shadow.” Ghosthand withdrew his sight and pointed to the cards on the table. “Shall we?”

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but laugh. He casually grabbed a joker and shook his head. “Forget it. I am not confident enough to play cards with Ghosthand.” He put down the card on the table but it had somehow become a red ace. Soon, it went back to normal. The red ace had returned to Ghosthand’s hand.

He dropped the card and sighed regrettably. “What a pity! I haven’t cheated for a long time. My hands itch badly.”

“How’s the Shaman?”

“I would like to say that he has healed. However, he is still the same.” Ghosthand shrugged. “He is still half dead but should hold on for a while.”

“That’s normal. With that kind of injury, it won’t be surprising whenever he dies.” Ye Qingxuan shrugged. Taking the checklist out of his pocket, he handed it over. “I’m here today because I hope you can help me collect the things on here.” He paused and added, “As soon as possible.”

Ghosthand waved his hand without glancing at the list.The bartender came to read the note on the table. After thinking, he whispered a few words to Ghosthand, who then said, “Four days.”

“Ok.”

Ye Qingxuan was about to get up, but Ghosthand put a wine glass in front of him and poured the amber liquor into it.

“Since you’re here, why don’t we have a drink? You just scared off the guys I was drinking with.”

Ye Qingxuan looked at his lazy half-smile and shrugged. He accepted the glass. “May we have many days ahead of us.”

Ghosthand toasted to him and drank up. “How’s the taste?”

“Good.” Ye Qingxuan nodded. “To tell you the truth, your taste is better than I thought.”

“In Avalon, the lower class of downtown district likes drinking ‘kerosene’ the most. It’s bad liquor but saves money since people just drink to get drunk. I used to like that kind of liquor. The more drunk I get, the faster my hands would become.” Ghosthand played with the cards. The colors changed at his fingertips. As if lamenting, he said, “Then I got money, got a status, and no one called me a pickpocket anymore. They all called me Mr. Ghosthand. I became upper class so I gradually started drinking good things. Actually, until now…I didn’t even know the name of this bottle.

“The Shaman always laughs at me and says I just like pretending. But a guy like me is already satisfied to pretend like this. Besides, people like me, we can’t do anything with our money in their hands except to buy some satisfaction.”

Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a pause, he asked, “Ever think of finding a woman? It might be better after you have a family.”

Ghosthand grinned. “I’ve had two lovers but they both got married. One of them even had my kid, but sadly, he didn’t live long. He wasn’t blessed by God. These things bring me much more sadness than happiness. Mr. Holmes, some people aren’t suitable for the happiness of the ordinary man.”

“So you’ve never been happy?”

“I have but very rarely.” Ghosthand poured the wine for himself. Rather than pressuring Ye Qingxuan to drink again, he just drank it all by himself. “Look at your life. How many times are you truly happy? Especially in a place like downtown. We can only try to live less miserably. Sinners like us probably won’t even get to enjoy heaven after death.”

Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. “The Shaman said that he wants to save you all. Has anything changed?”

“Well, I guess there are some tiny changes.” Ghosthand scratched his head. “But that’s enough since we used to have nothing. You see, Mr. Holmes, this is the place where the great men neglect. There are gutters, beggars, and prostitutes everywhere. No one has a future but the Shaman told us that people who have no future should also live with dignity. The inferior should also walk in the street with their heads up, even if they aren’t bathed in the same sunshine as the great men. We still need to die with dignity.”

“Is that what he calls ‘the rules of the dark world’?”

“Perhaps, I don’t quite understand,” Ghosthand said frankly.

Seeing Ye Qingxuan’s startled expression, he could not help but laugh. “But I’m always honored to have the chance to participate in it. The Shaman gave me dignity. He told me that a wicked man like me has a value in life too, so I’ll live for this value.” Saying this, he raised his glass.

“Mr. Holmes, I can see that you are also very confused. I hope that one day you will find your own value.”

Ye Qingxuan froze a moment and toasted his glass. “For our own value.” With the liquor finished, the youth rose. “I should go. Thanks for your wine.”

“If you don’t mind, come here for a drink next time,” said Ghosthand. “My treat.”

“Thank you so much.” The youth smiled, put on his hat, and vanished into the sunlight outside the door.

–

The Jianlan Underground Palace was in the darkness. The gate opened in front of the youth. Behind the door, only the light shone in the still library. Ye Qingxuan’s footsteps echoed in the empty hall.

The door closed silently. Ye Qingxuan looked around the open place and raised his voice. “I want to search information about Avalon’s Shadow.”

Silence.

Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. “I know you’re here. Don’t act like a child. Do me a favor. You’ve helped me so much so just help me one more time.”

It was just like a naughty child. After a long time, the silence was broken by the sounds of shelves moving on the ground. It was as if suddenly the hall had become a Rubik’s cube. Layers of shelves moved along invisible tracks from the back to front, from left to right. After changing like a maze, the darkness hidden behind the layers of shelves was finally exposed. Cold wind and dust blew past. Finally, an old and heavy bookcase slowly rose from the moving tiles and was pushed to the front of Ye Qingxuan.

The password hub on it rotated by itself. Amidst the crisp sound of friction, the six-layered lock opened. The door opened and broken pieces of paper floated out of the darkness, landing on the ground. The papers looked as if they had been burned and then put back together. The writing was faded and blurred. It was as if it would crumble if touched.

A faint voice came from all directions. “…destroyed…only these…the rest…”

“Thanks” Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and gingerly held up the broken pieces of paper. He perused the fragmented messages on the paper. This was a travel journal of a Revelations musician from hundreds of years ago.

He had come by boat and wanted to see the pure white city, but he was startled awake from his dream the night before he arrived. His sound of heart talent reinforced the ‘sixth sense.’ With the great sense of danger, he ran up to the deck. He wanted to jump into the sea and leave this place.

Then he saw that the whole of Avalon was illuminated in an instant by a destructive radiance. The light dimmed immediately after and everything was engulfed in darkness.

In the darkness, he witnessed the whole process through the aether ball. A mournful cry was heard in the mournful song. Then, huge tides rose in the sea of the aether. The material world was turbulent too—the ‘scepter’ of King Arthur was collapsing.

The vast boundaries built by music theory enveloped the whole of Avalon, pulling half of the city’s lives from the material world into the aetheric world, into the Avalon’s Shadow. They disappeared without a trace.

The damaged record ended here. Ye Qingxuan put it down and picked up a new one. He found that this was a study on the Blood Path and analysis on the nature of Avalon’s Shadow by later scholars.

They argued that Avalon’s Shadow had not totally vanished. The fundamental laws of the Modifications had the following explanation: matter is not born out of thin air nor will it vanish. Therefore, they believed that Avalon’s Shadow had not gone to the ‘other world’, nor had it entered the disembodied soul state. It was the composition of King Arthur’s scepter and had blended with the material world.

The next part was burnt. Ye Qingxuan pounded on the floor angrily. The thing he hated most was only being able to read something halfway. This kind of author deserved to be arrested and beaten one-thousand times.

He picked up the other pieces and found that they were all records about members of the Knights of Round Table. Among them was Percival, who had been beheaded by King Arthur.

He had never heard of the majority of this content but currently, they were useless for Ye Qingxuan.

He thought for a while and asked, “Do you have the contents of Elizabeth Tower? I mean the one in Avalon’s Shadow.”

In the dark, the tiny voices fell silent for a moment before chaos sounded again. It was noisy like dozens of children talking at the same time, one after another.

“Elizabeth Tower…It’s dangerous…. afraid…”

“Don’t go there…”

“He doesn’t like you… He doesn’t like anyone … He’s gonna kill you.”

“He’s pitiful…Don’t annoy him…”

Ye Qingxuan was stunned. “Who is he?”

The little voices paused. Then a fearful voice said, “He’s the successor to the Knights of the Round Table…the crown prince…the perfect man…the son of lamentation…the first inheritor of the curse…”

Ye Qingxuan paused for a long time. He felt a chill down to his toes as if freezing water was poured down his back.

Who is ‘he’? Who else could he be?

“Mord…red?”

In the darkness, the small noises suddenly dissipated as if they were frightened by the name—nothing could be heard.

Mordred. Ye Qingxuan repeated the name in his mind. He walked toward the history zone with a bitter expression. If it was really Mordred, then he was in deep trouble this time.

Robin, clad in a red ceremonial robe, walked into the dark basement. His eyes were cold under his hood. Thick blood bubbled inside the pool. Naberius walked out of the pool without any clothes on. His skin continuously withered away and grew back. After shedding the aged appearance, he recovered his youth. He was no longer injured.

He stepped onto the stone and walked forward. Darkness wrapped around him like a black robe. “I really waited for so long.” He smiled at the Robin. “Were you busy with something?”

“None of your business.” The Robin glanced at him. “Didn’t I say to not message me unless necessary?”

“Frankly, I don’t want to see your face either.” Naberius sighed helplessly. “But I couldn’t help it. There’s a problem with the decoding of the Elizabeth Tower.”

The Robin furrowed his brows. “The enchantment was created by the Purple Branch and has a core inheritance. Does Ingmar not even have the ability for reverse decoding?”

“It’s not the ability.” Naberius shrugged and pointed at his head. “It’s here.”

With that, he pulled open the secret door and guided the Robin. There was another door at the end of the tunnel. A frail old woman was sitting in a chair before the door and sleeping under the dim light. Seeing their arrival, she moved aside without speaking.

“Did he take the medicine?” Naberius asked.

The old woman nodded and pointed at the foul-smelling kettle in the corner. “He just had it and calmed down after a bit.”

Naberius nodded in satisfaction. He motioned for the Robin to be quiet and opened the door. The room behind it was covered in colored paper. Some were filled with orderly music notes. Others were scribbled with messy brainstorming. Still, others had the alchemy process written on them.

Even more pages were covered in strange and undecipherable doodles. They looked like pictures of various horrible deaths. One could vaguely make out a one-armed man pierced by thousands of arrows, a white doll with a big head that was ripped apart by horses, a blonde man hacked into pieces… A man with graying hair knelt amongst the papers, fervently scribbling on a piece of white paper with a crayon. The frail sickly body and wild eyes were terrifying.

Naberius stood beside him. Bending over, he called softly, “Ingmar, Ingmar.” The man known as Ingmar continued to draw with his head down. Naberius reached out and took the paper away. “What are you drawing? Why don’t you show Uncle? Come, be good kids and show Uncle!” Using all his strength, he yanked the paper from Ingmar. Without it, Ingmar stopped moving. He sat on the ground dumbly and muttered something to himself.

The Robin took the paper and furrowed his brows at the scribbled sketch for a long time before looking up. “Is this…a pigeon?”

Hearing the word ‘pigeon,’ Naberius’ expression changed. However, the Robin had already said the word and it could not be taken back. On the ground, Ingmar began twitching and screamed as if seized by psychosis, scrambling around on the ground.

Finally, he had nowhere to go except curling in the corner. He tried to cover himself with the ripped pieces of paper. With terrified yet blank eyes, he chanted, “Pigeon, pigeon, pigeon…” Suddenly he began cackling and looked up at Naberius. “Why is the pigeon so big? Such a big pigeon…it flew!”

No one reacted to him. He tossed the shreds into the air and cheered happily, “It flew! It flew! The pigeon flew! But why is it so big?”

“…” The Robin glanced at Naberius and waited for an explanation.

“Can’t help it. This is the aftershock from breakdown of his sound of heart.” Naberius sighed. “His blood pressure shot up and his brain was already messed up when he was treated. He couldn’t be saved even if he was turned into a dark musician. I never thought that the first follower who trained in the name of God in these sixty years is a retard…ha.”

They left the room and closed the door.

“You can’t mention anything about deciphering ancient texts before him now. You can’t talk about the Voynich Manuscript either. If you’re lucky, he’ll be lucid the entire day. If you’re not lucky…then it’s hard to say.” Naberius sighed. “He can’t do anything in this state.”

“We don’t have time for him to go crazy like this,” the Robin stated coldly. “Inject opiates, raise the amount, and use the prescription for the dried petals agent. Inject it until he’s lucid.”

“What if he dies?”

The Robin glanced at him. “Does it matter if he’s alive or not if we get the result?”

“Fine, hand this over to me. No dark musician is more knowledgeable about drugs than me.” Naberius nodded and changed the topic. “However, Holmes is a bit more difficult. I’m worried that he might be planning something. He hasn’t appeared in a while.”

“Just do what you need to do,” the Robin said lightly. “Don’t take your work lightly. It’s easy for God to punish you for sixty more years.”

“Don’t say those scary things. I’m already scared.” Naberius sighed in disappointment. “I had wanted to hear some encouraging words from you. But what if I can’t do it?”

“I have plans.” The Robin turned around and left, disappeared into the darkness.

–

It was the afternoon three days later by the port. Rotten leaves flowed through the sewer with the dirty water into the sea. Amidst the scent of fish and sounds of hawkers, a cargo vessel stopped by the bank. The second shipman Bonin directed the two sailors to move a wooden box to land.

“We’re finally here.”

They had sailed for three days and nights. During the entire trip, people had handed items to him continuously. When they finally reached Avalon, the wooden box was already stuffed completely.

The items were covered in wax paper and seemed to be iron. They made him curious but Bonin did not dare to open them. Having lived off the sea for so many years, he knew well what happened to the guys who did not follow the rules. It would be okay if they were other smugglers but this was what the Shaman asked for. No one dared to try anything. Those who had were all dead.

Furthermore, who knew if it was something troublesome or not? Sometimes, one could lose their life just for a glance. It was stupid. As a small smuggler, Bonin had been forced to take this tricky job. Of course he felt anxious.

These past few days, he had imagined countless scary schemes and evil plans. He had been nervous the entire trip. Now that he was in Avalon, he just wanted someone to take the things off his hand. But why was the connection not here? Did they…

For some reason, he was nervous. He was standing under the blazing sun but he felt an eerie chill haunting him.

God bless, did I really get dragged into some untouchable mess? He swallowed thickly and glanced fearfully at the crowd. He was not sure if he should remain here anymore.

“Bonin?” a cool voice sounded in his ear.

Jolting, he spun around but saw nothing. A blurry shadow looked at him from the distant.

“Come see me,” the voice said.

Bonin looked up instinctively and saw a pair of cool eyes. The eyes were pure black but felt like they were made of colored glass. They were bottomless as if an invisible vortex was hidden within them. One could not look away.

When Bonin snapped out of it, he was standing in the middle of a busy market. A youth sat on the steps, leaning against the corner before him as if sunbathing. He was squinting his eyes and humming an unclear and distant song.

Beside him, the hawkers yelled loudly. Sailors had taken over every bit of the dock to transport the goods. Passersby came and left; some crude sailors had already started to fight, filling the air with cheers and insults. But for some reason, no one noticed the youth. It was as if he did not exist in this world. Then what was there? An angry spirit?

Bonin was covered in cold sweat and he trembled. However, the youth tossed a strip of paper into his arms and pointed at the empty space at the front. As if freed, Bonin threw down the box and ran away without looking back.

After going far, far away, he finally had the courage to turn around and look through the crowd. This entire time, the youth had never opened his eyes. It seemed that he was napping in the afternoon sun.

Bonin looked away, not daring to look anymore, and ran to the port. No matter what, this creepy job was over.

After a long, long time, the youth finally woke up from his nap. Rubbing his face, he climbed up from the ground with a troubled expression. “How did I fall asleep again?” he muttered. “I knew I shouldn’t have spent the whole night playing cards. I lost so much too. Ah…I hope Auntie won’t be mad.”

He jogged into the bakery on the side of the street. Soon, angry scolding came from the store. The youth ran out while bowing submissively and brought a fresh loaf of bread to the inn across the street.

The box had been tossed onto a carriage by the workers transporting vegetables. The carriage galloped down the street and stopped before a restaurant. Workers unloaded the fresh vegetables, meat, and seafood.

The wooden box that was mixed in was taken by the workers to an Indian restaurant. A man with a turban and a hookah pipe ordered a few kids to bring the things into the kitchen.

“Boss, isn’t there another box?” a child worker asked in confusion.

“What box?” The boss glanced at him. “This is how much we order every day. Why would those stingy Angloians give us an extra box? It’s already a feat for them to not cheat us ten pounds.”

The child glanced back in confusion but the wooden box was already gone.

Just like that, the wooden box was accidentally taken around Avalon the entire afternoon. Finally, it was tossed into the postal carriage as a regular package and brought to the Academy.

“Three hours and twenty minutes.” Ye Qingxuan sat in an open air seat of the café across from the school. He stopped his stopwatch. “I’ve already calculated but there’s still a ten minute difference. There’s still room for improvement.”

“Three hours and twenty minutes.” Ye Qingxuan sat in an open air seat of the café across from the school. He stopped his stopwatch. “I’ve already calculated but there’s still a ten minute difference. There’s still room for improvement.”

He went through the process again and finally found the problem. Then he picked up the coffee before him and drank it up with a smile. For the first time, he realized the power of the School of Mind.

The power of ‘free transformation” had been imperceptibly and cleverly inserted into the gap between thoughts. The musician could use others as tools to push the matter toward their desired direction. Those involved were often dragged in without realizing. They would not even know why they died.

No wonder Mind musicians were often feared by others. Once this kind of power was abused, it would destructive enough to destroy any kind of relationship between people. After all, there was no way to ensure that a close companion had not been planted with a hint.

Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan also became alert. He began planning how to prevent others to use this trick on him. Actually, the easiest way was to strike first and to plant an automatic hint in everyone’s mind.

Lola used to enjoy doing this kind of thing. She planted several layers of hints into each of her follower’s minds. It was a ring set and each one’s trigger was different. Those guys who wanted to betray her or had evil intentions would often fail at this time and be fooled by her.

Lola had many tricks that were worse than that, especially from the book she had given Ye Qingxuan. She was not a dark musician but was more evil than them.

Every skill was terrifying. If someone could learn all skills in the book, it would be a pity if he did not try to destroy the world and retaliate against the society.

Ye Qingxuan shook his head and got up to pay the bill.

At the end of the street, a black procession came silently under the afternoon sun. The black line of cars was branded with the Royal Music Division’s heraldry. The car’s windows were blocked by curtains. One could not tell how many people there were.

There was a truck among the procession. It carried dark iron boxes seals sealed in red wax. It seemed to be transporting something.

“Bench Guy?” Ye Qingxuan, looking at the head of the team, found that Gavin was with several royal musicians on horseback. Gavin seemed to have found him too and looked over.

Ye Qingxuan waved. He did not expect that Gavin would ride over quickly after hesitating and whispering to the person beside to him.

“Bench Guy, you’re looking impressive,” Ye Qingxuan teased, seeing him riding on the dark horse and dressed in uniform with a grim look.

Gavin managed a smile. He seemed to be very worried about something and whispered, “Ye Qingxuan, some bad things will happen in this city. The Royal Music Division has imposed martial law. Don’t go out if you don’t need to and just stay in the academy. It’s best if you can leave Avalon for one month and come back after it passes.”

Hearing his words, Ye Qingxuan paused then nodded with smile. “I see. Rest assured. And please just call me Yezi. ”

“…Yezi, take care.” Gavin took a final look at him and then turned the horse’s head to catch up with the rest.

Ye Qingxuan stood still, watching the convoy gradually disappearing in the sunset’s residual light. He finished the coffee in his hand and threw it into the wastebasket.

“Big event?” the teenager youth murmured. “It seems that I have to be faster.” He turned and walked into the academy.

–

Late at night, the study’s door was pushed open. Abraham raised his head and saw the white-haired youth at the door. He took off his glasses. “Yezi, what’s the matter?”

Ye Qingxuan grinned. “Sir, about the interpretation…I have some questions.”

Abraham immediately understood. Pressing down with his prosthetic hand, the requiem enchantment silently covered the whole school district, blocking all the aetheric fluctuations.

Ye Qingxuan closed the door. Sitting behind the desk, he respectfully handed over a stack of manuscripts. “Professor, I’m interpreting an ancient movement but I am confused by some of the music theory. How should I interpret this paragraph?”

Abraham looked at the manuscript. A startled look flashed through his eyes. Soon, he smiled. “It’s quite simple.” He picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard behind him.

“This interval is a relatively rare form of continuity that is the key to the whole ‘musical phrase.’ You should take this as the theme and start from here. As for the notes’ deconstruction, you can refer to the writings of Bach, the sixth generation saint.”

The first question about ‘interpretation’ was so easily solved. Ye Qingxuan understood it quite well. After a long while of thinking, something flashed past his eyes. He handed over another manuscript. “I don’t really understand this part.”

Abraham took it and stared at the broken passages and questions. After a long time, he laughed. “From the perspective of interpretation, you should…”

It took a total of five hours until three o’clock in the morning. The questions Ye Qingxuan had accumulated over the past few days were finally completely solved.

Throughout the whole process, the two only communicated about the interpretation of the movement, just like the teaching between the scholar and his student. Ye Qingxuan did not mention that the Abstinence score had come from the School of Stone Heart. Abraham also did not mention any of the School of Abstinence’s terms.

One asked and the other answered. There seemed no logic in the questions; the answers did not sound like answers.

But in the end, Ye Qingxuan was so excited. After the final question was solved, he closed his eyes and thought for a long time. The aetheric fluctuations in his body suddenly soared and collapsed. After a strange change, the fluctuations calmed down again.

“I see.” He opened his eyes and smiled. “Thank you for your guidance.”

“You can ask me anything about interpretation.” Abraham waved his hand to undo the enchantment. “When are you going to attempt to become an official musician?”

“To tell you the truth, I have no idea yet.” Ye Qingxuan’s expression immediately became troubled.

Abraham frowned and patted the young man’s shoulder. However, he was soon startled. “How can you have not yet advanced yet? Your resonance with the aether has reached far beyond mine when I was your age.”

“But I don’t show signs of Deva sensing yet.” The youth smiled wryly. “I can feel that recently my strength has raised more than in past months. Logically, I should be a formal musician now, but nothing has happened yet.”

Abraham mused for a long time and said, “Probably because you haven’t reached your limit yet? You study the theory of Abstinence, Illusion, and Mind at the same time. I’m afraid the difficulty is much higher than for the average musician.”

Hearing him say so, Ye Qingxuan immediately became a little embarrassed. “In fact, I also study Revelations. It seems that learning too much isn’t good.”

“It’s your gift, Yezi.” Abraham laughed. “You started learning music theory less than six months ago, right? You are a real genius.”

“Compared with Charles, I’m not a genius all.” The teenager shook his head and stood up to say goodbye.

“Yezi,” Abraham called him.

The youth turned. “Yes?”

“When you become an official musician, what’s your research direction? Have you decided yet?” Abraham asked, “What about the transfer? If you want to work as a Mute, I can find some former colleagues to help you.”

“Well, actually I’ve already made my decision.” Rubbing Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan recalled the name that had been lingering in his ears these days and smiled. “Maybe the Dreamweaver?”

–

Three days later, Charles and Ye Qingxuan were in the basement.

On a pile of discarded parts, Charles, with heavy dark circles, yawned. After drinking a bottle of beer, he pointed to the things on the table. “It’s done, try it on.”

Ye Qingxuan looked in the direction of his finger but only saw a bunch of strange parts placed on the Sigh armor. He did not see the alloy skeleton he had expected.

He looked at Charles, but the man was busying drinking. Ye Qingxuan could only pick up the arm shield suspiciously and wear it on his left arm. With a crisp snap, the metal armor fit tightly on his body. Then, the notes on it lit up one by one with a buzzing sound.

Shocked, Ye Qingxuan heard the scattered parts on the work table behind him began trembling and colliding with each other with crisp sounds. This was like…Resonance?

Faint electric light flashed from Ye Qingxuan’s arm. In the blink of an eye, the machine parts on the work table were pulled to the teenager by invisible magnetic attraction. Ye Qingxuan reflexively raised his arm to defense. However, the parts connected together on the armor with a snap.

The electricity made the scattered parts evolve around Ye Qingxuan. In a twinkling, a series of crisp sounds could be heard. The attraction of the magnetic force pulled the parts and rivets together. Metallic color expanded rapidly on Ye Qingxuan’s body. In the end, it covered his limbs and back, forming a strange metal skeleton.

With Ye Qingxuan’s actions, the runes on the metal skeleton constantly extinguished and lit up again. They supported his movements lightly and flexibly without any resistance. The weight was only one-third of the original one.

“There’s no power system?” Ye Qingxuan was shocked.

Charles finished the beer and wiped away the wine from the corners of his mouth. He grinned. “The aether is the best power. Innovation is the life of the designer. It’s not my style to work on the original plan.”

Ye Qingxuan nodded. He tried to move forward but did not expect to create a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, he moved a few meters forward and almost hit the wall. With cold sweat, he looked down at his feet. He tried to bend his knees slowly but felt a repulsive force between the metal bones on his legs. It suddenly dawned on him.

“It’s the impetus and repulsion of magnetic forces?”

“That’s right!” Charles whistled. “I was inspired by Newton, that old man. Electricity can be used as the power so the repulsion and attraction between magnetic fields should also be useful.

“If you don’t want to break a hole in our ceiling, you’d better not jump here. Theoretically, you can jump around ten meters. Both the power of a single thrust and stability are more than twice as strong as the original skeleton!”

“It’s more than that.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head. He looked down at the iron rod that he had twisted into a mangled mess. Charles had definitely made a conservative estimate. If he did not take his endurance in consideration and went all out, he could even fight with the Butcher for a short period.

And…

Moonlight lit up in his eyes. He looked up and could sense the stars and aetheric clouds in the heavens through the ceilings. He could even look through the surface and vaguely sense different rhythms and beats. The feeling was fleeting, but there was a kind of intoxicating beauty.

That was probably the Sea of Aether. One could only sense this after becoming a formal musician.

“The aether resonance…has been strengthened?”

“You don’t think that something as dangerous as the ‘archangel armor’ can be played by most people, right?” Charles laughed. “It’s a musician’s armor. The fragile musicians used it to become destroyers on the battlefield. Many of the alloy formulae were the product of alchemists. They naturally enhanced the power of musicians. All I did was just to lead them out.

“You can’t store any movements after my simplification and modification, but it’s not inferior to any of other robes at the same stage. You don’t have your own robe yet, right?” Charles patted him on the shoulder. “Take this as a gift before you become a formal musician.”

Although what Charles said sounded very simple, Ye Qingxuan had learned some mechanical engineering principles before. He obviously knew that to modify archangel armor into this and to retain the original function was very difficult. Thinking of this, he could not help but feel moved.

“Senior, you are really a good person!” He said earnestly and patted Charles’ shoulder. “I’ll remember you my entire life.”

“…” Charles’s face twitched. “Can you say something nice?”

“Well, how’s the job? How much do you earn every month? How much do you have after the tax? When are you going to bring a girlfriend back? When are you getting married? Have you bought a house in midtown?”

Charles looked more and more miserable. He was obviously about to die. “Ye Qingxuan! Do you hate me? Why do you hurt me like this?”

“I’m just kidding.” Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh and held onto Charles’ shoulder. “Thank you, senior!”

“Just remember how good I am.” Charles rolled his eyes and patted the skeleton on his shoulder. “This is yours. Name it.”

Ye Qingxuan mused for a moment and said, “What about the ‘Governor’?”

“It sounds a little strange but as long as you like it.” Charles picked up the tools and knocked against the youth’s body. “Take it off and I’ll adjust it again. After all, this thing can save your life. The more suitable it is the better. I didn’t know you had grown so much these days. You’re almost as tall as me.”

After taking off the ‘Governor’, Ye Qingxuan sat beside the workbench and said, “Senior…”

“Eh?”

“Seriously, it’s almost Christmas. When will you bring back a girlfriend?”

“Yezi, don’t force me to kill you…”

“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up.”

Red-hot fire burned under black clouds. Lightning danced crazily between the clouds. Furious waves tossed in the limitless sea. Chaotic vortices appeared one after another before crashing and disappearing the next moment. The skies and earth cracked apart under the fulminations.

A majestic yet unclear sound rose, shaking the earth. Shadowy flames burned above the silver-white throne. The sitting figure looked down at the pure white city under his feet that was being invaded by the spreading fire.

The city was breaking apart. The flames pulled the carcasses away from the material world and sank into the deepest part of the aether sea together.

The giant shadow rose from the throne and unsheathed his sword. The dazzling light spread in all directions as if a blazing sun had descended to Earth. He pointed the sword to the sky but the flow of the blade suddenly extinguished. The blade shattered, the pieces shooting away. The man roared in the darkness and fell into the shadows.

He had fallen into eternal darkness. Eternally isolated.

“What a lonely ending,” the Shaman murmured as he opened his eyes. The only sound in the quiet secret room was the gentle noises of the alchemist machine maintaining his life.

Ghosthand, sleeping in the corner, looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“I had a dream. It’s a bad premonition.” The Shaman reached out for Ghosthand to help him up.

Candlelight shone through the hole in his chest and cast menacing spots of light on the wall behind him. One could vaguely see the shadows of the pulsing incomplete heart. Snot flowed from his nose as he stood. He looked sad and pitiful.

Ghosthand sighed and handed him a handkerchief.

“What day is it?” the Shaman asked.

“Sixteenth.”

“Oh.” The Shaman nodded. “It should be today, right? The astrologers told me that the Blue Moon will awaken within the Pure White Moon today. The stars will stop moving. After the power of Avalon’s Shadow enters the low tide, Elizabeth Tower’s power will be at its weakest point as well. If the parliament wants to act, they’ll choose today.”

Ghosthand nodded. “Mr. Holmes already took what you prepared for him and set off. He came before he left but you were sleeping. He did not want to wake you.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Nothing except to remind you to uphold your end of the deal.”

Guilt flashed past the Shaman‘s eyes and he closed them. When he slowly opened them again, the twilight in them was gone. His eyes were determined once again. Like a blade cleaned of rust, it had a tinge of blazing light.

“Guard outside the door,” he said. “Don’t let anyone come in.”

Ghosthand nodded and left.

Silence returned to the room. The lone candle flickered before finally dying out. A pair of dimly glowing eyes closed in the duskiness. Darkness swallowed everything.

–

“He has arrived, he has arrived.” That same night, Naberius shook his bell in the dark city of the demonic territory. “The great one has arrived, the lord has arrived, the dark officials have arrived! The followers shall arrive!”

Behind him, countless followers in red ceremonial robes began chanting the poems and songs in unison. Under the nightmarish recitations, the shell in Naberius’ hand broke apart.

The blood-colored shell shattered into a scarlet haze. The demon with an eagle’s head and a man’s body was called forth. He unfurled his wings, covering the moonlight, and cawed into the darkness. It was Malpas, one of the sixth incarnations of the natural catastrophe Kehlsteinhaus!

He looked down at the city that had fallen into the shadows. Heavy dissatisfaction appeared on his face. “Such pure power tainted by such dirty resentment…the scepter is forgotten, what a joke, what a joke…”

Layers of overlapping feathers sprouted from his back. Each one had an unclear face on it. The thousands of faces opened their mouths in unison and uttered with the same voice as Malpas, “Your Majesty sleeping in the shadows, the time for anger has arrived!”

Malpas raised the crystal eyeball high and called to the White Tower that shot up to the sky like an illusion, “Wake! Wake! Wake!”

The illusionary White Tower deep in the city instantly rumbled.

As the pivot swung, the lever moved, the gears rotated, and the enormous copper bell vibrated. The enchantment that enveloped the entirety of Avalon’s Shadow shook under the grave and terrorizing ringing. The darkness in the path of the sound waves surged wildly. Crazed shadows shot to the sky.

The eagle wing unfurled and countless feathers floated down into the shadows. Absorbing power, they transformed into thousands and thousands of pure black falcons. They swept past like a tidal wave.

The city of demons finally woke from its slumber. The demons that had been sealed in their spots felt the calling of the natural catastrophe and awoken one after another. They crawled out of their shells. Bathing in the cold moonlight, they howled.

The dead city instantly began moving. Downtown, midtown, uptown…they all began rotating with the Elizabeth Tower as the axis. Under the ear-splitting explosion, the illusionary White Tower solidified. The path hidden under layers of fog finally appeared. The gate of traitors had opened!

“Go, my servants.” Looking down at the dark musicians on the ground, Malpas ordered seriously, “Offer all water and earth you see to Hyakume!”

“He has arrived!” the dark musicians chanted together as they stepped onto the path to the White Tower. “He has arrived!”

–

Amidst the quaking, a bloody vortex was activated soundlessly at the other end of the city. Figures in black cloaks walked out. Their cloaks fluttered in the furious wind. Above the cloaks, the silver-white emblem of the Red Dragon and sword seemed to come to life and roared soundlessly. They were the Royal Musician Division!

Jerome at the head bowed at the vortex behind him. “My Princess, thank you for your trouble.”

At the other end of the vortex, a weakened girl nodded lightly. “Please do all you can in Her Majesty’s name to protect Anglo’s glory.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Jerome watched as the girl’s figure disappeared in the vortex. He turned and gazed at the royal musicians behind him. “Enter battle mode now. There will be no reinforcement here. Your names will not appear on any lists of those killed in action. If we fail, you will die here without anyone knowing. I hope you are already determined to return all glory to Anglo!”

“Return all glory to Anglo!” the royal musicians replied in unison. Their aether waves were entangled together.

“Good.” Jerome nodded in satisfaction. “Are there any other questions?”

“Sir, I have a question.” A young man in line raised his hand timidly.

Jerome furrowed his brows. “Yes?”

“Sir, I’m innocent! This is a mission for royal musicians so why does a technician like me have to go with?” Charles cried from the crowd. “Can you let me go back? I’m just here to provide technical guidance!”

Jerome’s brows furrowed more. “Yes, your mission is technical guidance, but didn’t Newton tell you that you have to be with the team?”

Charles froze and his face paled drastically. He wailed to the heavens, “Oh gods, Newton, you *sshole! You can’t do this to me! I want to see that *sshole! I’ve shed blood for the research institute! I’ve made achievements for Anglo! I want to see that *sshole.”

Jerome clenched a fist and Charles’ voice cut off abruptly; he was shut up. He tried to say something to the musicians beside him but found he could not make any sound. All he could do was show his anger and feeling of being wronged.

Charles sat onto the ground shamelessly but the musicians on either side forced him up. He looked like he would rather die.

“Okay, no one should have any problems now.” Jerome turned around and ordered, “Let’s go!”

Their destination—the Gate of the Traitors!

–

“Finally here.” The youth with a bowler hat stood under the White Tower and looked up at the giant arch. Corpses long withered hung above the eerie arch. “The Gate of the Traitors,” he murmured.

Tower Green, Cross Road, and the Gate of the Traitors were the three largest punishment grounds of Avalon. Tower Green imprisoned the major felons. Each year, musicians with serious crimes would be tossed into the Silver Cellar and be eroded to nothing by the wild aether there.

Cross Road was an execution ground. Criminals would be taken to the guillotine there and beheaded. Their blood flowed into a river. This large arch before the guillotine was just for the elites. The traitors of the country were hung from the gate!

Bloody words had been left by the executioners. Ever since the country was established, countless elites who had betrayed the nation put on robes and accessories and were hung here for an honorable death.

Hundreds of years had passed. The robe had turned to dust and the accessories no longer shone. Only the corpses still hung from the lock, swaying with the wind with an eerie song like a wind chime.

The youth walked through them like an apparition amidst the song and climbed the steps of the White Tower that pierced the black clouds. The tower stood upon steps and spun violently with the rest of the city. It had come out of the illusionary world and became tangible.

Twelve paths converged under it with twelve respective gates. There were no activation knobs on these gates. There was not even a crack as if they were solid blocks.

Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. He reached out to knock and discovered that faint aether waves came from the door. There was also a faint rhythm…the iron gates had melded into the Elizabeth Tower. If he wanted to force it open, he would probably need something more powerful than the Avalon enchantment.

“So I can’t go in?”

“So I can’t go in?” Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. However, his bowler hat suddenly vibrated and a glimmer of light flashed before his eyes. A complex star map suddenly appeared on the black iron gate in front of him. After looking carefully, it dawned on Ye Qingxuan.

“Aries?” he muttered.

Walking briskly around the tower, he realized that he was right. Each of the twelve gates had a different star map on it. The doors of Leo and Capricorn showed signs of being opened earlier. People had already entered. No matter how Ye Qingxuan hurried, he was still slowed down by the demons that had awakened along his path.

“Seems like every second is precious in this battle?” Closing his eyes, he pressed his hands onto the gate and instantly resonated with the music score within. This prohibition…was definitely from the School of Abstinence!

Many of the techniques used were familiar. Some had appeared in the music theory from the School of Stone Heart. The School most likely had something to do with the entire construction of the White Tower.

Ye Qingxuan could feel that the twelve gates led to twelve different places. All led to the core of the Elizabeth Tower in the end but had different lengths.

According to his calculations, the distance behind the Leo gate was the longest but it led to the core directly. There were not many blockades. The path behind the Capricorn gate was difficult to distinguish. It emanated with a sinister feeling and had already been tainted by the natural catastrophe’s power. The paths of the other unopened gates were hidden in the fog.

“So I’ll just have to gamble?” Ye Qingxuan began thinking but his hat vibrated and resonated with one of the gates.

“Libra?” It dawned on Ye Qingxuan. As the developer of the sub-originator theory, the School of Stone Heart focused heavily on the balance of both inside and out, as well as the structure and resonance between music theories. They would not sacrifice strength on one side to reinforce another side. Thus, there was neither a strongest point nor an obvious weak point. It was sealed as tightly as stone and sturdy enough to be intimidating.

“If that’s the case, then I shouldn’t wait any longer.”

Ye Qingxuan pressed his hands onto the door and began resonating with the music score on the door. “I’m the best at things like interpretation!” he muttered softly.

His consciousness entered the gate instantly and began fighting against the defensive prohibition. After grasping the core theory for the School of Stone Heart, the seamless and flawless prohibition quickly showed many loopholes.

Analysis, interpretation, and eradication! Just like picking a lock, Ye Qingxuan could easily create his own key after understanding the lock’s core structure. The establishment and undoing of enchantments was one of the School of Abstinence’s specialties.

The orthodox method of cracking defenses was never to force one’s way through. It was to use music theory and the musician’s experience to perform reverse interpretation.

Ye Qingxuan calculated his time. With his current progress, he could probably open the gate within three minutes—if he was not disturbed.

A rotting odor suddenly blew in with the night wind, and small footsteps sounded. It sounded like dozens of marbles had fallen onto the ground. Something that smelled sour was coming.

At the most critical point of the cracking, Ye Qingxuan saw a black shadow project onto the gate, grow angry, and pounce toward him. Then it snapped into two halves in the air.

Ye Qingxuan smirked and closed his eyes, focusing entirely on the cracking. When he opened his eyes again, the small noises were gone but the sour smell had multiplied. He looked back. Two meters away, demons that looked something like centipedes lay on the ground in pieces.

All the pieces were two meters away. Their blood and bodily fluids formed a mournful arc. Anything that tried to pass that arc had shattered.

Ye Qingxuan looked away. Only an idiot would not put up defenses when cracking codes in a creepy place like this.

With a crack, aether solidified into a strange key in his hand. He pushed it through the gate and the stars on the surface extinguished one by one. Finally, an invisible force swept past him and disappeared—Bell Authority Confirmation Complete!

A monotone mechanic voice sounded in his ears. Then, the seamless door rumbled and slid into the walls, opening the path.

Ye Qingxuan stared into the empty space and his expression changed. The youthful song had started again. It echoed in the darkness behind the door.

“The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams…We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander…Thousands of pairs of hands will raise the sails…” The song was filled with resentment as if the trapped souls were singing. He could not tell where the song came from. If he listened closely, it felt as if the song was everything. Someone was murmuring in his ear.

The moonlight in Ye Qingxuan’s eyes flashed. It put out the seed someone had planted in his mind without him knowing. He sighed in relief. This place was too strange. The moment he opened the gate, the aura that emanated from it had planted a serious shadow into his consciousness.

Just as walking under the sun would create a shadow and going through water would create ripples, it had planted a seed in Ye Qingxuan’s mind without meaning to.

Jiu Xuan Huan Pei shot out from his cane. Ye Qingxuan activated the ‘mirror heart’ and checked repeatedly. He could not find any emotions in the surroundings. The darkness was empty.

As the silent youth walked in, the gate slammed shut. The bell at the top of the tower rang. The enormous Elizabeth Tower sank back into emptiness…

–

A gentle light rose from Ye Qingxuan’s fingertip in the darkness. It transformed into a bubble and illuminated the surroundings like moonlight. He could not see the ground or ceiling of the tower. He seemed to have walked into an abandoned hall. It was covered with dusty furniture. A plate of dried lamb chops was left on the dining table.

Opening a door, he walked into a long and narrow hall. It tilted upward slightly. After another door, he saw an empty storage room. It seemed to have displayed weapons but they had all been taken away. Pieces of low quality items were piled in the corner. Ye Qingxuan picked on up and knocked on it; it crumbled to pieces. He pushed open a door and continued.

Along his way, some rooms looked like banquet halls; other rooms were spotless. In one corner was a large glass container. It had been filled with something but now, only sticky green liquid remained. Another room was a big bedroom filled with a wooden horse, handcuffs, whips… Face twitching, Ye Qingxuan continued.

Next was an underground exhibition gallery of a water tribe. The ceiling was made of glass, separating the blue-green seawater. The water had become murky and filled with bones of various fish.

There was no place for logic here. Every room was filled with things that made no sense. The room behind each door was unpredictable. All he could feel was that he was walking and climbing in an endless hall.

He still had not seen any living thing.

There was no living thing at all.

He felt a bit unsettled.

Because he had passed the resonance bell authority, he did not run into any enchantments or prohibitions. After all, this was the maintenance pathway that the School of Stone Heart had made during construction. He could reach the heart without any worries. However, the things he saw were just too strange. He could never figure out what was hidden behind each door.

Once, he tried to go back and return to a room that had been a dungeon. But he found that it had turned into a musician’s cigar room. The tobacco had already turned to dust.

Toilet, bathroom, kitchen, garbage room… Ye Qingxuan stood at the entrance and shut the door expressionlessly. He opened it again after each minute. It was different every time.

“This place really changes…do you guys like to play with Rubik’s cubes?” he muttered.

He decided to sit down and not go any further. He pulled out some fruits and crackers from his pocket and a water kettle. It looked like he was at a picnic. He ate slowly and unhurriedly as if savoring the taste.

Once every minute, he would open the door to see what was there and throw something inside for a mark. Thirty minutes later, he felt it was enough. He rose slowly and set off again.

This time, he moved quickly. He did not check anything and passed through the rooms directly to the next door. He was twice as fast as before. However, he discovered interesting things in some rooms. There were signs of large groups walking past, as well as corpses and dust.

Sometimes, he would feel a sudden trembling. If he pressed his ear on the wall, he could faint rumbling and sounds of destructions. Then he would find incomplete bodies in the next room. The aether in the room would still have signs of battle.

Ye Qingxuan could distinguish that one aura was the Firebird that he had personally experienced. This should be the Royal Musician Division. Their emblem was the red dragon and sword because they would receive instruments bathed in royal blood when they were sworn in. Instruments with the Firebird were much more destructive than other instruments, thus becoming their trademark.

The other aura was also familiar. It was the taste of natural catastrophes and demons…

It seemed that the Royal Musician Division had clashed with the dark musicians already. They had fought but it was hard for both sides to win in this strange place. It was a different world once the door closed. They could not even chase each other.

Compared to their bloody struggles, Ye Qingxuan’s path was much easier. His good luck was frightening. He passed without any danger and finished half the journey as if it was a hike.

And then it seemed as if he had used up all his luck. When he opened another door, dust fell from the dome in clumps. As he pushed the iron door, the rusted bronze cups on the ground rolled and clinked against each other. Then they broke under his feet. And then he stopped breathing.

Ye Qingxuan saw another door in the large and open room—it was a big menacing copper door. The faint carving on the surface depicted a battlefield with countless fighters. The image was unclear from years of weathering.

No, what made him hold his breath was the giant nailed to the door. A burly man covered in menacing armor was nailed to the middle of the door, amidst the wild carvings of the battlefield, by a sword stuck through his chest. His armor still reflected with cold metallic light after all these years. However, it was covered with a layer of dried blood. He had long run out of spewing blood. All that remained were the murky stains.

Different from regular knights who wore armor for protection, this three meter tall knight seemed to be a captive of his armor. Every joint and section was nailed with a giant nail. The openings made for wearing had been fused together. It imprisoned him like a cage.

Ye Qingxuan pushed the door to leave the moment he saw the man. However, he froze because the door would not open anymore. Even more terrifying was…the small noise awakened the knight from his sleep. He raised his head slowly under the grating of metal. Lava-like light lit up under his helmet. He looked at the youth.

The emotionless gaze chilled Ye Qingxuan. He uttered the forbidden name, “Dagonet.”

Dagonet was the least known knight from the Round Table. He had no war accomplishments, no impressive legend, and had not even held any official titles. He was not glorious like Lancelot; he was not noble like Gawain. He had never even stepped foot on the battlefield. It could be said he was mocked by his colleagues.

Historians even thought that Dagonet had become a Round Table Knight by using his wife’s nepotism. He did not have any accomplishments to leave in history books even until his death.

Hundreds of years ago, King Arthur called the best alchemists in the world to create his weapon, the Sword in the Stone. They also made the masterpieces of armor for the knights. However, Dagonet was not gifted anything. He lost his temper due to this and questioned the king. Angered, Arthur ordered his alchemist to give this ‘clown’ the armor he ‘deserved.’ The gaps of the armor were filled with melted copper; he would never be able to take it off.

Then King Arthur personally poured the boiling iron paste into the helmet, burning Dagonet to death in the glory he had dreamed of. One could say that Dagonet was like a clown his entire life. Even his death was laughable.

However, Ye Qingxuan could not look down on him. Even the weakest Round Table Knight was still a Round Table Knight! The hair on his neck stood up straight the next moment.

“Arthur!” Dagonet finally woke up under the armor and roared furiously. The sound waves rushed forward like a steel plank. The voice resounded in the sealed room, making Ye Qingxuan dizzy.

Dagonet yanked out the sword from his chest and he dropped to the ground. The sole red eye under the helmet looked at Ye Qingxuan.

“…Every debt has a debtor. Bro, how do I look like Arthur?” Ye Qingxuan could not even cry. “Tell me where I look like him and I’ll fix it!”

Thunderous footsteps sounded in reply. The steel boots crashed against the floor. Sparks flew and dozens of pits appeared in the ground. He charged directly at Ye Qingxuan.

The youth threw himself to the ground and rolled. The sword brushed past him and slammed into the ground.

Rolling on the ground was a lifesaving trick. Otherwise, he would have died long ago, right? Ye Qingxuan was still able to have nonsensical thoughts while dodging.

After the ‘steel skeleton’ was upgraded to the ‘governor,’ its speed was so fast Ye Qingxuan could barely handle it. He crossed dozens of meters in an instant and nimbly dodged outside the sword’s range.

“Arthur!” Dagonet roared again under the armor. He charged at Ye Qingxuan. His posture was not pretty. In fact, it could be described as scrambling like a dog, but his craze was terrifying.

He swung the sword wildly, leaving messy gashes on the ground. The flying pebbles shot toward Ye Qingxuan like a thunderstorm and were deflected. He dodged in panic and raised his hand to bite his finger. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei let out a clear melody. The aether changed. Strands of blood flowed from the wound on his finger. They floated in the air like mist. It was Bolero.

Moonlight brewed in the faint blood. It transformed into hundreds upon thousands of strands. Extending in all directions, they wrapped around Dagonet, causing Ye Qingxuan to wrinkle his nose.

“What’s going on…” Deciphering the aether waves he received, his expression changed. The aether reaction in Dagonet’s body came from nineteen different sources within an instant? Within a second of his hesitation, the count of aether waves shot up to more than thirty!

Dagonet sped up instantly again and charged like a rabid dog. Ye Qingxuan dodged to the right but Dagonet’s waist spun one-hundred eighty degrees against all laws of science and threw his sword.

Ye Qingxuan’s expression changed. Something roared. The protective rings that he had stolen extinguished one after another. His various layers of shields cracked under the aggressive strikes. Ye Qingxuan flew into the sky from the shocks and slammed into the wall. He was smashed flat like a pie!

Ye Qingxuan barely managed to stay conscious from the shock. He grew more and more confused. This guy’s speed and strength was still increasing but…why was it only speed and strength?

There was none of the legendary sword aura that could split mountains or the glorious and dazzling light that could burn all enemies…not even the Round Table Knights’ trademark phantom beast emblem had appeared.

Back then, King Arthur had used his symphony of predestination “The Chapter of the Golden Victory” to call forth twelve phantom beasts for his knights. The beasts had become one with the armor, giving them incredible power close to the level of gods.

Perhaps King Arthur did not like Dagonet so he did not receive one. But what about the rest? Did Dagonet never go to battle because he could only fight like a rabid dog? What a joke! So there was only one possibility left.

Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes at the furiously charging Dagonet. He did not use the weapons because he could not. He was also the corpse of a Round Table Knight but was a completely different entity from the headless Percival. If Ye Qingxuan had to distinguish them…”It’s the difference of quality,” he murmured.

With a jolt, he climbed out of the dent in the wall. He pushed himself through the air, brushing past the rabid knight. Dagonet did the same trick and grasped at Ye Qingxuan with reversed limbs. However, the youth calmly raised his hand and aimed at Dagonet.

Electricity shot out from Indrah’s Eye. It jumped around him before pouring out from his hand. It was the Governor!

Boom! The two men in the air suddenly shot apart from the formless strength. Dagonet crashed onto the floor; Ye Qingxuan flew to the ceiling. He clung to a crack in the dome and hung in mid-air.

Getting rid of the static on his arms, he whistled. “Sorry, it’s my first time using this function. I used too much power.” He had forcefully activated the repulsion rune on Governor. Indrah’s Eye strengthened it to the max. It was Dagonet’s fault for having so many nails on him! “Sorry.”

The result was that the two had crashed strongly and bounced away. With one above and one below, they had dozens of meters between them. They stared at each other.

Strands of moonlight entangled between them. Ye Qingxuan observed that the aether reactions within Dagonet had now shot up to more than one-hundred. His body swelled again, practically breaking the glamorous and majestic armor.

“More than one hundred aether reactions?” Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes under the creaks of metal. “Let me see, what…is hidden in your armor?” He suddenly dropped from the sky. His eyes were determined.

Dagonet roared and hoisted up his sword. The blade that had been stuck in the ground split the tiles with inhuman strength. The sparks burned red-hot. An aggressive arc sliced through the air.

Unfortunately, it was too early. He was a second too early and his actions too sudden. The incoordination made him stumble and almost fall onto his back. The almost-tangible malice in Ye Qingxuan’s eyes disappeared, replaced by a cool calm. The hot-bloodedness seemed to have been…a hallucination. This was the technique that School of Mind musicians loved—hints.

A formless and colorless river flowed along the moonlight’s path. Ye Qingxuan continued planting contradicting hints into the armor. A regular person would understand what was happening and come over to kill him.

However, Dagonet grew more and more confused. He twisted as if his limbs were following different commands. It looked like he was about to drown. Convulsing, he tried to strangle Ye Qingxuan, who easily read his intentions and dodged.

“I see. You aren’t controlling hundreds of aether reactions in your body.” Understanding flashed past Ye Qingxuan’s eyes. “Or better yet, they’re controlling your corpse!”

Dagonet roared and lifted the sword. Grabbing the blade, he slammed it down like a hammer. However, it was useless. Ye Qingxuan moved nimbly as if he was stepping on the tips of swords. He continuously dodged Dagonet’s attacks, floating past like a ghostly shadow. He approached Dagonet, brushing shoulders with death untouched.

Dagonet reached out to crush his throat but Ye Qingxuan flashed past. He stepped forward and somehow squeezed into the steel giant’s lap. Raising his palm, he pressed down on the crack that split Dagonet’s chest.

The Sigh!

Boom! With a thud, Dagonet’s body shook. He stopped abruptly. The already-damaged armor had been weathered by time and now shattered from the hundreds of thousands of vibrations. A crack snaked from Dagonet’s chest to his helmet. It split abruptly with a giant crack.

Under the crack was a withered corpse. Layers of foul yellow liquid wrapped around the corpse. The liquid moved up and down like a living thing, nourishing his veins and muscles, allowing the withered corpse to look as plump as before. In fact, black scales had appeared, making him stronger than before.

Once the liquid saw light, they began bubbling and wailing. The aether waves that the moonlight read were even more chaotic. There were thousands of reactions now.

“As expected, parasitic shapeshifters,” Ye Qingxuan murmured with his eyes narrowed. “You’ve really found a good house.”

–

This entire time, Dagonet had been manipulated by these strange creatures. Just as Ye Qingxuan had thought, Dagonet had not become part of Avalon’s Shadow as Percival had. Dagonet had died long ago, the day he wore this armor. However, demons began to live in his corpse, which was why he had turned into this terrifying state.

Parasitic shapeshifters were a rare type of parasitic demons. Rather than demons, it was more accurate to call them parasitic insects. Their larvae were usually laid on the corpses of flying insects or birds. They would then manipulate the corpse into a trap to find a more comfortable bed for themselves.

After they entered a beast’s stomach, they would start infesting and assimilating into the organs and blood. In the end, they would reside in the host’s brain, replace it, and begin reproducing until another cycle began.

However, Ye Qingxuan had never heard of this many parasites born in a single body at once. There were probably millions of them. The aetheric reactions were probably the ripples created when they absorbed aether to strengthen their host. However, in order to support and strengthen so many parasites…how inhumanly strong had Dagonet been?

With Ye Qingxuan’s physical fitness, he would probably only be able to support seven or eight parasites at most. Yet Dagonet had bred so many demons. Even with a giant’s lineage, he was still one of the strongest.

He was close to killing Ye Qingxuan instantly with only his corpse’s reflexes stimulated by the demons and pure muscular strength. Ye Qingxuan would argue with anyone who said he was a useless member of the Round Table! If he was useless, then were the other knights actual angels?

However, how unlikeable was he to not be given the opportunity to fight, even with this power? The youth complained to himself silently. And then a strange neigh sounded.

A strange neigh sounded. After a moment of suspense, the frozen Dagonet began moving again. After their shell had been shattered, the parasitic demons instinctively felt terror. Frenzied, they scurried around the corpse. They stimulated the long dried-out brain and attempted to utilize the last bit of emotions remaining in the corpse.

“Arthur…” Dagonet’s body shook and he slowly looked up. Burn marks from the scalding metal paste still remained on the damaged face that had been covered in foul fluids. “Return to me…” the remaining anger said.

The hatred hidden in the corpse was awakened. He roared, repeating the same name. It was raw hatred from the bones. He wanted to win back the honor and status he deserved.

“Arthur!” he screamed. The stone tiles under his feet shattered abruptly. His body swelled and the already exaggerated strength increased again. His armor creaked sharply, harmonizing with his angry roars.

On the ground, the sword was crushed by his feet. The steel was pulverized into powder and sank into the cracks of the tiles. Finally, the single blazing red eye looked toward Ye Qingxuan. And then the furious giant charged.

“Arthur!”

He had not yet reached Ye Qingxuan but his strength created a torrential wind, forcing one to close one’s eyes. But Ye Qingxuan stood still. Only his black robe fluttered in the wind. He looked like an eagle unfurling its wings.

A tightly coiled melody shot out from his hand like a sharp blade. It resounded within the wild wind. The youth focused on the demons hidden within the cracks of the armor. Countless eyes appeared within the bubbling fluid. They were looking at him too. However, there was no panic on his face; there was only coldness.

If Ye Qingxuan had any fear toward the former Round Table Knight before, he had nothing to be afraid of after seeing the true nature of these demons. Faced with the overwhelming power, the youth raised his cane and slammed it onto the ground. Boom!

Instantly, the vibrations of iron transformed into the majestic blaring of a horn. It had the wild heat of a blazing sun as if it wanted to chase away the endless and desolate night. It announced the coming of dawn! The darkness was instantly illuminated by firelight.

Countless half-meter long nails carved with music notes and scores flew from his bag. Sensing the clear breaths of demons, they spat flames and shot forward like cannons destroying a city.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! It was the sound of iron being torn apart.

Sixteen silver nails instantly pierced into the cracks of the armor. The giant Dagonet flew backward from the shock and slammed against the wall. The nails pierced the sticky demons, dried corpse, and the armor before finally digging into the wall.

Hellish fire spewed from the nails. It overtook Dagonet’s body from inside out, transforming it into ashes and burning the countless demons.

The nails were the chant material the Shaman had given Ye Qingxuan. Alchemists had created these pure silver nails in the short few days. They were customized alchemy equipment for Night on Bald Mountain. Now, the music score’s fatality had more than doubled!

Dagonet struggled in the fire but was unable to free himself. The flames ate at him from the inside. Sticky bodily fluid spewed from the cracks of the armor. Trying to escape, the demons poured out like a fountain. However, they were already burning. After the violent spasms, not even ashes remained.

Through the heavy firelight, Dagonet’s body returned to brink of death. He protested pathetically and pounded the wall that restrained him. The cracks extended. Finally, he stopped moving. The aether waves disappeared. All that remained was the armor that was red from the heat.

Ye Qingxuan could finally let out a sigh of relief. Cold sweat seeped from his back but he smiled. “I’m not an official musician but I’m pretty good, huh.”

While he spoke, a scoff sounded in the wind. His expression froze but he comforted himself, “A normal person can’t compete with those beasts. Gotta compare myself to people below me.”

As he muttered things others could not understand, he walked forward and yanked the silver nails from the red armor. The already crumbling wall now shattered and revealed a giant hole.

The damaged wall and the armor in it fell into the night sky outside the tower. They broke apart in mid-air.

“I’m already this high up?”

Cold air from the high elevation rushed into the room. Ye Qingxuan stood beside the crack and gazed at the clouds. Looking down his expression froze. Between the gaps of the clouds, Ye Qingxuan saw a bustling and busy city. It was covered in lights. Carriages raced down the streets.

There was the solemn graveness of uptown, the bustling song and dance of midtown, and the messy chaos of downtown. Countless ships were anchored in the harbor. The departing ship sounded its horn, which rang in the night sky. This lively city was like a pearl shining in the night. Everyone who saw it would be genuinely shaken by the sight.

“Avalon?” Ye Qingxuan looked back blankly. He felt the thick aura of natural catastrophes in the room and then glanced at the flourishing city outside the crack. His expression was filled with shock.

He was in the heart of Avalon’s Shadow so how could he be looking down on the real Avalon? If he was not looking at an illusion then…where was he right now? In the Shadow? Or…

–

Under the same night sky, the clock shop was filled with light ticks. Hermes had finished his late night snack and rested on the sofa. He had loosened his belt and his impressive belly bulged.

He had a vintage floor mirror before him. Resting his double chin on his hands, he gazed at the scene in the mirror. In it, demons and barren sites flashed past. Finally, the image stopped on an overlooking angle. Demons surge in the dark city. A white tower rose to the sky with a strange aura.

“Avalon’s Shadow?” Bai Xi, passing by, stopped before him and knocked against the mirror curiously. “You can see another world with this?”

“Sorry, no.” Hermes shrugged. “But Avalon’s Shadow isn’t in another world. At most it’s just a difference of ‘here’ and ‘there’.”

“What does that mean?”

“Would you believe me if I said that we’re in Avalon’s Shadow right now? Okay, you won’t, but that’s the truth.” Hermes smiled his trademark evil smile. “Everyone knows that when King Arthur failed, his Sword in the Stone split apart. He lost control of his scepter ‘Kingdom Come.’ It dragged broken pieces of Avalon deep into the sea of aether and buried everything, creating Avalon’s Shadow. But a shadow must be behind light. So how far is the shadow from the city?”

Hermes raised his hand. The light passed through his arm and left the shadow of his hand on the wall. The shadow changed as he moved his hand, causing Bai Xi to shudder.

“The answer is that it’s right here.” Hermes studied his shadow. He pressed his hand onto the shadow and the two became one. “It’s funny, isn’t it? In Avalon, hundreds of thousands live, die, breathe, eat, sleep, mate…but nobody has realized that they’re only a step away from the deep abyss.”

Hermes glanced at Bai Xi cheerfully. “You live in the same city as demons. You brush past each other and live in the same houses. You interact every day but neither knows. For example, right now, there’s a spider mother above your head.”

Bai Xi’s expression darkened and she smacked Hermes with the dictionary in her hands. “How would a clean freak like you let demons into your house? Do you think I’m a three-year-old kid?”

“Ha, as expected of my student!” Hermes reached out and caught the dictionary with a chubby hand as he laughed loudly.

“Explain clearly if you’re going to talk about it,” Bai Xi said coldly. “Don’t beat around the bush.”

“I’m getting there, be patient.” Hermes shook his head and sighed. Drawing in the air with a finger, he stated, “The three kings of ancient times called their place the material world. The place of the Originator was the aether world. There were nine levels of the aether sea between the worlds.

“However, there isn’t such a large distance between the material and aether world…Rather, it overlapped long ago. The nine levels of the aether sea have connected the two.

“The saints used their scepters to create music theories and used the formless territory as a high tower that reached into both worlds. They wanted to create unbelievable miracles and hoped they could enter the Originator one day.

“King Arthur was not an exception. In reality, Avalon was the foundation he created for his scepter Kingdom Come. Everything was done to increase his strength to the max. Thus, he practically became a demi-god. When he died, the piece of heaven that had descended onto earth fell apart as well and sank into the aether sea with him. It entered eternal sleep in the darkness.

“At first, the demons hiding in the shadow would have the chance to cross the door and appear here whenever fog shrouded Avalon. But as Avalon’s Shadow sank deeper and deeper into the aether sea, they became further away from ‘here.’ In the end, only the Blood Path connected them. For centuries, only the royal family would use their blood to open this path for some unspeakable secrets.

“Unfortunately, some people have been meddling recently…this demonic world that had sunk into darkness is awakening again.”

Hermes paused and his face twitched. “In the end, you have to blame that troublesome guy. The Ye family had almost died out in the east and they still wouldn’t rest in the West. It’s been thousands of years and none of them have been normal! Including that cousin of yours.”

Bai Xi fell silent. She stared at the world in the mirror. Her slowly-maturing face was heavy and unreadable. However, Hermes arched an eyebrow.

“Are you worried for him? Don’t be. Why don’t you worry that your Yunlou daddy has finally decided to snatch you back to keep his cause alive? His life is sturdier than yours.”

Hermes huffed in annoyance. “Ye Lanzhou had used all his tricks to hide many good things. Unfortunately, he didn’t know his son would be so stubborn. He looks colder and more realistic than anyone else but he’s actually so naïve.”

As he spoke, he grew gleeful and sighed, “I’m really excited. I wonder how interesting Ye Qingxuan’s expression will be when he finally realizes that he’s always been purposely overlooked because of his naivety.”

Actually, Ye Qingxuan’s facial expression was already rich now. He quickly hid his astonishment and calmed down again, continuing his path of exploration. After Dagonet’s interference, his progress was behind. He walked across a number of rooms in which there were traces of battles, including a wide room where there were a large number of corpses.

Those corpses were dark musicians who had turned out to be the hideous monsters as well as royal musicians who turned themselves into elements and died without leaving behind a corpse. All that remained were their broken instruments.

Ye Qingxuan spent a long time in that room identifying their cause of death one by one. He carefully deduced the battle process and frowned. If he was right, he was probably going to run into the two teams soon. If they were dark musicians, then of course he could fight or just run away. If they were royal musicians…they would probably not regard him as a friend either.

The royal musicians had come so strangely that Ye Qingxuan had not yet figured out their purpose. The Royal Music Division’s concertmaster position had been vacant for so many years. It was still a question as to how much control the royals had over their own team of musicians.

Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He continuously superimposed several layers of illusion disguise. He did not move on again until his figure was completely disguised into a vague outline and blended in with the surroundings. Soon, he finally saw someone alive in this d*mn tower. It was a dark musician who was left behind.

Among the bodies, the dark musician leaned against the corner. His legs were broken and had a large hole in his belly. He was probably left behind by his companions because he could no longer fight.

Now, a pair of scissors materialized in his hand. He used it to cut his intestines emotionlessly. Pulling out his broken stomach and liver, he searched good ones from the corpses and put them in.

He drew a thread from his robe and turned the aether into a needle to sew the rest of the entrails together. In the end, he poured a layer of something like frozen fat. Once it entered the body, it combined with flesh and blood to stabilize the displaced gut.

He completed the actions so fluidly. Lurking by the side and watching this, Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Soon, the dark musician was about to close his belly and finish the final treatment. But at that moment, some fine sounds suddenly came from the corner of the room. The dark musician suddenly looked up and his eyes turned into pale compound eyes. This was the alchemy equipment Eyes of Petrification!

Half the substances of the room were transformed into stone and became dreadfully pale. But at that moment, a shadow emerged from the obscurity behind him. Assisted by armor, it came close as swift as an arrow in just the blink of an eye.

The alarm enchantment that the dark musician had casually set around was completely cracked in just a few minutes. It was nothing compared to the difficulty of the enchantment of the Elizabeth Tower. The dark musician’s complexion changed. Layers of shields surfaced around him, but that shadow lifted his palm and suddenly pressed the air.

Boom! The force shield ruptured. His body shot back like a ball, smashed against the wall, and the newly stitched gut flowed from his belly. His sound of heart was in turmoil.

Before he could react, the shadow pounced on him and used a stick-like thing to beat his head. This was a ‘wake-up call.’ He must wake up quickly!

Bang! The dark musician blacked out but felt an invisible river pour into his head and swallow him whole. The invisible psychological attacks infiltrated his brain and scattered all his thoughts. The dark musician was muddled. He entered a state of dementia and became powerless to resist.

The young man standing before him put the cane between his eyebrows. He said in a soft voice, “Surprise! Congratulations! You’ll get a chance to receive a bonus and a mystery gift from the Vengeful Spirit as long as you give the correct answers to my questions!”

The sluggish dark musician struggled but could not think about resistance. All he felt were different emotions raising and setting in his brain—rage, sadness, joy, disappointment…all sorts of emotions. He was about to lose control and die while vomiting blood.

Ye Qingxuan once again triggered another wave of psychological attacks. The skills that he learned from their gods were applied perfectly. “Now, please listen to the first question…”

–

Just as the youth was interrogating in hushed whispers, Naberius silently appeared in the dark shadow of the corner. He stared at Ye Qingxuan’s back with a cheerful smile. He finally took the bait!

He hid into the shadows and moved quietly. His palm changed and multiplied. Five soft and cold tentacles molted from his palm with a ferocious suction cup in the middle. There were also sharp teeth that suddenly pressed to the back of Ye Qingxuan’s head.

The slender tentacles flung out into the air with explosive bursts as the whip unfurled so Ye Qingxuan had nowhere to hide. But at almost the same time, the originally preoccupied youth suddenly turned over as if he had expected this. He looked at Naberius and smiled. He had been waiting for Naberius for a long time!

Stunned, Naberius immediately felt chills all over.

In a twinkling, Ye Qingxuan flipped over and threw the captive into the Naberius’ hand. The five tentacles changed colors with an unexpected gold tint. They crossed and gathered, cutting the unresponsive dark musician into pieces. He died with his eyes open.

One could not accuse Naberius of cruelty. Who dared to catch the thing that the Vengeful Spirit threw over? He also had the habit of making the enemy a bomb and throwing it out. What if that dark musician’s brain was planted with a hint that would be triggered at the time? He would die!

However, he did not understand when he was exposed. He had great confidence in his own illusion. He definitely did not have any flaws. Soon, he found that there was no time left for him to think it over.

After the body was chopped up, Ye Qingxuan grasped the opening. He shot over with a speed at least five times faster than before! What drug did this guy take? Or was it a physical transformation?

Naberius howled. His musical temperament changed as if dozens of mouths repeated the same tone at the same time. He chanted too fast for people to hear clearly. Screaming, he finished the chant in an instant.

Iron from the void gathered; layers of notes lit up above it. The paper-thin metal skin now seemed to turn into an iron wall.

But the iron wall meant nothing. Ye Qingxuan maintained his speed—even speeding up a bit—and charged toward the wall. When he reached Naberius, he quickly pressed down.

The Sigh!

Boom! He could feel that the armor on his arm was burning red-hot after the three consecutive activations within half an hour. It was scorching like fire having reaching its limit. However, the effect was that the iron wall was broken and burst out toward Naberius with him.

The flying metal shards dug into Naberius and scraped against the bones, leaving ghastly wounds. But then he hid into the void and disappeared. He was lurking in the dark again.

He did not even have a chance to breathe. Ye Qingxuan suddenly turned strangely, followed in his direction, and caught up with him.

Naberius was exposed again?

His scalp tingled. An inexplicable sense of crisis made his figure flicker and dissipated again. Ye Qingxuan unexpectedly caught up once again before Naberius could stand his ground. He was found again?!

This time he had made sure that he had cut off all the ties with Ye Qingxuan. Even the eerie moonlight guidance line had been severed completely. How did Ye Qingxuan find him?

Malice flashed in Naberius’ eyes. Fiery bloody mist spouted from his palms. He pressed the bagpipe in his arms. The instrument gave a mournful wail, releasing the movement contained in it.

The blood mist instantly gushed like a waterfall and engulfed Ye Qingxuan. Where the blood mist fell, everything was torn to dust by the violent forces contained in it.

The walls were instantly penetrated, revealing a strange and twisted room behind them, and left deep ravines on the floor. With a blow, even the air was sucked dry. The entire cone-shaped region became a vacuum. Nothing existed. Including Ye Qingxuan.

The youth’s figure became illusory and broke soundlessly. He disappeared like the moon’s reflection in water. It was fake… F*ck!

Naberius’ expression changed. He finally heard the faint chant in the wind. It was the Phantom Suns from Winterreise! He was startled at the moment of the counterattack which gave Ye Qingxuan the opportunity to plant a hint.

“Wrong, I’m here!” Ye Qingxuan whispered behind him. The youth pressed his cane to Naberius’s waist. At the head of the staff, the amber gem shone with glowing light. The Eye of Indrah!

In a flash, frantic electricity engulfed him, drowning him in the glaring light. The destruction had arrived. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the air. They became a complex movement, releasing the cool and majestic melody.

A bright moon emerged, hanging right above Naberius, who was now charred. The moonlight swallowed Naberius like fire.

Thunder and moonlight doubled the destruction. Instantly, half of Naberius’ body turned to ashes. However, his flesh and blood quickly withered in the moonlight. His blood gushed and shielded the moonlight.

Next, he molted like a snake. He shed most of his flesh and skin, shaking off the moon’s lock. He instantly jumped dozens of meters out of the moonlight’s range.

Ye Qingxuan did not expect that Naberius could escape in such a way. Tired as he was, he could not easily catch up. However, the Naberius’ eyes showed no calm or mockery; they were full of panic and fear. He was distraught.

For the first time after being punished by the gods for decades Naberius felt humiliation and fear. The thunderbolt was just regular destruction and he did not worry over it. However, the moonlight…the moonlight… Gritting his teeth, he abruptly broke his arm. Moonlight also surged from the arm like fire. It purified the arm, turning it to dust.

He had vaguely heard of this terrifying thing before. It was the natural enemy of dark musicians, the nemesis of all demons—a fatal curse. He only truly understood the horror after experiencing it personally. He did not even know how to fight against the benevolence purification. The only solution was to be heartless and get rid of it before he was tainted. He could still feel the horror of being powerless. How could Holmes possess such a cry power?

Naberius continuously activated the alchemy equipment embedded into his flesh and let out music scores. He constructed a fortress around himself. Looking up at the youth with a halo of moonlight, his expression changed from shock to horror, ferocity, awe, marvel…until it finally turned to respect. No wonder Holmes was a genius that could be compared to him!

“What a pity.” Naberius’s flesh quickly recovered and his broken limb regenerated. Looking at Ye Qingxuan, he gritted his teeth and said hoarsely, “Such a pity!”

“What’s a pity?” The youth furrowed his brows.

“I feel pity for you.” Naberius smiled in rejoice and said with sincerity, “If you didn’t relax at that moment and used all the music scores in your instrument, I probably wouldn’t be able to fight anymore. No, if you used your best card, I’d definitely be destroy—” Here, Naberius’s smile suddenly froze. The last part of ‘destroyed’ was stuck in his throat.

“Wait, you…seem…” As if discovering something impossible, he gaped at Ye Qingxuan and stuttered, “Why do you always play and chant live? You never use scores stored in your instrument. Your best card… No, the level I could sense…this isn’t right! This is too unbelievable! This is…how can it be? It’s impossible! Impossible! Impossible!” He roared in confusion. Subconsciously grabbing at the newly-grown hair, his scalp turned bloody. His fingers and scalp scraped against each other with a jarring sound.

“How is this possible?”

Finally, he turned his head stiffly while convulsing and looked at Ye Qingxuan. His eyes were huge and bloodshot. They practically shone.

“I finally understand, Mr. Holmes. You really impress me. No, you’re a once-in-a-lifetime, no, hundred…once-in-a-millennium genius!” he cried as if going crazy. Pointing at Ye Qingxuan, he cackled wildly. “The enemy I’ve been battling for all this time isn’t even an official musician?” Losing all sanity, Naberius laughed so hard he was crying.

“What a joke! The infamous Vengeful Spirit of Avalon that had purified countless demons and dark musicians isn’t even an official musician! Dear lord, I used compare you to myself but now I realize that I’m nothing compared to you! Even at my current state, I can’t be compared to you.”

He gazed at Ye Qingxuan fervently. He lowered his head and, casting aside the fact that they were enemies or that they were at vastly different levels, he performed the most sublime rite.

“Mr. Holmes, please allow me to offer you my highest respect. Your talent has caused me to realize my weakness for the first time in my life. Right now, I am…shedding tears because of the talent you have shown!”

Naberius lowered his head. Bloody tears rolled past his cheeks and fell onto the floor. “It’s really such a pity and such cruelty that someone like you cannot become my companion. Why did God allow me to enter this world and meet you? Why were we forced into such different and incompatible grounds?”

He choked as he sobbed. The aether around him lifted like furious winds. The crazed power broke through the shell of his body. It burned with aggressive light, almost suffocating Ye Qingxuan. Despite Naberius’ weak words, the power coming from him was terrifyingly strong.

Cracks even appeared in the walls around them. The surrounding objects had started breaking apart. Naberius also swelled as his flesh expanded. When he raised his head, the now-inhuman face was still filled with respect and solemnity.

“Now, let me use my strongest power to end you! Let me give you a battle you will not regret! A battle that fits your status even if you go to Hell…”

No, I won’t blame you if you go easy on me! I wish we can go back to how things were and start over, Ye Qingxuan yelled in his mind.

However, Naberius had already started his final transformation. A vertical pupil had grown on his forehead at some time. It was filled with endless satanic craze. This was the manifestation of Hyakume.

An identical face appeared on the back of his head. It chanted the same poem—this was the talent given by the natural catastrophe Sukuna. Black scales sprouted throughout his body. Each one shone with the light of the night sky. One could see that blood no longer flowed in his bulging veins. Instead, it was a fluid that looked like mercury.

Every time he had a new transformation, Ye Qingxuan felt more pain. In the end, he was completely numb. How many satanic gods did this f*cking psychotic motherf*cker sign with?!

Naberius finally revealed his true nature. He was not a human anymore—he was a beast with six sides! Six different Resonance level aether waves crashed around him, practically asphyxiating Ye Qingxuan.

“I haven’t had this feeling in a long time,” Naberius growled. He clenched his fist and sparks flew from his fingers. “Let us begin now.”

“Wait!” Before him, Ye Qingxuan suddenly raised his hand. “We’re going to fight anyway so can you answer some of my questions first? At least let me die without confusion.”

Naberius laughed heartily. “You think I’m those villains from stories that talk for a long time instead of killing the main character, giving him time to turn the tides?”

Ye Qingxuan’s face twitched.

“I am,” Naberius stated, causing the youth to blanch. “For people like us who pursue the absolute choice, the only thing worse than death is dying with confusion, right? Due to my respect for you, you can ask me anything. If I cannot answer, I will not. If I can, I will tell you everything.

“If you have any other tricks, please try them. If your intelligence and talent can turn the tides in such a disadvantageous situation, I will lose without complaint. I am wholeheartedly willing to be the stepping stone for someone like you.”

In other words, after the question, he would fight without mercy or holding back. He would fight with death as his goal.

So…

Please describe the biography of a saint of Anglo’s diplomatic history using ten thousand words? He obviously could not ask such a question to make more time for himself. What if Naberius decided to just kill him?

He still needed to hold onto this sudden chance. The gears in Ye Qingxuan’s mind turned. Finally, he uttered the biggest question he had, “You all made such a big commotion in the Elizabeth Tower. Weren’t you afraid of attracting Mordred? Or were you confident in winning?”

“Mordred?” Naberius was stunned. He did not expect Ye Qingxuan to ask this question. A secretive smile appeared on the inhuman face. “Why should we be careful of something that…was never there?”

“Was never…there?” Ye Qingxuan froze and his face slacked. “It doesn’t exist?”

“Correct. Arthur’s descendant, the traitor who stabbed him in the legends…never existed. The supposed achievement was just a legend created by poets and authors!” Naberius casually stated something completely different from history. His expression was cold and grave. “Mordred died when he was still in the womb!”

“Impossible!” Ye Qingxuan retorted reflexively.

“Why is it impossible?” Naberius’s eyes were cold. “His mother was killed when she was still pregnant. Some said that Arthur suspected his queen was unfaithful but Mordred was undoubtedly King Arthur’s son. This much is definite. However, he was not human. He was the inheritor of the cursed blood and his blood was more powerful than his father’s!

“He would be born a demon. His mere existence represented that King Arthur was tainted and was proof he had fallen. Arthur would never allow him to live in this world. And so Mordred was killed in his mother’s womb, dug out, and burned for seven days, mourned for seven days, and finally sealed under this Elizabeth Tower for eternity.”

Naberius looked at the youth’s shocked expression and extended his arms, sweeping at his surroundings. “So many years of resentment. That child is still submerged in lycoris flower solution, not decaying for eternity and singing every night. Mr. Holmes, have you heard his song?”

The song that haunted his ears sounded again, sending chills down Ye Qingxuan’s spine.

The boy’s voice sang the quiet song from the deepest darkness of the white tower. The song resounded within the dark city, snaking into everyone’s ears.

“The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams… We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander? Oh ho, millions of pairs of hands raise the sails high. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we’ll have eternal life… The bell has already rung in the cemetery. Did you hear the eerie song? Respond to our calls, the blood debt will be paid… Oh ho, raise the sails, we’ll return home. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we will be immortal in death…”

Immortal in death!

Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth. “What exactly are you planning to do?”

“That’s a second question, Mr. Holmes.” Naberius clenched his fist. A majestic melody resounded around him, calling for power from the deep abyss. “Unfortunately, you don’t get any more answers! So let us fight!”

Boom! A wind tunnel opened behind Ye Qingxuan. It hung above his head like a black vortex. The moonlight flickered like a candle in the wind. Once again, he almost suffocated from the power.

“Wait!” His face white, he raised his hand for a time out. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out, “Mr. Naberius, I advise you to stop when you still can. I still have a killer weapon hidden. I hope you won’t force me to use it.”

“Oh? Please take it out.” Naberius laughed heartily with a joyous expression. “Now, I’ll believe you even if you say you learned destructive scores like Genesis or Ode to Joy! Is your best card Fate which the average person cannot understand? Or is it Ride of the Valkyries? Or is it Symphony No. 1819?”

“Naberius, those that you mentioned don’t have true power.” A sliver of regret flashed through Ye Qingxuan’s eyes as he sighed. “The thing more powerful than music scores is…calling for help. Butcher, get him!”

Roar! A thunderous roar exploded in the air. A chainsaw appeared out of thin air. The crude yet sharp blade was covered with layers of dried blood and shining music notes. When the raised chainsaw sliced down, it practically ripped the air. It left behind a thick bloody gash in its path. Blood spread through the air like ink and transformed into various youthful faces.

A river-like roaring sounded; it was the sound of blood pulsing through veins. The thunderous bursts transformed into a rhythm; it was the echo of an enormous heart beating heavily. There seemed to be devil bathing in lava and singing happily under the crazed melody.

“God, please give me mercy. I kneel in the river of souls, attempting to wash away the dirtiness. God, please give me salvation. I am waist-deep in curses. Can you hear my pleas? God, please give me your blessing. I am neck-deep in blood. I beg for relief…”

And so the countless faces in the bloody cloud laughed and replied, “Lalala~ lalala~ lalala~”

Within an instant, the chainsaw appeared behind Naberius. There was a roar, it swelled, and it fell down!

The protective enchantments crumbled. The defensive music scores were useless. The wind tunnel that reached into the abyss was split cleanly into two by the bone saw. The overlapping music notes on the blade shone brilliantly, crushing the fine and majestic music theory; unable to heal, it broke apart completely.

Naberius’ expression changed drastically. He dodged quickly but the saw had already scraped past the face on the back of his head. It hacked down the middle, leaving an ugly wound that extended to his waist. It practically dug his spine out.

Something sharp flashed past Naberius’ eyes. Mercury-like blood flowed out of the wound. The blood contained countless aetheric changes. They revealed different properties, such as earth, water, fire, and wind. Leaving his body, the power in his blood fought against each other with destructive strength.

However, the bone saw abruptly pulled back and blocked the blood’s path. When the blood sprayed onto the saw, they were battled down by the aggressive music theory within the saw.

Shattered pieces of bloody mist flew and burned like fire. When they attached onto something, half of a menacing silhouette appeared. It was like a dragon hiding in gray clouds—it only revealed half a claw and more dangerous objects hidden in the darkness.

Even though it was attacked, its disguise was still intact. This was the highest level of Illusion scores. Its effect has entered the rules of nature through resonance. This was at least at the Distortion level!

“When…” Naberius scurried back, trembling with chills.

“Since the beginning,” Ye Qingxuan stated coolly. “You practically creamed me last time. Did you think that I wouldn’t have learned my lesson?”

Lola had put the highest level illusion onto the Butcher so he could follow Ye Qingxuan into Avalon’s Shadow. The Shaman paid for the Butcher’s fee and the materials needed for the illusion. Not only did Ye Qingxuan have a helper, he also helped the profiteer Lola earn some extra pocket money.

He had hired the Butcher this time just to deal with Naberius and the Robin. He had fooled everyone by hiding him. Other than at the entrance of the tower, the Butcher did not do anything else.

Ye Qingxuan had not asked for help even when he was close to dying. The Butcher had been calmly watching by the side too. He had hidden his murderous intent while watching Ye Qingxuan practically get killed. It was as if he had not existed. But now, he burst into action and practically dazed Naberius with one strike. However, the Butcher was still hidden in the emptiness. He only revealed fleeting and terrifying shadows.

This beast was wearing armor like the archangel armor. However, the armor was black and much bigger and menacing. As if it was made of sharp raw metal, it spewed out scalding evaporated gas as he moved. The sharp sound melded into the music scores on his body, causing the singing to grow more frenzied. One could make out the emblem that had been scraped away on the shoulder of the armor.

“St. George’s Spear? This armor is from…the Dragonriders?” Clenching his jaw, Naberius forced out a smile. “I know you. You’re the Butcher…haha! I didn’t expect to see the results that Gaius had left behind! It seems that you’ve been transformed many times, right? How much demon blood do you have in you? You look more like a beast than I do now…”

The Butcher remained silent. Mournful red light shone from the eyes under the helmet. There was the sound of metal scraping, like a sword being unsheathed. The silhouette of a huge blade appeared in the air. The chaotic aether waves on the blade could barely remain hidden by the illusion.

Merely its appearance could make any living thing feel the pain of its flesh separating from bone. The bone saw and blade knocked against each other crisply like a beast lusting for blood’s gratification.

The thin youth raised his hand before the Butcher’s fierce silhouette. He steadied his hat and revealed his taunting eyes. “Using your words…next, let us fight!” As soon as he spoke, the halo of moonlight brightened and the cold light bathed the surroundings. The Butcher roared and charged with the youth.

Naberius growled angrily. His two faces chanted simultaneously, the muscles on his spine writhed, and his two hands shot out. It was hard to fight against two enemies so he added another pair of hands!

Blades of wind and swords of fire materialized in his hands. Destructive light surged around him. He guided the aether and darkness flowed like a tide. Power from the abyss re-appeared, transforming him into the physical incarnate of destruction.

The originally vast room began extremely cramped in this terrifying battle. Within a few rounds, it was already covered in traumata and broken walls. Naberius had been smashed into the freezing storage room and began to fight amongst the rotten food!

The Butcher countered Naberius’ strength directly. He had been the best fighter of the Dragonriders and fought with natural catastrophes. Now, this executioner released the wild power from before. Under Hermes’s customized armor, his blood flowed like lava, turning him into a beast.

A beast fighting a beast!

A demon killing a demon!

It was the clashing of pure strength and the pursuit of destruction. The saw raised gales of wind and grew more powerful under the music score. It could face Naberius at his strongest state! They were fighting forcefully!

Amidst the illogically-powerful battle, everything between them broke, shattered, crumbled, and turned to dust.

Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!

Even the recruiter Ye Qingxuan had never seen the Butcher fight with his all before. Naberius retreated continuously under the wild power. However, Ye Qingxuan’s floating moonlight continued to help the Butcher. Moonlight stretched from his body and latched onto the Butcher and Naberius.

He read, analyzed, reacted, decoded…he saw each and every move from the two and added his own strength when needed. Moonlight, thunder, hallucination, hints…

The relentless power was an obstacle for Naberius. The endless eroding moonlight caused him to struggle. How was this an exhilarating fight? This was torturous like being skinned alive slowly.

He grew furious. Everyone who fought against Ye Qingxuan had felt the same pain. It was like sinking into a quagmire. No amount of power was effective. Under the relentless attacks, he retreated gradually. He could only watch as he sank powerlessly and slowly into the quicksand.

Suddenly standing still, he forced the Butcher back and roared to the air. His voice contained the calls from the abyss and it spread instantly. He rang the black bell in his hand.

“Which demon are you trying to call?” Ye Qingxuan knew what he wanted to do. “It’s useless!”

Rather than retreating, he grasped this chance and charged with the Butcher again. He completely controlled the rhythm of the fight now.

Naberius froze. He rang the bell again but Malpas did not appear no matter how the bell echoed.

Seeing his confused eyes, Ye Qingxuan smirked. “Did you notice that…today’s moon is really big and really round?”

The Blue Moon hung high outside the hole in the wall. Like water, the moonlight turned this world into an ocean. If one looked from the ‘bottom of the sea,’ one would discover that ripples of light appeared above the ‘sea,’ above the layers of clouds.

An illusionary laugh sounded amongst the ripples. It was light like a dream.

Endless snow and hallucinations came through the dream.