Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  Lorenzo swallowed his saliva, and Werner grasped his sword, both seemed to have planned something.

  “What’s wrong? Everyone’s looking at me suddenly.” The Professor sighed, “It seems that I’m the weakest one?”

  “Are you not?” the Pyramid King smiled eerily and raised his hand. When he lowered it, the sixteen bows would turn them all into porcupines!

  “I think that everyone should think carefully before going on a mission. What if…I perform a magic trick for everyone to enjoy?” The Professor laughed lightly. He raised his hands and clapped softly. The crisp sound resounded through the alley.

  As everyone watched in confusion, the air behind him wavered. Suddenly, a beast appeared out of nowhere! Yes, a beast! There was suddenly a huge figure behind the frail Professor.

  Like the descendant of a giant, the menacing shadow was more than three meters tall! It could probably turn the Pyramid King into pulp with one hand! If they had not seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe that that thing was human! Yes, he was a human…

  Wearing a dramatic and clownish donkey mask, the strange creature stooped behind the Professor. He held a folded bone saw like a butcher who had just gotten off work at the market. Everyone present felt raw terror in their hearts.

  The giant was naked except for a dirty apron. Caked on the rough apron was dried blood. The layers upon layers of blood had dyed the dirty yellow apron deep red! The bulging muscles on his arms pulsed with his heartbeat. One could faintly see the blood vessels under his scarred skin.

  The sound of everyone gulping was all that could be heard in the silence. Someone opened his mouth and murmured the name with horror, “The Bloody-Bloody Butcher!”

  The Undead, Strange Creature, Butcher, Child of the Demon, Horse-face, Bloody Nightmare…Of course, the most well-known name was the Bloody Butcher.

  He was infamous for his impossible height, fearful appearance, and successful record. He had no competitors and left no survivors. Rumors of the strange creature had spread through London’s streets like a nightmare. No one would have guessed that the Professor had hired the creature and hid it inside himself…

  Lorenzo stumbled back, his eyes full of fear. His father had told him what would happen if the creature began his killing spree.

  Werner was more direct, and quickly stepped back. All the armored thugs raised their weapons, ready and waiting, but compared to rumors about the Bloody Butcher, the seventy armored soldiers did not seem to be of any competition.

  “F*ck.” It was the Pyramid King’s turn to curse.

  —

  Now, under everyone’s fearful eyes, the aggressive creature had not yet begun his massacre. He, or it, just raised his head and breathed in the bloody air. As his heart pounded like a drum, his skin turned red. An ugly smile cracked open on the clownish donkey mask. Under its feet, countless bugs crawled out from the tiles and fled in all directions. They seemed to have sensed the horrifying creature’s presence and began to run for their lives.

  He did not speak, only lifting up the bone saw, and stood up from the ground. It was instantly level with the Pyramid King, and it stared at the short man hiding behind the big shield. Bloodshot eyes peered through the mask as if looking down at an animal waiting to be butchered. It was a human but it seemed like a demon. It was a creature bred with the city’s darkness and blood—the demon summoned from the city’s ugliest side.

  98 Darling, Please Turn Around

  The only sound in the stillness was gulps of fear.

  “What do you think of my magic trick?” The Professor laughed hoarsely, sliding a flute out of his sleeve. The instrument looked so delicate at his fingertips. “I think that we can discuss now. About that Eastern kid…” He waved his hand and the silent butcher returned to his side.

  “A musician?” Lorenzo muttered to himself, his features twisting. “What level?”

  “At least the Musician level,” a musician hidden in the group answered. “Just the Bloody Butcher himself would be hard to handle. I’m not confident.”

  “As powerful as the Butcher is, he’s just a man.”

  “No, when things get to this level, we call them beasts.” The musician sighed. “The Professor has always been so shady. No one could’ve guessed that he’s a musician. Lorenzo, we fallen into the Professor’s trap.”

  Lorenzo understood. If they attempted to fight both the Professor and the Butcher, they might not lose. But even if they won, they would suffer great losses. One had endless tricks, while the other was a beast that was practically invincible. There was no point in fighting a battle that they would lose either way. And there was still the Pyramid King and Basset.

  No matter what, everyone understood something as soon as the beast had appeared. The Professor had the upper hand.

  —

  On the rooftop, the Pyramid King watched the beast, the corner of his lips quivering. “Professor, what do you really want?”

  “It’s simple.” The Professor gazed at all of them, “There are two solutions. The first one is that all of you leave and the kid is mine, or maybe you’ll like the second solution…fight to the end.”

  In the suffocating tension, everyone glanced at each other, their eyes full of caution and greed.

  The first to back out was Lorenzo. The leader of the Sicilians raised his hand and announced darkly, “I don’t care what you all plan to do. The Lucos will step out. Basset, tell your men to move.”

  The Sicilian thugs slowly retreated. They gripped their weapons, cautious of the Asgardians behind them.

  Seeing the treasure slipping from his fingers, Basset’s expression was unreadable. Tightening and loosening his hold on his sword, he finally grit out, “Move out. We will retreat as well…”

  “An intelligent choice.” The Professor clapped his hands and finally looked at Sam Luo on the roof. “Mr. Pyramid King, it seems that you’ll be brave and fight me?” It was a joke. The Pyramid Scheme was the most cowardice in Avalon’s downtown.

  Seeing his great plan fail, the Pyramid King’s eyes rolled. As if in physical pain, he lightly put down his hand, “We will retreat as well…”

  The three groups watched the Professor and the beast closely, then stepped back carefully. The tense atmosphere slowly relaxed. Seeing that there was no need to fight, everyone let out a sigh of relief. But then a confused voice sounded throughout the alley.

  “Excuse me, anyone here?” A lost boy lugging a pile of stuff walked into the alley under everyone’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I got lost. Senior, are you…holy sh*t!”

  “What the f*ck?!” he thought. Ye Qingxuan almost jumped when he saw the sight before him. His mind went blank as he gaped at the battle axes, steel bars, heavy armor, bows, and that inhumane creature. As he stared at them, they also stared back at him.

  They gaped at the white-haired youth with one kilogram of carrots in his left hand, a bag of tomatoes in his right, and a giant lantern in his arms. He looked like he just come back from grocery shopping.

  As everyone stared at each other, the youth finally reacted. He stepped back saying, “I’m sorry. I’m in the wrong place. Please continue. Don’t mind me!” Amidst the sounds of everyone’s jaws hitting the ground, he slowly retreated, turned, and stepped away.

  Panicking, the Pyramid King called out, “Halt!”

  “Okay…” But despite his words, his body did not listen. As if shocked by electricity, Ye Qingxuan sprinted away.

  “Sh*t, he runs fast!” someone in the crowd murmured, which opened the dam and everything went out of control. The ones who had been retreating were now restless.

  “Catch him!” Someone yelled, “Whoever catches him gets him!”

  The still atmosphere had shattered, and the crowd went wild. Lorenzo, Werner, and the Pyramid King all forgot what they had said about retreating and charged forward wildly.

  The Professor was frozen in his spot. He had not expected for the situation to change so dramatically within seconds. As he wat
ched the mass of people rush into another alley, he glared at his flute, anger flashed through his eyes. “Butcher, catch him!”

  The three meter giant roared and jumped up, then landed in the crowd. Swinging his bone saw, two people were instantly thrown into the wall, blood spewed from them. As he swung his saw, many people were instantaneously sliced into halves. Blood spurted out and people screamed.

  —

  At the other end of the alley, Ye Qingxuan ran as if his life depended on it. Looking back, he saw the mass of menacing men, angry thugs, and one beastly creature. He wanted to cry. “Why are you chasing me?!”

  The Pyramid King screamed, “I want…no, hand over the treasure and I’ll let you live!”

  Beneath him, Lorenzo yelled, “Friend, don’t run. We can protect you…”

  “Psh, yeah right!” Basset was clad in heavy armor, but he was the fastest, chasing without slowing down. “Kid, don’t listen to them! Give it to me! You’ll be the Asgardians’ eternal friend!”

  “What treasure? What friend?” Ye Qingxuan thought. He had no clue what they were talking about! Resisting the urge to cry, he sped up. As he ran, he suddenly had an idea and tossed something behind him. “Here’s your treasure. Take it!”

  A black object flew from his hands, cut an arc in the air, and fell into Basset’s arms. Forgetting about his sword, the Basset clutched it instinctively. He did not even get the chance to take a look before he was flattened by the crowd behind him.

  Someone yelled, “The treasure’s here!”

  “Catch him!”

  “Basset got the treasure!”

  As more and more people piled on, Basset subconsciously tightened his grasp. There was a squelch, and red liquid oozed out from between his fingers.

  The rush of people froze. Some of the drops fell into people’s’ mouths, and some people swallowed reflexively. “Tastes sour and sweet…we can eat the treasure? Mom, I’m going to Avalon too!”

  Lorenzo who had rushed over was pissed. He kicked Basset, yelling, “Idiot, that’s a tomato!”

  —

  “Don’t you want treasures? Here you go!” Up front, Ye Qingxuan was happily giving out treasures. He continuously tossed things behind him, “Here’s a tomato! Here’s a potato!”

  “Here’s a lychee!” He decided to throw whatever he could get his hands on. He even picked up a frog from the ground and threw it. “Here’s a frog! Here’s a squid, and an angry banana!”

  The angry banana angrily stuck Lorenzo’s face. There were lychee bits on the other side of his face too. This gentleman now looked like a homeless beggar.

  Just as the angry Lorenzo began to roar, something was thrown at him again, and splattered his face with blood. He froze in shock. With trembling hands, he took a bloody tampon off his face and finally screamed, “Kill him! Kill him!”

  The Pyramid King finally realized that they could not keep going like this. His men immediately got into position on a rooftop. They aimed at the youth and fired!

  Amidst the whistling, an arrow brushed past the youth’s arm and dug into the wall next to him. The arrow twanged like a honeybee’s wings.

  Ye Qingxuan looked at the wound on his arm and froze. “Crap, you guys are for real?”

  “Who was f*cking playing around?!” On the rooftop, the Pyramid King yelled, “Get ready and kill this b*stard!”

  Consecutive twangs of bows sounded, sending chills down Ye Qingxuan’s spine. “I was just buying groceries! What did I do?” Taking a deep breath, he began chanting quietly. Everyone’s angry roars covered his frustration as he chanted the syllables. Under the hoarse melody, the youth’s body blurred, turning whimsical. Rune·Haze!

  “Sh*t, forgot that this kid is a student musician!” the Pyramid King growled. “Shoot! Fire! Kill him!”

  Next, Ye Qingxuan added “Flow” to himself without hesitation. His pallor turned red immediately. Running while performing this task was practically death. Speeding up, he made multiple near-misses. His body grew blurrier, and after a turn, he disappeared.

  The mass turned into a mess. The people at the back did not stop running, pushing the people in front to keep chasing. Many accidentally hurt others in the mess, and there was no room for explanations for injured thugs. They could only start fighting each other. Numerous corpses fell to the ground in the axing and stampede. Blood flew amidst roars and screams. No one noticed that the blurry shadow next to the wall that quietly started to move.

  99 This Is Avalon

  “Hush, hush, no one can see you…” Ye Qingxuan murmured as he cradled his head and carefully crawled forward. Under the stress caused from both Flow and Haze, and performing precise manipulation, his face was almost green.

  After fleeing past another corner, sure that no one had discovered him, Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the ground. Flow and Haze stopped immediately, and sweat poured out like a faucet. A damp print appeared on the ground beneath him quickly. He looked at the pumpkin he had forgotten to throw, and tossed it angrily at the wall.

  “What just happened?!” It was a bright and clear day. He had just gone to buy marbles and groceries, but instead he had been chased by people with axes and bows! And treasure? What treasure?!

  Ye Qingxuan felt around his body. The only thing valuable on him was his leather wallet! And he had bought it for twenty-some dollars. What were they after? What?! After thinking for a long time, Ye Qingxuan had a headache, and the only conclusion he could come to was that those guys were crazy.

  “I’m so unlucky.” He sighed and got up. Giving up on the marbles, he just wanted to get back to the academy quickly. Why did he run into such weird things whenever he left the school?

  But as he stood up, he felt wind above his head. Goosebumps rose up all over his body. He rolled on the ground without thinking, and heard a clang behind him! The stone ground cracked under the flame-shaped sword.

  “You re-really did run away!” Covered in blood, Werner panted for breath. His eyes widened under his horned helmet, gazing at Ye Qingxuan with wild joy. “I’m so lucky…hand over the treasure!”

  “What treasure?!” With a flying scissor kick, Ye Qingxuan kicked the pumpkin at Werner. But the man raised his sword and slashed the pumpkin in midair. The pumpkin exploded, pieces of pumpkin and juice flew everywhere. Ye Qingxuan’s neck grew cold.

  The flame-shaped sword was a heavy duty weapon that required handles on the blade. Its power did not come from the blade, but from its own weight. Only Werner, famous in Asgard for his inhuman strength, could wield the sword so effortlessly. It moved in his hands like a windmill. Each slash left behind deep cuts in the ground.

  Ye Qingxuan stumbled back but Werner was right at his heels. Werner was a dwarf but he moved so quickly that his legs were a blur. This type of sword required one to be steady and stable with a strong core. His feet moved like wheels. The short figure rushed forward, and he swung the sword down!

  Ye Qingxuan jumped back at the last moment. He felt the blade slice past his forehead, cutting two strands of hair.

  Hoisting up the sword, Werner had a sinister and weary smile. “Since you won’t open your mouth like a crab, I’ll just have to search your corpse!”

  “What crab? It should be a clam, okay?” Ye Qingxuan retorted in panic. “I have no respect for you thugs. You aren’t cultured at all!”

  Werner froze. His face reddened before darkening in anger. “You’re asking for death!” With that, he swung the sword down.

  “Hey, let’s discuss this! Don’t get angry, alright?” Ye Qingxuan really wanted to cry. “How about I teach you some grammar and you let me go?”

  “In your dreams!” Werner scoffed. “All of downtown wants your life. If you want us to all let you go, you’ll need to teach a big grammar class.”

  “What do you even want?!” Ye Qingxuan asked, suddenly angry. “I’m just one person. There’s not even enough of me for you all to stab! What do you get from killing me? I’ll let whoever answers correctly to kill me, how about t
hat?”

  “Stop playing dumb. The treasure to enter Avalon’s Shadow is on your body!”

  “Do I look like I have a treasure on me?”

  “I don’t care! I’ll see after you’re dead! Try hiding again, huh?” Werner smiled menacingly as he brought the sword down. Gritting his teeth, Ye Qingxuan felt repressed anger and aggravation rekindle inside of him.

  “Does your brain work? Can you not understand the human language? Can you not understand?! All you think about is killing, killing, killing. Won’t your mom be disappointed in you?” In his anger, the effect of Flow was pushed to the max. He did not dodge or retreat. Instead, he walked over, stepped on the lowered blade and sprang into Werner’s arms. Ye Qingxuan punched the only part unprotected by the helmet—the nose!

  Crack! The fist slammed into the horned helmet, and Werner cried out in pain. The sword fell from his hands as he tried to hold onto his nose. But Ye Qingxuan did not let him go so easily. Stepping on the tortoise shield, he flattened the man on the ground. He repeatedly punched the nose until he heard the sound of bone cracking, and his hand came away bloody.

  Furious, Werner ignored his wound and grabbed a dagger from his waist, stabbing Ye Qingxuan’s arm. Ye Qingxuan retreated as soon as he heard the sound of a blade unsheathing, but he had still been slashed in the arm. Nothing had gone smoothly ever since he had come to Avalon!

  Ye Qingxuan quickly began chanting a basic rune in anger—instantaneous rune! Following Abraham’s deciphering method, he skipped more than half of the syllables. A solid coldness enveloped his hand, following his palm. This was the rune that Edmund had used to fight him last time—Frost! If he pressed down on Werner’s face, the aether would explode and turn half of his brain into icicles. But Ye Qingxuan hesitated at the last second. His hand moved and he pressed down on Werner’s hand.