Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “Hey, big guy, let’s split up here,” he suddenly said softly. “The Shaman actually gave you another task, right?”

  The Butcher did not reply.

  “He knew since the beginning that the Parliament controls the asylum, right? He let me explore this place to find out what’s really happening. And he asked you to come here with me, not to protect me, but to kill his enemies. Other than the Professor, there are also people from the parliament.” The young man looked at him silently. “Am I right?”

  Under the youth’s gaze, the Butcher was silent and still did not answer.Ye Qingxuan could not help but purse his lips. “Mr. Seton, you can’t just keep pretending, you know?”

  The Butcher froze. His eyes finally changed, from ferocious to gloomy, and then to menacing. But the youth just looked at him, until an impatient sigh finally came from behind the mask. “How did you know?”

  “You can’t expect me to cooperate with someone who had been hunting me, can you?” Ye Qingxuan shrugged. “I had to investigate.”

  “In one day?”

  “More than that, actually,” Ye Qingxuan said. “In fact, I started suspecting that you were being lenient after I realized that I was actually able to escape from the infallible butcher. Later, every time I thought about it, I would think it was suspicious. I don’t think I’m strong enough to escape from the butcher. So there was only one possibility: the butcher deliberately let me go.”

  “The butcher,” or Seton, was speechless and did not reply.

  “…As long as you connect the dots, it makes sense. After all, I don’t have that many friends and there aren’t many people with your body. I’m still grateful that you let me go. I really thought I was going to die.” Ye Qingxuan cocked his head. “But does the boss know that you’re making extra money on the side?”

  “…” In the silence, Seton’s face must have been very angry under the horse mask.

  “D*mmit, go away!” He smashed the bone saw onto the ground, cracking it. He threw Ye Qingxuan one last glance before turning away. But behind him, the youth stared at him and suddenly shouted, “Seton!”

  “Yes?” Seton looked back.

  “Be careful!” the youth bid farewell quietly.

  The Butcher scoffed. “You’re the one who needs to be careful.” He waved without even looking back. “Don’t worry. I’ll take revenge for you if you die, for Old Phil’s sake.”

  “Oh, that’s great.” The voice of the youth came from the distance. As he walked away, Seton could not hear it anymore.

  -

  The Butcher walked slowly through the darkness, following the scent of blood in the wind. According to the map that his employer had given him, he needed to walk through the corridor, go up the ladder, cross the third operating room, turn to the right, breach the sixth hall, go down the elevator, and land in the central security room.

  All the places in the path needed to be destroyed, all the information about the blood sacrifice needed to be burned, and all the living things needed to be killed, including the thugs from the mafia, the original caretakers of the hospital, the minions of Parliament, and the hired…dark musicians.

  The Butcher suddenly halted his soundless march. The white light above his head flashed, and a baby’s cry came from behind a closed door. The plaque engraved with “Third Operating Room” on the steel door was rusted.

  A surgery was being performed. Blood seeped out from the crack under the door. There was an eerie yet gentle singing that could be heard over the baby’s crying, as if a dead woman was screaming and wailing while gazing at the world. The Butcher opened the steel door silently and saw blood everywhere.

  Under the pale, hot light, a figure in a white gown had his back to the Butcher. He carefully soaked a string of entrails in an antiseptic solution, meticulously cleaned every ending, and finally threw the emptied baby into the trash. When he turned, the eyes behind the mask saw the newcomer and froze. “Butcher?”

  His hoarse voice seemed to come from dozens of mouths. The voices overlapped and became a shrill noise. The Butcher stared at him, eyes landing on his body. Through the clothes, he could see dozens of open mouths on the body. It dawned on him. “Yellow Foot, the dark musician?”

  Yellow Foot, brother of the dead Blue Teeth, lowered his head slightly. “A few minutes ago, Alberto’s men told me that someone had come in. Where is your companion? Where did he go? To tell you the truth, I’d rather see Sherlock Holmes than you. We’re both dark musicians, so there must be a lot of topics we can discuss together.”

  A scoff came from the mask.

  Yellow Foot seemed to understand something and his eyes grew pitiful. “Forget it, it’s ok if it’s you. It’s rare to find such good material for experiments…”

  The butcher silently clenched the bone saw. The joints in his body popped and cracked. His body expanded, expanded, and expanded even more! Finally, he transformed into the ferocious giant again.

  “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…”

  The music score engraved on his body was awakened, transforming the flow of blood into a tidal wave. His heart beat like a drum, causing the aether to vibrate. Blood flowed from his pores, transforming in the air into faces of the dead. The faces laughed and echoed, “Lala, lala, lala~”

  The light was snuffed without a sound. In the darkness, the singing of the dead overlapped with the dark musician’s chanting. The din and the quakes spread, raising a shapeless cloud of dust. The heat of the blood and the tangible evilness spilled in all directions. The darkness swallowed all.

  -

  In the quiet corridor, the youth watched as the Butcher faded into the distance. He looked around at the blank faces and sneered. “Well then, let’s wreak some havoc, shall we?”

  He knocked his cane on the ground violently, emitting a metallic clang. “Whether it’s the Professor or the parliament, let’s get everything straightened. Since I am called Vengeful Spirit, I’ll have to make them pay for what they’ve done!”

  162 Welcome to the Black Parade

  Alberto woke up with a shock from his nightmare. Twisting his head, he gazed at the deep night sky outside the window. Firelight rose, burning the sky red. The dew was heavy. He sat on his wheelchair and placed a blanket over his knees. The flames in the fireplace flickered and the high grade pinewood burned soundlessly. It emitted a fragrant scent, calming one down subconsciously.

  Even if fire was burning downtown to ashes outside, it was still serene and peaceful inside, as if he belonged to another world. This was the reward that he deserved. As the leader of the Black Hand Gang—the Sicilian Mafia— that had once controlled one-third of downtown, Alberto was now old. He did not have the energy anymore.

  While being old had its disadvantages, it also gave him the ability to see through things with old wisdom. For a leader, having good vision was the most important thing. And the current events proved that he was right.

  When the parliament’s messenger had appeared before him for the first time, he had not even waited for Mr. Hall to make his request before pledging his entire clan’s loyalty to the parliament. This sincerity had won him the parliament’s trust and allowed him to enter the heart of the parliament, becoming the guard of the asylum.

  If this was the boat to success, he was already in first class and watching as his former enemies and partners struggled and killed each other in the ocean. No matter what the result was, everything would be changed if the ritual in the final laboratory of the central security room was successful. All former enemies would be eliminated and he would replace the Shaman as the ruler of downtown. He would be the new Dark King! Yes, if the ritual was successful.

  For some reason, he still felt slightly unsettled. But no matter how much he thought, he could not find a flaw or loophole in the perf
ect plan.

  “Father…”

  The Shaman’s main force had been held down. Everyone had been blinded and distracted by the riots that had taken over the entire district. No one would be able to stop the parliament’s ritual.

  “Father.”

  But then, where did this unsettling feeling come from? Alberto racked his brain but he could not find anything.

  “Father!” Lorenzo raised his voice, shocking Alberto out of his thoughts.

  Alberto’s shoulders twitched and he looked back toward Lorenzo, who has beside him. Seeing the dissatisfaction in his eyes, Lorenzo’s face paled. “Father, someone broke in through the warehouse!”

  “Warehouse? Which warehouse?” Alberto asked reflexively. But then he reacted immediately and his face turned white—what other warehouse could it be? Of course it was the most important one! “When?”

  “A few minutes ago. Someone in the central security room discovered that the black door in the sewer was opened. The bone primates kept outside started going crazy too and they still haven’t been calmed down.”

  “They broke in from the sewer?” The unsettling feeling in Alberto intensified. He forced himself to stay calm and waved his hand, ordering, “Take care of it. Don’t let them cause too big of a disturbance, understood?”

  But Lorenzo did not move. He stood in place, opening his mouth to speak but hesitating.

  “What are you waiting for?!” Furious, Alberto slapped the armrest of the wheelchair. “Go!”

  “I already went but…” Lorenzo swallowed heavily and said in a trembling voice, “They…might be Holmes and the Butcher.”

  “Impossible!” Alberto practically jumped up from the wheelchair as he glared at Lorenzo. “What the f*ck are you saying?!”

  Quickly realizing that he had lost his temper, Alberto forced himself to calm down. He massaged his temples as he thought. After a long while, he suddenly looked up and stared at his son. “Why did they show up here?”

  “I don’t know either.” Stared at by those eerie eyes, Lorenzo felt goosebumps. He quickly explained, “They just suddenly popped up out of nowhere. They came along the supply tunnel. Oh right, the smuggler that always transported the supplies was killed yesterday. Do you think Holmes did it?”

  Alberto froze. But he instantly reacted. “True, he’d never give up this chance if he knew that the parliament is holding the ritual here. He even hired that butcher…Kill them!” His eyes grew fierce. “You must not let them into the central security room! Where is Red Eye and Yellow Foot? Weren’t they sent here by the parliament to protect the ritual?”

  “Red Eye is still in central security. Yellow Foot already disappeared with the Butcher.” Lorenzo gulped. “The third surgery room is surrounded by the dark musicians’ fog. Yellow Foot and his corpse puppets were all in there but we don’t know what happened.”

  “What about Holmes?” Alberto stared deeply into his son’s eyes. “Is he separated from the Butcher?”

  “I think so,” Lorenzo replied in a trembling voice. “He split up with the Butcher and didn’t come out after entering the patient’s ward…He seems to be interested in the mutants.”

  “Good, good!” Alberto’s expression turned sinister. After a short pause, he suddenly ordered, “Take some men and the four musicians from the parliament and seal the entire ward. I don’t care what you do, but kill Holmes! He and the Professor are the scourges of the parliament. They must be killed. And if he’s dead, the parliament will not let down our sacrifices.”

  “M-me?” Lorenzo’s face turned ghastly pale. He had heard about the dark musician’s cruelty more than once in recent days. He had singlehandedly destroyed the Pyramid Scheme, and turned the high and mighty Indian musician Puspotkata into an idiot. And apparently, the mysterious Professor had lost a lot to him too. Now Lorenzo had to go deal with him?

  “What are you scared of?!” Alberto roared in anger. “No matter how powerful Holmes is, he’s just a liar who plays tricks! Have you heard of a psychological dark musician who can do more than just scare people?

  “Red Eye already said that he hadn’t even broken through the Barrier of Knowledge. He probably hasn’t even sacrificed himself to Satan yet. The only thing he can do is scare people. So if you aren’t scared of him, what can he do to you? No matter how good he is at controlling people, can he control demons?”

  Lorenzo froze. He was slightly reassured, but his mind was still shrouded in an eerie cloud. Were matters really this simple? He was not sure.

  Lorenzo took a few deep breaths and set down his determination. Turning around to leave, he saw a pale face beside the door. Lorenzo’s face was reflected in those terrified eyes. He stumbled back and practically fell to the ground.

  “Disaster, sir, disaster!” The man, face white in horror, reported in a trembling voice, “Out of control! Sir…what do we do?!”

  “What the f*ck are you talking about?” Alberto glared at the man who had rushed in. “What is going on?”

  “It’s Holmes, it’s Holmes!” The man’s voice quivered as he replied, “A few minutes ago, all the guards in the patient’s ward disappeared. No one knows what that guy did. When we went in, everyone was gone. There wasn’t a single reply. And then the cries came and our men…they’re all dead!”

  Lorenzo’s knees wobbled and he collapsed onto the ground. “Holmes?!”

  —

  Ten minutes ago, under the ghastly white light, the patient’s ward was completely silent. Even the sounds of breathing seemed to be suffocated by the heavy smell of disinfectants.

  “Looking at the time, they should be here right?” Ye Qingxuan strolled down the quiet hall, gazing at the bars to each side. Behind the bars, pairs of blank eyes looked at him. There was no light in those eyes—only numbness, unfamiliarity, and nothingness.

  These people were still alive, but their bodies had been turned into monsters, their memories shattered, and their souls thrown into a bottomless abyss. They were still alive, but it was worse than death.

  “So scary,” Ye Qingxuan sighed quietly. “I can’t even find a trace of humanity.” There was no excitement, no sadness and no anger or desolation. They breathed purely to survive, like a zombie. Really, was there nothing left behind?

  In the silence, he pressed down on his watch. The snap was crisp. “All is dark. Only the Tree of Life is forever green,” Ye Qingxuan recited. His eyes flashed with a dazzling light.

  In his hand, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei abruptly began shaking and played a gentle melody. Amidst the faint yet warm melody, water vapor gathered from all directions, transformed into perception threads and spread out again.

  After the first measure ended, the second began right after. The vague melody suddenly changed and every note rose in key. The second measure had begun! Just as Charles had said, the difficulty rose exponentially. The invisible perception threads suddenly trembled and split into two. They spread again, reaching in all directions. The proximity doubled!

  Before the echoes of the second measure dissipated, the third replay began once again. The vague melody had gradually become clearer. It was like the rushing sounds of a river in the springtime to the ear, flowing in the air.

  Once again, the perception threads lengthened and expanded. Forty-six threads floated in the air, reaching out in all directions. Ye Qingxuan’s hand trembled but the music did not stop.

  The fourth measure quickly began. The aether began rippling and the perception threads shot forward under the flowing melody. They lengthened, went past the bars, wrapped around the living organisms and lengthened, lengthened, lengthened!

  The fifth measure, the melody floated in the air. Though the vague clanging and exalted melody was the same, the notes were rising to a much higher octave.

  The sixth measure! The crisp melody was no longer insubstantial like before. The intensifying melody resounded in the wind, becoming more awe-inspiring.

  Like a command that was impossible to defy, it spread forward slowly. Transformin
g from thin and insignificant to dense rain, the souls sleeping in the melody was slowly stirred awake by the youth. Now, the melody had turned from the fleeting sounds to a military march!

  Ye Qingxuan’s forehead was covered in beads of sweat. Even with help from the Double Snake Time Meter, manipulation at this level was still too much for him. He had actually reached his limits at the fifth measure, but he could not believe that he was able to force himself to the sixth measure. The length was multiplied six times!

  Now, Ye Qingxuan felt as if his body was like a giant shapeless beast. His mind had expanded in all directions along these hundred-meter long perception threads!

  He could feel all the complex levels of the Arkham Asylum, the wild aether rippling from the lowest level and also the heavy footsteps that surrounded the patient’s ward. They were the armed thugs or the musicians with rippling aether, their eyes murderous and cruel. They came here with orders to make this place his burial ground.

  Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes again. He stared behind the bars and gazed at the pairs of blank eyes. He asked softly, “Everyone, are you content being turned into experiments?”

  No one replied, but he could not help but laugh. His voice had an undertone of anger. “Are you really willing to have someone strap you onto a gurney, cut open and turned into a demon…to rot and die without a sound?

  “Look at you right now. You can’t even feel anger—not even a bit of fear or joy can be felt. Are you truly willing?”

  In the silence, the dazed eyes behind the railing gazed blankly at the youth’s figure. They seemed unable to understand or comprehend what he was talking about. No one replied. They just smiled blankly, drooling, curled inside their cages.

  Bang! The gate suddenly opened with a fulmination. The figures exuding wild evilness rushed in. They held crossbows or swords and their eyes were ice cold. With a single command, they would swarm over and turn their enemy into a honeycomb or hack them into minced meat.