Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  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…

  286 Dagone

  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 eig
hty 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.

  287 Light and Shadow

  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 d
eserved.

  “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.