by Feng Yue
Clenching his teeth, he held his right elbow and yanked it up. After the crack, Ye Qingxuan gurgled in pain. He was seriously crying but his dislocated arm was back in place. Thankfully, his body was still complete. Nothing was missing even though he was now as pathetic as a beggar. Without a doubt, the Governor had taken the brunt of the attack and was now…destroyed.
Hissing from pain, Ye Qingxuan yanked out the metal shards stuck in him. The bent plates were still red from heat. They fell onto the ground with sounds like ice shattering. Breathing in the burning air, he climbed up.
He saw that Auschwitz was burning!
-
The dark atrium had been completely shattered. The earth that had been transformed by the abyss now smoked with black steam. Demons crawled out of caves of flesh and roared to the sky. And in the sky, an immense shadow moved, roaring.
Like giant whales swimming in a red ocean, they continuously rained down seeds. When they landed on the ground, they broke apart. The ‘fruit’ jumped out.
Fully armored knights wielded swords of fire and fought the demons and dark musicians. Blood, screams, and explosions were everywhere. The blood fell onto the scorched earth like a black river within the fire. Other than the redness of fire and blood, all that remained in the world was the cold metallic light of swords and aether.
Black figures walked in the glow. Whether burly or frail, they seemed to dance in the fire. The world was instantly thrown into hysteria.
“Is this…war?” Ye Qingxuan gaped at everything. He seemed to have left his familiar world and gone into hell. That was why the world so unabashedly showed its ugly side.
For some reason, the Sacred City’s aid had finally come but he could not be happy. It did not feel good to be saved. Instead, he felt exhausted.
In the rubble, he lowered his head and gazed at the fire burning in the distance. Everything here was destroyed. Everyone he knew was most likely dead. His friends, his enemies, and even strangers… They would all be wiped from this world.
But under the chaotic din, he heard a gentle song. It came from afar.
373 The Last Advice
Amidst the collapsing and burning city, under the rumbling and screaming, the gentle song flowed. It was whimsical like a hallucination. “Please give me the courage to fly.” The tender voice resounded amongst the flames. It evaporated like a dream and scattered. Only the echo remained. “Test my heart; don’t say you regret it…”
There seemed to be a music box spinning slowly under the voice with a clear melody. The song was gentle and out of place in this cruel world.
“The old house is glowing yet sighing. There is only silence for evermore…”
The song was so clean and clear that it felt fragile as if it would break at a mere touch. Ye Qingxuan raised his head and stared blankly into the distance. He crawled out of the ruins and stumbled toward the song. He could still remember. It was Elsa’s voice.
She was still alive!
Ecstasy supported Ye Qingxuan. He tossed down the cumbersome weight and raced through the ruins, searching clumsily. He followed the gentle and weak voice.
Along the way, he saw the shattered bodies of demons and the distorted metal of the Knights Templar after they were torn apart. He also saw broken cocoons. The bloody bodies within had been yanked out. They were speared with bayonets and hung in the burning wind.
Finally, he found the source of the song on the burnt street. The long hemp-colored hair was covered in dust. The white nightshift was charred and dusty as well. She curled in the corner of the street, alone, hugging her knees and watching the chaotic world. Beside her, a broken music box spun with difficulty. Finally, after managing a circle, the gears cracked. The voice cut off too.
Elsa looked down at the broken box. She opened her mouth but did not know what to sing. Without the box, she could not remember the melody clearly. Her memory was evaporating rapidly.
“Elsa?” Seeing her, relief filled Ye Qingxuan. “You’re still alive!”
She looked up with confused eyes. “Do you know me?”
Ye Qingxuan nodded. He reached over to pull her from the crack but she did not move. She just looked at him as if he was a stranger.
Rumbles sounded in the distance. Some knights were swallowed by demons and blinding light exploded from their helmets. After the light and explosion, both knight and demon were gone. All that remained was the scorched earth.
In the shaking, Ye Qingxuan asked, “Why aren’t you hiding?”
Elsa tilted her head. “Why should I hide?”
Ye Qingxuan blanched. He wanted to ask why she wasn’t afraid that this world had become so crazy. But then he realized that maybe she did not remember what the world should be like. Maybe she thought it was always like this, with fire burning, the ground pitch black, the sky burning like a red sea.
The best comfort when living in hell was not knowing that one was in hell. That was why she did not run away. She still thought she was at home. This was how to feel happy…
“Where’s your…dad?” In silence, Ye Qingxuan looked around for Caligula but he was gone. There was no trace of him. He may be dead or may have gone into the abyss long ago.
“Daddy?” Elsa shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe he disappeared like Mommy… I remember I was looking for someone but my friend book is gone and I can’t find anyone.” She looked back. The burning road was littered with corpses. Their eyes were closed, seemingly in peace. There were even ragged blankets on them.
“Everyone’s asleep. I know it,” she murmured. Lowering her head, she curled up. “I’m a good girl and gave everyone blankets but they don’t feel cold and don’t talk to me. But I’m scared by myself.”
Ye Qingxuan reached out and ruffled her hair. He said gently, “Your dad won’t leave you behind. Let’s go find him, alright?”
As if this was a joke, someone laughed in the rubble behind him.
“You’re the first person I see after opening my eyes. Such fate.” After a string of sounds, the broken tiles were pushed away. A bloodied man climbed out. He was covered in burns and he breathed with difficulty. But when he looked up and saw the two, a ghastly smile appeared on his face. “My friend, as expected, you and I are both alive. Or have we met in the afterlife?”
“Who knows?” Ye Qingxuan shrugged and looked at him indifferently.
Naberius snickered and climbed up. Unabashed about his naked body, he looked up at the red sky. “It’s become like this…It must be Caligula’s tricks. He sold Auschwitz to the abyss and now wants to use us as sacrifice for the Sacred City’s forgiveness. I really don’t know if he’s cutely naïve or stupidly brash…” Cackling, he cocked his head and looked to Ye Qingxuan. “If I were you, I’d be more careful.”
“Oh? Please tell me more.” Ye Qingxuan looked interested. To be honest, he really wanted to act now and truly end this guy for good. However, Naberius’ fearlessness scared him. After all, Mordred had not appeared yet. If possible, he wanted to drag things out longer and wait for the Knights Templar. At that time, Naberius would not be able to escape.
He heard the scraping of metal close in from the distance.
“Mr. Holmes, it seems that I must go.” As if sensing Ye Qingxuan’s plan, Naberius chuckled. He wiped the blood from his face. His eyes were filled with greed and pity. “It’s such a pity that I couldn’t drag you in this time.”
“There shouldn’t be regrets in life. You can keep trying,” Ye Qingxuan suggested earnestly. “After all, the worst case would be ‘dying with regrets.’ Plus, your friends are all fighting heroically now. Isn’t it bad to just abandon them?”
“The bond between two is precious but sadly, life is more valuable. The perishing praise still has some tricks to turn the tides but I’m worried that more will happen later. Leaving when things go wrong is the best way to achieve longevity.”
Clanging metal sounded from all directions. The Knights Templar with their swords of fire were approaching in formation, th
eir murderous intent thick. Naberius bowed, giving him a very polite farewell.
In the night sky, Mordred descended as a half dragon and grabbed Naberius’ shoulder. The man laughed as he flew into the air. A black cloud swallowed them.
The two disappeared.
Finally, a voice rang out in Ye Qingxuan’s mind. “Mr. Holmes, do not continue to be so naïve. This is my last advice to you as a friend,” Naberius said. “Caligula is ambitious. He sold us to the Knights Templar, but the Knights Templar might be one of his products too…
“Things aren’t over yet. They’re not as simple as I thought and not as simple as you thought.”
374 Cereus
Naberius had hidden meanings in his words, but Ye Qingxuan was unsure whether it was a genuine reminder or if he was trying to sow discord. Something strange flashed past his mind like inspiration but he could not catch or remember it.
While he was thinking, the Knights Templar surrounded them. The lead knight raised his hand and the other knights put their weapons away. The former walked forward and studied his trademark silver-white hair. “Ye Qingxuan from the School of Anglo?”
Ye Qingxuan nodded. “That’s me.”
“Very good.” The knight nodded. He turned and reported to the lion head emblem on his shoulder, “Found Ye Qingxuan and a Romulusian girl.”
An unclear voice came from the emblem, low and full of static. The knight nodded. “Understood.”
To Ye Qingxuan, he said, “It’s too chaotic here. Please follow me. We’ve established a safe zone outside. Leave the rest to us.”
To be honest, Ye Qingxuan sorely needed that.
Having found survivors, the knights formed two teams. One continued with the mission. The other team of three took Ye Qingxuan and Elsa away.
No major dangers occurred during the journey. They quickly passed through the toppled city walls and left the center of the battle. Ye Qingxuan turned back. Seeing the battlefield shrouded by smoke and fire, it felt like worlds away.
They soon arrived at the refugee camp. There were injured musicians crying out everywhere. Choir musicians in white walked amongst them. Some doctors walked over to give Elsa a checkup. A knight who was waiting by the entrance walked to Ye Qingxuan.
His armor was made of green gold and was slimmer than others. He had sacrificed a lot of defense mechanisms to raise the agility. This was a messenger knight who sent the orders of the commander. He showed Ye Qingxuan his identification and moved to guide him.
“Please follow me. The commander wishes to see you.”
“See me?”
“You are the musician we’ve found deepest in the battlefield. Perhaps he wishes to learn more about the dark musicians’ situation.” The knight did not say much and gestured to guide him again. “Please follow me.”
Ye Qingxuan shrugged. He was prepared to go but he heard a shriek. He froze—it was Elsa.
Ignoring the knight, he walked in that direction. The two knights standing outside the infirmary tried to block the charging young man but they missed. The moment the mirror illusion dissipated, Ye Qingxuan kicked the door open. He saw the cold infirmary and Elsa who was strapped down to a surgery table. The three doctors under the cold light looked up at him, frowning.
“What are you doing?!” Ye Qingxuan pushed aside the assistant and glared at the doctors. “She’s a little girl!”
“She’s Romulusian,” the messenger knight behind him said. “She’s the only normal Romulusian we’ve found in Auschwitz as of now. The others have all been cocooned and demonized. We must ensure that she isn’t tainted…”
“So?” Ye Qingxuan looked at him darkly. “So she has to be dissected? She can’t even remember anything. Do you think you can find it yourself?”
“Listen, Ye Qingxuan. Don’t get worked up.” The knight walked up. “The Choir musicians only want to give her a checkup. There will be no harm done. If you’re worried, you can wait here with me. After the checkup, she’ll be taken to the resting area to be cared for—”
Before he finished, everything started shaking. The earth seemed to be an old carpet that was beaten by a stick to get the dust out. The walls groaned and cracks appeared. Under the pale light, everyone stumbled.
At the center of Auschwitz…a solid plume of black smoke rose to the sky.
The perishing praise had started their counterattack!
-
Ten minutes ago, dozens of steel whales hung in the air. They radiated and shone as they circled Auschwitz, forming a ring. At the center, a hole opened up in the aether world. Light that represented heaven solidified and shone down from the crack.
For centuries, countless kings, elites, and musicians grouped in the Sacred City. They created a path to the Originator using music theory from the seven schools, reaching into heaven.
When the light created from those music theories descended from the sky, it crushed the music theory from the abyss. It wiped away the geographical advantage that the dark musicians had and endlessly purified them, causing them to run from the light like flies.
With help from the light of heaven, Knights Templar was able to advance steadily. But just as the battle was at its most intense, Crowley sighed sadly within the broken dark atrium. “It seems that the Pope has only sent Knights Templar and won’t come personally.” Dozens of black figures in the shadows beside him cackled.
“It’s okay. Capture all the knights will be an incredible achievement too. The Lord will be happy.”
“Then let us do so.”
Crowley reached out. The dark night solidified into a violin and appeared in his hands. The strings sighed faintly like murmurs in one’s ears, producing hallucinations. This was the weapon blessed by Paganini, the fallen saint and one of the dark followers.
As the abyss grandmasters went into coherence, Crowley lifted the bow and played the violin. The plaintive instrument sounded. However, the melody was filled with joy.
It was like a captured prisoner thirsting for freedom and waiting for liberation. In the darkness, a terrifying power was accumulating and brewing. As the melody spread, the demons and dark musicians in Auschwitz trembled. A mysterious power suddenly surged in their bodies. It was as if the deep abyss was projected inside them. They no longer feared the light outside.
The abyss music theory blessed them all, pushing them to fight back without fear. As the mournful melody brewed, boundless darkness rose from the earth. It wrapped around every inch of land, catalyzing the demons, making them go wild.
However, no matter what they did, they could not sate the fury and impulsiveness inside them. It kept growing, growing, and growing…until finally, everyone felt that the wild fire would burn them to nothing. The moment they would explode, the mournful melody changed.
The freedom that they had yearned for in the darkness, the fresh blood they had thirsted for, and the murder burst from their bodies. Thousands of aether fluctuations set off at once like a symphony. Everyone was connected and they played the hysteric melody together.
The melody burned like fire and shot forward crazily. It was an once-in-a-lifetime celebration. They must let out their anger and fury now. The abyss music theory surged forth like a fountain once again. It battled with the heavenly radiance. All dark musicians were raised up three levels.
Never had so many dark musicians gone into coherence in such a small place. The tangible wild power converged, creating countless hallucinations. The illusions were the inner desires that could not be satisfied!
This was the Carnival of Venice! The fallen saint Paganini had composed this score the day he betrayed the Sacred City. It celebrated the bottomless abyss within one’s heart.
A crack opened in the abyss and their hearts. Every dark musician became one who acted on behalf of the abyss. They instantly crushed the Knights Templar back.
The broken Garment of Original Sin changed abruptly. Mended again, it transformed into a vast wind tunnel. The dark tunnel clashed with the heavenly light. Countl
ess music theories were created and torn apart each instant. They crashed, intensified, burned, and self-destructed. The density of aether shot up.
It went from a red zone to black zone to…all of Auschwitz was completely covered by the wild aether sea. The sea that could only be observed descended onto this land as the many music scores clashed.
At this moment, the aether world and material world overlapped in the sky. In the dreamy silver sky, the waiting Sacred City attacked the deep abyss. Countless rays of light and tides of darkness annihilated each other, creating a turbid vortex.
On the earth, the knights and dark musicians reached the climax of their battle. Cries and roars sounded every minute and every second.
“The holy must carry on!” the knights roared. They wielded their swords of fire and chainsaws, hacking in the bloody sea. Their armors were stained red but they walked in the puddles with their cracked armor. They swung their swords, slaying the desperate demons. The chainsaws hacked the demons into pieces and the fire burned them to dust.
As they advanced, the buildings collapsed. The bloody knights walked into the ruins. Their chainsaw swords whirred and they slew the Romulusians who had become demon cocoons.
Boom! Cracked tiles shattered.
The knights froze. The demon cocoons were unharmed. The whirring swords went past the cocoons as if they were nonexistent. No matter how they hacked, they could not harm it. Even the swords of fire could not burn it.
Everyone in Auschwitz realized with shock that the demon cocoons had become something untouchable. The sleeping Romulusians had become shadows, unharmed no matter what method was used.
Deep inside the scorched earth, a faint light and unclear glow rose. It rooted itself in the burnt dirt, grew, and branched into a blurry body, radiating with color from another world.
The faint and blurry flower—the Cereus!