by Feng Yue
“Now, he’s in a very quiet and faraway place. When he has time, he can sleep. When he’s awake, he can look at the world and think about his life and the meaning of the world. As far as I know, he likes this kind of life.”
“I see,” Nibelungenlied said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But I do have to warn you, don’t spend more effort on observing. What will happen next, ha…” Hermes shook his head. “There’s no point.”
“Aren’t you curious about the result?”
“There won’t be a second result.” Hermes looked away. “Have you ever seen an angered dragon?”
“Are you speaking of the ‘Dragon of Destruction’?” Nibelungenlied seemed to have some thoughts. “Do you think the youth is someone terrifying enough to rival the Dragon of Destruction?”
“No, the Dragon is scary but it’s still just a beast.” Hermes chuckled and raised a finger. “I’m comparing him to the third King of Red, the crazy one who beheaded the Red Dragon, even though the cost was burning half of the Sacred City down.”
“You know, a crazy man’s lovable trait is that he lives in his own world. He’s only loyal to his own ideals. He has a principle, a bottom line, and ethics. He’s basically perfect. You can hate him or fear him but as long as you stay away, he won’t mess with you. But the most annoying trait is that…once he wants to murder, no one can stop him.”
In the stillness, Hermes pushed the door open. Wind and snow swept in, landing on his shoulders. “I didn’t know it snows in the Sacred City too,” he whispered, disappearing into the snowstorm.
396 Wolf and Dog
It was a bustling afternoon. In Ouistreham, an iron ship stopped at the busy port.
Hot afternoon sunlight shone down. The man beside the window found it annoying and pulled the curtains, blocking the noise and eyes from outside. Inside the dim cabin suite, the young man looked back at the old man on the other side of the table.
The old man placed an opened letter on the table and pushed it over slowly. The young man yawned lazily and looked up. “Grandmaster Bono, what is this?”
“This is from the dean.” Grandmaster Bono stared coldly at the young man. He said hoarsely, “Take it, Colt, and the Institute will not forget the past.”
Colt lowered his head. Looking at the letter, he rubbed at it and laughed. Pushing it back, he replied indifferently, “Grandmaster, I already wrote very clearly in the letter that I am not the suitable talent for this school. I have no ability to bear the school’s expectations so I choose to back out. Why must the Institute be like this?”
“Do you know what you are saying, Colt?” Grandmaster Bono’s eyes darkened. “For centuries, there has never been a precedent. The day you inherited the School of Secret Keeper’s music theory, you swore that you will be a member of the School for life. The only way out is death.
“You are still young and do not understand the cost of this. We are willing to forgive you as long as you take this letter back.” His voice was eerie. Even the air became stinging but Colt was still unmoved. He looked at the old man with a mocking smile.
“Forgive? That word sounds so nice.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I never heard of this word when I was still a nameless musician. Now that I’m famous, the entire world became merciful and filled with gentle love. But sadly, it’s too late!” He flicked the letter back into Bono’s arms. He stated, “Please go back, Grandmaster Bono. I will never return to the School of Secret Keeper. Or…” He paused, his smile growing meaningful. “Will you choose to take me back by force?”
Bono frowned. Something chilling flashed past his eyes. In the stillness, he tapped his finger lightly but it froze in the air. In the silence, the air of the empty cabin seemed to stagnate. Faint buzzes of swords came from either side of the cabin. After a long while, he lowered his finger slowly and glared at Colt. Forcing down his anger, his eyes darkened. “Colt, do you think you can arrive at the Sacred City safely?”
Colt laughed. “Do you dare touch me?”
After the Auschwitz battle, Colt had become famous for his hero image. He had saved many musicians without caring for himself. Grasping the opportunity to wound the fallen saint Paganini and many other events had added another halo to his image.
He was the hero who protected humanity against the natural catastrophe, a shockingly talented musician as shown from the trial, and he had received the music score ‘Emperor’ from the Sacred City. He was moving smoothly toward the scepter level and would become a saint in the future. Now, he had joined the Ministry of Information and was well-trusted. He was given the position of confidential secretary even before the official ceremony and had a bright future.
Under this situation, even the School of Secret Keepers or the Rock Institute would need to consider the Sacred City before acting. Otherwise, Colt would be facing the Secret Keepers’ assassin rather than grandmaster Bono.
Colt knew better than anyone that the School could do nothing!
“Us?” Grandmaster Bono looked at his arrogant smile and shook his head. “Colt, you should know who truly wants to hurt you. Otherwise, you have no reason to hide your tracks, disguise yourself as a noble, and hide in a ship full of immigrants. Even the School needed to use the Lighthouse to find you. Who are you hiding from?”
Rather than replying, Colt just waved his hands in disinterest, practically dismissing the grandmaster.
“Since you insist on the wrong direction, I will not waste more time here. Hope you will receive what you wish for, Colt.” Grandmaster Bono did not lose his temper. He rose indifferently and left. The moment he pushed the door open, he glanced behind Colt. It was empty of any belongings. Sneering, he closed the door.
The grandmaster clad in gray was like an elderly traveler. He walked up the deck with his cane. He brushed past the sailors transporting objects and food, and went past the sunbathing immigrants and merchants with their products. He walked off the ship and entered the port market.
Soon, the ship behind him whistled and left the port. Bono watched as the ship faded into the distance. His lips moved slightly under his white whiskers.
“Did you hear that, Heisenberg? That’s your student.”
Thousands of miles away, Heisenberg opened his eyes in the silent room. He had been observing Bono through the Lighthouse and had naturally witnessed everything Colt had said.
Smoking in silence, he sighed. “It was my mistake. I never thought that this dog would have a wolf’s blood. I underestimated him.”
“We must clear him out,” Bono said coldly. “The Lighthouse’s secret music theory is the heart of the School. We mustn’t let it out.”
“No need.” Heisenberg closed his eyes again. “A dog that becomes a wolf will seem impressive and enjoy the fame but once his ambition is satisfied, he’ll start to feel scared… Believe me, Bono, he’ll regret this. Soon.”
-
After Bono left, the cabin returned to silence. Colt stood up and bowed respectfully to the air behind him. “Thank you for your help, grandmaster Philip.
Two burly priests clad in blood-red walked out from the two sides of the suite. Their right arms under the red robes were metal prosthetics. The technology from the Chainsaw Fraternity had given them unimaginable strength and an almost undefeatable body. They guarded the door with their heads down, silent as a statue.
A frail old man walked out of the illusion before Colt. He was hunched and leaned on a cane. He was all skin and bones and his loose skin was covered in wrinkles and spots. However, his eyes were pure white. Those eerie eyes seemed to see every person’s secrets and were chilling.
“No need to thank me. It is my duty.” He coughed. “It is the Ministry’s first time to accept an outsider in all these years and you are a future saint. It is rare to find such talent so we must be careful. I will send a warning letter to the Rock Institute under the Church’s name. You need not worry.” He paused and his voice grew dangerous. “However, I hope this type of thing will not
occur in the Ministry, understand?”
Colt’s smile did not change and he lowered his head further. “Please do not worry. Is there any place for me if I leave the Ministry?”
Philip’s expression grew satisfied. He patted Colt’s shoulder. “No, no. Colt, you are young and talented. You will shine wherever you go. It is our honor that you chose the Ministry.”
The two met eyes and smiled but both knew deep inside.
Soon, someone knocked on the door and passed in a letter. The footsteps faded away. The two guards looked at the mark and gave the letter to Philip. Without saying anything after reading, Philip handed it to Colt.
Colt’s expression grew ugly. “He…woke up so quickly?” His eyes changed but quickly returned to normal.
“Are you worrying over the new sword bearer of Anglo?” Philip asked. “If he used the Sword in the Stone without caring for the consequences, it would truly be a problem.”
“No need to worry about that.” Colt shook his head. “From what I know, he inherited the theory from the School of Stone Heart. Everything is built on the sub-originator and he’s useless after it shattered. He might not even be able to be an official musician, let alone use the Sword.”
“Oh?” Philip nodded. “Anglo must hate you.”
“Even so, they are powerless.” Colt snickered. “I am the best of the new generation of musicians now and the future saint that the Pope had rewarded. Will they hurt me for a useless man and risk the accusations of the nations and punishment of the Sacred City?” Despite his words, he still felt fear. He sat in the chair and tried to find the source of the fear. All that he could think of were those empty eyes.
Under those shackles, the youth’s face had been ghastly pale. Reflecting the girl’s blood, those empty eyes seemed to have been dyed red, like a womb after a miscarriage. Something scary was born at that moment.
A knock on the door made his shoulders shudder as if startling awake from a nightmare. He glanced at the door instinctively with menace. The two guards exchanged glances and one went over to check.
“Who is it?”
It was a server who managed to dress properly. However his shirt was threadbare and his pants had faded from washing. In the steel platter that he held were two heated steaks and some food that could only keep one from going hungry and nothing more.
“Sir, the dinner you requested is here.”
The guards exchanged glances. One held his sword and stood beside the door. The other opened it. The server handed the food to the priest who looked like a true server. But when the door was about to close, the server suddenly reached out to stop the door. His other hand went into his pocket.
“Wait…” he said.
397 Arrow and Flower
The priest who had taken the food looked up. Coldness flashed past his eyes. The one behind him unsheathed the sword soundlessly and stared silently at the door. He could stab the server’s skull in an instant. The atmosphere was chilling.
“Anything else?” The priest looked at the server coldly.
He gulped and sweated profusely. Sticking his neck back subconsciously, his forced smile stiffened. He awkwardly pulled out a colorful card. “Sir, would you like some service?” Hands shaking, he offered the card drawn with a scantily clad girl. “Hot Burgundian girl for only six-no, forty pounds…” As he spoke, his words became smoother. Finally, he put on a knowing and lustful smile, oblivious to the fact that he was at the brink of death. “If you have any needs, we have younger ones too!”
“No need.” The priest coldly glanced at the card. He tore it apart and threw it into the trash before slamming the door shut in the server’s face. Then he took out a black toothpick. After testing for poison, he brought the platter over.
Colt took a few bites of the steak blankly before losing his appetite. He kept thinking through the details for anything that could reveal him. He still could not pinpoint where the feeling of danger came from. Then his finger trembled. Looking up, his expression was drastically different.
“No!”
This ship was a crude put-together short-distance ship. It relied on transporting poor immigrants and even the highest class cabin suite was old and smelled of mold. Rich people would definitely not go on this ship. They could choose safer and more comfortable ones.
Who would spend forty pounds on a prostitute?
“That card!” He spun toward the trash can. “Where’s the card?”
The two guards quickly rifled through and found the pieces of paper. But after investigation, they could not find anything abnormal. There was no poison or tricks. It was just a regular piece of paper.
“Relax, Colt.” Philip looked up from the old sofa. “There’s no need to be paranoid. I am here.”
Colt’s face alternated between green and white. It was hard to tell if he was frustrated over his mistake or embarrassed over his fear. “Sorry, I’m overthinking.”
As soon as he finished, there was a crisp sound.
The god of death had arrived.
-
Twenty minutes ago, the ship was about to set sail. Under the loud whistle, grandmaster Bono brushed past the sailors who were transporting food and grains. He walked off and disappeared in the sea of people.
The bare-chested sailors smoked and happily exchanged crude jokes. Lipstick stains remained on their sweaty bodies. Boxes full of grain and products went from carts and their shoulders to be transported to the bottom hold. However, some men snuck into the messy ship and disappeared.
A few minutes later, someone walked into a sailor’s room. After tying up the owner and stuffing him under the bed, he politely changed out of his clothes, stuck on a rubber mask and stuffed a brothel card from the trash can into his pocket.
He looked just right. Studying himself in the mirror, he made a few faces and walked out, satisfied.
“Second floor, suite room C2.” A sailor slacking off squatted in the hall to smoke gave him the address. “It’s the best room right by the captain’s room. They’re really careful and can see every change. It’s hard so you better be careful.”
“When do we ever get easy jobs?” The ‘server’ stuffed a stack of money into the sailor’s pocket. “This is yours. Have you made the holes in the lifeboats?”
“Holes? Do you want me to stuff some candles into it too?” The sailor grinned, somewhat mockingly. “No need. I’ve been here for six years and no one’s ever fixed up the lifeboats. That *sshole captain’s sold everything himself. The two lifeboats are dupes. They’re gone if they touch water. Honestly, if you wanna do something big, you don’t have to do all this. Just wait until we get to a yellow zone and,” he mimed an explosion, “no one’ll know.”
“Some of the people here have sinned but do not deserve death. They should have a chance to atone for their sins before going to hell,” the server replied. “Anyway, the client requested to try not to hurt the innocent.”
“So professional,” the sailor said in awe. “You talk like a priest.”
The server smiled and left without replying. When he reached the cabin, the man behind him said, “Say hi to Mr. Holmes for me. I don’t owe him anymore.” He looked back to see the sailor snuff out his cigarette and leave.
Ten minutes later, the door slammed in his face, flattening the leering smile. He bent over and cried out in pain dramatically. His finger dabbed the paint on his sleeve and discreetly drew some red dots on the cabin wall. When his arm was stuck in the door, he had used the brass button on his wrist to see all their positions clearly.
At the corner of the hallway, he brushed past a group of passengers. When he rubbed his nose, his lips moved slightly.
“One is three steps, the other is six. They’re musicians and two more are at the door. They have armor under their clothes.”
The group walked away while laughing and talking happily while the server returned to his room.
In a few other rooms, the dust cloths covering the furniture and beds were lifted the momen
t the door closed. The men and women of various ages took off their jackets, revealing the skintight leather clothing underneath.
The dust clothes revealed various alchemy parts which were put together quickly into a large machine. A black crossbow car, practically half a man’s height, was lifted under their teamwork. The carpet was moved aside, showing a space they had prepared. Bloated screws were put in to anchor the car in place.
“Adjust the angle.” An engineer with glasses tore off a few pages of notes scrawled with calculations and pasted them onto the car.
“Nine o’clock, adjust sixteen degrees. Twelve o’clock, left eight degrees, sixth level cabin. Seven o’clock, coverage attack.”
Under the messy clothing in the suitcase, they completed the setup of an arrow as wide as a child’s arm. It was placed into the car, embedding into the machine as the gears turned. As the car moved, it refracted the afternoon sun from outside the window onto a somber face. It created a chilling metallic sheen. With the angle adjustments, the car aimed at the men in the suite through the cabin levels. The final checkup was complete.
Under a mind-numbing muffled sound, the car’s coils were pulled taut. With a click, the final protective measures were removed. The fatal arrow would shoot forward with one move.
In the stillness, everyone’s faces were calm and serious. They lowered their heads and half-knelt onto the ground, praying under the engineer’s guidance.
“The mourning bell will soon sound. For you, my lord.” Their voices were low and grave as if melting into the stone. “Please release your judgement so that the sinners would receive punishment, so the ones who received punishment would be saved in hell. We will carry out your judgement and let their souls fill the river flowing toward you for eternity.”
The engineer lowered his eyes and drew the holy emblem before his chest.
“Under the name of the holy city, the holy spirit, and the holy son… Shoot!”
Boom! First, the trigger moved and the springs clicked. The gears began turning and steel wires whistled in the air. The heavy black arrow broke through.