by Feng Yue
He fell asleep.
-
“Charles.”
A voice called to him as the carriage shook. Charles opened his eyes blearily and saw Constantine looking at him.
“Did you not sleep well?” he asked, pointing at Charles’s face.
Blanching, Charles touched his face. He suddenly felt like laughing. He had asked Constantine something similar yesterday. Today, the situation was reversed. He knew without looking that his pallor was horrible. He managed a smile but did not dare to look at Constantine’s eyes.
This morning, the Silent Authority had used a secret channel to contact him. Everything was ready. Tonight, he would meet Gaius’ right-hand man through a middle man.
And then…
Charles subconsciously put a hand over his heart, trying to feel his heartbeat.
And then he would betray Constantine…
Constantine would die. He would step on Constantine’s corpse and enter the core, finding the classified information of the Revolutionaries.
So ugly, Charles. So ugly.
He lowered his head.
453 Bell
“Did you run into trouble?” Looking at Charles’ dispiritedness, Constantine grew confused.
“No.” Charles shook his head and squeezed out a smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m great. I don’t have any morals so nothing in the world can scare me.”
Constantine studied him. He knew Charles was lying, and after a while, he shook his head. “The troubles of youth?” Sighing, he lit his cigarette. He had been smoking constantly these days. He could not sleep at night and in the morning, there would be a mountain in the ashtray.
Seeming to remember something, he could not help but laugh at himself. “Before, an Easterner called Ye told me a joke. He said that young people shouldn’t be sad because of a period of pain. There are many more days of pain in the future…hahaha.
“It sounds heartless but it’s true. When I was your age, I often thought that the world would end and grew hopeless. But later, I ran into more troubles and instead grew numb.”
He paused and patted Charles’s shoulder. “It’ll pass, Charles. It’ll all pass,” he said. “All pain will pass.”
Charles shuddered and did not reply. For a moment, he almost wanted to stand up and tell Constantine that he was a spy from the Sacred City. He was going to betray the man to Gaius.
But he did not dare.
Charles wanted to cry because of his weakness and something else. He just lowered his head and said, “Thank you, sir.”
And Constantine smiled. “Oh right, this is for you.” He pulled out a small packet and placed it into Charles’ hand. “I’m actually quite sorry for dragging you into this.”
Taken by surprise, Charles opened it and found that it was a new identification card. It was clean, well-maintained, and free of any criminal records.
“I forgot to tell you yesterday,” Constantine said, “Gaius agreed to meet me today.”
Charles froze as if he had turned into a rock. It felt like someone had hacked his brain open and Constantine’s words crushed all his thoughts.
Gaius? Meet Constantine? Today?
“Scared?” Constantine smoked and looked out the window. “Some things must come to an end. I will help you with Gaius. If I die, just leave the Sacred City. This is an identity I prepared for someone else but now he’s dead. I’ll give it to you so you can help live for him as well. In the future, don’t be a musician…”
The sudden change was like lightning in a clear sky. It completely shattered the Silent Authority’s plan. No matter what, the result would be clear today.
It was fast. Too fast. So fast he could not react.
The situation had suddenly fallen into the abyss. Constantine was ready to set things clear with Gaius even if it meant he would die. The result would be Gaius getting rid of him. He already knew this ending. But because it was Constantine’s decision, the Silent Authority’s next step was foiled, losing the restriction on Gaius.
In a daze, Charles felt relaxed for some reason. Perhaps he would never get any results and perhaps he would spend the rest of his life in the Judgement Tower. But at least, at least…Constantine would not die in his hands.
He would not need to be a traitor. He was ashamed by this feeling. Then he suddenly felt a gust of coldness. This almost tangible coldness came from his bones. His heart pounded and his face turned shockingly white. His veins were transporting blood but there was no warmth.
This was a sense of danger.
Horrible danger.
Headache.
His head pounded.
In extreme pain, Charles sank into a daze but his consciousness left his body. It followed the sense of danger and he could faintly see a bleary image.
“Charles…what’s wrong?” Seeing Charles twitch, Constantine was shocked. But then Charles shot up from the seat and grasped his hand like a vice. He kicked the door open without hesitation. An explosion of aether tore apart the lock. There were countless carriages racing through the bustling city but Charles dragged Constantine out the car!
The sudden change caused a ruckus. There was a string of explosions, whinnies, yells, and roars. Dozens of carriages crashed while trying to avoid them. Some innocent drivers even fell to the ground with broken legs. The innocent passersby all screamed and dodged.
In the mess, everyone glared at the two who jumped from the carriage. Charles and Constantine tumbled on the ground. Constantine was old and had not processed everything until he fell. He moaned to Charles, “Are you crazy?”
But Charles seemed not to hear. He just turned and stared at the carriage they were on. It was still going forward but slowing down. Finally, the two horses whined and the carriage stopped. Then the driver fell from his spot. When he landed on the ground, his flesh turned to dirt and slowly melted away, revealing the blackening bones.
He was dead.
The two struggling horses also melted away, blood spurting. Soon, all that remained was a pile of bones connected by tendons and clumps of fleshy dirt.
A gust of wind blew. The carriage shook and turned to dust.
Constantine followed Charles’ eyes and gasped.
Now, the faint ringing of a bell finally traveled over. In its path, everything started shaking. Despite being so far away, their limbs were controlled by the shaking, making the people feel limp and nauseous.
It was the Bell.
This was written by the past saint Liszt and used the vibrations of aether to destroy everything. Even forged alloy would be turned to dust under the shaking. It also had a more commonly known name.
“…The curse of dust!” Constantine muttered. Before he could finish, a gray-clothed man walked out of the crowd and advanced toward them. He sighed. “What did I do wrong?” he murmured. “You shouldn’t have been able to sense any aether waves… Was it you?” When he looked at Charles, an eerie light flashed through his eyes. “Whatever. Good luck always ends.”
Raging wind and fire grew in his hands. A music score played. The rhythm from his heart of sound rang out. Everything in its path began to melt away. This was the most extreme effect of the Modifications’ field of dissolving. What followed was the fatal blow of the School of Modification.
It was A Hero’s Funeral!
Now, his motive was clear. Without caring about the innocent bystanders or that this was a main street in the Sacred City, he was going to destroy these two! He acted like a bomb. Even the Silent Authority that had been watching did not expect this.
Charles raised his hand instinctively. His fingers snapped and notes played. Instantly, delicate yet complex music notes appeared.
Shield, shield, shield, shield… In just a snap, identical shield runes shot from his hands. He could not use music theories but Charles’s control of simple notes was incredible. No one had ever thought about the effect of adding thousands of pure notes together.
They could not do it. But it was natural for Charles.
A shield instantly went from colorless to white and then from white to black. It shot up like a solid object, blocking the sweeping attack from the front.
And then…it fell apart.
Before the attack, the shield crumbled into pieces. Music notes were only music notes, just as how ants without a command were only ants. Charles could not control music theory—any theory would go out of control in his hands. This was his fatal flaw and the reason why he could not become a musician.
Everything he did was just to delay death one second.
This one second was everything.
In an instant, a furious huff sounded in the air. Transient moonlight flowed out of nowhere. Everything illuminated by it felt less real. The surging fire, suffocating Foehn wind and air pressure, and the curse of dust that followed close after…everything was like a fake projection, like a cool and clean breeze.
“What are you waiting for?” Lola’s cold voice rang out beside Charles. “Run!” Her blurry figure appeared in the moonlight. With a snap, she hid their traces. Moonlight covered their bodies. They disappeared instantly.
-
At the same time, the gray-clothed musician huffed. He pounded the air with his right fist. Behind him, a bell tower’s apparition emerged. The bell rang! This was Liszt’s Bell—a heart of sound movement formed with the curse of dust. In its path, Distortion level power billowed, twisting the material world under the pounding theory.
Everything was destroyed!
Faint sound waves swept out, turning everything to powder. Even more terrifying was the attack on music theory! The School of Modifications did not only control changes of material and energy. Its core was the attacking, shaking, and changing of music theory…
Now, he used the bell as a medium to forcefully pull all music theory in the region into a state of turmoil. They all fell apart under his music theory. This was why Modifications was known as the way to end all ways when it was at its highest level!
When the music theory collapsed under the turmoil, Lola’s figure appeared in the air. Behind her, the moon in the water only shook for a moment before recovering. The moon came from the sky. The reflection shook but the moonlight was untouched. It shone out from the broken water surface once again.
Faced with the bloodthirsty gray-clothed musician, Lola chuckled. Her smile was extremely unnerving. The demonic blood within her radiated with a sinister and cold aura.
“Such good luck. I haven’t eaten recently.”
The bone flute played a wailing melody. She narrowed her eyes at the enemy before her. He looked…tasty.
454 Troubles Don’t Come Alone
Late at night, there was no one in the quiet alley. The stinking garbage rustled and Charles poked a head out. He breathed heavily and looked around. When he saw that there was no one around, he let out a sigh of relief. Then he pulled the barely conscious Constantine out. His face was green from the disgusting garbage and could not talk.
After escaping in the morning, they had thought they were safe. But then they were attacked again. Thankfully, this was only a coincidence and the enemy could not get a more powerful musician over. They were able to escape with Charles’ amateur skills. More accurately, they had jumped onto a garbage truck to escape. After that, they jostled along with the garbage and were dumped into this stinky alley a few hours later.
Checking again that they were alone and had escaped with their lives, Charles heaved with laughter. His smile was so joyful that even the two rotten vegetable leaves on his face seemed to bloom.
Feeling around his pockets, he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. There were only two left.
“Want one?” Charles rubbed his fingers and ignited a flame. Constantine accepted it weakly but did not dare to smoke it. He just panted tiredly. His old lungs sounded like a wind blower that was about to explode.
Charles had never seen someone age like this. It was not just in flesh but also psychological fatigue, depression, and despair.
“How many days has it been since we left prison?” Constantine asked quietly.
“Twenty…days?”
Constantine nodded. It dawned on him. “I guess it’s enough time.”
“Enough?” Charles froze.
Constantine chuckled. “Twenty days is enough for Gaius to clean out the Revolutionaries and wipe out all my men…This is probably why they put me on house arrest, making sure I can’t get any outside news, right?” He paused. Lowering his head, he smoked Charles’s cigarette. “It seems like Gaius really wants to kill me,” he murmured.
Smoke blurred his features, making it hard to see his expression. Charles remained silent. Perhaps, this had been Gaius’s plan since the beginning. When he realized that Constantine was standing in his way, he already made up his mind. He was not even willing to meet Constantine one last time, despite being friends who had experienced so much together during the decades. Ever since Constantine walked out of prison, he began going down the road to death. Now, everything was out. Constantine finally saw the final destination of the path Gaius showed him but he did not show any hysteria or fury. Only disappointment.
“This is good too,” he said softly. “At least I won’t have to make more decisions or do more useless things… The ending has already been decided, hasn’t it?”
Charles stared in silence and then looked away. He wanted to say some comforting words but they both knew it would be useless. He could not do anything for Constantine. Nothing he could say would change the reality. He could not even think of a joke to lighten the mood. All he could do was look away, away from Constantine’s pathetic state.
Good, everything was over now. His spy career was over. Constantine’s efforts and hopes were gone too. They had both fallen into the lowest pits of life, the bottom of the abyss. There was no way to retreat.
In silence, Charles put out his cigarette and climbed up.
“Mr. Constantine,” he said, “are you rested now?”
Constantine shook his head. “I can manage to walk.”
“That sucks. You must run.” Charles smiled wryly. “Otherwise, we’ll probably die here tonight.” Just as he finished, scattered footsteps sounded outside the smelly alley. There was the sound of metal grating and steel boots hitting the ground. Coldness radiated from the clangs.
Charles pulled Constantine up and rushed deep into the alley. However, he quickly realized with despair that there was a high wall before them. He looked at Constantine hopefully.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Constantine sighed. “Even if an old man like me could climb walls, would you be able to take me with you?”
Charles said, “It’ll be good if you can escape.”
“Whatever.” Constantine smiled tiredly. He leaned against the wall and sat heavily onto the ground. “I’ve run my entire life. My back is full of scars. Before I die, let me leave a wound in my chest.”
Charles laughed bitterly. He bent down and picked up a rock. But after thinking, he tossed it down. What was the point of holding a rock? Rather than hoping he could hit someone, he should just end things once and for all for himself.
He sat down next to Constantine and they fell silent.
The footsteps were closer.
Something exploded.
The wall behind them instantly turned to powder and dozens of figures burst through. They jumped out like wind and mercilessly pushed the two onto the ground.
“Freeze!” a cold voice said. Swords were pressed to their necks instantly. Then the people who had distracted them burst into the alley, taking up the entire place.
They weren’t the Revolutionaries!
Charles was stunned and quickly became overjoyed. It was the Sacred City garrison! The dozens of soldiers were armed to the teeth. After scanning the entire alley, they were still not relaxed. The safety was soon confirmed.
The leader sheathed his sword and waved at the black-clothed men pressing the two down. Then they voluntarily walked away.
He was safe!
He breathed in relief, practically crying. He had already been prepared to die in this alley. He did not expect that the Silent Authority would come save him at the most critical point.
Thank the lord! Truly thank the lord!
“We found them.” A voice seemed to be reporting to the upper figures. “Yes, he’s with Constantine. Yes, they’re safe. There’s temporarily no other dangers. We’ll take them back now…okay…”
Charles let them put on handcuffs without struggling. Even if the plan had failed, he could still live. The Silent Authority had not used any excuses to give him trouble. Even if he would be locked up for the rest of life, it was better than continuing to be a spy or dying here.
However, Constantine did not seem well.
He was old. After running for so long, his tensed nerves had finally relaxed before being tensed again. When the musicians had broken through the wall, he had almost passed out.
Or maybe they did this purposely.
Thankfully, he was checked and would not die.
The leader clearly already knew Charles’s identity. He did not say it out loud but he was not too hard on Charles. The handcuffs were loose as well.
“You’ve worked hard,” he murmured as he brushed past Charles, patting his shoulder.
“No, no, it was my duty.” Charles smiled instinctively. He was ready to say stupid things like ‘I’m just working for the Sacred City’ when he suddenly felt something warm splash into his mouth.
It was blood.
Charles froze.
And then, right before him, the leader’s head exploded. A giant hole appeared in his forehead. Through his forehead, Charles could see corpses all over the ground and a spirit-like figure emerge from the darkness. The figure slowly curled his finger back and destructive aether waves swelled. Everything began twisting under the heart of sound.
It was the Distortion level! Another Distortion level!