EnCoffin Me Chapter 110
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 110
Brendan, now standing again, began to burn with black flames all around him. He threatened the staff with his sharp, jagged horn, watching as they backed away one by one in panic.
“What's going on?! Why isn't his black flame restrained?”
“Quick! Get the guns! Attack from a distance!”
More armed personnel began arriving. Brendan knew he couldn't delay any longer. His black flames began to ignite the fence. After a fierce blaze, large sections of the fence collapsed to the ground. The night mares began to retreat in panic.
“Don't back away! We're escaping!” Brendan raised his voice. “Have you forgotten the dream we had last night? We're escaping! To see the streams, the lakes, and the moon! The world outside will accept us. Out there, we can live for five hundred years!”
The mention of five hundred years stunned most of the night mares. But as the brutal guards slowly approached, the instinct built up from long-term captivity made them hesitate again.
“We can't do it… Brendan…”
“We won't survive out there…”
“Our black flames are sealed. How can we break through with just our horns?”
All the night mares wore collars around their necks. Brendan had worn one too, but it had been removed after he arrived at the branch to make the act more convincing. There hadn't been a chance to put it back on. Without their black flames, the night mares had very limited means of attack and couldn't channel the flames into their hooves to run quickly.
Brendan instinctively looked at his shadow, but Alexio, who was hiding inside, remained silent. This made it clear to him that this was his own battle.
The great lake and the bright moon settled lightly into his soul once again.
Facing the approaching guards and staff, Brendan took a deep breath and voluntarily extinguished his black flames.
“Then I won't rely on black flames,” he said calmly. “I'll rely on dreams.”
Hidden in the shadow, Alexio finally smiled. He could sense the dream power gradually unfolding from Brendan. This was the foundation of a night mare's strength. As the dream expanded, more and more night mares' horns began to glow. It wasn't the harsh light of black flames, but a vivid, dreamlike radiance.
“We'll escape through the dream!”
Brendan struck the ground with his front hoof. Alexio shifted some of his attention to the communicator, which showed that the military had completely surrounded the valley.
This rescue was about to end in success…
Suddenly, Alexio felt a sharp jolt in his chest. He leapt out of the shadow and returned to human form in an instant. His scythe clashed with a grappling hook, sparks flying from the impact! His red eyes widened slightly. Roses grew in the world of shadows, and the grappling hook immediately recoiled and slashed, cutting down the roses before they could fully bloom!
The sudden turn of events made Brendan, who had been preparing to lead his kin into the dream, turn to look.
“Alexi?”
“Run! Now!” Alexio's face was devoid of expression. “The military has already surrounded the area. As long as you cross the valley through the dream, you'll be completely safe.”
“…What about you, Alexi?”
The night mare's overly mournful concern made Alexio glance at him with an unreadable expression.
“What did you misunderstand? This is far from a situation that could threaten me. I'm telling you to leave quickly just so I wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally hitting you.”
Brendan let out a long breath of relief. He gave Alexio a nod, then led the others into the dream. Light whips and flashes from guns lit up the surroundings. Alexio adjusted his already-neat clothes and yawned, showing his sharp fangs.
The person who had briefly clashed with him stepped slowly out from the shadows. His ocean-blue eyes were filled with gloom, and even his radiant golden hair seemed tainted by this somber aura. He looked like someone who perfectly fit the Holy Temple's aesthetic — elegant, yet deeply burdened by hatred.
Alexio, a little bored, mentally slapped a label on the other person. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the man did look vaguely familiar.
Had they met before?
Sure enough, the man stared at him silently for a moment, then slowly spoke.
“We meet again, Alexio.”
He practically spat out the vampire's name, with a hatred that felt deeper than hatred alone. Alexio had seen this kind of gaze on that former lunatic. But somehow, when the lunatic stared at him like that, he'd found it endearing. This time… it wasn't pleasant.
Of course, the more important question was…
Who was this?
It wasn't his fault he couldn't remember. Alexio, with the memory span of a goldfish, had a rather interesting brain partitioning system. One partition was for things he needed to remember, like certain staff at the conservation center, whom he made an effort to recall because it was useful. The other partition was for temporary memory, where he could dig up details when needed, but it regularly got wiped clean.
At the moment, that second partition of his mind had clearly been cleared out more times than he could count.
The slight hesitation on his face didn't escape the hunter's notice. The hatred surged againt. The hunter let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh.
“Other than Lucius, who else can you even remember?”
After a pause, he went on.
“Even if you've forgotten… aren't you going to ask my name now?”
“I've outgrown the phase of trading empty threats,” Alexio replied bluntly. “There's no need to ask. Anyone from the Holy Temple appearing at this breeding farm is an accomplice. I'll kill you.”
“My name is Aamon,” the hunter said, ignoring him. The holy sword at his waist began to vibrate.
“I'm a hunter who exists solely to kill you.”
No sooner had these words settled than Aamon's pupils abruptly constricted. His heavily modified body twisted to dodge the vampire's attack. He stared into Alexio's fully opened red eyes. Finally, the vampire was taking him seriously, all because of those words destined to provoke Alexio.
“You're really unpleasant.”
Alexio's intent to kill fully ignited. One lunatic was enough for him. He only tolerated one.
Aamon finally got what he wanted. He drew his holy sword and fixed his gaze tightly on the vampire before him.
He had been waiting for this moment for far too long.
***
The saint glided low through the valley on a griffin. Of course, he could fly faster, but to keep pace with the military, he restrained his speed to the current level. At this slower pace, he could even afford to glance at his communicator, where he was haggling with Pupil.
“I want to check on Alexi's situation. I know you can make that happen.”
【That's not part of our deal.】
“You won't have repeat customers if you do business like this.”
【……】
“It's just a small extra. Aren't you watching anyway?”
【……】
Pupil didn't want to get tangled up further with this lunatic and simply displayed the image.
The saint watched the screen, his grip tightening on the communicator. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled. His griffin, seemingly understanding his intention, roared, flapped its wings, and shot straight up like a meteor, speeding toward the breeding farm.
Inside the facility, the night mares' escape threw the area into chaos. Alexio sized up the hunter's skills. The man had undergone brutal physical modifications, enabling him to do things beyond normal human ability and even unleash over 100% of his holy sword's power. Since the holy sword was effective against dark creatures, Alexio avoided injury by staying on the defensive.
After several clashes with him, the hunter's eyes grew brighter, as if fully satisfied.
“I've waited all day for this,” Aamon said. Overusing the holy sword caused red web-like cracks to spread across his arm, but only when wielding the sword would he receive Alexio's attention. Like a madman, he kept pushing it. Alexio's mood darkened as he focused on defending the night mares below.
“I've undergone many modifications, which grant me the right to stand before you! I even…”
Psycho! And not even in an endearing way! Alexio clenched his teeth in anger. He even started contemplating using a domain to crush him, but then decided it would make him look cheap.
While he was caught in this dilemma, a familiar voice suddenly came from above.
“Alexi.”
Just his name, nothing else. Yet, years of unspoken understanding made Alexio react immediately. He teleported away, and the griffin swooped down with a roar. Aamon took a heavy blow and crashed to the ground. After the roar and dust settled, he coughed up blood, the ground around him cracking open in large cracks.
Without waiting for his opponent to get up, the saint jumped off the griffin and landed on the ground. A sharp chain dropped straight down. If Aamon hadn't rolled away in time, he would have been pierced through.
“Cough… cough cough… you…”
Aamon stared fixedly at the white-cloaked saint. Their eye and hair colors were similar but not the same. They had once shared the same cause, but only one was favored by fate, and it had never been him.
Lucius said nothing, nor did he show any expression. Seeing Alexio trying to move closer again, he spoke up.
“Alexi, go help those night mares. I've got this.”
Alexio couldn't have been more eager! He really didn't want to fight this psycho. It was better to let one lunatic deal with another. He believed his lunatic could out-poison the other!
“Don't go…” Aamon struggled to stand, but the saint was already moving, blocking Alexio's retreat.
He didn't even want to let him see his back…
But that was fine. He had grown stronger. If this was the same opponent from the northern front, he could handle it easily, and then catch up with Alexio again.
However, the saint reached into the void beside him. A holy spear appeared, its terrifying aura causing Aamon's holy sword to emit a mournful cry. He could hardly stop his body from trembling. The opponent's figure seemed to grow enormous under the heavy pressure, making Aamon feel like an ant gazing up at a mountain.
Why… why had he suddenly become so strong? Their gap shouldn't have been this wide!
The saint, who had long recovered all his memories, lifted his eyes. Even knowing the man opposite was a former colleague brought back from the past, there was no mercy in those beautiful sky-blue eyes.
“I don't like people who dream.”
He said softly, his tone surprisingly gentle.
“I dislike even more those who daydream.”
Aamon knew he was dying. His body told him so. But he was unwilling to give up. He still wanted to breathe, to open his eyes, to search for that vampire's figure. To his surprise, he actually did open his eyes. At first, the scene was blurry, then it gradually came into focus.
“…Is he dead?”
It was that vampire speaking.
“He's dead.”
The saint answered calmly.
No! He wasn't dead yet! He could still fight! Look at him! Look at him!
“Serves him right! I just found some files related to this breeding farm. Are your Holy Temple hunters really so shameless, taking over a facility like this… Why do you look so serious?”
“I'm thinking about compensation. You owe me.”
“Huh?”
“Your area-of-effect attack hit me. It hurts.”
“……”
The voice stopped, or rather, he was too close to death to hear anymore. Aamon struggled to open his eyes wide and saw the two standing together. They whispered something quietly, then the saint raised his hand as if to touch the vampire's fangs. The vampire scowled but nipped his finger, drawing blood which was promptly licked clean.
Then the wrist, and finally the neck.
The vampire lay quietly in the saint's arms, while the saint lowered his eyelids and glanced sideways at him.
【You saw everything, didn't you?】
Aamon seemed to hear the saint speaking.
【Then you can be on your way.】
The chain pierced his heart. In his fading vision, the vampire lifted his head, licking the blood left on his lips, trying to turn toward him. The saint quickly twisted his head back. The vampire, dazed from just feeding, slowly turned his head back.
Before dying, Aamon finally understood.
No one could interfere between them.